Shabbat Shalom, beloved friends and brothers and sisters, we are here at Holy Scriptures and Israel studying the Word of God, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, and we happen to arrive to the subject that is found in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 concerning the snatching up of the assembly or, as is commonly known, the rapture of the church. So, I would like you to open your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 13 to verse 18. The apostle Paul, his Hebrew name is Shaul, his diaspora name is Paul, he is writing to the believers at Thessalonica and he said to them, "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

For if we believe that Yeshua, Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus, sleep in Yeshua, will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them which are asleep. For 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." The dead in Mashiach, in Messiah, shall rise first. "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up, snatched up, together with him in the cloud, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord, therefore comfort one another with these words." Now put your finger here for a moment and turn with me to John chapter 14, the Gospel of John.

And I want to read the words of Yeshua in anticipation of his death and resurrection. What he said to the early Hebrew believers in the upper room in Jerusalem. Look what he said to them in John chapter 14 and the first three verses. Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah is speaking, the Lord Yeshua, and he said, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many mentions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." One more short passage I would like to read as we are here in the New Testament.

Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 51, 52, and 53. Again, Shaul Paul is writing to the Corinthian believers and he said to them in verse 51, "Behold, I show 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 corruption must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." And I am stopping with the reading at this moment, beloved brothers and sisters. Let's go back to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, the passage that we began in our reading today.

You see, I just want to mention that when the Apostle Paul, Shaul Paul, have traveled throughout Asia Minor, at about the year 50 A.D., he had arrived on his second missionary journey to the place that is called Thessaloniki or Thessalonica. He had arrived there to Thessalonica, and as he had arrived there, he began to preach the gospel in the synagogue of our own Jewish people. You will find it in Acts chapter 17 and the first few verses. He had arrived to the city of Thessalonica, he had entered into the synagogue, and he began to preach the message of the gospel. And as he preached the message of the gospel, he presented the fact that the Messiah died, and then he presented the fact that the Messiah rose again.

And thirdly, he presented that this Yeshua, this Jesus, whom I am preaching unto you, is that Messiah. I want you to understand that at the time of 50 A.D., the Bible in its entirety were not yet ready. The Apostle Paul, Shaul, did not come to the synagogue with the New Testament in his hand. He only read the Tanakh, the Old Testament text. And so many have accepted that Yeshua, that Jesus was the Messiah. In addition to them, there were other women and other people from the people of Thessalonica who were not Hebrew, who were not Jewish. They also have accepted the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, Yeshua, the Messiah.

And together, beloved brothers and sisters, they have formed what is known to be the congregation, the assembly in the city of Thessalonica. But then the Apostle Paul received opposition. He was there for three Shabbat days. The first Shabbat he preached that the Messiah had to die. The second Shabbat he preached the Messiah had to be raised. The third Shabbat he preached that Yeshua, Jesus, is that very Messiah of whom I am speaking about. It didn't take too long, beloved friends, where opposition began. Only three and a half weeks the Apostle Paul was in Thessalonica and he was chased out of the city of Thessalonica very quickly by the believers there because people wanted to harm the Apostle Paul because of the fact that he preached that Yeshua, Jesus, is the Messiah.

And so he went to Borea. And then he went to Athens. And then he went to Corinth. And there he was continuing to preach the message of the Gospel. But his heart was so much engaged with the believers at Thessalonica that he could not bear to be away from them for a long time. So about a couple of years after, two, three years after, the Apostle Paul, first of all, sent to the brethren in Thessalonica a man by the name of Timothy. Timothy went according to 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. We find out, he said, And I sent Timothy, verse 2, our brother and minister of God and our fellow laborer in the Gospel of the Messiah, to establish you and to comfort you concerning your faith.

He sent the younger brother by the name of Timothy. And Timothy went to the city of Thessalonica, Thessaloniki today. And he ministered to the brethren. And as he was ministering to the brethren, they were very much concerned about many things that happened to them in their lives. For example, you and I know very well that there are things that you and I are concerned about certain things that happened. For example, what happened to a person who dies? Where will this person spend eternity? What happened if a person who died, how he or she going to be resurrected? Will they miss the time of the resurrection?

Will they miss the second coming of Christ, of the Messiah, to this world? There were many questions that they were troubled with, like you and I today. Many people who accepted the Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah, are not sure what's going to happen to them or to their family members who just passed away. You know, we here have enjoyed to have many people over the years in our midst who are no longer with us here today. They passed away. They died. And so the apostle Paul received those questions that came from Timothy. And apparently, Timothy came back to Paul because it says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 6.

But now when Timothy came from you, he came unto us, he brought us the good tidings or good report about your faith and your love and your good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us. And we do also desire to see you. And so Timothy came back to Shaul Paul. And now that he is receiving the information from Timothy and Paul asked him, Timothy, how are the Thessalonians doing? Are they doing well? Are they growing spiritually? What's going on in Thessalonica? And apparently, beloved brothers and sisters, the Thessalonians have experienced persecution. They have experienced things that you and I have perhaps no idea in the country in which we live in today.

