The Watchman’s Call

Dr. Andy Woods: Howdy everybody. I want to welcome you to a brand new series here on The Watchman's Call. The title of this mini-series that we're going to embark on today is as follows: The Rapture: Truth or Fiction. So we're dealing with the doctrine of the Rapture and asking the question, "Is this a true doctrine in the Bible or is this fiction?"

A lot of people will tell you that the whole doctrine of the Rapture is made up. Some people say it's an American doctrine because here in America Christians don't suffer as much, and so we've come up with this doctrine that we're going to escape suffering. And so they see it as a man-made doctrine from that standpoint. Other people will tell you the Rapture is something that a man named John Nelson Darby invented as late as 1830 after most of church history had expired or elapsed.

A lot of people say, "Well, this doctrine of the Rapture comes from people that are popularizers, sensationalizers. They write these sort of paperback books that become bestsellers, but there's no real theology behind the whole doctrine of the Rapture." And what I'd like to convince you of in this series is that the Rapture is actually a Bible-based doctrine. It's a time and tested true doctrine, and we're going to be answering this particular question in this series: What is the Rapture? When we talk about the Rapture, what exactly does that mean and is this actually found in the pages of God's Word?

So with all of that being said, what I'm going to talk you through in this particular series are 10 truths about the Rapture. And we're going to be using two sections of scripture to teach this material. These are the two central areas that we're going to go to, so you might have these handy in your Bible as we work through this material. The first is 1st Thessalonians 4, verses 13 through 18, and from that, we're going to develop four truths about the Rapture.

And then we're going to be switching over to 1st Corinthians 15, verses 50 through 58, and from that, we're going to be developing six additional truths about the Rapture, 10 truths total. So notice if you will 1st Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 13 through 18. Let's go ahead and read this and see what the Apostle Paul says.

Paul says beginning in verse 13, "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 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 not precede those who have fallen asleep."

"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words."

Of our list of 10, what's the first point about the Rapture that I would like to communicate? Number one, the Rapture is an important doctrine. There are many today that will tell you, "Oh, you know, what you believe about the Rapture doesn't matter, it's just an intramural squabble amongst Christians." I've heard people say the Rapture and the teaching of the Rapture in the Bible is just a C-level doctrine. They rank doctrines, some by importance, some by clarity.

And they would say the virgin birth gets an A, the Trinity gets an A, the deity of Christ gets a B. Well, what does the Rapture get? Well, it's about a C-level truth. And I'm here to tell you that I don't think that's true at all. I think the Rapture is held out in scripture as a very important doctrine. For one thing, this was something that Paul taught new Christians about.

In the same book that I quoted from earlier, 1st Thessalonians, I was in chapter 4. Notice 1st Thessalonians 1, verse 10. This is Paul's first mention of the Rapture. He says, "to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come." Now Paul will unpack that with greater clarity once we hit chapter 4, which we have read.

But there's where Paul introduces the concept of the Rapture for the very first time. And what I'd like for you to see is that this is a doctrine that Paul taught to brand new Christians. These were baby Christians. These were people that had just come out of paganism into a knowledge of the true Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We know that from 1st Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 9. He says in verse 9 of chapter 1, "For they themselves report about us what kind of reception he had with you and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God."

And when we study Paul's behavior and ministry activity there in Thessalonica as recorded in the book of Acts, we get the impression that these were people that he was writing to that hadn't been Christians for very long at all. And I find this very interesting that Paul chose to disclose this doctrine to brand new Christians.

When I first became a Christian, I became very interested in the end times, what the Bible had to say about it, and I was told by many good-meaning, well-intentioned people at the time to not worry about that kind of truth. Focus more on the big-ticket items. Focus on the Trinity, the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Don't get caught up in end times teaching. And that was an interesting ministry philosophy that was told to me in my early days as a Christian. In retrospect, in hindsight, I think that ministry philosophy is wrong and it's off.

Paul never did that. Paul never hid truths from new Christians, and one of the truths he never hid from a brand new Christian was this doctrine of the Rapture. So that shows me that the Rapture is, in fact, a very important doctrine. In fact, you'll notice 1st Thessalonians 1, verse 10, he mentions the Rapture, and then in verse 9, he mentions conversion. And then when you slip down to 1st Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 5, he mentions the Holy Spirit.

He says in verse 5 of chapter 1 of 1st Thessalonians, "for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction, just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake." Well, is the doctrine of conversion important? Of course. Is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit important? Of course, it is. Notice that Paul lists Rapture right alongside those critical doctrines, meaning that the Rapture is just important in Paul's thinking as are those other doctrines.

