The Rapture Didn't Happen -- And Here's Why
The Rapture Didn't Happen -- And Here's Why
A few weeks ago a Korean "Pastor" excited the world by his announcement
that the "Rapture" would occur at a specific date. He claimed to have
received some "inside information" as to the specific date. The News
media ran the story showing the faithful members of this "Pastor's"
flock waiting for the Rapture. But it didn't happen. One of the
parishioners responded to a reporter's question by simply saying, "It
didn't happen." Well, by now we all know that it didn't happen. I
thought it might be of interest to those of you who listen to know why
it didn't happen. So this lessons today is called, "The Rapture Didn't
Happen -- and Here's Why?" Please stay tuned.
The West End church of Christ presents this program each Sunday with
only one purpose in mind. We want you to know something about the
greatest book of all time, the Bible. We also want you to become
acquainted with us. We urge you to study the things we present in the
light of what you can understand in plain language from the Bible. If
you find us teaching anything contrary to Scripture, we will count you a
dear friend if you will call that to our attention.
We also invite you to visit our meetings today. At nine this morning we
have Bible classes for all ages. At ten, we meet for congregational
worship and again this evening at 6 p.m. we assemble to worship. We
won't embarrass anyone, or badger you for contributions, or anything
else. We just want you to visit and see what the church of Christ is
really like. Wednesday evenings we meet at 7 p.m. for Bible study also.
Our meeting house is located at the corner of Parkside Drive and Old
Morgantown Road, just across from Lampkin Park and A&W Root Beer.
The doctrine of "The Rapture" is part of a false system of religion that
has been in the business of deceiving people for centuries. "The
Rapture" is a major element in the premillennial and dispensational
machinery. Basically, the Rapture is supposed to be a secret of the
Lord in which He will suddenly cause the saints to disappear from the
earth. They will be taken away mysteriously. All of the sudden a car
become driverless. A popular bumper sticker reads: "Warning, in case of
the Rapture, this vehicle will be driverless."
The so-called Rapture is supposed to be necessary so that the saints of
God will be spared the tribulation and oppression they claim will cover
the earth for a period of seven years. The saints will supposedly be
caught up into bliss and happiness while those who remain on earth will
suffer excruciating misery and pain. Here is how Oral Roberts views it.
"His (Jesus') appearance in the clouds will be veiled to the human eye.
He will slip in, slip out, move in to get His jewels and slip out under
the cover of night." Mr. Roberts wrote this in one of his publications
called "How to be Personally Prepared for the Second Coming," page 34.
Possibly that sounds like the Jesus Oral Roberts believes in, but it
hardly fits the picture of Jesus from what the Bible says. Can you
imagine Jesus having to sneak in, gather His own, and sneak back out!
Such is utterly absurd and ridiculous.
The passage relied on to substantiate the imaginary Rapture is I
Thessalonians 4:15-18. Please read along with me from you Bible. Paul
wrote: "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 by no means precede
those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of
God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." The verb
"caught up" is translated from the Greek verb harpazo, which means, "to
seize (in various applications)-- catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take
(by force)." (Strong's Hebrew Greek Dictionary).
There are several factors that go completely contrary to the strained
view of the so-called rapture. The descent of the Lord is obviously not
done secretly -- for Paul said "The Lord Himself will descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel. There will also
be the trumpet of God. The dead will rise from the grave first, then
those faithful saints who are still living will be "caught up" together
with them in the clouds. How is it possible for Jesus to slip in, get
the saints, and slip out again? That is precisely what Oral Roberts
said Jesus will do. But the Bible says the Lord will come with
considerable publicity -- hardly an effort to sneak in secretly.
The passage shows that those who are "caught up" will be together with
those who have risen from the dead. Even if the "rapture" could be
found in this passage, it would include more than the saints who are
alive at the second coming of Christ. Paul declared that those who are
caught up together "in the clouds" shall always be with the Lord. There
is nothing in the verse to indicate any return to this planet. How is
it possible to harmonize the view that the saints will be "raptured" for
seven years, and "caught up" into the clouds, to always be with the
Lord? The Bible says always -- the millennialists say seven years.
The rapture theory goes contrary to other biblical principles. Consider
this: Where will the Lord take the believers during the seven year
period called "the Rapture?" He cannot take them somewhere in space, or
to another planet. Nor can He take them somewhere here on earth to a
secret hideaway, because Peter tells us that the universe will be
destroyed when the Lord comes. Listen: "But the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a
great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the
earth and the works that are in it will be burned up" (II Peter 3:10).
Next Peter says that this universe will be dissolved. "Therefore, since
all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to
be in holy conduct and godliness" (verse 11). The word for dissolved is
from the Greek verb, luo, meaning "to loosen (lit. or fig.):--break
(up), destroy, dissolve, (un-) loose, melt, put off." Again, notice
that this verse shows that the Lord's return is anything but silent and
secret. If the universe is to be dissolved at the return of Christ,
there is no place to which the saints can be taken. It should be very
clear to those who have no pet doctrine to defend that this refers to
saints, living and dead, being taken to heaven.
