The Rapture
Sunday, March 27, 2011
End-Times Series : Sermon 2
[VIDEO 1]
[AFFIRMATION]
TEXT: Matthew 25:1-13
[PRAYER]
[VIDEO 2]
INTRODUCTION
2 Weeks ago, I preached a message entitled, "What On Earth Is Going On?"
That message of course dealt with the Signs of the End-times that we are obviously seeing come to pass right before our eyes...
In that message, we looked briefly at "The Rapture of The Church"...
I want to stress again, "The Rapture of the Church" is not to be confused with "The Second Coming of Christ"...they are two separate events...
[EXPOUND]
What I want us to do this morning, is to dig deeper into this subject of "The Rapture of the Church"...
I want to state again today, just as I did a couple weeks back...
As far as we can tell right now, there are no prophecies in the Bible that need to be fulfilled before this event we call, "The Rapture of The Church"...
Meaning..."The Rapture" could happen literally at any moment!
Somebody would say, "But Jesus said, no-one knows the day or hour..."
That's true...but Jesus implied that we can know "the season"...
Luke 21:28, Jesus speaking, "Now when you see these things BEGIN TO HAPPEN, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near"...
[EXPOUND...what "things"...etc...]
Pastor, just what do you mean by "The Rapture of the Church?"
By "Rapture", we mean the "catching away of the saints...the church..."
The word "Rapture" is not found in your Bible...it's a word that the church has ascribed to the event for the purpose of brevity...
The word "Rapture" as related to Bible Prophecy, defined in the Dictionary:
"the transporting of a person from one place to another, especially
heaven"
[EXPOUND]
In the Gospels, each of the four Apostles wrote from different perspectives and in some regard were addressing different cultures...
Mark, for instance, was addressing the Roman culture and society...
Luke, was addressing the Greek culture, the highly educated of that time...
Luke himself was a Doctor...
John, on the other hand, wasn't so much addressing a society or culture...
John speaks of the Deity of Christ, the Holy Spirit and His work, and basically introduces the Salvation message...
Which brings us to Matthew...Matthew is addressing the Jewish culture of that time...
This parable of the Ten Virgins here in Matthew 25, is written with the Jewish Marriage Customs in mind, while at the same time painting a comparative picture of the Church (aka the Bride of Christ) and their relationship with Christ the Lord...whom the Bible refers to
as the Bridegroom!
When you understand the Jewish Wedding Customs, then you can rightly understand this Parable and what it represents to us, The Church of Jesus Christ...
Let me share with you a basic outline of those Customs along with some Scriptures that make it relevant to me and you...
The First Major Step in a Jewish Marriage in Jesus' time, was the "betrothal"...
"Betrothal" defined: "a covenant; a mutual promise of marriage"
Today, we call it an "engagement"...
"Engagement" in our society is a lot different than "betrothal" of that time...
1) Betrothal involved the establishment of a marriage covenant. In Jesus' time it was usual for such a covenant to be established as the result of the prospective bridegroom taking the initiative.
Jeremiah 31:31, "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and the house of Judah..."
God didn't wait for us to come to Him...He came to us by sending Jesus!
At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the "New Covenant" (Matt. 26; Mark 14; Luke 22)
2) The prospective bridegroom would travel from his father's house to the home of the prospective bride. There he would negotiate with the father of the young woman to determine the price (mohar) that he must pay to purchase his bride.
NOTE: Jesus came from His Father's House to our house...
"The Price" of the New Covenant / Marriage Covenant was already decided...
Hebrews 9:22, "...without the shedding of blood there is no remission (of sins)"
Matthew 26:28, Jesus speaking to His disciples at The Last Supper, "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins..."
3) Once the bridegroom paid the purchase price, the marriage covenant was thereby established, and the young man and woman were regarded to be husband and wife.
1 Corinthians 6:20, & 7:23, "You were bought at a price..."
4) From that moment on, the bride was declared to be consecrated or sanctified, set apart exclusively for her bridegroom.
2 Corinthians 6:17 (MSG), "So leave the corruption and compromise; leave it for good, says God, 'Don't link up with those who will pollute you, I want you all for Myself' "
5) As a symbol of the covenant relationship that had been established, the groom and bride would drink from a cup of wine over which a betrothal benediction had been pronounced.
Matthew 26:27-29, "Then [Jesus] took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom"
6) After the marriage covenant had been established, the groom would leave the home of the bride and return to his father's house. There he would remain separate from his bride for a period of twelve months, or one year.