So the apostle Paul had to remind the Thessalonians by writing to them this letter and encouraging them to continue to move on in their spiritual life. For example, in chapter 3, he reminded to them in verses 3 and 4 of the fact that they will go through tribulation, trials, because of their faith in a Messiah. Then in chapter 4, in the early part of chapter 4, he reminded them how it is important to live a sanctified life. Later on in chapter 5, he will remind them how he told them already when he was with them that the second coming of the Messiah, Jesus the Messiah, who was once rejected, he will come again.

Look at chapter 5 and verse 2. He says, For you yourself know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. You know it, brethren. I told you this. The Messiah is going to come into this world. The day of the Lord speaks of tribulation, of a terrible time in this world when Jehovah, the God of Israel, through the person of the Messiah, going to come to judge this world in righteousness. But there are certain things that he did not tell them and were not written yet in scripture because the canon of scripture was not yet complete. And so now when we have arrived to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verses 13 to 18, he gives them additional information concerning the questions that they have.

What will happen to people who have died from our own family? They were believers. Will they miss the second coming? What's going to happen to their body? Will they be resurrected from the dead? And will they have enjoyment of the person of Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, for time and eternity? This question rose in the mind of these brethren. And so the apostle Paul is addressing this question concerning the people who have already died. Now let me remind you, ladies and gentlemen, that when he was writing this letter, it is about 52, 53 AD. We live in the year of 2017. We live in the year of 2017. Nearly 2,000 years passed by since the day that the apostle Paul, Shaul Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians.

Millions of believers have already died. Every generation. People came to faith in the Lord Jesus the Messiah and they died. They came to faith and they died because it is appointed unto men once to die. None of us that are here today and hear me today in this room will remain here for too long unless the Messiah is going to come, Christ is going to come and will take us outside of this scene into his own presence. The rest of us will have to go through the process of death. The body is going to go to the ground. The soul and the spirit will be absent from the body and present with the Lord Jesus in glory.

That is the promise of the believer. But these young believers in the year about 52, 53 AD knew very little that you and I already know from the Bible today. They never had all the canon of the scripture, Old Testament, New Testament in their hands the way you and I have it today. They don't have an internet. They don't have a telephone. They don't have any way radio and television or anything to hear what you and I are hearing today. The information was very limited. The canon of scripture was not yet complete. They were young believers, two years, three years, four years in the Lord. You and I, those of us who are believers here, some of us can say, listen, I have been 30 years in the faith.

Oh, I am 40 years in the faith. My grandmother already told me about the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, when I was a little girl or a little boy and I am now 60, 70, 80 years of age. Some may say. But this group were young group. They needed to be informed concerning things that will happen in the future day. Now, when the Apostle Paul is writing this text, he didn't write it in order that you and I will argue whether the rapture of the church will happen or not will happen. Whether it will be before the tribulation or after the tribulation or in the middle of the tribulation. He didn't write it for this reason at all.

He wrote this text in order to encourage the believers as a word of comfort that they will be assured what's going to happen to the believers in Yeshua, in Jesus, the Messiah, before he is going to come to judge this world in righteousness. How do we know that he wrote it for the fact of comforting them? Notice that. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 13. And we began here. In verse 13 he says, "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others sorrow which have no hope." He didn't write it to them in order for them to be scholars in pre-, mid-, post-tribulation, rapture or the snatching out of the church.

He wrote it to them to encourage them that they will have no sorrow. Look at verse 18, the last verse of this chapter. It says, "Well for comfort one another with these words." It was a words of comfort. It was words of encouragement. Later on, unfortunately, in church history, we have come to all sort of use. And the believers in the body of Messiah have been divided among themselves over all this issue of the rapture or the snatching up, the catching up of the believers, of the assembly. You have all sort of groups throughout 2,000 years of church history. This one says it that way, the other one says it that way.

The Apostle Paul did not write 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 to divide the people of God, but the opposite, to unite them, instructing them of the comfort that we can have by having the sure word of the Lord found in the canon of Scripture. So, I would like to suggest to you today, beloved brothers and sisters, that that hope of the catching of the church, of the assembly, which is known today by the word rapture, that the catching away of the church, of the assembly, was based upon three important facts. Now, before I'm going to give you these three important facts, just to remind you that the word for rapture is found in the Bible many times in the New Testament.

The word is, in Greek, harpazo, H-A-R-P-A-Z-O, harpazo. Harpazo, of course, is mentioned more than one time in the Scripture, and many times it's either speaking about taking it by force, or catching away, or being plucked up, or to be caught away, or to be caught up. It's mentioned many times in the Bible many times in the Bible many times in Scripture. Let me just read you one or two verses. In Matthew chapter 11 and verse 12, we read: "...And from the day of John the baptizer until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violence takes it by force." That expression is harpazo in the Greek.

