Getting Caught Up
Return of the King: Week 3
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58; Revelation 20:4-5
For the past two weeks we’ve been learning about Jesus’ Second Coming. In Revelation 22, He said He would be coming, and coming soon.
What Jesus’ second coming is supposed to do for us as HIS followers is give us something to look forward to.
Example-
Do you know what December 11th of this year represents?
My nursing school graduation. 222 days and a wake up.
I’ve been in the process for three years, and hopefully if I can pass my finals in a few weeks, December 11th will be the day I get to look forward to finally being a registered nurse.
All the sleepless nights, all the stress, all the work will finally be worth it.
I want you to stop for a moment and think about something you are looking forward to or have longed for in life and finally got to experience it or have it.
Pause. Remember that feeling of finally getting there or getting what you wanted? (soldiers coming home, pregnant moms finally birthing their babies, kids graduating high school and leaving home)
On of the wondrous abilities God gave us as humans is the capacity to think about the future. To look forward. To anticipate things that are coming.
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.
Here’s what he says:
The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are still 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. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
Prayer
Do you remember jumping? After my parents split up, the money was gone, and I spent a few of my teen years living in what would politely call an economically disadvantaged area. The wrong side of the tracks.
In other words, I was a boy in the hood.
In the hood, there was really only one game to play, and that was basketball.
Now, being short, and not particularly good at shooting baskets, I was the last person to get picked to play when we had game. A lot of my friends who were much taller than I was, could jump high enough to actually dunk on me, which they did a lot- jump almost right over me and slam the ball down through the hoop.
If you get dunked on, it was the ultimate “In your Face!” move.
I used to dream of being able to jump that high and dunking on people.
Imagine being able to slam dunk a basketball. Can anyone here do it?
Now imagine without any effort on your part- floating upward.
That’s what will happen at the moment of Jesus’ return. We will be “caught up.” The word in the original language means to be seized or snatched up with a sudden swoop.
But we still may have a little time left.
Friend, between now and then, you and I are going to go through many days where it feels like the coming of winter. After that most wonderful time of the year, known as deer hunting season, when the temperature gets colder and our days get shorter.
But, God gave us this promise, to get us through this time to look forward to so we can live in hope and anticipation.
So, during this third installment of our “Return of the King” series, I want to walk you through a timeline leading up to the minute of Christ’s return.
- And I want to show you what that return will be like,
- and how you’ll experience it if it happens while you’re still alive.
- And I want to show you on the timeline of history, when most Biblical scholars think that moment will happen.
Message Premise-
Even though we are dealing with the end times, and that can be kind of frightening to think about- Jesus tells us to look forward in anticipation to these times, because HE WINS, and therefore, WE WIN.
Keep that in mind as we continue because 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 exact 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.
Let me walk you through these three events briefly and quickly.
I’m going to show you why you can trust biblical prophecy.
The Three Time Periods at the End of Days
The last seven years of life on Planet Earth as we now know it will be what the Bible calls…
1. The Tribulation – Read about it in Matthew 24:29; Daniel 9:24-27
Matthew 24:29 says, “Immediately after the distress of those days…” Matthew 24:29a
The word, “distress” means “tribulation.”
If the book of Revelation is the roadmap to our future, the Old Testament book of Daniel is it’s commentary, legend, or key to understanding it. Just like a map has a corner that tells you scale, and what the symbols all mean, Daniel really explains Revelation.
The Prophet Daniel first described the Tribulation period way back in 600 B.C., or about 700 years before John saw the Revelation.
We are going to be using some numbers to keep track of years, so pay attention because this is all completely accurate.
Daniel says,
Daniel 9:24
Seventy weeks are decreed about your people (the Jews) and your holy city—
Two points- biblical prophecy ALWAYS centers around Israel and the Jews
Second point-
In Hebrew language and thinking, they always start with the truth statement, and then everything that follows is the support of that statement.
