REVELATION l 4:1 l The Rapture l Chuck Smith l Bible Teaching University l School of the Bible

4. The Rapture

REVELATION 4:1

Here we enter  into the third division of the book of Revelation.  Chapter 4 begins with the Greek phrase meta tauta or "after these things."

After  these  things  [the  things  of  the  church]  I  looked,  and, behold,  a  door  was opened in heaven:  and the first voice which I heard was as  it were of a trumpet talking with me; which  said, Come  up hither,  and  I will  show  thee  things which must be hereafter [also meta tauta - 'after these things'] (Revelation 4:1).

We have now come  to the end of the church history upon the earth and the final message to the churches.

In His messages to the last four churches, Jesus spoke of His second coming. He warned  the  churches  of  His  return. 

 "Behold,  I  come  quickly,"  He  said.  

If  they didn't repent they would be cast into the Great Tribulation. If  they kept the word of  His  patience,  Jesus  promised  that  He  would  keep  them  from  the  hour  of temptation.

"After these things" - after the church has  finished her testimony upon the earth and God is through with us - there shall come from heaven, The voice of  the archangel,  and  the  trump  of  God: and  the dead  in Christ  shall rise  first:  then we  which  are alive  and  remain  shall be  caught  up  together  with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord (I Thessalonians 4:16-17).

The church will be transported  into heaven  for a seven-year period during which t ime  there  wi l l   be  Great   Tribulation  upon  the  earth.  (For   an  expanded commentary on the rapture of the church, see Snatched Away! by the author.)

After  the  church's  witness  and work upon  the  earth  is completed,  the  trump  of God shall sound. The trumpet sound will be saying to the Christians, the body of Christ, "Come up hither!"

While  in  summer  camp,  I've  heard  the  trumpet  say  "Rise  and  shine!"  and  I've heard the trumpet  say "Go to bed."

 I've heard the trumpet say "Come and eat!", and at football games I've heard it say "Charge!" 

But I'm waiting  for the trumpet to say "Come up hither!" 

I don't know what kind of a trumpet call it will be - but I'll understand it and recognize it the minute I hear it!

When  the  trump  of  God  shall  sound,  the  dead  will  be  raised  incorruptible.  And "we shall all be changed,  in a moment,  in the twinkling of an eye" (I Corinthians 15:51-52),  "caught  up...  to meet  the  Lord  in  the  air:  and  so  shall  we  ever  be
with the Lord" (I Thessalonians  4:17). 

The Bible does not say that we shall be in heaven forever. It says that we shall be "with the Lord."

Wherever  Jesus  is,  that's  where  everyone  who  is  a  Christian  will  be,  because we're all part of the body of Christ. We'll never be separated from Him. 

While He is in heaven, we'll be in heaven. When He comes back to earth, we'll come back to the earth. When He goes into the new heaven and the new earth, we'll go into the new heaven and the new earth.

The  Jehovah's  Witnesses  say,  "I  don't  want  to  go  to  heaven  and  twiddle  my thumbs  for  eternity." 

 Born-again  Christians  don't  intend  to.  We  intend  to  be
there  for  seven  years  while  the  earth  goes  through  the Tribulation. 

We'll  enjoy the Marriage  Supper  of  the  Lamb  in  heaven.  Then  we  expect  to  come  back  to reign with Christ upon the earth. 

We'll reign with Him as kingdom priests on the earth  for  one  thousand  years,  then  enter  into  the  new  heaven  and  new  earth wherein dwells righteousness, and we'll live and reign with Him forever.

If the Lord told me to sit on a cloud and twiddle my thumbs, I'd be the happiest thumb-twiddler  in  all  the  universe!  

I'm  not afraid  of  what  God  has  in  store  for me. I can hardly wait! I'm sure it'll be more exciting than twiddling my thumbs.

 I feel sorry for those people who degrade heaven. They say, "You're always talking about  the  'sweet  by  and  by'  or  the  'pie  in  the  sky.'  

You  should  be  more concerned with the 'here and now'."

It  was  Jesus  who  encouraged  us  and  gave  us  this  glorious  hope.  I'm  looking forward  to  going  to  heaven.  I don't  care what  they  say,  I'm  anxious  to  see  it.

Jesus said, "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 unto myself;  that where  I am, there  ye may be  also"  (John  14:2-3).  

There's  the  clue. Where  Jesus  is,  that's  where  I'll be, and in His presence is fullness of joy.

It  took  seven  days  for  the  Lord  to  create  this  beautiful  world.  He's  been preparing heaven  for two thousand years. Imagine what  it must be  like by now!

