Now turn with me in your Bibles to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4.
First Thessalonians chapter 4. I want to read again from verse
13 right down to chapter 5, verse 8.
Let's hear the Word of God reading of course from the King
James Bible for those online. The words will come up on the
screen. First Thessalonians chapter 4.
We're reading from verse 13. But I would not have you to be
ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep that you
sorrow not even as others which have no hope for.
If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so them
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with them.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which
are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not
prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall
descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel,
and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall
rise first. Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be
with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another
with these words. But of the times and the
seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you, for
yourselves. Know perfectly that the day of
the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
For when they shall see peace and safety, then sudden
destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child.
They shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in
darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day.
We are not of the night nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be
sober. For they that sleep, sleep in
the night, and they that be drunken or drunken in the night.
But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breast St
of faith and love, and foreign helmet the hope of salvation.
Amen will end the reading their first eight, and we pray God
will stamp with his own approval and blessing this reading of the
Holy Scripture. Now this morning we are
returning to our ex Suppository studies in the book of First
Thessalonians. And for a few weeks we've been
looking at First Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 13 to 18, and
I have been setting forth different themes.
We've looked at the theme of comfort for those who are
grieving, and we've looked at the theme then last week of
truths connected to the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Now today, my text is found in the verse 17.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and
so shall we ever be with the Lord.
And I've entitled my subject today the rapture and the return
of Jesus Christ to this earth in power and glory, the last Lord's
Day. I set forth 4 truths about the
coming of the Lord. One, the promise of His coming
as factual. We talked about the certainty
and the comfort of that promise. Secondly, we looked at the
particulars of His coming that are foundational, namely the
truth about redemption, the truth about His resurrection,
and the truth of His reappearance, especially from
the words of verse 14 and the words 15.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so
them also would sleep in. Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, that we which
are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not
prevent them which are asleep. Remember, if Christ has risen
from the dead, then his people, even though those who sleep in
Christ, will God bring with. I told you this is a great
truth, a truth that has gripped the New Testament church from
the beginning. And that truth is about the
bodily resurrection of the dead in Christ.
At his return, the dead will not be forgotten.
That was the argument that the Thessalonians had.
They're not going to be disadvantaged.
They'll not be lost. Their resurrection is first in
order. And after the resurrection of
the glorious dead, we read then verse 17.
Then we which are alive and remain unto thee, then we which
are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be
with the Lord. I think of the picture here.
Jesus Christ returns. Then there is a resurrection of
the righteous dead. Then the righteous Saints still
alive, and the earth and their bodies are caught up to meet the
Lord in the air with the righteous dead.
And then Christ will usher in His righteous reign.
Notice 18 how it closes. Wherefore comfort one another
with these words. And as we close last Lord's day,
we thought about the purpose of His coming.
That is fruitful. It brings comfort to the
grieving. There's a call for holy living,
and we'll see that next week. And also there's a believing
concern for the glory of God. Now today I want to add to those
4 truths about the coming of the Lord another truth that I
deliberately left off, namely the truth about the rapture and
the return of Jesus Christ in power and glory.
So that's what we're thinking about tonight or today.
First Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 17 and the rapture and the
return of Jesus Christ. Now three things about the
rapture. The rapture is a scriptural
event. You've got to think about the
Scriptures and the rapture and the return of Christ.
You see, recently I was asked, do you believe in the rapture of
the church? This was my answer.
Yes, I do. Now.
The person that asked was very surprised and they said, oh, I
thought that Free Presbyterian ministers didn't believe in the
rapture. And I said to them, well, I do,
it's a scriptural event. And I turned into this text of
Scripture, First Thessalonians 4 and 17.
And I pointed to the person who'd asked the words, caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And I said to the individual, First Thessalonians chapter 4,
verse 17 teaches the rapture of the church.
Now listen to this at the return of Jesus Christ.
Now one of the chief concerns for many Christians is what do
these words mean? What do you think they mean?
What have you heard that they mean?
Let me try to answer this negatively.
Let me tell you what it doesn't mean.
There are those who teach in the evangelical world to this day
that there's two separate future comings of Christ, and those two
future separate comings of Christ are divided by a
seven-year period. Now, I do not believe in two
separate future comings of Christ divided by a seven-year
period. I do not believe that.
Why? Because the Bible doesn't teach
that. The Bible doesn't teach 2
separate future comings of Christ divided by 7 years.
