Pre- vs Post- Tribulational Rapture

Transcript

GR 826
07/12/1992
Pre Vs Post Tribulational Rapture
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

I do want to talk to you today about the subject of prophecy and particularly having to do with the rapture of the church and God's promises to us as His children. And this is going to be a general overview of the matter of prophecy but particularly focusing on the promises that God has given in His word for us as believers and our being caught up to meet Christ in the air and taken to the glories of heaven. This is the anticipation, the hope, the expectation of the church of Jesus Christ. That we will some day be caught up from this earth, meet Jesus Christ in the air, be taken to glory with Him, introduced to His Father personally, presented in His presence as holy and blameless and without spot. Then we will return with Christ at a later date to this earth when He comes and establishes His kingdom over which He will personally rule and reign.

Now just a couple of terms. Couple, speaking half a dozen. We talk about the millennium; we're talking about the literal, physical earthly kingdom of Jesus Christ, 1,000 years in duration. We'll talk more about this in detail when we get to Revelation 20. We will probably be in the millennium, however, that's a thousand years. That's the first phase of the eternal kingdom. Now you can be a pre-millennialist, a post-millennialist, or an a-millennialist. We are pre-millennialists. We believe that Jesus Christ personally will return to earth to establish that kingdom. It will not begin until He bodily returns to earth. That's a pre-millennialists - pre-millennium, before the millennium, the kingdom. Some are post-millennialists. They believe that we, as Christians, should work to make the world better and better and through our efforts and God using us, the world will evang... be evangelized and finally we will usher in the kingdom. Some after the kingdom begins, Jesus Christ Himself will return. There's variations, but this is a summary. That is the basis for much of the social action among many believers today. Post-millennialism has been growing in popularity among believers, sometimes called reconstructionism. And so many believe that Christians ought to be active socially because part of our responsibility is to change the world and if God uses us to change the world, the world will gradually get better and better until ultimately the kingdom will begin and then the way will be prepared and Jesus Christ will return.
Or you could be a-millennial. The preface in front of millennium means no millennium. They do not believe in a literal, physical kingdom over which Christ will rule. We will simply come to the end of all things, Jesus Christ will return, we'll have judgment and go into eternity. An a-millennialist allegorizes the prophesies that relate to the future. And we don't look forward to a future earthly kingdom, the kingdom exists in the hearts of men and women today. It's a spiritual kingdom; not a physical kingdom. I believe the bible teaches clearly the pre-millennial return of Jesus Christ. We can have no kingdom without the King. And His coming will establish the kingdom.

Now preceding that kingdom there is a period of time in Old Testament prophesy, developed in New Testament prophesy, called the tribulation. A 7-year period of time as we'll look at in a moment. In relation to that you can be pre-tribulational, mid-tribulational, or post-tribulational. Now again, very simply, if you are pre-tribulational you mean that Christ will come before that 7-year tribulation to take the church to be with Himself. He doesn't return to earth at that point in time; He comes in the air, taking the church to be with Himself and that will be followed by a 7-year period of time. If you're mid-tribulation, you believe that that rapture of the church, the church being caught up to meet Christ in the air, will take place in the mid point of the 7-year period. Or post-tribulationalism. And post-tribulationalism is becoming very, very prominent and popular in the church today. That believes.... that teaches that after that 7-year period the church will be raptured, particularly in connection with the return of Christ to earth to establish His kingdom. So Christ will be coming in the air to establish His kingdom. On His way to earth, He will catch us up to meet Him in the air and then bring us down to earth with Him to establish His kingdom. That would make you post-tribulational, after the tribulation. My understanding of the scripture, and the position of this church is that the bible teaches a pre-tribulation rapture and a pre-millennial return to earth. I believe that is most consistent with interpreting prophetic scripture normally or literally.

