1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,820 Thank you, John. I appreciated the many who could commiserate with me over the broken 2 00:00:08,820 --> 00:00:13,800 mirror that I talked about this morning. If you add up all the years that the broken mirrors 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:21,080 amount to in our church, I wonder if we may be in the tribulation already. I don't know. 4 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:25,840 But this afternoon, there was a young man over northwestern that topped the broken mirror, 5 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:35,120 I'll guarantee you. I was coming after the wedding, I slipped out and went out a side 6 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:43,320 entrance at the chapel there at northwestern and went downstairs so that I could go to 7 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:49,000 the receiving line without going through the whole crowd. And as I was doing that, going 8 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:54,520 down the steps, echoing coming up from the steps was, shall we say language that is not 9 00:00:54,520 --> 00:01:00,880 often heard, I'm sure, at northwestern college. And as I went on down and saw what was taking 10 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:06,520 place, there was a young man who had slipped out of the wedding during the early part of 11 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:12,280 the recessional and he had gone down to ring the bell at Nazareth Hall. How many of you 12 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,560 ever heard it ring? I'd never heard it before today. I've had a number of weddings over 13 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:21,760 there. Well, here he is dressed up and he's a very dapper young guy dressed up in his 14 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:28,520 sharpest clothes, about 21 years of age. And he is standing there with his rope that goes 15 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:38,600 all the way up to the belfry in Nazareth Hall and he is covered with bat dung. Now tell 16 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:49,680 me if that doesn't beat a broken mirror. I'll take a broken mirror any day over that story. 17 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:59,640 So Nazareth Hall has bats in its belfry, we know. We know that to be a fact. Well, somehow 18 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:05,120 that seems to tie into the tribulation, which we're going to be talking about tonight. We 19 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:12,160 want to talk about the end of this age. And the subject that we have is a broad one. We 20 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:18,720 have to focus. We can't be too broad in our comments. We'd be here too long this evening. 21 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:27,360 Well let's just remind ourselves that this age is going to end with a period of seven 22 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:34,140 years that relate back to our study in the book of Daniel. Do you recall that in the 23 00:02:34,140 --> 00:02:41,120 ninth chapter of Daniel he was given understanding about the future of his people. The angel 24 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:53,080 told him that there would be 70 weeks of years or 70 times 7 or 490 years for his people. 25 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:57,780 And that at the end of that 490 years there would be six different things that would have 26 00:02:57,780 --> 00:03:02,560 been accomplished including the bringing in of righteousness and the anointing of the 27 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:10,920 most holy one, which we understand to refer to the reign of Messiah. The bringing in of 28 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:21,320 righteousness to the earth through his reign. And we have seen that God has fulfilled 483 29 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:31,440 of those years. God's clock stopped ticking with the presentation of the Messiah, most 30 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:38,560 likely the day when he entered into the city of Jerusalem, what we call Palm Sunday. And 31 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:45,080 the God's clock has been holding now for almost 2000 years waiting to finish the final 32 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:54,280 seven year period. Well that final seven years which is decreed for Israel is yet to be fulfilled 33 00:03:54,280 --> 00:04:01,360 and it is that period which is generally termed by Bible teachers as the tribulation. Now 34 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:06,280 we have to keep in mind that Jesus told us in John 14 and we are told in other places 35 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:13,280 that in this world we are going to have tribulation. The word tribulation means pressure, it's 36 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:20,640 stress. It's the kind of pressure and tribulation that comes upon us because we are different 37 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:28,720 than the world. The world hated Jesus and as it hated him it hates those of us who belong 38 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:38,000 to him and that presents a natural pressure, a tribulation that is always on the believer 39 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:44,480 in this world. That's a general kind of tribulation that we have more or less throughout our whole 40 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:51,600 lifetime. But there is a time coming which is termed as the tribulation and half of which 41 00:04:51,600 --> 00:05:01,720 is called the great tribulation. In this sense the tribulation is the period of judgment 42 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:12,040 when God is going to pour out upon the Christ rejecting world judgment and wrath because 43 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:23,540 of its rejection of the Savior. It's turning to the lie. During the last half of that seven 44 00:05:23,540 --> 00:05:29,760 year period or for a period of three and a half years there will be what is called great 45 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:37,580 tribulation. That is the suffering, the wrath, the judgment poured out by God upon the earth 46 00:05:37,580 --> 00:05:43,720 will grow exceedingly intense during that period of time. The first three and a half 47 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:51,440 will be bad enough. There will be war and famine and disease and martyrdom and physical 48 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:59,120 disturbances in the skies and upon the earth. All of those will increase and intensify as 49 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:06,080 the seven years plays out so that the last half of it is called the great tribulation. 