So I want to be clear in that, and I want you to be clear.
And I tried to press this home to the person that asked me
about the rapture. The Bible doesn't teach 2 future
comings of the Lord Jesus. 1 secret, one silent, although
significant. And then seven years later
there's the actual visible return of Christ to the earth.
You see, here's the argument of those that hold to that view.
There are verses that mention the coming of the Lord.
You can see that First Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 15
does not mention. For this we say unto you, by the
word of the Lord, that we which are alive remain unto the coming
of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep.
The word coming is the Greek word Perusia, 1st Thessalonians
415 All unto the coming of the Lord.
And here's the argument. The rest of the verses in the
Bible that mention the coming of the Lord has to do with a
silent, secret but significant coming of the Lord to the heir.
The word for coming in every reference has nothing to do with
Christ's coming in future judgement, that there are other
New Testament words to signify his arrival to meet out
judgement, and those words are appearing and those words in
Revelation. Now the question for us this
morning is this, What does the Bible teach?
Does the Bible teach one word that talks about the coming of
the Lord, a coming for its people, dead or alive, a coming
that's significant but silent and secret, and then seven years
later returned visibly in judgement to deal with the rest
of humanity. There's some people teach that
and they use the word coming, a silent secret coming, and then
they use the word appearing and revelation to teach that he
appears seven years later after his silent secret coming to deal
firmly with the ungodly. Now I hope I've explained that
I'm not a good explainer, especially when it's something
complex for us. We have to ask the question, is
this scriptural? Is this what the Bible teaches?
Now, I don't want the system. I'm not interested in a system,
whether it's taught by JN Darby or Mr Schofield.
I want to know what the Scripture says.
So for us, the question is, this is a Scripture.
Now I want to tell you this morning that that theory, as I
have explained it negatively, doesn't stand up to the
Scriptures. It's not what the Bible teaches.
And when you examine the three primary Greek words that are
used to describe Christ's return, they are never separated
into different phases. Now, beloved, listen to me
carefully. This is not an argument for the
sake of having an argument. This is not taking a sweep at
those who hold to dispensational theology.
This is about being true to the Scriptures.
Here's a simple question that the dispensations have the
answer Does the Bible teach 2 future comings, 1 secret, one
silent although significant, and then seven years later return to
the earth and power and glory? You have to answer that, Or does
it teach which? This is what I believe now,
connection with the rapture, one singular climatic visible return
when dead Saints are raised and the living Saints simultaneously
are caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air. And as the Bible says, and so
shall we ever be with the Lord. Now I'm attempting to answer
this from Scripture. So if anybody asks you, do you
believe in the rapture, here's the answer.
Yes, I do. Why?
Because it's a scriptural event and it happens singularly and
climatically at the return of Christ.
That's the first thing. The second thing is this.
It's not only a scriptural event, it's a singular event.
We could going to spend a little time now thinking about the
singularity of the rapture and at the return of Christ and
here's the evidence. So you're going to have to do
some turning of the pages of the Bible.
Listen to this. The Greek words do not support 2
comments. There's the first line of
evidence. There's the first argument, the
three Greek words Perusia translated coming first
Thessalonians 415. It literally means presence
after arrival. The coming is used for the royal
visit of a king, and the Bible doesn't divide the word Perusia.
When the king arrives, his presence was public.
His presence was proclaimed. Long live the king.
You could hear the shout. You could hear the trumpet being
blasted. His presence was visible.
His presence was authoritative. The news was the king has
arrived. Turn over there to Matthew
chapter 24. Look at this verse of Scripture.
Now, I would encourage you to listen to this again.
I would encourage you to underline these verses.
Matthew chapter 24, verse 27. Now we're going to take our
time. So you find the place.
It'll come up and screen for those online.
For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even
unto the West, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
Now the word coming, there's Perusia.
Now let me point out, lightning is not secret, it's seen.
Lightning is usually not silent, but is accompanied with
thunderous noise. The lightning splits the sky.
The lightning is not hidden. For as the lightning cometh out
of the east, and shineth even unto the West, so shall also the
coming, the Perusia of the Son of Man, be.
Now the same word is used, and we'll keep that in mind.
We'll come back to that passage of Scripture a little later in
First Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 23. 1st Corinthians 15
verse 23. It says in First Corinthians 15,
verse 22 for the context. For as in Adam all die, Even so
in Christ shall all be made alive.
