1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,760 Many of you have been hanging on the edge of a cliff for seven days now, and I know 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:11,760 that you're anxious to get to the last half of the message regarding the timing of the 3 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:13,480 rapture of the church. 4 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:19,480 To do that, I think it might be helpful for us to go back to our little scheme that we 5 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:29,240 drew out last week, the schedule of events that we talked about. 6 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:35,360 We're going to divide this line again into the Old Testament and the New Testament and 7 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:41,640 realize that it is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ that makes the difference. 8 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:49,080 The covenant of the law prepared us for His coming, and the New Testament, the new covenant 9 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:55,120 by which we are related to God, is based upon His shed blood. 10 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:59,160 In the Old Testament, God's people was called Israel. 11 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:00,560 I was told to write bigger. 12 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:02,520 Is that big enough? 13 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:04,600 All right. 14 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:10,600 I see our resident eye doctor there in the back, so if he shakes his head yes, I guess 15 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:11,600 we're in good shape. 16 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:12,600 Is that 20-20? 17 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:19,540 Israel, and then church, is the New Testament people of God. 18 00:01:19,540 --> 00:01:26,840 We talked about those, defined them, made the distinction between the two in last week. 19 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:35,740 We said that in the prophet Daniel, Daniel 9, beginning in verse 24, there is a period 20 00:01:35,740 --> 00:01:41,800 of 490 years which is prophesied for the nation of Israel. 21 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:46,160 483 of those years are now historical. 22 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:48,460 They weren't for Daniel. 23 00:01:48,460 --> 00:01:54,960 They were still future in his day, but he prophesied that there would be 490 years of 24 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,620 Israel's future. 25 00:01:58,620 --> 00:02:04,200 He says that they would begin when the decree would go out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, 26 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,780 and that occurred in 445 B.C. 27 00:02:08,780 --> 00:02:16,280 Our exerxes gave the Jews authority to rebuild and restore their city. 28 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:23,160 And then this period of time, Daniel says, would end when the Messiah would come, present 29 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:29,200 himself as king, but would be cut off, and would have nothing of the regal glory and 30 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,960 splendor that rightly belongs to him. 31 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,680 Of course, that refers to the cross, and the year is 32 A.D. 32 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:39,640 Now if you add those up, you may say, well that doesn't come out to 483. 33 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:43,640 The difference is that this is 483 lunar years. 34 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:46,380 Lunar years are 360 days. 35 00:02:46,380 --> 00:02:49,300 Solar years are 365 days. 36 00:02:49,300 --> 00:02:54,960 You take that into account, and you'll come up with the right dates here. 37 00:02:54,960 --> 00:03:02,120 That means 483 of these years have already been fulfilled, but there are seven more years 38 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,920 prophesied that have to be fulfilled for Israel. 39 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:08,120 Israel is now set aside in unbelief. 40 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:12,600 God is calling out a brand new body, the church. 41 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:18,080 Those of us who have trusted Christ in this age are a part of this elect group. 42 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:25,320 But there's a day coming when God is going to again deal with Israel, and he will fulfill 43 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:30,440 that seven years, and we call that the tribulation period. 44 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:34,200 Now again, we defined that last week. 45 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,800 We'll talk about it a little bit again this morning. 46 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:44,720 So that all 490 years will be ultimately fulfilled for the nation of Israel. 47 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:53,720 This tribulation period will conclude with the second coming of Christ. 48 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:58,120 That will bring to a conclusion this period, and will initiate, and I'm going to begin 49 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:00,200 down here. 50 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:01,640 This line just continues here. 51 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,520 Maybe I should just make a big Z out of it. 52 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:06,180 Zoro, right? 53 00:04:06,180 --> 00:04:14,520 It begins the 1,000 year reign of Christ, or the millennium we call it. 54 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:21,000 Now the specific subject that we are discussing together is when does the Lord come back to 55 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:25,960 receive the church to himself in what we call the rapture. 56 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:30,040 There are those who believe it is simultaneous with this event. 57 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:34,740 They say that the second coming of Christ to the world and his coming for the church 58 00:04:34,740 --> 00:04:35,740 are the same thing. 59 00:04:35,740 --> 00:04:38,520 They'll occur at the same time. 60 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,280 There are those who believe it will occur here in the middle of the tribulation period. 61 00:04:42,280 --> 00:04:48,320 Indeed, the tribulation period is divided into halves, three and a half and three and 62 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:55,760 a half years, or 42 months and 42 months, or 1,260 days, 1,260 days, or as Daniel puts 63 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:59,920 it, times a time and a half a time. 64 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:04,800 There are two of those periods totaling seven years. 65 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,440 Some see the Lord coming back for the church in the middle of it. 66 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:13,440 And then there are those, and I am among them, who believe that the rapture of the church 67 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:18,000 will occur here before the tribulation takes place. 68 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,880 Now if you would like more information as to what the terms Israel, church, rapture, 69 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:25,320 second coming, tribulation are all about, I encourage you to get a tape of last week's 70 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:31,360 message and you can hear what we heard last week and get caught up with us. 71 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:36,320 Or there are some very fine books that you may read and find this information, and one 72 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:38,640 of the best of them is the Bible. 73 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:42,920 I say that because of course we get all this information from the Bible. 74 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:48,040 Now would you take your Bible please and turn with me to the book of Revelation. 