James O. Davis is the founder and president of Second Billion (TM). You are invited to learn more about Second Billion by visiting www.billion.tv.
INTRODUCTION
This message is entitled, “The Tones or the Sounds of the Second Coming.” Paul called the Rapture of the Church a Blessed Hope; it is so because Jesus is coming back for the Church. Every true child of God anticipates glory, not the grave. The old preacher, Alexander McClaring, used to say, “I’m not looking for a cleft in the ground called the grave, but a cleavage in the sky called glory.” I want you to understand that Jesus is literally, not figuratively, getting ready to come back for the Church. The great hope of the Church is that Christ will come and rapture us to heaven before death intervenes. However, if death comes first, then we shall be resurrected and given glorified bodies like Jesus on the day He does return.
There are two future comings of Jesus mentioned in the Bible. The first coming will be to meet the saints in the air; the next one will be with the saints to rule on the earth. One is called the “Rapture” and the other is called the “Return.” His first coming in the air is to catch away the saints into heaven. Seven years later, He will return with the saints to set up His millennial rule upon this earth.
In verse 16, Paul launches a discussion on what we call the “Rapture”. Now, the word “Rapture” is not found in the Bible. Nor are words like “Trinity” and “Millennium.” But, the concepts are taught in the Word of God. The Trinity--God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit--are all identified together at certain instances in the Bible. And several times, the thousand-year period is referred to in the Book of Revelation. The actual words may not appear, but their concepts are taught in the Bible.
The word “Rapture” is not there, but the word “perusia” is, which means “to literally snatch away,” “to catch up,” “to come down and remove forcefully” those who are ready to meet the Lord in the air. The reason I share this is because some people will say the Rapture is a figment of man’s imagination, because it is not mentioned in the Bible.
Three different sounds are involved in the Rapture when Jesus returns. Please note these three sounds that are mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “The Lord Himself will descend with a shout.” The first sound is a shout directed toward the saints. The second sound is the voice of the archangel, which is a signal to Satan. And, third, the sound of the trumpet is a summons for all sinners.
FIRST, THE SHOUT FOR THE SAINTS
Understand that the first sound is a shout for the saints. The Bible says in Paul’s writing that “the Lord Himself will descend.” Underscore the words, “Lord Himself”. That makes it emphatic. Paul wanted the people in Thessalonica to realize that Jesus Himself would return, not someone else. It would be the same Jesus of Whom Paul taught, who walked along the shores of Galilee, and who had healed the sick. Acts 1:19 records, “This same Jesus that you have just seen leave, will one day come back again.” Whenever there is a shout in the Bible, it is for the saints. And every time Jesus shouts, a resurrection takes place.
Remember when Jesus came to the tomb of Lazarus? This personal friend of Jesus had been dead for four days. After asking that the stone be rolled away that covered the tomb, Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come forth.” Suddenly, Lazarus, who was bound in grave clothes, came forth.
The next time Jesus shouted was on Mount Calvary. Matthew reminds us in chapter 27, while Jesus had been on the cross for six hours, He shouted, “It is finished.” At that instant, many bodies of saints came out of their graves and returned alive to Jerusalem.
When Jesus returns in the air to catch away all believers, there will not just be one person like Lazarus, or the hundreds when He died on the cross, but literally millions from every nation, tribe, and tongue who have died in Christ, and who are alive when He comes. When Jesus shouts, miracles happen.
The word “shout” is a military term. It shows authority. It forces the grave to surrender its believing dead once and for all. That command will push aside Satan’s opposing forces to clear the way for the meeting in the air.
When Jesus shouts, resurrection takes place. May I remind you, those who hear the voice of Jesus now will be the only ones who will hear His voice when He shouts then. In John 5:29, the Bible says, “The hour is coming in which all that are in the tomb shall hear his voice and shall come forth.” If you don’t know the voice of Jesus now, you will be left behind.
A lot of people think they will get ready at the last minute, that they will pray and get right with God when they see the saints start upward. This coming will be in “the twinkling of an eye.” At that speed, no one who is not ready will be able to get right with God during the event of the Rapture.
Dr. Tim LaHaye is a prolific writer of this generation. He writes a lot concerning theology, family, and other Christian subjects. As a young boy, his father took him to the Henry Ford factory in Dearborn, Michigan, for a tour. One thing that caught his attention was the huge electromagnetic crane. At the flip of a switch, all the metal and debris inside a boxcar would shoot up and stick to that electromagnet. However, each time a load was picked up, some items fell back into the boxcar. Passing closer, the boy saw pieces of wood that looked like steel at a distance, but would not stick and fell back into the boxcar again and again. He soon learned that some things in the boxcar were not made of the right components and would fall every time.
Those who do not have the right components of salvation on the day that Jesus shouts will not rise to meet Him in the air. They will stay where they are until the resurrection of the unsaved, who will have to stand at the Great White Throne Judgment before being cast into eternal darkness and eternal separation from God.
