2012: The Rapture of the Church
7 things you can do if you get bored in church!
1. Slap your neighbor. See if they turn the other cheek. If not, raise your hand and tell the preacher.
2. Devise ways of climbing into the balcony without using the stairs.
3. Listen for your preacher to use a word beginning with 'A' then 'B and so on through the alphabet.
4. Using church bulletins or visitor cards for raw materials, design, test and modify a collection of paper airplanes.
5. Start from the back of the church and try to crawl all the way to the front, under the pews, without being noticed.
6. Raise your hand and ask for permission to go to the rest room.
7. Wiggle your ears so that the people behind you will notice.
What is the Bible’s favorite brand of soda pop? Would you believe Seven Up? You see the Bible contains seven UPs for the last days. Notice:
The devil will be locked up.
The world will be burned up.
The antichrist will be blown up.
The dead will be raised up.
Israel will wake up.
Christ's kingdom will start up.
While the true church of Jesus Christ will go up!
1Cor. 15:51,52
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Thess. 4:15-17
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 (The Living Bible)
But I am telling you this strange and wonderful secret: we shall not all die, but we shall all be given new bodies! It will all happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For there will be a trumpet blast from the sky and all the Christians who have died will suddenly become alive, with new bodies that will never, never die; and then we who are still alive shall suddenly have new bodies too. For our earthly bodies, the ones we have now that can die, must be transformed into heavenly bodies that cannot perish but will live forever."
1. THE LORD HIMSELF WILL RETURN FOR HIS CHURCH
Catch that if you will. He will not dispatch Moses or Abraham or even Peter. No, the Groom will not even send Michael or Gabriel the archangels to do His bidding. Rather Jesus will come for His bride personally. Paul the Apostle noted: "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven...."
He is coming--
bodily,
visibly,
gloriously,
triumphantly,
and literally.
John 14:1-3 promises: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME BACK and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." And verse 18 of that same chapter adds, "I will not leave you as orphans; I WILL COME TO YOU."
Acts 1:10-11 likewise declares, "They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? THIS SAME JESUS, WHO HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM YOU INTO HEAVEN, WILL COME BACK IN THE SAME WAY YOU HAVE SEEN HIM GO INTO HEAVEN.’"
Imagine it if you will:
At His appearing, the eyes of the blind will be opened and the first face that they see will be the face of their blessed redeemer.
Those who have loved and longed for His appearing will finally realize their most cherished hope.
Those who have grown weary in the trenches of spiritual warfare will experience at once eternal victory/ecstasy beyond their wildest dreams.
Those who have served faithfully in the work of the Kingdom will rise triumphantly to meet Him in the air knowing "their labor was not in vain in the Lord."
Those who have been crippled, bent with age, or even dead in Christ, will rise victoriously in the air to meet Jesus.
Ira Stamphall, the song writer, wrote:
"I am longing to see Jesus every moment of the day.
There's a yearning deep within me that will never pass away;
Till I'm standing in His presence,
Till I see Him face to face,
I've a longing to see Jesus that this world cannot erase."
Another songster put it, "Oh I want to see Him, look upon His face..."
When the disciples AND the church saw Him 2,000 years ago, He had the marks of humanity stamped upon Him. His hands were callused. His forehead glistened with sweat. He had no particular beauty that people would desire Him.
Friends, when we see Jesus He will look somewhat different from the man I just described.
Revelation 1:12-18 gives us a picture of the Glorified Christ. Listen: "I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone ‘like a son of man,’ dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.’"
The Apostle John wrote this passage. When I saw this same Jesus in this gloried state: "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead."
Revelation 19:11-16 adds to the description. In this passage we see Him as the victorious and returning Christ. Here He is riding out to defeat the anti-christ and put an end to this evil man’s reign of terror. Listen to the Word of God: "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."
This is the Jesus that we shall see when He returns to receive us unto Himself.
This is the bridegroom coming for His bride,
this is the Lord returning for His church,
this is the King returning to reclaim His kingdom.
This is the Messiah coming to be glorified in His saints!
And we shall see Him!
We shall praise Him,
We shall worship Him,
We shall stand in awe of Him!
1 John 3:2 declares: "But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Not as He was, but rather as He is now and forever more! King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
"It may be at midday, it may be at twilight,
It may be, perchance, the blackness of midnight,
Will burst into light in the blaze of His glory,
When Jesus receives His own.
Oh Joy! Oh delight! Should we go without dying,
No sickness, no sadness, no dread and no crying,
Caught up through the clouds with our Lord into glory,
When Jesus receives His own."
