The Timing of the Rapture, Part 2

Transcript

GRM 1001
03/16/2008
The Timing of the Rapture, Part 2
Selected Verses

In our regular time of study at Indian Hills we are at a place where we are talking about the return of Christ to earth. He not only came to this earth 2000 years ago, but the scripture indicates He is going to return again. But when He returns again it will be totally different. When He returns to this earth the next time, we are told it will be with power and great glory, it will be with the clouds of heaven, it will be accompanied by the host of heaven. And He will be coming to bring judgment on His enemies and to establish a kingdom for His people on this earth that will be without end.

Now an interesting part of the return of Christ to earth is that there are two parts to His return, and they are separated by seven years. Seven years approximately before Christ returns to the earth to establish His kingdom on this earth, He will come in the clouds of heaven, not to earth, but in the air. And He will call all those who are believers in Him from the earth to meet Him in the air. That will be in two parts. First, the dead in Christ will be called from their graves. Their bodies have been in the grave, they in their spirit have been with Christ in glory. When Christ descends, we are told, He will bring them with Him, their bodies will be called from the graves, glorified and they will move back into those glorified bodies. Immediately following that those of us who are alive will be caught up from the earth to meet Jesus Christ in the air, and thus we will ever be with the Lord.

Turn in your Bibles to I Thessalonians 4. Paul is talking about the order of events when Christ returns for His church in the air. Verse 14, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 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 not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall always be with the Lord. That's the next event in biblical prophecy—the return of Jesus Christ in the air to call His church to meet Him so that He can take them to His Father's house, where He has prepared a place for them, as He told them in John 14 He would do.

We call this the rapture of the church, and as we have noted in previous studies, we get the word rapture from I Thessalonians 4:17. The verb caught up, when they translated the Bible from Greek to Latin, they used a Latin word that we get the English word rapture from. The Greek word is harpazo. We have carried it over into the English version I am using as caught up. It's the harpazo of the church, the rapture of the church, the catching up of the church. That's the event we are talking about. Now many of you have a copy of a chart that I passed out. We are talking about when Christ returns for the church, and the order of events as you see it laid out there. You have the cross of Christ indicating when He was crucified, then that period down until what is called the first stage of the Second Coming in the air, that's the church age. That is followed by a 7-year period divided into two 3½ -year segments, called the 70th week of Daniel, the tribulation. We'll say more about that. Following that Christ returns to the earth and we call that the second stage of the Second Coming. And He will establish His kingdom on the earth. The first phase of it is 1000 years, and we are talking about the premillennial return of Christ, which means He returns premillennium, pre 1000 years, before the 1000 years. And also that phase of the kingdom which is pretribulation, that 7-year period called the tribulation, when He returns in the air to catch the church up to meet Him. We'll be giving some of the reasons why we believe Christ will return before the 7 years. And we've just been highlighting these, each of these would be its own study, and this is not a complete list. This is just a few select reasons that I'm drawing our attention to.

We have talked about some of the differences that the Bible indicates between the first stage and the second stage of Christ's return. The first stage He meets believers in the air, their bodies are glorified, and He takes them to heaven to be with Him. At the second stage when He returns to earth, He returns in great glory, He destroys His enemies, and He sets up His kingdom on the earth. So we have differences here.

We've looked at some of the reasons why Christ will return before the 7-year tribulation, the 70th week of Daniel. The first reason we looked at was the focus of the 70th week of Daniel. As you might guess, even if you haven't been here, if this is the 70th week of Daniel, we're talking about a week of years and not a week of days, a week that is comprised of 7 years. That's the two 3½ -year segments we have. If this is the 70th week, you can guess that it is preceded by 69 weeks. And you're right. Daniel 9:24, the angel, Gabriel, tells Daniel that 70 weeks are determined upon your people Israel and your holy city Jerusalem. Seventy x 7 = 490, 490 years. The first 483 years concluded, as many have set it forth, on Palm Sunday. We have the beginning time, from the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, we can date that from secular history, until the coming of the Messiah. And Jesus Christ came, rode triumphantly into Jerusalem, presented as their king. That brought us 483 years. Remember, then, Daniel told us, as the angel had instructed him, after that 483rd year the Messiah would be cut off and have nothing. The kingdom wouldn't be established, he would be killed and there would be no kingdom established at that time. There is a gap between the 69th week, the end of the 483rd year, 69 weeks and the beginning in carrying on of that last 7-year period, the 70th week. During that period of time we have what is called the church age, the period of time in which we live. It began in Acts 2 and it will conclude with the rapture of the church. Sometime after the rapture of the church the 70th week of Daniel will officially begin.

