How Does the Rapture of the Church Play Out On The Great Stage

Are you looking for Jesus to return in the glorious event mentioned in First Thessalonians four known as the Rapture of the Church? Famous Bible Expositor G. Campbell Morgan, said, “I never begin my work in the morning without thinking that perhaps He may interrupt my work and begin His own. I am not looking for death. I am looking for Him.”¹ Are you looking for Him? The early believers were not looking for something to happen, they were looking for Someone to come. Looking for the train to arrive is one thing, but looking for someone we love to come on that train is another matter.² I was particularly moved by this story told by Joseph Stowell president of Moody Bible Institute. He said, “One day, while visiting a home for mentally handicapped children operated by a Christian friend, Joseph noticed the tiny handprints of children covering the window. Stowell remarked about them to his friend. “Oh, those,” he replied. “The children here love Jesus, and they are so eager for Him to return that they lean against the windows as they look up to the sky.”³ Little children are looking for Jesus to return. What about all of you big children? That’s why we are focusing on the matter of How Does the Rapture of the Church Play Out On The Great Stage. All on this week’s Light On Life.

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Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This week’s call is:

The Rapture of the Church can occur at any moment. Are you looking for Jesus to catch you away and deliver you from the wrath to come?

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Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
This week’s question is:

Question: How are you encouraging yourself in the fact that the Lord will deliver you from the wrath that is coming upon the whole earth?

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the book of First Thessalonians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 45 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 40 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Prayer

Father God, Maker of Heaven and Earth. We worship you and honor you. Open up the eyes of our hearts. Help us to see and know your Great Plan and purpose in the consummation of the ages in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Podcast Notes

The Rapture of the Church

1 Thessalonians 4:15–18 (ESV) — 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

In last week’s podcast, we covered a basic intro to the Rapture.
We showed you several previews of this event.
These previews show what happened ‘rapture-style’ to single individuals.
We saw that was God’s MO.
It’s His way of showing you what’s to come.
When it does come, it won’t just be for the benefit of a single individual it will be for all believers dead or alive.
We showed you that the Rapture and the Second Coming are not the same events.
Some people think they are but to this podcaster, it’s clear that they are not.
Then finally, we gave you the four main passages that reference this marvelous and wonderful event.
One of them is this passage we are studying in First Thessalonians 4.
There is on the horizon, on God’s calendar, there’s a super unique day in the annuals of Planet Earth.
Lots of unusual things, alarming things, and supernatural things will happen on this twenty-four-hour day.
Here are some of those unusual things.

The Rapture of the Church: The Visual Component

There’s a visual component to the Rapture.
The Lord Himself — notice the word ‘Himself.’
Himself means that God is coming personally to attend to this task.
This job of bringing believers home is one for God alone.
He is coming to do it Himself.
He is not sending a substitute to gather His church.
No angel from heaven is being entrusted with this most precious of cargo, the Church.
He is coming down from His Throne – He is coming Himself!

The Lord Himself will descend from heaven…

If He is descending from heaven, it means He’s standing up from His Throne and stepping down into the clouds.
The clouds or the atmospheric heaven are also called heaven.
In Scripture, there are three heavens.
What will the Rapture look like? — Is Jesus coming out of heaven?
In the Book of Exodus, the twentieth chapter, we have an example of a visitation of God to Planet Earth.

Exodus 19:2–19 (ESV) — They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain… 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever…” 16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.

Could it look and sound like this?
In the book of Revelation, we have a picture of what Jesus looks like.

Revelation1:12–16 (ESV) — 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

Will it look like this?
Will we see Jesus as John saw Him on the isle of Patmos?
These are all good questions.
The point is, that there is a visual component to His return for the Church.

The Rapture of the Church: The Audio Component

What’s the audio component?
For one, it’s the cry of command.
It may be just one word ‘Come!’ like Jesus gave to Peter when he asked Him if he could step out and walk on the water.
There was enough power in that one word ‘Come’ to suspend gravity!
Whether it’s one word or several, it doesn’t matter.
There will be enough power in His words to pull out from the ground the bodies of those who have been buried in a grave, buried in a tomb, buried at sea, buried in an avalanche, buried in an earthquake.
It doesn’t matter how they died.
There will be enough power in that cry of command to pull together all of those who died by fire.
Whether they died in a fire, were burned at the stake for their faith, or simply cremated.
Whatever or however Jesus’ followers died, their bodies, the particles, the dust, the ashes — you know ashes to ashes, dust to dust is what they say when they bury someone — those ashes will be called back together in a powerful explosive display of God’s omnipotence.
There is a fundamental Law in Physics – it’s called ‘The Law of the Conservation of Mass.
It goes like this.

