This morning I'm starting a new series entitled The End Times According to Jesus. I wanted to name it The Olivet Discourse, but my staff nixed that. They said that most people don't know what The Olivet Discourse is. They don't know that it's about the end times.
Therefore, if we named the series The Olivet Discourse, it wouldn't pique any interest. It wouldn't pique any curiosity. So, I compromised. I decided to title the series The End Times According to Jesus and subtitle it The Olivet Discourse.
Who says I'm unwilling to compromise? The truth is I'm used to not getting my way. I'm married. And every man said, amen. Now, the reason it's called the Olivet Discourse is because this particular teaching by Jesus happened on the Mount of Olives.
Therefore, it's called the Olivet Discourse. You see, there are five discourses in the Gospel of Matthew. Everyone knows what a discourse is, right? Well, in the context in which we're using this word, a discourse is a lengthy and authoritative teaching on a particular subject or topic. Now, as I said, there are five discourses in the book of Matthew.
The Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5, 6, and 7. The Mission Discourse, chapter 10. The Parabolic Discourse, chapter 13. The Discourse on the Church, chapter 18. And the Olivet Discourse in chapters 23, 24. and 25. And all of the discourses end with the closing formula, when Jesus had finished speaking. So it's pretty easy to see where Jesus started teaching on a subject and where he stopped. And we group that as a discourse because he was speaking on a particular subject or topic.
Now, the Olivet Discourse is about the end times. What happened is four of Jesus'disciples, in fact his inner circle, Peter, Andrew, James, and John, they approached Jesus and they asked him three specific questions. All three questions pertain to the end times, or what they perceive to be the end times. And Jesus'response to those questions is known as the Olivet Discourse. So, in essence, the Olivet Discourse is Jesus teaching on the end times, and it's quite lengthy.
It covers three chapters. As I said, chapters 23, 24, and 25. Now, whenever you're dealing with the end times, you're in the field of study known as eschatology. Eschatology is the study of the last days or the end times.
You see, the Greek word word eschatos means last in time or place or the end. So eschatology is the study of the last days or the end times. Now eschatology is a very difficult subject because to really understand the end times you must have a comprehensive understanding of God's Word.
In other words you need a good knowledge of the entire Bible and especially the Old Testament. The truth is you cannot understand the book of Revelation, neither can you understand the book of Daniel without or I should say all of the discourse without a good understanding of the Old Testament. And the book of Daniel holds the key to unlocking many of the mysteries of the end times. Now, let's be honest. Most pastors have a limited knowledge of the Old Testament.
They know the major stories, but that's about it. So most pastors never teach. on eschatology, and I didn't for the first 20 years of my ministry. I have a bachelor's degree in biblical literature with an emphasis in historical theology. How many of you know the difference between historical theology and systematic theology?
Historical theology is how our theology developed over history. Most of the things that were pounded out happened as a result of heresy. So as a result of that, the church would get together and they would see what the scriptures had to say.
And our doctrine was pounded out based on the scriptures. But historical theology is studying it as it developed throughout the church at church age. So I have a degree in biblical literature with an emphasis in historical theology.
I have a minor in New Testament Greek, 34 hours. And I have a master's in theology, which is systematic theology. But what's kind of interesting about that, even when you finish all of your schooling, you just have the foundation.
You really don't know that much about the Old Testament. And so most pastors who are coming out of seminary, they have a very limited knowledge of the Old Testament. They know the major stories, but that's about it.
So most pastors never teach on eschatology. And as I said, I didn't for my first 20 years because I didn't have an adequate database of knowledge of the Old Testament. But I continued to study.
outside of my sermon preparation. Most pastors don't do that. They only study the Bible in order to prepare sermons. But I felt like God was telling me, you need to study the Bible outside of what you're studying for your sermons. And so I would do that until I was ready to teach on the book of Revelation, verse by verse, and the book of Daniel.
Now, I don't consider myself to be an expert on eschatology, but I do believe that I know as much, if not more, than those who consider themselves to be experts on eschatology. And now, eschatology is one of my favorite subjects. But I have to be very careful. Let me tell you why.
