Participants: Pr. Jac Colon
Series Code: RN
Program Code: RN000016
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01:04 Let's pray together. Dear Lord,
01:07 we are here tonight because we want to 01:10 once again open your word and hear your voice 01:13 speaking to us of that beautiful promise 01:17 that Jesus made, I'm coming soon. 01:22 Lord help us to understand the return of Christ. 01:27 We ask in Jesus name, Amen. 01:40 About 4 or 5 years ago, but I can still see 01:44 it clear and plain, as it was when it happened 01:50 I was standing in the Water at a beach 01:55 Called Playa De Amarilla, the yellow beach, 02:00 just on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba. 02:02 We were there to baptize about 300 people 02:08 that day and there were a number of us in 02:12 the water baptizing people, but I'll never forget 02:17 a little Cuban lady, short and elderly came 02:22 up to me and it was her turn to be baptized 02:26 and I showed her how to, to put her hand on my arm 02:31 and to hold tight when I was baptizing her 02:35 and she just kind laid her arm across my arm 02:40 and I said no you need to open your hand 02:45 and hold tight, and she just put her arm 02:50 across my arm and I told her once again, 02:54 I said open your hand and hold on tight, 03:00 and she looked up at me with tears streaming down 03:05 her cheek and she said Pastor I can't, 03:14 I can't open my hand. 03:22 I said, you know, one day Jesus is gonna come 03:27 soon and you're gonna have a new hand, 03:31 you're gonna have a new body, 03:35 and you're gonna be with him forever. 03:40 She said, do you think he is gonna come to Cuba, 03:47 did you know, I think this might be 03:50 the first place that he comes, where his people 03:54 have been hurting and oppressed for so long. 03:59 You ever been discouraged, ever seemed like 04:03 everything is just going wrong, 04:06 your life is falling apart, my favorite promise, 04:09 one of my favorite promises, I've a lot of favorites, 04:13 John 14:1, don't let your heart be troubled, 04:19 trust in God, trust also in me 04:23 Jesus said, in my father's house are many rooms. 04:27 Now, the King James Says mansions, 04:29 I like that better, in my father's house 04:33 there are many mansions and if they were not 04:36 so I would have told you, I'm going there to prepare 04:43 a place for you. And, if I go 04:47 I will come back to take you to be with me, 04:51 so that you maybe where I'm. 04:55 I don't know anyway to understand 04:57 that except that Jesus is promising you and Jesus 05:00 is promising me that he has gone to heaven, 05:04 to his father's house to prepare a place for us 05:07 and just as surely as he went 05:10 we can know that he is going to come back 05:12 again to take us to be with him there, 05:16 that's the good news. Amen. 05:19 The good news is Jesus is coming again, 05:22 no matter how bad it gets, 05:24 no matter how difficult it is for you? 05:26 you can always rest in the promise 05:28 that Jesus is coming again. That's the good news, 05:36 the bad news, Matthew, chapter 5 or Matthew 24, 05:42 verse 5. Jesus said, watch out that no one deceives 05:50 you, for many will come in my name claiming 05:55 I am the Christ and they'll deceive many. 06:01 The good news, Jesus is coming again. 06:04 The bad news is many are going to be deceived 06:10 concerning the return of Christ. 06:13 Many will be deceived and I want you to 06:19 notice carefully, the deception is not over 06:24 the question of whether or not Jesus is gonna come, 06:29 that isn't the deception. They're expecting Jesus 06:35 to come, they're waiting for Jesus to come, 06:38 many come in his name claiming I'm the Christ 06:41 and they're deceived, they're deceived 06:42 not in whether or not Jesus is coming 06:45 the deception is the manner of the return of Christ. 06:49 The manner of the return of Christ leads them to go 06:52 after the wrong Christ. That's the deception 06:57 and today the stage is set, the world is being setup 07:02 for the greatest deception concerning the 07:04 return of Jesus Christ. You've read it in the books, 07:09 you've seen the movies, Left Behind. 07:12 In the Left Behind books over the last time 07:16 I saw it was like 80 million copies have been sold. 07:19 And, in the book Rayford Steele airline 07:23 pilot is plotting in his mind, 07:24 how to take the first steps to initiate an affair with his 07:28 drop dead gorgeous airline stewardess Hattie Durham 07:30 when just when he is ready 07:32 to try to take that first step, 07:33 she comes dashing into the cockpit with the news 07:36 that half the people in the airplane have disappeared 07:39 and the cameras sweep down the aisle and 07:41 there are seats with close folded, 07:43 neatly on the seat, there is hearing aids 07:47 and eyeglasses and wedding rings 07:48 and pacemakers sitting there and the person has 07:50 just gone disappeared and everybody is wondering, 07:52 where did they all go. 07:58 Left Behind, it's just a novel 08:02 that's what it says on the back cover. 08:07 The problem is how can you tell 08:10 when the novel ends and the truth begins. 08:19 Many will come in my name claiming I am the Christ 08:23 And they'll deceive many, we're having a Revelation 08:25 Now meeting in the Southern part of Virginia. 08:29 And, on a Friday evening 08:31 we just had Wednesday and Thursday off. 08:32 Friday evening, a man came back 08:33 and he said, hey how did your days go. 08:35 How did your day off go, I said, Oh! Just fine, 08:37 how about yours, he said, you would never believe 08:39 what happened. I said tell me about it 08:40 what happened, said I went to some little town, 08:43 I can't remember where it was in North Carolina 08:45 and he said I saw Jesus there. 08:48 I said, you did, you said yeah, 08:50 it was wonderful man, he was working miracles, 08:53 he was healing people and 08:54 he was just So filled with love, 08:56 it just flowed out to everyone Oh! 08:59 You need to go and see him. 09:00 I said, no I don't think so, I'm not gonna go. 09:06 Why not? Because it isn't Jesus. 09:11 Oh! Yes, it is, yes it is, 09:14 if you went you would know that it's Jesus. 09:18 I said, that's why I'm not gonna go. 09:25 I'm not gonna put my foot on the devil's ground. 09:33 And, how do I know it wasn't Jesus. 09:37 Because the Bible tells me. 09:39 Matthew chapter 24, verse 23, at that time 09:43 if anyone says to you look here is the Christ 09:46 or there he is then don't believe it. 09:49 Now, that's not hard to understand is it? 09:52 If somebody comes to you and says 09:53 Jesus is in North Carolina, don't believe it, 09:59 don't go where the devil is. If someone says to you 10:05 Jesus is in a temple in Jerusalem don't believe it, 10:09 if someone says he is in the inner room 10:11 in a secret chamber, don't listen. 