Doctrine of the Rapture, 2
CityPoint: Doctrine of the Rapture Session 2
Our next gathering will be Thursday, July 27th at 5:30.
As always, be a Berean and challenge against Scripture what is written here, the words I say or anyone, for that matter, who speaks about the Bible. The church as a whole would not be so far off track if Christians who sit in church would know, study, and challenge all things against Scripture. This is incumbent on all of us. Remember, the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). This is why prophecy is pivotal to our walk with Jesus. He made a promise, and He will fulfill it! Praise HIM!!!
The last day we met, we watched Before the Wrath. It is on Amazon Prime that can be rented or purchased. It talks about the Galilean wedding which is how Jesus was describing His gathering of His bride unto Himself prior to the wrath to come.
As always, we will just scratch the surface….
IV. Comparison of Jesus Rapturing the Church vs. His 2nd Coming, respectively. I obtained the list below from Chuck Missler’s The Rapture. As you study the Bible and specifically about Jesus coming again, these are important distinctions between when Jesus will gather the Believers at the Rapture compared to when Jesus will set His foot down to rule and reign on earth for a 1000 years. In the first two points, he uses the word translation. I always wondered where he got that term. As you may have read in previous notes, Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp who was a disciple of John who wrote Revelation. Translation is the English word translated for Irenaeus’ term for Believers being raptured. I thought it was cool that after all this time of wondering then studying this concept again, my question was answered.
a. Translation of all believers vs. No translation at all
b. Translated saints go to heaven vs. Translated saints return to earth
c. Earth not judged vs. Earth judged, righteousness established
d. Imminent, any moment, signless vs. follows definite predicted signs, including tribulation
e. Not in the OT vs. Predicted often in the OT
f. Believers only vs. Affects all men on earth
g. Before the day of wrath vs. Concluding the day of wrath
h. No reference to Satan vs. Satan is bound
i. Christ comes for His own vs. Christ comes with His own
j. He comes in the air vs. He comes to the earth
k. He claims His bride vs. He comes with His bride
l. Only His own see vs. Every eye shall see Him
m. Tribulation begins after vs. Millennial Kingdom begins after
n. NT saints resurrected vs. OT saints resurrected
V. Our Blessed Hope
a. Romans 5:9 saved from His wrath. God pours out His wrath during the tribulation period. We can read this throughout Scripture. BUT, the Bride of Christ is saved from it. If you review the Greek here in this verse, it means a separation, departing, fleeing with distance. There will be people who come to faith during this time, but those who are in Christ will be removed before this time begins.
b. Philippians 3:20-21 eager anticipation of the Rapture. The Rapture can happen at any moment which is why we need to live in eager anticipation as our bodies will then be transformed.
c. I Thessalonians 1:10 delivered from wrath. Jesus will gather His Bride and deliver from the wrath to come. You cannot get much more clear than this.
d. II Thessalonians 2:1-12 there will be a falling away and anti-christ not revealed until Restrainer is removed. I believe we have covered this before, but one thing to keep in mind is Paul wrote his second letter to the Thessalonians because some teaching had crept up after his first letter that the tribulation had already started, and the anti-christ was on the scene already. This specific passage here in chapter 2 refutes that notion. First, there will be a mass falling away from truth of profession Believers. Look around you today, do you see this? Second, the anti-christ cannot be revealed or known until the Restrainer is removed. The Restrainer is the Holy Spirit who actively works through Believers, ie the church. Therefore, until Believers are removed, the anti-christ cannot be known which is also coincides with God pouring out His wrath upon a rejecting world.
e. Titus 2:11-15 looking for our blessed hope and glorious appearing of Jesus. The Rapture is our blessed hope! It is the hope we have to be delivered from this current world that is growing increasingly more wicked as well as deliverance from God’s wrath. Jesus appears in the clouds to gather at the Rapture. He doesn’t come to set His foot down on earth as that is the Second Coming when He will then rule and reign for a 1000 years.
f. Revelation 3:10 the promise to the Philadelphian church to be kept from the hour of trial. I emphatically believe that Revelation can stand on its own regarding the rapture of the Church. The promise to the Philadelphians is one of those passages in this book. There are only two of the seven churches Jesus was speaking to that didn’t have anything negative said: Smyrna and Philadelphia. A deep dive study on Revelation 2 and 3 should be a priority for any serious believer. Jesus told the Philadelphians the time period on earth that starts in Revelation 6 as Revelation 4 and 5 are chapters that can stand on their own to support the rapture of the Church.
g. II Corinthians 5:20 we are ambassadors for Christ. A nation will always remove their ambassadors
before going to war. This is one of my favorites yet not fully parallel with the other above passages. God will gather His church unto His Son in the clouds before pouring out His wrath.
VI. Seven challenges as to why a pre-70th Week (Tribulation) Rapture
a. II Thessalonians 2:1-12 and Revelation 4-6: the church is removed before the anti-christ, so how can the the first seal be opened in Revelation 6 prior to Revelation 4-5
b. Revelation 4: why is John called into heaven by an open door for the church to be crowned and rewarded and to then not be mentioned again until Revelation 19
c. What is the purpose of the 144,000 Jews in Revelation 7 if the church is still present?
d. What is the purpose of the Two Witnesses in Revelation 11 if the church is still present?
e. What is the purpose of the angel in the heavens proclaiming the everlasting Gospel in Revelation 14
if the church is still present?
f. Why does John only see the martyrs of the tribulation if the martyrs in our current age (NT)
had not been raptured?
g. John 14:1-4: when else would Jesus come again and receive us to Himself and take us
back to Heaven?
VII. Don’t be discouraged: II Peter 3. There are a couple points with this:
Verses 3-4: Know this first, Peter says: that scoffers will come. It should be an encouragement from Scripture when we people mock us for holding onto the hope of the Return of the King.
Verses 7, 10: This earth is reserved for fire. This occurs at the end of the Millennial Reign. Therefore, we should store up for ourselves treasures in heaven.
Verses 8-9: I find these verses fascinating as they are heretically taken out of context to attempt some narrative to support anything but a literal 6-day Creation account. What is even more fascinating, it is sandwiched in between prophecy talk. Many a scholar take this to be rendered this way: The earth will have 6000 years of sin thus requiring a 1000 year rest (Jesus’ Millennial Reign) thus completing the timeline of earth to prepare the way for the New Heaven and New Earth. My friends, we are definitely in this time window!
What are we then to do? Verses 11 and beyond cover this: looking for and hastening the coming day of God!
MARANATHA!!