Well this morning is going to be the first of two or more sermons dealing with the transformation of believers at the coming of the Lord and being caught up together with those that actually have already died that are in the Lord to meet together in the clouds with the Lord up there in the air and ever be with Him. That's commonly referred to as the rapture and I have two primary reasons for wanting to spend this much time with it. The first is that it is the next prophetic event that is going to occur and so we should have some familiarity with it in order to be prepared for it. And the second is there is a lot of confusion about the rapture because it's a doctrine that can only be properly understood by a lot of digging around in the scriptures. 1 Thessalonians 4 is probably the most extensive passage dealing with it, but we've got to go to a lot of other passages to see the inferences and the insights other passages give to a whole doctrine. It's going to be one of my purposes to clear up some of that confusion, including questions revolving around the timing of its occurrence. By the end of the last sermon in this series, you should be able to understand at least the major arguments, pro and con, the different views about this. And then even if you disagree with my conclusion or have difficulty coming up to your own, at least you'll kind of understand the background. Every Christian actually has a responsibility to understand what the Lord has revealed in His word, and my goal is simply to help you with that. Now we're going to be examining what Paul says about the rapture and the day of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5, because those have to be understood first in order to understand what he says in 2 Thessalonians, which gives us some greater detail. But first, we're going to be looking at the rapture. That'll be our focus today. Look again, 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 13 through 18. But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so 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 perceive those that have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and 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." Now to set the context, let me quickly go over the beginning of chapter 4. Paul is making pleas and exhortations to the Thessalonians that they walk to please God. He commends them for doing well and yet he also encourages them to do better, to excel even more, to abound in it. He points out three areas in which he wants them to do this. The first is the pursuit of sanctification. Why? Because that is God's will for us and for all Christians. For all Christians we are to be sanctified, set apart unto God. Not just in the area of sexual sin, which is the specific thing he targets there, but to be holy in all of our life and set apart from worldliness. We have come to recognize that We live in a society that is increasingly abandoning its heritage and going farther and farther away from what God has commanded. And so we are going to stand out, some would say like sore thumbs, I say like a bright light shining in the darkness, because we're gonna be different than the world around us. Our striving is to follow God, to please Him in all that we do and live a life that will be wholly set apart to Him. The second is that though they were doing well at loving the brethren, He wants them to do even better. And certainly that is something that all of us understand. No matter how well we're doing, we can continue to improve. So that's going to be part of it. Excuse me. And then third, Paul exhorts them to live their lives in a quiet fashion so that they will attend to their own affairs and work with their own hands, that they would then behave properly toward those that are outsiders and not have need. He expands on that in second Thessalonians as well. Now walking in a way to please God is going to include your view of and preparation for what's gonna happen in the future. The last part of the chapter reveals they had some confusion about what was going to come in the future and it was affecting them in the present time. Verse 13 is a transition to that topic as Paul addresses what they're uninformed about, ignorant about. They didn't have knowledge. They were confused and specifically concerning those who had fallen asleep. That's a euphemism for death. The word that was used here, quaimomenon, is got a root meaning of to lie down or to lie upon something. And since a dead body, when it's laid out, looks like it's asleep, it became a common euphemism to refer to those who had died. And a euphemism is simply a more pleasant way to refer to something that otherwise sounds unpleasant, right? Now all time, nine times, Paul uses this word, he does it as a euphemism for someone who has died or to those who were dead. But euphemisms we have to be careful of because they can cause confusion. You might recall in John 11, Jesus had used this of Lazarus. He told the disciples that he was asleep. And they thought, great, he's going to get better now. And then he had to be very blunt and said, Lazarus is dead. Just even saying that sounds harsh, right? How many euphemisms do we have for death? All sorts of them because we don't like saying it. It's harsh. Well, because they're confused, he had to be then very blunt. Now, that confusion, though, has also resulted in some churches in teaching a doctrine called soul sleep. in which the body is dead, but in a sleep-like state, awaiting to be awakened at Jesus' return. So, the soul is asleep, but that is contrary to what we find in the scriptures. Other insights from other scriptures tell us that the state of the soul after death has a definite, cognate awareness. It's not asleep. It's interacting. Paul's statements