1. ONE TIME WORDS. There are a lot of them in the Bible.
• Words in the Hebrew or the Greek that are only used ONE TIME.
• Words like SEAM… in John 19:23. A one timer.
• OR UNSPEAKABLE in 2 Corinthians 9.15. A one timer.
• But NOT words like LOVE… it’s all over the Bible.
• OR GRACE… that’s all over too…
• NOT SIN, NOT BLOOD, NOT SALVATION, NOT GOD… they are used time and time again.
But there is a word that’s found only one time that I would like you to see… flip to 1 Corinthians 16:19ff
• Paul is signing off his first letter to the church and says…
• Did you see that word in v22? Maranatha? It’s a One TIMER!
• What does it mean? Literally, “Even So, Come Quickly” OR “The Lord cometh”.
THAT’S One WORD THAT BRINGS GOOD NEWS MY FRIENDS!
• Jesus is alive and He is coming soon! Are you ready?
• Over 300 times we’re reminded of this glorious truth!
• Maybe in Paul’s mind were the words of Jesus in John’s gospel.
John 14.1-3 1 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
This coming again by Jesus is Christ is known as the RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH. The RAPTURE?
• Talk about one time words, this is one of those words that isn’t even found once in the Bible. Some will say.
NOTE: As a matter of fact, there are those who dismiss the doctrine of the rapture altogether because they say, “the word isn’t even in the Bible”. WELL IT DEPENDS ON WHAT BIBLE YOU’RE USING.
• Look again at 1 Thess 4:17, “Caught Up”
• The word rapture is not in our English Bibles, but it’s right there in the Latin translations, “RAPTUS”
NOTE: The Greek Word for “CAUGHT UP” in 1 Thess. 4:17 is the word ‘HARPAZO’.
• It lit. means to be ‘taken by force’. It’s used 13 x’s in the NT.
• Catch up 4, take by force 3, catch away 2, pluck 2, catch, pull 1
• IT refers to that blessed event, Jesus returning for his church.
I. (4:16-17) What is the Rapture?
The rapture is that time when Jesus Christ will come without warning to take away His church from earth.
• We believe this will happen BEFORE the coming Great Tribulation period which we’ll get into in depth next week.
1. (16) Some will not die.
a. Let’s turn over to 1 Corinthians 15:50-53
b. We shall not all die, as Paul says here in v17, those who are alive and remain shall be ‘caught up’ or ‘snatched away’.
c. Those in the church who are alive at the rapture shall not die, but shall be changed! “Metamorphasized”
NOTE: There is a distinction made in the Bible between the RAPTURE of the church and the 2nd COMING of Jesus Christ.
• With the rapture, Jesus coming FOR His saints.
• In His 2nd Coming, Jesus is coming WITH His saints.
Jude 1:14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,
• With the rapture, Jesus comes in the CLOUDS. (v17)
• In His 2nd Coming, Jesus comes to the EARTH.
Zech 14.4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.
There is a 7 year period of time in between these 2 events.
• That 7 year time is known as the Great Tribulation Period.
• Jacob’s Trouble – Daniel’s 70th week.
• It’s a time of judgment that the earth has never seen.
Matthew 24.21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
2. SO What are the signs of the end times?
a. Remember, this section in 1 Thessalonians starts with v13.
b. He says in v13, I don’t want you to be ignorant…
• Four times in the bible we’re told to not be ignorant about a particular doctrine.
#1 – SPIRITUAL GIFTS: 1 Cor. 12.1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:
#2 – SATAN’S PLANS & STRATEGIES - 2 Cor. 2.11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
#3 – GOD’S HEART FOR ISRAEL - Romans 11.25-26 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
• And Here with the RAPTURE of the church.
• But these areas have proven to cause much strain & much pain in the church for 1000’s of years!
Matthew 25.13 "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
NOTE: Let’s flip over to 2 Timothy 3.1-9
1. (1) Know this… Perilous Times will come.
a. I’m sure many thought the last days had already come.
b. With Nero raging, and Christians being martyred. Hiding out. Gathering underground… surely this has got to be it.
c. But Paul points even further saying that it WILL get worse.
d. Timothy, maybe you’ll see it & be caught up in the rapture.
e. Be ready for it. Don’t let your guard down.
NOTE: I believe Paul lived as if the rapture would happen in His lifetime. That was his expectation, his hope!
• AND… I believe that it will happen in my lifetime!
• I look forward to seeing the Lord Jesus Christ return! Do You?
• Hold on a second… some say! Why are you always talking about the end times, the rapture, the return of Jesus Christ?!
