Presentation 19 Notes

Israel and the Rapture of the

Church
I. Israel in the Old Testament
a. Gen 32:27, 28 Jacob (“supplanter”) was named Israel (“overcomer”)
indicating a spiritual relationship to God
b. Gen 17:13 Israel became the name of God’s covenant people, which could
include Gentiles, by circumcision
c. Jer 11:9-11 Israel broke God’s covenant by pursuing other gods
d. Dan 9:24-27 490 years of probation were given to the Jews to keep God’s
covenant, but they did not

II. Israel Since the New Testament

a. Hos 9:10 In the OT, Israel was likened to a fig tree
b. Luke 13:6-9; Matt 21:19, 20 Israel became like a fig tree that did not yield
fruit, and was judged
i. Dan 9:27 Jesus ratified His covenant with Israel for the last 7 years of
the 490-year prophecy
ii. Acts 7 With the martyrdom of Stephen (34 AD), the Jewish nation
ended the covenant with God
c. Gal 3:26-29 Everyone who follows Christ today belongs to spiritual Israel:
i. Rom 2:28, 29 The true “Jew” is one inwardly
ii. Rom 11:1-23 Jews “shall be grafted in again” but only if they believe
in Jesus, the Messiah
d. Heb 8:8-10 The new covenant is now God’s law in the heart, thus, inward
transformation, not ethnic identity
 III. The Conditional Nature of Prophecy
Notes
a. Some believe the land and the city were restored to literal Israel in 1948 and
1967, respectively; that the temple will be rebuilt, and 144,000 Jews will
evangelize the world
b. Gen 17:1, 2 The promises to Abraham were conditional
c. Jer 18:7-10; 17:24, 25 Prophecies involving people and nations are always
conditional (ie: Nineveh, Jonah 3)
d. Jer 30:3-11; 31:8, 9 In these texts, the deliverance of Israel is from the
Babylonian captivity, not a later Israel

IV. Why Some Christians Believe in a Secret Rapture

a. In 1830, 16 year-old Margaret McDonald, in Scotland, had visions about a
special group from the church who would be removed from Earth prior to the
great tribulation and the appearance of the Antichrist
b. Pastors Edward Irving and John Nelson Darby accepted this view and
began systematizing a new theology based on separate Jewish and Church
dispensations
c. They misinterpreted key biblical texts:
i. Matt 24:40 Those taken and those left are at the time of Christ’s
coming, not before a supposed seven-year tribulation period
ii. Rev 3:10 This promise is to the 6th church, with the 7th, Laodicea, still to
follow! It is not referring to an end-time tribulation period

V. The Rapture of the Church According to the Bible

a. 1 Thess 4:16-17 The rapture will take place at the coming of Christ,
not before it
b. Matt 24:24, 26 The coming of Christ will not be in secret, but instead it will be
very obvious and public:
i. Acts 1:11 It will be literal
ii. John 14:1-3; Isa 25:9 It will be personal
iii. Rev 1:7 It will be visible
iv. 1 Thess 4:16 It will be audible
v. Matt 24:27, 30 It will be glorious and dramatic
c. 1 Thess 5:2-4 Coming “like a thief in the night” is not about His secrecy but
about His suddenness
d. Tit 2:11-14 It is time to look for this “blessed hope” and be ready for His
coming!