Our Rapture Hope

John 13:36-14:6

We Christians have wonderful assurance and unfailing hope, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His promised return for us in the Rapture. Our aim here is to understand thoroughly the primary passages on the Rapture so that the biblical message about this event will not be a complete mystery to us. Each Christian must develop truly Biblical convictions about this event and live consistently with those convictions until our Lord comes for us.

“Many Christians long for the Rapture, not because of their intense love for the Lord, but because it gives them an escape from the distress of our age.” • Erwin Lutzer

I am the first to admit that I sometimes ardently long for the Lord to come for us because of the problems we sometimes face! We are often misunderstood, sometimes deeply disappointed, discouraged because our dreams seem to be shattered, and we wonder what now or what next or even what if…. But even in such dark hours we still can pray with real hope as David did in Psalm 69:13, “But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.”

Hopelessness is an opportunity to trust God, not time to quit. When we are completely beaten down, we are tempted to turn from God, give up, and quit trusting Him. When our situation seems hopeless, we must determine that no matter how bad things become we will continue to pray and trust the Lord. God will hear our prayer, come to our aid, He will rescue us, or meet our needs. When life seems to reject us, we need God most. It is time to cling to Him! Don’t turn from your most faithful Friend in your darkest hours. Cling to the hope He promised. 

The first mention of our Rapture Hope came from the lips of our Lord Jesus Himself (John 14:3). It was introduced to comfort the disciples’ troubled hearts and to impart hope in the midst of their pain. Here Christ reveals the secret to a trouble-free heart in a troubled world: it is keep trusting Him and God (Jn. 14:1). Through faith in God and Christ we can overcome the painful stresses we must face. More specifically we trust Him to keep His promise to return for us in the Rapture. Notice quickly though, how the Rapture is different from the Return of Christ to the earth,

This was an entirely new revelation to be contrasted to Christ’s earlier revelation concerning His second coming to judge the world. This was a coming with an entirely different context, and its purpose was to take them out of the world and take them to the Father’s house which clearly refers to Heaven where Jesus has gone before to prepare a place for them. This is the first instance in the New Testament to what Paul later referred to as the Rapture… (1Cor. 15:51-58; 1Thess. 4:13-18).—John Walvoord

I.                  What Did Jesus Actually Promise Concerning the Rapture? (John 13:36-14:6)

To tormented souls Jesus gave this loving encouragement, “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1, 27). We are not surprised that the Apostles were completely bewildered and discouraged—troubled. After all, Jesus had announced that one of them was a traitor (John 13:21), and then He warned Peter that he was going to deny his Lord three times (John 13:38). Jesus certified that Satan was at work against all of them (Luke 22:31-32), and that all the disciples would fall away (Matt. 26:31). Self-confident Peter was certain that he could not only follow his Lord, but even die with Him and for Him. Alas, Peter did not know his own heart, nor do we really know our hearts, except for one thing… our hearts easily become troubled. The cumulative weight of these revelations must have greatly depressed them. The were crushed.

Perhaps the heaviest blow of all was the realization that Jesus was going to leave them (John 7:34; 8:21; 12:8, 35; 13:33) and that He would die (John 12:32-33). Where was He going? Could they go with Him? How could they get where He was going? These were some of the perplexing questions that tumbled around in their minds and hearts. These disconcerting thoughts were tossed back and forth in their conversations at the table.

How did Jesus calm their troubled hearts? By giving them wonderful assurances to hold on to; assurances that we today may claim and thus enjoy trouble-free hearts. If you are a Believer in Jesus Christ, you may claim every single one of these assurances.

A.   Jesus Promised That Believers Will Go to Heaven (John 14:1, 2).

1.      Handle Life's Troubles With Faith (John 14:1).

                                                                           i.      Take the Lord’s Counsel to Heart. Jesus did not rebuke Peter for asking Him where He was going, but He gave this message to calm the disciples’ troubled hearts (John 13:36-38).

                                                                         ii.      Remember David Encouraged Himself in the Lord (1Sam. 30:6).

