Calvary
Chapel Bible College
October
20, 2021
EXTRA CREDIT? How about 100 points
for coming and visit Calvary Fullerton for a
morning. Show up at the Fullerton
Marriott at 9:00am and we’ll put you to work.
Service won’t be until 11am, be finished by 12:30pm.
Homework
Let’s share our memory verse – one at a time.
(1
Thessalonians 5:9 ESV) For God has not destined us for
wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Did you come up with any nuggets to share as you’ve been chewing on this
verse this week?
How could this verse be used by you?
Introduction
I’d like to introduce you to a fun resource for your Bible Study
preparation and your teaching.
Take the class through the menus – Watch – Book Overviews – 1Thessalonians
– even downloading the video.
Review:
Play up to 1:30 (“a beautiful design”)
There would be three areas where Paul would be challenging the
Thessalonians to grow in. First was in
holiness, then in love, and now in their hope of Jesus’ return.
4:13-18 The Rapture
Notice the pericope
:13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who
have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
want – thelo – to will, have in mind, intend
ignorant – agnoeo – to be ignorant, not to know; not to
understand, unknown
sorrow – lupeo – to make sorrowful; to affect with
sadness, cause grief, to throw into sorrow
:13 I do not want you to be ignorant
The concern was about the folks who had become believers,
but had died.
These folks might have died from natural causes, disease, or even the
persecution that had come on the church.
The church was concerned over what their fate was.
:13 those who have fallen asleep
asleep – koimao – to cause to sleep, put to sleep;
metaph. to die.
The verb is a “perfect” tense, meaning that the action happened in the past
and has results continuing on into the present.
They died and they are still dead.
In the New Testament, death for a Christian is compared to “sleep”.
Lesson
What happens at death
There are some groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses that teach a doctrine
called “soul sleep”.
They teach that when a person dies, their soul goes to sleep in their body
and stays in the grave until the resurrection.
The Bible doesn’t teach this. It’s not the soul that sleeps, it’s the body
that looks like it’s asleep.
The Bible teaches that when a person dies, their soul separates from their
body.
While the unbeliever’s soul goes to hell, the believer’s soul goes
immediately to heaven. Paul talks to the
Philippians about this separation of the body and soul…
(Philippians
1:23b NKJV) …having a desire to depart and be with Christ
To the Corinthians, Paul wrote,
(2
Corinthians 5:8 NKJV) We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the
body and to be present with the Lord.
Until the day of the rapture (we'll talk about this in a
minute), those who have already died are in what’s called “the intermediate
state”, where their soul is alive, but without a body.
So why does the Bible describe death as “sleep”?
1. That’s how the person looks
I’ve done more than my share of funerals and more than a
few with open caskets. The person looks
asleep.
2. That’s how harmful death is for the believer.
Jesus said that as believers we will not face the eternal
death of hell because of Him.
(John
11:25 NKJV) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who
believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
Illustration
It’s just like naps and growing
up. Kids hate naps. They detest naps. They’d rather be up and running around
wildly. But you know you’ve become a
mature adult when you grow to love naps.
You can tell a lot about the maturity of a person by how they respond to
the suggestion of taking a nap.
Death for a mature Christian should be in a sense
something that we look forward to. After
all, it’s when we get to go to be with Jesus.
:13 lest you sorrow as others who have no hope
Lesson
Our sorrow is different
(keyword)
In my role as a pastor, I see a distinct difference in how a believer
handles death versus how an unbeliever handles death.
The unbeliever, if they even attend the funeral, will say things
like “They died so young” or “What a tragedy”.
Their focus will be on trying to make sure everyone knew
what a good person they were and that they will “live on in our hearts”.
The believer recognizes that it ain’t over yet.
Physical death isn’t the end.
It’s just a doorway that the person passes through into
eternity.
As believers, we certainly have our share of sorrow at a
funeral, but our sorrow is for us, for those of us who will miss the
person.
We don’t sorrow for the dead believer, we’re quite happy
for them because they’re with Jesus.
Of course, I’m assuming the dead one was a believer.
If they were not a believer, then there is plenty of reason for everyone to
sorrow.
