Midweek Bible Study | Revelation 4:1-2 | Gary Hamrick

let's turn in our Bibles to Revelation chapter 4 that's where we will be this evening Revelation chapter 4 as we continue our journey through the book of Revelation and I'm gonna just share a couple of things before we read just a couple of verses from Chapter four I want to orient ourselves to where we are right now as we head here into chapter four so I'm going to use the timeline again on our back wall because we're making progress friends it's been taking us several weeks to get through the letters to the seven churches and so as we look here on the timeline of events that show everything that is happening in the book of Revelation we just came through the church age which is chapters 1 2 and 3 where jeez we're still in the church age literally but in terms of the book of Revelation where Jesus addresses seven letters to seven churches and each of those seven churches also are not only literal but they are also spiritual in their application and they represent an historical aspect of the church on the church timeline of history and so we're presently in the church age and we are awaiting the trumpet call of God to take Christians from the earth known as the rapture so we're heading here into chapter four which is going to give us insight into the rapture of the church and that's what we're gonna talk about tonight this is an important doctrine of the church today that we understand in the events of what is going to transpire that Jesus is coming again and that he's coming again first to receive his bride we as the church are the Bride of Christ and he's going to come in the air come in the clouds to receive his bride to take her home and he's going to keep us there in heaven away from all the tribulation that's going to be happening on earth I'm gonna make that case tonight although there are I will tell you wonderful brothers and sisters in the Lord who have various opinions about this it depends what your view of eschatology is eschatology is just a $5 word that means the study of endtime events so you're gonna hear how I'm persuaded by scripture in terms of what is going to be happening in the end times but we're gonna be talking about tonight how Jesus is going to rapture the church now before we even read from chapter 4 I'd like you to turn back in your Bibles to chapter 1 and I'll actually put the verse on the screen for you but for those of you who like to underline and circle things in your Bibles you can go back to chapter 1 and verse 19 what we have with in chapter 1 verse 19 is a beautiful outline of the whole book of Revelation that Jesus gives us when he is giving instructions to the Apostle John as John is receiving the this revelation from Jesus as he is there banished on the island of Patmos Jesus says to him here in Revelation 1:19 write the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which will take place after this and so the different tenses are an outline for us of the book of Revelation right the things which you have seen is what we read in Chapter 1 when John sees the appearance of Jesus he has this vision of Jesus that's the things that he has seen and then Jesus says to him as part of this verse right also the things which are present tense John is writing in the time period of the church age which we're still in you know after Jesus rose from the dead ascended back into heaven and the the church was born that began to began the church age so John was living at the beginning of the church age and we are presently still in the church age and so chapters 2 and 3 are the things which are but then Jesus says here and then I want you to write the things which will take place after this in the original greek language that the New Testament was written in the words after this in Greek is Mayda Tata made it outta meaning chapter one that things that you have seen chapters two and three the things which are and chapters four through 22 are the things after this in other words future events so as we head now into chapter four I want you to notice with me as we read just verses 1 & 2 that made it outta is exactly the Greek words that are used at the beginning of verse 1 and the end of verse 1 which indicates to us that this is a transition from chapters 2 and 3 which deal with things that presently are the church age and now we're looking into the future now not everything from chapters 4 to 22 are necessarily in the future some things are looking backwards in time and we'll talk about that when we get to it but but when when the Lord gives us outline there in Revelation 1:19 and he says I want you to write things you've seen things that are and things that will come after this we're heading now into the after this part okay so if you look there in your Bibles at chapter 4 verses 1 & 2 John writes this after these things well there's the Greek right there made it outta after these things after this I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven and the first voice 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 and that's made it out again so like bookends there in verse 1 he begins with may tatata he ends with made it outta its letting us know that we're transitioning now into future events so what we're about to read here in chapter 4 is in the future and in verse 2 John says immediately I was in the spirit and behold a throne set in heaven and one sat on the throne so he is in the spirit transported he's physically on the island of Patmos banished there by Domitian the Emperor because he was a Christian he's the last of this surviving original twelve apostles he's now in his early 90s in his beliefs and he is transported in the spirit so he is taken by the