WEBVTT 00:00:06.109 --> 00:00:09.349 Hey friends, welcome back to the Semi -Seminarian. 00:00:09.349 --> 00:00:11.330 If you're a regular listener, I want to take 00:00:11.330 --> 00:00:14.589 just one second and say thanks for your patience 00:00:14.589 --> 00:00:17.750 as we took a week off last week. If you're new 00:00:17.750 --> 00:00:19.949 to the podcast, we're certainly glad that you're 00:00:19.949 --> 00:00:23.190 here. Here at the Semi -Seminarian, we treat 00:00:23.190 --> 00:00:26.089 the Bible as if we're grown -ups. We're trying 00:00:26.089 --> 00:00:30.429 to examine the Bible, not like we were perhaps 00:00:30.429 --> 00:00:34.229 taught as children or Maybe we grew up and we 00:00:34.229 --> 00:00:36.670 were taught the Bible as adults, but we were 00:00:36.670 --> 00:00:38.590 taught the Bible by people who were taught the 00:00:38.590 --> 00:00:41.030 Bible as children. So we're trying to address 00:00:41.030 --> 00:00:45.289 that problem here at the Seminary. So let me 00:00:45.289 --> 00:00:47.490 begin tonight by asking you a question. Speaking 00:00:47.490 --> 00:00:51.350 of our childhood understanding of God, I wonder 00:00:51.350 --> 00:00:53.590 if you're like me. What was one of your first 00:00:53.590 --> 00:00:57.310 early prayers, the prayer that goes, Now I lay 00:00:57.310 --> 00:01:00.450 me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to 00:01:00.450 --> 00:01:06.900 keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the 00:01:06.900 --> 00:01:10.819 Lord my soul to take. Did you pray that prayer 00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:14.560 as a kid? I did. I'll also tell you, I wonder, 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:18.060 or let me also ask you, were you like me? Did 00:01:18.060 --> 00:01:22.299 that scare the dickens out of you? Did it make 00:01:22.299 --> 00:01:25.780 you wonder from a very young age that somehow 00:01:25.780 --> 00:01:29.519 or another, This relationship thing with God 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:34.040 that I have involves maybe me dying in the night? 00:01:35.719 --> 00:01:40.859 I did. It worried me. It scared me forever. As 00:01:40.859 --> 00:01:43.920 a matter of fact, as I grew up as a young man, 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:47.620 it scared me so much that I chose to rationalize 00:01:47.620 --> 00:01:51.239 not to think about the end of the world, not 00:01:51.239 --> 00:01:57.349 to think about the end of my life. As time marches 00:01:57.349 --> 00:02:01.430 on, here I find myself wondering about the end 00:02:01.430 --> 00:02:04.209 of my life and wondering how important the message 00:02:04.209 --> 00:02:08.349 that Scripture has with regard to hope and the 00:02:08.349 --> 00:02:10.849 end not only of our own lives, but the end of 00:02:10.849 --> 00:02:13.710 the world. This is the first of a three -part 00:02:13.710 --> 00:02:18.210 series in which we examine the end times. Tonight's 00:02:18.210 --> 00:02:22.509 episode, we are calling Don't Be So Heavenly 00:02:22.509 --> 00:02:27.900 Minded. You're no earthly good. Thanks for tuning 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:34.159 in and I'll see you on the other side. So as 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:36.560 I mentioned earlier, buddies, we're going to 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:38.219 divide this up into three parts. We're going 00:02:38.219 --> 00:02:40.539 to look tonight at the second coming of Jesus. 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:43.039 What's that mean? When does it mean? How does 00:02:43.039 --> 00:02:46.460 it mean? Then we're going to look at actual the 00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:49.539 end of time next week. A week after that, we're 00:02:49.539 --> 00:02:50.719 going to do a survey of the book of Revelation. 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:53.099 So that week will all be about the prophecy, 00:02:53.340 --> 00:02:58.039 John Patmos, about the Revelation. Tonight is, 00:02:58.180 --> 00:03:01.319 I don't really have a series for the three parts, 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:04.020 but tonight I'm going to be called, Don't Be 00:03:04.020 --> 00:03:06.500 So Heavenly Minded That You Know Earthly Good. 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:10.520 It's a quote from Chief Justice Oliver Wendell 00:03:10.520 --> 00:03:12.919 Holmes. Don't be so heavenly minded that you 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:15.120 know earthly good. I hope that you'll see what 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:16.520 I mean tonight, because we're going to spend 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:19.419 the next couple of weeks talking about what it 00:03:19.419 --> 00:03:23.800 means when we die, right? Don't lose sight of 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:26.340 the fact that you have a responsibility as a 00:03:26.340 --> 00:03:29.580 Christian while you live, right? Don't get so 00:03:29.580 --> 00:03:32.240 focused on what happens when you die that you 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:34.699 forget to be a Christian while you're on earth, 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:37.939 all right? So don't be sadly minded to no earthly 00:03:37.939 --> 00:03:43.479 good. So I guess you could say this is the beginning 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:47.340 of the end. What we want to do over the next 00:03:47.340 --> 00:03:50.699 couple of weeks is talk about something I think 00:03:50.699 --> 00:03:53.020 we seem to have a lot of people talking about 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:56.000 in our world today. Honestly, so many questions 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:57.520 about what's going to happen. Is there going 00:03:57.520 --> 00:03:59.500 to be an end of the world? Are we in the world 00:03:59.500 --> 00:04:02.259 of the now? Are we living in the end times? Right? 00:04:02.659 --> 00:04:04.680 Well, I want to go ahead and say this and preface 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:09.120 this. Go ahead and be ready because it is going 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:13.340 to end. If the people are wondering out there. 00:04:13.870 --> 00:04:19.110 Does the world end? It does, right? Now, we don't 00:04:19.110 --> 00:04:22.069 know how it's going to end. Some people think 00:04:22.069 --> 00:04:24.930 that it's going to end with apocalyptic floods. 00:04:25.310 --> 00:04:27.629 Other people think that a meteorite or maybe 00:04:27.629 --> 00:04:30.129 another planet might hit the earth. Some people 00:04:30.129 --> 00:04:32.889 are going to believe that we're seared by the 00:04:32.889 --> 00:04:35.529 sun. Some people think aliens might come and 00:04:35.529 --> 00:04:39.610 overtake us. I personally believe, me and a small 00:04:39.610 --> 00:04:42.500 but reputable group believes, that we're actually 00:04:42.500 --> 00:04:45.300 going to be destroyed by an evolving cat that 00:04:45.300 --> 00:04:48.240 eventually gets thumbs and takes over the world. 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:52.860 So be on the lookout for the cats. Jesus said, 00:04:52.899 --> 00:04:54.439 that's right, you don't have to worry about a 00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:58.339 flood. Jesus said, no one knows the day or the 00:04:58.339 --> 00:05:01.540 hour. So will it happen? Yes. When will it happen? 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:05.319 No. If you were coming tonight, we don't know. 00:05:05.689 --> 00:05:07.529 If you were coming tonight hoping that I was 00:05:07.529 --> 00:05:08.970 going to tell you when it was going to happen, 00:05:09.089 --> 00:05:12.050 one, this is not a Seventh -day Adventist gig. 00:05:12.509 --> 00:05:16.790 Two, I don't know. I only know this, it will. 00:05:17.430 --> 00:05:20.430 Now today, I want to start just by building a 00:05:20.430 --> 00:05:22.009 foundation of what we're going to build on over 00:05:22.009 --> 00:05:25.620 these next couple of weeks. If you have notes 00:05:25.620 --> 00:05:27.939 there, if you have your Bible and you'd like 00:05:27.939 --> 00:05:31.360 to open it up, we're in 1 Thessalonians 4. 1 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:37.040 Thessalonians, a letter written by Paul. We're 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:39.459 going to build a foundation. And for those of 00:05:39.459 --> 00:05:42.379 you, maybe you're the kind of person here, maybe 00:05:42.379 --> 00:05:44.519 you're listening on the podcast and you think, 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:46.899 you know, I'm not really a Christian. Maybe I'm 00:05:46.899 --> 00:05:49.019 not a Bible person. I'm certainly not religious. 