in 2 Corinthians 5, 6-8 is that to be absent with the body is to be present with the Lord. So you're not sleeping in a grave, you're actually, your soul is with the Lord. In fact, Paul was looking forward to that. In Philippians 1.21, he states that for him to live as Christ and to die as gain, he saw that as an advantage that he would actually then be with the Lord and there's going to be interaction with Him. The story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16, 19-31 is very clear. Souls of those who have died are cognitively aware. They're not sleeping. Now the Thessalonians would have understood Paul's metaphor without confusion because he continues on to state that his purpose is that they are not going to grieve as the rest who do not have hope. The idea of hope here is having an assurance that allows you to look forward with confidence to the future. It's going to be good and beneficial. A confidence of the future that's negative is usually not referred to as hope. It's usually referred to as dread. It's the opposite. I have a hope for the future because I know what God has promised is actually good and beneficial. Now, funerals where there is a lack of hope and I think most have been to those, are filled with an overwhelming grief. People will exhibit that in different ways. I've seen extreme anger. I've also seen extreme depression. I've seen it range from wailing uncontrollably to being stone-faced. The common thread is a deep pain of sorrow within the soul. And Paul wants them to understand a truth that they were unaware of and over to alleviate that kind of grief. They would have a grief with hope, not a grief without hope. Now, note the distinction here. Paul is going to give them a hope that moderates their grief. He is not going to say or even insinuate in any way that it removes all grief. I have been among Christians who have had the idea that Christians are not to grieve when a loved one has passed away. And frankly, that's wrong. That's contrary to what Paul is saying here. If you do not have sorrow when someone dies, there's actually something wrong with you. Okay? There's going to be sorrow. Even Jesus wept at Lazarus' tomb and He knew that He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead in just a few moments. And yet He also weeps. Jesus has conquered death. He's given us a hope that transcends death. But it is still an enemy and will remain an enemy until Jesus returns. Now, the closer the relationship you have to a person who has passed away, the greater the sorrow is going to be because they're not present with you. They're not going to be able to join in the things that you're doing, especially those things you know that they would like to do. I have often heard that, a reference to those who have a loved one that's passed away, and, oh, wouldn't they have loved to have been here? They would have liked this so much. We miss them. We miss them not being here to enjoy those things. So it's improper to shed a tear when we remember some we care about. Someone that's no longer with us simply because we miss them. And it's also proper to cry with those who cry, weep with those who weep. And in fact, I think that demonstrates your own empathy and comforting. for someone else, it says to them, you remember as well, and you share the same sorrow. You also miss them, and so that is a proper thing to do. Don't fall into the trap of don't cry, don't be grieved, don't like, no, instead just cry with them, give them a hug, all right? Pull out a Kleenex, one for them, one for you. Have a good cry together. We still miss them. That's proper. We grieve, but we don't grieve as those who have no hope. And that's the huge difference. That being true, let me quickly here that a Christian may or may not go through these so-called stages of grief that have been suggested by various psychiatrists. So don't try to analyze people into those theories. And by the way, there are a lot more theories than just the Kugler-Ross one. And no, you don't have to go through all the stages she suggests, or in order. You may skip them. You may not experience any of them. It all depends on you, your relationship with the Lord, and your own personality. In fact, the context here shows Paul is addressing a very particular concern that developed among the Thessalonians that was causing them grief. And it wasn't just that they had died. There was this question in their mind is, they have died. Christ hasn't returned yet. What happens to them? Do they miss the rapture? What happens to them? Now Paul had addressed it, but obviously there's confusion here. So there you have a grief that's not just about we miss them. It's like we don't know what's happening to them. We have a hope because Paul has answered that question for us. We know exactly what's going to happen. We have a comfort. Look at verse 14. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who fall asleep in Jesus. Now this is the underlying truth that brings comfort. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith. Paul points out the essentials of the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15, stating, "...for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." And so that all that Jesus claimed about himself and all that he taught were confirmed when he conquered death and came out of that grave alive. That's the resurrection. The fact of his resurrection was attested by multiple witnesses. 