50 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:12,280 Now the specific question that we want to address this evening is this. When does the 51 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:20,880 coming of Christ occur in relation to the tribulation? To answer that question we need 52 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:25,000 to keep in mind that the coming of Christ, the second coming of Christ is going to take 53 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:34,520 place in two phases. There is said to be a time when he will come for his people. That 54 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:42,680 is described for us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13 through 18. A marvelous paragraph 55 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:48,560 giving us the detail of the coming of Christ and that the dead in Christ will rise first 56 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:56,200 and then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds 57 00:06:56,200 --> 00:07:03,600 to meet the Lord in the air. It is that idea of being caught up or seized or snatched away 58 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:09,520 that gives us the basis for the word that we use to describe this coming of Christ, 59 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:16,180 the rapture. That comes from Latin but it is a Latin word describing the Greek there 60 00:07:16,180 --> 00:07:22,960 that means to seize or to snatch away. That is the first phase of the second coming of 61 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:30,640 Jesus Christ. The second phase is the time when he will return to earth and establish 62 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:36,280 his kingdom. The first phase will occur secretly to the world. That is the world will not see 63 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:43,120 him. Believers will see him, will hear him, will hear the sound of the trumpet that we 64 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:49,120 sung about this evening and be caught up to be with him. But the world at large will not 65 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:55,920 see him. Now obviously they will know something has happened but they will not see the Savior. 66 00:07:55,920 --> 00:08:02,280 In the second coming every eye will see him. His sign will appear in the heavens and he 67 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:08,080 will be seen coming with the hosts of his angels and he will destroy the armies of the 68 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:16,120 earth gathered to do battle at Armageddon and will then establish his royal kingdom 69 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:26,280 headquartered in Jerusalem. To more directly focus our question we want to talk tonight 70 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:34,600 about that first phase of Christ's second coming. When does that occur is the question 71 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:41,440 in relation to the tribulation. Now there are commonly three positions that are taken 72 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:48,320 by people who love God, love the Lord Jesus Christ, love the Bible like you and me. Godly 73 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:56,120 people differ on this. The three common positions are that the Savior will come at the end of 74 00:08:56,120 --> 00:09:03,360 the tribulation. That he will at that point catch up his people to be with him in the 75 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:09,760 skies and then will immediately return to the earth to establish his kingdom. That is 76 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:15,400 sometimes called post-tribulationalism. The second position is that the Savior will come 77 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:22,000 in the middle of the seven years just before the great tribulation begins, the last half 78 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:28,960 of the seven years. It's called obviously mid-tribulationalism. Then there is a third 79 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:34,320 position, the one that I adhere to, which we teach at our church although we don't 80 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:38,800 demand that everybody who comes here agree with this, but it is the position that Jesus 81 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:45,720 Christ is coming before the tribulation begins, before the seven years. Obviously this would 82 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:53,280 be called pre-tribulationalism. Tonight I want to talk about why I believe Jesus must 83 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:59,600 come before the tribulation. I have enough reasons to keep us here well past our time 84 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:04,920 so we'll just go as long as we can and then we'll stop. The first reason that I believe 85 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:13,240 Jesus must come before the tribulation is this, the relationship between the church 86 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:23,280 and the wrath of God. Would you turn please in your Bible to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 87 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:29,800 and look at the last two verses in that chapter. 