Over the past few weeks we have been talking about how near we are to the Second Coming of Christ, but today we are going to look at what happens when He comes. Many right now are feverishly preparing to observe the first coming of Jesus into the world (you may be one of them; you may not), but more than that we should be preparing for and looking for His Second Coming. The Second Coming of Christ has been the subject of thousands of songs and probably hundreds of thousands of Bible messages. Millions of saved people have believed throughout the ages that there would be a time called the “last days,” and that the “last days” would culminate with the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. This has been the hope of believers since the first century. (Look at what Paul said in I Thessalonians 4 - “we which are alive and remain . . . ”) But not everyone has this hope, and not everyone will believe this message. Some scoff at the idea of Jesus coming again. There are those who rank people who believe the Bible as “hucksters,” and, by the way, that is the spirit that prevails in these “last days.” But, this is a Baptist church, and true Baptists believe the Bible is our authority in matters of faith and practice. We believe in opening the Bible and hearing what God has to say to His people. As we have seen, There are many different indicators of our living in the “last days.” Today we are seeing and hearing things now that we could only imagine 20 or 30 years ago. Several years ago Joel Rosenburg said, “To truly understand the significance of global events and trends, one must analyze them through . . . the lens of Scripture. Only then can the full picture be clearer." I believe we are seeing what Revelation 12:12 talks about when we read, “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Sadly, some of God’s people will react in fear over what is going on in our world and especially in our nation, and many will become discouraged to see the present lack of love for God and country. But, today we can find comfort and hope knowing God’s timetable is right on course, and Jesus is coming soon. That's why, in Titus 2:13, the Bible calls the Second Coming of Jesus our “blessed hope.” It is the hope of being with the Lord in Heaven -- Colossians 1:4-5: “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, (5) For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel . . . ” And it is based on what we have learned from Scripture which is called in II Peter 1:19 “a more sure word of prophecy . . . ” I don’t really care about the politicians’ and the political prognosticators’ opinion on these matters. What I want to know (and what we should want to know) is, “What does the Bible say about it?” That is what we’re going to examine today. What does the Bible say about the catching away of the saved?

I. THE ASSERTION OF THE RAPTURE.

II. THE ASSURANCE OF THE RAPTURE.

III. THE ANTICIPATION OF THE RAPTURE.