The Rapture / 1 Thessalonians 2:5-9

It Is Well With My Soul

Sherry, would you grab that phone? Yeah, that’s actually my phone ringing right there. It’s in a side pocket—the kind that’s really hard to find when a phone is going off. I know, you’re thinking, “Whose phone is that? Get that guy out of here!” Oh, wait, it’s mine. You can just open it… actually, let’s not do that.

Horatio Spafford was a businessman in Chicago. This isn’t just some corny illustration, okay? So don’t freak out. He was a businessman, and when the great fires hit Chicago, he sent his wife and family ahead to England so he could settle his affairs before joining them. While they were crossing the Atlantic, there was a boating accident, and the boat went down. He received a telegram from his wife that simply said, “Saved alone.”

Horatio Spafford got on a boat to join his wife and grieve with her. As he was on his way to England, the boat captain said to him, “Sir, just so you know, according to the records of where the boat went down, this is the spot where your daughters drowned.” Horatio Spafford stood on the bow of that boat and thought about how, when peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, it is well with my soul. He wrote that hymn right in that spot.

There’s something about that song that just grabs me. I don’t know what it is. But to have that sort of peace in the midst of such difficult times is incredibly powerful. I just wanted to give you that little nugget regarding the hymn before we dive in.

Understanding Eschatology

Tonight, we’re going to take a look at a significant piece of theology. The word eschatos in Greek means “end.” Eschatology is the study of the end times. Within that study, I want to look at what might be one of the most fascinating and often discussed issues: the catching away of the church, commonly called the Rapture.

Let me tell you why we want to deal with topics like this. If you’re new to The Well, you might be thinking, “Hey, don’t freak me out! I just got invited. Why are you talking about these things?” We are, by definition, an equipping church. As pastors, we do the best we can to equip you on how to interact with your faith, know your Bible, and articulate what you believe.

Let’s be honest: our culture is infatuated with the end times. Have you noticed that? NBC had that series called Revelations. I haven’t seen it myself, but I was checking it out online and it looks really creepy. People are talking about it. There have been a ton of books. How many of you read the Left Behind series? Or maybe you got one book into the series of about 1,500 that have been written? It’s like crack, I hear. People get hooked and they’re waiting for the next one to come out in six months. People are infatuated with this whole issue of the end times.

I want to make a disclaimer before we dialogue about this. I’m going to try to unpack the different views of the Rapture. You need to know that there are great men and women who disagree on this issue—people who have a lot more horsepower in the head than I do. I’m not saying these people are idiots or that I’ve got it all figured out. But I am going to tell you where I stand, simply because I know it’s my job to say, “Here’s where I lean.”

If you disagree with us here, that’s fine. It’s not a fundamental issue of the faith. If you disagree on the deity of Jesus Christ, I might make you buy your own coffee. But regarding the Rapture, we can still be brothers and sisters in Christ and hang out. However, it is something worthy of unpacking.

Now, if I asked you to turn to the concordance in the back of your Bible to find the word “Rapture,” don’t lose your mind when you don’t see it. You aren’t going to find it. But that doesn’t mean it’s not there. If I asked you to find the word “Trinity,” you wouldn’t find that in your concordance either. Yet, when Jesus is baptized, the Son is present, the Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father speaks from heaven. You clearly have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Just because the specific word isn’t used doesn’t mean the concept isn’t in your Bible. In fact, if you had the Latin Vulgate, you would find the word. “Rapture” is simply the Latin translation of the phrase “to catch up” or “to be caught up” in the air.

The Timing of the Catching Away

Before we dive into the text, let’s look at the framework of where we’re going. There is a seven-year period called the Tribulation. It’s a “week of years” according to Daniel chapter nine. If you’re new to the Bible or you really want to impress the person you’re with tonight, you might want to start looking for Daniel now so you’re ready when we get there.

In the Book of Revelation, we see judgments laid out: the seal judgments, the trumpet judgments, and the bowl judgments. They get closer and closer together, like birth pains for a woman. It starts slow and not so hard, and then all of a sudden they start hitting rapidly until the end, which leads to new life.

