There's More to Come: What are we waiting for?

Rapture, Reign and Restoration

Good morning and welcome. In week one we looked at different views on the end times and how they help shape how we live out or lives as believers and ultimately that we are united by the fact that Christ is returning and that he is returning to make all things new and that fact should help us unite as believers despite the distinctions we hold to. Ultimately, we hold to the same hope. The following week Priscilla spoke on the waiting. What it looks like to wait and what we’re instructed to do, or be, as wait. Kind of this idea of serving God and his peopple as we wait for Jesus’ return. This week I want us to consider what it is we’re waiting for: The rapture, reign and restoration.

Revelation 7:9–10 ESV

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Priscilla spoke on her own pregnancy and the excited anxiousness experienced during that time. Reflecting what scripture teaches us about the end times in 1 Thessalonians 5 , Though we can’t pinpoint exactly when the child is coming, we wait expectantly for this amazing gift. So what are some of these gifts?

Rapture

I don’t know about you guys, but I have always been super vague about what I know about end times and the different prophecies or events to come. One of which is the Rapture. I remember that years ago Leo, Marcos’ brother for those that don’t know, he asked me when I thought it was gonna happen, Pre-tribulation or post? I had no answer. Side note: It’s okay if you don’t know the answer tho someting, better to say that you don’t know than act like you do, that’s called lying.

I always kind of imagined the rapture happening in different weird ways. One was how the Left behind set it up. another was recently while watching infinity war. I imagine it like that, Minus the ash and death. But I will say this, they totally ripped that off from the bible. Though we don’t know when it’ll happen or the specifics of will happen after to world we live in now, we do know that Christ is returning for His church.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV

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. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 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. 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. 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. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

The concept of a “rapture” refers to the eschatological event of both dead and living believers being “caught up” (1Thes. 4:17) together in a moment “in the twinkling of an eye” (1Cor. 15:52) to meet Jesus in the air. The term “rapture” comes from the Latin Vulgate’s use of the word rapiõ meaning “to seize, snatch away,” which is equivalent to the meaning of the Greek word harpazõ in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (“caught up”). The rapture, then, relates to the hope of the resurrection of all believers who have died and the simultaneous transformation into a glorified body for believers who are still alive at the return of Jesus. While the resurrection of believers is a long-established doctrine in the Christian faith and is firmly rooted in scripture, the specific terminology of a rapture came into popular parlance in the nineteenth century with the rise of Premillennialism and Dispensational theology.

Allan S. Bandy

It isn’t really argued whether or not the Rapture will happen, but when in all the sequences it will happen.

Four base views are:

Pre-Tribulation Rapture: This view maintains the rapture occurs when Jesus comes secretly to gather the church prior a seven-year Great Tribulation that precedes the return of Christ to earth.

Mid-Tribulation Rapture: This is similar to the pre-tribulation view except that it locates the rapture after the first three-and-half years at the point when the Anti-Christ assumes power.

Pre-Wrath Rapture: This position argues that the rapture will occur toward the end of the tribulation before the outpouring of God’s wrath with the bowl judgments (Rev. 16) prior to the return of Christ.

Post-Tribulation: This view sees the rapture as occurring simultaneous to the return of Christ at the end of the Tribulation.

Wherever you sit on this spectrum the core, orthodox, center belief is twofold, that we will be resurrected and that Christ is coming back for His church, his bride.

Reign and Restoration

That Leads me to my next point, Jesus reigns now and will return to reign visibly and eternally-restoring creation and believers.

Revelation 21:1–4 ESV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

When Jesus returns he will put all things right, restoring creation to its garden state. Right now we’re in stage one of restoration. What is that you might ask? That is the spiritual restoration.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB95

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

So, in this stage we are made new spiritually. Some times the context is pushed to the point where people believe that they are physically restored, and that is not always the fact. Something we’ve been talking about on Wednesdays is this idea of brokenness in the midst of spiritual restoration. Last week’s topic was addiction. Something that was made abundantly clear is that there is still so much pain experienced in this world, by Believer and unbeliever alike. Kind of like the way rain falls on the Jsut and unjust alike as a sign of common grace, likewise pain and difficulties plague us all. If you ask me, that should make us more compassionate. That should make us all the more eager to gather as believers and be encouraged then take that encouragement to the world and offer christ. Show them that it’s not about moral perfection, virtue signalling, but real change. Like what Pastor Nohan and Pastor Heraldez spoke on last week, we take this hope from here to out there and bring them in. Something that Onix said on wednesday that slayed me was this, “As easy as it is to find drugs, it should be that easy to find someone to guide us into the arms of christ.”

So as part one is going on, we await joyfuly expectant for part 2. As a reminder, when we go through advent as a church before christmas, historically, it wasn’t just about chirstmas, but about looking forward to christ returning. In the above verses we see why we look forward to it. Shoot, when we look around, watch the news, we see all the heartache and pain going on. As believers we can be reminded of the coming hope. Not just reminded, but as our pastors pointed out last week work with that hope on hearts. reach outside of these four walls, in the case here at Horeb like 6 or 7 walls, we have a weird shaped building. Gather and be strengthened and serve our community. I don’t have all the answers as to what that looks like, but there are people here with some amazing ideas.

We make this call to believers not to usher in the new kingdom, because only Jesus can do that, but to live expressively of the hope we have in christ as spiritually renewed people, waiting for the physical reign and restoration of it all.

Living Expectantly

A closing thought, We have advent every year that points us to think about the second coming of christ, Can you think of any other times during the year that we get to remember and celebrate the second coming? Easter is one. Another is this monthly Celebration of communion.

Jesus initiated it with his disciples as he instituted the new covenant,

Luke 22:14–20 ESV

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

And in 1 Corinthians we see the continuation of this and I love this last line:

1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

So as we celebrate the Lord’s Table today, or communion, I pray that we can be flooded with these images, Christ living for us, dying for us and His resurrection as a hope of the future to come.

In the supper I remember his eternal love,     boundless grace, infinite compassion,     agony, cross, redemption,   and receive assurance of pardon, adoption,     life, glory. As the outward elements nourish my body,   so may thy indwelling Spirit invigorate     my soul,   until that day when I hunger and thirst     no more,   and sit with Jesus at his heavenly feast.

Valley of Vision