The Concern About the Day of the Lord

So good to have you with us tonight. Let's bow in a word of prayer and we'll begin, all right? Father, we are grateful for today and all the things that you do. We are grateful that, Lord, we can spend some time in your word. We realize, Lord, that the power of your word does so many great and marvelous things. And we trust that our time together this evening would be rich for all of us. We learned some things and that you challenge us. Help us to be open and receptive to your word, to let your word speak for what it is.

Not to try to read things into it, but just to let it sit and speak to us. For your word is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces to the depth of a man's soul, and for that we are grateful. And our prayer, Lord, is that you would open our eyes, our heart, our ears, that we might just hunger and desire more of your word. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. If you got your Bible, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, probably one of the most definitive studies in the Scripture on the rise of Antichrist is 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

And it comes at a time in which the people in Thessalonica had to understand what the day of the Lord was. That's why we spent the last couple of weeks looking at the characteristics surrounding the day of the Lord, simply because there are so many things in Scripture concerning that particular day. Tonight, we look at the concern surrounding the day of the Lord, simply because in chapter 1, remember, he tries to console them because of all of their adversity, and now he's going to correct them on their view of prophecy, and that's because someone had come to the church, and through another spirit, spirit of, quote, Antichrist, or through a message or through a letter that they said was signed by the Apostle Paul, and tried to help them or make them believe they were in the day of the Lord.

And I read that, and I think to myself, you know, that's so interesting, because these people were disturbed. They were shocked. Let me read it to you, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse number 1, now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the gathering together to him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure, or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter, as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

So they were disturbed, they were shaken, just because they thought that they were in the day of the Lord. Now Paul had already taught them in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 13 to 18, about the translation of the church into glory, where the dead in Christ will rise first, and we who are alive remain, shall be cut up together with them in the air, so shall we ever be with the Lord.

And then he talked to them about the day of the Lord, and the pronouns that he uses helps them to understand that they are not of the darkness, but they are of the day, or of the light. They are not of the night. For those that are of the night, those that are of the dark, they will experience the wrath of God. But those who are of the day, those who are of the light, no, they will not. And so he affirms that in them. Well somebody came in between letter number 1 and letter number 2, and convinced them that they were in the day of the Lord.

So now he has to correct that view, has to help them understand something, which tells me something very unique. You know, if someone came to you and said, you know, can you give me your view on prophecy? You could tell them your view, and you could say, well you know what, it's all going to work itself out in the end anyway, right? Does anybody really care? Well those in Thessalonica, they cared. So much so, that they were shaken and disturbed that they thought they had missed the translation of the church into glory.

And they actually thought they were in the day of the Lord. If someone came to you and said, you know what, you're in the day of the Lord, what would your response be? You'd be like, okay, well who's the Antichrist? We've become very cavalier about end times, but prophecy is so important in Scripture. My plan for the fall is to go through the book of Daniel, and talk about how one book is so centered on the future, and how so much is unveiled in the book of Daniel concerning Israel, and the Antichrist, and the tribulation, and the end, and how kings rise to power.

We think about what's happening right now with Russia, in the UK, and all that's taken place, how we are literally on the verge of war. And what does that mean with Ezekiel 38, and the rise of Russia to power, when you read about prophecy? And when you read about Gog, and Magog, and Tubal, and Meshach, and all that surrounds in those ancient countries coming back into play again, and how it unveils itself even today. As we sit on the brink of a world war, not that there's going to be nuclear bombs shot all over the place, but we get so enamored with what's happening in our country, so overwhelmed with all that's taken place in our country, with the Democrats today wanting to draw up legislation to pack the Supreme Court, and so that's going to be on the agenda over the next week or so.

And then what's happening in Minnesota, and the riots that are there, and the shootings. We get so wrapped up in that, we don't even know what's going on around the world. But what's going on around the world is huge, when you put it into prophetic perspective. And so here is these people in Thessalonica, and they're wondering, you know, what's going on? Are we in the day of the Lord? And so evidently some spirit, someone who had an Antichrist spirit. Now we know about Antichrist, and Paul knew about Antichrist, and John knew about Antichrist, everybody did.

To some degree, back in 1 John chapter 2, verse number 18, these words are given, Children, it is at the last hour. And just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have appeared. From this we know that it is the last hour. So there is coming the Antichrist. But on top of that, there are many Antichrists, many who are against the Christ. There is one coming who is a supreme individual that's against the Christ, but there are also many of those that are against the Christ.