7) This period of separation afforded the bride time to pull together her clothes, linens, and other possessions, and to prepare for married life.
8) The groom occupied himself with the preparation of living accommodations in his father's house to which he could bring his bride.
John 14:1-3, again, the words of Jesus, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 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. 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"
At the end of the period of separation, the groom would come to take his bride to live with him...
Acts 1:11, just after Jesus' ascension, the angels said to the disciples, "...men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky? Jesus, whom you saw taken up from you into heaven, will come back the same way you saw Him go"
The taking of the bride usually took place at night. The groom, best man and other male escorts would leave the groom's father's house and conduct a torch light procession to the home of the bride.
9) Although the bride was expecting her groom to come for her, she did not know the exact time of his arrival.
10) As a result, the groom's arrival would be preceded by a shout.
From our text, Matthew 25:6, "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet Him!' "
11) This shout would forewarn the bride to be prepared for the coming of the groom.
After the groom received his bride together with her female attendants, the enlarged wedding party would return from the bride's home to the groom's father's house.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, "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"
12) Upon arrival there, the wedding party would find that the wedding guests had assembled already.
Shortly after arrival the bride and groom would be escorted by the other members of the wedding party to the bridal chamber (huppah).
Prior to entering the chamber the bride remained veiled so that no one could see her face.
13) While the groomsmen and bridesmaids would wait outside, the bride and groom would enter the bridal chamber alone. There in the privacy of that place they would consummate the marriage that had been covenanted earlier.
14) After the marriage was consummated, the groom would announce the consummation to the other members of the wedding party waiting outside the chamber (John 3:29).
These people would pass on the news of the marital union to the wedding guests.
15) Upon receiving this good news the wedding guests would feast and make merry for the next seven days.
16) During the seven days of the wedding festivities, which were sometimes called "the seven days of the huppah," the bride remained hidden in the bridal chamber.
Revelation 19:6-9, "And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude...saying, 'Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready'. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, 'Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb'..."
17) At the conclusion of these seven days the groom would bring his bride out of the bridal chamber, now with her veil removed, so that all could see who his bride was.
I believe the "seven days" coincide with the "seven years" of Great Tribulation that Daniel spoke of in his prophecy, which will be occuring simultaneously on the earth...
2 Peter 3:8, "...with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day"
[Turn to and Read, Revelation 19:11-16; and Revelation 20:6]
[EXPOUND]
Getting Back To Our Text, and some things I want to point out:
Vs. 1, "THEN the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to the bridegroom"
"THEN"...speaking of the End-times, and specifically that time just before Jesus comes for His Bride...the Church!
Let's back up and Read some from Matthew 24...
READ: Matthew 24:3-14
Luke 21:7-12; 20-22; 25-28
NOTE: Verse 28...the words of Jesus!
[EXPOUND]
Matthew 24:32-35
[EXPOUND..."Budding of the Fig Tree, May 14, 1948...]
Back to our Text...
Read from the Text: Vss. 1-10
[EXPOUND...talk about the oil = the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit]
Read from the Text: Vss. 11-13
[EXPOUND]
Let's go back to Matthew 24
Matthew 24:36-44 [specifically speaks of the Rapture]
[EXPOUND]
[EXPOUND]
When the Rapture takes place, the Church will be gone...
And at that point, all restraint of evil will be removed also...
Meaning, ALL HELL will break loose on this earth...
It will be a time of un-paralleled Evil and Destruction...a time like no other...nor ever will be...
Only the Return of Jesus Christ to this planet will save mankind from total annihilation...
Matthew 24:21-22 (NLT), listen to the words of Jesus...
"21 For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again. 22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, the entire human race will be destroyed"
[EXPOUND]
There are those today who would scoff and say..."Surely you don't believe all that stuff about the Rapture, and the Coming of Jesus..."
2 Peter 3:3 mentions those folks...
"knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking
according to their own lusts..."
[EXPOUND]
Here's something you can count on...
THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH WILL HAPPEN...
JESUS IS COMING AGAIN...
EVERY KNEE WILL BOW SOMEDAY TO JESUS...
The Question you must answer today is: "ARE YOU READY?"
And if not, WHY NOT?
I promise...you don't want to be around here AFTER the Rapture...
Should we be alarmed? As believers...no, but we SHOULD Be aware...
Luke 22:34-36, "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and THAT DAY come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the 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"
If you're not a believer...you should be VERY alarmed at what's happening in our world today...and what's about to happen...
[EXPOUND]
One more Video from the perspective of those left behind AFTER The Rapture...
[Closing VIDEO]
