11. The Closing Events of the Great Tribulation - Pastor Stephen Bohr - Matthew 24

[Music] shall we pray father in heaven we come before your throne once again with humility realizing that our ways are not your ways realizing that our wisdom is limited realizing that we need your help we desperately need the holy spirit to understand your word to apply it to our lives and live in harmony with it so we ask that as we study this very important subject about the end of the tribulation that you will be with us to guide our thoughts and open our hearts we thank you father for the privilege of prayer we know that you have heard us because we ask it in the name of jesus amen well let's review the great events that take place from the time that the small tribulation takes place to the time when the sign is seen and god's people have to flee i'm going to mention six events in order of a chronological sequence first of all you have a preliminary tribulation that is mentioned in matthew chapter 24 and verse 9 through verse 14. then you have a sign in verse 15. this is a sign which is called the abomination of desolation basically it's the sign for god's people to flee from jerusalem in the historical fulfillment and it's a sign for god's people to flee to desolate places at the end of time this sign in the historical application was when the roman standards came with the eagle and the sun and the roman legions rendered them worship at the end of time it will no longer be a literal eagle with literal sun worship it will be a nation whose emblem is the eagle and an imposition of sunday as the day of rest this will divide the world into two groups those who flee and those who stay then after the flight you have the beginning of the great tribulation such as never has been seen since the world began no nor ever shall be and uh then in the midst of this great tribulation mentioned in matthew 24 and verses 21 and 22 then you have the counterfeit second coming of christ satan is going to counterfeit the second coming of jesus we studied about that in our last lecture and then at the very end of the tribulation when satan has counterfeited the second coming of christ then we have the closing events at the conclusion of the great tribulation and that is what we're going to study about in our lecture today so let's begin by going to matthew 24 and verse 29. it speaks here about signs in the heavens when the tribulation comes to its end it says there in matthew 24 verse 29 immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken now to when does this particular verse apply there has been some confusion regarding these heavenly signs in matthew 24 and verse 29. some have claimed that this verse is out of chronological order in matthew chapter 24. because they say that this verse refers to the great earthquake of lisbon it refers to the sun being darkened and the moon looking like blood in 1780 and the falling of the stars in the year 1833 so they say see matthew 24 29 is not in chronological order with the other events in the chapter however this assumption is wrong the signs in the heavens in 1780 and 1833 as well as the great earthquake in 1755 are not the same as the signs that are mentioned here in matthew 24 and verse 29 they are different sets of signs in other words there is one set of signs that take place in 1755 1780 and 1833 there is another set of signs that take place immediately after the tribulation as jesus is about to return now if we remember the papacy has two stages of existence or of dominion therefore the tribulation must also have two stages and the signs in the heavens also have two stages the signs that took place in 1755 1780 in 1833 announced the judgment phase of those who were martyred under the fifth seal whereas the signs immediately after the tribulation point to the avenging stage of the cry of the martyrs in revelation chapter 6 regarding the fifth seal now let's notice the function of the signs what is the function of these signs that occur in the heavens that is in 1755 the great earthquake uh 1780 the darkening of the sun and the moon looking like blood and the stars falling from heaven in 1833. we're going to talk about those first then we're going to deal more specifically with matthew chapter 24 and verse 29. so what is the function of the signs that announce the beginning of the judgment phase of the cry of the martyrs in the fifth seal there are five specific functions for these signs first they announced that the first stage of persecution by the papacy the first stage of the great tribulation is about to come to an end second they serve as an omen of the fall of the papal power because they occur immediately before the papal power falls and third in the third place they served to draw attention to the approaching judgment in the year 1844 fourth they serve as indicators of the beginning of the end and finally they announced the soon coming of jesus christ so i want you to notice once again the five functions of these signs in the heavens and also the great earthquake 1755 1780 and 1833 first it announces that the great tribulation the first stage of the great tribulation is about to come to an end second it's an omen of the fall of the papal power number three they serve to draw attention to the approaching judgment in 1844 four they are indicators of the beginning of the