The same word that we find here in 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 17. In Hebrew, we call it lehimalet, to be snatched out, and to be escaping that which is going to happen. In Matthew chapter 13 and verse 19, we read again: "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it is not, then comes the wicked one, and catch it away. That which was sown in his heart, this is that which received the seed by the wayside." The Lord Jesus, the Lord Yeshua is explaining that when the seed is being sown in somebody's life, in somebody's heart, and Satan comes and takes it away, catch it up, catch it out, taking it away from that person.

Same word, harpazo in the Greek language. In John chapter 6 and verse 15, we read: "...When Yeshua therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into the mountain, himself there alone." You see, they wanted to take him by force. This expression, harpazo, found in 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 17, simply means to be taken away, to be taken by force, to be delivered at once. Now, the Latin took it and used the word "rapture." And that becomes something that we often use, but if you don't like to use the word "rapture," don't use it. But the truth of the rapture, the truth of being snatched away, is found in the Bible.

There are many other verses that I didn't read that the word "catching away" is found in Scripture. And by the way, the word "triunity" is not found in the Bible. But the truth about the triunity of the Godhead is found in the Bible. So we have to understand we cannot deny the truth of the Bible because we don't like a certain word or because we don't like a certain thing that has been said over the years among the people of God. So back to our chapter. There are three bases upon which the Apostle Paul teach us the truth of the snatching away of the believers to meet the Lord in the air.

And I want you to follow with me from the text that I'm reading. The first thing is the Apostle Paul writing to them in verse 13. He said, "I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren." That means that they were ignorant. That means that they did not know. It is something new that he revealed to them which he didn't talk to them about earlier. He talked to them about the second coming of the Messiah. He talked to them about tribulation. He talked about holiness. Yes, he already talked. He said, "You know that. You know that. You know that." But this is something that you don't know.

And I'm giving you information right now. "If I don't want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope." Now just, again, bear with me, brothers and sisters. Notice he used the word "those which are asleep." That word in Hebrew we say "lishon," to sleep, is a word that become or been applied to everyone that trusted the person of the Lord, Jesus the Messiah, and died. It's another word of saying, instead of saying, "I don't want your brethren to be ignorant concerning them that died." He's saying to them, "I don't want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which have fallen asleep." You see, when a believer dies, for him or for her, death becoming a servant, for him or for her, death becoming a servant, to assure us to the presence of the Lord, the spirit and the soul, to the presence of the Lord, while the body is placed in the tomb, in the ground.

And the believer, as far as God is concerned, is really only sleeping, awaiting the time when he or she will be awakened, and continue on into time and eternity with the Lord, Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. So, apparently, beloved brothers and sisters, there were those that died at Thessalonica. And so, the living brethren, they were looking and saying, "Wait a minute, what happened to my brother? He was with us, and what happened to him? He died. What will happen to him in the future? And what about my father, and my sister, and my children, or whoever from among the believers who passed away?" And so, he's saying to them, "Listen, I do not want you, brethren, to be ignorant concerning them which are asleep, which died by faith in Yeshua the Messiah.

Their body is temporarily in the tomb, awaiting the day which the soul and the spirit will be reunited to the body, and they will be ushered to the presence of the Lord." So, he's saying to them, "Brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant concerning that. There are those that fall asleep, those that died through the person of the Lord Jesus." You notice, by the way, in this text, that three times he used the word, "those that are asleep." Notice that? Verse 13, "them which are asleep." Verse 14, "them also which are asleep in Jesus, in Yeshua." Verse 15, "them which are asleep." The main concern of the brothers and sisters in Thessalonica was what happened to those that died already, and they are waiting the day of resurrection.

Will they enjoy the second coming of the Messiah and be with us? Will they miss the snatching up of the assembly? And the main concern that they had is with those that fell asleep. There is no doctrine here about the timing in a sense of pre-tribulation, post-tribulation. He is concerned about them that they will have hope, that they will realize the hope that they have. And so, from verses 14, 15, 16, and 17, there are three-fold bases upon which the truth of the snatching away, the truth of the rapture of the assembly is based upon. Three things. It's not a matter of our feeling. It's not a matter of our own opinion.

It's not based upon some imagination. But it's based upon the three facts that the Apostle Paul is speaking here in the next verses. 14, 15, 16, and 17. So, number one, we find out that the first basis upon which the truth of the snatching up of the assembly will be is upon the basis of the death of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. Notice what we read now in verse 14, the first part. It says, "For if we believe that Yeshua, Jesus, died." Pause here for a moment. The word for if, it's not a question that he asked them if. Really, the word is since we believe. For since we believe that Yeshua died.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, listen to this. It is so important to hold on to the fact that God had to send his son to this world to die for the sin of this world. You know it very well, the famous verses, John 3, 16. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have everlasting life." Many of us know that and quoted that when we were children. "For God so loved the world, he had to give his son, the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of this world, to come down to this world in order to pay the penalty for our sins." He had to die.