Lord in the spirit to heaven where he sees one sitting on the throne he sees the Lord sitting on the throne so he is given this invitation he hears these words come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this made it out and then he is transported into heaven so it's a picture here of things that are to come and we're gonna talk about these first two verses tonight but let's first have a word of Prayer Lord we thank you now as we dive into chapter four for your word and we pray that you would use it to speak to us tonight and Lord as always as we talk about these things that are to come that you have shown us and you are revealing to us through Scripture we pray that our hearts would not be burdened that we wouldn't become heavy in our hearts or in our minds and our thoughts but that we would constantly be turning to you remembering that you are our hope you are our eternal reward you are our future we have nothing to fear things on earth are gonna get crazy but Lord we trust you and and we know and believe that our eternal reward as believers in Jesus Christ is with you forever and ever and we look forward to that day Lord and so as we look here in the chapter for we pray you would give us insight and understanding and that you would just minister to our hearts with your peace you're gonna tell us as we read other verses to comfort one another with these words and so Lord we receive your comfort that you intend us to have as your children as the Bride of Christ ready for your return Lord we're comforted by these promises and we love you in Jesus name and everybody said amen alright now we have not yet obviously gotten to chapter 6 but between chapters 6 and 18 the Bible describes devastating cataclysmic events that will take place upon the earth at a future time called the Great Tribulation now some say it's just the tribulation of seven years in the last three and a half or the worst part and so that's the Great Tribulation but you know any tribulation is great in my mind right so the the Bible says that there's a time coming and chapter six through 18 detail at which we'll get to eventually maybe Jesus will return before we get there and that's fine you can just live it out but but at some point in the future there will be seven years of tribulation upon the earth devastating cataclysmic events described between chapter six and eighteen wars famine the scarcity of fresh water global economic collapse around the world natural disasters around the world earthquakes much more than what we experienced on a regular basis here meteor showers hail fire upon the earth it's coming and the Bible tells us between chapter 6 and 18 that when you start to calculate the number of deaths there will be billions you heard me right with Abby billions of people who will die on the earth during the period of the tribulation because it talks about whole percentages of populations billions of people will die during the Great Tribulation now why would God allow that kind of thing why would he cause that kind of thing because he is behind the events of the Great Tribulation and all I can tell you is this I don't know what it took for you to come how many say that you you have a personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ right let me see your hands okay if you didn't raise your hand I pray and trusted at some point you will come to a place where you will make a profession of faith in Jesus we don't want to coerce you we don't want to manipulate you we want the Lord to draw you into relationship with him but for those who raised their hands I don't know what it took in your life for you to finally surrender to Jesus okay but sometimes the path is not easy to surrender because there's a there's a stubborn part in all of us that is reluctant to yield to Jesus as Savior why because we want to be captain of our own ship and we want to be in charge of our lives and to get to the place where you finally surrender the lordship of Jesus is a humbling thing and sometimes God will use some very serious things to finally get our attention to bend our knee okay that's what the Great Tribulation is gonna be like because this is the last call you ever you know when you fly and and they're like okay and don't you hate when when when you when you fly and they make you feel like well I mean if you're if you're first-class if you're like the dot in the diamond club or if you know all gold card-carrying members you love it because you're like the first ones and so they're like all gold card you know diamond people all right all you frequent-flyer people all you privileged upper-class people you're welcome to go and then everybody boards first and then you're just still standing there waiting for all right all all the rest of you the scum of the earth you can now go alright and so and then you board but but then they always say final call final call final boarding call this is kind of what the tribulation is like it's God's final boarding call for people who don't know him so guess what he has to do he resorts to methods to finally get people's attention until they can finally hear the Verizon call can you hear me now for forever people just like I don't want to listen to Jesus I don't want to listen to God I don't believe that Bible I don't believe and God's gonna be like can you hear me now cuz because now this is the final boarding call and what does God have to do to finally get our attention it's the last chance so as severe as some of this stuff looks like from chapter 6 to 18 it's the last chance now I raise all this because the big question becomes where are Christians going to be during this Great Tribulation that comes upon the earth where will Christians be now