Here is the support
to bring the rebellion to an end,
to put a stop to sin,
to atone for iniquity,
to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal up vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the most holy place.
In Aramaic- the language of the book of Daniel, the word, “weeks” literally means, “sevens.” Daniel is saying, God is going to do some transforming work in the Jewish people for a period of seventy “sevens.”
Follow along and we’ll do some math with the next few verses.
25 Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree
to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an Anointed One, the ruler, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.
It will be rebuilt with a plaza and a moat, but in difficult times.
Seven sevens + sixty-two sevens. Let’s chart these in history (secular history agrees with this BTW)
Following the Babylonian exile of the Jews, Artaxerxes decreed that Nehemiah should return to Jerusalem and rebuild it. In the book of Nehemiah, he and the people rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem in a miraculous 56 days. But rebuilding the rest of the city took 49 years.
So here’s the math:
7 x 7 = 49 (years)
Artaxerxes issued his decree in 457 B.C.
Daniel continues:
26 After those sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing.
Daniel 9:26a
This is the prediction of Messiah’s first coming and death.
The decree in 457 B.C. + 49y to finish the rebuilding = 408 B.C. (remember, BC is a negative number)
62 x 7 = 434 (years)
408 B.C. + 434 = 26 A.D.
Which is the time Jesus began His public ministry.
Daniel predicts the coming Messiah, then goes on to say-
The people of the coming ruler will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come with a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations are decreed.
Daniel 9:26b
The coming ruler was the Roman Emperor Titus, who destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its sanctuary in 70 A.D.
There is one “seven,” not accounted for yet: We are only at 69 7’s at this point.
But Daniel said in v. 24 that 70 weeks were decreed for God to deal with His people.
What happened to the 70th week?
That is reserved for another ruler. A ruler who has yet to come. We know this coming ruler as the Antichrist.
We will know him when he does the following-
27 He will make a firm covenant with many for one week (7 years)…
Daniel 9:27a
One week , or one “seven,” is seven years. –
This is how we know the Tribulation will last seven years. Daniel told us so 2,500 years ago. Remember I said Daniel is the commentary for Revelation
To complete the prophecy, Daniel says:
but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering. And the abomination of desolation will be on a wing of the temple until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”
Daniel 9:27
“The middle of the week,” means “the middle of the seven.” Half of 7 is 3 ½. 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 ½ year mark, the Antichrist stops people from worshiping and desecrates the Temple.
We’ll cover the Tribulation in detail next weekend.
I bring all of this up to show you that you can trust the bible and it’s accuracy concerning the end times.
Therefore, you can also trust what the bible says abou the second coming of Jesus.
I mentioned in the beginning- we have some incredible things to look forward to- here is what has been called the blessed hope of the Christian.
So now let’s get to the Great Catching Up, or 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?
Three passages in the New Testament describe it for us.
One of them is 1 Thessalonians 4. We read a snippet of this in theh beginning, but now I’ll read the whole passage. This is a very familiar verse to some, but I’ll read it because if you are a Christian, this should be something we should be looking forward to more than anything in life!
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are still 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. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
God wants you to know about His return, and the moment of His return. He doesn’t “want you to be uniformed.”
What Will the Return Be Like?
Well, the first thing we learn from verse 16 is:
1. The Lord will descend. 1 Thessalonians 4:16a
Jesus comes down in the clouds. Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven. At that point, the disciples are staring at the clouds and an angel tells them,
Acts 1“Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.
"Someday soon, He’s going to descend back toward the earth.
At that time, He’ll give a loud command after which the Archangel will verbally summon all believers who have died and are waiting in the temporary heaven for a new physical body.
As the archangel commands these dead believers to arise, [he’ll]…
2. The Archangel will summon all believers & blow his trumpet. 1 Thessalonians 16b
At that sound,
3. The dead in Christ will rise. 1 Thessalonians 4:16c
Similar to the way Jesus rose on Easter.
