part 3: the four corner pieces (part b) - a study on the rapture
puzzled about the end of the age, April 29 2020
“Does the Bible teach a Pre-Tribulation “secret rapture” (PTSR) of the church to heaven prior to the time of great tribulation and the coming of Antichrist?”
Main Texts: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Q: Does the Bible teach a Pre-Tribulation “secret rapture” (PTSR) of the church to heaven prior to the time of great tribulation and the coming of Antichrist?
• In this series, we are considering the four corner pieces that are most commonly used in defense of the PTSR—our being gathered together from the four corners of the earth—as well as four edge pieces—four statements by Jesus that clearly mark the “edge” or “boundary” that defines when these events will occur.
• The PTSR is the MAJORITY VIEW in western “pop-culture Christianity” today…but is it biblical? Is it what Jesus and the Apostles taught?
Q: Why does it even matter if it all “pans out” in the end?
• We are commanded by Scripture to TEST EVERYTHING and only hold on to that which is TRUE and GOOD.
• If the PTSR is true, then “we’re outta here” before the tribulation and revealing of the Antichrist and His war against the saints. But if it is false (if the Bible actually teaches and commands watchfulness, endurance and engagement rather than escape) then we are in danger of great CONFUSION, DISILLUSIONMENT, and OFFENSE (FALLING AWAY) that will come at the time of the antichrist’s Great Tribulation and the Mark of the Beast…
This is a matter of life and death and eternal consequences!
RECAP: The Four Corners (Part A)
MATTHEW 24:29-31
• SUMMARY: GENERAL SIGNS → SPECIFIC SIGNS → GREAT TRIBULATION → CELESTIAL DISTURBANCES → VISIBLE APPEARING (COMING) OF SON OF MAN (“THE SIGN”) → GREAT TRUMPET → ANGELS → GATHERING OF THE ELECT
• Note: Jesus does not include all the details of the Second Coming here. This is simply a brief summary of the events of the Day of the Lord. We must look for “pieces” to this puzzle in other passages in both the OT and NT to fill in the gaps.
2 THESSALONIANS 1:4-10; 2:1-8
• SUMMARY: RESTRAINER REMOVED (MICHAEL) → ANTICHRIST REVEALED → TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM DESECRATED → REBELLION (FALLING AWAY) → DAY OF THE LORD (DOTL): JESUS’ VISIBLE APPEARING (COMING) IN BLAZING FIRE WITH POWERFUL ANGELS; SIMULTANEOUS DESTRUCTION & DELIVERANCE OF SAINTS (RESURRECTION & GLORIFICATION), OUR BEING GATHERERED TOGETHER ON THE FINAL DAY / DAY OF THE LORD.
• NOTE: Paul’s teaching is based on BOTH Jesus’ teaching (See I Thess. 4:15) and Daniel’s visions (See Dan. 9:27; 11:31-12:3).
TONIGHT: The third corner piece: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
In 2 Corinthians 10:5, the Apostle Paul writes: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” We are NOT to believe man’s OPINIONS—even the majority opinion—but we ARE to DEMOLISH ARGUMENTS (STRONGHOLDS) that are against the truth!
When I came to see the truths I am sharing with you tonight, it forever changed how I view the last days! I believe the Lord is going to demolish some strongholds and arguments tonight as we continue looking at the next CORNER PIECE…
“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
This passage is often (mis-)used to support the PTSR view, which asserts that the “catching up” refers to the Lord coming secretly (only believers see and hear) to take the church to heaven before the seven-year tribulation on the earth. We will study this passage verse by verse to see if this view is biblical.
• V.13: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.”
▪ Paul’s motives for what he is about to write: (1) the Thessalonians were lacking certain information (knowledge) about what happens to believers who have died, (2) leading to an unhealthy grief and hopelessness. The question they appear to have been asking was: Will believers who have died miss out on the glorious appearing (second Coming) of the Lord? Paul’s response is to answer that question and to “encourage one another with these words” (v.18).
• V.14: “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” With this statement, Paul summarizes what he is about to teach in greater detail: that the dead in Christ (“those who have fallen asleep”) will certainly NOT miss out on the greatest event in history. No, says Paul, they will be coming from heaven with Jesus to witness this event firsthand!
• V.15: “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive (SURVIVE), who are left (REMAIN, THE REMNANT) until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep (DIED IN THE LORD).”
▪ “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord…” The source of Paul’s teaching: JESUS!
▪ “We who are alive” = SURVIVORS (Matt.24:22). Paul uses the first Person plural “we”, indicating that he was speaking of believers. The Thessalonian Church was comprised of both JEWISH and GENTILE BELIEVERS, so this cannot even be speaking of a strictly Jewish remnant, but the ISRAEL OF GOD—Jew and Gentile believers ONE in Christ.
