REVELATION 4
Last week we heard about the most important part of Revelation…What God had to say to the Churches and were told if we had an ear to listen, then do it. Today’s Episode will cover the beginning of Chapter 4, the Rapture!
Reminder of the outline that God gave for this book chapter 1:4
It was John speaking to the seven churches sending grace and peace from Him
Which is. (A paraphrase of the great I AM)
Which was (the past)
And which is to come. (The Future)
In the ESV Version 4:1
After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you must take place after this.”
At once I was in the Spirit and behold, a throne stood in heaven with one seated on the throne.
Did you catch that? According to the scripture we just read, the Rapture was put into God’s timeline of History for mankind.
If you missed it, lemma essplain
When my brother and sister and I were visiting our Grandfather in Germany, way too many years to mention, we were standing around waiting for a bus, while we overheard a conversation in English.
In English I asked the couple if there was anything we could do to help.
He replied in English telling me he was trying to confirm the correct bus headed in his direction, but he was Polish and only knew how to speak Polish and English. After getting his info and question, I asked around in German for the info we needed and had them on their bus just in the Nic of time. It only took three languages before things became clear.
Yes, that was an important rabbit trail. Most of us read our Bible in English. I read the first verse in the English Standard Version, a simpler version to understand than the KJV. I love the beauty of the KJV, but I understand that we don’t all go around speaking like Shakespeare anymore.
Whatever American translation you are reading from, was translated from the original languages…Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic.
No I don’t speak those languages, and don’t even begin to be an expert in translating. However since I speak German as well as English, I do understand that sometimes the translation of words or phrases are not clear cut and need a little understanding. For example, I grew up asking for an “untersetzt” at very important moments. At home with the family they understood, however if I was at someone else place, they didn’t always help quickly enough. So my mind would have to do the translation out loud. I need and untersetzt! The thing that sits under. The thing that sits under this hot pot of spaghetti that will burn me very soon. I need a TRIVET! That’s it, I NEED a TRIVET! In my mind I had to translate from German to English to a borrowed word from French!
After these things, the things I just shared with you from my past, I am moving to the present to share more with you of what I have read and studied in the Bible. What I share on the subject of the Rapture is not meant to be taken to the point of using as ammunition in an arguement. These things that God has taught me through His word are made to comfort us with the thought of His return, not ne used as a weapon in warfare between other believers or a hammer when speaking with unbelievers.
In fact this is a great place to pivot for some support for this caution.
If we look into I Thessalonians. This book was written around AD 51 so it was written to a fairly young church of about 20 years, rather young in the eyes of many a believer. And yet, Paul takes the time to speak to them of what was an important matter. Some of those in the early church had died, and they had questions. Will my loved one be in heaven or not since they have missed the Coming of the Lord, His return that has not happened yet. Paul was clarifying what would happen in chapter 4, he did not want them to be ignorant due to lack of information regarding those who had already died.
For the Lord Himself will 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. 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. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.
A few things stand out to me here, how about you?
There are some today and in recent decades saying that we should remain in the gospels and leave Revelation alone, which is too difficult for the average person to understand, but Paul was clarifying the Coming of the Lord to them through these verses that were to bring them comfort.
This shows me that as believers in Jesus, we are to find comfort in reading Revelation as we look deeper into the coming of the Lord and how it all plays out. Now that grace and peace from John at the beginning of Revelation always came in that order. Grace first and then peace, for there is no peace with out the grace of God.
This passage also shows me that the caught up or snatching away of God;s children will not be a silent affair. There will be a voice like the Archangel, like the sound of a loud trumpet!
This trumpet is referring to the gathering of believers, but in the case of Matthew 24:31 God sends angels pl. to gather all the elect at the end of the seven year tribulation period, known also as the 70th week of Daniel.
Thessalonians refers to the believers in Jesus that have already died
And Matthew refers to Jewish, living believers
In more modern English we read I Thess 4:13-18
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,[d] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
With a bit of a foundation regarding the doctrine of the Rapture, the snatching away or being caught up in His presence, we can continue on to Rev 4:1 with more insight.
Read more on the Blog at Mments with Moni
In the ESV Version 4:1
After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you must take place after this.”
At once I was in the Spirit and behold, a throne stood in heaven with one seated on the throne.
At this point we do not see the word Rapture in this passage or any other passage for that matter. However the doctrine of the Rapture is in the Bible, some of which we saw in I Thess.
Some scholars take this first verse of Revelation 4 and explain that after this, or after these things in the Greek Meta Taute, to English sounds something like being harpooned, translated to Latin and then English we get our word Rapture.
Some scholars say this verse is not to be used as support for the translation of the Rapture of the church here, because it’s a stretch and may cause some to disbelieve the Pre Trib Rapture case once they look into this.
Again, this is not for our intellectual sparring, but for our comfort.
When I come upon a passage that gives me trouble, or one that scholars have trouble agreeing on, I know that I have to fall back on what I DO know of God’s word. For I, just like you, are responsible for what we know about the Bible and wether we are obedient to it.
I know that True believers have the Holy Spirit within us. Jesus sent us the Paracletus, the Holy Spirit, our helper and comforter, and God promised that He would never leave us or forsake us.
I know the church is mentioned here and not again until Chapter 19.
At this very point in scripture is the jumping off several thoughts of direction.....
Read More on the Blog at Momentwithmoni.com Episode 83
or listen to the Podcast.
Thanks so much for listening.
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