“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark16:15).
Jesus’ final words before He returned to heaven were a clear command to His disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel message of salvation. Then, so that we might be clear about what we are to preach, Paul defined the Gospel message in 1Corinthians chapter 15.
It is very important to have an understanding of the Gospel message because it is by the Gospel that we are saved. There is no other message that can produce salvation in the heart of sinners. Paul said it is the Gospel “by which ye are saved” (1Cor.15:2).
Paul concludes the description of the Gospel message and urges us to “be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1Cor.15:58).
The work of the Lord is the task of taking the Gospel into all the world!
The Gospel Message
It took Paul 58 verses to describe the Gospel message. The entire 58 verses of 1Corinthians chapter 15 is the message Christians must communicate to the world. It did not stop after verse 3 i.e. “that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1Cor.15:3).
In fact the death of Christ would be worthless if Christ did not rise. The resurrection of Christ gave the death of Christ real meaning and power. The greater part of Paul’s description of the Gospel message is about resurrection. It is the resurrection of Christ that sets Christianity apart from every other religion. Paul said:
“If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1Cor.15:17-20).
We have previously shown that the Rapture is the resurrection of those who are saved and placed into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit since AD32. The resurrection of all believers before AD32 back to creation, has already taken place. Christ is the “firstfruits of them that slept”. Matthew wrote that these
“came out of their graves after His resurrection” (Matt.27:53).
The Rapture is a Part of the Gospel
Everybody will be raised from the dead at some time. Those who are saved through responding to the Gospel will be resurrected and be a part of the resurrection to life and all unbelievers will be resurrected in the resurrection to damnation (John 5:29).
Nobody, either believer or unbeliever, could experience resurrection before Jesus rose from the grave. He was the “firstfruits of them that slept” (1Cor.15:20).
The resurrection to life is in several stages:
- Old Testament Saints rose with Christ (Matt.27:52-53).
- Church-age saints rise at the Rapture of the Church (1Thess.4:13-18).
- Tribulation martyrs rise when Christ returns (Rev.20:4).
- Millennial saints rise at the end of the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth (Rev.20:5).
The resurrection to damnation will occur in two stages:
- Antichrist and all who follow him will be slain and given resurrection bodies and cast into the lake of fire when Christ returns (Matt.25:41; Dan.7:11).
- The rest of the unbelievers from creation to the end of the millennial reign of Christ will be raised and cast into the lake of fire after the 1,000-year reign of Christ (Rev.20:11-15).
All of the above is a part of the Gospel we are commanded to preach and every Gospel preacher should be preaching the second coming of Christ. – The Lord is risen and
“he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
Jesus Christ is alive for evermore and one day we all must stand before Him!
The Rapture is the Resurrection of Church-Age Saints
In Chapters 2 and 3 of the Revelation John writes seven letters to seven churches located in Asia now called western Turkey.
The Book of the Revelation is a book of prophecy (Rev.1:3; 22:7, 10, 18, 19) and pronounces a special blessing on all who read, hear and keep the things written in its pages.
The Revelation is a chronological outline of future events beginning when John wrote in AD96 right down to the end of time when the former things will pass away and there will be a New Heaven and New Earth.
The prophetic story begins with seven letters to the seven churches of Asia. Each letter has an application for the time but the seven letters also gave a prophetic outline of the Church age describing the testimony of Christendom from the early Church until the Rapture of the Church when all Christians will be given resurrection bodies and. taken to heaven.
There are seven stages in the history of the christendom from Pentecost to the Rapture of the Church at the beginning of the Tribulation. In each church there are “overcomers” and others. The term “overcomer” is a description of those within the churches who have genuine saving faith in Christ while others in each church may have a profession of being a Christian without a genuine faith in Christ. John defines the overcomers in his first epistle:
“whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1John 5:4-5).
Eight times in the Revelation John speaks of those who have genuine faith in Christ as “overcomers” (Rev.2:7, 17, 26; 3:5,12, 21 and 21:7.)
