Revelation Now (new)

The Rapture

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Jac Colon

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Series Code: RNN

Program Code: RNN000016


00:18 Its January 1998, I was standing in the water
00:23 at Playade Muro beautiful little beach
00:26 on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba.
00:30 We were baptizing over 600 people that day.
00:34 35 pastors in the water doing the baptizing.
00:40 Finally I noticed a little old lady,
00:43 little Cuban lady coming up to me,
00:46 it was her turn finally to be baptized.
00:49 So I showed her how to put her hands
00:54 on my arm and to hold tight and she went like that
01:02 and I said no, you need to hold on tight
01:09 and she goes, like that and I said
01:15 no, no, I said, [foreign language].
01:21 She looked up at me, tears welling up in her eye
01:26 and said [foreign language].
01:33 I can't open it.
01:36 Her hand had been frozen shut ever since she was born.
01:44 And I said you know,
01:46 one day soon Jesus is going to come,
01:53 He is going to give you a new hand and a new body.
01:59 And she said, do you really think
02:04 Jesus is going to come here to Cuba?
02:11 I said I think Cuba might be the first place
02:16 that Jesus is going to come
02:20 because when people are oppressed,
02:23 Jesus is going to be there.
02:27 Good news, Jesus is coming again.
02:35 One of my favorite verses in the Bible
02:38 when I start feeling a little discouraged and weary,
02:43 John 14:1, "Do not let your hearts be troubled.
02:49 Trust in God, trust also in me Jesus said
02:57 in my Father's house are many rooms."
03:00 King James says mansions.
03:02 I think I like that better, In my Father's house
03:06 there are many mansions, if it were not so,
03:09 I would have told you."
03:11 Now watch this,
03:12 "I am going there to prepare a place for you.
03:19 And if I go and prepare a place for you,
03:22 then I will come back and take you to be with me
03:29 so that you also may be where I am."
03:32 Now I don't know anyway to understand
03:34 that verse except that Jesus is promising us
03:39 that He is preparing a place for us
03:42 and He is going to come back again
03:44 and take us out of this old world,
03:47 so that we can be with Him
03:49 in His Father's house above. Amen.
03:53 That's the good news, that's the day
03:56 that we are waiting for, but there is bad news.
04:04 Matthew 24 in Matthew 24:5,
04:12 Jesus said, "Watch out that no one deceives you"
04:18 because in verse 5,
04:19 "Many will come in My name claiming 'I am the Christ,'
04:23 and they will deceive many."
04:26 Good news Jesus is coming again.
04:29 Bad news many are coming in the name of Christ
04:32 and they will deceive many people.
04:36 Now I want you to notice something
04:38 important here, the deception.
04:43 The deception is not over the question
04:46 of whether or not Jesus is going to come.
04:51 The people who are deceived about the return of Christ
04:55 are not deceived concerning
04:58 whether he is going-- they don't believe
05:00 He is not coming, they are expecting Him to come.
05:05 They are deceived because they are going
05:08 after the wrong Christ.
05:11 They are deceived concerning not whether or not,
05:16 He is going to return but how He returns
05:20 because if you know how Jesus is going to return,
05:24 you will never be deceived by the wrong Christ.
05:30 And the world today is being set up
05:34 for a massive deception concerning
05:38 the very return of Jesus Christ Himself.
05:42 Two popular books, Left Behind and The Last Disciple.
05:47 Left Behind by Tim LaHaye,
05:49 The Last Disciple by Hank Hanegraaff.
05:53 Left Behind says that all of revelation
05:56 practically is yet in the future and Jesus comes
06:01 with the church snatches the church out of the way
06:04 and leaves the wicked behind for seven years of tribulation.
06:08 Hank Hanegraaff, Last Disciple, both novels saying
06:12 no that's nonsense, Jesus has already come,
06:16 the beast has already come,
06:18 it's all in the past, not in the future.
06:21 Now they cannot both be right, so which one is right?
06:29 May be neither one.