00:05:49.100 --> 00:05:51.399 I'm not really a churchgoer, those kind of people, 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:54.100 right? You may look at what I'm about to say 00:05:54.100 --> 00:05:56.319 and you're going to say, this is kind of weird. 00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:59.779 And I want, in all fairness, to say you're right. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:04.079 This stuff is kind of weird. The Bible has all 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:07.860 of these things called prophecies. In fact, prophetic 00:06:07.860 --> 00:06:11.139 students of the Bible claim that about 20 % or 00:06:11.139 --> 00:06:14.500 more of the Bible is actually directly or indirectly 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:19.339 related to prophecy. 20 % of the whole Bible. 00:06:19.850 --> 00:06:22.689 is about predicting what's going to come in the 00:06:22.689 --> 00:06:25.829 future, right? And the events we're talking about 00:06:25.829 --> 00:06:29.649 today are weird. Just like Hebrew Testament or 00:06:29.649 --> 00:06:31.910 Old Testament prophecies that prophesied that 00:06:31.910 --> 00:06:35.269 Jesus would be born of a virgin, right? All these 00:06:35.269 --> 00:06:37.509 prophecies about whether you believe Jesus is 00:06:37.509 --> 00:06:41.649 Lord or not, whether Jesus is Lord or not, whether 00:06:41.649 --> 00:06:43.709 you actually buy into that. And again, I want 00:06:43.709 --> 00:06:47.199 to say, I am going to be teaching tonight from 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:51.759 the Christian traditional perspective. From the 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:54.300 Jewish perspective, things I'm saying about prophecy 00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:57.000 and what they might particularly have to do with 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.579 the historical character we know as Jesus Christ. 00:07:00.170 --> 00:07:02.370 They might not subscribe to my interpretation, 00:07:02.410 --> 00:07:05.389 and I'm not trying to make this a Judaic interpretation 00:07:05.389 --> 00:07:09.029 of prophecy. I'm actually trying to use the Christian 00:07:09.029 --> 00:07:11.490 tradition, okay? So please understand that I 00:07:11.490 --> 00:07:14.389 am coming from and teaching from the perspective 00:07:14.389 --> 00:07:19.649 of the accepted mainstream Christian tradition, 00:07:19.949 --> 00:07:23.069 right? And a lot of people might look at those 00:07:23.069 --> 00:07:28.029 prophecies and think, there is no way. that those 00:07:28.029 --> 00:07:30.529 things could have been fulfilled if it wasn't 00:07:30.529 --> 00:07:33.990 for God, right? And that happens to be why I 00:07:33.990 --> 00:07:37.189 believe that the things that we see are a pattern. 00:07:37.230 --> 00:07:40.329 The things that we see in Hebrew scripture prophesying 00:07:40.329 --> 00:07:44.649 about a Messiah as a Christian believer, I believe 00:07:44.649 --> 00:07:47.329 that they're in reference to the historical character 00:07:47.329 --> 00:07:52.649 named Jesus of Nazareth, okay? So I just want 00:07:52.649 --> 00:07:55.069 to go ahead and say that, that this is the perspective. 00:07:55.709 --> 00:07:58.329 It's important to point out because I do understand 00:07:58.329 --> 00:08:00.009 there are different interpretations of what I'm 00:08:00.009 --> 00:08:03.629 saying. What's crazy is there's literally, there 00:08:03.629 --> 00:08:07.490 are five times as many prophecies about the second 00:08:07.490 --> 00:08:10.649 coming of Jesus as there was about with the first 00:08:10.649 --> 00:08:14.069 coming of Jesus. Okay, that's pretty significant 00:08:14.069 --> 00:08:17.610 given that the prophecies about the first coming 00:08:17.610 --> 00:08:19.670 of Jesus would have been generally contained, 00:08:20.089 --> 00:08:22.029 with the exception of John the Baptist, who is 00:08:22.029 --> 00:08:26.160 the last Old Testament prophet. Right. Because 00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:27.819 he's the last one to come before the new covenant. 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:31.300 So that's pretty interesting. Give the Hebrew 00:08:31.300 --> 00:08:34.679 scriptures about two thirds of the Bible. Right. 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:37.080 Two thirds of the Bible. There's a lot of prophecy 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:40.299 in Hebrew scripture. And yet there's five times 00:08:40.299 --> 00:08:44.080 more prophecy than what's in the Old Testament 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:47.000 in the New Testament about Jesus second coming. 00:08:47.259 --> 00:08:52.960 So what how you interpret those prophecies. And 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:55.379 what that interpretation means to you in your 00:08:55.379 --> 00:08:58.480 worldview, those are things that are open to 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:02.700 individual interpretation. But if there's this 00:09:02.700 --> 00:09:06.700 much discussion about the second coming of Jesus 00:09:06.700 --> 00:09:09.840 in the New Testament as prophecy, as Christians 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:12.899 it seems like it's a smart idea for us to kind 00:09:12.899 --> 00:09:16.159 of pay attention and talk about it. And try to 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:18.860 figure out for ourselves what does it mean for 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:23.139 us. That's how we're going to open this conversation 00:09:23.139 --> 00:09:26.779 tonight. Not with definitive answers. Not when 00:09:26.779 --> 00:09:28.860 is this all going to happen and you are guaranteed 00:09:28.860 --> 00:09:31.080 to be saved and you can just go ahead and go 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:33.500 to bed tonight because the pastor said that your 00:09:33.500 --> 00:09:36.120 insurance premium for heaven is paid up in full. 00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:40.299 I do want to go ahead and tell you that the insurance 00:09:40.299 --> 00:09:44.799 premium for your insurance for heaven, it actually 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:47.559 has been paid up, but that doesn't mean that 00:09:47.559 --> 00:09:50.070 you don't have work to do, okay? Now, there are 00:09:50.070 --> 00:09:52.389 a lot of different interpretations about this 00:09:52.389 --> 00:09:54.450 kind of stuff. Some people believe some things. 00:09:54.690 --> 00:09:56.870 Some people believe others. I'm simply going 00:09:56.870 --> 00:09:59.909 to give you my beliefs and tell you what I believe 00:09:59.909 --> 00:10:02.990 about certain things. But there are sincere Christians. 00:10:03.529 --> 00:10:06.610 I know it sounds like I'm making a broken record 00:10:06.610 --> 00:10:09.389 argument here. But I want to be heard because 00:10:09.389 --> 00:10:11.929 this is important. You might very well in 15 00:10:11.929 --> 00:10:15.100 minutes disagree with what I'm saying. So I want 00:10:15.100 --> 00:10:18.500 to be sure that you hear me say that there are 00:10:18.500 --> 00:10:22.419 sincere Christians on all sides of these issues, 00:10:22.620 --> 00:10:25.740 right? And nobody knows for sure who's right, 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:29.639 right? But we do know it's talked about, and 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:32.700 so we should be talking about it as well and 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:36.340 examining what this part of the Christian narrative 00:10:36.340 --> 00:10:39.259 has to do with our lives. So again, laying a 00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:40.899 foundation. Next week, we're going to look at 00:10:40.899 --> 00:10:43.750 what happens. After Jesus returns in Scripture, 00:10:44.029 --> 00:10:47.230 where do we go as Christians? What's heaven like? 00:10:47.309 --> 00:10:50.929 How we're judged versus those who are not Christians. 