1 Thessalonians is an epistle by Paul to the 88 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:34,760 believers of Thessalonica and at the end of every chapter he talks about the coming of 89 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:39,600 Christ. In verse 9 of the first chapter he says, 90 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:45,200 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you 91 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:53,360 turn to God from idols to serve a living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, 92 00:10:53,360 --> 00:11:02,280 whom he raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. You 93 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:08,760 notice that last phrase, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. You need to keep 94 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:15,040 in mind that the tribulation period is not just merely a time of suffering on the earth 95 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:23,120 because of man's sin. It is a time of suffering because God is going to supernaturally pour 96 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:33,480 out judgments upon the earth. It is a time of his expressed wrath upon mankind because 97 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:40,680 of its unbelief and rebellion against him. In Revelation chapter 6 and verse 17, the 98 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:45,560 picture is given there of the tribulation having begun and people suffering under it 99 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:54,680 and they speak about hiding us from the wrath of him who sits upon the throne. They recognize 100 00:11:54,680 --> 00:12:04,020 that this is a supernatural judgment come upon them and they speak of it as wrath. 101 00:12:04,020 --> 00:12:07,740 Those of us who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ and who are therefore a part of his 102 00:12:07,740 --> 00:12:16,920 called out body of this age, the church, have already been delivered from the wrath of God. 103 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:22,720 We are in a perpetual state of being delivered from God's wrath. I am convinced that the 104 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:28,640 New Testament teaches that never will the wrath of God touch the church because his 105 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:37,600 wrath has already fallen upon the Savior for our sins and on our behalf. There is no double 106 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:48,240 jeopardy with God. God has already judged our sin in Christ. Because of that, he will 107 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:56,360 not allow his wrath to come upon us. Tribulation in a general sense, yes. Suffering, yes. But 108 00:12:56,360 --> 00:13:01,520 not his wrath that he pours out upon Christ's rejectors. 109 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:07,800 In the last chapter of this book of 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, there is another statement, verse 110 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:17,040 9, that says, for God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through 111 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:23,240 our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live 112 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:29,640 together with him. That awake or asleep doesn't refer to what some people do in church, one 113 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:36,200 or the other, but it's referring metaphorically to being alive or dead. And he says whether 114 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:41,600 we are awake or asleep, it makes no difference. The Savior is coming and we will live together 115 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:48,320 with him. That is the context of salvation in verse 9. It's not merely salvation from 116 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:54,440 sin, but it's salvation from the grave and from the world. And he says that God has destined 117 00:13:54,440 --> 00:14:03,000 us not for wrath, but for salvation. That wrath is further defined, I think, in the 118 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:09,320 context here as judgment at the end of the age by verse 3. He says, while they are saying 119 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:16,440 peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly, like birth pangs upon 120 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:22,860 a woman with child, and they shall not escape. And so in the context here, he is talking 121 00:14:22,860 --> 00:14:28,360 about destruction from God. He is talking about God's judgment upon the earth. And 122 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:34,640 it will come, he says, when men are saying peace and safety has finally arrived. The 123 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:43,160 golden age has dawned. The new age has begun. Mankind has begun his utopia. Nothing more 124 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:50,180 now to fear. Peace and safety throughout the world. And then from God comes destruction 125 00:14:50,180 --> 00:14:58,000 and judgment upon the earth. And it will come suddenly, just like travail upon a woman who 126 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:04,760 is with child. And they shall not escape, says Paul. Now in that same context as he 127 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:14,000 is talking about wrath and judgment, he says God has not appointed us to wrath. And so 128 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:20,000 I believe that one reason the church must be taken out of the world before the tribulation 129 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:24,080 is because of the relationship between the church and the wrath of God. The two have 130 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:31,760 nothing to do with each other. That is by the grace of God, of course. It's not because 131 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:36,800 we deserve that, but it's because God in his goodness has reached down and through 132 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:43,560 Christ saved us from the wrath we deserve. Let me go on to a second reason I believe 133 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:48,200 that Jesus must come before the tribulation period, not only because of what the tribulation 134 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:54,640 