75 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:54,120 I want to discuss with you today six reasons why I am convinced that the coming of Christ 76 00:05:54,120 --> 00:06:01,880 for his church will precede the beginning of the tribulation period, why we believe 77 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,280 in a pre-tribulational rapture. 78 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:08,400 You should have some notes before you that list these six reasons. 79 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:13,320 I try to make the notes complete enough so that you can follow along with me, but not 80 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:16,640 so complete that you can go to sleep and then wake up after the message and say, well I 81 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:20,280 didn't need to read it or hear it anyway, I've got it before me. 82 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:25,680 So the first reason is the relationship of the church to the wrath of God. 83 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:31,760 It is important to understand that this period of seven years that we're talking about, in 84 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:37,240 which we call the tribulation, is a time when God's wrath is officially poured out upon 85 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:38,240 the earth. 86 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:44,760 In the book of Revelation, his wrath is poured out initially with the opening of seals on 87 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:46,960 a scroll. 88 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:53,440 The seventh seal opens up to seven trumpets that sound from heaven, and more wrath is 89 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:55,200 poured out. 90 00:06:55,200 --> 00:07:01,680 Many Bible scholars see those judgments poured out upon the earth as in the first half of 91 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:03,680 the tribulation. 92 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:10,760 And then the seventh trumpet is blown and it opens the way for seven bowls, vessels 93 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,680 of God's wrath to be poured out upon the earth. 94 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:20,920 And that probably pictures the last half of the tribulation, which will certainly be intensified. 95 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,520 In fact it's called the great tribulation. 96 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:28,440 The intense period of suffering will be the last half of it. 97 00:07:28,440 --> 00:07:36,120 Now the tribulation will be a difficult time for those who will be saved in that period. 98 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:41,000 Satan will bring great pressure and persecution against believers. 99 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:45,560 Antichrist will be at war with the saints of God. 100 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:52,320 But the period of the tribulation is most noted, not for the suffering caused by Satan, 101 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:59,000 but for the fact that God's wrath is poured out upon the Christ-rejecting world. 102 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:05,840 It is that which produces the suffering and trial of the tribulation. 103 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:11,000 Turn in Revelation to chapter 6, for example, and look at verse 17. 104 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:17,160 We'll back up just a couple of verses to get the context. 105 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:24,800 Revelation chapter 6 verse 15 says, Then the kings of the earth and the princes, the generals, 106 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:30,200 the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the 107 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:32,240 rocks of the mountains. 108 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:38,560 They called to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him 109 00:08:38,560 --> 00:08:44,080 who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the land. 110 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:50,280 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand? 111 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:55,240 Again turn over to chapter 14. 112 00:08:55,240 --> 00:09:03,280 In the last part of this chapter we see the tribulation of this period called the harvest 113 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:04,280 of the earth. 114 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:06,280 That harvest is pictured two ways. 115 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:09,480 First is the harvest of grain and then is the harvest of grapes. 116 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:16,520 Now in that latter metaphor or picture verse 17 says, Another angel came out of the temple 117 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,880 of heaven and he too had a sharp sickle. 118 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:24,480 Still another angel who had charge of the fire came from the altar and called in the 119 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:30,180 loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters 120 00:09:30,180 --> 00:09:34,660 of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe. 121 00:09:34,660 --> 00:09:41,840 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great wine 122 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:46,240 press of God's wrath. 123 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:52,520 And then just a page or two over to chapter 16 verse 17. 124 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:59,500 And here we have the pouring out of the seventh bowl of God's judgment. 125 00:09:59,500 --> 00:10:04,680 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air and out of the temple came a loud 126 00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:09,040 voice from the throne saying, It is done. 127 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:15,400 Then there came flashes of lightnings, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. 128 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:19,940 No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth. 129 00:10:19,940 --> 00:10:22,300 So tremendous was the quake. 130 00:10:22,300 --> 00:10:29,020 The great city split into three parts and the cities of the nations collapsed. 131 00:10:29,020 --> 00:10:34,800 God remembered Babylon the Great and Babylon the Great is described in chapter 17 and 18. 132 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:40,960 It says, God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine 133 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:45,000 of the fury of his wrath. 134 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:49,340 And so the tribulation is a period when God's wrath is poured out. 135 00:10:49,340 --> 00:10:52,040 This is not just in the New Testament revealed. 136 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:56,480 This is revealed throughout many of the prophets of the Old Testament as well. 137 00:10:56,480 --> 00:11:01,920 We don't have time to read it, but I simply mention a couple of passages, Isaiah 2 verses 138 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:05,440 10 to 12 and verses 20 to 22. 139 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:12,960 We'll give you an idea that even the Old Testament prophets saw this day of the Lord as it's 140 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:18,840 called, initiated by a time of severe judgment upon the world. 141 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:27,920 It is a retribution from the justice of God for the iniquities of the world. 142 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:32,040 Now the reason I believe that the church will be taken out before that time is because of 143 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:37,080 the relationship the Bible describes between the church and the wrath of God. 144 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:43,680 And we see this in the New Testament in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. 145 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:49,840 Please turn there to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and we'll begin reading in the middle of 146 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:54,280 verse 9. 