again it depends what your eschatology is on that eschatology just means the study of end time of and I will tell you that there are great godly people who differ on this and there are three basic positions and you're gonna hear my bent which is fine I'm gonna substantiate with Scripture and you know you're welcome to have a different view if you'd like but there are three basic views about where Christians will be during the Tribulation Period the first view is called post-trib meaning post tribulation that some Christians believe I don't share this but some Christians believe that the church will not get taken until after the tribulation is all over meaning we go through it we go through all of the chapter 6 through 18 Christians get ready people who hold a post trip view are basically saying Christians get ready and you know you can look at verses like Jesus did say in John 16:33 in this world you will have trouble or tribulation New King James it says tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world now I don't personally believe in many others that that is tribulation capital T that's tribulation little T we all go through tribulation at different times we all go through troubles we all go through difficulties just because you become a Christian doesn't mean your life is sailing clear now in fact after you become a Christian a lot of times your life becomes even more challenging in different ways because when you were swimming with everybody else in the same direction life was a breeze once you start surrendering to Jesus and have to swim against the current it's a lot more difficult at times and so you're gonna feel challenges in life so when Jesus says in John 16:33 in this world you will have tribulation some say well okay we're gonna go through it I don't think that's what it means I think it's smalti' that we all go through not capital-t tribulation that's one view there the post-trib people who say we're gonna go through it there are others who are they take a mid-position mid-tribulation called the mid-trib people who believe that christians will go through half of the seven years of tribulation and then at some point in three-and-a-half years into the seven years of tribulation then Jesus gonna come and take us out of here that's the mid tribulation view and Jesus say in Matthew 24 verse 22 he did say that except for that nobody would be able to endure those days except for the fact that for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened those days will be shortened and so some look at that and say okay he didn't say they will be avoided he said they'll be shortened and so maybe we go through half of it and then before the worst part of it Jesus comes for his church so there's post-trib position there's a mid-trib position and then there's the right position right okay it's a joke but it's what I believe and I'm gonna substantiate it from Scripture and that's the pre-trib position it's the belief that Christians will be taken from the earth before pre-tribulation now in Chapter four here in Revelation verses 1 and 2 let me read it again we have a picture here that is painted and I think substantiates the pre it's not the only place in the Bible but I think it's it's a place in Revelation that substantiates for us the pre-tribulation view which is what how I am persuaded is the view of our church that Christians will be taken before the tribulation period and here's here's again chapter 4 verses 1 & 2 after these things I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven and the first voice 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 and immediately I was in the spirit and behold a throne set in heaven and one sat on the throne for you note-takers you can jot this down here in Revelation 4:1 John is a type he's a figure he's a picture of the church raptured prior to the Tribulation Period which begins in chapter 6 now this is an important doctrine of the church and it is the doctrine of the rapture this is what we're gonna be talking about tonight now before I make the argument from chapter 4 verses 1 & 2 about why I believe it is a proof text for the pre-tribulation rapture of the church let me first explain what the rapture is and why we're looking forward to it if you've been here at Cornerstone for very long you've heard me on many different occasions talk about the rapture so this will be not new information for many of you but for those of you who don't know and for the sake of those who are watching also online I want to explain what we mean we talk about the rapture it is a word that is not found anywhere in the Bible and my seventh-day adventists friends love to point that out to me okay because seventh-day Adventists do not believe in what I'm about to tell you and and I pity them to be honest with you because knowing that Jesus is going to come and take his bride home is is the Blessed hope of the church and and if you don't have that hope you're just gonna you know you know be sitting around and going through all this and it never happens I mean to be pitied for sure if you believe that well what I like the same response to those who say well the word rapture itself is nowhere in the Bible which is true is that also the word Trinity is nowhere in the Bible but yet that's clearly a doctrine that as believers we believe that God is one God reveals himself in three persons Father Son and Holy Spirit I believe the doctor the Trinity but the word Trinity is not in the Bible we also believe the doctrine of the rapture but the word rapture is not in the Bible so what do we mean by rapture just as a synopsis here's what what it means that there will be a sudden return of Christ in the clouds to physically