Revelation Insights

The History, The Theology Of The Secret Rapture

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Lyle Albrecht

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Series Code: RIN

Program Code: RIN000015


00:59 For this morning, I want to share with you
01:11 both the history and the theology of a secret rapture
01:19 and seven years of tribulation to follow.
01:24 At the outset, I want to say to you, the secret of the rapture
01:27 is, there is no secret rapture.
01:31 There are three basic interpretations
01:34 of Bible prophesy and I'm going to share them
01:37 for the sake of you who have an interest in history.
01:41 There is what is known, theologically, as the preterist
01:44 interpretation of Bible prophesy.
01:45 And in that word, you see the word "pre".
01:50 That means the idea of tribulation and suffering,
01:56 to a great extent, before the church.
02:00 Before ever the church was formed.
02:02 Now there are very few in the world today
02:05 who hold to that view.
02:07 It was originated in the 16th century by a man
02:12 by the name of Alcazar whom we'll speak more later.
02:16 The second interpretation of the prophesies of Daniel and
02:19 Revelation, and Jesus and the apostle Paul for that matter,
02:23 is called the futuristic interpretation.
02:26 And that is the one that is most largely held
02:30 in the Christian world today.
02:32 Certainly in fundamental Protestantism.
02:36 That idea was originated also in the 16th century
02:40 by a man by the name of Ribera, of whom
02:42 we'll also speak further.
02:45 The third interpretation is not from Alcazar nor is it from
02:50 Ribera, but rather it's from God
02:53 and from the Bible.
02:54 And it's generally referred to as the
02:57 historical interpretation.
03:00 Now I want you to open your Bibles, if you will please,
03:02 with me to Revelation chapter 1.
03:05 We've used this passage many, many times,
03:07 but of necessity, must do it again this morning.
03:09 Revelation is the last book, not by an accident,
03:12 but for those who live in the very last days
03:14 just before Jesus comes.
03:16 And on prior occasions, we have said that this verse
03:18 from Revelation 1 is the fulcrum of the whole
03:22 of the rest of the book.
03:23 It's not only the key of chapter 1, but is the key to
03:27 the understanding of the entirety of the rest of the
03:30 book of Revelation and also to a broad understanding of the
03:35 book of Daniel, which many refer to as the Old Testament
03:39 apocalypse or the Old Testament revelation.
03:42 If you're ready now, we're going to read verse 7.
03:46 Revelation chapter 1 and the 7th verse.
03:51 The reference, of course, is to our Lord Jesus
03:54 as you see in the prior verses.
03:56 "Behold, He comes with clouds," and a very few folks are
03:59 going to be able to see Him.
04:00 Quite a few folks are going to be able to see Him.
04:03 Most folks are going to... No.
04:05 "Every eye shall see Him, including those also
04:08 who pierced Him.
04:09 And all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.
04:12 Even so, Amen. "
04:14 Now we're going to turn directly from here to Matthew chapter 24.
04:18 This is often referred to as the Olivet Discourse.
04:22 The context, as we have noticed on prior occasions,
04:25 has to do with the temple.
04:28 You remember, the disciples with Jesus, sit together on the edge
04:33 of the Mount of Olives and they're looking now right back
04:37 toward the temple.
04:38 And the disciples say, "Lord, isn't it beautiful?"
04:41 And Jesus now begins to speak.
04:42 I'm going to take up the reference at verse 1.
04:46 Matthew chapter 24 verses 1 and following so we can see the
04:49 context of the warnings of Jesus and the comments of Jesus
04:53 regarding His next coming.
04:56 "They went out of the temple," verse 1 of chapter 24
05:00 of Matthew, "and the disciples came to Him and said,
05:02 'Lord, look at those beautiful buildings. '
05:05 And Jesus said, 'Yes, but I tell you this.
05:09 One day shall come when there will not be one
05:12 stone left upon another that shall not be thrown down. '"
05:15 Verse 3, "As He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples
05:19 came to Him privately and they said,
05:21 'Lord, tell us about these things. '"
05:23 Obviously during the prior verses, there were crowds
05:26 of folks around and I can suppose that their jaws dropped.
05:29 "Lord, isn't the temple beautiful?
05:30 Yes, it's one of the wonders of the world.
05:32 It's been refurbished with a lot of Roman money.
05:34 Isn't it lovely?"
05:35 And Jesus said, "It is indeed, but I'm telling you this.
05:38 Not too far into the future, not one stone will be left
05:41 standing upon another. "
05:43 And that was shock therapy, you can imagine that.
05:47 And so the disciples later come to Jesus privately,
05:50 it says in verse 3.
05:52 "While they were on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came
05:54 to Him privately and said, 'Lord, tell us more about this.
05:57 And what will be the signs of Your coming and
05:59 of the end of the world?'"
06:00 Now, it's important for us to note here in the context that
06:04 the disciples are not asking, "What is it going to be like
06:07 when you come the 3rd or 4th or 5th time?
06:10 What's it going to be like at the end of
06:12 seven years of tribulation?
06:13 What's is going to be like during the millennium?
06:16 What is it going to be like?"
06:17 No, they're asking, "Lord, tell us more about the
06:21 end of the age and when You come for Your saints.
06:24 Tell us explicitly about Your second coming
06:28 so that we can be ready, and so when we write
06:30 for our children and their children and to the
06:32 terminal generation, they can know and understand
06:35 what it's all about. "
06:37 The second coming, not the 3rd or 4th, but the
06:40 next time You come.
06:42 Now I'm going to give you some verses for reference.
06:44 We don't have time to read all the verses, but I know
06:47 that you "A" students will put them down.
06:49 Speaking to the same event, when Jesus comes on His
06:52 rescue mission for the saints, David in Psalm 50 verse 3 said
06:56 that Jesus will come and will not be silent.
07:02 He will not be silent.
07:05 In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 beginning with the 16th verse,
07:10 we memorized about our 4th night together the words
07:14 of following verses 16, 17 and 18.
07:18 We said that this was the passage that would
07:20 save us from antichrist.
07:21 And I'm going to suggest that this morning as we worship
07:24 we repeat those words together.
07:26 I'll begin them for you and you take up with me
07:29 as soon as you recognize them.
07:30 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 beginning with the 16th verse.
07:34 "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven
07:39 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
07:43 and the trump of God.
07:45 And the dead in Christ shall rise first.
07:49 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
07:52 together with them to meet our Lord in the air. "
07:56 The three words that save us from antichrist.
07:58 We meet Him not in Rome, not in Salt Lake City.
08:01 But we meet our Lord in the air.
08:02 "And so shall we ever be with the Lord.
08:04 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. "
08:10 The Lord descends from heaven with a shout.
08:12 He's coming for His saints.
08:14 The graves are opened and the saints come out,
08:16 and the generation that's alive and ready and waiting
08:18 to meet Him are caught up together with them to meet
08:21 our Lord in the air.
