Sermon: The Rapture I Thess 4:13-5:11 June 22, 2003
MESSAGE: The Bible it explicit that there will be rapture, again the order of events isn’t clear, tribulation, 1000 year reign, etc…. we don’t know but the rapture for us is meant to comfort us not make us fearful. What we do know is it will be 1) sudden, unannounced 2) believer’s will be raptured with Christ-the bride of Christ/the church/the saints 3) the saints and sinners will be judged – judgment will not determine salvation but reward – judgment will not bring shame but will bring gladness that we have a God who has forgiven us of all things 4) rapture should inspire us to live out Christ in our lives
TEXT
After hearing about the Second Coming at church one Sunday, a little girl quizzed her mother. "Mommy, do you believe Jesus will come back?" "Yes." "Could he come this week?" "Yes." "Today?" "Yes." "Could he come in the next hour?" "Yes." "In a few minutes?" "Yes, dear." "Then Mommy, I think you better comb my hair." ( Don Hussong, East Wenatchee, Washington. Leadership, Vol. 4, no. 3. – Bible Illustrator)
Now most of you look like you have comb your hair. But like the little girl we need to be about asking questions and getting prepared for Second Coming. WITH THAT IN MIND TURN WITH ME IF YOU WILL TO TODAY’S TEXT. I THESSALONIANS 4:13-5:11.
You can not read the gospels, the letters of the New Testament particularly Paul’s and the Book of Revelation without realizing the overwhelming message of the New Testament is that Jesus will return again. Not that all the writers agree in all the details and order of events but the message is clear. God will bring to completion what he began in Christ. Jesus will return and God’s kingdom will reign here on earth.
It was a message the early church understood. In fact they strongly believed it would be in their lifetime so much so that as time past they were becoming discouraged and concerned for several of their loved ones had passed away. They feared that those who had passed away were going to miss Christ glorious return. So Paul wrote to them to encourage them and in doing so he encourages and informs us.
This is not Paul’s idea, though, look at verse 15 “According…Lord’s own words.” It is not certain how Paul received these words whether it was from some unrecorded teachings of Jesus or some divine inspiration. But Paul wants to assure his readers and us that this isn’t his thought but God’s. God promises, guarantees, us that He will come and it will be obvious.
Verse 16. The Lord will come down with a loud command, the voice of an archangel and a trumpet call. The word used for here command is a military term. Now I have never known a drill sergeant give a command in a soft voice. But, even more than that, the Lord will come in a loud command. One that will resound throughout the world, that will reverberate throughout the hearts and minds of all those living and dead. An archangel, an angel with authority in fact the only archangel ever spoken of in the Bible is Michael, will announce his coming and a trumpet will blast forth with the good the news.
Some scholars and theologians have suggested that this will be so quiet that only believers will hear it but after having studied the various scriptures over the last couple of weeks, personally, I don’t see how anyone could possibly believe that a loud command from God, an announcement from an archangel and a trumpet could go unnoticed, would be so quiet that it could be ignored. In fact in our studies last week we heard God’s word in Matthew Chapter 24 that it will be so obvious that the Lord has come that unbeliever will mourn. There will be no doubt that the Lord has returned. Now we will talk about the “thief in the night” in just a moment. But what we are talking about here is the heavenly proclamation that Christ’s, God’s promise has been fulfilled.
And we verse 17 “will be caught up.” The Greek word here means to be seized or snatched up. The word was translated into Latin Vulgate as a form of Latin the word “rapto,” the very word from which we get the English “rapture” meaning “to be swept away with overwhelming emotion.” The word rapture is never used in the Bible but it is a word that has been passed down through the generations transcending the meaning of the root word, transcending the idea into the very essence of the event.
The church, all those who profess the name of Jesus, will be raptured into the clouds to meet the Lord at the sound of his voice. Do not confuse this event with the earthly return of Christ. That will come some seven years or so later after the tribulation. In the rapture the church, the bride of Christ, will be caught up into the air with the Lord. It is interesting to note that this is consistent with the Revelation of John.
John in chapter four of Revelation says he heard a loud voice, the sound of a trumpet and then he was caught up in the sky and came before the throne of God. The first three books of Revelation deal with the seven churches of Asia but after John hears the voice, the trumpet and goes up into the air to heaven there is not a single reference to any church until last chapter of the book Revelation. In John’s prophetic voice, the church passes from the scene of human history with the Rapture of the Lord.
When will this happen? I Thessalonians 5:1. I Corinthians 15:52 says in a “twinkling of an eye,” the trumpet will sound and we will be changed. At an unknown time, when we least expect it, in a flash, a blink of the eye Christ will have returned. Do you have an idea of how instantaneous, how suddenly that will be? Did you know it has been estimated that the blink of an eye happens in 1/50th of a second and that we blink 25 times per minute. That means if you drive your car 55 mph on a 10 hour trip that you would have driven thirty three miles with your eyes closed. Scare-y, huh!