06:31 Because they both say this is a novel,
06:37 the truth is in here.
06:44 Now there is another deception.
06:48 We were doing a meeting, a Revelation
06:49 Now meeting in Denver, Virginia
06:52 just on the boarder of North Carolina
06:54 and after two days off young fellow came up to me
06:57 that night in the meeting and he said,
06:59 pastor you will never guess where I was yesterday?
07:01 I said you are right. So where were you, tell me?
07:07 So I went to, I can't even remember
07:09 some little town in North Carolina
07:12 and he said Jesus was there.
07:15 I said oh.
07:17 He said you need to go pastor, it was wonderful.
07:21 He was healing people and talking about the Bible
07:24 and as he spoke love just was flowing out
07:28 and so many people were saved, you need to go pastor.
07:33 And I said no, I am not going to go.
07:40 He said why not? Because that wasn't Jesus.
07:48 He said well if you would have been there,
07:51 you would have believed it was Jesus.
07:55 And I said that's why I'm not going to go.
08:02 Don't put yourself on the devil's turf,
08:07 don't play the devil's game,
08:08 you are going to lose that one every time.
08:13 He said well how do you know it wasn't Jesus, it was Jesus.
08:16 How do you know it wasn't?
08:19 I said well, just listen to what Jesus said, in Matthew 24:23,
08:25 "At that time if anyone says to you,
08:27 'Look, here is the Christ!'
08:28 or, 'There He is!' don't believe it."
08:30 You said there he is I don't believe it.
08:37 If anyone tells you, 'There He is, out in the desert,'
08:39 don't go out or here He is in the room don't believe it.
08:46 Why not?
08:48 Because in verse 27,
08:50 "As lightning that comes
08:53 from the east is visible even to the west,
08:56 so will be the coming of the Son of Man be."
09:01 Somebody says he is out in North Carolina,
09:03 he is Utah, or Salt Lake City
09:06 or Jerusalem in a temple do not go,
09:08 do not believe it, why?
09:10 Because when Jesus comes
09:12 it's going to be like lightening flashing
09:14 from the east to the west and you will see it
09:17 because you can seen lightening even with your eyes shut.
09:22 Don't need anybody to tell you Jesus has already come.
09:26 His coming will be a glorious visible event
09:30 like lightening come from east.
09:31 Once again it's time for us to line up some fence posts.
09:34 Now I know some of things I am about to say,
09:36 they are going to be a bit of struggle for some of you
09:38 because it's not exactly what you have been taught
09:41 and what you have been reading
09:42 in the popular books and watching on TV,
09:44 but folks it's time for us to get our noses
09:46 in the word of God and believe what's in here, amen.
09:52 So let's start with a new page on our word processor.
09:55 What's on it?
09:57 Not one verse, lightening flashing
09:59 from the east to the west, all right.
10:01 We already got one verse and we got a fence post
10:05 but we need some more fence post,
10:06 so let's line up some more fence post,
10:09 same chapter verse 30,
10:11 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man
10:13 will appear in the sky
10:15 and all of the nations of the earth will mourn.
10:18 They will see the Son of Man
10:21 coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory."
10:24 Now we don't look at every verse
10:26 that describes the return of Christ,
10:28 so far two of them described Christ coming
10:30 in a glorious visible event.
10:33 You will see Him,
10:34 even the nations will see Him,
10:35 they will mourn because of Him.
10:37 Same thing that he says to the church in Revelation 1,
10:41 Revelation 1:7, "Look, He is coming with the clouds,
10:46 and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him
10:50 and all of the people on the earth
10:51 will mourn because of Him.
10:53 So shall it be! Amen."
10:58 You know what Amen means?
11:01 So be it, so shall it be.
11:03 So how was Jesus coming? He is coming on the clouds.
11:06 Every eye will see Him, the wicked will see Him,
11:08 even those who pierced Him will see Him.
11:10 They will mourn, amen, amen. He said it twice.
11:17 Now if somebody asked me one time,
11:20 well, how is that possible?
