1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 - “For the Lord Himself will descend form heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

“Maranatha” is a Hebrew/Aramaic term meaning, “The Lord is coming soon.” God has called us to preach about the Rapture of the church. How do we define “The Rapture”? The meaning of “the Rapture” in the original language was “snatching up.” Biblically, it is the event described in the passage above, where Jesus suddenly snatches his faithful church out of this world to meet him in the air. We will go to heaven with him. Those faithful servants who are alive at the time will not face physical death, but will go directly to heaven with him. The world plunges into a period of terrible judgment known as the Great Tribulation, which lasts seven years. At the end of those seven years, Jesus returns again, with all the saints with him, to set up his Kingdom on earth. We call that event “the Second Coming,” because it will be the second time Christ actually lives and walks upon the earth – at the Rapture he does not actually reach the earth. Jesus lands on the Mount of Olives, north of Jerusalem, and enters the holy city, which will become his capital, the place from which he reigns on earth for 1000 years. This is the meaning of “The Rapture.”

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Revelation 5:1; 6; 8:1-2

(NIV) “Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals…“

(KJV) “And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals…”

The Seven Seals are a series of events (mostly judgments) that have been slowly unfolding in approximately the last century in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ. Here we look briefly at the meaning of the Seven Seals in the Book of Revelation.

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Genesis 7:13 - On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. 

Matthew 24:37-39 - As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

 Jesus said that the days before the Rapture would be similar to the days of Noah.  It comes on the world unexpectedly, when everyone is still making plans for the future (getting married) and celebrating.  Only Noah and his family knew what was coming; they had the revelation.

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Revelation 1:20 - ”The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

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INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS:  Most of the book of Revelation is a prophecy about the Last Days, far into the future from the New Testament era.  It does not reveal the future events in chronological order.  Instead, the events predicted in one chapter can occur simultaneously with events in previous chapters.  This “cyclical” style of writing was very common in ancient Israel – the Book of Hebrews follows a similar structure.  This is why we see in Revelation some overlap with the seals, bowls, and trumpets – they are describing the events occurring at the same time in the Last Days. continue

Revelation 2:1-3 -  ”To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:  I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.  I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.” 

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Revelation 2:2-3 - ”I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.  I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.”

THE AFFIRMATION -  In most of the Letters, Jesus points out some things that the church in that era got right.  These are the ways they pleased the Lord.  These are sometimes different aspects than historians or scholars focus on, but they are the things that God considered important from that period.  With the period of Ephesus, Jesus acknowledges and compliments them for five good traits.

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Revelation 2:4-7 - ”Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.  Remember the height from which you have fallen!  Repent and do the things you did at first.  If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.  But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

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Revelation 2:8-11 - ”To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.  I know your afflictions and your poverty-yet you are rich!” …

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Revelation 2:12-17 - ”To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.  I know where you live-where Satan has his throne.”

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