Thursday 011625
Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.
Since the beginning of this study, our vision has been that we are ONLY going to follow what is found in the Holy Bible, that pertains to us, and we realize that it’s ONLY from our own effort that we put into this study, that we’re going to take anything away for our own use.
The verses we are going to study this morning:
1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-7; Ephesians 3:1-13; Revelation 3:14-22; Matthew 24:29-31; 2 Peter 3:10-13; 2 Samuel 7:14; Psalm 2:7, 11-12; Proverbs 30:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
The Rapture is an end-time event that’s described in the Bible as happening in the blink of an eye.
1 Corinthians 15
vs51 ‘…Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed…’
vs52 ‘…in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
Christians believe that living and deceased believers will be taken up into heaven to meet Jesus Christ. It will involve a trumpet call, believers being caught up in the clouds, meeting the Lord in the air, and receiving new bodies.
There are different interpretations on the Day of the Lord found in the Bible. Both Matthew and Peter define the Day of the Lord as the beginning of what is known as the Tribulation.
The Tribulation is the final result of the Jews failure to obey God’s demand in allowing the land to have a year of rest every seventh year, this is known as seventy weeks written about in the book of Daniel.
The apostle Paul has written about the Day of the Lord a little differently.
1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 informs believers about the Day of the Lord. This phrase refers to both the moment of the Rapture as well as the beginning of the seven-year tribulation period, that will begin immediately after the church has been removed from this earth. The passage assures us that believers will not experience the tribulation.
1 Thessalonians 5
vs1 ‘…Now as to the periods and times, brothers and sisters, you have no need of anything to be written to you…’
vs2 ‘…For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night…’
vs3 ‘…While they are saying, Peace and safety! then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape…’
vs4 ‘…But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that the day would overtake you like a thief…’
vs5 ‘…for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness…’
vs6 ‘…so then, let’s not sleep as others do, but let’s be alert and sober…’
vs7 ‘…For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night…’
vs8 ‘…But since we are of the day, let’s be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation…’
vs9 ‘…For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ…’
vs10 ‘…who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him…’
vs11 ‘…Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
From different writings in the Bible, Matthew and Peter include the Day in the Lord as being the beginning of the Tribulation, and they make no hint of the word Rapture or the idea of what the Rapture is.
The entire idea behind being Raptured, was given to the apostle Paul and not given to the other apostles, that’s why they never wrote about it.
Let’s continue this lesson by looking at what the scriptures DOES teach us.
Ephesians 3
vs1 ‘…For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles…’
vs2 ‘…if indeed you have heard of the administration of God’s grace which was given to me for you…’
vs3 ‘…that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before briefly…’
vs4 ‘…By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ…’
vs5 ‘…which in other generations was not made known to mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit…’
vs6 ‘…to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel…’
vs7 ‘…of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power…’
vs8 ‘…To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ…’
vs9 ‘…and to enlighten all people as to what the plan of the mystery is which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things…’
vs10 ‘…so that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places…’
vs11 ‘…This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord…’
vs12 ‘…in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him…’
vs13 ‘…Therefore I ask you not to become discouraged about my tribulations in your behalf, since they are your glory…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
In verse 3 there is that word ‘MYSTERY’ used once again. It’s called a mystery because earlier generations were not given the opportunity to know about it, it was kept hidden for ages by God.
Paul’s insight to the mystery was kept hidden until salvation has come through Jesus Christ and now is opened to both Jews and Gentiles, alike. Both people share together in this salvation to form one body, and that body is the church.
It was kept hidden because God wanted it to be kept hidden … He is God and He can do whatever He wants to do.
A fact that many forget about, our God, He is SOVERIGN.
One day, this age will come to an end.
So, you may ask the question: Is the concept of the church age taught anywhere within the Bible? And the simple answer, even though it may surprise you, is that there is not a single text in Scripture which mentions that a church age will come to an end during the time of the second coming of Christ.
Revelation 3
vs14 ‘…To the angel of the church in Laodicea write The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Origin of the creation of God, says this…’
vs15 ‘…I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot…’
vs16 ‘…So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth…’
vs17 ‘…Because you say, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked…’
vs18 ‘…I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see…’
vs19 ‘…Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore, be zealous and repent…’
vs20 ‘…Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me…’
vs21 ‘…The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne…’
vs22 ‘…The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
We had a lesson a couple of weeks ago where we determined that today in the 21st century, we are that church, the church of Laodicea.
At the very moment, the twinkling of an eye, the entire church age will be gone, vacated from this earth and immediately following will be the start of the seven-year Tribulation, the judgement of the earth and its inhabitants, those that have not believed.
Matthew and Peter, even though they traveled with Jesus for several years, they were not allowed to know the truth of the upcoming ‘mysteries’ that were going to be brought out into the open.
Matthew 24
vs29 ‘…But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken…’
vs30 ‘…And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory…’
vs31 ‘…And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
2 Peter 3
vs10 ‘…But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up…’
vs11 ‘…Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness…’
vs12 ‘…looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat…’
vs13 ‘…Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
2 Peter defines how the original twelve disciples were never given the same Gospel that the apostle Paul was given to preach to the Gentiles.
Peter still believed and followed those Jewish rituals that he had lived with his entire life.
In short, the day of the Lord defines a period at the end of this age where God will bring His judgement upon the earth.
That ‘age’ talked about is the church age that we are living in today.
So, then we should ask ourselves, how is the gospel a mystery in the ages and generations past?
2 Samuel 7:14 ‘…I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me; when he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and with strokes of sons of mankind…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
Psalm 2:7 ‘…I will announce the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, You are My Son, Today I have fathered You…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
Psalm 2
vs11 ‘…Serve the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling…’
vs 12 ‘…Kiss the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way, For His wrath may be kindled quickly. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
Proverbs 30:4 ‘…Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His Son’s name? Surely you know…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
So, Peter says that the Day of the Lord will come. It is not going to be a day too late and it’s not going to be a day too early. It will be in God’s absolute perfect timing.
Just to keep you all from wondering, here is the writings of the Rapture found in the Bible. If you cannot accept the word ‘rapture,’ just use the words found in the Bible, ‘caught up.’
1 Thessalonians 4
vs13 ‘…But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope…’
vs14 ‘…For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus…’
vs15 ‘…For we say this 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…’
vs16 ‘…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…’
vs17 ‘…Then we who are alive, who remain, 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…’
vs18 ‘…Therefore, comfort one another with these words…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
NOTICE: Jesus’ feet will not be stepping foot on the earth like we are promised at His 2nd Coming.
This is Jesus coming to take HIS church home to heaven.
We are going to meet Him.
Continue reading your Bible, there is so much waiting for us to learn.
Study the words that we have been given.
I love ALL of y’all.
Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen
InHIM. ><)))o>