11:21 How the blind people going to see Jesus when He comes.
11:25 Well, Jesus knew how to open the eyes of the blind
11:27 when He was here.
11:29 I doubt if He has forgotten how to do it when He comes again.
11:34 Secondly they asked me,
11:36 well, how is everybody going to see Him
11:38 because the earth is round
11:39 and if He comes over there, then the Chinese can't see Him?
11:43 I don't know the answer to that question
11:46 but I know this, if He can speak
11:48 and bring the world into existence,
11:50 He is going to make sure everybody can see Him
11:51 when He comes. I just know this.
11:54 When Jesus comes every eye will see Him
11:58 and you won't need anyone to tell you,
11:59 hey Jesus came, because I know, I see.
12:05 Acts 1 same thing,
12:08 Acts 1:9, He is speaking His last words
12:12 to the church and after He said that verse 9,
12:15 "He was taken up before their very eyes,
12:18 and a cloud hid Him from their sight."
12:21 Notice again the visible event.
12:23 Jesus went up, they saw Him go up into the clouds
12:27 and theywere looking intently up into the sky
12:30 as He was going when suddenly two men dressed
12:33 in white stood beside them.
12:35 "Men of Galilee, they said,
12:36 why do you stand here looking into the sky?
12:39 The same Jesus has been taken
12:41 from you into heaven will come back.
12:44 How is He going to come back?
12:46 In the same way that you have seen Him go.
12:49 They saw Him go up into the clouds
12:52 and He is going to comeback in the same way.
12:55 They saw Him go, we will see Him coming,
12:59 it will be a visible glorious event
13:03 when Jesus returns for His church.
13:07 1 Thessalonians 4:15.
13:10 Lot of fence posts to line up tonight.
13:12 And this one I think virtually all scholars agree no matter
13:16 which side of the fence they are on,
13:18 this one is the clearest outline of the sequence of events
13:23 that take place when Jesus comes for the church
13:28 and this is the passage that's often
13:30 called the rapture passage.
13:32 Now understand the word rapture
13:34 is not found in the Bible anywhere.
13:38 But it doesn't matter because rapture means the catching up.
13:44 God's people will be caught up to be with Him.
13:48 That's true. We are going to be caught up.
13:50 So calling it the rapture doesn't change a thing,
13:55 it's the timing of the rapture that's significant,
13:59 so let's take a look at the clearest verses
14:02 that outline the sequence of events to take place
14:05 at the rapture verse 13, 1 Thessalonians 4,
14:10 "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant
14:12 about those who fall asleep,
14:14 or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope."
14:16 He talks about the dead as a sleep,
14:19 a sleep in Christ, don't be ignorant.
14:22 They were thinking that the dead
14:23 weren't going to get to heaven, they died it was finished, over.
14:27 It says no, don't worry about that, verse 14,
14:30 "We believe that Jesus died and rose again
14:33 and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus
14:36 those who have fallen asleep in Him."
14:37 So He is going to bring them back to heaven.
14:40 How is He going to do it? Watch, here is the answer.
14:43 Verse 15, "According to the Lord's own words,
14:46 we tell you that we who are still alive,
14:50 and who are left, underline that word left,
14:57 we who are still alive and are left
15:02 until the coming of the Lord
15:04 will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep."
15:08 Don't worry about them, Jesus is going to come,
15:11 He is going to take them. How is He going to do it?
15:13 Well, we who are still alive and left
15:15 we are not going to go before them, no.
15:17 Well, how are we all going to go,
15:19 and here is his answer.
15:21 Verse 16, you are ready for this.
15:23 "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,
15:29 with a loud command, with the trumpet call of God,
15:33 with the voice of the archangel
15:35 and the dead in Christ will rise first."
15:39 There will be a lot of noise, there will be a visible
15:44 glorious appearing like light lightening flashing
15:48 from the east to the west.
15:50 The dead are going to come out of their graves,
15:52 the earth will rumble, it will be a lot of stuff
15:56 going on when Jesus comes for us.