Matter can neither be created nor destroyed but it can be transformed or rearranged.

Now, this Law is only true once God has created the initial piece of matter.
Once it’s here on earth, that matter is never lost.
All of the bodies of the saints, the matter, the substance that’s in their bodies is still here — it cannot be destroyed.
God will pull together from the dust of the earth the form that is every person who has died in Jesus.
In the beginning, God said, ‘Let there be light.’
And it was so.
Now, He’s going to say ‘Let there be life’ and the dead in Christ will rise first.
So, there’s an audio part.
There was His voice — the cry of command.
Many Bible passages describe the voice of God that accompanies His appearance.

Psalm 18:13 (ESV) — 13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire.

Psalm 77:18 (ESV) — 18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook.

There was Jesus’ voice — the cry of command.

Joel 2:11 (ESV) — The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it?

The voice of God is a mega-powerful thing but, there’s more.

The Rapture of the Church: The Voice of an Archangel

On top of this cry of command, there was an angelic component – the voice of an archangel was added.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel,

This archangel is anonymous.
There are two Archangels mentioned in scripture: Gabriel and Michael.
Which one accompanies Jesus here?
Is it Gabriel, or is it Michael?
Just because these are the only two mentioned in scripture doesn’t mean there aren’t others.
This anonymous archangel adds his voice to Jesus ‘cry of command.’
You can assume that the archangel is echoing the exact words as the Son of God.
He surely wouldn’t be saying anything different.

The Rapture of the Church: The Trumpet of God

So, we have the cry of command and the voice of the archangel — add to that now the trumpet of God.
And with that thought, here is the Historical Background of the Day.
In the Bible, the word trumpet generally refers to ram’s horns used as sound makers.
All were used for a variety of proclamatory and signaling purposes.
Its symbolic value was to stress the publicness of an event used as a summons.
In any case, the trumpet was principally marked not by musical tones but by loudness.
This is God’s trumpet — you can bet it’s plenty effective to get the job done!
It’s loud — it’s out there — it will be heard.

1 Corinthians 14:8 (KJV 1900) — 8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?

The Greek word translated here ‘uncertain’ means indistinct, not clear, or not heard.
An uncertain trumpet sound will call no one to the battle
You can bet God’s Trumpet is none of these.
Look at these passages.

Matthew 24:31 (ESV) – 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Note, what the scripture states — it’s a loud trumpet — very public — everyone will hear it for its volume.

The Rapture of the Church: Trumpets in Revelation

Now, that we have seen that there is a visual and audio component to the Rapture, let’s hone in on when the Rapture will occur.
Are there any scriptural clues?
I’m going to say this as humbly as I can — but I mean it sincerely — I think there is.
But you must understand one thing here — I’ve been Pre-Trib my whole life.
Pre-Trib is short for Pre-Tribulation meaning you believe that the Rapture will occur before the seven tribulation period begins.
I’ve been that my whole life.
My first Pastor, Geraldine Powell, was Pre-Trib.
My Second Pastor Kenneth Hagin Jr. was Pre-Trib.
So I’ve had a lot of help being Pre-Trib.
So, here are some clues.

The Timing of the Rapture of the Church: The Trumpet Clue

In First Corinthians Fifteen, one of the four Rapture passages, there’s a trumpet mentioned.

1 Corinthians 15:52 (ESV) — 52 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 shall be changed.

Note that it says it’s ‘the last trumpet.’
Also, note the order — the trumpet sound comes first and then the dead in Christ will rise.
The book of Revelation has seven specific trumpets that are tied to events.
Now, there are other minor mentions of trumpets in Revelation chapters one and four.
Here’s the one in chapter one.

Revelation 1:10 (ESV) — 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet

The reference in chapter four is similar — it’s a voice that sounded like a trumpet.
You don’t see another reference to a trumpet until you get to chapter eight.

Revelation 8:1–2 (ESV) — 8:1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

So, is this the last trumpet?
Well, it can’t be — there are six more in this string!
Let’s go to trumpet number seven.

Revelation 11:15–18 (ESV) — 15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

This is the last trumpet mentioned in the book of Revelation.
It’s here in chapter eleven.

1 Corinthians 15:52 (ESV) — 52 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 shall be changed.

If you think this last trumpet is the last trumpet in Revelation, then the Rapture occurs here in chapter eleven.