snatch only the Christians from the earth who are still alive sometime prior to the start of the Great Tribulation so that they will not experience the devastating things that are coming upon the earth that's basically what the rapture is and the doctrine of the pre-trib position is just what I recited to you there in the screen's Jesus is going to come suddenly and he only comes in the clouds okay after the tribulation he comes down to the earth that's a different part of our timeline we'll get to eventually but the first part of his second coming the first phase if you will is Jesus coming in the clouds to receive to snatch Christians from the earth and that's what that's what rapture is all about it's the idea that there's gonna be this moment in time at some point and by the way there's nothing else in the Bible in terms of prophecy that has to happen before the rapture in other words the rapture could occur at any time at any time and so that's why we should be ready because this part this first phase of the second coming of Christ when it comes in the clouds to snatch Christians from the earth could happen at any point so what I want to do is I want it first again before we talk about chapter 4 verse 1 in Revelation I first would have just build the understanding of what the rapture is about I'm going to take you to several verses in the Bible again this might be familiar territory to those of you who are familiar with the rapture but I first want to take us to first Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 15 through 18 now I'm gonna put these verses on the screen just because I'm gonna comment on it as I teach through it but I encourage you to turn in your Bibles because you're gonna want to underline certain words and you're gonna make little notations in the margin of your Bible 1st Thessalonians 4 15 to 18 this is what Paul wrote 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 are asleep for the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout with a voice of an archangel and with the 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 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 alright so this is intended to be comforting to us a reminder of God's grace that is upon us as Christians I underline the words caught up in verse 17 because that's where we get the word rapture now in English it says caught up in the original Greek language of the New Testament the word is harpazo harpazo it translates seized or snatched when the Bible is translated in Latin called the Latin Vulgate the word that was used in Latin for caught up which is harpazo in the Greek was robbed tous that's where we get our English word rapture rob tous in Latin means to be seized caught up snatched and so this is what Paul's writing about here now he writes about being caught up together with them who's the them well you have to go back earlier and see who's he referring to it's about in verse 15 that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord okay so let's just say for example Jesus were to come today all right the that's we who are alive and remain at the coming of the Lord but we will not go before we will not perceive those who are asleep now remember we've talked about this before in the New Testament sleep is a euphemism for death it doesn't mean like Jehovah's Witnesses will teach you when you die your soul goes to sleep in the grave and you don't wake up until the Second Coming that's nonsense Paul said to be absent for the bodies to be present with the Lord we go immediately be with the Lord as a believer when we die our spirit separates from our body and goes to be with Jesus but our body our physical body will remain in a tomb and and our bodies decompose so when he says here we were alive and remained at the coming of Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep those believers who have already died they're gonna go before we go because they're gonna get their glorified body for the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet of gods and there's gonna be the sound of like a trumpet and the dead in Christ the believers who have already died before us will rise first okay now here's the deal here's what's happening when we go to heaven presently our spirit separates from our body and goes into heaven but the Bible speaks about how we as believers will also get glorified bodies as Jesus got a glorified body when Jesus rose from the dead his physical body had become glorified in other words it was imperishable it couldn't die again it couldn't get sick it wouldn't get weak his physical appearance was still the same but his body had transformed into something that was glorified and what the Bible promises that we will also get a glorified body like he has but not until this time because presently if you were to die you don't get a glorified body your spirit separates from your physical body and your spirit goes to be with the Lord but your spirit doesn't have a glorified body it's just a spirit in the presence with the Lord so what Paul is writing here in 1st Thessalonians 4 is this idea that as believers we're all going to get a glorified body in two separate ways first the first ones are gonna get a glorified body are those Christians who have already died so everybody who's died before us when that trumpet calls sounds graves are going to be opened and those dead physical now bodies that have decomposed and returned to dust will be miraculously changed and become a glorified body and those glorified bodies will rise from those graves to be reunited with the spirits that are in heaven so that those who have died before us will get their glorified body before us okay now I get all kinds of questions on this