Getting Caught Up
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I hope you have been able to follow along with what we have been talking about for the last couple of weeks. The main thing that you need to understand is that Jesus is coming soon. We do not know when but we do know it will be soon. We all have to be ready and we have to proclaim the good news of Jesus.
Today, we want to begin looking at some events that haven’t happened yet. These are events that we are anticipating.
How many of you like Christmas?
My most favorite time of the year is fall. I look forward to fall. I love when the leaves start changing. I love the 60 and 70 degree weather. I love football. All of these things are associated with fall, but I love Christmas. And I think that is also a reason why I like fall so much is because that is the season that precedes Christmas. And it is during the fall that I begin to anticipate the coming of Christmas.
Looking forward to something really good can get you through some really bad times. This may be why God tells us so much and so often what His coming back will be like. The Bible says that on the day Jesus returns, all of us who know him are going to be all caught up in it. That’s the phrase Paul uses to describe what happens to humans when Jesus returns: we get caught up.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
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.
18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Between now and then, we are going to go through days where it feels like things are getting tougher and tougher and days are going to get rougher. But we have this moment of hope to look forward to. And we can anticipate the day that Jesus returns to get his people.
Today I want to walk you through some events that I believe will happen after the rapture takes place. We are going to take a little bit about the rapture. I will also point out the different view points about the rapture. In order to understand what the return of Christ will be like, it’s helpful to understand when His return will be. We learned a few weeks ago that no one knows the day nor the hour. But we can place the when within the timeframe of the three major time periods that will take place during the last days.
There are 3 major events that will take place after the rapture of the church happens. Let’s walk through those briefly.
1. The Tribulation
1. The Tribulation
The Prophet Daniel first described the Tribulation period way back in 600 B.C. Go with me to the book of Daniel, chapter 9.
24 “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
The word translated “sevens” means a unit of seven years. Daniel is saying God is going to do some transforming work in the Jewish people for a period of seventy “sevens.” Now look at verse 25.
25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
It was during this time that God revealed to Daniel that 69 periods of sevens would occur between the time of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. If you take 69 and multiply it by 7, you get 483 years. We believe that it began in 457 B.C., when Ezra returned and began rebuilding the city. That would bring the 483 years to an end in A.D. 27, about the time Jesus began his ministry.
Let’s continue at verse 26.
26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.
After the “seven ‘sevens’” and after “the sixty-two ‘sevens,’” — a total of 69 “sevens” or 483 years—two things would happen: 1. The Messiah would be “cut off,” referring to Jesus’ death on the cross. 2. The “people of the ruler who will come” would destroy Jerusalem and the temple. The “people” are the Roman army, which destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70; the “ruler” refers to the end-time antichrist.
Notice that Jerusalem’s destruction did not come immediately after Christ’s crucifixion. That means there is a gap, or interval of time, between the conclusion of the 69 “sevens” and the beginning 70th “seven.” Many interpreters say that the church age, which began after Jesus left earth and sent the Holy Spirit to empower his followers and ending at the rapture of the church, when his followers will suddenly be taken from the world is the interval between the 69th and 70th “seven.”
Daniel speaks of the antichrist in Daniel 9:27
27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”
The making of a covenant between “the ruler who will come” and Israel will signal the beginning of the 70th “seven” —the final seven years of this age.
This is how we know the Tribulation will last seven years. Daniel told us so 2,500 years ago.
When he says, “in the middle of the ‘seven’. We know that he means half of the 7 years, which is 3 1/2. So, the final seven years of planet Earth as we know it will be a time of Tribulation. The second half of the Tribulation is known as the “Great Tribulation,” because at the 3 1/2 year mark, the Antichrist stops people from worshiping and desecrates the Temple.
We will go more in details next week.
Following these seven years of Tribulation will come a new era on the earth. An era like none before. It’s called...
2. The Millennium
2. The Millennium
Millennium is Latin for “1,000.” When Jesus returns, He will rule on the Earth for 1,000 years. Speaking of all the believers in history who died before Jesus’ second coming, Revelation 20 says,
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
At the climax of the Tribulation, Jesus will return from heaven, riding on a white horse, accompanied by the hosts of heaven, and He will end the war of Armageddon and bring peace to the world for 1,000 years.
The Millennium will be an incredible time to be alive. We will look at it in two weeks. And following this 1,000 year reign of Christ on the earth will come the final era, or what is called the “eternal state” of our universe.
3. The New Creation
3. The New Creation
At the end of Jesus’ 1,000 years on earth, He will release Satan from his temporary imprisonment and once more Satan will lead a rebellion, only this time, it will be with the unsaved sons of men. At that point, God will decree that our planet has run its course and replace it with the New Creation.
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
We will cover the New Creation on the last week of this series.
So, now let’s look at the Rapture of the church. One day Jesus is going to burst forth from the clouds in glory. What will that be like for us?
There are 2 passages of scripture that talk about this event. One is found in 1 Thessalonians 4.
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.
14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
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.
18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
God wants you to know about his return, and the moment of His return. He doesn’t want you to be uninformed.
What will it be like?
What will it be like?
Just prior to the rapture, as Christ is descending from heaven for his church, the resurrection of the “dead in Christ” will occur. This is not the same resurrection described in Revelation 20:4, which is an event occuring after Christ returns to earth, destroys the forces of the antichrist and confines Satan to the bottomless pit. The resurrection in Revelation 20:4 relates to those who turned to Christ and died for their faith in him during the tribulation.