I tend to forget that most people have never studied eschatology. In fact, most people have attended churches where eschatology was never taught. Therefore, they have a very limited knowledge of eschatology. And if I go too deep, too fast, and I use terms they don't understand, then I'm going to lose them.
So before I jump into Jesus teaching on the end times, I'm going to give you some basic information that you need to know so that as we're looking at what Jesus taught, you're not going to get lost. And I'm going to spend about three to four weeks laying a foundation, and then we'll start studying the Olivet Discourse. That sound all right to you?
So let's start with an eschatological event that every Christian should be familiar with, which is the rapture. The rapture is a major event in eschatology and knowing what it is and when it happens is very important. So let's start with the rapture.
Let me explain what it is in very simplistic terms. The rapture is an event that could happen at any moment. In a split second, every person who's ever trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, both the living and the dead, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. and they're taken to heaven to be with him.
Now, that's a very simple explanation of what the rapture is, but I need to add something so that you don't become confused. Here it is. The rapture is completely different in a completely different event than when Jesus comes back to the earth.
You see, Jesus is going to come back to this earth after a seven-year period known as the Great Tribulation. During the tribulation, God is going to pour his wrath upon those who were not raptured. In other words, those who were left behind.
But those who were raptured won't have to endure the wrath of God when it's poured out upon the earth because they're in heaven with Jesus during that time. So, don't confuse the rapture with the second coming. In fact, you'll hear a lot of pastors say it's the same thing. You even hear, I'm trying to think of...
I drew a blank on his name. Oh, Craig. But anyways, he actually printed a new book out.
He's trying to explain that the rapture and the second coming are the very same thing. The problem is he doesn't have an understanding of what the scriptures have to say about the rapture and what it has to say about the second coming. So don't confuse the rapture with the second coming of Jesus Christ. Those are two different things.
Now, every once in a while, I'll hear a person make this comment. I don't believe in the rapture. In fact, the word rapture isn't even in the Bible.
Well, let me just say this. That is a very stupid statement. And let me explain why I say that.
Our Bible is a translation from the original languages, Greek and Hebrew. into our language, English. So just because the rapture isn't in our English translations does not mean that it isn't taught in the Bible. It only means that we didn't choose to use that specific word when we were translating the Bible into English.
In fact, did you know that the words Trinity, Bible, and Grandfather are not in our King James Version Bible? They aren't. But just because the word Trinity isn't used, doesn't mean that it's not taught in the Bible.
It is. And just because the word grandfather isn't used, doesn't mean that there isn't such a thing as grandfathers. Abraham was Jacob's grandfather.
Isaac was Joseph's grandfather. But the word grandfather wasn't used when they translated the Bible into English. They used the word father instead. So the word father can refer to a biological father, but it also can refer to a grandfather depending upon the context. But if I use the same reasoning as opponents of the rapture do, I'd have to say that I don't believe in the Trinity, Grandfathers, or the Bible, because those words don't appear in our King James Version Bible.
Now, people, that's just plain stupid. So, where did the word rapture come from? Well, it's time for a history lesson. One of the places where the rapture is taught is in 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 17. Notice what it says.
Then we which are alive and remain. What does it mean remain? Remain on the earth. Shall be caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so shall we be ever with the Lord. That phrase caught up is translated from the Greek word harpazo. And it means to take suddenly or to snatch.
The best way to describe it. is if you're a grandparent and you're playing with your grandkids and you're chasing them. That's kind of funny.
My granddaughter, Iva, does not want to be chased. She gets too scared. I don't know why.
So she chases me, but I don't chase her. But I'm looking forward to the time when I can chase her. When I'm chasing her, I'm going to run after her and then I'm going to grab her and snatch her up. When I snatch her up off of her feet.
That's what the Greek word harpazo means. It literally means to snatch up. Now, in the 4th century AD, the great scholar Jerome translated the New Testament from the original Greek into Latin.
His translation is known as the Vulgate. Now, when he came to 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 17, he translated the Greek word harpazo into Latin with the word raptius. Because the Latin word raptius means to take suddenly or to snatch. Well, our...
