So, I’m going to read from Matthew chapter 24, 36 through, I’m actually going to add 42, so you can follow along. This is Jesus on the Mount of Olives discourse, and here’s what Jesus had to say. He’s talking about His return.
But about that day or hour, nobody knows, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
And they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them away. This is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field, one will be taken, the other left.
Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
Well, if you’ve been with us over the summer, you know that we’ve been preaching through the book of 1st Thessalonians. And we’re going to continue through there. We’re going to conclude chapter 4 this morning.
And so, a couple more messages in 1st Thessalonians. So just to give you a little background, the theme of 1st Thessalonians is be ready. And what are we to be ready for? Well, we’re to be ready for the coming of Jesus, the second coming.
All through the book of 1st Thessalonians, Paul writing to this church at Thessalonica refers to the second coming of Jesus. In fact, at the end of every chapter, there’s five chapters in 1st Thessalonians, he refers to the second coming of Christ. And so, Paul is wanting those Thessalonian believers and you and I to be ready for the second coming of Christ.
And that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning. Did you know a quarter of the Bible is prophetic? 25% of the Bible approximately talks about the future. And God has given us a glimpse of how the world’s going to end.
The book of Revelation lays that out for us. Revelation 1:19, this is the outline of the book of Revelation. John is on the Isle of Patmos and he has a vision of Christ.
Revelation 1:19 says, John, write the things that you have seen, the things which are and the things which are coming thereafter. There’s the outline of the book of Revelation. The things that you have seen, John saw a vision of Christ.
Read Revelation chapter 1. It’s the only description of what Jesus looks like in all the Bible. So, John writes that. Write the things that are.
John wrote seven letters from Jesus to seven historical churches that were present in modern day Asia and Turkey. And then write the things that are coming, that are hereafter. That’s chapters 4 through 22.
4 through 19 talks about the time of God’s wrath on the world. It’s called the Great Tribulation. Chapter 20 talks about the millennial reign of Christ.
Well, he will rule and reign for a thousand years. Chapters 21 and 22 talk about the new heaven and the new earth. So, this morning we’re going to think about 1st Thessalonians 4:13 through 18, and it’s called the Great Disappearance.
If there’s one section of Scripture in 1st Thessalonians that you might be familiar with, this would be the most familiar. It talks about what we refer to as the rapture of the church. And so, let’s just think about some introductory thoughts here.
the return of Christ is mentioned all throughout the Bible
And here it is, the return of Christ is mentioned all throughout the Bible. So, just like we celebrate His first coming at Christmastime, the Bible all throughout the Scriptures talk about what? The second coming of Christ. We just read about it in Matthew chapter 24.
John 14, in the upper room, Jesus’ words to His disciples before he goes to the cross. And what does he say in John chapter 14? He talks about a person, a place, a promise, and a plan. Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you.
Here’s the promise. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. And then Jesus talks about the plan, how to get to heaven.
John 14:6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And 40 days later, Acts chapter 1, here’s Jesus. He’s made many post-resurrection appearances.
Now he’s on that Mount of Olives, and he ascends back to heaven. And as he ascends back to heaven, there’s some angels there. And this is what they say to the disciples in Acts chapter 1, beginning in verse 9. After he said this, Jesus was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They, the disciples, were looking intently up into the sky he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. So, there’s the promise.
Just as Jesus ascended to heaven, guess what? This very same Jesus, he’s not sending a representative, he’s coming back a second time. When we get to the last chapter in all the Bible, John writes three times, quoting Jesus, behold, I’m coming soon. It really means quickly.
That’s found in Revelation chapter 22, verse 7, 12, and verse 20. Well, our passage this morning, then, talks about the rapture of the church. And hopefully you can see this little outline, timeline of the end times.
Now, there’s different churches and doctrinal positions that disagree on the doctrine of last things, that’s called eschatology. And when we introduced this section of Scripture a couple weeks ago, we said that should not be a dividing point among Christians. So, the timing of all this are disagreement among Christians, but here we are in the church age, and what is the next event on God’s prophetic calendar? What does the Scripture say we need to be anticipating and looking forward to? And it’s our passage here this morning.