Now there is no question believers are acquainted to tribulation and trial during their life on earth. Romans chapter 5. Romans and the 5th chapter. The chapter opens up by speaking of the fact that we have "been justified by faith and thus we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained by our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God." The result of being justified by faith, standing in grace, we have the hope of glory and God has a way of sharpening that hope of glory. And that way is suffering. So he says in verse 3, "And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; perseverance, proven character; proven character, hope; and the hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts by the Holy Spirit." You see that we exult in our tribulation. There are other passages; James chapter 1 talks about counting it all joy my brethren when you fall into various tribulations. I Peter talks about tribulations, chapter 1, chapter 4 particularly for us as believers. So there's no disagreement that church today can expect tribulations and trials but that is different than the coming great that is a part of biblical prophesy. So there is tribulation to be experienced because we are identified with Jesus Christ and if the work has hated Christ, it will hate you. Christ promised us that. He said, "in the world you will have tribulation" in John 14:33. "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." But there is a specific 7 year block of time characterized in a special way as a time of tribulation, trial, the great tribulation.

Turn back to the book of Daniel chapter 9, Daniel chapter 9. I'd encourage you to take time over the next few weeks to read through the book of Daniel. I went through it again this week and a thrilling book and an understanding of Daniel will greatly help as we move in our study of the book of the Revelation. But in Daniel chapter 9 Daniel tells us in verse 2 that "in the first year of King Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, he was studying the prophesies of Jeremiah" who was basically a contemporary of Daniel. And Daniel came to understand through studying Jeremiah's prophesy, in the middle of verse 2, "the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, seventy years." Daniel's part of what is called the Babylonian captivity. Babylon has carried the southern kingdom into captivity. Through studying Jeremiah and the ministry of the Spirit, Daniel has come to understand that the captivity will last 70 years. For you see God had commanded Israel, every 7 years you give the land rest. That year belongs to me, not you. Well for 490 years Israel didn't do it. So God says now I'll take all 70 years at one time. Daniel came to understand that. And as he reflects on these matters and Israel's future and he prays, down in verse 20, he's speaking, he's confessing his sins, he's praying for Israel. Verse 21, "While I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel" appeared to Daniel. And Gabriel comes to unfold for Daniels benefit something of Daniels future. Evidently in his prayer, Daniel was concerned. Now there's a 70 year captivity for Israel. What about Israel's future? So Gabriel tells Daniel, verse 24, "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city." Now that 70 weeks is literally 70 sevens and it is 70 7-year periods. And that will become clear in our future study of Revelations so we won't go into it now. Both in the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation it's made clear we're talking about periods of years here not days. So 70 7-year periods; 490 years are determined upon your people. Now you note who this 490 year period pertains to. "Your people, your holy city." So it is for your people, Daniel, the Jews, your holy city, Jerusalem to finish the transgression and there's 6 things here that will be accomplished in this 490-year period. Number 1: finish the transgression; to make an end to sins, to make atonement for inequity, bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophesy, to anoint the most holy place. In effect if you will, those 70 years, 70 weeks, 490 years, will serve to complete God's program in redeeming Israel and preparing the way for the king. So that by the time you get through that period of time, Israel will have experienced the redemption that God has promised. "So you are to know and discern" verse 25, "from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem" so there's the beginning of the 490-year period. The decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. You can find this out in Nehemiah chapter 2, you can find out the date I believe in the Encyclopedia Britannica. It was in 445 B.C. that the decree was given. That marks the beginning of the time. So from that decree until Messiah, the Prince, there will be 7 weeks and 62 weeks; 7 weeks and 62 weeks equals 69 weeks. And there is no clear reason why it is broken down into 7 weeks plus 69 weeks. I'm not sure why the first 7 weeks was used as a block of time; the first 49 years. At any rate, what we're concerned about is from the giving of that decree until Messiah, the Prince, will be 69 weeks or 483 years.