16:00 Sounds noisy, sounds visible,
16:05 voice of the archangel, trumpet call of God,
16:08 and the dead in Christ will rise first.
16:12 After that, watch here it is again.
16:14 "We who are still alive and left,
16:19 underline that word again, we who are still alive and left.
16:23 Where are we left?
16:24 We are left still alive at the time Jesus comes,
16:28 so we are still alive and left,
16:30 we will be caught up together with them
16:33 in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
16:36 And so we will go to be with the Lord forever.
16:39 So the dead in Christ will be raised up first,
16:42 then we are changed and together will be caught up
16:46 to go to be with Jesus up in the clouds.
16:51 Clear as it can be.
16:54 We don't go before them, they don't go before us,
16:56 we go together, and so we will be with the Lord forever.
17:02 Greek and so hutos means in this way,
17:04 this is how you and I,
17:07 this is how the church goes to be with the Lord, how?
17:10 Either we are alive and left
17:13 when Jesus comes and are changed
17:15 or we have died and will be raised up,
17:18 either way together we will all be caught up
17:21 to go to be with Jesus,
17:23 that's how we go to be with the Lord.
17:26 I don't know how to say it, He couldn't say it
17:28 any clearer than this,
17:30 yet practically millions and millions
17:33 of people are being taught
17:35 that when Jesus comes it will be a secret snatching away
17:40 and the wicked are going to wander around
17:42 wonder where did they go,
17:44 and be left for a long period
17:46 some say seven years,
17:47 some say three and half years of tribulation,
17:49 I can't agree on that.
17:51 Well, they get a second chance.
17:56 Where did that idea come from? Not from here.
18:03 Where did it come from? You are going to be surprised.
18:09 Martin Luther was a Roman Catholic priest,
18:11 began teaching we are saved by grace
18:12 through faith in Jesus Christ
18:14 and not by works and the church said,
18:16 no, no, Luther we are saved by faith and works.
18:19 Luther said well the Bible teaches
18:20 we are saved by faith alone,
18:23 and the church said Luther,
18:24 remember it's not the Bible, it's the Bible
18:26 and the traditions of the church.
18:28 We are saved by works not by faith alone.
18:32 And Luther said, well I'm going to stick with the scripture.
18:35 Sola scriptura that was his battle cry
18:39 and remember millions and millions of Christians
18:41 that's when he called the church,
18:43 that's when he called the pope antichrist.
18:46 Millions of Christians were leaving Rome,
18:48 its no secret, it's a Protestant reformation.
18:51 Millions left and Rome had to decide
18:55 what are we going to do, we need to figure out
18:57 how to stop this massive outflow of protestors,
19:01 so they did several things,
19:03 they met at the Council of Trent.
19:04 They officially decreed a tradition is equal to scripture
19:11 and that you have to believe the traditions of the church
19:13 and the next thing that happened.
19:15 They still had Luther calling them the antichrist
19:19 and the Methodists Wesley's calling them antichrist
19:23 and the Baptist and the Presbyter,
19:25 they were all calling Rome antichrist.
19:29 So we got to figure out a way to deal with that
19:32 and so one Jesuit scholar Alcazar said, well it's simple.
19:38 Look Nero was the beast, Jesus came already
19:42 and He is establishing His kingdom
19:44 on this earth already right now,
19:47 and so it's all in the past preterits
19:50 and that's where the last disciple
19:52 novel series came from, it's all in the past.
19:56 It was an attempt to keep the reformers
19:59 from believing that the Church of Rome was antichrist.
20:04 And then Rivera said well I'm not sure
20:06 that everybody is going to go for that,
20:08 so another Jesuit scholar Ribera said,
20:12 I think that all of this was in the future
20:15 and the antichrist is going to come way off in the future,
20:19 so it can't be us, we are here now.
