What’s Next for the Church?

Transcript

GRM 1059
11/20/2011
What's Next for the Church?
Sel.Vs.
Gil Rugh


We've been looking into what the Bible says about future things and it's an exciting privilege God has given to us as His people to be able to look into His Word and learn a little bit of what He has planned for the future of His creation, for our future as His children. And whatever God reveals He intends for us to understand, He intends for us to live in light of. And so prophecy is a great study. Some people are of the opinion that there are a lot of different views on prophecy and it's an area that we can ignore and just leave in God's hands. However the future comes out, I know God will work it all out and I'm willing to wait and see. But God doesn't reveal things to us for us to ignore. One of the major things in coming to the Scripture and particularly coming to prophetic Scripture is to interpret it as God gave it. Most of the divergence in understanding what the Bible says about prophetic matters is a breakdown in failing to be consistent in how we interpret the Scripture. We have clear pattern in Scripture for how it is to be interpreted. And as we began this study we talked about what we call hermeneutics, the principles and rules for interpreting the Scripture. Basically, we interpret it normally, sometimes called literally or historically grammatically. It has figures of speech and so on, we recognize that, just like in our everyday conversation. We expect people to understand, that's why we can communicate. We talk and assume people are going to understand it in a normal way. And within that we'll use figures of speech and we interpret them in that context.

So coming to the Bible in prophetic matters is not as difficult as it is often made out to be. When I say it's not difficult, that doesn't mean it doesn't take study. And it's a growing thing for us. The more we study the Word, the more we increase in our understanding, the more the pieces fit together. So we've been fitting some of the pieces of the prophetic picture together.

I have a chart and we're going to put that chart up on the screen. I've shared this chart with you at other occasions many times over many years. Where we are is, this is the death of Christ, ignore the rest of it just a minute. Here is the death of Christ. Remember that Daniel's 70 weeks, the 70 seven-year periods, 490 years are the backbone, if you will, of God's program for Israel. Four hundred eighty-three of those years ended just before Christ was crucified, because we look in Daniel 9 and it says, after 69 weeks, basically, after 483 years the Messiah will be cut off, so He was crucified. Then God's program for Israel in effect is on hold. Now He is working with Israel but His focal point in salvation in the world is no longer with the nation Israel, as it was in the previous 483 years, and even before that, all the way back to Abraham in Genesis 12. Because when Daniel was given that revelation, it would be 483 years to the Messiah. This period of time in here from Acts 2, just after the death, resurrection and then the ascension of Christ to heaven in Acts 1, in Acts 2 the church began with the coming of the Holy Spirit in fulfillment of the promises Christ gave. And we'll look at some of those in John 14 and John 16. The church age in which we live goes down to here. Following the removal of the church, we'll talk about that in a moment, from the earth God will resume His seven-year program. There is one seven-year period left in God's program with Israel. We know that hasn't happened. Some would say maybe that was a historical event. No, because that climaxes in Revelation 19-20 with Christ returning to earth and establishing a kingdom which lasts a thousand years. And then after the thousand years the kingdom goes on in its eternal phase.

What we've been talking about is events that take place in this seven-year period. All the matters of prophecy except the Rapture of the church that happens here, which we're going to talk about, come within that seven-year period. We talked about the revived Roman Empire and the picture of that with the European Union and the countries there being brought together and the apostate church, the restoration of Israel to the land. There will be a temple rebuilt. Now all of that takes place in this seven years. That doesn't mean some of it can't begin before the seven-year period begins. Obviously, if the Rapture of the church is going to occur here and God is going to begin His program with Israel again here, there will be certain things that have to be done in preparation. I don't know when the temple will be rebuilt in Israel, but what the Scripture makes clear is during this first 3½ years there will be a temple with a sacrificial system operating in Jerusalem. Now whether the temple will be rebuilt in the beginning part of this period or it will be built back here and be ready for this, I don't know. But when we see events that God says will be talking place in here, we can begin to think that we are very close to the time when God will remove the church and restore His focus on Israel in the world.

