The Rapture – Is it Real? - Part B

The rapture Jesus comes in the air and we meet him in the air, we will ever be with him. First Thessalonians 4, but at the second coming. Jesus comes from heaven through the air in the atmosphere, all the way to the rapture comes to claim his bride. Rapture is going to be a selective event for God's family today don't connect, Skip Scriptures insight into this future event and how you could be prepared for right now we want to tell you about a resource that will help you walk in the Holy Spirit, especially in the difficult moments in life walk with Jesus health for prominent women in the Bible think they are struck with teaching theories for my height and called Queens of the Bible on the Queen of Sheba hearing is the first step toward spiritual life right now, hearing step toward blessing because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God hear more from Lang. She exploits the faith in the failings of four different queens in Scripture.

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In other words, I am coming back at some point to get you and take you to where I am this most New Testament scholars believe that this is a reference of Christ to the coming for his church. The taking of the saints at the rapture. This is not the second coming. This is not the second coming at the second coming. Revelation chapter 19 Jesus comes from heaven all the way to the earth. Jesus wouldn't of said this. Then he said at some point I'm coming and I'm to be where you are so dumb to take you where I am. He's in a come back and take us somewhere. So this is not the second coming.

This is something different. Now these disciples didn't understand all of this. They didn't understand the nuance of the rapture and the second coming of Jesus gave this message is not giving them a lesson in eschatology in them that there is no condition to receive it that they don't quite understand it all. I and I get that. And he doesn't explain to them but they will understand it and here's how I know because I gonna write about it later on begin to get the full revelation later on, but let's just pause for a moment. Consider the chronology of the timing because now we have the benefit of the entire New Testament and now we understand by looking at all of the passages that the coming of Christ and the future has two stages. Stage one he comes in the air to take his church with them to be where he is and that at some point he comes with his church to the earth to set up his kingdom. Second, now want to return to first Thessalonians chapter 4 words of Paul the apostle, but I I I said pre-Mark first Thessalonians chapter 4 this is the classic passage on this event. First Thessalonians 4 verse 13, but I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are fallen asleep. It seems every time.

Also, I don't want you to be ignorant. It's a doctrine upon which the church is majorly ignorant. I don't want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. Keep in mind they thought okay you told us.

Jesus is coming our loved ones have died there going to miss out on this event so Paul corrects it for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord. Here's a special revelation I got from God that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

Those with died 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. 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. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

That is the rapture of the church. Some of your thinking. I didn't read the word rapture in that passage. Rapture is in in the New Testament the word rapture is in the Bible.

Well it depends which version of the Bible you are reading yet you're writing in English translation of map. The word rapture. If you were reading a Latin translation of the Bible the word rapture is plainly there in this passage were dropped tour of the Latin word from whence we can English get the word rapture. So the idea of the rapture and the word in Latin is certainly there, but notice the word caught up. We will be caught up. That's the Greek word Hartog, so Hartog, so it is a word used third teen times in the New Testament Hartog so is translated a variety of ways.

Four times it is translated to catch up three times. It is translated to take something by force. It is translated catch away twice. It is translated to pluck two times it is translated wants to catch and another. Once it is translated to poll to get the general idea. You can take something away snatch it quickly. I have a translation I brought with me called the Kenneth Weise translation. This is a Greek scholar who wrote several volumes and this is his New Testament translation.

What he does. He takes every single Greek word and sentence adds the richest in the nuance of the English translation, and in makes it as full as he can so you can understand the tenses, etc. so this is how he translates this verse in verse Thessalonians 4. We shall be snatched away forcibly in masses of saints having the appearance of clouds for a welcome meeting with the Lord in the lower atmosphere that's pretty plain is pretty detailed, even a casual study will show that there is a vast difference between the rapture of the church in the second coming of Christ. We run down a few of those to the rapture is when Jesus comes for his church. The second coming is when Jesus comes with his church at the rapture, Jesus comes in the air and we meet him in the air, we will ever be with him. First Thessalonians 4, but at the second coming. Jesus comes from heaven through the air. That is, through the atmosphere, all the way to the earth again at the rapture. He comes to claim his bride second coming. He comes with his bride. Think of the Jewish weather at the rapture, the focus is Jesus Christ and his church. At the second coming, the focus is Israel and the kingdom at the rapture of the church. It is a sudden event. It is an unpredictable event.

It is a sign I am less event. As Jesus said, or as Paul said in first Corinthians 15. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall be changed.

