Why the Church Won't Go Through the Tribulation, Part 1

Turn with me in your Bible to Matthew chapter 24. Tonight we're in for a very exciting study. As we have already studied the first three chapters of the book of Revelation, and we're about to embark on the fourth chapter, and we'll get into that a little bit tonight.

But the book of Revelation is like a roller coaster. You kind of start up the hill, you know, and when you get to chapter 3 or chapter 4 and 5, you're like the crest of the high point of the roller coaster. And then all of a sudden you begin to accelerate downhill as you get into the tribulation and you begin to see all the events unfolding. And what exactly does it mean? In the Bible, when it talks about the tribulation and that difficult seven-year period upon the earth in which there is going to be Horrendous outpour of God's wrath.

Will we experience that? What's it all about? And in Matthew 24, there is what is called the Olive Discourse. This happened when Christ was on the Mount of Olives with his men. And the theme of the Olive dis centers around the second com of Christ.

And, you know, everybody is curious about the end. The disciples, you know, were no different than we are. They wanted to know about the future, too. And they felt like they got the Lord with them. And because He's God, He knows everything, then He knows about the end of the age. So they thought they'd ask him a question about what it's going to be like. And Jesus Christ spells out to them the events of the end of the age. Now, little did they know that it was at least 2,000 years away, maybe more.

They had no idea. Matthew 24, verse number 3, and as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming? And of the end of the age. Now, you need to understand that when they talk about the coming of Christ, the parous, they're talking about the actual. Presence of Christ. They are asking him a question that deals with his Messianic rulership. They are asking him the question: Is or when is a time in which you are going to fulfill the messianic revelation?

All that we know about the kingdom in which you will rule, when is that going to be? When will you become all that we anticipate you to be? That's their question. In other words, when is the end? Of the age? When is the consummation of all things? That's their question. So Christ says.

See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in my name, saying I am the Christ, and will mislead many. And you will be hearing of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place. But that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of my name.

And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. And because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come. Therefore, When you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place.

Let the reader understand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the hous not go down to get the things out of that Out that are in, excuse me, get the things out that are in his house. And let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babies in those days. But pray that your flight may not be in the winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever.

Shall be. And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days shall be cut short. We'll stop right there. This chapter becomes paramount as we study the book of Revelation. And as we go through the remaining chapters, we will reference Matthew 24 and 25 quite regularly. But Christ says there's going to be a tribulation unlike the world has ever seen before, unlike anything that you've ever experienced.

There's going to be earthquakes. There's going to be famines. There's going to be pestilence. There's going to be wars. There's going to be rumors of wars. There's going to be lawlessness. There's going To be the Antich There's going to be his desire to kill people, specifically Christians and Jews. The question comes: do we need to get ready for that? Do we need to be prepared for that tribulational period, that horrific, horrendous event? Do we need to begin to build bomb shelters? Do we need to begin to stockpile food, stockpile clothes and water?

Do we need to gain ammunition and guns so that we are prepared to fight against those who come against us? Are we to prepare for this tribulational period? That's a good question. Or is all that we need to prepare for the coming of Christ? A we looking for the return of Christ, or are we looking for the revealing of Antich? Those are the two questions. And we want to answer that this evening. We want to be able to come to grips with what the Bible says about this tribulational period and will we experience it.

Is this what's in store for the church? Is this what we're going to face in the future? Or are we going to miss this thing altogether? Now, great theologians disagree on this point. They disagree as to whether or not the church will actually go through this tribulational period, which is seven years, or the church will altogether miss it or maybe go through part of it. Tonight, we want to begin to help clear up some misunderstanding. The Bible is, I believe, clear on the issue. And so we want to be able to talk about that.

We want to answer the question: will the church go through the seven-year tribulational period, or will it miss it altogether? Turn with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.

Those in The had asked this question. They had wondered about whether or not those who had already died were going to miss the rapture. What was going to happen to them? And Paul would begin to tell them what's going to happen at the end. He says in Verse number 15: For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. In other words, those who are dead. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God.

And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. Paul says that we who are alive at the coming of the Lord are going to be caught up in the air With him. As I was studying this past week, I thought to myself, there's absolutely no way I'm going to be covering all this in one night. So, I want you to hang on to your hats, take lots of notes, because we're going to fill your head with all kinds of information, all kinds of tools to help you understand what it is the Bible says.