Jesus is coming!
2. THE DEAD IN CHRIST ARE GOING TO RISE ALONG WITH THOSE WHO ARE ALIVE IN JESUS!
There are graves so deep that uninterrupted silence has reigned in them since the day the bodies were left there:
Long forgotten catacombs,
old mine shafts,
the remains of ancient ships resting on the ocean floor,
tombs in the bowels of the earth where only dust and ash testify that once a saint of God was laid to rest there.
Silence.
Stillness.
Nothing.
Has God forgotten His own?
Has He forgotten the promised resurrection?
Has He forsaken those who believed in Him and in His eternal Word?
The graves are going to burst open on that day!!!
immortal,
imperishable,
incorruptible,
glorified bodies!
The angel shall shout!
The trumpet call of God shall sound!
And in that instant, countless graves shall be ripped open as the dead respond to the music call of their bidding savior!
I've often wondered what is said in that angelic shout. Haven't you? You know, the Bible really doesn't tell us. It is pretty much left up to speculation. It simply notes that the shout is given:
as a command,
an order,
a call for action.
In John 11 we see precedent set though. The saintly Lazarus rests in a tomb. He's been there for four days. He stinks. Grave clothes hold him tight. Death and the grave smother this man of God.
Then Jesus comes. Notice the progression of His words in John 11, (Only the words of Jesus):
"Your brother will rise again."
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;..."
"Take away the stone,"
"Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
"Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
"Lazarus, come out!" "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
Glory to God! Jesus seems to particularly enjoy using the word COME.
In Matthew 11:28, He invited: "COME to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest..."
Revelation 22:17 adds, "The Spirit and the bride say ‘COME!’ And let him who hears say, ‘COME!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him COME; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life."
And the beautiful Revelation 3:20 promises, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will COME in and eat with him, and he with me."
This is mere speculation on my part, I grant you, but I believe the angelic shout will be:
You who are dead IN CHRIST--
You who are in the grave,
You who are in the depths of the sea,
You that have been eaten by wild animals and even cannibals,
You that have been burned at the stake,
You that have been entombed through the ages or but for seconds,
You that are in the east, and you in the west, north, south,
COME FORTH!
COME FORTH AND BEHOLD YOUR GOD!
COME FORTH AND BEHOLD YOUR DELIVERER!
IN REV. 4, HEAVEN IS OPEN FOR THOSE WHO SERVE JESUS!!!
I believe that the key verse here is Revelation 4:1. Listen: "After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’"
And the angel shouts – and what does the angelic shout declare? "Come up here." Come! Come! Come!
I personally think it interesting that priority will be given to the dead. They will be raised just before the living are changed. Paul stresses this. This was meant to bring comfort and I'm sure it did. It still does.
Earlier I read from 1 Thessalonians 4:13, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope."
In the face of death, the pagan stood in despair--he had no hope. Paul, though, exhorts the church not to be like the heathen.
This is, in part, the meaning of Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Death can't separate us,
time can't separate us,
the devil can't separate us,
in fact, the point is NOTHING can separate the saint from God's love!
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
Billy Graham tells a story--a simple illustration--that I want to borrow. A preacher once passed a shop which was no longer open for business. A sign hung in the window that said, "Closed for Alterations."
The owner had closed shop for a while in order to remodel the store. After a period of time he reopened the business with many changes and improvements. This, Graham says, is a picture of the death of the believer. He moves out of his body temporarily until it has been repaired, then, at the resurrection, the inward man will move into his renewed--spiritual--glorified body.
1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (The Living Bible) thus declares: "In the same way, our earthly bodies which die and decay are different from the bodies we shall have when we come back to life again, for they will never die. The bodies we have now embarrass us for they become sick and die; but they will be full of glory when we come back to life again. Yes, they are weak, dying bodies now, but when we live again they will be full of strength. They are just human bodies at death, but when they come back to life they will be superhuman bodies. For just as there are natural, human bodies, there are also supernatural, spiritual bodies."
The body that lies in the decayed grave will be raised in glory! "In the beginning God created man. In His image created He him." From the dust of the earth man was formed.
Perfect.
Without a taint of sin.
without a scar,
without an age spot,
without a handicap,
without a wrinkle.
Perfect.
The dead will be changed--in an instant,
changed--forever,
changed to be like Him!
Changed!
Perfect and complete.
Paradise lost will be paradise restored!
What hope,
what assurance,
what victory.
That's the future-- that's the promise to the child of the Living God!
