Each time we observe Communion, we read the passage in 1 CORINTHIANS 11 that tells us to eagerly look forward to the return of Christ. But nobody knows when that will be. Today, we will find out what we are supposed to do with that information.
Let me begin by telling you a story of a man who took his dog on a long road trip. At one stop for gas, he let his dog out of the car and he got the gas, paid for it, and drove off – forgetting the dog was out of the car.
What did the dog do when he saw his owner drive away? He went to the door of the gas station and laid down beside it, to wait for his owner. See, he didn’t understand where his owner had gone, and he had no idea when his owner would return, but he knew for a fact that his owner would return to get him. And that enabled the dog to wait patiently and faithfully for his beloved owner’s return.
This illustration is an excellent picture of our topic this morning, as we talk about End Time prophecies, specifically, the rapture of the church, Some of you are very familiar with these topics, but some of you may not be.
Many people either don’t understand what the Bible says about the Rapture, or are afraid of the things that they have heard. I’m hoping that I will be able to answer some of the questions you may have about what the Bible teaches about what is to come.
1. AN EXPLANATION OF THE RAPTURE
The first question that we are going to tackle this morning is: “What is the rapture?” The “rapture” of the church is probably one of the most compelling prophetic events in the Bible. And yet, some people claim that it is not taught in the Bible because you never actually find the word “rapture” in scripture.
This is a very poor argument, however. There are actually several words not found in the Bible that describe Christian doctrines which no one would argue are not taught in the Bible. For example, the word “Trinity” is never actual found in the text of the Holy Word, but very few people will tell you that the concept of the trinity or the 3-fold Godhead of Father, Son, and Spirit is not taught in the Bible.
The word homosexual is not found in the Bible, but the Bible clearly teaches that a man is forbidden to lie with another man as he lies with a woman. The meaning behind that teaching is pretty clear. In fact the Bible is often made simple enough that even fools can understand it. Just because the words trinity or homosexual don’t appear in the text, doesn’t mean the Bible is silent about these topics.
Likewise, the word rapture is not found in the actual text of the Bible. But that doesn’t mean that Scripture is silent about this subject. It actually describes the future event quite clearly.
It is taught in 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18, where the apostle Paul provides us with most of the available details. Let’s read this passage:
‘But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep [died], lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
‘For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
‘Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.’
To put it in simple terms, the rapture of the church is when believers will be taken out of the world to meet their Lord and Savior in the air. It is when Jesus comes to take His faithful home.
2. HOW WILL IT OCCUR?
The Bible says Jesus will return and call believers out of the world and unto Him.
. . . With A Trumpet and Shout
It says that there is a trumpet that is blown, and the Lord descends with a shout. So I think we can assume that we will hear both the trumpet and our Savior’s voice calling to us. But just who will hear it?
In John 10:3 it says the sheep will hear the voice of their Shepherd.
“…he calls his own by name and leads them out.”
. . . The Believers Who Have Already Died
Next, the passage tells us that the dead in Christ will rise first. This means everyone who was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, but has already died before the rapture takes place will be the first to join Christ in the air. Why? Someone once jokingly said that it was because they had six feet farther to travel. I think that God honors those who believe in Him, and those who have lived and died being faithful to Him will receive His first rewards of the Rapture. That, of course, is just my personal belief.
Where are the “dead in Christ” called from? We can assess that by what Jesus told the thief on the cross; that because he believed, he would see Jesus in Paradise that very day, the “dead in Christ” are waiting in Paradise.
Also, the parable of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man who both died. Lazarus, being the Godly man, was seen in Paradise in the arms of Abraham, by the evil rich man who was standing on the other side of the chasm in hell. We can ascertain by both accounts that when a believer dies, that believer transcends into Paradise, and will wait for Jesus to return to take them to Heaven as Jesus promised in JOHN 14:2 when He said He would go to His Father’s house and prepare a room for us there.
In 2 CORINTHIANS 5:8 we are taught that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Again, referencing Jesus’ statement to the thief that he would meet Jesus in Paradise, we can safely assume that when a believer dies, they go to be present with Jesus in Paradise.
In 1 CORINTHIANS 11:26, we are told that as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we do so eagerly looking forward to His return for us.
In any case these words assure us that we will be reunited with our Lord.
. . . The Believers Who Will Be Living At That Time
The bible states that those who are alive when the Rapture occurs will be caught up with them. Any person who has accepted Christ as their Savior, but has not experienced physical death at the time of the rapture will be taken out of this world. That means that some of us present here today may never have to experience physical death. Isn’t that an incredible thought?
It says that we will be caught up with the dead in the air. That means we will be visibly united with Christ and with our loved ones.
. . . To Meet Him In the Air
Notice also that Paul says we will meet them where? - In the air. When Christ returns to earth to rule and reign, He is going to physically put His feet on this earth and rule the kingdom that God has prepared for Him since before the world began. That event is what we call the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. But it should not be confused with the Rapture of the church, which we are talking about this morning.
At the Rapture, or the snatching away of believers, Christ calls us to meet Him in the air. He never sets foot on the earth. That’s how we know the rapture is not the same event as Christ’s Second Coming. We believers will see Him at the rapture of the church, but I’m not so sure the rest of the world will. Whereas at His Second Coming we are told, every knee shall bow before Him and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord.
. . . The Great Mystery
In 1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-52 Paul unveils a little bit more about this future event in what he calls a “mystery.”