147 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:58,840 The apostle is writing to these beloved Christians in Thessalonica from whom he had been taken 148 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:04,880 so quickly after having been there for only a short time. 149 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:10,800 And he reports about the news he had heard from others concerning their faith. 150 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:18,020 He says, They tell us how you turn to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, 151 00:12:18,020 --> 00:12:24,480 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues 152 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,160 us from the coming wrath. 153 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:32,960 Now it may be that this wrath is talking about the eternal fires of hell. 154 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:37,760 That certainly is God's wrath upon sin and wickedness. 155 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,080 But so is the tribulation period. 156 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:46,320 It seems to me that whether the wrath is eternal wrath or it's the wrath of this tribulation 157 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:55,040 period, that what is promised here is that the church will be rescued or saved from God's 158 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:59,320 wrath that is coming upon the world. 159 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:04,400 Then again in chapter 5 we see the same truth. 160 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:11,520 He says in verse 8, But since we, believers, belong to the day, that is, we are not a part 161 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:19,440 of the moral darkness in the world, since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, 162 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:25,440 putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 163 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:31,760 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord 164 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:33,240 Jesus Christ. 165 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:40,440 He died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 166 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:42,960 Verse 10, obviously the rapture is in view. 167 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:45,360 The Lord's coming. 168 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:47,360 And verse 9 seems to build right into that. 169 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:53,280 He says that we are not appointed to wrath, that is, to the day of the Lord. 170 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:56,920 We're not appointed to suffer God's punishment upon sin. 171 00:13:56,920 --> 00:13:57,920 Why? 172 00:13:57,920 --> 00:13:59,240 Well, verse 10 explains it. 173 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:01,920 Jesus died for us. 174 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:07,720 All of God's wrath for our sin has already been poured out upon Christ. 175 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:12,080 We might call this double jeopardy here in human terms. 176 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:17,240 It would not be just for God to pour out upon the Church his wrath, because our wrath has 177 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:23,360 been already paid for by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. 178 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:30,440 And so because of these verses and their indication that the Church is not appointed to God's 179 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:36,160 wrath, I believe that we must therefore be taken out of the world before the tribulation 180 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:37,160 period. 181 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:41,360 Now there's a second reason I believe this. 182 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:49,720 And since we're in Thessalonians, let's turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 183 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:57,520 The reason is the relationship of the restrainer to the man of lawlessness. 184 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:03,800 In 2 Thessalonians 2, beginning in verse 1, it says, concerning the coming of our Lord 185 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:10,840 Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, that's the rapture. 186 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:16,280 He says, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, 187 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:20,920 report, or letter supposedly to have come from us. 188 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:24,520 Some forgery had taken place. 189 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:30,560 And in the name of Paul, someone was saying that the day of the Lord had already come. 190 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:35,640 You see, the Thessalonians were going through suffering. 191 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:40,480 And so they thought, and someone began to teach them, that they were already in the 192 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:41,480 tribulation. 193 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:45,320 And Paul says, no. 194 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:50,560 He goes on to say, verse 3, don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will 195 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:57,960 not come until the rebellion occurs or the apostasy occurs, and the man of lawlessness 196 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:01,800 is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 197 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:09,440 That man, of course, is Antichrist, as he is called elsewhere, or the beast of Revelation 198 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:13,620 chapter 13, the first part of the chapter. 199 00:16:13,620 --> 00:16:18,960 He says, before that man can come, there has to come first the departure, the falling away, 200 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:20,560 the apostasy. 201 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:28,960 Now, some Bible scholars say that this word for rebellion in the NIV, or departure, or 202 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:34,240 falling away, or apostasy, and that's really close to the Greek word, refers to the rapture 203 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:35,960 of the church. 204 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:41,680 It does not have to mean a religious falling away, as we usually take it, but the word 205 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:47,880 apostasia in its verb form basically does mean a departure. 206 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:53,720 And so there are some that say this is an explicit statement that says, before Antichrist 207 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:57,960 can come, the church will depart. 208 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:04,480 I think that that may be a little weak to argue it that way, but there are some who 209 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:06,920 feel that way about it, and I wanted to mention it. 210 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:12,600 Now, he goes on to say in verse 4 that when Antichrist comes, he opposes and exalts himself 211 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:18,160 over everything that's called God, or is worshiped, and even sets himself up in God's 212 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:20,920 temple proclaiming himself to be God. 213 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:27,520 This is that abomination of desolations that Daniel talked about, and Jesus talked about 214 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:29,600 in Matthew 24. 215 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:35,440 It's when Antichrist will establish himself as deity and demand worship. 216 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:39,480 This will occur approximately halfway into the tribulation period. 