Calvary Distinctives - The Rapture

richcathers.com

Calvary Distinctives – The Rapture

Servant School

May 20, 2021

Introduction

This lesson deals with chapter eight of Chuck Smith’s book “Calvary Chapel Distinctives”, the topic is the Rapture of the Church.

Calvary Chapel has long been associated with those churches who have a focus on the soon return of Jesus Christ.

Our view of the Rapture plays a major role in that.

Listen to this fellow explain what the Rapture is all about:

Play “Rapture” clip.

The church in Thessalonica was concerned about what would happen when Jesus returned.

They had already had a few folks in their church die, and they were worried that somehow these folks might miss out on Jesus returning and setting up His kingdom.

So Paul clears things up for them and describes the Rapture like this:

(1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NKJV) —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.

“fallen asleep” is a way of referring to those who have died.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 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.

The idea is that those of us who are still alive when the Lord comes back won’t be getting our new glorified bodies before those who have already died… but …

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. 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. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

We believe that the Bible teaches that when a believer dies, while their physical body might be buried in the ground, their spirit goes immediately to heaven to be with Jesus.

When the Rapture occurs, those who are already dead will get a new, glorified body first.

Then we who are still alive on earth will be caught up in the clouds and receive our new bodies.

Paul makes it sound as if this will happen almost instantaneously:

(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.

I’ve heard some fellows try to calculate what the speed of a “twinkling eye” is (it’s really just a “blink”) but the whole point is this – it’s going to be really quick.

What will it look like?

For the believer: One moment you are here on earth, then you blink, and you’re instantly in heaven.

For the unbeliever: One moment you are here on earth, and the next … your believing friends will be gone, and you’ve been left.

In the movie “Left Behind”, they portrayed the Rapture as people disappearing and their clothes remaining.

An area that Christians often debate over is when the Rapture will occur in relation to the other events that are still in the future. Will the Rapture occur at the end of the terrible Tribulation period? (post-trib) Will it occur sometime in the middle? (mid-trib or pre-wrath) I believe it will occur before the Tribulation (pre-trib). There are a lot of reasons to believe in a pre-trib rapture, I will just share five.

Reasons for a Pre-Trib Rapture:

1. The Outline of Revelation

This is by no means a conclusive argument, but I think it has some merit to it.

The Book of Revelation is broken down into three segments by the Lord. Jesus says this to the apostle John:

(Revelation 1:19 NKJV) Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.

As you study the book, you find that the “things which John has seen” are the things that John saw in his vision of Jesus in chapter one.

The “things which are” are the things of chapters two and three, the letters to the seven churches. It is all about the church.

I think you can even make the case that the seven churches appear to be seven consecutive periods of church history. In chronological order.

The “things which will take place after this” refers to the things in chapters 4-22. The phrase “after these things” starts the very next verse after chapter 3 …

(Revelation 4:1 NKJV) After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven…

In both verses, the phrase in the Greek is identical, meta tauta.

The events from chapters 4-22 take place after the time of the “church age” on earth.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the “after this” section, begins with a sort of “rapture”, of John being caught up into heaven.

(Revelation 4:1–2 NKJV) —1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the term “church” appears 18 times prior to chapter 4, and only once after chapter 4, at the end of the book.

The church isn’t the focus of those chapters because the church is in heaven.

2. Church and wrath don't mix

The tribulation is a time of wrath

(Revelation 6:17 NKJV) For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

God does not intend for His church to experience wrath. Jesus died for us so we would escape wrath.

(1 Thessalonians 5:9 NKJV) For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

3. The faithful escape

Jesus said,

(Luke 21:34–36 NKJV) —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 to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

To the church in Philadelphia, Jesus wrote:

(Revelation 3:10 NKJV) Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

I believe Jesus is promising to keep the church from the Great Tribulation.

What qualifies me to “escape”?

In our lesson “Grace Upon Grace” (chapter 5), I made the statement,

“Grace isn’t just how we are saved, grace is how we stay saved”.

If we are trusting in the grace of God through Jesus Christ, we have nothing to worry about.

I used to worry that if the rapture happened while I was committing a sin, I might miss out. I no longer worry about that.

The qualifications for the Rapture are the same qualifications for heaven – grace through faith.

That doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care how I live.

Knowing that I could be with Jesus at any moment should cause me to want to live in a way that pleases Him.

(1 John 3:3 NKJV) And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Old Testament examples:

Then Peter writes:

4. The Tribulation’s people

We’ve already seen that the Tribulation will be a time of God’s wrath on the earth, but it will also be a time aimed at bringing the Jews back to Him.

The prophet Daniel had a prophecy about “70 weeks”.

These “weeks” are periods of seven years.

This amazing prophecy predicts the rebuilding of Jerusalem as well as the coming of Jesus.

All but the last “week” of years has been fulfilled.

The Tribulation is the final, 70^th week of Daniel’s prophecy. It will last 7 years.

Who were the 70 weeks for?

(Daniel 9:24 NKJV) “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.

Who are Daniel’s “people”? Israel.

There are some people who say that God is finished working with Israel, and that the church now owns all the promised that God made to Israel.

But God isn't finished with Israel! Paul writes:

(Romans 11:1 NKJV) I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

The tribulation is for God to work in a special way through the nation of Israel, not the church.

5. The element of surprise

The Scripture talks about the suddenness of the second coming.

(Matthew 24:44 NKJV) Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Yet Scripture also tells us how to predict the very day when Jesus will come back, tied to an event during the tribulation period.

(Daniel 12:11 NKJV) “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.

How can there be a surprise, when it’s something that can be calculated?

The Rapture comes first, unexpectedly, and is not tied to events in the Tribulation.

The actual Second Coming, when we return with Jesus, can be calculated, 1290 days after the abomination of desolation (when the antichrist declares himself to be God).

We get the idea in Scripture that when Jesus comes back, the armies of the earth are gathered together to fight against Him. They are expecting Him!

If the Rapture came at the end, right before Jesus comes back, there would be no surprise, we’d all be marking our calendars.

Jesus said,

(Matthew 24:42 NKJV) Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

He said we were responsible to be “watching”.

It is a healthy attitude to be ready for your Master to come back.

Some might ridicule us for continually teaching that Jesus could come back at any moment.

richcathers.com

Introduction

This lesson deals with chapter eight of Chuck Smith’s book “Calvary Chapel Distinctives”, the topic is the Rapture of the Church.

Calvary Chapel has long been associated with those churches who have a focus on the soon return of Jesus Christ.

Our view of the Rapture plays a major role in that.

Listen to this fellow explain what the Rapture is all about:

Play “Rapture” clip.

The church in Thessalonica was concerned about what would happen when Jesus returned.

They had already had a few folks in their church die, and they were worried that somehow these folks might miss out on Jesus returning and setting up His kingdom.

So Paul clears things up for them and describes the Rapture like this:

(1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NKJV) —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.

“fallen asleep” is a way of referring to those who have died.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 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.

The idea is that those of us who are still alive when the Lord comes back won’t be getting our new glorified bodies before those who have already died… but …

We believe that the Bible teaches that when a believer dies, while their physical body might be buried in the ground, their spirit goes immediately to heaven to be with Jesus.

When the Rapture occurs, those who are already dead will get a new, glorified body first.

Then we who are still alive on earth will be caught up in the clouds and receive our new bodies.

Paul makes it sound as if this will happen almost instantaneously:

(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.

I’ve heard some fellows try to calculate what the speed of a “twinkling eye” is (it’s really just a “blink”) but the whole point is this – it’s going to be really quick.

What will it look like?

For the believer: One moment you are here on earth, then you blink, and you’re instantly in heaven.

For the unbeliever: One moment you are here on earth, and the next … your believing friends will be gone, and you’ve been left.

Reasons for a Pre-Trib Rapture:

1. The Outline of Revelation

This is by no means a conclusive argument, but I think it has some merit to it.

The Book of Revelation is broken down into three segments by the Lord. Jesus says this to the apostle John:

(Revelation 1:19 NKJV) Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.

As you study the book, you find that the “things which John has seen” are the things that John saw in his vision of Jesus in chapter one.

The “things which are” are the things of chapters two and three, the letters to the seven churches. It is all about the church.

The “things which will take place after this” refers to the things in chapters 4-22. The phrase “after these things” starts the very next verse after chapter 3 …

The events from chapters 4-22 take place after the time of the “church age” on earth.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the “after this” section, begins with a sort of “rapture”, of John being caught up into heaven.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the term “church” appears 18 times prior to chapter 4, and only once after chapter 4, at the end of the book.

The church isn’t the focus of those chapters because the church is in heaven.

2. Church and wrath don't mix

The tribulation is a time of wrath

(Revelation 6:17 NKJV) For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

God does not intend for His church to experience wrath. Jesus died for us so we would escape wrath.

(1 Thessalonians 5:9 NKJV) For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

3. The faithful escape

Jesus said,

To the church in Philadelphia, Jesus wrote:

(Revelation 3:10 NKJV) Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

I believe Jesus is promising to keep the church from the Great Tribulation.

What qualifies me to “escape”?

In our lesson “Grace Upon Grace” (chapter 5), I made the statement,

“Grace isn’t just how we are saved, grace is how we stay saved”.

If we are trusting in the grace of God through Jesus Christ, we have nothing to worry about.

I used to worry that if the rapture happened while I was committing a sin, I might miss out. I no longer worry about that.

The qualifications for the Rapture are the same qualifications for heaven – grace through faith.

That doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care how I live.

Old Testament examples:

Both Noah and Lot are held up by Peter (2Pet.2) as examples of this.

They both escaped times of judgment (the flood, Sodom) by being taken out of the judgment.

Then Peter writes:

2Peter 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations (NIV - "trials"), and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

This was the center of Abraham’s negotiating with God over Lot’s life:

4. The Tribulation’s people

We’ve already seen that the Tribulation will be a time of God’s wrath on the earth, but it will also be a time aimed at bringing the Jews back to Him.

The prophet Daniel had a prophecy about “70 weeks”.

These “weeks” are periods of seven years.

This amazing prophecy predicts the rebuilding of Jerusalem as well as the coming of Jesus.

All but the last “week” of years has been fulfilled.

The Tribulation is the final, 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy. It will last 7 years.

Who were the 70 weeks for?

(Daniel 9:24 NKJV) “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.

Who are Daniel’s “people”? Israel.

There are some people who say that God is finished working with Israel, and that the church now owns all the promised that God made to Israel.

But God isn't finished with Israel! Paul writes:

The tribulation is for God to work in a special way through the nation of Israel, not the church.

5. The element of surprise

The Scripture talks about the suddenness of the second coming.

(Matthew 24:44 NKJV) Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

(Mt 24:36 NKJV) —36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

Yet Scripture also tells us how to predict the very day when Jesus will come back, tied to an event during the tribulation period.

(Daniel 12:11 NKJV) “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.

How can there be a surprise, when it’s something that can be calculated?

The Rapture comes first, unexpectedly, and is not tied to events in the Tribulation.

The actual Second Coming, when we return with Jesus, can be calculated, 1290 days after the abomination of desolation (when the antichrist declares himself to be God).

The Tribulation is the final, 70^th week of Daniel’s prophecy. It will last 7 years.