Sermon Notes : Ressurrection Not Rapture

Sermon Notes: Ressurrection Not Rapture

by Tom Hamilton

Introduction

Several years ago , bumper stickers that say “Caution, in case of Rapture, this vehicle will be driverless” became popular.  There was even a set of novels and then movies (TV?) about the rapture occurring and thousands of people disappearing instantaneously and what would happen if you were “Left Behind!”

I read two of them and thought they were interesting as they stuck somewhat to the Bible, except for the fact that the word rapture is not found anywhere in the Bible.  And the Bible nowhere talks about a secret rapture or secret resurrection occurring prior to Christ’s return.  Rapture proponents believe that Christ first returns secretly and that Christians are changed at that time avoiding persecution and tribulation with the main and glorious return of Christ occurring at a later time.

The Bible does talk about a coming resurrection of the dead at the return of Christ.  Let’s look into what it says about these things and see if there is any validity in the rapture theory.

Old Testament

Enoch : Jude 14-15  Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied saying…Behold the Lord comes with myriads of His holy ones (saints), to execute judgement upon all, and to convict all the impious of all the impious deeds they have committed…  (Moffatt transl.).  This is a promise to the righteous and a warning to the wicked.  Here we see early in mankind’s history, a prophet of God telling that the Lord will come to execute justice, and the saints come with Him.  This is the only verse that is quoted from the book of Enoch in the Bible.

Job 14:14 …all the days of my hard service I will wait til my change comes…
V15 you shall call and I will answer you…
Job here tells us that life awaits us after death.  We see that God will call us.

Ps 68:4 “…Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him.”   Riding on the clouds is something Jesus is known for.

Daniel 7:13  “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.  [once again a reference to Jesus riding on the clouds].
V25 He (horn)shall speak pompous words against the Most High  and shall prosecute the saints of the Most High…the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.”  A prophecy of a coming persecution of the saints for 3 ½ yrs. 


The New Testament

Jesus’s statements:

Matthew – Mt. 24:23-28  “…if anyone says to you, ‘Look here is the Christ! Or there!’ Do not believe it….See I have told you beforehand. 

V26 Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look He is in the desert!’ Do not go out.   Or ‘Look He is in the inner rooms!’ Do not believe it.  [And yet this is almost the very thing that those who advocate the rapture believe in.  Christ will sneak in and take His righteous ones away and no one would know except for people suddenly missing.].

V27  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man.  [Christ’s return will be dramatic.  Everyone will know it is occurring.].

V30 … then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

V31  …He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather the elect together from the 4 winds…”

Mat. 26:64 “…I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Mark – Mk 13:21-27  v26 “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”

Mk 14:62  “…And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Luke - Lk. 21:27-28  27” Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

Paul

Acts 1:9-11  “…this same Jesus shall in like manner return…”

Note here that Jesus departed openly into the clouds, He is to return openly from the clouds.
 
I Cor. 15:51-52 “…the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised…and we shall be changed…”.
I Thess. 4:15 “… the living will not precede the dead

 V16  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.

 V17  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the air…”

II Thess. 2:1-4 Christ coming will be preceded by a falling away and the revealing of the man of sin.

II Pet.  3:3-10  “Scoffers will arise saying Where is the promise of His coming?  For since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning…The Lord is not slack concerning His promise…but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”  God is balancing the persecution of His saints against the repentance of more people.  At some point He makes the decision to let Christ return.

Ezek. 18:23  “ ‘Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?’  Says the Lord God, ‘and not that he should turn from his ways and live?’

V32   ‘…I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies…therefore turn and live!’ ”

This message from Ezekiel is just as relevant to us today as it was to the ancient Israelites.

Rev. 1:7  “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”

Rev. 11:15  “Then the 7th angel sounded(trumpet).  And there were loud voices in heaven saying, ‘The Kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever.’

V17  The twenty-four elders … ‘We give you thanks O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned…’

V18 ‘… and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great….’”

Rev. 19 :11 “…heaven opened…behold a white horse and He who sat on him was called Faithful and True and in righteousness He judges and makes war…the armies in heaven…follow Him on white horses.”

Will Christians Escape the Great Tribulation?

Rev. 12: 14-17  “14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
So we see some Christians protected from Satan somewhere on earth.  The other Christians suffer persecution.  No resurrection has occurred yet.  We see those who are protected from Satan’s persecution are still on the earth and have had to flee for their lives.  The earth opens up and swallows those who pursue them. 

Rev. 2 and 3  Messages to the 7 churches.  Note Rev. 3:10  This Church is kept from the hour of trial.  The others do not receive this promise.  This matches with Rev. 12.  So we see some Christians protected while others are not.

Mt. 24:21-22  “…then there will be great tribulation…and unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”  Here is a promise from Jesus that there will be Christians living on earth at His return, and for their sake, He hastens to return.

Summary

The Lord is not returning secretly.  The word rapture is not even in the Bible.  Jesus will return to this world openly, riding on the clouds of heaven.  Every eye will see Him.  He returns with power and great glory.   The trumpet of God will sound and the angels will announce the reign of Jesus Christ forever and ever.  He descends with a shout.  The Dead in Christ are raised first.  Then those Christians who are alive are changed.  The angels gather the elect from the 4 winds of the earth.  Neither the Bible nor Christ taught about a secret return of Christ.

Luke 21: “34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. 35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy[c] to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Mat. 28:19-20  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them …teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

May God find us doing His will with all our hearts at the return of Jesus!