00:10:51.090 --> 00:10:52.909 That's a different judgment. We'll kind of talk 00:10:52.909 --> 00:10:55.669 about that tonight. We'll also spend more in 00:10:55.669 --> 00:10:58.190 -depth at that last week. We'll look at heaven 00:10:58.190 --> 00:11:00.590 and what eternity is like. Then in the third 00:11:00.590 --> 00:11:02.409 week, again, we're going to kind of take a survey 00:11:02.409 --> 00:11:05.549 of the book of Revelation so that I can do my 00:11:05.549 --> 00:11:09.009 best to pick out important verses that deal with 00:11:09.009 --> 00:11:12.179 the end times. I'm going to throw a bazillion 00:11:12.179 --> 00:11:15.399 scripture verses at you that week. Hopefully 00:11:15.399 --> 00:11:18.679 I can answer a bazillion questions as well. Today, 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:20.840 we are going to start, though, in Paul's letter 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:23.399 to the Thessalonians. So let me give you the 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:25.340 context of the time period we're going to study 00:11:25.340 --> 00:11:29.879 first. Okay? This is stuff that Paul is writing 00:11:29.879 --> 00:11:34.220 in the first century. Not long after Jesus died. 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:38.779 The earliest churches. He's writing to the earliest 00:11:38.779 --> 00:11:42.799 churches. When Paul founded a church and then 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:44.759 he wrote a letter back to that church, there 00:11:44.759 --> 00:11:49.220 was no church before Paul. Brand new beginning 00:11:49.220 --> 00:11:56.220 stuff. Now, what might seem like maybe not that 00:11:56.220 --> 00:11:59.340 big of a deal to you because we see so many people 00:11:59.340 --> 00:12:01.659 in our lives today. Well, let me ask you this. 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:06.019 How many people either believe or know somebody? 00:12:06.750 --> 00:12:10.629 That they believe. Sorry. How many of you believe 00:12:10.629 --> 00:12:14.509 or you know somebody who believes beyond a shadow 00:12:14.509 --> 00:12:18.169 of a doubt that the end of the world will take 00:12:18.169 --> 00:12:22.570 place in your lifetime? That you will not die? 00:12:23.350 --> 00:12:27.570 Okay. Relatively low number. Less than I was 00:12:27.570 --> 00:12:31.450 expecting. Okay? Not like this in the first church. 00:12:32.070 --> 00:12:36.320 Why? Because they had literally seen Jesus alive, 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:42.759 die, and then alive again. And when Jesus came 00:12:42.759 --> 00:12:46.159 to his followers, what did he tell them? I'm 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:50.240 going to come back for you. Right? And when they 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:53.080 heard Jesus say, I'm going to come back for you, 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:55.879 remember the last time he said he was leaving, 00:12:55.980 --> 00:12:59.730 he was only gone three days. Right. So Jesus 00:12:59.730 --> 00:13:03.549 said that he's coming back. I mean to say next 00:13:03.549 --> 00:13:07.529 Tuesday, Jesus is coming back. But guess what 00:13:07.529 --> 00:13:12.090 happens on next Tuesday? Jesus didn't come back. 00:13:12.529 --> 00:13:15.149 And then enough Tuesdays go by where finally, 00:13:15.210 --> 00:13:20.250 let's say your mom or your dad, rest their souls, 00:13:20.490 --> 00:13:23.909 pass on. And you begin to worry. Now, wait a 00:13:23.909 --> 00:13:28.850 minute. If they die. Before Jesus actually comes 00:13:28.850 --> 00:13:34.110 back, what happens to them? I mean, think about 00:13:34.110 --> 00:13:37.330 this. Brand new Christianity hadn't thought through 00:13:37.330 --> 00:13:41.129 all this stuff yet. What happens? Because Jesus 00:13:41.129 --> 00:13:43.809 said that he was going to come back and was going 00:13:43.809 --> 00:13:48.029 to take us with him. But what happens? Mom died, 00:13:48.110 --> 00:13:50.230 and that means she can't be taken with Jesus. 00:13:50.490 --> 00:13:52.929 Because when they believed Jesus was going to 00:13:52.929 --> 00:13:55.190 come back, They believed he was going to come 00:13:55.190 --> 00:13:57.730 back literally like they had just seen him come 00:13:57.730 --> 00:14:01.289 back. He literally was just there, right? And 00:14:01.289 --> 00:14:04.490 is literally going to take us with him. So what 00:14:04.490 --> 00:14:08.769 happens if my mom or my dad is down, you know, 00:14:08.809 --> 00:14:12.110 asleep? That's actually the word that they'll 00:14:12.110 --> 00:14:18.009 use. They were convinced that Jesus was coming 00:14:18.009 --> 00:14:23.789 back at any moment. So Paul's writing in 1 Thessalonians, 00:14:23.789 --> 00:14:25.590 this is what he's writing about, this specific 00:14:25.590 --> 00:14:30.809 issue. Chapter 4, to kind of explain, Paul's 00:14:30.809 --> 00:14:33.409 going to explain what happens. So look at a big 00:14:33.409 --> 00:14:34.850 chunk of Scripture, and then we're going to break 00:14:34.850 --> 00:14:38.570 this portion of Scripture down. 1 Thessalonians 00:14:38.570 --> 00:14:41.710 4, verse 13, Scripture says, Brothers and sisters, 00:14:42.009 --> 00:14:47.269 Paul says, We don't want you to be ignorant about 00:14:47.269 --> 00:14:50.990 those who fall asleep or to grieve. Like the 00:14:50.990 --> 00:14:56.029 rest of men or women who have no hope, we believe, 00:14:56.429 --> 00:15:01.690 he goes on to say, and this, friends, is in my 00:15:01.690 --> 00:15:04.789 opinion, this is a statement Paul makes here 00:15:04.789 --> 00:15:07.389 that for me and my personal spiritual belief, 00:15:07.509 --> 00:15:10.629 I believe is one of the statements of the essence 00:15:10.629 --> 00:15:13.230 of Christianity. These are one of the statements 00:15:13.230 --> 00:15:16.309 that has to be, in my opinion, fundamentally, 00:15:16.350 --> 00:15:19.909 we have to agree, fundamentally, That this is 00:15:19.909 --> 00:15:23.029 true about Christianity. What is it that we have 00:15:23.029 --> 00:15:28.529 to agree? This. That Jesus died and rose again. 00:15:28.929 --> 00:15:32.190 And so we believe that God will bring Jesus with 00:15:32.190 --> 00:15:35.909 those who have fallen asleep in him. Why is that 00:15:35.909 --> 00:15:40.169 so important? It means, I confirm as a believer, 00:15:40.409 --> 00:15:45.269 Jesus was alive and Jesus died. That Jesus rose 00:15:45.269 --> 00:15:49.990 from the dead and that Jesus will return. If 00:15:49.990 --> 00:15:53.690 you don't believe any of those four, I think, 00:15:53.690 --> 00:15:57.529 fundamental tenets of Christianity. OK, so let 00:15:57.529 --> 00:16:00.590 me say them again. Number one, I think to be 00:16:00.590 --> 00:16:03.370 a Christian, I don't mean to be a good Christian. 00:16:04.230 --> 00:16:06.509 I just mean to be a Christian by definition. 00:16:07.129 --> 00:16:09.649 OK, so when I'm saying if you want to be a Christian, 00:16:09.789 --> 00:16:11.610 I'm not saying if you want to be a holier than 00:16:11.610 --> 00:16:13.669 thou Christian, you need to. No, no. I'm saying 00:16:13.669 --> 00:16:16.850 definition wise, you have to believe that Jesus 00:16:16.850 --> 00:16:22.139 was alive and died. If Jesus was alive and died 00:16:22.139 --> 00:16:25.879 and then he rose again, but you don't believe 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:28.840 that Jesus rose again, now we have a problem 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:33.679 with salvation, don't we? Because there are Christians 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:37.639 who believe that Jesus died and Jesus did not 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:40.980 come back to life. But the story of Jesus' life 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:44.389 is still so great. That maybe it was not that 00:16:44.389 --> 00:16:47.190 big of a deal that people made up these stories 00:16:47.190 --> 00:16:50.529 about Jesus coming back to life because it allowed 00:16:50.529 --> 00:16:53.509 for his teachings to become publicized and become 00:16:53.509 --> 00:16:57.610 what they are today. So, no, Jesus didn't really 00:16:57.610 --> 00:17:00.730 go to heaven. He died like everybody else. Jesus 00:17:00.730 --> 00:17:03.070 was still pretty important. And the things that 00:17:03.070 --> 00:17:06.549 he said revolutionized the world. That's what 00:17:06.549 --> 00:17:12.049 some people believe. I don't think, again, you 00:17:12.049 --> 00:17:15.549 might be a great person. I don't see how you 00:17:15.549 --> 00:17:21.410 can square the whole of Scripture and don't believe 00:17:21.410 --> 00:17:27.269 that Jesus proved God's power over death. I think 00:17:27.269 --> 00:17:32.190 if God's power through Jesus could not be apparent 00:17:32.190 --> 00:17:37.910 enough to rescue life from death, then what's 00:17:37.910 --> 00:17:42.200 the entire point of any of it? Right? What's 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:45.420 the point? So, I think for you to be a Christian, 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:47.240 I think it's important. I think that's one of 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:49.059 those things that you need to believe. You need 00:17:49.059 --> 00:17:51.839 to believe that he died and that he rose again. 