{"id":22208,"date":"2023-03-18T19:02:41","date_gmt":"2023-03-19T00:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/sermon\/first-thessalonians-018-comfort-one-another-part-3\/"},"modified":"2023-07-27T14:20:45","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T19:20:45","slug":"first-thessalonians-018-comfort-one-another-part-3","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/first-thessalonians-018-comfort-one-another-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"First Thessalonians 018 – Comfort One Another (part 3)"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[97],"series_event":[546],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-22208","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-1-thessalonians","series_event-first-thessalonians","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"First Thessalonians 018 - Comfort One Another (part 3)","sermon_date":"20230319","sermon_month":"03","sermon_year":"2023","sermon_notes":22206,"sermon_slides":22213,"sermon_mp3":22215,"sermon_id":"317231555453133","series_or_event":546,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":97,"chapter_and_verse":"4:13-18","sermon_transcript":"

First Thessalonians 018 \u2013 Comfort One Another (part 3)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 \u2022 Dr. Andy Woods \u2022 March 19, 2023<\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/h4>\r\n

PRAYER<\/h4>\r\nFather, we're grateful for today.\u00a0 In a world where there's a lot of uncertainty, particularly financial uncertainty, we're grateful that You are our provider and You are the same yesterday, today, and forever.\u00a0 I do pray, Lord, for the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit as the Word of God is taught today, both in Sunday school and in the main service that follows, and really throughout this whole building with all of our classes.\u00a0 We know, Lord, that we cannot understand the things of the Spirit without the enabling work of the Holy Spirit via illumination, and so to prepare us for that ministry, we're going to take a few moments of silence, if need be, to make personal confession to You, not to restore our position, but to restore broken fellowship so that the Holy Spirit might have His way in our sessions this morning.\r\n\r\nWe thank You, Lord, for Your word, which is able to pierce joints and marrow and minister to the deepest needs of the human heart.\u00a0 It's impossible for a human teacher, Lord, to understand all of the needs that may be out there as listeners today, but You know what they are, and we pray that the Spirit would take Your Word and bring it to life.\u00a0 We'll be careful to give You all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus' name, and God's people said amen.\r\n

Review<\/h4>\r\nWell, if you all can locate the book of 1 Thessalonian 4:13-18.\r\n\r\nPaul the Apostle, in the book of 1 Thessalonian, has spent really three chapters defending himself against some scurrilous and really slanderous charges that have been brought against him.\u00a0 And he has had to defend himself against those charges so that he could get to the transition, which begins in 1 Thessalonians 4:1, where he says, \"Finally then, brethren.\"\r\n\r\nAnd when he says, \"Finally then, brethren,\" he's no longer looking backwards, but he's looking forwards.\u00a0 And it's hard to deal with correction, which is what he starts to apply beginning in 1 Thessalonians 4:1 if his reputation is in the mud.\u00a0 So having rehabilitated his reputation from slander, he now is in a position to correct the Thessalonians.\r\n\r\nThere was a lot of things that he knew about them from the letter or the information that Timothy had brought back, and so he's dealt with immorality, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.\u00a0 He's dealt with laziness, 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12.\r\n\r\nAnd now beginning in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, all the way through Chapter 5:11, he deals with a lot of misunderstandings that they had concerning eschatology, which is a fancy word meaning the study of the end.\u00a0 What does the Bible reveal about the end?\r\n\r\nAnd so this is, it's in that vein we come to these verses.\u00a0 These probably are very familiar to you.\u00a0 Of all of the verses in the book of 1 Thessalonians, these are the ones people know the best because this is our clearest exposition or treatment of the rapture of the church, probably found anywhere in the Bible.\r\n\r\nSo it's here Paul writes, \"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.\" (1 Thessalonian 4:13-18)\r\n\r\nWe've pointed out as we've moved through the book of 1 Thessalonian that the dominant subject on Paul's mind is the return of Jesus.\u00a0 And we think that because every single chapter in this book ends with a reference to the return of Christ.\r\n\r\nAnd so Chapter 4 is no different, we're at the end of Chapter 4.\u00a0 And so it's not surprising that at the end of Chapter 4 we would find some kind of reference to the return of Christ.\u00a0 It's just in this case you get a real extended treatment on the return of Christ via the rapture.\r\n\r\nAnd the whole circumstances of him including this information arose because when he planted the church at Thessalonica, he actually had already taught them about many things including the rapture.\u00a0 Which is sort of a refutation to the ministerial mindset that says don't teach new believers about prophecy.\u00a0 I was kind of reared as a Christian with that mindset and when I got saved, I became very interested in prophecy and a lot of people told me stay away from that stuff.\u00a0 Just focus on the important doctrines as if eschatology isn't important.\r\n\r\nAnd so I would ask some of my mentors what's all this stuff about the rapture and they basically told me to pray for pre and plan for post.\u00a0 Which what does that mean?\u00a0 That gave me no certainty on anything.\u00a0 So a lot of Christians are sort of victims of this philosophy that you don't teach them prophecy.\u00a0 Paul the apostle taught them prophecy among many other things right out of the gate.\r\n\r\nIn fact in his second book written a short time later he says concerning a whole bunch of prophetic subjects in 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2, that we will get to at some point, he says, \"Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?\" (1 Thess 2:5)\u00a0 So he had already taught them about prophecy, and he had already taught them about the rapture.\r\n\r\nBut after having been pushed out of Thessalonica by the unbelieving Jews, ultimately down into Corinth, some within the Thessalonian flock had died.\u00a0 And so the Thessalonians basically wanted to know this rapture stuff Paul that you mentioned to us, how does it affect the dead in Christ?\u00a0 How does it affect our loved ones that have passed away or perhaps were martyred since you left Thessalonica?\r\n\r\nAnd so this is why Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says, \"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren ...\".\u00a0 In other words, they couldn't answer the question because they didn't have the information.\u00a0 They didn't know how the rapture applied to their deceased loved ones in Christ.\u00a0 That's the issue.\r\n\r\nAnd obviously he can't just say read your Bible, read the New Testament, read the book of Revelation because there is no New Testament yet.\u00a0 As you can see from this list here, the only book that was on the books as written by Paul was the book of Galatians.\u00a0 Maybe they had knowledge of James.\u00a0 I'm not sure if James, probably the earliest New Testament book, if it even circulated into Thessalonica.\u00a0 They may have had knowledge of Matthew's Gospel, our first Gospel, chronologically, but we don't even know if that circulated up into Thessalonica.\u00a0 So you're dealing with a bunch of people that really had no New Testament canon at all.\r\n\r\nSo it's not the kind of thing where they could just go home and look up passages and get answers to questions.\u00a0 I mean, if they had a specific answer to it, needed a specific answer to a question, they had to go to the apostolic source, which was Paul.\u00a0 And the big issue is, well, you taught us about the rapture, but friends of mine in the Thessalonian congregation have died.\u00a0 What's going to happen to them?\u00a0 I mean, are they going to participate in the rapture?\r\n

