After That...
“After That…”
1 Thessalonians 4:17
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
During the swinging sixties, a religious movement swept the United States shaking the churches with the power of a divine windstorm and threatening sedated parishioners settled in comfortable pews … the Jesus People arrived on the scene. Dressed unconventionally and with a sense of community which threatened the quiescence of old-line churches, these youthful evangelists were seized with a conviction that theirs was the last generation before Christ's return. That conviction impelled them to vigorously evangelise their peers, thus shaming many long-time believers.
A major impetus to the zeal of these young evangelists was a book which presented the premillennial faith in simplified terms. The Late, Great Planet Earth became a runaway best seller, and to this day it remains a popular book for those wondering about future events. The book popularised the concept of the rapture, ensuring the entrance of the term into the popular parlance. But just what is this event, the rapture? To discover the answer to this question, join me in an exploration of one brief, significant verse from Paul's first Thessalonian letter. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever [1 Thessalonians 4:17].
Purpose of The Rapture — Let’s admit front that the word rapture does not occur in any English translation of the New Testament. Many fine Christian people deny there is any such event as the snatching away [aJrpavzw] of the Church before divine judgement is at last poured out on the earth. Frequently, these fine Christian men and women make much of the fact that the word rapture does not occur in the Bible. Such detractors of our pretribulational position are correct in the strictest sense of the word. However, as is true with other important theological concepts, though the word is absent the doctrine is nonetheless present. Rapture is but the anglicised version of rapturo, the Latin term for aJrpavzw, which means to snatch away or to seize suddenly or to steal.
The word trinity does not occur in the Bible, but the doctrine is certainly present and assumed throughout the Word of God. Many of our Armenian brothers wish the word election did not occur in the Bible. We are nevertheless given the promise that God will … keep [those who have kept His commands] from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth [Revelation 3:10].
That verse just cited provides one great reason why those who hold to this ancient, apostolic position, realise the necessity of the pretribulational rapture of the Church. There is another reason given in our text and I shall provide a brief explanation of that reason shortly. Sin shall one day be finished. God shall one day say, “Enough!” Wicked men will give an account for their wickedness and for the unbelief which has characterised man since the Fall. That accounting to Holy God is not, in one sense, a compacted, momentary event, but it is rather a series of judgements stretching over a period of one thousand seven years.
The judgement is actually four judgements consisting of the ultimate judgement of all the lost, a preliminary judgement of the rebellious of the earth at the conclusion of a thousand year reign by the Lord Christ, a judgement of the nations of the earth at the conclusion of the great tribulation, and a judgement of the inhabitants of the earth throughout the period referred to as the great tribulation.
All who have refused the reign of Christ shall be judged. During that judgement each unbeliever shall individually give an account before God of his or her rejection of Christ as Lord. That awesome assize is described in Revelation 20:11-15. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This awesome judgement is one which each sinner must anticipate. The design is not to discover whether the unbeliever deserves punishment, that is already decided according to the teaching of John 3:18,36. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son, and Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. Destiny is fixed now by our response to God’s initiative. Whether we believe in Christ or whether we reject His offer of grace and mercy determines our eternal destiny.
How can I speak of that judgement without extending to you God’s gracious invitation to receive the forgiveness of sin now? Together with the Apostle Paul I plead with you who have until this day rejected God’s grace to now believe the message of life. Receive Christ and receive His grace. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says,
‘In the time of my favour I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.’
I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation” [2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2]. Will you actually reject the grace of God now offered to you? Will you refuse to accept His mercy? Instead of demonstrating the evil which rules your heart and the perversity of your wickedness, will you not rather receive this proffered grace and now be saved?
There is also a judgement of those born during the days when Christ shall reign on earth, for He is pledged from days long past to rule over the earth, sitting upon David’s throne in fulfilment of the ancient promise to His servant David. During that Millennial reign, children born to Tribulation saints who enter into the Millennial kingdom shall rebel, revealing the wickedness of the human heart; but that wicked rebellion shall be put down in frightful judgement described variously throughout the Word of God [e.g. Revelation 20:7-10 and Psalm 2:8-12].
This is the final rebellion against God, against His Christ and against all righteousness; all wickedness will at last be firmly and fully put down with the crushing of these rebels. The rebellion shall be swiftly put down and those wicked rebels shall experience the wrath of the Lamb immediately preceding the final judgement when sinners are called to stand before the Great White Throne of God. There before that Great White Throne the lost shall receive their final pronouncement of eternal doom. That awesome judgement which has been pending throughout long ages shall then be accomplished and sin shall be finally done away with. How awesome that day shall be! How terrible the sentence pronounced against sinners!