00:17:52.359 --> 00:17:56.259 Right? But there's something else. That he will 00:17:56.259 --> 00:18:00.420 come back. We believe that he will come back. 00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:06.240 Now, when Jesus comes back, how Jesus comes back, 00:18:06.670 --> 00:18:09.950 What it means when Jesus comes back, if it's 00:18:09.950 --> 00:18:12.910 for you. Maybe you're one of these preterists 00:18:12.910 --> 00:18:14.910 down here who think that it already happened. 00:18:15.009 --> 00:18:18.890 And the second coming, the parrhesia, is it some 00:18:18.890 --> 00:18:21.109 future time? It's something that already happened. 00:18:21.250 --> 00:18:23.690 When would the parrhesia have been? When actually 00:18:23.690 --> 00:18:28.410 is the second coming of Christ? Post -resurrection. 00:18:29.170 --> 00:18:33.410 Right? When was Jesus first coming? It's called 00:18:33.410 --> 00:18:35.430 Advent. It's called Advent. When he was born. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:38.660 Right? That's right. Emmanuel. God in the world. 00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:42.440 God with us. Right? First coming. Jesus dies. 00:18:43.420 --> 00:18:48.660 Right? And is resurrected and then comes back 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:52.460 to teach. Right? So there are Christians that 00:18:52.460 --> 00:18:56.279 say the second coming of Jesus has already happened 00:18:56.279 --> 00:18:59.579 and this tribulation stuff happened when the 00:18:59.579 --> 00:19:02.700 Romans were around. And all of this stuff's already 00:19:02.700 --> 00:19:06.200 happened. Here's the thing. You can be a Christian 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:11.119 and believe that, right? But if you believe that 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:13.460 Jesus went to heaven and Jesus is never coming 00:19:13.460 --> 00:19:19.279 back or has never come back, well, then you believe 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:21.579 in something, but you don't believe in Christianity. 00:19:23.380 --> 00:19:26.380 Paul here lays it out here pretty clear. Jesus 00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:29.940 died, rose again. Why? So that we'll believe 00:19:29.940 --> 00:19:32.319 that God will bring Jesus those who've fallen 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:35.150 asleep in him. Fallen asleep. Pay attention to 00:19:35.150 --> 00:19:38.609 that word. Paul says, According to the Lord's 00:19:38.609 --> 00:19:41.470 own world, we tell you that we who are still 00:19:41.470 --> 00:19:43.829 alive, we who are left till the coming of the 00:19:43.829 --> 00:19:47.250 Lord, will certainly not precede those who have 00:19:47.250 --> 00:19:49.829 fallen asleep. There's that word again. For the 00:19:49.829 --> 00:19:51.650 Lord himself will come down from heaven with 00:19:51.650 --> 00:19:54.109 a loud command, and the voice of the archangel 00:19:54.109 --> 00:19:56.910 and with the trumpet call of God and the dead 00:19:56.910 --> 00:20:00.390 in Christ will rise first. After that, we who 00:20:00.390 --> 00:20:03.049 are still alive and are left will be caught up 00:20:03.049 --> 00:20:05.089 together with them in the clouds to meet the 00:20:05.089 --> 00:20:07.930 Lord in the air. So, we will be with the Lord 00:20:07.930 --> 00:20:11.670 forever. Therefore, this is the don't be so heavenly 00:20:11.670 --> 00:20:15.109 minded, you're no earthly good. Encourage each 00:20:15.109 --> 00:20:18.549 other with these words. We will get more into 00:20:18.549 --> 00:20:21.890 that in a second. It's what I want to also do 00:20:21.890 --> 00:20:25.250 for you. To encourage you with these words. As 00:20:25.250 --> 00:20:29.130 Christians, we have hope. Even though the world 00:20:29.130 --> 00:20:33.970 is ending, why would we have hope? The first 00:20:33.970 --> 00:20:36.650 one, first point is you should have hope because 00:20:36.650 --> 00:20:40.630 Christ is coming again. In fact, Jesus talks 00:20:40.630 --> 00:20:43.730 about this in John chapter 14, beginning with 00:20:43.730 --> 00:20:46.930 the third verse. And if I go and prepare a place 00:20:46.930 --> 00:20:51.660 for you, Jesus says, I will come back. I'll return 00:20:51.660 --> 00:20:54.299 and I'll take you to be with me so you also may 00:20:54.299 --> 00:20:58.859 be where I am. Jesus said, I will return. I'm 00:20:58.859 --> 00:21:01.259 coming back. This is his Arnold Schwarzenegger 00:21:01.259 --> 00:21:04.480 moment, right? I'll be back, right? So in the 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:07.799 early church, they were pretty excited by his 00:21:07.799 --> 00:21:11.220 words, right? They were really excited. They 00:21:11.220 --> 00:21:14.000 were so excited they actually used this greeting 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:16.720 the way that we might today say, hey, what's 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:19.059 up? Or what's happening? What's going on, right? 00:21:19.710 --> 00:21:21.549 When they would greet each other, they would 00:21:21.549 --> 00:21:23.650 go, they'd greet each other, another Christian, 00:21:23.710 --> 00:21:26.049 they'd grab him by the hand, and they would say 00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:30.450 with faith in their eyes, Maranatha, Maranatha. 00:21:30.869 --> 00:21:35.329 Now that means our Lord is coming. It also could 00:21:35.329 --> 00:21:41.809 be, depending on how you, how they, I want to 00:21:41.809 --> 00:21:45.690 say define it, translate it, could also be interpreted 00:21:45.690 --> 00:21:50.420 as come Lord. Like if you were saying, Maranatha, 00:21:50.619 --> 00:21:54.299 come, Lord. Like, please. When you're doing it 00:21:54.299 --> 00:21:56.660 as a greeting, it's like our Lord is coming. 00:21:56.940 --> 00:22:01.059 We both agree our Lord is coming. They believed 00:22:01.059 --> 00:22:04.500 he was coming back while they were alive. We 00:22:04.500 --> 00:22:08.720 should be anticipating it, and they did. In fact, 00:22:08.819 --> 00:22:10.680 Scripture says those of you that long for the 00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:13.559 Lord's returning, there's a crown for you in 00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:15.119 heaven. And we're going to talk more about these 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:19.000 crowns in heaven next week. Those of you that 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:21.539 can't wait for him to come back, there is a reward 00:22:21.539 --> 00:22:25.119 of a crown for those who are longing for the 00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:28.339 Lord's returning. The problem is most of people 00:22:28.339 --> 00:22:30.980 in the world might not get that crown because 00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:33.759 people are too in love with the world, but they 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:38.019 don't long for the return of Christ. Maranatha, 00:22:38.200 --> 00:22:42.559 our Lord is returning. In fact, this is what 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:45.000 Paul says in the Thessalonian text. He said, 00:22:45.099 --> 00:22:48.319 we believe that Jesus died and rose again. And 00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:51.539 so we believe that God will bring with Jesus, 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:57.099 right, this is his return, those who have fallen 00:22:57.099 --> 00:23:00.059 asleep. I mentioned that earlier. Now, what does 00:23:00.059 --> 00:23:01.660 that mean? Does that mean that there's a guy 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:04.140 on the third row of church, right, who's bored 00:23:04.140 --> 00:23:06.140 and probably worked all night and starts snoring 00:23:06.140 --> 00:23:09.559 in the middle of the sermon? No, that's not what 00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:12.680 it means. That happens. That's not what it means. 00:23:12.940 --> 00:23:15.440 More of a poetic way of saying they're dead, 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:19.529 right? That's what it means, those who have died. 00:23:19.730 --> 00:23:21.789 And as Christians, right, we don't technically 00:23:21.789 --> 00:23:24.230 die forever because we'll live with God. And 00:23:24.230 --> 00:23:27.170 so it's a kind of a poetic way Paul was using 00:23:27.170 --> 00:23:31.369 to say that they are asleep in Jesus. In fact, 00:23:31.369 --> 00:23:34.049 I think the Greek word is used 14 times or so 00:23:34.049 --> 00:23:36.930 in the Bible. In John chapter 11, it's used also 00:23:36.930 --> 00:23:40.869 to Lazarus, who had fallen asleep or had died 00:23:40.869 --> 00:23:43.210 before Jesus had come to raise him from the dead. 00:23:43.329 --> 00:23:45.309 So there's a kind of an example of how that works. 