It’s the rapture of the church. That begins a seven-year period of what’s called the Great Tribulation. Read about it in Revelation 4 through 19.
And it’s a period of judgment, God’s judgment upon the earth. And there’s three series of seven judgments that God’s going to pour out on the earth, and then the return of Christ, and then He returns to planet Earth, back to the Mount of Olives. And for a thousand years, He rules and reigns, and then the final judgment, and then eternity, the new heaven, and the new earth.
Well, this morning we’re going to look at this passage in 1st Thessalonians 4, the passage about the Great Disappearance. So, if you have your Bibles, you can turn there, or we can just follow along as we think about what Paul had to write to these Thessalonian believers. So, here’s, just again by way of introduction, and then we’re going to go through an order here of how this is going to happen, and then we’ll look at some application truths.
But here’s Dr. David Jeremiah’s most recent book is entitled, in fact, The Great Disappearance. The whole book is about the rapture of Jesus. So let me read some introduction from chapter 1. He’s entitled it, Chaos on Earth.
This is how he describes the rapture. It will be an ordinary day on this globe until suddenly it isn’t. One day soon, the world will face the great disappearance.
Billions of people gone in a flash more powerful than an atomic burst, yet silent, invisible, sudden, inexplicable. Try to imagine the extraordinary moment on planet earth. Every single follower of Jesus Christ, as well as those under the age of accountability, all the babies, young children, and mentally disabled gone in a flash, along with all those who have died in Christ.
Bodies will disappear from their coffins at funeral homes all over the world. Patients will vanish from hospital beds, babies from their cribs, children from their classrooms. Imagine cars driving down the freeway with missing drivers, planes with missing pilots, nuclear submarines with missing commanders, nations with missing leaders, parents with missing children.
In various parts of the world, Christian congregations will be mating for worship. Suddenly the buildings will be empty, or nearly so, as the churches resume their services in the sky. Soldiers will be missing in action.
Emergency responders will find their numbers depleted. Prisons will be partially depopulated. News reports will spread like wildfire, but the Christian press will be strangely silent.
There’ll be no believers to report the news. People will frantically search for their loved ones, but phone calls will go to voicemail, and texts will be unanswered. In today’s world, just one missing person case can grip the nation.
What about a billion? What will people think? What panic will they feel? What theories will they embrace? I got to tell you, when I read that, it sounds a little bit like science fiction. It’s not. This is the reality of what will happen one day when the rapture of the church takes place.
i. revelation
And so, we’re going to go through this outline this morning, and here’s our first point. The first point is revelation, God’s revelation to Paul. And we read about it in verse 15.
Paul says, according to the Lord’s word. So, this isn’t Paul making this up. This is what Paul got from God’s revelation to him, and he writes it to the Thessalonian believers, and 2,000 years later we’re reading it.
This is the word of the Lord written to Thessalonian believers. The phrase brothers and sisters is mentioned 15 times in the book of 1st Thessalonians. The inspired inerrant word of God.
Titus chapter 1 verse 2 talks about God’s character, that God cannot lie. And Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 verse 17, for truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished. Every word in this book will come true, will come to fruition.
ii. return
And so, the first point here is revelation. Paul’s giving to us what he got from God himself about the future. Now, point number two in the order of what’s going to happen here.
Verse 16 is return, return. Verse 16, for the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and the dead in Christ will rise first. So, what happens first here? And we don’t know when it’s going to happen, but it’s the next event on God’s prophetic calendar.
Christ is going to return, not all the way to earth. It’s called the meeting in the air. And so, Christ is going to return, but guess what? He’s bringing some people with him.
Who’s he bringing with him? Well, look at it in the last part of verse 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. Now, that’s a euphemism for death. Someone once asked a pastor, how many people does your church auditorium hold? And he says, I don’t know how it many holds, but I know it sleeps 150.
He’s not referring to that kind of sleep. He’s referring to death. So, when Jesus returns in the rapture, he’s bringing with him all those who have died in Christ.
a. a loud command
You got some relatives and friends that have gone on before you that knew Jesus? Guess what? He’s bringing them with him. And so, it’s the return, and it’s accompanied by three unique sounds. Look at it in verse 16, the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command. That’s the word keleusma. It’s a military command. John chapter 5, verse 28.