▪ “We who are left”: Gk. perileipomai = to remain, REMNANT (see also v.17)
▪ “Coming”: Gk. parousia = advent, presence; in New Testament it is used almost exclusively of the physical coming of Jesus to dwell on the earth. This is the same word Jesus used in Matt. 24:30, referring to His visible coming on the clouds, when every eye will see = NOT SECRET! It is also the same word Paul used in 2 Thess. 2:1 to describe the visible coming of Jesus in blazing fire with His powerful angels—the same time as our being gathered together (“rapture”). Paul says that there will be believers who will SURVIVE and REMAIN ALIVE until the coming of the Lord—exactly as Jesus taught (See Matt. 24:22; John 11:25-26)! The irony is that those LEFT BEHIND are believers…
• V.16: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”
There is an order to the resurrection. Jesus was the first to be resurrected from the dead. The Bible calls Him the first fruits of the resurrection. But now Paul is saying that there is an order even with believers, that those who have died will be the first to be resurrected and receive their glorified bodies, then those who are alive and remain.
“But here’s the point. The PTSR view says that Jesus will come from heaven and He will appear to believers over the earth, and that we will be caught up to Him in the sky and then go back to heaven with Jesus. Is that what Paul was saying here?
Paul says, in Acts chapter 1, that the Lord Himself will come back the same way that the disciples saw Him go.
So here’s the question: When Jesus ascended, did he ascend part way and hover over the earth in mid-air or did He go directly all the way to heaven? The obvious answer is that He went all the way to heaven. So why would we think that His descending will be any different - that somehow, Jesus will only come part-way, call us to Himself, and then returns to heaven? ”
▪ “Descend”: Gk. katabaino = to come down, descend from a higher place to a lower place.
- In the NT it is ALWAYS means a FULL DESCENT (Matt. 27:40,42; Mark 15:30,32; Luke 19.5; John 1:32,33; 4:47-49; 6:38; Acts 14:11; 25:7). Therefore, this cannot be Jesus appearing in the sky to believers only as He calls them back to heaven, for He is COMING DOWN to the EARTH. Why? To establish His Kingdom; to enter into Jerusalem; to ascend the throne of David.
▪ “Cry of command”: Gk. keleusma = loud command (very audible noise)
- This may be the command of the Son of God for the dead to come out of their graves!
▪ “Voice”: Gk. phone = sound, noise (audible)
- This may be the voice of the ARCHANGEL MICHAEL, commander of the angelic hosts of heaven (See Dan. 12:1; Rev. 12:7). Perhaps this is the command to go and gather the elect from the four winds (See Matt. 24:31).
▪ “Sound of the trumpet”: Gk. salpinx = to announce or sound the trumpet (audible)
NOTE: All the AUDIO-VISUAL cues are strong evidence that this will NOT be a secret event! The PTSR requires that this be a “believers-only” event, but nowhere does the Bible say that. Rather, it says that every eye will see Him (Zech. 12:10; Matt. 24:30; Rev. 1:7)!
▪ “The dead in Christ will rise first.” This is an important chronological marker that will factor in as we continue our study in the days ahead.
• V.17: “Then (after the first resurrection) we who are alive (survive), who are left (remnant), will be caught up TOGETHER with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
We will come back to the “caught up” part in a moment
▪ “Together”: Gk. hama = at the same time, early in the morning. This is an interesting time marker…Jesus’ coming is often referred to as “like the coming dawn after the darkest night” (See Mal. 4:1-2; Isa. 9:2; 2 Peter 1:19; Rev. 22:16).
▪ “In the clouds”: The clouds of the Shekinah glory that will accompany Jesus at His coming! We will be “transfigured/transformed” in the glory cloud, just as Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration (See Mark 9:1-7), when He comes!
▪ “To meet”: Gk. apantesis (n.) = a meeting (lit. for a meeting)
- This word only occurs three times in the NT. In both other instances (See Matt. 25:6; Acts 28:15), it ALWAYS refers to a group of people GOING OUT to meet someone and then RETURNING with that person back to the city.