00:23:46.089 --> 00:23:50.109 Next verse, verse 16 in the text says, For the 00:23:50.109 --> 00:23:51.829 Lord himself will come down from heaven with 00:23:51.829 --> 00:23:54.190 a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, 00:23:54.210 --> 00:23:56.349 with the trumpet call of God. So let's stop here 00:23:56.349 --> 00:23:59.089 for a moment because honestly, right? If you're 00:23:59.089 --> 00:24:01.230 a triumphalist, you're going to think this is 00:24:01.230 --> 00:24:03.829 great. The Lord himself is coming down. Remember, 00:24:03.930 --> 00:24:08.609 God spoke and created the world, right? Now, 00:24:08.630 --> 00:24:12.069 there are times when God chooses to whisper. 00:24:12.890 --> 00:24:16.220 This time when Jesus. What's going to happen? 00:24:16.299 --> 00:24:19.220 There's going to be a loud command. The voice 00:24:19.220 --> 00:24:21.759 of the archangel Michael is going to shout. The 00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:26.819 trumpet of God will blare. Why? Because the greatest 00:24:26.819 --> 00:24:29.920 victory in the history of the world demands the 00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:33.539 greatest shout from God. Right? The trumpet of 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:37.779 God sounds. The archangel cries. The Lord shouts. 00:24:37.779 --> 00:24:39.779 And what happens? The Bible says, and the dead 00:24:39.779 --> 00:24:43.440 in Christ will rise first. The dead in Christ 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:46.880 will rise first. Who are the dead in Christ? 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:49.779 Remember, Paul's talking to the Thessalonian 00:24:49.779 --> 00:24:52.799 believers in the first century. Hey, your loved 00:24:52.799 --> 00:24:55.819 ones who were Christians. We all joined this 00:24:55.819 --> 00:24:58.900 thing on the ground floor together, right? They've 00:24:58.900 --> 00:25:02.940 died, but they're going first. This is where 00:25:02.940 --> 00:25:05.579 some people get confused. So I want to slow down 00:25:05.579 --> 00:25:09.809 and say also that it appears. Maybe this is the 00:25:09.809 --> 00:25:11.730 thing you've been waiting to hear that you didn't 00:25:11.730 --> 00:25:14.549 know yet. It appears to be very clear that there 00:25:14.549 --> 00:25:17.869 are actually two resurrections. There's the first 00:25:17.869 --> 00:25:19.809 resurrection and then there's the second resurrection. 00:25:20.569 --> 00:25:23.549 The first resurrection are for those Christians 00:25:23.549 --> 00:25:26.329 who will be raised from the dead. The second 00:25:26.329 --> 00:25:29.890 resurrection are for those non -Christians. It's 00:25:29.890 --> 00:25:33.000 known as the resurrection of the dead. And they 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:34.759 will be judged very differently. Now, we're going 00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:37.599 to look more in depth at this judgment, this 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:40.259 different judgment next week. Right. When you 00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:42.299 die. That's what the subject matter is going 00:25:42.299 --> 00:25:46.000 to be next week. Right. The non -Christians will 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:48.480 be judged at what Scripture calls the great white 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:51.420 throne of judgment. It's my opinion that you'll 00:25:51.420 --> 00:25:54.700 not be there if you're a Christian. Only non 00:25:54.700 --> 00:25:57.160 -Christians will be there and they will be judged 00:25:57.160 --> 00:26:01.380 for their works. Right. Which will be found wanting. 00:26:02.039 --> 00:26:04.779 and their name not written in God's book, the 00:26:04.779 --> 00:26:08.799 Lamb's book of life. Right? So then that they 00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:13.119 are punished, perhaps eternally separated from 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:15.720 God. I say perhaps because I'm not quite sure, 00:26:15.740 --> 00:26:18.180 for sure what I believe about the very, very 00:26:18.180 --> 00:26:21.160 end part of it yet. But we're here, we're talking 00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:22.779 about the first resurrection. The resurrection 00:26:22.779 --> 00:26:25.380 of those who are Christians. Okay? In fact, Scripture 00:26:25.380 --> 00:26:27.559 talks about it this way in Revelation. It says, 00:26:27.619 --> 00:26:30.349 Blessed and holy are those... who have part in 00:26:30.349 --> 00:26:34.650 the first resurrection. In Revelation, John says, 00:26:34.769 --> 00:26:36.690 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the 00:26:36.690 --> 00:26:38.750 first resurrection. If you're dead, that's the 00:26:38.750 --> 00:26:42.049 one you want to be in. Blessed and holy are those 00:26:42.049 --> 00:26:44.170 who have part in the first resurrection. And 00:26:44.170 --> 00:26:47.569 then the Bible says what? The second death has 00:26:47.569 --> 00:26:52.369 no power over them. The second death. If you're 00:26:52.369 --> 00:26:54.289 a part of the first resurrection, the second 00:26:54.289 --> 00:26:56.910 death has no power over you. What does that mean? 00:26:57.470 --> 00:27:00.549 Well, someone said it like this, okay? You can 00:27:00.549 --> 00:27:04.430 be born once and die twice, or you can be born 00:27:04.430 --> 00:27:08.650 twice and only die once. Well, what does that 00:27:08.650 --> 00:27:12.349 mean, right? It means you can be born one time, 00:27:12.349 --> 00:27:16.230 and all of you have been born one time, right? 00:27:16.369 --> 00:27:19.170 Every one of you. What happened? Your mom screamed. 00:27:19.430 --> 00:27:21.769 She pushed you out. The doctor spanked you. You're 00:27:21.769 --> 00:27:25.779 born once, right? Now, if you're only born one 00:27:25.779 --> 00:27:29.460 time, you will die twice. You'll die a physical 00:27:29.460 --> 00:27:32.119 death, and then you'll stand before God, and 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:35.519 you'll die an eventual eternal spiritual death. 00:27:35.880 --> 00:27:39.079 So you'll die twice. The good news, though, is 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:40.819 that you're born twice, you only die once. Now, 00:27:40.859 --> 00:27:43.380 you might say, well, how in the world could one 00:27:43.380 --> 00:27:48.380 be born twice? Well, your mama screams, she puts 00:27:48.380 --> 00:27:50.259 you out, the doctor spanks you, you're born once. 00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:54.430 And then Jesus says to Nicodemus, In John chapter 00:27:54.430 --> 00:27:56.690 3, explaining how you can be born that second 00:27:56.690 --> 00:28:00.829 time, he said a person can be born again, right? 00:28:00.930 --> 00:28:04.089 Through your mother's womb? No. Spiritually. 00:28:04.730 --> 00:28:06.869 Spiritually. You had a physical birth. Now you 00:28:06.869 --> 00:28:09.650 have a spiritual birth, right? When you call 00:28:09.650 --> 00:28:13.190 on Jesus as your Lord and Savior, what happens 00:28:13.190 --> 00:28:16.549 is your old life is gone forever, transformed, 00:28:16.910 --> 00:28:20.500 completely new. So for those of you who are Christians, 00:28:20.660 --> 00:28:22.220 a lot of people, like you know how a lot of people 00:28:22.220 --> 00:28:25.180 go around and go, YOLO! You guys know YOLO? Do 00:28:25.180 --> 00:28:27.900 you still do YOLO? You only live once, right? 00:28:28.539 --> 00:28:31.359 That's what people do before they say something 00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:33.599 really stupid. YOLO! Like what I just did there. 00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:37.980 But if we're Christians, we could say YODO. You 00:28:37.980 --> 00:28:42.299 only die once. So what do we have? We have the 00:28:42.299 --> 00:28:46.470 return of Jesus. Christ is coming again. The 00:28:46.470 --> 00:28:49.069 second thing in our notes, too, we have the rapture. 00:28:49.410 --> 00:28:54.470 Okay, here we go. What is the rapture? The rapture 00:28:54.470 --> 00:28:57.930 is when living Christians are taken away. That 00:28:57.930 --> 00:29:00.450 is the definition of the rapture. It's when living 00:29:00.450 --> 00:29:04.190 Christians are taken away. Let's see what the 00:29:04.190 --> 00:29:07.849 text says. After that, the Bible says, we who 00:29:07.849 --> 00:29:11.269 are still alive and are left will be what? We'll 00:29:11.269 --> 00:29:14.069 be caught up together with them in the clouds. 