At the same time as the dead in Christ rise, followers of Christ who are alive on earth will be transformed, their bodies becoming imperishable and immortal. This will happen in an instant.
Both the resurrected Christians and those who are instantly transformed will be caught up together to meet Christ in the air. They will be visibly united with Christ, taken to heaven and reunited with loved ones who have died knowing Christ.
They will be removed from all suffering and distress, from all persecution and oppression and from the entire realm of sin and death. The rapture also rescues Jesus’ followers from “the coming wrath”—the great tribulation.
10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
The other passage of scripture that talks about this event is found in 1 Corinthians 15:51-58
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Paul says we will be changed. In the twinkling of an eye, changed instantly.
Think about this for a moment, There is about an inch distance between the front of your iris to the back of your retina. Light travels at 186,000 miles a second. At that speed, it takes about a 64th of a nanosecond to travel 1 inch. That’s how fast we will be changed.
One minute, the way you see yourself now. The next, boom! A resurrected body.
One minute, sad. The next, our tears will be wiped away for good.
One minute, in pain. The next, no more pain.
When you read about the post-resurrection accounts of Jesus’ body, He could manipulate His molecules to pass through walls. he could eat fish. He could travel over long distances instantaneously. That’s what our resurrected bodies will be like. When Jesus returns, we’ll get those bodies in a 64th of a nanosecond.
This is going to be an amazing event. One like never before in history.
When is this going to Happen?
When is this going to Happen?
There are 3 popular answers to this.
One group of believers, which I am one of, believes this will happen in what is called
1. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture
1. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture
We believe that Jesus will return at the beginning of the Tribulation, to take the saints out to heaven and spare us from this period of judgment and chaos while He judges the world.
A second group of believers believe in
2. The Mid-Tribulation Rapture
2. The Mid-Tribulation Rapture
This group believes that Christians will go through the relatively-mild first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation, but be taken out of the world when the Antichrist sets himself up as Lord in the Temple, at the 3 1/2 year point. So we will go through the first part of the Tribulation, but be spared from the Great Tribulation, when the wrath of God is poured out on the earth.
And a third group of believers believe in
3. The Post-Tribulation Rapture
3. The Post-Tribulation Rapture
This view believes we will be protected in the midst of God’s judgment.
Like I said though, I believe that God will take us out of here before he pours out his judgment on the earth.
Why do I believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture?
Why do I believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture?
The 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 passage is the most direct and clear teaching on the rapture in the New Testament. It speaks only of believers, living and dead. Nothing is said about the wicked seeing Christ at this time. Paul described Jesus as coming in the air, but nothing is said about His feet touching the earth, as we are told in Zechariah 14:4
4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.
There are passages which pertain to the Rapture that describe the coming of the Lord for His people. And there are passages which refer to the revelation of Christ that describe the coming of the Lord with His saints. Colossians 3:4
4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
This speaks of believers appearing with Christ at His coming. Jude 1:14
14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones
This verse forsees the Lord’s return with His people to execute the judgment referred to in many other passages relating to His public appearing.
And since scripture does not contradict itself, it seems reasonable to conclude that the passages describing Christ’s coming for the saints and with the saints indicate two phases of his coming. So, I believe that it is scripturally correct to assume that the intervening period between the two is the time when the world will experience the Great Tribulation, involving the reign of Antichrist and the outpouring of God’s wrath on the wicked.
Although God’s people may endure severe trials before the Lord comes, the Church will be raptured before the period called the Great Tribulation.
In 1 Thessalonians 5, the passage following the one on the rapture of the church, Paul taught about the Day of the Lord. He warned of the destruction it will bring to the wicked. And he was quick to assure Christians that those who abide in Christ will not be overtaken by it.
4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.
Still speaking of the Day of the Lord Paul wrote:
9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
It seems clear that he meant the deliverance of believers from the judgments of the Day of the Lord, including the Great Tribulation.
So, Jesus might return just before the second half of the Tribulation begins. That’s the Mid-Trib position. Or, He might return at the end of the Tribulation. That’s the Post-Trib position.
I believe that Jesus will return before the Tribulation. That is the Pre-Trib position.
All Bible-believing Christians agree that whatever we believe about the timing of the Rapture is not a doctrine to divide us or disqualify anyone from getting to heaven.
Don’t let this be something that causes division in the church.
Closing
So, let me take you back to the last verse of our text today.
18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
In whatever time Jesus returns, He is returning, and we should be encouraged because this is the ultimate great moment where we will meet Him face to face.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Keep serving the Lord, because He will reward you when He comes.
Jesus is coming back to claim us and change us and welcome us into an earthly kingdom under His rulership, and nothing and no one can stop Him.
One last thing, in Revelation 1, when John saw the resurrected Jesus as He is now, he said...
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
In Jesus’ first ministry on earth, Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He was gentle and meek. Today though, Jesus is the Lion of Judah! He is so magnificent, He took John’s breath away. John could not even stand in His presence.
That is the Jesus who is returning, and His return will be glorious! Every promise He makes to you in scripture will be as true during the Tribulation as it was at the time of your birth.