This is exactly what the apostle already said to them at the year 50 AD when he went to Thessalonica and he preached to them the gospel from the Old Testament, from the Hebrew Scriptures. The Messiah had to die. He had to die, ladies and gentlemen. Without the death of the Messiah as a substitute, you and I have no hope. Throughout the history of our nation, Israel, an animal had to be killed in order that our nation, that Israel as a nation, will be forgiven. And all those animals typified the coming of the Messiah whom in the fullness of time he came and he gave his life.

He gave his life, beloved brothers and sisters and ladies and gentlemen. He had to die. Isaiah the prophet says, "All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, but the Lord laid upon him, this is the Messiah, the iniquities of us all." He had to die. He had to become a substitute, a just one for you and I, for the Thessalonians, the unjust ones. He had to die. The prophet of Israel in Psalm 22, David said, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He was speaking about the words of the Messiah who cried in Matthew chapter 27. "My God, Eli, Eli, lama shvaktani, why hast thou forsaken me?" And the psalmist of Israel answered and he says, "For thou art holy, thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." The Messiah had to die because God is holy and all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

He had to become a substitute, beloved friends. And the Bible tells us it is important to believe on the Messiah, on Christ's death. Since we believe that Jesus died. That's the question that we're always going to ask. Do you believe that he died? Do you believe? Whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have everlasting life. He that believeth on the Son, John 3:36, hath life. And he that believeth not on the Son of God hath not life, but the wrath of God abides on him. So the first thing that Apostle Paul is saying to the Thessalonians. He says, "Since you believe that Jesus, that Yeshua died." And they believed.

And he knew that. And he's writing to them to comfort them. He says, "Listen, for since..." And by the way, listen to that. He used the word "we" here. Not only you, but he's speaking about himself. Since we, I Paul, and you Thessalonians. Since we believe that Jesus died, that Yeshua died. I believe, obviously, the Apostle Paul believed. Because he was writing to us this letter by divine inspiration. So he's including himself. He's including himself. And I think this is very, very important because when he was writing to them, he was anticipating himself that the Lord will come at any time. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, he was anticipating that the Messiah will come at his days some 2,000 years ago.

And if we believe that Jesus died, that Yeshua died. So the first, you might say, fact upon which the rapture or the snatching up or the catching up of the church is based is upon the death of the Messiah. It's not theory. It's not human opinion. It is biblical. The prophets of Israel always spoke about the coming of the Messiah to die for the sin of Israel and the sins of the world. But it's not only this. Because notice this in verse 14 also. He doesn't only speak about the death of the Messiah since we believe that Yeshua died. But immediately, in the very same verse, it says: For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again.

And rose again. Now the second thing we learn is that it's not only on the basis of the death of the Messiah, but it's also on the basis of the resurrection of the Messiah. In other words, we learn here immediately, that if Yeshua, if Jesus the Messiah only died and was not resurrected, we would have had a dead Savior. And today, by the way, in the world in which we live in, there are so many groups of people who believe in one thing or another, but their leader is dead. He's not alive. But here the apostle is saying, if we believe, since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again.

And you remember, ladies and gentlemen, the Lord Jesus himself, Yeshua himself, said again and again and again of the fact that he will have to die and be risen again. In Matthew chapter 16, we find out the Lord's words there about his own resurrection. Matthew chapter 16, Yeshua himself said in verse 21, he says: And then forth began Yeshua to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, and suffer many things of the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and notice, and be raised again on the third day. You see, he taught the importance of his resurrection. And as he was teaching the importance of his resurrection, obviously, beloved brothers and sisters, he was thinking in light of what the Scripture predicted.

Because David prophetically speaks about the Messiah in Psalm 16:10, he said: "Thou shalt not leave my soul in Sheol, neither thine holy one to seek corruption." David already said it in Psalm 16:10. Isaiah prophesied about the resurrection of the Messiah in Isaiah 53, when he said, "He shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied." The Messiah will rise again. And so, brothers and sisters and ladies and gentlemen, it was predicted. And on the basis of his death, and on the basis of his resurrection, the apostle Paul is instructing the Thessalonians concerning the snatching up, the snatching up of the assembly, the harpazo in the Greek, the lekicha in Hebrew of the assembly before the time of Jacob's trouble will begin.

And so, belief in the death of the Messiah, number one. Belief in the resurrection of the Messiah, number two. And you notice what it says in verse 14? He continues, it says: "For if we believe that Yeshua died, and if we believe that Yeshua rose again, even them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." And listen, beloved brothers of the city of Thessalonica, if you believe that Yeshua died, and you believe that Yeshua rose, God is going to bring with the Messiah those that have already fallen asleep, those believers that have died and passed away already. You have to understand that he is saying to the Thessalonians in these two points in verse 14, point one and point two, the death of the Messiah, the resurrection of the Messiah.

But from here on, and listen to me now, beloved friends, in verses 15, 16, and 17, he give us the third, you might say, base upon which we have to understand that the truth of the snatching up of the assembly will occur. And listen to the third, and listen to the third, base upon which it's dependent, it's going to come to pass. In verses 15, 16, and 17, he based that upon the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord. The word of the Lord. And now notice that, and I'm reading just verse 15 in the beginning. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord. By the word of the Lord.