Jesus is coming! JESUS is coming!
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3. THE LORD WILL KEEP HIS PROMISE!
Think about it: God never made a promise that was too good to be true!
After the great flood of Noah's day, God said He would never destroy the world again by water. For thousands of years, the promise has stood good.
The Lord promised Abraham and Sarah a child when such a thing was impossible, and yet when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah 90, they had Isaac.
Through the centuries, prophets cried that Messiah was to be born. In great detail they spoke of:
Bethlehem
A virgin,
Rejection,
His triumphal entry,
30 pieces of silver,
His crucifixion, and
His resurrection.
Like clockwork, the prophesies were fulfilled, each promise realized.
You can put it in the bank. What God says, God will do. The testimony of Solomon was, "Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to His people....just as He promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He gave...." 1 Kings 8:56.
Of Abraham, Paul writes, "Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God....being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised." Romans 4:20-21.
In 2 Corinthians 1:20, Paul declares, "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "yes" in Christ...."
Promises! Someone has noted that the Bible contains over 7,000 of them!
Someone else observed that:
God makes a promise.
Faith believes it.
Hope anticipates it.
Patience quietly awaits it.
Jesus is coming!
When? I don't know.
But I will tell you this; He promised to come and that is enough for me. How about you?
The dark night of Satan's reign, is just about over.
The dawn is breaking,
The angels are massing,
The trumpet is about to sound,
Hope is rising,
The saints are getting restless,
For, again, Jesus is coming!
This same Jesus that has already invaded this planet once is even as I speak standing at heaven's door preparing to visit earth a second time.
The great evangelist, D. L. Moody used to say, "I never preach a sermon without thinking that possibly the Lord may come before I preach another."
Paul notes, again in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, (The Living Bible) "But I am telling you this strange and wonderful secret: we shall not all die, but we shall all be given new bodies! It will all happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For there will be a trumpet blast from the sky and all the Christians who have died will suddenly become alive, with new bodies that will never, never die; and then we who are still alive shall suddenly have new bodies too. For our earthly bodies, the ones we have now that can die, must be transformed into heavenly bodies that cannot perish but will live forever."
John cried in Revelation 22:20, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus"
THE RAPTURE WILL INCLUDE THREE UNIQUE SOUNDS:
THE BLAST OF "THE LAST TRUMP"
THE VOICE OF THE ARCHANGEL
THE SHOUT OF JESUS COMMAND (BY HIMSELF)
Let’s look at the significance of each of these sounds very briefly:
First, the TRUMPET.
1 Corinthians 15:52 (King James Version) "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound…."
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 then adds, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the arch-angel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."
From the very earliest days, the sound of the trumpet has been a signal of importance.
Trumpets have been used to declare war,
they have preceded processions of royalty,
they have blasted out battle calls,
they have called the people to gather for a journey,
and they have heralded the homecoming of heroes.
When God gave the Law to Israel, the event was preceded by a blast from a trumpet.
The Bible though, specifically speaks of the "last trump." This is a term Paul borrowed from the military life of his day. As an army prepared for action, three trumpets calls resounded.
THE FIRST was the command for the men to gather their gear and put on their armor.
THE SECOND was a command to form a marching formation.
THE "LAST TRUMP" was the signal for the vast army to MOVE OUT.
At the rapture, THE LAST TRUMP SHALL SOUND--friends, we are already armed and ready for battle; we are already in marching formation; we are now simply awaiting the call to MOVE OUT AND MOVE UP TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR!!!
NEXT, WE WILL HEAR THE VOICE OF THE ARCHANGEL
As the angels heralded His coming to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem so long ago, so it is that once again, the Archangel will issue the declaration that He who was to come has now come!
THEN, TOO, JESUS WILL GIVE A LOUD SHOUT OF COMMAND.
As I noted last week, in my opinion that shout will be "Come" or maybe "Come up here!"
THIS BRINGS ME TO THE NEXT EVENT IN THIS SEQUENCE, "AFTER THAT, WE WHO ARE STILL ALIVE AND ARE LEFT WILL BE CAUGHT UP..."
The Bible has some great humor in it. Notice with me please the accounts of Enoch and Elijah from the Old Testament. It is evident from the Scriptural testimony that the sudden disappearance of these two caused considerable confusion and alarm. You can read the account of Enoch in Genesis 5:24, "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away."
Hebrews 11:5 adds to the story, "By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found...." Doesn’t the phrase, "he could not be found" imply that someone tried to find him?