Rapture begins with the dead in Christ.<\/h4>\r\nAnd that's where Paul begins to explain that the rapture begins with the dead in Christ.\u00a0 The dead in Christ will rise first, meaning that when a Christian dies, their soul goes into the presence of the Lord, where they also, with the Lord in a fully conscious state, are waiting for the rapture.\u00a0 And the rapture, when it takes place, will actually begin with the dead in Christ.\u00a0 They will rise first.\u00a0 Meaning that they will be reunited with their bodies, but the effects of sin will be taken out of the body.\r\n\r\nIt's the resurrection body.\u00a0 It's the body that God intended.\u00a0 And as they begin to descend, we who are alive and on the earth at the time will be caught up.\u00a0 There's your rapture.\u00a0 And the two groups, one going up, one coming down, in a resurrected state will see each other in the sky and so we shall forever be with the Lord.\r\n\r\nAnd so what he's saying is, your deceased loved ones in Christ, you're actually going to see them again at the point of the rapture.\u00a0 Because the rapture is not just a resurrection, but it's a reunion with all of the Christians that were a blessing to you that have now passed on.\u00a0 And it's in that context he says, \"... comfort one another with these words.\" (1 Thess 4:18).\u00a0 Because the lack of information was causing them a lot of anxiety.\r\n\r\nSo that's sort of the general thrust of why he mentions this doctrine of the rapture here.\u00a0 The thing to understand about the Bible is it's not written like a systematic theology textbook.\u00a0 It's written, some scholars would call it \"occasional literature.\" Others would call it \"crisis literature.\" Meaning the Bible is written to real people with real problems, with real questions, living in real life situations.\u00a0 And this is how the Holy Spirit chose to disclose the Word of God to us through these different crises.\r\n\r\nAnd so as you study various books of the Bible, the better you can think through the crisis that's happening sort of behind the scenes, you have greater insight into why Paul is bringing up things that he's bringing up<\/strong>.\u00a0 He's bringing these things up as a way of comfort.\u00a0 He's functioning a lot like not just a theologian and not just a missionary, but he's functioning a lot like a pastor trying to comfort his flock.\u00a0 Because after all, he was the one that planted that church in Thessalonica.\u00a0 He was the one that led so many of these people in Thessalonica to the Lord.\r\n\r\nSo that's why you get this extended treatment here concerning the rapture.\u00a0 And yet the rapture is such an important doctrine that is greatly under assault today.\u00a0 It just mystifies me, the number of people out there, it's like their whole presence on the internet, their whole presence on YouTube is geared towards trying to discredit the pre-tribulational rapture.\r\n\r\nIn fact, that's one of the reasons that convinces me it's true.\u00a0 You don't work hard to explain away a three-dollar bill, right?\u00a0 I think people are upset about it because it is true.\u00a0 Satan doesn't want this doctrine taught and believed by the Christian public.\r\n

Five General Comments About The Rapture<\/h4>\r\nIt's in that vein that we decided to camp in this passage for a few weeks and ask and answer five, really let's put it this way, make five general comments about the rapture.\u00a0 The first three we've already covered.\r\n