Verse 26. "Then after the sixty-two weeks" (which was after the 7 weeks; 7 weeks plus 62 weeks), then after those sixty-two weeks (a total of 69) Messiah will be cut off." And you can read one of the booklets from the book store on The 70 Weeks of Daniel and lay out there the chronology and the most popular chronology has been set out, climaxed the first 69 weeks on Palm Sunday when Jesus Christ entered triumphantly into Jerusalem. A few days after that Jesus Christ was cut off, He was crucified. Now you note here. He did not say in the 70th week Messiah will be cut off but after the 69th week. Consistent with many prophesies in the Old Testament, they are put right together even though there may be a gap of time in between. But here there is an indication of the gap of time because after the 69 weeks, rather than in the 70th week, the Messiah will be executed, an indication there will be a break.

"The people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary." Talking about the Romans because our attention is being carried now to the antichrist, the ultimate prince who will come. His people, the Romans, as we'll be dealing with the revived Roman Empire when we get to the 70th week, will destroy the city and so on. Now verse 27. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week." That marks the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel. The rapture of the church does not necessarily mark the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel unless God sees fit to rapture the church at the moment that that peace treaty is being signed. That could happen. But the scriptural indication is it's the signing of this agreement that will mark the beginning of the tribulation. My understanding is that the rapture of the church, if it does not occur simultaneously, will have occurred some time before that event. I'll give some reasons in a moment. How much before, I don't know. A day, a week, a month, I don't know. I believe we can indicate... note clearly scripture says that the church will be removed before this 70th week. The 70th week will begin by the signing of that agreement. Incidentally that is why we observe with such interest the peace process in the Middle East. The involvement of the European Community in that peace process because that is the people of the prince who is to come. Those are the people who comprise the old Roman Empire. Ultimately it will be a representative of those people who will enter into an agreement with Israel. Interesting the change in Israel’s government to a government that was voted in on the basis that they would be more likely to bring about the peace in that area of the world. So all these events are thrilling. I'm not saying they're the fulfillment but they do set before us how things may rapidly be moving toward this event. I'm not saying there can't be other peace agreements signed but when the peace agreement signed that Daniel 9:27 is talked about, the clock will have begin to run on the 70th week of Daniel and we will be in what the bible calls the tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble, the time of wrath. This 70th week, 7-year period, remember it's a week of years not a week of days, is divided into two 3-1/2 year segments. Because verse 27 says "in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering" and so on. So he's entered into an agreement with Israel that has freed Israel up to rebuild their temple if it's not already done. Re-institute sacrifices and so on; in the middle of that 7-year period he breaks the agreement. We'll get to the details of this in the future. This is the period of time that we are talking about.

While you're here, let me express to you one clear reason why I believe the church will be raptured before the 70th week of Daniel. What we've already noted. Daniel 9:24. "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city. After 69 weeks Messiah will be cut off." The church does not begin until after Messiah is cut off. Begins in Acts chapter 2, after the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. The church had no part in the first 69 weeks. The church did not begin until the 69 weeks were completed. Now the 70th week has to do with Israel. This is to complete God's purposes with His people Israel. He did not begin His purposes with a new people until He had set aside Israel. So it doesn't prove a pre-tribulation rapture but it points to the fact that that's consistent with the God's operated with these first 69 weeks. That He removed the church before the 70th week; then He again focuses attention on the Jews and Jerusalem to complete His program with them. The church is not part of that program in a direct way as Daniel has ah been made aware of here by Gabriel.