08:22 And there's nothing, ladies and gentlemen, wrong
08:24 with the word "rapture".
08:26 It is from the Latin and also from the French.
08:28 Rapio, to be snatched up.
08:30 Instantly caught up.
08:31 And I long for that day.
08:34 The problem comes when you try to suggest that when
08:38 Jesus comes back for His saints, it's going to be a
08:40 secretive sort of a thing.
08:43 Shout, the voice of the archangel, the trump of God.
08:45 And the blast is so great and the earthquake that comes
08:49 along with it, that the graves are broken wide open.
08:52 God tears up the cemeteries.
08:59 In Revelation chapter 20 and verse 4, let's turn
09:05 back there together.
09:06 We've studied, only about three nights back, about the
09:11 time of the millennium and the 1000 years.
09:15 And we alluded to this on that evening but must underline it
09:19 this morning again.
09:21 Revelation chapter 20 reading now verse 4.
09:25 These are the saints that are alive when Jesus comes
09:28 in His second coming.
09:29 "I saw thrones, the saints sat upon them.
09:33 Judgment was given unto them.
09:35 I saw those that had been martyred for the word of God
09:37 and the witness of Jesus because they would not... "
09:40 Do what, now?
09:41 Why were they martyred?
09:42 Why did the saints lose their lives?
09:44 "Because they refused to worship the beast or his image. "
09:48 Now if all I had upon which to base my faith and to know that
09:53 there was no secret rapture, this passage would suffice.
09:56 It would be enough.
09:57 It's abundantly clear in this one verse alone.
10:01 It's clear enough that the children can understand.
10:04 That those that are taken in the first resurrection, the saints
10:07 that are sat upon thrones during the 1000 years
10:10 have already gained victory over the beast and over the mark.
10:14 That's enough.
10:15 But there's much, much more.
10:19 I want us now to go to Matthew chapter 13.
10:23 And we'll go back and forth, and back and forth
10:26 as we put line upon line and precept upon precept together
10:29 as we look at this idea, this false notion,
10:33 this theological untruth about a secret rapture
10:37 and then tribulation to follow.
10:39 Chapter 13 of the book of Matthew and I shall
10:43 begin to allude to you, I guess for want of time
10:48 that's the way we'll do it.
10:49 But this is the parable of the sower.
10:52 And it says that someone had sown bad seed
10:57 out in the farmers field.
10:58 And at this time of year and in this part of the country,
11:01 you folks will relate to that, won't you now.
11:04 And then it goes on to say that the wheat and the tares
11:09 are going to be together until when?
11:11 Until the secret rapture and then suddenly all of the
11:14 wheat is taken away and seven years later the tares
11:17 will be burning up.
11:18 Is that what it says?
11:19 No, it says the wheat and the tares are going to be together
11:23 until the very end time, until the final harvest,
11:27 the wheat and the tares will be together.
11:29 Now, from here we're going to go to chapter 24 of Matthew.
11:34 And this again is the Olivet Discourse.
11:36 And put in your notes together with it,
11:38 Luke chapter 17 and verse 24.
11:41 And we shall notice again the emphasis upon the next
11:45 coming of Jesus when He comes for His saints.
11:47 Matthew chapter 24 and I shall read firstly at verse 27.
11:52 Matthew 24, reading at verse 27.
11:58 "As lightening comes out of the east and shines
12:00 even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. "
12:04 And you read the same thing over in Luke 17 and verse 24.
12:08 "As lightening. "
12:12 Having been raised in the Pacific Northwest,
12:14 I had seen some lightening storms.
12:17 I had gone out to fight fires that were lightening caused.
12:20 And you folks, of course, here know about all of that.
12:24 And I thought I understood fairly well about lightening.
12:27 Oh how wrong I was.
12:30 Peggy and I were called to work back in the Washington DC area.
12:34 And I shall never forget our arrival in the Shenandoah Valley
12:39 where we were going to make our home for the next 3 plus years.
12:43 We'd just picked up a new travel trailer in which to live
12:47 while we were out doing evangelism.
12:49 And Peggy, looking into the western skies, saw some
12:55 really black clouds, some really threatening clouds.
12:58 She said, "Hon, pull off at the next rest stop.
13:01 Pull into the next rest area. "
13:03 And there was one a couple of miles down the road.
13:04 And I pulled in.
13:06 And she said, "I want us all to go into the trailer and we're
13:09 going to have lunch and we're going to wait out this storm. "
13:11 And so we did.
13:13 While we were inside and Peggy making sandwiches,
13:17 the dark clouds rolled overhead and the lightening
13:22 began to flash.
13:24 And there was no, "one Mississippi, two Mississippi,
13:26 three Mississippi," and then the thunder.
13:28 I mean it would clap right now.
13:30 And Peggy said, "Oh, I forgot the pickles.
13:32 Would you go into the trunk of the car and get the pickles?"
13:34 I said, "Are you out of your mind?"
13:38 I was sure as soon as I stepped outside I would fry right there.
13:43 It was my first real experience with an electrical storm.
13:45 A few months later, I had another.
13:47 I was preaching at Military Circle over in Virginia Beach,
13:51 messages just like we've been sharing together here.
13:54 And in the auditorium, there was a skylight
13:56 right down the center.
13:57 And one night, I was preaching on the second coming of Jesus
14:00 and I was reading from Matthew 24 and Luke 17.
14:03 And I was reading, "as lightening comes from... "
14:06 and instantly, the lightening ripped across the sky and
14:10 instantly the thunder clapped and the windows rattled
14:13 and the people jumped.
14:15 And I said, "Look, I'll do anything for an illustration.
14:17 Just relax. "
14:19 "As lightening. "
14:20 Does that sound like a secretive sort of a thing to you?
14:23 The next time Jesus comes, He says it's going to be the
14:25 greatest public display that the world has ever seen.
14:27 It's not going to be any secret at all, but a
14:30 great public spectacle.
14:31 In Matthew chapter 16 and verse 27, it says at that time
14:35 the sky is it going to be just filled with holy angels.
14:38 And there are going to be earthquakes, and the islands
14:41 are going to sink back into the sea, and rocks are going to
14:43 roll off of the mountaintops.
14:45 We're going to meet our Lord in bad weather.
14:51 And by the way, when we're having meetings
14:56 and someone says, "I couldn't come last night
15:01 because it was raining. "
15:02 "Couldn't come last night.
15:04 It looked like it might snow a little bit. "
15:06 Sometimes I say to them, "Look, you better practice with me.
15:09 We're going to meet our Lord in bad weather. "
15:14 Revelation 14.
15:16 Ah say, it gets good now.
15:18 Revelation chapter 14 and we're going to notice verses 14-16.
15:24 Revelation chapter 14 beginning to read at the 14th verse.
15:28 And here again is the description.
