WE KNOW THAT WHEN Jesus gives a command, we want to pay very close attention to it.
• We want to make sure we’re obeying it carefully.
John 15.10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
• SO AS we keep His commandments, we are in that abiding place of joy, hope and love.
YOU KNOW That’s especially important for the Christian who is looking and hastening the coming of the Lord.
2 Peter 3.11-12 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
• The Christian who knows the times & seasons that surround him.
• Just like the storm clouds floating in point to the storm that is coming… even so the times point to the coming of the Lord.
Luke 12.54-56 Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ’A shower is coming’; and so it is. 55 "And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ’There will be hot weather’; and there is. 56 "Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?
WELL UNLIKE THE PHARISEES of old, we do understand the times in which we live. We see the them, understand them, & look up.
Luke 21.28 "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
WELL Over 300 times we are told that Jesus is coming again.
• As the world gets darker and more disturbing, it sets the stage for a glorious wonderful event, the rapture of the church!
• The trumpet is sounded, the voice of an archangel is heard.
• But when will it happen?
NOTE: That’s the big question isn’t it? Debates & Deliberations.
• Will it happen before the Great-Tribulation? After? In the Middle?
• Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, Post-Trib, and NO-Trib are popular ones.
• Some of you wonder what? Great Tribulation? What’s that?
• Are you really serious? U believe that God will judge this earth?
• You believe that Christians will take off in to the sky? Ha ha!
NOTE: It may sound absurd to you right now.
• But I’m sure it doesn’t sound as absurd as it did in Noah’s day when the warning of rain & the flood!
• With every day of that ark being built, God’s love & grace.
• God warned. Judgment came. And Noah was saved.
The Great Tribulation WILL come as God fulfills His promises.
• Those here then, will experience the WRATH OF GOD.
• That’s one reason I believe that the church will not be here.
#1 - Jesus gave a promise, a command in Luke 21.34-36
• Pray that you might escape… Some will escape? YES. Church.
Let’s flip over to Revelation 3:7-10
• There is a promise to the ‘faithful’ church.
• It’s a promise of being ‘kept from the trial’.
• You see, it will be a serious HOUR OF TRIAL!
#2 – Today We live in an age, a dispensation of grace.
• A time where now God is not imputing men’s sins against him.
2 Cor. 5.19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
• If you sin right now, you have a Savior. If you confess, He forgives. But soon comes the dispensation of judgment!
Matthew 24.21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
But there is coming a time when God’s wrath will come upon a Christ rejecting earth.
#3 - Important to see different tribulations taught in Bible.
FIRST – The SPECIFIC Great Tribulation. That 7 year time that is described in detail from Revelation 6-19.
• The time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jer. 30.7); Daniel’s 70th week.
SECONDLY – The GENERAL tribulation & trials that Jesus promised would come to His church while living on this earth.
John 16.33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
James 1.2-3 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
2 Timothy 3.12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
The GREAT TRIBULATION will come upon the earth from Heaven!
The GENERAL TRIBULATIONS come from Satan, and the Satan directed world that we live in!
The GREAT TRIBULATION is called the WRATH OF GOD.
Rev. 14.10 "he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
THE CHILD OF GOD, through their faith in Jesus Christ is not appointed unto this wrath.
Romans 5.9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
1 Thess 5.9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Where is the church during this time? Look at Rev. 5.8-10
#4 - Who can sing this ‘NEW’ song?
• Not the angels. Now the OT saints?
• Only the church can sing this… you have redeemed us!
#5 - As you read through the Book of Revelation…
• 19 times the word CHURCH is mentioned through the end of CH 3 & isn’t mentioned again until CH19
• Why? Because we believe the church is in heaven during the Great Tribulation period.
NOW: Peter picks up on a very important ingredient on the heart and nature of God. Let’s flip over to 2 Peter 2:4-9
#6 - God knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations.
• Now Lot was literally delivered from Sodom BEFORE judgment came. Remember the discussion Abraham had with God?
• Let’s look at it Genesis 18.22ff
SO THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH…
• That blessed event where Jesus Christ returns in the clouds to receive the church to Himself…
• When does it occur? We believe BEFORE THE TRIBULATION.
#7 - REMEMBER: There is a clear distinction made in the Bible between the RAPTURE of the church and the 2nd COMING of Jesus.
• With the rapture, Jesus coming FOR His saints.
• In His 2nd Coming, Jesus is coming WITH His saints.
Jude 1:14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,
• With the rapture, Jesus comes in the CLOUDS. (v17)
• In His 2nd Coming, Jesus comes to the EARTH.
Zech 14.4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.
There is a 7 year period of time in between these 2 events.
• That 7 year time is known as the Great Tribulation Period.
• Jacob’s Trouble – Daniel’s 70th week.