One thousand years before these last judgements when God will have finally wrought judgement upon the earth and its inhabitants, the nations of the earth will have received another judgement. I find encouragement in this particular judgement since it points to God’s mercy. Even in the midst of judgement God extends mercy and some shall receive grace even while judged, though the most will reject His mercies and continue in their sinful condition. All who have rejected His grace shall be judged for their wickedness, the self-serving attitude which characterises their lives. This judgement of the nations is spoken of by Christ in Matthew 25:31-46. In those verses we discover that this judgement shall be accomplished immediately prior to the initiation of our Lord’s Millennial reign so that none save those who are redeemed shall enter into that kingdom. Does this not speak to you who have yet to trust Christ? Though even now under divine condemnation, if you will but turn to Him He will extend you mercy.
There is another series of frightful judgements, so rapid in implementation that they may for all practical purposes be considered as one judgement. In these judgements God at last calls the population of the earth then living to account for their wickedness. That great judgement is so overwhelming that it is referred to as the great tribulation, th'" qlivyew" th'" megavlh" [Revelation 7:14]. God once judged the whole earth because the earth was corrupt … and was full of violence [Genesis 6:11] and He shall again judge the earth because it shall have degenerated into a state of utter corruption and violence. Have we already reached that point that God must soon judge the earth?
The first judgement of the earth was by water; but the second judgement shall be by fire. Peter wrote of that awesome day and the prevailing attitudes of the inhabitants of the earth at that time. First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgement and destruction of ungodly men [2 Peter 3:3-7].
God judges the earth. How awesome His power! How awful His wrath toward sinners! Small wonder that when His judgements are poured out that those then living in the earth cry out: Hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand [Revelation 6:16,17]? A great divine of another era commenting on these verses noted that the most expensive real estate to be had during the Great Tribulation will be mountain caves. The judgement poured out on the earth in that day of accounting is awesome in scope and awful in effect; no one can expect to stand in that day. Long years ago the Prophet Amos, warned:
Woe to you who long
for the day of the LORD!
Why do you long for the day of the LORD?
That day will be darkness, not light.
It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light —
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
[Amos 5:18-20].
What a graphic picture of frightful, fearful judgement! The imagery pictures a man who confronts a lion and flees for his life only to meet a bear. Turning aside to run from both the bear and the lion he enters his house. Breathless, he leans against the wall only to have an asp bite him. There shall be no escape from this judgement for those then dwelling in the earth.
The knowledge of these awesome trials is one reason God is pledged to remove His saints before the initiation of those judgements when the inhabitants of the earth must drink the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath [Revelation 14:10]. We are confident of the promise that the saints of God shall be kept from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth [Revelation 3:10].
There is another reason that God shall remove His saints. This reason, which is apparent from our text, has to do with the unity of the Body of Christ. We are mortals and our mortality becomes apparent in the fact that we are subject to death. Because we are Christians does not mean that we shall be spared from grappling with the last enemy, death. However, because we are Christians we anticipate that we are eternally united in the Body of Christ. Death cannot separate us forever; it is rather a temporary separation until the fullness of time is accomplished. God is pledged to remember His saints. I love the statement God makes to His ancient people Israel through Isaiah:
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands
[Isaiah 49:15,16].
If God remembers Israel should we be surprised that He shall remember His church? Will He do less for us than for His rebellious people of old? God shall remember us and we shall be united, not in death, but in life. This is why it is said that we will be caught up together that together we may be forever with the Lord. This is but a confirmation of Paul’s later words to the Corinthians: we will all be changed [1 Corinthians 15:51].
Participants in the Rapture — We who are alive … will be caught up together with them. When the Apostle employs the first person plural in this statement, “we who are alive,” he must assuredly have in mind something more than human existence. The definitive answer to that question of who participates in the rapture is provided in the first verse of the letter as Paul begins by addressing the letter to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ [1 Thessalonians 1:1]. Throughout the letter the Apostle draws a contrast between brothers and heathen who do not know God, between sons of the light and sons of the day and those who belong to the night or to the darkness.
I pause to emphasise the point that there is a distinction between the saved and the lost. The issue is one which is frequently played down in an apparent attempt to make lost individuals feel good about themselves. I would not purposely embarrass anyone, but I would be remiss in my responsibility as an undershepherd of Christ’s church if I did not warn you of this distinction.
John’s Gospel clearly draws this distinction between the saved and the lost. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God… Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him [John 3:18-21,36]. The distinction is not on the basis of church membership nor any religious activity, but it is instead a distinction founded on grace, mercy and love in Christ the Lord.
Yet another dramatic passage which reveals this distinction between the redeemed and the lost occurs in Paul’s second letter to this same Thessalonian church. There Paul writes: God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marvelled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you [2 Thessalonians 1:6-10].
Dear people, we may be assured that all who are outside of Christ are condemned now! Good people, each of us know are destined to face eternal condemnation at our Lord’s return. Such knowledge should ever serve as motive force to every professing believer to witness often to the grace of God, pleading with lost friends and family members to believe the good news that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ not counting men's sins against them. That verse continues: and He has committed to us the message of reconciliation [2 Corinthians 5:19].
I am compelled by truth at this point to earnestly press the plea with you who have never believed, you who somehow hesitate to humble yourselves before God as you repent and believe this Good News. This day may be a day of grace for you if you will but heed the message of life. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says,
“In the time of my favour I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.”