15:30 "I looked and behold there was a cloud, and upon that cloud
15:34 there was One like the Son of Man.
15:36 And He had on His head a golden crown
15:40 and he had in His hand a sharp sickle.
15:43 And then another angel came out of the temple and he cried with
15:45 a loud voice to He who sat upon the cloud, and he said,
15:50 'Reap now, for the time of harvest is come.
15:53 And the harvest is now ripe. '
15:56 And He that sat upon the cloud then thrust in His sickle
16:00 and the earth was reaped. "
16:03 I want you to put together there in your notes,
16:05 Zephaniah chapter 1 and verses 14-18
16:09 where it speaks about the same thing.
16:10 And put also if you will please, Joel chapter 3 and verse 15
16:15 where it speaks, too, very plainly about the noise
16:18 and all of the holocaust at the time of the second coming
16:21 of our Lord Jesus.
16:23 Now let's transition.
16:27 I have seen, and I'm abundantly sure that the majority of you
16:29 have as well, the bumper stickers that say
16:31 something to the effect that in case of the rapture
16:34 this car will be unmanned.
16:36 I was over in Portland, by the way, at rush hour
16:39 not so very long ago, driving along one of the roads
16:42 paralleling the freeway, and I thought for a little bit
16:45 maybe the rapture had happened the way some folks were driving.
16:48 Swerving in and out.
16:51 "In case of the rapture, this car will be unmanned. "
16:54 And then there have been the songs.
16:56 The marketplace is empty, trains rattle down the track.
17:01 And no one is in the command chair,
17:04 no engineer is behind the control.
17:06 Airplanes veer off their courses because the pilot has been
17:10 suddenly snatched away.
17:11 Now folks, I'm not the most comfortable flyer
17:15 on any occasion.
17:16 If I thought this was the remotest possibility,
17:19 I'd never get aboard a plane again.
17:26 The books, the movies.
17:28 A guy wakes up one morning and it's unusual.
17:32 There is no aroma of fried eggs wafting upstairs
17:35 from the kitchen.
17:38 Did she oversleep?
17:41 No, her side of the bed is empty and the sheets are cool.
17:48 Not there.
17:51 He gets up and goes down stairs and she's not in the kitchen.
17:54 He looks in the family room. No, and the TV is off.
17:58 Could she have possibly gone, maybe she ran out for some milk.
18:02 No, the car is in the garage.
18:06 No, she didn't walk.
18:09 It'd be too much like exercise.
18:14 Well, she's in the backyard. Maybe not.
18:16 And he goes into the bedroom and the kids are all gone.
18:19 And suddenly then, it begins to dawn upon him.
18:22 And so he goes to the front door and opens it.
18:24 And there on the step is the morning newspaper
18:27 with headlines bold, "Jesus came during the night
18:30 and the saints are all gone. "
18:32 And his heart is heavy for a little while.
18:35 And then he remembers, "Oh, I heard the preacher
18:37 just a couple of weeks ago say that if the saints are gone,
18:40 then that means only 7 years.
18:42 Some tough times in between, but I believe I can stand it.
18:44 About 7 years and I'll jump onboard.
18:46 We'll all be together again in 7 years. "
18:53 David Wilkerson, I admire greatly.
18:55 He was a pastor down in the Carolinas who felt the
18:58 call of God to go to New York City and begin a ministry
19:02 to prostitutes and drug addicts and gangs and gang leaders.
19:08 And he wrote a book that was an instant best seller,
19:10 "The Cross and the Switchblade" and the sequel entitled,
19:13 "Beyond the Cross and the Switchblade. "
19:15 And I want to read to you folks, one little scenario from
19:18 the second book, "Beyond the Cross and the Switchblade. "
19:21 It's called, "The Letter to Bobby. "
19:24 Now listen carefully.
19:26 "What about those of us who are not dead but are alive
19:29 during the second coming?
19:30 Well, we'll go through a separation too, Bobby.
19:32 Some are going to be singled out for a very special
19:34 and favorable treatment, while others are going to be
19:36 left behind to go through the worst tribulation
19:39 the world has ever seen.
19:40 The Bible puts this vividly. "
19:42 Now I want you to notice the scripture that he uses.
19:44 It's Matthew chapter 24, verses 40 and 41.
19:49 "The Bible puts this vividly.
19:52 'Two will be in a field; one taken, the other left.
19:54 Two grinding at the mill; one taken and the other left. '"
19:57 And then he goes on.
19:59 "Where will the fortunate one be taken?
20:01 Well, the real Christian with Christ in the heart
20:03 will suddenly be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. "
20:06 Now, the prior verses about one taken and one left,
20:08 he has put in entirety in his script, but when it comes to
20:13 this verse from 1 Thessalonians 4:16,
20:16 he only puts the verse in brackets.
20:18 He doesn't put the full text there at all.
20:20 Just kind of an illusion.
20:21 And I think we know why.
20:23 Because those verses we just repeated are abundantly clear
20:25 that Jesus is coming personally and He's coming visibly
20:29 and He's coming audibly and He's coming noisily
20:33 and He's coming with every eye watching.
20:39 Every eye of those alive.
20:41 And then he on, after putting that verse in brackets.
20:44 "Fantastic?", he asks.
20:45 "I should think so, Bobby.
20:47 Think of the chaos that'll be caused.
20:48 Many cars are going to be without drivers.
20:51 Some announcers on the radios are suddenly going to disappear.
20:53 And some pilots on the jetliners are going to be snatched away. "
20:59 Now you, by the way, will find that very same theology
21:02 from nearly every televangelist that's out there today.
21:05 You'll hear it from Hal Lindsey, you'll hear it if you read or
21:08 listen to Tim LaHay, you'll hear it from John Hagee,
21:11 you'll hear it from Pat Robertson,
21:12 and you'll hear it from Jerry Falwell's university.
21:16 You'll hear it everywhere that fundamental Protestantism
21:19 is taught today with very few exceptions.
21:22 You'll hear it almost everywhere.
21:24 Now let me again go on record.
21:26 Here we don't believe that.
21:29 Here, we've not bought into that idea.
21:31 Now follow this thought too because it's vital.
21:34 Everything from here on depends upon our
21:37 grasping this next idea.
21:39 The idea of a secret rapture and 7 years of tribulation
21:45 to follow passes or fails, stands or falls, lives or dies,
21:53 on one question.
21:55 What happens to that one left behind?
21:59 Two at the mill; one taken and the other left.
22:01 Two ladies grinding at the mill; one taken the other left.
22:02 Two in the field; one taken and the other left.
22:04 This question, in what condition is the one left behind?
22:08 In what shape is he left?
22:11 Is he left behind to be ministered to
22:13 by converted Jews 3.5 years later?
22:15 Is he left behind 7 years later to be met by Jesus
22:21 coming back with the saints?
