okay good morning and welcome to North Lake Baptist Church yes we want to thank you for joining us this morning for worship whether you're here in person or streaming online thank you for joining us if you're here in person we have a welcome bag a gift bag just in the back there we'd love for you to take one of those on your way out it's got a good coffee mug in there that you can enjoy a cup of a joke as you and that's just a gift from us and hope you enjoy it now a church we've got a few announcements to go through this morning our ministry placement team will be meeting just after the service at twelve o'clock in room 112 be praying about how you might serve North Lake Baptist Church in the upcoming church year they'll be calling and asking for you to volunteer so be praying for that team as they do their work it's important work children are Xoom sunday school will be at two o'clock this afternoon and middle school and high school students will have our Xoom Sunday school this evening at 7:30 a church we've been gearing up for our mission team to be going to West Virginia we'll be heading out this Saturday morning at 7 o'clock we've been collecting school supplies for our mission trip where we will be distributing backpacks to children there in West Virginia we want to thank you for already donating school supplies and gifts to that effort there's a box right outside underneath the bulletin board that you can drop those school supplies in Wednesday will be the last day to drop off those school supplies we'll be packing up Wednesday evening the mission team will and will be headed out Saturday at 7 in the morning at this time we want to worship through tithes and offerings and so as we worship through tithes and offerings I'd like to remind those of you in the church who have budget responsibilities that your budget requests are due on July 29th and so if you'll get those into the church office so we can get those to our finance team so they can get our church budget for the upcoming church year complete that would be wonderful I know I'll be working on mine this week in preparation for that Church the Prophet Hosea encourages us in Hosea chapter 6 he says let us strive to know the Lord his appearance is as sure as the dawn church will you join me as I pray Heavenly Father we thank you for another beautiful Lord's Day where you have promised that if two or more are gathered in your name that you're with us or we pray that our worship is pleasing in your sight and that through worship this morning that we will know you better in Jesus name we pray amen amen well good morning I hope you're ready to sing you ready to sing a little bit this morning that's worship the Lord let's stand together and let's sing about that great day when we're called up to be with the Lord in heaven and we get that opportunity to see him face to face and we're gonna sing out and shout his name this morning let's sing together when we all get to heaven [Music] play bad Russia play rejoicing [Applause] [Music] just luck [Music] [Applause] [Music] we'll see I'm shocked victory onward to the prize before us beauty to the pearly gates well shall tread the streets of gold when we you two have rejoicing that movie when we gee we'll see and shout the big toe Amen you may be seated and also want to welcome you house the Lord so good to see you here today it's wonderful to greet you for those of you in person and also for those who are joining us online we'll look at a prayer list now at the back page of your bulletin Jeremiah 29:11 gives us a wonderful encouragement to pray for I know the thoughts that I think toward you says the Lord thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope then you'll call upon me and go and pray to me and I will listen to you and you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart and we do praise the Lord that he invites us to come in prayer before him we do want to greet all you who are here today I think from what I've been told the one that's farthest away from here today is there a couple from Arkansas y'all raise your hands so with praise Lord for those and also all the way from Tata Georgia one of my former Chairman's of Deacons and his wife Beau and one day Eddie fielder right over here [Applause] all righty we're so glad that y'all are here today again we start off by praying for those in need of salvation ask yourself who is your one who's the one that you are praying for in Assen the Lord to give you an opportunity to lead people to faith in Jesus Christ we want to pray for those in our church family you see the list there Jarrell Hunter we'll be having some hip surgery this coming Tuesday so being prayer for him also you see Billy and Mary Ann King he has been being an interim pastor for a church in town Pleasant Union and cerebral their members have tested positive with kovat and he and Mary Ann are both sick and they're waiting on test results so being prayer for them they've had to close down Church for a while we also received a note this morning that airline Baptist Church in our association it's also had to close down because of staff members as well with some Coby cases there so remember them in prayer remember our parents are expecting children extended family and friends there's one monied to add there and that's Benny Harkins be having surgery tomorrow for an intestinal bleed we pray all goes well with him remember those on our long-term care list remember our missionaries who are serving around the world and again right now we're in the emphasis for our own West Virginia mission trip that's coming up you see the insert and your bulletins so take those and remember those folks in your daily prayers we do want to continue remember our nation our president and especially all those who are dealing with this pandemic thing because it looks like we got a second go-round of this thing already beginning and they've got big decisions to make about school and a number of other things so the Bible tells us to pray for our leaders and so let's do that you also see a note about Church deacons it's that time of the year when we do