• What if you’re wrong? What if you’re mistaken like the many men before you? Here’s THE key.
1 John 3.2-3 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
SO WHAT about those that thought He would return in their lifetimes and He didn’t?
• Even though He didn’t come as they thought, it impacted their lives so that they left a mark on history and helped to shape the work of the Lord beyond their lifetime.
APP: If you want to live a zealous, exciting, fulfilling kind of Christian life, then look for, eagerly expect the coming of the Lord!
• It will change YOU and everyone around you!
• But if you choose to say, ‘well you know Jesus didn’t come then, he’s not coming now…’. Then watch out.
• Your spiritual life will shrivel up… and soon die.
Paul says perilous times will come… ‘Fierce times, hard to bear, troublesome’… they’re coming. Guys… I believe we’re seeing them!
NOTE: These perilous times will usher in the rapture of the church and the coming judgment of this world during the Great Tribulation period. -- Let’s flip over to Matthew 24:36ff
1. (36-39) The time of the coming.
a. Mark, underline, circle v36! No ONE KNOWS.
b. SO the pamphlets, the emails, the books, the web sites.
c. DON’T RECEIVE THEM! No one knows…
BUT… We CAN know the times… The time surrounding the signs of the times will be similar to the time around Noah’s day.
• Business as usual. No problems. Let’s buy & sell.
• Why are you building that thing? Rain? What’s rain?!
• Mocking. Disbelief. Arguments & the Like….
• Jesus will come as a BIG surprise! To those who don’t care.
THE RAPTURE. C’Mon. the Rapture. You don’t believe that stuff do you… Can’t you just hear it in Noah’s neighborhood?
• Rain, c’mon. Rain? Why would it rain?
The world won’t be expecting it. It is not until the church is removed and the judgment of God begins that the people begin to realize that the Bible is true!
IN THE DAYS OF Noah… Let’s flip back to Genesis 6:1-12
#1 – There was a POPULATION EXPLOSION. Some estimate there were some 5 billion people alive then.
#2 – There were ABNORMAL SEXUAL PRACTICES.
#3 – Man’s IMAGINATIONS were growing more evil and evil.
#4 – VIOLENCE filled the earth. Murders and suicides were increasing and increasing.
It’s AMAZING to me how we see these very same things on the rise in our generation… All the more reason to be ready!
You see NO ONE KNOWS THE EXACT DAY OR HOUR… but Paul says that we will recognize the times and seasons.
1 Thess. 5.1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.
• LOOK BACK AT 1 Thess 4.13-17 (NKJV)
AND WHAT HAPPENED IN NOAH’S DAY?
• Drop. Drop. Rain! More Rain. A flood of judgment!
• And who was delivered? Noah & his family!
• There’s an important part of the nature and character of God that we will study in depth next time…
• I’ll share it with you to get you thinking & praying over this.
• Let’s flip back to 2 Peter 2.4-11
Let’s close with Revelation 4:1-2
• John was given a taste of what the rapture will be like.
• An open door. A voice like a trumpet. COME UP HERE!
THIS door is fascinating because earlier in CH3, Jesus spoke to the church of Philadelphia… about an open door.
Rev. 3.8 "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
• The door of opportunity. The door of evangelism.
GUYS WE have such an amazing opportunity to serve Him today.
• Open doors. Great opportunities.
• We can be His witnesses. We can serve Him, proclaim His name.
John 9.4-5 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
But there is coming that day when the door will be shut… on earth.
• THIS IS THE ONLY CHANCE WE GET GANG. We won’t be evangelizing people in heaven.
• We won’t be passing out tracts, or inviting people to church.
• We’ll be in heaven at the open door of worship & basking in the glory of the Lord.
• It will be THEN that I believe Jesus will say…
Matt. 25.21 "His lord said to him, ’Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
APP: Are you excited about hearing those words? Are you looking forward to that day when Jesus commends you?!
• Oh how I pray that I would hear those words from Jesus!
• Well done Ed. Well done, enter into the joy of your Lord!
NOTE: When we think upon the rapture, we’re reminded that earth is not our home. It’s not the end. Not the goal.
• The Bible speaks of life on earth as being very short!
• It’s Temporary, Momentary, Passing Away.
• We’re pilgrims, sojourners, just passing through.
YET JESUS LOVES You and redeemed you with His own blood.
• And one day, He will return and receive you to Himself.
• Are you saved this morning? Are you secure in Him?
• Can you say with full assurance, MARANATHA? Come Quickly!
Next week, we’ll look at why we believe the RAPTURE of the church will be PRE-TRIBULATIONAL… you’ll want to be here!