22:23 The whole idea of a secret rapture, of course,
22:25 teaches two second comings.
22:27 If you can imagine, some are willing to go so far as to say,
22:31 "Well, the other is the third coming. "
22:35 The original coming, the first advent, of course,
22:37 was when Jesus came as a baby.
22:41 And then the second coming is when the skies are filled with
22:43 holy angels and Jesus comes riding down the skies.
22:46 Not a lamb to the slaughter but King of Kings and Lord or Lords.
22:49 Crown on His head and scepter in His hand,
22:51 He comes to redeem His saints.
22:54 But then in this idea of a secret snatching away,
22:58 there begins tribulation after the saints are snatched off.
23:01 And 3.5 years in, Jews who ought to have done their job
23:05 back in the day of Jesus or shortly there after
23:08 are suddenly converted.
23:09 They rebuild a temple over in Jerusalem and then from there
23:12 they go out to do a mission job that ought to have been done
23:17 hundreds of years before.
23:19 And everybody gets a second chance to be saved.
23:22 How many, many men I've had derisively say to me as I've
23:26 appealed to them to follow Jesus and do what's right now,
23:29 "Well look, if I happen to miss it this time,
23:32 I'll jump on board during the, at the third coming
23:36 or at the end of the seven years of tribulation. "
23:39 That idea, ladies and gentlemen, is a theology born in the
23:43 mind of the devil himself to get folks to put off
23:47 their eternal security, their eternal salvation.
23:51 One is taken, the other left.
23:52 What happens to that one that's left behind?
23:55 In what condition is he left when Jesus comes
23:57 in His second coming?
23:59 Now, let me make a statement that I've made many times before
24:02 but there's the possibility someone is here
24:04 for the first time.
24:05 Lyle believes that God has His children in all denominations,
24:10 in all churches.
24:11 Here, we never sit in judgment upon
24:13 anyone's relation with Jesus.
24:14 Here, we believe that Jesus has as many of His Christian people
24:18 in the Catholic church as in the Baptist or in some other.
24:21 We believe that there are as many saved in the Baptist church
24:25 as there in the Adventist church or any other.
24:28 And so, there is no malice here this morning.
24:31 There is no prejudice.
24:32 There is no superiority.
24:34 Having said all of that, I want to take your minds again
24:37 to the Reformation.
24:40 Some have the mistaken notion that the Reformation was a
24:42 simple matter of semantics.
24:44 "Well, we just don't understand these words the same. "
24:46 No, the Reformation was not a question of semantics.
24:50 The things that brought on the Reformation was the preaching
24:52 of the books of Daniel, Revelation, and the
24:54 antichrist passages of Paul and Jesus
24:57 exactly like you have been hearing them here.
24:59 Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, John Huss,
25:01 and a score of others began to preach with great power
25:04 that the church of Rome was the little horn power of Daniel 7,
25:07 the beast power of Revelation 13 and 14,
25:10 the harlot of Revelation chapter 17 and 18,
25:13 and the antichrist spoken of by Paul and Jesus.
25:16 And they had, not only powerful voices, they had the scripture
25:20 to back them up.
25:21 And they began to preach with great power and
25:24 with great conviction.
25:25 And I want to read you their theology so that you can see
25:28 that Lyle is not setting up some straw man this morning.
25:32 I want to read you a little bit about the belief and the
25:35 the preaching of Martin Luther.
25:36 And by the way, let me further say that not only did Luther
25:39 and Calvin and Knox believe this, but so also did the
25:42 Waldensians and the Lollards and the Bohemians,
25:45 and John Wycliffe who died long time before Luther.
25:48 And many say he died simply because he translated the Bible
25:51 into the English language.
25:52 Oh no, it was a far bigger deal than that.
25:55 He wrote a book entitled, "Of Antichrist and his Meynee"
25:59 And he pointed to the church of Rome as the antichrist
26:02 and the beast power.
26:06 Tyndall, Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley; all of the Reformers,
26:11 while they disagreed about the meaning of the Lord's table
26:14 and certain other matters, were in agreement that the
26:17 beast of Revelation and the little horn of Daniel 7
26:19 was the church of Rome.
26:20 Now let me quote from Martin Luther.
26:24 He's, by the way, making a reference to
26:26 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 4 and following;
26:29 the man of sin who sits in the temple and claims to be God.
26:33 Alright, and this he says, "The Papacy is the true antichrist
26:38 of which it is written that he sits in the temple of God
26:43 among the people where Christ is worshipped. "
26:46 Now listen very carefully.
26:47 I'm continuing to quote from Martin Luther.
26:50 "The Papists want to divert this passage from themselves.
26:53 They say that Christ and Paul are speaking about a temple
26:57 to be later built in Jerusalem. "
26:58 Did you catch on there?
27:00 By the time of Martin Luther, he said the church of Rome
27:03 is suggesting that the temple that is being spoken of
27:07 by the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians
27:09 is going to be rebuilt over in Jerusalem someday.
27:13 Then he goes on.
27:16 "The antichrist will sit there and he'll rule there.
27:18 This will not do.
27:19 It cannot be understood otherwise than it is speaking
27:23 of the spiritual temple which we all are.
27:25 It is there that the Papacy shall sit and she'll be honored,
27:28 not above God, but even above all that is called God.
27:32 And so we see before our very eyes.
27:35 And many princes and the world regard the law of the Papacy
27:38 more important than the commandments of God.
27:40 Can't this be rightly termed exalting and honoring antichrist
27:44 above God Himself?"
27:45 And this is from Martin Luther's Church Postil and from
27:49 the 28th Sunday after Trinity from paragraph 24 and 25.
27:56 And so when I say to you that the Reformation was the result
28:01 of the belief that the Papacy was the beast and
28:04 the antichrist, it's not Lyle's idea nor an Adventist notion.
28:07 But rather, it was the teaching of every single Reformer.
28:12 I have one more that of necessity I must
28:15 share this morning.
28:17 Martin Luther had a theological cohort and a buddy.
28:20 And often times, they disagreed in certain areas.
28:23 His name was Philip Melanchthon.
28:26 And by the way, this professor, this scholar particularly of the
28:30 Greek and the New Testament, before his death said
28:35 that the seventh day was the Sabbath.
28:38 And Martin Luther in response said,
28:43 "If this guy doesn't hush up,
28:48 we're all going to be obliged.. "
28:50 And he was talking about the theologian
28:52 Philip Melanchthon, his buddy.
28:54 He said, "If he doesn't hush up about the importance of the
28:58 Saturday Sabbath, we'll all be obliged to keep it. "
29:02 Now let me read to you from Professor Philip Melanchthon.
29:09 He's referring to Daniel 7:25, about the power that would
29:14 think to change time and law.
29:17 And there's only one of God's ten commandments that has
29:19 to do with time, and that is the 4th that says,
29:22 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
29:23 Six days you may labor, but the seventh is the Sabbath. "
29:26 Now listen to this scholar from the Reformation.