is and the relation of the church to it, but because of the relationship between the Holy 135 00:15:54,640 --> 00:16:03,080 Spirit and the main character of the tribulation period. That is the man of lawlessness, the 136 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:09,400 Antichrist. We're going to look in more detail at the Antichrist in our study of the 137 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:16,080 last part of Daniel 11 next week. But for tonight would you turn with me to 2 Thessalonians 138 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:24,240 just over a page or two from where we are and look in the second chapter. Let me begin 139 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:31,400 reading in verse 3 where it says, Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come 140 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:39,680 unless the apostasy comes first, that is the day of the Lord. And the man of lawlessness 141 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:48,320 is revealed the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God 142 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:54,100 or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple of God displaying himself 143 00:16:54,100 --> 00:17:03,160 as being God. Now what we're talking about here really is the future abomination of desolations. 144 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:10,800 Remember that phrase from this morning? It is that future time when the Antichrist, the 145 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:20,280 future Antiochus the fourth, will establish in the temple in Jerusalem a new image of 146 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:28,040 himself. The next time it won't be the image of Zeus or Jupiter as it was back in the days 147 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:35,480 of Antiochus. But it will be an image of Antichrist himself which will be given the appearance 148 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:44,120 of life by the deceptive miracles of Satan according to what is said in the book of Revelation. 149 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:49,600 And Antichrist will demand just as Antiochus did that the Jews worship him and that all 150 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:57,160 the earth worship him there in the temple in Jerusalem. That is the man of lawlessness. 151 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:05,880 Verse 6 goes on to say, And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he 152 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:13,500 may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains 153 00:18:13,500 --> 00:18:20,560 will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then that lawless one will be revealed 154 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:27,280 whom the Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance 155 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:33,400 of his coming. That is the one who's coming is in accord with the activity of Satan with 156 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:39,280 all power and signs and false wonders and with all the deception of wickedness for those 157 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:46,240 who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 158 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:53,280 Now there is a certain relationship that is drawn up here between what is called the restrainer 159 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:59,640 and this man of lawlessness, the Antichrist. And the apostle indicates that the spirit 160 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:06,560 or the mystery of lawlessness or Antichrist was already at work in the first century. 161 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:12,240 The apostle John says the same thing a few years later as he writes the book of 1 John. 162 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:20,360 The spirit of Antichrist has been at work in the world for 2,000 years. But the personification 163 00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:30,000 of Antichrist has not been revealed. He has not come and he cannot come. He is being restrained. 164 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:37,080 Even if Satan tonight wanted to present Antichrist to the world he could not do so because that 165 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:43,880 whole thing is restrained supernaturally by God so it cannot come yet. 166 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:48,960 The question is what is it that restrains? Well Bible teachers give several answers to 167 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:56,880 this. It seems to me the best one is that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit. And particularly 168 00:19:56,880 --> 00:20:07,400 the Holy Spirit as he dwells in the church, the body of believers. You are a restraint 169 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:13,840 in this society. I don't recall the exact figures but there have been polls that have 170 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:21,960 been conducted which have gotten to the point of the effect of people like you in society 171 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:31,200 and what a difference it makes. Your presence in the world is a restraint upon evil. That 172 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:37,000 is one reason that you face pressure out there and tribulation. Because your very presence 173 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:42,400 in that office or in that neighborhood, your very presence there, your life, your words 174 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:49,440 causes evil to shrink back and not do all that it would if you were not there. 