Now what we have set out on this chart is the resurrections of Scripture. It's taken from 1 Corinthians 15:23-24. You might want to turn there and we will come back to 1 Corinthians 15 later as well this morning, so you can leave a marker there. In 1 Corinthians 15:23, and this is the great chapter on the resurrection. More information on the resurrection of the dead in this one chapter. This is the chapter on the resurrection. If you're going to go to one chapter in the Bible to find out about the resurrection of the dead, this would be it. This is not all the Bible says about it of course, but this is the fullest discussion. And he's talked about Christ's resurrection being essential. If Christ hasn't been raised for the dead, Christianity collapses. There is no validity to it and anybody who places their faith in a Christ who as not been raised from the dead is a fool. That's been the first part of this section.

Verse 13, if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised. If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, it is empty, it is worthless. Your faith is also vain. Verse 17, if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins, He is not a Savior. Verse 19, if we had hoped in Christ in this life only we are of all men most pitied. What a wasted life to believe in a lie. People think, if it brings you comfort, if it makes you feel better, then that's good. No, it's not good. If it is not true, it's a terrible thing to base your life on a lie. But now Christ has been raised from the dead. That is reality, that is truth.

So the first thing we put here is Christ and His resurrection—laid out at the end of all four gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He is the first fruits of those who are asleep. Asleep, that's a picture used of a death of a believer. Their body has become inactive. At death a person moves out of his body, we've talked about that. The body without the spirit is dead, the person has left the body. They body is lying there temporarily inactive, like our bodies are somewhat when we sleep. Some of you thrash around but generally somebody is lying there sleeping, maybe snoring.

Christ is the first fruits. The first fruits come from the Old Testament, the first fruits brought in were evidence of a coming harvest. So the resurrection of Christ is the first fruits, it's the assurance of coming resurrection. Since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. As in Adam all die, in Christ all will be made alive. Each in his own order, and we're talking about here primarily the resurrection of believers because it's those in Christ. Each in his own order, Christ the first fruits, that's what we have here, afterward those that are Christ's at His coming. This is the Second Coming of Christ. We had the first coming back here in connection with His birth, life and death, here is the Second Coming. It has two parts. We'll talk more about that. The first stage He comes in the air for the church, He doesn't come to earth. The second phase of the Second Coming is He will return to the earth, set up a throne on the earth and establish a kingdom. At each of these times there is a resurrection that occurs. People read their Bible and say, Christ will return to earth, everybody will be resurrected, some will be sentenced to hell, some will go to heaven and that's the end of everything. No, the Scripture is more detailed than that. At this stage only the church is resurrected, only believers from Acts 2 down to this period of time, the time of the church. This is called the Church Age, distinct from Israel, primarily Gentile in makeup but some Jews. They will experience resurrection here. We'll talk about this. Later, seven years approximately later, Old Testament saints and those who have been saved during this seven-year period called tribulation saints will be raised from the dead. And then we will have the thousand-year kingdom.

These two resurrections on the bottom of the chart, this is the first resurrection according to Revelation 20. Turn to Revelation 20, we're not looking at all these verses yet. The focus in Revelation 20 is at this period of time because in Revelation 19 Christ has returned to earth. We have Armageddon, the book of Revelation unfolds in chronological sequence, remember when we studied it. Revelation 19 He returns to earth, then we have the thousand-year kingdom and the resurrection associated here, so these people, Old Testament saints who were promised the kingdom and those saved here can go into the kingdom that was promised. And so we are told, verse 4, I saw thrones, they sat on them. Judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus, because of the Word of God. Those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, had not received the mark on their forehead or their hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power. They will priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

So you have two parts to the first resurrection. We call it, put it here, that is a quality of resurrection, it's a resurrection to life. So by this period of time with this resurrection of the church and this resurrection at the return of Christ to earth, all believers will have been resurrected. Everyone who is going to spend eternity in the presence of God will have received their resurrected body by then. But not everybody has been resurrected. He says here here, the rest of the dead, verse 5, did not come to life until the thousand years are completed. So we have the resurrection of unbelievers at the end of the thousand years and so we're told about that beginning in verse 11. And these are the unbelievers of all time, going back to the early chapters of Genesis. Cain and so on, son of Adam and Eve. They will all be resurrected to appear before the Great White Throne. And everyone resurrected at that resurrection is going to be sentenced to an eternity in hell.