Now this 70th week of Daniel is a time of wrath. Turn over to the book of Revelation.
Let me just say for those of you who study this a little more in depth, I am simply going to be presenting my conclusions, this is what I did with my study leave in Colorado for two weeks, studied post-tribulationalism, and pre-tribulationalism. Now I'm just going to give you what I believe is taught here and won't attempt to answer point by point or give you alternative explanations and why I think they're wrong, I think that might get a little involved, maybe at a later time I'll put together a study oriented to that. I think it's clear that this 7-year period is a time of wrath. A time in which God will pour out His wrath upon the world, a time when He will refine and bring Israel to its knees. So there's two purposes going to be accomplished in this 7-year tribulation. God will pour out His wrath upon the world of the unbeliever, God will, through testing and trial, bring the nation Israel too its knees. So that by the time you get to the end of the 70th week of Daniel, the nation, as a nation, not every single Jew, but there will be a mass turning of the Jews to Jesus Christ as Messiah in anticipation of His second coming. Now note in the book of Revelation, chapter 6. When you come into chapter 6 we have moved into the 70th week of Daniel. Chapter 6 to 19 deal with the events of the 70th week of Daniel; that 7-year period, climaxing with the return of Christ to earth in Revelation 19. That marks the conclusion of the 70th week of Daniel, the judgments that will take place and the preparation for the establishing of the millennium. Look in verse 16 of Revelation 6. In this period of time, because of the judgments that will be taking place, men will cry out on the earth, verse 16, "they said to the mountains and to the rocks, fall on us, hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?" It's a time of the pouring out of the wrath of God. That will climax at Armageddon, the climax of His wrath. And you see here, people crying out in terror. We had just a little glimpse of this with the earthquakes we've experienced on the west coast recently. A reminder of how confident, self assured, cocky if you will people can be quickly reduced to abject terror when God shakes the earth for a brief 30 seconds. All of the bravado is gone. Think of what would happen if He shook it for 30 minutes. Wouldn't be anything left but a little bit of powder out there to blow around. Ah, when God pours out His wrath, the great, the mighty men will be reduced to terror, crying out for cover.

Chapter 11, I might get carried away here. Chapter 11 verse 18. "And the nations were enraged, and your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged." When we move into the 70th week of Daniel, we are on a course that will climax with judgment. That's the judgment of the 70th week of Daniel, personal judgment and the establishment of the kingdom. It's a time of wrath.

Look over in chapter 14 verse 10. Speaking about the judgment that will result in hell those who come under judgment in the tribulation. "He will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger." He's coming to the tribulation; unbelievers cast into hell. The wrath of the tribulation is anticipatory. So you have the wrath of God, if you will, during this 7-year period building to the climax that will be with the sentencing of men and women to an eternal hell when Christ returns to judge the world.

Look in chapter 14 verse 19. "And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God." We're coming to Armageddon. But you see Armageddon is within the confines of the 70th week of Daniel. It's part of that period. The climax of that period if you will. Some post-tribulationalists such as Robert Gundry try to end the 7-year tribulation and he tries to make it less than a full 7-year period and then make the wrath of God happen after that. I believe he becomes totally inconsistent with the passages that he has to deal with. We'll get into that as we move through Revelation.

Chapter 15 verse 1. "I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished." You see this has been a time of God's wrath and now it's going to be brought to completion. It's building like a storm. You see boy this storm is bad; it's going to get worse. You say this storm has gotten worse but it's not as bad as it's going to get. That's what's happening in this period of time until you come to the final judgments, the bowl judgments, and they are the worst. It's been a building time.

Verse 7 of chapter 15. "And of the four living creatures... one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God." So you see it's a time of wrath.

Chapter 16 verse 1, end of the verse. They "pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God onto the earth." Verse 19, the end of the verse. "To give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath." Judgment taking place and will take place on Babylon recorded in chapter 17 and 18. Within that 7-year period as we move towards it's climax and then chapter 19 verse 15 with the return of Christ personally to earth. The end of the verse, "He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty." This 7-year tribulation is a time of God's wrath poured out upon believing people, climaxing in its fullest intensity at Armageddon at the closing days or weeks as some would believe since the word for the battle of Armageddon is the campaigns of Armageddon. At the climax of that 7-year period. Jesus said that He Himself personally by His intervention will bring an end to those events. And in Matthew 24 if He didn't there would be no flesh left alive. So it's a time of wrath. We have that fixed in our mind.