Or you could translate it, in the place of. Because the Antichrist wants to be in the place of the true Messiah. And then down in verse number 22 of the same chapter, Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. That's the spirit of Antichrist. The one who denies the Father and the Son. Because the ultimate Antichrist, capital A, is the one who's going to come and take the place of Messiah and deceive Israel into thinking that he is their true Messiah.

Says over in chapter 4, verse number 3, And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. So John is saying there are many attitudes that are Antichrist. But there is one coming who is the Antichrist. Now how do they know this? Who told them about Antichrist? Well if you're Jewish and you understand Old Testament, you understand Daniel 7, Daniel 8, Daniel 9, and Daniel 11.

And all those chapters, those four chapters, speak immensely concerning Antichrist. In fact, in Daniel chapter 7, verse number 8, it describes the Antichrist as a little horn. That is, he rises from utter obscurity and becomes very, very prominent. But Daniel describes him as a little horn. He describes him as one with eyes like the eyes of a man, indicating his intelligence, as well as a mouth uttering great boasts. In other words, he has great oratory skills, and he's very arrogant. He also says in Daniel 7, verse number 21, that he is relentless against God's people because he wages war with the saints and overpowers them.

He wages war with the saints and overpowers them. Verse number 23 of Daniel 7, he says that he will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. Why? Because the empire of the Antichrist will be the greatest world power in the history of the world. It goes on to say in verse number 25 that he is depicted as a blasphemer, one who speaks out. The Bible also describes this Antichrist as the prince who is to come in Daniel 9. If time permits this evening, I'll take you to Daniel 9, because Daniel 9, verse 27, is the single greatest prophetic prophecy given in scripture when it comes to the precision of prophecy.

And Daniel happens to be able to have a bird's eye view of all that's going to take place with the nation of Israel, because God reveals it to him. And he's called in Daniel 9, the prince who is to come. In Daniel 11, he's called the king who does as he pleases. In Zechariah 11, he's called the foolish and worthless shepherd, because he is contrasted with the true shepherd. In Revelation 11, 13, 14, and 19, he's called the beast. And that's how we know him the best. He's called the beast who rises out of the sea.

And here in 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul describes in this way, in verse number 3, So he's the man of lawlessness. He's the man who loves sin, and he is the man who is the son of destruction. Who opposes and exalts himself, verse 4, above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? So in other words, what's in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5 is not all that Paul told them.

But right now, he reveals to us what I've already told you about this son of destruction, this man of lawlessness, this man who leads the apostasy. Don't you remember the things that I have told you? Which really is very encouraging for us, because we are a lot like the Thessalonians. We forget things, right? We hear it being taught on Sunday or Wednesday, and we go home and we take notes, and we try to memorize what was said, and try to go home and study what was said, and then a month or two later, or a year later, we completely forget what was said.

And so Paul is going to just remind them, because to be able to remind people of what they've been taught, and to go over it again, and again, and again, remember repetition is the mother of learning, right? And so you want to keep repeating the same thing over and over again so people understand it, they can grasp it. So what he's going to do is say, look, I've already told you these things. And then he says this, he says, verse 6, and you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, only he who now restrains him will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his coming. That is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power, and signs, and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

So what Paul does is he unveils for them once again the things that he's already taught them, but they were disturbed, they were shaken that they had already encountered the day of the Lord. And Paul says, look, the Antichrist is not even here yet. And if the Antichrist is here, then you know you're in the day of the Lord. But because he is not here, you know that you're not. And that's going to bring them great encouragement. It's going to bring them great relief. You see, we forget how important God's word is to our everyday living.

Remember way back in the book of Proverbs, the third chapter, listen to what Solomon says in verse number 12, excuse me, verse number 13 of chapter 3 of Proverbs.

How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding. For her profit, that is wisdom, wisdom's profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain better than fine gold. In other words, wisdom is better than silver and wisdom is better than gold. Now, how can that possibly be? Well, he tells us, she, wisdom is more precious than jewels and nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand and her left hand are riches and honor. In other words, wisdom does for you what jewels can't do.

Wisdom does for you, understanding does for you what gold and silver cannot do because there's something rich about wisdom. There's something that brings honor that comes through wisdom. And there's also a long life. Read on, it says, her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace. Wisdom gives you peace. Understanding gives you peace. Very important. Riches and jewels and silver don't necessarily give you peace. They might make life a little bit more comfortable for you, but they don't rest the soul.