No. 1 -- Not the first mention of The Rapture<\/h4>\r\nNumber one, this is not the first time the rapture is mentioned in the Bible.\u00a0 We believe that Jesus in the upper room mentioned the doctrine for the first time.\u00a0 Where he said in John 14:3, \"... I will come again and receive you to Myself, ...\".\u00a0 We worked through John 14:1-4 last time, and we noted that there's an identical parallel in concepts.\u00a0 They follow in perfect sequential order when you study John 14:1-4 and you compare it to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.\u00a0 A lot of commentators have noticed these parallels.\u00a0 The one that I got it from is a man named J.B. Smith in his Revelation commentary.\r\n\r\nSo when Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:15, \"For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, ...\".\u00a0 The word of the Lord there could be Paul's word as an apostle to the Thessalonians and\/or it could also be a reference to the word of the Lord of Jesus in the upper room who mentioned the rapture for the very first time, John 14:3.\r\n\r\nAnd this is what you have in the epistles, what you have is the seed truths that Jesus planted in the upper room, John 13-17, are receiving amplification, the seed is being watered, more details are being given, as the Holy Spirit is taking these apostles and giving them truth and doctrine for the church age.\r\n\r\nWhich was very necessary because up until the coming of Jesus, the central figure was Israel.\u00a0 Now Israel has been set aside for a season nationally because she rejected her king.\u00a0 God is raising up the church and the church needs doctrine, and Jesus starts to spell it out in the upper room and then he says, \"\u201cI have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. \u201cBut when He, the Spirit of truth, ...\".\u00a0 (John 16:12-13)\r\n\r\nIn other words, the Holy Spirit would take the New Testament apostles and carry them along and add clarity to the doctrines that Jesus spelled out for the first time in the upper room.\u00a0 And one of the doctrines Jesus mentioned is how the church age is going to end, the rapture.\u00a0 Paul is adding clarity to that pre-existing truth.\u00a0 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord.\r\n

No. 2 \u2013 \u201cRapture\u201d comes from the Latin<\/h4>\r\nThe second point is the word rapture comes from the Latin because people today are running around saying, you know, you can't believe the rapture because the word rapture is not found in the Bible.\u00a0 In fact, somebody wrote that on my YouTube channel recently and I felt like writing on there.\u00a0 I had to restrain myself, but my carnality really comes out on social media.\u00a0 But what I wanted to say to the guy is, I mean, have you not listened to any teaching we've ever done here?\u00a0 Because we have gone through this over and over again and you're really a Johnny-come-lately saying something like that, and you masquerade as some great intellect.\u00a0 I did not say that.\r\n\r\nSo where does this rapture idea come from or the word?\u00a0 It comes from the Greek word \"harpazo,\" which means to be seized or caught up by force.\u00a0 Notice \"caught up,\" not \"coming down.\" \u00a0Because people try to merge this event with the second advent at the end of the tribulation period.\u00a0 Well, at the second advent, we're coming down.\u00a0 This says we're going up.\r\n\r\nA lot of these folks, I think they don't have their ups and downs exactly right.\u00a0 But \"harpazo\" is the Greek word.\u00a0 From that word we get the English word \"harpoon,\" which you spear something and yank it to yourself.\u00a0 And when that word was translated into Latin, into what's called Jerome's Latin Vulgate around the 4th century, that's where you get that Latin word that sounds very similar to our English word \"rapture.\" And when the Latin was translated into English, that's where the word \"rapture\" comes from.\u00a0 I mean, it comes from a Greek to Latin to English idea<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nBut putting the word aside just for a minute, the concept of the rapture is clearly there.\u00a0 It's there in \"harpazo,\" being caught up.\u00a0 But when you use the word \"rapture\" in English, you have to understand that it's coming from a Latin translation.\u00a0 So that's sort of the reputation to people that say the word isn't found anywhere in the Bible.\u00a0 Well, it is in the Latin version.\u00a0 I usually ask them, \"Do you read Latin?\" \"Well, no.\" \"Well, then you're not qualified to talk about it, I guess.\" \u00a0All right, I need some humility here.\r\n

No. 3 \u2013 The Rapture is distinct from the Second Advent<\/h4>\r\nThe third point is that the rapture is distinct from the second advent.\u00a0 Those are two different things.\u00a0 And we went through all of the distinctions that you find between the rapture and the second advent.\u00a0 Those are two different events.\r\n\r\nSo Jesus is coming back, but His coming is divided into two phases<\/strong>.\u00a0 First, He returns to rescue the church before the wrath of God hits planet Earth, and secondarily, He comes back with us<\/strong>, by the way, at the end of the seven-year tribulation period, to rescue Israel from the wrath of the beast and to establish His kingdom upon the Earth<\/strong>.\u00a0 So all of that thus far is actually review.\r\n

