Sermon Central
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When Trumpets Fade Series
Contributed by Carl Allen on Nov 28, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: I want to draw your attention to one common theme that punctuates each of these references. That common theme is the mention of the "trumpet". We are told in clear language that the Rapture will be a time that will be heralded with the sound of trumpets.
II. ALL DEPARTED SAINTS WILL HAVE BEEN RESURRECTED (1 Thess. 4:13-16; 1 Cor. 15:52b)
A. Their Present Condition - 1 Thess. 4:13 tells us that those saints who have departed are "asleep". This does not refer to "soul sleep". It refers to the fact that their bodies are asleep. When a saint of God leaves this world, they are immediately ushered into the presence of the Lord. This was the conviction Paul Held, 2 Cor. 5:8, "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."; Phil. 1:23, "But I am hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better" Presently, all those who left this world in a saved condition are in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
B. Their Promised Completion - 1 Cor. 15:52b tells us that the departed saints will be raised "incorruptible". That is, they will be changed! When they left their body, it was destined for the ground from which it came. However, when the Lord Jesus returns, He will bring their spirits back with Him, He will raise their bodies and glorify them. He will then place the spirits back into those newly glorified bodies!
How will all this happen? Certainly, to our minds it is a great mystery. However, if you take the time to look back at the times our Lord shouted while He was on this earth, you will discover that each time He did so, dead folks got out of their graves.
1. He shouted in Bethany and Lazarus lived! - John 11:43-44
2. He shouted at Calvary and some lived! - Matt. 27:50-52
3. He will shout from the clouds and all the departed saints will live - 1 Thess. 4:16.
There is power is the Word of our Lord!
III. ALL LIVING SAINTS WILL HAVE BEEN RAPTURED – (1 Thess. 4:17; 1 Cor. 15:51-52a)
A. The Church Will Leave Instantaneously - Notice the use of words that imply speed and swiftness in 1 Cor. 15:52, "moment" - This word speaks of an "indivisible point in time. A span of time so short that there is none shorter."; "twinkling of an eye" - Scientists have determined that the blink of an eye is 1/30th of a second in duration. That is fast! However, a twinkling is event faster than that, somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000th of a second! Then in 1 Thess. 4:17, Paul uses the term "caught up". This phrase means "to snatch away, to seize with force, to claim for oneself." It refers to a sudden event when the saints of God will be "snatched from this world with force and claimed for the glory of God."
The whole idea here is one of speed! There will be no forewarning. There will be no announcements on TV, on radio, or in the papers. There will be no announcements from the pulpits. God will not proclaim in a booming, Charlton Heston voice that the end is nearing. It will just happen! My friends, if you have ever listened to anything in your life, then listen to this. You need to be ready! Jesus Himself said, "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will", Matt. 24:44.