Deacon selection so be praying and asking the Lord who he would have you nominate and we're going to be doing a little different this year since we're still in kind of the closed-down mode we've encouraged you to be a part of our online prayer email list and that's how we're gonna be sending out the ballot will be centered out next week we'll give you a week to pray about it and write in the two names that you want to nominate to be deacon and so that will be coming out this next week and again if you're not on our prayer list be sure and call the church office and get your name put there I also want to pray for our families that are grieving the family of Howell logins as we go to the Lord in prayer father we do thank you for this beautiful day that you've blessed us with an opportunity together in this place Lord sometimes we take that for granted until we reach a point where things happen like zapping this year where we can't meet and then we realize how we miss the fellowship that we have one with another lord help us to encourage one another especially as we see that day your day approaching we do pray for those that we've just listed on our prayer list and also a host of others it may be too private right now to put on a public prayer list but lord I thank you for encouraging us to pray and for hearing your people pray and answering us according to your good will and purpose and we pray this in Jesus name Amen amen we're in the beginning still of the book of Revelation as Danny is preaching through that particular book and as we start with Chapter four you're gonna hear a lot and about the words that come from those that are seated around the throne and one of those that we've sung over the past few weeks in anticipation of this particular chapter of the term holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty we singing a lot in our songs it's in a lot of a scripture that helps describe who the Lord is and how holy the Lord is but what I love is is that Revelation is not the only time we get a glimpse of what that's going to be like in heaven if you go all the way back to the Old Testament and yes there's a great parallel there's a reason we have the Old Testament it helps explain why Christ came for us in the New Testament but as a part of that if you look in Isaiah chapter 6 it also Isaiah has a chance to describe exactly what it's like to be around the throne of the Lord and I'm going to Joe to Isaiah 6 and I'm going to start in chapter 2 and just read through a little bit of this because I think it lays context to the Lord and his holiness and Isaiah chapter 6 starting in 2 it says actually I'll back up to 1 it says in the year King Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated sitting on a throne high and lifted up and the Train of his robe filled the temple above it stood Seraphim each had six wings with two he covered his face and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew and one cried to another and said holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts the whole earth is full of his glory and the post of the door were shaken in the voice of him who cried out and the house was filled with smoke and so I said woe is me for I am undone because I'm a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips or my eyes have seen the king the Lord of hosts then one of the Seraphim flew to me having his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar and with it he touched my mouth and said Behold this has touched your lips your iniquity has taken away your sin has purged and I also heard the voice of the Lord say whom shall I send and who will go for us and then I said here am I send me we've heard that at many many probably sermons and topics around missions but it's also a great image of Isaiah gets a glimpse of what it's like to be in the presence of the Lord and Isaiah gets a glimpse of I'm a sinful man and there is nothing I can do to earn the Lord's love there's no work on this earth I can do to earn his love God loves me and he's the only one that can take that sin away from me he's the only one holy enough who can do that and when Isaiah gets that and he catches that glimpse he realizes that woe is me or I'm a man of unclean lips and I'm with among a people of unclean lips meaning that I'm a sinner we're all sinners on this earth as we sing this morning and we sing about the holiness of the Lord I want you to examine where you are in your walk and is it whoa to me are you in a moment where you can celebrate for the Lord has taken your sins away and when we get to heaven we can worship God in His Holiness and we can worship Him and His righteousness and we can worship Him with celebration because of what he's done for us so let's stand together this morning and let's sing holy is the Lord [Music] we stand and lift up our hands or the joy of the Lord is our stream we bow down now how great awesome and together we see [Music] to smell with his glory god the earth this film it is glory [Music] we stand and lift up our hands or the joy of Lord is our stream we bow tie worship Him now how great how awesome is he and together we see once [Music] God Almighty [Music] mighty leader boring it's around its the three now it's rising ah all around it's the [Music] Treena and together we see everyone see mine [Music] holy is [Music] Oh worship the key Oh glorious of all and gratefully sing here's one our shield and [Music] Oh his light and sing of his grace [Music] this is Jerry [Music] dog is [Music] by [Music] can restart it shines it streams [Music] we'd lead [Music] well children Oh you I need you I'm Oh amen you may be seated [Music] Oh my not be all else to me save that Oh right [Music] making horse sleeping thy presence [Music] ow my true I [Music] with thee and thou with me Lord thou my grateful truth weeds were and I with [Music] hi King of heaven my victori 1 May these joists all right heavy what [Music] whatever befall still be my vision [Music] no first [Music] I can of my treasure [Music] all right thank you David for leading us on that meditation in the presence of God if you have your Bibles please