About whether or not the church will or will not go through the tribulation. So, I'm going to let you know up front that I am a pre-tribulational preach. I am so pre-tribulational, I don't even eat post-toasties. So, you need to understand that. And I am more pre-tribulational today than I was last year. And the year before that. The more I study the Bible, the more I realize that Jesus Christ is coming to take us home to be with Him before the seven-year tribulational period. And I'm going to tell you why.

In just eight easy points. Here's number one. Are you ready? The location of the church in the book of Revelation. That's number one.

The location of the church. In the book of Revelation. Turn with me to Revelation chapter three. Revelation chapter three. We have just gone through. Our study of the seven churches. And as we've studied these churches, we have said. That these churches symbolize every kind of church that has ever existed throughout the period of the church age. These are literal churches. These seven churches actually received seven letters. And if you have been with us the previous you know, seven weeks, we have spent time dealing with one church a week, exam that letter.

Who wrote the letter? The correspondent? What was about that church? What did Christ have to say to them specifically? And so the Lord expresses his concern about the purity of the church. So he wrote to these seven churches. When you get to chapter 4 of Revelation, the church is in heaven. Tremendous scene. And in chapter 4 of chapter 5, we're going to come to grips with what true worship is all about as we understand what actually happens in heaven. In fact, we're going to let you know what heaven's like.

If you want to know what heaven's like, study Revelation 4 and 5. We're going to tell you everything you need to know about heaven. Paul went to heaven. But he didn't tell us what it was like. 2 Corinthians 12. John went to heaven, and he tells us what it's like. And so we're able to tell people what heaven is like through the study of Revelation 4 and Revelation chapter 5. But you will note that the church is in heaven in Revelation 4. Why is that? We'll look at chapter 4, verse number 1.

See right above that, all that white area there? That's the rapture of the church. God stands at the door and knocks at the door of the church. Why? Because his coming is inevitable. It's his last warning. It's his last invitation to come to him. The church is raptured. In chapter 6 of Revelation, the tribulation begins. It begins with the opening of the seals. Tremendous study. It'll rock your socks to understand the seven seals that are opened up. You are in for an incredible ride through the scriptures as you study the end times.

But it's interesting to note that through chapter 6 of Revelation, through chapter 18 of Revelation, which details the whole story of the tribulation, not once is the church ever mentioned. Not once. Not one hint of the church. The church is not on earth. The church isn't here. There's no exhortation as to what the church should even do if it was here during the tribulational period. Then, in chapters 4 and 5, the church is where? It's in heaven. And then chapter six, the tribulation begins. So by looking at the book of Revelation chronologically, You see that the location of the church in the book of Revelation is the first thing you notice.

That helps you understand that the church will not be here during the seven-year tribulational period. Point number two: the identification of the 24 elders.

Revelation 4. Listen to what it says. After these things, I looked. And behold, the door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.

After what things? The things in chapters 2 and 3, the church age. I'm going to tell you what's going to take place next, John. And some commentators would even suggest that. This is symbolic of the catching away of the church, the rapture of the church. John, you come up. You come up because I want to show you now what's going to happen on earth, not that the church is no longer on earth. That could very well be. But look what it says in verse number four. Well, let me read down, let me start with verse number two.

Immediately I was in the Spirit. And behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and one sitting on the throne. And he who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardis in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. And around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders. sitting clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their heads. Now remember what I told you. The book of Revelation is not that difficult to understand, nor is it difficult to interpret.

All you have to do is just read the Bible. And it pretty much is very clear as to what it means. There are three key words you need to see. One is thr. Two is white garments or white raiment. And three is crown. Those three word. Help you understand who the 24 elders are. Okay, so take lots of notes. Don't try to read everything. Just write down the verses, and it'll help you understand it. The church, and only the church. Is promised to reign on Christ from thr. How do you know that? Well, go back to Revelation chapter 3, verse number 21.

Talked about it last week. He who overcomes, who's the over? 1 John 5, 4 and 5. The overcomer is the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. The overcomer is the true believer. So Christ says, he who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my thr.

As I also overcame and sat down with my father on his thr. That promise is given to the church of Philadelphia. That promise is given to the overcomer. The one who is a true believer has the opportunity to sit down on the throne of Christ and rule with Christ. Because we are the ones who rule and reign. From thrones. Number two, the word white garments or white raiment.

