August 10, 2025 • 25 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
We want to talk about one of the biggest, most
grandiose shocks that's going to hit this world according to
the Bible, at any moment, and that shock is the
rapture of the Church, a doctrine that is taught.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
In the Word of God.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
But lots of questions concerning the second coming of Christ.
Well that Thessalonians had questions concerning the coming of the Lord,
you and I have questions concerning the coming of the Lord.
So today we want to look at four key questions
regarding this coming of the Lord that we know as
the Rapture.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Do you have questions about what it means to be raptured?
Today on from His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreeve, he'll
highlight key scriptures that reveal the truth about what Christ
has in store for his bride, the Church, and that
He really is coming back for her soon, just as
he promised. Thank you for joining us today as we
(01:22):
continue Pastor Jeff's series Future Shock. What in the world
is going on? And today's lesson is simply entitled Raptured
And remember you can also listen to any of these
broadcasts that you may have missed and also downloader free
MP three of any broadcast. When you click the listen
tab at from his Heart dot org, open your Bible
(01:44):
to First Thessalonians. Now, as Pastor Jeff explains, how we
can be sure to be raptured now.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
The Second Coming of Christ is a key doctrine in
the Bible. It's talked about in the Old Testament. It's
talked about in the New Testament. If you put the
Old Testament and the New Testament together and just look
for the references to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ,
you find one in twenty five verses speak of the
second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
In the New Testament, it's.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Spoken of three hundred and twenty one times, one in
every thirty verses. It's the second most popular doctrine in
all of the New Testament, second only to Salvation. All
Bible writers in the New Testament, the nine who wrote
in the New Testament by inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
speak of the Second Coming of Christ. In the book
(02:34):
of First Thessalonians and Second Thessalonians, it's taught on every
single page, on every chapter. It's a very very important doctrine,
but lots of us have questions about it. Questions concerning
the second Coming of Christ. Well, the Thessalonians had questions too.
They were asking Paul. They were concerned about their loved ones,
and they were thinking, well, their loved ones who had died.
(02:56):
I guess they're going to miss this thing called.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
The rapture of the Church.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
So that is what Paul is referencing when he writes
in First Thessalonians, Chapter four, I'll begin reading. In verse thirteen,
he says this, but we do not want you to
be uninformed, brethren. We don't want you to be unaware.
We don't want you to be ignorant about these things
about those who are asleep. Asleep is the Bible word
for people who have died in the Lord. We don't
want you to be uninformed about those who are asleep.
(03:20):
That you may not grieve as do the rest who
have no hope. Now we grieve when one of our
loved ones who's a Christian dies, but we don't grieve
as the unbelieving world does, because they have no hope
of the afterlife.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
So we don't grieve as those who have no hope.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
For if we believed verse fourteen that Jesus died and
rose again, even so God will bring with him those.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
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, shall 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 your rise first. Then we who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the
(04:05):
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus
we shall always be with the Lord.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Therefore, comfort one another.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
With these words. The Thessalonians had questions concerning the coming
of the Lord. You and I have questions concerning the
coming of the Lord. So today we want to look
at four key questions regarding this coming of the Lord
that we know as the rapture. Question number one, very
basic question, what is the rapture? What is the rapture?
(04:34):
We'll look at it again in verses sixteen and seventeen.
For the Lord himself, he doesn't send an entourage of angels.
The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout
with the voice of the archangel. The only archangel that
is mentioned in the Bible specifically is Michael. He'll descend
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
The trumpet of God.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Trumpets were used in the Bible to signify a meeting
with God, used in the Old Testament that way, and
the dead in Christ your first, Then we who are
alive and remains shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And thus we shall always be with the Lord. What
is the rapture? The rapture is the secret coming of
(05:13):
the Lord in the air.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Now I say it's the secret coming.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
When the Bible talks about the second coming of Christ,
I believe, as do many other Bible scholars, believe that
speaks of two events. There's the secret coming and the
second coming. There is the rapture, and there is the
return of Christ. When the Lord comes in the air
and we're gathered up to him in the air, that's
the secret coming. That's the coming in the clouds. When
(05:41):
the Bible talks about in the Old test in the
Book of Zachariah, when the Lord returns at the second coming,
he plants his feet on the mount of Olives. He
comes at the Battle of Armageddon. In John Revelation chapter nineteen,
very clear he comes to the earth. The difference being
at the rapture he come for his own, and that
(06:02):
the return he comes with his own. They It says
in Revelation nineteen that when the Lord comes back, he's
riding a white horse, and he has armies with him
riding white horses who have been washed clean. That speaks
of his own, his bride. So the rapture is the
secret coming of the Lord, and in the air is important. Secondly,
(06:23):
the rapture is the catching away of the bride of Christ.
Now some people have said this concerning the rapture. They say,
we you know what, The word rapture isn't even in
the Bible. Some of you guys, you make a whole
doctrine out of something.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
That's not even mentioned in the Bible.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
You do a search on any kind of Bible program
and try and come up with a word rapture, you're
not going to find it. That's true.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
The word rapture is not used in the Bible.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
The word that's used in the Bible is the Greek
word harpodzo. It's translated in verse seventeen, shall be caught
up together. It's translated caught up are podzo means to
snatch away. It means to seize with force. It's kind
of the picture, and the Lord even furthers this by
saying He's gonna come like a thief in the night.