time of the end and five they announce the soon coming of jesus christ now there are critics both within and without the adventist church that argue in the following fashion how is it possible to believe that events that took place over 250 years ago are signs of the soon coming of jesus you know these signs took place in 1755 1780 and 1833 over 250 years have passed since then so how can we believe that those signs are signs that jesus is soon to come isn't this stretching credulity to its limit you know if you look at this on the surface it appears like a persuasive argument that these signs cannot announce the soon coming of jesus christ but when you look at this in a broader perspective it makes perfect sense let me use an example let us suppose for the sake of argument that i'm going to take a 6 000 mile trip when i start the trip everybody would agree that the end of the trip is a long ways off when i'm halfway there you would agree that the destination is still very very distant however when i'm 250 miles from the destination would you say that i'm near my destination of course 250 years of 6 000 years of history is only four percent so when you look at it from the perspective of creation to our time certainly the coming of jesus is near the late sea marvin maxwell who was my teacher at the andrews university theological seminary wrote a very good book it's called the magnificent disappointment uh on pages 91 and 92 by the way this book was published in 1994 he puts 1844 and the nearness of the second coming in proper perspective i read now from his book we need a change of perspective instead of looking back to 1844 and finding it around 150 years in the past let us go back to the beginning of human history and view 1844 as almost 6 000 years in the future from the perspective of eden at the beginning of earth's 6 000 years the remaining distance between 1844 and the 1990s is hardly discernible these 150 years between 1844 and the 1990s represent only 140s 2.5 of human history yes we are indeed in the end time the final judgment began only yesterday as it were christ's second advent is coming soon and he mentions a little before in this quotation that more than 97 of human history took place prior to 1844. so it all depends what perspective you look at this from if you look at it from perspective of eden oh we're very very close to the end if you look at it from the perspective of 1844 it is a different story so let's notice uh the why these particular signs the enemies of traditional adventism and ellen white have frequently pointed out that there have been other earthquakes other dark days other times that the moon has looked like blood and other times that there have been uh stars that have fallen they argue what makes the lisbon earthquake of 1755 and the dark day of 1780 the moon looking like blood in 1780 and the leonid star shower of 1833 so unique and so special the answer is four-fold number one the location of these signs number two their order number three their timing and number four their intensity so let's look at the location of these particular signs it's not coincidental that these signs in 1755 1780 and 1833 occurred in europe and in the united states europe was significant because the papacy was going to receive its deadly wound there which would mark the end of the 1260 year tribulation of god's people the united states was significant particularly new england because there the millerites were going to proclaim the beginning of the investigative judgment in the 1830s once again see mervyn maxwell explained this importance of europe and the united states the location of the classic signs was highly significant they happened in europe and america primarily where the people were studying the bible and pondering the prophecies and then he says this a dark day in the sahara desert or a star shower over new guinea would have said little in those days about the second coming of christ to the cannibal head hunters or muslim nomads events need not be universal to deliver a global message a few square miles at hiroshima and nagasaki were sufficient to announce the atomic age a stable in bethlehem ushered in the christian era only a few hundred people saw jesus after his resurrection but they told others so it's significant that the location for these signs was in europe and in the united states because at this time they were studying bible prophecy because they knew that the 1260 years were coming to an end the papacy was coming to an end and the judgment was soon to begin in 1844 another thing which makes these signs stand out is their order these phenomena occurred exactly in the order that the bible presents them in the exact chronological order as revelation chapter 6. the lisbon earthquake occurred in 1755. the dark day and the moon looking like blood took place in 1780 and the star shower took place in the year 1833 now show me one other instance within a 100 year period where you had these signs in the precise order in which they occurred in harmony with revelation chapter 6 and verse 12. you will not be able to find any other occasion within a hundred year period where you have these signs in this exact order that is mentioned in revelation 6 and verses 12 and 13. the next point is the timing of these particular signs on in the earthquake and the signs in the heavenly