John 14:1-3, Matthew 24:29-44, 1 Corinthians 15:54-58, 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

Summary: Questions abound as to whether the Lord Jesus was referring to the Rapture in John 14:1-3 and later taught by the apostle Paul in his letters to the churches at Corinth and Thessalonica. It is an issue worth examining.

The Synoptic Gospels, the writings of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, with their similarities in content and narrative, all present the apocalyptic teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ as He met with His disciples across from the city of Jerusalem upon the Mount of Olives. Each Gospel tells of troubling and horrific days to come which will affect the whole world. It will be a visible and unmistakable display of God’s wrath and power to wicked humanity and also that the Lord Jesus Christ will return as the conquering King of Kings to rule and reign over a new redeemed world for all time.

The fourth Gospel, written by John, known as the “beloved apostle,” takes an entirely different course in his recollection of the Lord Jesus. He is not just the Promised Messiah but is God Himself who came to this world in order to bring salvation to His people.

John 1:1-4 presents Jesus’ Divine nature as the Creator of all things (Genesis 1; Colossians 1:16-18) and was with God the Father and the Holy Spirit from eternity past, with no beginning and no end. As the Divine Creator, He is outside of space, time, and matter and needs nothing to sustain Him. He is self-sufficient yet displays perfect love, demonstrating the love of the Father and doing the work that the Father expects of Him in the power of the Holy Spirit.

John gives the account of eight miracles that showed the Divine nature of Jesus, yet he also writes of other miracles that he did not record, “but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (20:30-31). The written miracles start with the turning of water into wine (2:1-11), the healing of the nobleman’s son (4:46-54), the healing of the man at the pool of Siloam (5:1-9), the healing of the man born blind (9:1-7), the raising of Lazarus from the dead (Ch. 11), and the quantity of fish caught in the disciples’ nets (21:1-6).

Bible scholar and pastor John Mac Arthur gives John’s overall reason for writing his gospel:

“John is the only one of the four Gospels that contains a precise statement of the author’s purpose (20:31). His objective was both apologetic (defending the faith) and evangelistic. In keeping with his evangelistic purpose, he used the verb “to believe” nearly one hundred times; twice as much as the Synoptics, emphasizing that those who believe in Jesus as the Savior will receive eternal life (3:16; 4:14; 5:24, 29-30; 6:27, 33, 40, 47-48, 54, 63, 68; 10:10, 28; 12:50; 14:6; 20:31). John’s evangelistic purpose is inseparable from his apologetic purpose, showing the true identity of Jesus, that of God Incarnate (1:1, 14; 8:23, 58:10:30; 20:28), the Messiah.”

(Source: The Mac Arthur New Testament Commentary: John 1-11, Chicago, Moody Press, 2006, p.9)

From this point on, attention will be given to the last night Jesus had with His disciples before He was to face betrayal, abandonment, a sham trial, and a horrific death on the cross that would serve an eternal purpose.

This account took place in what has been referred to as “the Upper Room” (Mark 14:14-15), and John devotes a large portion of his Gospel to this one event (Chapters 13-17). It would be in this room that Jesus demonstrated the nature of service, told of the arrival of the Holy Spirit as their Teacher and Comforter, and declared that He and He alone was the only way to the Father. He described Himself as the True Vine by which they would bear fruit, look to Him in prayer for their needs in the future, love one another as He loved them, and concluded with the High Priestly prayer on their behalf and for those who come to believe in the future. He also told them that He would come back again at a future time to “receive them to Himself” and take them to heaven (14:1-3):

“Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, for 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 to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (NASB).

Bible teachers like Dr. MacArthur, the late Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Dr. John Walvoord; Dr. Tim LaHaye, Dr. Ed Hindson, Dr. Mark Hitchcock, Dr. Thomas Constable, and others believe these verses spoken by the Lord Jesus are referring to the event known as “the Rapture” or the sudden “snatching away” of the true church (1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), also known as “the Blessed Hope” (Titus 2:11-15).

This promise from Jesus is in the minds of many Christians as they observe the events occurring around the world and the powder keg of the Middle East and the nation of Israel specifically. If things go the way many of us believe, the promise of His arrival is going to be a lot sooner than expected, and we all need to be ready by being certain that we have come to Jesus Christ in faith and a repentant heart (Psalm 51; Romans 10:9-10; 2 Peter 1:10). Much has been written about prophecy and the events to come before Jesus’ return, and it is worth the time and effort to examine, like the Bereans, “whether or not these things are so” (2 Timothy 2:15; Acts 17:11).

Friend, no amount of reading or studying the subject of Bible prophecy will do you any good if you do not know the Savior. I ask you this day to repent of your sins and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save you (Psalm 51: Romans 10:9-10). Like the Prodigal Son, now is the time to come to your senses, get out of the world’s pigsty, and come home to the loving embrace of the LORD (Luke 15:17-24). I want you to be ready when He comes back to take us all home.

—————–

Donald was born and reared in the authentic “Cajun Country” of southern Louisiana. He is a graduate of Louisiana College (B.A. in History Education/ Biblical Studies, 1984), New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div. In Christian Education, 1994), and Andersonville Baptist Seminary (Doctor of Ministry, Biblical Exposition, 2000). He has been in the Gospel ministry since 1986, serving as an evangelist, interim and supply pastor, hospital and rescue mission chaplain, high school and college teacher, and pastor in churches in Louisiana and Oklahoma.

