Revelation 4:1
The Rapture of the Church
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Introduction
√ An exciting promise
This morning as we continue are study of the Revelation we are going to look at one of the most exciting promises of God in all the scripture...
...the Rapture of the
church.
It’s exciting because it is the promise of God to a generation of believers that they will never experience Death.
Instead, like Enoch of old they will one moment be walking on this earth, and the next, be walking in the presence of Jesus Christ in the heavenly!
They are literally snatched from this earth into Heaven bypassing death altogether.
√ The Rapture
You say…
“rapture”
…and even most non-Christians have some idea of what you’re talking about.
However, like most prophecies in the Bible, the Rapture isn’t well understood by most Christians. Nor do they know the scriptural basis for their hope.
So what we find is that there are a lot of misconceptions about….
What the Rapture is
When it will happen
Who gets raptured!
We won't exhaust the subject this morning - but we'll lay a good foundation for your personal Bible study.
√ Charity
Disclaimer - whenever we interpret God’s prophetic Word we must do so with a lot of charity toward those who hold different opinions!
Important that we do our best to understand what we believe and why - scripturally - yet be gracious to our brothers and sisters who hold a different point of view.
So, when the Rapture comes we’ll take the mid and post-tribers with us! J
So let’s begin our study!
3rd Division
Rev 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."
√ 3rd Division
Vs. 1 we begin the 3rd and final section of the Revelation with the words...
" after this."
In Greek…
meta tauta
Remember those words, that phrase from our divine outline of the Revelation back in....
Rev 1:19 "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
The Lord gives us an
outline with three main points:
Point 1 of the Divine Outline:
"Write the things which you have seen"
That is, John was to write the things that he saw…
…recorded in chapter 1. The focus of chapter 1 was the Revelation (the apocalypse) of Jesus Christ.
Point 2 of the Divine Outline:
"the things which are,"
...which we find in chapters 2 & 3 which contain the messages to the churches.
Point 3 of the Divine Outline
"the things which will take place after this."
...the key words here are “after this” - meta tauta - the same words Jesus uses to open chapter 4.
What we find in chapters 4-22 is God’s future plan to bring about the end of Satan’s rebellion, the destruction of the kingdom of the Antichrist, and the invasion of Jesus Christ to establish His Kingdom on Earth!
His message to an unrepentant world;
Judgement upon the Gentiles who reject Christ
The fulfillment of His promises to Israel
It is a future period of time known as the Great Tribulation - and the time of "Jacob's Trouble" (Jer. 30:7).
So, beginning with chapter 4 we find God’s plan for the future.
Timing
√ Timing
Not everyone agrees with that interpretation of the Revelation. Some believe in a historical interpretation.
That is, the events described in the Revelation have already taken place.
Those who hold the Historical interpretation believe that the events described were fulfilled during the persecutions of Rome from about 90 to 400 AD.
However, I reject that position because of the source & object of the persecution.
The events described in the Revelation constitute God’s wrath as it’s directed upon Satan and an unrepentant world. (Rev. 3:10; 15:7 & 11:18).
The persecutions of Rome were are the wrath of man (Satan?) as it is directed upon God’s people - the Church.
Because of that I believe that the events described are yet to be fulfilled - they’re in the future.
The Rapture (vs. 1)
Rev 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."
√ Called to heaven
Recall the setting in which John received this message. He is on the island of Patmos...
”in the Spirit - unto the Day of the Lord.” Rev. 1:10
…chapters 1- 3 John was given a vision of the Glorified Christ and told to record 7 messages to the Churches.
Now - what happens?
He looks up and sees a Door open in Heaven.
He hears the 1st voice like a trumpet (Jesus in Rev. 1:10-11) saying….
“Come up here.”
Note the picture that John describes for us...
John – the “beloved” – a symbol of the Bride of Jesus
John is “in the Spirit unto the Lord’s Day
Sees a Door open in heaven – symbol of Jesus
Hears the voice of Jesus calling him the heaven
That experience sounds awfully familiar doesn’t it?
Sounds a lot like Paul’s description of the Rapture of the Church!
1Th 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
1Th 4:16 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.
1Th 4:17 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.
So as we look at Rev. 4:1 we have a type, or a picture of the Rapture of the church…
That is, John representing the church - the beloved of Christ - is called into heaven by the voice of the Bridegroom which sounds like a trumpet.
…and note, at the beginning of the 3rd and final segment of the Revelation – chapters 4-19 which record the Great Tribulation!
√ Definition of Rapture
A good time to explain what the Rapture is! The word rapture is not in the English translation of the Bible - won’t find it with a Strong’s Concordance.
That’s because it isn’t an English word. Rather, it’s a English transliteration of the Latin phrase “rapturous” from I Thess. 4:17 of the Latin New Testament.
Rapturous is the Latin equivalent of the Greek word that Paul used…
Greek = Harpazo
…not as catchy – won’t sell too many tee shirts! J
Both harpazo, and rapturous mean…
“to snatch away suddenly”
As the doctrine of the “catching away” developed in the Church, the word rapture stuck.
In addition to 1st Thess. 4:17, it is used a couple of other times in the Bible that provide some insight into its meaning and use.