open to Revelation we continue our study here we've finished the seven churches in Asia through Chapter three and today we begin with chapter four Revelation chapter 4 beginning at verse 1 after these things I talking about John John looked and behold the door standing open in heaven and the first voice in which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this let me go ahead and say that this is one of those sermons you just gonna have to stay with me so if if you're gonna sleep sometimes during go ahead and start now otherwise you'll end up being confused so so so stick with me on this very rarely I preach a whole sermon on one verse but we will today but leave your Bibles open because I will be shifting around a little bit but that's pretty much what we're gonna deal with there's one verse today as we move forward in our study of Revelation to chapter four I'm gonna spend a good bit of time on verse 1 because for many quick many Christians they've been taught for about a hundred years now that the rapture of the church takes place here in Revelation chapter four and verse one a man named CI Scofield who lived from 1843 to 1921 said this call come up here that's what he put in his reference Bible Scofield reference Bible is published in 1909 for the notes on revelation 4:1 he says this call come up here seems to indicate the fulfillment of the rapture of the church the word Church does not again occur in revelation till all is fulfilled he goes on to say this rapture is the beginning of the Great Tribulation which is the period of unexampled trouble predicted in Book of Daniel and the Gospels so I guess a better begin at the beginning what is the rapture well the rapture is an event that will happen at the end of the prophetic period of time that we are currently living in it's called the church age the church age begin after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ which was followed by the giving of His Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost that's recorded in Acts chapter 2 then the Lord by the power of His Holy Spirit began to call out a special group of people from every nation every language and culture who are willing to believe in Jesus Christ and receive him as their Savior and Lord these people who are followers of Christ are called the church the Greek word for churches ekklesia which actually means literally called out ones and so one of these days soon and very soon I believe the prophetic period of time known as the church age or the age of the Gentiles will end and the rapture of the church will take place the called out ones will become the called up ones amen that's what the rapture is all about the Lord is going to call us up to be with him in heaven now Paul described this rapture in 1st Thessalonians 4 and beginning in verse 13 but I do not want you to be ignorant brethren concerning those who have fallen asleep when he says falling asleep he doesn't refer to Christians as dying because we do not die amen we just leave this body behind and we're going living in a place called heaven so he says those who have fallen asleep lest you sorrow as others who have no hope for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus 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 no means precede those who have already passed away or fallen asleep for the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout and then the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first then we who are alive and remain at the time of his coming will be caught up together with - in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and thus shall we always be with the Lord therefore comfort one another with these words now the word caught up there in the Latin translations of the bible is the word wrapped or o and that's where we get the word English word rapture so if you're looking for where the rapture is found in the Bible you find it in 1st Thessalonians 4 Paul also refers to this rapture event in 1st Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 50 says now this I say brethren that flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God nor does corruption inner inner in corruption behold I tell you a mystery we shall not all sleep we're not gonna die but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall all be changed we'll all be given a resurrection body a heavenly body that will last for all eternity ok again going back to the Scofield Bible again in Revelation 4:1 in his comments he says this call come up here seems clearly to indicate the fulfillment of the rapture of the church that you see in 1st Thessalonians 4 the word Church does not again occur in the revelation until it's all is fulfilled which is the beginning of the Great Tribulation which is a period of unexampled trouble predicted in the Book of Daniel and the Gospels so this Scofield Bible has become the basis for the belief of many Christians called dispensational premillennialism this view is shared by dr. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins and they're left behind series of 16 books and movies all of which became New York Times bestsellers also it's the view of Dallas Theological Seminary with such great graduates as Hal Lindsey who wrote the late great planet Chuck Swindoll which you've heard on the radio and David Jeremiah that you've probably seen on TV and Jay Vernon McGee who you may have his commentaries at your house I know I do also this is a view of most Southern Baptists and while I admire many of these great Christian preachers I'm going to disagree with their interpretation of Revelation for one I do not believe that for one is the rapture of the church but who am i I'm not in New York Times bestseller I'm only a preacher from Ervil Georgia but nevertheless we're gonna look at the Word of God and young followed me through and you have a right to disagree with me you have a right to be wrong but anyway if you look back to Revelation chapter 4 and verse 1 a literal reading lets you know that this call come up here is addressed to who John yeah the Apostle John is receiving this revelation