10:13 In fact he says if someone says there he is 10:16 don't believe it for false Christ and false prophets 10:18 will appear and perform great signs and miracles 10:21 and deceive even the elect if that were possible. 10:24 So if anyone tells you there he is out in the desert. 10:29 Do not go out. 10:33 That's not hard to understand is it? 10:35 Don't go, here he is in the inner room, 10:38 don't believe it, well why not because, 10:41 because he tells us in verse 27, 10:44 as lightening flashes from 10:46 the East and is visible even in the West. 10:49 So, will the coming of the son of man be. 10:56 You can see lightening, did you know that, 11:01 you can see it. You can see lightening 11:05 even with your eyes closed. 11:08 When Jesus comes he is gonna come like lightening, 11:13 flashing from the East to the West. 11:16 You're gonna see Jesus when he comes, 11:19 you won't need somebody to tell you 11:21 he's in North Carolina, South Carolina, 11:23 you won't need somebody to tell you he is in Israel, 11:25 you won't need somebody to tell you 11:26 he is out in the desert, when Jesus comes 11:29 you're gonna see him, in fact he is not coming 11:32 anywhere on this earth at all. 11:36 He comes like lightening 11:37 flashing from the East to the West. 11:39 A visible return of Christ is what Jesus said to look for, 11:46 so once again tonight like we did last night. 11:50 We're going to lineup some fence posts, 11:54 we're gonna look at every text in the Bible 11:56 in the New Testament that talks about 11:57 the return of Christ and you're gonna discover 12:00 that they all point in the same direction. 12:05 Once again it might be helpful for us to forget 12:07 that we ever read the books or anything else about the 12:12 return of Christ and let's just let God speak to us. 12:16 Isn't that the safest way to do it, let God speak. 12:19 So, the first fence post we have is that it's gonna be 12:22 like lightening flashing from the East to the West, 12:24 it's gonna be a visible return of Jesus. 12:26 Revelation chapter 1 verse 4, 12:29 says John to the churches in the province of Asia, 12:33 so who is John actually Jesus, 12:36 John is writing for Jesus 12:37 because this is a letter from Jesus. 12:39 John writes it to the churches in Asia, 12:42 who is it written to, the church, 12:43 who does it apply to, the church, 12:45 so what does he say to the church about his return, 12:48 he says to the church look, verse 7, 12:51 he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, 12:56 even those who pierced him 12:58 and all of the people on the earth will mourn 13:01 because of him, So shall it be, Amen. 13:05 Do you know, what Amen means, 13:07 it mean so shall it be, so what he is saying, 13:10 so shall it be, so shall it be, 13:13 doubly be. I don't know 13:15 if that's correct grammatically or not, 13:17 but he is making his point. What's it gonna be like, 13:20 it's gonna be like lightening 13:22 flashing from the East to the West. 13:24 He is going to be visible, every eye sees it, 13:27 even the wicked are gonna see him 13:28 and mourn because of him. 13:31 I don't need anybody to tell me Jesus is in a temple, 13:35 I don't need anybody to tell me Jesus is in the desert, 13:37 I don't need anybody to tell me he is in North Carolina, 13:40 anywhere else, I'm gonna see him when he comes. 13:44 And so will you, somebody asked me, 13:45 how is everybody gonna see him? 13:46 may be the people in China 13:48 are not gonna able to see him 13:49 because they're on the other end of the world. 13:52 Well, I got a feeling that if God can say the word world 13:57 and create the world then he can figure out 13:59 how everybody can see him? when he comes, Amen. 14:02 Someone else said, well blind people 14:04 aren't going to be able to see him, 14:05 hey, if he could heal the blind when he was here, 14:08 I don't think he's forgotten how to do it yet. 14:11 Every eye will see him, what does it mean, 14:13 it means just what it says, every eye will see him 14:16 when he comes a visible return of Christ. 14:19 Let's take a look at another one Acts chapter 1, 14:21 notice our fence posts 14:22 all lining up pointing in the same direction. 14:24 Acts chapter 1, verse 9, after he said this, 14:27 he was taken up before their very eyes 14:30 and a cloud hid him from their side. 14:31 Now, here are the Very last words 14:34 that Jesus spoke to the church 14:36 where the disciples record it by Luke, 14:38 Luke wrote the Book of Acts and 14:40 So, Jesus just finished speaking his last words 14:43 and after he did that, he was taken up before 14:46 their eyes and a cloud hid him from their sight. 14:49 So what happened he goes up, 14:50 they see him go up and you can imagine, 14:53 they're standing around there looking up. 14:55 Wow! What's this? And an angel appears. 14:59 And, the angel says while they were looking 15:03 intently up into the heaven, suddenly two, 15:05 I'm sorry two angels appear, two men dressed in whites 15:09 stood beside them, Men of Galilee, they said, 15:11 why do you stand here? looking up into the sky, 15:14 this same Jesus who has been taken 15:17 from you up into heaven, 15:19 he will come back in the same way 15:22 that you've seen him go into heaven. 15:26 Now, that's pretty plain isn't it? 15:27 How is he gonna go, same way he left, 15:29 how do you leave, he went up into the clouds, 15:33 they saw him go into the clouds, 15:36 so how does he comeback? every eye sees him 15:39 like lightening flashing from the East to the West, 15:42 you'll see Jesus coming on the clouds, 15:45 you won't need anybody to tell you 15:47 that Jesus is some place on this earth 15:50 because he is not coming anyplace on this earth, 15:53 he is coming in the clouds of glory, 15:56 the Bible says. And, again all of our texts 15:59 that are lining up, every fence post 16:01 pointing in exactly the same direction. 16:03 What happens then, he comes on the clouds, 16:05 from the clouds of glory, every eye sees him, 16:07 even though wicked folk see him by the way they mourn 16:10 Oh! Look we missed. 16:13 So, then what, what happens next, 16:16 I think all Bible Scholars would agree with me 16:19 that the clearest sequence of events 16:22 that take place at the Rapture, 16:23 when I use the word Rapture 16:24 understand it is not found in the Bible anywhere, 16:27 it's not there, it's just a phrase 16:29 that we use to talk about the return of Christ. 16:33 And, so I think all scholars would agree with me 16:36 the clearest delineation of the sequence of events 16:39 that take place at the Rapture is found in 16:41 First Thessalonians, the fourth chapter. 