So the 70th week of Daniel is for Israel, for Jerusalem, it's not for the church. The church wasn't in the first 69 weeks, and I take it that it will not be in the 70th week as well. So the very nature of this 7-year period would exclude the church.

A second reason we looked was the ministry of the Holy Spirit through the church. We looked at the promises Christ gave on His last night with the disciples in John 14-16, where He promised He would send the Holy Spirit to have a unique and special ministry, following His ascension to heaven, which occurred in Acts 1. And part of that ministry through the church is the restraining of lawlessness. And we looked in II Thessalonians 2:7-8 and noted there that there will come a time when the restrainer, which we looked at as being the Holy Spirit through His ministry in and through the church, is removed and then the events of the 70th week unfold. We'll back in that section of the Word in a little bit. But the ministry of the Holy Spirit is unique during what we call the church age. He has a unique and special ministry. And one of the things He is doing is restraining and holding back events. And that's why we haven't had the 70th week of Daniel yet. The Holy Spirit's ministry in and through the church is holding back the events that will bring about the completion of God's program with Israel in the 7-year period.

A third reason why we believe that the rapture occurs before the 70th week of Daniel is the church is absent in Revelation 6-19, it's not mentioned on earth. Now for the first three chapters of Revelation we have letters sent to the seven churches of Asia Minor. And the church is mentioned repeatedly in its ministry on the earth, 19 times in those three chapters the word church is used. And it's always referring to the church and its ministry on earth. It's identified in its physical earthly location—the church at Philadelphia, the church at Ephesus, the church at Smyrna, the church at Laodicea. When you leave chapter 3 the church is not mentioned as being on earth again until we get to chapter 19. And Revelation 6-19 are unfolding the events of this 7-year period called the 70th week of Daniel, this last 7-year period. So you have the first three chapters that involve the church, this period of time between the resurrection and ascension of Christ and the rapture. When you come to Revelation 4 the church is represented, but it is seen in heaven. It is represented there by 24 elders. Now we don't have time to go into the reasons why the 24 elders represent the church, but you can visit the bookstore and there you can get a copy of the messages where we did our studies on Revelation 4 and unfolded the explanation of the 24 elders being representative of the church.

You'll note at the end of verse 4 John is called to come up to see things in heaven. Come up here, I will show you what must take place after these things. Immediately I was in the spirit. Behold a throne was standing in heaven, One sitting on the throne. His appearance is described, the One on the throne. Verse 4, around the throne were 24 elders, upon the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their heads. As we'll see in chapter 19, the white garments picture the fact that the church has experienced its judgment and been rewarded, for the white garments are representative of the righteousness, the righteous deeds of the saints. They had crowns, golden crowns, stephanos, the victor's crown. These 24 elders represent the church. You'll note where the church is now in chapter 4, it is in heaven before the throne of God. And it is seen there in chapters 4-5.

Then periodically through the book of Revelation you will see the 24 elders mentioned again. Over in chapter 7. We're describing events on earth in chapters 6-19, but we also are transported to get a glimpse of things going on in heaven, while these things are going on, on earth. So in chapter 7 verse 11 we have another throne room scene. Verse 11, all the angels were standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. You see where the 24 elders are, the church. They are in the throne room of heaven. Verse 13, then one of the elders answered to me saying. And so there you have the discussion going on in heaven.

Chapter 11 verse 16. Verse 15 says the 7th angel sounded, there were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. He will reign forever and ever. And the 24 elders who sit on their throne before God fell on their faces and worshiped. You see where the church is during that 7-year period—it's in heaven, in the throne room of God.