Let me read John 5:28 for you this morning. This is, again, the words of Jesus, do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all those who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out. Well, that’s going to be the next part of this.
It’s going to be resurrection. So, there’s going to be a loud command. What’s Jesus going to say? Well, we don’t know.
We could speculate. Remember when he raised Lazarus from the dead, John chapter 11? Lazarus had been dead for three or four days, and Jesus shows up. They roll back the stone, and Jesus said three words, Lazarus, come forth.
Somebody once said, if he didn’t say the name Lazarus, if he would have just said, come forth, then everybody in their graves would have come out. Maybe he’s going to shout, come forth, but he’s going to give a command. And then it says, the voice of the archangel.
b. the voice of the archangel
The Lord will come down from heaven with a command with the voice of the archangel. Now, the archangel is like the highest-ranking angel, and there’s one archangel mentioned in the Bible. He’s mentioned twice, 1st Thessalonians 4, here, and Jude chapter 9, his name is Michael.
c. the sound of the trumpet
So, it sounds like the chief angel might be with him when he comes, or Jesus will use the voice of that of the archangel. But then, here’s the third thought, or sound, with a loud command, the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God. When we sang our hymn, When the Roll is Called Up Yonder, if you listen to the words, it says, when the trumpet of the Lord will sound.
Now, we picture a trumpet in our day, but years ago, one of my friends went to Israel and brought me back this as a gift. And this is the shophar. This is a ram’s horn.
This is the trumpet in Jesus’ day. This is what they use. And some of you are going to say, is he going to try to blow this thing? And no, it’s very difficult to try to make a sound come out of here.
But maybe it’ll be the shophar sound. In Jesus’ day, in Roman times, a trumpet sound announced a very important person, or maybe a military leader. And so, here’s the first thing, return.
iii. resurrection
Jesus will return, not all the way to earth. He’s bringing all those who have died in Christ with him. And then, here’s the order, resurrection.
Resurrection. So, let’s look at it. Again, verse 16, the Lord will come down from heaven, a loud command or shout, the voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God.
What happens next? And the dead in Christ will rise first. There’s going to be a resurrection. Now, what happens when a believer dies? I believe the Bible teaches, absent from the body, present with the Lord.
That’s Paul writing in 1st Corinthians, that their soul goes immediately to heaven, their body gets buried, but there’s a day coming when those bodies will be resurrected, and the dead in Christ are going to rise first. Now, somebody said the dead in Christ have to rise first because they have six feet further to go to meet the Jesus. So, that’s true as well.
The dead in Christ will rise first. We have a little preview of this at Jesus’ resurrection, and it’s found in Matthew chapter 27, and a passage that really doesn’t get talked about a lot, but actually, this happened in Jesus’ day. Matthew’s writing about the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Let me just read for you Matthew 27, beginning in verse 51. It talks about the moment that Jesus dies. It says, at that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth shook, the rocks split, and the tombs opened. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
That would be interesting. After Jesus rose again, he opened some of the tombs, and some of the people got out. Can you imagine getting a knock at your door? You’ve been at your uncle’s funeral two years ago, and he’s there.
It’s a little preview of what’s going to happen here. So, the dead in Christ will rise first. This is all through Scripture as well.
1st Corinthians 15, that resurrection chapter, talks about it. And let me just read some familiar verses from 1st Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter. It says, listen, I tell you a mystery.
We will not all sleep, but we will be changed in a flash, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. There’s the trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we’ll be changed.
We’ll have our new bodies, our glorified bodies. They’ll be a lot better than this body. There’ll be no more sin.
There’ll be no more sickness, no more sadness. Study the resurrected body of Jesus, and that’s what our bodies will be like. Jesus made some appearances just by showing up, walking through doors.
iv. rapture
We’ll have our new glorified body. So, resurrection is the second order here. Then there’s the rapture.