16:44 Now, we read this one last night, 16:46 we are gonna read it again, this time from just 16:48 a little different perspective, this time 16:51 from the point of view of the return of Christ. 16:53 So, let's read it. Verse 13, First Corinthians 4, 16:57 verse 13, brothers we do not 16:59 want you to be ignorant about those 17:01 who fall asleep or to grieve 17:03 like the rest of men. 17:06 Now, we learned that last Night 17:07 that when people die, they are asleep in the grave 17:11 the Bible says and then Jesus comes back and 17:14 raises us up and that's what we're about to read, 17:17 you know, by the way 17:18 I just thought of something, I should have said to you 17:20 last night is that, if as most people teach 17:24 that when you die, you go right 17:26 straight to heaven to be with Jesus, 17:28 if that were true then Paul really blew it, 17:32 he missed his chance 17:34 because here these people grieving over their lost ones, 17:38 grieving over the ones that are dead 17:40 and he says hey, you don't need to grieve 17:42 like the rest of the men. Well, he should have said, 17:45 they're not really dead, 17:46 they are in heaven with Jesus now, 17:47 you should be celebrating, but he didn't, did he, 17:49 he said no that, he said no 17:52 according to Lord's own words I tell you 17:53 that we were still alive and are left until 17:55 the coming of the Lord will not perceive 17:58 those who have fallen asleep, 17:59 we're not gonna go to heaven before they do, 18:01 and they not gonna go to heaven before we do, 18:02 why not? Verse 16, here it is, 18:05 for the Lord himself will come down from heaven 18:08 with a loud command with the voice of the Archangel, 18:12 with the trumpet call of God, it's gonna be loud 18:15 when Jesus comes. Not only visible 18:18 Like lightening, it's gonna be loud, 18:21 it's gonna be audible, a loud command, 18:23 trumpet call of God, 18:25 and then the dead in Christ will rise first, 18:29 there will be a resurrection of the death, 18:31 there is life after death through the resurrection. 18:36 So, the dead in Christ rise first 18:39 After that we who are still alive and left will be caught 18:43 up together with them to meet the Lord in the air, 18:46 in the clouds, that is the Rapture of the church, 18:50 that's when Jesus comes. First he raises the death, 18:53 but first loud command, trumpet call of God, 18:55 then the dead in Christ are raised 18:58 and then we are caught up together, 19:00 sounds like a lot of commotion going on, 19:02 on this planet when Jesus comes and it is visible, 19:09 glorious, audible return of Jesus Christ. 19:15 The dead are awakened, rise out of their dusty beds. 19:22 I've often thought, it would be a kind of fun 19:24 to be near cemetery 19:27 when Jesus comes, watch the saints spring forth 19:32 from their dusty beds, imagine. 19:36 I love to think of that day and to, you know, 19:40 I was in a cemetery every once in a while, 19:44 I will just kind of walk through one, 19:46 you look there and you wonder what, 19:48 what happened in the lives of these people 19:51 and then, this one particular time, 19:54 there was just a little tiny grave, 19:57 little tiny grave and you know that 20:01 it was an infant there because of the sign 20:03 showed that it wasn't even alive for a day, 20:07 wouldn't you love to be there 20:09 and watch an angel take that little baby out 20:13 of his sleeping bed and put him in the arms 20:16 of his mother to send up to me, Oh! 20:20 What a great day when Jesus comes. 20:22 Don't you just long for that day, 20:26 comes with a loud command, trumpet call of God, 20:29 you won't need anybody to tell you 20:31 Jesus is in the secret place, he is not coming 20:35 anywhere on this earth, he comes in the clouds and 20:37 we're caught up to meet him. He won't be walking 20:41 in the streets of Jerusalem, he won't be out 20:43 in the desert, he won't be in the inner chamber, 20:45 he's gonna be on the clouds of the glory 20:47 and we are going up to meet him, 20:49 we are going on a space trip with him 20:52 and no shuttle is gonna blow up on that trip, 20:54 we're gonna make it. 21:04 The problem is that most people today are being 21:07 taught something entirely different from what 21:09 we've just read. 21:12 Most people are being taught that when Jesus comes 21:17 Church is going to be snatched away, 21:20 just vanish into midair, leaving behind their cloths 21:24 and their hearing aids and their pacemakers 21:26 and their wedding bands 21:29 and the wicked, well, they are gonna just be running 21:33 around wondering where did they go and then 21:36 they left, he tells us in the novel to do battle 21:43 during the great tribulation against the Antichrist. 21:50 Where did this come from just casually reading the Bible, 21:54 it's as plain as it can be, where did it come from, 21:58 you'll be surprised to know where it came from. 22:03 During the reformation, our good friend 22:07 Martin Luther was a Roman Catholic priest 22:09 teaching that the Bible is the only rule of faith 22:11 and practice for the Christian and the church said 22:14 no remember Bible plus the traditions of the church, 22:17 Luther said not me, it's the Bible and the Bible 22:19 alone and many began to protest Rome's stand 22:22 on tradition, leaving the church, protesting Rome 22:26 and they were called Protestants because 22:28 they believed that all truth found in scripture alone 22:32 So many were leaving that the chruch met at the council 22:35 of Trent for over 18 years trying to deliberate, 22:38 how can we stop this massive outflow from the church 22:41 and they came up with several different kinds of tactics, 22:45 but one of them was developed by a Jesuit scholar 22:49 called Francisco Ribera and Ribera had developed 22:56 a whole new system for for interpreting prophecy 22:57 that put the Book of Revelation all off into 23:00 into the future, everything in Revelation 23:02 is way off ahead in the distant future 23:06 then we the church have been here for 1500 years, 23:09 so, if the Antichrist comes off in the future 23:12 then how can we be the Antichrist. 23:16 You see because Luther and all the others were calling 23:18 church of Rome the Antichrist, well if the antichrist 23:22 doesn't come to way off in the distant future, 23:25 we have been here 1500 years, 23:27 how can we be Antichrist, you see it was a device 23:32 designed to deflect the blow of the reformation 23:36 to divert people's minds away from Luther 23:40 and from the Wesley's and Calvin, and all 23:44 the others that were pointing to Rome saying 23:46 you're the Antichrist. 