Chapter 14 verse 3, they sang a new song before the throne, before the living creatures and the elders. You see we're back to the throne room, and there the elders are. And then chapter 19. Chapter 19 brings us to the time when heaven will open and Christ will return to earth. Look at verse 4, and the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, amen, hallelujah. Verse 7, let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. Who is the bride of Christ in the New Testament? It is the church. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. He said to me, write, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. He said to me, these are the true words of God. You see where the church is, it's in heaven, it's the bride of Christ. Following the pattern of the Oriental wedding, Christ has come for His bride, taken her to His Father's house. The marriage has occurred, now they return and we'll have the wedding feast, which will really bring us into the kingdom. So when heaven opens in verse 11 and Christ returns, the church is with Him. So you see it disappeared after chapter 11, from the earth, it is found to be in heaven in chapter 4. Now in chapter 19 at the end of the seven years it is returning to earth with Christ. Verse 14, the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses. So the absence of the church in Revelation 6-18, absent on earth, seen only in heaven at that time indicates the church has been removed. Because there is a clear distinction in the scripture between the church and Israel.

There has been untold damage and confusion caused by people blurring Israel and the church. Some people believe the rapture occurs when Christ returns to earth to establish His kingdom at the end of the seven years. I was reading a man defending that position again this week and his argument was we distinguish between Israel as the nation of God and Israel as the people of God. So the promises to Israel as the people of God can be applied to the church. And now you're trying to mix the church and Israel together. I don't think it's a valid merging. Israel is Israel, the church is the church. And so God is completing His program with Israel here and the church is not on earth during that time.

A fourth reason why the church will be raptured before the coming 7-year tribulation. The church is promised deliverance from God's wrath. This 7-year period in its entirety is a time of wrath and judgment, God's wrath poured out on the earth. The church is promised deliverance from wrath. Now be careful here. We're not saying that the rapture occurs before the tribulation because Christ died for our sins and we believed in Him, so we won't have to go through wrath. It's true that Christ died for our sins, but that's not the reason that you won't have to experience wrath. That's only a promise to the church, because you understand there will be people who believe during the seven years, and they will be part of that time of wrath, they will be part of the time when judgment comes on the earth. But the church is promised deliverance from that time. Not everyone who will be a believer becomes a believer during that time is promised deliverance. We're having economic crisis in our county. You know what? It impacts believers as well as unbelievers, doesn't it? Some believers lose their jobs as well as some unbelievers, some believers have seen their investments decline, the value of their houses decline. It's not, well, believers get excluded. You know what will happen in the tribulation when God's wrath is being poured out on the earth? Some believers will be caught up in that. Multitudes of believers will be martyred. But you know what? The church is promised deliverance from wrath.

We don't have time to go into all the passages that would be its own miniseries on the character of the tribulation as a time of wrath. You can read Revelation 6-19, that's the most detailed unfolding. Just come back to one Old Testament passage, Isaiah 13. Look at verse 6, describing this time. It's the day of the Lord, that's another name for this 7-year period. And if you want to read any of the better writings that would be available in the bookstore, they'll give you a list of all the ways this 7-year period is identified. The day of the Lord is one of them. Verse 6, wail, for the day of the Lord is near. It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, every man's heart will melt, and they will be terrified. Pains and anguish will take hold of them, they will writhe like a woman in labor. Remember when Jesus described this period of time in Matthew 24 He talked in the context of labor pains. We'll see Paul used that in writing to the Thessalonians as well, in a moment.

Verse 9, behold the day of the Lord is coming, cruel with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation. He will exterminate it's sinners from it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light. The sun will be dark when it rises, the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their iniquity, and so on. Down in verse 12, I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold, mankind than the gold of Ophir. It's going to be a time of terrible wrath and judgment and so many people will die in the judgments of that 7-year period. God says they'll be scarcer than gold. We're talking about billions of people dying as we're unfolding the judgments of the tribulation.