SECOND, THE VOICE OF THE ARCHANGEL FOR SATAN
The second sound is the voice of the archangel, a signal to Satan. The Bible brings out that not only will the saints hear the shout of the Lord, but demonic forces will hear the voice of the archangel. Satan has always done battle with the saints of God, and it will be no different when Jesus returns for the Redeemed.
Now, who is this archangel that is going to play a part on that great and glorious day? Who is the angel that is going to help Christ on that great resurrection day? Jude 9 says this, “But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’” The most likely archangel to work with Jesus on that day will be Michael.
The devil does not want anybody that is a saint to come out of the grave that day when Jesus shouts. He tried to keep Jesus in the grave, but Jesus had authority to take the keys of death, hell and the grave.
Moses and Elijah appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration and talked with Jesus. Moses was a type of the saints who die and will be raised from the grave. Elijah was translated and never saw death. He is a type of the Christians who will be alive at Christ’s return and will be caught away to meet the Lord in the air.
Once, the devil contended for the body of Moses and Michael defeated and withstood the devil. Did Satan not want Moses to appear on the Mount of Transfiguration? Is it possible that he did not want Moses to experience the resurrection? The archangel will have a vital part on the day that Resurrection happens. The angels of God will be there to see that the saints of God are set free from the graves of this earth to meet Jesus when He returns.
Daniel 10:13 also says, “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days, but Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me.” In Daniel 12:1, the prophet wrote, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stood up for the children of thy people.”
Just as demon forces tried to prevent the saints of old, they will be opposed to the rapture and resurrection of those who look forward to the meeting in the air. And, just as angelic forces of Heaven have been involved in the affairs of God’s people over the ages, so they will be present for the great day of our ascension with Christ. There is no way Satan can prevent us from coming forth out of our graves to meet the Lord I the air.
We are not looking for the undertaker to take us to a grave, but the Upper taker Who will take us to Glory. When Jesus comes back, all saints are going to go and be with Him. Some will say, “Oh grave, where is your victory?” Others will say, “Oh grave, where is your sting?” When Jesus returns, the graves will release the Children of God.
THIRD, THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET FOR SINNERS
The third sound on that grand and glorious day will be a sound for sinners. The Bible says that “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” Those who are dead in their sins now will not hear the shout then. They will not hear the voice of the archangel, but I believe that they will hear the trump of God. It will be the saddest sound they will ever hear. It will be a signal that they have missed the Rapture and will be left behind.
The trumpet is primarily for Israel. When Israel marched out of Egypt, Moses made two silver trumpets to be used to direct that great host on their march across the desert. The trumpets were blown to provide direction for Israel’s walk, warfare and worship during their time in the wilderness. It served to warn them while on their march in Numbers 10:1-10. Once again, the trumpet will sound and Israel will be on the march as a nation. After the Rapture of the Church, God will take up with Israel where He left off nearly 2,000 years ago.
You do not want to be here at the sound of the trumpet. It’s going to be the saddest sound this world will ever hear. It will signal the time of unprecedented rule by the powers of darkness and evil. Satan does not have a free reign now, but he will have it then. The trump of God in the Book of Revelation is used numerous times to signal new plagues, new tests, and new trials. Once the Church is taken away, and the saints of old are raptured or resurrected, there will be seven years of terror, pestilence, famine and destruction as the forces of evil battle against the nation of Israel.
You may be deaf to the voice of Jesus now, but you will hear the trump of God then. It will signal the rule of Antichrist, idolatry, humanism, persecution, the worship of man, deception, death and destruction.
It will be the most terrible time in the history of man because the Church will be gone.
For which sound are you listening, the voice of Jesus or the trumpet of God? Logic tells me you would much rather hear the shout than the trumpet. You need to be prepared now for the coming of Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION
In 1955, President David Eisenhower was in Denver, Colorado, for a few days of business. In the Saturday morning newspaper, one of the president’s aids read a letter to the editor from a teenaged boy with cancer, named Paul Hailey, who expressed his dream of someday, somehow, someway meeting the President of the United States. After showing the article to the president, Mr. Eisenhower told the aide to have his car ready for a visit to the boy’s home early on Sunday morning.
At 6:30 on Sunday morning, the president walked to the door of the Hailey’s home and knocked. A sleepy eyed, unshaven David Hailey was shocked at the president’s visit and interest in meeting his son. After meeting and talking with Paul, Mr. Eisenhower took the boy outside to the limousine to meet his wife before their departure.
The next day, newspaper reporters asked David Hailey what he thought about the president’s visit to his home. The father said he was not too happy because he was not prepared. They then asked the son his opinion of the visit. Paul, the son, said he was ecstatic because he had longed for the day he might personally get to meet the President of the United States.
Are you prepared should Jesus return today? We are not looking for a visit from the President of the United States. We are looking for the return of the King of Kings for His bride, the Church!