(07:10):
Harpozzo is the picture of a thief coming and snatching
away the jewels. He doesn't do it slowly, he does
it quickly. And the scripture says that in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,
it's gonna happen just like that, the Church of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ
snatched away harpozzo. Harpozzo is translated in the Latin translation
(07:32):
of the Bible that Jerome spent so many years translating
the Hebrew and the Greek into Latin. In the late
three hundreds AD, he translated the word rapti. Rapti in
Latin is harpozzo. In Greek, it means to steal away,
to seize away, to take by force. We get from
(07:52):
the word rapti in Latin the word rapture rapture. So
if you don't like the term rapture, then you can
go with catching away or see away or raptie or
harpods or whatever you want to do. I'm gonna stick
with rapture because it's just easier to remember. But it
is the catching away of the bride of Christ. That's
what the Lord is going to do. He's going to
(08:13):
take away his bride. And it is the blessed hope
and the comfort of all believers, this idea that the
Lord is going to come. Paul had told the Thessalonians
about this, and he said in chapter one he was
talking about their faith, and he said, I'm so impressed
with your faith. How you turned from idols to serve
the living and True God, and then you're waiting for
(08:35):
his son to appear, who will deliver us from the wrath.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
That is to come.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
That's a good description of what the Christian life is like.
You turn away from your sin, your idols, whatever they were,
and you turn to the Lord. You repent and believe
on Jesus, and then you begin serving the Living and
True God. And while you're serving God, always in the
forefront of your mind is the fact that Jesus Christ
is coming again. He's coming again for me, and it
is a comfort, because Paul said in verse eighteen, Therefore,
(09:03):
comfort one another with these words, encourage one another with
these words, Hey, are you down and discourage you? Think
about the fact that the Lord is coming again, and
he's coming for me. It's a word of comfort. Titus
uses the term blessed hope. We're to be looking for
the blessed hope, and he says, glorious the appearing of
the glory of our great God and Savior Christ, Jesus. Hey. Incidentally,
(09:25):
if anybody ever tells you that Jesus Christ is not God,
and the Bible doesn't ever declare him God, go to
Titus chapter two, verse thirteen. The glory of our great
God and Savior. Who's our great God and savior, Jesus Christ.
That's our great God and Savior. But here's the point
idea of the rapture. What is it. It's the Lord
coming in the clouds to call us in a moment
in the twinkling of mini, to snatch away his church, his.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Bride to himself. In John chapter thirteen.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Jesus told his disciples some bad news. He said, guys,
set the last supper, He said, guys, I'm going away.
So you're going away? What do you mean you're going away?
I'm going away. Your advantage that I go away? Like,
no way is it to our advantage that you go away?
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Jesus, we want you to stay here. No, I'm going
to go away.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
And then in chapter fourteen, because they were so forlorn,
he said, let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God.
Believe also in me. In my father's house there are
many dwelling places. If I were not so, I would
have told you, for I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you to myself,
(10:26):
that where I am.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
There you may be also.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Now those were words of comfort that he gave to
his disciples. And it's a picture in that passage in
John fourteen one through three, it's a picture of the
Jewish wedding ceremony. In the Jewish wedding ceremony, oftentimes the
marriages were arranged, and there was a betrothal of an
engagement different from our engagements.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
But because you couldn't break.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Those without a formal divorce. And so a man would
be betrothed to a wife to a woman, and they
were going to get married at some date. They didn't
know when it was going to be. The husband to
be would go off and prepare a place for his bride.
He would be working on a room, maybe next to
the father's house.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
He's adding a room for them to live.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
And the father of the groom to be, he would
be overlooking that and he would be inspecting that, and
when that was right, he would say to the groom
to be, everything is ready, Now go get your bride.
And the bride's job was to get herself ready because
she didn't know when her husband to be was going
to come, So she had to live in a state
(11:29):
of readiness and excitement and expectation and just everything. At
any moment, he could come, you know, and he might
come in the middle of the night. I gotta be ready.
I gotta have my bags packed. It's kind of like
if you're getting ready to have a baby, you have
everything to get ready, so in case her water breaks,
you're ready to go.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
You're not having to put everything together.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
I wait a minute, I got to pack. I gotta
do this, I.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Gotta do that.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
No, you have your bags ready.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
And so that is the picture that the father says
to the son, go get your bride, and he goes
to get her unannounced, and he just comes, I'm here,
are you ready.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
I'm going to take you to the place that I
prepared for us.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Do you remember when Jesus said, of that day and
of that hour, no one knows, not the angels, not
even the son, but.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
The Father alone.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
That is, keeping with the Jewish wedding ceremony and the
Jewish tradition, it was the father who would say to
the son, now it's time, go get your bride. And
that's what the rapture is. It is the son coming himself.
The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout.
He goes and he gets his bride. So what is
the rapture. It's the secret coming of the Lord in
(12:35):
the air, the catching away of the bride of Christ,
the blessed hope and the comfort of all believers. Second question,
when is the rapture? When is the rapture? Now?
Speaker 2 (12:46):
When is not going to be a date?