So that's the unfolding scheme of Scripture. It's important that we recognize the details. Just like the coming of Christ to earth the first time, remember the Old Testament prophets prophesied that Christ would come to earth and He would rule and reign in glory—the closing chapters of Isaiah. But the Old Testament prophets also said the Messiah would come and suffer and die, Isaiah 53. Peter says the Old Testament prophets couldn't understand how both could happen because the Old Testament never revealed that there was a space and Christ would come twice. Now we understand it, and say it's clear, of course, He came to suffer and die on the cross. Now some 2,000 years have gone by and we're looking for Him to come again and now in the New Testament it's revealed this Second Coming has two aspects, the first coming in the air to take the church so He can complete His program with Israel, which was not revealed in the Old Testament. And then His Second coming to the earth. Every time Christ is coming there are two aspects to it. When He came to earth the first time it was to deliver people, to bring salvation, and people believed in Him. But He also came to bring judgment. I came not to bring peace on the earth, but a sword.

So you have both aspects of Christ's coming. At this coming He will come to deliver the church, and it will also be the time which marks the beginning of wrath from which the church is delivered, a time of judgment. When He comes to earth here, it will bring deliverance to Israel as a nation to prepare them to come into the kingdom, but it will also bring judgment on the unbelieving who will not go into the kingdom. So two aspects involved when we talk about the coming of Christ, whenever it is and whatever aspect. It brings deliverance, salvation; it also brings judgment, destruction. That will be true.

I want to focus attention right here on what we call the Rapture of the church, the removal of the church from the earth to the air. This is the first phase of the Second Coming. And we call it the Rapture of the church. The fact of the Rapture is clearly established, I believe, in Scripture when we take the Scripture at face value.

Come to 1 Thessalonians. And these letters to the Thessalonians were probably the first letters written by the Apostle Paul. And in them he unfolds significant biblical truth. Amazing how much the early church is coming to learn and understand. It's a process. Even Peter writes in his second letter, Paul has written about many things that are hard to understand. And this is new material often. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13, and I've just put sample passages on the chart like here. These are not the only passages on this event. If you study a prophetic book, they'll list over twenty passages in the New Testament that talk about the Rapture of the church. I've put a sampling. That's just a sampling here as well of the resurrection of what will take place at the Second Coming to earth. But just don't want to put everything on the chart, it gets too cluttered.

So here we are at one of the major passages on what we call the Rapture of the church. We'll talk about that word Rapture in a minute. I do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep. There is our word asleep again. What has happened to believers who die? And will they miss out because they died? I mean, Christ will come and set up His kingdom and they'll miss it. No, I don't want you to misunderstand what happens to a believer when he dies, so you will not grieve as the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep 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 not precede those who have fallen asleep. We won't go before them. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Now note here, these are the dead in Christ. This comes back to when the church began in Acts 2, they are in Christ, that unique relationship that is established as the result of the death and resurrection of Christ, His ascension to heaven, the establishing of the church.

They will rise first, those who have died are going to rise up from the grave. Their body is going to come back, be called to life out of the grave. Now their spirit has been with God in heaven because the body without the spirit is dead. Paul says his desire is to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. So we don't believe in soul sleep, there is no such thing. Upon death your spirit leaves the body. If you are a believer, you go into the presence of the Lord, to heaven; if you are an unbeliever, you go to the sufferings of Hades to await final sentencing to hell.