No. 4 \u2013 The Rapture is only for the Church-Age Believer<\/h4>\r\nLet's go to number four here.\u00a0 The rapture is only for the church age believer.\u00a0 The church age started in Acts 2, and we're studying that on Wednesday nights, the birth of the church, Acts 2.\u00a0 The earthly mission of the church will end with the translation of the church, which is called the rapture.\u00a0 And the only people that will participate in the rapture are those who have trusted in Christ during that time period<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nOld Testament saints, Noah, Job, Abraham, will not participate in the rapture.\u00a0 Tribulation period martyrs will not participate in the rapture.\u00a0 This is something that's unique only for the church age.\u00a0 Now why do we think that?\u00a0 It has to do with 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the expression in Christ<\/strong>.\r\n\r\n\"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ<\/strong> will rise first.\"\r\n\r\nIf you're an underliner in your Bible, you should underline the prepositional expression in Christ<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nAnd as you track that prepositional expression throughout the Bible, you'll see it's used around 99 times.\u00a0 And it always, it's almost a technical expression, it always, when Paul uses it, is referring to something that's germane to the church.\r\n\r\nIn fact, it's kind of interesting that you can kind of summarize people's theology just in a word or two.\u00a0 Like if I was going to summarize John Calvin's theology, for example, I would pick the word \"sovereignty\" or \"divine sovereignty.\" \u00a0That kind of sums up what he's trying to produce theologically.\u00a0 If I was trying to sum up Jacob Arminius' theology, I might pick the words \"free will\" because it seems like that's his general thrust.\u00a0 And almost with every theologian, you can sort of look at them and see what they're about and summarize what they're saying just in a word or two.\r\n\r\nThat expression \"in Christ<\/strong>\" is how you summarize Paul.\u00a0 In Christ is Paul's theology.\u00a0 Our victory over sin as Christians is related to the fact that we are in Christ.\u00a0 Romans chapter 6.\u00a0 We've been baptized or identified into the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And our participation in the rapture, similarly, is related to the fact that we are in Christ.\u00a0 So the only thing that has to be done to participate in the rapture is to be a born-again believer during the church age<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nIf that's true, then you will participate in the rapture.\u00a0 If you die before the rapture, you're in that group coming down.\u00a0 If you don't die before the rapture, and I can't promise it's going to happen today, but if it were to happen today, then we're in that group caught up.\u00a0 But it's only for that group that's been in existence for the last two thousand years called the age of the church<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nWhich helps us understand that you don't have to, and I want to say this carefully because if I don't say it carefully people will misunderstand.\u00a0 There's a belief out there that's called partial rapture.\u00a0 And basically what the belief is, is you better be living right when Jesus comes.\u00a0 Because if you're not living right when Jesus comes as a Christian, you're not going in the rapture.\u00a0 And all the people that teach that by the way always assume that they are living right.\u00a0 And they're going to be taken.\u00a0 This teaching is for everybody else.\r\n\r\nAnd we would reject that teaching because the rapture is part of God's grace package to the believer<\/strong>.\u00a0 We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, Ephesians 1:3.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because of that prepositional phrase \"in Christ.\"\r\n\r\nAnd so if you are, and we are \"in Christ\" when the rapture happens, we're going whether we're ready for it or not.\r\n\r\nBecause there's people today saying, \"Well, you have to be a Zionist to participate in the rapture.\" \u00a0And they're confusing a birth truth with a growth truth.\u00a0 I think being a Zionist and a lover for Israel is important, but that's something that you begin to understand after you're born.\u00a0 And whether you understand it or not, your participation in the rapture has nothing to do with that issue.\r\n\r\nIt has to do with the fact that you're born again, and you've been identified with Christ's body, the church.\r\n

First Resurrection \u2013 Revelation 20:4-6<\/h4>\r\nSo therefore, the rapture is not to be confused with something that John calls the first resurrection that is described in Revelation 20:4-6.\u00a0 Because what people do is they take this, and they try to merge it with the first resurrection after the tribulation period and the beginning of the millennial kingdom.\r\n\r\nSo John in Revelation 20:4-6, says, \"Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life [that's a resurrection] and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This [in other words, the resurrection at the beginning is the millennial kingdom] is first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.\"\r\n\r\nSo essentially what people try to do is they try to say, \"Well, the rapture is that resurrection that we just saw at the beginning of the millennial kingdom for all of the righteous.\"\r\n\r\nAnd we do not believe that that is true.\u00a0 We believe that by the time the resurrection of the righteous takes place at the beginning of the millennial kingdom, the church will have already been raptured to heaven and has now returned with Christ and is ruling and reigning with Christ.\r\n