29:31 "He changes times and laws so that any of the six workdays
29:34 commanded of God, he'll make them unholy
29:36 or idle if he wishes.
29:38 Moreover, he will abolish and make unnecessary
29:43 the Saturday Sabbath, or change it into Sunday.
29:46 Herein, they've changed God's laws and turned them into
29:50 their own traditions to be kept above God's own precepts. "
29:56 And that was at the root, ladies and gentlemen,
29:58 of the Reformation.
30:00 Now, under this kind of preaching, under this powerful
30:05 Biblical backed preaching, people began to leave the
30:08 church of Rome en masse.
30:09 Not just one or two who kind of got discouraged
30:12 or disappointed with their pastor, but by the
30:14 tens of thousands, and then by the millions,
30:18 the folks began to leave the church of Rome.
30:20 They were jumping off like rats vacating a sinking ship.
30:24 They got out because they could no longer give their loyalties
30:27 and their allegiances to the woman that sat on the
30:30 seven hills, the woman dressed in purple and scarlet color,
30:32 the beast power of Revelation, the little horn of Daniel 7,
30:35 the antichrist of Jesus and the apostle Paul.
30:38 And they got out.
30:39 And it looked for certain as if the Catholic church
30:41 was going to die.
30:42 And do you remember the prophecy that we studied
30:44 last night from Revelation 13 that there would come
30:47 a deadly would.
30:48 And it was inflicted by these preachers and it grew and
30:50 festered until the time that the Pope was taken captive
30:54 by Napoleon Bonaparte.
30:57 And so, as the church began to show more and more the signs of
31:02 death and decimation, the Pope decided to become proactive.
31:10 His name was Pope Paul III and he sent out an encyclical
31:15 to all of the church leaders around the world.
31:17 Now this was a long time before the internet,
31:19 this was a long time before UPS would deliver your mail
31:22 the next day for $25.
31:24 This was a long time before you could get on the telephone
31:27 and be in contact with a pastor on the other side of the earth.
31:30 At this time, it took months and months and months for a letter
31:34 to get to the opposite of the world.
31:36 And so months would be involved, but Pope Paul III
31:41 sent out his encyclical months in advance.
31:43 He said, "We're going to meet together in a great
31:45 church conclave on December 13, 1545
31:50 and we're going to meet in Trent. "
31:52 At this time, it was a part of Austria but the borders changed
31:55 during World War II, and today it is Trento, Italy.
31:59 "We're going to meet at Trent. "
32:03 When the fathers convened and the majority were present
32:06 in Trent, the key note address was given by the Pope.
32:10 And he said this, "We must have two things out of this congress.
32:15 Number one, we must have preachers as able,
32:17 as articulate, as powerful, as persuasive,
32:19 as Luther and Calvin and Knox and Huss and the others.
32:22 And number two, we must have a reinterpretation of the
32:25 prophecies of Daniel and Revelation that point to the
32:27 church of Rome as the little horn and the beast. "
32:30 And he said, "Furthermore, we are going to stay here
32:33 until we get the job done.
32:36 We must have a reinterpretation that lifts the stigma
32:40 from the church of Rome. "
32:43 There's a book that's entitled,
32:45 "Catholic Doctrine as Defined by the Council of Trent"
32:48 and its author, for you historians, is
32:51 Reverend F. Nampon.
32:55 And behind his name, you find "S.J."
32:57 And what does that mean?
32:59 "The Society of Jesus"
33:00 Oh by the way, could any of you folks guess
33:03 where the nearest Jesuit University is?
33:06 Where is it?
33:07 Gonzaga over in Spokane.
33:09 And if you haven't been there to go through that
33:11 beautiful cathedral, you ought to do it.
33:13 It's worth the days trip just to walk through the cathedral.
33:16 I did it again only just a short while back.
33:19 I want to read to you now, if you'll allow me please,
33:22 from Reverend Nampon's book,
33:24 "Roman Catholic Doctrine Defined at the Council of Trent"
33:27 from page 103.
33:29 Now listen.
33:31 "At the time the fathers of Trent assembled, there was a
33:33 bitter obstinate war declared against the authority,
33:36 the institutions, the sacramental dogmas,
33:39 and the discipline of the church of Rome.
33:41 All of this in the name of scripture.
33:42 These innovators, the reformers, found in our sacred book,
33:45 the Bible, that the Papacy was antichrist,
33:48 that the church of Rome was the harlot of Babylon,
33:50 and that her traditions were old wives tales.
33:52 The priesthood, moreover, was the common property
33:55 of all Christians.
33:56 The church, therefore, a desolate mother forsaken by
33:59 so many of her own children seemed to be repudiated
34:02 by the divine word. "
34:04 And for this reason, my dears, the Council of Trent
34:07 was convened.
34:09 How long would the council last? Eighteen years.
34:13 Eighteen years.
34:16 There had to be, for reasons of illness and other necessities,
34:21 certain interruptions.
34:23 Though it would require some to go back to the home place,
34:26 some to go here, but there was a group that was
34:30 required to stay.
34:32 And one of the main issues was this one lifting the stigma
34:35 from the church as regards as being the beast power.
34:37 Other issues that would be dealt with at this time
34:40 included the Lord's Supper.
34:42 And we talked this morning in our question answer session
34:44 about the conflict between transubstantiation,
34:47 the magic of the mass, as opposed to consubstantiation.
34:51 Jesus, His Holy Spirit with the substance rather than
34:55 magically transforming this substance in the very literal
34:58 body of Jesus Christ.
35:00 Moreover, they discussed and voted about the
35:02 validity of baptizing babies.
35:05 They discussed and voted to keep the doctrine of purgatory.
35:09 They discussed and voted to continue to adhere to the
35:12 idea of saints and sainthood, and having inside the church
35:16 relics and images.
35:18 They voted to keep indulgences; the forgiveness of sin
35:21 past, present, and future.
35:23 And they voted at this time, the index;
35:26 a list of books that Christian people were forbidden to read.
35:30 And at that time, the Bible was placed at the head of the list.
35:35 Christian people could not read the Bible.
35:37 Do you know why?
35:38 Because the majority of them would fall to the notion
35:42 that the beast power, the woman that sat on the
35:44 seven hills still dressed in purple and scarlet color,
35:47 was the church of Rome.
35:48 And so they were forbidden to read from the Bible.
35:52 Two necessities; reinterpretation and
35:55 powerful preachers.
35:56 At this time, the Jesuit order was formed
35:59 and founded by a Spaniard by the name of Ignatius of Loyola.
36:03 He's known today as Saint Ignatius.
36:06 And it's interesting to my mind as I look at the thing
36:08 historically, that almost all of the theology
36:12 that came out of the Council of Trent came from Spain.
36:14 The Roman Catholic Council of Trent came from Spain,
36:17 from Spaniards.