English word rapture is derived from that Latin word. It means exactly what the Greek word harpazo does. It means to take suddenly or to snatch. So we use the word rapture to describe the doctrine that Paul was teaching in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 17 and in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 51 through 55. And that's where we got the term rapture. Now let's go a little more in depth and take a closer look.
and what the Word of God has to say about the rapture. And to me, the clearest and the most detailed description of the rapture is found in 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 13 through 18. Notice what it says. And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died, so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. In the last four to five years, I've lost both my...
mom and my dad. It was tough on me losing my parents, but it was really tough on me losing my mom. But I can tell you this, I do not grieve like those who have no hope. In fact, my favorite place to pray is in a cemetery. And if I go to the tombstone where my parents are laid, I could really get into praying there.
Because I know that I'm going to see my parents. Now, first. Paul starts off verse 13 and says, Dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died. We want you to know what's happened to your loved ones who passed away. So that you do not grieve like those who have no hope.
And then it starts in verse 14, for. That word for. It's translated from the Greek word gar, which is a causal conjunction. He's going to tell you why we don't grieve like those who have no hope. And he goes into this doctrine known as the rapture.
So let's see what he says. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with them the believers who have died. So when Jesus returns, my parents are coming back with him. We tell you this directly from the Lord.
In other words, Jesus taught us this. We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet call of God.
First. The Christians who have died will rise from the graves. Now wait a minute.
In verse 14 he says they're coming back with him, but here he says they're going to rise from the graves. Which is it? We'll find out in just a sec. Let's keep reading. Then together with them we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. Now Let me begin by giving you a little bit of background information so you will understand why Paul was teaching on this. Paul established the Church of Thessalonica while he was on his second missionary journey. While he was in Thessalonica, he taught extensively on some of the end-time events such as the rapture, the second coming, and the Antichrist.
How would you have liked to have been at that prophecy seminar? Mayhem, I would have loved. to then a fly on the wall and listen to what Paul was talking about when he was talking about these end time events.
But Paul didn't stay very long at Thessalonica because the Jews became envious of the crowds he was drawing. So they ran him out of town. Then when he was run out of town, he went to Berea and then to Athens and then finally to Corinth.
And while he was at Corinth, Paul received news that the church at Thessalonica was growing, but they had some concerns. Since he had left, several members of the church had died, and that raised some questions among them. One of the questions they had was, what happened, or what happened to the dead when the rapture occurred? Would they be raptured too, or would they be resurrected at a later date? And people, that's a good question.
So Paul wrote them a letter, which is our 1 Thessalonians, and he wrote this passage about the rapture to clarify what he had previously taught. them and to assure them not only would the dead in Christ not miss out on the rapture, but they would rise first when it happened. So in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13 through 18, Paul makes some very important points concerning the rapture.
So let's look at some of the key points that Paul made. First of all, only believers will be raptured. Unbelievers will be left behind wondering. What in the world just happened?
Look at the first part of verse 14. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again. Paul makes it very clear in verse number 13 and 14 that only those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, that he died on the cross for the sins and that God raised him from the dead, only those will be raptured. Those who don't believe will not be raptured, they'll be left behind. and they will have to endure the tribulation. Jesus paints a picture of this in Matthew 24, verses 37-42.
Notice what it says. When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn't realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.
Two men will be working together in the field. One will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill.
One will be taken, the other left. So you must keep, you too must keep watch, for you don't know what day your Lord is coming. You don't know when the rapture is going to occur.
I don't know when the rapture is going to occur. Next week, I'll explain why we don't know that. And that's very important. Because it tells us when the rapture is going to take place. Not the exact time.
but where it is on the timeline. But anyways, getting ahead of myself. The second key point that Paul made was concerning the rapture.
It's very, very interesting. He tells us that every believer who has died will come back with Jesus in order to be reunited with the resurrected body. Look at the last part of verse number 14. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back...
with him the believers who have died. Now some of you are probably thinking, because I already raised this question, but I thought the dead were going to be raised at the rapture. Only the bodies are going to be resurrected. The spirit does not have to be resurrected because it's already with Jesus in heaven. Unless they're an unbeliever, in that case their soul goes to hell.
Now to help you understand what Paul's talking about, I need to explain what happens when a person dies. I'll be honest with you. I'm constantly amazed at the number of pastors who don't know what happens when a person dies.
