Please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 5. As you are turning, I will give you an introduction to Chapter Five.

Rapture (Second Coming Phase 1) &
Great Tribulation (Time of Jacob’s Trouble)

This morning we studied the Second Coming of Christ when we “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Jesus will return from Heaven to take His Church from this earth. We saw this morning that:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 … 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: 17 then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

The Church has historically referred to this text as “The Rapture”, or what I call “The Second Coming Phase 1”

Jesus is coming again. In His Second Coming in the Air the Bible says:

1 Thessalonians 4:14 … if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

You cannot be saved unless you believe that “Jesus died and rose again”. Dr Charles Stanley notes:

“Believing that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead is essential for Christians. Merely recognizing that He died for our sins is not enough; we must accept His resurrection in order to receive eternal life. Christ paid our debt, but His sacrifice on the cross means nothing if He possesses no power over the grave. In vanquishing evil and death, the Lord made our salvation possible.”

The Bible says in Romans 10:8-11, “what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

You must “believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead” if you would be saved. Period! If Jesus did not die on the Cross, then our sins were never paid for. If Jesus died and did not resurrect, then His promise and performance were all lies. The Bible says in

1 Corinthians 15:13-17 … if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

The resurrection of Christ shows us that it is God’s intent not only to forgive our sins, but to give us resurrected bodies in the future. The souls that have gone on to be with Jesus before the Rapture, Jesus will bring them back with Him, and they shall be given glorified bodies first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. Why does Jesus do this? Because God never does things halfway. The salvation we have in Jesus is a complete salvation. What did the Apostle say?

Colossians 2:9-10 For in {Jesus} dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in {Jesus} …

Jesus returns to save His Church from the coming Great Tribulation in Phase 1 of His Second Coming (the Rapture).

I believe that the Scripture teaches while the Great Tribulation unfolds, during that 7 year period the Church will be with Jesus in Heaven. Jesus warned of this Great Tribulation in:

Matthew 24:15-22 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 then let them which be in Judæa flee into the mountains: 17 let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

As Jesus addressed this warning He was talking to Israel, not to His Church. The Great Tribulation is known as “The Time Of Jacob’s Trouble”. This is from the Prophet:

Jeremiah 30:7-9 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. 8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: 9 but they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.

The Great Tribulation is “the time of Jacob’s trouble”. The name “Jacob” is the name of the lost man who would one day be named “Israel”. Out of “Israel” would come twelve sons that would be the twelve tribes of Israel, God’s Chosen nation. The Great Tribulation will be a seven year period where Israel (who is now acting like Jacob) will look for and receive the Lord Jesus Christ. Dr Adrian Rogers said of the Great Tribulation:

“It is the last seven years of God’s dealing with the nation of Israel before they are brought to a final crisis—and prepared for receiving their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. We know this because of many Scriptures connecting the Great Tribulation to the nation of Israel.” (Deuteronomy 4:39; Jeremiah 30; Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:22) … “Another purpose of the Tribulation is to punish the Gentiles for their arrogance, rebellion and godlessness. Isaiah 24 and Jeremiah 25 beginning with verse 30 describe the Great Tribulation coming upon the Gentiles. God will pour out His wrath upon a world that has spurned Him, that has laughed at and ridiculed His precepts and principles and said, “We don’t want any God to rule over us” (Psalm 2:3). ”

The Great Tribulation is a time for Israel to be tried, so that God’s people might return to Him and be saved. The Bible says in:

Romans 11:26 … so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

The “Day Of The Lord” Is When Jesus Saves Israel, And Establishes His Kingdom On The Earth

1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

The “day of the Lord” is when God the Son returns to this earth – not “in the air” but ON THE GROUND. Jesus Christ returns to the earth with His Church. Jesus overthrows the world powers, and sets up His Throne in Jerusalem. Jesus will come “as a thief in the night”. No thief ever phones ahead, texts, or emails you to say “I’m going to come to your home at such and such a time”. That wouldn’t make sense. When Jesus comes again with His Church it will be a surprise to the lost world. It will not be a happy event. The Apostle writes:

2 Peter 3:9-11 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

The Second Coming of Jesus for Israel will be a cataclysmic event! God our Savior will be judging sin on the earth. Can you imagine it? I was watching a somewhat comical show the other day called Third Rock From The Son. In that show they had an office party for Christmas. In that party, the song “O Little Town of Bethlehem” was playing, while they drunkenly did a conga line in mockery to it. Jesus is coming again! He is coming with His Church.

