Title: The Rapture Of The Church (Part 1)
Text: I Thess 4:15-18 and I Cor 15:51-52
Pray!!!
Read Text!!!
Introduction:
While on a South Pole expedition, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton left a few men on Elephant Island, promising that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back, huge icebergs blocked the way. But suddenly, as if by a miracle, an avenue opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard. No sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Contemplating their narrow escape, the explorer said to his men, "It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go!" They replied, "We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, ’The boss may come today.’"
- We are going to talk this evening about the rapture of the church, the first sermon in a series that we are doing on the end times.
What is the rapture?
- First let me say what the rapture is.
- The word rapture is derived from the Latin word raptu, which means caught away or caught up.
- The word described in our text refers to the catching up of the church from the earth to meet the Lord in the air.
- It only involves the faithful of Jesus church, not the ones who play church.
So What Will The Rapture Look Like?
- Our text says, the dead in Christ will rise first.
- All the ones who died in Christ will rise first to meet the Lord in the air and then we who are alive and remain will be caught up with the Lord together.
- We will all visibly be united with Christ and united with loved ones who have died before.
- Following the rapture of the church is the Tribulation period or the day of the Lord.
- Will Christians go through the tribulation period?
Will Christians Go Through The Tribulation Period?
- This is a question that has been debated for many years, by great scholars.
- There are four major views right now concerning the rapture and they are:
a. The Post tribulation view which states that the church is going through all the tribulation.
b. The Mid Tribulation view states the church will only go through half of the tribulation
c. The Pre Tribulation view states that the church will not go through any of the Tribulation
d. The Partial Rapture view states that only those sanctified will be taken before the tribulation, and the rest of the church will go through the tribulation.
- My personal opinion is the Pre Tribulation theory that clearly states in scripture that we will not go through any of the tribulation.
- Let me give you some reasons why I believe this to be true.
- Rev 3:10 says, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.”
- Christ promises to keep the faithful from the hour of trial that is to come upon the whole earth.
- I Thess 1:10 says, “Even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
- Paul’s promise to the church in Thessalonians was that they would be rescued from the coming wrath which is the tribulation hour.
- Also when you read from Rev 4 right through to 22 the term church or churches disappear.
- The bride of Christ appears in Chapter 19 with Christ in Heaven, ready to come down to earth to judge the wicked and to reign in the millennial kingdom.
- So the promise given to the church in Philadelphia, to keep it from the hour of trial applies to all believers who stand true to Jesus before the tribulation.
Transition:
- So now that we know what the rapture is, what it will look like and if we will go through the tribulation, the next big question is when will the rapture take place?
- Jesus answers this question in Matt 24:36 that says, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
- No one knows the day or hour Christ will return. Many people have tried to predict the Second Coming of Jesus but only to fail in there attempt.
- Only God knows when He will return, but the Bible makes it very clear how close we are.
- So my next question that will form the body of my message is:
How Close Are We To The Rapture Of The Church?
Could Jesus Return In My Lifetime?
- The Bible is very clear that no man knows the day or hour, but we can no how close His return is, even as close as the door.
- For it says in Matt 24:33, “Even so, when you see all things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”
- The signs are all around us that point to Christ’s imminent return.
- I personally believe I will see the return of Jesus Christ, I think it’s that close. I don’t know the day or hour, but the signs all point to Jesus being right at the door.
- I like this story that points to how close Jesus return is:
A tourist in Switzerland visited a beautiful mansion surrounded by well-kept gardens. How long have you been the caretaker here? He asked the gardener. The answer was twenty years. How often does the owner of this property come here? The answer was only four times in the twenty years. And to think, said the guest, you keep this property in superb shape just as though he might come tomorrow. The caretaker replied, No, I look after these grounds as if I expected him to come today.
- I expect the Lord to come today, that’s how close I believe the rapture of the church is.
- Here are my reasons why, I have 5 reasons that show us that Jesus is at the door and could come at any time.
Point 1: Deception Would Be Wide Spread
Matt 24:4 says, “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name claiming I am the Christ and will deceive many.”
- Deception would be the number 1 sign upon Christ’s return and we see that deception in our world today.
- Deception means to believe in a lie or falsehood about something.
- Jesus here is talking about religious deception that tries to deceive the church from following the one true God which is Jesus Christ.
- Is deception happening in the church? What’s happening in the world concerning religious deception?
- More than a third of Church of Scotland ministers do not believe in the virgin birth of Christ, a central tenet of Christian faith.
- A Sunday Times survey of kirk ministers found that 37% believe the traditional story of Jesus’s birth, which forms part of the nativity, should not be taken literally.
- Earlier this month the second most senior churchman in England said Britain could no longer be considered a Christian country. David Hope, the Archbishop of York, cited a lack of faith in the virgin birth as an example of the increasing secularization of the country.
- A new translation of the Bible which seems to contradict traditional Christian beliefs on sex has been backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
- The book, entitled "Good as New", is aimed at refreshing the language and themes of the Bible for modern readers.
- In the new version, St Paul’s advice that men and women should marry is replaced with they should have a "regular partner".
- Dr Rowan Williams says it is a book of "extraordinary power".
- John Benson, the former Baptist minister who translated the new book, made terminology changes throughout the book, such as replacing "demon possession" with "mental illness".
- Episcopalians aren’t making a mass exodus from their church, but dioceses across the country are doing a slow bleed as members realize that a much-anticipated report released six weeks ago has no teeth and that the denomination’s ordination of a homosexual bishop will go unpunished.
- A conference of 250 African Anglican bishops, which met Oct. 25-Nov. 1 in Nigeria, called on the U.S. Episcopal Church to "repent" for consecrating Bishop Robinson, a divorced man living with a male lover. It also said the Anglican Church of Canada should do likewise for allowing same-sex "marriages" on church property.