Most people, they will. The twinkling of an eye that the 30th of a second. That's that's when your I wing snow didn't say waking up and I the twinkling of an eye is different, twinkling of an eye is like traveling in 186,000 mi./s. Bouncing off your eye. In other words, in a nano second snap will be with the Lord Jesus referred to in Matthew 24 therefore you also be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect him the second coming is different. Unlike the rapture the rapture is unpredictable. The second coming is predictable, it will happen. I believe seven years later, the second coming when there is a tribulation on the earth when there's darkness on the earth cataclysms on the earth half the world's population on earth will die.

That's Revelation 6 to 19 at the rapture of the church. Only believers will see him, we who are alive and remain will be caught up at the second coming. Every eye shall see him, we are told to consider that next week the second coming. So that's a brief chronology of of this coming the third aspect going to look at is the controversy of his coming. Notice in verse four Jesus is and where I go you know and the way you know him as the Lord we don't we don't know where you're going and how can we know the way. Understand that the controversy here.

The Jews at that time, believe that the Messiah was coming, but the Jews believe the Messiah was coming once or twice he's coming and when he comes. He's good to set up the kingdom and the apostles were Jewish apostles. They were Jewish followers of Jesus, that is their belief system. I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. I believe that in so because he is the Messiah he's going to set up his kingdom easy to come and take over by the time of Jesus Jewish people had a clearly formed eschatology already in place to give you the rundown number one they expected before the coming of the Messiah. There will be a terrible time in the world terrible turmoil will happen.

They believe that it already happened because the Romans occupied the land took away their rights force them to do things they didn't want to do tax them heavily. They were under the oppression of the Roman yoke number two after that.

After the terrible time of turmoil in the midst of that turmoil forerunner is going to come in the Elijah like personality who's going to make an announcement that is coming. That's why people were all excited about John the Baptist when he came down to the Jordan River number two or three, the Messiah would then appear. He would then establish his kingdom. He would defeat all of his enemies, and number four scattered Jews from all over the world would slide into Israel.

Jerusalem would then be restored to a place of dominance and there would be world peace that was sort of a fourfold eschatology that Jews at that time believed the apostles were Jews. They believe that and probably they believed they were between phases one and three to add fuel to that eschatological fire just a few days prior to this meal, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on donkey and the crowds proclaimed him Messiah. Blessed are you, come in the name of the Lord, son of David, there was an uproar. If you were for the first time everybody recognizes he is the Messiah. So you gotta understand the disciples were salivating at that point. This is it. It show time so the next logical step. They thought is he's going to establish his kingdom.

Jesus after the donkey ride walks into the temple and looks around, and then leave and it's like long haul. I didn't do anything today so he does it again the next day talks with few people says a few things any lease, then he invites them to this Passover meal at which time he says I am leaving you this is not what they expect. This is not what they anticipate. This is why there is trouble in their hearts even when Jesus dies in gets raised from the dead and he is with his disciples in acts chapter 1 they come to him and say will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel.

Are you in an asset or prepaid images that you know it's really not for you know the times and seasons that the father has his own authority to lighten up. So you got you got to know that their entire theology is going to change from this night forward in the next few days, weeks, months, years, they're going to get it entered into understand. Okay Jesus is coming back and when he comes back, he's coming back for his church and the knees coming back with the church to the world are going to see those two coming now all of that to say this, Jesus coming was controversy will today.

Jesus coming is still controversy.

Everybody agrees that Jesus is coming, but not everybody agrees.

When Jesus is coming and it's funny how we argue about that.

But we do. Unfortunately, some believe Jesus coming in a pre-tribulation rapture before the tribulation begins.

I happen to be in that camp strongly. Others believe not strong. He's coming in the middle of the tabulation of the call by the mid-tribulation rapture.

Other say no is coming at the very end sort of the weirdest position because why would he take you up to only bring you back down like it and hit each other on the way up.

That's how close tribulation rapture. So there's all sorts of enters probably another position we can throw in a call to pre-wrath position that before you really unleash his wrath on the earth. God is going to then take us up with them. There's all sorts of different positions.

It's okay to believe in them. I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture believe in anything you want your wrong and I'm okay with you being wrong, I love you anyway because it's not a cardinal doctrine will not separate fellowship your wrong in so many levels. But that's okay.

The fact that he is coming back in and we just need to say that those are okay. What's not okay is there are some people who believe that all of this is imaginative and spiritual, that Jesus and all these events.