Earlier we read 1st Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 13 through 18, which is Paul's fullest treatment of the Rapture, but if you slip back to chapter 4, verse 3, notice what Paul makes reference to. He makes reference to the doctrine of sanctification. He says in 1st Thessalonians 4, verse 3, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is that you abstain from sexual immorality."

And then not long after his treatment of the Rapture, over in 1st Thessalonians 5, verse 23, he says this, "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, may your spirit, soul, and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." He is making another reference there to the doctrine of sanctification.

Yes, God loves us as we are, but he loves us too much to leave us as we are. And so he challenges us to grow up after we become Christians and become more Christ-like progressively in our daily walk. And that's a walk that we're all in as Christians called the doctrine of sanctification. Can I ask you a question? Is the doctrine of sanctification important? Well, of course, it is. And right alongside the doctrine of sanctification, Paul mentions the doctrine of the Rapture.

So this idea that the Rapture is somehow less important than anything else in scripture doesn't seem to add up when we look at all of the biblical evidence. Let me take you to a second truth about the Rapture. The Rapture is something that is distinct from the second advent of Jesus Christ. When we talk about the return of Christ, we can divide it into two phases. And why do we believe that there are two phases to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ? Because some descriptions of Christ's return read one way and some descriptions of Christ's return read a totally different way.

And if you care about the details, if you care about consistent literal interpretation, it becomes obvious that those texts in the New Testament, both talking about the future return of Christ, seem to be talking about two different events, two different phases if you will. Don't let this idea trouble you. When you read the Old Testament, you can discern very quickly that there are two comings of Christ. There's a first coming and a second coming.

Now why do we think that? Because those comings are described completely and totally differently. For example, in Isaiah 53, Christ is described coming as a suffering servant, but over in Isaiah 9, verses 6 and 7, he's described as a reigning king. Well, which is it? Is he a suffering servant or a reigning king? Hindsight is 20/20. In hindsight, I can tell that he came the first time to suffer and serve, fulfill Isaiah 53, but when he comes back the second time, it will be to rule and to reign in fulfillment of Isaiah 9, verses 6 and 7.

And I can't use what some call the "ram, jam, and cram" method, just lump those verses together and make them sound like they're the same event when the scripture depicts the coming of Christ completely and totally differently. That's all I'm doing with Rapture teaching. I'm looking at all of the New Testament references to the return of Jesus and I'm saying, "They're described differently." Therefore, he's coming first in the Rapture, later he's coming in the second advent. Therefore, there are two different phases to the return of Christ.

Now why do I think these passages involving the return of Christ are describing different events? I think that because the Rapture is described one way in the Bible and the second advent is described in a totally different way. Let me give you some examples of this. We find the Rapture in 1st Thessalonians 4, verses 13 through 18, 1st Corinthians 15, verses 50 through 58, but we find the second advent, which is different, in Revelation 19, verses 11 through 16.

Notice some dissimilarities. Notice some differences, some distinctions in these passages. In the Rapture, Christ comes in the air. His feet actually never touch the earth, and we can find that in 1st Thessalonians 4, verses 16 and 17 where it says, "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an angel, with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord," watch this, "in the air." Not the earth, in the air. "And so we shall always be with the Lord."

Now compare that to the second advent. Zechariah 14, verse 4 describes Jesus' feet touching this planet, planet earth. His feet will touch the Mount of Olives. As we saw in 1st Thessalonians 4, verses 15 through 17, when the Rapture happens, he's coming for his saints. But compare that to Revelation chapter 19 and verse 14 where it indicates he's not coming for his saints, he's coming with his saints. His saints have been with him in heaven and are accompanying him to the earth.

Another difference is the Rapture is a blessing. 1st Thessalonians 4, verse 18, Paul says, "comfort one another with these words." Now compare that to the second advent where a two-edged sword referring to the word of God will protrude from his mouth and he will slay the wicked. Revelation 19, verse 15 says, "From his mouth comes a sharp sword that with it he may strike down the nations, he will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty." See the difference? Rapture is a comfort. The second advent for unbelievers living on the earth at the time will be a judgment.

The Rapture is something that only affects the believer. You'll notice in 1st Thessalonians 4, verse 16 the expression "in Christ." Only those "in Christ" are affected. "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." That's an expression that you find frequently in Paul's writings. It's used about 99 times, and every time it's used, it refers to those that are part of the body of Christ, those that are already believers.