217 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:45,120 To that point, he appears to be outwardly a man of peace, a man of goodwill, a man who 218 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:50,720 has all the answers to the world's problems, economic, social, etc. 219 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:55,640 At the midpoint of the tribulation, he will reveal himself as being a Satan-possessed 220 00:17:55,640 --> 00:18:03,820 man, literally a Satan-possessed individual, the tool, the puppet of Satan, and he will 221 00:18:03,820 --> 00:18:07,240 establish himself in the temple in Jerusalem as God. 222 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:13,200 Now, verse 5, don't you remember that when I was with you, I used to tell you these things? 223 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,880 And now you know what is holding him back. 224 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:19,480 And this is the main point I'm coming to. 225 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:26,520 You know what is holding him back so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 226 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:33,000 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now holds it back 227 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:39,920 will continue to do so until he is taken out of the way and then the lawless one will be 228 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:40,920 revealed. 229 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:47,000 So, clearly in this scripture, the apostle is saying that now there is something holding 230 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:52,640 back Satan's full plan to bring Antichrist on the scene. 231 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:55,160 The question is, what is this restrainer? 232 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:59,520 Now, there are various interpretations. 233 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:07,160 There are some people, primarily early Bible writers, Bible students rather, and writers 234 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:14,160 who said that the restrainer is the Roman Empire itself with its law and order. 235 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:18,160 Others said, no, it's the Roman emperors. 236 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:24,400 And yet one can hardly look at them and say that they restrain lawlessness. 237 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:29,840 Others said, no, it refers to Paul, that he is the one who is restraining Antichrist. 238 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:35,280 And still others said, no, it's the saints in Jerusalem that are withholding the Antichrist 239 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:36,280 from coming. 240 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:37,280 They are the restrainers. 241 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:44,080 It seems to me that all of these on the face fall short of fulfilling the passage here. 242 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:49,400 What is it that withholds and restrains lawlessness from performing all that it would like to? 243 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:56,640 Well, I would have you notice in the first place that in verse 7, whatever it is, it's 244 00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:58,960 called he. 245 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:02,280 He till he is taken out of the way. 246 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:07,880 It's a person or a personality, masculine there. 247 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:15,160 However, in verse 6, he is described by what? 248 00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:19,100 And now you know what is holding him back. 249 00:20:19,100 --> 00:20:23,120 When there the word is not masculine, it's neuter in the Greek language. 250 00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:26,280 There is no sex implied. 251 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:31,080 Makes it very difficult for us to think of this restrainer described in masculine and 252 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:36,220 in neuter as being a human being, a mere human being. 253 00:20:36,220 --> 00:20:40,880 You would expect that both times he would be referred to in the masculine gender, but 254 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:43,180 not so. 255 00:20:43,180 --> 00:20:49,280 So whatever it is can be called a person, but it's not merely a person, if you get 256 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:51,040 my point. 257 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:58,340 I believe the best interpretation is that this restraining force is the Holy Spirit. 258 00:20:58,340 --> 00:21:01,360 Now we don't have time again to read the passages, but I want to mention them to you 259 00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:05,640 in John chapter 14, verses 16 and 17. 260 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:10,120 The Holy Spirit is referred to in a neuter sense. 261 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:15,840 That's appropriate because the Holy Spirit is Spirit. 262 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:21,280 And so it's appropriate to refer to the Holy Spirit in a neutral sense. 263 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:24,360 And He is there in that passage. 264 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:30,960 But just a couple of chapters later in chapter 16, verses 13 and 14, Jesus refers to the 265 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:36,600 Holy Spirit as He, as a person. 266 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:40,880 So in comparing the language, it seems to me that the Holy Spirit is the one who is 267 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:41,880 meant. 268 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:47,440 He is able to fulfill the language requirements of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 269 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:55,140 Likewise, in Genesis chapter 6, God says that the Spirit strives with men. 270 00:21:55,140 --> 00:22:00,840 The idea is to restrain the sinfulness of man in those days before the flood. 271 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:04,940 So it does appear that the Holy Spirit is the restrainer referred to here. 272 00:22:04,940 --> 00:22:07,320 Now what's going to happen? 273 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:14,280 Well He says that now He's holding back Antichrist, this man of lawlessness, and He will continue 274 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:20,840 to do so, verse 7, till He is taken out of the way. 275 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:25,800 Notice it does not say that He's taken out of the world. 276 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:29,760 The Holy Spirit will not be withdrawn from the world as though there were a vacuum of 277 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:30,760 His presence. 278 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:35,720 But it says that He's taken out of the way and the suggestion is that something is removed 279 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,680 so that something else can come in. 280 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:46,120 There is a particular and special sense in which the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. 281 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:48,900 He was here before. 282 00:22:48,900 --> 00:22:54,160 He had a ministry in the Old Testament, but in a very special way He came at Pentecost. 283 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:59,880 And His presence was seen by the flame of fire that was over the disciples' heads. 284 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:06,840 He was heard because of the sound of the wind and they were given to speak in other tongues. 285 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:13,480 In a special sense the Holy Spirit came that day and indwelt the church, a brand new act 286 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:14,800 on His part. 287 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:21,380 And He's continued to indwelt every believer in this whole age, the moment we're saved. 288 00:23:21,380 --> 00:23:31,840 I believe that the inference here is that the Holy Spirit, resident in the church, will 289 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:36,860 be withdrawn and then the Antichrist will come. 290 00:23:36,860 --> 00:23:44,000 In other words, the rapture will occur before Antichrist can come on the scene. 