• It’s a time of judgment that the earth has never seen.
Matthew 24.21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
#8 - Trumpets of 1 Thess & 1 Cor. Are not same as in Revelation.
NOW: There are those who point to the trumpet sounding in 1 Thess 4:16 and say. ‘see, this is the 7th trumpet judgment in Revelation.’
• So the CHURCH MUST go through the Great Tribulation.
• It’s also compared to 1 Corinthians 15:52
• Is this the 7th Trumpet in Revelation so that the church will go through at least some of the Great Tribulation? NO.
#1 - The trumpet at the rapture is called the “Trump of God”.
• BUT The 7th trumpet in Revelation, the trump an angel!
Rev. 11.15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"
#2 – The trumpet at the rapture announces an event that happens in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.
• BUT The 7th trumpet in Rev will cover a period of days.
Rev. 10.7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.
#3 – The trumpet at the rapture is one of glory & majesty & wonderful changes taking place. We will see & be with the Lord!
• BUT The 7th trumpet in Rev. is one of woe and destruction.
Rev. 11.14-15 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly. 15 Then the seventh angel sounded…
• Completely different trumpets for sure!
#9 - God has made a distinction between the church & Israel.
• God has 2 different groups He is dealing with.
1 Cor. 10.32 Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God,
• Israel began in the Old Testament as God called Abram out of the land of UR.
• The church was born on Pentecost, and is being built by Jesus.
• In the church we have a blending of Jew & Gentile with no more distinctions. You’re either in Jesus Christ or not.
THERE ARE SOME promises made to Israel do not necessarily apply to the church and the promises to the church not to Israel.
• For example, God gave Israel the land of Palestine, not to me as a part of the church.
• It was given to them forever, unconditionally!
So what happened to Israel?
Romans 11.25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem and… although there were cries of Hosanna, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
• It would only be a few days before those cries changed to, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.”
John 1.11-13 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
According to Daniel 9, there is still yet one period of 7 years left to fulfill in God’s dealing with the nation of Israel.
Jer 30.7 Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.
• Let’s turn to Daniel 9:26-27
• There is still future a 7 year period where God will again turn His attention toward the nation of Israel.
• A time we know as the GT period.
• Where the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, the church age is over and church is in heaven!
• We know it’s still future as just look around:
Have you seen everlasting righteousness? Have we seen the anointing of the Most Holy? An end to vision & prophecy? NOPE.
• From the day of Jesus death to now there has been a huge gap.
• That 70th week has not been fulfilled.
• For over 2000 years, God’s heart has turned to the Gentiles.
• Romans 9-10-11, there will be a time, very soon where God’s heart turns again to the Jewish nation.
• 2000 year gap of time as the time clock for Israel has stopped.
• The time is coming where the fullness of the Gentiles is fulfilled and the 70th week of Daniel will be fulfilled too.
#10 - I believe that the rapture, the soon return of Jesus Christ can happen at any moment. It’s imminent, close at hand!
• We are not looking for the antichrist, but Jesus Christ!
• We look around the world today and see the evil that is rampant.
• The times & seasons are all around us.
2 Thess. 2.3-6 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
What is that restraining force? I believe it’s the presence of the church on the earth today…
Matthew 5.13-14 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Once the SALT is removed, the earth becomes putrid, flavorless, and unpreserved, rapidly decaying.
Once the LIGHT is removed, the earth becomes dark, without direction, without spiritual revelation or understanding.
And the world will be ripe to receive the Antichrist… save us!
John 5.43 "I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.
Caught up… Harpazo… Raptus… The rapture of the church.
#11 - We see brief pictures of this happening other places.
• Enoch experienced a taste of this.
Genesis 5.24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
• Elijah experienced a taste of this.
2 Kings 2.11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
• John experienced a taste of this – Rev. 4.1-2
• Noah was delivered from judgment – Genesis 7.13-16
• Lot was delivered from judgment – Genesis 19.15-16
NOTE: Suddenly, instantly delivered.
• The RAPTURE, caught up to be with the Lord in the air…
• Before the coming Great Tribulation.
Please understand… there are a whole host of people that will hear this teaching on the Rapture and deny it all!
• Come on, give me a break. Do you really believe this?!
NOTE: This is when you’ll believe, when the first Christian is GONE! -- Then you’ll race to church… what’s happening? Oh No.
• I hope when you come back here that you aren’t greeted by a staff person!
• If a pastor is still here, don’t listen to him!
• Get the CD, go to the web, and pull out this message!
• Play it for all who will come and listen!
• Hello… it’s me. Remember that Sunday I was talking about the rapture thing and you laughed it off? Not so funny anymore eh?
• Look… we love you and we want you to believe.
• If you’re here now in this room… or listening in some distant place… believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins!