- In Roman times, this word was often used when the Emperor’s armies won a military victory. The people would GO OUT to welcome the victorious king and His troops. They would go out waving palm branches, and welcome the king back into the city with great pomp and circumstance, like a parade! (Do you realize that is what happened in Jesus’ Triumphal Entry? People were waiting and escorting Jesus? They met Jesus part way as He was coming to Jerusalem, and they gave Him a parade into the city. And the triumphal entry before the cross was a picture of the second coming of Christ when we will be gathered together with the resurrected saints in our new glorified bodies. As Jesus is coming down from heaven, we will go part-way up to meet Him, and then we will escort Him in a victory parade as he ascends the steps of Jerusalem, into the temple, and sits on the throne of David! And we will crown Him King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We don’t go to heaven, heaven comes down to us, and we meet that halfway, then we come back to the earth with Jesus.)
- Therefore, there cannot be a “secret rapture” of the saints into heaven, but a gathering (lit. meeting) of the saints in the air to welcome King Jesus to His rightful throne as the ruler of this earth, at the end of the Battle of Armageddon (TRIUMPHAL ENTRY)!
▪ “In the air”: Gk. aer = atmosphere, air, sky
- In the NT, this word ALWAYS refers to the physical expanse or atmosphere on the earth that we live in (See Acts 22:23; 1 Cor. 9:26, 14:9; Eph. 2:2; Rev. 9:2, 16:17). If Paul had wanted to say that believers would be “caught up” to heaven, he would have used the Greek word ouranos, which refers to God’s dwelling place. Therefore, the meaning is not that we are caught up into heaven, but that we remain in this atmosphere (excepting believers who have died, because their souls are in heaven, so they will come with Jesus). But those who are alive and remain, once the righteous dead are resurrected and reunited with their souls and glorified, will be glorified with them. We will be gathered together with Jesus in the glory cloud, in this world, and we will welcome Him into Jerusalem as the rightful king of the earth. I believe that this is the clear teaching of this passage as we look at these words.
▪ “Caught up”: Gk. harpazo/harpax = to steal, to seize, to plunder, to rob (There is some debate about which form of this Greek word is found in the various manuscripts.)
- If the word is harpazo, then it can mean to be “caught up” or to be “snatched away” (See Matt. 13:19; John 10:28,29; Jude 1:23; Rev. 12:5). There are some instances of someone being caught up in spirit to heaven, such as the Apostle Paul (See 2 Cor. 12:2,4); or being taken away to another location, such as Philip (See Acts 8:39). The main idea is to be taken by force, even violently.
- If the word is harpax, then the idea being conveyed is to plunder or rob somebody. This is a fascinating possibility when we consider Jesus’ words in Mark 3:27:
“So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.”
- Jesus is clearly making a connection: Satan is the strong man. “In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house and CARRY OFF (#1395 – diarpazo = to rob, carry off many possessions) his possessions (#5007 – skeuos = vessels, people) unless he first TIES UP (#1313 – deo = to bind in chains, imprison) the strong man. Then he can ROB (#1395 – diarpazo) the house.” Essentially, before the people that Satan has plundered can be taken back, it is first necessary to bind or imprison Satan, the “strong man”.
- Revelation 20 follows the battle of armageddon, when Jesus has come on the white horse with the angelic host. He has won the battle of armageddon, the great battle on the day of the Lord, and the beast and the false prophet have been thrown into the lake of fire, and all of the armies gathered with the antichrist have been defeated.
“And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.”
NOTE: In Revelation 20:1-6, we see Satan/the dragon/the devil FIRST bound in chains and imprisoned AFTER the battle of armageddon, THEN comes the first resurrection! There simply cannot be a secret rapture seven years prior to this event, but the second coming at the END of the AGE when Jesus comes to “ROB” or “PLUNDER” the devil’s house of his captives!
• V.18: “ 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
▪ Paul’s encouragement was: (1) that believers who had died would most certainly NOT miss out on this event but have a “front-row seat” to the Second Coming, (2) that we would be reunited with them and live with Christ in His coming kingdom forever. Nowhere in this passage does Paul hint that this “encouragement” is a “secret rapture” whereby the saints are taken to heaven to escape tribulation!
SUMMARY/CHRONOLOGY:
JESUS’ DESCENT FROM HEAVEN (COMING) → LOUD COMMAND/VOICE OF ARCHANGEL/TRUMPET CALL OF GOD → FIRST RESURRECTION → GLORIFICATION → GATHERED TOGETHER (“RAPTURE”)
Q: Does the Bible tell us when the RESURRECTION will occur? If it does, then we can place the timing of the rapture.
Next Week: “The Golden Chain of Bible Prophecy” Scriptures: John 6:39,40,44,54; 1 Corinthians 15:22-26, 50-55; Rev. 20:4-6
The four corner pieces (matt. 24:29-31, 2 thess. 1:4-10, 2:1-8, (3) 1 Thess. 4:13-18, 1 Cor. 15:20-28, 50-55)