bodies these signs occurred precisely at the right time immediately before the 1260-year tribulation came to an end and just before the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the fall of the papacy in 1798 and the beginning of the investigative judgment in 1844 so they occurred right in time and finally their intensity indicates that these signs were unusual once again we find in the book magnificent disappointment page 93 the following words by c mervyn maxwell as recently as 1980 the widely respected seismologist g a ivy in chapter 11 of his his earthquakes ranked the lisbon earthquake as the largest shock ever and reckoned that it may well have reached an almost incredible 9.0 on the richter scale seven times stronger than the 1906 san francisco earthquake the dark day of may 19 1780 has not been equaled in north america in the last 200 years that have since come and gone the leonid shower of november 13 1833 gave birth to a new branch of astronomy like the lisbon earthquake and the famous dark day it too has not been matched in spite of the scientific expectations that it would be so you'll notice that these signs are special because of their location because of their order because of their timing and because of their intensity now let's take a look at the scripture references of the signs you know there are several passages from scripture that describe these signs and so we need to take a look and see if there's a difference between the signs that lead up to the year 1844 and the signs that take place immediately after the tribulation as jesus is about to come to the earth we find signs in the heavenly bodies many times in scripture revelation chapter 6 verses 12 and 13 that we'll read in a moment tells us that the moon became like blood not that it became dark remember that the signs in revelation 6 12 and 13 are parallel to those in the book of joel chapter 2 verse 31 and acts chapter 2 and verse 20. in a moment we're going to read all these verses and put this together now let's read revelation chapter 6 verses 12 and 13 and examine these passages that deal with signs in the heavens as well as an earthquake to see if there's a difference between the signs that led up to 1844 and the signs that take place announcing the second coming of christ revelation chapter 6 verses 12 and 13 states i looked when he opened the sixth seal and behold there was a great earthquake so you have a great earthquake the sun became black as sackcloth of hair that's the second sign and the moon became like blood that's a third sign and the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind so you have an earthquake the sun becoming black the moon looking like blood and the stars falling from heaven that's the order of the signs revelation 6 12 and 13. and as i mentioned these signs announce uh several events that are to occur in 1798 and in 1844. now let's read where this actually comes from because there's a text in the old testament where revelation is actually referring to joel chapter 2 and verse 31 joel 2 and verse 31 and there's a very important little detail here the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood and now comes a very important word before the coming of the great and awesome day of the lord so the sun turned into darkness the moon into blood occurs before the great and awesome day of the lord incidentally the apostle peter quoted this prophecy from joel in acts chapter 2 and verse 20 in his sermon on the day of pentecost i want to read that verse acts 2 verse 20 the sun shall be turned into darkness the moon into blood and once again before the coming of the great and awesome day of the lord so you notice that these signs that are mentioned in revelation 6 12 and 13 joel chapter 2 31 and acts chapter 2 and verse 20 speak of the moon being turned into blood and this occurs before the great and awesome day of the lord however there are other signs that point to an announcement of the second coming of jesus immediately after the tribulation when jesus is about to come to planet earth and those signs have details that are different from the signs that led up to 1798 in 1844 let's notice three of those passages joel chapter 2 verses 10 and 11. now if you read the verses before this it's describing the second coming of christ very clearly joel 2 10 11 says the earthquakes before them and now there's an additional detail not only does the earthquake but it says the heavens tremble so this is not only an earthly earthly earthquake this is a heavenly earthquake the heavens tremble and then it says the sun and moon grow dark this is different because in the previous prophecies it says that the moon looks like blood here it says the sun and the moon grow dark and the stars diminish their brightness doesn't say the stars fall the stars diminish their brightness in other words everything goes dark it continues this is the second coming the lord gives voice before his army for his camp is very great for strong is the one who executes his word and then comes this reference to revelation 6 and verse 17. for the day of the lord is great and very terrible who can endure it so you'll notice here that this is speaking about signs that take place when the great and terrible day of the lord has arrived the earthquakes the heavens tremble the sun and moon and the stars don't give their