Fellowship Bible Church - Mullica, Hill N.J.

Some Bible teachers have estimated that 1/3 of the Bible is prophetic. Major sections of the Bible have been dedicated to discussing what will happen in the end times.

The Bible goes to great pains to talk about:

· The future government of the world
· The rise of Anti-Christ and his methods
· The state of Israel during the end times
· The signs of the return of Jesus
· The resurrection and final judgement of unbelievers
· The reign of Christ on the planet

One respected theological seminary stated the following as the basis for admission into their school, and it possibly serves as a good discussion starter as to the irreducible minimum of agreement for believers today:

· the authority and inerrancy of Scripture
· the Trinity
· the full deity and humanity of Christ
· the spiritual lostness of the human race
· the substitutionary atonement and bodily resurrection of Christ
· salvation by faith alone in Christ alone
· the physical return of Christ

What exactly is the “Rapture” of the church?

The word “Rapture” is not found in the Bible.

But then again, neither are the words Trinity, atheist, divinity, incarnation, or monotheism.

The parallel passage that speaks about the Rapture is found in @1 Corinthians 15:51-53:

“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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 shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”

When Paul uses this word “mystery” in his writings it simply refers to new truth that had not been revealed in the Old Testament:

· The first coming of the Messiah was not a mystery – it has been revealed in the Old Testament.
· The second coming of the Messiah was not a mystery – it had been revealed in the OT.
· The Day of the Lord and the Tribulation period – it was revealed in the Old Testament, so not a mystery.
· The Anti-Christ – Daniel and the prophets spoke about him, so not a mystery.

But, the Rapture of the church was – it had not been previously revealed.

The Rapture was alluded to by Jesus in John 14:1-3…

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”

Sleeping V13 (“…do not be uninformed, brothers…about those who are asleep…”)

The metaphor that Paul uses to explain believers who have died before the return of Christ is “sleeping”. It’s an appropriate metaphor. The believer who has died physically is not literally sleeping – in fact, the believer who has died is more alive than you or I right now. But their bodies are in the ground, laying in waiting to be resurrected.

The Scripture is clear that the moment a believer dies physically their spirit is with the Lord: “…absent from the body, present with the Lord.” (2 Cor. 5:8).

So, if you’re a believer, and you were to die today, your spirit would be with Christ the moment your spirit leaves your body.

Why was Paul telling the Thessalonians this? “…that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” (v13) Though these believers were now passing away, and the church community was grieving, Paul was providing hope in their grief, unlike unbelievers who have no hope in eternal life.

But what is the basis of the Christian’s hope?

V14: “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

The hope of eternal life for the believer is pinned on the irrefutable proof of the resurrection of Jesus 2,000 years ago. Since Christ has risen from the dead – those who are in Christ will also be raised.

Waiting v15 & 16. (“…we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.”)

Here Paul gives further comfort to those who had lost believers. Believers who are alive when Christ comes in the air will be swept off of the ground to meet the Lord in the air. But they do not go first.Believer’s bodies who are in the ground are swept up first, followed by those of us who are alive.

Descending (“For the Lord himself will descend…”)

·A Shout
·An archangel will shout
·The Sound of the Trumpet of God (trumpets had numerous usages in Scripture).

Meeting (“…caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…”)

The language here seems to be different than the depictions of the Lord’s coming in the book of Daniel, and there is no judgment associated with the Rapture. It’s simply an event to remove the Christians from the planet.

As we mentioned the word “rapture” is from the Latin word rapturo, which is from the words here in the text “caught up”.

How did Paul wrap up this section?

“Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

One might say, “Is Jesus really coming back?” Look at how Peter answered that:

“Above 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 ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
(2 Peter 3:3-4)

What will the Lord find when He comes back?

“However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” – Jesus (Luke 18:8)