So he says, she, wisdom is a tree of life to those who take hold of her and happy are all who hold her fast. In other words, get a grip on wisdom. Hold wisdom fast. Then he says in verse number 21, my son, let them not vanish from your sight. Keep sound wisdom and discretion so that they will be life to your soul and the dormant to your neck. Then you will walk in your way securely and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Don't be afraid of sudden fear, nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. See the benefits of wisdom and understanding. There's something that about them that gives you peace. That's why we said on Sunday, Psalm 119, 165, great peace have those who love their law and nothing causes them to stumble. There's something about the law of God that gives you great peace, not just peace, but great peace and nothing causes you to stumble.

Well, those in Thessalonica were stumbling. They had no peace because someone with another spirit had come into their assembly and they had this letter that supposedly had been signed by Paul, so they were counterfeits and they wanted to cause disruption in the assembly and tell them that they were already in the day of the Lord, but they weren't. That's why it's so important for us as believers to know what God's word says, not just about prophetic things, but about all things, because if you're firmly grounded in the scriptures, if you're solid with the truth of God's word, then your faith cannot be disturbed.

You'll be able to talk to people reasonably because you're going to talk to them from a point of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, and with that comes honor. With that comes riches that money cannot buy because those riches specifically in scripture deal with the character and nobility of a person, and that's what happens when you have wisdom. And so Paul is going to give them wisdom. He's going to take them back to scripture, and so what he says in chapter two is just a part of all that he explains to them, but what it does for us is that unveils to us the greatness of the rise of Antichrist, and how do you know what's going to take place when he comes?

And so we're going to take you verse by verse through that, but before we do, and before we take you back to the book of Daniel and open up to you that great prophecy in Daniel 9, 24 to 27 that tells you that 173,880 days, the exact amount of days for the time that King Artaxerxes gives a decree in 445 B.C., on March 14th, 445 B.C. to be exact, according to the book of Nehemiah 2 verses 1 to 8, from that time, 173,880 days later, Messiah will come into Jerusalem, and you know what? He did, on the exact day of the prophecy of Daniel 9, 24 to 27.

It is the most remarkable prophecy in all of Scripture, because it's so precise, it's so exact, and God makes sure that Daniel gets it, because Daniel would be a key prophet when it comes to Israel's future, and them understanding what God was going to do in them and through them in the 70 weeks of Daniel's prophecy. But the question always comes to me, and it's a great question, because people know that I believe in a pre-tribulational rapture, and so people want to ask me, why do I believe in that?

What is it about Scripture that causes me to convince that the church will be translated before the coming day of the Lord, and specifically before the great and terrible day of the Lord? Before the Antichrist ever unveils himself? Now, it could be that the Antichrist is alive and well on planet Earth today. We don't know that, right? He will be a man who is absolutely demon-possessed, okay? And so Satan will fill that man, and that man might be here even today. It might even be Joe Biden, who knows?

It could have been Donald Trump. It wasn't. It could have been Bill Clinton. It wasn't. It might even still be Barack Obama. I don't know, but it's probably somebody that's not from America. So you need to keep that in the back of your mind, because Daniel 9's prophecy tells us that he comes from Rome, not from America. Now we know that there have been many people that are Antichrist. I mean, way back when, people thought Hitler was the Antichrist. They thought Stalin was the Antichrist, okay? So throughout time, people have always come up with, this person could be the Antichrist.

You need to stop thinking and looking for Antichrist, and just keep looking for the Christ, that's all, because Christ is coming. So if you just allow me, I want to explain to you why I believe in a pre-tribulational rapture. And while one point might not firmly convince you, when you put all the points together, I think that you can begin to understand why the Bible, in my mind, teaches a pre-tribulational rapture. Let me begin with this one.

It's a very simple one, and some of you might think, well, does that mean anything at all? But it does. And that is, the location of the church in the book of Revelation. The location of the church in the book of Revelation. In Revelations 1, 2, and 3, the church is mentioned 19 times. 19 times! Now, I don't care how you cut it, 19 times in three chapters is a lot of times, right? But from chapters 6 through 18, the church is never, ever mentioned. I think that's pretty significant. So, if you've got your Bible, go back to Revelation chapter 4.

It says in verse number 1, Now, there are some who believe that when he hears his voice come up here, it is symbolic of the church being translated into glory. Because chapters 4 and 5 are all about heaven, right? And the question would be then, is the church in heaven in chapters 4 and 5? So if the church is mentioned 19 times in chapters 1 to 3, but not mentioned at all between 6 and 18, where is the church? Israel is mentioned all over the place, but the church is not. So the location of the church in the book of Revelation is very important.