291 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:48,480 The Holy Spirit will still be here ministering in the world, but He will be taken out of 292 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:51,840 the way as you and I are removed through the rapture. 293 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:57,680 To put it a different way, I think that right now the Holy Spirit working in your life and 294 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:02,680 in mine is what restrains sin. 295 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:09,240 Satan would love to do so much more right now, if only he could, but he cannot because 296 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:11,780 you are here. 297 00:24:11,780 --> 00:24:16,720 And your life makes an impact upon the world for righteousness. 298 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:24,320 That restrains lawlessness, so it cannot bring forth its full work. 299 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:30,860 But when we who are part of the church are taken out, and the Holy Spirit pulls back 300 00:24:30,860 --> 00:24:38,280 as it were, is taken out of the way, then the man of sin will come on the scene. 301 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:42,680 Now it may be that we will have some idea as to who this man will be before we're 302 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,560 taken out, but we may not too. 303 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:49,440 It won't bother me a great deal if I don't. 304 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:53,760 So that's the second reason that I believe that the church will be taken out before the 305 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:59,100 tribulation, because of the relationship of the restrainer to the man of lawlessness. 306 00:24:59,100 --> 00:25:05,000 Reason number three, the relationship between Israel and the church. 307 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:09,960 Folks we must forever keep in mind that there is a distinction between Israel and the church. 308 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,840 The church is not Israel and Israel is not the church. 309 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,800 They are two entities. 310 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:22,000 It is true that we are all saved through faith by God's grace. 311 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:26,080 We are saved through the faith in God's promise of salvation. 312 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:28,720 We are all called saints of God. 313 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:32,720 We are all called God's elect, both Israel and the church. 314 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:38,120 But that does not mean that we are the same thing. 315 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:43,120 Israel is different from the church, and we see that even suggested in 1 Corinthians, 316 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:49,400 the passage we looked at some weeks ago in chapter 10, verse 32, where he says, Do not 317 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:56,880 cause anyone to stumble whether Jews, Greeks, or the church of God. 318 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:02,800 In other words, as the apostle looks at mankind, he sees man in three groups. 319 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:06,360 There are the Jews, Israel. 320 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:10,040 There are the Gentiles, the pagans, the non-Jews. 321 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:17,000 And then there is the church in a completely separate category from Israel, or from the 322 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:18,840 Gentiles for that matter. 323 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:23,320 The church is made up of both Jew and Gentile, and it doesn't make any difference which 324 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:25,600 one is anymore. 325 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:31,360 There's another suggestion in the New Testament regarding that, but I'm going to let that 326 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:35,000 pass because the time is going quick. 327 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:40,720 The church is called in the New Testament the virtuous bride of Jesus Christ. 328 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:42,340 Isn't that right? 329 00:26:42,340 --> 00:26:43,600 This is Valentine's Day. 330 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:47,240 Happy Valentine's Day, by the way. 331 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,200 This is the day we think about love. 332 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:54,120 The greatest love story in the world is the love story of Jesus Christ for his bride, 333 00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:56,000 the church. 334 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:01,440 And in 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, verse 2, the apostle says, I have espoused you as a 335 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:08,400 pure virgin to Jesus Christ. 336 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:11,920 That language is never used of Israel. 337 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:17,080 Israel is called the wife of Jehovah, not the bride of Christ. 338 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:24,280 Furthermore, she is called the adulterous bride of Jehovah. 339 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:32,480 She was married purely to the Lord at Mount Sinai, but as the years came on, she got involved 340 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:38,400 in idolatry, and God has accused Israel of spiritual adultery. 341 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:45,320 And consequently, Israel is now set aside, and God is dealing with the church, a group 342 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:52,360 of people he's calling out to be a pure bride for Jesus Christ. 343 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:57,680 Now I say that because the tribulation period, and I'm going to go back to the projector 344 00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:01,920 here, and also to wake some of you up, because it's kind of warm in here, and you're tired, 345 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:03,680 I think. 346 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:09,580 This period of the tribulation is uniquely Israel. 347 00:28:09,580 --> 00:28:17,320 It is the fulfillment of the last seven years that Daniel prophesied for the people. 348 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:21,080 It is not a time for the church. 349 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:27,760 It is a time when God will deal with this adulterous wife of his. 350 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:29,960 He will judge her. 351 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:36,840 She will repent of her spiritual adultery and be restored to the Lord. 352 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:39,720 That is what happens to Israel in that time of the tribulation. 353 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:44,080 It is not a time which deals with the church. 354 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:49,480 That's important to keep that distinction in mind, else we become confused. 355 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:54,120 There are some other ways that we know that the tribulation is a time for Israel. 356 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:59,640 In Jeremiah it's called a time of Jacob's trouble, not the church's trouble, but Jacob's 357 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:01,360 trouble. 358 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:10,440 In Revelation chapter 7, there are 144,000 Jews that are sealed as God's servants as 359 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:15,200 the tribulation period begins. 360 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:22,080 For those of you that are not familiar with Revelation chapters 6 through 19 are an outline, 361 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,520 generally, of the tribulation period. 