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THE RAPTURE DOCTRINE “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye 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 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. 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.” (I Ths. 4:13-18) These words speak of a coming event that we call the Rapture. This subject is also addressed in I Corinthians 15:50-58: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Fr this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” The Bible says that there is coming a future event where all of God’s people will be “caught up” from this earth to meet the Lord in the air. This includes only God’s people, those who have been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, and no one else. Everyone else will be left behind to go through the most horrible period of time this world has ever known. Under four separate headings, I’d like to address the subject of the Rapture . . . I. THE TRUTH OF THE RAPTURE Some people do not accept the Rapture doctrine. They like to point out the fact that the word “rapture” is not found in the Bible, which is a rather weak argument. After all, the word “Bible” isn’t found in the Bible, yet we don’t deny the Bible. The word “trinity” isn’t found in the Bible, but we still believe in the Holy Trinity because of what the Bible does say. The Rapture doctrine works the same way. The Bible describes this event as occurring very quickly and forcefully, so we use the word “rapture,” which comes from the Latin word “rapto,” meaning to seize quickly and forcefully. I’d say that “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” matches that description pretty well, wouldn’t you? The Christian needs to understand that Jesus isn’t merely “coming back.” He is coming for his own people first. The scriptures are very clear about this. In Luke 14:14, Jesus says, “. . . thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” He did not speak of a general resurrection for both saved and lost people, but rather a special resurrection for saved people only. The same is true in the revelation that Jesus gave to John. He says in Revelation 20:4-6: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” The “first resurrection” clearly occurs before the 1,000 kingdom of Christ, commonly called the Millennium. Then the “second death” occurs after the Millennium has expired. The second death is when the wicked dead are brought up before God and judged (Rev. 20:11-15). Those who are taken up in the first resurrection are not in any danger of being judged at the second death, what we generally call the White Throne Judgment. Notice carefully the discourse between Jesus and Martha from John 11:21-25: “Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” Like most people, Martha believed in a general “last day” resurrection and judgment for everyone at the same time, but Jesus corrected her by pointing out that those who believe on him do not have to wait for the “last day” (the “second death” or White Throne Judgment). Jesus told her that he was the resurrection, matching the “first resurrection” of Revelation 20:5, which occurs over 1,000 years before the White Throne Judgment of the wicked. A special resurrection for the righteous is clearly established in the Bible. In John 14:3, Jesus spoke to his disciples and said, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Nothing was said about receiving anyone other than saved people. Song of Solomon deals heavily with the relationship between Christ and his bride, the church. Notice what he says to his bride in Song of Solomon 2:8-10: “The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” God’s people are leaving this earth one day. Ready or not, he’s coming! You should remember that back in Genesis there was a great universal flood where the whole world was judged by God’s holy wrath. There was a man and family who were spared this awful wrath. God provided means by which they endured the great flood, picturing those who will endure the “great tribulation” of which Jesus spoke (Matthew 24:13, 21). But there was another man who was taken out of this world before the flood came. Genesis 5:24 says, “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” Hebrews 11:5 explains it a little further: “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” It’s all through the Bible, friend: God spares his own when he judges the world. We know this is true from the account of Abraham and Lot. God was preparing to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, but Abraham knew that he would not destroy Lot with these cities. In Genesis 18:23, Abraham approached God and asked, “. . . Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” Later, in Genesis 19:22, God tells Lot, “Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither.” You know the story: God didn’t destroy the cities until Lot and his family were gone. Likewise, he isn’t going to judge this earth with his “great tribulation” until he has first taken out his redeemed. I Thessalonians 1:10 says, “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” Then I Thessalonians 5:9 says even more clearly, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” The rapture doctrine is a Bible doctrine that should be embraced by all true believers in Christ. II. THE TRIUMPH OF THE RAPTURE “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” (Mat. 22:30) “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (I John 3:2) Listen, if you are saved, the rapture will solve every problem you have! The Bible says that you’re going to get a brand new glorified body like that of Jesus Christ and the angels! Maybe you have health problems. You won’t have them much longer. The Great Physician will take care of you “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” Maybe you think you’re just too ugly and you would like a whole new make-over. Coming right up! Are you in debt, looking for a way out? You just found it! Are you in a bad marriage, wishing you could get out of it? You can! Instead of saying, “till death do we part,” we ought to say “till death or the rapture do we part.” Maybe you’re worried about war, terrorism, or a crumbling economy. You won’t have to worry much longer. Maybe you’re just tired of fighting the world, the flesh, and the devil. The battle will be over when the trumpet sounds! I’ve been trapped in this stinking body for 44 years, having to wash it, shave it, feed it, cloth it, keep it warm, keep it cool, keep it quiet, keep it out of trouble, keep it under submission. I’m tried of keeping it, and I’m ready for a new home. Friend, cheer up! The rapture will fix every problem you have! Your greatest triumph is just around the corner! III. THE TRAGEDY OF THE RAPTURE But the rapture won’t be a triumph for most people. The world population presently stands around seven billion. Over two billion of that number are in China and India alone. Most of those people are lost in their sins and vain religions. Over another billion people are Muslims who don’t even believe that Jesus is God’s Son. Another billion are Roman Catholics who believe in praying to Mary and bowing down to idols. That’s four billion people already, and we haven’t even mentioned the atheists, the agnostics, the cult members, the new agers, the Jews, the religious but lost Laodiceans, and the millions of “good” people who think they’re going to heaven because they aren’t as bad as the next guy. I believe that at least 95% of the people in this world