36:20 And so, the problem was given out to the people,
36:23 the leadership of the church from around the world.
36:25 "What shall we do, to whom shall we turn,
36:27 to whom shall we look for reinterpretation of prophecy?"
36:30 And small groups broke up and little think tanks were formed.
36:33 And then they met again on the floor in a general session
36:38 and suggestions were passed down and then voted.
36:40 And the vote originally was that they turn to a man
36:44 by the name of Alcazar to bring to them a reinterpretation of
36:47 prophecies of Daniel and Revelation.
36:51 And the Pope said to Father Alcazar,
36:53 "Go to the libraries of the church and the world and
36:55 stay as long as necessary.
36:56 Don't come back until you have a reinterpretation
36:59 of those prophecies. "
37:00 And Alcazar left and he was gone for four years.
37:04 And in the meantime, the fathers stayed.
37:06 And back home, parents were dying and they were disallowed
37:09 to go back to bury their own parents.
37:12 They stayed on.
37:13 And after four years, Alcazar came back and he read his
37:16 dissertation and it went like this.
37:18 The church of Rome could not possibly be the beast power,
37:21 the little horn power, because the beast came
37:24 before the church.
37:25 And he looked back to the wicked persecutions of Nero
37:28 and Roman Emperor Hadrian and Diocletian.
37:32 And he looked back to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes
37:37 who, in Jerusalem, took a pig and sacrificed it
37:40 upon the sacred altar.
37:41 And he said, "There is the desolation spoken of
37:44 by Jesus and Daniel. "
37:46 Matthew 24 with Jesus and a referencing to Daniel.
37:49 "There it is.
37:50 The beast, the antichrist, before the church. "
37:54 And the fathers of Trent voted on this idea
37:58 and they overwhelmingly rejected it.
38:00 And it is today know as the preterist interpretation
38:03 of Bible prophecy.
38:04 The beast power pre-church.
38:07 It was rejected.
38:08 The fathers said it will never fly.
38:11 It won't play in Peoria because Jesus said and Paul said,
38:15 "Of your own selves shall men arise teaching
38:17 perverse doctrines. "
38:19 This won't happen because of some pagan outside the church.
38:22 This is going to happen, this false doctrine,
38:24 this false teaching, inside the church.
38:26 And so it was rejected.
38:27 And then it was asked, "To whom should we now turn?"
38:29 And the fathers came to the floor and they voted
38:33 and they said Father Ribera.
38:35 Now both Alcazar and Ribera were Spaniards.
38:40 And so the leadership said, "Alright Father Ribera,
38:42 you go to the libraries of the church and the world
38:44 and don't come back until you have a reinterpretation. "
38:46 And Ribera left and he was gone for nearly 18 years.
38:49 And when he came back, he read his dissertation.
38:52 And it's going to begin to ring some bells.
38:55 He said the church could not possibly be the beast power,
38:57 the little horn power, for that is all in the future.
38:59 Jesus will come suddenly, it may even be today.
39:02 He'll snatch away quietly and privately His people
39:05 and that will be the beginning of 3.5 years of tribulation.
39:09 And then at the end of those 3.5 years, the Jews will
39:13 rebuild a temple and go out to the world.
39:15 And 3.5 years after rebuilding the temple,
39:17 then Jesus will come back.
39:19 Seven years of tribulation in the midst of which Jews
39:23 will become wonderful, wonderful missionaries.
39:26 Now I don't have time to turn and read and give you
39:30 all of the theology that it ought require.
39:33 But I can give you some references if you want to
39:35 come to me later or whatever.
39:36 And I might even share 1 or 2 as we go along.
39:39 But let me now give you a thumbnail sketch of exactly
39:42 what Father Ribera had done.
39:44 He had gone back to a prophecy in Daniel chapters 8 and 9.
39:49 A prophecy that has to do with 2300 literal years.
39:54 And within that, the longest of all time prophecies
39:56 in the Bible, there was a shorter time prophecy
39:59 called the 70 weeks.
40:02 And Ribera knew and used the prophetic tool of interpretation
40:06 that when you're studying a Bible prophecy
40:08 and it speaks of a day, you interpret that to mean
40:11 and understand it to be a literal year.
40:13 Seventy weeks.
40:18 And he did the multiplication and he said that means
40:21 490 literal years.
40:26 Now, this prophecy from Daniel chapters 8 and 9
40:31 is in response to a prayer of Daniel who's in captivity.
40:37 And every night from his bedroom,
40:39 he prays, "How long, Lord?
40:40 How long will your children be held in captivity?
40:43 How long until Jerusalem is restored?
40:45 How long until the temple is rebuilt?
40:47 How long until your truth is again lifted up from
40:50 the center of your people?
40:52 How long?"
40:53 And the Bible says while he was still praying, an angel
40:55 by the name of Gabriel came down and gave him the answer.
40:57 "Seventy weeks are determine upon thy people. "
41:00 490 years, 70 weeks. A day for a year.
41:05 490 years of probation upon the Jewish people.
41:09 490 years.
41:11 How long?
41:12 I suppose that Daniel was a bit discouraged
41:15 when the thing was explained to him.
41:17 70 weeks, 490 literal years.
41:23 These 490 years would share a common beginning date
41:28 with the 2300 years.
41:30 And that would be at the command to go forth
41:33 and restore and rebuild Jerusalem.
41:35 And history is abundantly clear that this command was given
41:39 by a man by the name of Artaxerxes 457 years
41:42 before Jesus Christ.
41:45 Now, in Daniel chapter 9 verse 25, it speaks about
41:53 the final week of this probationary period.
41:59 And tragically, what Ribera had done was to say,
42:02 "Well 69 weeks, that's history past.
42:04 That's prophecy fulfilled.
42:06 But the 70th week, that's off in the future.
42:08 And it'll begin when Jesus comes secretly in His second coming.
42:11 And then 7 years later, He'll come back with the church.
42:14 He'll come back at the beginning of that 70th week
42:17 for the saints, and then 7 years later He'll come back
42:21 with the saints.
42:22 When you study the prophecies, ladies and gentlemen,
42:25 it is abundantly clear even to a casual theologian
42:28 that those 70 weeks, those 490 literal years,
42:32 once begun were never to be interrupted, never truncated,
42:35 never cutoff, never stopped for anything at all.
42:40 And this theory today, is known as the "gap theory".
42:42 The 69 weeks, that's already prophecy fulfilled.
42:45 That's all in the past.
42:46 But the 70th, that's off in the future.
42:51 God said to Daniel, the final week of probation
42:56 for the Jewish children will be at the
43:00 anointing of the Messiah.
43:04 Now right on time, exactly on time,
43:08 Jesus went to the water and was baptized
43:13 by John the Baptist.
43:14 And the dove came down and he was anointed for His ministry.
