The Rapture and the Return

The Difference Between the Rapture and the Return

The rapture [John 14:3; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:16-17], the return [Matt 24:27-31 and Rev. 19:11].

 

At the rapture we ascend in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, at the second coming the Son of Man comes on the clouds and touches earth.

At the rapture he comes himself for his bride before the tribulation to take us to the Father’s house, at the second coming we come with Him as the angels gather his elect Israel after the tribulation to enter the millennial kingdom.

At the rapture there is a resurrection, at the second coming in Matt. 24; Rev. 19 it says nothing about a resurrection.

At the rapture he comes 7 years before the tribulation to rescue His bride, while at the second coming he comes after the tribulation to the earth with his saints to reign in the millennial kingdom.

At the rapture he comes as a bridegroom, and at the second coming He comes as “the wrath of the Lamb.”

At the rapture his people witness his return while the world sleeps in darkness. At the second coming every eye shall see him and mourn over the one they pierced.

At the rapture we go to the Judgment Seat of Christ to be rewarded, at the second coming we are arrayed in fine linen having been rewarded.

Did Jesus go to hell when he died

1 Peter 3:18-20, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:  (19)  By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;  (20)  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."

A common teaching is that Jesus was in hell between the time He died on the cross and when He was resurrected. The Apostles' Creed (which is not part of the Bible). The creed states, "He descended into hell." Did Jesus really go to the place of suffering and torment called "hell"?

Some think 1 Peter 3:18-20 refers to Jesus speaking to human beings in hell after His death on the cross. Others think it refers to Christ's spirit speaking in the days of Noah to warn of impending judgment and offer salvation to Noah and his family. But it is more likely that it refers to Christ pronouncing His victory over the demonic spirits who are bound in the abyss.

Luke 8:31, And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep [abyss].

Jude 1:6, And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

 

Revelation 9:11, And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

 
On the cross, Jesus cried out, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). His suffering was over; there was no more payment needed for salvation. Also just before His death, Jesus said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46). Upon death, His spirit went to the Father, not to hell. Also, Jesus promised the thief on the cross that they would be together today in paradise (Luke 23:43). This could not have happened if Jesus had spent three days in hell.

The clause "He descended into hell" in the Apostles' Creed may have been well intended, but is so controversial that some denominations consider it optional or even exclude that portion of the creed. Jesus' body was in the grave for three days and His Spirit was with the Father, but He did not go to hell.

Miracles

Why Miracles?

1. Not all illness is a result of sin.

2. God has power over sickness and death. He and the apostles worked miracles to confirm the message and the messenger (Heb. 2:3-4; 2 Cor. 12:12). Jesus performed miracles to prove He was the Messiah.

3. The purpose of miracles was to produce faith in the Lord's word. God never did a miracle without a purpose.

Miracle "mighty work or deed" was a supernatural work by God and "signs" means it pointed people to faith or a spiritual truth as in the 7 sign miracles in John. "wonder" spoke of the human reaction. There are 121 recorded miracles in the bible.

Q- What about faith healers today?

I believe in divine healing thru the prayers of the saints (James 5) but not faith healers after the last apostle.

Many were healed in the Bible who expressed no faith or even asked for a healing. Of the 35 healings in the gospels only 10 expressed faith or asked to be healed.

1. Jesus healed the multitudes who did not express faith (Luke 6:19; 9:11; Matt. 14:14; 15:30).

2. Malchus did not ask Jesus to put his ear back on and did not express faith (John 18:10).

3. The demoniac was incapable of expressing faith (Luke 8:26).

4. The blind man in John 9 expressed no faith.

5. Nine of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11 expressed no faith.

6. Paul had great faith yet God chose not to heal him for God's divine purpose.

7. Paul did not heal Timothy of his stomach ailments and I am sure he had faith.

8. Paul did not heal Trophimus but left him at Miletum sick (2 Tim. 4:20).

Con: God heals at his sovereign will and for His sovereign purposes to bring someone to faith or convey a spiritual truth. We can't demand or claim a healing by positive words of confession.