1 Corinthians 15 goes on about this. There were multiple singular witnesses, groups of witnesses, and at one point about 500 at one time all witnessed the resurrected Christ. Paul lists out here Cephas, the 12, more than 500, James, the Apostles, and finally himself. The Gospels list out all the women that went to the Garden of Gethsemane on the morning of his resurrection. They saw him. Paul then argues in verses 17 through 20 that this resurrection is essential to our faith. If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then faith in Christ would be in vain and those who had fallen asleep in Jesus have perished. that Paul continues on in that passage, which is why I had that read as the Scripture verse this morning. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. Because He's been resurrected, you have hope, a confidence assurance, His promise to you is also going to take place. His promise for those who have already died is going to take place. There is going to be a resurrection. Now, he applies these to the Thessalonians, assuring them this is what is the future going to be for those that have fallen asleep in Jesus. They're going to rise from the dead. Their souls are already with Christ, but the physical body is also going to be resurrected. Now, he already had said to the Thessalonians that Christ is bringing back those who had died. Now, For that to happen, it means they already have to be with God. So he also states here that their souls are already with Christ. I mentioned earlier several passages that showed the soul has mental awareness after death. Those same passages that show the souls of the righteous are at home with the Lord. So he's bringing them back. Their bodies are going to rise to meet their souls. Now Paul continues on in verse 15, 1 Thessalonians 4, and he gives an additional knowledge about what's going to happen. Verse 15, So he first points out here that he's not telling us something that he came up with. This is something that comes from the word of the Lord. In fact, what Peter states in 2 Peter 1, 20-21 applies here. Know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by a matter of one's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will. But men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Now Peter even later specifically states, 2 Peter 3, 15 and 16, that Paul wrote scripture. That's an important point for us as followers of Christ. We're not here to follow the musings of men. We're here to follow what God himself has revealed through his son and through his word. The apostles are part of that. And so what he's writing here isn't musings of men. It's what God has revealed to us through men moved by His Holy Spirit. We're not willing to follow fables and myths. We need to have confidence the writings that we hold, the Bible, is sacred because it's from God. It's revealed as an errant word to us by these men moved by the Holy Spirit. Now Paul then gives a sequence of what's going to happen at Christ's return. Those who are living and remaining do not precede those who have fallen asleep. Now he makes it clear in the next verse, he's referring here to the resurrection. Now before I get to that though, I need to point out two other important points from this verse. First, these events occur at the coming of the Lord. The term here is parousia. According to the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, this has a general meaning to be present or to have come, as in having arrived. I find translating this as coming causes confusion with the more common Greek term for coming, which is erchomai. Now, some have wanted to make parousia a technical term for advent, but the meaning of the word, like most words, has to be determined by the context in which it's used. The word here, parousia, does not really have a convey an idea of return. It's an emphasis on being present, already being there. I think Young's literal version does well. He translates this as the presence of the Lord with a specific prevalence determined by the context, which here in this passage is specifically tied to being caught up, which is the raptured believers in verse 17. Now, I might be making a big deal about parousia, but as we get farther in this series, you're going to see why that's going to become important. Our English translations don't always do as well because they'll translate multiple Greek words as the same English word. We don't really recognize then there is a difference. And that causes lots of confusion. This is just one of them. Now second, note that Paul includes himself here as someone that could be living and remaining. when this event happens. Now that brings up the doctrine of what we call the imminent return of Jesus. And I'll go further into this doctrine in the future, but today I just want to point out it's developed from the many admonitions throughout the New Testament that we are to be ready and alert for the Lord's return. Because He is near, He is at hand, and we should have an eager anticipation of His coming keeping in mind that he said he is coming quickly and that he returned unexpectedly like a thief in the night. Simply stated, Jesus can return for his church at any time. Many things could happen before he returned. Nothing must happen. Other prophecies could be fulfilled before that blessed event, but none must be fulfilled. Okay? Now, we'll get into that more actually next week in a lot of detail. Now, verses 16 and 17 describe additional elements in the sequence in which they will happen with the parousia, the presence of the Lord. Verse 16, for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 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. Now first, the Lord's presence comes about because he himself will descend from heaven. that will be accompanied by a shout, with the word here, collusium, actually referring to a call or command, or the call of a command, not just noise, but a call of a command. B, one of the archangels adds his voice to the shout, and C, the trumpet of God is going to sound. So it's going to be noisy. Second, the dead in