So John is called up into heaven, and by the way, he never leaves that place. He's there the whole time, from Revelation 4 all the way to Revelation 22. So he's always in glory, but he gets all these visions of all that's taking place. Chapter 1 is all about the living, glorified, resurrected Christ. Chapter 2, seven letters to seven churches. Explaining those churches, he has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, because there are seven literal letters given to seven true churches, but those churches are representative of all the churches throughout all the church age.

And then all of a sudden, John's called up into glory. You say, well, you could be reading something into that. Well, maybe not, because if you look at point number two, then you begin to understand that.

So not only is the location of the church in the book of Revelation important when it comes to a pre-tribulational rapture, but number two is this, and that is the identification of the 24 elders in the book of Revelation.

Now if you were with us five weeks ago, I talked to you about the identification of the 24 elders. Who are the 24 elders? Because once you understand who the 24 elders are, you have to come to grips with the fact that the church is in heaven, because the 24 elders is the church. You say, well, why didn't this say the church? Why does it say elders? Do you know that in the synagogue, whenever you talk about the elders in the synagogue, the elders represent the entire synagogue. When you talk about the elders in the church, the elders in the church are representative of that church.

So when you use the term elder, you're talking about a party of people that are representative by nature. And so why 24? Well, 24 is the priestly order in 1 Chronicles 24 and 25. And the priestly order was representative of the entire nation of Israel, overseen by a priestly order. There was also an order of singers with a number 24. And those 24 singers in 1 Chronicles 25 were also representative of the entire nation. So the number is very significant, 24 elders. So the Bible says in chapter 4, these words, it says, verse 4, around the throne were 24 thrones.

And upon the thrones I saw 24 elders, sitting clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their heads. So you have 24 elders, 24 elders are on 24 thrones. And the question comes, who sits on thrones in heaven? Answer, only the overcomer, only the church. How do we know that? We know that because the Bible says in verse number 21 of Revelation 3, He overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne.

And I also, as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. So we know that the church sits on thrones in glory. Also says this, that they are sitting there clothed in white garments, clothed in white garments. Who wears white garments? Well, the Bible says in verse number 5 of chapter 3 of Revelation, He overcomes would thus be clothed in white garments.

And the overcomer are those who believe that Jesus Christ is who He says He is. And they have embraced Him as Lord of the universe, 1 John 5, 3 and 4. That is the overcomer. Well, we know from the book of Isaiah that God grants us robes of righteousness. He gives us the garments of God and these are white garments, but that's only given to the church. And then it says this, and golden crowns on their heads. Who wears crowns? The church. It says in the book of Revelation chapter 2, these words in verse number 11, it says, and I will give you the crown of life.

So whoever the 24 elders are, it's a number of representation, okay? And they're elders. Now some would say, well, maybe they're angels. Angels are never called elders in Scripture. In fact, if you go to Revelation 7, look at this.

It says, and all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. So what you have in heaven is the Lord God of the universe, right? Angels, elders, and four living creatures. And the four living creatures are not the elders and the elders are not the angels and the angels are not the four living creatures. They're all uniquely distinct, but that's all that's in heaven. And whoever the 24 elders are, they're clothed in white garments, they have crowns on their heads and they sit on thrones, but only church people do that.

Nobody else does. But then they sing a song. And the song they sing is a song of redemption. Revelation chapter 5. In Revelation 5, it says, verse number 9, they sing a new song. Who? The 24 elders. Verse 8, they fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sing a new song. Worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals, for you were slain and purchased for God with your blood, men from every tribe, tongue, and people and nation.

You have made them to be a kingdom and priest to our God, and they will reign upon the earth. Now, very important. We told you this five weeks ago. Manuscript evidence is absolutely crucial. I read it the way the New American Standard reads it. But this is the way verse 10 is to be read. You have made us to be a kingdom and priest to our God, and we will reign upon the earth. Very important. Why? How do we know that? Well, we know that there are 5,500 manuscripts of the New Testament. We know that there are 250 of them for the book of Revelation.

We know that there are 24 on Revelation 5's new song. And 23 of the 24 all say, us and we, not they and them. So the manuscript evidence is overwhelming that the we are the 24 elders. The us are the 24 elders. Because they are singing the song of redemption. They're singing the song of worthy's land because you purchased us from every tribe, tongue, and nation. And that's why we're here in glory. But also remember this. These people who are singing, okay, you have made us a kingdom and priest to our God.