The Timing of the Rapture of the Church: The Delivered From Wrath Clue

But, there’s a huge problem with that.
Here are three verses for your consideration.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 (ESV) — 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 (ESV) — 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Revelation 3:10 (ESV) — 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.

It’s clear.
In the mouth of two or three witnesses is a Word from God established.
We have two witnesses, Paul and John.
We have three references.
The Church is delivered from the wrath.
How can the Church be delivered from the wrath to come if the Church is still here while the wrath is going on?
And, the wrath of God is going on.
How do we know?
The Word of God identifies for us the exact moment when the wrath starts.

Revelation 6:1–17 (ESV) — Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer. 3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword. 5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!” 7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. 9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. 12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

The wrath that we have been delivered from starts in chapter six with the first seal.
That means the last trumpet cannot be the one in chapter eleven.
That must mean that’s a different trumpet and it is — it is the one that signals the end of the Church age.
When the dead in Christ rise first, and then those that are alive and remain are caught up, that’s it for the Church age.
Here’s something to chew on – everyone who comes to faith after the Rapture is not part of the Church — they are part of the Kingdom.
This also shows this marvelous fact.
The Rapture must take place before chapter six because that is when the wrath we are delivered from is identified.
Now this is how I see it.

The Rapture of the Church: The Statistics

It sounds cut and dry but it’s anything but that.
As I started this mini-series on the Rapture, I informed you that many people do not believe in the Rapture at all.
In fact, I told you the majority of Christians don’t believe – the majority being 51%.
Here are some stats concerning pastors and what their views are.

Many Evangelicals have long suspected that the largest percentage of Christians overall would support a pre-Tribulation view, an idea that was corroborated by the data, as the largest share of pastors—36 percent—reported believing in that Rapture paradigm.

So, 36% of pastors believe are Pre-Trib — they believe the Rapture will take place before the Tribulation.
The second largest proportion sits at 25 percent.
These pastors believe that “the concept of the Rapture is not to be taken literally.”
The next group comes in at 18 percent who believe the Rapture takes place after the Tribulation or lines up with the Second Coming — so they’re Post-Trib-ers.
Four percent believe the Rapture will take place mid-Tribulation.
There’s another four percent who are pre-wrath.
Pre-wrath people believe that the Church will endure most of the Great Tribulation
So they are like Three Quarter-Trib.
They think that the Church will live through the wrath of the AntiChrist but not the wrath of God. They try to differentiate the two.
There are actually five different views of the Rapture.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to determine the timeline of the Rapture for yourself.
I guarantee you that we will still remain friends if you see it differently than I do.
Just remember ‘that times or seasons are in the Father’s hands and that there are elements of mystery that surround all end-time events.
One thing you can bet the farm on — everyone will be right within a seven-year period.
That’s the Word of God for sure.

Now, Father God thank you for your Holy written Word. We know that you are going to take care of us because you are a good God and you care for us. We love you and worship you for your lovingkindness and your tender mercies in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

How Does the Rapture of the Church Play Out On The Great Stage?
You guys have a great God week in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
We will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

#S4-043: Prophetic End-Times: What You Need to Know [Podcast]

__________
References:

Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 1586–1587. ↩
Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book: Over 4,500 Illustrations and Quotations for All Occasions (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), 340. ↩
Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book: Over 4,500 Illustrations and Quotations for All Occasions (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), 339. ↩

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How Does the Rapture of the Church Play Out On The Great Stage

Podcast: Light on Life Season Ten Episode Thirty-Five

by Emery Horvath

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Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the book of First Thessalonians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Prayer

Podcast Notes

The Rapture of the Church

The Rapture of the Church: The Visual Component

The Rapture of the Church: The Audio Component

The Rapture of the Church: The Voice of an Archangel

The Rapture of the Church: The Trumpet of God

The Rapture of the Church: Trumpets in Revelation

The Timing of the Rapture of the Church: The Trumpet Clue

The Timing of the Rapture of the Church: The Delivered From Wrath Clue

The Rapture of the Church: The Statistics

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe in PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the book of First Thessalonians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Prayer

Podcast Notes

The Rapture of the Church

The Rapture of the Church: The Visual Component

The Rapture of the Church: The Audio Component

The Rapture of the Church: The Voice of an Archangel

The Rapture of the Church: The Trumpet of God

The Rapture of the Church: Trumpets in Revelation

The Timing of the Rapture of the Church: The Trumpet Clue

The Timing of the Rapture of the Church: The Delivered From Wrath Clue

The Rapture of the Church: The Statistics

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