This is so important. It's not by word of men. It's not some teacher that decided to teach truth of the snatching up of the church, of the assembly. It's not some theologian that figure out about the snatching up of the assembly. It is by the word of the Lord. For the word of the Lord. Because of the word of the Lord, we have the instruction concerning the fact that we have sinned, and we needed a savior. Because of the word of the Lord, we have instruction of the fact that the Messiah came from heaven and was born in Bethlehem, lived in Nazareth, died in Jerusalem outside, and was buried and rose again.

It is the word of the Lord. Unless people will learn to accept the word of the Lord, they will never come to the knowledge of the truth. We have to accept the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord clearly teaching us and giving us instruction concerning the catching up, the harpazo, the lekicha in Hebrew of the assembly from this world before the beginning of Jacob's trouble. And so now let's see what is the word of the Lord. That's what he's giving to us here in the next verses, beloved friends, here in this passage as we read this together. Now notice that he gives us instruction step by step.

Now just for a moment before I'm going to go through those steps. What does that mean? When did the word of the Lord came to the apostle Paul, to Shaul? Remember that the apostle Paul, that Shaul, Paul, came to know Yeshua the Messiah only after the Lord died, Yeshua died and he was taken to heaven. Paul never had any, you might say, any idea about the Lord Yeshua the Messiah in the Messiah's life. He did not know him as his Lord Mashiach and Savior. In fact, if you remember, in Acts chapter 7, when Stephen was stoned, Paul, Shaul, stood by there and the clothes was placed beside him.

He rejected the Messiah Yeshua. He didn't know. He was not in the upper room to hear what the Lord said to the disciples in the upper room in John 14, where Yeshua's words were very clearly to them. He said, "Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many mentions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, this is in the Father's house, there ye may be also." Very clear.

But Shaul Paul was not there. It was given to the disciples who were in the upper room before the Holy Spirit of God came and formed the body of Christ, the body of Messiah. So what does Paul mean when he says in 1 Thessalonians 4:15, "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord." Immediately, beloved brothers and sisters, we learn that there are certain things that the Lord, Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, told the Apostle Paul that he revealed to him things that others did not know immediately. Because the only one that speaks about the snatching up of the church is the Apostle Paul. 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Corinthians 15.

And the only one that spoke about the rapture or the snatching up of the assembly was Yeshua the Messiah. In John chapter 14 verses 1, 2 and 3. So the question is, how did he reveal this to the Apostle Paul? To Shaul Paul? Now let me remind you, if you please bear with me, turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. I want you to notice what the Apostle Paul, what Shaul is saying to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15, He says to them in verse 51, "Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep." And again, the word "sleep." "We shall not all die." "But we shall all be changed." Now again, he used the word "we" again.

And apparently, Shaul Paul have anticipated the coming of the Lord in his lifetime. We, we shall not all sleep. I, Paul, and you, brothers and sisters of Corinth, we shall not all die physically. But one thing for sure, we shall all be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trump shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Paul apparently teaches us here something that is very important. That this information that he is giving to the Thessalonians and to the Corinthians, and to you and I today, was a mystery that was revealed to him by the word of the Lord.

Now you know, that's why many people don't like the Apostle Paul, because the Apostle Paul gives us additional truths that were not found in the Tanakh in the Old Testament. He gives us additional information concerning the present day age in which we live in. You see, if you and I would have lived many years before, and some of us are Jewish here, we are part of the nation of Israel, we believe what Moshe wrote in the Bible. Torah Moshe, the law of Moses, is found in the Hebrew Scripture, and we believe what he says. But somehow, some do not want to believe what Paul says, as if Paul's words and Moses' words, some of them are not divinely inspired.

If Paul gave us this information, is it divinely inspired? Is it Bible or not? If we don't believe this, then the Apostle Paul just had his own imagination and he gave us some information that is really not the word of God. Therefore, we don't have to believe all the letters that he wrote. Romans, 1st Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, and on and on. We can reject them all, because Paul said what he wanted to say, and it's really not the word of the Lord. Some may say. But ladies and gentlemen, this is the word of the Lord. This is Dvar Elohim, because the Brita Hadashah, the New Testament was given to us by divine inspiration using men, such as Shimon, Petros, such as Yaakov, James, such as Jude, Judah, including Shaul Paul.

It is the word of the Lord. And the word of the Lord came by divine inspiration. If you read the book of Revelation, you notice that the Apostle John, Yohanan, was on the island of Patmos, and he received the whole book of Revelation by divine inspiration. I was not there. Neither you were there. But it is Bible. It is part of the text of the word of God. We either believe it or reject it. And when we reject the word of God, we are not on God's side. He will challenge us in one time or another. He will challenge us and he will show us, I told you this.

