Week #5 Does Jesus Teach the Rapture of the Church Part V

Transcription

1 Week #5 Does Jesus Teach the Rapture of the Church Part V I. Introduction and review A. We previously studied three reasons to believe that Jesus taught the rapture and that He did it in John 14: The passage is contained in the upper room discourse 2. The Gospel of John contains many other eschatological pronouncement and themes 3. The early church believed in and taught the rapture a. Even though the prevailing view later adopted the allegorical method of biblical interpretation b. And therefore accepted an amillennial viewpoint c. There were still those who held to the literal, grammatical, historical method of interpretation, all along the historical path, until it blossomed once again in the mid-1800s d. If we are in the kingdom, it is not anywhere near what it was hyped to be e. If this is the kingdom, it is a terrible disappointment B. We then examined the Jewish marital system [John 14:1-4] 1. We found that it provided the perfect analogy for our relationship with Jesus Christ, who is the church s groom 2. The third step, that is preparation of the bridal chamber and living quarters by the groom, is exactly what is being spoken of in verse 2 of John And the groom s return to retrieve his bride, is what is being described in verse 3 of John 14 C. There is still a fifth external reason to conclude that the passage located in John 14:1-4 is a rapture passage II. There is a striking parallel between the most important rapture passage in the Bible and Jesus rapture passage in John 14 A. J. B. Smith, A Revelation of Jesus Christ: A Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Scottdale, Pa. Herald Press, 1961), pp One of only eight commentators to have discovered or reported this parallel 2. And he appears to have been the first B. This parallel is threefold, in that it is linguistic, conceptual and chronological Page 1 of 7

2 John 14: Troubled [1] 2. Believe [1] (pisteuo) 3. God and me [1] 4. Told you [2] 5. Come again [3] 6. Receive you [3] 7. To myself [3] 8. Where I am... you may be [3] I Thess Grieved [13] Comfort [18] 10. Believe [14] (pisteuo) 11. Jesus and God [14] 12. Say to you (by the word of the Lord) [15] 13. Coming of the Lord [15] 14. Caught up [17] 15. To meet the Lord [17] 16. Always be with the Lord [17] A. Let s consider J. B. Smith s description of this parallel: The words or phrases are almost an exact parallel. They follow one another in both passages in exactly the same order. Only the righteous are dealt with in each case. There is not a single irregularity in the progression of words from first to last. Either column takes the believer from the troubles of earth to the glories of heaven. B. The Smith tried to do the same thing with John 14:1-4 and the key passage on the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, Rev. 19:11-16 C. He thereafter opined: Hence it is impossible that one sentence or even one phrase can be alike in the two lists And finally not one word in the two lists is used in the same relation or connection...it would be difficult if not impossible to find elsewhere any two important passages of Scripture that are so diverse in the words employed and so opposite in their implications.... We believe the comparison of the words of these two passages... describe different events. D. Our final external reason for adopting a rapture interpretation is this striking parallel between John 14:1-4 I Thess. 4:13-18 II. Now let s consider the internal evidence: an exegesis of John 14:1-4 A. John 14:1 Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 1. Why does He say do not let you heart be troubled? a. Jesus has been telling his disciple a number of troubling things: (1) That He will shortly die at the hands of His enemies; (2) That their nation has rejected their Messiah [John 12:37]; (3) That one of them will shortly betray Him, and thereby them; (4) That Peter will deny that he knows Him; and (5) That He will rise again and then shortly thereafter leave them. b. They are uncertain as to what is going to happen and are having difficulty accepting what He is saying to them (1) Consider their question in the first chapter of Acts (2) Acts 1:4-9 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, Page 2 of 7