well wait a minute wait a minute my uncle Charlie was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea what's gonna happen to uncle Charlie because everybody knows that once his ashes were scattered probably then some sharks came along and ate all the ashes and and now it's gone through many other cycles where is uncle Charlie listen to me on this listen to me I'm gonna liberate you listen to me the same God who formed the universe and cast all the stars into outer space can bring uncle Charlie back trust me on that okay the molecular composition of uncle Charlie will miraculously be brought back together it's no problem for God it's no problem for God suddenly little canisters on peoples Mantle's will be gone think about it cremation is not an issue by the way because I mean you can decompose either quickly through cremation or over a long period of time through natural decomposition but whatever God is a big enough God he's gonna take all the molecular components of every human being who has ever died in Christ and bring it together into a glorified body I had a pastor friend once who in California who was doing a funeral and the wishes for the deceased the family said was that he should be cremated and then they wanted to go up in a helicopter and they wanted to then cast the ashes out over the sea in the Pacific and so he's like okay you know what we'll do this I've never done this before but what we'll do this and so they get up in the helicopter and you know the chopper blades are pretty loud and so and they they pull open the the side door of the chopper and the pastor saying a few loud words you know in remembrance and then he opens up the container and scatters it and when he did do you know what happen all the ashes flew back in everybody's face inside the helicopter they're choking they're choking on their loved one God can even take care of that okay no problem for God but the dead in Christ will rise first so believers who have already gone on before us they're gonna get their glorified bodies before we do but then look at the rest of the verse and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the lord in the air and thus we shall always be with the Lord therefore comfort one another with these words dead in Christ glorified bodies graves rise ashes come back together bodies rise out of the graves rather and then they get glorified bodies and then we are alive at that moment that just precedes us but then we're gonna get caught up and guess what believers who are alive at the time when Christ sounds the trumpet in the clouds they get their glorified body on the way up this is the next verse take a look at this this is first Corinthians 15:51 252 Paul says behold I tell you a mystery we shall not all sleep we shall not all experience death there's going to be a generation that gets raptured 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 be changed what is he saying he's saying that for the generation that is alive at the time of the return of Christ we get our glorified bodies on the way up now I have a pastor friend who has a plaque over the nursery in their church that has the first part of second part of verse 51 over the nursery now okay this is funny we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed in that cute do you get that all right anyway Paul's talking here about how everybody you just now got that man I get that but but but Paul's talking here about how in in Christ there's a generation that when he comes in the clouds sounds the trumpet that will not experience death we're gonna be taken up and and we get our glorified bodies on the way up now if you've ever seen any of those you know left behind movies or or when I was a teenager there was another series I forget what it was even called but but there were all these pictures of portrayal of what happens on the day when Christians are just vanished from the planet because that's what's gonna happen and then they show like you know their clothing still left behind in there and their eyeglasses folded neatly you know beside it and what does that mean that everybody goes up naked I don't know that that's what's gonna happen and that's kind of an ugly sight when you think about that but you know all kinds of things might happen they're there as a result of that I mean let me think about and this is what the movies portrayed - there's there's a Christian pilot flying an airplane all right a lot of it's on autopilot these days but at some point it's gonna have to land and if a Christian pilot is taken what happens to everybody on on that plane and the chaos that will happen when Christians are suddenly taken you know some believers driving their car and all of a sudden they're taken and now will there be all these traffic accidents and airplanes crashing and all this kind of stuff just use your imagination I guess it's hard to tell what's gonna happen when believers are taken from the earth but we will be snatched we'll be taken away we will be raptured from the earth take a look at what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 24 he said but as the days of Noah were so also will the coming of the Son of Man be for as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the Ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away so also will the coming of the Son of man be then two men will be in the field one will be taken on the other left two women will be grinding at the mill one will be taken and the other left watch therefore for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming so Jesus is referring here to the rapture there's gonna be two men working side-by-side once a believer ones not the believer it's going to be taken suddenly and