So it's a time of wrath. Daniel 12:1 says it will be a time of wrath like the world has never seen. And Jesus describes it in a similar way in Matthew 24. And there are numerous, I have a dozen or so passages I just jotted down, but we don't have time to go through them. So it's a time of wrath and the church is promised deliverance from wrath to come.

Come over to I Thessalonians 1. And Paul commends the Thessalonians for their testimony of having turned from their sin to place their faith in Christ. That involved, the end of verse 9, you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God. Scripture knows nothing about people who claim to be saved, who are going to stay with their old false religion. The Thessalonians got saved, they turned from idols to serve the living God. True salvation brings a transformation of heart and life and commitment, and now your life becomes a life of service for Him. And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who rescues us from wrath to come.

Some people say, I would think that wrath would be hell, wouldn't it? No, we've already been rescued from hell, we're not on our way to hell. The penalty for our sin has been paid. The wrath he is talking about in this context occurs over in I Thessalonians 5. Now note the order here. The end of chapter 4, we were just there a little bit ago and we read the portion on the rapture where Christ will descend from heaven, then call believers to meet Him in the air and we will be with Him, He will take us to His Father's house, to the place He has prepared for us as John 14 says. Then chapter 5 verse 1, now as to the times and epochs. And that expression translated now as denotes a change of subject, a new subject, but it's connected to the old one. So he is moving on to another phase, a new aspect, if you will, of prophecy. He's talked about the rapture of the church, now concerning times and epochs you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord (there's our expression we saw in Isaiah 13, referring to the tribulation) will come just like a thief in the night. When they are saying peace and safety then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child. They will not escape. Remember same kind of analogy that was used by Isaiah in Isaiah 13, a woman in labor pains. We're talking about the day of the Lord, it's a day of darkness.

But you are not in darkness that the day would overtake you like a thief. You're sons of light, not of darkness. 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 wake or sleep, we will live together with Him. What wrath has he been talking about here? Verse 2, the day of the Lord, the day of wrath. But God has destined us, the church, for wrath, but for obtaining salvation, deliverance from the day of wrath, the day of the Lord, that day which is to come upon all the earth. So the church is promised deliverance from wrath. Not every believer, because some believers will become believers after the rapture, during that 7-year period. That will be a terrible time, as I mentioned. Multitudes will be martyred, multitudes will suffer terribly in the judgment God will pour out on the earth. There won't be a little bubble around believers during the tribulation anymore than there is a little bubble around you today. I'm not saying the Lord is not taking care of you, has you under His care, but you still go through what the world does. Some of you have cancer, other diseases; some of you are without a job. And belonging to the Lord doesn't shield us from what goes on to others who are not believers in the world. We have the confidence of knowing that our loving Father is controlling things so that they are happening for our good and His glory.

So in the tribulation believer and unbeliever alike will experience the terrible judgments, and believers will have the added impact of the hatred of Satan and the world and the loss of restraint so that multitudes, more than ever before, will be martyred in terrible and cruel ways. The book of Revelation talks about that. So the church is promised deliverance from wrath to come. And the order of events—I Thessalonians 4:13, the rapture; chapter 5 verses 1-11, the day of the Lord. And a reminder, when you get in to talk about the day of the Lord, the Lord hasn't destined us to wrath, being part of the day of the Lord, the day of wrath.

So the promises to the church, turn over to Revelation 3. In chapters 2-3 you have the content of the letters to the seven churches of Asia. And in Revelation 3, at the end of each of these letters there are promises given to believers. These promises aren't limited to just one church, but they encompass the church. That's why we have seven churches here, representative of the church universal of all time. Revelation 3:10, because you have kept the word of my perseverance I will also keep you from the hour of testing. That which is about to come upon the whole world, the whole inhabited earth, to test those who dwell on the earth. There is a promise given to the church, and note this goes on to talk about I am coming quickly, hold fast to what you have, no one takes your crown. He who overcomes I will make him a pillar and a temple. These are promises that are given to the church, not just one church in one place, but what is given to that church is for all believers in all the churches. And that's true of all seven churches, they have these kinds of promises.