175 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:55,200 Now Paul says here that there is a day coming when the restrainer will be taken out of the 176 00:20:55,200 --> 00:21:03,800 way. And all of these plans that Satan has for Antichrist's coming will then be allowed 177 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:11,920 to proceed. I believe that the taking away of the restrainer, the Holy Spirit, is identical 178 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:20,400 with the taking out of the world of the church. That it is the removal of God's people in 179 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:28,320 one dramatic instant when millions of people around the world will disappear and the righteous 180 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:34,080 and godly influence of God's people is no longer here. That when that instant comes 181 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:40,520 it's going to be like a gush of lawlessness that will go throughout the world. Now it 182 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:48,360 is pent up, it is held back like a dike on a flooding river. But one day that dike is 183 00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:54,040 going to be removed. The restrainer will be gone as the Holy Spirit is removed in the 184 00:21:54,040 --> 00:22:01,200 lives of believers as believers go home to be with Christ. And then there will be a flooding 185 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:06,880 of lawlessness throughout the world and that Antichrist that Satan is preparing even now 186 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:15,600 will be revealed. That's another reason I believe that Jesus must come before the tribulation 187 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:21,440 for when he comes he will then remove us and the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit 188 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:32,040 allowing the Antichrist, the main figure of the last seven years of this age, to be revealed. 189 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:39,000 Now there is a third reason that I believe that Jesus must come before the tribulation 190 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:51,600 period and that is this, that the tribulation is Jewish in its very nature. The seventh 191 00:22:51,600 --> 00:23:02,200 or seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy does not deal with the church. It only deals indirectly 192 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:10,320 with the Gentile nations. It is the final week of the seventy that deals with Daniel's 193 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:19,200 people. It is important in interpreting the Bible to make a distinction between Daniel's 194 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:26,800 people, the Jews and Israel, and God's people in this age which are both Jew and Gentile 195 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:35,960 together in one body, the church. If one does not make that distinction then he has led 196 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:43,760 to a quagmire of confusion in interpreting the Bible. I believe it's a basic distinction 197 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:48,640 that must be made and God himself seems to make it, for example even in 1 Corinthians 198 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:55,760 chapter 10 verse 32. It speaks about three groups in the world. It talks about the church 199 00:23:55,760 --> 00:24:07,920 and the Gentiles and the Jews. And in our world today those same three groupings exist. 200 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:16,800 Billions of Gentiles throughout the earth, a few million Jews and a few million who are 201 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:22,360 part of the church of Jesus Christ. So as God sees the world, he not only sees saved 202 00:24:22,360 --> 00:24:27,740 and unsaved, that's one division, but we can also say that he sees the distinction 203 00:24:27,740 --> 00:24:35,240 of Jew and Gentile and the church. Now the last seven years of this age, the tribulation 204 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:44,280 period is a time that is Jewish in its focus. It is the fulfillment not only of Daniel 205 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:52,760 9.27, but it is the fulfillment of other prophecies in both the Old and New Testaments that relate 206 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:58,440 to Israel. One of them is in Jeremiah chapter 30 verses 4 through 11. I'm not going to 207 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,920 take time to read it, but you may want to note it because it is a time that is said 208 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:14,680 to be Jacob's trouble. Jacob of course being the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. 209 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:21,600 The time of Jacob's trouble is foreseen by Jeremiah the prophet. It is the time of the 210 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:27,920 end. It is a time that the Jews have not yet experienced. It is the time that is called 211 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:34,600 elsewhere, the 70th week of Daniel or the tribulation. And as you look in the book of 212 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:42,020 the Revelation, in those chapters of Revelation, that is the last book of the New Testament 213 00:25:42,020 --> 00:25:49,880 that deal with the tribulation upon the earth, chapters 4 through 19, you will find reference 214 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:59,200 to the Jewish people. It is made very clear for example in chapter 12 where Israel is 215 00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:06,600 symbolized by a woman who gives birth to a male child who is Christ. The focus of God's 216 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:14,920 people on the earth in the tribulation period is not the church, it is Israel. Now why is 217 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:21,120 that? Well the logical reason is that the church is not here in the tribulation period. 