Last Things 6 - The Rapture of the Church and The Great Tribulation
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Psalm 40:1–3 (ESV)
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left 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 cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, 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 encourage one another with these words.
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
Introduction
Last time I spoke about the Rapture of the Church and The Great Tribulation and said that I would loom at these in more detail. Today it will be about the Rapture. By rapture I mean the teaching of the Pre-Millenniumists that there will be a secret rapture of believers being taken up to heaven prior to the Great Tribulation which will last for seven years ending with the bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is important that we do this as we must always as Paul says:-
2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV)
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
God has given his word for ordinary people. It is not a matter of intellect but the indwelling of the Spirit who reveals the word to us. We may have to work at it but we will be rewarded.
15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.
The Scriptures are our final authority.
Slide
Comfort
Be Ready
1. Comfort 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
1. Comfort 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Slide
a. Do Not Grieve v13
a. Do Not Grieve v13
Slide
1 Thessalonians 4:13 (ESV)
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
Slide
b. Our Certain Hope v14-15
b. Our Certain Hope v14-15
Slide
1 Thessalonians 4:14–15 (ESV)
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
Slide
c. The Coming of the Lord v16-17
c. The Coming of the Lord v16-17
Slide
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, 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.
i. The Lord Will Descend v16
i. The Lord Will Descend v16
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
ii. Resurrection and Rapture v17
ii. Resurrection and Rapture v17
Slide
1 Thessalonians 4:17 (ESV)
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, 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.
Matthew 25:5–6 (ESV)
5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
Acts 28:14–15 (ESV)
14 There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15 And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.
iii. Be With the Lord v17
iii. Be With the Lord v17
Slide
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, 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.
When the Roman armies had been victorious they would return to Rome in triumph. Initially they would camp outside the city and send a messenger to the Senate to say they were ready to enter the city. A triumphal arch would be erected and arrangements made for the army to be welcomed. When the day arrived they would march into the city, led by their commander. who would be presented to Caesar. Everyone would be ready to greet them, at the sounding of a trumpet others would go out to meet them and accompany them into the city.
Paul has this in mind.
d. Be Encouraged v18
d. Be Encouraged v18
Slide
1 Thessalonians 4:18 (ESV)
18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
2. Be Ready
2. Be Ready
a. Stay Awake - Matthew 24:42
a. Stay Awake - Matthew 24:42
Slide
Matthew 24:36–42 (ESV)
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming
44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
b. Be Faithful
b. Be Faithful
Slide
1 Corinthians 3:13 (ESV)
13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Conclusion
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.