Jesus warned us in the parable of the sower that Divine testimony in all ages would have to contend with the true and the false within its ranks. He likened the kingdom of heaven to a sower spreading seed. Some seed fell on good soil and brought forth fruit but other seed fell on the pathway, shallow stoney ground, among thorns and was unfruitful.
Throughout the history of the Church there have been overcomers and others who have professed to be christians but have never exercised saving faith in the risen Son of God!
There have been seven stages in church history
- Ephesus – The 1st century Apostolic Church – Rev.2:1-7
- Smyrna – The Church persecuted by ten Pagan Roman emperors to AD313 – Rev.2:8-11
- Pergamos – The State Church established by Emperor Constantine from AD313 – Rev.12-17
- Thyatira – The Catholic Church established by Pope Gregory about AD600 – Rev.2:18-29.
- Sardis – The Reformation Church beginning AD1517 with Luther – Rev.3:1-6.
- Philadelphia – The Evangelical Missionary Church beginning AD1700 – Rev.3:7-13.
- Laodicea – The Charismatic, Emerging Church beginning AD1900 – Rev.3:14-22
When the seven stages of Church history have run their course the Rapture will occur and John describes this in Revelation chapter 4 where he sees a door open in heaven and he hears the trump of God sound and a commanding voice saying,
“Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter” (Rev.4:1)
John immediately saw himself caught up through the door into heaven where the details of the great Tribulation on earth were revealed to him.
The Rapture is Instantaneous
The Rapture of the Christians at the end of the Church age will occur in a split second. The world won’t see it. Nor will the world hear the trumpet call to Christians to “Come up hither!”
To the Thessalonians Paul indicated “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” (1Thess.4:16).
Three sounds will be heard by the Lord’s people. The Lord’s shout in the original Greek is keleusmati. It is not just a shout but a commanding shout and we know what that command will be:
“Come up hither and I will show thee things that must be hereafter!” (Rev.4:1).
When the Rapture occurs the saved will hear and disappear in the clouds leaving the world behind to face the wrath of God in the darkest hour of human history.
Twice Jesus told His disciples
“In that night there shall be two in one bed; the one shall be taken and the other left … two in the field … two grinding together … one shall be taken and the other left” (Luke 17:34- 36; Matt.24:40-41).
To the Corinthians Paul indicated the Rapture would be all over in an instant. There will be no opportunity for unbelievers to escape the Tribulation:
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1Cor.15:51-53).
At the same moment the nation of Israel will sign a security agreement with the kingdom of Antichrist at the head of the Revived Roman Empire.
Shortly after, Egypt will lead an Arab invasion of Israel according to Daniel’s prophecy (Dan.11:40-45) and with Europe’s help the land of Egypt will be destroyed by Israel (Isaiah.chapter 19).
This will infuriate Islamic nations and Russia will lead an army raised from Turkey, Iran, Libya and Sudan, into the land of Israel.
This time is called “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer.30:7). Two thirds of the Jews in the land will perish before the nation turns to Jesus Christ and God intervenes to rescue the remnant (Zech.13:8-9; Joel chapter 2).
Across the world great judgments will wreak destruction. Earthquakes will destroy cities, pestilence and plagues bring death and wars will wipe out millions so much so that Jesus said
“Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved” – (Matt.24:22).
In the second half of the 7-year Tribulation Antichrist, called the Beast, will persecute Israel, rule the world, and demand worship. All will be asked to wear his mark (666) on their forehead or right hand in order to be able to buy or sell.
Israel will be the special target of the Antichrist. He will mobilize an anti semitic army from all nations intent on wiping every Jew off the map but at the final battle of Armageddon, Christ will return to rescue the remnant that refuse the mark of the Beast.
The Rapture of the Christians is the next event on God’s prophetic calendar. We don’t know when it will happen but events in the Middle East and across the world indicate the Tribulation must be near. It is the Rapture that triggers the seven years of Great Tribulation. The Gospel of Christ is the only answer for us for if we place our trust in Jesus Christ who died and rose again we can be assured that we will not be here for the Tribulation.
BY John Ecob
