(Part 1 of 2)
“For the grace of God that
brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the
present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our
great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might
redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special
people, zealous for good works.”-Titus 2:11-14
As we continue our study on the
last days and the second coming of Christ, it is hard not to watch the news and
wonder just how close are we to His return. As followers of Christ we must be
ever watchful of all these things, but we must also remind ourselves of some
precious promises that God made to those who have placed their faith in Christ:
In Titus 2:13, Paul encourages
believers to live sober, righteous, and godly in this present age as we look
forward to the blessed hope and His glorious appearing. It is my contention,
for this study, that these two things (the blessed hope and His glorious
appearing) are two separate events. The blessed hope referring to the catching
away of the church and the glorious appearing to His second coming.
Today we want to focus on the
Blessed Hope. In John 14:1-3 Jesus comforted His disciples with these words:
“Let not
your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions;[a] if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again
and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
Prior to
Jesus, the concept of the rapture was a mystery. We see types and shadows of it
in the Old Testament, but it is the Apostle Paul that begins to shed some light
on this prophetic event. Two passages in particular give us some amazing
insight into it:
“Behold, I
tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will
sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality.”-1 Corinthians 15:51-53
“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.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.”-1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
The phrase
“caught up”, used here by the Apostle Paul, is derived from the greek word
Harpazo from which we glean our understanding and use of the word rapture.
Something very
interesting about these passages is their mutual use of trumpets. The use of
trumpets is significant when you consider the feasts of Israel. Their are seven
primary feasts of Israel that God instructed Israel to keep; four spring feasts
and three fall feasts. Through His death, burial and resurrection; Jesus
fulfilled all four of the spring feasts: Passover-His death, Unleavened
Bread-His burial, Firstfruits-His Resurrection, and Pentecost-Sending of the
Holy Spirit. The next group of feasts include the Feast of Trumpets, Day of
Atonement, and Tabernacles. Each of these correlate with prophetic events yet
to be fulfilled: Trumpets-the catching away, Atonement-Armegeddon/Christ’s
second coming, and Tabernacles-The millenial reign of Christ.
Because of the
accuracy in which Jesus fulfilled the spring feasts, we can be confident that
He will fulfill the fall feasts as well. The Feast of Trumpets is interesting
because it is the only feast given two days to celebrate. That is because it is
the only feast in which the arrival is dependent upon the confirmed sighting of
the new moon before it can officially begin. So it is said that no man knows
the day or the hour of its beginning!
Pastor Scott
Burr
Dayspring
Community Church
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