Back in Revelation chapter 1, it says these words. It says in verse number 5, And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, to him who loves us and released us from our sins by his blood. And he has made us to be a kingdom, priest to his God and father. So, we know that the church are called priests. We are a priestly unit. We are a kingdom of priests. And because Revelation new song is about the kingdom of priests singing a song of redemption, and the ones singing are the 24 elders, the conclusion is the 24 elders is the church of Jesus Christ in glory.

I said, well, I'm not convinced yet. Okay, that's okay. So, you have the location of the church in Revelation. And then you have the point number two, which was the identification of 24 elders.

Then you get number three, the prevention of the church from the hour of tribulation. Revelation 3 verse number 10, which says, Because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour, definite article. There is a specific hour. It's called the hour of testing or tribulation, that hour, which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. There's going to come a trouble, a time of tribulation, an hour of testing that's going to come upon the whole world.

It's a specific hour. The only time there's been an hour of tribulation that's come upon the whole world is Genesis chapter six, right? With the flood. But outside of that, there has been no trial that's come upon the whole world. So there is a particular hour of trouble that's going to come upon the whole world. And it's specifically designed for those who dwell upon the earth. Katoi Kuntas, a word that means earth dwellers, used over 10 times in the book of Revelation and always in reference to the unbeliever.

So there's going to be an hour of tribulation that's going to come upon the whole world. And it's designed for all those who are earth dwellers. So if the church is here on the earth, right? That would mean that we have a earth dweller mentality, but we don't. In fact, our citizenship is in heaven. Earth dwellers is not about a geographical location. It's about a moral condition. This is their moral condition. This is who they are. They love the earth. They love everything on the earth. They're people of the earth.

We are people of heaven. We are citizens of another kingdom, see? We are not earth dwellers. And the promise is, not just to Philadelphia, but to all those in the world, because the hour of tribulation comes upon the whole world. And I will keep you out of the hour. Phrase there, tereo ek, which means to keep you completely out from something, not take you through it, tereo dia, or keep you, preserve you in it would be tereo en. It's tereo ek, to preserve you out of something. Same word, phrase used of our Lord in John 12, when he said, what shall I say?

Save me out of this hour? Am I asking my father to take me out from the hour itself? Oh, no. No, for this hour I came, for this purpose I came. I'm going to go through the hour, see? Well, in Revelation chapter three, verse number 10, there's a promise given. That promise is a prevention of the church from going through an hour of trouble that's going to come upon the whole world. Now, remember, God has always done this. He did it with Noah and his family. Go back with me, if you would, to the book of Luke, Luke chapter 17.

Look at Luke 17. In Luke chapter 17, the Lord says this, and just as it happened in the days of Noah, so will be also in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given a marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Now, remember, God had warned Noah of impending judgment, and Noah was a preacher of righteousness. So he preached for 120 years about God's impending judgment. But when the judgment was about to come, God took him into the ark, God shut the door, and God preserved Noah and his family and killed everybody else.

But He preserved Noah and his family. And so they were removed from that tribulation that came upon the whole world. They were spared. And this is this, it was the same as happened in the days of Lot. They were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, and they were building. And on that day, the Lord went out from Sodom, and it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Same with Lot, his family. Except for his wife, it says this, it says, so it will be just the same on the day the promise of a man is revealed, on that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out.

And likewise, the one who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot's wife, whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. In other words, remember Lot's wife? She loved the world. She couldn't help but look back. God said, don't look back. But she just could not stop herself. She had to get one last look at her hairdresser, one last look at the mall, one last look at the lights, and God said, don't turn back.

Did, she turned to a pillar of salt, right? But they were spared because God knows how to deliver His own. 2 Peter chapter 2, it says, verse 4, for if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them into pits of darkness and reserved it for judgment, and did not spare the ancient world but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly, and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter, and if he rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men, for by what he saw and heard, that righteous man while living among them felt his righteous soul tormented day and night by their lawless deeds, when the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority.

In other words, God knows how to preserve the godly in the day of trial, the day of temptation, did it for Noah and his family, did it for Lot and his family minus his wife, and also did it for Rahab when God said that he was going to destroy Jericho. Rahab believed in the Lord God of Israel, she hid the ten spies, and when the walls came tumbling down, every part of the wall fell except for Rahab's house. She was spared. She was protected, see, because God knows how to deliver the godly from temptation.

