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>>Ankerberg:And we want to start off with one of the things that God says is up ahead
that a lot of people talk about, but they really don’t know. Here’s the verse. The
apostle Paul writes the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, and he says, “For
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are
alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these
words.” This is the rapture, but explain what Paul is saying here.
>>DeYoung: Well, that word rapture, let’s just look at that for a moment. It’s not
found there in 1 Thessalonians, nor is it found in 1 Corinthians 15, another passage
on the event itself. Revelation 4 does not mention the word rapture. And even Jesus Christ,
when He introduced the rapture in John 14, did not use the term. The word comes from
the translation of the Bible from the Greek into the Latin, in the Latin Vulgate. And
they use the word for caught up, rapturo, which gives us the word rapture. Now, I’m
not concerned that it’s not mentioned in the Bible. The word trinity is not in the
Bible, but that doesn’t bother me, we go to the scriptures: we determine the trinity
is there—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In fact, the word Bible
is not even used in the Bible, but we still believe in the Bible. Let me go back to John
14 just a moment. It’s the upper room. It’s the night before Christ would be crucified.
He looks at His very anxious disciples. They don’t know what is going to happen within
the next 24 hours. Here is what He said. “Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in
God, believe also in me. In My Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so
I would have told you. Then He said, “Listen I go to prepare a place for you; and if I
go I shall come again and receive you unto myself.” Now, that is not the second coming
of Christ. We’re received up to meet Christ in the air at the rapture of the church. Of
course, the disciples did not recognize what event He was talking about, and it would be
a number of years later before Paul, writing the people in Thessalonica, would explain
about the rapture. Jesus shouts, archangel shouts, trump of God sounds, we are caught
up to be with Him. Over in the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 51-53, he says, “In a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,” we shall be caught up to be
with Him. You go to the book of Revelation, which our columns here explain, the three
main events in the future, in chapter 4 verse 1 you have the rapture of the church. Then
in verses 2 of chapter 4 all the way to chapter 19, verse 10 we have the seven year tribulation
period. (Revelation) 19:11, Jesus Christ gets on His horse, comes back. That’s the second
coming. Chapter 20:1-6, the 1000 year millennium kingdom. Chapter 20:11-15, the great white
throne judgment. So we see the end time events laid out in the book of Revelation.
Now, I want to remind everybody, John, we are right there before the next event. In
fact, there’s not one prophecy that has to be fulfilled before the rapture. That is
the next prophecy that will be fulfilled on God’s calendar of activities, the rapture
of the church. Chapter 4:1 of the book of Revelation is a very interesting verse of
scripture that helps us to understand where the rapture takes place and how everything
unfolds. It says there, “And after this,” now those two words are referring to chapters
2 and 3, which would be the letters to the seven churches. But indeed, those letters
to the seven churches of Asia Minor in the time of Christ, they are describing the characteristics
of periods of church history from the time the church was established until Jesus Christ
calls us up to be with Him at the rapture. So he says, “After this,” after the church
age, the rapture will take place. He said, “[I saw] a door… opened in heaven: and…
as it were… a trumpet talking with me.” John, I’ve played trumpet for many years,
but I never heard my trumpet talk to me. This is apocalyptic literature. Again we go back
to 1 Thessalonians 4. The trump of God will sound. Over in 1 Corinthians 15, “at the
last trump.” You use scripture to interpret apocalyptic literature. Now, apocalyptic literature
is simply using a symbol to communicate an absolute truth. It’s a literal symbol and
it is a literal truth that he’s communicating. He is speaking about the rapture of the church.
And the last phrase in chapter 4 verse 1 says this, “And I will show you the things that
must happen hereafter.” That must happen hereafter. In the next 16 chapters, he describes
the tribulation period. So thus the rapture takes place before that seven year period
of time of judgment. And by the way, the word church is used 19 times in the first three
chapters of the book of Revelation before the rapture in chapter 4 verse1. It’s used
zero amount of times during that 16 chapters, the seven years of tribulation. The church
is not in the tribulation period. It’s the next event to happen. After that unfolding
will be the time of judgment the seven year tribulation.