from Jesus Christ about what's going to be happening in the future so a very literal straightforward reading will come up here's address to John not to the Church of all the redeemed of all the ages I believe the rapture of the church takes place in Revelation chapter 7 and we'll get there one of these days and the seven-year Great Tribulation does not start in Revelation chapter 6 which is talking to Scofield Bible but instead it begins with the trumpet judgments remember what I said about the trumpet sound the trumpet judgments in Revelation chapter 8 now before you label me a heretic we must remember that dr. CI Scofield was not named among the Apostles he is a Bible commentator and he was just a fellow Christian like us who struggled to understand the revelation generally speaking I still believe in the sequence of events in Scofield's understanding of the end times we only differed in the timing but I'm here to tell you the timing is important the timing is very important so stay tuned so let's start with the general sequence of events in the end times what does the Lord reveal to us about the end times well first thing we want to talk about is something called the last days the last days is a prophetic period of time that you and I are living in right now it began with the first coming of Jesus Christ and it extends until his second coming it's also known as the church age the age of grace the times of the Gentiles and I believe it's covered in the revelation in Revelation chapter 2 through chapter 6 the next event following the end times will be the rapture of the church which I believe happens in chapter 7 then after that the Antichrist will appear who will reign over a one-world government ruled the whole world his description is located in Revelation chapter 13 there will be seven years of unparalleled hard times on earth caused by both the wrath of God and the reign of the Antichrist Scofield calls it the great tribulation revelation 616 the Apostle John calls it the wrath of the Lamb in this period of time this seven-year period will last from revelation 8 through revelation 16 after the 7-year tribulation if you want to call it that ever after the seven years of the wrath of God the battle for Armageddon will take place the armies of the world led by the Antichrist will attack the city of Jerusalem and we read about that that will be documented in Revelation 16 through 18 then there'll be the glorious return of Jesus Christ in Revelation chapter 19 who will defeat Satan the Antichrist and all his minions and we read about that again in chapter 19 then there'll be a millennium a millennium means a thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ on this earth the time of peace and rest we read about that in Revelation chapter 20 verses 1 through 6 and then after that wonderful time of rest there will be a time of temptation because we had to be tempted so guess what the people who are born during the thousand-year reign of Christ will also have to be tempted so Satan will be released for a brief period at the end of the thousand-year reign and believe it or not after living in a perfect world people are going to listen to Satan who tries to tell them that he can do it better than God can can you believe that yes you can because it's happening to day by day all around then then there will be the Last Judgement revelation 20 verses 11 through 15 and then there will be a new heaven and a new earth we enter into eternity in Revelation chapter 21 through 22 and that's generally the outline that I'll be preaching through as we go forward and again I agree with the Scofield Bible and all those things which makes me a pre-tribulational premillennialists everybody write that down now those are some very fancy terms believe it or not I'm asked about that on the internet all the time but basically it is that I believe the church will be raptured before the Great Tribulation and I also believe there will be a 1,000 year literal reign of Christ on this earth in the end times all right so now that was very fast y'all want to slow down a little bit all right let's slow down let's go back to the last days that's the first event we're in that right now you and I are living in the prophetic period of time known as the last days we have been living in the last days since the time of Jesus Christ Acts chapter 2 verse 17 on the day of Pentecost Peter was preaching and he quotes Joel from the Old Testament a prophet it shall come to pass in the last days says God that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and Peter says that's happening right here right now in Acts chapter 2 the beginning of the last days Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1 it says God who in various times in various ways spoke in times past to the father's by the prophets he has in these last days spoken to us by his son so we've been in last days ever since Jesus spoke to us in second Timothy 3:1 but know this in the last days perilous difficult terrible times will come and yes all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution and evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse deceiving and being deceived in Matthew 24 mark 13 Luke 21 Jesus told us that these last days would be times of trouble the times you and I live in will be times of trouble there will be times of tribulation indeed great tribulation he said unfortunately dr. Schofield in the Scofield Bible turned the Great Tribulation into a technical term so that every time we see the word tribulation in the Bible we tend to think that he is talking about the 7-year time of extreme hardships under the reign of Antichrist that was spoken to us by the Prophet Jeremiah what he called the time of Jacob's trouble or the time of Israel's trouble or the time referred to by Daniel as the 70th week of Daniel and Daniel chapter 9 no the Bible is clear the church will live in the last days known as the church age the grades of grace the times of the Gentiles and they will be times of trouble times of tribulation yes even Great Tribulation you know at the present time you and I are about