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Because the Bible makes it clear we're not supposed to
set dates. We don't know when, and if anybody who
tries to tell you when there are people that have
written books.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
I think it was nineteen.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Eight, eighty eight Reasons why Jesus Is Coming in nineteen
eighty eight. It's a hot seller until nineteen ninety eighty
nine hit, and then not very many people bought the
eighty eight reasons. He came out, I'm told with another book,
eighty nine Reasons Why Jesus Is Coming in nineteen eighty nine.
After that he came out with another book, ninety Reasons
Why I was wrong for nineteen nine. You know, I
(13:21):
had one a year just making that up. But eighty
eight eighty nine that was true. And so we're not
supposed to do that because the Lord says, you don't
know when I'm coming, but we can have an idea
and we are told to be ready and listen when
he comes. The Bible makes this clear. When he comes,
he come like a thief in the night. When he comes,
he will come in a moment, in the twinkling of
(13:43):
an eye at the last trumpet, and he comes, and
there is no time when he comes.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
To get ready.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
You have to be ready because he comes just like that,
quicker than that. The twinkling of the eye is the
fastest movement of the human body. He's not talking about
a blink. As fast as a blink is. It's faster
than a blink. It's the time that it takes for
light to hit the eye, the twinkling of an eye.
That's how fast he comes. He comes and he's gone.
And you could be sitting and talking to a person
who is raptured before your eyes, and you would say
(14:10):
what happened? Whether this person was just here and now
they're just gone gone, Because that's how quickly it happens.
You must be ready. But in general, when is this
going to take place? Here are some schools of thought. Now,
I want you to know upfront. I make no bones
about the fact that I believe what I believe, and
we're going to talk about that. But other people believe
(14:30):
other things. Other people smarter than me don't see it
the same way as I do when it comes to eschatology,
the study of end times.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
But that's okay, this is America.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
They have a right to be wrong. Here we go.
This is the position called the historic pre millennial view.
It is there's the Cross of Christ, Jesus died on
the cross, there's an indefinite period of time called the
church Age, and then there is a break which begins
the tribulation period, which is seven years long. And then
ge Jesus returns. And what we just read about the
(15:02):
rapture of the Church and the return of Christ, that's
all like one event. We go up, we meet him
in the clouds, and then we come down with him,
so it's kind of go up, go down. Then that
starts the thousand year reign of Christ, and then you
have the new heavens and the New Earth. That's the
historic premillennial view. Millennial, don't let that confuse you. That
just means one thousand, So the pre one thousand year
reign of Christ view. Do you have the ah millennial view?
(15:24):
Anytime you see ah in front of a word in
the Greek language, it means not, so a millennial means
there's not a millennial, so they just see the all millennials. Normally,
a liberal is going to be a millennial because he
likes to explain away the Word of God. So he
just sees that there's a church age. After Jesus died
on the cross and rods again from the dead, there's
a church age, and then Jesus will one day return,
(15:45):
and then there's heaven.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
So there is no thousand year reign of Christ.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Let me tell you something about that Revelation Chapter twenty.
In the first seven verses, it mentions six times the
time period one thousand years is going to be bound
for a thousand years. The devil is not going to
be able to deceive the nations for a thousand years.
Christians are going to rule and reign with Christ for
(16:08):
a thousand years. At the end of the thousand years,
the Lord is going to release the devil. You have
six references to the time period one thousand years. So
I reject the millennial view because the Bible clearly mentions
a thousand years.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
You have this view called the post millennial view.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
That says this, there is Christ died on the cross,
rose again from the dead. Then you have the church
age started at Pentecost, and the Church is ever expanding,
and then you have this time that's the Golden Age,
and the Church is reigning and things are just getting
better and better and better. And what esher's in that
not the return of Christ, just the world turning to Jesus.
You see that happening, I sure don't. And then you
(16:45):
have the return of Christ, and then you have Heaven.
So this time period in here and the post millennial
view is that's the millennial Kingdom, and it comes before Jesus.
He comes after the thousand years. And then you have
this last view, the modern pre millennial view, the one
that I would cling to and hold to. You have
Christ dying on the cross, rising again from the dead.
You have the Church Age, and then you have the
(17:07):
return of Christ at the rapture. You have the tribulation
period that lasts for seven years. Then you have the
bodily return of Christ to the earth, the Battle of Armageddon,
and the millennial Kingdom for one thousand years. So those
are the different viewpoints. Here is a timeline the way
I understand in times, you have where we are right now,
the present church age. You have, at some undisclosed time
(17:30):
we don't know when, perhaps today, the rapture of the Church,
the catching away of the Bride of Christ. When the
Church is caught away, then you have this thing called
the tribulation period. Seven years of tribulation, the first three
and a half years, the beginning of sorrows the last
three and a half years called the Great Tribulation. It's
a horrible time in the middle point, the midpoint, that's
(17:51):
when the devil declares, the Antichrist declares himself to be
God and says, you're not going to worship any God
but me, and if you don't worship me, I'm going
to kill you. It's called the desecration of the Temple.
And then you have the Lord come back at the
Return of Christ, the Millennial Reign, Final Judgment and Revelation
Chapter twenty, and the Eternal State of Heaven. So let's look,
hopefully you're not confused. Let's look at the different views
(18:14):
that people see concerning the rapture. You know, you got
all this millennial stuff pre millennial, post millennial, m millennial.
