The Greatest Event And The Greatest Surprise (Sermon On The Rapture)

I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO NAME THE TWENTY, BUT LET ME MENTION A FEW…

1. Slave Trade – the 16th to the 19th Centuries

2. The First World War – 1914 to 1918

3. Introduction of Electricity – The 19th Century

4. The Second World War – 1939 to 1945

5. The Development of Atomic Bomb – 1945

6. The Black Death – the 14th Century

7. Attack on Pearl Harbor – 1941

8. The reign of Adolf Hitler – 1933 to 1945

9. The holocaust – 1940 to 1945

10. Foundation of United Nations – 1945

11. Colonization – The 19th to the 20th Centuries

12. The Formation of USSR – The Mid and the Late 20th Century

14. The Cold War – 1946 to 1991

15. Discovery of HIV AIDS – 1981

16. The fall of Berlin Wall – 1989

17. The Dissolution of the Soviet Union – 1991

18. Invention of Internet – 1989

19. The World Trade Center Terrorist Attack – 2001

20. The Outbreak of Covid19 – 2019

These are all great events in the history of mankind that has drastically affected our nation.

But the greatest event to ever take place has not taken place yet…I AM TALKING ABOUT THE COMING OF THE LORD!!!

There are some folks do not like to think about the coming of the Lord because they know they are not ready for His coming.

But there are millions of Christians that pray for His soon return not because they do not enjoy the life they have on earth. But they know that the coming of the Lord is the greatest event to occur for mankind and they are going to be a part of it.

And the only reason that some of us hope the Lord will not come back soon is because we have loved ones and friends that we know are not ready to stand before the Lord and give account of their sins.

When I think about that I think about the song – WAIT A LITTLE LONGER DEAR JESUS.

YouTube – Wait a little longer Jesus

But every child of God looks forward to our ETERNAL HOME TO BE WITH OUR SAVIOR AND LOVED ONES WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US!!!

Illus: Dr. Odell Belger said I can remember as a child when we went on vacation to visit our relatives for a week and our parents would write them or telephone them, we were going spend the week with them.

Also, they would tell them the date and the time we would be arriving.

And when we arrived at their home our parents would open the front doors to our car and our parents would get out of the car and then six wild children got out of the back seat after being packed up for several hours and our relatives had to ACT LIKE THEY WERE GLAD TO SEE US!!!

The Lord is coming to see us we hope very soon, but He does not tell us the DAY and HOUR.

As we look at the coming of the Lord the only announcement, we have He is coming as a thief in the night.

There is a reason He does not tell us the DATE AND TIME.

Illus: For example, a thief does not call our home and tell us he plans to enter our home and say, “About one O’clock this evening I plan to arrive.”

When he enters a home, he wants the element of surprise to be on his side.

And the Lord knows if we knew the DATE AND TIME mankind would live in sin and just before that DATE AND TIME of His coming, they would fall on their knees and get right with God.

And the Bible tells us in Matthew 24:36, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”

Illus: Some of the cults, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Seventh Day Adventist have repeatedly predicted they know when the Lord is going to return, but every time the date they predicted have come and gone!!!

Illus: When you hear a religious group claim they know the day and the hour that Christ is going to return, you can mark it down, they do not know what they are talking about.

The Word of God makes it clear, “But of that day and hour know E

th no man…”. I do not possibly see how the Lord could make that any clearer than that.

After enlightening us about the time in which He will come AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT, He gives us two things to consider that teach us about His coming.

No man knows when He will come, but the Bibles gives us some hints about when His coming will take place.