Left Behind, Mark 13:5-8, Matthew 28:19, 20, 2 Tim 1:7, 2 Tim 3:12-17, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
I think we can all agree that the world is undergoing changes that none of us have anticipated or ever seen in our lifetimes (no matter how old you are), and many Christians are wondering if we’re in the end times.
Over the past few weeks my sermons have addressed the effects of the pandemic, the over reach of our government, the move toward a “Great Reset” or “One World Government”, as well as the signs that indicate that we may be approaching the end times, and what our response should be to all of this.
Remember this, our circumstances are from God. You are not a victim of chance. You are a child of God, and He has a purpose for you where you are.
Jesus appeared completely helpless, at the mercy of Pilate. But Jesus understood that Pilate had no power over Him, except that which was granted to him by God.
He appeared to be a helpless prisoner, but in reality, He had the power of God behind Him, a power far greater than that of Rome. Thus, even in today’s chaotic circumstances, you are not helpless. You are in God’s hands, not anyone else’s.
Even when it seems that others have a great deal of power over you (your employer, the government, vaccine mandates), they hold that power only at God’s pleasure, only in order to accomplish His purposes in your life.
Additionally, if we put too much confidence in the things of this world and a belief that our life will work out because of our own abilities and plans, we are going to be in for disappointment and lifetime of ongoing heartache.
We are not bodies that happen to possess a spirit; we are spirits who happen to possess a body. This body is dying, passing away. As a Christian, our spirit is as vibrant as the day it was made alive in Christ the Lord.
Due to all the events in the news and the pandemonium that we see on a global scale, many are asking the question, are we in the Tribulation?
Well, if you believe in a pretribulation Rapture (which I do) – that Christ will take us to heaven before the terrible things of the Tribulation start, then no, we are not in the Tribulation.
But, we may be at the beginning of the events that set up the necessary circumstances that will allow the antichrist to rise to power.
So, what’s going on? As we witness so much confusion in our world and even our nation, we can look to God’s Holy Word for the answers we seek.
Jesus tells us that what we’re seeing is the beginning of birth pains (Mark 13:5-8); there are signs we’re supposed to be watching for that herald the nearing return of Christ.
“Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. 7 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
The statement “take heed” (v. 6) is from the Greek word blepete, meaning “discernment concerning realities which lie beyond the observations of the physical senses.”
As Disciples of Christ, we will need uncommon spiritual discernment to be able to withstand the deceivers and to weather the storms of persecution.
We will need our minds focused so that we will not be led astray in the midst of crises and cries of confusion.
Commentator Warren Wiersbe applies these verses as a warning against anyone claiming to have all the answers to the world’s woes. He says,
“There is something in human nature that loves a lie and refuses to believe the costly lessons of the past. Mark Twain said that a lie runs around the world, while truth is putting on her shoes! How easy it is for spiritually blind people to follow popular leaders and gullibly accept their simple solutions for the problems of life. Jesus warned His disciples not to be deceived by these impostors, and that warning holds good today.”
God has entrusted to us who are saved with the message of life; and this message is to be shared with all people. Think through the various statements of Christ’s charge to the faithful.
Matthew quotes Jesus as saying to His followers, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” Matt. 28:19, 20.
A stand for Christ must be taken, and a decision to trust God must be made.
Like our Christian ancestors before us, we must learn to stand firm in the face of the enemy and not back down, and not give in. We are called by God to be courageous.
Remember what Paul told Timothy in 2 Tim 1:7? It says, “…for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind…”
Even though there is a demonic tyrant out to ‘get us’ and stop the growth of the kingdom… we are called to stand firm in the face of tyranny and proclaim Jesus Christ to a world that is lost and dying.
And that is what Paul is telling Timothy in 2 Tim 3:12-17.
12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Paul was sharing with Timothy that persecution comes with the territory, face up to it, accept it, it is GOING to happen.
Paul shares that evil men are going to try to destroy you, and your walk with God, and your witness for Christ, but he calls on us to stand tall and stand firm in our walk with Christ.
Paul emphasized that Timothy needed to just keep doing what he had been taught and what he was assured of, and that is just what WE must do to stand tall and stand firm in our faith.
That is what we must do to rid ourselves of idleness and apathy. That is what we must do to rise from the altar of fear and intimidation in our walk with Christ.
Everyone faces trials at one time or another. The Bible tells us that the rain falls on the just and the unjust (Matt 5:45) and that we should consider it all joy when we encounter various trials (Ja 1:2).
If you are not currently undergoing a trial, don’t worry, you will be soon. As we move closer and closer to the return of Christ, know this, the persecution of the Body of Christ will increase.
Paul says that for Timothy to stand tall and firm, he only needed to continue doing the things Paul had taught him and the things he was assured of.
All who are facing difficulty in their lives, all who are struggling against idleness or apathy, all who are cowering at the altar of fear and intimidation need to understand this…
…YOU have a word from God to help you and to deliver you. And, you have a mission to accomplish until Christ returns.
With all that being said, (much of which we have covered in the past few weeks), what I would like to focus on today is the question, what if you are left behind? What if the Rapture happens and you are still here?