23:48 Then in the year 1812, another Jesuit scholar 23:52 in South America named Manuel Lacunza wrote a 23:56 a book on prophecy and he took Ribera's principles, 24:00 he wrote a big book on Revelation and there 24:02 he projected the Antichrist off into the future 24:06 but he couldn't get around that text, 24:08 he couldn't get around that text, 24:10 in Second Thessalonians said the Antichrist would 24:13 set himself up in God's temple 24:15 proclaiming himself to be God, because every good 24:18 Catholic taught that the temple was the church. 24:21 So here is the Antichrist setting himself 24:22 up in the church, Lacunza couldn't get around that, 24:25 so, he said at sometime in the distant future 24:28 using Ribera's futuristic approach, 24:30 said in the distant future there will be a falling away 24:33 of the papacy and just to be sure he was protected, 24:37 he signed it, Rabbi Ben Ezra. 24:43 Now what does that sound like to you? 24:48 Edward Irving, protestant scholar in England got a hold 24:55 of Lacunza's book and translated it from Spanish 24:59 into English, he was so impressed 25:01 because he saw Rabbi Ben Ezra, 25:03 he thought he was a converted Jew not realizing 25:08 he was translating the works of a Roman Catholic 25:10 Jesuit scholar and he began to teach the futuristic 25:14 approach of the Antichrist being off in the distant. 25:19 Edward Irving was also called the Father of 25:21 Modern Pentecostal movement because his main interest 25:25 was in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and 25:28 the prophesy described in the Bible as the Latter Rain, 25:31 the great massive outpouring of the last days and he would 25:35 study the HolySpirit along with the prophecies, 25:38 trying to put it all together. 25:40 And one of the things that he did, 25:41 he started little cottage meetings 25:43 people meetings in various places all around in their 25:47 own homes praying for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 25:50 and one of the rules in their cottage prayer meeting 25:52 was no Bible study, just prayer for the Holy Spirit. 25:58 Now folks we need to pray for the Holy Spirit, 26:01 we should be praying for the Holy Spirit everyday. Amen. 26:04 But it is dangerous to pray 26:07 that the Holy Spirit leads you apart from the word of God 26:15 and in one of these meetings, where they were praying for 26:16 the Holy Spirit with no Bible study 26:17 a Margaret MacDonald had a vision 26:20 and an ecstatic utterance in tongues 26:22 and she spoke for the very first time that 26:25 the Antichrist would appear in the distant future 26:29 after the Rapture of the church 26:33 and that's where the whole idea came from. 26:36 So Edward Irving and John Darby who later formed 26:43 the Plymouth Brethren were at a Bible conference meeting at 26:46 the time in 1831 and they heard this discussion 26:49 and they heard about Margaret MacDonald's utterance 26:52 and visions that the Rapture would come first 26:55 and then the Antichrist after the Rapture 26:57 and they began to teach it, 26:58 John Darby brought it to America with the Plymouth Brethren 27:01 which he established here and Scofield took it 27:05 and began to publish it in his Scofield 27:07 Reference Bible and all the footnotes, 27:09 the futuristic approach to the Rapture first and then 27:13 the Antichrist and then John Walvoord became a believer 27:17 and he taught it at his Dallas Baptist Theological Seminary, 27:20 one of his star students was none other than Hal Lindsey, 27:25 who published it and made it popular 27:27 in the Late Great Planet Earth in 1970 27:30 and then they were others like The Dake Study Bible, 27:33 the Ryrie Study Bible and finally in the last few years 27:37 we find the Left Behind series with Tim LaHaye 27:40 and Jerry Jenkins over 80 million people have read 27:43 about this approach to prophecy that was developed 27:47 by a Jesuit scholar trying to deflect the blow 27:51 of the Protestants pointing to Rome 27:53 saying that they were the Antichrist 27:57 and now the Protestant churches have 27:59 pretty well bought it hook, 28:01 line and sinker, and that's where the idea came from. 28:07 But the Bible's clear to visible return, 28:11 glorious return of Jesus Christ, 28:14 every eye sees him, even the wicked, 28:21 then what about the text in the Bible that says he 28:24 comes like a thief in the night. 28:26 You've seen the Gospel movie, 28:29 my wife and I saw it, its entitled 28:31 the thief in the night, any of you seen that movie, 28:34 sure some hands are going up and it starts off with a lady 28:37 talking to her husband, who was in the bathroom shaving, 28:39 she was in the bedroom talking through the door 28:40 and he is shaving with his electric razor 28:42 and then he doesn't answer her, 28:43 and she says why don't you answer me 28:48 and she goes and looks in there, 28:49 there is a razor just bouncing up and down 28:50 on the counter top and he's gone. 28:51 Turns on the television set. 28:53 And oh! Millions of people have just mysteriously 28:55 vanished and nobody knows where they went, 28:58 she calls her friend, hey my husband is missing, 29:00 yeah my wife is missing, what's going around here, 29:03 he came like a thief in the night and the ideas 29:10 that a thief comes silently and secretly and 29:11 you wake up in the morning and everything is gone 29:14 and you don't know where it went. 29:16 Well may be that's one way a thief can come, 29:20 but you see that's the danger of taking one text and 29:22 like putting one fence post in the floor you can 29:25 make it point anywhere you want it to point. 29:27 Let's look at that text that talks about 29:31 the thief in the night, because there is 29:33 another way that Jesus can come as a thief. 29:35 Look chapter 5, verse 1, 29:37 brothers about the times and days, 29:39 we don't need to write to you, 29:40 I'm in 1st Thessalonians still right after the Rapture. 29:43 The very next verse in fact you remember the bible was 29:46 written in Greek not in English, and they were no 29:47 chapters and verses, it all ran together. 29:50 So, right after that, here we are brothers 29:54 about time and days we don't need to write to you, 29:56 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come 29:59 like a thief in the night you see there it is, 30:01 comes like a thief, he steals them away 30:03 and they don't know where he went, 30:04 you wake up in the morning, 30:05 you are down your television set's gone 30:06 and everything else, and you don't know where it went, 30:08 see it came like a thief, 30:12 but read on, the Lord will come, 30:16 the day of the Lord will come like a thief 30:17 in the night while people are saying peace and safety, 30:21 destruction comes on them, 30:24 suddenly as labor pains on a pregnant 30:26 woman and they will not escape. 