light these are not the signs that led up to the years 1798 1845 these are different signs because they take place in the great and terrible day of the lord and we are told that the sun moon and stars grow dark it doesn't say that the moon is turned into blood let's notice joel chapter 3 and verses 15 and 16. it says there the sun and moon will grow dark and the stars diminish their brightness once again everything's going to go dark it doesn't say the stars fall from heaven doesn't say that the moon is turned into blood it says that the sun and moon will grow dark and the stars will diminish their brightness verse 16 the lord also will roar from zion and utter his voice from jerusalem the heavens and earth will shake this isn't only the lisbon earthquake the heavens and earth will shake but the lord will be a shelter for his people and the strength of the children of israel let's notice one further passage isaiah chapter 13 verses 10 to 13 and i'm reading from the new international version this particular passage it says there the stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light so notice that the stars in the constellations don't shine anymore they're dark it continues the rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light once again different than the signs that announce 1798 and 1844 verse 11 i will punish the world for its evil the wicked for their sins i will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless i will make a man scarcer than pure gold more rare than the gold of offer therefore i will make the heavens tremble and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the lord almighty in the day of burning anger so this takes place at the second coming folks so matthew chapter 24 29 is not out of chronological order you just can't take those signs and say well they're the same signs that led up to 1798 in 1844. you know i've been on zoom a lot during this pandemic and every single time that i've shared this message on matthew chapter 24 at the end we have a question and answer session they say oh but wait a minute pastor boy you say that matthew 24 is in chronological order but matthew 24 29 the signs in the heavens they're out of chronological order because that happened in 1755 1780 and 1833 and i have to explain all of this to them you see the chapter is in chronological order there are signs that point to the end of the tribulation at the hands of the papacy and there are signs that the great time of trouble at the end of time is about to come to an end they are two different sets of signs we need to understand that there's a difference between the expression time of the end and the expression the end of time the signs in revelation 6 12 and 13 point to the beginning of the time of the end whereas the signs immediately before the second coming point to the end of time you'll notice that matthew 24 verse 29 refers to the powers of the heavens being shaken now the question is what are the powers of the heavens that are shaken when jesus begins his second coming well the answer is in genesis chapter 1 and verse 16. genesis 1 verse 16 says then god made two great lights the greater light to rule the day and the lesser right to rule the night he made the stars also so the sun and the moon are the rulers of heaven the sun rules the day and the moon rules the night so in matthew 24 verse 29 says that the powers or the rulers of heaven will be shaken what does that mean it simply means that the sun moon and stars will be moved from their places they will be shaken somewhere in the universe they will not disappear i'm going to read an interesting statement in a few moments they will not disappear but they will be thrown somewhere in the universe and that's the reason why during the thousand years this planet will be dark it will have no light because there's no sun no moon and no stars to illumine the earth now here's a very interesting detail it is not worthy that ellen white quotes and don't miss this point ellen white quotes revelation 6 12 and 13 in the great controversy page 304 so notice this ellen white quotes revelation 6 12 and 13 which mentions the great earthquake and the signs in heaven the sun being darkened the moon looking like blood and the stars falling from heaven she quotes this and she comments on this in the great controversy page 304 but interestingly enough she does not quote verses 14 through 17 until paige has 641 and 642. that's almost 350 pages between her reference to revelation 6 12 and 13 and her reference to revelation 6 verses 14 to 17 this indicates that there is a parenthesis of time between verse 12 and verse verse 12 and 13 and verses 14 through 17. let me quote from ellen white pages 6 41 and 6 42 this is a short quotation the heavens are rolled together as a scroll the earth trembles before him and every mountain and island is moved out of its place this is ellen white commenting she says the heavens are rolled together as a scroll the earth trembles before him because he's coming in the second coming every mountain island is moved out of his place and then immediately after this ellen white quotes revelation 6 verses 15 through 17. interestingly enough in connection with the second coming but when she comments in verses 12 and 13 she's speaking of the signs that took place in 1755 1780 and 1833 so there are 350 pages