Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20080323.htm

EASTER SUNDAY INTERLUDE
Christ's Resurrection And The Rapture Of The Church
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

For several months now, I have thought about preaching this Easter Sunday morning message out of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. That passage teaches that since we believe Jesus died and rose, we should also believe in the resurrection of deceased Christians, and the translation of living believers at the "rapture" of the Church! I knew this focus would edify in view of the troubles we see in the world with its economic woes, its threats of terrorist attacks and the deterioration of marriage, family, government and many church institutions! What a hope we have of being caught up out of such a deeply troubled world!

However, just last week I read that "evangelical churches of all denominations" are being bombarded with beliefs from the Emerging Church Movement (ECM) and the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), and that they are trying to lead believers into the Orthodox Church; they have "a general distaste for exegetical (verse-by-verse) preaching, a disdain of dispensational teaching (particularly the rapture, which is frequently mocked), and a 'dominion mandate' doctrine that expands the gospel of God to include redemption of the earth through social-spiritual activism. The NAR and ECM also share a 'trans-denominational' (ecumenical and pluralistic) mission of 'inclusion' at the expense of sound doctrine." (cf. Mark Dinsmore, "'Apostolic' Apostasies Attract," The Berean Call, March 2008, p. 8).

Thus, what the ECM and NAR want to do in changing the views of believers in every evangelical denomination COUNTERS the normal method of interpreting the Bible and undermines the dispensational belief in the premillennial, pretribulational rapture! That can leave many Christians seeking to use social and political activism to try to reform our very apostate world, a fruitless task! That in turn can only COUNTER the HOPE for many believers in the 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 passage I wanted to expound today!



So, this Easter Sunday, we might ask, "In view of the intent of the ECM and NAR to change these beliefs in believers of all denominations, (a) WILL the RAPTURE OCCUR, and (b) that BEFORE the GREAT TRIBULATION? (c) HOW can we KNOW for SURE, and (d) HOW can we then LIVE with any HOPE?!"



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "As the ECM and NAR oppose belief in the pretribulation rapture, leaving believers trying vainly to reform the apostate world by activism, how may we think and live with hope this Easter?!"
  1. In contrast to the ECM and NAR, Christ used the normal (literal, grammatical, historical) method to interpret written Scripture:
    1. Jesus' argument in Mark 12:26-27 relies on the literal interpretation of the grammatically understood, present tense verb, "am" in Exodus 3:6 in the historical setting where the patriarchs had long been deceased.
    2. [He revealed God was still ("I am") the God of the fathers even if they had long been dead, so they still existed; this exposed the Sadducean error that there could be no resurrection since they assumed the soul ceased to exist at death, Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 162-163!]
  2. So, opposite what the ECM and NAR promote, we use Christ's normal method of interpretation to study 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18!
  3. In doing so, we note the rapture of the Church is based on Christ's DEATH for SIN and His RESURRECTION, 1 Thessalonians 4:14!
    1. The 1 Thessalonians 4:14a KJV phrase, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again" occurs in the first class condition in the Greek text [ei with the present tense, U. B. S. Greek N. T., 1966, p. 710; Dana & Mantey, A Man. Grammar of the Greek N. T., 1957, p. 289].
    2. Thus, this phrase expresses an assumed fact, and may be paraphrased to read: "For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again", Ibid.
    3. Accordingly, Paul wrote that SINCE Christians held "that Jesus died and rose again, we should also believe that God will bring with him those who fell asleep through Jesus (or: ' . . . that through Jesus God will bring with him those who are fallen asleep')," William Hendriksen, Expos. of I and II Thessalonians (NTC), 1974, p. 112.
    4. Thus, Christ's death for sin and resurrection form the basis for the rapture of the believer as explained in other Scriptures (as follows):
      1. The believer is positionally so closely identified with Christ in His substitutional death for the believer's sin that the believer will also share in the bodily resurrection of Jesus, cf. Romans 6:5.
      2. Thus, as the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead and indwells the believer, God the Holy Spirit will likewise also raise (or change the living) believer's mortal body so that he will share in the glory of Christ's resurrected body, cf. Romans 8:11; 6:5.
  4. Now, Christ's death for sin also delivers believers FROM God's WRATH AGAINST it, so the RAPTURE is PRETRIBULATIONAL :
    1. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 states that "Jesus . . . delivers us from the wrath to come," ESV, NIV. This statement refers to "all aspects of God's wrath, general and specific, including the Tribulation period," Ibid., Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 693 (cf. Rev. 6:17; 19:15; 20:11-15).
    2. Since the Great Tribulation will occur to express God's wrath on a world that has rejected Christ (2 Thess. 2:8-12), but as the Christian is not guilty of rejecting Christ, but has rather trusted in Him as Savior from sin and God's resulting wrath against sin, the rapture MUST occur BEFORE the Great Tribulation STARTS so the believer can ESCAPE it, 2 Thess. 2:13-14! (the dispensational view)
  5. So, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 teaches the great HOPE of the PRETRIUBLATION RAPTURE in the DISPENSATIONAL view:
    1. Thus, in union with Christ in His death and resurrection, the souls of believers who have temporarily (the meaning of "sleep") died will God bring with Him from heaven, 1 Thess. 4:14, 16d; 2 Cor. 5:1, 8.
    2. Then, in union with Christ in His death and resurrection, these believers will be raised to life in glorified bodies and ascend to Christ at the shout of the archangel, God's trumpet call, 1 Thess. 4:16, 17b.
    3. Then, in union with Christ in His death and resurrection, believers who stay alive will be changed and caught up to meet raised believers and Christ in the air, and all will continue on up to heaven before the start of the Great Tribulation period, 1 Thess. 4:17; John 14:2-3.
    4. Then, in union with Christ in His death and resurrection, believers will then forever be with Christ in unity and glory, 1 Thess. 4:17.
    5. Finally, in union with Christ in His death and resurrection, all of us believers should use this truth to comfort one another (1 Thess. 4:18), especially at the [temporal] death of a fellow believer (1 Thess. 4:13).
Application: May we (1) trust in Christ as Savior to be identified this Easter Sunday with Christ in His death and resurrection. (2) Then, may we HOPE for the BLESSED PRETRIBULATION RAPTURE that is BASED on Christ's death and resurrection, and LIVE in HOPE and DISCIPLE the needy in a very troubled world!