3 Which, He said, you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel? 7 He said to them, It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. 9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. c. Jesus is seeking in John 14 to reassure His disciples and give to them a promise that: (1) They can understand; (2) They can cling to; and (3) They can share with others to the same effect. d. Consider II Peter 1:19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. B. John 14:1 Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 1. The verb believe as used in both instances in the second half of verse one can be either indicative or imperative in the Greek a. If you know Greek, you make that determination by the context (1) For some the context here is difficult to decipher (2) If indicative: you believe (3) If imperative: believe (4) Picture in your mind a Decision Box [See slide] b. Translations: ESV (1) John 14:1 Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. KJV (2) John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. NAU (3) John 14:1 Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. NKJ (4) John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. NLT (5) John 14:1 Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. Page 3 of 7

4 c. Context must be determinative indicative imperative d. A statement then a command the command is being based upon the statement C. John 14:2 In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would 1. My father s house oivki,a tou/ patro,j a. oivki,a oikia {oy-kee'-ah} Meaning: 1) a house 1a) an inhabited edifice, a dwelling 1b) the inmates of a house, the family 1c) property, wealth, goods b. This is the place of God s unique dwelling (1) Where is that? (2) Some say that refers to the earthly temple (a) See: John 2:16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business. (b) oi=koj oikos {oy'-kos} masculine accusative (3) Others say no the temple that God is building out of Christians (a) See: Ephesians 2:20-22 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (4) Consider these passages: (a) Deuteronomy 26:15 Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers. (b) Psalm 33:13-14 The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; 14 From His dwelling place He looks out On all the inhabitants of the earth, (c) Isaiah 63:15 Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious habitation; Where are Your zeal and Your mighty deeds? The stirrings of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained toward me. (d) Matthew 5:16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Page 4 of 7

5 (5) Where did Jesus go? (a) Acts 1:9-11 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven. (b) Acts 7:55-56 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. (c) Revelation 3:21 He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (d) John 17:5 Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. D. John 14:2 In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would 1. Dwelling places a. monh, mone {mon-ay'} Meaning: 1) a staying, abiding, dwelling, abode 2) to make an (one's) abode 3) metaph. of the God the Holy Spirit indwelling believers b. Should that word be translated mansions? (1) It should if you are KJV+ (2) In English mansion refers to a spacious and elaborate home (3) When Jerome was translating the Greek text to the Latin Vulgate, he used the Latin word mansiones which meant: an abode or abiding place (4) When Tyndale translated the Vulgate into his English translation, he choose the word mansions, maybe as a transliteration of the Latin word [but you don t transliterate a foreign word into an existing English word] (5) The King James translators thereafter adopted Tyndale s translation of this word Page 5 of 7

6 c. What this word really meant was: an abode or a place of halt on a journey, such as an inn d. Why would Jesus use that word? e. How long will we stay in heaven? f. Refer to the chart E. John 14:2 In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would 1. I go a. poreu,omai poreuomai {por-yoo'-om-ahee} (1) Meaning: 1) to lead over, carry over, transfer 1a) to pursue the journey on which one has entered, to continue on one's journey 1b) to depart from life 1c) to follow one, that is: become his adherent 1c1) to lead or order one's life (2) Grammar: Present tense, Indicative mood b. Where is He going? (1) To die, that is going to His death, or is He speaking of His Ascension (2) Jesus came from heaven (a) John 16:28 "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father." (b) John 17:5 "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. (3) And He is returning to heaven (a) John 14:12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. (b) John 16:28 "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father." (4) His Ascension (a) Descriptions of the Ascension us the same word: poreu,omai poreuomai (b) Acts 1:10-11 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has Page 6 of 7

7 been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." (c) I Peter 3:22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. F. John 14:2 In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would 1. Place a. to,poj topos {top'-os} Meaning: 1) place, any portion or space marked off, as it were from surrounding space 1a) an inhabited place, as a city, village, district 1b) a place (passage) in a book 2) metaph. 2a) the condition or station held by one in any company or assembly 2b) opportunity, power, occasion for acting b. For the purpose of creating temporary dwelling places G. We can now conclude that this passage [14:2] teaches that Jesus will return to the same heaven from which He left to be born as a human baby, in order to prepare temporary dwelling places for the Church when He returns to rapture her This lesson will continue on next weeks session! Page 7 of 7