It's the clothing. The picture of the redeemed church. Look at Revelation chapter 3, verse number 5. He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments. That's the church. Read Revelation chapter 19. In Revelation chapter 19, who comes back with Christ? Other than those who it says in verse number 14, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses. That third word we talked about was the word crowns.

The word for crowns is stephanos. It is not diadem. Diadem is the crown of a king. Stephan is the crown of the victor. Revelation chapter 2, verse number 10. What does it say? It says, Do not fear. What you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you. The cr, the Stephanos of life. The church is promised the crown, the Stephanos. The victor's wreath. Over in James chapter 1, verse number 12, it's the crown of life.

2 Timothy 4:8, it's the crown of righteous. Very interesting. Those three words there help us understand who the 24 elders are in Revelation chapter 4. This is very important because how you interpret the 24 elders is going to determine how you are able to interpret the rest of the book of Revelation. And whether or not the church actually goes through the tribulation or not. Note this: twenty-four. Is a priestly number. If you read 1 Chronicles 25 and 1 Chronicles 2, you see that The number 24 represented all of Israel.

Since we are a kingdom of priests, believer priests. The number 24 then becomes representation of the church in terms of our priestly character as we minister before the throne of God. Number three.

We must hurry. The prevention of the church from the hour. The prevention, your outline might say protection. It should read prevention. The prevention of the church. From the hour. Revelation chapter 3, verse number 10. We talked about this a number of weeks ago. Let me refresh your memory.

Because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I will also keep you from the hour of testing. That hour which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell upon the earth. I believe this one verse proves emphatically a pre-tribulational view. We must remember that the general purpose of the tribulation is for the nation of Israel. It's a time which the Bible calls the time of Jacob's trouble. That's Jeremiah 30, Isaiah 26, and Joel chapter 3. Israel is going to be corrected. Israel is going to be refined until at the end of the tribulation.

Where it says in Romans 11, 26, All Israel will be saved. They will look on him and whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as if they lost their only child. And the Bible says they will be saved.

In all the prophecies concerning the tribulation, God's concern is with Israel. There is absolutely no m of the church. I'm not going to go any further because the next point is going to take me too long to get through the amount of time I have left. But I just want to ask you this evening: I wonder. I wonder where your citizenship is. I wonder where your ownership is. You know, those who dwell upon the earth, that's what they love to do. And the time of tribulation is set aside for them and for the nation of Israel.

The Bible is very clear here. And I wonder tonight if, as we have gone through now 12 weeks in our study of the book of Revelation, if you could honestly say, you know what, I know for certain. That if Jesus Christ came back today, if he came to take me home to be with him, if he came, I would go home to be with him. I know that for certain. There's not a doubt in my mind. That I would go home to be with Jesus Christ my Lord. If not, if there is any inkling of a doubt tonight, you need to make sure you know for certain your eternal destiny.

We don't know when Jesus Christ is going to come back. We don't know. People talk about the new millennium, the year 2000. You know, and all that's going to happen. You know, you read the Star and you read the National Enquirer, you know, and they've got a picture of Jesus on there, you know, and the end of the world is coming, you know. All these different catchy little phrases to get you to read it. Really, to get you to buy it, then read it. They want your money, is what they want. But you know, no man knows the hour.

Jesus Christ could come back tonight. Are you ready to go home to be with him? I trust that you are. The greatest sense of security is to know for certain. That if Christ came back or you were to die, that you would be in eternity with Him. I trust that you know that. And I trust that you have a clear conscience. And that you believe what the Word of God says.

If not, tonight, before you go home, see me, see Shannon, see one of our elders. Say, you know, I want to know for certain. That I'm going to spend eternity with Christ. How can I know? And the Bible tells you how you can know. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for the Word of God. Lord, you know, there's so many things in the Word of God, we just never get through it. It is the unfathomable book. It is something we'll never really fully grasp because it's living, it's powerful, it's sharper than any two-edged sword.

I pray, Lord, that as a body of believers, We would be committed to the study of your word, that we might know you and that we might learn to live for you. And I know, Lord, that there are a lot of technical things tonight with Greek words and technical references and all kinds of things. But, Lord, the bottom line is you're going to keep us from the hour. Because that's reserved for those who dwell upon the earth, those whose moral condition is set against God and his people. We pray that there wouldn't be anyone like that here this evening, but that they would give their life to Jesus Christ and thus know for certain of their eternal destiny.

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.