Why does John call this resurrection here in Revelation 20 the first resurrection?<\/h4>\r\nSo then if that's true, then why does John call this resurrection here in Revelation 20 the first resurrection?\r\n\r\nPeople see that expression first resurrection and they think that's a license to incorporate rapture truth into this passage.\u00a0 Well this first of all cannot be the very first resurrection.\u00a0 Because if Revelation 20:4-6 is the first resurrection, then not even Jesus has risen from the dead yet, right?\u00a0 Because this is the first one, and that's heresy.\u00a0 Because Paul is very clear that if Christ has not been raised, then our faith is in vain (1 Cor 15:14).\r\n\r\nIn fact we're coming up on resurrection Sunday in a few weeks where we're going to be commemorating the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 So when it says here the first resurrection, it's not saying the first one ever.\u00a0 It's saying it's the first in a sequence<\/strong>.\u00a0 This one happens first and then a thousand years pass and the resurrection of the damned at the end of the thousand years happens second<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nIt's just saying first or second in chronology that's being described for the millennium<\/strong>.\u00a0 It's not saying the first one ever.\u00a0 It's like my wife, she says, \"Okay, here's your honey-do list.\" Is that what it's called?\u00a0 Something like that.\u00a0 You can tell I have a lot of experience with that.\r\n\r\nFirst, I want you to take the trash out, and last, I want you to do the laundry.\u00a0 So when I do the laundry, I don't say, \"Ah, what a relief.\u00a0 This is the last time I'll ever have to do the laundry ever.\u00a0 What a relief.\"\r\n\r\nAnd when she says, \"First, take the trash out,\" I don't say, \"This is the first time ever in our marriage I've ever had to take the trash out.\u00a0 Why are you making me take the trash out?\u00a0 I've never had to do that before.\" Now in my marriage it might work that way, but not in your marriage, right?\r\n\r\nBecause first and last is not first ever and last ever.\u00a0 It's first and last relative to the two resurrections in the millennium.\u00a0 And this is where people get confused, is they think first resurrection is the first resurrection ever and therefore they want to take the rapture concept and push it into what John calls the first resurrection.\r\n\r\nBy the way, this resurrection here is a resurrection for the dead only<\/strong>.\u00a0 Did you notice that?\u00a0 Revelation 20:4, \"... I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead ....\"\r\n\r\nIn other words, it says this resurrection is for the souls of those who have been beheaded.\u00a0 This is a resurrection for dead people only.\u00a0 What does Paul say about the rapture?\u00a0 The dead in Christ participate.\u00a0 In fact, the rapture begins with the dead in Christ, but is the rapture only for dead people?\u00a0 No, because Paul just got finished saying, \"Then we who are alive and remain\" (1 Thess 4:17).\u00a0 See the word alive there?\u00a0 We'll be caught up.\r\n\r\nSo the rapture is for the dead in Christ and the living Christians at the time<\/strong>.\u00a0 The first resurrection in Revelation 20:4-6 is only for the dead, the martyrs of the tribulation period.\u00a0 And I would also throw into that on the basis of the book of Daniel 12:2[1]<\/a>, I would also throw into that Old Testament saints and tribulation martyrs.\u00a0 So that is only for dead people.\u00a0 The rapture can't be that because the rapture is an event for the dead in Christ and those who are alive on the earth at the time.\r\n\r\nSo don't confuse rapture truth with what's happening at the beginning of the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 Those are completely two distinct separate events.\u00a0 The rapture will end the age of the church before the tribulation starts.\u00a0 The first resurrection is for Old Testament saints and tribulation saints who are not part of the church age at the beginning of the millennial kingdom.\r\n\r\nSo here's what the whole package looks like if you're interested in this.\u00a0 We know that there are two great resurrections.\u00a0 A resurrection for the just and a resurrection for the damned.\u00a0 We know that from Daniel 12:2.\r\n\r\nAnd so Paul writes this in the resurrection chapter.\u00a0 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, you should underline first fruits, \"But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ\u2019s at His coming,\"\r\n\r\nSo notice that Paul analogizes the resurrection of the righteous to first fruits.\u00a0 And every Hebrew would recognize that because the Jewish harvest cycle did not happen in one way, it happened in three.\u00a0 So what Paul is doing is he's saying, \"Yes, there is a resurrection for the just, and there is a resurrection for the unjust.\"\r\n\r\nBut the resurrection for the just or the believer happens in three phases, just like Israel's harvest cycle happened in three phases.\u00a0 So how did the Jews collect their harvest?\u00a0 Well, the first harvest is called first fruits<\/strong>.\u00a0 You'll see a reference to that in Exodus 23:16, which says, \"\u201cAlso you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors ...\".\r\n\r\nIn other words, they were to go and collect the initial harvest called first fruits, which was a joyous time because if you saw first fruits, it would sort of guarantee the rest of the harvests.\r\n\r\nThe second harvest within the nation of Israel is what's called the general harvest<\/strong>.\u00a0 You'll see a reference to that in Leviticus 23:10-12, which says in part, \"... 'When you enter the land that I'm going to give you and reap its harvest ...\".\u00a0 So then would come the general harvest.\r\n\r\nAnd then God was very clear that you should not harvest everything.\u00a0 You should leave some of the crop unharvested for the benefit of the sojourner and the benefit of the poor.\u00a0 So God always looked out for the poor.\u00a0 But He didn't give the poor a handout.\u00a0 He gave them a hand up and gave them the dignity of working alongside everyone else.\u00a0 They had to participate in the harvest as well.\u00a0 But the Hebrews were specifically told to leave some for the poor.\r\n\r\nAnd that third harvest is called the gleanings<\/strong>.\u00a0 And you'll see a reference to that in Leviticus 19:9-10.\u00a0 It says there in part.\u00a0 \"\u2018Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. ... you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.\"\r\n\r\nNow this is very significant because if you know your Bible well, you know that Ruth met Boaz at which of these three harvests?\u00a0 The gleanings.\u00a0 And that connection between Ruth and Boaz is very significant because Ruth 4 and Matthew 1 tell us that's what God used to continue the Messianic lineage leading to Jesus Christ.\u00a0 But that whole story of the Book of Ruth revolves around the gleanings.\r\n

God's resurrection program for the saved will take place in three phases<\/h4>\r\nSo what's the point?\u00a0 The point is when Paul describes the resurrection program for the just, he uses a phrase that all Hebrews would know.\u00a0 First fruits, and in so doing, he is saying just as the Jewish harvest happened in three cycles or three waves, God's resurrection program for the saved will take place in three phases.\r\n

Phase one, or first fruits, is Jesus' resurrection<\/h4>\r\nPhase one, or first fruits, is Jesus' resurrection. \u00a0What is Jesus' resurrection all about?\u00a0 A lot of people just look at the resurrection of Jesus as it proves He's God, which is true, but that's only part of the meaning.\u00a0 The complete meaning is because He rose, who else is going to rise?\u00a0 I will, and so will you.\u00a0 So I can live with hope and certainty and expectation in a fallen world, in a body that's falling apart.\u00a0 And I know I'm going to get my new body one day because Jesus rose first and just as first fruits guarantees the other harvests, His resurrection guarantees our resurrection.\r\n\r\nThe world system does not have this hope.\u00a0 It's all about propping up what we currently have and trying to make it look fitter and trying to make it look better which is a losing proposition, amen, because we're all going right back into the dirt from which we came.\u00a0 It's called original sin which affected our bodies and if you don't believe me as I like to say just look at your high school yearbook picture and compare it to your modern-day driver's license.\u00a0 So first is Christ's resurrection.\r\n