30:27 See there are two ways to come like a thief 30:31 in the night one is to silently, secretly, 30:34 steal away your stuff, you wake up in the morning 30:35 it's all gone, the other way is to come unexpectedly 30:38 and that's what he is talking about here. 30:41 By the way if when he comes like a thief in the night, 30:45 the people are saying peace and safety, 30:47 you see they are not expecting him to come. 30:49 Oh! everything is going, but we haves big homes, 30:51 we have big cars, we got boats, we got money in the 30:53 bank, we have everything and here comes peace 31:00 and safety, destruction comes on them suddenly. 31:04 Now if the wicked are destroyed when Jesus comes 31:09 like a thief in the night then you tell me 31:12 how many wicked people are going to be running 31:14 around this earth wondering where did they go. 31:21 In fact in the next chapter, another fence post lined up 31:25 here, in second, the next, 31:27 in Second Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 6, 31:31 God is just, God is fair, You can always trust God 31:37 to do the right thing. Amen! 31:39 Now listen to this, he will payback trouble 31:44 to those who trouble you and give relief to you 31:49 who are troubled and to us as well 31:51 have you ever had somebody do you wrong 31:55 and you thought, well, wait till I get my hands on him. 32:01 Have you ever thought naughty thoughts like that 32:04 and then later found out that, 32:06 that wasn't the person did you wrong to began with, 32:08 has it ever happened to you. Look, God is just and 32:16 he will payback trouble to those trouble you, 32:18 it's not your job, it's His 32:21 and he will give relief to you 32:23 who are troubled and to us as well. 32:24 When is he gonna do it then, when? 32:28 Look at the Next verse, 32:30 this will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed 32:34 from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels, 32:39 so that's another look at Jesus coming 32:42 visibly in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 32:46 Verse 8, he will punish those who do not know God 32:50 and do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus, 32:53 they will be punished with everlasting destruction 32:57 and shut out from the presence of the Lord 33:01 and from the majesty of his power, 33:03 when? On the day that he comes 33:06 to be glorified in his holy people and to be 33:08 marveled at among all those 33:10 who have believed and that includes you. 33:12 Because you have believed, so here he is telling 33:15 the church, hang on, I know that 33:18 bad things happen to good people 33:20 and I know that you are getting battered around 33:23 and I know that you're starting to feel like 33:25 you can't take anymore. Hang on 33:27 because God is gonna make it right, 33:29 when? When he comes 33:31 in blazing fire to be glorified in his people, 33:36 so at the same time he comes to take us, 33:39 the wicked will be punished, 33:41 the Bible says with everlasting destruction 33:43 and God makes no mistakes, leave it up to him not you, 33:49 but the point is that when Jesus comes 33:53 to take his church and to be glorified in his church, 33:57 which means you at that time, 34:00 the wicked are going to be destroyed. 34:06 So, how many wicked people are gonna be 34:08 running around on the airplanes 34:09 and driving their cars wondering 34:10 where did they go, none. 34:14 Because they are destroyed now folks. 34:18 And I'm gonna say something, 34:19 I know some of you don't want to hear 34:20 but the truth will set you free. Amen! 34:24 And it's better to know the truth then not to know it. 34:27 If the wicked are destroyed when Jesus comes 34:30 and we are caught up to meet him in heaven, 34:32 in the clouds and go to heaven with him, 34:35 then we are gonna be on this earth 34:38 all the way through until the end 34:42 and it means that the church is going 34:44 to be here for the great tribulation. 34:47 Now you say, well I've just heard 34:49 all my life that's not true, 34:50 I know we're not gonna be here, 34:51 I read it right here in the books, 34:54 but this is a novel and this is the word of God 34:59 and the truth that was left behind 35:01 in these books is the fact that after chapter 1 35:06 when Jesus comes for his church, 35:08 the rest of the whole thing is a novel 35:11 because no one is gonna be left on this earth 35:14 to join the tribulation force after Jesus comes. 35:20 Well, don't he love me enough 35:23 to keep me from the tribulation, 35:24 he promised he'd keep us from the tribulation, 35:26 but he didn't promise he take us away 35:29 before the tribulation, he doesn't have to take us 35:33 out of the world to protect us through the tribulation. 35:36 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 35:38 were thrown into the fiery furnace, 35:40 God could have struck them all dead 35:42 before they threw them in, but he 35:44 let them throw them in and he protected them 35:46 within the mist of their fiery trail. 35:50 That's why you better know God and trust Him. 35:53 In Psalms, the Book of Psalms 35:54 we'll see 10,000 fall at our right, 10,000 at our left, 35:58 we will see the wicked and the plagues falling upon 36:01 them, but it won't come near you. 36:04 He doesn't have to take us out to protect us from it, 36:06 but we better have faith in God to be able to do that. 36:11 Well then, the second danger, 36:15 even worse danger of the Left Behind series and 36:22 the futuristic approach to the Rapture is that there is, 36:27 if the wicked are destroyed when we are caught up to meet 36:30 Jesus then there is no second chance after the Rapture. 36:35 If you gonna get right with God you need to do it now, 36:39 don't wait until the Rapture. 36:42 Well, what about that verses, 36:43 that says two people be in the field 36:45 and one will be taken and other left, 36:47 I mean there it is as plain as you can read it, 36:49 there are two grinding at the mill 36:51 one taken Raptured up, the other left. 36:53 Well, why don't you help me grind? 36:57 Well, it does say two would be taken, 37:01 one will be taken and the other left. 37:02 Matthew Chapter 24, turn with me back to 37:05 Matthew, chapter 24, so now we got 37:08 a fence post out of line, one taken 37:11 Raptured away, the other one left. 37:13 Oh! Man, I'm having to do all this by myself not fair; 37:17 Is that what he's saying Here? Read it with me. 37:22 Verse 30, well I don't want to read that one first, 37:26 that's not the one I intended to read, 37:27 but let me read it for you right now because 37:29 I missed one of our fence posts here, 37:30 it's a good one in Matthew chapter 24 verse 30, 37:34 'at that time sign of the son of man will appear in 37:37 the sky and all the nations of the earth will mourn, 37:39 they will see the son of man coming on the clouds 37:41 of the sky with great power and great glory, 37:43 and he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call 37:46 and they will gather his elect from the four winds.' 