Notice verse 23 now, but every man in his own order, Christ the
first fruits that's connected to the first fruits of the harvest,
Christ in his resurrection glory afterwards, they that are
Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he
shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father,
when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and
power. I put it to you, when does the
resurrection happen? It happens at His coming and
they that are Christ at His coming.
And if the resurrection happens at His coming and the coming, as
we're going to see is after the tribulation of those days, as
Matthew chapter 2427 to 31 teaches, then there cannot be
two separate events connected to His coming.
There's one singular coming. The same word is used in First
Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 13.
It says to the end, He may establish your hearts in blame,
in blamelessness and in holiness before God, even our Father at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his Saints.
Notice that with all his Saints at the coming, the Perusia, it's
the same word. Or we could turn over there to
2nd Thessalonians chapter 3, and in the verse 8, Second
Thessalonians chapter 3, and in the verse, sorry, Second
Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 8.
And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall
consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with
the brightness of His coming. See, it's all one singular
event. So I'm putting it to you.
The Greek word perusia does not support 2 comings.
Here's a second word, and I have to be very quick.
The word appearing, if you turn over there to Second Timothy
chapter 2, and in the verse 8, Second Timothy, sorry, Second
Timothy chapter 4 verse 8, it says, Henceforth there's laid up
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all
them also that love His appearing.
Now the word appearing there is the word.
The Greek word epiphania, and it means it's shining forth, it
means something that's visible. It's a visible manifestation, A
blazing revelation. And it's from which we get the
English word epiphany, and it describes something revealed,
something that's been revealed and bursting forth visibly.
And it's a good Bible word and it describes the return of Jesus
Christ. That's exactly what Paul is
saying here. Paul's talking about his death,
and he's saying here something really wonderful.
Henceforth there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
because of His faithfulness to the blood in the book which the
Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day, what day,
the day of His return, and not to me only, but unto all them
also that love His appearing. If you go back there to 2nd
Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 8, we read.
And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall
consume with the spurt of His mouth, and destroy with the
brightness of His coming. Notice these words, the
brightness of His coming. See, Paul, under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, combines the two terms, Perusia and
Epiphania. The word brightness is the Greek
word Epiphania, and it could literally read the appearing of
His coming. Brightness means appearing.
Appearing means brightness is from the word Epiphania.
And here's Epiphania and part of Perusia coming together to the
same event. No gaps, No2 phases.
The 2 words are used together interchangeably.
The appearing and the coming not as two separate events, but two
descriptions of the same event. See, the Bible never speaks of a
silent secret Perusia followed by a later appearing.
They are singular. They are the same.
Go back there to 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1 and
verse 7. Second Thessalonians chapter 1
and in the verse 7, it says unto you who are troubled, rest with
us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his
mighty angels. She that word revealed.
It's another Greek word, apocalyptus, and it means
revelation. Paul writes when the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.
I put it to you, that's a public unveiling.
That's a proclaimed unveiling. You see, Paul is using these 3
words interchangeably. The appearing is the coming.
The revelation is the coming. The coming is visible, it's not
hidden. That's the Greek words very
quickly. And secondly, the order of
events in Matthew 24. Let's go back to Matthew chapter
24 and we'll read a wee bit there.
Matthew chapter 24. I've already read verse 27, but
we'll read it again. For as the lightning cometh out
of the east, and shineth even unto the West, so shall also the
coming of the Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass is,
there will the eagles be gathered together.
I believe that has to do with the valley of Megiddo, the day
of Armageddon. Look at verse 29.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall
the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken. Then shall appear the sign of
the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the
earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming.
That's the same word, Perusia in the clouds of heaven.
And how does He come? With power and glory.
And then look at verse 31. And then shall he send his
angels with a great shout sound of a trumpet, and they shall
gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of
heaven to the other. Now do you see that noted
carefully? You've got the tribulation here
immediately after the tribulation of those days, and
then you've cosmic signs in the heavens, and then you have the
visible coming, the same Lord Jesus out of heaven.
And then when He comes, the angels gather his elect from one
end to the other, accompanied with the great sound of a
trumpet. And when I compare that passage
of Scripture with First Thessalonians chapter 4 that we
have been studying, that I've read to you quite a number of
times. For this we say unto you by the
word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the
coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout. But the voice of the Archangel
with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with the middle clouds to meet the Lord of the air, and
so shall we ever be with the Lord.