‘Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed -- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.’
This “mystery” concerning the rapture of the Church and the transformation of believers was revealed primarily by the apostle Paul; it is not mentioned either in the Old Testament or by Jesus.
However, the man Enoch, in the Old Testament, provides an illustration of this transforming experience.
The Bible says in GENESIS 5:24 that –
“Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”
HEBREWS 11:5 explains this event even more clearly,
“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away…”
Enoch did not die. He was simply taken out of this world alive. One minute he was here. The next minute he was in paradise. He never experienced physical death.
A day is coming when all believers of Jesus Christ will be taken out of this world just like the Enoch. One second we will be here on earth in our physical bodies. The next second we will receive a new incorruptible body that will be made to fit our new home.
3. WHY DID GOD CHOOSE THE RAPTURE?
So, now that we know what the rapture is and what it looks like. Let’s try to understand why it is necessary. Why does the Bible teach that the Lord will rapture His church out of this world at a specific time in the future? Why doesn’t He rescue everyone else, too? I believe the answer to these questions can be found in several places in the Bible.
REVELATION 3:10 tells us,
“Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”
He will rescue those who have kept His law; who have kept His commands. We must remember that He alone is the Faithful, and He is faithful to those who have stood the test of faith in Him.
1 THESSALONIANS 1:10, tells us it is -
“…Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”
ROMANS 5:9,
“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”
God is a righteous and just God who will bring judgment upon those who reject Him and His Son; and will punish those who have disrespected His laws. It will not sneak up on us as He has let us know from the beginning that there will be a day of reckoning; a day when we will be held accountable for the decisions we have made. That time is what is known as the Tribulation Period - or the Time of Jacob’s trouble.
But just as He has promised to judge those who have rejected Him, He has also promised to save those who have accepted Him. The rapture of the church is His fulfilling that promise to His children. We read in these passages that He will save his children from the wrath to come.
He will take His faithful out of this earth before He sends his judgment upon it. But to understand it fully, we must go back to the book of GENESIS. In the beginning, God chose the nation of Israel as His people. They have had an on-again / off-again relationship with God, and throughout the Old Testament, God dealt with their sin.
In the New Testament, we find that God sent His Son, Jesus to the Jewish people to be their spiritual Savior, but they rejected Him as such. At that point, God’s focus turned towards the Gentiles. He elected Paul to be the preacher to them and God began saving them. That is the church age, and we are still in that age.
But God will one day turn His attention back to the Jewish people, and to do that, He will take the church out of the picture. That is the Rapture. From that point on for the next seven years, God will once again focus on the Jewish people primarily.
That is why the rapture of the church is necessary. And that is why, we should look for it with great expectation and thanksgiving. Because we won’t have to face the wrath of God that follows.
When Will the Rapture Take Place?
Jesus answers this question in MATTHEW 24:36:
‘No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.’
Did you catch that? No one knows not even the Son. Jesus Christ doesn’t even know when He is going to return. God will come for his Church suddenly at a time when we least expect it. For this reason, He instructs us to be ready, always prepared, and on guard for His coming. As those around us turn their backs on God, worshipping themselves, other gods, or false prophets instead, we should be looking up.
We should have our spiritual lives in order, so that we might escape what is to come. Especially as we are now witnessing the beginnings of birth pains, God reminds us that we need to be in prayer constantly so that we will not be led down a false path and miss His coming.
LUKE 21:34-36
“Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the cares of this life, and that day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on those who dwell on whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.
God felt it was so important for us to be alert and watchful for his coming that he reminded us over and over in several scriptures to be ready.
MATTHEW 24:42
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”
MATTHEW 24:44
“For the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”
MATTHEW 25:13
“Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”
It is for our benefit that God didn’t tell us the hour of His coming. It encourages us to live righteously as Christ may return any time, and it encourages believers to work diligently for the souls of friends, family, and the lost of this world. It reminds us that we have much work to do and may not have much time in which to do it. If there was ever a time to be an example, share your faith, and make sure that everyone you know has heard the name Jesus, it is now.
You know, many Christians are afraid to talk about the rapture of the church. Deep down they feel an excitement about the prospect of being snatched away in the twinkling of an eye to be with the Lord and Savior they love, worship, and have given their lives to. However, they fear being labeled or criticized for a hope that many through the ages have had; a hope that God fully intended for us to have.
God warned us against ignoring the hope that end-times prophecy gives us in 1 THESSALONIANS 5:19-22 when he said,
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast to what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”
There is a reason Christ warned his end-times followers 13 times in the New Testament to not be deceived, and to watch and be ready. He wanted us to be excited about His glorious appearing.
After the rapture of the Church, the tribulation will fall upon the Earth. For those of us who have received Christ and are prepared for His coming, we can shout for joy. The Lord has prepared a place for us and we will be with Him always.
Even though the study of End Time prophecy seems confusing at first glance, God tells us not to ignore it. Why? Because it is our future, our destiny, and it will help us get ready for that day. And whether we meet Jesus through the Rapture, or by our passing from this earth, it will happen at an unknown hour, and if we wait till then to get ready, it will be too late.
Where we go after this life is the most important part of our lives, therefore, it demands the highest amount of attention paid to it. May I suggest that we all understand that where we live tomorrow in eternity will depend strictly on the decisions we make today in this world?
PRAYER