43:19 And God said, "This is My beloved Son,
43:22 please listen to Him. "
43:26 Now, from the time of the dedication of Jesus
43:28 and His ministry, there were going to be 7 years
43:33 of final probation for the Jewish children.
43:37 God says, "My mercy is going to be unbelievable.
43:40 My patience really are unending.
43:43 I'll show you how far I'm willing to go with you. "
43:48 The Beck Bible, Daniel chapters 9 and following, says
43:52 that after the anointing of Messiah, 3.5 years,
43:59 Messiah would be cut off.
44:02 Not for Himself, but for His people.
44:07 What happened 3.5 years after the baptism of Jesus?
44:12 He was crucified on a cross.
44:14 And the Jews encouraged His death and the Jews
44:17 turned Him over to Pilate, and the Jews shouted,
44:20 "Crucify Him, crucify Him.
44:21 Release Barabbas, give us anyone. "
44:23 And God said, "I'm not going to give up on you yet.
44:29 I'll show you how much I love you.
44:31 I'll show you how special you are to Me.
44:33 I'm going to give you 3.5 more years
44:36 even beyond the time you reject My Lord. "
44:39 Now by the way, ladies and gentlemen,
44:41 during those 3.5 years after the crucifixion of Jesus,
44:45 the disciples were allowed to go almost without any
44:50 reluctance throughout the city of Jerusalem
44:52 and its surround environs, preaching the gospel of Jesus.
44:56 For 3.5 more years, they were allowed to operate
45:00 in that sort of a way.
45:01 But in the midst of the week, the sacrifice and the oblation
45:05 would cease, it said in Daniel chapter 9.
45:07 And just when Jesus died on the cross, he shouted out,
45:10 "It is finished. "
45:13 And it was at the time of the evening sacrifice.
45:15 And the priest, says the historian, had the little lamb
45:18 on the altar and had the knife raised.
45:20 And there came an earthquake and the altar was shaken down
45:23 and the lamb ran away.
45:24 And the temple that separated Holy from Most Holy
45:27 was ripped in half.
45:31 "It is finished. "
45:34 And the sacrifice and the oblation was to cease, cut off.
45:42 If you want a further scripture, Genesis chapter 9 verse 11
45:45 where it says they're clearly cut off.
45:48 That means, to be killed.
45:50 The disciples went on to preach now in and around
45:53 and throughout Jerusalem for the next 3.5 years.
45:55 Now I want to read to you folks a brief statement
45:58 from a very careful historian, a very Godly person, I think.
46:01 "For 3.5 years, the authorities of Jerusalem tolerated the
46:04 preaching of the apostles until the stoning of Stephen,
46:08 the first of the Christian martyrs. "
46:10 Then the gospel went outside Jerusalem
46:17 to the non-Jew, to the Gentiles.
46:18 The apostle Paul would call himself,
46:20 "the apostle to the Gentiles. "
46:26 And the probationary period for the Jews as a nation,
46:29 as special, as chosen, came to an end.
46:33 And from that time on, and the apostle Paul, by the way,
46:36 is abundantly clear, from that time they would be saved
46:39 in the same way you and I would be saved.
46:41 He says in Romans chapter 11 that the Jewish nation was
46:44 cut off from the branch, and if they were going to be saved
46:47 they would have to be grafted in just like we Gentiles.
46:50 The same Apostle Paul would say, "In Christ there is neither Jew
46:52 or Greek, male or female.
46:54 But we're all one, we're all the same. "
46:56 Now, we're going to finalize by looking at the context
47:01 of Matthew chapter 24 together with Luke 21.
47:04 So let's go there together, finally.
47:08 Alright.
47:09 Matthew chapter 24.
47:14 And I don't want anyone falling out of the windows here.
47:17 I don't want to experience the Eutychus syndrome.
47:21 I know some of you are dozing now, it's been a while.
47:24 And I noticed that about 5 minutes until noon
47:27 about half of the congregation gets that nervous tick
47:30 of the left arm.
47:35 Well I have a watch too and I've been looking at it here.
47:38 And by the way, it keeps really good time.
47:41 It is a Timex knock-off.
47:48 Matthew chapter 24.
47:50 And I shall take up the reading then down at about verse 20.
47:56 The disciples ask Him, "Lord, what will be the signs?"
47:59 Jesus said, this and this and this.
48:00 Verse 14, this gospel has to go to the whole world.
48:02 And then verse 20, "Pray that your flight
48:04 be neither in the winter time or upon the Sabbath day. "
48:07 It's another sermon but I'm going to dovetail it here.
48:10 I've had so many folks say to me, "Well I can find
48:12 all of the other commandments of the 10 in the New Testament
48:15 except for the Sabbath commandment.
48:16 God left that out as we came into the
48:18 new covenant after Jesus died. "
48:20 And I said, "No, no.
48:21 This is the only one of all of the 10 that Jesus,
48:23 looking down at the very last days said we ought to
48:25 pray about keeping. "
48:27 Now certainly He wouldn't ask us to pray about keeping the
48:30 Sabbath in the last days if it were unimportant,
48:33 if we couldn't tell which day of the week it was, huh.
48:37 "Pray that your flight be not in the winter time or
48:39 upon the Sabbath day.
48:40 There will be great tribulation such as never was from the
48:43 beginning of the world, or shall be.
48:45 Except those days be shortened, there would be no flesh saved. "
48:48 But for the sake of the Jews who built the temple in Jerusalem
48:52 I'm going to shorten those days.
48:53 No?
48:55 What does it say then?
48:56 For who's sake are the days of tribulation shortened?
48:59 For who's sake? Come on now.
49:02 For the sake of the saints.
49:03 It's abundantly clear even in this verse that the saints are
49:06 here during the tribulation.
49:08 "I'm going to shorten the tribulation for the
49:10 sake of My saints.
49:11 If any man says to you, 'Christ is there or over there. '
49:14 don't you believe it.
49:15 For there will be false christs and false prophets.
49:17 They'll show great signs and wonders, so much, if possible
49:20 they will deceive the... "
49:22 There they are, the saints are there.
49:24 The very elect.
49:27 "Look, I've told you before. "
49:28 Now this isn't a knee jerk reaction Jesus is having.
49:31 This isn't a flash in the pan notion that crosses His mind
49:34 as He gives this Olivet discourse on end time events.
49:37 He says, "I warned you about this before. "
49:39 The context is about false christs and false teachings
49:42 regarding His second coming.
49:44 "I've told you before. "
49:45 Now watch carefully. Verse 26.
49:49 "Wherefore then, if they say, 'Go out in the desert. '
49:52 Don't you go out there.
49:54 If they say to you, 'Behold, he's in the secret chamber. '"
49:57 Do what now?
49:58 Jesus is saying to His disciples and all of their followers
50:01 down through the ages, "If anyone tries to tell you
50:04 that I'm coming secretly, don't you buy into it. "
50:07 And then He goes on to explain, it'll be the greatest
50:09 public spectacle the universe has ever known.
