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The Gospel Observer
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them
to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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January 18, 2015
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Contents:
1) "I'll See You In The Rapture" (Larry Ray Hafley)
2) News & Notes
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-1-
"I'll See You In The Rapture"
by Larry Ray Hafley
Perhaps you saw the bumper sticker a few years ago which said, "In
case of the Rapture, this car will be without a driver." Regardless,
you are at least passingly familiar with the expression, "the
Rapture." The rapture theory is part and parcel of premillennial
speculation. It states that before a seven year period called, "the
great tribulation," the saints will be snatched, or the righteous
will be raptured from the earth to be with Christ. After this time,
Christ will come to the earth with His church and commence His 1,000
year reign in Jerusalem. If you have been content to read your
Bible, this is all news to you. Like infant baptism, Christmas,
Groundhog Day, and the Pope, the rapture doctrine is not in the word
of God.
The Chief Text
The central text used to support and sustain the rapture doctrine is
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:
"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them
which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no
hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say
unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which
are asleep. 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."
Paul shows that the dead in Christ are not to be sorrowed after like
those who have no hope. Some believed that one who died before
Christ came would miss the blessings and benefits of His coming.
Paul lays that fear to rest. As a matter of fact, the righteous dead
will rise first, before the righteous living, to meet the Lord. Paul
was not contrasting the righteous dead and the wicked dead.
The chief text to refute the rapture doctrine is 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18. See above.
First: The Quiet Coming. Rapturists teach that they will be
quietly, mysteriously taken away. Presto, they will become
invisible! Actually, the second coming will be quite a noisy affair.
Paul says the Lord will "descend... with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of God." Peter says "the heavens
shall pass away with a great noise" (2 Peter 3:10). "He that hath
ears to hear, let him hear." There is no room for a hushed up
rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4.
Second: The Two Comings. Those pregnant with visions of
rapture expect their deliverance in the first stage of a two-part
coming or the first of two comings. Well, whatever. Their idea is
that stage number two occurs after the seven years of tribulation
when the Lord shall return to set up His kingdom on earth. (Compare
that with 1 Cor. 15:24-28). But the context of 1 Thessalonians 4 is
a stubborn thing. Men divided the Bible into chapters and verses, so
we often separate areas that are kin to one another. Continue
reading into 1 Thessalonians 5.
"But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I
write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the
Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say,
peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as
travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye,
brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a
thief."
Obviously, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:4 is at least contextually
related. Compare the comforting conclusions of 1 Thessalonians 4:18,
"Wherefore, comfort one another with these words," and 1
Thessalonians 5:11, "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and
edify one another, even as also ye do." So, when the Lord comes and
the righteous are "caught up," at the same time the wicked will be
overtaken and destroyed. This is also the teaching of 2
Thessalonians 1:6-10:
"Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation
to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled rest with us,
when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty
angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God,
and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,
and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified
in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe because
our testimony among you was believed in that day."
God is going to repay tribulation to the troublers. He is going to
repay rest (a noun, not a verb) to the troubled. But when? (1) "When
the Lord shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in
flaming fire taking vengeance on them (the sinners)" and (2) "when
he shall be glorified in his saints. . . in that day." (3) "When
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear
with him in glory" (Col. 3:4). But what about the wicked? They are
not in Colossians 3:4. Yes, but they are in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10.
(4) Both the righteous and the wicked are in Matthew 16:27. "For the
Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels;
and then he shall reward every man according to his works." So, when
the Lord comes with the angels, then (not later) He shall reward
every man -- not part, not some -- but "then," "every man." There is
no sequential, sectional coming; hence, no rapture. Truly, "there
shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the
unjust" (Acts 24:15). Are you amazed, all ye that await your
rapture? Well, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the
which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall
come forth; they that have done good, into the resurrection of life;
and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
Observe that the "shout" of 1 Thessalonians 4:16 is the "voice" of
John 5:28. Do you see the implications of that conclusion?
Now, place all these cited and related passages together. If you
come up with (1) a separate coming of the Lord for the saints only,
(2) seven years of tribulation on earth; (3) another coming of the
Lord and the beginning of a 1,000 year reign on earth, then you are
reading ideas for which there are no words of the Lord.
Third: The Duration. The third rapture imagination is seen
in its duration. Rapturists say the saints will soar to meet the
Lord in the air for seven heavenly years before being hauled back to
earth for 1,000 earthly years. That is not what 1 Thessalonians 4
teaches. It says that after the righteous are raised "so shall we
ever be with the Lord." To suit their dream, it should say, "so
shall we be for seven years with the Lord."