between page 304 and pages 641 and 642. there is a period of time in other words between verses 12 and 13 and verses 14 through 17. what is the principle here the principle here is that there are signs that might mark the end of the two tribulation stages in both cases the signs indicate that god is going to deliver his people from oppression the signs in the heavens leading up to 1798 and 1833 show that the period of god's oppression during the tribulation when the papacy persecuted god's saints is the first stage of these signs whereas the second stage of the signs in the heavens is that the tribulation of god's people in the great time of trouble is coming to an end and god is about to deliver his people we must understand this also from the perspective of the fifth seal as we studied in our last presentation the fifth seal mentions two groups of martyrs one passed during the 1260 years and one future during the great tribulation at the end of time the signs in the sixth seal that's revelation 6 12 and 13 announced the judgment stage of the cry of the martyrs whereas the signs in revelation 6 14-7 point to the moment when god avenges his faithful people let's go once again to revelation chapters chapter six and notice this because it's important that we keep this particularly in mind revelation chapter 6 and we'll read verses 9 through 11. and i remind you that the first horse the first seal represents the apostolic church going out to conquer conquering and to conquer the second seal is a red horse this is the imperial persecutions where god's people are mowed down by the roman empire the third horse the black horse is when error comes into the church and paganism and christianity are joined together in the days of constantine the fourth horse the yellow horse horse of death is the period of papal oppression when millions of god's people are slain and then in the fifth seal the martyrs are crying out the martyrs that died died during the fourth seal are crying out let's read verse nine when he opened the fifth seal i saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of god and for the testimony which they had and they cried with a loud voice saying how long o lord holy and true until you judge notice that that pla pleading for two things until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth so so they're asking for two things we want you to judge and we want you to avenge and then verse 11 says then a white robe was given to each of them that is to those who died during the first period of tribulation the first period of persecution and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer in other words they're going to remain dead they'll rest a little while until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who would be killed as they were was completed in other words until the rest of the martyrs die these martyrs are supposed to rest so the first signs are an indication that the judgment stage of the cry of the martyrs is coming very soon in 1844 the signs that we find in the heavens at the end of time is the sign that god is delivering his people from the end time tribulation and he is going to avenge them now let's go to luke chapter 21 verses 25 and 26. this these are interesting verses usually preachers take these verses and say that they are describing the present turmoil of society in other words the distress among nations that is taking place now let's read the verses and see when this applies to specifically luke 21 25 and 26 reads and there will be signs in the sun in the moon and in the stars and on the earth distress of nations with perplexity the sea and the waves roaring men's hearts failing them for from fear at the expectation of those things which are coming to the earth for the powers of heaven will be shaken so notice that this distress among nations the signs and the sun moon and stars takes place when the powers of the heavens are shaken you know this is the same concept that we found in matthew 24 verse 29. uh in other words luke uh is parallel to matthew but luke adds some details he adds that there's going to be distress perplexity the roaring of the sea and men's hearts failing them for fear jesus here is not talking about present distress among nations that is out of context in context the focus is the distress among nations now because they see the signs in the sun moon and stars and the great earthquake and they know that jesus is coming soon the sea is raging at this time in the chapters the time of trouble and god's people delivered in the book the great controversy ellen white follows the identical order of the events of matthew 24 verses 29 and 30. i want you to notice this you know how did ellen white get all these things in the exact proper order in the correct order was it a lucky guess or was she simply inspired by the spirit and she's being given this information so that she puts everything where it's supposed to be after describing the great tribulation in the chapter on the time of trouble ellen white wrote on how god's voice will shake the heavens and the earth she then describes the roaring of the sea in tempestuous fury and the resulting distress among nations a clear allusion to the language of luke 21 25-26 so luke 21 25-26 is referring to the distress among nations when they see the sun and the moon and the stars darken and