50:12 "As lightening flashes from the east to the west,
50:14 so shall it be in the day that the Son of Man is revealed. "
50:16 Now we're going to go to the continuation in Luke chapter 17.
50:21 Luke chapters 17 and 21 are really a continuation.
50:26 And here we again find Jesus instructing the disciples
50:29 about the end time.
50:30 And He says beginning in verse 26, "As it was in the
50:33 day of Noah, so shall it also be in the day of the Son of Man. "
50:36 What was it like back there?
50:38 What was going to back there?
50:39 Well, they ate and they drank and they married wives
50:42 and they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah went
50:44 inside the ark and then everybody that didn't get
50:46 inside the ark with them got a second chance to be
50:48 saved 3.5 years later, huh.
50:49 No, what happened to the folks that didn't get inside the ark?
50:52 The flood came and destroyed them all.
50:55 And I can imagine the disciples jaw dropping,
50:57 "Lord, really, is that it?"
50:58 And Jesus said, "Yes, and furthermore, as it was in the
51:01 in the day of Lot. "
51:02 And then He goes through the same scenario.
51:03 And He said the day that Lot left Sodom, fire came down
51:08 and destroyed them all.
51:09 And then He concludes, "Even thus shall it be
51:11 in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
51:14 He that is in the housetop," verse 31, "let him not
51:17 go back to get this things.
51:19 He that is out in the field, let him not return.
51:22 Remember Lot's wife.
51:23 Whosoever will seek to save his life will lose it,
51:25 whosoever shall loose his life, for My sake, shall preserve it.
51:28 I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed;
51:31 one taken and the other left.
51:32 Two women grinding; one taken and the other left.
51:34 Two out in the field; one taken and the other left. "
51:37 Now ever preacher, every televangelist, that teaches
51:40 the secret rapture and 7 years of tribulation to follow
51:43 stops right there.
51:45 And David Wilkerson, in his letter to Bobby
51:47 stopped right there.
51:50 That's the end of it.
51:51 But we're not going to stop there.
51:52 You remember, we said at the outset that this whole thing
51:55 lives or dies on the question of what happens to the
51:58 one left behind.
51:59 Is he left behind to go through tribulation, get a
52:01 second chance at salvation?
52:02 In what shape is he left behind?
52:05 "Two men in the field; one taken and one left," verse 36.
52:08 "Two grinding; one taken, one left. "
52:09 Verse 37, "And the disciples asked Him,
52:12 'Where Lord? Where? Tell us once more.
52:14 Could You make it more clear?'"
52:16 Now they're not asking where the one is taken.
52:19 They know that.
52:21 "In My Father's house are many mansions.
52:23 If it were not so I would have told you.
52:24 I go to prepare a place. I will come again. "
52:26 They're not asking where the one is taken.
52:28 They're asking for more affirmation.
52:31 In what condition is the one left behind?
52:33 And Jesus here answered in verse 37.
52:36 "He answered and said unto them, 'Wherever the bodies are,
52:40 there will the vultures be gathered. '"
52:42 Left how?
52:43 Left to be saved? Left in what condition?
52:45 Get a second chance?
52:46 Left dead on the earth.
52:48 Destroyed by the brightness of His coming, as we studied
52:50 on another evening.
52:51 Just as it was in the day of Noah,
52:52 as it was in the day of Lot.
52:53 They're left dead on the earth.
52:56 "I've told you before. "
53:01 Today is the day of salvation.
53:03 Revelation 22, just before He stands up to return.
53:06 Verse 11 chapter 22 of Revelation.
53:08 "He that is filthy, let him stay filthy still.
53:11 He that is unholy stays unholy.
53:13 But he that is righteous, let him be righteous still. "
53:15 And probation closes the day Jesus stands up
53:18 in the heavenly court, and a few hours later
53:21 comes on His rescue mission.
53:23 Now listen to me ladies and gentlemen.
53:25 Protestantism today has lost its protest.
53:28 Protestantism today is divided into two camps.
53:31 There are the liberals.
53:33 Those over on the extreme left, I suppose we can say.
53:36 And they're demythologizers, they don't believe the Bible
53:40 in a literal sense anyway.
53:42 Take the idea of the second coming, hell fire,
53:44 walking on water, water into wine.
53:46 It's all just a myth.
53:47 And they are not protesting.
53:50 And then we move to the fundamentalist camp
53:52 of Protestantism.
53:53 And there, we have the Southern Baptist.
53:55 About half only now, tragically.
53:57 And we have the Nazarenes and others that you could mention.
54:01 And almost without exception, they're all teaching,
54:04 "No, it couldn't be church of Rome; the beast power,
54:07 the little horn power, for that is all in the future. "
54:10 And they are not protesting.
54:16 Now, what is Lyle's main concern regarding this whole idea.
54:21 Is it that folks aren't going to be ready?
54:23 No, that's a great concern but not my main concern.
54:27 This is the thing that bothers me most
54:28 about the idea that folks are teaching that Jesus
54:31 will snatch away the saints and then 3.5 years later
54:34 there's going to be a temple rebuilt,
54:36 and 3.5 years later antichrist comes, the antichrist will come.
54:40 And what they have done, my dears, is taken the beauty
54:44 of the gospel of Jesus, His ministry, His baptism,
54:49 and His death on the cross, and given it over to
54:52 antichrist in the future.
54:53 I want to say to you this morning, that is not
54:55 another gospel, that is not another idea
54:59 about the grace of God.
55:00 That is a disgrace.
55:07 Given to antichrist.
55:10 The beautiful atonement and the death of My Jesus.
55:20 And I want to say to you today, the reformation is not dead.
55:29 And that torch that was lighted by Luther and handed
55:36 on over to Calvin and passed to John Huss
55:41 and John Knox, still burns.
55:47 And while we'll never protest against people
55:49 or sit in judgment upon individuals, we must continue
55:53 to carry the protest against false doctrines
55:56 regardless of where they have originated.
55:59 We must continue to lift high the gospel light
56:02 and go marching toward the kingdom,
56:04 holding high the lamp of light.
56:07 "Thy word is a light unto my feet,
56:10 a lamp for my path. "
56:11 And sing while we march, "This little light of mine,
56:15 I'm going to let is shine until Jesus comes. "
56:22 Let's pray.
56:24 Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the clarity of Your word.
56:30 You love us so very much that you, long ago,
56:32 made provision for our frailties and our faults.
56:38 Because our parents slipped and fell, You came and
56:41 lived the perfect life in our place.
56:45 On a life we never lived, on a death we never died,
56:47 on a resurrection that we did not deserve,
56:49 we hang our only hope of eternity.
56:53 Thank You, dear Jesus.
56:56 In Your name, amen.


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Revised 2014-12-17