As the righteous shall "ever be with the Lord," so the destruction
of the wicked will be unending. The wicked "shall not escape," and
they "shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord." The "everlasting destruction" (2 Thess. 1:9)
is equivalent to the "ever be" with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17). The
destruction, like the deliverance, is final, total, eternal. "And
these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous
into life eternal" (Matt. 25:41).
Fourth: The Visible Coming. The wicked will not see the Lord
when He comes to rapture the righteous, or so say the
premillennialists. How do we account for this blatant blindness? We
are told that the Lord is coming for His saints (the rapture) and
then He will come with His saints (the second coming). The first
time He will not be seen or manifested, but He will be seen the
second time. No such distinction is taught in the New Testament.
Both the "alive and the dead" will be judged "at his appearing" (2
Tim. 4:1). Both the wicked and the righteous will see Jesus when He
comes. "When he shall appear," the righteous will see Him (Col. 3:4;
1 Pet. 5:4; 1 Jn. 2:28; 3:2). "When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed
from heaven," the wicked will see Him, or else the word "revealed"
means concealed.
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye (not just the
righteous) shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him" (Rev. 1:7). All
will see the Lord when He comes "with clouds." The righteous will
meet Him "in the clouds" (1 Thess. 4:17). He shall come back as He
went, i.e., visibly with clouds (Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thess. 4:17; Rev.
1:7), and "every eye shall see him."
Conclusion
The rapture doctrine is a delusion. It is a large part of the fabric
of premillennial sewing, but there is not even a stitch of it in the
testimony of the Lord. If the hope of the rapture is so prevalent
and prominent in the present premillennial preaching, why is it not
frequently and fervently advocated and demonstrated in the word of
God?
Questions
1. What is the chief text used to support the rapture doctrine?
2. What was Paul's point in 1 Thess. 4:13-18?
3. According to the rapture doctrine, how long are the saints to be
with the Lord?
4. How long are the saints to be with the Lord according to 1 Thess.
4?
5. What is the significance of the "voice" of Jn. 5:28 and the
"shout" of 1 Thess. 4:16 as it pertains to the rapture theory?
6. When the righteous are glorified, what will happen to the wicked?
Will they: (1) Be given a second chance? (2) Be left in their
graves? (3) Be raised, judged and condemned? (4) None of the above.
7. Will there be any noise when the Lord comes for His saints? Cite
passages.
8. Will Christ's kingdom be set up when He returns? See 1 Cor.
15:24-28.
9. How many people will see the Lord when He comes again?
10. What is the significance of "clouds" with respect to the rapture
doctrine in such passages as Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thess. 4:17; Rev. 1:7?
-- Via Guardian of Truth XXVI: 3, pp. 35-37, January 21, 1982
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News & Notes
We extend our condolences to the family and friends of Alvin
Ernese Potter of Brunswick, Georgia, who passed away January
13 at the age of 90. He had been a member of the Golden Isles church
of Christ in Brunswick.
Mary Vandevander was taken to ICU January 7, due to
Bronchitis, and transferred on the 12th to the Satilla Care Center
(1600 Riverside Avenue) where they will be helping her to regain her
strength.
Jewell Wilson was back in the hospital, as of January 16,
following a previous stay there just several days prior. She
had begun medication for atrial fibrillation and also for infection
in both eyes. Then on the 21st, she had surgery to remove the
infection from both tear ducts and was transferred to Satilla Care
Rehab on the 23rd, where she is to be for 20 days. The
elimination of the infection has also cleared up the previous
"cloudiness" of her mind. On the 27th, she will be seeing her
doctor again; and if the infection is still gone, she will be
scheduled for surgery (which will probably be the following day) to
have both tear ducts permanently closed. For, otherwise, the
infection will return.
Steve Vista has been back in the hospital and in very poor
condition. Let us also remember his wife Marie in
prayer, as well.
Let us also be praying for the following: Myrna Jordan, Danielle
Howard, Ginger Ann Montero (abdominal pains), Pat Seif
(cancer), Penny Medlock (glaucoma), Marie Turner, Jim
Lively, Ronnie Davis (eyesight), Judy Daugherty (recovering
from recent fall), Rex and Frankie Hadley, Jesse Bailey
(cancer), Deborah Medlock, Shirley Davis, Dexter Roberts
(cancer), Sue Wooten (at nursing home), Deena Hensley
Fields (weakness in leg, due to recovering from sciatic pain),
Dolly Downs Moody (recently underwent cancer treatment and
still needing to receive white blood cells weekly and to recover her
strength), and Colleen Henson.
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom.
10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John
3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts
8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the remission of sins
(Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet.
3:21)
6) Continue in the faith; for, if not, salvation can
be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 5 PM (worship)
Wednesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (912) 614-8593
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go
(Gospel Observer website)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html
(audio sermons)