Lesson for July 14, 2021
The Rapture
Jesus left a promise of the Rapture in John 14:1-6, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
The Rapture is a technical theological term for the resurrection of the Royal Family of God, the Church. Once the Royal Family of God is completed, the Church (the body of Christ) is resurrected to meet Jesus Christ in the air and then to become the bride of Christ. The Church Age in which we live is that period of human history when the Royal Family of God is being formed on earth. (Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:16, 4:4-5; Colossians 1:18, 24, 2:19) When the royal family of God is completed, then the Rapture occurs. (I Thessalonians 4:16-18; I Corinthians 15:51-58) During the conclusion of the Age of Israel called the Tribulation, the bride of Christ is prepared in Heaven in a resurrection body for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Jesus Christ). Then comes the Judgment Seat of Christ when all Church Age believers are evaluated and rewarded. (II Corinthians 5:10)
The Rapture is imminent meaning that it could occur anytime during the Church Age, which began at Pentecost. Since it has not occurred, it is still future. There are no prophecies that have to be fulfilled before the Rapture occurs. The Rapture will occur when the last member of the body of Christ is saved, which is known only by God. The Church Age is the only dispensation in which there is no prophecy. The Church Age began with an event called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit which was prophesied by the writers of the Old Testament and by Jesus during the Age of Israel. Jesus prophesied the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in Luke 24:49. No prophecy between the baptism of the Holy Spirit which began on the Day of Pentecost and the Rapture means that the Rapture is imminent. It could occur at any time; no one knows the day or the hour.
The resurrection of the Church, like our dying, is completely out of our control. Just as we have no control over the time and manner of our death, so we have no control over the time and manner of the Rapture. The resurrection of the Church is totally beyond our control because resurrection is the Lord’s victory. The Rapture could have occurred at the time in the early church because no prophecy had to be fulfilled before it occurs according to I Corinthians 1:4-8.
Distortion of the imminency of the Rapture results in instability and foolish explanation or speculation about the time of the Rapture. James gives an admonition in James 5:7-8. “Therefore, be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord (the Rapture). The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near (imminent).” The farmer invests by sowing seed. He must break up the soil and sow the seed, then he must wait. There’s nothing he can do while waiting; the seed will either come up or not. Either he will have production, or he will not. In the time of this writing, that depended upon the soil and the rains. The farmer did not have control over those elements. You cannot have patience without a stabilized mentality. Every day that the Rapture approaches, you have control over your life, and you decide what that life will be. So, while the Rapture is imminent, no one really knows when it will occur. (Revelation 22:7,12,20)
The Rapture of the Church is the next prophetical event to occur in history. Titus 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope [Rapture], even the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” We know the Rapture is coming. It may not occur in our lifetime, but we still know it’s coming. So, our responsibility is to continue to live our spiritual lives. The imminency of the Rapture is a doctrine for spiritually advancing believers because they the ones who anticipate with joy the Rapture.
The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the same power that resurrects each of us at the Rapture (resurrection of the Church). The Church Age ends at the Rapture. The Rapture of the Church is the first mass resurrection, when all Church Age believers receive their resurrection bodies. I Corinthians 6:14, “Now God has not only resurrected our Lord, but He will raise us up through His power.”
The omnipotence of God the Father was an agent in the resurrection of the humanity of Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:24; Romans 6:4; I Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians2:12; I Thessalonians 1:10; I Peter 1:21) The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit restored our Lord’s human soul in Hades to His body in the grave and thereby became an agent in the resurrection of the humanity of Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:4, 8:11; I Peter 3:18) After His physical death, Christ’s human spirit went to the third heaven into the presence of God the Father. His human soul went to Hades. His body went into the grave. Three days and nights later, the omnipotence of God the Father restored His human spirit to His body, the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit restored His soul to His body, and He received His resurrection body. So, the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is not only the same power that will raise us from the dead, but in addition, it is the power made available to us today. (Philippians 3:11; 1 John 3:2-3; Titus 2:13; I Corinthians 6:14)
We have two passages that speak about the timeline of the Rapture.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 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 not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
I Corinthians 15:51-54, “Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again [and we do], even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. 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 [Rapture] shall not precede those who have fallen asleep (died in Christ). For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God; in fact, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are living, who remain on the earth 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.”
“Being asleep” is an analogy to a believer’s body “sleeping in the grave,” waiting for the Rapture. Like the resurrection of Christ, believers who have died prior to the Rapture will be raised from the dead. Their souls and human spirits will be returned to their earthly body for a moment (in a twinkling of the eye) and then their earthly body will be instantly changed into a resurrection (glorified) body like Christ’s. (Philippians 3:20-21)
For those believers who are alive when the Rapture occurs their earthly bodies will be changed into a resurrection body and will be raised into the atmosphere with those believers who died before them during the Church Age to meet Jesus Christ in the air. Gabriel is believed to be the herald of God for the Church and will give a shout heard by believers, followed by the sound of a trumpet when the Rapture occurs. The power of God the Holy Spirit provides a resurrection body for the living believers at the Rapture.
Therefore, comfort each other with these words means the Rapture should be a source of comfort when you have lost a loved one who was a believer in Christ. These doctrines are a source of blessing as you face the adversities of life and realize that there is something far better beyond this life.
Revelation 3:11, “I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Hold fast means to seize, to grasp, to get possession of, and to become the master of something. You should be “holding fast” to Bible doctrine by consistently learning and applying it in preparation for the Rapture. Understanding and applying the doctrine of the Rapture provides stability for the royal family in the plan of God. The Rapture removes “the sting” out of physical death. (I Corinthians 15:54-58) The Rapture removes the hopelessness of bereavement. (I Thessalonians 4:13-14) The Rapture is a source of comfort in time of the loss of a loved one. (I Thessalonians 4:15-18; Philippians 1:6) The Rapture is a part of ultimate sanctification. (Ephesians 5:26-27) The Rapture is the basis for confidence and joyful anticipation of the resurrection of the Church. (Titus 2:13; Philippians 1:6; I Peter 1:3, I John 3:2-3)