Same is true for the church. There's going to be a trial, an hour trial that comes upon the whole world, not just a part of the world, but the entire world. And on top of that, understand that God has not destined us for wrath. When God poured out His wrath on Calvary, upon His Son, He did that for you and me. Is He now going to make us go through more of His wrath in the day of judgment, because that wasn't good enough? I don't think so. He poured out His wrath on His Son, so you and I would escape not just eternal damnation, but there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

We've been set free from the condemning work of God, the judgment of God. Our sins were judged at Calvary. We're not going to experience God's judgment. We've been set free from that by the grace and mercy of our loving God. So, you have the location of the church in the book of Revelation. You have the identification of the 24 elders. You have the prevention of the church from the hour of tribulation that comes upon the whole world. And then you also have, which I think is very interesting, the preparation of our place in glory.

John 14, verses 1 to 3, the Lord said, I go and prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also. Okay, so there's a place that God's preparing for you and me. So, wherever He is, that's where we are going to be as well. And so, John 14, verses 1 to 3, is how the Lord is going to console His men when they are scared to death about what's going to happen the next day. And they're fearful because the way you comfort people who are fearful of death or fearful for whatever's going to happen the next day, you comfort them by assuring them that in your Father's house are many mansions, many dwelling places.

If it were not so, I would have told you. And I go and prepare a place for you that where I am there you may be also. Why? Because He wants to receive us to Himself. This was the great consolation for the disciples because there was a preparation, a place for them in glory. He's going to receive them to Himself. So, where I am, there you will be as well. And He was going away to His Father. He was going to ascend to His Father, and there He would prepare a place for you and me. And that became the great consolation for the disciples on the eve of the crucifixion, that there was a place prepared for them.

So, the preparation of our place in glory is a place that we can understand that God's going to take us to that place where we will be with Him. And then in Revelation 19, we come back with Him because we are clothed in white raiments. In Revelation 19, those who are clothed in white raiments come back with Him. See, and we come back here and Christ sets up His kingdom upon the earth, and we rule and reign with Him for a thousand years. Next is the distinction in the purpose of the church and the purpose of Israel.

I believe there's a distinction between the two. I don't believe that the church replaces Israel. I believe that Israel has a plan. God has a plan for Israel. He made three unconditional covenants with Israel, Abrahamic, Davidic, and new. Those three covenants are unconditional covenants, not dependent upon Israel, completely dependent upon God. One deals with the land, that's the Abrahamic covenant. One deals with the Lord of the land, that's the Davidic covenant. And next deals with the love that leads you into the land where the Lord reigns, that's the new covenant.

And so those are unconditional covenants that God has given to Israel. And those unconditional covenants are covenants that God says, look, this is what I'm going to do for you.

This is my promise to you. God's not going to break that promise. That's why Jeremiah 30, verse number seven says that the day of the Lord is called the time of Jacob's trouble. It's the time of Jacob's trouble. That's why the church is not mentioned in Revelation 6 to 18. It's not the time of the church's trouble. It's a time of Israel's trouble, Jacob's trouble. They're the ones who have to go through the tribulation. Why? Because the tribulation is designed for them. It's the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy.

There are 69 weeks that have been accomplished. At the end of the 69 weeks, Messiah will be cut off, Daniel 9, 24 to 27. Messiah will be executed. That happened exactly as it was prophesied. But there's one week that dangles out there and that's the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy. When does the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy happen? It happens because the Antichrist confirms the covenant with Israel. So whenever that happens, that's when the 70th week begins. The Antichrist initiates the 70th week when he confirms a covenant with Israel for one week or seven years.

And that's why the tribulation lasts seven years. And lastly, we talked to you about how he comes in on a white horse. Remember, the Antichrist comes in on a white horse carrying a bow with no arrows because he comes as a man of peace. He's also the man on the red horse because he causes all kinds of war because he's a man of bloodshed, right? And behind that comes the pale horse because there's nothing but death and all kinds of disaster that follows wars and rumors of wars. And so this Antichrist, and these are all birth pangs, birth pangs that lead up to the great and terrible day of the Lord, the abomination of desolation where the Antichrist goes into the temple in Jerusalem and desecrates it by demanding that the whole world worship Him, which causes Israel to flee to the wilderness, Revelation chapter 12.