218 00:26:21,120 --> 00:26:26,920 It is interesting to note that in chapters 1, 2, and 3 of the book of Revelation the 219 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:34,440 word church is used several times as our Lord dictates seven letters to the seven churches 220 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:42,960 of Asia Minor, to the church at Smyrna. The word church is used, but when you get past 221 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:49,400 chapter 3 and you begin chapter 4, no longer is the church mentioned. And it reverts back 222 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:55,160 to the emphasis upon the Jews. There are saved people who are mentioned, Gentiles, great 223 00:26:55,160 --> 00:27:02,120 multitudes of them who are saved in the tribulation period, but the church is not mentioned. I 224 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:09,240 was talking with a friend of mine who takes the position of post-tribulationalism about 225 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:14,960 this a couple of weeks ago in a group, and we pointed this out to him that the church 226 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:20,080 is not mentioned upon the earth in the tribulation period, and he pointed out rightly so that 227 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:28,040 it is not mentioned in heaven either. And that is true. However, there are some individuals 228 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:33,680 in heaven that we believe symbolize the church, the 24 elders. Now the question might come 229 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,760 to mind, well why is it called the church upon the earth and then the term is not used 230 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:46,200 in heaven, but we believe that these 24 elders who are seen there symbolize the church. And 231 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:51,600 the answer to that may be difficult to find, but for myself I believe that it is that the 232 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:57,280 nature of the believer changes once we get to heaven. Here on the earth we are those 233 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:02,600 who are called out from other people, but that won't be true there. We will be the 234 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:09,760 people. And so we will not be the called out ones in the sense that we are a remnant among 235 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:17,280 many others, and therefore the church, the called out ones. Once we arrive in heaven, 236 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:23,880 we are the church. We are the 24 elders who are around Christ's throne. And so the very 237 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:30,560 nature of what we are and our identity is somewhat changed after the rapture. Well my 238 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:36,040 main point here is this, that the tribulation period, this time of judgment upon the earth, 239 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:41,640 focuses on the Jewish people and not upon the church. It is not mentioned in reference 240 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:48,800 to the tribulation. Another reason that I believe that Jesus must come before the tribulation 241 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:54,400 period is a basic principle that God seems to follow in his word, and that is the principle 242 00:28:54,400 --> 00:29:03,240 of his justice to deliver his own before judgment comes. I'm not taking time to discuss the 243 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:08,560 ways that God always does that, but just think with me regarding the fact that when God is 244 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:15,920 pouring out his judgment upon the earth or upon a people in particular, he delivers his 245 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:22,480 own. For example Noah, who lived in the time before the flood and of course through the 246 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:29,160 flood, before God poured out his wrath upon the earth as it was in those days, he provided 247 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:34,560 for Noah's protection and delivered him from that wrath. He went into the ark and the wrath 248 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:44,960 came upon the earth. You think too of Lot, who was taken out of Sodom before God poured 249 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:51,400 the fire and brimstone upon the cities of the plain. In fact it seems as though that 250 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:58,200 the angel had to get Lot out of the city before the judgment could come. So we see the same 251 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:04,160 principle. We see it also in Rahab, the city of Jericho. She was delivered. The city was 252 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:08,840 destroyed. The people were destroyed, but not Rahab, who had become a believer in the 253 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:15,920 God of the Israelites. It seems to me perfectly consistent then before God officially pours 254 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:22,640 out his wrath upon the earth, that he will likewise deliver his own before that time 255 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:23,640 of judgment. 256 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:30,120 Well, I'm looking down my list here to pick out one more thing that I think would be important 257 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:38,640 to say. I think it's this. It is only the ones who believe in the coming of Christ before 258 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:47,960 the pre-tribulation who can honestly believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ. That 259 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:57,880 is, that he may come at any moment. Even the apostle Paul in the first century had the 260 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:07,800 sense that Jesus could come in his own lifetime. There was about the church in the early part 261 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:15,400 of the age that sense that the coming of Christ may be at any moment. That is our position. 262 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:21,080 However, if you take the position that Jesus is going to come in the middle of the tribulation 263 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:27,220 or at the end of it, what? Well, you've either got three and a half or seven years 264 00:31:27,220 --> 00:31:34,160 of things that must take place before he can return. 