Enoch and Elijah were important men of their time. We're not talking about nobodies here. And yet one day they were more-or-less going about their normal business and the next day they both were gone – they had disappeared – without a trace.
One summer a church camp staff staged an elaborate "rapture" while the camp director was off the grounds. When he returned, everybody was missing, clothing was on the ground as though people had "passed through" it, a motorboat was circling on the lake without a pilot or passengers, and everything in the kitchen was functioning without a cook. A carefully timed phone call from town ("Hey, what's happening? Everybody's missing over here!") only added to the effect. "I've really got to admit, said the director later, "it really shook me up for a minute." Just imagine with me the effect that this will have on a lost world!
Matthew 24:35-51 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Headlines will shout:
Mysterious Disappearances Worldwide
Major Highways Jammed With Abandoned Cars
Millions of Graves Found Open and Empty
Pilots Missing; Planes Crash
For some imaginative thought on the state of the world immediately following this event I draw from the well-known book The Late Great Planet Earth, in which Hal Lindsey writes of just how it might be: "There I was, driving down the freeway and all of a sudden the place went crazy...cars going in all directions...and not one of them had a driver. I mean it was wild! I think we've got an invasion from outer space!"
"It was the last quarter of the championship game and the other side was ahead. Our boys had the ball. We made a touchdown and tied it up. The crowd went crazy. Only one minute to go and they fumbled--our quarterback recovered--he was about a yard from the goal when--zap--no more quarterback--completely gone, just like that!"
"It was puzzling--very puzzling. I was teaching my course in the Philosophy of Religion when all of a sudden three of my students vanished. They simply vanished! They were quite argumentative--always trying to prove their point from the Bible. No great loss to the class. However, I do find this disappearance very difficult to explain."
"As an official spokesman for the United Nations I wish to inform all peace-loving people of the world that we are making every human effort to assist those nations whose leaders have disappeared. We have issued a general declaration of condemnation in the General Assembly concerning these heads of state. Their irresponsibility is shocking."
"You really want to know what I think? I think all that talk about the Rapture and going to meet Jesus Christ in the air wasn't crazy after all. I don't know about you, brother, but I'm going to find myself a Bible and read all those verses my wife underlined. I wouldn't listen to her while she was here, and now she's--I don't know where she is."
We will not be mere astronauts, not even cosmonauts; rather we will be rapturenauts. Here one instant--gone the next--caught up in the clouds to be with our Blessed Lord!
But that's not all; there's more to the story--as with the sainted dead, WE WILL BE CHANGED!
To describe this amazing change, I want to use a flower and a seed. Please note that a flower is not identical to the seed that had been planted, yet their is a continuity; a sameness. The one is a real part of the other, and yet the seed pales in comparison to the mature blossom. So it is that this earthly body is the seed, the resurrection body is the "flower" that comes from that seed.
At that moment,
the blind shall see Him,
the lame shall rush to greet Him,
the retarded shall know Him,
paralytics shall spring out of their beds to obey His order,
the deaf will hear and rise to join Him in the air,
What hope; what a blessed hope!
Why is he coming?
Turn with me now to 2 Thessalonians 1:10, please. Notice a portion of this verse from several translations:
"He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed..."
The Message: "…when He comes, He will be exalted by His followers and celebrated by all who believe…."
Phillips: "But to those whom he has made holy, His coming will mean splendor unimaginable. It will be a breathtaking wonder to all who believe."
Weymouth: "He comes to be glorified in His saints and to be wondered at in all who have believed..."
Paul here establishes two basic purposes for our Lord's return:
1) TO BE GLORIFIED IN THE SAINTS.
In that grand moment those "In Christ" will become an exhibition of His great power and goodness.
We will defy the laws of gravity,
again, we will defy the laws of aging,
we will defy death,
we will be changed, we shall be like him!
2) THE SECOND PURPOSE IS SIMILAR TO THE FIRST. HE COMES "TO BE MARVELED AT..."
To marvel here comes from a word which has the meaning "to admire" as well as to be astonished or to wonder.
One commentator described the Lord in this passage as being "The Surprising One." We will look on Him in awe! He will be more than we can take in!
We must picture ourselves as ones who have stepped out of complete darkness into the light of the sun in all its blazing brightness. We can't take in all the light at once--we shield our faces; we blink; we rub our eyes.
SO WILL IT BE ON THAT DAY!
Now we think He is lovely--
but He will be all together lovely.
Now we think He is mighty--
but He will be more than mighty.
Now we think of Him as being holy--
but He will be more than holy.
