The Rapture
Key Teachings in the End-time Message • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
Text - 1 Thessalonians 4.16-18
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore, comfort one another with these words.
Topic - The Catching Away of the Saints
Collection - Key Teachings in the Message
Background
Background
Common views on the Rapture among churches
Pre-Tribulation - before the 7 years or 1 week left
Mid-Tribulation - half-way into the tribulation period
Post-Tribulation - after the tribulation period; the rapture is the same as the second coming of Christ
the Rapture is a secret event
the Rapture is imminent (anytime)
there is no rapture - the church goes through the tribulation period and welcomes Christ on earth for His Millennial kingdom
Word meaning
“Caught up” - the grk word is HARPAZO
it means to be snatched; indicates sudden or quick event
common usage
15 So Jesus, aware that they intended to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself, alone.
the people intended to force Jesus to be their king
12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock.
28 and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force.
Our distinct positions on the Rapture
Key differences with the second coming of Christ
Important events preceding the catching away
The requirements for the Rapture
The Rapture is not the same as the Second Coming of Christ
The Rapture is not the same as the Second Coming of Christ
The time difference
The time difference
In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he outlined the 2 events separately
1 Thessalonians 4.13-18 - he talked about the catching away
1 Thessalonians 5.1-9 - he talked about the day of the Lord, which takes place when Jesus comes the second time to earth.
The Rapture and the Second Coming are 7 years apart.
the Rapture precedes the Second Coming by 7 years
The difference in purpose
The difference in purpose
In the rapture, Jesus comes for His people/the church
In the second coming, Jesus comes to the world
1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be.
4 And you know the way where I am going.”
In the rapture, Jesus comes to comfort the saints
In the second coming, Jesus comes to bring destruction
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.
15 For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
18 Therefore, comfort one another with these words.
1 Now as to the periods and times, brothers and sisters, you have no need of anything to be written to you.
2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night.
3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
In the rapture, Jesus meets the saints in the air
In the second coming, Jesus comes down to earth
17 Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them,
11 and they said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
1 Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoils taken from you will be divided among you.
2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be taken, the houses plundered, the women raped, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be eliminated from the city.
3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
4 On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west forming a very large valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half toward the south.
Three important events preceding the Rapture
Three important events preceding the Rapture
Paul tells us there are 3 important things that happen as the Lord descends in the Rapture
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Argument:
these three things ACCOMPANY Christ as He descends
Counter-argument:
if it is so, then the rapture will be a global phenomenon
Rather, it is the Second Coming of Christ that will be visible to the whole world
29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
The 3 events coincide with three important events that will happen just before the Rapture
the shout - coincides with the proclamation of the message of Christ’s return for the church
5 Now while the groom was delaying, they all became drowsy and began to sleep.
6 But at midnight there finally was a shout: ‘Behold, the groom! Come out to meet him.’
7 Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
8 But the foolish virgins said to the prudent ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’
9 However, the prudent ones answered, ‘No, there most certainly would not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’
10 But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the groom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.
the Message Shout is still going on announcing the soon coming of Christ for His people.
the voice of an archangel - coincides with the calling of the dead out of their graves
the archangel means a primary messenger who job is to deliver an important message to specific people
there is no particular angel intended here
it means a “commanding voice”
25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, a time is coming and even now has arrived, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;
27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.
28 Do not be amazed at this; for a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
29 and will come out: those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the bad deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
This “voice” will wake up the sleeping saints BEFORE the rapture
15 For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
the trumpet of God - coincides with the last trumpet that will bring into effect the translation of our bodies from natural to glorified bodies
51 Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.
the focus is on the living saints
the sounding of the last trumpet coincides with the voice that raises the sleeping saints
the sounding of the trumpet cause our bodies - the living and the risen - to be changed!
risen saints - from corruption to incorruption
living saints - from mortal to immortality
The requirements for the Rapture
The requirements for the Rapture
Physical requirement - body change
Physical requirement - body change
the natural body CANNOT inherit the kingdom of God
50 Now I say this, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51 Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
the natural body is the THING that PREVENTS us from being with the Lord
4 For indeed, we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a pledge.
6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight—
8 but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
Spiritual requirement - walking with God
Spiritual requirement - walking with God
Enoch’s generation saw 2 great things happen
the judgment of the ante-deluvian people
his own translation - Gen 5.23-24
23 So all the days of Enoch were 365 years.
24 Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
At the time of the Rapture, NOT all church goers will make it
the foolish virgins missed the wedding feast
It is those who are willing to separate themselves from the world so that they can walk closer with the Lord!
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The Rapture will be greatest event to happen in the life of the church!
It will be the grandest celebration
It will be the greatest victory
It will be the happiest day!
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