The hope of the church is the imminent rapture and resurrection of believers when Christ returns. This event, described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, will involve believers being caught up to meet the Lord in the air, delivered from all earthly suffering and sin. The sermon emphasizes that this is a collective event, uniting all members of Christ's body, both those who have died and those who are alive. The central lesson is that having Christ as one's Savior is the sole requirement for participation in this blessed hope, offering a future of eternal fellowship with the Lord.
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Beloved friends, we greet you in the Blessed Saviour's name, the one who is our hope. Did you ever notice from the Word of God that all the nations and the people of all nations who are without God in this world have no hope for eternity? Read Ephesians chapter two and verse twelve. Realize that until Christ comes into your heart, you have no hope. But when Christ is yours and by His Spirit abides in your heart, then there is a hope which is an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast, according to Hebrews chapter six and verse nineteen.
Our present Bible study is about this blessed or happy hope, as it is called in Titus chapter two and verse thirteen. It is the hope of the church The details of it we have commenced studying from First Thessalonians chapter four. And for brevity's sake, we quote only verses sixteen and seventeen, which delineate the manner in which the Lord from heaven will fulfill the promise of John fourteen and verse three, where he told his disciples he would come again, take his people to be where he is in heaven above. the blessed home of the Father.
Now listen carefully, or read, if you will, verses sixteen and seventeen of First Thessalonians chapter four. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with 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. And we add a hearty amen. Hallelujah. This is to be called the rapture and the resurrection of the saints. Now let me once more present from these inspired words that this is an unprecedented manifestation of divine power and of such magnitude that there are five distinct features associated with it.
Though it will be an action of such rapidity, completed in a moment and in the twinking of an eye, there are five blessed features which can be seen for our blessing. First of all, the saints will be snatched away from the earth by a forcible power beyond human comprehension. The bodies of saints that are now in the grave will be brought out. The bodies of living saints will at the same time be taken away from the earth. We've considered in our preceding message this snatching away, yet permit me to re-emphasize the marvelous deliverance that it will be for the saints, to be taken away from all distress of soul and mind and body, from all sickness, from all pain, sorrow, sin, death, and all the fruits of sin in a sin-sick world of satanic authority.
Name anything, name everything that you can. At the blessed rapture, we who are his shall lead this world forever, delivered from all the terrible efforts that sin has brought into it. The terrible effects I have indeed made the world such as it is. We shall be delivered from it. Hallelujah. Now, my beloved friend, this is the hope of the church. And lovingly, I ask, is it yours? Read verse fourteen of our chapter. Note that you must be born again.
Must believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and Redeemer, the one who died and rose again for you to have a part in this blessed event. But now we continue and consider a second distinct feature connected with the rapture. We shall not only be caught away, we shall also, as we read, be caught up. Please note the direction, also take special observation, that God says we shall be caught up together. Why the emphasis on that word together? Take special notice of it.
If you properly understand the teaching of the Word of God, that every born-again believer is a member of the body of Christ, which is the Church, then when He comes, there will be a permanent, a visible, uniting of all the members with the head of the Church. We have noted in a preceding message we are members of His body. He is the head of the body. Is it to be thought that when Christ comes at the rapture, only a partial number of those members will be taken?
God forbid. To believe in a partial rapture is to believe that the members will be separated. from the body God perished the thought listen our scripture declares the Lord himself is coming for us the scripture also declares that he will present the church to himself a glorious church complete Ephesians five twenty seven and for the purpose of perfecting his glory as our Redeemer he's coming for the whole church Can I raise the question?
The Savior said with no conditions implied, I will come again and receive you unto myself. It is the language of the bridegroom coming for his bride. Will the Lord be satisfied to come for a bride that is only partially a bride? Never. When I married my beloved wife, I received a complete bride. I know that there are many godly and able teachers of the Word of God that have taught and still do, that only those who are faithful to the Lord will go on this occasion, and the unfaithful will have to pass through the Great Tribulation to be purified.
My beloved friend, listen, as I read my Bible, It is not for me nor any other person on the earth to decide my faithfulness. My faithfulness and the faithfulness of all saints is to be judged after the rapture at the judgment seat of Christ, not before then. And that judgment must and will follow the rapture. But back to our blessed truth. We shall be caught up together. This work together includes all the redeemed saints, if you please. Now, my beloved friend, I want you to listen very carefully.
I want you to note the magnitude of this fact that all the church will be caught up together. Who are the members of the church? Not those that are only upon the earth. May I give you the suggestion? Most of the members have died. Oh, yes, my friend. Two thousand years have nearly gone since the church began at Pentecost. And may I say very frankly, most of the members are up in heaven in spirit. And we who are living upon the earth in body, we all comprise the membership. And when the Lord comes, all the church is going to meet him together.
The church which from the beginning at Pentecost And to the end of its existence upon the earth, for the first time, now listen, for the first time all the church will be together with one another. For the first time in its history, it will be a completed church. Not on the earth, but in the air. Now let me give you a practical thought. You could never get all the members of this church, the body of Christ, on the earth in one place. Too many of them, friends. millions. And thus they must meet together where there's plenty of room in the air.
And until then, though there exists local churches in the plural upon the earth, yet when the rapture comes, there will be a great ascending, not of a solitary Elijah, who went to heaven with fiery chariots and horses, But millions of saints will rise, drawn upwards by the holy power of God. All together they will fill the heavenly regions with their hallelujahs. This, my beloved friend, is God's ecumenical program for the church. My beloved, may I say, let me quote the words of another servant of God.
The final goal of Christianity is Jesus Christ, to meet him, to be gathered unto him in the air. But the end of nominal Christendom is going to be the Antichrist." Now my beloved friend, listen, there is only one closing remark for me to bring. After presenting such a blessed revelation, of an event of such great magnitude and power. When the Lord Jesus is going together, please let me state it, we'll go into details later, whether their bodies are in the earth, in the grave, or if they are alive when he comes, they are to be caught up, caught away, snatched up together to meet him in the air.
Now there's only one remark for me to bring. My friend who is listening, Is this your blessed hope? Do you know that you will ultimately lead the world? I'm sure you know that. You know that you've got to go into eternity. But be sure of this blessed hope. For let me insist on what the Holy Spirit writes in First Thessalonians chapter four in verse fourteen again, which precedes the description of the rapture and the resurrection. Paul saying, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, it is a divine center and power of the gospel, the death of Christ, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture, was buried and rose again the third day, according to the Scripture, whereby Paul adds in First Corinthians Three and four, whereby we must and are saved.
My beloved, let me say this. If you have Christ, you will be at that event. If you don't have Christ, you'll miss it. Father, in the precious name of the Lord Jesus, by thy Holy Spirit, we pray, comfort and cheer the hearts of thy people, convict and save the hearts of some dear sinner friends, In Jesus' name for his glory. Amen.