362 00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:33,480 As that period begins, there are 144,000 Jews, 12 from each of 12 tribes or families, that 363 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:36,640 are sealed by God as his messengers. 364 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:43,280 And so the church is the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. 365 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:47,400 You and I who are saved now are a part of that body. 366 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:53,680 This is reflected in a poem by Martha Snell Nicholson entitled, I Come Quickly. 367 00:29:53,680 --> 00:30:01,320 Sickened with slaughter and weary of war, torn by bereavement and pain, daily our eyes 368 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:06,760 are searching the skies for signs of his coming again. 369 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:12,400 Longing we pray at dawning of day, Lord, wilt thou come before noon? 370 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:20,040 Imploring him yet in the fading sunset, O blessed Lord Jesus, come soon. 371 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:27,600 Precious the word, the ear of faith heard, Lo, I come quickly, my bride. 372 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:35,560 This longing of thine is not greater than mine, To have thee at last by my side. 373 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:41,880 A blessed truth that we are the bride of Jesus Christ and one day we will be at his side. 374 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,960 Now there's a fourth reason I believe that the rapture of the church will be before the 375 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:51,760 tribulation and that is because of the principle of deliverance before judgment. 376 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:57,360 Would you turn to the book of Revelation, please, or chapter 3. 377 00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:00,540 Revelation chapter 3, and we're going to look at verse 10. 378 00:31:00,540 --> 00:31:04,880 This is in the middle of the letter that the Lord writes to the church at Philadelphia. 379 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:11,560 In chapters 2 and 3 there are seven letters addressed to seven literal churches in Asia 380 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:13,280 Minor in that day. 381 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:19,280 They're written from the Lord through John to them. 382 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:23,600 They are more, however, than just historic churches. 383 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:29,560 Bible scholars see the seven letters here as a general outline of the flow of church 384 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:32,720 history. 385 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:39,520 The church at Philadelphia is usually identified as a symbol of the church, the faithful church 386 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:41,240 in the last day. 387 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:47,200 The Laodicean church being the unfaithful church in the last day, the worldly apostate 388 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:48,200 church. 389 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:54,360 But here we have the church at Philadelphia, a church that's reviving, a church that has 390 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:57,380 no word of condemnation written to it. 391 00:31:57,380 --> 00:32:04,960 And in verse 10 it says, since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also 392 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:12,220 keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those 393 00:32:12,220 --> 00:32:14,600 who live on the earth. 394 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:19,080 That's a promise that was given to Philadelphia, but is it just for that church 1900 years 395 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:20,080 ago? 396 00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:25,080 If you look at the language, I don't see how a person can say that this has no future 397 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:26,800 significance. 398 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:32,720 It talks about a trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live 399 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:34,640 on the earth. 400 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:39,560 Obviously, it seems to me that's talking about the tribulation period. 401 00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:45,880 And the promise given to this church representing the church of Christ in the last days is, 402 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:49,560 I will keep you from the hour of trial. 403 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:53,220 He does not say I will keep you safe through it. 404 00:32:53,220 --> 00:32:56,280 He says I will keep you from it. 405 00:32:56,280 --> 00:33:01,000 And the preposition is very clear in the original language. 406 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:05,200 He does not say I will keep you from the trial of that hour, but he says I will keep you 407 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:13,320 from that hour, that period of trial and tribulation that will come upon the earth. 408 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:18,520 So I think we have here a rather explicit word regarding the Lord's plan for the church. 409 00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:25,800 It's interesting that in chapter 4 and chapter 5 the scene switches to heaven, and then chapter 410 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:30,160 6 is back down to the earth where judgment begins. 411 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:36,540 And once that starts, there is no word about the church in the world, not a word. 412 00:33:36,540 --> 00:33:38,080 The word church is not used. 413 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:43,480 There's no indication that the church is in the world all the way through chapter 19 when 414 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,040 the tribulation ends. 415 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:50,120 But at the end of the book of Revelation the church is seen living in the city that the 416 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:53,120 Lord has prepared for her, the New Jerusalem. 417 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:58,680 Now why is the book of Revelation silent about the church in those chapters in the middle 418 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:00,320 of the book? 419 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:02,640 Well it seems to me the answer is clear. 420 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:07,120 The church is not on the earth where the tribulation takes place. 421 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:12,720 Israel is mentioned, the saints of God are mentioned, but nowhere does it refer to the 422 00:34:12,720 --> 00:34:18,460 church, the bride of Jesus Christ, as being a part of that whole scene. 423 00:34:18,460 --> 00:34:23,800 This idea of deliverance before judgment is one that's illustrated in the Old Testament. 424 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:30,240 For example, in Lot, Lot was a believer, though we would not know it from the Old Testament 425 00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:31,760 text, would we? 426 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:37,020 He lived in Sodom, an awful den of iniquity. 427 00:34:37,020 --> 00:34:42,480 God said, I'm going to reign judgment, well deserved, upon the cities of the plain, including 428 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:44,320 Sodom and Gomorrah. 429 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:48,300 But first he had to deliver Lot, didn't he? 430 00:34:48,300 --> 00:34:52,960 He practically had to drag Lot out of the city. 431 00:34:52,960 --> 00:35:00,520 But God withheld his wrath upon those cities until his child was out, and then the wrath 432 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:03,160 came. 433 00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:09,240 Seems to me that's an illustration of this principle of deliverance before judgment. 