How in the world can you get up and get behind the pulpit and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ if you don't know what happens when a person dies? And one day I was shocked to find out my people didn't know. Lisa came to me and she said, I don't think our people knows what, no. what happens when a person dies.
And so I thought, oh my gosh, I'm going to have to teach that. So let me explain what happens when a person dies. When a person dies, their spirit is separated from their body.
In fact, that's what death means. Death does not mean annihilation. Death does not mean cessation of existence. No.
So when a person dies, it does not mean that they cease to exist. We were created to be immortal. So what death means is death means there is a separation between the material part, the body, and the immaterial part, which is the soul of that person.
Now, sometimes we'll use the word soul and spirit interchangeably. Anyone ever heard me do that? I'll talk about a person's spirit going to heaven, and I'll talk about their soul going to heaven. And I had a person come up to me, and they said, Pastor, which is it?
Does a person's soul go to heaven, or does their spirit go to heaven? And I said, you need to understand something. The soul and the spirit can't be divided except by the word of God. It's never separated. In fact, the reason we know that the soul and the spirit are two distinct things is because the Bible tells us.
The Bible tells us that the word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword. It's literally able to divide asunder between soul and spirit. There's a division that's there.
But only the word of God can find that division. So wherever your spirit is, your soul is there also. So when a person dies, their soul goes to heaven. If I use the word spirit, just understand that wherever your spirit is, that's where your soul is, but your body is laid in the ground.
Does everyone understand that? Now, if the person is a believer in Jesus Christ, their soul goes to heaven. If they're not a believer, their soul goes to hell. But the physical body is buried. So let me draw this on a timeline so everyone gets it.
I know this is very simplistic. I'm going to use the cross, that one I'm not going to use. I'm going to use the cross to represent when Jesus was resurrected.
He died for our sins, God raised him from the dead, and since we believe that, we don't grieve like those who have no hope. I'm going to bring this up and I'm just going to say end times here, and we're going to talk about Jesus'return. Don't you love the way I write?
But anyways, let's say there's several people here. I'm going to draw some stick people. When a person dies, let me tell you what takes place. When they die, that person's soul goes to heaven.
We'll put soul. And their body is laid in a casket in the ground or is buried or... cremated or whatever you want to do, but that's what happens with the body.
If they're, and we're going to put believer here, their soul goes to heaven. If they're an unbeliever, their body is buried. Oh, it should go this way, right?
And their soul goes to hell. That's what happens. There is a separation between the material part, the body, and the soul. But I want you to understand, the soul does not cease to exist just because they go to hell. People sometimes get that idea.
You were not created to be mortal. You were created to be immortal. But because of Adam sinning, He said, in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.
In other words, you will become mortal, which means subject to death, but not yet dead. Once you're dead, you're no longer mortal because you're dead. Mortal simply means subject to death, but not yet dead. So if you die as a believer.
your soul goes to heaven, but your body's in the ground. There's a separation. So that's what death means. Death means separation.
It does not mean annihilation. It does not mean ceasing to exist. Now, Jesus gave us a very good picture of what happens in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. So turn with me, if you would, to the book of Luke 16. And I'm just going to read a portion of the parable to illustrate what I'm talking about.
Look at verses 22 and 23. Notice what it says. Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went to the place of the dead. There in torment he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. You see, both of their bodies were buried.
But the soul of the rich man went to hell and the soul of Lazarus went to the bosom of Abraham. Now you're probably wondering why Lazarus'soul didn't go to heaven. Well, the reason Lazarus'soul went to the bosom of Abraham and not to heaven is because Jesus hadn't died for us yet. He hadn't been raised from the dead.
And before Jesus died, when a person was resurrected, when a person died, his body was buried or placed in a tomb. But his soul went to a place in Sheol. And there were two places in Sheol. The place of torment and paradise.
If you believed in the Messiah, he hadn't come yet, but you believed that God was going to send the Messiah, you went to the bosom of Abraham. Yeah. And there was a chasm between the two. So wherever you ended up, you couldn't travel from one place to the other.
Jesus, when he died, he paid for our sins in hell, but he was able to cross over the chasm, preach to the captivities in the bosom of Abraham, and he took captivity captive. So now when a person dies, they don't go to the bosom of Abraham. They go to heaven to be with Jesus.