You'll note what is promised here, I will keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come upon the whole earth. Where are we going in Revelation? Well chapters 4-5 will be the throne room scene and chapter 6 will pick up with the hours of testing that is going to come upon the whole earth, the tribulation, the day of the Lord. Here the church is promised that we will be kept from that, kept out of that. So I think the fact that the church is promised deliverance from coming wrath is a clear evidence we're not going to be part of the day of wrath, the day of the Lord, the time of wrath and judgment. That's a promise to the church. It doesn't mean the church will always be kept from troubles, trials, difficulties. In parts of the world today the church is going through terrible persecution. That has always been. But that special time of wrath described in Revelation 6-19, the 70th week of Daniel that is a unique time. The church is promised deliverance from that. It's not part of God's plan for the church, its part of His dealing with Israel. In that 7-year period God will be pouring out His wrath on an unbelieving world, He will be pouring out His judgment on the nation Israel for their rebellion against Him. And he will be using the terrible judgments of that time to bring Israel to its knees so that they will ultimately place their faith in Him.

Go back and read Zechariah 12-14, see how God is using that as a time of judgment, but a time of preparation. So by the time you get to the end of that 7-year period, there will be a national turning to Jesus Christ as the Messiah. And so as Romans 11:26 says, thus all Israel will be saved. But the church is promised a blessing of being carried out of the world before that time.

A fifth reason why there needs to be a pretribulation rapture, a rapture before the tribulation. There needs to be a time gap between the rapture and the Second Coming to earth. If the rapture occurred at the 70th week of Daniel when Christ returns to earth to establish His kingdom so all believers were just caught up to meet Him in the air and turned around and came back down with Him, every believer would have a glorified body. But turn back to Isaiah 65. We are told in the kingdom that Christ will establish on the earth, in the context we're talking about, verse 20, no longer will there be an infant who lives but a few days or an old man who does not live out his days. For the youth will die at the age of 100 and the one who does not reach the age of 100 will be thought accursed. So you see there will be death in the kingdom. Now who is going to die if everybody goes into the kingdom in glorified bodies? For you understand in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, there is no procreation in our glorified bodies.

Come back to Revelation 20. The order of events here, chapter 19 Christ returns to establish His kingdom; the beginning of chapter 20 we are told the first phase of that kingdom is 1000 years in duration. So we're told of the thousand years in verses 2-7. Verse 7 tells us, when the 1000 years are completed Satan will be released from his prison. He will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth. The end of verse 8, the number of them is like the sand of the seashore, they came up and surrounded Jerusalem to attempt to dethrone Christ and destroy the rule of believers. Now who are these people if everybody going into the kingdom is in a glorified body? Where did they come from? Glorified saints can't rebel against Christ.

Those who are posttribulation in their thinking have a couple of explanations, we're not going to spend a lot of time on them. Some believe that unbelievers will go into the kingdom. But Jesus told Nicodemus, you must be born again or you'll never see the kingdom. The judgment of the sheep and the goats as well as the judgment of Israel when Christ returns indicates that unbelievers will not go into the kingdom. One person said, well maybe it's just those who are at the battle of Armageddon who are unbelievers, they don't get to go in but other unbelievers in other places in the world get to go in. No, that's not a possibility because we're told the people on the earth during the tribulation are cursing God for the judgments He is pouring out on them.

One person suggested, there will be a rapture shortly before Armageddon. We'll go up and meet Christ in the air and then we'll take a little bit of time and then come back down. And during that time people got saved and they'll go in. Well, we go into all the flaws of all the wrong views, but the clear explanation I think is that Christ returns seven years before His coming to earth. He takes believers from the earth, but then during that 7-year period multitudes of people get saved. There are 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from each tribe who are sealed, preserved by God from death, either through the judgments of the tribulation or through martyrdom. Two witnesses are raised up by God who do mighty miracles in this time and proclaim the Word of God. So the Word of God is proclaimed and people do get saved.