not only earth being shaken but the heavens shaken the indication that jesus is about to undertake his return to this earth then just a few pages after this ellen white describes the sign of the son of man in heaven then she describes how that sign which is the little black cloud about half the size of a man's hand becomes closer and closer to the earth it becomes a white cloud and then jesus sends the angels to pick up his saints from the four winds let me just review with you the pages in great controversy where ellen white follows matthew 24 29-30 in the exact order in which it appears in the text in great controversy 6 13 and 6 to 6 34 she describes the time of trouble or the great tribulation that's great controversy 613-634 then in great controversy 636 and 637 she refers to the signs in the sun moon and stars and the great earthquake then in pages 3 638 and 639 she describes the distress among nations and the lashing of the sea then in great controversy 640 and 641 she describes the sign of the coming of the son of man and then in page 645 she describes the gathering of the elect it's in the exact order of matthew 24 and verses 29 to and of course she adds a lot of details she amplifies greatly what we find there uh in matthew chapter 24 verses 29 to 31 but now we need to deal with a seemingly difficult statement from ellen white this statement is found in great controversy page 304 and some people are confused they say see pastor bohr is wrong because the signs that took place in 1755 in 1780 and 1833 ellen white says that matthew 24 at the end of the chapter is talking about that let's read it carefully you know we need to just read things carefully not superficially here ellen white wrote the following prophecy not only foretells the manner and object of christ's coming but presents tokens by which men are to know when it is near so notice two things prophecy foretells the manner and object of christ coming and also presents the tokens by which men can know that it is near she continues said jesus there shall be signs in the sun in the moon and in the stars she's quoting luke 21 verses 2 verse 25 the sun shall be darkened the moon shall not give her light and the stars of him shall fall and the powers that are in the heavens shall be shaken and then they shall see the son of man son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory there she's quoting from mark 13 verses 24 to 26 and then she states the revelator thus describes the first signs to precede the second advent there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of air and the moon became like blood so because ellen white quotes mark 13 24-26 where it says the sun will be darkened the moon shall not give her light the stars will fall from heaven the powers that are in heaven will be shaken and then they will see the son of man coming in the clouds with great power and great glory she's quoting mark chapter 13 24-26 and and then she says the revelator just thus describes the first of the signs to proceed the second heaven so she's saying mark 13 24-26 seemingly is referring to the first signs that took place in 1755 1780 and 1833. that only if we read this superficially you say why why is that because at the beginning of the statement ellen white says that prophecy foretells two things it foretells the manner and object of christ's coming and it also presents the tokens by which men may know that it is near so ellen white is talking about two sets of signs first of all the manner and object of christ coming and the tokens by which men are to know when it is near when ellen white quotes mark 13 24-26 she's referring to the manner and object verse of christ coming and when she talks about this great earthquake the sun became black as sackles of air and the moon became as blood she's talking about the tokens by which men may know that it is near now let me uh read another statement which puts this all in perspective ellen white wrote in early writings page 41 the following words december 16 1848 the lord gave me a view she means a vision of the shaking of the powers of the heavens i saw that when the lord said heaven in giving the signs recorded by matthew mark and luke he meant heaven and when he said earth he meant earth the powers of heaven are the sun moon and stars they rule in the heavens the powers of earth are those that rule on earth now notice the powers of heaven will be shaken at the voice of god then the sun moon and stars will be moved out of their places they will not pass away but be shaken by the voice of god so she's saying that when matthew mark and luke talk about the signs that are taking place in heaven they have to do with the moving of the sun moon and stars out of their places so we need to understand this quotation and read it carefully because ellen white is talking about two things the manner and object of christ's coming and the tokens by which men when men we know may know that it is near and first she mentions the manner and object of christ coming by quoting mark 13 24-26 and then she goes to speak about the tokens at the end of this quotation which are the signs that took place in 1755 1780 and 1833 now let's look at the sign of the coming of the son of man the sign of the coming of the son of man matthew 24 and verse 30 when these signs take place in the heavens it says then