To be absent with the body is to be present with the Lord. All right, everyone with me? So the point... that Paul is making is that when Jesus comes to rapture the church, those who have died will come back with him in order to be reunited with the resurrected body.
Let's read 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 14 and 18 again out of the New Living Translation. Notice what it says. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
We tell you this directly from the Lord. In other words, this is what Jesus taught. We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.
Why? Because those who have died, they're going to be resurrected first. And then those of us who are alive and remain on the earth will be raptured.
So let's keep reading. The Lord himself will come down from heaven with the commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet call of God. First.
The Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then together with them who are still alive or man in the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
So encourage each other with these words. So Paul's letting everyone know that at the rapture, the separation that occurred at death will be reversed. Look at, think of it like this. When a person dies that's a believer, his body goes into the grave, but his soul goes up to heaven. When Jesus returns, all of these souls with Jesus come back with him in the air, and their bodies now are resurrected to be reunited.
So the process is reversed. At death, the body and soul are separated. At the rapture, the body and soul are reunited. So the process is reversed.
That's what Paul is talking about. The third thing that I think is important that I want you to notice It's the sequence of events. At the end of verse 15, Paul lays out the sequence of events that will occur at the time of the rapture.
The very first thing that will occur is that the Lord himself will come for us. Look at verse 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. So as you can see, Jesus is not sending an angel to come get us.
No. Jesus is coming himself. Now, when Jesus comes back for us, three things will happen.
First, Jesus himself will shout. Why? To wake the dead.
It's time to rise. Here's the things that we don't notice when we read through the Gospels. We don't look at the details.
Notice what Jesus said in John chapter 5, verses 28 and 29. Don't be so surprised, Jesus said. Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God's Son, and they will rise again. All of those bodies that are in the grave, when Jesus comes back and he's in the air, he will shout.
so that they will wake up. Their body's going to go, and that grave. Now, the word shout in 1 Thessalonians 4, 16 is a very interesting word. It's the Greek word, and it means to shout a command or to bark an order.
It was used in ancient times to refer to a general who was shouting commands to his army. Now, I'll tell you what I think Jesus is going to shout. This is just me. Wake up! Seriously.
I believe what's going to happen is because he's telling these bodies, and there'll be bones by that time. Some of the bones have even dissolved, but they're asleep. In fact, that's a euphemism that Paul uses.
You know, some people believe in so sleep. How many of you ever heard of the term so sleep? Some pastors teach that when you die, your soul is asleep until the resurrection.
Hogwash! Lord! The word sleep is a euphemism. Actually, he's using it as a wonderful analogy.
How many of you have vivid dreams when you sleep? The reason Paul uses the word sleep as a reference to death is because what happens when we sleep is the same thing that happens when we're dead. When we go to sleep, our body is at rest. We're laying horizontal.
Except for me, I sleep sitting up because I have bike problems. But anyways, I like to sleep horizontal. So we usually sleep horizontal.
And our body is at rest. But our minds are working. In your dreams, you can see. You can touch.
You can hear. You can feel. Some of you can even talk in your sleep. Riddell and I slept in the same bedroom.
His bed was real close to mine when we were growing up. And Riddell would talk in his sleep. And what Riddell doesn't know, he'll find out today. As he'd get talking in his sleep, I'd start asking him questions, and he'd answer me.
Oh, yeah. I found out a lot of interesting information. He never knew he was doing it. Let me tell you what happens when you die. Your body's at rest, but your soul can still see, hear, touch, feel.
All of the senses are happening in your soul. So, of course, Paul uses the word sleep to describe it. It's a wonderful analogy to death. Anyways, when Jesus comes, he's going to shout.
Let me tell you what he's going to say. Wake up. Secondly, there will be the call of the archangel. He's going to give the command for the trumpet to blow.
And number three, the trumpet of God will sound. Now, in the scriptures, trumpets were used to symbol the people and to designate different commands. Let me give an example.