00:29:14.890 --> 00:29:18.049 to meet the Lord in the air. After the dead in 00:29:18.049 --> 00:29:22.089 Christ rise first, if that happens in our lifetimes, 00:29:22.190 --> 00:29:24.829 and you're a believer and you're a follower of 00:29:24.829 --> 00:29:28.369 Jesus, we who are still alive will be caught 00:29:28.369 --> 00:29:31.750 up. Now this word caught up, it comes from the 00:29:31.750 --> 00:29:36.109 Greek word harpazo, harpazo. And harpazo means 00:29:36.109 --> 00:29:39.349 to be seized, to be snatched, but it also means 00:29:39.349 --> 00:29:45.240 to grab something as if to rescue it. Like your 00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:49.160 kid falls into the water. Snatch him out of the 00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:54.160 harpazo. In fact, there are four different beliefs 00:29:54.160 --> 00:29:58.319 about the rapture. People debate this back and 00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:00.980 forth. So there's what's known as pre -trib, 00:30:01.160 --> 00:30:06.859 mid -trib, post -trib, and pan -trib. Pre -tribulation, 00:30:07.059 --> 00:30:09.539 pre -trib. would be those Christians who believe 00:30:09.539 --> 00:30:12.640 that we will be rescued before the tribulation, 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:15.759 the period of evil and darkness on the earth, 00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:19.700 before things get bad, how you define that. Then 00:30:19.700 --> 00:30:22.619 there's mid -trib that say that the tribulation 00:30:22.619 --> 00:30:25.480 will begin, but at some point after the tribulation 00:30:25.480 --> 00:30:29.259 has begun, Christians will be rescued in the 00:30:29.259 --> 00:30:31.859 middle of the seventh year of the tribulation, 00:30:31.980 --> 00:30:34.720 before the second half of the tribulation when 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:37.859 it gets really bad. Then there's post -trib who 00:30:37.859 --> 00:30:40.339 believe that they'll be rescued after the tribulation, 00:30:40.500 --> 00:30:42.900 that you'll have to survive through the tribulation 00:30:42.900 --> 00:30:46.220 and then be rescued. And then there's pan -trib, 00:30:46.220 --> 00:30:50.759 and honestly, pan -trib, they don't really know, 00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:52.359 believe that it's all going to pan out in the 00:30:52.359 --> 00:30:54.619 end. And I know that sounds funny, but it's serious. 00:30:54.779 --> 00:30:56.420 There are people who believe, I don't know how 00:30:56.420 --> 00:30:58.140 this thing works out, but I know that it works 00:30:58.140 --> 00:31:01.880 out in the end. My personal belief is I'm pre 00:31:01.880 --> 00:31:05.309 -trib. I'm pre -tribulation. Much because of 00:31:05.309 --> 00:31:08.289 this verse that God, in his goodness, our Pazo, 00:31:08.549 --> 00:31:12.609 he rescues us. He takes us away, snatches us 00:31:12.609 --> 00:31:16.630 from danger because he's that good. So that makes 00:31:16.630 --> 00:31:21.049 me. So pre -trib, let's talk about pre -tribulation. 00:31:21.049 --> 00:31:23.630 Let's talk about premillennialism and all of 00:31:23.630 --> 00:31:26.029 that very quickly. So let me go back over here 00:31:26.029 --> 00:31:28.730 to my timeline here. We're going to pretty much 00:31:28.730 --> 00:31:30.250 call these people who believe that it already 00:31:30.250 --> 00:31:33.369 happened nuts. That didn't happen. So let's go 00:31:33.369 --> 00:31:35.369 back here. So our next spot would be you here 00:31:35.369 --> 00:31:42.769 in 2021. When does Jesus come back? Now, the 00:31:42.769 --> 00:31:47.049 millennium is a thousand year reign in which 00:31:47.049 --> 00:31:49.430 the devil is cast and locked into the pits of 00:31:49.430 --> 00:31:53.269 hell and cannot do his work on earth. There's 00:31:53.269 --> 00:31:57.470 a thousand year reign of God's justice on the 00:31:57.470 --> 00:32:07.119 earth. But that only happens after the tribulation 00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:14.240 period. Right? If you are a premillennialist, 00:32:14.279 --> 00:32:19.559 pre -tribulationalist, what you believe is that 00:32:19.559 --> 00:32:22.880 Jesus will come back, things will get bad, tribulation, 00:32:23.079 --> 00:32:26.970 and then at some other point, Jesus will institute 00:32:26.970 --> 00:32:29.049 a thousand year reign on the earth in which we 00:32:29.049 --> 00:32:32.069 all will be participants. We have not as Christians. 00:32:32.250 --> 00:32:35.309 The judgment has not taken place yet. That's 00:32:35.309 --> 00:32:37.529 at the end of times. We'll be talking about that 00:32:37.529 --> 00:32:41.309 next week. So when do all of these things happen? 00:32:41.529 --> 00:32:43.930 When does Jesus come back and what does that 00:32:43.930 --> 00:32:46.690 have to do with this thousand year reign? And 00:32:46.690 --> 00:32:49.349 eventually, what does that have to do with when 00:32:49.349 --> 00:32:52.710 Jesus comes back? When does the world end? OK, 00:32:52.769 --> 00:32:56.690 so I am a. Pre -tribulation, which I believe 00:32:56.690 --> 00:32:59.289 Jesus is going to snatch us out before things 00:32:59.289 --> 00:33:02.869 get bad. But I also believe that those events 00:33:02.869 --> 00:33:07.109 will take place before the thousand -year reign. 00:33:07.549 --> 00:33:10.150 Some people will say that we're in the tribulation 00:33:10.150 --> 00:33:14.970 now, but they are called post -millennialists. 00:33:15.130 --> 00:33:17.829 When does Jesus come back? And what they think 00:33:17.829 --> 00:33:20.349 is that the tribulation stuff you read about 00:33:20.349 --> 00:33:23.079 in Revelation, It's happening right now. Now, 00:33:23.099 --> 00:33:24.619 a lot of you premillennialists are going to be 00:33:24.619 --> 00:33:26.779 saying, that's just like me, but you're going 00:33:26.779 --> 00:33:29.099 to find that they think about the world differently. 00:33:29.259 --> 00:33:33.740 They think, we pre -tribulationists think that 00:33:33.740 --> 00:33:38.240 things are going to get so bad that in the end, 00:33:38.259 --> 00:33:41.339 God has to put an end to the wickedness and the 00:33:41.339 --> 00:33:44.799 sin. God has to interact in the world again. 00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:49.880 I believe that, okay? So the coming of the golden 00:33:49.880 --> 00:33:54.200 age and the end of time starts when things get 00:33:54.200 --> 00:33:57.819 so bad God can't take it anymore. So God comes 00:33:57.819 --> 00:34:01.539 back. Jesus, through God, comes back to perfect 00:34:01.539 --> 00:34:05.839 the world. Postmillennialists will say we're 00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:08.699 in the tribulation now, but Jesus won't come 00:34:08.699 --> 00:34:12.400 back until we have perfected the world. Right? 00:34:12.739 --> 00:34:15.889 So the church has got to grow. The church has 00:34:15.889 --> 00:34:19.050 got to take over. If you want Jesus to come back, 00:34:19.250 --> 00:34:22.670 you want social justice in the streets. You want 00:34:22.670 --> 00:34:27.090 equality for everybody. You want, you know what 00:34:27.090 --> 00:34:30.550 I'm saying? No oppression. You want to bring 00:34:30.550 --> 00:34:34.170 in God's justice and God's righteousness on our 00:34:34.170 --> 00:34:37.989 streets. And once we actually get it done, then 00:34:37.989 --> 00:34:41.519 God will come back. My problem with that. eschatology 00:34:41.519 --> 00:34:43.840 is it seems like it puts all the power in our 00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:46.559 hands and if we could go ahead and perfect the 00:34:46.559 --> 00:34:48.519 world why in the world haven't we already done 00:34:48.519 --> 00:34:52.119 it yet right so if god's gonna come back it doesn't 00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:54.860 seem like he's god's not waiting around for us 00:34:54.860 --> 00:34:57.360 to finally get it right seems like through all 00:34:57.360 --> 00:35:00.480 66 of the books of the bible god said you know 00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:04.159 what you've never got it right i still love you 00:35:04.159 --> 00:35:07.360 i'm still going to save you but you guys haven't 00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:10.739 got it right once why in the world whatever why 00:35:10.739 --> 00:35:13.880 would he say oh but i know in the very end you'll 00:35:13.880 --> 00:35:16.300 turn it around and you'll get it right that just 00:35:16.300 --> 00:35:18.880 doesn't make sense to me it doesn't it doesn't 00:35:18.880 --> 00:35:22.820 follow from my personal