265 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:39,920 So it is those who believe that Jesus must come before the tribulation who can honestly 266 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:46,360 say Jesus may come tonight. There is nothing in the plan of God to forbid the Savior's 267 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:51,800 return, nothing whatsoever. There is no coming of Antichrist. There is no temple that has 268 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:59,840 to be built in Jerusalem. There is no positioning of certain powers in Europe or in Palestine 269 00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:06,240 or in Russia that has to take place before he comes. There is nothing. The very next 270 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:13,100 thing that occurs on God's calendar really is the coming of Christ for the church. Once 271 00:32:13,100 --> 00:32:18,160 that takes place, a lot of things happen very, very quickly. 272 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:22,000 But tonight we believe that Jesus may come. You say, what difference does all of this 273 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:29,640 make? Just what we're talking about. For if I truly believe that Jesus could come tonight, 274 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:38,560 that's going to change the way that I live. In Thessalonians, in the, well, we don't 275 00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:43,880 have time to look at that, but let me just mention to you 1 John chapter 3, then we'll 276 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:55,000 close. 1 John chapter 3, would you just turn there quickly? In verse 2 it says, Beloved, 277 00:32:55,000 --> 00:33:00,720 now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know 278 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:06,640 that when he appears, we shall be like him. What does John have in mind here? There's 279 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:14,080 no question. He has in mind the rapture. He says, we know that when he appears, we shall 280 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:23,800 be like him, as Paul says, changed. Because we shall see him just as he is. And everyone 281 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:30,640 who has this hope fixed on him purifies himself just as he is pure. What difference does all 282 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:35,880 of this make? It makes a difference in the way that I live. Because if Jesus may come 283 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:43,640 tonight, then I want my life to be clean. I want my life to be pure. I want to be found 284 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:51,720 holy and blameless before him at his coming. Don't you? I want to be found faithful, as 285 00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:57,960 we heard sung earlier in the service. So that when he appears, we'll not have to be ashamed, 286 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:05,640 but we may be confident before him at his coming. The Savior is coming again. I'd like 287 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:13,080 for us to sing about that just one more time today as we've emphasized this theme. And 288 00:34:13,080 --> 00:34:22,000 I want us to ask ourselves this question, will Jesus find us watching? Let's turn to 289 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:31,800 257, the words of Fanny Crosby. And we will sing verses 1 and 4 of this old hymn of the 290 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:39,120 church. Let's stand together as we sing and ask ourselves this question, when he comes, 291 00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:46,160 and it may be tonight, will he find me watching and prepared? Let's sing it together. 257 292 00:34:46,160 --> 00:34:48,160 verses 1 and 4. 293 00:34:48,160 --> 00:35:08,160 When Jesus comes to reward his servants, whether it be noon or night, 294 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:22,160 faithful to him will he find us watching with our lamps all trimmed and bright? 295 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:46,160 Oh, can we say we are ready, brother, ready for the soul's bright home? Say, will he find you and me still watching, waiting, waiting when the Lord shall come? 296 00:35:46,160 --> 00:36:00,160 Verse 4 Blessed are those whom the Lord finds watching, in his glory they shall share. 297 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:24,160 If he shall come at the dawn or midnight, will he find us watching there? Oh, can we say we are ready, brother, ready for the soul's bright home? 298 00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:42,160 Say, will he find you and me still watching, waiting, waiting when the Lord shall come? 299 00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:51,160 Whether that be tonight or tomorrow with the rising of the sun or the noon day or if it be in God's providence ten years from now, 300 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:56,160 may he find us ready and watching. Let's pray. 301 00:36:56,160 --> 00:37:07,160 Father, thank you for the blessed hope of the believer. We thank you that our hope is not the tribulation, but rather that it is the coming of the Savior, 302 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:13,160 who will snatch us away from this earth and take us to that home that he has prepared for us. 303 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:22,160 Thank you for delivering us from the wrath that is to come, for appointing us to salvation and not to judgment. 304 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:34,160 O God, we acknowledge to you humbly that that is your grace active in our behalf, for surely we deserve wrath, we deserve judgment in our sin. 305 00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:43,160 But you have saved us and called us out as the church to be Christ's own bride. O, may we be faithful. 306 00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:50,160 Lord, may our lamps be trimmed and burning brightly and witnessing in our community. 307 00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:57,160 Lord, may we be alert and awake and watching for the Savior's return. 308 00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:06,160 May that make a difference in the way that we live this week. In Jesus' name, amen. Good night.