Your brain is fried, and then you have free tribulation
pre millennial and post tribulation pre millennial, mid tribulation.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
All that means is when is the rapture kind to
take place.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Do you think the rapture comes before the tribulation, Do
you think it comes at the midpoint of the tribulation,
or do you think it comes at the end of
the tribulation.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
I believe it comes before the tribulation. And I want
to explain to you why.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
It's because the rapture occurs before the wrath of God comes.
Very clear, the rapture comes before the wrath of God comes.
You say, where do you get that? First Thessalonians chapter five,
verse nine, it says, for God has not destined us
for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
One Thessalonians Chapter one, verse ten.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
We're to wait for his son from heaven, whom he
raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
From the wrath to come.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
There is wrath coming on this world, and the Lord
delivers us from the wrath to come.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
You have to remember something.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
The Book of the Revelation given to John on the
island of Patmos in about ninety five AD.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
He talks to John.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
The Lord reveals himself to John, and he tells him
he gives them the seven Letters to the seven Churches.
He tells them the things that are and the things
that are going to come. He gives them. He gives
John a glimpse into the future, a major glimpse into
the future. He shows them all these things. Now, if
you'll notice as you read Revelation, the Church is mentioned
in Revelation chapter one, Revelation chapter two, in Revelation chapter three,
(19:53):
the church is mentioned seventeen times in those three chapters.
Then you hit Revelation chapter four, verse one, and John says,
and I I heard a voice of someone speaking to
me with the sound of a trumpet, and he said,
come up here.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
And he was caught up into the heaven.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
And then he starts to see things in heaven. And
then in Revelation chapter six, we are introduced to judgment,
and it comes in the form of first seals. The
Lord Jesus has handed a scroll, and the scroll is
sealed with wax, and every time he has to pop
a seal and open up the scroll a little more,
and then it's sealed with wax again, and so he
has to pop.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Another seal to open it.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
And every time he opens a seal, he reads of
judgment coming. And you go through all these seals and
they're terrible, their war and their famine and their terror
and the coming of the Antichrist. That's the first seal,
and so all these things. And then you hit the
seventh seal, and you think we must be done. The
seventh seal. He pops it open, and it's seven trumpets,
and it's seven trumpets of judgment, and everything it keeps
(20:49):
getting worse and worse, and the seventh trumpet of judgment
is seven bowls of judgment. And from Revelation chapter six
to Revelation chapter eighteen, all you read about is the
wrath of God being poured out on this world. And
the people understand in Revelation chapter six what's going on,
because they say, when the sixth seal is broken, and
(21:11):
there is an earthquake, and the mountains move out of
their places, and the people cry out, and they go
into the mountains, and they hide out in the caves,
and they say, these words fall on us and hide
us from the presence of the one who sits on
the throne and from the wrath of the lamb, for
the day of the wrath has come, and who is
able to stand Revelation chapter six. Those people know this
(21:32):
is wrath coming from God. And the scripture says, when
the seventh bowl is poured out upon the earth, it
is done, that the wrath of God is now completed. Well,
the Lord comes to save us from the wrath that
is to come. He hasn't destined us for wrath, but
for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church
(21:52):
is the bride of Christ. What kind of a husband
beats up his bride before he takes her to the
I mean, that would be a crazy kind of deal. Now,
the Lord takes out his bride before the wrath comes,
because it's clear that it comes.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
The rapture occurs before the wrath of God comes.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
And secondly, the rapture occurs before the revealing of the
Antichrist comes.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
You're listening to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreeve
and today's message, part one of the lesson called Raptured.
It's the sixth message in the Timely nine message series
Future Shock. What in the world is going on? And
as you've heard today, even before the rapture, the wrath
of God, and the revealing of the Antichrist, the Bible
(22:42):
promises that the last days will be full of struggles.
So as we get closer to the day when Jesus returns,
it's critical that we live with urgency, expectancy, and a
keen ability to point out the signs of the times.
We from His Heart want to help you make sure
that you're ready for these last days by putting Pastor
(23:03):
Jeff's eye opening end Time's resources into your ears and hearts.
The first is a companion booklet called How Near Is
the End? And it's our gift of thank you for
your donation to help from his heart speak real truth
in love to a growingly skeptical world. And with that
gift of any amount, we'll send you the booklet along
with the entire series Future Shock What in the World
(23:25):
Is going On? And you can request it on USB, CDs,
DVDs or digital download to get yours. Make your gift
today when you go to fromhishart dot org or call
eight six six for zero Bible eight six six for
zero Bible Again, you'll get How Near Is the End
booklet and the Future Shock series when you partner with
(23:46):
us today. I'm Larry Nobles, trusting you'll be right back
here tomorrow for part two of the message Raptured be
here to learn how to avoid the future Shock that
many will experience as Pastor Jeff will again open up
God's word and share real truth, real love, and real
hope from God's heart here on, from his heart, from
(24:38):
his Heart is the listener supported broadcast ministry of doctor
Jeff Shreeve, speaking the truth in love to a lost
and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves
you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find
out more at from his Heart dot org.