Lesson: Using Jesus' literal, grammatical, historical way of interpreting Scripture verse-by-verse reveals that, due to His death and resurrection and the believer's identification with Him, believers will be raised and/or translated and taken to heaven before the Great Tribulation begins, the dispensational view of the Bible! Thus, this Easter Sunday, we are to live affirmatively in a very troubled world with our blessed hope for heaven!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

This message has great implications regarding us and the Emerging Church Movement and the New Apostolic Reformation:

(1) In our introduction, we learned the ECM and NAR have "a general distaste for exegetical (verse-by-verse) preaching", being shown to be errant by the example of our Lord: Jesus used this method to expound Exodus 3:6 in Mark 12:26-27 in correcting the Sadducees. Thus, we need not shrink from using HIS method of interpreting Scripture though the ECM and NAR resist it! (Ibid., The Berean Call)

(2) The ECM and NAR that have "a disdain of dispensational teaching (particularly the rapture, which is frequently mocked)" and are seen to be in great error: by handling 1 Thessalonians 3:14-18 on the rapture of the Church using the same interpretive method that Jesus did of Exodus 3:6 as recorded in Mark 12:26-27, we see Paul taught the pretribulation rapture that reflects dispensational theology, Ibid.; cf. Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism Today, 1970, p. 159-160!

(3) The ECM and NAR that have "a 'dominion mandate' doctrine that expands the gospel of God to include redemption of the earth through social-spiritual activism" are thus critiqued by the pretribulation rapture of 1 Thessalonians 3:14-18: it is NOT the Church's responsibility to try to usher in Christ's earthly kingdom by social and political activism, what can only be a fruitless, discouraging task in view of the world's vast apostasy! Rather, we must disciple men for Christ's future kingdom that HE will initiate when He returns to the earth after the Tribulation Period! (Ibid., The Berean Call ) That truth gives us HOPE this Easter, hope in God's DELIVERANCE by the rapture from a tragic world that ONLY HE can REPAIR!

(4) The ECM and NAR that "share a 'trans-denominational' (ecumenical and pluralistic) mission of 'inclusion' at the expense of sound doctrine" then greatly err in watering down true beliefs via ecumenism versus affirming the truth as Revelation 2:14-16 urges.

Thus, the PRETRIBULATION RAPTURE of the Church that is BASED on Christ's DEATH and RESURRECTION as seen in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 via CHRIST'S way of "normal" Bible interpretation gives us HOPE this Easter in a HOPELESS world!

This Easter Sunday, may we trust in Christ as Savior, may we give His Gospel to the lost and hold the pretribulation rapture belief that is based on Christ's DEATH and RESURRECTION!