Christ are resurrected first. Third, those alive remaining are changed and then caught up. Fourth, then both groups, those who have been resurrected from the dead and those who have been transformed, join together in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air. And then fifth, they always then remain with the Lord. So this is not some kind of hidden event. Many of the cults actually try to make it that. The Lord has returned spiritually. And the reason they do that, and actually the reason a lot of date setters end up in trouble, is they set some sort of date. The Lord's going to return on X date or by X time. And when that doesn't happen, they are demonstrated to be false prophets. So, in order to save face, they have to come up with an explanation of why you can't see Jesus. And so, He returned spiritually. Among the many groups, Jehovah's Witnesses actually have one of those. He returned in 1914. Been here for 109 years. Then they got a problem, right? So, they just spiritualized it. Because He hasn't shown up at the house in San Diego, they prepared for Him. So, they spiritualize it. But that is true of so many different groups. The reality is, there's nothing here that's hidden. Okay? There's shouting. There's an archangel's voice. There's a trumpet of God. And all that sound is going to get people's attention. Revelation 1.17 proclaims, It's not hidden. That matches what the angels told the disciples in Acts 1.11 that Jesus would return the same way in which he went into heaven, which was into a cloud. Now Paul had said in verse 15 that those living and remaining would not precede those who had fallen asleep in Jesus. And now he specifically states here the dead would rise first. Now since their souls are already with the Lord, as I pointed out earlier, we must conclude this means the resurrection of their physical body to join their souls at this event. Now Paul describes these bodies in 1 Corinthians 15 verses 50 through 54. These are not bodies of flesh and blood which are perishable and corruptible. They're not mortal because that which is perishable, that which is mortal cannot inherit the kingdom of God. So Paul states that the dead are raised imperishable, the formerly mortal bodies become immortal. They're very different. Now that's a mystery to us, but nevertheless it is true. Paul also states in verses 51 and 52 that we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. The word for changed here, elaso, means to be altered in character or nature. And obviously something that was mortal that becomes immortal is greatly altered in nature. We're changed. Now some versions translate this happening in the blink of an eye, which is rapid. Most English versions translate this as twinkling of an eye, which refers to the sparkle that can occur in someone's eye as light goes through their cornea and reflects off the lens in the back. Now light travels pretty fast and the distance between your cornea and lens is pretty small, so this is quick, okay? We just call it instantaneous. It is rapid. God transforms things and we gain a resurrection body. Now the mystery is that we don't know what these resurrection bodies would be like other than we've already stated they're imperishable, they're immortal. And then in 1 John 3,2 the Apostle states, So we get a few insights from looking at Jesus' resurrection body. What kind of qualities did it have? What could it do? Well, First is we recognize it had physical characteristics. He could be touched. He invited the disciples, and then Thomas specifically later on, to touch him. Put your finger here on my side. You can hold my hand. I'm physical. He also had to tell Mary to stop clinging to him. She had apparently latched onto his feet and he said he still had work to do. She recognized the tomb and she wasn't going to let go now that she found him. Stop clinging, Mary. There's a physical aspect to this. He also ate broiled fish when he first appeared to the eleven after the resurrection. See, Jim Phelan's not here. Sorry, Jim. Fish are going to be on the menu. They would be edible fish. But he was able to eat. I'm kind of glad of that. I like to eat. Okay, it's good. We're going to be able to eat in heaven with our resurrected bodies. In fact, we know in Revelation 22, there's a tree of life. It brings forth its 12 fruit each in its season. So eating is part of it. That's a physical thing. And yet, the resurrection body also defies our understanding of physics. Jesus appeared in the room with the 11 and the door was shut. Pop! There He is. How did you get in here? It's a different body. Then you have the two on the road to Emmaus. They finally sit down to eat. He gives a blessing. They finally recognize Him. As soon as they do, He's gone. He just vanishes. Right in front of their eyes. They run back to Jerusalem and they start telling and Jesus shows up right in the room again, reappears. I can't do that, I don't think you can either. Parents would love to do that with their kids but, surprise them. But we can't do that. That's going to be something for a resurrected body. So it is similar in some ways but extremely different in others. Now, this event in which the bodies of the saints, both dead and alive, are suddenly transformed and caught up together to meet the Lord in the air is referred to as the rapture. That term comes from the Latin translation of the Greek here. The Latin is rapers, A-R-A-P-E-R-S, and it's used to translate the Greek harpazo, which means to be caught up or snatched away. The timing of the rapture will happen, or when the timing of the rapture is going to happen is hotly debated. Sometimes so hot, people end up breaking fellowship with other believers over it. And frankly, I believe that is wrong. Completely wrong. We need to