So the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall always be with the Lord. You'll note nothing is said about coming to earth here. The dead are raised up from the grave, their bodies come up, they move back into them, they are brought with the Lord in the air so they can move back into their glorified bodies. Then those who are still alive as believers in Christ at this point are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. That word caught up, sometimes people will tell you, if you talk about the Rapture, they say the word Rapture doesn't appear in the Bible. No, because the Bible wasn't written in English, nor was it written in Latin. It was written in Greek. So it's been translated. The Greek word for caught up is harapazo. That was translated in Latin and they used the word rapturo. We got our English word rapture from the Latin translation of the Greek word. And if you go to a Greek lexicon or dictionary, here's what it says, to steal, to carry off, to snatch, to take away. It means to carry something off or carry it away.
Come back to Acts 8. And here Philip has shared the gospel with the Ethiopian eunuch, the Ethiopian eunuch believed the gospel and he is baptized there as testimony of his faith in Christ. Verse 39, when they came up out of the water, Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, Philip had taken him down to the water to baptize him, they came up out of the water and the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. That word translated snatched, he harapazo Philip away, he raptured Philip away, he carried him away. Same word we have in 1 Thessalonians, to be caught up. He caught him away. What happened? The Ethiopian eunuch saw him no longer. But Philip found himself at Azotus. So just caught up and removed to another place. That's where it happens. That's what happens at the Rapture. If the Rapture were to occur now, every believer in this auditorium would just be gone. Just like that Ethiopian, he looked around and no Philip. Gone. So no believers. Gone. That's what the word means. It is used that way in 2 Corinthians 12:2,4; Revelation 12:5. That word, not to refer to the Rapture at this event, it becomes a technical word for us. But the Greek word harapazo is used several times here just to refer to somebody being caught away, snatched away, carried away.

And so that's where we get the concept of the Rapture. So if somebody says, the word Rapture doesn't appear in the Bible, you can say, you are right, the word Rapture doesn't appear in the Bible. In fact, did you know that when the Bible was written, no English words appeared in the Bible? There was not one English word in the Old Testament or New Testament that was originally done. The Old Testament was primarily written in Hebrew, a little bit of Aramaic, and the New Testament was written in Greek. So you're right, the word Rapture, we have it as an English word doesn't appear. But the Greek word which is the background for the word Rapture does. So let's talk about the harapazo of the church. Write it down—h a r a p a z o is how we transliterate it. Then you can use it sometime, throw it out. All right, so the church gets harapazo, removed, caught away, gone.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 15, I told you we would come back here. This is another major passage on the Rapture. 1 Thessalonians 4 had its focus, what happens to believers from the Church Age who have died when the Lord comes in the air? Well, their bodies are removed from the grave. Doesn't matter how they died, doesn't matter whether they were eaten by wild animals, whether they were cremated, whether they were buried, whether they were mummified. It doesn't matter. God called them back together. You say, I don't know how He would do that. Well, I don't know how God does a lot of things. I'm not God. He just says He's going to do it. And when He says He is going to do it, do you know what happens? He does it.

1 Corinthians 15:51, behold I tell you a mystery. Now here is new information. Paul is further clarifying. A mystery in Scripture is something that has not been revealed before. There is now additional revelation. This does not change previous revelation, it adds to it and may clarify it. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. Not everybody is going to die, not every believer is going to die, but every believer is going to undergo a bodily transformation, called glorification. In a moment, we get the word atom from this word, the smallest particle of time. In the twinkling of an eye, quicker than your eye bats. If you do that we don't even see it. We say we blink our eyes, that goes on all the time and we don't count, I'm blinking my eyes, I'm blinking again, I'm blinking again. It just happens so quickly you don't even see it. That's the point. In an atom of time, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed. You see the order is the same as he wrote to the Thessalonians. The dead rise before, then immediately after that. Why does God do that? I don't know, perhaps so that the person's spirit can move back into his body and then we'll be caught up to meet them. And our bodies will have been transformed, glorified. Why? This perishable must put on the imperishable, this mortal must put on immortality. The church cannot go into the kingdom in an unglorified, physical body. There will be people who go into the kingdom here in physical bodies.

So be careful with verse 50, I say this, brethren, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. He's talking about the church, he's talking about truth related to the church here. He wrote this to the church at Corinth. There will be people who go into the millennium here in physical bodies, have children and at the end of the millennium rebel against the rule of Christ. But no one in the church will go into the millennium with a physical body. But every believer in Christ who is part of the church will go into the millennium, but we will all be in glorified bodies. That will put an end to death for believers, that glorious event.

That ought to motivate us, verse 58, my beloved brethren to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. I mean, we have a goal, we have a purpose, we have a reason. We are looking for the coming of the Lord very soon, very, very soon. And what I am doing in my service for Him, what you are doing in your service for Him is not wasted, is not empty. He has great purpose, great value. We're doing it in light of the coming of our Lord.