And you don't want to go there? Friend, you can stay here  in all this pollution  if you want to, but I'm going up!

I believe that the rapture of the church takes place in verse one of Revelation 4 - after  the  things  of  the  church  history  are completed.  

John  heard  a  voice  as  a trumpet saying,  "Come up  hither, and  I will  show you  things  that  shall be after these things." 

Now John will see the things that shall take place after the church
is gone.

REVELATION l 3:18-22 l Laodicea l Chuck Smith l Bible Teaching University l School of the Bible

REVELATION 3:18-22

Those of Laodicea had their own opinion of themselves.  The Lord had a different opinion of them. 

"I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that you may
be rich; and white raiment, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness  do  not  appear;  and  anoint  thine  eyes  with  eyesalve,  that  you  may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten" (Revelation 3:18-19).

"My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord... for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,  and  scourgeth every  son whom  he receiveth" (Hebrews  12:5-6).

If you're not chastened then you're a bastard. 

You're really not His son. God only chastens  His  sons.  Don't  get  down  on  God  when  He  chastens  you.  Rejoice!  At
least it proves  you're His son. If He didn't care, He wouldn't even bother. 

This is His first cure for being lukewarm.

The  second  cure  for  lukewarmness:  be  zealous.  

Get  out  of  that  lukewarm  rut.

Get  out  of  that  tepid  state.  Become  zealous  for  the  Lord.  The  final  cure  for lukewarmness  is  to open your heart  to God and  repent.

 "Behold,  I stand  at  the door, and knock:  if any man hear my voice, and open the door,  I will come in to him, and will sup with him [or eat supper with him], and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).

The Lord  is  inviting Himself  into  the closest, deepest, most  intimate  communion and  fellowship with  you  -  eating  together  with  you,  partaking  with  each  other, becoming a part of each other by supping together. 

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne" (Revelation 3:21). 

We'll be ruling with Christ and sitting by Him on His throne even as Jesus has been exalted and is sitting at the right hand of the throne of the Father on high. 

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Revelation 3:22).

REVELATION l Laodicea l 3:14-17 l Chuck Smith l Bible Teaching University l VidDevoChurch

REVELATION 3:14-17

Laodicea

The church of Laodicea is the apostate church of the last days.

Write, "These things saith the Amen,  the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14).

In Revelation,  Jesus  is  referred  to as  the true  and  faithful witness  of God.  "The beginning  of  the  creation  of  God"  the  Greek  does  not  signify  that  Jesus  is  a created being, but  that He  is the original cause of  creation. 

 For "all  things were created by Him, and  for Him: and He  is before  all things,  and by Him all  things consist"  (Colossians  1:16-17).  

"All  things  were made  by  Him;  and without  Him was not  any  thing made  that was made"  (John  1:3).  Jesus  is  the  origination  of the creation powers or the origin of God's creation. 

So He is actually  the creative force, and  that's what Revelation  is  speaking  of here - the  creative  force  of  the creation of God.

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm, and neither  cold nor hot, I will spue you out of my mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).

The  reason  for  the  lukewarm  conditions:  "Because  you  say,  I  am  rich,  and increased with goods, and have need of nothing" (Revelation 3:17). 

Their trust in materialism has  brought  them  to a lukewarm  state.  "You  cannot  serve God and mammon"  (Matthew  6:24).  

Mixing  the  two  wi l l   lead  you  into  becoming lukewarm.

"You know  not  that  you are  wretched,  and miserable,  and  poor,  and blind,  and naked"  (Revelation  3:17). 

 The  contrasting views  one was  their own  view about themselves,  the other was  God's view about  them.  Jesus said  that you do err if you  judge  yourself  by  men  (Luke  18:9-14).  

Many  times  we  look  around  and judge  ourselves  by  man's  standard.  We  might  think  we're  all  right.  But  man's
standard  isn't  the standard  by which  we're  to  judge ourselves  or  by which we'll be  judged.  

Jesus  Christ  is  the  standard.  

He  demonstrates  to  us  what  God intended man  to  be. Hold  yourself up  next  to  Him and  see how  you  look.  That
will give you an idea of what the true judgment will be like. 

If you say, "Well, I'm better than Chuck Smith" - that's not going to buy you anything!

Jesus  said,  "Except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the  righteousness  of  the scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven" (Matthew  5:20).  

You'll  never  make  it  on  your  own  righteousness.  The  only
righteousness  which  is  acceptable  is  the righteousness  which  God  has  imputed unto  you  by  your  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 

 The  righteousness  which  is  of  Christ through faith is the only way you'll get an entrance into the kingdom of heaven.