Turn with me, if you would, to Numbers chapter 10, verses 2 through 7. Make two trumpets of hammered silver for calling the community to assemble and for signalling the breaking of camp. When both trumpets are blown, everyone must gather before you at the entrance of the tabernacle. But if only one trumpet is blown, then only the leaders, the heads of the clans of Israel, must present themselves to you. When you sound the signal to move on, the tribes camped on the east side of the tabernacle must break camp and move forward. When you sound the signal a second time, the tribes camped on the south will follow.
You must sound short blasts as a signal for moving on. But when you call the people to an assembly, blow the trumpets with a different signal. The last trumpet, verse 7, calls the people to an assembly.
In other words, rise up. It's time to assemble. So Jesus will say, wake up! The archangel will say, blow the trumpet. The trumpet will sound to assemble.
And all those people who believe in Jesus Christ, their bodies are going to come out of the grave. to be reunited with their soul. The process that happened at death will be reversed.
Where the soul and the body were separated, the soul and the body will be reunited. Yeah. Now, look at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15.52.
It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, Those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.
Now, I want you to notice how quick this will happen. The NLT says this will all happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye. To give you an idea of just how fast that is, I want you to underline that word moment.
The word moment is translated from the Greek word adamos. Adam is a compound word which simply means it's made up of more than one word. In this case, it's made up of two words. It's made of the root word tamas. which means to cut, and the privative alpha.
Now when you take the privative alpha and you combine it with Tomas, it literally means that which can't be cut, that which can't be divided. Do you realize that you can divide time up to, correct me if I'm wrong any of you physicists, I think it's 1 times 10 to the 43rd power. At that point it's called a plank and you can no longer divide it.
You see, to the Greeks, Atomos was the smallest particle of matter. In fact, our English word, atom, is transliterated from this Greek word. But when it's applied to time, this word Atomos refers to the smallest amount of time you can imagine. You can't divide time anymore. That's how fast it will happen.
You won't even see it. Yeah. If you're at the cemetery, you won't see the bodies come out. It'll happen so fast. If you're driving in a car with a believer, but you're an unbeliever, when that believer leaves, they're just gone.
They're not here anymore. It will happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, in an atomos. Now, turn back to 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 17. Let's look at the fourth key point. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds. We're going to be caught up together with the dead.
They're rising first, but we're going to 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. Now, according to Paul, the dead will be resurrected, but those of us who are alive and remain on the earth, instead, we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Now, what does he mean by caught up?
As I said, that phrase is translated from the Greek word harpazo, and it means you're going to be snatched up from the earth. So what Paul is telling us... is that those who are alive and remain on this earth, when Jesus comes back, will be snatched up from this earth to meet him in the air. Will be suddenly taken to meet Jesus in the air.
So that's the fourth key point. Those who are alive won't be resurrected. They will be raptured.
They will be snatched from the earth. Now, to get a better picture of what's going to happen when this occurs, look at 1 Corinthians 15, verses 52 and 53. Paul is also teaching on the rapture here to the Corinthians. Notice what it says.
It will happen in a moment in the blink of an eye when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die.
Our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Notice what Paul says. at the end of verse 52. He says, and we who are living will also be transformed. Transformed is translated from the Greek word alasos, alaso I mean, which means to change from one thing into another.
So what Paul is saying is that our bodies are going to be changed from one thing into another when the rapture takes place. And Paul gives us a little more detail about this transformation in the book of Philippians chapter three, verses 20 and 21. Notice what it says. But we are citizens of heaven. We're citizens of heaven first.
We vote according to the kingdom of God principles. We live according to the kingdom of God principles. Because we are a citizen of heaven first.
But we are citizens of heaven where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly awaiting for him to return as our Savior. Some of you are eagerly waiting for him to return.
You didn't even know he was going to return. Come on! He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them, alas so, into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
Notice what Paul's saying. He's saying when the rapture occurs, our bodies are going to be changed from weak mortal bodies to glorious bodies, just like his body. Whose body? Jesus'body.
I have the same type of body that Jesus had when he was resurrected. That means that our resurrected body will be flesh and bones. Look at Luke 24, 39 through 40. We'll still eat food.
Look at Luke 24, 41 through 43. Our friends and families will be able to recognize us. See Luke 24, 31. I will still be as good looking then as I am now. Except I'll have more hair. We'll be at the pinnacle of our maturity, so I'll be about what I was when I was 27 to 28 years old. Yeah, when I see my mom, she'll be about 27 to 28 years old, what her physical body will be like.