The unbeliever has also passed into a type of eternal
state, but not one with Jesus, but one in hell.
Illustration
A few hours before Dwight L. Moody died, he caught a glimpse of the glory
awaiting him. Awakening from a sleep, he
said, “Earth recedes, heaven opens before me.
If this is death, it is sweet!
There is no valley here. God is
calling me, and I must go!”
His son who was standing by his bedside said, “No, no father, you are
dreaming.”
“No,” said Mr. Moody, “I am not dreaming; I have been within the gates; I
have seen the children’s faces.”
A short time elapsed and then, following what seemed to the family to be
the death struggle, he spoke again: “This is my triumph; this my coronation
day! It is glorious!”
In our modern society, we tend to avoid being near people who are sick and
dying.
We tend to avoid the subject of death at all costs.
Yet in his book “Lectures to My Students”, Charles Spurgeon gives some tips
for the men going into ministry who don’t have a lot of money to spend on
books. He calls this
men with “a slim apparatus”. He writes,
Be much at death-beds; they are
illuminated books. There shall you read the very poetry of our religion, and learn the secrets thereof. What splendid gems
are washed up by the waves of Jordan! What fair flowers grow on its banks! The
everlasting fountains in the glory-land throw their spray aloft, and the dew-drops fall on this side the narrow stream! I have heard
humble men and women, in their departing hours, talk as though they were
inspired, uttering strange words, aglow with supernal glory. These they learned
from no lips beneath the moon; they must have heard them while sitting in the
suburbs of the New Jerusalem. God whispers them in their ears amid their pain
and weakness; and then they tell us a little of what the Spirit has revealed. I
will part with all my books, if I may see the Lord’s Elijahs mount their
chariots of fire.[1]
With our modern medicine, this isn’t quite as obvious because
those who are close to death are often given morphine or various pain killers
to help ease their pain.
Yet every once in awhile, a
person is awake enough to let you know what is happening.
About thirty years ago I was in a room with a friend dying
of cancer. He was asking us about the
two strangers that were standing in the back of the room. We couldn’t see
anyone else in the room – I think he was seeing the angels there to help him.
He died soon after that.
:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will
bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
sleep in Jesus – those who are Christians, but
have died.
will bring – ago – to
lead, take with one; to lead by laying hold of, and this way to bring to the
point of destination: of an animal; to lead by accompanying to (into) a place;
to lead
:14 Jesus died and rose again
There were some early heresies where some cults taught that when Jesus rose
from the dead, He didn’t have a physical body.
Yet Paul is going to parallel what happened to Jesus with what will happen
to our physical bodies.
Jesus had a real physical body.
His body died, and then it came back to life again.
After the resurrection of Jesus, He was in a physical body.
After we die, we too will one day have a new, physical body.
:14 God will bring with Him
Note that those who have died will be coming “with Him”, or,
“with God”. They are not in the grave, but “with God”.
God will bring them “with” Him because after they died, they went to be
with Him immediately in heaven.
:15 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 by no means precede those who are
asleep.
remain – perileipo – to leave over; to remain over, to
survive
:15 by the word of the Lord
Paul is speaking with God’s own authority.
These aren’t Paul’s ideas, but God’s ideas.
:15 we who are alive and remain
On the day the rapture happens, there will be some of us who will not have
died. We are the ones who are “alive and
remain”
:15 will by no means precede those who are asleep
precede – phthano – to come before, precede, anticipate;
to come to, arrive at; to reach, attain to
What we call the “Rapture” is a time of resurrection.
Those of us still alive at the Rapture won’t get our bodies before (“precede”) those who have
already died ahead of us.
But we will get our bodies after
they do.
:16 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.
:16 with a shout
shout – keleuma – an order, command, a stimulating cry
It’s a word used to describe a charioteer shouting to his horses, the
master of a ship shouting to his rowers, or a commander giving orders to the
men in his army.
God Himself will issue a command.
:16 with the voice of an archangel
voice – phone – a sound, a
tone; a voice; of the sound of uttered words
archangel – archaggelos – archangel, or chief of the angels
An archangel is a “chief” angel.