We want to talk about one of the biggest, most
grandiose shocks that's going to hit this world according to
the Bible, at any moment, and that shock is the
rapture of the Church, a doctrine that is taught.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
In the Word of God.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
But lots of questions concerning the second coming of Christ.
Well that Thessalonians had questions concerning the coming of the Lord,
you and I have questions concerning the coming of the Lord.
So today we want to look at four key questions
regarding this coming of the Lord that we know as
the Rapture.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Do you have questions about what it means to be raptured?
Today on from His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreeve, he'll
highlight key scriptures that reveal the truth about what Christ
has in store for his bride, the Church, and that
He really is coming back for her soon, just as
he promised. Thank you for joining us today as we
(01:22):
continue Pastor Jeff's series Future Shock. What in the world
is going on? And today's lesson is simply entitled Raptured
And remember you can also listen to any of these
broadcasts that you may have missed and also downloader free
MP three of any broadcast. When you click the listen
tab at from his Heart dot org, open your Bible
(01:44):
to First Thessalonians. Now, as Pastor Jeff explains, how we
can be sure to be raptured now.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
The Second Coming of Christ is a key doctrine in
the Bible. It's talked about in the Old Testament. It's
talked about in the New Testament. If you put the
Old Testament and the New Testament together and just look
for the references to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ,
you find one in twenty five verses speak of the
second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
In the New Testament, it's.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Spoken of three hundred and twenty one times, one in
every thirty verses. It's the second most popular doctrine in
all of the New Testament, second only to Salvation. All
Bible writers in the New Testament, the nine who wrote
in the New Testament by inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
speak of the Second Coming of Christ. In the book
(02:34):
of First Thessalonians and Second Thessalonians, it's taught on every
single page, on every chapter. It's a very very important doctrine,
but lots of us have questions about it. Questions concerning
the second Coming of Christ. Well, the Thessalonians had questions too.
They were asking Paul. They were concerned about their loved ones,
and they were thinking, well, their loved ones who had died.
(02:56):
I guess they're going to miss this thing called.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
The rapture of the Church.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
So that is what Paul is referencing when he writes
in First Thessalonians, Chapter four, I'll begin reading. In verse thirteen,
he says this, but we do not want you to
be uninformed, brethren. We don't want you to be unaware.
We don't want you to be ignorant about these things
about those who are asleep. Asleep is the Bible word
for people who have died in the Lord. We don't
want you to be uninformed about those who are asleep.
(03:20):
That you may not grieve as do the rest who
have no hope. Now we grieve when one of our
loved ones who's a Christian dies, but we don't grieve
as the unbelieving world does, because they have no hope
of the afterlife.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
So we don't grieve as those who have no hope.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
For if we believed verse fourteen that Jesus died and
rose again, even so God will bring with him those.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
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, shall 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 your rise first. Then we who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the
(04:05):
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus
we shall always be with the Lord.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Therefore, comfort one another.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
With these words. The Thessalonians had questions concerning the coming
of the Lord. You and I have questions concerning the
coming of the Lord. So today we want to look
at four key questions regarding this coming of the Lord
that we know as the rapture. Question number one, very
basic question, what is the rapture? What is the rapture?
(04:34):
We'll look at it again in verses sixteen and seventeen.
For the Lord himself, he doesn't send an entourage of angels.
The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout
with the voice of the archangel. The only archangel that
is mentioned in the Bible specifically is Michael. He'll descend
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
The trumpet of God.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Trumpets were used in the Bible to signify a meeting
with God, used in the Old Testament that way, and
the dead in Christ your first, Then we who are
alive and remains shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And thus we shall always be with the Lord. What
is the rapture? The rapture is the secret coming of
(05:13):
the Lord in the air.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Now I say it's the secret coming.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
When the Bible talks about the second coming of Christ,
I believe, as do many other Bible scholars, believe that
speaks of two events. There's the secret coming and the
second coming. There is the rapture, and there is the
return of Christ. When the Lord comes in the air
and we're gathered up to him in the air, that's
the secret coming. That's the coming in the clouds. When
(05:41):
the Bible talks about in the Old test in the
Book of Zachariah, when the Lord returns at the second coming,
he plants his feet on the mount of Olives. He
comes at the Battle of Armageddon. In John Revelation chapter nineteen,
very clear he comes to the earth. The difference being
at the rapture he come for his own, and that
(06:02):
the return he comes with his own. They It says
in Revelation nineteen that when the Lord comes back, he's
riding a white horse, and he has armies with him
riding white horses who have been washed clean. That speaks
of his own, his bride. So the rapture is the
secret coming of the Lord, and in the air is important. Secondly,
(06:23):
the rapture is the catching away of the bride of Christ.
Now some people have said this concerning the rapture. They say,
we you know what, The word rapture isn't even in
the Bible. Some of you guys, you make a whole
doctrine out of something.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
That's not even mentioned in the Bible.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
You do a search on any kind of Bible program
and try and come up with a word rapture, you're
not going to find it. That's true.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
The word rapture is not used in the Bible.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
The word that's used in the Bible is the Greek
word harpodzo. It's translated in verse seventeen, shall be caught
up together. It's translated caught up are podzo means to
snatch away. It means to seize with force. It's kind
of the picture, and the Lord even furthers this by
saying He's gonna come like a thief in the night.