Now those who get saved during that 7-year period and are alive when Christ returns to earth at His Second Coming will go into the kingdom in their physical bodies. They will have children. You know what happens? They are born with sin natures, they receive the sin that was passed on from Adam from their parents. So even though their parents were believers, their parents in physical bodies have children. Those children are born sinners. You know what those children have to do during those 1000 years? They have to recognize their own sinful guilt before God and place their faith in the King of kings who rules over the earth. No overt acts of rebellion are tolerated in any serious way. They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy kingdom, in all my holy mountain, the scripture tells us. So you know what they're doing? They're suppressing that. You know it's like when somebody is going down 84th Street and they know there is a speed trap. They're going under the speed limit and on the inside they are going 100 mph. You know what you think when you get out the other side of the speed trap? They won't have one right after this, so you floor it. And you showed them, because they have kept my speed down but they didn't keep it down here. I'm going as fast as I want. And you know what it's like. If you come out still going the speed limit, sure enough, somebody is going to blow by you.

You know what's going to happen in the kingdom during the time of that 1000-year period? People have to submit. And there are going to be babies born during that time, and they're going to grow up, they're going to live 6, 7, 8 hundred years under the reign of a righteous king and they have to conform, they have to do what He wants. They know if they rebel they will be judged, they will die, they'll be cursed. But then at the end of the 1000 years when Satan is released from his prison, now I have a choice, I have an alternative king. I'm going to join the rebellion. That's what happens. So you need a time space between the Second Coming to earth to set up the kingdom. And that fits the pattern of the church is not part of that. We resume the program with Israel, now God's work of salvation, work in the world centers in the nation Israel. That's why the judgment of the sheep and the goats at the end of that 7-year period is based upon how you treated a Jew, just like it was in the Old Testament, because true believers responded to Israel one way, unbelievers responded another. So there has to be a gap between the rapture and the Second Coming.

Come back to II Thessalonians 2. The departure referred to in II Thessalonians 2:3 I think is support for a pretribulation rapture. Now let me tell you not everyone who holds a pretribulation rapture holds to this particular point. But I think there is strong and compelling evidence for this point. Back when I was a student in the '60s at Bible College I came across a book by a man with the name of Lineberry. And he wrote a little commentary on II Thessalonians that I happened to find, probably the used bookstore someplace in Philadelphia. And interesting, they told you who the man who was who wrote the preface to the book, but they never told you who Lineberry was. So to this day I don't know who the man was who wrote the book. That was my first exposure, there have been others before him, E. Schuyler English and others who promoted the view that I'm going to mention here. There are some who hold to a pretribulation rapture, but don't hold to this.

But let me read to you the first part of chapter 2. Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him. I take it in light of the fact this is II Thessalonians, this is his second letter, they would understand from the first letter that that refers to the rapture that we looked at in chapter 4 of that letter, where He comes to gather us together to meet Him. It's not when He comes to earth to establish His kingdom. That you be not quickly shaken from your composure and be disturbed, either by a spirit or message or letter as it is from us to the effect that (here's our word) the day of the Lord has come. Evidently because of persecution, and we know there was persecution because Paul had to leave Thessalonica because of persecution. Back when he came to Thessalonica he came there because he was escaping the persecution at Philippi. Then in Thessalonica the persecution followed him, so he left Thessalonica because of persecution. He'll work his way down to Corinth.

Evidently because of persecution some of the believers began to think, we must be in the day of the Lord. Remember Paul wrote about the day of the Lord in his previous letter. Maybe we misunderstood, maybe we are in the day of the Lord. I mean, things are awfully bad. Men have changed their theology, you'll note that's the bad part about interpreting the Bible through your experience. Augustine, going back to the 5th century, he was premillennial, believed in a literal earthly kingdom. Christ would come to earth and establish His kingdom. You know what happened? Constantine, the Roman emperor, declared Christianity the religion of the empire. Now Christians were the people, the Roman emperor was supporting Christianity. You know what Augustine said? I must have been wrong on the kingdom, we're in it. It's not a literal kingdom on earth, it's Christ ruling in heaven and ruling in the hearts of believers. And look, we rule the earth. You know what happened? You know what the problem was? He interpreted the Bible through his experience and that led to confusion that continues to today.