You see in that passage you've got to shout.
The King is coming accompany with the voice of the Archangel.
Then there's the sound of the trumpet, Then there's the
descent of Christ, and there's the resurrection of the glorious
dead. And then we which are alive,
we're we're, we're, we're changed.
We, we accompany them and we are are caught up together with them
to meet the, the, the Lord in the air.
It's the same elements. It's the very same sequence.
The gathering of the elect in Matthew chapter 24 matches the
catching up in First Thessalonians chapter 4.
There's not any textual evidence for any different event.
See, I believe the rapture happens at the coming of Christ.
That's why I believe in the rapture, and the timing's
important, not at the beginning, but at the end, after the
tribulation of those days. Let me explain something very
quickly for a time has gone. You see the word there in
Thessalonians in verse 17. First Thessalonians chapter 4,
verse 17. Notice these words.
The word caught up. That is the Greek word.
Hard pass, Harpas. And it literally means to cease
suddenly, to snatch away, to take by force, to carry off
powerfully. And it was used to Philip in
Acts 8 and 39. The Spirit of God caught away
Philip. It's a design, A divine
irresistible action, a supernatural action that's very
significant. They they put it all together.
The Lord descends, there's a shout, the voice of the
Archangel, the trump of God. And we read that the dead in
Christ rise first in which we were alive and remain, are are
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air. It's nothing silent here,
nothing secret here. The Lord is seen, The Lord comes
visibly, the Lord comes bodily. The the shout is heard word, the
trumpet that sounds is victorious.
The graves are open. This is cosmic.
This is significant. The church rises to meet the
king. Notice the words in 17 to meet
the Lord in the air. The the word meet is upentius.
The word is used in the ancient world for a delegation that went
out to meet the visiting king and then escort the king back to
the city in triumph. The same word appears.
See, we have to be fair to scripture.
The the same word appears Matthew 25 verse 6.
The virgins go out to meet the bridegroom.
Well, they don't go off with the bridegroom to some other place.
No, they they return with the bridegroom to the house where
the marriage has taken place. And same happened in Acts 28,
verse 15, when the believers went out to meet Paul.
Paul was coming as a prisoner. He was coming to Rome to be
tried before Caesar and they went out to meet Paul and escort
Paul back to Rome. The word doesn't imply A
departure. It doesn't imply A departure
away with that individual forever or for a time.
No, it implies reception. It implies an escort.
The dead Saints are resurrected, they arrive to meet Christ, to
see the Saiyans in the air and simultaneously the living
Saints. They are raised, they are
changed, they are transformed, and they also arise to meet
Christ in the air. And the purpose is that his
churches going out to meet the King, and they accompany him and
royal triumph back to this earth.
The rapture is not a removal for seven years before his coming.
It's an integral part of his coming.
Could I tell you something else very quickly?
Bear with me for a few minutes. The resurrection destroys the
pre tribulation gap of seven years.
See the pre tribulation teaching requires this, a resurrection
before the tribulation, the Church Saints dead and living.
And then it requires another resurrection after the
tribulation. We'll call them the tribulation
Saints. That's the Saints that are saved
between the the seven-year period.
Those are saved. How do they get saved out of
great tribulation? How do we know there's a people
saved out of great tribulation? Well, listen to the Bible.
In Revelation Chapter 7, we read this Revelation 7.
Bear with me here. Verse 14 It says this.
And I said unto him, Sir, Thou knowest.
And he said to me, These are they which came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are they before
God. They are they before the throne
of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.
He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
You see, contrary to 1st Corinthians in 15 and 52, we
read in a moment, at the last trump, the dead shall be raised.
The last trumpet can't be a a trumpet 7 years before.
There's not a trumpet mentioned in the Bible seven years before
the last trumpet. The Lord Jesus said, I will
raise him up at the last day. And the context of first first
Corinthians 15 verses 50 to 58 is that we shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed. See, see that references to
those who are alive when when Christ returns, as well as the
glorious day during the graves. The rapture's not secret, the
rapture's not silent. There's a shout, there's the
voice of the trumpet. And it says in Revelation
chapter 1 and verse 7A, tremendous statement.
Revelation One and seven says this.
Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him.
Do you get that? And they also which pierced him,
and all kinders of the earth shall wheel because of him.
