Main Idea:

The result of the Rapture will be the resurrection of believers who have died and the catching up of living believers to heaven to be with the Lord. The Rapture is rightly viewed as an "imminent" event - one that may occur at any moment. The Rapture will inaugurate the eschatological Day of the Lord, broadly understood as the season of judgment that includes the Tribulation, the Second Coming and the Millennium. God's purposes for the Day of the Lord include not only the pouring out of His wrath on the unrepentant, but also the salvation of many, including the salvation of the nation of Israel, according to His promise, and Christ's righteous reign over the earth.

The focus of 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 in particular, is on the strikingly different futures of believers in Jesus and unbelievers in the aftermath of the Rapture and the Day of the Lord. Rightly understood, the section (4:13-5:11) will encourage believers to rest in their salvation in Christ, which has completely transformed death for them. The unbelieving will be confronted with the reality of their urgent need for salvation.

Outline:
Three observations about how the Day of the Lord will impact unbelievers left behind after the Rapture

1) For the unbelieving, the Day of the Lord will arrive UNEXPECTEDLY

2) For the unbelieving, the Day of the Lord will arrive
IRREVERSIBLY

3) The unbelieving will find the Day of the Lord INESCAPABLE

Questions for further contemplation and application after the message:

1) What is meant when the Rapture is described as an "imminent" event?


2) Since the Rapture inaugurates the Day of the Lord, it is right to view both events as imminent. What are the life implications now? First, how should believers live in light of the fact that Jesus may return for them at any moment?

How should unbelievers respond to the gospel once made aware of the ever-nearing arrival of the Day of the Lord?


Select helpful resources:
Benware, Paul N. Understanding End Times. Moody: Chicago, 1995, 2006.
Hiebert, D. Edmund. 1st & 2nd Thessalonians. BMH Books: Winona Lake, IN, 1996.
MacArthur, John F. 1st & 2nd Thessalonians The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 2002.
Thomas, Robert L., Ralph Earle, and D. Edmund Hiebert. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. 1st & 2nd Thessalonians, 1st & 2nd Timothy, Titus. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 1996.


THE CROSS
The Church Age
THE RAPTURE THEN JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
The Tribulation \
THE SECOND COMING The Day of the Lord
The Millennial Kingdom /
FINAL JUDGEMENTS
Eternity