two thousand years deep in those last days but I want you to remember Peter said in 2nd Peter 3:8 beloved do not forget this one thing that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day so somewhere around the year 2030 where did I hear that before so somewhere around the year 2030 well mark 2,000 years our to 1,000 year last days since the cross of Christ since the beginning of the period of time known as the last days in Revelation chapter 2 and 3 we saw Jesus revealing to John how the church would be operating in these last days we just went through that for about seven or eight weeks and then in Revelation 4 and 5 the Lord is going to give John an out-of-body experience spiritually he's gonna take him up to heaven when he says come up here that's what he's talking about John is gonna go in spirit up to and the Lord is going to show him the future of his plan for history in chapters 4 and 5 and the things that follow in Revelation chapter 6 the Lord shows John an overview of the troubles trials and tribulation that the church I believe will be living in during the last days now I know as American Christians we love the Scofield Bible because the Scofield Bible put revelation 6 in the Great Tribulation and also put the rapture before that in chapter 4 so it leads us to believe that we'll never have to deal with any persecution or tribulation or anything like that but the reason for that is is because America has been blessed for the last 240 years we've had relative religious freedom and nobody has really had to suffer because of what they believe about the Lord Jesus Christ and so therefore whenever I say something about we may have to we may be persecuted for this oh wait a minute I thought we was going to be raptured before persecution comes forget that that's prosperity preaching the Bible says that we're going to endure persecution yeah if you live godly if you're not enduring persecution there's a really good chance you're not living godly however while we may think that we're immune from persecution a woman named Nina che wrote a book about persecution in 1996 called in the lion's den and she documents that more Christians have died for their faith in the 20th century than in the 19th centuries combined and that's true think about it the rise of German Nazism Japanese Imperialism Russian and Chinese communism Central and South American drug cartels militant Islamic terrorism lots of Christians have been in great tribulation for the last 2,000 years in general and also the 20th century in particular and say we Americans we don't pay much attention to that you know why because it's always over there it has not been here so therefore we think that Christians should be immune to tribulation well go talk to the suffering martyrs around the world who have been suffering like this for years and years and we tend to overlook them not only in our plan for the future but also in our prayers but if you'll notice these last days described in revelation 6 sound very from me very for me are very similar to what Jesus described in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 Luke 21 and what's called the Olivet discourse are the discussion between Jesus and His disciples on the Mount of Olives before he went to the cross notice John did not record in Olivet discourse in the Gospel of John so revelation is his Olivet discourse that's where he took the things that Jesus taught him on the Mount of Olives plus the vision he had of Jesus on Isle of Patmos which is the basis for the book of Revelation so again I believe in the harmony of the scripture John is not changing what Jesus said in Matthew Mark or Luke I believe you know the Spirit of God was only filling in more details to what Jesus had already revealed to those earlier apostles and their writings so however you choose to interpret revelation should be in harmony with Matthew Mark and Luke amen so I believe if you skip forward which is across the page in my Bible to chapter 6 I believe these Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in revelation 6 or what Jesus referred to in the Gospels as his description of life in the last days again which is a time from the first coming of Christ to the second coming of Christ if you look at those four horsemen you'll see a white horse which is false messiahs red horse which is war a black horse which is famine and disease and the pale horse that is death and believe it or not those four horses have been galloping for the last two thousand years if you don't know that you hadn't paid much attention to history they've been some bloody times during the past 2,000 years of history Jesus talks about that in Matthew 24 jesus answered and said to the disciples take heed that no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying I am the Christ what they mean by that Christ is the Messiah Messiah is someone who God has anointed to solve all the world's problems and how many of those have we seen the last 2,000 years guys come up with some kind of ideas they think they're gonna rule the world and everybody needs to listen to them there's been all kinds of false messiahs that's going to come and it says they will deceive many goes on and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars see that you're not trouble for all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet her nation will rise against nation and Kingdom against Kingdom and there will be famines and pestilence and earthquake in various places all of these are just the beginning of Sorrows these are just the beginning Greek word there's birth pangs these are just the birth pangs that get a little bit worse and intensity and frequency as you get closer to the big day it goes on and that's very similar to Revelation chapter 6 so the last days will consist of a long period of time with troubles trials and tribulation various degrees all around the world that brings us now to the second event and it'll be much briefer than that one this one so far has lasted almost 2,000 years this will be very brief what Jesus said then at the end of the last days there will be this huge