434 00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:13,720 Now there's a fifth reason, and we're going to move very quickly now, and that is that 435 00:35:13,720 --> 00:35:17,420 the coming of Christ is eminent. 436 00:35:17,420 --> 00:35:22,280 That word does not mean that the coming of the Lord is immediate, but it means that it's 437 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:27,480 the very next thing that could happen, that there's nothing to happen before this. 438 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:34,920 Turn with me to John chapter 14 as we look at some familiar and beloved verses, often 439 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:42,800 used at funerals, but certainly not intended to be limited to that. 440 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:48,120 Jesus says to his disciples, do not let your hearts be troubled, trust in God, trust also 441 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:50,040 in me. 442 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:54,520 In my Father's house are many rooms, if it were not so I would have told you. 443 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:59,880 I am going there to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I 444 00:35:59,880 --> 00:36:06,880 will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. 445 00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:12,500 Jesus literally meant, I am going away. 446 00:36:12,500 --> 00:36:18,200 He said, I am going to prepare a dwelling place in the Father's house for you, and 447 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:23,160 if I go away, I am going to come again. 448 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:27,640 It is only reasonable to think that he's talking literally here. 449 00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:34,920 I am going to come again and take you to be with me. 450 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:38,080 He does not say, I'm going to come and stay with you on the earth. 451 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:44,360 He says, I'm going to come and take you to be with me so that we'll be together. 452 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:52,360 I believe that our Lord here is building on the image of the oriental wedding. 453 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:54,960 Weddings were different then than today. 454 00:36:54,960 --> 00:37:00,520 The first place they begin with an engagement period is ours do, but usually the bride was 455 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:06,960 selected by the bridegroom and a price was paid to the bride's father. 456 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:09,280 Thankfully that isn't done anymore. 457 00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:14,840 But after the engagement period, when the day of the wedding arrived, the bridegroom 458 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:19,780 would come from his house to the bride's home. 459 00:37:19,780 --> 00:37:24,020 There was great preparation going on in her home for the arrival of the bridegroom. 460 00:37:24,020 --> 00:37:29,160 He would come and would take her out of her home, and together they would go back to his 461 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:30,680 home. 462 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:34,640 The wedding started the moment that they started that journey back to his house, and it was 463 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:36,640 climax there. 464 00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:42,480 And then often they would come back to the bride's home for another party, another celebration. 465 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:45,640 Do you see the parallel there? 466 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:50,760 We are now espoused or engaged to Jesus Christ, and there comes a day soon when our bridegroom 467 00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:58,720 will come to our home to take us with himself to his home, then to return with him ultimately 468 00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:04,160 to our home, the earth, and there to have a celebration. 469 00:38:04,160 --> 00:38:09,800 It seems to me that that is in the image here of our Lord's coming. 470 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:11,200 His coming is imminent. 471 00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:16,600 He says, if I go away, I will come back and take you to be with myself. 472 00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:20,640 The tribulation saints are exhorted to watch for signs. 473 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:23,160 They're said, look out for false Christ. 474 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:28,880 They're told, look out for the abomination of desolations. 475 00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:31,740 But the church is never told to look for signs. 476 00:38:31,740 --> 00:38:34,560 The church is told to look for the Savior. 477 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:36,520 There's a difference. 478 00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:41,840 And then the final reason I believe that our Lord's coming will be before the tribulation, 479 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:47,280 that is his coming for the church, is because of the events of the Millennial Kingdom. 480 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:53,000 And I ask you to take your eyes off your Bibles for just a moment and for some of you to open 481 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:59,620 them and to look up here. 482 00:38:59,620 --> 00:39:05,320 There are some events that are coming in the kingdom, this thousand year reign, that I 483 00:39:05,320 --> 00:39:11,040 think can only happen if the rapture occurs at this point. 484 00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:16,320 For example, when our Lord comes back to the earth, we'll come down here to this line, 485 00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:21,720 comes back to the earth at the conclusion of the tribulation period, there are two judgments 486 00:39:21,720 --> 00:39:24,120 that take place. 487 00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:30,620 One of them is upon the nation of Israel. 488 00:39:30,620 --> 00:39:36,120 The Jews are judged before they enter into the kingdom. 489 00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:42,400 A second judgment takes place, and by the way that judgment is in Ezekiel, a second 490 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:47,460 judgment takes place and it's the judgment of the Gentiles. 491 00:39:47,460 --> 00:39:51,280 This judgment is found in Matthew 25 and the judgment of the sheep and the goats. 492 00:39:51,280 --> 00:39:53,040 Remember that? 493 00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:56,960 That's a literal judgment that's going to take place. 494 00:39:56,960 --> 00:40:00,080 God is going to discern there who are the sheep and who are the goats. 495 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:05,320 In other words, the sheep represent those who have believed and the goats represent 496 00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:10,080 those who have not believed, who have rejected Christ. 497 00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:19,400 Those who are lost at that time will be killed and will go into the fire prepared for the 498 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:25,120 devil and his angels, according to that passage in Matthew 25. 499 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:31,520 Those who are saved of both Jew and Gentile at this time of judgment will enter into the 500 00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:35,480 kingdom. 501 00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:37,440 Now think with me a moment. 502 00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:41,840 If our Lord's coming was at this point, that is if His coming for the church was at this 503 00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:49,160 point, then all who would be saved would be in brand new bodies, wouldn't they? 504 00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:53,920 All the saved would be caught up and all the lost would be left on the earth. 505 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:59,440 There would be no need to discern between the saved and the lost because that would 506 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:01,280 be very, very clear. 