37:48 So, there is another one, isn't it? 37:50 Visible glorious return of Christ. 37:52 Now, what about these two in the field? 37:54 Matthew chapter 24, this time verse 40, 37:57 two men will be in the field 37:58 one would be taken and the other left, 38:00 two women would be grinding grain 38:02 with a hand mill, one will be taken and other left. 38:05 You see, we're told that taken off to heaven, 38:07 Raptured away and the other one's left there 38:09 grinding and working in the field. 38:11 Let's look at what it really says 38:15 and look in the context of the passage, 38:17 follow with me, I'm gonna start in verse, 38:19 well look at verse 36, that's important, 38:22 nobody knows the day or hour, not even the angels in 38:24 heaven nor the son, only the father, don't let anybody 38:27 tell you when Jesus is coming, nobody knows. 38:30 But, then he goes on to say, as it was in the days of Noah, 38:34 so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38:37 So, what is it gonna be like when Jesus comes. 38:40 how will it be? It's gonna be like 38:43 it was in the days of Noah, right, 38:45 everybody with me so far, as it wasn't the days of Noah, 38:49 that's the way it's gonna be. 38:50 So, it's gonna be just like it was in the days of Noah. 38:53 Well, what was it like in the days of Noah? 38:56 Verse 38, for in the days before the flood 38:59 people were eating, drinking, marrying, 39:02 giving in marriage up until the day Noah entered the Ark 39:07 and they knew nothing about what were to happen 39:10 until the flood came and took them all away. 39:19 That is how it will be at the coming 39:22 of the son of man, how it's gonna be? 39:25 Like it was in the days of Noah. 39:26 What was it like in the days? 39:27 Oh! They were eating, drinking, marrying, 39:28 giving in marriage, nobody knew anything 39:30 about what was gonna happen until 39:33 the flood came and took them all away 39:39 that's exactly what Paul said while they're 39:41 saying peace and safety, what happened? 39:44 Destruction will come on them suddenly. 39:48 Now, like it was in Noah, they were eating, drinking, 39:50 oh! peace, safety, man we got everything and 39:52 then what? The flood came and took them all away, 39:55 that is how it would be at the coming 39:57 of the son of man, two men will be working 39:58 in the field, one will be taken and the other left. 40:02 Now tell me in the days of Noah, 40:04 the flood came and took them all away, 40:07 Where were they taken to? 40:11 To their destruction, right! 40:14 They were taken to their destruction, 40:15 everybody with me on that, raise your hand, 40:16 nod your head, say Amen or something so I'll know. 40:18 They were taken to their destruction 40:21 that is how it will be at the coming of 40:23 the son of man, two men will be working 40:25 in the field, one will be taken, where? 40:28 Same place they were taken 40:30 in the days in Noah. Where was that? 40:31 To their destruction and one will be left. 40:36 He is not talking about Rapturing us 40:39 up to heaven at all, of course we get caught 40:42 up to heaven, we have already seen that, 40:43 but that's not what he is talking about in Matthew. 40:46 In Matthew, he is simply saying 40:48 on that day there are going to be 40:50 two groups of people when Jesus comes, 40:52 the wicked are going to be taken away to their 40:55 destruction, those who are alive are going to be left. 40:59 And those who are righteous are going to be left, 41:01 that's why Paul said, notice and this is important 41:05 Paul said in the passage that we read just a few 41:07 minutes ago in First Thessalonians, chapter 4. 41:14 Come on Paul, I found you a minute ago. 41:17 First Thessalonians, chapter 4, 41:18 look, for the Lord Himself will come down from heaven 41:21 with a loud command, voice of the Archangel, 41:23 trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ 41:26 will rise first, after that we who are still alive 41:29 and are left will be caught up together with them. 41:33 That's the way its gonna be 41:34 at the coming of the son of man. 41:35 Two men will be working in the field, 41:36 one will be taken away to his destruction and 41:39 the other is left alive to be Raptured up to meet Jesus 41:43 in the clouds and all our fence posts line up again. 41:47 This verse says just the opposite of what they 41:53 tried to tell you it really means. 41:55 Now, just in case somebody's being a 41:57 little skeptical out there and it's okay, 41:59 you shouldn't believe everything I say 42:01 just 'cause I say it, you need to 42:02 believe what he says. Amen. 42:03 So, while we are really getting this right? 42:07 Well, let's double check. 42:08 In Luke chapter 17, in Luke the 17th chapter, 42:13 Jesus tells the same story. 42:15 Now, I'm not going to read the whole thing, 42:17 let's just start with verse 34, 42:18 'I tell you on that night two people will be in one bed, 42:20 one will be taken and the other left. 42:22 Two women will be grinding grain together 42:24 and one will be taken and the other left.' 42:27 Verse 37, where Lord they asked, 42:30 now tell me he just said that two men, two women 42:33 will be grinding grain, one will be taken 42:36 and the other left and they say, where? 42:40 Which one are they asking about? 42:42 The one that's left; no they know where that one is. 42:48 The one that's taken, where are you 42:51 taking them Lord? Isn't that right? 42:55 And what's the answer Jesus gave, where there is 42:58 a dead body there the vultures will gather. 43:03 They are taken to their destruction folks, 43:05 there is no second chance after the Rapture, 43:08 now is the time, today is the day 43:11 to respond to Jesus Christ. 43:15 Well then, if the wicked are destroyed 43:17 and we are caught up to meet Jesus then 43:20 what's here, what's going on in the earth? 43:23 And now we are ready to put it all together in the 43:26 20th Chapter of Revelation, but actually I am going 43:28 to start, we will start in Revelation chapter 19 43:31 to make sure we got those fence posts lined-up 43:34 and we are not taking anything out of context. 43:36 So, in Revelation chapter 19 verse 11, 43:38 I saw heaven standing open and there before me 43:42 was a white horse whose rider is called faithful 43:45 and true with justice he judges and makes war. 43:48 Now, who is the rider on the white horse? 