Our description of the Rapture is given to us by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17. Turn with me in your Bibles and let’s read this description of what is to come.
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 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.
I have often herd people say that the word “rapture” does not occur in the Bible. Well, after some in-depth study, I can say with some confidence that yes, it is there, depending on the language you read the scriptures.
The phrase in verse 17, “Shall be caught up” is the Greek word – ‘harpautzo.’ In Latin, it is the word - rapio, from which we get the English word – rapture.
So if anyone ever tells you that “rapture” isn’t in the Bible, simply ask them if they have read the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible.
For those of us who will meet Jesus in the air, our work on earth will then be done, but what about those left behind?
I have heard people say that they will put off becoming a Christian until the Rapture occurs. They want to live a life of physical gratification, selfishness, and sin until the final call occurs.
Somehow, they think that once they see for themselves the Rapture of the Church, they will simply then give their lives to Jesus and everything will be okay. Nothing could be further from the truth.
After the Rapture, the Holy Spirit and His influence will be removed from the earth. Think of the earth with no mercy, no love from God, no sense of what is right or wrong, and no care for you, your rights, or your family.
No matter how bad persecution has been for believers in the past 2000 years, it will pale in comparison to what is coming during the Tribulation.
Those misguided individuals who think they will simply accept Jesus after the Tribulation begins are in for a rude awakening.
There will be the stress of losing your life for your faith (for those who refuse the mark of the Beast), there will be hunger and poverty (because you will not be able to buy, sell, or even have a job without the mark).
What awaits the believer who accepts Jesus during the Tribulation is nothing short of disaster, pestilence, and intense suffering. We know this because John told us of these events in the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
The conditions of the Tribulation are spelled out in great detail; there will be war, disease, hunger, ecological disaster after disaster, beings from the pit will be released to inflict suffering, the saints will be given over to the Beast to be martyred in the most gruesome ways.
There has never been, nor will there ever be, a more difficult time to be Christin.
I for one do not wish to see anyone have to endure the events of those seven years that mark the end of this age.
It is far better to give your life to Jesus now, it is far better to give your life meaning now, it is far better to know without a doubt that you are a child of the King and will be carried away from this life to a place that He, Jesus, has prepared for you.
So, when thinking about those left behind, the first question we need to examine is; who are those left behind? Those left behind will fall roughly into three main categories:
The first group that comes to mind are those who are opposed to God, atheists and their ilk, those who are opposed to even the idea of a Supreme Being or Creator of the Universe.
These are the ones that John described as shaking their fist at God even after all of the judgments that were passed upon them, these are the ones who will hide in the caves and the rocks, who seek death, but will not find it.
The second group are those who worship a false god or are involved in a cult. There are many cults that have the flavor of Christianity, but are far from the truth, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Kabbalah, Christian Science, etc.
These are those who have led many astray with false promises and false doctrines. They may have some suspicion of what has happened after the Rapture, but their stubbornness and dogma will prevent them from accepting the truth, and ultimately Jesus.
Then there is a third group, this is the one that causes me the most distress. This group consists of people who identify as Christians, go to a God believing Spirit filled Church, that teaches the truth of God’s Word, but have never truly given their heart and soul to Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior.
This third group is the only one that will probably ever hear or read this message. I highly doubt that an atheist or anyone involved in the worship of a false god, or who are involved in a cult will ever seek out this message.
However, it is also this third group that holds the greatest promise for salvation of the first two groups (and themselves) after the Rapture occurs.
This third group will have heard the truth of God’s Word, they will understand what has happened when millions or billions of people suddenly vanish, and this group will still have Bibles and thus, after their own salvation experience, will be able to lead the lost to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
As I stated earlier, after the Rapture, the Holy Spirit and His influence will be removed from the earth. The evil influence of Satan will be unchecked, on full display, and the wickedness of man will be fully ripe. There will be no mercy, no pity, no remorse.
According to John, during the Tribulation, the persecution of believers will be beyond anything seen before in human history.
There will be the stress of losing your life, hunger, and poverty. This time will be nothing short of ultimate catastrophe on a global scale that will utterly destroy the world as we know it today.
Global war, disease, hunger, ecological disaster, demons that inflict suffering and ultimately no protection from the Holy Spirit, this is what awaits those who are saved after the Rapture.
There will never be a more difficult time to be Christin.
Thus, my plea today is that you make sure of your salvation. Paul admonishes us in Philippians 2:12b … “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
Jesus did the heavy lifting when He submitted Himself to the will of the Father by dying on the Cross for the sins of the world. We need only accept the gift of grace offered by Jesus to escape judgment for our sins and a potential terrifying and abysmal existence during the Tribulation.
God tells us that He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all come to the saving knowledge of Jesus.” Won’t you make certain your salvation today? If you have never received Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, won’t you make that decision today?
Please… don’t leave this place without the certainty of knowing the destination of your eternal soul. Jesus could come at any second. Yes, you can be saved after the saved are Raptured, but oh how hard it will be.
Give your life to Jesus today. Let us pray.