be gracious with one another when debating issues with one another. Even when arguing about even more fundamental doctrines, we're still to be gracious. In fact, we find in 2 Timothy 2, 24 and 26, I have to admit, one of my least favorite passages in the Bible, because I have to look at this and say, that's the way I have to do it, but I don't want to do it that way. Because you've got somebody, you're arguing with them, And here's what we're supposed to do. You see, our goal can't be to win the argument, it's to win the person. It's to demonstrate Christ-likeness even when arguing with somebody. So our demeanor has to be there as well. That's the proper attitude. But that doesn't mean you cannot hold with strong convictions what you believe. Being humble doesn't mean being flimsy. Now the doctrinal statement of this church is that we believe in what is called a pre-tribulational rapture. And after studying this for many decades, my position just becomes stronger all the time. This is the belief that the rapture is going to occur near or at the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel 9.27. The reason I preached through Daniel was for this setting. We have to understand the 70th week and its purpose. So pre-tribulational means prior to the tribulation, the rapture occurs, those that belong to Christ are taken away. Now, a primary reason for this doctrine is eminence, as I already mentioned, and we're going to expand on that next week. Particularly this idea that we are to be eagerly anticipating and looking for the Lord's return, not other things, such as Antichrist. Secondary to that are the passages such as 1 Thessalonians 1.10, And 5, 9 are clear that Jesus rescues us from the wrath to come, and that God has not destined us for wrath, but obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. And we will expand on that in the future as well. The tribulation period concerns God's wrath on the nation of Israel and the Gentiles. Believers are not even mentioned in Revelation after chapter 3. And again, I'll be talking about that more in the weeks to come. Now, no position is without difficulties. The various mid-trib and post-tribulational positions simply, though, are not as strong biblically as the pre-tribulational position. Now, the promise is that all believers are going to be gathered together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and then always be with Him after that. So that's referring to physical proximity and not just a spiritual presence in the present time. It's a reality. Now Paul concludes with this command. Comfort one another with these words. This doctrine is one that is to bring us comfort. He doesn't want them ignorant of these important truths about the Lord's promises concerning what is going to happen in the future. Now these promises also then give us hope for the present time as well as the future. Those who have already died are not going to miss the rapture that occurs when the Lord is present in the clouds. And then he calls his church to himself. Our souls are immediately with the Lord upon death and then we get resurrected bodies before those who are alive and remain when he comes. So, Now I'm still kind of angling, Lord. You can come back this afternoon and I can skip this whole death thing. But if I die first, it's okay. I have a promise and so I have a hope. And those that would grieve for me also have the same hope. And so there would be grief, but not as those who have no hope. We know what the future's going to be because God has given us His promises concerning it. It is also a comfort for those facing tribulation in this world, including death, because again, this is the assurance of what ultimately is going to happen. Paul put it this way in Romans 8.18, And if you're familiar with Paul's life, you know he went through a lot of suffering. not whether you can be compared to what's coming. Having a promise, I'm going to be with the Lord forever, transcends all temporary problems I have or will ever have in this life. Because it not only assures me where I'm going, it gives me the purpose by which I am currently walking. I know what's important. Now, I'll be expanding again on several of these doctrines in the weeks to come, including the imminent return of Christ, the time of the rapture, but these are related to each other. The remainder of today, I want to make clear distinctions between the rapture, the second coming, and the day of the Lord, because much confusion between these is caused by not paying attention to the distinctions. They get jumbled together, details are mixed together, and then you're not sure what you're talking about or what the passage is talking about. I'll start simply by repeating something I said last week about the day of the Lord. demonstrated in the chart that was handed out previously, the usage of the phrase, Day of the Lord, in any particular passage must be defined by the context of that passage. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the phrase could be referred to something as eminent, could happen any moment, something near historical, not at any moment, but in the near future, something eschatological, in the very distant future, or a mixture of them. In the New Testament, the phrase only refers to something that is in the distant future, with 1 Thessalonians 5, 2 and 2 Peter 3, 10 also referring to something imminent. It could start at any point, but also deals with stuff that's off into the future. Equating the day of the Lord with the promised second coming cannot be done unless the context of the passage clearly demonstrates that is what is in view. When that's not carefully done, everything starts getting jumbled together. It also needs to deal with whatever details are in the passage. Context is king. I pointed out last week from 2 Peter 3 that the apostle jumps from the beginning of the day of the Lord all the way to the culmination of it with the destruction of the present heavens and earth and the creation of new heavens and new earth. He skips the tribulation. He skips the millennium. He skips all that stuff. Start and then says, since it's all going to be destroyed, what kind of life should you be living? What manner of life should you be living? Which last week I said is the practical application of all eschatology. If I know what's coming in the future, then I should live differently. Jesus pointed the same thing out in Matthew 6, 19 and 20. Trying to live your life storing up treasure in heaven is actually foolish because it can rust, it can rot, it can be stolen and eventually it's going to burn. Instead I need to be living my life with the view of storing up treasures in heaven which are eternal value. That's where wisdom lies. Yes, I still have to deal with the realities of life here and now. But my goal is to have an eye on heaven. Now in the future we're going to examine the relationship of the day of the Lord with the tribulation period, the millennium, and the second coming of Christ. Right now I just want to make sure there is a clear distinction that you understand between the rapture and the second coming. There are theological positions that deny the rapture as a separate event because they equate it with the Second Coming. The Second Coming is also referred to as the Second Advent. The First Advent is what we celebrate at Christmas, the first arrival of Christ. The Second Advent is the Second Coming. However, a careful examination of the chart I have included in your notes, so there's a chart that should have been in your bulletin, Looks like that. Okay, and I'll end up getting this posted online as well. Just even a cursory looking over this, you start recognizing there are two distinct groupings reflecting two distinct events. The chart lists Zechariah 14 and 10 New Testament passages that refer to either the rapture or the second coming. Now if I listed everything that has some inference it would be a very long chart, but I wanted to fit it on one page. So these are the most relevant ones. And again, it doesn't take a lot of analysis. What is described here falls into two separate groups. Only the Lord descending or coming from heaven or returning in, on, or with clouds is common to both groups. The first group, consisting of lines 1-12, are described in 1 Thessalonians 4, 13-18, 1 Corinthians 15, 50-57, Luke 17, 22-37, Matthew 24, 32-44, and 1 Thessalonians 5, 2 and 3. Now I've indicated that group, made it stand out on the chart by putting that in bold italics and then putting a heavy line around it so you'll be able to notice it a little easier. The events listed in lines 13 through 30 in the remaining seven patches make up the second group. So a cursory comparison shows the first group is quite different from the second group, even at places contradictory to it. So let me go over some of this in detail. Both groups are the same in line 23. Jesus returned from heaven is either in or on, in or at the clouds. Now that makes sense because if Jesus was completely in the cloud, you wouldn't be able to see him. But if he can be seen in the clouds, i.e. the clouds are around him, he can look like he's in the clouds or you might say he's upon the cloud. So it's just a point of perspective and how you'd reference that. The only First Thessalonians 4.16, I'm sorry. So both groups are similar that Jesus is returning from heaven and it's in relationship to clouds. Now, also similar with both, line 1, is this descent or coming from heaven. But only 1 Thessalonians 4.16 describes him as descending, adobaino, from heaven. The other roots say he will come, erchamai, from heaven. Now that might be an insignificant distinction since in order to come from heaven, which is above us, you have to descend. It can be referring to the same thing, but it is a distinction. Minor, but it is there. Now the second great distinction between the rapture in group one and second coming in group two is the location of Jesus and the actions that take place upon his arrival. In group one, the only action on earth is the dead are raised from out of the earth. And those currently walking around the earth that are in Jesus are transformed. We're changed. That's the only action on earth. Everything else is going to be in the air. We're caught up together with the dead in Christ in the air. Meet the Lord in the air in the clouds and we're ever with Him. Everything else is above the surface. In group two, there are many actions on earth. including the Great Tribulation, nations gathered to fight the Lord, earthquakes, the Messiah's feet touching down physically on the Mount of Olives, which then splits in two. There are actions also in heaven in group two, including celestial signs of many kinds. And then the Lord returning on a horse, accompanied by angels, His holy ones in the armies of heaven. very different description. Now both groups indicate Jesus' return is heralded with a lot of noise. In group two there's a great trumpet described in Matthew 24, 31. While in group one there is a shout, the voice of our angel, and the trumpet of God in 1 Thessalonians 4, 16. And 1 Corinthians 15, 52 adding that the bodies of believers are then changed from mortal to immortal, perishable to imperishable, at the last trumpet. The word last there is the last in a series of. So it's the last one in a series of trumpets that have been blaring. In group 2, Matthew 24, 29-31, Mark 13, 27, they do describe angels that are going to gather the elect from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other, but that is after the tribulation of those days and the celestial signs that are given, which removes those events from being anything unexpected. There's no mention in those passages of them receiving glorified bodies. There's no mention of what happens to those who previously died and then being gathered together. In addition, there would not be a lot of comfort to the Thessalonians being told those who have previously died are going to gain their glorified bodies at the rapture. You, however, have to go through tribulation before you get yours. You feel good about that? No? I agree with you, Sandy. I don't feel good about that either. Okay? Whatever Paul is saying here in 1 Thessalonians 4, it is a comfort. Now, I've placed Paul's description of the Day of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 5 in group 1 because it's the near antecedent. The rapture is the near passage to what he's going to talk about by the Day of the Lord. It's the previous paragraph. He states that it comes like a thief in the night at a time when people are saying peace and safety. They are unaware and unprepared for sudden destruction that's going to come upon them following the transformation of and catching up those who are the Lord's both alive and dead. And the passage goes on then to encourage, command, to be ready for it. We'll examine 1 Thessalonians 5 more next week. I've also placed Matthew 24, 32-51 and Luke 17, 22-37 in with group 1 because both of those passages also emphasize the sudden unexpected coming of the Lord. Both of those passages state it's going to be like the days of Noah. They're going to be eating and drinking and there's going to be weddings. Life is just continuing on as normal. But life just prior to the second coming is anything but normal. Just due to the turmoil of what happens on the earth during that period of time and the signs in heaven. It's not normal. Matthew 24, 43 describes this coming as suddenly, unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. And the warning to be alert for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will also fits well with the rapture. It is for those reasons I disagree with the theological position that interpret those verses as the second coming and the sudden disappearance of people and gathering saints by angels as preparation for the sheep and goat judgment at the end of the tribulation period. Now, if you didn't understand quite what I was talking about there, don't worry about it. We're going to get into all those passages in detail, too, in the future. Okay? Here's the conclusion, alright? The relationship of all the events described that take place in the end times can be confusing. Agreed? Okay, it can be confusing. You might be confused now. It's only with difficulty that theological systems have been developed to strive to make sense of the events and their sequencing since there are multiple interpretations that are sensible of these passages. but there's only one correct interpretation. That is only going to be clear to us after they've all taken place. So, when we meet in heaven we'll understand it all, right? Until then, the best that we can do is making sure we're using the clear passages to help us understand the ones that are not clear. That's the way all Bible interpretation is done. What is clear interprets that which is not clear. And what I've tried to do today is clearly show the Rapture and the Second Coming are two distinct events. Summarizing that, the Second Coming is preceded by signs, many signs, on earth and in the heavens. Messiah will come from heaven in the clouds, riding a horse, accompanied by angels, his holy ones, and the armies of heaven. He will physically touch down the Mount of Olives, which splits in two, and then his angels will separate the elect from the ungodly. In the rapture, it is something that happens suddenly, unexpectedly, when Jesus appears with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God. His saints, both those who have died and those who are alive and remaining, are then transformed, receiving their glorified bodies, which are caught up, raptured, to gather in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and then are always with Him. Theological systems that deny the rapture or try to make it part of the second coming either ignore or they confuse scriptures since these, as we've gone through today, make it clear they are separate events and, as I will point out next week, they actually have separate purposes. The promise of the rapture is a comfort to us as believers. It is the next prophetic event that is going to take place. So next week I'm going to work at explaining the doctrine of eminence and why each person needs to be ready for the rapture now. Not tomorrow. Now. We have expectation at any time. Father, thank you for the blessing of your word and even when it is difficult to understand the nuances of it, Since you've given it to us and it's written down, we can take our time and wrestle through these great truths. Father, I'm grateful that when it does come to something like the rapture, the very promise that it is there is something that does bring us comfort. Both in the present concerning those in the Lord that have died, but also for ourselves in the present too, knowing that our future is with you. Father, those that have gone before us are not left behind. Father, we are looking forward to that period of time, but until then, Father, we do want to occupy until you come, to be faithful in serving you until such point you do return. Father, we do want to set it as a goal to take as many people to heaven as possible. So use us as your witnesses. Use us as your vessels. Vessels of mercy that are proclaiming your mercy and grace to a lost and dying world. In Jesus' name. Amen.