OK. Now we come back up to Revelation 3:10. This is probably the single clearest most important verse on the timing of the rapture in the New Testament. For you see, much of what the bible talks about is the return of Christ; it talks much about the return of Christ. It talks about the rapture of the church but the bible does not go into a great deal of detail specifically in giving us a time line of those events. So what we have to do is study the events that the bible prophesize then we put them together and back up to recognize well when will the rapture occur in relation to the 7-year tribulation and so on. And there's a promise given to the church at Philadelphia, and remember these churches are representative, not just literal churches in John's day, representative of all churches down through church history. And here is church as it is faithful before God given the promise of God, verse 10. "Because you have kept the word of my perseverance." This church has persevered and been faithful in accord with the word of God. "I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell upon the earth." I want you to note something. This hour of testing that's coming is going to come upon the whole world. So this is not isolated testing, the trials of God, but it's going to encompass the whole world. And it is particularly focused upon those who dwell upon the earth. A common agreement here, whether you're a pre-tribulation or post-tribulational in your interpretation that those who dwell upon the earth refers to unbelievers. We'll see this as we move through the book of Revelation. You'll be checking in your concordance. When you get to chapter 17 "those who dwell upon the earth" are identified with those whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life. These are the unbelievers. So the wrath of God in the 7-year tribulation is directed toward the unbeliever but the very fact that this time encompasses the whole world, those who are believers on the earth will not be able to experience some of those consequences. For example, I read in the paper this week that there's a projection if something's not done, 40 million people on the continent of Africa will starve to death. Now if you are believer on that continent, you cannot escape the fact that you are liven... living in a famine scorched part of the earth. That affects you. That will be true in the tribulation. Now what is given here is a promise to the church to be kept out of that time. There's much discussion, I alluded to it in our discussion when we were doing this passage. "I will keep you from the hour of testing." Some try to make this expression mean I'll keep you while you're within it. Problem we're going to see in a moment, to do that creates a number of problems. Number 1, we're going to see as we study Revelation, that a number so great that you can't count believers will be martyred in the tribulation. If those are the ones getting this promise, it's hard to see how He kept them from the testing when they died. Here He promises to keep them.

Secondly, the expression doesn't mean that. What it's put together here. To keep from means to keep out from and those who try to say well God will remove the church at the end of the tribulation after the 70th week or at the end of it but before the wrath have a problem because they argue on one hand that this expression means I'll keep you through that time but then they turn around on the next page and argue I'll take you out before that time. Now which is it? They say the expression can't mean to take you out but Robert Gundry in his book says oh yes the church must be taken out before the wrath. This word must mean kept through it. Does it mean keep through it or take out before? I think the answer means to take out before. That's how you're kept from the testing. If I'm martyred and die a horrible death in the tribulation you have yet to explain to me how I'm kept from the hour of testing that's coming on the whole world. That's easy for you to say when they didn't cut off your ears and cut out your tongue, peel your skin off and your sitting here taking comfort in Revelation 3:10, "I'll keep you from the hour of testing." The promise to mean anything it must mean I'll keep you out from it. I'll remove you so you don't have to experience it. I take it that's the promise. Very clearly as we come now to consider this coming time of testing to engulf the whole world Jesus Christ gives a promise to His church. I'll keep you from that time. It's a time focused on the unbelieving world. Now then if that's a promise to the church how come there will be believers in the tribulation; they're not part of the church. The wrath of God is not directed toward them but they, nonetheless, experience the consequences of being on earth when the wrath of God is being poured out on the unbeliever. Just like you and I. If God decides that He is done with the United States and He's going to annihilate this country in a nuclear war, you and I as believers will experience the consequences of that. Not because God wants to destroy us in His wrath, but because that's part of being in a sinful world that experiences the judgments of God even though they're not directed towards us individually and personally. So the promise here is clear; as clear as it could be. There'd be no other way grammatically to say this I don't think, that it could be any clearer.