The second phase is the general harvest which is the rapture<\/h4>\r\nThe second phase is the general harvest and what's the general harvest?\u00a0 The general harvest is the rapture. \u00a0That's when we get our resurrected bodies.\u00a0 The deceased loved ones in Christ seem to get their resurrected bodies first and they start to descend, and we who are alive on the earth at the time are immediately transformed from mortality to immortality in a moment in the twinkling of an eye and the two groups meet each other in the air.\u00a0 And so we shall always be with the Lord.\r\n

The third phase is called the gleanings which is OT saints and tribulation martyrs<\/h4>\r\nAnd then there was a third phase to Israel's harvest cycle called the gleanings.\u00a0 The gleanings is the, that's what John is dealing with in Revelation 20:4-5.\u00a0 That's the resurrection of Old Testament saints, Daniel 12:2, and tribulation martyrs at the beginning of the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 All of those folks that are resurrected are not part of the church.\u00a0 They believed in a coming Messiah before the church age started, and a lot of them believed in Jesus in the tribulation period after the church age has ended.\u00a0 So that's for non-church age believers<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nAnd then a thousand years pass. <\/strong>\u00a0It's a long time.\u00a0 And we have the millennial reign of Christ.\u00a0 And as a resurrected saint, you're part of that.\u00a0 You're administering justice upon the earth under the delegated authority of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 And everything that's happening in your life right now is preparing you for that role.\u00a0 That's why it's important to submit to the processes of the Lord now.\u00a0 Because He's molding your character in such a way that you'll be that person to administer justice alongside His delegated authority in the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 Right now is training time for reigning time, as some have called it.\r\n\r\nSo there we are governing the mortals of the earth in a thousand years pass.\u00a0 And the millennial kingdom at that point is over.\r\n

Then there is a horrific resurrection for the unsaved which are transported from Hades to the Lake of Fire<\/h4>\r\nAnd then there is a horrific resurrection.\u00a0 We finished the resurrection for the saved, which has three parts.\u00a0 Now we have the resurrection for the unsaved.\u00a0 You know, people ask me, are we going to be there to see this?\u00a0 I don't know.\u00a0 I hope not.\u00a0 I don't want to see this because it's horrific.\u00a0 What's described, but it's describing all of these people of all ages that are brought out of Hades.\u00a0 And as one by one, they're all put in resurrected bodies and they stand before the Lord at what's called the Great White Throne Judgment, Revelation 20:11-15.\u00a0 And it's shown to them that their name is not in the book of life, meaning they never trusted Christ.\u00a0 And as their name is not found written in the book, they're judged by the books, it says.\r\n\r\nAnd what's in the books?\u00a0 I would think that the books is a record of sins.\u00a0 Because people in hell will be given different degrees of retribution based on the evil that they committed upon the earth.\u00a0 I wouldn't expect Adolf Hitler to be punished the exact same way as just an average atheist in our time period.\u00a0 Both are going into torment, but it's more torment for some than others.\u00a0 I think that's what's in the books.\r\n\r\nAnd so they're brought out of Hades, their name is not in the book, they're judged by what's in the book, and they're transported at that point from Hades into the Lake of Fire where the devil now has been thrown.\u00a0 Revelation 20:10.\r\n\r\nThe Antichrist and the false prophet have already been thrown in at the end of the tribulation period, and that's the resurrection of the damned.\r\n\r\nAnd so that's what the whole picture looks like when you understand that the resurrection of the saved has these three components to it.\u00a0 And I'm seeing a lot of this from this expression \"first fruits.\"\r\n\r\nNow presumably a lot of Paul's audience would not understand Hebrew typology and Hebrew harvest cycle.\u00a0 So in that same group of verses he uses a different analogy.\u00a0 It's there in 1 Cor 15:23:\u00a0 \"But each in his own order [Greek word \"tagma\"[2]<\/a>]:\u00a0 Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ\u2019s at His coming,\".\u00a0 So first fruits is an analogy the Hebrews could understand.\r\n\r\nTagma, or each in his own order, is an analogy that the Gentiles could understand.\u00a0 Because a lot of commentators believe that Paul there, by using that word order, \"tagma,\" is referring to a Roman parade that everybody of that day understood because he's writing to people in Greco-Roman times.\r\n

