Apocalypse - 7th Seal The Rapture of The Church - Sermon Notes

Building Wholehearted Disciples of Jesus
The 7th Seal: The Rapture of the Church
Revelation 8
Teacher: Steve Holt
Series: Apocalypse, The Book of Revelation
© Steve Holt | TheRoad.org 1

The 7th Seal: The Rapture of the Church
The Book of Revelation, though speaking of the end times, never specifies
when or how the rapture occurs.
o John Walvoord, the preeminent theologian and a

dispensational scholar, former President of Dallas Theological
Seminary writes in his commentary on Revelation, “There is no
clear explicit reference to the rapture of the church [in
Revelation].”
o He would say that it is implied throughout based on several

passages but never is it explicitly described.
o But in my study of the ENTIRE Bible, it is obvious to me that

the church will be taken out before the Great Tribulation period
—this will be the worst days, the most horrendous days, the
world has ever known.
o Here is what I say: “Pray we don’t go through the Great

Tribulation, but Prepare as if we will.”
We are in chapter 8 of Revelation, looking at the opening of the 7th seal.
• I believe that we will experience the opening of the first 6 seals of

judgment upon the earth—these are only the “birth pangs” leading
up to the Great Tribulation period.
• Chapter 6 tells us we will experience: a world government, the Anti-

Christ, wars, famine, and cosmic disturbances—some of us will be
martyred for our faith—listen to my messages on the 7 seals.
• This will be the time period when the final tribes will hear the Gospel!
Exciting time!
• But I believe that just before the opening of the 7th seal is the
interlude where the church is raptured from the earth.

• Follow me on this…start at Revelation 7:9:
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no

one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb, (this is the saints who
have gone before us and the raptured church) clothed with white robes,
with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud
voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the
elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the
throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these
arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great
tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood
of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and
serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne
will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor
thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the
Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead
them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes.”
Chapter 8
When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for
about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before
God, and to them were given seven trumpets. 3 Then another angel,
having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given
much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints
upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke
of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God
from the angel’s hand. 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with

fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises,
thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
• Note, it is the prayer of “all the saints.” All means all!
• So, I believe that just before the opening of the 7th seal is the
interlude where the church is raptured from the earth.
• The Great Tribulation is about to heat up.
But what is the rapture? There are vast numbers of pastors and
theologians today who don’t believe in the rapture of the church. They
would argue that the term is not in the Bible and has been conjured up in
recent scholarship and the Scofield Bible.
I believe in the rapture of the church and I think it’s important that we define
our term: Rapture.
• The word rapture does not occur in the Bible. The term comes from a
Latin word meaning “a carrying off, a transport, or a snatching away.”
The concept of the “carrying off” or the rapture of the church is clearly
taught in Scripture.
• The rapture of the church is the event in which God “snatches away”
all believers from the earth in order to make way for His righteous
judgment to be poured out on the earth during the Great Tribulation
Period.
• 1 Corinthians 15:50
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I
tell 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 trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption,
and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible
has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then

shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is
swallowed up in victory.”
• Two Comings of Christ in the Bible:

1) There will be a coming for the saints and a coming with the saints
• There will be a coming for the saints, John speaks of in in his

gospel…
• Jesus says in John 14:1-3

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2
In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I
am, there you may be also. NKJV
• The Jews did not understand this, for they were looking for the
Messiah to come and set up His kingdom on earth, but he is
speaking to the church.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
• Note, “we will be caught up”… this is different than the coming of
Christ with the saints, this is the church being raptured, taken to
heaven.
• So, there is the Lord coming for the church before the Great
Tribulation, but there is also the Lord coming with the church at the
end of the Tribulation.
• Colossians 3:4
When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him
in glory. NKJV

• Jude 14
Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also,
saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, NKJV
• When Christ comes back, he will have an army of the Redeemed

with him …
Revelation 19:14
And the armies in heaven (the Redeemed), clothed in fine linen, white
and clean, followed Him on white horses. NKJV
The saints are coming with Him, because we will be lifted off the face
of the earth before the Great Tribulation:
• In speaking of His Second Coming, Jesus describes the rapture in

the same context of the days of Noah and Lot, where the righteous,
the called of Christ, were sealed and saved from the wrath of God.
Luke 17:26
And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the
Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given
in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, (a clear example of
a rapture) and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it
was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they
sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of
Sodom (another clear example of God’s merciful rapture) it rained fire
and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it
be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
(Then Jesus describes the rapture)