43:51 Verse 16 says on his robe and on his thigh 43:53 he has his name written, King of Kings and 43:56 Lord of Lords, that's Jesus, Amen. 43:58 Now watch this, verse 15, 44:00 out of his mouth comes a sharp sword 44:04 with which to strike down the nations 44:07 and he will rule them with an iron scepter. 44:09 So, what happens to the wicked nations 44:11 when Jesus comes riding on a white horse 44:14 to make war against them. 44:17 They're slain with a sword coming out of his mouth, 44:19 the iron rode he smashes them to 44:22 pieces, we have already read. 44:24 Verse 19, I saw the beast 44:25 and the armies and the Kings of the Earth 44:27 and their armies gathered together 44:29 to make war against the rider on the horse 44:31 and his army, but the beast was captured 44:33 with him the false prophet who had performed 44:35 the miraculous signs on his behalf 44:38 and with these signs he diluted those who had 44:40 taken the mark of the beast that two of them 44:42 were thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, 44:44 the rest of them were killed with the sword 44:47 that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse. 44:51 And all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. 44:57 When Jesus comes, he comes to make war 45:00 against the wicked, but to deliver the righteous, why? 45:05 Because the wicked are persecuting his people when 45:07 he comes to make things right and to deliver us. 45:12 Now what happens next and here you go, follow 45:14 carefully, what happens next when Jesus comes? 45:19 I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, 45:21 having the key to the abyss, 45:23 now the King James says bottomless pit and 45:27 holding in his hand a great chain 45:28 he seized the dragon, an ancient serpent, 45:30 who is the devil or Satan and bound him for a 1000 years. 45:33 He threw him into the bottomless pit, 45:36 locked and sealed it over him to keep him 45:38 from deceiving the nations anymore 45:40 until the 1000 years were ended after that 45:43 he would be set free for a short time. 45:45 So, 1000 years he is in that bottomless pit. 45:49 Now that's not folks, that's not really a 45:51 a good translation of the word. 45:54 My translation says that abyss and that's better. 45:58 The Greek there is Abussos and the interesting 46:00 thing to me is if the Greek word Abussos is the word 46:04 that's used in the Greek Old Testament. 46:07 Now the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, 46:09 but by the time Jesus came it had been translated 46:12 into Greek and he was using the Greek Old Testament. 46:15 And in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1, 46:18 in the Greek Bible where it says 46:20 'in the beginning God created the heavens 46:21 and the earth and the earth was without form 46:23 and void and darkness was on the surface of the deep.' 46:26 The Greek word for deep is Abussos, 46:32 In other words, the abyss or the wild chaotic 46:36 nothing that this earth was before 46:38 God began to bring order and that's the way 46:43 it's going to be and that's exactly 46:44 what we have seen so far, 46:46 because when Jesus comes, we are caught 46:48 up to meet him in the air, the died in Christ 46:50 are raised up, together we go to meet him. 46:52 The wicked are destroyed, 46:54 who is left here? The beast is gone, 46:56 the false prophet gone, only the devil left 47:00 on this earth nothing, wild, chaotic nothing, 47:03 a wilderness of nothing. 47:07 There are no nations for him to tempt for a 1000 years, 47:13 that's why he is bound in this pit, 47:15 it is not a bottomless pit, if it was he'd get out 47:18 down in China somewhere. 47:21 No, it's the world with nothing on it, 47:24 he can't deceive the nations for a 1000 years 47:26 because there are no nations, 47:28 but after that he would be set free for short time. 47:33 So, when is this 1000 years and how does it all unfold. 47:36 That's the millennium, even though the Bible 47:38 doesn't use the word millennium, 47:40 1000 years means a millennium 47:42 and a millennium means a 1000 year period, 47:44 so when is this? Alright, let's take a look 47:46 in the middle of verse 4, we'll comeback to the 47:48 first part in a minute and I saw the souls of those 47:51 who had been beheaded because of their testimony 47:53 to Jesus and the word of God they had not worshiped 47:56 the beast or his image, they had not received 47:58 his mark on their foreheads or their hands. 48:00 They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 48:06 So, there is a resurrection. 48:08 Now tell me who is resurrected here, 48:10 the righteous or the wicked? 48:13 The righteous right, that's the righteous, 48:15 so if we can figure out when the righteous are 48:17 raised up then we will know when the 1000 years begins. 48:21 Well, we have already seen the resurrection 48:24 of the righteous takes place, when Jesus comes to 48:26 Rapture the church because they're raised up, 48:29 we are changed and then together we are caught 48:32 up to meet Jesus in the clouds, 48:34 so the dead in Christ rise and that's the point 48:38 that the 1000 years begins. 48:41 So here it says, let's just look out it again. 48:44 I saw a resurrection he said those who had not, 48:47 those who refused the words of beast, 48:48 this is the righteous, they are resurrected, 48:50 they came to life and they reigned 48:52 with Christ a 1000 years. 48:53 Verse 5, the rest of the dead, whose that? 48:57 It's got to be the wicked. 48:58 The righteous are raised up, 48:59 it has to be the wicked, right? 49:01 So, the rest of the dead did not come to the life 49:04 until the 1000 years were ended. 49:09 So, now we have the 1000 years that 49:11 are separated by two resurrections. 49:12 Look, verse 6, blessed and holy are 49:14 those who have a part in the first resurrection. 49:16 Now understand, this is not the first resurrection ever. 49:21 Jesus was resurrected, Lazarus was resurrected, 49:24 many were resurrected when Jesus came forth. 49:26 So, it's not the first resurrection ever, 49:28 but in the terms of these two resurrections 49:30 it's the first one that takes place 49:32 when Jesus comes, he says blessed are 49:34 those who have a part in the first resurrection, 49:36 second death has no power over them, 49:38 but they will be priests of God in Christ 49:40 and reign with him a thousand years. 49:42 So, we're raised up, we go to heaven with Jesus 49:45 and we reign with him for a thousand years 49:50 and what we are going to be 49:51 doing up there for a thousand years? 49:52 Says, we will be priests of God, 49:56 we're going to be missionaries, 49:58 we're going to be the only people 49:59 in this whole universe that ever sinned 50:00 and we're restored and brought back to God. 50:04 We can have a story to tell, but there is more 50:06 because verse, chapter 4, the first part says 50:09 they were thrones in which were seated 50:11 those who have been given authority to judge. 