theology god the nature 00:35:22.820 --> 00:35:25.099 of god through uh the whole christian scripture 00:35:25.099 --> 00:35:30.219 okay so uh you can have your beliefs on post 00:35:30.219 --> 00:35:34.619 -millennialism post -tribulation pre -tribulation 00:35:34.619 --> 00:35:39.530 right jesus describes it this way Pretty intense, 00:35:39.670 --> 00:35:43.110 Matthew 24, verse 39. Pay careful attention to 00:35:43.110 --> 00:35:45.929 this because this is how Jesus, not Jim, this 00:35:45.929 --> 00:35:48.510 is how Jesus says it will happen. This is how 00:35:48.510 --> 00:35:50.769 it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Okay, 00:35:50.789 --> 00:35:53.309 ready for this? He says two men will be in the 00:35:53.309 --> 00:35:56.349 field and one will be taken and the other left. 00:35:57.130 --> 00:35:59.789 He goes on to say two will be grinding with a 00:35:59.789 --> 00:36:03.030 hand mill, one will be taken and the other left. 00:36:03.989 --> 00:36:08.489 Don't miss the application of this. So you also 00:36:08.489 --> 00:36:13.150 must. What? Whoa, Jesus. I must what? Be ready 00:36:13.150 --> 00:36:16.010 because the Son of Man will come in an hour. 00:36:16.730 --> 00:36:20.110 But you do not expect him. If you're a believer 00:36:20.110 --> 00:36:23.050 in Jesus Christ, again, like I was saying in 00:36:23.050 --> 00:36:27.630 the pregame, right? This is really serious stuff. 00:36:28.170 --> 00:36:31.449 He is returning, turning, turning. That trumpet 00:36:31.449 --> 00:36:34.429 will sound. You must be ready because it could 00:36:34.429 --> 00:36:38.199 happen at any time. I am not trying to scare 00:36:38.199 --> 00:36:43.280 anybody to Jesus. Right? This is not about your 00:36:43.280 --> 00:36:48.480 eternal soul right now. This is for you to think 00:36:48.480 --> 00:36:51.519 for yourself. I'm not trying to scare anybody 00:36:51.519 --> 00:36:54.059 in here tonight to say, you know what, I'm not 00:36:54.059 --> 00:36:56.940 convinced yet that Jesus truly loves me, but, 00:36:56.940 --> 00:36:59.860 Jim, you scared me so much tonight that I want 00:36:59.860 --> 00:37:04.019 to convert just in case. Right? This is not, 00:37:04.019 --> 00:37:07.179 I'm not an insurance agent for God. That's not 00:37:07.179 --> 00:37:11.000 how any of this works. But to not treat it with 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:14.420 the seriousness that Scripture treats it, I think 00:37:14.420 --> 00:37:19.440 is a disservice to all of us. Right? So be prepared. 00:37:20.420 --> 00:37:23.420 Two people sitting at a computer, typing away, 00:37:23.699 --> 00:37:27.480 right? One's gone, one's left. It could be literally 00:37:27.480 --> 00:37:30.280 at a church right now. Two people are sitting 00:37:30.280 --> 00:37:32.800 side by side, one's taken. And the other left. 00:37:32.860 --> 00:37:35.539 Don't be pointing at your neighbor. You're going 00:37:35.539 --> 00:37:38.300 to be the one. So be ready. Be prepared. Be doing 00:37:38.300 --> 00:37:40.940 the work of the Lord. Don't be so heavenly minded 00:37:40.940 --> 00:37:44.420 you're no earthly good. Be doing the work of 00:37:44.420 --> 00:37:48.199 God. Be prepared. Do not be half -hearted, lukewarm 00:37:48.199 --> 00:37:52.860 Christians. Be ready. Friends, Maranatha. Maranatha. 00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:57.960 Our Lord is coming. Be ready. And for those of 00:37:57.960 --> 00:38:01.340 you that are nudies, you need to be forewarned. 00:38:01.920 --> 00:38:04.860 Okay, what's a nudie? Okay, this is the Bible 00:38:04.860 --> 00:38:07.860 for grown -ups, right? There are two types of 00:38:07.860 --> 00:38:10.079 people and only two types of people in this world. 00:38:10.219 --> 00:38:13.460 There are clothies and there are nudies. You 00:38:13.460 --> 00:38:15.380 know what I'm talking about. You go to bed at 00:38:15.380 --> 00:38:19.480 night, right? You're either one of two people. 00:38:19.920 --> 00:38:22.079 There's clothies and there's nudies. If you are 00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:25.139 a nudie, what you just need to know is you better 00:38:25.139 --> 00:38:28.800 keep some clothes by. No judgment, no judgment. 00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:30.820 And you might be saying, what are you talking 00:38:30.820 --> 00:38:36.119 about? Okay, nudies. This isn't me. These are 00:38:36.119 --> 00:38:39.380 the words of Jesus, your Lord and Savior, right? 00:38:39.719 --> 00:38:42.320 This is what Jesus said in Revelation 16 and 00:38:42.320 --> 00:38:45.760 15. Jesus said, and it's read in your Bible if 00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:48.500 you want to take a look at it, right? Behold, 00:38:48.679 --> 00:38:52.139 I come like a thief. Blessed is he who stays 00:38:52.139 --> 00:38:54.780 awake and does what? Read it aloud, somebody. 00:38:55.260 --> 00:38:59.559 Keeps his clothes with him. So that you may not 00:38:59.559 --> 00:39:03.179 go naked and be shamefully exposed. Okay, nudies? 00:39:03.719 --> 00:39:08.500 Now, I am certain, right? Completely no chance 00:39:08.500 --> 00:39:10.880 whatsoever that he was not speaking, he was speaking 00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:14.239 more metaphorically. That there is a spiritual 00:39:14.239 --> 00:39:17.179 application to that story. But just in case, 00:39:17.179 --> 00:39:20.420 you better keep your bras and boxers close by. 00:39:20.639 --> 00:39:24.130 And your teeth. That's right. I might be joking, 00:39:24.210 --> 00:39:32.769 but be ready. Be ready. Be ready. Yes. Yes. I 00:39:32.769 --> 00:39:35.829 think, and I, and here's the thing. I think that 00:39:35.829 --> 00:39:39.289 it does. Whenever Jesus tells us, be ready, be 00:39:39.289 --> 00:39:44.329 awake. Okay. Is he saying, be aware that as things 00:39:44.329 --> 00:39:46.989 go on, the world's going to get more and more 00:39:46.989 --> 00:39:51.760 evil. And what happens with evil? Evil learns. 00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:57.099 Evil is like a virus. Evil mutates, right? And 00:39:57.099 --> 00:40:00.139 if you're not aware what used to be evil, things 00:40:00.139 --> 00:40:03.800 that you were aware of, if you stop taking, if 00:40:03.800 --> 00:40:07.119 you take your eye off the ball, that evil starts 00:40:07.119 --> 00:40:09.440 to mutate and maybe turn into something that 00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:13.000 sounds like a good idea. Right? And that, I think, 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:15.860 is what Jesus is talking about. I'm not saying 00:40:15.860 --> 00:40:17.800 that Jesus is saying we should sit up all night 00:40:17.800 --> 00:40:20.039 looking out our window going, if I should die 00:40:20.039 --> 00:40:22.000 before I wake, pray for someone to hold me awake. 00:40:22.639 --> 00:40:25.280 I'm not saying that be vigilant, like just be 00:40:25.280 --> 00:40:27.400 looking up at the sky for Jesus to come down. 00:40:27.500 --> 00:40:29.000 I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. 00:40:29.619 --> 00:40:32.179 I think what Jesus is saying, two things. One, 00:40:32.380 --> 00:40:35.440 don't worry about when I come back. Worry about 00:40:35.440 --> 00:40:38.619 your life right now. Be a Christian right now. 00:40:39.460 --> 00:40:43.260 And be aware because as time goes on, this world 00:40:43.260 --> 00:40:47.280 will become more and more wicked. Does that answer? 00:40:49.860 --> 00:40:52.719 Return of Jesus, the rapture. The third thing, 00:40:52.739 --> 00:40:55.300 you know, I think this is the exciting part of 00:40:55.300 --> 00:40:58.500 eschatology, the reunion. What's going to happen 00:40:58.500 --> 00:41:00.739 at the reunion? The Bible teaches us a principle 00:41:00.739 --> 00:41:04.840 that Christians will be with God for how long? 00:41:05.320 --> 00:41:08.860 Forever. The reunion. Let's see what the text 00:41:08.860 --> 00:41:12.139 says. Scripture says 1 Thessalonians, our target 00:41:12.139 --> 00:41:16.699 text, 4, 17, and 18. Reading this again. After 00:41:16.699 --> 00:41:19.079 that, we who are still alive and are left will 00:41:19.079 --> 00:41:21.059 be caught up together with them in the clouds. 00:41:21.260 --> 00:41:23.400 And what are we going to do there? The Bible 00:41:23.400 --> 00:41:26.079 says we are going to meet the Lord in the air. 00:41:26.239 --> 00:41:29.079 Can you imagine? I mean, seriously, that face 00:41:29.079 --> 00:41:31.519 -to -face meeting with the Lord who gave his 00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:34.760 life for the sins of the world, right? And so 00:41:34.760 --> 00:41:39.409 we will be what? With the Lord forever. I want 00:41:39.409 --> 00:41:41.949 to come back to this. So I want to let this sink 00:41:41.949 --> 00:41:45.710 in. When this happens, you'll be with the Lord. 00:41:45.769 --> 00:41:49.349 How long? Forever. Now we're going to talk more 00:41:49.349 --> 00:41:54.469 about this time period. Or lack of time period. 