They flee to Edom and Moab, and he goes after them, is enraged with them because he wants to kill them all because he believes that if he can kill all the Jews, there's no reason for Messiah to come back. That's what he believes. Satan is such a deceiver. He has deceived himself into thinking that he can win at the end. He can't win. He won't win. It's impossible for him to win because he's not God. But he thinks he can win. And he thinks if he can destroy all of Israel, there'll be no reason for the Messiah to return, but God will protect them.

And Zachariah tells us in Zachariah chapter 13 that he preserves a remnant, a third. Two thirds will perish, a third will make it through, and they will go into the kingdom.

So there is a distinction between the church and Israel. And therefore, that's how you know that there's going to be a pre-tribulational rapture because the time of Jacob's trouble is designed specifically for Israel and for those who dwell upon the earth, those earth dwellers. And then in 1 Thessalonians 4, you have the consolation that's given to Israel where you were to comfort one another with these words. Paul says, look, the dead in Christ will rise first.

We are alive and remain shall be caught up together with him in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Comfort one another with these words. Here's your great consolation. Those who have already died and their souls are in heaven, their bodies will be resurrected. And those of us who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the air. And therefore, we shall always be with the Lord. And that consolation given to Israel, given to those in Thessalonica was the way the apostle Paul would console them concerning their loved ones who had already died.

Did they miss the rapture? Did they miss the translation of the church? What's going to happen to them? So Paul is going to encourage them, don't worry, it's going to be okay because they're already in glory. Those who are asleep have already died, they're in glory. And those who have already died, their bodies will be raised first.

And then those of us who are still alive and remain will be caught up together with him in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. So you have the consolation given to those in Thessalonica. And then you have the implication of the imminent coming of Christ. The implication of the imminent coming of Christ. The word imminent is from a Latin word, which means to hang over. In other words, there's something always hanging over you that could fall at any moment, but you don't know when it's going to fall.

In other words, it is certain yet uncertain. It is certain that's going to happen, yet uncertain as to the time it's going to happen. That's the imminent return of Christ. For instance, we know that there are certain things that are going to happen, precursors, characteristics of the day of the Lord before Jesus comes again, before Jesus descends from heaven and reveals himself to those here on earth, the second coming of the Messiah.

There are certain precursors that are going to take place before the second coming of our Lord to earth.

But for the rapture of the church, there is nothing that has to happen. There will be things that do happen, but nothing has to happen for the translation of the church to go into glory. It's the next thing on the prophetic calendar. So it speaks of the imminent return of Christ. That's why in 1 Thessalonians 1 10, they wait eagerly for the coming of the Messiah. There's that anticipation. That's why when you read through the New Testament, you read things like this. The end of all things is at hand, 1 Peter 4 7.

Revelation 3, behold, I come quickly. Philippians 4 verse number 5, let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Imminent does not mean soon. It means next. It's not soon because it's been 2000 years, but it does mean next. It's the next thing on God's prophetic calendar, that God will translate his church out of here before the great and terrible day of the Lord. Before the Antichrist confirms a covenant with Israel to initiate that 70th week of Daniel's prophecy in order for the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy to come to fulfillment.

And at the end of that 70th week, our Lord returns. He sets up His kingdom and rules and reigns for all eternity. There's one more, and that is the description of the rapture versus the return or the revelation of Christ. The coming of Christ is two phases, a rapture and a revelation. They're both the coming of the Messiah. But there's a difference between the rapture and the revelation of Christ. For instance, the rapture, the saints are caught up in the air with Christ. But at the revelation of Christ, Christ returns to earth.

So in other words, we meet the Lord in the air at the rapture, but the revelation, Christ comes down to earth. At the rapture of the church, the man of olives is untouched. Why? Because the Lord's not here. But the revelation of Christ, Zechariah 14 says, the man of olives splits. So there's a difference between the rapture of the church and the revelation of the Christ. We also know that the rapture of the church, the living saints are translated, and at the revelation of Christ, no saints are translated.

At the rapture of the church, the body goes to heaven, but the revelation of Christ, the body comes to earth. At the rapture, Christ comes for His saints. At the revelation of Christ, Christ comes with His saints. At the rapture, the world is not judged and sin gets worse. At the second coming or the revelation of Christ, the world is judged and sin is dealt with.

At the rapture of the church, it is not preceded by a detailed signs or warnings, but at the revelation, it is preceded by specific signs and specific warnings in great detail. At the rapture of the church, it concerns only the saved. At the revelation of Christ, it concerns the saved and those who are lost. Very important. You see, at a post-tribulational rapture, that is, if you believe the church goes to the tribulation and there is a post-tribulation, that means you're translated into glory at the end, okay?