507 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:06,040 All the saved would have been raptured and only the lost would be left on the earth. 508 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:10,120 So it seems to me because of this period of judgment that takes place at the beginning 509 00:41:10,120 --> 00:41:15,500 of the millennium, there has to be a period of time here between the rapture and our Lord's 510 00:41:15,500 --> 00:41:25,160 return to the earth so that there can be people saved during this period and a judgment discerning 511 00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:30,560 the saved and the lost will have to take place. 512 00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:34,760 Now there's another reason that I believe the Lord's coming has to be at least a few 513 00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:44,120 years before and that is that during the kingdom, the earth is going to be repopulated. 514 00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:48,120 In fact, the greatest population explosion the world has ever seen will occur during 515 00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:49,600 this thousand years. 516 00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:56,600 It will start out with just the saved entering into it, but they will enter into it in natural 517 00:41:56,600 --> 00:42:01,300 bodies, will repopulate the earth, the earth will be cultivated and restored to the beauty 518 00:42:01,300 --> 00:42:05,720 of the Garden of Eden as it were. 519 00:42:05,720 --> 00:42:09,720 If our Lord's coming for the church and the rapture were to take place here at His second 520 00:42:09,720 --> 00:42:14,680 coming, then there would be no saved people to enter into the kingdom in their natural 521 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:18,720 bodies to repopulate the earth. 522 00:42:18,720 --> 00:42:24,560 Consequently, there would be no population explosion and the prophecies about the kingdom 523 00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:27,920 could not be fulfilled. 524 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:34,760 If the rapture occurs here, then nobody can enter into the kingdom in their natural bodies, 525 00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:40,440 but they must for the prophecies about the kingdom to be fulfilled. 526 00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:44,820 And so we have to back up the rapture at this point so that there will be saved people to 527 00:42:44,820 --> 00:42:48,400 enter into the millennium who will be in their natural bodies. 528 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:53,600 Then there's one other event that occurs in the tribulation or rather in the kingdom 529 00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:56,760 that mandates this. 530 00:42:56,760 --> 00:43:03,220 At this period of time when the thousand years has ended, there is a great battle that takes 531 00:43:03,220 --> 00:43:08,240 place called the Battle of Gog and Magog, Revelation chapter 20. 532 00:43:08,240 --> 00:43:09,640 It is the last rebellion. 533 00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:14,200 Where is Satan during this thousand years? 534 00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:19,880 He is chained in the bottomless pit, in the abyss it's called, wherever that is. 535 00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:24,920 But he is released at the end of the thousand years and it says that he goes out to the 536 00:43:24,920 --> 00:43:28,080 four corners of the earth to deceive the nations. 537 00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:29,080 What happens? 538 00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:34,720 Well, as the earth is repopulated, new people born during this time will make a decision 539 00:43:34,720 --> 00:43:40,080 to accept allegiance to Jesus Christ who will be reigning on the earth or reject allegiance 540 00:43:40,080 --> 00:43:42,120 to him. 541 00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:46,080 There will be many who will reject allegiance to Christ. 542 00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:51,680 And so Satan will be released that these people may be gathered together and they will gather 543 00:43:51,680 --> 00:43:57,600 themselves in a great battle to march upon Jerusalem. 544 00:43:57,600 --> 00:44:03,160 And then it says fire will come down from heaven and destroy them and then the final 545 00:44:03,160 --> 00:44:06,640 judgments take place after that. 546 00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:12,280 Now that may be unclear, especially those of you who have not studied much in prophecy. 547 00:44:12,280 --> 00:44:18,180 I encourage you to get some materials that will help you to understand what's coming. 548 00:44:18,180 --> 00:44:21,440 But because of the events that are coming yet in the millennial period, it seems to 549 00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:28,680 me there has to be a period of time before the millennium that the rapture takes place, 550 00:44:28,680 --> 00:44:32,920 indeed before the tribulation too. 551 00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:37,560 Now all of this that we've been studying I hope is a lot more than dry, dusty, theological 552 00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:40,000 gibberish to you. 553 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:43,840 You see what we're talking about here is that time when we're going to be face to face with 554 00:44:43,840 --> 00:44:46,400 Jesus Christ. 555 00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:49,400 That's pretty significant. 556 00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:53,120 Right now we love him whom we've never seen, but someday folks we're going to see him face 557 00:44:53,120 --> 00:44:54,120 to face. 558 00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:58,560 And that time will be what we call the rapture. 559 00:44:58,560 --> 00:45:04,720 I think that all of us have fantasized maybe the word, trying to imagine where we might 560 00:45:04,720 --> 00:45:11,080 be when the Lord comes back and what that instant will be like as we are caught out 561 00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:12,080 of the world. 562 00:45:12,080 --> 00:45:17,560 A fellow named Gary Kleinpeter wrote a poem that was in Decision magazine several years 563 00:45:17,560 --> 00:45:19,680 ago and it goes like this. 564 00:45:19,680 --> 00:45:26,240 Cruising down the freeway just like any other day, the sky was full of clouds, the road 565 00:45:26,240 --> 00:45:28,000 full of cars. 566 00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:35,320 The radio telegraphed its slogans, its songs, its news to my ignoring ears. 567 00:45:35,320 --> 00:45:40,440 Then the blare of a trumpet reverberated through the car. 568 00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:43,160 My fingers flew to volume control. 569 00:45:43,160 --> 00:45:46,640 The radio was dead, but the trumpet was not. 570 00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:49,560 The car blurred away and was gone. 571 00:45:49,560 --> 00:45:54,640 And there came a swelling in my soul, a rapturous ecstasy. 572 00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:55,840 He's back. 573 00:45:55,840 --> 00:45:58,920 Praise God, Jesus is back. 574 00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:03,680 Well, it may not be on a freeway. 575 00:46:03,680 --> 00:46:06,280 It may be while we're asleep, but I'll tell you one thing. 576 00:46:06,280 --> 00:46:08,680 There's a day coming when that trumpet will sound. 577 00:46:08,680 --> 00:46:11,520 Are you ready for it? 578 00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:13,800 Are you right with God? 579 00:46:13,800 --> 00:46:16,800 Jesus' coming may be today, my friend. 580 00:46:16,800 --> 00:46:20,680 Are you ready to meet Him face to face? 581 00:46:20,680 --> 00:46:22,680 Let's bow together. 582 00:46:22,680 --> 00:46:33,000 Father, I pray that this truth of the Christ's coming, His soon coming, would purify our 583 00:46:33,000 --> 00:46:37,000 lives and motivate us to a holy living. 584 00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:43,080 May it motivate us too to hold fast and to stand firm in the faith and to involve ourselves 585 00:46:43,080 --> 00:46:52,040 fully in the work of the Lord, because our labor is not in vain in the Lord. 586 00:46:52,040 --> 00:46:56,960 I pray that if there are those friends here today who have spiritual need that as a result 587 00:46:56,960 --> 00:47:14,200 of the realization of Christ's soon coming, they will today get those needs met.