Order or Tagma (1 Cor 15:23)<\/h4>\r\nAnd when the Romans conquered somebody, they had a victory parade.\u00a0 And the parade had four parts to it.\u00a0 First of all, in the front of the parade is the conquering general<\/strong> out front.\u00a0 Secondarily in the parade is the lead officer<\/strong>.\u00a0 Third in the parade is all of the soldiers<\/strong>.\u00a0 And then fourth in the parade is all of the captives of war<\/strong>.\u00a0 They typically came at the end of the parade.\u00a0 They were in cages, or they were chained.\u00a0 And so you could see these four phases of a parade and you would know exactly what in order means if you lived in Greco-Roman times.\r\n\r\nSo I believe Paul is not just using the example of first fruits to describe the different phases in God's resurrection program.\u00a0 He's using the example of a parade.\u00a0 So the conquering general out front would be Jesus<\/strong>.\u00a0 He rose first so the rest of us will rise.\r\n\r\nThe lead officer<\/strong> in the parade would be the rapture of the church<\/strong>.\u00a0 That would be the resurrection for all church-age believers over the last 2,000 years.\r\n\r\nThen come the soldiers<\/strong> in the parade.\u00a0 That's the so-called first resurrection that John is speaking of.\u00a0 And Daniel 12:2 predicted that's the resurrection of non-church-age saints.\u00a0 That would be Old Testament saints and tribulation martyrs<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nAnd then 1,000 years pass.\r\n\r\nAnd then you have the resurrection of all unsaved people at the end of the 1,000 years standing before the Lord at the Great White Throne Judgment [captives]<\/strong>.\u00a0 And as their names are not found written in the Lamb's Book of Life, they're thrown into the lake of fire forever.\r\n\r\nAnd I think all of this should have a great motivation in terms of evangelism.\u00a0 Because everybody's going to be resurrected somewhere.\u00a0 We want people to believe in Jesus, so they'll be resurrected at the rapture.\u00a0 So they won't have to face what's called the captives there at the end.\r\n\r\nAnd if you take this doctrine of the captives and you pretend it's not there, what it destroys is the incentive for evangelism.\u00a0 Why become a missionary?\u00a0 Why translate the Bible into a foreign dialect?\u00a0 Because people need to make a choice.\u00a0 And they need to make a choice concerning Jesus because they're going to be resurrected somewhere in this chain.\u00a0 And we don't want people to have to face the prospect of the great white throne judgment<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nSo that is what the whole picture looks like.\r\n\r\nSo the rapture is the general harvest, not the gleanings.\u00a0 The rapture is the lead officer in the parade and not the soldiers, and we think that because Paul uses this expression \"in Christ\".\r\n\r\nNow a big issue then becomes, all right, you've explained the different resurrections.\r\n

Where do church-age believers go before they're resurrected?<\/h4>\r\nWhere do people go before they're resurrected?\u00a0 And that's a doctrine or an area of theology that we call the intermediate state<\/strong>.\u00a0 So let's talk about that just for a second.\u00a0 Where do church-age believers go when they die before the rapture?\r\n\r\nWell Paul the Apostle writes in 2 Corinthians 5:8, \"we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.\"\r\n\r\nSo if a Christian over the last 2,000 years dies before the rapture, what happens?\u00a0 A lot of people say they go into some kind of soul sleep.\u00a0 That's not what the Bible says at all.\u00a0 The body and the soul separate.\r\n\r\nThe soul or the psyche, which is designed to live forever, goes right into the presence of Jesus<\/strong>.\u00a0 Absent from the body, it's to be at home with the Lord.\u00a0 So where do you go?\u00a0 You go to a place where you're at home.\u00a0 You're with Jesus awaiting your resurrection body, which is going to be given at the point of the rapture.\r\n\r\nSo that's an intermediate state verse.\u00a0 Another one is the book of Philippians 1:21-23 where Paul describes the intermediate state.\u00a0 He says, \"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;\"\r\n\r\nIn other words, Paul says there at the end of his life, if I had my choice, I'd rather just die, because when I die, my soul goes into the presence of Jesus, for that is very much better. But apparently God wants me alive for the time being to fill out mystery doctrine for the church in what's called the book of Philippians and subsequent books that Paul would write.\u00a0 And so God has me here for fruitful labor.\u00a0 Either way I win, Paul says, for me to live is Christ, to die is gain.\u00a0 If I'm here, God's going to use me to expand the purposes of the church.\u00a0 If I die, I go into the presence of the Lord, for that is very much better.\r\n\r\nSo what do you tell people who are grieving their lost loved ones in Christ?\u00a0 And they want to know where they went.\u00a0 They're in a place that is very much better.\u00a0 Because they're with Christ, awaiting their resurrected body.\r\n

Where do Old Testament believers and tribulation martyrs go before they're resurrected?<\/h4>\r\nNow what about for the Old Testament believer?\u00a0 Where do they go exactly?\u00a0 What about for the tribulation martyr?\u00a0 Where do they go?\u00a0 What's their intermediate state?\u00a0 The best understanding I have on it is from Luke 16:19-31.\u00a0 Which I do not think is a parable.\u00a0 Many people will tell you, nothing to see here folks, move right along.\u00a0 It can't be that bad after the grave.\u00a0 This is just a parable.\r\n\r\nRemember the rich man that died along with Lazarus.\u00a0 The rich man went into a place of torment.\u00a0 Lazarus into Abraham's bosom.\u00a0 I don't think it's a parable because of Luke 16:20 which mentions the personal name Lazarus.\u00a0 Luke 16:20 which mentions the personal name Abraham.\u00a0 And Luke 16:29 which mentions the personal name Moses.\u00a0 It doesn't just say Moses, it says Moses and the prophets.\r\n\r\nIf that is a parable, then Jesus is doing something there that He doesn't do in any other parable where He uses personal names.\u00a0 So I believe that this is an absolute reality that Jesus was talking about.\u00a0 He talks about two people that die, one in faith, one in unbelief.\u00a0 The unbelief goes to a place of conscience torment called Hades.\u00a0 And the one who is a believer, in this case Lazarus, goes into the presence of a place not of torment, but a place called Abraham's bosom.\r\n\r\nAbraham's bosom I think is another name for paradise<\/strong>.\u00a0 Because remember what Jesus said to the thief on the cross, the penitent thief who was about to die.\u00a0 Luke 23:43, \"And He said to him, \u201cTruly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.\u201d\" So I think all non-church age believers go to this place called Abraham's bosom or paradise<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nNow what's interesting about paradise is Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:4 was caught into the third heaven.\u00a0 Remember that?\u00a0 My understanding is the first heaven<\/strong> is the distance between the ground and the clouds.\u00a0 The second heaven<\/strong> is the distance between the clouds and the stars.\u00a0 This is how the Greeks divided up the stratosphere.\u00a0 I think that's what Paul may be referring to.\u00a0 And then the third heaven<\/strong> is beyond the stars, where God lives.\u00a0 So Paul describes this experience and he's using this to demonstrate that he really is a true apostle, where he was actually caught up to the third heaven.\u00a0 He was caught up to where God is.\u00a0 And in the process, he says this in 2 Corinthians 12:4 I \"was caught up into Paradise ....\"\r\n\r\nSo I think some way, somehow in between the resurrection, or the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is Jesus went to Abraham's bosom, or paradise, and took that whole compartment into the presence of the Lord.\u00a0 And those people there are awaiting their resurrected bodies, not at the rapture, but the beginning of the millennial kingdom.\r\n\r\nSo related to the intermediate state, we've kind of answered where the church-age believer goes.\u00a0 We've tried to answer where the Old Testament saint and tribulation martyr goes.\r\n