Now we think of Him as being wonderful--
but He will be more than wonderful!
Our God is an awesome God!
Yes, "His coming WILL mean splendor unimaginable. It will be a breathtaking wonder to all who believe."
Someone has noted that He is coming in glory:
He is coming in the glory of the Father,
as the Son of God and God the Son.
He is coming in the glory of the angels,
as the Captain of the innumerable hosts of heaven.
He is coming in the glory of the church,
as the Bridegroom for His bride.
He is coming in the glory of Israel,
As the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
He is coming in His own glory,
As the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!!!
In Matthew 17, Jesus takes Peter, James and John to the top of a hill. As the disciples watched, the Lord's appearance changed so that it "shone like the sun and his clothing became dazzling white." As the brothers were over whelmed by Him and His glory then, we will see Him and be overwhelmed as well!
I close this message with an account from Sammy Tippet's book, Fire In Your Heart. Some time back, Sammy was conducting evangelistic meetings in Romania. After one of the services a young person gave a note to one of the team members. The note simply read, "Jesus is coming soon!"
This teenager in Romania was anticipating our Lord's glorious return. Paul and the early church, likewise, lived in constant anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus. As a result, they shook the Roman Empire for the glory of God!
Perhaps if we anticipated the imminent return of Christ, we could shake our homes, schools, jobs, cities, states, and even our nation, for His glory.
Awake, Saints! JESUS is coming. We have His word on it; His promise!
4. SEVEN STEPS TO SURVIVING THE RAPUTRE
Who of us has not seen a cartoon of some seeming crazy wild-eyed prophet crying out that the world is soon coming to an end? Well today I do not claim to be a prophet nor am I proclaiming the imminent end of Planet Earth. However, I am a preacher sent from God and I am declaring the fact that Jesus is about to return to earth in what is called the Rapture of the church.
While there are many things that seem to indicate that His return is surely at hand, I think the very skepticism of this present evil age is one of the surest signs of all. The Bible notes in 2 Peter 3:3-4, 8-10, "First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this `coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief…."
The English word rapture comes from a Latin word "RAPIO," which means to seize or snatch or the actual removal from one place to another. In simple terms, the Biblical rapture of the church means the removal of the church--or the snatching away of the church--from earth to heaven.
The Bible gives some six different raptures to consider, notice:
1. Enoch was a righteous man who walked with God. The Lord took Him to heaven prior to the great flood, without his having to face death.
2. Elijah was taken to be with the Lord by way of a chariot of fire in a whirlwind.
3.. The Word of God records the ascension of Jesus into heaven in Acts 1.
4. Revelation 12:5 contains another rapture. It could be the believers who have been saved during the Great Tribulation or maybe the 144,000 saved Jews spoken of by the Apostle John.
5. Revelation 11 tells of another snatching away. This passages details the rapture of the two witnesses who come back to earth to prophecy during the Great Tribulation. I personally think these men will be Enoch and Elijah from the Old Testament. They will be taken up to heaven somewhere in the middle of the Great Tribulation.
6. Finally, we have the rapture of the church, which I believe will take place just prior to the Great Tribulation.
"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed -- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye..." 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.
1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 adds, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words."
Someone has discovered that for every prophecy of the first coming of Jesus to Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago, there are eight prophecies that foretell His second coming. One verse in 25 makes direct or indirect reference to His coming again!
The disciples and early church leaders therefore believed in the Rapture of the Church, or the SecondComing of Jesus, so strongly that they exhorted their followers to live as though the Lord
died yesterday,
rose again today,
and was coming to receive and reward His people tomorrow.
While on vacation several years ago, my family and I visited Discovery Place in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is a "hands-on" museum which has an amazing number of exhibits--including an indoor tropical rain forest, a sea-life petting zoo, and chemistry shows. If you are ever in Charlotte, I recommend that you visit the place. It is something your family will certainly enjoy.
One exhibit there especially stands out in my mind. The tour guide asked us if we could hear a certain noise. Our youngest daughter Marci could; Marilyn and I couldn't. The tone was very high in pitch, and only dogs, cats, roaches, and young girls could hear it, or so the said the instructor. She then went on to explain that if a person was around 40 years of age or older, he or she would not be able to hear the sound. Marilyn and I tried very hard, but our age won! We just were not able to hear it at all.
The rapture will be similar. When Jesus cries, "COME UP HERE," only those in Christ, the saints, will hear and obey!