the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory what is the sign of the son of man the answer is in the elijah story in first kings chapter 18 41-44 i wish i had time to develop the story of elijah i've done it in other venues you remember that elijah had three enemies a harlot jezebel false prophets that did her bidding and ahab who was a wimp and did everything that jezebel said these three foreshadow the trilogy of terror at the end of time the dragon the beast and the false prophet do you remember in the story of elijah that after elijah went through his severe time of trouble when jezebel was seeking him out and after elijah had brought down fire from heaven in the sight of men do you remember what occurred then we find elijah seeing a small cloud in heaven about the size of a man's hand what was this cloud well we know by continue continuing our reading of this particular story in second kings chapter 2 and verse 11 we find a fiery chariot surrounded by angels that picks up elijah and takes elijah in a whirlwind to heaven in other words that small black cloud was the sign that the chariot was coming to pick up elijah and that's exactly what happened is that going to happen at the end of time yes is god going to give a sign the sign of the coming of the son of man that small cloud about half the size of the palm of of a man and ellen white describes how this cloud is going to get closer and closer and it will become a white cloud let me read you this statement in early writings 33 and 34. soon our eyes were drawn to the east for a small black cloud appeared about half the size of a man's hand which we all knew was the sign of the son of man we all in solemn silence gazed on the cloud as it drew nearer and became lighter glorious and still more glorious till it was a great white cloud the bottom appeared like fire a rainbow was over the cloud while around it were ten thousand angels singing a most lovely song and upon it sat the son of man this is the chariot of fire that comes to pick up god's people you say now wait a minute it says there that a white cloud comes for god's people it doesn't say anything about a chariot well let me read you about the return of god's people to heaven with jesus we find in great controversy page 645 on each side of the cloudy chariot our wings and beneath it are living wheels and as the chariot rolls upward the wheels cry by the way the wheels are angels the wheels cry holy and the wings as they move cry holy and the retinue of angels cry holy holy holy lord god almighty and the redeemed shout hallelujah as the chariot moves onward toward the new jerusalem swing low sweet chariot common for to carry me home as the negro spiritual says so you have the great tribulation the signs in the heaven and the great earthquake that announces the end of the tribulation then you have the sign of the son of man that black cloud jesus is beginning his second coming and then jesus comes down and he arrives above the earth and then he's going to send his angels to pick up his elect notice that jesus doesn't come all the way down to the earth and he starts walking around gathering his elect no he stays above and he sends his angels notice matthew 24 and verse 31 and he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other obviously the rapture isn't true why would jesus come to gather his elect from the four winds of heaven if they had previously gone to heaven in the rapture they would actually be coming with him he would not be sending his angels to gather them now there are other passages in scripture that describe that jesus will not touch the earth when he returns for the second time we find this of course in matthew 24 31 it's strongly hinted at when we are told that jesus sends his angels to pick up his elect but also we find it in first thessalonians chapter 4 and verses 15 through 17. a passage very well known read practically in every funeral that i have attended the apostle paul wanted to comfort the thessalonians and he wrote the following words 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 will by known means precede those who are asleep in other words those who are alive are not going to heaven before those who died verse 16 for the lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of an archangel and with a trumpet of god and the dead in christ will rise first then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them that is with those who died and resurrected with them in the clouds to meet the lord in the air notice that jesus stays in the air he doesn't come down to set up his everlasting kingdom here at his second coming he's going to take his people to heaven we're going to notice so once again it says in verse 17 then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them with those who died and resurrected 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 second thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 1 also indicates that we are going to gather to jesus at the second coming jesus is not going to gather to us it says there in ii thessalonians 2 verse 1 now brethren concerning the coming of our lord jesus christ and our gathering together to him it doesn't say that he's going to come to gather to us and he's going to stay here on earth for a thousand years no it says that we will gather to him also we need to