Though there may be others, we know the name of one of the archangels,
Michael (Jude 9; Dan. 12:1)
(Jude 9 NKJV) —9 Yet Michael
the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of
Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord
rebuke you!”
Daniel the prophet mentions that one of Michael’s chief responsibilities is
protecting the nation of Israel, and that he will be involved in the events at
the end.
(Daniel 12:1 NKJV) “At that
time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch
over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a
nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall
be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.
That “time of trouble” is the Tribulation period, which we believe will
follow the rapture.
Since one of the main issues of the Tribulation is that God is once again
using the nation of Israel, it might make sense that Michael’s voice kicks it
all off.
:16 with the trumpet of God
trump – salpigx – a trumpet.
Some folks have gotten their eschatology confused by trying to tie this
trumpet with the trumpets of Revelation.
The book of Revelation speaks of “seven trumpets” being blown during the
Tribulation, and since Paul even says in 1Cor. 15:52 that the rapture happens
at the “last trumpet”, therefore they conclude that the Rapture happens at the
end of the Tribulation.
(1 Corinthians
15:52 NKJV) —52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For
the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall
be changed.
One objection: Don’t forget that Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and the
Corinthians some 30-40 years before the book of Revelation was written. I’m not sure Paul had those trumpets in mind.
Trumpets are used in the Bible for several things.
They were used to communicate orders to an army, like “advance” or
“retreat”.
Quite often they were also used to gather the people, or to gather an army.
Judg. 3:27 – the Judge Ehud “blew the trumpet” and gathered the people
together to fight the Moabites.
Gideon “blew the trumpet” and gathered the people together to fight against
the Midianites (Judg. 6:34)
I think this idea of “gathering” is what’s in focus with
this trumpet.
shall descend – katabaino – to go
down, come down, descend
:16 the dead in Christ will rise first
dead in Christ – again, Christians who have died
shall rise – anistemi – to cause to rise up,
raise up; to raise up from the dead
Those believers who have already died and whose spirits are currently in
heaven with Jesus will be the first to receive their new resurrection bodies.
Lesson
New Bodies
Just like a person couldn’t survive in space without a spacesuit, our
current bodies wouldn’t be able to survive in heaven.
(1 Corinthians
15:50 NKJV) Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
Our new bodies will be perfectly designed to enjoy heaven
forever.
Paul tells us that these new resurrected bodies will be similar
to Jesus’ resurrected body.
(1 Corinthians
15:49 NKJV) And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall
also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
Jesus was able to fly and walk through walls. I think it’s possible we’ll have similar
abilities.
Heaven is not only an amazing place, but we’ll be able to enjoy it fully
because of our new bodies.
Illustration
This 85-year-old couple, having been married almost 60 years, had died in a
car crash. They had been in good health the last ten years mainly due to her interest in health food, and exercise.
When they reached the pearly gates, St. Peter took them to their mansion
which was decked out with a beautiful kitchen and master bath suite and
Jacuzzi. As they “oohed and aahed” the
old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost. “It’s free, “Peter replied, “this is
heaven.”
Next, they went out back to survey the championship golf course that the
home backed up to. They would have
golfing privileges every day and each week the course changed to a new one
representing the great golf courses on earth.
The old man asked, “what are the green fees?”. Peter’s reply, “This is heaven, you play for
free.”
Next, they went to the club house and saw the lavish buffet lunch with the
cuisines of the world laid out. “How
much to eat?” asked the old man. “Don’t
you understand yet? This is heaven, it
is free!” Peter replied with some exasperation. “Well, where are the low fat and low
cholesterol tables?” the old man asked timidly.
Peter lectured, “That’s the best part...you can eat as much as you like
of whatever you like and you never get fat and you never get sick. This is heaven.”
With that the old man went into a fit of anger, throwing down his hat and
stomping on it, and shrieking wildly.
Peter and his wife both tried to calm him down, asking him what was
wrong. The old man looked at his wife
and said, “This is all your fault. If it
weren’t for your blasted bran muffins, I could have been here ten years ago!”
I love that story.
It’s how we really ought to feel about heaven. It’s how we ought to view death as a
believer.
