>> Jen: Well, good morning friends and faithful listeners, and welcome to the Bible Explained podcast. And hi, my name is Jen. I am the host of this particular podcast and I am very excited that you chose to join in today because we're going to be talking about the Rapture.
So I am not going to chatter on very much this morning. I'm going to jump right into First uh, Corinthians 15 today, because we're talking about the Rapture, and this is a very heavy topic that can be talked about for days on end, and we still wouldn't get close to scratching the surface of the theories out there regarding the Rapture. But I will try to keep it relatively short today. Let's go ahead and read First uh, Corinthians 15, 51 - 58.
I will be switching between the web version, the NLT version, and the AMP version today just to keep that in mind. But please feel free to grab the version of the Bible that you prefer this morning and also your hot beverage to enjoy along me. Behold, I tell you a we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible
and we will be changed. For this perishable body must become imperishable and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable body will have become imperishable and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen. Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, uh who gives us victory
through our LORD Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord's work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the LORD. So on Saturday I was actually a part of a like 90 person choir and we performed Handel's Messiah like the entire three hour thing. And uh, it was a lot of fun, but it was a lot of music to memorize. But now that I have the music memorized pretty well,
I keep seeing Handel's Messiah throughout scripture. Because Handel's, uh, Messiah is only scripture. It tells the entire script story of Jesus from the beginning of Scripture to the end of Scripture. So every single song in the entire three hour long Handel's Messiah literally just uses Bible verses and that's it. So one of the songs we sang in Handel's Messiah was First uh, Corinthians 15:57, which says, but thanks be to
God, uh. So now I'm just singing it in my head, but thanks, thanks, thanks be to God, uh who giveth us the victory. So first uh, Corinthians 51 through 58 talk about the second coming of Jesus.
And earlier in first uh, 1 Corinthians 15, pretty much the entire chapter has been talking about the resurrection and how the resurrection of Jesus was true, how the resurrection of Jesus is a basic core principle of Christianity because Jesus's resurrection proves that he's God, uh and also proves that He conquered death for all of us and is going to give all of us a resurrection as well. When we die, our
bodies will be changed. When Jesus comes again, our bodies will be completely changed to something that can actually handle heaven. Because in verse 50, Paul says that flesh and blood can't inherit God's kingdom, neither does the perishable inherit the imperishable. So our bodies have to be changed, resurrected, in order to be able to handle heaven. So that might bring up some questions as to where does our soul go? Do we just wait in the ground the entire time until
Jesus comes again? No, there is other scriptural references that talk about our soul departing to some sort of resting place, some sort of paradise, until we wait for Jesus's second coming to resurrect our bodies and then our new resurrected bodies will live with Jesus for eternity at that point. So yeah, it's not just we're waiting in the ground like dead until Jesus comes again, our souls will depart. But now Paul goes into Jesus second coming.
He says in verse 51, behold, I tell you a mystery we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. This means that not every single person has to die. If Jesus comes back again in yours or my lifetime and we are still alive, that means that we will experience a resurrection without having to die like the people who came before us. And our bodies will be completely changed in a moment, is what it says, in
the twinkling of an eye. So as fast as like some light flashes across your eye, that is how fast our bodies will be changed as well. And our bodies will be no longer mortal, but immortal. And then it says that we will be caught up together to meet Jesus in the air. Because as we know, when Jesus comes back again, he's going to come back the same way that he went
up into heaven. So he ascended up into heaven with the clouds, and when he comes back again the second time, he's going to descend out of heaven in the clouds, and then that's when we'll experience this big resurrection that takes place, and then we'll all be basically caught up to meet Jesus in the air. For more context, let's go ahead and read 1 Thessalonians 4:15 - 18 this is also a letter from
Paul. We tell you this directly from the Lord we who are still living when the LORD returns will not meet Him ahead of those who have died. For the LORD himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, uh. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air.
Then we will be with the LORD forever. So encourage each other with these words so the resurrection will take place for both the living and the dead. Now granted, this is for the people who believe in Jesus as their Savior. Those who do not, when Jesus comes back again, will experience a judgment. In fact, Jesus himself said this in John chapter 5,
verses 28 and 29. It says, do not be surprised at this, for a time is coming when all those who are in the tombs will hear his voice and they will come out. Those who did good things will come out to a resurrection of new life, but those who did evil things will come out to a resurrection of judgment that is to be sentenced. And since we know that none of us can do good on our own, none of us are actually righteous, the only way we become righteous
is through Jesus. That means that the only people who can experience this resurrection of the dead to new life and immortality are those who have become righteous through the message and the gospel of Jesus. So when Jesus comes again, everybody else is going to experience a judgment of some sort. However, anybody who is alive when Jesus comes back the second time, we'll not meet Jesus before those who were dead, or as
Paul calls it, asleep in the grave. So the dead in Christ will rise first into this new resurrected body, and then they will meet the LORD in the air. And then those who are alive, their bodies will be changed in an instant to this immortal resurrected body to meet Jesus in the air. So going back to First uh, Corinthians 15, verse 51, it says, we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. So all Christians will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. So a lot of people wonder, what is this last trumpet that Paul is talking about, because it seems like Paul has some at least a little bit of knowledge of when Jesus might come back again because he mentions a last trumpet. A lot of people think that this last trumpet is referring to the trumpets of
judgment. In Revelation chapter 11, there were seven trumpets of judgment, and the last one takes place right before the bowls of judgment. When Jesus, like, comes down to earth and like, pours out these bowls of judgment on the earth. Let's read Revelation chapter 11 to see if this is what Paul is potentially talking about.