cosmic sign in the heavens listen what Jesus said in Matthew 24 the Sun will be darkened the moon will not give its light the Stars will fall from heaven the powers of the heavens will be shaken the signs of a Sun and man will appear in the heavens and all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of man coming in clouds of heaven with power and great glory 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 the heaven to the other two men will be taken in the field one will be taken the other will be left again a picture of the rapture guess what we see the same sign in Revelation chapter 6 Revelation chapter 6 and verse 12 we see the same sign John writes verse 12 I looked and when he opened the sixth seal and behold there was a great earthquake in heaven and the Sun became black as sackcloth of hair the moon became like blood and the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig drops its late figs when it's shaken by a mighty wind and then the sky receded as a scroll when it's rolled up and every mountain in every island was moved out of its place and the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the bilderbergs in the World Economic Forum okay I got a little carried away the commanders the mighty men every slave ever even free man hid themselves in their bunkers I'm in caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and to the rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the what wrath of the Lamb for the great day of his wrath has come and who is able to stand last time he came he came as a lamb sacrificial lamb to die for our sins he's coming back in a different mode this time next we move on to Revelation chapter 7 and just as those trumpets notice it's I don't think that's written in their backs and I call them the trumpet judgments the trumpets are about to sound as they prepared a sound that brings us a third thing that's going to happen and that's the rapture of the church it's the beginning of what Scofield would call the Great Tribulation the beginning of what the Bible calls the great day of the wrath of the Lamb we see the rapture of the church yes the bible does teach a pre-tribulation allure pre-wrath rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ Paul even mentions it in Romans Romans chapter 5 verse 8 but God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us much more then having been justified by his blood we shall be saved from what saved from wrath through him so again the church will not be going through the wrath of the Lamb no we're saved by the blood of the Lamb we will not be part of the wrath of the Lamb 1st Thessalonians 1:10 Jesus told that our Paul tells us about Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come again revelation chapter 7 is the beginning of this seven years of catastrophic judgment on the world but before it happens chapter 7 verse 1 you see 144,000 chosen ones from Israel will be sealed by the Angels to survive the Great Tribulation or the wrath on earth chapter 7 verse 9 you see a group of folks the redeemed from see if you recognize them the redeemed from all the Gentile nations are seen after being I believe raptured into heaven chapter 7 verse 9 after these things I looked and behold a great multitude which no one could number of all nations tribes peoples and tongues standing before the throne and before the lamb notice this underlining clothed with right robes with palm branches in their I don't know about y'all but that sounds like the rapture Church to me why is that because one of the promises that Jesus made to his church if you remember back when we were in chapter 3 revelation 3:5 jesus promised the believers that if they overcame the world they would be what clothed in white robes clothed in white garments so there we see them standing that way now Scofield says and his comment on chapter 4 verse 1 that the word church does not again occur in Revelation well that's true but what Scofield overlooks here is that what Scofield misses is the references to the promises that Jesus made to the church well you may not find the word Church in Revelation after chapter 3 you do find people dressed in hot robes which is something that was promised to the church Revelation chapter 6 verse 9 these are disembodied souls you realize you're not gonna get your body to the resurrection but you will be a living soul in heaven to be absent from the body is what to be present with the Lord we're there in spirit that's what you see in chapter 6 verse 9 you see souls in white robes waiting on the resurrection matter of fact they're crying Lord how long how long till what how long do I get my buddy I'm gonna disemboweled sold he said he put white robes around so just wait a little longer just wait a little longer some things have got to be fulfilled and then look on and it gets fulfilled in the next chapter revelation 7:9 now it's no longer souls in white robes we have people in white robes worse than in heaven from every nation under the Sun which I interpret to be the raptured Church as I mentioned earlier that while I agree with Scofield on the sequence of events and times we do differ on timing and the timing is very important see the Scofield Bible claims that the rapture took place at chapter 4 and verse 1 but what happens when you continue your daily Bible readings and you read chapter 5 and chapter 6 and chapter seven and you get to chapter seven verse 9 and you see this great multitude which no one could number of all nations tribes peoples and tongues standing before the Lord and for the lamb clothed in white robes well who are these folks who are these well naturally it would say well that's the rapture church we're pretty much Gentiles and we're from every nation and place under the Sun tongue it should be but see Scofield's already said no the rapture took place in chapter 4 so what does he do with those folks well look at Scofield's comments on revelation 7 and 9 and he says the Great Tribulation will be a period of salvation an innumerable multitude of Gentiles will come to faith out of the Great Tribulation in other words what Scofield is saying is after the rapture of the church in Revelation 4:1 that millions of people will come to faith during the seven-year Great Tribulation Tim LaHaye also says the same and has left behind books so what that means is if you don't get saved before the rapture then not to worry there's still time for me and more people to come to faith you get saved for seven more years somebody tell me is that what Jesus taught no Jesus taught us in Matthew 24 and Luke 17 that his coming will be as it was in the days of Noah as it was in the days of a lot well what happened in the days of Noah what happened in the days of a lot the Lord raptured he rescued his believers and everyone else perished remember those stories there were no second chances there were no seven-year delay the Lord rescued Noah and his family but for those who missed the boat they perished in the flood the Lord rescued lot and his daughters but for those who did not heed the voice of God to escape from sodom and gomorrah they pitched in fire and brimstone that fell from heaven including Lot's wife who hesitated and looked back when they said don't look back just get out of town well she had something that she was missing so she looked back and became a pillar of salt on the plains of Solomon and it ended up being to remind future generations that when God offers you salvation when God offers you deliverance when God offers you salvation from the wrath to come don't look back you better make your decision and you better make it quickly there's no seven-year period to get things right with God Luke 17 32 Jesus said one of the short verses in the Bible and I remember as a kid I love this verse because it went many works remember Lot's wife how many of you was at your favorite verse there was Jesus way up and then there was a remember Lot's wife what are we supposed to remember Lot's wife it's when you have an opportunity to be saved you better get saved and you better not look back that's the message also matthew 3:7 tells us all that we're to flee from the wrath that is to come likewise in Revelation after the Sun turns dark Nemean turns to blood instantaneously in a moment in a twinkling of an eye sometimes we get an idea there's a lot of things going on between these things no I think the sun's gonna turn dark the moon's gonna turn red like blood at that same time the Lord's gonna trumpets gonna sound the Lord's gonna come in a twinkling of an eye I think all this is gonna be happening instantaneously and before you have a chance to say wow it's really getting dark if you're a Christian you're gonna be gone if you're not a Christian you're gonna be left behind the church will be raptured the only ones left behind who will be saved are 144,000 chosen Israelites all the other Gentiles are non-jews or left behind are lost they have sinned away their day of grace there is no evidence in the book of the revelation of another Gentile being saved after chapter 7 after the rapture of the church matter of fact we see the opposite Revelation chapter 9 verse 20 but the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent revelation 9 21 they did not repent of their sins revelation 16:9 men were scorched with great heat they blaspheme the name of God who has power over these plagues but they did not repent or give Him glory revelation 16 11 they blaspheme the God of heaven because their pain and their sore still they did not repent of their sins I don't find anybody getting saved after the rapture if you're not a Christian when the Lord calls his church to heaven then you were lost forever this is why when Jesus was describing the events about his second coming he finished his sermons with warnings in Matthew Mark and in Luke to repent and be saved and be faithful he said watch therefore for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming he said be ready for the Son of Man is coming in an hour when you do not expect him he said who then is a faithful and wise servant as he or she is the one who when the master comes he finds them living within the will of God living according to the Word of God but he says but if an evil servant says in his heart he ain't coming my master delays his coming and begins to beat or mistreat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunkards the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him in an hour that he is not aware of it will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites which is called hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth did you hear the urgency and the call of Christ I didn't hear you got seven years to figure it out I heard when you hear the gospel well how many times you got to hear the gospel once you have decided to follow Jesus that's the only way out of this thing because you don't know what the future holds you know it's the urgency I think that we've lost in our evangelism today I remember being a little boy going to revival meeting and I tell you what the preachers back then would have you scared to death that she was going to be in Hell before the night was over when's the last time you heard that we act like we've got forever to make up our mind to follow Jesus we seem to think that Jesus will always be there ain't heard a song about that a few days ago he'll always be there well if you're Christian he'll be there but if you in put your faith and trust in him you don't know that he's gonna be there forever waiting on sinners to come around and trust him whenever they get around to it you know according to Genesis chapter 6 which is kind of way back in the beginning what God say my spirit will not strive with a man for ever there does come a time that you sent away your day of grace nowhere in the bible does it teach it's okay live in your sins but don't worry if Jesus calls today and you're not ready you still have seven years to get your heart right with God no the Lord calls us to have a sense of imminency concerning the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ a sense of expectancy that he could come back at any moment a sense of urgency about our salvation sense of urgency about the