are lost and will miss the rapture, and that’s probably an overestimate. That would mean that 350 million people are saved, more than the entire population of the United States. I doubt that. Probably over 99% are lost. Well, what will happen to these people? The Bible speaks of a terrible tragedy called the “great tribulation.” I believe the church goes to heaven in Revelation 4:1, pictured by John. We are before the Lord in heaven in chapters 4 and 5. Then in chapter 6, the seven seals start opening and the Great Tribulation begins. First, the rapture itself will cause more chaos, destruction, and suffering than we can imagine. Planes will crash when some of the pilots are raptured. The highway system will become nothing but a confusing mess after millions of Christians vanish from behind the wheels of their vehicles. Looting and killing will be rampant. The world economy will probably collapse, paving way for the antichrist and his mandatory mark. Then we read specifically of all sorts of tragedy in Revelation. Here follows a brief sample: 6:4 - war6:5-6 - famine6:7-8 - 25% of the population destroyed6:9 - martyrdom6:12 - earthquakes, sun darkened, moon as blood6:13 - stars fall8:7 - a third of trees burned, all green grass burned8:8 - a third of the sea becomes blood8:9 - as third of all sea life dies, a third of all ships destroyed8:10-11 - a third of the water poisoned9:1-21 - army of 200,000,000 monster locusts 12:9-12 - Satan and his angels cast into the earth13:1-18 - world worships the beast and takes his mark16:12-16 - Armageddon occurs – a massive World War16:18 - greatest earthquake ever16:21 - giant hail stones fall18:1-24 - Babylon destroyed19:11-21 - armies of the beast destroyed at Second Coming Hollywood can’t come close to describing the horror and tragedy that awaits this world. They know something is coming, so they can’t resist writing and making movies about it, but they have no idea how tragic it’s going to be. Those vials of wrath in Revelation 16 contain 6,000 years of God’s accumulated wrath. Believe me: you don’t want to be here when he starts pouring them out on the inhabitants of this earth. Yet, most people will be left behind to face God’s horrible judgment. II Thessalonians 2:11-12 says, “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” IV. THE TIME OF THE RAPTURE If you were to tell me that the actual second coming of Christ might be today, I’d have to correct you and point out the fact that the Great Tribulation has to come first. If you were to tell me that the Millennial Kingdom of Christ is about to begin, I’d have to correct you and point out the fact that it cannot begin until after the Great Tribulation and the Second Coming. If you were to tell me that the final White Throne Judgment was going to start this month or this year, I’d correct you by pointing out the fact that it cannot occur until after the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming, and the Millennial Kingdom of Christ. But if you were to state that the Rapture of the church might be today, I’d have to respond with a hearty “Amen” because there isn’t a single prophecy that has to be fulfilled before the Rapture. In fact, it must be very near because we see so many indications that the Tribulation and Second Coming are near, and the Rapture comes before either of these events. There are many “signs” that could be mentioned to show that the rapture is near. I’ll mention just three very quickly . . . The restoration of the nation of Israel was foretold well over 2,500 years ago, and in 1948 we saw it happen. That was no accident. That was a sign that Jesus told us to look for in Matthew 24. Another sign is that of the Roman Empire being revised. We were told about this in the book of Daniel 2,600 years ago and reminded of it 700 years later in Revelation chapters 13 and 17. Only in the last 60 years have we witnessed any significant indications that this prophecy is being fulfilled. As with most all Bible prophecy, preliminary events usually occur and then gradually lead up to the “main event.” The main event in this case is a united Europe creating a “revised” Roman Empire. The preliminary events began in 1949 with the formation of NATO. Then came the Treaty of Paris in 1951, the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the Merger Treaty in 1965, the European Monetary System in 1979, the European Single Act in 1986, the European Economic Area in 1991, the Maestricht Treaty in 1993, then the Euro, the twelve member European Union’s common currency which has been strengthening since its introduction in 1999. Clearly, since World War II, the nations of Europe have been gradually pulling together into a single world power. This has not happened for centuries, yet it has been happening before our very eyes over the past sixty years. There can be no world government until there is first a European government, so Europe must unite, and steps are continually being taken to do just that. Former Secretary General of NATO, Dr. Henry Spaak, has been quoted as saying, "What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the alliances of all people and to lift us out of the economic morass into which we are sinking. Send us such a man, and be he god or devil, we will receive him." Satan will send them just the man they’re looking for, and they will receive him. The third great sign that I’ll mention is that of globalism, the gradual formation of a one-world government over which the coming antichrist will rule. Revelation 13 says that world government is coming: “. . . all the world wondered after the beast . . . And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him . . . he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” (13:3, 8, 16-17). Throughout the past century, globalists throughout the world have been working overtime to bring about world government. For over eighty years, members of the Council on Foreign Relations have been expressing their desire for a world government in the CFR publication Foreign Affairs: "the real problem today is that of world government." (1922)". . . a world government, strong immediate limitation on national sovereignty, international control of all armies and navies, a universal system of money . . . and a democratically-controlled world bank." (1942) ". . an end run around national sovereignty, eroding it piece by piece." (1974) In a televised address on September 11, 1990, President George H. W. Bush said "Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective—a new world order—can emerge . . ." Bush, a former CFR member, spoke of this “new world order” on at least five different occasions between September, 1990, and August, 1991. This same new world order was spoken of by CFR member Henry Kissinger in a 1993 Los Angeles Times article on the North American Free Trade Agreement. Kissinger, who had served as Secretary of State under Richard Nixon, claimed that NAFTA would "represent the most creative step toward a new world order taken by any group of countries since the end of the Cold War." Jim Garrison, who was President of the Gorbachev Foundation/USA in 1995 said, "Over the next 20 to 30 years, we are going to end up with world government. It’s inevitable . . . " World government is coming. The Bible prophesies it, and recent history confirms it. Five hundred years ago this would not have been so believable, but today it’s as plain as the nose on your face. World government is coming, and that means that rapture is coming first to take us out. I hope and pray that you are ready.