But best of all, our bodies will be extra-dimensional bodies, and if you were here last week, you know what an extra-dimensional body is. If you have an extra-dimensional body, you can step from one dimension into another. That's what Jesus did.
He did that on two separate occasions. Jesus went right through the wall of the room where the disciples were meeting. He did it once in Luke 24, 36. He did it a different time in John 20, verses 19 and 26. On another occasion, he just vanished into thin air.
You'll find that in Luke 24, 31. That's why if you're inside a house or you're in a car, when the rapture occurs, you're going to go right through the ceiling. Now, up until the time of Paul, no one knew about the rapture. It was a mystery.
Look at 1 Corinthians 15 51. Here's what Paul says. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. What's he mean we shall not all sleep?
Well, we all sleep. No, he's talking about death. We shall not all die.
If you're alive when Jesus returns and you're a believer, you won't ever have to die. Next week, we're going to look at what Jesus taught on the rapture. And yes, Jesus taught on the rapture.
Your pastor did no squat when he told you. He never did. Look at 1 Corinthians 15, 51 again.
Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. So the rapture is a mystery. Now let me explain what Paul meant by mystery.
A mystery in the New Testament time was not some difficult puzzle to solve or unravel. It wasn't even something that was hard to figure out. A mystery was a truth that had been hidden from previous generation.
but had now been revealed. I'll give you an example. Notice what Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 1 verse 26. He says, the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.
That's what a mystery is. The rapture was a mystery until Paul came along and Jesus and taught on it. Now, let me get back to the point I'm trying to make, which is this. The fact that believers would be raptured had never been taught. Until Paul taught on it.
Jesus had taught on it, but most people glossed right over it. It was a mystery, a totally new revelation that had never been revealed until Jesus revealed it. And then Paul came along and taught on it in 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4. But let me say this. We're getting close, people.
We're getting close. And if you're not a believer, you won't be raptured. And what you're going to find out as we go through Jesus'teaching on the end times, you don't want to be left behind.
Because if you're left behind, you're going to have to endure something called the tribulation, a period of seven years. If you think the first three and a half years are bad, wait till you get to the last three and a half. It's called the great tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble. It'll be worse than anything you can imagine.
Let me tell you, COVID was nothing. We put those deaths up there. You ought to read how many is going to die.
You think the Holocaust was bad? What do you read on how many Jews will die during the Great Tribulation, during the time of Jacob's trouble? But let me say this, you don't have to be here. If you believe that Jesus died and God raised him from the dead and you make him Lord of your life, you will be raptured. And Paul taught this mystery.
And we're going to look at what Jesus taught about the end times, but we're laying the foundation first. Let's stand. If you're here this morning, you've never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. I'm going to give you that opportunity.
If you're online and you're watching and you've never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I'm going to give you the opportunity. I'm going to say a very simple prayer. And if you want to receive Jesus as your Lord, if you believe that he died on the cross for your sins and God raised him from the dead, but you've never made him Lord and you want to, I'm going to say this prayer. All you have to do is repeat it. Now, the prayer's not magic.
Just because you say it doesn't mean you're going to heaven. But if you believe what you're saying, and you really want Jesus to be Lord, you will get to go to heaven. If you die, your soul will go to be with Jesus, and one day your body will be resurrected to reverse that process of death if you're a believer.
If you don't die before the rapture, you'll never die. You'll just be snatched from the earth. to be with Jesus. So if you want to say this prayer, if you want Jesus to be Lord, that's all you got to do.
You can even say it inside yourself. So I want everyone to bow their heads, close their eyes. If you want to receive Jesus, just repeat this after me. God, I know I'm a sinner and I know that my sin has separated me from you.
But God, I believe you love me. And because you love me, you sent your son Jesus to die for my sin. And I believe that when Jesus died, I so went to hell to pay the penalty for my sin. But I also believe that when all my sin was paid for, God, you raised Jesus from the dead.
Jesus, I want you to be the Lord of my life. I want you to save me. I'm giving it all to you this morning. Thank you for your salvation.
Thank you.