It's found in the written word and you rejected it. You might challenge him, he will show you. But Paul says, I am telling you by the word of the Lord. I show you a mystery. And then he began to tell them the events and the order of things, the way things happen. Listen, ladies and gentlemen, gentlemen, the word for mystery, mystery is truth that was hidden before and revealed later on. Turn to Ephesians 3 with me for a moment also. The Apostle Paul also there, Shaul Paul, has the same expression. In verse 3 of Ephesians 3, he says, how that by revelation, he made known unto me the mystery whereof I wrote for a few words.

The Lord gave him this truth, this mystery which was hid, and he revealed it to the Apostle Paul, to Shaul Paul. Notice in verse 9 of Ephesians chapter 3, And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God, who created all things by Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah. It was hidden in God, it was not given to man in past history. And that's why the Apostle Paul is saying, I'm telling you by the word of the Lord. It's not my opinion. It is the word of the Lord. He revealed this to me.

What will happen to those who have already died, who sleep in Yeshua? What's going to happen to them and to the living one before the second coming of the Lord and how we are going to be ushered to his presence in the day when he is going to call us. And so you notice, beloved brothers, please go with me to 1 Thessalonians back. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. And I'm reading once again, the verse here is in verse 15. Notice what he says there in verse 15. For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord. And now he continued to tell us, in verse 15b, he says now, notice that he's speaking again, he used the word we.

He used the word we. Wait a minute, Paul. Who is the we? Oh, me, Paul. And you, Thessalonians. Waiting for the coming of the Lord now. He will come. The imminent return of the Lord. He's coming. He's coming. I'm here. He anticipated the coming of the Lord. And so notice what he says to them in verse 15. The second part, he says, we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not precede them which are asleep. Paul is saying to the brothers and sisters in Thessalonica, we, I, Paul, and your brethren who are still alive, waiting for the coming of the Lord, we are not going to, as it says here, rent or precede or be first.

When the Messiah, Yeshua, when Jesus the Lord will come. He's saying to them, notice that he's anticipating. I'm puzzled sometimes. He anticipated the coming of the Lord now, at any moment. While you and I, already 2,000 years later, and we say, oh yeah, we live in last days. The Lord should come very soon. Well, Paul's last days in his time, in the year 50, 52, 53, it's that the time, the coming of the Lord, first of all, he's going to come to take his people out of here. Secondly, he's going to come to judge this world in righteousness. And so he says, in verse 15, the fact that we which are alive and remain shall not precede those that are asleep.

The Thessalonians will say, well, what about my family? My brother, my sister, my mom, my son, my daughter, who have already died, slept through Yeshua. Will they miss the second coming? Will they miss the snatching up of the heavenly company to be with the Lord? And Paul says, no, no, wait a minute. Let me assure you, those that passed away as believers in Yeshua, the Messiah, will lose nothing when it's come to the coming of the Lord. We which are alive and remain are not going to proceed or to prevent them which are asleep. In other words, don't think, beloved brothers and sisters, when your family, some of your members of your family is in a grave, in a tomb, that they will not enjoy that meeting time when the Lord Yeshua will come.

Paul believed that the Lord will come in his lifetime. Paul taught that living saints will not precede sleeping saints. And all saints will gather together to Yeshua. No one will be missing. I don't know how things are going to happen, but think about it. We have been in many funeral services. We have seen many of our own brothers and sisters in a Messiah passing out from this scene. People that we love dearly, people that have been sitting wherever you sit today and are no longer here with us. Some of them passed 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago. But Paul is not speaking about now, it's in his time 2,000 years ago.

The vast majority of the ecclesia, of the called out one, of the assembly, of the church, of the Kehillah are now gone out of this scene. You know, some people believe that the church will go through the tribulation. Well, which part of the church will go through the tribulation? Because the vast majority of the church is not here. They all died, they all passed away. Their body is in the grave, their soul and the spirit is in heaven. So which part? But the Lord is teaching us through the apostle Paul that no one will be missing that appointment that God has in mind for his own people.

And so, Paul believed the Lord will come at his time. Paul taught that the living saints will not precede the sleeping saint and the saints together will all enjoy the Lord at his coming to take them and to meet them in the air. Then notice, brothers and sisters, in verses 16 and verse 17, he gives us the order of events. How it's going to happen. Now, again, he received it by the word of the Lord. The Lord showed this to the apostle Paul. So let's just quickly just go through the order of the events in which all things are going to happen. Verses 16 and 17. In verse 16a, the Lord Yeshua himself shall descend from heaven.

You notice that? It says here in verse 16, the Lord himself shall descend from heaven. Do you see, ladies and gentlemen, it's the person of the Lord himself. You see, when he's going to gather the people of Israel at the end of the tribulation and bring them back into the land of Israel, he will send his angels. And they all will go and they will gather all the outcasts of Israel and they will bring them into the promised land. And then the judgment will occur at the end of the tribulation. Eventually the Lord will come. But here there is no judgment. He doesn't talk about judgment.