This is why Paul wrote to the Philippians,
(Philippians 1:21 NKJV) For to me, to live is Christ,
and to die is gain.
:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus
we shall always be with the Lord.
:17 Then we who are alive and remain
Then – epeita – thereupon, thereafter, then,
afterwards
remain – perileipo – to leave over; to remain over, to
survive
At the rapture, first those who have previously died get their new bodies,
then those of us still alive on the planet at that time will get our turn.
:17 shall be caught up together with them in the clouds
together – hama – at the same time, at once, together
caught up – harpazo – to seize, carry off by force; to
seize on, claim for one’s self eagerly; to snatch out
or away.
Some folks poke fun at evangelicals by saying that the word “rapture”
doesn’t appear in the Bible.
That’s not quite true.
They’re just not using the right Bible.
They need to switch to Latin.
Our word “rapture” comes from a form of the word used in Jerome’s Latin
translation of this passage.
(VULGATE) deinde nos qui vivimus qui relinquimur simul rapiemur cum illis in nubibus obviam Christo in aera et
sic semper cum Domino erimus
The actual form of the Latin word is “rapiemur”
(future passive indicative first person plural from rapio). Our word “rapture” comes from this word.
to meet – apantesis – to meet one
from – apantao – to go to meet, to meet; in a military
sense: a hostile meeting
the air – aer – the air, particularly the lower and
denser air as distinguished from the higher and rarer air;
the atmospheric region
Lesson
The Rapture
There are a couple of distinctive aspects of this event known as the
Rapture.
1. It is sudden
(1 Corinthians
15:51–52 NKJV) —51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall
all be changed—52
in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will
sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
The word “moment” (Grk: atomos) comes
from a word where we get the word “atom”.
It’s a moment of time that can’t be cut in two or divided.
The word “twinkling” (rhipe) is a rapid movement like
the throwing of a spear, the casting of a glance, or blinking.
We blink so fast that most of the time we don’t notice our
own blinking.
Think of sitting in church listening to the boring guy up
front. Your eyelids get heavy and you
give yourself a strong blink. But when
your eyelids open, instead of seeing me, you find yourself suddenly in the
presence of Jesus.
When the rapture happens, it happens quickly.
2. It is unexpected
There is one aspect of the Lord’s coming that will be completely
predictable. Jesus said,
(Matthew
24:15–16 NKJV) —15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads,
let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
The abomination of desolation is that future event that
takes place in the middle of the Tribulation where the antichrist will enter
the Temple in Jerusalem and declare that he is God.
The prophet Daniel tells us that when this occurs, there
will be 1290 days until Jesus returns. (Dan. 9:27; 12:11)
(Daniel
9:27 NKJV) —27 Then he shall confirm a covenant
with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall
bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the
consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
(Daniel
12:11 NKJV) —11 “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken
away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one
thousand two hundred and ninety days.
And yet, despite this predictability, there is another aspect of the 2nd
coming that is unexpected. Jesus said,
(Matthew 24:36–42
NKJV) —36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of
heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the
Son of Man be. 38
For
as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not
know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of
the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the
other left. 41 Two women
will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch
therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
How could His coming be predictable, and yet unpredictable?
There are two separate events.
The Rapture will happen suddenly and unexpectedly before
the Tribulation occurs. Jesus will
snatch away His church.
The Full Return, which takes place at the end of the
Tribulation, is when Jesus returns with us to conquer His enemies and establish
His kingdom on earth. It will happen like clockwork after an event in the
middle of the Tribulation period (the abomination of desolation). We covered
all this over the last two classes…
:17 we shall always be with the Lord
Along with our believing loved ones, we will be in heaven with Jesus during
the seven year Tribulation period,
and then be with Him when He returns to conquer the earth and set up His
kingdom.
Lesson
The Best Part
(Keyword)
Whether it’s through death or in the rapture, the best part of all of this
is that one day we will be with Jesus.
One of my favorite stories that I love to share at the funerals of
believers of my parents’ generation is this one.
