The Rapture and Tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

The Rapture and Tribulation

(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Introduction

• The Rapture has drawing power– Lots of excitement

Bumper Sticker ReligionBumper Sticker Religion

WARNING!When the rapture comes, the car

in front of you will be empty.

Bumper Sticker ReligionBumper Sticker Religion

WARNING!When the rapture comes, the car

in front of you will be empty.

Come the Rapture—Can I Have Your Car?

Hal Lindsey

“Astounding as man’s trip to the moon is, there isanother trip which many men, women, andchildren will take someday which will leave all theworld gasping . . . Without benefit of science spacesuits, or interplanetary rockets, there will be thosewho will be transported into a glorious place morebeautiful, more awesome, than we can possiblycomprehend . . . It will be the living end. Theultimate trip.” (Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth, pp. 135-137)

John Hagee

“Believers in Christ will escape doomsday! Mark itdown, take it to heart, and comfort one another with these words. Doomsday is coming for theearth, for nations, and for individuals, but thosewho have trusted in Jesus will not be present onearth to witness the dire time of tribulation”

(John Hagee, Pastor of Cornerstone Church, San Antonio, TX, writing in his book, Daniel To Doomsday: The Countdown Has Begun , p. 117)

John Hagee

“Hagee explicitly argues that the end times have insome sense began on September 11, 2001. ‘Weare seeing in my judgment the birth pangs that willbe called in the future the beginning of the end,’ hetold a BBC interviewer. ‘I believe in my mind thatthe Third World War has begun. I believe it began on 9/11.’”

(Barbara Rossing, The Rapture Exposed, quoting John Hagee)

Barbara Rossing

“In every depiction the rapture divides families.Terrified parents on airplanes scream, ‘My babies,my babies,’ as the camera cuts to teddy bears and diapers left behind on the seats. All children underage twelve disappear. Babies are sucked out ofpregnant women’s wombs as stupefied fatherswatch the ultrasound machines go blank. Planesand cars crash in fireballs.

Barbara Rossing

Media reports come in from around the country:

‘Trains were involved in head-ons with lots of

death.’ God had raptured the engineers before

they had time to apply the brakes.”

(Quoting from Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, Left Behind:

A Novel of Earth’s Last Day, Vol. 1, p. 126)

Introduction

• The Rapture has drawing power– Lots of excitement– Perversion of OT prophecies

• Objectives in this lesson– Set forth the concepts of the Rapture and the

Tribulation– Demonstrate from the Scriptures that these

are not going to happen– Discuss the Antichrist

Origin of The Rapture

• Relatively recent origin– Margaret McDonald, a fifteen year old, from

Port Glasgow, Scotland claimed to have a vision in 1830 of a two stage return of the Lord

– Adopted and amplified by John Nelson Darby, founder of the Plymouth Brethren

– He set no timetable for the Lord’s return, but instead set up “dispensations”

– From “caught up” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)

W.E. Vine & PremillennialismW.E. Vine & Premillennialism

“To snatch or catch away, is said of the act. . . of the Rapture of the saints at the return of the Lord.”

W.E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, p. 174

Origin of The Rapture

• Gained popularity from there– Cyrus I. Scofield published the Scofield

Reference Bible (1909)– Included notes that “helped” the reader– Barbara Rossing, author of The Rapture

Exposed: The Message and Hope in The Book of Revelation, suggested that Dispensationalism was a reaction to Darwinism that offered a rational approach to history.

What About The Rapture?

• Differences over the timing of the Rapture

Different ViewsDifferent Viewson the Raptureon the Rapture

• Pre-tribulation theory - rapture occurs before the seven years of tribulation

• Mid-tribulation theory - rapture occurs 3 1/2 years into the tribulation

• Post-tribulation theory - rapture occurs after the tribulation and before the millennium

?

What About The Rapture?

• Differences over the timing of the Rapture

• The first stage- Secret return for the saints– Involves only the righteous, living and dead– Once in heaven they are judged

• Second stage- Return with His saints– To set up the kingdom– Occurs after the Tribulation – Judgment of living nations (Matthew 25:31-46)

Their “Proof Text”

• Need to consider the context

• Look at “key phrases” – “with a shout” (v. 16)– “voice of an archangel” (v. 16)– “trump of God” (v. 16)– “so shall we ever be with the Lord” (v. 17)

• Let’s compare men and God

1 Thess. 4:13-181 Thess. 4:13-18Man Says God Says

“Part of the confusion on this issue rises from a failure to distinguish two stages in Jesus’ second coming. One passage of Scripture speaks of Christ’s coming in the air and in secret, like a thief coming in the night. Another part of the Scriptures describes Christ’s coming in power and majesty to the earth, with every eye seeing Him. Both of these can be true only if there are two separate appearances of Christ in the future.”