COME UP HERE
Immediately following the Rapture, the world will begin a time (7 years) of Great Tribulation, "the likes of which the world has never known."
If you miss the Rapture, you will face this time of Great Tribulation--count on it! In an effort to help you through this most difficult period, I want to give you an outline, a brief manual on "Seven Things to Remember". These seven things may well be the most important bits of information you will ever hear.
1. PREPARE YOURSELF MENTALLY FOR EXTREME SUFFERING AND HARDSHIP!
THE TRIBULATION WILL BE A TIME OF HORRIBLE JUDGMENT AND SUFFERING
THE LORD WILL ALLOW SIN TO BE DESTROYED AND JUDGED AS WELL AS THOSE WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS OR SIN!!!
IF YOU MISS THE RAPTURE, YOU WILL NEED TO FIRST OF ALL MENTALLY PREPARE YOURSELF FOR HORRIBLE SUFFERING AND HARDSHIP BUT THE ALTERNATIVE IS EVEN WORSE! A LITERAL PHYSICAL HELL.
If you missed the Rapture, you will be in no spiritual condition to die therefore don't quit! Don't give up. Don't commit suicide! Believe me, you'll be tempted. Don’t!
Somewhere around the middle of this seven-year period, God will begin pouring out a series of three great judgments. Notice here the names of these three judgments as well as the various things that Scripture points out will characterize them:
THE SEAL JUDGMENTS (REVELATION 6:4-17)
Peace will be taken from the earth, great wars will erupt,
There will be extreme inflation, poverty, and lack of food as one day's wages will buy enough food for one day for one person,
One-forth of the world's population will die due to war and hunger,
Many people will experience a religious conversion and become followers of Jesus Christ and most of these people will be hunted down and killed,
There will be a great earthquake, the sun will be blackened, the moon will turn red and all mountains and islands will be moved,
Panic and terror will be universal.
THE TRUMPET JUDGMENTS (REVELATION 8:7-11:19)
Hail and fire falls, mingled with blood,
A "star" named Wormwood will fall from the sky and poison one-third of all fresh water killing many people,
The sun, moon and stars will be darkened by one-third. The day and night will be reduced by one-third affecting both light and temperatures. There is some speculation that this means the rotation of the earth will be changed so that a day lasts only 16 hours instead of 24 hours.
Demonic creatures will be turned loosed on the planet which will torture those who do not know Christ,
Another one-third of the earth's population will die,
More great earthquakes and great hailstones.
THE BOWL JUDGMENTS (REVELATION 16:2-21)
Malignant sores plague all the unsaved,
The seas become blood, all that is in the seas will perish,
There will be nothing but blood to drink from the rivers and springs,
Men will be scorched with fire and great heat,
Mankind will gnaw their tongues due to pain and sores,
Cities throughout the earth crumble,
Islands and mountains will literally disappear,
100 pound hailstones fall from the sky,
Preparations will be made for the Battle of Armageddon,
A great earthquake will rattle both nerves and the planet. Shortly after this great earthquake, Jesus Christ will return with His army to claim the earth as His possession.
The book of Revelation notes that during a portion of this time, people will actually try to take their own lives, but God will not let them! Remember this, the Great Tribulation is BAD, bad beyond your widest imaginations; HELL is nonetheless worse! Suicide is jumping out of the frying pan (literally) into the fire. Wait. Think. Pray. There is still hope, don't give up!
2. REPENT; GET RIGHT WITH GOD!
Revelation 7:9-10, 13-14 declares, "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes.... And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes- who are they, and where did they come from?’ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’"
Did you get that? The passage speaks of a host without number that will accept Christ and be saved. Literally millions upon millions will find forgiveness for their sins during the Great Tribulation. These people will come from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues including Israel! God's grace will still be available even during the time of His wrath!
3. KNOW THIS, During the great Tribulation, SALVATION WILL COST YOU DEARLY.
Today, in America, we enjoy great religious freedom. We have a multitude of churches, ministers, beautiful buildings, Christian radio and television stations which broadcast 24 hours a day, Gospel preaching on tape, and more. You can hear about Jesus if you want to, and for that matter, even if you DON'T want to.
Presently we take all of this for granted. Such will not be the case after the Rapture.
There will not be even one Christian radio or television program on the air after the Lord's return.
There will no longer be any magazines or like media available.
This pulpit will be vacant. The building will be empty. Each of the pastors will be gone; the deacons, the secretaries, as well as the vast majority of you will be gone! The building and grounds will have served their purpose and they will be empty and quiet. New Life Assembly of God will be no more!