He's talking about the peaceful taking away of the believers. Here it's not the second coming at the judgment, the second coming of the Messiah. This is the taking up, the snatching, the harpazo of the people of God to heaven, to the cloud, to meet the Lord in the air. We must distinguish the rapture of the church or the catching up of the church and the second coming of the Messiah. At the snatching up of the heavenly company, there is no conflict. At the second coming of the Messiah, there is judgment upon judgment that will fall upon the face of this earth. At the snatching up of the assembly, we meet him in the air.

At the second coming of the Messiah, he's going to come down all the way to this earth and his feet will stand upon Mount Olives. And the snatching up of the church is going to happen prior to the judgment that is going to come. But at the second coming of the Messiah, there will be judgment that is going to fall upon the face of this earth. We read that the prophet Isaiah says, For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty and upon everyone that is lifted up and he shall be brought low. Howl ye for the day of the Lord is at hand.

It shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 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. This is the second coming of the Messiah. Isaiah 2:12 and on in Isaiah 13:6 and 9. This is the second coming in judgment. But there is no judgment here. It is a taking away of the people that belong to him. No judgment. It is simply speaking about a peaceful removal of those that have believed in Jesus in Yeshua the Messiah. Both those that are dead, that died in Messiah and those that are alive going to be taken together as he says here in verse 16.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven. Beautiful. We don't wait for somebody else, for an angel to come to take us. We don't wait for any great leader to come to take us. It is the Lord himself. The same Jesus who has been taken away from you shall come again. Acts chapter 1 tells us. And so now in verses 16b and 16c we find out that the way in which he is going to come. Notice what it says here. How he is going to come? Three things it says here in verse 16. Number one with a shout. Number two with the voice of the archangel. Number three with the trump of God.

Now immediately people trying to compare this with the seven trumpets that have been sound in Revelation chapter 8 and on. The seven trumpets that have been opened. It has nothing to do with it. But when first Thessalonians was written, the revelation that John was received was about 50 years or 40 years later on. Paul writing in 52, 53 AD, John received the revelation in 95, 96 AD. About 50, 40 years later. It has nothing to do with the seven trumpets sound of the tribulation period. This has to do with the calling out of the Messiah to his own people to be taken out of this scene. That expression with a shout is a command to be ready.

It's like saying to someone, you know, get in line, be ready. He's coming to snatch us out of this earth. Secondly, not only with a shout but with the voice of the archangel. The archangel, the only one that is called the archangel in the Bible, in the Word of God, is an angel that is called Michael. Michael, the archangel, he's mentioned in the book of Jude in verse 9. He's the only one that is called archangel. There may be more archangels of which we do not know. But the only one that is called the archangel come in and participate in the voice of calling the people of God to be ushered out of this world.

By the way, in Jewish history, over the years, the Jewish people have called seven individuals as an archangel. Michael, Gavriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selafiel, Yenudiel, and Berachiel. All of them end with the word El. Raphael, Gavriel, Michael. These are names. Two of them are mentioned in the Word of God. The rest of them are actually not mentioned in Scripture. Over the generation, there are things that have been evolved and taught by our own people. In fact, in the Bible, we don't have any more than those two good angels' names that are mentioned, both Old Testament and New Testament. Daniel mentioned Gavriel and Michael. In the New Testament, Jude is mentioned, Michael, and Gavriel is mentioned in the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, the Annunciation of the Messiah.

These are the only two names that we have in Scripture. The other name that is mentioned of an angel was a fallen angel by the name of Lucifer, who became Satan. But really, in Scripture, the only names that are given to an angel are specifically those two. And those two are the good angels, the servant of the Lord. And one of them is called the archangel in Jude. In verse 9, I would like to read you this verse. And he does say, Yet Michael, the archangel, when he contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moshe, of Moses, darest not to bring against him a railing accusation, but he said, the Lord rebuke thee.

He's the only one in Scripture that is mentioned to be the archangel. And therefore, it may be, if we understand this in this way, that Michael will be involved in that shout that will, as it says here, the voice of the archangel, that he will announce as well of the snatching up of the assembly out of this scene. But you notice, thirdly, in that same verse 16, it says also, end with the trumpet of God. The trump of God has to do with the calling out of his people to himself. If you will read the book of Numbers, chapter 10, there were trumpets that had been commended by the God of Israel to give Israel to make in order that they will be called for a regathering of the people.

The sound of the trumpet will gather the people. It's the calling out of the people of God to himself. And so that trumpet of God is a call of assembly. It's like the shofar will be sound, the trumpet will sound, and we all are going to be collected and gathered to the Lord. So those three words that we have in verse 16, with a shout, a call to be ready, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, he's going to call all his own people that belong to him to be ushered out of here. And so you notice now, in verse 16, look at the process now, beloved brothers and sisters.

In verse 16, at the end, he said, And the dead in the Messiah in Christ will rise first. When there will be that shout, when there will be the voice of the archangel, when there will be the trumpet of God sound, First of all, those that sleep, those believers that slept through Yeshua the Messiah will rise first. Now you and I might tell me I cannot fathom that. Well, neither am I. But this is the word of the Lord. And you remember when he called Eliezer, Lazarus, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth. Now if he would not say Lazarus, everybody would have come out.