In 1/50th of a second, so suddenly so unexpectently in the blink of an eye the trumpet will resound the Lord will call his church, his saints, dead and alive, into the air to be with him in heaven.
I Thess 5:4 – The Lord will come as a thief in the night but we, as Christians, as believers, should not be surprised, for we don’t live in the darkness that a thief sneaks in but in the we live light of Christ. We have been told that Christ is coming and we should be prepared at all times for his return.
There is a story about a young couple, Jeff and Janell Youngbluth’s first date. Jenell was expecting Jeff to show up. She was dressed and ready for the date. She waited patiently for an hour for him to show up and finally gave up. She figured that he stood her up… So she went to the bathroom took off her makeup, and slipped into her pajama’s. Grabbed a pint of ice cream and sat down in front of the TV. Two hours had passed since the designated time of the date when guess who showed up at the front door, that right, Jeff… Jeff took one look at Jenell in her pajamas and said “I’m two hours late and your still not ready!
Personally, I don’t understand how Jeff is still alive to tell the story or how in the world there ever came into being a Mr. and Mrs. Youngbluth. But the point of the story is obvious. We know Christ is coming and it matters not matter when or what time he will comes, but whether we are ready.
In fact Paul writes let us be self controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet while we wait on the Lord, so that we are ready for his return. We should live orderly, disciplined controlled lives. We are not fools running around in chaos not knowing the truths of this time. We are sons and daughters of light and as sons and daughters we should live lives exercising restraint over our primal nature of selfish impulses and desires. We should live as mature Christians with discipline over our tongues and deeds of life. Our mental and moral character should be trained and liken to that of Christ. We should be given to living life through and guided by the holy spirit. Pretty interesting how Pentecost, the giving of the holy spirit and the end of times all wraps together in one isn’t it.
And we should wear the breastplate of love and faith. Putting on the armor of God is a reoccurring theme in the Bible probably the best known is that of Ephesians 6 where the breastplate means righteous – love and faith. Satan tries to attack our hearts, the seat of our emotions, self worth and trust. But it is God’s righteousness, living lives of love and faith that protects are hearts from being deceived by the prince of darkness. When love and faith is deeply rooted in our hearts and lives we reflect the light of Christ that is found in self control. We emulate the very presence and being of Christ and our path is made straight. We are covered by impenetrate-able armor of Christ.
And we should wear the helmet of the hope of salvation. Satan wants nothing more in the face of the end of times to cause us to doubt and question the existence, teachings and promises of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior the essence of God. I am not talking about the occasional question or the wonderings of human doubt. I am talking about the deep seated doubt that leads life in direct contrast to the teaching and life of Christ. The hope, the promise of salvation that we believe in that has been given to us protects our mind from the deceit of rational thought that seeks to leads us astray from the unseen, irrational truths of faith in God. The helmet of the hope of salvation is the conscious, deliberate decision to believe in and live life in Christ.
As children of the light we have been given the armor, the tools, needed to protect and see us through the end of time to the rapture.
Quite some time ago, Mt. Saint Helens became the object of concern as it started sending puffs of smoke hundreds of feet into the Washington state sky. - Every piece of scientific evidence collected in the labs and on the field predicted the volcano would soon explode with a fury. “WARNING!” blared loud speakers on patrol cars and helicopters. “WARNING!’ blinked battery-powered signs at every nearby major intersection. “WARNING” pleaded radio and television announcers. Lakeside villages, tourist camps and hiking trails emptied as people heard the warnings and fled for their lives.
Nevertheless, a man by the name of Harry refused to leave. He was the caretaker of a recreation lodge on Spirit Lake, five miles north of Mt. Saint Helen’s smoke-enshrouded peak. The rangers warned Harry of the danger. Neighbors begged him to join them and leave.
But Harry ignored the warnings. Interviewed on television, Harry grinned and said, “Nobody knows more about this mountain than I do and its not about to blow….” On May 18, 1980 as the boiling gases beneath the mountain’s surface bulged and buckled the landscape to its final limits, Harry was cooking his breakfast. In an instant, in a blink of an eye, at 8:31 A.M. the mountain exploded. Concussive waves of heat traveling faster than the speed of sound, flattened Harry and everything else for 150 square miles. (Sermon Central).
The signs had been evident. They were clearly there. The mountain was ready to explode into the air but Harry ignored the warnings and he paid a price with his life.
Scores today are doing the same thing. We are living in the end of time and God’s warnings are evident. While we do not know the exact time, whether it will be in our generation or the next. What we do know is many who claim the name of Christ will hear the voice of God say “I do not know you.” Many who believe they will be spared the wrath of God will suffer the pains of tribulation. The questions is “will you enjoy joy of the rapture or will you be left behind?