So the Thessalonians were in danger of that, they thought, look at the persecution, look how bad it is. Look at the suffering we are going through. This has to be the tribulation. Paul says, no. And there were people who were teaching that and they had sent letters saying that they were. Paul says, let no one deceive you, verse 3, for it will not come. The day of the Lord will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. Two events, the apostasy and the revelation of the man of lawlessness, that's the man in Daniel 9, the prince who is to come, who will sign an agreement with Israel that marks the beginning of the 7-year tribulation.

What we want to note is the apostasy. Now that word translated apostasy is used one other time in the New Testament. It means a departure. It's used in Acts 21:21, the noun of this word, where it is referred to a departure from Moses. Basic meaning of the word is to depart, comes from a verb that means to depart, to leave, stand away from, go away from. Acts 12:10 it says the angel departed from him. We're going to be in passages now that use the verb. The noun form of this word is used two times in the New Testament—here in II Thessalonians and Acts 21:21. The verb form of this word is used 15 times in the New Testament. Acts 12:10, the angel departed from him; II Corinthians 12:8, Paul prayed that the messenger of Satan might depart from me; in Luke 4;13 we are told he left him, he departed from him. So basic word that we have here means to depart. In fact the translations, all the translations up until the time of the King James Version translated it depart. So you could translate this, let no one deceive you in any way, it will not come unless the departure comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed. Now when you read it that way you have to decide from the context—is the departure a departure from the faith? We talk about apostasy today and it has become a word that by use means to depart from a standard. We use it as spiritual apostasy. Somebody who apostasizes departs from some biblical truth. The word means to depart and its usage comes to mean departing from biblical truth or a standard accepted when it is true or right.

But if you just translate it the departure and the definite article is used here as we have it in English, so in Greek. Let no one deceive you, it will not come unless the departure comes first. What departure? Well what did he refer to in verse 1? Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him. Don't be disturbed as though you are in the day of the Lord, for the day of the Lord won't come until the departure comes first. Why did he start out by beseeching them on the basis of the coming of the Lord and our gathering to Him. Don't let people confuse you by teaching that you are in the day of the Lord, for the day of the Lord can't come until the departure comes first. What departure, Paul? What do you mean what departure? The departure I just talked about, the coming of the Lord and our gathering to Him. I think that's the simplest way to take this. Now not everyone, I mentioned John Walvoord's writings, he doesn't hold that. He thinks the apostasy here is an apostasy from the faith. Many other pretrib people do. So the pretrib position doesn't depend on this view and that's why I've put it later in my list. But I think there is compelling evidence that the departure here is the rapture of the church.

The context supports it as well. Look down at II Thessalonians 2:7, for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Now note, only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. We talked about this in a previous point. It's the ministry of the Holy Spirit through the church that is restraining lawlessness, that's why the 70th week of Daniel can't begin yet. But when the Holy Spirit is removed with the removal of the church and His restraining ministry through the church at the rapture, then verse 8, that lawless one will be revealed. So verse 7 and verse 8 repeat the same thing as verse 3. Verse 3, let no one deceive you in any way, the day of the Lord will not come unless the departure comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed. What marks the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel, the day of the Lord? According Daniel 9 it is the signing of the agreement between the son of destruction, the lawless one, the antichrist, the prince who is to come and Israel. So anybody who reads Daniel will know, anybody who becomes a believer after the rapture will know that's who it is. But the departure has to come first.

So verse 3 and verses 7 and 8 repeat the same thing. The departure first, and then the revelation of the man of lawlessness. Verse 7, the removal of the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit when the church is removed and the appearance of the lawless one. So the pattern is established. Paul says you can't be in the day of the Lord, no matter what anyone is saying. Some people today who might believe in a posttribulation rapture say we are in tribulation. Paul would write and say no, don't be shaken, you can't be in the tribulation. The tribulation can't occur until after the departure when the Lord comes and gathers to Himself in the air and takes us to heaven and the man of lawlessness is revealed. We're not in the tribulation. Well, haven't we always had tribulation? Yes, but we haven't had the tribulation that is promised to come.