But he says Lazarus, Eliezer in Hebrew. Eliezer, Bo, come forth, Eliezer. And he that was dead came forth. God is the God of resurrection. Yeshua said in John 11, I am the resurrection and the life. He is the one that is able to raise men from among the dead. Because he is the creator, the sustainer. He is the one who is upholding all things by the word of his power. And he will give the shout. The voice of the archangel will come along with it. And the trump of God will sound. And the dead, you know, I love this expression. The dead in the Mashiach, in the Messiah.

Those of us that belong to Yeshua the Messiah called in Christ. In Mashiach, in Messiah. We belong to him. 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Those that are in Christ Jesus, in Messiah Yeshua, are new creation. All things that pass away, all become new. We are new creation. But we are in Jesus. In the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Not outside of him. And this expression, in Mashiach, in Christ, is expression that's specifically applied to believers of this present day age. The church of the assembly, the called out one. The ecclesia, the church. That expression was never written before. It only was given to us after Jesus the Messiah. The Lord came and died for us on the tree.

Now finally, brothers and sisters, now notice how beautiful. Look at the conclusion in verse 17. Again, the Apostle Paul say about himself. He anticipated the coming of the Lord. And he said, listen. We, me, Paul, me, Shaul. And those of us that are alive and remain. Like the dead in Messiah will rise. And then we which are alive and remain. He says, and here is where you get the word rapture that we all fight over. And we all have conflict over the years. And we which are alive and remain shall be caught up. Shall be caught up. Shall be, as it says here, harpazo in the Greek text.

And the Hebrew word lehilakach. We shall be taken. We which are alive and remain shall be taken. Shall be caught up. Shall be snatched out of here. And notice it says here at the end. Together. Not alone. All those that trusted Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. Together. The dead in Messiah. The living in Messiah. They all together are going to be caught up. And I want you to notice, beloved brothers and sisters. It's not coming to earth now. It's not the second coming of the Messiah now. It's a new revelation concerning the catching up of the assembly of the ecclesia. All together with them in the cloud.

We're going to be caught up together with them in the cloud to meet the Lord. Now where it is saying here, in the air. He doesn't say on earth. He doesn't speak about yet the city of Yerushalayim. Which will happen in the future day when Israel, our people will be gathered to the land of Israel. And all the nations of the world will come and say, come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord. To the house of the God of Jacob. It's completely to be distinguished. The ecclesia are going to be called out of here in this world. We're going to be caught up and out of this sin in order to meet the Lord in the air.

And as the Lord Jesus the Messiah said in John 14, Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many mansions. And I go to prepare a place for you. Verse 3. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. Notice. He's going to take the people to be with him in glory. And Paul, in another passage in 1 Corinthians 15, he's just giving us the understanding where he said, Behold, I show you a mystery. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 51. We shall not all die or sleep. He said, but we shall all be changed. Something is going to happen.

We're going to be changed. There's going to be a resurrection. And you might say a changing of this body of humiliation. We're going to receive a glorified body. In a moment. Verse 52 of 1 Corinthians 15. In a twinkling of an eye. At the last trump. The trumpet shall sound. That trump is the trump that 1 Thessalonians 4. The fourth speak is the trump of God of calling people. It is the last, you might say, the last shouting and calling of the heavenly company to come and be with the Lord in glory. The trumpet shall sound. And the dead shall be raised. Incorruptible. And we shall be changed. Ladies and gentlemen.

You know, with this body, we committed all the sin that exists in here in this world. We dishonor the Lord. We fail the Lord. We have hurt others. We have done wrong. With this body. But when we're going to be changing this body, that's why we get older and sicker. And ultimately we're going to decay and pass out of this sin. But we're going to be changed. In a moment. In a twinkling of an eye. For this corruptible must put incorruption. This mortal must put immortality. He says later on, Oh, death, where is thy sting? Oh, grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin.

But the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giving us the victory, and it is through our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. What a wonderful truth to understand. Beloved brothers and sisters, death is the snatching up the church, the ecclesia will be taken out of here to meet the Lord in the cloud. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. You see, it's a word of comfort. It's not a word of fighting about. We're going to see probably at the end of the meeting, some of us are going to start to argue. I don't believe in death. I'm not asking you to fight with me.

You don't have to accept it. You be the judge as before the Lord. He knows your heart. He knows my heart. He knows everything. You need to sort it out for yourself. Don't fight with me. Fight with the Apostle Paul. And beloved brothers and sisters, it is a wonderful truth to understand that we are going to be with Him. We're going to enjoy Him forever. We're going to be like Him for we shall see Him as He is, as the Apostle tells us elsewhere. We will never sin against God. We will have a glorified body suitable for eternal relationship with our blessed Lord Yeshua, the Messiah.

Can we say amen to that?