Those who are dead will have a physical bodies that are like, but not exactly like, their previous bodies. When Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples on the road to Emmaus didn’t recognize Him at first, but they did recognize Him eventually.
An instant after all dead believers assemble above their resting places…
4. The alive in Christ will rise. 1 Thessalonians 17a
And join them in the great ascension upward.
You won’t need a Superman cape or an Iron Man suit, God will suspend gravitational laws for us so that we ascend like Jesus ascended 2,000 years ago.
Within less than a second,
5. We will meet Jesus in the clouds. 1 Thessalonians 17b
6.
In Roman times, when a general conquered a city, he didn’t enter it immediately. He assembled his entourage outside the city and waited for the villagers to come out and meet him, a mile outside the city, and accompany him back into their city, welcoming him as their new lord and king.
That’s the picture God is painting for us here.
Now, what will we be like in eternity?
Do we still have aches and pains,
bad breath,
body odor
Bifocals
hair growing where we don’t want it to grow or not growing where we want it?
Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 15 is the second Scripture that covers Jesus’ return.
Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will 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 incorruptible, and we will be changed. 53 For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. 54 When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:
Death has been swallowed up in victory.
55 Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting?
Paul describes what will happen to all believers during our trip upward to meet Jesus in the air. He says twice,
7. We will all be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:52
We will be changed instantly. In the twinkling of an eye.
Follow this for a minute. 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. [snap your finger.] That’s how fast we will be changed.
One minute, dead. 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.
But wait, there’s more!
When you read 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.
Does that sound like something you can look forward to?
The third passage that covers our condition at Christ’s return is Revelation chapter 20.
We’ve already read the passage, but here it is again:
They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Revelation 20:4b-5
All believers who have died will be resurrected at Christ’s return. If you’re still alive when this happens, this will be the first moment you will see your deceased loved ones again. Right there, hanging out together in the air. An eternal reunion in the clouds.
So when is this magnificent moment going to happen?
When Will the Return Take Place?
There are three popular answers to this.
One group of Bible-believing Christians believe in what is called
1. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture
This group believes that Jesus will return twice: once 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.
This is by and large what our fellowship, the Assemblies of God, teaches us.
A second group of Bible-believing Christians believe in
2. The Mid-Tribulation Rapture
This group believes that Christians will go through the relatively-mild first 3½ 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 ½ 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.
While I still 80% believe that the rapture will take place at the beginning of the tribulation, I kind of hold the door open for this option. The reason is our two examples of God removing his people before a complete and utter destruction and judgment are Noah’s flood and Sodom and Gomorrah. The bowl judgments which begin after the antichrist commits the abomination that causes desolation- slaughtering a pig in the holiest of holies in the temple, and forcing people to take the Mark and worship him. That’s when God’s wrath will lose any mercy and be poured out on the antichrist and his followers.
So, I leave that door open a little for that reason.
And a third group of Bible-believing Christians believe in
3. The Post-Tribulation Rapture
This view believes we will be protected in the midst of God’s judgment, just as Jesus prayed in John 17:15, where He said,
I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. John 17:15
I don’t hold to this at all, only because God has always before judgment removed his people, and I don’t see HIM changing that for the final 3.5 year of the tribulation.
In one of the examples of God’s total judgment that we spoke of, Sodom and Gomorrah, the father of our faith Abraham makes this argument to God about destroying a city that might have righteous people in it-
Genesis 18:25
Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
God actually agreed with that and apparently instructed the angels sent to destroy the cities to allow Lot and his family to flee the destruction.
Because of that, I believe we have an incredible future to look forward to in Christ.
He WILL save us from the coming wrath.
But, it’s only for people who have surrendered to HIM and made HIM LORD, God, Savior, and KING.
If you do not meet him in the clouds as your savior, you will meet him at the white throne as your judge.
There are only two options- don’t delay your decision to follow Jesus.
All rise- salvation call Salvation call