The big question is: what’s the deal with the Rapture? There are three primary views.

First, there is the Post-Tribulation view. This suggests that believers will go through the entire Tribulation period. Then, right at the end, before Jesus Christ comes back in Revelation 19, we would be caught up to meet Him and then immediately come right back down. It’s kind of an “up-down” thing. You can probably tell I don’t lean toward that one, though there are some very smart guys who do.

Second, there is the Mid-Tribulation view. As you can guess, this is the idea that at the three-and-a-half-year mark, the church is caught away to be with Christ and then returns in Revelation 19 to reign with Him.

Finally, there is the Pre-Tribulation view. This is the framework I work from for several reasons. One, I paid a lot of money for grad school and they told me this is the one! But more importantly, as the text unfolds, I think there is serious biblical weight to it. This is the idea that we are caught away to be with Christ, then the Tribulation period begins, the seven-year covenant is made with Israel, and after that seven-year period, we return in Revelation 19 to reign with Him for a thousand years.

The Mystery of the Resurrection

Let’s look at a couple of key passages. First, turn to 1 Corinthians 15. Paul is talking to the church at Corinth about this issue of being caught away.

1 Corinthians 15:51-57 (NASB)

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 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. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ’DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. ‘O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul is talking about a moment where this perishable body will put on the imperishable. This earthly tent will be put away, and I will be given a resurrected body. Aren’t you glad that your body isn’t as good as it gets? I look at myself in the mirror sometimes and think, “Brother, what on earth happened?” The wheels came off somewhere in the mid-nineties and I’m not sure where they went. As you get older, you’re going to feel the same way. These tents we live in are not as good as it gets. One day, we will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

Now, turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter four. Paul is writing to a church that was afraid. They were worried that believers who died before the catching away of the church would somehow be left out of this “blessed hope.”

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NASB)

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of [the] archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

I’ve shared this at many funerals for people who knew the Lord. For a believer, death is peaceful. Paul says they have “fallen asleep.” To die is to be transported from here to eternity instantly. This passage was meant to be a word of comfort for a struggling church and for believers like you and me trying to figure out how to live the Christian life.

The Prophetic Timeline of Daniel

The question then becomes: when will this occur? What are the signs? What takes place before it happens? We’ve looked at the seven churches in Revelation and how they parallel the flow of church history—from Ephesus to the present age of Laodicea, the church in compromise.

Is the world getting better and better? Do you look at the news and see less crime and less sin? The reality is that the world is on a downhill spiral. So, we have to ask: what is the hope? When does this finally end? This is where Daniel chapter nine comes in.

In Daniel 9, Daniel is reading the book of Jeremiah. He realizes that the seventy-year captivity of the Jews is almost over. He begins to pray, and God reveals to him not just the release from Babylon, but a much greater timeline.

Daniel 9:24-27 (NASB)

’Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy [place]. ’So you are to know and discern [that] from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince [there will be] seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. ’Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end [will come] with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. ‘And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations [will come] one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.’

This is one of the most powerful passages in the Bible regarding the end times. It speaks of “seventy weeks,” which are seventy periods of seven years—490 years in total. These years are decreed for “your people” (the Jews) and “your holy city” (Jerusalem).

He breaks it down: from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there will be 69 weeks (483 years). Sir Robert Anderson did the math on this. Starting from the decree given to Nehemiah on March 14, 445 BC, and counting 173,880 days (adjusting for the Jewish calendar), you land exactly on the day of the Triumphal Entry when they cried, “Hosanna!”

Then it says the Messiah will be “cut off.” Jesus was crucified. Then it says the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city. In 70 AD, the Romans under Titus destroyed Jerusalem. But there is still one “week” (seven years) left. This final week begins when a covenant is signed with Israel by the Antichrist. That hasn’t happened yet. We are living in the “gap” between the 69th and 70th week.