I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation [2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2].
Nevertheless the comforting theme for the child of God remains that we who are born from above shall be the ones whom God calls out in this rapture. It is the whole of the redeemed of God who shall anticipate acceptance and glory from Him whose right it is to call. I draw your careful and considered attention to one significant word in the Thessalonian text. Paul says it is we who are still alive and are left [who] will be caught up together with [those resurrected]. That one word, together, is so important to our understanding of the plan of God. No one of us can claim or anticipate precedence in the kingdom of God. It is only together that Christ shall call His people out of this world. That together includes the redeemed of this age as we are resurrected with glorified bodies and it includes the living saints who shall be transformed into Christ’s likeness.
Promise Of the Rapture — And so we will be with the lord forever. Ours is a world which is filled with and characterised by sorrow and grief, and because we are Christians does not mean that we are spared injury. In fact because we are Christians may mean that we can anticipate assault, sorrows and woes. Yet, I would urge you to recall the promise of the Psalmist in Psalm 34:19:
A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all.”
.hw`hy+ WNl#yX!y~ <L*K%m!W qyD!x^ twu)r* twB)r^
The Hebrew word translated troubles speaks of disasters, of miseries, of the effects resulting from the intent to harm another. A more literal translation of that first clause reads: Many are the sorrows of the righteous. Is it not strange that the promise of deliverance occurs only in the context of troubles? A little thought on this matter would in fact remind us that were there no troubles there would be no need of deliverance! Underscore in your mind this one great truth: deliverance occurs only in the context of trouble.
Now what has this to do with the message for this day? Do you recall where the passages we have studied during the previous messages began? Brothers, we do not want you … to grieve. These Thessalonian believers, the recipients and first readers of this letter, were hurting. It was in spite of severe suffering [that they] welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit [1:6]. Despite the fact that they had suffered from [their] own countrymen hostile opposition and abuse [2:14-16], they had nevertheless chosen to believe. It was precisely because they were hurting, in pain and questioning what was happening, that they needed a message of comfort.
When I hurt, whatever the source of my grief, I long to receive a message of comfort, as do you. The message of comfort delivered by most people, themselves usually friends who are no doubt well-meaning in their intentions, is one which is tied to this earth. The attempt to comfort is frequently couched in terms identified with time and thus is transitory, temporary, ephemeral.
Attempts to comfort too often speak to my flesh, being perhaps a message of retaliation, or a mere hope of momentary relief, or other such message which can have no lasting impact. We are creatures of this earth and it is natural that our message of comfort should reflect that association. Yet the message of this earth is at best transient and destined to dust! The comfort each of us longs for is that which is eternal and that which is eternal can flow only from Him who is eternal. The comfort I require when under pressure is the comfort reminding me that I am not living for the moment but for eternity. That is what Paul did and that is what we must do if we would make an impact in the life of those who truly experience pressures and who are pressed out of measure.
I am not blind to the requirements of this life. A Christian ought to be a good citizen, a reliable worker, an honest neighbour. I caution you who are children of God, and that includes the most of us, that we must hold the baubles and accoutrements of this life lightly even as we remain focused on the promise of God. We who profess the Faith of Christ are responsible to do good, to participate honourably in the life of our world, always glorifying Christ who has called us to life. I caution that we are to be careful not to be compromised by the world or to become enmeshed in the cares of this world to the point that we forget that we are destined by grace to live in eternity.
Sorrows and grief, the trials and testing of the moment, the pressures and strains of this life, all have the tendency to focus our attention on the fleeting moment we call life. In such times we need a friend who will remind us of the promise that this life is fleeting and momentary. We need one to remind us that each generation since the Cross must live in light of the promise that we who are alive and are left will be caught up together with [the resurrected saints] to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. There is comfort enough to last forever in that promise.
I do not believe in using the church as my “bully pulpit”. I have not done so during the years of my ministry, nor do I intend to begin to do so now. You are well aware that Lynda and I are passing through our own private grief at the moment, and it is difficult to bear. Perhaps I would lash out in frustration and pain were it not for this one conviction: this moment we call life, with all its attendant grief and pain, does not sum up the plan of God. Included among the multiplied expressions of comfort and encouragement we have received are the repeated promise of fellow Christians that they are praying for us, asking that God supply strength and courage and wisdom. A number of our dear friends have pointed us to God’s grace, reminding us again and again of the promise of God concerning the unequal exchange of time for eternity which is ours. Recall the words the Apostle penned to redirect the gaze of saints in distress two millennia past. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us [Romans 8:18]. This is comfort indeed!
Do you possess such comfort? The message today is a message to encourage believers to look forward to the fulfilment of the sure promise of God. That promise is limited to those who have been born from above through faith in Christ as Lord. That offer of grace is extended to all who believe the message of grace. Listen to these words from God which direct us into life itself. [I]f you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved… “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13]. Each of us who are Christians urge you who are outside the Faith to believe this good news today. Amen.