Flip Sides of Salvation

John 6:37-40, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.  (38)  For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.  (39)  And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.  (40)  And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

In this passage we see God's sovereignty in salvation and man's human responsibility. Both doctrines co-exist in Scripture and run parallel to heaven and you can't try to intersect them without nullifying both.

1. God's Sovereignty [v. 37a]. "All that the Father giveth me"

Believers are the Father's love gift to his son and will come to Christ. Seven times in John 17 believers are referred to as "those given to the Son by the Father."

This transaction took place in eternity past when we were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world [Eph 1:4-5; 2 Tim. 1:9; Rev. 13:8; 17:8].

No man can come to the Father unless the Spirit draws him.

2. Human Responsibility [v. 37b]. "shall come to me; and him that cometh to me" v. 40 that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life.”

This is the human side of salvation- Man the sinner is commanded to repent of his sins and believe only in Jesus...

Salvation is by grace alone thru faith alone in Christ alone, but not a faith that is alone. Works demonstrate that faith is real.

Harry Ironside said the gate approaching heaven will say, "Whosoever Will," and as we past the gate it will say, "Chosen in Him."

Again, these two doctrines co-exist and please don't diminish both by denying either- Other examples in Scripture...

Matt. 11:27-28, "All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.  (28)  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Acts 2:23, "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."

3. Eternal Security [v. 37c]. "I will in no wise cast out." v. 39, all which he hath given me I should lose nothing.”

Believers are eternally secure and kept by the power of God in His salvation [v. 37c; 39-40].

The Presence of God in Preaching

Three Greek words describe what goes into effective preaching- Logos, Ethos, and Pathos. These three are necessary for means of persuasion.

1. Logos could mean the Word or content. When we stand to preach we have fully went through the exegetical process of the passage and have the author's intent and outline.

We preach God's Word (logos) and not our human thoughts. So content of the Word is fundamental.

2. Ethos is character or who we are. We could use the word ethics. When the preacher's ethos backs up his logos, there will be Spirit-filled communication and the presence of God.

3. Pathos is passion. We must believe the truths we are communication and feel a deep passion for them and desire to share them. This does not mean hollering and fuming but a deep passion as we preach.

Let me use these three words a different way. Ethos- who we are; Logos- what we say; and Pathos- how we say it.

Experience over Scripture?

Colossians 2:18-19, "Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,  (19)  And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.

v. 18: Mysticism may be defined as the pursuit of a deeper or higher subjective experience. It looks for truth internally, thru feelings, intuition, and external sensations.

Experience trumps Scripture. Scripture is not the authority but one's experience.

They said you weren't saved or growing if you did not have some mystical experience. The false teachers were defrauding them of their prize or reward making them feel inferior.

The disguised their pride as false humility and worshipped angels. What's wrong with this kind of worship?

1. There is only one mediator between God and man.

2. We are called to worship God alone.

3. Angels worship God.

They also claimed to have visions. This is prevalent in the charismatic movement. These visions are a source of new revelation outside the closed canon of Scripture.

v. 18: We are not to be intimidated by their false experiences because they come from fleshly minds void of the Holy Spirit. There is a tendency in human nature to move from the objectivity of Scripture to the subjectivity of experience.

Note the Holy Spirit writes that these are visions they have not seen.

v. 19: They were not holding fast to Christ from whom salvation and spiritual growth comes from.

Hid with Christ in God

Colossians 3:3, "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."

What does “with Christ in God” mean? 3 truths:

1. The Christian life is hidden to the world because they know not Christ and can’t understand spiritual things. The full revelation of who we are is in the next world.

2. We are eternally secure [1 Pet. 1:4; John 10:28; Heb. 7:25;

     Rom 8:30-39].

3. The things that attract us and excite us belong in heaven, not earth.