The first time Jesus came, He rode a donkey into Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:1-11). During His Second Coming (Phase 2) John writes:

Revelation 19:11-16 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

The “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS ” will come and take back His world. The entertainment industry which, through movies, internet, radio and television has gotten rich selling sin – Jesus will crush it. The colleges, filled with professors who teach Marxism and godlessness to our children, will be destroyed. The Bible says “sudden destruction cometh upon them”. God will directly intervene in human history. The world at present ignores the Lord, and His Word. But Jesus will come, and change all things.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

The “Day of the Lord” is when God will righteously judge those who have rejected Gods our Savior. The Prophet writes of the Second Coming:

Isaiah 2:11-12 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

God will send His Son Jesus to reclaim the earth, which belongs to Him, from those who have used it in godlessness. Those who have rejected the Lord are told:

Isaiah 13:6-9 Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand;it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: 8 and they shall be afraid:pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them;they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. 9 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate:and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

Jesus came to this earth the first time to save sinners. As He returns to earth with His Church He comes not to save, but destroy, to rid the earth of those who will not hear His Word, to rid the world of those who have hardened their hearts to the Gospel. The Prophet said:

Joel 2:10-11 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: 11 and the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Is there any hope for salvation during the Day of the Lord? Yes, according to Peter there is. He preached on the Day of Pentecost:

Acts 2:17-21 it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 and I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: 20 the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

If people would repent, God would yet save them. Yet few will be saved because of the hardness of their hearts. During the Great Tribulation some will take the Mark of the Beast upon themselves (Revelation 13:1-2, 11-18). Those who are so marked will be under the wrath of God forever (Revelation 14:9-12). Salvation is possible, but in order to be saved those who are saved during the Great Tribulation must suffer for their faith.

Those Who Are Believers Prior To The Second Coming (Phase 2) Will Not Be Overtaken By God’s Judgment

1 Thessalonians 5:4-5 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Those who will be “overtake you as a thief” by the Day of the Lord are those who are “in darkness”. The Second Coming of Christ (the Day of the Lord) will be a direct judgment of God on the lost people of earth. It is not for us to go through. We have

John 12:36 … believe(d) in the Light, that (we) may be the Children of Light…

We “were at other times darkness, but NOW are Light in the Lord. We are to WALK as CHILDREN OF LIGHT” (Ephesians 5:8). As we are told, “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness”. We are not under the wrath of God, for we have received Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior. Jesus said:

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The lost person is in a state of CONDEMNATION right now. If Jesus returned for His Church, the lost would go through seven years of hell on earth, culminating with the Judgment of the Son of God. “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” (Revelation 1:7). Jesus will come and conquer the sinful, who hold His creation in slavery. Knowing this, the Apostle says:

1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

Word Study This morning we saw the word “sleep” used by Paul to describe the physical death of the Christ follower. In the Greek text Paul uses the word κοιμάω koimáō, [pronounced koy-mah’-o] in Chapter Four. But in our text above the Apostle uses the Greek καθεύδω katheúdō, [pronounced kath-yoo’-do], which means “to fall asleep”. Unbelievers have “fallen asleep” from the presence of God, being lulled by Satan’s song and being comforted by the night. The Apostle charges us who are believers to “be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation”. The words “be sober” is the Greek word νήφω nḗphō, [pronounced nay’-fo] which means “WATCH”. We as believers in Christ are to daily put on “faith and love”, faith in God and love for our Lord and those around us. We are to make sure we slip on – every day – the head covering, “the hope of salvation”. We know that any day now our Lord Jesus Christ could come back and take us in Rapture. He will take us from this earth, for …

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

The future hell of the Great Tribulation is not to be mine. The Lord saved me so that I can be with Him every day of my life. As Christians, “whether we wake”, that is, live our lives in Him, or whether we “sleep” (καθεύδω katheudō), that is, physically meet death, “we should live together with him”. I am a living creature that can never die BECAUSE OF JESUS. So I want to live my life in the light, in Jesus, living for Him.

The Apostle closes with:

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

If you are saved by faith in Christ, you should be living your lives, looking for Jesus to come and Rapture you at any moment. You are under the promise Christ made to the Church of Philadelphia:

Revelation 3:10-13 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. 13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, today would be a great day to receive Him. If you are merely religious, a “Church going” person, you fall under the promise Jesus gave to the Church at Sardis:

Revelation 3:2-3 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Do not wait for Jesus to “come on you as a thief”. Give yourselves to Jesus, and be saved by faith in Him. Now is the time. Now is the day of salvation. May God touch your hearts with His Word and His Spirit. Amen and Amen.