read john 14 verses 1 to 3 famous verses that i referred to in my last presentation jesus said to his troubled disciples because he had told them in the previous chapter that he was leaving he told them this so that they would be comforted let not your heart be troubled you believe in god believe also in me in my father's house let me ask you where does the father live we pray our father which art in heaven the father lives in heaven so jesus says in my father's house that is in heaven are many mansions if it were not so i would have told you i go where was he going to heaven right i go to prepare a place for you and if i go and prepare a place for you that's heaven i will come again and receive you to myself that where i am there you may be also you know a fundamental problem of those who believe in the rapture is what they believe concerning the millennium they're wrong regarding the millennium you see jesus made two promises the first promise that he made to his followers is that he was going to take them to heaven the second promise that he made to them is the meek will inherit the earth so how can jesus fulfill both of those promises the promise to take his people to heaven and then the promise that the meek will inherit the earth well those who believe in the rapture say there's only one way in which jesus can fulfill both of these promises and that is when he returns at the rapture he takes his faithful people to heaven that fulfills the first promise and then seven years later he comes to this earth and he establishes his millennial kingdom here on earth so that way they say he's fulfilled bros promises he's taken the redeemed who were ready uh to heaven in the rapture that fulfills the first promise that he takes them to the father's house and then he comes down uh seven years later in his glorious coming and sets up his kingdom on earth and the meek will inherit the earth but there's a much more biblical way of understanding how jesus can fulfill both of these promises you say how well there's only one glorious coming of jesus christ he comes from heaven at his second coming and at his second coming he resurrects the dead he trans transforms the living gives both the the dead who resurrected and those who are alive glorified bodies and then jesus takes them to heaven for a thousand years that's how he fulfills the first promise by taking all of the redeemed not only those who are ready for the rapture but all of those who are ready he comes the second time picks up all of his people and then takes them to heaven for a thousand years that's the way he fulfills his first promise and then at the end of the thousand years jesus returns to this earth with the new jerusalem you can find it in revelation chapter 21 and 22 he returns to the earth he destroys satan and his angels the wicked and then he creates a new heavens and a new earth and the meek inherit the earth so there's another way of understanding how jesus can fulfill these two promises without trying to create the rapture idea which does not found find any foundation in holy scripture i want to read a final statement that we find in great controversy page 37 the world will then behold as never before the result of satan's rule she's talking about when god's spirit is withdrawn from the earth she continues however in that day as in the time of jerusalem's destruction god will deliver his people everyone that shall be found written among the living christ has declared that he will come the second time to gather his faithful ones to himself now let's once again to gather his faithful ones to himself then she quotes scripture then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather to that together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other this is what the bible refers to as the blessed hope and you know when i was pastor of fresno central church here in fresno california at the end of the service we always sang that song we have this hope that burns within our hearts hope in the coming of the lord that is the blessed hope according to the apostle paul the coming of jesus to take his people to heaven for a thousand years where they will judge satan and his angels and the wicked who have been left here on earth the wicked are dead satan and angels are alive god's people will be pronouncing sentence upon them then after the thousand years jesus will descend with his saints and he will enter the holy city he will resurrect all of the wicked dead the wicked dead will gather around the city with the intention of destroying those who are inside in other words the battle that took place against god's people before the thousand years continues after the thousand years but then the bible tells us that fire descends from heaven and consumes satan his angels and the wicked and then god will create a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells so the apostle paul told us in 1st thessalonians chapter 4 after speaking about the resurrection of the dead and the translation of the dead along with the living he said to the thessalonians who were wondering what was going to happen with those who had died in christ the apostle paul said therefore comfort one another with these words what a glorious day the coming of jesus will be [Music] you

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Published: Thu Feb 25 2021