                                                                        iii.      Take Responsibility for the Condition of Your Heart. Our heart is the center of our personality. Each of us as believers is responsible for the condition of our own heart. 

a.       Proverbs 3:1, My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

b.      Proverbs 3:3, Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

c.       Proverbs 3:5, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  

d.      Proverbs 4:23, Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

e.       Proverbs 20:9, Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

                                                                       iv.      Place Your Faith in the Lord’s Love, Grace, Wisdom, and Power. By a firm trust in God the Father and Jesus the Son, we can relieve our soul-sorrows and be sustained in our coming tests and trials of life. 

a.       We must keep on trusting God and Christ, because the secret to an trouble-free heart is complete trust in God. This know as the peace of God. It is never caving in under the pressure to quit.

b.      Isaiah 26:3-4, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. [4] Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:

c.       Many times we feel our faith cannot equal the test before us.

1)      But instead of giving up we turn to the Lord as the father in Mark 9:24, did when he cried unto Jesus, “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”   

2)      Weak faith can become strong faith with God’s help. The attitude of trust and confidence that the Bible calls belief or faith (Heb 11:1,6) is not something we can obtain without help. Faith is a gift from God as we take the Bible's statements, commands and promises seriously (Eph 2:8-9; Rom. 10:17).

3)      No matter how much faith we have, we will never reach the point of being self-sufficient. Faith is not stored away like money in the bank. Growing in faith is a constant process of daily renewing our trust in Jesus. God can use the troubles of life to strengthen our faith!   

2.      Set Your Heart on a Real Place Called Heaven (John 14:2).

                                                                           i.      Take This Heavenly Hope Seriously. Heaven is not a product of religious imagination or the result of a psyched-up mentality, looking for “pie in the sky by and by.”

                                                                         ii.      Think About Heaven Biblically. Heaven is the place where God dwells and where Jesus sits today at the right hand of the Father. Heaven is described as a kingdom (2 Peter 1:11), an inheritance (1 Peter 1:4), a country (Heb 11:16), a city (Heb 11:16), and a home (John 14:2).The thing that makes Heaven such a wonderful anticipation is the fact that God is there. The Lord Jesus will come for us in the Rapture and we will forever be with Him. What wonder it will be to finally behold our precious Christ Jesus!

                                                                        iii.      View Heaven as Home. Heaven is “My Father's house,” according to the Son of God. It is “home” for God’s children!

a.       Some years ago, a London newspaper held a contest to determine the best definition of “home.”

1)      The winning entry was, “Home is the place where you are treated the best and complain the most.”

2)      The poet Robert Frost said that home is the place that, when you arrive there, they have to take you in. A good definition!

b.      The “mansions” in John 14:2 are the places prepared for Believers in Heaven.

1)      It is unfortunate that some unbiblical songs have perpetuated the error that faithful Christians will have lovely mansions in glory, while worldly saints will have to be content with little cottages or even shacks.

2)      Jesus Christ is now preparing places for all true Believers, and each mansion will be beautiful. We may not ever have a beautiful home here on earth, but we will over there. 

3)      When He was here on earth, Jesus was a carpenter (Mark 6:3). Now that He has returned to glory, He is building His churches on earth and a home for the “glorious church” in Heaven. I cannot wait to finally fly away unto that place to move in!

B.   Jesus Promised He Will Personally Escort Believers to Heaven (John 14:3-6).

1.      Jesus Promised to Return for a Prepared People (John 14:3, 4). 

                                                                           i.      Believe His Promise. John 14:3 is a clear promise of our Lord’s return for His people.

a.       Some will go to Heaven through the valley of the shadow of death.

b.      But those who are alive when Jesus returns will never see death (John 11:25-26).

1)      They will be changed to be like Christ and will go directly to Heaven in the Rapture (1 Thess 4:13-18).

2)      The Lord made it clear that He was going to the Father, and that He was the only way to the Father.

                                                                                                                                                   i.      Heaven is a real place, a loving place, and an exclusive place. Heaven is more real and substantial than the Grand Canyon, Paris France, Sydney Australia and Tokyo Japan. We must be born into the kingdom of God in order for it to be our place of eternal citizenship (John 3:3-7; Phil. 3:20, 21).