the other Kies going to be left there two women are gonna be working together one's a believer ones not the believers going to be taken and the non-believers left they gonna be wondering what in the world happened here and Jesus compares that to the days of Noah now this is also very important as a pre-tribulation position that we hold here at Cornerstone and by the way you can compare Matthew 24 to Luke chapter 17 because in Luke chapter 17 when Jesus tells the story Luke records it is in a contradiction of Matthew it's a supplement to Matthew Matthew says that Jesus compares it to the days of Noah Luke says that - but Luke also adds that Jesus compared it to the days of lot now what is the significance comparison similarity between the days of Noah and the days of lot here's what it is you have righteous people Noah and lot and living in a very unrighteous world and what did God do he took the righteous out before his judgment came he spared Noah and his family eight in all on the ark before judgment came upon the world by way of a flood what happened with lot lot and his family were spared before God rain down fire and sulfur upon Sodom and Gomorrah these were righteous people living among unrighteous people then what did God do he spared the righteous this is more evidence for God taking Christians from the earth before the tribulation it's consistent Jesus compares his coming and the rescuing of his bride to the days of Noah in Matthew 24 and the days of Noah and a lot in Luke chapter 17 it will be sudden Jesus says here people are eating and drinking and they were marrying they were going to work it was just like a regular day it will be unannounced we should be aware of it in advance because we're studying this we should know about it the church should be educated about this stuff we should be aware that this is gonna happen but otherwise it's an unannounced event people are going to be just living life like they normally would and all of the sudden Christ is going to return in the clouds it's going to be this sound like a trumpet and the church is going to be taken and Jesus compares it here to know and lot in other words again the righteous were spared before the judgment came this is again the position of a pre-tribulation view that we hold here now here's the evidence from chapter 4 if you go back now and look here at chapter 4 verses 1 & 2 here here's why I believe that and not just me many others who look at this town see John as a type of the church as a figure a picture of the church in what happens here because everything else that John is about to write is written from the vantage point of being kept safe in heaven he's taken up by the spirit and everything else from chapter 4 to 22 he writes from that safe position in heaven with the Lord and so here's the evidence first number 1 it's the absence of the of the word church the word church is mentioned 19 times in the first three chapters of Revelation but not again until revelation 22:16 after the tribulation is all over the church is absent when you look at all these events are going to happen between 6 to 18 no mention of the word Church whatsoever okay so again it's a picture here John is taken up to heaven hears this voice come up here and he's kept safe when all of this tribulation is is going to be unleashed upon the world so that's one point the absence of the word church it's present in the first three chapters 19 times not mentioned again until chapter 22 verse 16 the second piece of evidence we have number two is the open door in heaven it says here behold I looked verse one and a door standing open in heaven the door is standing open because the church is growing up the only other time heaven is standing open in the book of Revelation is chapter 19 verse 11 when Jesus is coming down so it's like here's a portal and and it is open for this event John is a picture of the church come up here there's an open door up he goes the only other time that door is open is when Jesus comes again in chapter 19 verse 11 point number 3 you see the sound of a trumpet here he says and the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me now again it's not it's not literally a trumpet he's describing the the voice of God like a trumpet but again that is consistent with other passages in the Bible the voice of God is like a trumpet a sound associated with the rapture of the church in 1st Corinthians 15 we just read that and in 1st Thessalonians 4 we just read that all of these verses speak about the sound of a trumpet the sound of a trumpet the trumpet call of God and so that's consistent with the time of the rapture number 4 the invitation to come up here he says to him he hears this in verse 1 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 the only other time in Revelation that God calls from heaven come up here concerns the resurrection and ascension of the two witnesses in Revelation 1112 now when we get to Revelation chapter 11 there's an interesting thing that God does it's part of his mercy to send the Gospel message so that as many people still can get saved and they are sent specifically to the Jewish people you have two witnesses who will identify who we believe those two witnesses probably are although again we can't be dogmatic about it but they're going to be killed and yet they miraculously rise from the dead and and then there's a voice from heaven that says come up here and those two witnesses go back to heaven from which from where they came so the only other time when you compare these these terms come up here John's taking up to have it come up here in Revelation 1112 the two witnesses when they're taken up finally number five the return of the Saints with Christ is more