REASONS FOR THE RAPTURE
Commentary by Jon Courson
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A Topical Study of
1 Thessalonians 4:15–17
On July 20, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong left the Apollo Lunar Command Module and became the first human to set foot on the moon. Perhaps you recall his classic line, “One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.”
Let me tell you something, gang. The leap Armstrong referred to cannot hold a candle to the leap you’ll be taking when the Lord comes in the clouds to rapture His church.
“Wait a minute,” you say. “I have a problem with this because I don’t see the word ‘rapture’ in the Bible.”
That’s because you’re using the wrong Bible! You see, the New Testament was written in Greek. The phrase in verse 17, translated “caught up,” is the Greek word harpazo, which means “to be grabbed by the collar and taken up with force.” When the New Testament was translated into Latin, translators used the word raptus for harpazo—from which we get our word “rapture.”
What is the purpose of the Rapture? I suggest there are four.
To Take up God’s Children
Before World War II, Japan and Germany called their ambassadors away from America and back to their respective home countries. So, too, before the Lord declares war on the sin of our planet, He will take us—His ambassadors—home (2 Corinthians 5:20).
You can’t pick up a newspaper or turn on TV without agreeing that the world is in a terrible state and needs to be judged. Before God judges our Christ-rejecting, sinful world, He will take His kids home to heaven.
If my house was infected with termites and I had to fumigate, even if my kids were being a bit rebellious or difficult, I would still make sure they were out of the house before the tent went up and the gas was pumped in.
If earthly parents are concerned about our children’s safety, how much more is our heavenly Father concerned about the safety of His children?
To Shake up the Heathen
Not only will the Rapture ensure our safety, it will also bring about salvation. On the day of Pentecost, Peter spoke of the day when the sun shall be darkened, the moon shall turn to blood, and whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Acts 2:17–21).
There are family members who have listened to you share Jesus, but don’t believe in Him. There are friends who have heard your testimony and say, “That’s all well and good—for you.” There are co-workers with whom you’ve shared the plan of salvation who seem only to turn a deaf ear. The day is coming when we will be suddenly taken up and all your words will make perfect sense.
“Well, if that’s the case,” you say, “I’ll just wait until you guys disappear. Then I’ll know what you said is true, and I’ll receive Jesus as my Savior.”
If you cannot receive Jesus Christ in this day of grace, what makes you think you will be able to stand for Him in that time of intense persecution? Those who acknowledge Jesus as Lord in the Tribulation will be saved—but they’ll lose their heads in the process (Revelation 20:4).
Lifesaving technique dictates that if a drowning person fights against him, a lifeguard must knock him out in order to save him. So, too, the Tribulation is God’s knockout punch to the heathen in order to save them.
To Wake up a Nation
In referring to the Tribulation as “Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7), Jeremiah makes it clear that it has a specific purpose for the nation of Israel. Israel will at last recognize her Messiah during the Tribulation.
When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. Deuteronomy 4:30, 31
How will this come about? Two witnesses will preach in the streets of Jerusalem, which some commentators believe could be Elijah and Moses (Revelation 11). One hundred forty-four thousand Jewish Billy Grahams will preach throughout the world (Revelation 7). Angels will preach in the skies (Revelation 7).
When Jesus returns with ten thousand of His saints, all of Israel will lift up their eyes and say, “Where did You get those wounds?”
“In the house of My friends,” He will answer (Zechariah 13:6).
Then the entire nation of Israel shall be saved (Romans 11). What a glorious day that will be!
To Make up the Millennium
At creation, God covered the earth with a blanket of water that filtered out the ultraviolet rays (Psalm 104:6). That is why Adam, Methuselah, and Enoch lived nine hundred years or more. It was a perfect, wonderful environment. But when the world became so evil in the days of Noah that God had to flood it by breaking the protective water canopy, man’s lifespan dwindled to only seventy to ninety years.
The Tribulation will purge the world of the depravity that permeates our planet to such a degree that even ecology will be restored in the Millennium. That is why the mountains shall break forth into song, and the trees of the field shall clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12); the wolf will lie down with the lamb (Isaiah 11:6); and men will live as long as they did in the days of Genesis (Isaiah 65:20).
As the funeral procession made its way through the streets of Nain, Jesus had compassion on the bereaved mother. “Do not weep,” He told her. Then, although it would have rendered Him ceremonially unclean, Jesus touched the coffin and said to the young man inside, “Arise” (Luke 7:11–15).
Gang, the day is coming when Jesus will say to us, “Arise! Come up here,” (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17). Up we’ll go.
“Oh, but my heart is so hard,” you say. “I’m a believer, but my heart is like stone.”
It couldn’t be harder than the heart of the young man in the coffin—he was dead! That didn’t prevent him from rising and speaking at the sound of Jesus’ voice. If you’re a believer, you will not be left behind. Your heart will be softened; your lips will flow with praise; you will be free.
Jesus is coming, and He will soon call us to be with Him. Comfort one another with these words, gang. Keep talking about His coming. Keep looking for His coming. Whether we’re hard or heavy-hearted, His coming is the ultimate answer for every heart.
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