Today’s word of the day is:

CONTEXT

For Those Who Care Where I Stand…I Am A:- Non-rapture (I.e. I don’t believe in a literal “rapture,” or that “the rapture” is even a Biblical concept…)

- Amillennialist (I.e. I don’t believe in a literal 1,000 year reign of Jesus, or a calendarized version of “the tribulation”)

For Those Who Care Where I Stand…I Am A:- Non-rapture (I.e. I don’t believe in a literal “rapture,” or that “the rapture” is even a Biblical concept…)

- Amillennialist (I.e. I don’t believe in a literal 1,000 year reign of Jesus, or a calendarized version of “the tribulation”)

THIS IS A NON-ESSENTIAL ISSUE!

THIS IS A NON-ESSENTIAL ISSUE!

The Big Questions To Consider…Question #1What does THE BIBLE say about “the rapture”?

Question #2What does THE BIBLE say about the “end times?”

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven,with a loud command, with the voice of thearchangel and with the trumpet call of God,and the dead in Christ will rise first. And after thatwe who are still alive and are left will be caught uptogether with them in the clouds to meet the Lordin the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Luke 17:34-35I tell you, one that night two people will be in one bed;one will be taken, and the other left. Two womenwill be grinding grain together; one will be taken,and the other left.

Earth

The Cosmology of “The Rapture”

Heaven

God’s People

Earth

The Cosmology of Scripture

Heaven

New Earth

NewHeaven

The Cosmology of Scripture

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18…And after that we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together* with them in the clouds to meet

the Lord in the air*. And so we will be with the Lord forever.* caught up = ηαρπαζω (harpazow) = to seize, be seized; to claim, to be claimed as one’s own

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18…And after that we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together* with them in the clouds to meet

the Lord in the air*. And so we will be with the Lord forever.* caught up = ηαρπαζω (harpazow) = to seize, be seized; to claim, to be claimed as one’s own * in the air = a domain of authority around the earth (Ephesians 2:2)

Person A

The “Snatching” of “The Rapture”

HeavenPerson B

Earth

Luke 17:34-35“I tell you, one that night two people will be in one bed;one will be taken, and the other left. Two womenwill be grinding grain together; one will be taken,and the other left.”

Luke 17:34-35“I tell you, one that night two people will be in one bed;one will be taken, and the other left. Two womenwill be grinding grain together; one will be taken,and the other left.”

“Where, Lord?” they asked.

He replied, “Where there is a dead body,there the vultures will gather.”

Person A

The “Snatching” of The Jews By Rome

RomanEmpire

Person BJerusalem 66 - 70 AD

Crucified

Unmarked Grave

Matthew 24:37-41 For in the days before the flood, people were eatingand drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark; and they knewnothing about what would happen until the floodcame and took them all away. This is how it will beat the coming at the Son of Man. Two men will bein the field; one will be taken and the other left.Two women will be grinding with a mill; one will betaken and the other left.

The “Signs” Leading to “The Rapture”

Earthquakes,Wars,

Rumors of wars, etc.

Heaven

Signs to let us know

the end is near…

Jesus will returnto rescue us

from the tribulation

Mark 13:1-2As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of His disciplessaid to Him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones!What magnificent buildings!”

“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus.“Not one stone here will be left on another; every oneof them will be thrown down.”

Mark 13:3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives oppositethe temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Himprivately, “Tell us, when will these things* happen?And what will be the sign they are all about to befulfilled?”* These things= the destruction of the temple; they’re not asking about the ending of history, just of their world as they know it…

The “Signs” Jesus Is Referring To

Jesus’ Prophetic judgment

against Israel Signs = God’s

judgment is real

RomanEmpire

destroysJerusalem

Up to 70 AD

Mark 13:30Truly I tell you this generation will certainly notpass away until all these things have happened.

Mark 13:24-26“But in those days, following that distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.”

* NONE of these signs are meant literally & are NOT meant re: “the end times,” but re: Jesus’ prophecy…

The Big Questions To Consider…Question #1What does THE BIBLE say about “the rapture”?

* The word is never used in scripture* The words used are efforts to describe what it will be like to welcome Jesus as our returning, conquering King who will live WITH US* He will not be snatching us from trouble, but walking with us as we patiently endure in the midst of it

New Earth

Where History Is Heading…

NewHeaven

Revelation 21:1-4 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them.”

Revelation 21:1-4 They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Revelation 21:22-27 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.

Revelation 21:22-27 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 22:1-5Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse.

Revelation 22:1-5The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. There will be

no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever...

The Big Questions To Consider…Question #2What does THE BIBLE say about “the end times”?

* There are no signs we should be looking for* He’s not taking us AWAY to dwell in a separate dimension; He’s bring HIS dimension TO US* He’s not doing AWAY w/earth; He’s RESTORING it* It will be a reality marked by unimaginable peace, joy, meaningfully creative activity, and LIFE