- This is not just happening in the U.S. it’s happening everywhere.
- Ministers in the United Church of Canada began forming their own union to help clergy deal with the high level of "clergy-abuse" in the congregations, on Nov. 5, 2004. Backed by the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union, the ministers of the UCC have been pushing harder to gain more grounding on the contentious issue of unionizing ministers.
- During the 11:15 a.m. Eucharist on Sunday, the newest staff member at central Denver’s historic St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral will be formally installed. He will walk to the steps before the altar. His qualifications will be discussed. The canon steward will recite the Prayer of St. Francis: "Lord, make us instruments of your peace." Then, presuming everything goes as planned, a new chapter in interfaith relations will be written: A Muslim imam will join the staff of a Christian church, a first in Denver and perhaps nationally.
- We are living in a day when one thing would be called sin, is no longer called sin, but rather acceptance. That to me is deception.
- The Bible is very clear about the subjects that I just mentioned:
1. Jesus was born of a virgin is a truth that we cannot tamper with. Why? Because if Jesus was not born of a virgin then Jesus would not be holy thus free from all sin. It was a miracle of God, and Jesus who is God was without sin because of the virgin birth.
Luke 1:34 says, “How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin.”
2. The Bible is also clear that we are not to add or take anything away from the Holy inspired Bible from God Himself.
The Bible is very clear in Deut 4:2 which says, “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”
Also it says in Deut 12:32, “See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.”
- Other scriptures to consider are: Proverbs 30:6; Gal 3:15 and Rev 22:18-19.
3. The Bible is clear on the subject of Homosexuality, it is a wrong lifestyle and something that is not blessed of God.
Lev 20:13 says, “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”
Also Roms 1:18-32 talks about God giving people over to there shameful lusts.
4. The Bible is clear on the subject of salvation. There is only one way to God and to Heaven and that is through the blood of Jesus Christ.
- The path to eternal life is narrow and rough and few find it.
- We need to be careful that we don’t lose our salvation at the expense of gaining the approval of man.
- Saying all this does not mean that I am against homosexual people, or people of other faiths.
- I love people, just as Jesus loved people, but Jesus had a message of repentance and following Him and His standards.
- The moment we start interpreting the Bible our own way to please man is the moment we become deceived.
- The Bible says, you can’t serve two masters, you will either hate the one and love the other or love one and despise the other.
- If we want to please man, we can’t please God.
Point 2: Famines And Pestilence
- Many diseases and hunger in our world today, everywhere you look whether on T.V. or the news people are either sick from disease or hungry.
- It is an epidemic in our world today.
- Jesus said before He returns that it would be a problem.
- There are new problems arising that the medical world is dealing with, that being SARS, mad cow disease and other deadly diseases.
- Matt 24:7-8 says, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
Point 3: Earthquakes
- God uses earthquakes to communicate with people who are not listening to Him.
- The Bible records about 33 instances where God used an earthquake to get man’s attention. The earth quaked at Mount Sinai when Moses received the Ten Commandments (Ex 19:18)
- God used an earthquake in Jerusalem at the Crucifixion to split the veil of the temple from top to bottom. (Matt 27:51)
- Earthquakes are happening all over the place, but the big one being in Tsunami.
- It measured 9 on the scale that determines the force of the earthquake and killed thousands of people.
- Jesus said this is just the beginning of sorrows, or birth pains.
- In various places means places that don’t normally have earthquakes will have earthquakes.
- Look also at the whether patterns we are having.
- Florida having many hurricanes, the flash flooding, the rain that destroyed peoples lives in parts of Canada.
- These are things that Jesus predicted would happen just before His return.
Point 4: The Increase Of Knowledge
- From the Garden of Eden until A.D. 1900 men rode around on horses just as King David and Julius Caesar.
- In the span of a few years, mankind invented the car, jet plane and the space shuttle.
- Knowledge is doubling every two years, with new medication, new equipment to make life easier.
- Also listen to what else is being developed in our world today:
South Korean scientists said they had developed the world’s smartest robot able to think and learn like a human.
Unveiling their creation, they said the robot that looks like a small teenager wearing a blue and grey space suit was the first wireless network-based human-like robot.
Also:
Ciro Viento commands a fleet of 110 garbage trucks, so when a caller complained after seeing one of the blue-and-white trash haulers speeding down Route 22, Viento didn’t know which driver to blame. Until he checked his computer.
With a few taps on the keyboard, Viento zeroed in on the driver of one particular front-loader -- which, the screen showed, had been on that very road at 7:22 a.m., doing 51 miles per hour in a zone restricted to 35. Gotcha.
More employers are adopting technology like the system used by Viento’s company. As they do, many workers who have long enjoyed the freedom of the road are rankling over the boss’ newfound power to watch their every move -- via satellite.
- I could go on and on about what are world is producing but we don’t have the time, Jesus is coming and these developments point to His return.
Point 5: As In The Days Of Noah
- What characteristics marked the days of Noah?
- Genesis tells us that man’s wickedness on the earth was very great and every thought and intent was evil continually.
- When you open the morning newspaper, a lot of the times all we see is the abuse of power, murders, corruption.
- We are living in a generation where the hearts of people are continually growing colder and colder towards God and His Word.
- People’s hearts and thinking are continuously evil, this is a sure sign that Jesus could come back in our lifetime.
- I don’t predict that it will get better, but I believe it will get worse.
- But as evil is getting worse, the Bible predicts there will be an end time harvest of souls.
- Meaning God is going to pour out His Spirit and people are going to get saved, despite all the violence and corruption.
Lets Pray!!!
*All news and information used in my points was gathered from www.prophecynewswatch.com