(07:10):
Harpozzo is the picture of a thief coming and snatching
away the jewels. He doesn't do it slowly, he does
it quickly. And the scripture says that in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,
it's gonna happen just like that, the Church of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ
snatched away harpozzo. Harpozzo is translated in the Latin translation
(07:32):
of the Bible that Jerome spent so many years translating
the Hebrew and the Greek into Latin. In the late
three hundreds AD, he translated the word rapti. Rapti in
Latin is harpozzo. In Greek, it means to steal away,
to seize away, to take by force. We get from
(07:52):
the word rapti in Latin the word rapture rapture. So
if you don't like the term rapture, then you can
go with catching away or see away or raptie or
harpods or whatever you want to do. I'm gonna stick
with rapture because it's just easier to remember. But it
is the catching away of the bride of Christ. That's
what the Lord is going to do. He's going to
(08:13):
take away his bride. And it is the blessed hope
and the comfort of all believers, this idea that the
Lord is going to come. Paul had told the Thessalonians
about this, and he said in chapter one he was
talking about their faith, and he said, I'm so impressed
with your faith. How you turned from idols to serve
the living and True God, and then you're waiting for
(08:35):
his son to appear, who will deliver us from the wrath.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
That is to come.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
That's a good description of what the Christian life is like.
You turn away from your sin, your idols, whatever they were,
and you turn to the Lord. You repent and believe
on Jesus, and then you begin serving the Living and
True God. And while you're serving God, always in the
forefront of your mind is the fact that Jesus Christ
is coming again. He's coming again for me, and it
is a comfort, because Paul said in verse eighteen, Therefore,
(09:03):
comfort one another with these words, encourage one another with
these words, Hey, are you down and discourage you? Think
about the fact that the Lord is coming again, and
he's coming for me. It's a word of comfort. Titus
uses the term blessed hope. We're to be looking for
the blessed hope, and he says, glorious the appearing of
the glory of our great God and Savior Christ, Jesus. Hey. Incidentally,
(09:25):
if anybody ever tells you that Jesus Christ is not God,
and the Bible doesn't ever declare him God, go to
Titus chapter two, verse thirteen. The glory of our great
God and Savior. Who's our great God and savior, Jesus Christ.
That's our great God and Savior. But here's the point
idea of the rapture. What is it. It's the Lord
coming in the clouds to call us in a moment
in the twinkling of mini, to snatch away his church, his.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Bride to himself. In John chapter thirteen.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Jesus told his disciples some bad news. He said, guys,
set the last supper, He said, guys, I'm going away.
So you're going away? What do you mean you're going away?
I'm going away. Your advantage that I go away? Like,
no way is it to our advantage that you go away?
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Jesus, we want you to stay here. No, I'm going
to go away.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
And then in chapter fourteen, because they were so forlorn,
he said, let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God.
Believe also in me. In my father's house there are
many dwelling places. If I were not so, I would
have told you, for I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you to myself,
(10:26):
that where I am.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
There you may be also.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Now those were words of comfort that he gave to
his disciples. And it's a picture in that passage in
John fourteen one through three, it's a picture of the
Jewish wedding ceremony. In the Jewish wedding ceremony, oftentimes the
marriages were arranged, and there was a betrothal of an
engagement different from our engagements.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
But because you couldn't break.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Those without a formal divorce. And so a man would
be betrothed to a wife to a woman, and they
were going to get married at some date. They didn't
know when it was going to be. The husband to
be would go off and prepare a place for his bride.
He would be working on a room, maybe next to
the father's house.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
He's adding a room for them to live.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
And the father of the groom to be, he would
be overlooking that and he would be inspecting that, and
when that was right, he would say to the groom
to be, everything is ready, Now go get your bride.
And the bride's job was to get herself ready because
she didn't know when her husband to be was going
to come, So she had to live in a state
(11:29):
of readiness and excitement and expectation and just everything. At
any moment, he could come, you know, and he might
come in the middle of the night. I gotta be ready.
I gotta have my bags packed. It's kind of like
if you're getting ready to have a baby, you have
everything to get ready, so in case her water breaks,
you're ready to go.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
You're not having to put everything together.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
I wait a minute, I got to pack. I gotta
do this, I.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Gotta do that.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
No, you have your bags ready.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
And so that is the picture that the father says
to the son, go get your bride, and he goes
to get her unannounced, and he just comes, I'm here,
are you ready.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
I'm going to take you to the place that I
prepared for us.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Do you remember when Jesus said, of that day and
of that hour, no one knows, not the angels, not
even the son, but.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
The Father alone.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
That is, keeping with the Jewish wedding ceremony and the
Jewish tradition, it was the father who would say to
the son, now it's time, go get your bride. And
that's what the rapture is. It is the son coming himself.
The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout.
He goes and he gets his bride. So what is
the rapture. It's the secret coming of the Lord in
(12:35):
the air, the catching away of the bride of Christ,
the blessed hope and the comfort of all believers. Second question,
when is the rapture? When is the rapture? Now?
Speaker 2 (12:46):
When is not going to be a date?