Another promise regarding wrath. I Thessalonians 1:10, I Thessalonians 1:10 [pause]. Keep in mind these are promises given only to the children of God. Only those who truly belong to the church because they've experienced God's redemption by recognizing their sinful condition, that they're lost sinners and casting themselves on the mercy of God believing that Christ died for them. Verse 9 of I Thessalonians 1, "For they themselves report about us what kind of reception we had with you, how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from wrath to come." The wrath to come; we're delivered from that. So it is made clear to us? That the tribulation, Armageddon, all the bowls, all of that time is a time of wrath. We've been promised deliverance from that.

Look over in chapter 5 of I Thessalonians verse 9. "For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him." God has not destined us for wrath. Some would say we're talking about hell. Well in the context here what is He talking about? Well back in verse 2 of chapter 5, "know full well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While they're saying peace and safety, destruction will come upon them." No He's talking about the wrath associated with the day of the Lord. Whether you call the entire 7-year period the day of the Lord or just the events that climax that 7-year period, the point is the same. The church is promised deliverance from the coming wrath. He's talking about earthly wrath here in the context of the day of the Lord. Which is at least, if you limit it, to Armageddon associated events, it's events that will take place on this earth. We're promised deliverance from the coming wrath associated with all of that and I think includes then that time of wrath leading up to that. We saw all the bowls and so on, all the way to chapter 6 identified that way. We are promised deliverance. God has not destined us for wrath. So you see the order, we're going to come back a moment, but the end of chapter 4 is one of the key passages on the rapture of the church when we're caught up to meet Christ in the air. Then He goes on to talk about events taking place on the earth in the context of the day of the Lord God's judgment, God's wrath poured out the earth. Then He reminds us, but we're not destined for wrath but for obtaining salvation whether awake or asleep. Perhaps referring back to what He talked about in verses 13 and following concerning believers who are asleep and those who are alive. So ____ in the context flow here let's talk about the rapture of the church then let's talk about events associated with the day of the Lord. Now let me remind you, believers are not destined for the wrath associated with what will take place after the rapture, the tribulation, the day of the Lord because God's destined us for salvation. Not just eternal salvation, not just escaping eternal wrath, but the wrath associated with the day of the Lord and events on this earth. The day of the Lord is part of the 7-year tribulation. That is clear I think in the scripture.

John 14, John chapter 14. I’m drawing attention to passages that point to the fact that the rapture will occur before the 7-year tribulation. Then I want to go back and talk just briefly about the passages that talk about the rapture particularly. John 14. "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places." King James says mansions. The word here is accurately translated dwelling places and I remember a professor telling me it doesn't say mansions, it says dwelling places. It would be like an apartment building, we'll all have our apartment. Well I don't know. Having been in Philadelphia and New York I didn't see many apartments that I wanted for eternity. So whether you translate this dwelling places or not, there are not such dwelling places in the eternal splendor of the living God that would not classify as mansions beyond description and ah you can read the end of the book of Revelation for a description of the new Jerusalem so ah I still like the translation mansions. You can have what you want but I'm getting a mansion. "If it were not so, I would have told you; I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you maybe also." Now one of the difficulties with the post-trib position, those who believe that Christ raptures the church after the tribulation is, Christ is descending in the air, He calls the church to meet Him in the air, then we turn around and come back down to earth. Here Jesus says I'm going to prepare a place for you, then I'm going to come and take you to that place. So I think the indication here, in fact I was interested in some study that was done on this expression in other writings, to receive you to Myself in verse 3, commonly used to refer to take you to My home. That's the... the expression you would use if you going to say to someone I want to take you to my home. So that this person ah whose advocating a translation here, I will come to take you to My home. It's a promise to the church. When Christ comes in the air at the rapture, He's going to take us to His home. He's prepared it for us. So that on that occasion He might present us in the presence of His Father as Colossians tells us, white and blameless and without spot. It's a clear promise again it would seem to me of what we would call a pre-tribulation rapture of the church. The church is going to be caught up before the 7-year and we're going to be taken to the splendor of God's presence Christ has a place prepared for us. To enjoy that with the marriage of the Lamb. We'll do that later but not today. And events surrounding that and then return at His second coming to earth with Him as His bride to be part of the establishing of the kingdom. And you'll note in this context, the only ones that are going to where Christ has prepared are those who come through Christ, verse 6. "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me." It's important to see in this context, we talk about being taken to the Father, taken to heaven and the place that Christ has prepared for us there, the only ones who will be going to the Father are those who come through Jesus Christ. And all the ideas we have with the resurgence of religion, resurgence of the liberal church in our country, people flocking to churches, have nothing to do with getting to heaven because Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me." Important of bowing the knee before Him as sinful, fallen beings believing that He died to pay the penalty for our sin.