The Bible talks about the future really are going to happen. They already happened is called printer's PR ET ER ISM printer is him a predator rest is somebody who believes that all of the events written about in Revelation chapter 6 through 19 already happened in 70 A.D. when Titus destroyed Jerusalem saw figurative language already happened never to happen again and and there's an extreme view of predators in the says Jesus already came spiritually so they don't even make it physically and literally even though the angel said to the apostles the same Jesus, you saw go up will come back in like manner as you have seen them go.

But there are those who believe he is not a becoming and all the events of already happened was pretty easy to prove wrong right because if all the events in Revelation 6 and 19 of already happened in there gotta be some record and history of half of the world's population being wiped out. I've not read that you I've not seen that in the first century in Jerusalem and Israel in any subsequent century there would be some oral thing passed down of all the cataclysms mentioned in Revelation have having happened and there is not his coming is controversy on and on. This is were disorder touching on all these things are not going to deep but we we have a time constraint that is number for the consequences of his coming.

The consequence of the Camillus look at the last two verses of this paragraph, Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you're going and how can we know the way Jesus said to him, I love this. I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.

Now I know we like to poke fun at Thomas.

We like to chide him.

We like to call him the apostle with her?

For a brain. The apostle from Missouri. The show me state only to show me. Can I just say I like his honesty. I think he is listening to Jesus. Peter didn't get it because he's even said he didn't get where you nobody's getting it, but maybe all of the other classes are sort of like nodding their heads. When Jesus taught yeah yeah that's right and it's so heavy it's good it's good, I get it.

I have no idea what you just said I do know where you're going in about an hour you're gonna need not together and I'm really glad he piped up because Jesus gave a real good answer to his piping up we have a record and I'm glad we do verse six I am the way the truth and the life.

No one comes to the father except through me. That everyone's gonna make it to the father's house. The rapture is a selective event. It is reserved for family only the father's house. It's sad but true. The Bible says God is not willing that any should perish. He didn't want anybody to perish eternally die eternally is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. The sad truth is many new parish even though that is not God's design or desire so not everyone's going to make it to the father's house. Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life. Now look at verse six and noticed something about this.

It's a very narrowminded statement to a very dogmatic statement. He does not say I am a way I am one of many ways he does not say I will show you the way it does not say I will teach you the way says I am the way, I am the truth I am the life.

No one gets to the father except through me. When you agree that that is not what most people think when Jesus just said most people do not agree with most people think there's a heaven pretty much everybody is going all you gotta do to get to have this guy the actual truth is very few people make it to heaven.

Not most, few Matthew chapter 7 Jesus speaking interim by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go in by it. But narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are you who find Peter said in acts chapter 4. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Boy, that's narrowminded, boy, that's dogmatic.

You know why it is because it's true that's that that's the nature of truth.

Truth happens to be dogmatic. You know I have a math teacher.

She was so dogmatic. 2+2 in her mind always had equal for if I said yeah but today I sort of feel like it could be five you get it wrong how you're so dogmatic so narrowminded yeah I can afford to be your answer is wrong and this happens to be right.

By the way, your bank is very dogmatic you can. I decide not want to make the full payment is made $20 for my house this month. Okay well let you know that you are wrong in your assessment and they'll be narrow and dogmatic going forward so the good news is Jesus is coming back. The good news is Jesus coming back.

The bad news is Jesus is coming back and depending on who you are, will determine if that's good or bad news. If you come to Jesus to be introduced to the father of your introduce the father you get to the father's house. If you don't come to the Savior. You'll never know the father. If you don't know the father you will never get to the father's no one comes to the father except through me. Christian back to the bumper sticker Jesus is coming look busy. Forget that Jesus is coming be busy right work. While it is day for the night is coming when no man can work. Our Lord's, now's the time to be busy about his business and not be overwhelmed with what's going on yes to be diligent yesterday responsible not to be overwhelmed not to be fearful not to be weighed down with the certainty of that wraps up Skip a text message from the series 20 want to tell you about an offer to take knowledge of God's word to a deeper level, going to church is a great way to learn about God what you want to learn more, go deeper. Calvin College offers classes studies courses like worldview. Learn how to defend your faith on your schedule evening classes on campus or online transfer credits to Cambridge University Veritas international diversity for an accredited college degree that will impact your spiritual life for the rest of your life. Apply now@calvarychurchcollege.com.

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