00:41:54.570 --> 00:41:57.050 Whichever perspective you're thinking of. Right? 00:41:57.289 --> 00:41:59.650 We're going to talk about this more next week. 00:41:59.769 --> 00:42:01.170 But I want you to think about what this means. 00:42:01.309 --> 00:42:03.789 You'll be with the Lord forever. No more pain. 00:42:04.309 --> 00:42:07.409 Sin. No more heartache. No more brokenness or 00:42:07.409 --> 00:42:10.550 disease, sickness, poverty, starving children. 00:42:10.909 --> 00:42:14.289 No more divorce. No more loneliness. No more 00:42:14.289 --> 00:42:20.449 cancer. No more DHS. That's right. We will be 00:42:20.449 --> 00:42:24.510 talking about being with the Lord forever. Maranatha. 00:42:24.590 --> 00:42:27.230 Friends, comfort each other with these words. 00:42:27.829 --> 00:42:31.110 So what should we do if we are living in the 00:42:31.110 --> 00:42:35.309 end times? I'll tell you what we should do. As 00:42:35.309 --> 00:42:37.929 Christians, I think the most responsible and 00:42:37.929 --> 00:42:39.969 Christian thing that we can do is dig bunkers, 00:42:40.090 --> 00:42:45.630 stockpile food, and hoard weapons. Why? So that 00:42:45.630 --> 00:42:47.929 things do, in fact, get bad like we're talking 00:42:47.929 --> 00:42:50.590 about. Someone comes to our house, we can then 00:42:50.590 --> 00:42:53.230 shoot them in the eyes in the name of Jesus and 00:42:53.230 --> 00:42:58.050 for the glory of God. No. That's not what we 00:42:58.050 --> 00:43:02.489 do. We should be encouraging each other with 00:43:02.489 --> 00:43:06.329 these words. He's coming back. Jesus is coming 00:43:06.329 --> 00:43:10.130 back. He's coming to take us away. We should 00:43:10.130 --> 00:43:14.489 live our lives with urgency given this good news. 00:43:15.050 --> 00:43:17.590 So what's the application? What do we do with 00:43:17.590 --> 00:43:19.710 this? Okay, if you're a Christian, if you're 00:43:19.710 --> 00:43:21.449 a Christian, what do we do? Because we still 00:43:21.449 --> 00:43:23.309 got to pay the bills. We still have our kids 00:43:23.309 --> 00:43:25.409 get sick. We still have activities. What do we 00:43:25.409 --> 00:43:27.889 do with all of this? Well, let me close out with 00:43:27.889 --> 00:43:30.150 a big chunk of scripture from 1 Corinthians. 00:43:30.510 --> 00:43:34.659 Again, Paul writing to one of these First generation 00:43:34.659 --> 00:43:37.980 churches. 1 Corinthians 15, this is what Paul 00:43:37.980 --> 00:43:41.440 said. Different context, same story. He says, 00:43:41.500 --> 00:43:44.340 listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all 00:43:44.340 --> 00:43:47.840 sleep, but we all, but we'll all be changed. 00:43:48.380 --> 00:43:50.880 How fast will this transformation take place? 00:43:51.039 --> 00:43:54.119 Paul says, in a flash, in the twinkling of an 00:43:54.119 --> 00:43:56.599 eye, the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound 00:43:56.599 --> 00:43:59.000 and the dead will be raised imperishable and 00:43:59.000 --> 00:44:02.239 will be changed. He goes on to say, for the perishable 00:44:02.239 --> 00:44:04.920 must clothe itself with the imperishable and 00:44:04.920 --> 00:44:08.840 the mortal with immortality. In other words, 00:44:08.880 --> 00:44:12.300 when Jesus returns, our physical bodies are going 00:44:12.300 --> 00:44:16.539 to be transformed into eternal bodies. You may 00:44:16.539 --> 00:44:19.820 believe that statement to be true and I believe 00:44:19.820 --> 00:44:22.219 that statement to be true and how that plays 00:44:22.219 --> 00:44:23.960 out might be a difference of interpretation. 00:44:24.750 --> 00:44:27.809 But we both agree that when Jesus comes back, 00:44:27.869 --> 00:44:30.949 we don't, I mean, we shed the mortal coil, right? 00:44:31.210 --> 00:44:34.949 The clay pot goes away. That's what we know to 00:44:34.949 --> 00:44:39.369 be true. He goes on to say, the saying that is 00:44:39.369 --> 00:44:41.349 written will come true. Death has been swallowed 00:44:41.349 --> 00:44:44.469 up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? 00:44:45.090 --> 00:44:49.710 Where, O death, is thy sting? Then here's where 00:44:49.710 --> 00:44:53.420 it turns. Paul turns this thought to actually 00:44:53.420 --> 00:44:56.800 now do something about it. But thanks be to God. 00:44:56.960 --> 00:45:00.659 He's saying you too should be having thanks to 00:45:00.659 --> 00:45:04.800 God. Why? Because he says about himself and he 00:45:04.800 --> 00:45:09.400 says about you, he has given us victory. Not 00:45:09.400 --> 00:45:11.860 through our own religious efforts, not through 00:45:11.860 --> 00:45:15.619 our own good works, not for us trying to be good 00:45:15.619 --> 00:45:18.639 and stop doing the bad, but he gives victory 00:45:18.639 --> 00:45:21.699 through whom? Through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:45:22.239 --> 00:45:25.239 It's all about Him. It's all for His glories. 00:45:25.300 --> 00:45:28.380 Again, the application here. What do we do with 00:45:28.380 --> 00:45:33.639 this? Paul says to us, Therefore, my dear brothers 00:45:33.639 --> 00:45:38.159 and sisters, what do you do? Stand firm. Let 00:45:38.159 --> 00:45:42.059 nothing move you. Always give yourself fully 00:45:42.059 --> 00:45:46.480 to the work of the Lord. And what is the work 00:45:46.480 --> 00:45:51.079 of the Lord? To serve Him. To praise Him. To 00:45:51.079 --> 00:45:56.280 worship Him. To give in His name. To share His 00:45:56.280 --> 00:46:00.460 love and compassion and grace with others. To 00:46:00.460 --> 00:46:05.079 live with intensity. If Jesus is coming back 00:46:05.079 --> 00:46:08.179 next Tuesday, how would your life be different 00:46:08.179 --> 00:46:12.440 today? Then that's how you should live. Not for 00:46:12.440 --> 00:46:14.260 the lower things of the world, but for the things 00:46:14.260 --> 00:46:17.920 that matter most. Maranatha, what would you do? 00:46:18.519 --> 00:46:22.079 If you knew when he was coming back, you'd worship 00:46:22.079 --> 00:46:25.639 him. You would live righteously. You'd share 00:46:25.639 --> 00:46:28.199 your faith. You'd be serious about your commitment 00:46:28.199 --> 00:46:32.619 to Christ. But because we don't know for sure 00:46:32.619 --> 00:46:37.039 and we have to put faith in faith, what we end 00:46:37.039 --> 00:46:40.440 up with often is a bunch of lukewarm, apathetic, 00:46:40.440 --> 00:46:44.960 worldly, church -going people because we've forgotten 00:46:44.960 --> 00:46:49.550 the good news, friends. Maranatha. Our Lord is 00:46:49.550 --> 00:46:52.610 coming. Therefore, we should work for the Lord 00:46:52.610 --> 00:46:55.269 because you know that your labor for the Lord 00:46:55.269 --> 00:47:00.110 is not in vain. You can live a life that won't 00:47:00.110 --> 00:47:03.889 count in eternity or you can live a life today 00:47:03.889 --> 00:47:08.250 and bring great glory to him. Friends, be encouraged. 00:47:09.250 --> 00:47:13.349 Maranatha, our Lord is coming. Any questions? 00:47:19.849 --> 00:47:22.989 You know, it's interesting as I listen back to 00:47:22.989 --> 00:47:27.210 the lesson this week, and I think back to the 00:47:27.210 --> 00:47:30.150 way that I began the podcast by asking you about 00:47:30.150 --> 00:47:34.510 that childhood prayer, and it is kind of interesting 00:47:34.510 --> 00:47:38.730 if you modify that just a bit and wonder, if 00:47:38.730 --> 00:47:43.130 I was lucky enough to wake up tomorrow morning, 00:47:43.190 --> 00:47:47.389 but I knew that that would be my last day, how 00:47:47.389 --> 00:47:53.000 would my day be different? If I knew that this 00:47:53.000 --> 00:47:58.320 was my last day, that I was going to be with 00:47:58.320 --> 00:48:03.280 God in heaven forever, what would that last day 00:48:03.280 --> 00:48:08.840 be like? How much worship and thanksgiving would 00:48:08.840 --> 00:48:14.380 there be? And what does that say perhaps about 00:48:14.380 --> 00:48:24.099 how much I value Being with God forever. Would 00:48:24.099 --> 00:48:27.619 I be distracted with last meals and goodbyes? 00:48:28.980 --> 00:48:33.119 Or would my entire time be filled with worship 00:48:33.119 --> 00:48:39.820 and thanksgiving? How about you? Something to 00:48:39.820 --> 00:48:44.300 think about. Join us next week as we continue 00:48:44.300 --> 00:48:47.659 our discussion on the end times by looking at 00:48:47.659 --> 00:48:53.460 what happens. after the rapture. Thanks for tuning 00:48:53.460 --> 00:48:55.659 in, buddies. Have a blessed week.