Grace Community Church
Winchester VA
www.gracecommunity.com
Watch this sermon on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/LiIFk7xq1pM
Introduction
In our journey through Luke, we finally come to the birth of Christ. Just in time for the celebration of Christmas. In typical Lukean style, he packs volumes of information in just a few verses. The historical references are critical for understanding this text, but also remind us of our own preparation as we await his return. This is critical to understand because when the church is raptured, it will be with the same kind of urgency and violence as a child being born. And just as when Jesus incarnationally arrived as the Christ child, God will have moved world powers, there will be prophetic fulfillment, and people will find themselves unprepared.
So this morning, I want to take you through the arrival of Christ and provide some comparisons between his first and second coming, specifically the rapture of the church. A couple of months ago, we held a Q&A forum during services.
One of the questions was regarding the Rapture. It occurred to me that the Church teaches little today about the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Christ. Many NAR heresies are centralized around Kingdom Theology. In brief, the idea that the Church is the establishment of the Kingdom of God here on earth. The Church just needs to take its authority.
Since believers are indwelt by the same Holy Spirit that indwelt Jesus, we have all authority in heaven and on the earth; we have the power to believe for and speak into existence things that are not, and thus we can bring about the Kingdom Age. Proponents of Kingdom Now teaching also don’t believe in the rapture, which is explained away as a feeling of rapture or excitement when the Lord returns to receive the kingdom from our hands. This is popular among NAR Heresies like Bethel Redding.
Let me say this and in a few minutes, we’ll get more into the Rapture. Believers have tremendous hope because of our faith in Jesus Christ. A day is coming soon when God is going to pour out his final judgment on an unbelieving world. God’s promise to us is that he will remove his bride (the Church) before the 7-year tribulation. The Bible is full of references and typologies to God’s merciful removal of the faithful before his wrath. The very imagery of the church being a bride awaiting her groom is a typology of the Rapture. I encourage you to watch the documentary “Before the Wrath.”
Before we go any further in that let us consider the first arrival of Christ:
I. A World Prepared
It is sad to say that the world generally has rejected Christ. Sure most enjoy the nostalgia of the Christmas story, but Christmas has become so blurred and confused with paganism and personal indulgences that the meaning of the birth of Christ has become obscured. The world celebrates Jesus’ birth for all the wrong reasons: self-indulgence, materialism, partying, and so on. Although the people of the world were not interested and unaware of his coming, the world setting was completely prepared.
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In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. Luke 2:1–3 ESV
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The Roman registration required every man in Israel to return to his ancestral home. The grand purpose of all of this was to establish the child’s credentials. In order to fulfill the promise of salvation, Jesus had to be a descendant of King David (Rom 1:3; 2 Tim 2:8). But he also had to be born in Bethlehem: Micah 2:5 ESV
Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot in the assembly of the Lord.
How ironic that God used Caesar to get him there! Without even knowing it, Caesar Augustus was being moved by God to help fulfill God’s perfect plan. “In those days” refers back to Luke’s introduction in Luke 1:5 when Luke directs us to the rule of Herod over Israel. Herod was appointed kind of Israel by Caesar Augustus. The Jews hated Herod, they hated Roman occupation, and they hated Roman taxation.
Unknowingly, God used Caesar to prepare the world to facilitate the spread of the Gospel. As I mentioned in my message, “In Those Days,” the Roman Rule gave the world the common language (Koine Greek), the Roman system of roads, and Pax Romana (the peace of Rome). And that sets the scene perfectly to put Joseph, a descendant of David, and his betrothed wife Mary, pregnant with the Christ child to be in Bethlehem for the fulfillment of Micah 5:2. All by the decree from a pagan, godless monarch who had no idea of this prophecy. God was controlling the world events that brought Christ into this world.
It would be fascinating to just stop right here and starting digging into world events that are preparing for the Rapture of the Church, The Great Tribulation, and the subsequent Second Coming of Christ. Let me just touch briefly on a couple.
In both Daniel 11:36-39 and Revelation 17:12-13, there are clear prophetic references to the establishment of a one-world government and a one-world religion. This virus (although very real and very dangerous) is being puffed up to bring fear and control by people in power who desire to bring about the New World Order. They are calling it the “Great Reset.” The Great Tribulation and the arrival of the AntiChrist are centered around the coming of this age.
Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 ESV
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and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 1 John 4:3 ESV
“The Great Reset” has its own webpage (www.greatreset.com) and is headed by the World Economic Forum. On their webpage, they explain what they are about: “The Great Reset is a creative industry movement to embed the positive environmental shifts that have happened during the lockdown and THE new normal… We must grab this opportunity to help shape a society”
“Event 201” was held on October 18, 2019, at John’s Hopkins Hospital which included participants like Dr. Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates. The purpose of this exercise was to hypothesize a pneumonia-like pandemic that would shut down the world. https://centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/
Bill Gates (who fervently believes in population control) wrote the following in on his blog, “Gates Notes” regarding the COVID-19 Vaccine: “That’s why I’m particularly excited by two new approaches that some of the candidates are taking: RNA and DNA vaccines. We were planning to use it to make vaccines for diseases that affect the poor like malaria, but now it’s looking like one of the most promising options for COVID. The first candidate to start human trials was an RNA vaccine created by a company called Moderna.” https://www.gatesnotes.com/health/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-covid-19-vaccine
Also being developed by the World Economic Forum is the “Common Pass,” an electronic means to track people who have received the COVID-19 Vaccine. Without this “pass” you will not be able to travel. “CommonPass allows individuals to securely document their COVID-19 status electronically and present it when they board a plane or cross a border” https://www.weforum.org/platforms/covid-action-platform/projects/commonpass
Incidentally, this “Great Reset” is scheduled to convene in Davos, Switzerland January 2021.
Can you say, “Mark of the Beast?” This isn’t a conspiracy theory. These are their own words. My use of the term “Puffed-up Pandemic” is a literal description of world powers who want to use control and manipulation in the name of environmentalism and humanism. All of this is necessary to set the world stage for the Rapture and Tribulation if God in His sovereignty chooses. Just like with the rise of Rome, the first Census, and so on brought about the birth of Christ.
II. The Prophetic Fulfillment
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4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:4–7 ESV
Back to Joseph and Mary, they are following the order of Caesar August and going to the city of his origin, that is Bethlehem. As I said before, Caesar is unknowingly being used by God for prophetic fulfillment of His will; to bring Christ in the flesh.
The two of them, Mary just 13 years old and 9 months pregnant traveled nearly 85 miles through rugged terrain to Bethlehem. Bethlehem was the town of Ruth and Boaz, where Rachel is buried, and where King David was born. There is so much history here and because of its rich history, this little town was busy with people coming from all over to take part in this census (and taxation). To go there today you find a small city. It’s dirty, busy, and a tourist trap for people wanting to visit.
The last few words of this passage “because there was no place for them in the inn” is important. It is a familiar aspect of the Christmas story and often depicted in pageants. I remember when I was a young boy I played the part of the Inn Keeper. I didn’t have any lines (they were probably afraid I wouldn’t shut up). All I had to do was open the door, shake my head no, and with a stern look on my face point young Joseph and Mary away. They would turn and sadly leave, despondent at the cruelty of man.
Really, the image here is more than a “no vacancy” sign flashing in the window of the Motel-6 and Holiday Inn. The word used here conveys the idea of a public lodging house or “shelter.” It’s a very broad term. The idea Luke is conveying here is there was not any place for them to stay. So it is likely there was not even born in a barn or a cave and some have tried to propose. A likely scenario is that when the public housing was found to be overcrowded and full, Mary and Joseph just stayed outside with the animals.
Luke almost understates Jesus’ birth very plainly. There’s no detail here. “She gave birth, swaddled him, and laid him in a manger (a feeding trough for animals). Think back to Gabriel’s announcement to Mary 9 months ago. Gabriel called Mary “highly favored” (Luke 1:28). He told her God was with her (Luke 1:28) and that she doesn’t need to be afraid (Luke 1:30). She was giving birth to the son of God Most High (El-Elyon) (Luke 1:32).
Would this be your definition of favor and reason not to fear? Giving birth in a dumpy and busy town during a pagan census for taxation purposes in the back of a public shelter near where the animals feed? By worldly standards, no. But it is amazing how God uses all of this to orchestrate everything. Caesar didn’t do this; Joseph and Mary didn’t do this; the innkeeper didn’t do this. This was part of God’s plan and part of fulfilling a prophecy from Micah 5:2 some 700 years earlier.
In the fullness of God’s time, Mary gives birth. Joseph was probably almost beside himself as this unfolds. In her labor, Mary has no family, no comforts, no privacy, no doctors or midwives, not even her mother. Just these 2 kids and at the glorious moment, she pushes one more time and births, Immanuel, as he cries the cry of life. The Lord of eternity, omniscience, and omnipresence is confined to an 8 pound 10-ounce body into the young hands of a very inexperienced father. And everyone around them had absolutely no idea what was going on.
In all my explanations of these days, I don’t share these world events to scare you, but to encourage you. This isn’t for politics (as a couple of people have protested). This is to prepare us and to look forward with expectancy
32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Matthew 24:32–33 ESV
Just as God was moving world events to bring Jesus the first time, so he is with the second arrival. We should be vigilant and we should be concerned, but we should be encouraged oh children of God, and have nothing to fear for God is true with us.
What happens when our faith doesn’t feel comfortable with the world around us? What happens in the world is not going to be comfortable for those who follow God. The values of the world are in opposition to God.
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4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 ESV
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2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 ESV
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7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Romans 8:7 ESV
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36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” John 18:36 ESV
Conclusion
The world incorporates celebrating the birth of Jesus for all kinds of reasons, many of them wrong. We focus more on indulgence, materialism, and social events. Meanwhile, the world continues to accelerate toward
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13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV
