"Immediately After The Rapture - The Saved"

“Immediately After The Rapture – The SAVED”

INTRODUCTION: Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-53

One day, a great event is going to take place … the RAPTURE of the Church. Jesus Christ will return, and take His Church … His Bride … all the saved … back home to be with Him forever. It could happen at any moment. Everything has been fulfilled … nothing stands in His way. It is the next great event on God’s prophetic calendar. One day, the last person to be saved before the Rapture … will be saved. His Body will be complete.

Did you ever think what it will be like … for us … the Christians … when Jesus finally comes in the Rapture?

• MAYBE … you will be in Church … Sunday School, Sunday morning, Evening, or Wednesday night.

• MAYBE … you will WISH you had been in Church!

• MAYBE … you will be asleep … OR … asleep in church!

• MAYBE … you will be watching TV … or driving down the highway.

INSTANTLY … you will be gone! Your clothes will be left behind. Your lost friends and lost family members will be left behind. In the twinkling of an eye, you will be CHANGED.

TONIGHT … we will look at what will happen for those who are left behind. This morning, we will take a look at what it will be like for us … immediately after the Rapture.

The Bible tells us what it will be like … for the Christian … immediately after the Rapture. Don’t you want to know? You’ll find out during the next 30 minutes.

Turn to Revelation 1:19. The Book of Revelation is divided up into 3 SECTIONS.

1.- That Which He Had Seen (1:9-18). John heard a voice, turned around, and saw Christ in the middle of 7 golden lampstands.

2.- That Which Are (Chapters 2-3). Here, John is given a message from Jesus for the 7 churches in Asia. These churches represent the Church Age. AND … we see the same characteristics in the church even today.

3.- That Which Should Be Hereafter (Chapters 4-end of the book).

Turn to Revelation 4:1. Here, John sees, in his vision, the Rapture of the Church.

What’s the FIRST THING you will notice when the Rapture takes place? You will hear a voice, like a trumpet, saying “Come up hither”. NOW, I don’t think Jesus will speak King James English. If He did, those in other countries wouldn’t be able to understand what He is saying. Everyone who is raptured, will clearly understand what He’s saying. Those of us in the South will probably hear “Y’all come!”

What does a “voice of a trumpet” sound like? I don’t have a clue … BUT … I’m sure it will be a voice like you’ve never heard before. It will be distinctive. You’ll know it when you hear it. The Bible mentions this several times.

• 1 Thes. 4:16 – “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”

• 1 Cor. 15:52 – “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Instead of looking for SIGNS … we should be listening for SOUNDS … AMEN?

The door to Heaven will be opened – 4:1. Jesus said, in John 10:9, “I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved …” When you put your faith and trust in Jesus to save you, Jesus put you on the launching pad. You will go through this open door like a guided missile.

What did John see next? ANSWER: The same thing YOU will see when you enter that door of Heaven.

4:2 – John wasn’t concerned about where Cain got his wife … OR … what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was … OR … who wrote the book of Hebrews. His attention was drawn toward the Throne in Heaven … AND … the One who sat on the Throne. THIS will be the center of attraction in Heaven. THIS will be our focal point. THIS will be our desire for eternity … the THRONE in Heaven. WHO was on that Throne?

4:3 – John couldn’t distinguish any form of a PERSON on the Throne … ONLY … a brilliance and brightness of God’s majesty. WHY? BECAUSE … God is a SPIRIT. HOWEVER … He does see some people around God’s Throne.

4:4 – John sees 24 thrones sitting around God’s Throne. On these 24 thrones, he sees 24 elders. WHO ARE THESE 24 ELDERS? They represent the CHURCH … they represent YOU & ME … CHRISTIANS who have been raptured. John’s vision occurred in 96 AD. We weren’t there yet. SO … he sees these 24 elders represent ting US. They represent all those who were saved from Pentecost to the Rapture.