But the second advent by way of contrast is something that's going to affect both believers and unbelievers. Believers will be rescued from the wrath of the Antichrist, but as we saw earlier in Revelation 19, verse 15, unbelievers will be struck down in judgment. Here's another parallel. The Rapture is something that I would call invisible.

What I mean by that is not that the unsaved world won't notice all the missing people when the Rapture happens, but the Rapture is something that only affects the Christian. The expression "in Christ" is used to describe the Rapture in 1st Thessalonians 4, verse 16. It's something that will only be observable, noticed, participated in by the body of Christ, the believer. But compare that to the second advent. When that happens, the whole world will know about it. It will be a public spectacle.

Revelation chapter 1 and verse 7 says, "Behold he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him." Certainly doesn't say that over in 1st Thessalonians 4, does it? "Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. So it is to be. Amen." Here's another difference. The Rapture is something that's announced by an archangel. We saw earlier about the voice of an angel, verse 16. But the Rapture by contrast will involve myriads of angels. He's coming back with his holy ones, Jude, verse 14. He's coming back with the angels of heaven, Matthew chapter 25, verse 31.

Here's another difference and we'll have time to develop this later in the series, but the Rapture is a resurrection. It's the time in history where the church-age believer receives their resurrected body. 1st Corinthians 15, verse 51 says, "Behold I tell you a mystery, we will not all sleep, but we will be changed." That's speaking of the glorious point in time where the church-age believer receives a glorified body.

But you compare that to passages dealing with the second advent of Christ and there's no resurrection immediately taking place mentioned associated with it. Here is another distinction between the Rapture and the second advent. The Rapture is a rescue operation for the church. We saw earlier 1st Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 10, Paul's first reference to the Rapture, and he says, "to wait for his Son from heaven whom he raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come."

There's coming upon this earth the wrath of God and the Rapture is a promise that we will be rescued from that time of God's wrath, which will manifest itself during the seven-year tribulation period. So the Rapture is largely a rescue operation for the church. But the second advent is very different. It's a rescue operation for the nation of Israel. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 23, verses 37 through 39.

He said, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her, how often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate, for I say from now on you will not see me until, until, you say Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." Now here Jesus is speaking to first-century Israel.

His goal for them when he came the first time was to gather them. Some beautiful metaphoric imagery is used here to describe God's desire to gather them the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but the problem wasn't with Jesus. The problem was with the leadership of the nation of Israel that wouldn't come to Christ on Christ's terms. And so he says, "Behold, your house is left to you desolate and you're not going to see me again until." And I love the "untils" in the Bible, particularly this one.

"Until you"—who's he talking about? Go back to verse 37 of Matthew 23—"Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Until you, national Israel, say Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." That's a Messianic Psalm. And what he's saying is, "I'm not coming back for this nation to rescue you from the satanically possessed Antichrist until you nationally and publicly acknowledge me as the Messiah. Then my second advent will happen and I will protect and rescue believing Israel and I will at the same time slay the wicked."

So do you see the difference? The Rapture is a rescue operation for the church, the body of Christ. The second advent by contrast is a rescue operation for Israel. Look at these differences. Christ comes in the air versus he's coming to the earth. He's coming for his saints versus he's coming with his saints. The Rapture is a blessing versus a judgment.

The Rapture affects only believers, but the second coming affects believers and unbelievers. The Rapture is invisible, the second advent is visible to all. The Rapture is announced by an archangel, the second coming involves myriads of angels. The Rapture is a resurrection, there's no immediate resurrection associated with the second advent. And the Rapture is a rescue operation for the church, the second advent is a rescue operation for Israel.

So what do I do with these differences? I can blend them together as many do, or I can decide to hold to a literal interpretation of Bible prophecy and notice that the Holy Spirit has written the Bible in such a way that it's being described here as two distinct phases. Jesus is coming back in two distinct phases.

When he comes in the Rapture, we're going to be caught up. You'll see the word "up," 1st Thessalonians 4, verse 17. But in the second advent, he's coming down. He starts in heaven, you'll find a reference to that in Revelation 19, verse 11, "I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and he who sat on it called Faithful and True and in righteousness he judges and wages war." See how he's coming from heaven to the earth? His feet will actually touch the earth, Zechariah 14, verse 4, but in the Rapture, it's the opposite direction. People are going up.

I think a lot of this is people are confused about up and down. Second advent down, Rapture up. So what is the Rapture? It's an important doctrine. Number two, it is an event that is distinct from the second advent and we'll explore more important aspects of the Rapture in our next installment together as we enjoy this series together. God bless you.