31 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the
house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the
one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife.
33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his
life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two men in
one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two
women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other

left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other
left.”
• Romans 5 says, “He has not appointed us to wrath.”
• 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10
For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry
we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the
living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom
He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the
wrath to come.
• It is in chapter 8 of Revelation that the 7th seal is opened, the Great

Tribulation, but we will be saved from “the wrath to come.”
Every tribe and nation will be redeemed.
• Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the
world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
• Not only is darkness getting darker, but the Light is getting brighter.
• Ex. Do you realize what God is doing today? There is a massive

revival in Korea, China, and India today.
• We will be in heaven with our precious loved ones, and we will

celebrate next to Japanese, Indonesians, and Argentines.
• We will be enjoying taco sushi, kimchi enchiladas, sour krout and

curry!
• There will be honor: Republicans will hug Democrats, old rifts will be
forgotten, no discrimination, no prejudice, blacks and whites as
brothers.
• We will rule together! We will reign together! All different races and
tribes.

• This is all about the Lamb who will reconcile the world to Himself.
Are you ready?
1 Thessalonians 5:2 “the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the

night.”
2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,
in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the
elements will melt with fervent heat”
• Are you ready? Have you ever had your car broken into? Your house
burglarized? The coming of Jesus in the rapture will come suddenly
and we will be gone! Are you ready?
• We have a young lady in our church, Hailey Popovich, who wrote a

poem called, “Rapture”. I’ve asked her to share with us this
morning…
“Rapture” Hailey Popovich
• Jesus warned us to be on the watch, to be ready for the coming of the

Lord, that no one knows when it will happen…
• Jesus, in speaking of the signs that will accompany His coming, gave
a sermon in Matthew 24. But even after speaking of these signs, He
then warns us in chapter 25 …
• Jesus is comparing His second coming to a joyful wedding feast in

which the unprepared cannot participate
Matthew 25:1-13 -
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took
their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them
were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their
lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their
vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed,
they all slumbered and slept.

6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is
coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and
trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some
of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered,
saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go
rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they
went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in
with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open
to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not
know you.’
13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in
which the Son of Man is coming.

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Building Wholehearted Disciples of Jesus

The 7th Seal: The Rapture of the Church

Teacher: Steve Holt

Series: Apocalypse, The Book of Revelation

© Steve Holt | TheRoad.org 1

o John Walvoord, the preeminent theologian and a

o He would say that it is implied throughout based on several

o But in my study of the ENTIRE Bible, it is obvious to me that

o Here is what I say: “Pray we don’t go through the Great

We are in chapter 8 of Revelation, looking at the opening of the 7th seal.

• I believe that we will experience the opening of the first 6 seals of

• Chapter 6 tells us we will experience: a world government, the Anti-

© Steve Holt | TheRoad.org 2

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no

© Steve Holt | TheRoad.org 3

• Note, it is the prayer of “all the saints.” All means all!

• The Great Tribulation is about to heat up.

© Steve Holt | TheRoad.org 4

• Two Comings of Christ in the Bible:

• There will be a coming for the saints, John speaks of in in his

• Jesus says in John 14:1-3

© Steve Holt | TheRoad.org 5

• When Christ comes back, he will have an army of the Redeemed

• In speaking of His Second Coming, Jesus describes the rapture in

(Then Jesus describes the rapture)

© Steve Holt | TheRoad.org 6

• Romans 5 says, “He has not appointed us to wrath.”

• It is in chapter 8 of Revelation that the 7th seal is opened, the Great

Every tribe and nation will be redeemed.

• Ex. Do you realize what God is doing today? There is a massive

• We will be in heaven with our precious loved ones, and we will

• We will be enjoying taco sushi, kimchi enchiladas, sour krout and

© Steve Holt | TheRoad.org 7

Are you ready?

1 Thessalonians 5:2 “the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the

• We have a young lady in our church, Hailey Popovich, who wrote a

“Rapture” Hailey Popovich

• Jesus warned us to be on the watch, to be ready for the coming of the

• Jesus is comparing His second coming to a joyful wedding feast in

© Steve Holt | TheRoad.org 8

© Steve Holt | TheRoad.org 9

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