11, verse 15. The seventh angel sounded his trumpet and there were loud voices in heaven which said, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our LORD and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever. That's another Handel's Messiah song. And then the 24 elders who were seated on their thrones before God, uh fell on their faces and worshiped him, saying, we give thanks to you, LORD God Almighty, the one who is and was. Because you have taken your great power and have begun to
reign. The nations are angry. Your wrath has come. The time for judgment of the dead, the rewarding of your servants, the prophets, and your people who revere your name, both great and small, and for destroying those who destroy the earth. Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the Ark of the Covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and an earthquake and a
severe hailstorm. So, yeah, this happens right after the seventh angel sounds the last trumpet of the judgments. So quite honestly, this could be what Paul is talking about, that when the last trumpet of the judgments sound in Revelation, that is when this resurrection of the dead and of the alive in Christ will happen. Now, I should mention before I continue, that because none of this has taken place yet, nobody really knows if exactly how God, uh is going to do this.
Nobody knows exactly when God, uh is going to do this. In fact, Jesus himself actually said, nobody knows the return of Christ, not even himself. The only person who knows is God, uh the Father, actually. So even Jesus doesn't know when He's returning again. He's waiting for God, uh the Father to give the signal. So nobody, even Jesus Himself knows of his return. So it's very fun and interesting to study these things. But you got to keep in mind that you do not know when
Jesus is going to return. And a lot of people really enjoy looking into this and studying it and airing their opinions on it and even predicting when Jesus is going to come again. But unfortunately, those predictions as of yet have all fallen completely Flat. And also it kind of makes the church look a little bit foolish when people predict, uh, Jesus is coming and then he doesn't come. So when you research and study this stuff, you have to do it with the understanding that only God, uh
knows exactly what's going to happen. Because think about the Pharisees in the day of Jesus. The Old Testament doesn't talk about Jesus's second coming or the Rapture, because the Old Testament was focused on Jesus's first coming into the world as a baby. And the Pharisees in the days of Jesus believed they knew what the Messiah was going to do, what he was going to look like,
how he was going to rule. They believed, they understood it all, and they rejected Jesus as the Messiah and put him on the cross and killed him. But because they did not like Jesus claiming to be the Messiah, even though he actually was the Messiah. We have to be very careful not to be like the Pharisees and reject God's actual plan, because we have preconceived notions of how God, uh is going to do something or when he's going to return or what something is going to look like in Revelation,
because we don't actually know. We 're finite human beings that cannot possibly understand God's plans at all. If you'll notice, there are so many Christians that have, like, thousands of different beliefs of how the rapture is going to take place. Some Christians don't believe in a rapture. Some Christians believe that the rapture takes place at the beginning of the Book of Revelation. Some people think it takes place at the very end of the Book of Revelation, like right after all the bowls of
judgment are poured out onto the earth. So we just do not know when Jesus is coming is going to take place. And we shouldn't be divided over this issue. We shouldn't be, um, you know, predicting when Jesus's second coming is because it divides us. And it also makes the church look very foolish when we do things like that. We have to have unity. And honestly, everything in Scripture tells us to not only have unity as Christians, but also to look forward to the day of Jesus's return.
Because the day of Jesus return is going to be absolutely wonderful for us. Obviously, we're going to be, uh, changed into immortal, perfect bodies that can go live with Jesus for eternity in heaven. So what's not to look forward to as Christians? But regardless, some people think that the last trumpet is the last trumpet that is talked about in Revelation chapter 11, which it very well could
be. But there are other people that think that the last trumpet couldn't possibly be talking about the Trumpets of Judgment described in Revelation, because the Trumpets of Judgment were not revealed to the church until after Paul was possibly dead. And so Paul wouldn't have possibly known about the Trumpets of Judgment talked about in Revelation, chapter 11, because that came after him.