Hal Lindsey, There’s a New World Coming, p. 61.

“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. 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. 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.”

1 Thess. 4:15-17

1 Thess. 4:13-181 Thess. 4:13-18Man Says God Says

“Part of the confusion on this issue rises from a failure to distinguish two stages in Jesus’ second coming. One passage of Scripture speaks of Christ’s coming in the air and in secret, like a thief coming in the night. Another part of the Scriptures describes Christ’s coming in power and majesty to the earth, with every eye seeing Him. Both of these can be true only if there are two separate appearances of Christ in the future.”

Hal Lindsey, There’s a New World Coming, p. 61.

“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. 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. 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.”

1 Thess. 4:15-17

1 Thess. 4:13-181 Thess. 4:13-18Man Says God Says

“Part of the confusion on this issue rises from a failure to distinguish two stages in Jesus’ second coming. One passage of Scripture speaks of Christ’s coming in the air and in secret, like a thief coming in the night. Another part of the Scriptures describes Christ’s coming in power and majesty to the earth, with every eye seeing Him. Both of these can be true only if there are two separate appearances of Christ in the future.”

Hal Lindsey, There’s a New World Coming, p. 61.

“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. 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. 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.”

1 Thess. 4:15-17

Their “Proof Text”

• Unwarranted distinction – Coming for the saints- Greek “parousia”

(1 Thessalonians 4:15, 16)– Coming with the saints- Greek “epiphania”

(1 Thessalonians 3:13)– However, both are used in to refer to the

same coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

2 Thessalonians 2:82 Thessalonians 2:8

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

2 Thessalonians 2:82 Thessalonians 2:8

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. epiphaneia

2 Thessalonians 2:82 Thessalonians 2:8

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.parousia

epiphaneia

Contradictions

• Every eye will see Him (Revelation 1:7)

• One resurrection for all (John 5:28, 29)

• One day of judgment (Acts 17:31, 32)

• Punishment and glorifying occurs on the same day (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10)

• World to be destroyed at Jesus’ return (2 Peter 3:10-12)

Tribulation “Proof Text”

• Recall the different views of the timing

Different ViewsDifferent Viewson the Raptureon the Rapture

• Pre-tribulation theory - rapture occurs before the seven years of tribulation

• Mid-tribulation theory - rapture occurs 3 1/2 years into the tribulation

• Post-tribulation theory - rapture occurs after the tribulation and before the millennium

?

Tribulation “Proof Texts”

• Recall the different views of the timing

• OT- “Seventy weeks of Daniel” (9:24-27)

Seventieth Week Of Daniel

“Messiah shall

be cut off”

“Commandment to restore…

and to build Jerusalem”

7 weeks(49 years)

62 weeks(434 years)

1 week(7 years)

GAP

Israel not a nation“non-time”

period70th week

Climax ofJewish History

Millennial KingdomBegins

Second Adventof Messiah

Decree ofArtaxerxes

445 B.C. 396 B.C. 30A.D.

70A.D.

“City and Sanctuary”Destroyed

Destruction ofJerusalem

31/2 yrs 31/2 yrs

Antichrist’s CovenantWith Jews

Covenant BrokenWorship For Jews Ceases(2 Thess. 2:3-4)The Great Tribulation Begins

Tribulation “Proof Texts”

• Recall the different views of the timing

• OT- “Seventy weeks of Daniel” (9:24-27)

• NT- Jesus’ discourse (Matthew 24)– Daniel’s prophecy applied to the destruction

of Jerusalem (v. 15; Daniel 9:27)– Shortened for the sake of the “elect” (v. 22)– Events within their lifetime (v. 34)

The Antichrist

• Leader of the “Revived Roman Empire”– World dictator who pretends to make peace

with Israel– Proclaim himself to be “God”

(Daniel 7; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 7)– Wage war with those converted during the

tribulation– Various identities through the years

Past Prophetic BlundersPast Prophetic BlundersSupposedProphecy

PastProphetic Blunders

The Anti-christ

Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler, Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan, and Saddam Hussein

The AntichristThe Antichrist

• Three accomplishments– World peace– Intensify persecution– Ignite the Battle of Armageddon

Daniel 7 & Revelation 13Daniel 7 & Revelation 13

• Significance of “shortly” (2 Timothy 4:9)

• Both wrote during times of oppression

• Three and one-half is symbolic of an indefinite period of time

• Daniel told to seal up the book (12:4)

• Revelation written to encourage the readers (1:1; 6:9-11; 22;6)

Further EvidenceFurther Evidence

• No reference to “the Antichrist”– Many already existed (1 John 2:18)– Applied to anyone who denied the humanity

of Jesus (1 John 2:22; 4:3)

ConclusionConclusion

• An unscriptural theory

• Beware of false teachers (1 John 4:1)