                                                                                                                                                 ii.      Not everybody is going to Heaven, but rather only those who have trusted Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; 1 Tim 2:4-6). I realize that may be shocking to some readers, but it is absolutely true. Only people who have repented of their sins trusting Christ as their Savior will actually live in Heaven. The rest, unbelievers, will be finally and eternally lost. They will be sentenced to the Lake of Fire forever (Rev. 20:11-15). It is most wise to trust Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. 

                                                                         ii.      Clarify His Promise.  Christ’s promise to return does not refer to His Resurrection or to a Believer’s death, but to the Rapture of the saints! 

                                                                        iii.      Be With Christ as Promised. Christ will return for His sheep and we will be with Him. This is what makes this promise so wonderful and fills it with the most precious hope. We will be with Christ!

a.       John 17:24, Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

b.      Jesus is not emphasizing the nature of Heaven, where He was going, but that Believers will be with the Father and Himself.  This is enough for the troubled hearts of us Believers!

1)      2 Cor. 5:8, We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

2)      Philip. 1:23, For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

3)      1 Thes. 4:17, 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.

   

2.      Jesus Will Personally Take Us to our Father’s House (John 14:5, 6).

                                                                           i.      Note Our Destination.  Since Heaven is the Father’s house, it must be a place of love and joy.

a.       When the Apostle John tried to describe Heaven, he almost ran out of symbols and comparisons! (Rev. 21-22)

b.      Finally, he listed the things that would not be there: death, sorrow, crying, pain, night, etc. What a wonderful home it will be - and we will enjoy it forever!

                                                                         ii.      Note a Question.  Thomas’ question revealed his keen desire to be with Jesus (see John 11:16), and this meant that he had to know where the Master was going and how he himself would get there.

                                                                        iii.      Note the Direction.

a.       Jesus does not simply teach the way or point the way, He is the way.

1)      Jesus is the “Way” because He is the “Truth” and the “Life.” As the Father is Truth and Life, Jesus is the embodiment of God so people can come to the Father (John 1:4, 14, 18; 11:25).

2)      By His words, "No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me," Jesus stressed that salvation, contrary to what many people think, is not obtainable through many ways. It is a lie to say that there are many ways to God and Heaven. Jesus clearly taught this incredible reality. 

3)      Only one Way exists (Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5). Our Lord’s statement wipes away any other proposed way to Heaven good works, religious ceremonies, costly gifts, etc. There is only one way, and that way is Jesus Christ.

4)      Jesus is the only access to the Father because He is the only One from the Father (John 1:1-2, 51; 3:13). All other world religion are false, wrong, and gross deception. It does not matter how noble or sincere the participants and adherents are. There is no salvation in any other faith. It is our Christian responsibility to reach the world with the only real hope--Jesus Christ.

b.      In fact, “the Way” was one of the early names for the Christian faith (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14,22). Not many ways, but "the way."

3.      Jesus Desires to Assure our Hearts Also. How Should This Assurance Of Going To Heaven Calm Our Troubled Hearts?

                                                                           i.      Dr. James M. Gray put it beautifully in a song he wrote years ago: “Who could mind the journey, when the road leads home?”

                                                                         ii.      The assurance of a heavenly home at the end of life’s road enables us to bear joyfully with the obstacles and battles along the way.

a.       It was this assurance that even encouraged our Lord, “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross” (Heb 12:2).

b.      Paul had this truth in mind when he wrote, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18).

Believers have hope in Jesus Christ and specifically in the much anticipated Rapture of Believers. There is comfort and grand assurance to experience as we allow ourselves to fully embrace the hope of the Rapture. Remember, hope in this respect refers to a sure expectation—a guaranteed event that will transpire in the future. Hope is not merely anticipating something that may or may not happen. There is zero chance of the Believer’s Rapture hope not occurring as God promised. Yes, we are facing and will face some troubling times throughout life, but all the while we have this precious and very real hope. Heaven is your home with God! The Lord Jesus will return for us and carry us back home with Him. Embrace it; believe it; be comforted by it!