So because of that, a lot of Christians think that Paul is talking about the shofar, or the trumpet that is blown during Rosh Hashanah, which actually was described as being the last trumpet in Paul's day. In fact, I found an article on this. It's, um. I'm sorry, it's in Hebrew, so I can't read it the title of it, but in English it says the significance of the shofar. And I'll actually link this entire article in the description of this episode because I think it's a really interesting
article if you want to read it. But it says that the first shofar occurs, or trumpet occurs in Exodus, chapter 19, verse 16, when the Torah was first given to Israel during Pentecost. So that's the story of when God, uh came down to the Israelites in the wilderness to give them the Ten Commandments. It says that this shofar blew in the heavens before God, uh started speaking to the Israelite
people. So a lot of people think that that was the first trumpet of God, uh, and the last trumpet of God, uh would take place during Rosh Hashanah. So this article goes on to say the shofar is also mentioned in connection with both Rosh Hashanah and also the Yom Kippur Jubilee. Then, on the 10th day of the seventh month on Yom Kippur, you are to sound a blast on the shofar. You are to sound the shofar throughout all your land. That's from Leviticus 25,
verse 9. In later Jewish history, since the shofar was sounded throughout the preceding month of Elul, the blowing of the shofar on the first of Tishri or Rosh Hashanah was sometimes called the Last Trump, while the shofar blast on Yom Kippur was called the Great Trump, since at that time judgment was sealed. So during the days of Paul, the last trump apparently was a nickname for the shofar being blown
during Rosh Hashanah. So a lot of people think that in 1st uh, Corinthians 15, Paul is referring to the trumpet of Rosh Hashanah, which is one of the Jewish holidays. And the people of Paul's day would have known what Paul was talking about when he referred to it as the Last Trump. So this, of course, has made a lot of people speculate that Jesus is going to return on the holiday of Rosh Hashanah because
of the last trump thing. But once again, we do not know what the last trumpet is going to be or when it's going to take place. Could it be referring to the trumpet of Rosh Hashanah? Yeah. Could it be referring to the trumpets mentioned in the Book of Revelation? Absolutely. Could it be referring to a trumpet that we have no clue about also? Yes, because we do not know the plan of God, uh, and that's very important to
keep in mind. But the moral of the story is that all of us, all who are alive in Christ and all who have died in Christ, will be changed. For this perishable body must become imperishable and this mortal must put on immortality, because otherwise we can't get into heaven. Our earthly bodies are just not built for it. They are not good enough. So not only can our, you know, supposed good works without Jesus not get us into heaven, but also our fleshly bodies can't get us
into heaven as well. So we're pretty well doomed without the mercy and salvation of Jesus. Verse 54. But when this perishable body will have become imperishable and when this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen. Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory? And that is from Hosea 13, verse 14. So those without hope in Jesus, death is the end for them.
When their family members die, they don't have any hope of a, ah, life to come for them. Death has won. But that doesn't have to be the case, because when Jesus returns, death will have lost its victory and its sting on us. Death is going to be an enemy that Jesus completely and totally destroys. And that is the gospel message in a nutshell. When God, uh first made the earth, he made it perfect. He made it without death. Death was not supposed
to be natural to us. But then when Adam and Eve, the first humans, sinned, they brought death into the world. And then Jesus had to come and save us from that enemy of death. And when he comes again, death will be destroyed. Death will have lost its sting on us, and Hades will have completely lost its victory. Even if it feels like right now that hell is winning, it's not going to win. That is the end of the story. The sting of death is sin. The power of sin
is the law. But thanks be to God, uh who gives us victory through our LORD Jesus Christ. So in other words, sin caused death and the Old Testament law showed us our sin, but God, uh is to be given all thanks because he has given us victory through Jesus and Hades and death have lost their victory. Then Paul concludes this segment with a note of encouragement.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord's work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the LORD. And you know, I've definitely felt this before, this discouragement of Is anybody really listening to this podcast? Is anybody benefiting from it? Or even, you know, the ministry that I do at the church with the youth, sometimes I get very discouraged during that as well.
But Paul says when we are working in the Lord's work, even though it might feel discouraging sometimes and people will leave the church or, you know, say something unkind about the work that you're doing, it's still all worth it in the end because we are doing the work of spreading this gospel message to as many people as possible. And honestly, you'll never know what seeds are
planted. You might feel like everything you do at your church is for nothing, but you never know who is listening, who is being encouraged by you, or who will think of something that you said years down the road and maybe start considering their faith at that time. You just never know. And so we have to continue doing God's work, even if it feels discouraging, because
it is worth it. It's worth it if we can get one more person to believe in the message of Jesus so that they can experience this immortal, resurrected body someday and live with Jesus in eternity. Any work we do for God, uh is not work done in vain. Well, faithful listeners, I hope you enjoyed our discussion about
the Rapture today. And if you have any questions about the Rapture, so do I. It is a confusing, um, topic because it hasn't happened yet and it's prophecy and we don't know exactly how it's going to happen. But we'll definitely be talking a lot more about the Rapture and Jesus second coming in books to come, especially once we hit the Book of Revelation. But faithful listeners, I hope that you all have a fantastic and wonderful rest of your
Tuesday. I will see you guys bright and early, 6am or whenever you choose to wake up and listen to an episode tomorrow from First Kings. Happy listening and God, uh Bless.