Ex. Philip in Acts 8:39
Act 8:39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
Paul in II Cor. 2 & 4
2Co 12:2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
2Co 12:3 And I know such a man--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows--
2Co 12:4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
So, the definition of the word transliterated “rapture” means…
“A sudden snatching away”
Applied to the promise of Jesus to remove His Bride, the Church from the earth it means…
“A sudden snatching away of Christians, both those who are alive, and the bodies of those who have died, to meet Jesus in the air”
Paul reveals this mystery to us in I Cor. 15:51-52
1Co 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed (receive our eternal body)--
1Co 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
So, at the Rapture of the Church we will…
Be changed - receive our resurrection bodies
Go to meet the Lord in the air - be with Him forever
…skipping the whole process of death!
Ap. Anyone have trouble seeing why that would be exciting!
When it happens, it will be fast!
“in the twinkling of an eye”
Or, as Wuest translates it…
“In an instant of time so small that it cannot be divided into smaller units”
So, we want to live our lives with the blessed anticipation that the Lord could call us all to Him in the next breath!
When does it happen?
√ When!
For the last 2000 years believers have asked that question!
Unfortunately, many have tried to set the date and been wrong.
Both cults and well-meaning, though misinformed Christians.
J.W.’s
Adventists (Miller)
Wisenaught
Harold Camping
The Biblical truth is that we have not been told the day or the hour that the Lord will take His people to be with Him.
Look for example at I Thess. 5:1-4
1Th 5:1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.
1Th 5:2 For you
yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3 For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
The rapture of the church is characterized as coming unexpectedly - suddenly - like a thief.
Jesus said…
Mt 25:13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
So the time of the rapture is unknown - it hasn’t been revealed to mankind and therefore it is folly to try and guess when it is coming.
Instead we are called to ready.
√ Pre, mid, or post?
We don’t know the day or the hour of the Lord’s return, perhaps a more important question is, will it happen…
…before, or after the Great Tribulation described in Rev. 6-19?
That’s where our verse this morning gives us some insight.
Rev 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this."
Jesus’ tells John that He is going to show him things that will take place in the future - the Great Tribulation in the following chapters.
But Jesus also says in context with the promise to show John the future, He says that these things will take place...
“...after this”
- ...after what
things?
The answer is - after the things described in chapters 2 and 3.
That is, the messages to the 7 churches.
So, the events described in chapters 4 through 22 do not come to pass until after the messages of Jesus to the 7 churches are complete.
Jesus' messages were to 7 literal churches, yet also prophetically speak of all churches for all time - while the Church ministers for the Lord on this planet.
So, the events described in the rest of the Revelation do not take place until after the end of the Church Age - that is after the Church has been removed from Earth.
It’s significant to note that where the word “church” was used so prominently in chapters 1 to 3 (18 times)…
…it is completely missing from the chapters 6 to 19 of the Revelation which describe the Tribulation!
So, where is the church then during the Great Tribulation? In the throne room of Heaven!
John writes…
Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
Rev 5:10 and have made us kings (a kingdom) and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth."
The question, who is singing this song? Only the Church can sing…
“You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” vs. 9
And where do we find the Church? In heaven!
√ More evidence for a Pre-Tribulation Rapture
Jesus’ promise to the faithful church of Philadelphia…
Rev 3:10 "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
Kept from World Wide Tribulation
Paul’s encouragement to the church in Thessalonica…
1Th. 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
And…
1Th 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Context of I Thess. 4 & 5 is the rapture of the church.
2Th 2:1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him (clear reference to the rapture), we ask you,
2Th 2:2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
2Th 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
2Th 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
2Th 2:6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
2Th 2:7 For the
mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
The coming Antichrist cannot be revealed until the restraining power of the Holy Spirit in the Church is removed…
…when the Holy Spirit living inside of Christians is removed, we go too!
Thus, the Rapture of the Church will come before the Great Tribulation begins.
Types foreshadowing the Rapture
Is there an example of God delivering His people from His wrath in the Bible?
√ Enoch
Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death, "and was not found because God had translated him"; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
When was Enoch raptured?
Before the Flood - the wrath of God upon an unrepentant world.
Enoch a type of the church while Noah a type of Israel whom God will carry safely through the Tribulation.
√ Lot delivered from Sodom and Gomorrah before God poured out His wrath. In fact, note the testimony of the angels who were sent to destroy the cities.
“Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Gen. 19:22
√ The Bride and Bridegroom
Who goes?
√ Who goes?
Perhaps the most important question relating to the promise of the Rapture is, who goes?
Paul tells us…
1Th. 4:16 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.
1Th. 4:17 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.
That is, the Lord is returning to redeem His own people – those who have trusted in Him for salvation and eternal life.
The Rapture is a promise to the Christian only.
√ Are you ready?
The concept of a pretribulation rapture has very purifying effect upon the heart of a believer and is a sobering consideration for the unbeliever.
The believer...
Keeps our priorities straight.
Maintains a healthy fear of the Lord when we’re faced with temptation.
The unbeliever...
Sober warning - don't wait till after the rapture to trust in Christ as the Tribulation is the worst time in the history of man.
Don't mock like those who watched Noah build the ark.
Close
√ The Rapture
So, now you know….
What the Rapture is
When it will happen
Who gets raptured!
The important question…
Ap. Are you ready?
"And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely."
Rev. 22:17