Now let me mention a couple of other things before we look at the passage, two passages on the rapture. Number 1, we'll see this in a moment, when the church is raptured we will all get glorified bodies. Bodies that are suitable for living in the presence of God for eternity. We'll see this mortal put on immortality. Now if that rapture occurs at the end of the tribulation so that it's believers in glorified bodies go into the millennium, whose going to populate the millennium? Who’s going to have children? Since in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage. Who’s going to rebel against Christ at the end of the thousand year kingdom? Revelation 20. Glorified saints? So those who don't believe in a pre-trib rapture then are left to try to condense all these events of the wrath of God in a small period of time at the end of the tribulation. So that the church can get raptured, then there'll be a period of time, a short period of time, all Israel will get saved and then there'll be others saved then Christ can get back down to earth, then we can have the kingdom. Of course some of them allow unbelievers to go into the kingdom which I believe can be totally refuted from the judgments of the scripture that unbelievers are rooted out so that they do not go into the kingdom. But you have the question of populating the earth during the millennium. A child, a person who dies at a hundred years of age in the millennium will be a child. Well who bore that child? Glorified saints don't. We have go have people going into the millennium in their physical body. The pre-tribulation rapture says all believers will be glorified bodies at the beginning of the 7 years. Then you have the 7-year tribulation during which Israel as a nation will experience salvation. Many Gentiles will believe. Those who survive the 7-year tribulation in their physical body, are alive when Christ returns, will go into the millennium in their physical bodies. They will have children, families, and so on. Those children born in the millennium will be born with sin natures. And they will have to personally believe in Christ for salvation. A multitude, innumerable, will refuse to believe and when given a choice after a thousand years of whether they would rather have Christ as their king or satan as their king, they choose Christ... choose satan against Christ. And judgment comes out. So that will have been demonstrated that man's problem is not his environment, not his social condition, how he was raised, none of those things. Man's problem is the condition of his heart, which is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. And only God's salvation can change that.

Also, indicative of a pre-tribulation rapture I believe is, we talk repeatedly about the church in Revelation, chapters 1, 2 and 3. The church will not be mentioned again in the book of Revelation till we're through the tribulation. Interesting there's no mention of the church when it has been so prominent in the first 3 chapters. Here we're talking about all that's taking place on the earth and people being martyred; the church is never mentioned. I think it's clear that the order of Revelation is clear. The promise is given in Revelation 3:10, "I will keep you in the coming hour of testing." Revelation 4 and 5 talks about what is going on in heaven. I believe the church is there as we'll see. Then chapter 6 to 19 what's going on in the earth and the church isn't here. It's been taken to heaven. Then it will appear again in connection with the return of Christ and those events.