Come back to John 14. Here is another passage talking about the Rapture of the church. These are all passages that are speaking about what happens at this period of time, the first stage of the Second Coming, the Rapture. John 14, let not your heart be troubled, the chapter begins. Believe in God, believe also in Me. The setting here, this is Jesus' last night with His disciples, John 13-17, and He has a meal with them and now He is instructing them, preparing them for the events of this fateful night where He'll be betrayed and then the following day crucified. In My Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am there you may be also. Sometimes we refer to this passage at a funeral when a believer dies. I do that myself. But the point that I want to refer to at a funeral here is it is Christ's intention and purpose to have us as His people with Him in glory. That where I am, the end of verse 3, there you may be also. It is His intention. And when we die we do go into His presence. But when He will come and gather us is at the Rapture of the church. This is where this event ultimately occurs. He is promising them that He is coming again for them. The reality of it is, anyone who dies here, their body is put in the grave but their spirit is caught up. But He's talking about the time when He will come back for them and they will be bodily caught up to meet Him and take them to His Father's house where He has prepared a place for them. And many of you are familiar with the Oriental pattern of weddings where the groom would come and get his potential bride and take her to his father's house and then they will return for the wedding feast, which we'll get to in a moment.

So here He is promising them, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am there you may be also. Well when He comes to earth He doesn't have to take believers anywhere because their being on earth is where He will be also. But in John 14 He is promising, I will come and receive you to Myself so you can be where I am. I'm going to come and take you where I am, the place I have prepared for you there. But when He comes to earth in the second phase of the Second Coming here, He doesn't have to take believers anywhere because He is coming to earth to stay, to set up His throne, to set up His kingdom. Right?

Come to Philippians 3, we'll be coming back to John 14. Philippians 3:20, he talks about those who are the enemies of the cross in the preceding verses, but we'll pick up with verse 20. For our citizenship is in heaven from which also we eagerly await for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory. So what will our resurrection body be like? It will be like the body Jesus Christ had after His resurrection from the dead, the same body that was buried is the body that was raised. Remember, He still had the nailprints in it, but it was a body without the limitations of a physical body. He appeared in a locked room and disappeared and so on. But He could eat fish with the disciples and not have to watch diets. That's something to look forward to, isn't it. What will we do? Will we be able to eat in glory? I take it, Christ had a glorified body and remember when He appeared with the disciples when they were fishing He prepared the fish and ate. So I don't understand it all but I know what God said.

We'll have a body conformed to the body of His glory. This body without any imperfections, this body without its limitations. I won't be God, but I will have a glorified body, a body like He had as a man raised from the dead. How will this happen? It will happen by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. So you see what we are looking for. Old Testament saints are anticipating looking for what? Jewish believers during this time are looking for what? The return of the Lord and the establishing of a kingdom. What are we looking for? We're looking for the return of the Lord in the air and the transformation of our body and He'll take us to the place He has prepared for us in glory. Colossians 2 says He'll take us to the presence of His Father in heaven and present us before the throne of the Father as holy and blameless and without spot. So this is a different event than will happen at the end of the tribulation.

Come over to Revelation 19 where we were just a little bit ago, we were in Revelation 20. Revelation 19, we are ready for this even here. Christ is going to return to earth. The unfolding of the book of Revelation, chapter 1 talks about John's day. So John would have been right here, 95 A.D. Revelation 2-3 talk about the Church Age in here. That's why in Revelation 2-3 as it talks about the seven churches of Asia which are selected because the messages given to them are for His church and churches as they will be throughout history. They were literal churches, but the messages to them goes beyond that. They are promised deliverance and destruction. True believers in the churches are promised deliverance, that will happen at the Rapture. Unbelievers in the churches are promised destruction because unbelievers are going to go into the tribulation ultimately. So the viewpoint they are preparing. So what happens? The church is removed after Revelation 2-3, then we'll come in here and you have the seven years' tribulation.

