Main Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17
Supporting Texts: Matthew 24:36–44, 1 Corinthians 15:51–52, Revelation 22:12
🔔 Introduction: Wake Up—Time Is Almost Up!
We are not just living in the last days—we are in the last moments of the last days. The rapture—the sudden catching away of believers—is not a myth, not a fairy tale, not a movie idea. It’s a real event that is about to take place, and it can happen any moment now.
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven…” (1 Thess. 4:16)
✨ 1. What Is the Rapture? (The Great Catching Away)
Definition: The rapture is when Jesus will return in the clouds and take His Church out of this world instantly.
1 Thess. 4:17 – “We will be caught up together… to meet the Lord in the air.”
This is different from the second coming (which comes after the Tribulation). The rapture happens before judgment falls!
🕊️ Illustration: Like Noah entered the ark before the flood, the Church will be taken out before the storm of God’s wrath.
⚠️ 2. Signs That the Rapture Is Near (Prophetic Alarm Bells Are Ringing)
Matthew 24:6–8 – Wars, famines, earthquakes = “the beginning of sorrows”
2 Timothy 3:1–5 – Lovers of self, lovers of money, disobedient, unholy…
Israel is back in the land (1948) – a major prophetic clock!
Technology is preparing the world for global control (Rev. 13 – Mark of the Beast systems)
📢 Prophetic Truth: We are the only generation that has seen every major biblical sign converge at once.
😱 3. Many Will Be Left Behind (The Danger of Delay)
Matthew 24:40–42 – “Two will be in the field… one will be taken… the other left.”
The rapture will be sudden, silent, and shocking.
Those left behind will enter the Great Tribulation—a time of unimaginable horror.
🧠 Illustration: Imagine waking up, and millions are gone. Churches empty. Planes crashing. Chaos everywhere. It will happen. People will cry, “Why didn’t I listen?”
🔥 4. Get Ready NOW—Tomorrow Might Be Too Late!
1 Corinthians 15:52 – “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye”
There won’t be time to repent after the trumpet sounds.
Revelation 22:12 – “Behold, I come quickly…”
💡 Key Message: God is not warning us to scare us, but to prepare us!