people we love salvation please sense of urgency about our neighbors and their friends that they're saved and this is not new to the New Testament even the Old Testament times isaiah 55:6 seek the Lord when while he may be found when can you find him it's when he's speaking to your heart when he's speaking to your heart and you walk away and say I'll decide tomorrow you don't know if he's gonna be near you tomorrow seek the Lord while he may be found call upon him while he is near let the unrighteous man forsake his thoughts let him return to the Lord and the Lord will have mercy on him New Testament 2nd Corinthians 6:2 we plead with you to receive the grace of God behold now is accepted time what today is the day of salvation not 7 years from now not sometime in the future three times in Hebrews today if you will hear his voice harden not your heart James for do not boast about tomorrow because you don't know about tomorrow you don't know if you're gonna live today seek the Lord while he may be found the Prophet Amos of Oh prepare to meet your God and do it while it's still called today six times in the Revelation Jesus says behold I come quickly to give every man according to his work behold I come quickly I come unexpectedly I come as a thief in the night I come when the servant was not expecting me so what about it are you rapture ready if the Lord should come today today if the Lord should call today if the trumpet should sound today if the Sun turns dark and the moon turns to blood it's too late like I said by the time you see that it's over if you're left behind you're in serious trouble seek the Lord while he may be found have you been saved now are you sure your salvation have you dressed in Jesus Christ to be your savior Lord can you go back to time in a place where you said Lord come into my life and save me if not you need to do that do that while it's still called today are you trying to lead others if you're already saved and sure you're trying to lead others to faith in Jesus Christ and are you living in such a way that the trumpet were to sound today that you would not be ashamed that it's coming let's pray father I thank you for your word I thank you Lord for your warning I thank you Lord for every day of mercy you've given us you didn't have to give the last days 2,000 years to complete themselves you can come at any time lord I pray for this church I pray for the people who are in the sound of my voice that we know that we know that we're saved before we leave this place today if there's someone here that's never been saved we pray that they'll do it while it's still called today because they assume they've got tomorrow but we don't know that same way for the folks who are watching online Lord we prayed today the time this broadcast is over they've made their peace with you in their home or wherever they are they make sure that they're ready if you should call if the trumpet should sound if the Sun should turn dark and we pray this in Jesus name Amen we're gonna have a time of invitation our altars opened for you to come and pray that's what this altars for I'll be standing down front if you've never trusted Christ as your Savior and you don't know how I'll be glad to take the Word of God and share with you how you can become a Christian know for sure it's your safe maybe day you've been saved and they're been baptized well that's the first step of obedience but following our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ once you come forward and we'll talk about that today maybe you've been saved and baptized and you know that and you're a BIST in our church and you feel like the Lord is leading you to come and join this church and find your place to service here once you join our church today again maybe there's someone you know in your circle of influence you haven't led the Lord and you just hadn't had much urgency about it we pray that today is a day that you'll get a sense of urgency about the soon return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ listen to the voice of Holy Spirit and be obedient don't put him off as we stand together and sing our Hemmer invitation won't you [Music] while passing this [Music] keep telling the story Oh [Music] Jesus [Music] Huhn rise beef rise and see the sky's do the see Jesus in you [Music] keep telling us [Music] what choice will be son you [Music] eat [Music] well thank you for being here today for your attention for your prayers don't forget to live out the song with your sung let others see Jesus and you as we leave this place today because I do believe the hour is late and we need to be leading folks to faith in Jesus Christ before it's everlastingly too late we're gonna introduce a couple that's joined our church this morning I'll come up and stand with me this is Gary and Judy hull see they've been attending our church for several weeks now and and they're both saved and sure and they want to join our church and since we're not handshaking now I want all y'all just wave at them [Laughter] and that sounds like everybody so we rejoiced y'all doing their church today and again after brother bill comes and leads us in prayer you'll be dismissed again try to watch your social distancing because we do have some churches in the community that are having issues with a sick and we don't have to shut down again so again waive it each other on the way out the door but greet one another in fellowship and again we thank you for being here today great our Heavenly Father we we thank you for today's message and reminder Lord that the time is near when you shall return happening in the twinkling of an eye I just pray Lord that there's anybody here or listening today that has not called upon the name of Lord to be say that the day will be the day of their salvation and I pray for the one that we all have chosen in this church and throughout our denomination to be saved I my praying for my brother that he would come to the salvation of Jesus Christ and I just pray that we all will be found faithful and sharing our testimony for you each and every day and we just pray this in Jesus name Amen