50:13 The Bible even says we are going to judge 50:14 the angels, well what do we need a judge for, 50:18 you know, there can be a lot of surprises on that day. 50:20 Did you know that? There are going to be 50:22 a lot of surprises, I know, 50:24 just the other day somebody told me a friend of mine 50:27 that I had gone to college with years and years ago. 50:30 And when they told him what I was doing, 50:33 I was a pastor, you now doing Revelation Now 50:36 meetings, Jac Colon! No way. 50:39 I can't wait to get to heaven. 50:41 I am going to see people there 50:42 and they are going to say Colon, 50:43 how did you get here? 50:45 Boy, I am going to be the biggest surprise 50:46 they ever saw, they are going to be surprised, 50:49 people we thought would never make 50:51 are going to be walking those streets of gold. 50:52 Surprised. Amen. Good news, 50:56 but there are also going to be some people 50:59 missing that we thought surely they should be there. 51:05 My favorite Pastor, where is he? 51:08 my favorite Evangelist, not here, 51:10 my favorite Bible school teacher is gone, 51:13 my favorite deacon, my favorite next door neighbor, 51:16 they just prayed all the time and worshiped God; 51:18 Are not here? What's wrong. 51:20 An angel comes walking by, 51:22 angel, tell me why aren't they here? 51:27 And the angel says shut up, 51:31 we don't ask questions up here. 51:35 Think, is it going to be like that? 51:37 No. The angel says here the books, 51:42 the books are opened, his whole life, 51:45 here it is and you say, wow! I didn't know, 51:51 what's he doing here? Next page, 51:54 wow! I didn't know. 51:57 You see every question is going to be answered. 52:01 God leaves no stone unturned when the wicked 52:05 are finally destroyed, everybody knows that 52:09 as hard as it is for God to even allow this to happen, 52:13 he has done the right thing. 52:18 Well then, why does he resurrect 52:20 the wicked at the end of the the 1000 years? 52:22 Verse 7, when the 1000 years were over, 52:26 Satan will be released from his prison, 52:28 how's he released? Because, the wicked 52:30 are raised up again. 52:32 Now, he's got nations to deceive 52:34 and he'll go out to deceive the nations 52:36 in the four corners of the earth, 52:37 they were gone, now they're here. 52:40 He says to gather them for battle, 52:41 in number they're like sand 52:43 on the sea shore and they march across 52:45 the breath of the earth, surround the camp of God, 52:48 the camp of God's people, the city that he loves. 52:51 So, at the end of the resurrection, 52:53 I mean at the end of the 1000 years, 52:54 we've been in heaven with Jesus a 1000 years, 52:56 what happens after that? 52:58 We come back down in the city, 53:01 another space trip, that shall won't blow either. 53:05 We come back down to this earth 53:08 and the wicked are raised up 53:10 and Satan deceives them one more time. 53:12 Look at how many, we're like sand on the sea. 53:14 Oh! look out just a handful in there, 53:16 let's go take the city and then we will have it 53:19 forever and will be over with this battle, 53:21 so they go to surround the city and to capture the city, 53:25 but fire comes down from heaven. 53:30 Fire comes down from heaven 53:33 and the devil who deceived them 53:35 was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, 53:37 where the beast and false prophet had been thrown 53:39 and they will be tormented 53:40 day and night, forever and ever. 53:41 We will talk about that on another night. 53:46 Verse 11, why does God raise them up? 53:50 Why has He raised them up and let them attack the city 53:54 and then destroys them with the fire from heaven. 53:59 Why didn't he just let them stay dead 54:00 and let us get on with life here? 54:03 Good question and here is the answer. 54:05 Verse 11, I saw the great white throne 54:08 and him who was seated on it, 54:09 earth and sky fled from his presence, 54:10 there was no place for them. 54:12 I saw the dead, great and small standing before 54:14 the throne and the books were opened, 54:16 and then another book was opened, 54:17 which is the book of life and the dead were judged 54:19 according to what they have done as recorded in the books. 54:22 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, 54:24 death and Hades gave up the dead 54:26 that were in them and each person 54:28 was judged according to what he has done 54:30 and then death and Hades were thrown into the lake 54:34 of fire and the lake of fire is the second death. 54:37 If anyone's name was not found written 54:38 in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. 54:42 Another judgment, the great white throne judgment. 54:45 Why? Why didn't God just let them stay dead? 54:49 Why does He raise them up to judge them again 54:50 and then cast them into the lake of fire. 54:53 Because the Bible says that the time is coming 54:57 when every knee will bow and every tongue 55:02 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, even the wicked, 55:09 even the old devil before they're destroyed 55:13 not out of repentance, not because they want 55:17 to live a Godly life with God forever, 55:21 but out of the realization that they were wrong 55:24 and that the punishment that's about to be poured out 55:27 upon them is just and fair and they deserve it. 55:30 And that's how the final question is answered and 55:33 God can finally destroy sin and because they have 55:38 chosen to sin they'll be destroyed along with it 55:41 and everyone will know that it was an act of love. 55:48 God's strange act, the Bible says, 55:50 with tears streaming down his cheek, 55:54 but he can't let the wicked go on forever 55:58 beating up on his people somewhere he has to say 56:02 I have done everything that I can do, 56:04 it is over and I am coming soon. 56:10 It's an infinite heart of infinite love, 56:13 besides that there will be the most 56:15 miserable people in eternity because 56:17 sinners would not have one thing to do forever. 56:22 So, it's a gracious thing that God does. 56:25 Now, listen on that day every living soul that has 56:30 ever walked on this planet is going to be there. 56:34 You and I, we are going to be there. 56:38 You have no choice in that matter, everyone 56:42 is going to be there, you do have a choice 56:46 as to where you will be, inside the city with the lamb 56:53 or on the outside wishing you were on the inside. 56:59 But, you are going to be there, 57:00 I'm going to be there, everyone will be there 57:04 from Adam to the last baby born, everyone will be there. 57:10 Where will you be? Follow the lamb 57:18 and join me inside the city. |
Revised 2014-12-17