There's a theological problem with that because that means that everybody in the kingdom has glorified bodies. That means there can be no children born in the millennial kingdom. That means there can be no rebellion against Satan at the end of that millennial kingdom and for the earth and the universe to be destroyed and the new heaven and the new earth to come into play. So, if I believe in a post-tribulational in-time prophecy, then I am saying that the church will be caught up into heaven and then come right back down again to earth.

But that would mean that everybody who is saved during the tribulation and all the church-age people will have a new body, a glorified body, because that's what happens when you go to heaven. First Corinthians 15, you have a glorified body.

And that means we all come back with Jesus to earth and everybody has a glorified body, but yet there are children born in the millennial kingdom. So, how can a glorified body produce? It cannot. It does not. It will not. So, you have to have people that don't have glorified bodies. Who are those? That is Israel that's preserved, one-third preserved through the tribulation.

Okay. And we've already told you about the 144,000 Jews that are saved during the tribulation. Okay. They go through that. They don't have glorified bodies. There are Gentiles that are saved during the tribulation. They don't die. They're part of the sheep and the sheep go judgment at the end of the tribulation, the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And those Gentiles and Jews go into the kingdom together. But we have glorified bodies and we rule and reign with Christ. They don't. They'll produce, they'll have children, and they will be under the direction of the King who sits on a throne in Jerusalem.

So, when I look at those eight aspects in Scripture, I'm convinced that there is a pre-tribulational rapture, that we are translated out of here before the Antichrist is revealed.

And that 70th week of Daniel's prophecy will happen just as it was foretold in Daniel 9, 24 to 27, and will run on course. And it will be filled with all kinds of sealed judgments, trumpet judgments, bold judgments, as Revelation tells us. I don't look at Revelation as symbolic.

I look at it as literal. Written in 95, 96 AD by John on the island of Patmos, okay? And we know he's there at that time because he went to prison in Patmos under the reign of Domitian, and that's when Domitian ruled in Rome. And so, we know when Revelation was written. And so, we begin to understand that it's a literal book that speaks to us about a literal end, and God wants to detail those things for us. Why? Because there's something about Christ's coming that by nature is a purifying effect.

Listen, if I know that there are precursors to the arrival of the Messiah, I can live anyway. There's no impetus to live a holy life. I'll just wait till those things start happening. Then I'll get my act together, right? But if I don't know when Jesus is going to come back again and take me home to be with Him, there is a motivation to live a pure life, to live a holy life. That's why John says, he who has this hope in Him purifies himself even as he is pure. Because I don't know when Jesus is going to come and take me home to be with Him.

So, I want to be ready when He arrives. When He calls me home, I want to be ready. So, it becomes that great motivator to live a pure and holy life. The imminent return of Christ is the biggest motivator to live a pure life, more than anything else, knowing that Jesus can come at any moment. And the longer I live, the more I realize that could be today. When I read about what's happening around our world, when I read about what's happening in America, I realize, wow, that could be any time now.

It looks sooner than it's ever looked before. But people in the past have thought the same thing. That doesn't mean we don't look forward to the coming of Christ, we do. We anticipate it. We live in anticipation of that. And we pray, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We are anticipating God's kingdom coming to earth. We are anticipating our King coming to take us home to be with Him. And so, we trust that God will do a great and mighty work in all of us as we look forward to the coming of our King.

Let's pray. Father, thank You for today. The opportunity once again to look into the Word of God. You are truly a great God. And Father, there is so much to study prophetically, so much in Scripture. One out of every 25 verses is about prophecy in Scripture. There is so much in the Word of the Lord concerning Your arrival. Forgive us, Lord, for being ignorant of Your coming again. Lord, it should be uppermost in our minds. It should be something that is a prominent feature of our lives. Because, Lord, we want to tell other people about Christ.

Tell them You're coming again. They need to be ready. At the same time, Lord, we can live a peaceful, joyous life, knowing that You have everything under control. Nothing is happening in this world, in this country, that's not under Your supreme direction. So, we trust You, Lord, and trust that You will preserve us from the hour of tribulation that's going to come upon the whole world. And Lord, soon come, take us home to be with You, that we might rejoice in glory, singing the new song, worthy is the land that was slain to receive glory and honor and praise.

In Jesus' name, amen.