Turn over to I Thessalonians chapter 4, I Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13. "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope." Some of the Thessalonians were burdened, loved ones had died. What happened to them? What is our hope? Well Paul says ah, we believe that Jesus died and rose again. You'll note he's talking to those who had their faith in Christ as their Savior. "We believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who alive, and remain until the coming of the lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. Now as to the times and the epochs," you go in to chapter 5. "You have no need for me to write to you bout the day of the Lord that is coming on this earth." Well remember verse 9. God has not destined us for wrath. So the order is laid out clearly here, what will take place at the rapture, I Thessalonians 4 focuses on those who have died in Christ, believers who have died. Their bodies will be resurrected from the grave in a glorified state; those people will move back into those bodies as those bodies are caught up in the air to meet Christ. After that you and I who are alive will be bodily caught up to meet Christ.

I Corinthians chapter 15, I Corinthians chapter 15 verse 50. "Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." Wait a minute. Didn't I just say that the people who survive the 7-year tribulation, their physical bodies, will go into the kingdom in their physical bodies? Now this says flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We're talking about the same thing as the promise to the church, they will not be part of that period of time associated with the wrath of God. That's the point in the passages that we looked at. Revelation 3:10 and so on that you will not be part of that period of time. Well here it's a promise for the church or a word to the church; the church cannot go into the kingdom in its physical body. The bride of Christ, it's intended that it will be transformed. "The perishable does not inherit the imperishable. Behold I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment," we get the Greek word atom from this word, the Greek word translated moment here is the Greek word atom just carried over in the English and the smallest particle of time, "the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, the mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory."

The last enemy we've got to face is death. Even as believers today, we don't anticipate dying, the experience of death. We all anticipate and desire that the Lord would come in the air to take us to be with Himself before we would have to experience physical death. Not that we're afraid of what follows death; just don't look forward to the process. With Christ coming in the air and in an atom of time, experience that transformation of body as quick as you can blink your eye, faster than that you will be face to face with Jesus Christ in the clouds in a glorified body. Amazing. That's the hope that we have. We will be taken to the glory that He has prepared for us. The marriage of the Lamb will occur and sometime subsequent to that event on earth, there will be an agreement signed between the leader of the revived Roman empire and the nation Israel to finally resolve the conflict there, to put an end to the Palestinian issue, that can provide the money that Israel needs to absorb its immigrants, perhaps provide for the building of the temple that they long for and the 70th week of Daniel will have begun. But you and I will be in glory. What this is to do for us, verse 58. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." Stop to think. This world is destined for wrath and judgment, destruction. We are destined for glory! We are not be living for this life and the things of this world. Jesus Christ is coming. It may be today! Your house, your bank account, your possessions, your social standing, all the things that we get absorbed in, will be nothing. We are to be absorbed with living for the Lord if we really believe that He is coming again then we are going to be called personally into His presence. That is to motivate us to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding, overflowing in the work of the Lord. Does that really characterize you? Does that characterize me? We walk with the Lord as a steadfast person, immovable. You're the person who overflows in the work of the Lord. You know I stop to think and look around at the material things God has blessed us with and say, you know Gil you could be in heaven in the morning and all of this will be left here. The wrath of God is poured out on this world. How can you be so foolish to invest so much of your life in it? To become so attached to it. To worry so much about it. It's nothing. In an atom of time I'll leave it all behind to go into the glory of His presence. The tragedy is there's an innumerable number that will be left behind with all of their possessions that will not be caught up to meet Jesus Christ in the air because Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me. Jesus said to the people of his day, unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.

There is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. Remember God has appointed a day He will judge the world in righteousness. Coming judgment; the issue of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the dividing line. That's why you and I as God's children must have our lives absorbed and overflowing in the work of the Lord. What will matter in light of the fact that Jesus Christ may be coming today is our faithfulness in representing Him in the world today. I will be called to give an account of the stewardship of my life as His service, Oh Lord I had moved to a better part of town, Lord I'm gotten many promotions, Lord I had a good bank account in case I had to retire, Lord I... wait a minute, wait a minute. Let's talk about things that matter now that you're here. Steadfast, immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord.

Selected Verses 7-12-92