evidence as to why he's a picture of the church being taken before the tribulation that starts in chapter 6 because we must be in heaven during the tribulation in order return with Christ after the tribulation that makes sense right the Bible says I'll give you the verses Revelation 1914 it says and the armies in heaven clothed in fine linen white and clean followed him on white horses so in Revelation 19 which is the chapter that talks about when Jesus comes back to earth not just in the clouds to get the church but when he actually comes back to earth to Jerusalem the Mount of Olives in chapter 19 verse 14 it says accompanying him our armies from heaven clothed in fine linen white and clean and they followed him on white horses now some look at that and say well that refers to angels oh it doesn't because the ones who are specifically clothed in white linen fine linen are believers in revelation 3:5 jesus said he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments and I will not blot out his name from the book of life but I will confess his name before my father and before his angels so it's a reference to say it's coming back with Jesus well we have to be in heaven for us to come back with him and then also Jude verses 14 and 15 Jude wrote this now Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied about these men also saying behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of his Saints to execute judgment on all to convict all who were ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him but listen again he says behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of his Saints when the Lord returns you also have first Thessalonians three verses 12 and 13 it says it may the Lord make you increase and abound and love to one another and do all just as we do to you so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his Saints in first Thessalonians 4:14 says for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus so it is believed the chapter for revelation verses 1 & 2 where John is taken up there to heaven in the spirit it's a picture it's a type of the church being taken up to heaven on that day known as the rapture to be kept safe there when the judgment and tribulation is unfolding upon the earth in 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 when Paul was writing in the context of the second coming of Christ he said this in the first 11 verses but concerning the times and the seasons brethren you have no need that I should write to you for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night in other words oh that was the name of the seer the series back in the 70s that I was trying to think of a thief in the night for when they say peace and safety then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman and they shall not escape talking about unbelievers but you brethren are not in darkness so that this day should overtake you as a thief you were all sons of light and sons of the day we are not in the night in rogue darkness therefore let us not sleep as others do but let us watch and be sober this is our instruction listen for those who sleep sleep at night and those who get drunk get drunk at night but let us who are of the day be sober putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet the hope of salvation for listen to this this is first Thessalonians 5:9 for God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us that whether we awake or asleep we should live together with him therefore and then again comfort each other and edify one another just as also you are doing you know the problem with my friends who hold to a post-trib view and a mid-trib view that you either go through all of it or part of it really hard to read what I just read from first Thessalonians 5 and Paul said it also in 1st Thessalonians 4 to comfort each other with these words how comforting is it to think that you have to go through some or all of the tribulation the only real comfort is in knowing that God did not subject us to wrath you see judgment but to receive salvation there our Lord Jesus Christ and Paul would write his closing words before he was martyred for his faith in 2nd Timothy 4 verse 8 he says now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will award me and not me only but all who long for his appearing do you long for his appearing church because he's coming again and when that trumpet call sounds we're going I don't care who's the up nobody will care post-trib mid-trib pre-trib when the trumpet sounds I'm out of here right I'm out of here and I hope you are too Amen let's pray together father we thank you for your word and the reminder that you're coming again to receive your bride in the clouds so that we might be with you forever and Lord we just thank you for your word that reminds us of these things may we be watching and ready may we be sober and watching prepared ready for whenever that day comes that you should sound that trumpet call and we should all go home to be with you if we are alive at that time what a glorious day that shall be if we've already died before that happens what a glorious day that shall be because to be with you forever with a glorified body is the hope of the church so thank you Lord for reminding us of these things and therefore we comfort one another with these words in Jesus name and all God's people said amen amen

Channel: Cornerstone Chapel - Leesburg, VA

Views: 100,821

Rating: 4.8216276 out of 5

Keywords: Revelation 4, The book of revelation, the doctrine of the rapture, what is the rapture, will i be raptured, when is Jesus coming again?

Id: mnJuCUZGyq4

Length: 46min 38sec (2798 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 23 2020