That’s the next step. Verse 17, back to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4. After that, after the dead in Christ rise, 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. So, Jesus comes back with all those who have died in Christ.
The dead in Christ are raised, and if you are alive at the time of the rapture, the Bible says you will be caught up. The Greek word there is harpazo. It means to snatch up, away and will be raptured.
There’s one generation of Christians that will not have to experience physical death and will be caught up, and we will then what? Meet the Lord and all those that have come with him, and we will meet him in the air. Now, where do we get the word rapture from? The word rapture is not found in the Bible. It’s actually based on a Latin translation of this word caught up, which is rapturo, and so we get the phrase here, the rapture of the church.
v. reunion
And then here’s the last thing, reunion. So, it’s revelation, and then it is the return, and then it is resurrection, and then it is the rapture, and then here it is, reunion. Verse 17, after that, we who are alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so will we be with the Lord forever.
And then he concludes, therefore, encourage one another with these words. What a welcoming committee. What a great reunion to look forward to, to not only see Jesus, but to see those that have gone on before us, that have put their faith in Jesus, and to have that new resurrected bodies, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
No more death, no more sorrow, no more goodbyes, no more separation. As the old hymn says, what a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see, and I look upon His face, the one who saved me by His grace, when he takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land, what a day, glorious day that will be. The second verse says there’ll be no more sorrows, no more burdens to bear, no more sickness, no more pain, no more parting over there, but forever I will be with the one who died for me, what a day, glorious day that will be.
Four application truths
Well, the apostle Paul wrote this to a group of believers, young believers, 2,000 years ago, because he wanted them to know what to expect next on God’s prophetic calendar. And so, let’s, this morning, just think about some application truths for us that we can draw out of this text. What should this, how should this impact our lives?
1. consolation
The first truth here is the word consolation or encouragement, encouragement. In fact, Paul gives us the application right in the text as he closes this section. He says, therefore, I want you, what, to encourage one another with these words, to encourage one another that as Christians we have hope, that this world is not all that there is, that there is a reunion day coming someday where we’ll see Jesus face to face and we’ll see our loved ones who have died in Christ. This should bring great encouragement to our hearts and lives.
Most of us here have had somebody in our family, grandparents, parents, siblings that have died in Christ. The question is, will we ever see them again? And if they put their faith in Jesus as their Savior, and if you know Jesus your Savior, the encouraging answer is yes, you will. May Christ return.
Back in October of 1981, 44 years ago, I remember standing in a church entryway in Fort Wayne, Indiana. My mom had been a pastor’s wife, had fought a battle of cancer, and eventually died at the age of 50. I remember the funeral service.
I remember our family standing around that casket before they’re going to close the casket for the last time and have a time of memorial time and a funeral service. And as the casket was about to be closed, my dad said these words, I will never forget them, we will see her again someday. This is not the end.
There’s hope because of what Jesus said. And then when we say goodbye to our loved ones, it’s simply a temporary goodbye until Jesus returns. Well, that’s the first thought that we need to be encouraged by this truth.
2. expectation
The second one is expectation, expectation. In our passage that we read in our Scripture reading, Jesus said twice in Matthew 24, we don’t know when this is going to happen. Nobody knows that the time of Jesus returned and the rapture of the church, but we need to live lives, what, with expectant hearts, knowing that the next event on God’s prophetic calendar is the rapture of the church.
And so, Jesus is going to come someday. It could be today. We don’t know.
All I know is we’re 2,000 years closer to when Jesus said he was coming back again and that promise in Acts chapter 1, some of you remember, you’ve been a long-time part of Community Bible Church, Augie and Joan Piccoli that came here for many, many years. And Augie went home to be with the Lord maybe a year or two ago. But one of Augie Piccoli’s statements that I remember, Augie Piccoli used to say often, he says, I’m not looking for the undertaker, I’m looking for the upper taker.
And by that he meant I’m looking for Jesus’ return. And Augie’s in Jesus’ presence right now, but to live lives expectantly that Jesus could come again. And if you read 1st Thessalonians 4 carefully, as Paul’s writing this, we discover that Paul was expecting Jesus to return in his lifetime.