All Christian mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters will be gone.
Do you like Billy Graham? Dr. Graham and company will be gone.
Imagine this if you will. The Christian’s influence on this planet will be erased. Hell will be loosed on the people of earth without the force of the church to hold it back. I would not want to be here then, would you?
After the Rapture, one will have to become a part of an underground church in order to serve God. Thechurch will be outlawed therefore those who are members of it will be persecuted, hunted and hated!
Revelation 13:4 therefore warns in part, "He (the Antichrist) was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them."
Revelation 6:9-11 adds, "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, 'How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?' Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow-servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.’"
Revelation 20:4 then adds, "And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands...."
These people died for the following reasons:
They dared to testify of Jesus,
They had a Bible--or a portion of it--and they tried to live by it,
They refused to worship the Antichrist,
They refused to receive the Mark of the Beast.
"But pastor, I don't believe that anything like that could happen in our time." Friends, believe me when I say a literal tide of religious persecution is sweeping across this planet! Today, it is estimated that one out of 200 people worldwide who profess Jesus Christ as their Savior on Planet Earth will die a martyrs death! Would you believe, more people died in 1995 for their faith than in all of the first century of the church combined! Yes, what I am preaching to you about this morning could happen and is happening in many parts of the world right now!
My question to you today (if you are unsaved) is, WHY WAIT? Jeremiah 12:5 asks, "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?" The passage is saying, if you can’t cut it now, when the going is fairly easy, how will you hope to serve Jesus in the face of certain death?
4. TRY TO GET AND KEEP A BIBLE
This will be no easy task. The world has had many Antichrist types through the years, and they invariably attack and try to destroy the Word of God. This will be repeated even on a grander scale during the Great Tribulation. The Bible, if you can find one, will become to you a road map that will help you through the tribulation experience. In fact, you will be a living witness to Revelation 6-19. Thus, read the Bible; study it; hide it deep within your heart. If you are persecuted, thrown into prison, etc., the Word will be to you a mighty source of strength and comfort.
If you are reading this during the Great Tribulation, I especially recommend that you read the Gospel of John, the Psalms, the Revelation, and the Book of Ephesians.
5. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BE DECEIVED BY THE WORKINGS OF THE ANTICHRIST
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 notes, "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness (Antichrist) is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God." Verses 9-10 then adds, "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing."
The Antichrist will be able to do miraculous signs and wonders according to the Scriptures I just read. The word "signs" speaks of miraculous acts whereas the word "wonder" means, "something strange, something that will cause the beholder to marvel." A sign is intended to appeal to the understanding, while a wonder appeals to the imagination. Signs and wonders are both supernatural in source. Thirteen times wonders are ascribed to God and three times they are attributed to Satan.
Listen now to Revelation 13:13-14, "And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do.., he deceived the inhabitants of the earth."
In the book of Exodus:
Moses turned the water of the river Nile to blood, Pharaoh’s magicians did the same thing.
Moses caused a plague of frogs to cover the land of Egypt, the magicians also made frogs to come forth on the land.
Moses’ next plague was a plague of lice, the magicians also brought forth lice.
Do you get the point? The devil has significant power to rattle the faith of most people. During the seven years that I am talking to you about this morning, he will use that power to the max in order to deceive anyone and everyone. The Bible states that he will call fire down from heaven. He will also be healed from what appears to have been a fatal wound and he will be resurrected back to life.
Revelation 13:4 thus declares, "Men worshipped the dragon (Satan) because he had given authority to the beast, (the Antichrist) and they also worshipped the beast and asked, ‘Who is like the beast? All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life ….’"
Today you can worship the One True God; if you miss the Rapture, you will be forced to worship Satan and his unholy henchmen. If you can’t see through his wicked deceptions now, what makes you think that you will be able to keep from being deceived then?
6. DON'T RECEIVE THE MARK
Revelation 13:16-18 notes, "He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no-one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666."
666
When President Ronald Reagan left office in 1989, he bought a ranch in the area above Santa Barbara, and the address of that piece of property was 666 St. Cloud Road. President Reagan said, "No way! I'm not moving into there until you change the address." They changed it to 668, then he moved in.
Here's something interesting from the history of Apple Computer. I didn't know this until recently. In July of their first year they came out with their Apple 1 board, and the retail price was set at $666.66. Strange, isn’t it?
Several years ago I received a brochure from Psychology Today magazine in the mail. It shows a picture of a lady shopping in a supermarket and she and the other shoppers have UPC symbols – where? On their foreheads.