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Because the Bible makes it clear we're not supposed to
set dates. We don't know when, and if anybody who
tries to tell you when there are people that have
written books.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
I think it was nineteen.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Eight, eighty eight Reasons why Jesus Is Coming in nineteen
eighty eight. It's a hot seller until nineteen ninety eighty
nine hit, and then not very many people bought the
eighty eight reasons. He came out, I'm told with another book,
eighty nine Reasons Why Jesus Is Coming in nineteen eighty nine.
After that he came out with another book, ninety Reasons
Why I was wrong for nineteen nine. You know, I
(13:21):
had one a year just making that up. But eighty
eight eighty nine that was true. And so we're not
supposed to do that because the Lord says, you don't
know when I'm coming, but we can have an idea
and we are told to be ready and listen when
he comes. The Bible makes this clear. When he comes,
he come like a thief in the night. When he comes,
he will come in a moment, in the twinkling of
(13:43):
an eye at the last trumpet, and he comes, and
there is no time when he comes.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
To get ready.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
You have to be ready because he comes just like that,
quicker than that. The twinkling of the eye is the
fastest movement of the human body. He's not talking about
a blink. As fast as a blink is. It's faster
than a blink. It's the time that it takes for
light to hit the eye, the twinkling of an eye.
That's how fast he comes. He comes and he's gone.
And you could be sitting and talking to a person
who is raptured before your eyes, and you would say
(14:10):
what happened? Whether this person was just here and now
they're just gone gone, Because that's how quickly it happens.
You must be ready. But in general, when is this
going to take place? Here are some schools of thought. Now,
I want you to know upfront. I make no bones
about the fact that I believe what I believe, and
we're going to talk about that. But other people believe
(14:30):
other things. Other people smarter than me don't see it
the same way as I do when it comes to eschatology,
the study of end times.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
But that's okay, this is America.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
They have a right to be wrong. Here we go.
This is the position called the historic pre millennial view.
It is there's the Cross of Christ, Jesus died on
the cross, there's an indefinite period of time called the
church Age, and then there is a break which begins
the tribulation period, which is seven years long. And then
ge Jesus returns. And what we just read about the
(15:02):
rapture of the Church and the return of Christ, that's
all like one event. We go up, we meet him
in the clouds, and then we come down with him,
so it's kind of go up, go down. Then that
starts the thousand year reign of Christ, and then you
have the new heavens and the New Earth. That's the
historic premillennial view. Millennial, don't let that confuse you. That
just means one thousand, So the pre one thousand year
reign of Christ view. Do you have the ah millennial view?
(15:24):
Anytime you see ah in front of a word in
the Greek language, it means not, so a millennial means
there's not a millennial, so they just see the all millennials. Normally,
a liberal is going to be a millennial because he
likes to explain away the Word of God. So he
just sees that there's a church age. After Jesus died
on the cross and rods again from the dead, there's
a church age, and then Jesus will one day return,
(15:45):
and then there's heaven.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
So there is no thousand year reign of Christ.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Let me tell you something about that Revelation Chapter twenty.
In the first seven verses, it mentions six times the
time period one thousand years is going to be bound
for a thousand years. The devil is not going to
be able to deceive the nations for a thousand years.
Christians are going to rule and reign with Christ for
(16:08):
a thousand years. At the end of the thousand years,
the Lord is going to release the devil. You have
six references to the time period one thousand years. So
I reject the millennial view because the Bible clearly mentions
a thousand years.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
You have this view called the post millennial view.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
That says this, there is Christ died on the cross,
rose again from the dead. Then you have the church
age started at Pentecost, and the Church is ever expanding,
and then you have this time that's the Golden Age,
and the Church is reigning and things are just getting
better and better and better. And what esher's in that
not the return of Christ, just the world turning to Jesus.
You see that happening, I sure don't. And then you
(16:45):
have the return of Christ, and then you have Heaven.
So this time period in here and the post millennial
view is that's the millennial Kingdom, and it comes before Jesus.
He comes after the thousand years. And then you have
this last view, the modern pre millennial view, the one
that I would cling to and hold to. You have
Christ dying on the cross, rising again from the dead.
You have the Church Age, and then you have the
(17:07):
return of Christ at the rapture. You have the tribulation
period that lasts for seven years. Then you have the
bodily return of Christ to the earth, the Battle of Armageddon,
and the millennial Kingdom for one thousand years. So those
are the different viewpoints. Here is a timeline the way
I understand in times, you have where we are right now,
the present church age. You have, at some undisclosed time
(17:30):
we don't know when, perhaps today, the rapture of the Church,
the catching away of the Bride of Christ. When the
Church is caught away, then you have this thing called
the tribulation period. Seven years of tribulation, the first three
and a half years, the beginning of sorrows the last
three and a half years called the Great Tribulation. It's
a horrible time in the middle point, the midpoint, that's
(17:51):
when the devil declares, the Antichrist declares himself to be
God and says, you're not going to worship any God
but me, and if you don't worship me, I'm going
to kill you. It's called the desecration of the Temple.
And then you have the Lord come back at the
Return of Christ, the Millennial Reign, Final Judgment and Revelation
Chapter twenty, and the Eternal State of Heaven. So let's look,
hopefully you're not confused. Let's look at the different views
(18:14):
that people see concerning the rapture. You know, you got
all this millennial stuff pre millennial, post millennial, m millennial.