Verse 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. Paul included himself. He says, we who are alive when Christ returns.
3. consecration
So, he was thinking Jesus is going to come back in his day. And so, we need to live expectant lives, expecting His return. Thirdly, the word consecration, living in reality of Christ’s return should make a difference in how we behave.
Someday, Christ will come again and we will be like him. But in the meantime, we need to live for him. We need to live with the hope that Jesus can come anytime.
And we need to live a life of dedication and consecration. And Titus chapter 2 talks about that, verses 11 through 13, talks about the blessed hope. This is what the apostle Paul writes to Titus.
The grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age while we wait for the blessed hope. The appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus.
So, what’s Paul saying? We need to live holy lives. It’s kind of like a teacher that might leave the classroom for a few minutes and say, I’ll be right back. And you better be on your best behavior because you don’t want to be in chaos when the teacher returns.
And so, we need to live a life of purity, of holiness. 1st John writes about that. 1st John chapter 2 and 3, here’s what John has to say.
Verse 28, 1st John 2:28. And now, dear children, continue in him so that when he appears, we may be confident and unashamed before him at His coming. Dear friends, now are we the children of God? And what we will be is not yet made known, but we know that when he appears, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
We’ll be just like Jesus. And then he says, all who have this hope in them purify themselves even as he is pure. So, the return of Christ should motivate us, what? To live a life for him.
4. examination
There’s a fourth truth, and we’ll conclude with this. The fourth truth is examination, examination. So, if Christ could return at any moment, then we need to examine our hearts and make sure we’re ready for His return.
2nd Corinthians 13 verse 5 says, examine yourselves to make sure you’re in the faith. If there’s one mistake you do not want to make, it is about your eternal destiny. The Bible says we are saved by faith alone, through grace alone, and Christ alone.
I don’t know if you caught this on social media. I’m assuming it’s true. That’s not a good assumption, is it? But it was Fox News quoting President Trump, working on trying to stop the war in Ukraine and Russia and what he’s trying to do over in the Middle East and bring peace.
He basically said, I want to go to heaven. Some people say I’m like way down on the ladder, but I think if I can get this done, if I think I can bring these parties together, I think I’m going to make it to heaven. Sad statement.
If that’s true, President Trump doesn’t understand God’s grace. There’s nothing you can do to earn your way into heaven. It’s all about putting our faith in Jesus and Jesus alone.
So, are we ready? Are our family members and friends ready, co-workers, neighbors? Let me read Revelation chapter 20. This is why it’s so important to be ready. This is the end judgment, the judgment of unbelievers.
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it, the earth and the heavens fled from His presence. There was no place for them. I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and the books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life.
The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. This is the judgment for those who have not accepted Jesus. Believers have a different judgment.
It’s called the judgment seat of Christ. This is called the great white throne judgment. At the end of the book of Revelation chapter 20, the sea gave up the dead that were in it and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them and each person was judged according to what they had done.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
There’s a heaven to gain. There’s a hell to shun. We need to be ready.
Not only do we need to be ready, but we need to spread the good news of the gospel to those that God brings across our pathway so they can be a recipient of God’s grace and not have to face a second death. 2nd Corinthians 5:21, I call it the great exchange. He who knew no sin, that’s Jesus, became sin for us so that in him we might become what? The righteousness of God.
When you put your faith in Jesus, His righteousness, His perfection gets credited to our account and Jesus looks at us and God looks at us as in Christ, justified positionally, just as if we’ve never sinned. So, Andy Stanley writes the book, and asks the question, how good do you have to be to get into heaven? The answer is you have to be perfect. There’s the problem, but God gave us the solution in Jesus because the Bible says for all have sinned and come short of God’s glory.
There’s none righteous, no not one. And so that’s why Jesus came to live a perfect life, to go to the cross, to have your sin put on him, to take our penalty in our place. And when we receive that gift, we have the wonderful gift of salvation, of being in Christ, and of knowing that someday we will be with him forever and ever in His glorious presence.
I trust that you’re ready I trust that we’ll make it our goal to share the good news of the gospel with those that need to get ready. May God give us the grace and courage to do that.