One last point on why I believe there is a pretribulation rapture, this is the seventh. As I mentioned to you I limited it to seven because that's the number of perfection and this is the right view, the perfect view. You can read John Walvoord's 50 reasons at the end of his book that is recommended, but we're limiting it to seven. The imminent return of Christ to the church. I believe the New Testament indicates and repeatedly draws the church's attention that it is to be looking for the return of Christ. Now if we have to have a literal seven years, and many posttribulationists believe we have to have a literal tribulation beyond just general tribulation like we always experience. But then we'd be looking to the tribulation we're at least seven years away from the return of Christ. But the repeated emphasis of scripture is we are to be looking for the return of Christ at any moment, not looking for the events of the tribulation. That's hardly a hope.

Titus 2:13 says we are looking for the blessed hope, even the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. That's what we are looking for, when He calls us to meet Him in the air and thus delivers us from wrath to come. We are not looking to go through a time of wrath. Now we talk about the imminent return of Christ. Doesn't mean it has to happen soon, it means it can happen at any time. Like you might tell your children as they got older, you give them a responsibility and you say I want that done when I get home. And they want to know, what time will you be home? Why? They don't want to do it early. You say, you don't need to know that, you just have it done when I get home. Then they are left to puzzle, should I start now, can I put this off. You want them to be expecting you at any time.

That's what the Bible says we are to live because we're not going through the tribulation. So the next event in biblical prophecy is the return of the Lord. Look at Philippians 3:20, for our citizenship is in heaven from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has, even to subject all things to Himself. What are we looking for? We're looking for the rapture, the transformation of the body. That's our goal, that's our hope, that's our anticipation.

In I Corinthians 1:7, some of you can remember back when we started our study of I Corinthians a long time ago, Paul said to them, they were awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what they are waiting for. We're not waiting, well we have at least seven years to go, we've go the tribulation before us. We know at least we're not there. Now how do those who don't hold pretrib rapture do? They say well, we don't know the exact minute or the exact hour or even the specific day. But we'll know when we're there. Well, I don't think that's the point. If we have to go through the tribulation, I may exit to someplace safer. Israel is told to flee in the midst of that 70th week of Daniel and to go over to the region of Petra, the old region of Moab which would be part of Jordan now. I think I might try to get my citizenship transferred and go to where I know there might be some safe places and just wait for the Jews to join me. There is not much to look forward to if I'm looking for the tribulation. It's a time of wrath, it's a time of judgment, it's a time when God will bring Israel to their knees, it will be so terrible. Two-thirds of the Jews are going to die, one-third He said He'll bring through the fire so they can go into the kingdom. He's dealing with Israel. You and I have a blessed hope, the appearing in glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, to fulfill the promise. He said, if I go away from you I will come again to receive you to Myself, that where I am there you may be also. You see the difference. Not to come to earth so that where you are I may be, but to get you to take you where I am.

So here we are. Am I concerned about the economic woes of our country? Am I concerned about the turmoil of the world? Am I in knots about who will be the next President? Would it sound callous to say, it doesn't bother me a bit. That's not the most important thing on my mind. Do you know what is? Jesus Christ may be coming back this afternoon. We are to live in light of that, to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. That's how Paul ends his discussion of the rapture in I Corinthians 15—steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Is that how we can be characterized in these days? Do you know Jesus Christ? If not, you are on the way to wrath, the wrath of the tribulation. You say well, when I get there and I'm in the tribulation I'll repent and I may have to experience the judgments but I'll repent. Don't count on it. God shall send them a strong delusion in order that they believe a lie because they refuse to believe the truth. Today is the day of salvation, today is the day to turn from your sin and believe in Jesus Christ.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the Savior that you sent to this earth. That you, Lord, that His salvation is real. When a person turns from his sin and places his faith in your Son, he is cleansed from his sin, from its power, from its penalty. Lord, they are given hope, the hope of the return in the air of our Savior to gather us into His presence to take us and present us before the throne of your glory as those who are holy and spotless and without blame. Lord, I pray for any who are here, whether they attend week after week or are just visiting, who do not know the Savior. Lord, what a horrible position to be in. Your wrath hangs over them, but today is the day of salvation. May they believe today. We pray in Christ's name, amen.