Illustration
The Sailor and the Lady
John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and
studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He
looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn’t, the girl
with the rose. His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a
Florida library. Taking a book off the
shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the
notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul
and insightful mind. In the front of the
book, he discovered the previous owner’s name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time
and effort, he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and
inviting her to correspond. The next day
he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month the two
grew to know each other through the mail.
Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was
budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he
really cared, it wouldn’t matter what she looked like. When the day finally
came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station
in New York. “You’ll recognize me,” she
wrote, “by the red rose I’ll be wearing on my lapel.” So, at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he’d
never seen.
I’ll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened: A young woman was coming toward me, her
figure long and slim. Her brown hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears;
her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in
her green dress she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to
notice that she was not wearing a rose.
As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. “Going my way, sailor?” she murmured. Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer
to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell.
She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40,
she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her
thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking
quickly away. I felt as though I was
split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my
longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my
own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible,
her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the
small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it would be
something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for
which I had been and must ever be grateful.
I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman,
even though while I spoke I felt choked by the
bitterness of my disappointment. “I’m
Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could
meet me; may I take you to dinner?” The
woman’s face broadened into a tolerant smile.
“I don’t know what this is about, son,” she answered, “but the young
lady in the green dress who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my
coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell
you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She
said it was some kind of test!”
Our relationship with God is a lot like this. We have only gotten to know Him by His letters. But
there will be a day when we SEE Him face to face.
(Isaiah
25:9 NKJV) And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; We have
waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; We have
waited for Him; We will be
glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
comfort – parakaleo – This word has more than just the
simple idea of “comfort” to it. It means – to call to one’s side, call for,
summon; to admonish, exhort; to beg, entreat, beseech; to console, to encourage
and strengthen by consolation, to comfort; to encourage, strengthen
:18 comfort one another with these words
I’ve changed my view on what Paul meant by these words over the years.
My focus used to be on the Rapture itself, and that there is some measure
of comfort knowing that Jesus could come at any time and rescue us from this
messy world.
But I don’t think that’s Paul’s point.
Have you lost a loved one who is a believer?
Here’s your comfort – you WILL see them again.
Remember the context.
The Thessalonians were worried over their loved ones who
have died.
Paul wants them to know that they aren’t “lost”, but we
know exactly where they are.
They are with Jesus right now, and we will one day be with
them as well.
Let me give you an example of how this works.
My dad passed away back in 2008.
I was there at his bedside when he passed.
It was hard on me. He passed
about 5am on a Sunday morning, and though I had already scheduled Caleb to
cover for me that morning, I still showed up at church.
A few weeks later, our worship leader led the church in Chris Tomlin’s song
“I will rise”.
There’s a line in the song that goes, “I heard the voice
of many angels sing, worthy is the Lamb…”
As we were singing it, the thought hit me, “My dad is in
heaven right now with that multitude, seeing Jesus
face to face, and giving Jesus praise”.
I had never really personalized
heaven before that, thinking that there was someone I knew that was there right
then and there.
And my dad was with Jesus.
And I will see him again one day.
A few months later, a group of us went to a Chris Tomlin concert. My wife got us seats in the front row. They filmed the concert. You won’t see me, but a few of my friends are
in the clip.
As you watch the video, let me ask you to think of someone
YOU KNOW that is in heaven right now.
Let the truth of the resurrection and Rapture comfort you.
Play - Chris Tomlin – I Will Rise
https://youtu.be/CKRF8UihM5s
Pericope Project
We covered a single paragraph today.
How might you title the pericope?
Homework
Read both 1&2Thessalonians in KJV
Memorize 1Thess. 5:16-18
(1 Thessalonians
5:16–18 NKJV) —16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Be ready to recite it in class next week.
Memorize it early so you can chew on it during the week.
Go to our class’s “test” section
Share a prayer request
Take the Quick Quiz for you.
Keywords
What was the first “keyword” in regards to sorrow
…
a.
Our sorrow is different
b.
We sorrow like everyone else
c.
We never sorrow
According to the second “keyword”, being with Jesus is …
a.
The Best Part
b.
Never gonna
happen
c.
By appointment only
Was there something from today’s lesson that you can apply to your life
TODAY?