So the order of Revelation follows. After the the seven years, chapters 4-19, chapters 4-5 will be the church in heaven here, we'll have a heavenly scene. But chapters 4-19 cover what will take place during this period. Then chapter 19 we have this event, Christ's return to earth. So all heaven is celebrating the climax of God's plan here and then note verse 7. Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean. Fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. You'll note what is happening. The church has already experienced its judgment before the Bema seat. Fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. The rewards have come. We'll see that in a moment. And the crowns and so on as well, that are given to the church.

Then he says, verse 9, write, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper. Not to the marriage, the marriage has already occurred. The pattern of the Oriental wedding, the groom came, got his bride, took her to his home, the wedding ceremony occurs. Now the friends of the bridegroom were invited to the marriage feast. What did John the Baptist say? I'm not the bridegroom, the one who has the bride is the bridegroom. I am the bride. No, he didn't. He said, I am a friend of the bridegroom. That's different than being a bride, you know, if you were a friend of the bridegroom. So the friends of the bridegroom, Old Testament saints will be invited here to go into the millennium, which really becomes the marriage supper of the Lamb, in that sense. He said to me, these are the true words of God. You can count on it, these are the true words of God.

And then heaven opens and Christ descends in His glory and the armies of heaven with Him, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, verse 14. Then He brings destruction at Armageddon. Then we'll have Revelation 20 and you have Satan bound for 1,000 years, you have what is called the millennium which comes from the Latin for a thousand years here. You have the thousand years, then after the thousand years are completed, Revelation following along sequentially, this happens. Then after that, verse 11, the Great White Throne and the judgment here that occurs with the resurrection of all unbelievers. So it unfolds in the order of events.

So the Rapture, believers are caught up from the grave and then from the earth to meet the Lord in the air. Believers receive glorified bodies, believers are taken to heaven to be with the Lord. At the Second Coming to earth the Lord comes to earth with a display of great glory. He destroys His enemies and He takes believers into the kingdom. Now you can see what happens, some people think maybe the Rapture occurs here and what happens is Christ is coming down to earth, the church is caught up to meet Him in the air right here and we turn around and come back down. Believers are caught up to meet Him in the air. There is a problem with that, the problem is what happens when you are caught up to meet the Lord in the air? You get a glorified body. Well all unbelievers are going to experience a judgment here, maybe we'll talk, I don't know what we're going to do in the future. We might talk about the judgments that occur. But all unbelievers are executed here, suffer physical death. Only believers go into the kingdom. But all believers would be in glorified bodies if this were the Rapture. And in resurrected bodies we don't marry or are given in marriage, yet we know there are going to be children born in the millennium. Furthermore, we know people are going to die in the millennium. Furthermore, there is going to be a great rebellion against Christ at the end of the millennium. Where does this come from if everybody going into the millennium has a glorified body? So people will have to begin to make adjustments. No, it's because all believers are removed from the earth here. There are no believers left alive on the face of the earth at this point in time. People will be saved during this 3½ year period, we talked about that in our study of the book of Revelation. At this point there will not be any unbelievers left alive on the face of the earth because all unbelievers will be destroyed. But children will be born, babies will be born in the millennium and they are born with a sin nature. They will have to place their faith in Christ and so on. So that's a future time.

So there is, I think, clear distinction just from the little bit we've looked at. Some further factors on why this is, you're familiar with this, this is review. If you're not, it's confusing. This is called a pretribulation Rapture. That's because this period of time, the 70th week of Daniel, is called the tribulation. It's the Day of the Lord. We believe the Lord will come pre tribulation, before the tribulation. If you believe in a post tribulation Rapture, you believe that the church will be raptured right here to meet Christ in the air and come right back down with Him. That's the post tribulation Rapture. Those are the two most popular viewpoints, only one of the two can be right, and that's this one. There is also a midtribulation view that confuses things, I think, because it takes the resurrection of the two witnesses in Revelation 2 as indication of the church's resurrection, which I think confuses everything.