Your brain is fried, and then you have free tribulation
pre millennial and post tribulation pre millennial, mid tribulation.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
All that means is when is the rapture kind to
take place.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
Do you think the rapture comes before the tribulation, Do
you think it comes at the midpoint of the tribulation,
or do you think it comes at the end of
the tribulation.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
I believe it comes before the tribulation. And I want
to explain to you why.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
It's because the rapture occurs before the wrath of God comes.
Very clear, the rapture comes before the wrath of God comes.
You say, where do you get that? First Thessalonians chapter five,
verse nine, it says, for God has not destined us
for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
One Thessalonians Chapter one, verse ten.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
We're to wait for his son from heaven, whom he
raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
From the wrath to come.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
There is wrath coming on this world, and the Lord
delivers us from the wrath to come.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
You have to remember something.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
The Book of the Revelation given to John on the
island of Patmos in about ninety five AD.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
He talks to John.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
The Lord reveals himself to John, and he tells him
he gives them the seven Letters to the seven Churches.
He tells them the things that are and the things
that are going to come. He gives them. He gives
John a glimpse into the future, a major glimpse into
the future. He shows them all these things. Now, if
you'll notice as you read Revelation, the Church is mentioned
in Revelation chapter one, Revelation chapter two, in Revelation chapter three,
(19:53):
the church is mentioned seventeen times in those three chapters.
Then you hit Revelation chapter four, verse one, and John says,
and I I heard a voice of someone speaking to
me with the sound of a trumpet, and he said,
come up here.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
And he was caught up into the heaven.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
And then he starts to see things in heaven. And
then in Revelation chapter six, we are introduced to judgment,
and it comes in the form of first seals. The
Lord Jesus has handed a scroll, and the scroll is
sealed with wax, and every time he has to pop
a seal and open up the scroll a little more,
and then it's sealed with wax again, and so he
has to pop.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Another seal to open it.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
And every time he opens a seal, he reads of
judgment coming. And you go through all these seals and
they're terrible, their war and their famine and their terror
and the coming of the Antichrist. That's the first seal,
and so all these things. And then you hit the
seventh seal, and you think we must be done. The
seventh seal. He pops it open, and it's seven trumpets,
and it's seven trumpets of judgment, and everything it keeps
(20:49):
getting worse and worse, and the seventh trumpet of judgment
is seven bowls of judgment. And from Revelation chapter six
to Revelation chapter eighteen, all you read about is the
wrath of God being poured out on this world. And
the people understand in Revelation chapter six what's going on,
because they say, when the sixth seal is broken, and
(21:11):
there is an earthquake, and the mountains move out of
their places, and the people cry out, and they go
into the mountains, and they hide out in the caves,
and they say, these words fall on us and hide
us from the presence of the one who sits on
the throne and from the wrath of the lamb, for
the day of the wrath has come, and who is
able to stand Revelation chapter six. Those people know this
(21:32):
is wrath coming from God. And the scripture says, when
the seventh bowl is poured out upon the earth, it
is done, that the wrath of God is now completed. Well,
the Lord comes to save us from the wrath that
is to come. He hasn't destined us for wrath, but
for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church
(21:52):
is the bride of Christ. What kind of a husband
beats up his bride before he takes her to the
I mean, that would be a crazy kind of deal. Now,
the Lord takes out his bride before the wrath comes,
because it's clear that it comes.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
The rapture occurs before the wrath of God comes.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
And secondly, the rapture occurs before the revealing of the
Antichrist comes.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
You're listening to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreeve
and today's message, part one of the lesson called Raptured.
It's the sixth message in the Timely nine message series
Future Shock. What in the world is going on? And
as you've heard today, even before the rapture, the wrath
of God, and the revealing of the Antichrist, the Bible
(22:42):
promises that the last days will be full of struggles.
So as we get closer to the day when Jesus returns,
it's critical that we live with urgency, expectancy, and a
keen ability to point out the signs of the times.
We from His Heart want to help you make sure
that you're ready for these last days by putting Pastor
(23:03):
Jeff's eye opening end Time's resources into your ears and hearts.
The first is a companion booklet called How Near Is
the End? And it's our gift of thank you for
your donation to help from his heart speak real truth
in love to a growingly skeptical world. And with that
gift of any amount, we'll send you the booklet along
with the entire series Future Shock What in the World
(23:25):
Is going On? And you can request it on USB, CDs,
DVDs or digital download to get yours. Make your gift
today when you go to fromhishart dot org or call
eight six six for zero Bible eight six six for
zero Bible Again, you'll get How Near Is the End
booklet and the Future Shock series when you partner with
(23:46):
us today. I'm Larry Nobles, trusting you'll be right back
here tomorrow for part two of the message Raptured be
here to learn how to avoid the future Shock that
many will experience as Pastor Jeff will again open up
God's word and share real truth, real love, and real
hope from God's heart here on, from his heart, from
(24:38):
his Heart is the listener supported broadcast ministry of doctor
Jeff Shreeve, speaking the truth in love to a lost
and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves
you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find
out more at from his Heart dot org.
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