In 2018 he began to devote his time to the rich field of internet and social media evangelism and outreach. In 2021 he became a member of the Oklahoma Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists, using his skills as a writer to contribute articles and sermons to websites such as Rapture Ready, Sermon Central, and Inspirational Christian Blogs. He also writes Bible studies and curricula for churches in southeast and central Asia and Africa, the locations of which are anonymous. He can be contacted at: donaldwhitchard@gmail.com for inquiries, information, and speaking/preaching engagements. His website is www.realitycityreverend.com . A copy of his resume is also available upon request.

Romans 5:7-10; “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die. But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Since therefore, we have been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the Wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.” (ESV – all emphasis mine)

In both Matthew 12:30 and Luke 11:23, we’re told that whoever is not with Jesus is against Him. That is really not an atmosphere we need to be in.

When we take into account Satan’s biggest lies, we need to have our eyes wide open. That can only be accomplished through reading the Word of the Lord in true and faithful versions of the Bible.

Sadly, there are some “bibles” being produced today with a “gender-neutral god,” and some even refer to our Father as a “she.” The word handed down to us by about 40 Holy Spirit-inspired writers (2 Peter 1:21) contains all the necessary instructions to have eternal life in Heaven. But for this to matter, we must believe that the Lord God Jehovah is the Creator of our world, and His Son paid our admission fee to be with Him forever.

One of Satan’s lies is “Did God really say?” as first used in Genesis 3. He wants to convince as many souls as he can to take on an earthly intellect rather than seek heavenly things. He uses the “pleasures” of this earth to draw people away from the Savior and into a frame of mind that rejects Him. He has false prophets and antichrists that have infiltrated a number of previously Bible-based evangelical churches, who are giving out false and twisted messages meant to tickle ears and keep the membership from the truth.

By the way, this is not news to our Heavenly Father, as all this was prophesied in His Word centuries ago. He knew there would be more on the broad path to destruction than on the straight and narrow path leading to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14). It’s not the way He would like it to be, but He allows everyone to choose for themselves.

Even during the time that Jesus was on this earth, His closest followers never fully grasped what He was all about until after His resurrection. Then, as Thomas exclaimed in John 20:28, “My Lord and My God!” Jesus said there would be a blessing for those who have not seen Him but believe in Him anyway. The apostles had been with Him as He performed miracle after miracle, yet only when they saw the risen Savior after Calvary did they fully believe. At Pentecost, they were further enriched by the Holy Spirit and became bold in their proclaiming Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Satan’s emissaries proclaim that all gods are the same, and all religions worship the same deities. Along with this, they proclaim there are many ways to heaven without Jesus. Some are even saying the abominations given in the Bible no longer apply in our “modern” world.

I have taken John 14:6 as my life verse; “Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” If all gods are the same, would He not have included Buddha, Mohammad and others? Peter boldly proclaimed to the religious leaders in Acts 4:12, “And there is Salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved.”

Again, as 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the Power of God.”

For “pastors” to proclaim that God’s word has changed, Hebrews 13:8 states, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” For anyone who believes Jesus and God are separate, John 10:30 is a definite statement; “I and the Father are One.”

Up until about 35 years ago, my walk with the Lord was obviously lacking any foundation. Thanks to some dedicated prayer warriors, the Holy Spirit “tweaked” my conscience, and I was convinced I needed to read the Bible for myself. Prior to this, I took anything that pastors gave out as errorless, and I didn’t check on passages they gave to make sure they were giving me the truth. As I have said previously, the Father will force no one, but that doesn’t mean He will disregard the prayers of our loved ones. I called out for Jesus to forgive me of my sins and to be my Savior forever.

It didn’t happen overnight, but as time went by, I became very aware that a relationship was forming. My prayers every day were for the Father to open my mind to His word and help me to gain more understanding. Even though I had seen the verse many times, John 14:6 took on a whole new meaning for me. Jesus was more than a Christmas and Easter object, and my heart knows He is totally real and loves us very much.

Jesus didn’t have to come to this earth and be crucified for us, but He did. He could very well have left us to our own misery, but He didn’t. He could turn each and every one of us into indentured slaves, but He won’t. We could have to do limitless tasks and works, but that’s not an option.

The song verse that states, “Jesus paid it all; all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow,” is spelled out in the ABCs of Salvation. There are a couple of musts, but nothing that’s too hard for us to do. First, we admit we are sinners in need of a Savior, as every human being does. Second, we must believe that Jesus is that Savior and the only way that we have as a pathway to the Father and eternal life. Finally, we call out to Him to forgive and save us, and He will. The hardest part is believing this is all that is required according to Romans 10:9-13 and Ephesians 2:8-9.

Satan and his forces will try to convince us we are not worthy of Jesus, and he is right. However, when we receive and accept Jesus, Psalm 103:12 states, “as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”

God knows we are not sinless and never will be as long as we’re in these human bodies on this earth. (Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23) However, He has promised to keep us from the tribulation/wrath, and when we do sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us (1 John 1:8-10).

Because of all my Father, Savior and Holy Spirit have done for me, how could I not be 100% for Him? I also pray daily that all our loved ones will call out and be saved if they have not already done so. Then, the thought of rising up to meet our Savior in the air is not frightening at all. In fact, today would not be too early to have Jesus in our hearts.

If you haven’t received and accepted the Savior yet, this would be the perfect time to do so. There is room for all, even though all will not call out. It is your chance to make your eternal address in Heaven with Jesus our Lord. Otherwise, the only other option is to be cast into the Lake of Fire forever.

Call Today – and you too will be saying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

huebshman46@gmail.com