The Return, Rapture, and Reunion

Northwest Bible Church – July 23, 2023 – 1 Thess. – Alan Conner
1 Thess. 4:13-18 (3)
The Return, Rapture and Reunion

Intro

A. THE RETURN (1 Thess. 4:16).

1. “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven.”
2. A shout. Jn. 5:28
3. The voice of an archangel.
4. Trumpet of God.
a. Background
b. This is the last trump of 1Cor. 15:52 and prob. the same as Re1 Thess. 4:11:15-18.
c. The trumpet sounds and the dead are raised first.
5. This is a visible, loud, public coming of Christ. No secret coming.

B. THE RAPTURE (1 Thess. 4:17).

1. Those who are “alive and remain.”
2. Caught up together with them in the clouds.
a. “caught up” speaks of an irresistible force that will catapult us upward.
b. Our change will be sudden, swift. 1 Cor. 15:51-52
c. “together with them”, that is, with the dead who are raised.
d. Paul does not describe the “change” of the living.
3. Meet the Lord in the clouds and air.

C. THE REUNION (1 Thess. 4:17b).

1. We shall be with the Lord.
2. Always.

D. THE RELIEF (1 Thess. 4:18).

Conclusion and application

1. The antidote to ignorance is truth.
2. Honor God with our bodies. Rom. 6:12-13; Rom. 12:1
3. Encouragement to labor for the kingdom of Christ. 1Cor. 15:58
4. Embolden to witness the gospel of Christ to the lost.
5. BE READY for the coming of the Lord. Mt. 25.

Discussion questions: How should the future coming of Christ impact our lives today? Our sanctification? Our battles with sin? Our work? Family life? Our service to Christ? How can we develop a more consistent attitude of watching and being ready for Christ’s return? What do we learn from these passages regarding the importance of the second coming?: 1 Jn. 3:1-3; 2 Pet. 3:10-14; Titus 2:11-14; Mt. 25;1-13, 31-46; Jn. 14:1-3.