Some reasons why the church will be raptured before the 70th week of Daniel. Come back to Daniel 9, this will review some things we've done in past studies. We refer to the 70n weeks of Daniel, Daniel 9:24, 70 weeks, literally 70 sevens, 70 seven-year periods as we compared this with the rest of the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation. Seventy weeks, 490 years, have been decreed. Now he is speaking to Daniel, the angel Gabriel, for your people and your holy city. This block of 490 years pertains to the Jews and Jerusalem. And six things will be accomplished there which will prepare the way for Israel to go into the kingdom. They are listed in the rest of verse 24. Then he breaks it down, when it starts, the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, about 444-445 B.C. down until the time of the Messiah. After 62 weeks the Messiah is cut off, we noted that. That's after 7 weeks, so after a total of 69 weeks, 483 years Messiah was cut off. And you can check out books and booklets that unfold this period of time. So about a week before the crucifixion of Christ the 69th week of Daniel came to an end.

So you'll note, He wasn't crucified in the 70th week, He was crucified after the 69th week. That's why we say this is put on hold, this period of time. It's not seen in the Old Testament, there is no revelation of this Church Age in here in the Old Testament. It's a mystery revealed, the New Testament tells us.

Then in verse 27 we're told that the Antichrist, as we've talked about in previous studies, will make a firm covenant with the many, referring to the Jews, for one week, one seven-year period. Then it breaks down in the middle of that. He'll put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering. So we note the sacrifices, this is one of the passages, are in operation here. In the middle of that time. . . He signed an agreement for seven years, he breaks it in the middle of the 3½ , as we've talked about in previous studies. So the church is not part of that 490 years, the church wasn't started until the first 483 years were over. It's removed before the last 7 years begin because this is not God dealing with the church. This is God dealing with Israel again, like He did before He established the church in Acts 2.

Come over to Romans 11:25, I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery. Mystery, something that has not been revealed before. It's a term, you can get a concordance and look up the word mystery and you'll see its use in the New Testament. It's something you didn't find out. I don't want you to be uninformed of this mystery, that you are not wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in and so all Israel will be saved. The Old Testament as we talked about in previous studies did talk about the conversion of Gentiles, but it's always in the context of Israel. But this period of time, the Church Age, is the time of the fullness of the Gentiles. I mean, look around the auditorium, we are probably 99.5% or more Gentiles. It's true around the world, it's a day of Gentile salvation. Now it's a partial hardening for Israel because some Jews are saved and are part of the church—Paul, Peter, others through the New Testament, others down to our day. But they are the small number. This is a day of Gentile salvation and the focal point of God's work of salvation in the world is in the church, not the nation Israel. The nation Israel is in judgment and unbelief.

But this is only until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then we restore God's program with Israel so all Israel as a nation can be saved. That's what this seven years is, it pours out God's wrath on an unbelieving world and it brings such withering judgment and discipline on the nation Israel that by the time we get to the end of this seven years they are crying out for the return of the Messiah. And they are ready to say, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. So again, God's deliverance and destruction.

So here we live in a time of the fullness of the Gentiles. This period back here was not that time, that was the time of God focusing on the nation Israel. From Genesis 12 to Acts 2 the focal point of Scripture is one nation, Israel. As we've talked about, the other nations that are talked about are only talked about as they intersect Israel because everything God is doing in salvation is in the nation Israel. Okay, so it's a time of the fullness of the Gentiles.

Come back to John 14. We were in the first part of John 14 a little bit ago, Jesus preparing His disciples for when He would be crucified and leave the earth, Acts 2, ascend to the Father, not to return to the earth until that Second Coming to establish His kingdom. Note the promises He gives, what He says will happen. Verse 16, I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper, another Comforter, another paraclete, one called alongside to help, that He may be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. Now don't misunderstand, the Spirit of truth is present. The end of verse 17, you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. The Spirit is present in the world, He has always been present in the world. But He is going to come in a new and special way, indwelling believers.

Come down to verse 26, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, bring to your remembrance all I said. And I leave peace with you. It is better that I go away, you should rejoice that I am going away. So this coming of the Spirit in a new and special way is significant.

Come to John 15:26, when the Helper comes. Obviously He is there, He just said He is with you, but He is going to come because I'll send Him in a special way to carry out a ministry that is new and unique. Whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me. John 16:7, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I go I will send Him to you. It is better again that I go so that the Spirit can come in this new and special way.