Paul used the same verb to relate his trip to Paradise, or "the third
heaven." In II Corinthians 12:2 he wrote, "I know a man in Christ who
fourteen years ago; whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of
the body I do not know, God knows; such a one was caught up to the third
heaven." Notice that he was "caught up to the third heaven." The Bible
expression "third heaven" refers to where God, the good angels, and the
redeemed of all ages will live forever. So, the Rapture theory fails
miserably.
But why is it that there was no rapture a few days ago? The fundamental
reason is that those who set dates for the return of Christ are false
prophets. Time has repeatedly proven them to be false to the core. In
1844, a man named William Miller convinced thousands of people to sell
their possessions and get ready for the return of Christ. They were
left penniless and disappointed. The Jehovah's Witnesses continue to
set the date for the return of Christ beginning with 1914, then 1925,
then 1975, then 1979 and who knows what their next speculation will be.
Edgar Whisenant set September 1988 as the time for the return of Christ.
Right here in our own city there were signs that read, "Christ will
return September 13 or 14." Time proved Whisenant and those he
convinced to be false.
The basic reason why men will always be shown false when they set the
date for the return of Christ is based on a very simple passage of
scripture. Read it with me. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My
words will by no means pass away. But of that day and hour no one
knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only" (Matthew
24:35-36). Here is one thing God Almighty has reserved to Himself. No
man has any right to pry into God's mind and into God's secrets. Every
time anyone makes an effort to set a date for Christ to return, mark my
word today, he or she will be shown to be false.
Another fallacious idea associated with the Rapture is called "the
Tribulation." It is supposed to follow this sudden and secret
disappearance of the saints. The premillennialists tell us that we will
be able to discern just about when this "tribulation" will commence.
They have a time table and a calendar of events. The first thing on
their calendar is the restoration of all the Jewish people on earth back
to Palestine to become a nation. One of the most vocal
premillennialists is Hal Lindsey, author of several books dealing with
the doctrine of last things. In his best-selling book, "The Late Great
Planet Earth," he wrote, "Most prophecies which have not yet been
fulfilled concern events which will develop shortly before the beginning
of or during this seven-year countdown. The general time of this seven-
year period couldn't begin until the Jewish people re-establish their
nation in their ancient homeland of Palestine." (Page 124-125).
You will never read in the Bible anything resembling the notion that the
Jews will ever again be the great nation they were in the Old Testament.
I challenge anyone listening to this program to find a passage that
teaches that the Jews will be forcibly relocated in Palestine to become
the nation they were in the Old Testament. Listen carefully: There is
no promise made to the Jews of today that does not equally apply to
every other race of people on the face of the earth. Can you think of
one promise God has given one nation that does not apply to all nations
of people? Let me answer that for you -- you cannot! It is certain and
sure that every single promise, every word spoken by God, in regard to
the land promised to the Jews has been fulfilled. Notice the inspired
record of Joshua: "The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all
that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies
stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their
hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to
the house of Israel. All came to pass" (Joshua 21:44-45). If "all came
to pass" there is nothing future to come to pass, Hal Lindsey to the
contrary notwithstanding.
Jesus taught His disciples about the kingdom by parables. In Matthew
13:24-30 He taught the parable of the wheat and the tares. He
personally explained the details of the parable. An enemy (the devil)
He said, sowed tares among a man's wheat crop and when this became
apparent the reapers (the angels of God) sought permission to take the
tares out of the wheat. The owner (God) said, "Let both grow together
until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers,
Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but
gather the wheat into My barn."
Jesus said the harvest "is the end of the world" (verse 39). The
reapers were to gather "first the tares." This means the wicked are
gathered first. But the "rapture" theory reverses this and has the
saints taken out of the world first. This parable ruptures the rapture!
If you have a Schofield Bible, notice the comments made on verse 30. It
reads, "At the end of the age, the tares are set apart for burning, but
first the wheat is gathered into the barn." Think that over folks.
Scofield says the saints are first gathered -- the Lord Jesus Christ
said the wicked are gathered first.
The doctrine of the rapture is nothing more than a ruse, a speculation,
a guess, and it is so contrary to plain Bible teaching, it is amazing
that anyone would ever believe it. The saints, at the end of the world,
both living and dead will be caught up to be with the Lord for ever and
ever -- never to return to this planet. That is very plain and clear.
May God help each one of us to be ready for that grand event.
If you have a question about this study today, please let us hear from
you. Remember, we offer a free paper to those who ask for it. To get
it write West End Church of Christ, 1609 Parkside Drive, Bowling Green,
KY 42101 or call 842-7880. Thank you very much for being with us this
Sunday -- hope to have you in the same radio audience next week. Till
then, good bye and God bless you.
Radio Sermon No 119 Page 1
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