From before the beginning of time, the Devil has sought to be worshipped. During the Great Tribulation period he will finally get his shot. At that time he will be able to control the economy of the world so well that he can literally force people to bow before him.
I have heard people debate for years whether or not the mark is one’s Social Security number or some other universal code. Such debates are rather pointless. The Bible clearly tells us what the mark is. Listen again to Revelation 13:17, "…the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name." The mark is plainly stated to be either the name or the number of the name of the anti-christ. That number is, again, 666.
Whenever someone receives that mark, he or she will be pledging allegiance or, in other words, declaring themselves to be under the authority of Antichrist, and not of God. This explains why it is said very, very plainly that those who receive the Mark of The Beast are literally doomed. We are told in Revelation 14:9-11, "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.’"
No doubt, most of you here today are Christians. A number of you came in wearing crosses either as a necklace, a pin, maybe as a decoration on some article of clothing. Instead of wearing a cross, during the Great Tribulation, people will be forced to identify themselves as followers as well as worshippers of the beast – anti-christ -- by having his name or number on either their forehead or hand.
In response to this, the First and Second of the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20:3-5 states:
"You shall have no other gods before me. ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them…."
Again, Revelation 13 tells us that without the mark, people will not be able to buy or sell. I remind you of another passage I alluded to earlier in this message, Revelation 7, which tells of the multitudes saved during the tribulation. Verse 16 of the chapter notes: "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore..." These tribulation saints had obviously been without food and water for, again, they were not allowed to buy and sell without the mark.
I admit, this is a case of "BAD" if you don't take the mark: no food, no water, no shelter, no medical care, etc., but worse if you do: facing the eternal judgment of an angry God.
Digital Angel
Before I move on to my final point, I want to share with you a portion of a two page piece that I pulled off of the Internet. It cones from the website of Applied Digital Solutions. This is a high-tech non-religious business. This press release is dated December 20, 1999. Notice these quotes from the article please: "On May 13, 1997, United States Patent Number 5,629,678 was granted for a personal tracking and recovery system, consisting of a miniature digital transceiver -- implantable in humans… This transceiver sends and receives data and can be continuously tracked by Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology. On December 10, 1999, Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. acquired the patent rights to this technology, which the company refers to as "Digital Angel."
"Although still in the early developmental stage, we believe Digital Angel could have an array of beneficial potential applications: provide a tamper-proof means of locating and identifying individuals for e-business and e-commerce security; locate individuals, including children, who are lost or who have been abducted; monitor the medical conditions of at-risk patients; track and locate military, diplomatic and other essential government personnel; determine the location or the authenticity of valuable property; track the whereabouts of wilderness sports enthusiasts (mountain climbers, hikers, skiers, etc.)"
Obviously, the ways and means are in place RIGHT NOW to implement the mark. What's the solution? Be ready for the Lord's return!
7. REMEMBER, THIS IS GOD'S JUDGMENT
The Great Tribulation is a time when God will come down and shake the earth. Although He will use angels, man, the earth, and Satan, it is nonetheless, the time of His vengeance! The word TRIBULATION means: oppression, affliction, straits, and distress.
Jesus said that this period of time would be so terrible that "unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved..."
Speaking against the establishment won't help. Crying out against the Antichrist's repressive policies won't solve anything. Blaspheming God won't be the answer either. You will need the mercy and grace of a living God to survive! Call on Him!
The First World War was bad; that was man against man, though. This will be worse.
The Second World War was again terrible. Hundreds of thousands of people perished, but, again, the war pitted man against man. The Great Tribulation will be different.
God is going to come down to rain His wrath upon the earth--and let me tell you, He is going to be mad!
He will not have forgotten Hitler's atrocities.
He will not have forgotten man’s evil disregard for His planet.
He will not have forgotten the spilt blood of the millions of the martyrs through the ages.
He will not have forgotten the millions of opportunities that He has given to man to repent and yet man continues to ignore His precious blood and shun His holy name. Eventually He will say, "Enough is enough!"
He will not have forgotten the blasphemies of the Antichrist and his evil hordes.
Therefore, the Bible says, woe or judgment to those who are on the Earth!
Woe to those to have rejected His call to grace!
Woe to those who rested in their own goodness rather than in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
Woe, woe, woe to those who will face the time of an Almighty God's wrath!
The Bible says that "IT IS A FEARFUL THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD!" Friends, I implore you, seek God, repent, and obtain the free salvation god offers you through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Are you ready for the return of Jesus Christ?