And what will He do when He comes? He will convict the world, not dealing now with just the nation Israel. He's coming in a new and unique ministry to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. And this is a necessary part of salvation. We are saved because the Spirit brings us under conviction of our sin, the need for His righteousness, the seriousness of coming judgment. We turn from our sin and place our faith in the Savior. But you understand, that's not the way the Spirit was working prior to the ascension of Christ, He was working in Israel. There are no Assyrian prophets, there are no Babylonian prophets, not true prophets of God. No Egyptian prophets of God. Why? They are all Jews. Salvation is of the Jews and it only comes through a Jewish Messiah. There are some Gentiles converted in the Old Testament and what do we find? They are having identification in connection to Israel. The Spirit is going to come and convict the world, not be dealing just with Israel.

Now come over to 2 Thessalonians 2:7, the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. There is a restraint going on. The man of lawlessness that is mentioned in verse 2 that is yet to be revealed, we're talking about that revelation at a future time, the man of lawlessness, he is restrained now. He can't be revealed yet. Verse 6, you know what restrains him now so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness
is already at work, only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming, and so on.

I take it with the removal of the church you have the removal of the Holy Spirit. In what way? In the way He came here because He's not going to be dealing primarily in a ministry to the world any longer. This is the 70th week of Daniel for Daniel's people, the Jews, and for Jerusalem. That's why this is the fullness of the Gentiles. If you are a Gentile, you better believe in Christ. You say, well, if it all happens I'll believe in the tribulation. Don't think you will. I'm not saying no Gentiles will be saved, but they will be the exception. God's program now focuses here on the Jews.

So the Spirit of God is removed so that the man of lawlessness can be revealed. As we noted, what really marks the beginning of this seven years is the signing of the covenant of Daniel 9 by the man of lawlessness, the Antichrist, the prince who shall come, the little horn of Daniel 7. That marks the beginning of the seven years. He can't be revealed until the Restrainer, who can restrain the devil? You can't. We have silly people parading around, telling the devil this and that, and we rebuke you, devil. Who can restrain the devil? God. It's only the Holy Spirit who is restraining. The devil and the devil's man, the Antichrist, things happen on God's timetable.

The fullness of the Gentiles has included another day, today. We need to think of that when we go to talk to people today. This is a day for your salvation. That's why Paul told the Corinthians, today is the day of salvation, today. Don't say tomorrow, you don't know what tomorrow will bring. Today is the day of salvation. This is the day of Gentile salvation. The Restrainer will be removed. When is He removed? Well when did He come? When He established the church in Acts 2. When will He be removed? The church is leaving here, He is leaving. The man of lawlessness can't be revealed until the Restrainer is removed. In the days of Noah in Genesis 6 God said, My Spirit will not always strive with man. So in those days it was the Spirit holding back sin and its fullness and the judgment of God that it brings. So today it's the Spirit bringing salvation and holding back. We think evil is bad now, it's nothing like it's going to be here. We read some verses in Isaiah that say that God in this period of time will make mortal man more scarce than pure gold. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that if He didn't come at the end of seven years there wouldn't be a person left alive on the face of the earth. We think things are bad now. We talk about, what's happening to the world. It's ripening for judgment, we're moving here. We may be very close. And when the church leaves literally all hell will break loose because the restraint will be lifted and Satan pours out his final effort and God pours out His greatest wrath. And the world becomes an almost unlivable place but for the grace of God that is bringing Israel to its knees so that God can bring in the promised kingdom.

I don't know where you are, Jew or Gentile. This is an opportunity, it's a day of salvation. God brought you here to hear the message, believe in Christ, turn from your sin, trust Him. Why will you die? Receive the life that Christ died to give.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your Word. Thank you that it is true, these words are true. Lord, so much, it's hard to grasp. Sometimes it seems we can't take it all in, and we can't. And yet in your grace you have given us the Spirit to teach us. And Lord, we do understand, not every detail but we are learning more, we are appreciating with wonder the unfolding of your purposes for us for the future. How awesome it is to consider when we look at the world around us, we look into your Word and think our Savior is coming perhaps very soon, perhaps today to call the church into His presence to take us to the glory of your presence. Lord, may that shape and guide and direct all we do. We pray in Christ's name, amen.