Where does the unbeliever go when they die?<\/h4>\r\nOkay, well where does the unbeliever go when they die?\r\n\r\nWell again I'm leaning on Luke 16, 19-23 for an explanation, and it says there in Luke 16:23, they go to a place called Hades, which is a place of conscience torment.\u00a0 And they're in that place of conscience torment, I mean you can read all about it in Luke 16:19-31, it's obviously not a nice place.\u00a0 The rich man said have Lazarus come over, or you come over, and give me relief in this agony, or at least go warn my brothers who are unbelievers as well, so they don't end up here.\r\n\r\nAnd you can see that once people go into this place, there's no way out.\u00a0 And so that's where they are, in a place of conscious torment, and they're waiting for something.\u00a0 They're waiting for their resurrected body as well.\u00a0 When does that happen?\r\n\r\nWell, look at Revelation 20:13-14.\u00a0 At that final judgment, this is after the millennial kingdom is over, it says, \"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.\"\r\n\r\nSo essentially what happens to unbelievers is they go to this place called Hades, conscious torment, awaiting their resurrected bodies which they will receive at the end of the millennial kingdom.\r\n\r\nThat's the second resurrection that John is talking about, and they stand before the Lord with resurrected bodies.\u00a0 It's an amazing concept to understand that everyone gets resurrected.\u00a0 And as their name is not found written in the book of life, they're not believers, and as they're judged by the books, determining the degree of torment they will experience in the lake of fire, they are transported from Hades into the lake of fire<\/strong> where Satan already is at that point.\u00a0 He's not there now, but he will be then.\u00a0 The beast is there, and the antichrist is there, and they spend all eternity in the lake of fire<\/strong>.\u00a0 Wow.\r\n\r\nYou can see why I really don't want to be present when this is happening.\u00a0 It's so horrific.\u00a0 And then it says in Revelation 20:14, \"Then death and Hades ...\" where all of these people were in torment until they received their resurrected bodies, \"Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.\" And that's the end.\r\n\r\nSo if all of that is true, maybe that's why we support missionaries here at Sugar Land Bible Church.\u00a0 And maybe that's why the Lord says all of us are missionaries.\u00a0 Because this is a reality where we're given a few details.\u00a0 You know, I think it was one man who put it this way, \"It's not the things in the Bible that I don't understand that bother me.\u00a0 It's the things I do understand.\"\r\n\r\nGod has given us enough of a glimpse of this to create an impetus for evangelism.\u00a0 All of us are missionaries.\u00a0 All of us have opportunities to share the faith.\u00a0 All of us should approach the task with a sense of urgency because hell is real, and eternity is long.\u00a0 And so with all of that being said, I wanted to just communicate today that the rapture is only for the church age believer.\r\n\r\nI guess I could have just said that and moved on, but I wanted to give you some basis for that.\u00a0 And then when we hit number five next week, we'll get into this debate about when does the rapture happen relative to the seven years.\r\n\r\nI mean, is it really true that the church is going to be taken to heaven before the seven-year tribulation period exists?\u00a0 Is that just an American doctrine?\u00a0 I mean, do we believe that because we want it to be true or is this actually what the Bible teaches?\u00a0 And so we'll see that next time.\r\n\r\nLet's pray.\u00a0 Father, we're thankful for our completed canon of Your Word that allows us to put together all of the data.\u00a0 Help this not to just be a Bible study where we expand our theology, but we want this to expand the way we live.\u00a0 Give us a sense of urgency this week as we interact with the lost.\u00a0 We'll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus' name and God's people said amen.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[1]<\/a> \u201c\u201cMany of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.\u201d (Daniel 12:2) (New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.)\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[2]<\/a> 5413<\/strong> \u03c4\u03ac\u03b3\u03bc\u03b1 (tagma<\/em>), \u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 (atos<\/em>), \u03c4\u03cc (to<\/em>): n.neu.; \u2261 Str 5001; TDNT 8.31\u2014LN 62.7 order<\/strong>, in an order of succession, i.e.<\/em>, in turn (1Co 15:23+) \u03a4\u03b1\u03b4\u03b4\u03b1\u1fd6\u03bf\u03bd (Taddaion<\/em>), \u03bf\u03c5 (ou<\/em>), \u1f41 (ho<\/em>): n.pr.masc. [see 2497]\u2014LN 93.356 Taddaeus<\/strong> (Mk 3:18 v.r.) (Swanson, James. 1997. In Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament)<\/em>, electronic ed. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t