The Mystery of the Restrainer

Who is this Antichrist? We know he will come from a revived Roman Empire and lead a ten-nation confederacy. He is a false Christ. He will ride in on a white horse, just like Jesus, trying to rule like Jesus. So why hasn’t he appeared yet?

2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 (NASB)

Let no one in any way deceive you, for [it will not come] unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains [will do so] until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; [that is], the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

Something is restraining him. Something is keeping evil in check. There are several views on what this “restrainer” is. Some say it’s the Roman Empire, but that was an evil empire. Some say it’s human government, but I don’t think government has ever really kept evil in check. Some say it’s Satan himself, but a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. Some say it’s the institutional church, but institutions just make rules and legalism doesn’t restrain evil.

I believe the restrainer is the Holy Spirit. And where does the Holy Spirit dwell? Inside believers. We populate the church. “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” It is the Spirit of God in us that restrains evil.

Have you ever been at a party and someone pulls out something they shouldn’t, but then they realize you’re a Christian and things get awkward? Or someone drops an “F-bomb” and then says, “Oh, sorry, Pastor!” It doesn’t offend me personally, but there’s something in them that reacts to the Spirit in me. That is the restrainer.

If the Antichrist cannot be revealed until the restrainer is removed, and the Tribulation begins with the Antichrist, it makes logical sense that we—the dwelling place of the Spirit—must be removed before the Tribulation starts. That is the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

Why a Pre-Tribulation View?

I’m not usually a “list guy,” but I think this is worth it tonight. Here are a few reasons why this view holds weight:

1. Normative Hermeneutics: We should take the Bible at its word. It says what it means and means what it says. You don’t have to be “super spiritual” to allegorize everything. If the Spirit is the restrainer, and the Spirit is in us, we must be gone for the restraint to be lifted.
2. The Distinction Between the Church and Israel: The Church is a “mystery” that was hidden in the Old Testament. The 70 weeks of Daniel are specifically for “your people” (Israel). The Church began in Acts 2, after the 69th week ended. They are distinct entities.
3. The Jewish Nature of the Tribulation: It is called “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” Jacob is Israel. God isn’t done with Israel; He has to keep His covenant with Abraham regarding the land and the blessing.
4. The Population of the Millennium: In Revelation 20, we see physical people entering the Millennial Kingdom and having children. If everyone was raptured at the very end (Post-Trib) and given imperishable bodies, who is left to have children and repopulate the earth? There must be “Tribulation Saints” who survive in physical bodies to enter the kingdom.
5. Exemption from Wrath: The Tribulation is the outpouring of God’s wrath. But Romans tells us that Jesus is our propitiation—He satisfied the wrath of God for us. Why would we endure the wrath that Christ already took for us?

The Hope of Imminence

You might be saying, “Seriously, dude, I just came here with my friends and now I’m freaked out. What’s the big deal?”

I think it’s important because it clears the air. So many people ask me at funerals, “Where is Jimmy now? Is he like Casper? Is he just floating around?” Friends, if you have put your faith in Christ, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We don’t grieve like those who have no hope. We will be with Him, and we will be caught up before the wrath is poured out.

But here is the most important thing: we are living in a time of imminence. There is nothing prophetically that must take place before the catching away of the church. Nothing.

Movies sensationalize this—guys sitting at coffee and suddenly one is gone. And as corny as that can be, the reality is that Jesus Christ could come right now. We live in a time where people put things off for tomorrow because they think, “It’s not going to happen to me.” But the prophetic stage is set. The players are in place. The next move is God catching away His people.

1 Corinthians 15:52 (NASB)

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.

That is the hope of the church. Next week, we’ll look at Revelation 6 and the beginning of the seal judgments. But before then, let’s spend some time in worship.

Father, there are some passages so simple my daughter can quote them, and others so deep my feeble mind can’t get around them. As we look at this catching away of your church, we feel small compared to a holy God. I pray that the gravity of this text and the reality of your return would be on our hearts. May the hope we have in you give us peace in uncertain times. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.