Even so, Ah, man, the same Jesus, the one who died and rose
again and went into heaven, the same Jesus shall come out of
heaven. And He ascended visibly bodily
and, and, and, and and and powerfully.
His return will be visible, bodily and powerful.
I'll tell you something else very quickly.
The cosmic upheaval marks the coming of Christ in Matthew 24.
I, I put it to you, the sun is darkened.
The moon shall not give her light.
There's the falling of the stars.
There's the sign of the Son of Man appearing.
The angels gather the elect, the sound of the trumpet, every eye
shall see. And it's not secret, it's
public, it's global, it's, it's, it's, it's climactic, it is
castroscopic for the earth. The coming of Christ shakes the
heaven and the earth. See, the Bible teaches, I
believe one climatic thunderous arrival of the King from heaven.
Philippians 3 Tenthy talks about he is coming out of heaven.
Not an Angel, not a representative, not something
invisible, unseen, not an influence, but the Lord himself,
the same Jesus, the one who was kneeled to the tree, the one
with the same the kneel pierced hands, the one who was crucified
in the body, the one who was glorified in that body, that's
the one who's coming. The day of the Lord is a
thunders event. Everybody pointed out that in
Second Thessalonians chapter 2 verses one to three, Paul
connects the coming the Perusia with our gathering unto him.
See, the day cannot come except there's a falling away.
That's apostasy, and that's happening all around us.
And that day cannot come until the man of sin has revealed the
Antichrist, and he will be revealed in due time.
And the gathering happens unto Christ after the revelation of
the man of sin, not before. See, when we look at the events,
we learn this is a scripture event.
We learn that this is a singular event.
It's not 2, but just one. And last of all, this is a
supernatural event. Notice it says at the end.
And with this we finish. So shall we ever be with the
Lord? See, the Bible ends with
permanence. The Bible ends with a promise.
This is not about an escape plan.
This is about meeting a returning king and Prince.
This is about resurrection. This is about reunion.
This is rejoicing in a most glorious transformation, when
the dead in Christ are raised corrupt, incorruptible, when we
who are alive are changed and we're all gathered to Christ. 1
Coming, 1 appearing, 1 Revelation of Christ.
And when that happens, there's the resurrection of the Saints.
There's one glorious return, and as I've said, our hope is not to
escape trouble or tribulation. Our hope is in Christ Himself.
Sadly, and I say this as I finish, you see, these two
separate future comings divided by 7 years were taught
principally by a man called JM Darby and another man called
Schofield. You might have seen it or heard
of it in the Schofield Bible, but it was never taught in the
early church. It was never taught until the
19th century, and that's when it gained popularity and it's known
as part of the dispensational system.
Now, I'm not knocking the dispensational system.
I'm not attacking brethren. I'm not using argument for the
sake of argument. But let me say this as I finish
our authority is not in a system.
Our authority has to be in the Scripture.
What does the Bible say? And I've tried to show you what
the Bible says, the three Greek words connected to coming,
appearing, and revelation. I've tried to point out that the
resurrection happens at the return of Christ, not before.
I've tried to point out that the trumpet sounds, the last trumpet
at that event, and when the trumpet sounds, there's a
gathering to Christ. The glory is dead and we who are
alive in the earth. And that one event is cosmic
Saints, the sun, the moon, the stars impacted.
There's a shaking of heaven, there's a shaking of earth, and
the Lord is visibly seen at that event.
It's a supernatural event. So when asked do you believe the
rapture, you go out and say, yes I do.
But ask them what they mean. And if they start talking about
two separate comings divided by 7 years, just simply tell them
that it's not scripture. You can't prove it from the
Bible. It's based on a system taught by
two men. We need to come back to the
scriptures. And I've studied this, I've
studied it quite a bit at length.
I've listened to a particular man whose name I can't remember
about two years ago. And I, I, I wrote 8 sermons to
do with the coming of Christ. And this man was a believer in
dispensational theology. He was very high up in the
dispensational movement. And he come to this conviction
that the rapture is at the return of Christ, not seven
years before, not midway through, but after the
tribulation. And you know what they did to
him? They put him out of his
assembly. I leave that with you.
I pray the Lord will bless these few truths.
I'm sorry it has taken so long to get to this point, but I
trust that what I've said will be helpful in our study on 1st
Thessalonians. Now, next week in the will of
God, we'll deal with eight verses.
And then the following week we'll deal with a few more
verses just to try and hurry the study alone.