20:21 We have been here since the beginning,
20:23 can't be us, so the devil doesn't care if you believe
20:26 it's all in the past or if you believe
20:28 it's all in the future, it doesn't matter
20:30 one or the other, so we have two books
20:34 "Left Behind" and "The Last Disciple,"
20:36 both coming from an anti-protestant approach
20:42 to scripture designed to turn
20:44 Protestants away from pointing to Rome
20:47 and saying that you are the antichrist
20:51 and the Protestant world has virtually embraced it today.
20:56 But the Bible is clear.
20:57 When Jesus comes, it's a glorious visible event.
21:00 Watch this, this is really stunning.
21:04 Now remember when the Bible was written,
21:05 they didn't separate verses and chapters,
21:09 they didn't even separate words.
21:10 All ran together.
21:12 So let's just look at the next verse
21:14 after verse 18, Chapter 4:18,
21:17 "Therefore encourage each other with these words."
21:20 Chapter 5:1 the very next thing same thought continuing on.
21:24 "Now, brothers, about the times
21:25 and dates we don't need to write to you,"
21:27 because you know very well the day of the Lord
21:30 will come like a thief in the night.
21:35 You ever see the gospel film, A Thief in the Night?
21:38 Man in the bathroom shaving with his electric shaver
21:42 and his wife is in the bedroom talking through the doorway
21:45 and all of sudden he quit answering she says
21:47 why won't you answer me? What's wrong with you?
21:49 And she looks in there and the razor just vibrating
21:52 on the countertop, and he is gone.
21:54 She looks all over the house, can't find him,
21:57 picks up the phone calls a friends,
21:58 hey my husband disappeared, I wonder what's happening.
22:00 Yeah, my wife is gone, what is going on here?
22:03 They turned on the TV millions of people have vanished away.
22:09 Jesus came like a thief in the night
22:13 and He took them, but that's not what we read here.
22:19 Yeah He comes like a thief in the night
22:21 He says, you know very well.
22:22 The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night
22:24 but what happens when Jesus comes like that.
22:27 You see there are two ways that He can come like
22:29 a thief in the night, two ways the thief can come.
22:32 One way you just buy this nice new big panel TV set
22:36 so you can show your Revelation Now DVDs on.
22:41 And you go watch a DVD then you go to bed
22:45 and while you're asleep, a thief comes in
22:47 and he takes that big screen off the wall
22:50 and you come down in the morning and where is my TV set?
22:55 Thief came in the night and took it,
23:00 or you could be sitting there watching your TV set
23:06 and the thief sneaks in the night,
23:09 conk on top of the head and takes your TV set.
23:15 See he surprises you, you are not expecting it.
23:20 Now what was Paul thinking
23:22 when he wrote Jesus comes like a thief in the night,
23:24 which way watch, it's easy.
23:29 "The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
23:31 While people are saying, Peace and safety,
23:34 destruction will come on them suddenly,
23:36 as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
23:39 But you, brothers, are not in darkness
23:42 so that the day would surprise you like a thief.
23:44 He is not coming like a thief to the church,
23:46 he is coming like a thief to the wicked,
23:49 they are not ready, they are not expecting him to come,
23:51 they are sitting there watching their TV sets,
23:53 they get conked with destruction.
23:59 So how many wicked people are going to be running around
24:04 on this earth after Jesus comes like a thief in the night?
24:15 See how clear when you line up you fence post.
24:18 Just in case you are not convinced.
24:20 Here is the clincher.
24:23 The next letter that he writes to the same church,
24:25 2 Thessalonians 6,
24:30 "God is just, and He will pay back trouble
24:34 to those who trouble you."
24:37 Now who is you.
24:39 You got to identify the pronouns in this passage,
24:41 so who is the you, God is just
24:44 and He is going to pay back trouble
24:46 to those who troubled you.
24:47 Who is He talking to? The church.
24:51 Are you with me? The church.
24:53 So let's say that, God is just,
24:55 He will pay back trouble to those who troubled the church
24:59 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.
25:04 Who is the you? The church.
25:07 So God is going to payback and give relief to the church,
25:12 that's crystal clear.
25:14 Now when is He going to do it, watch.
25:17 This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed
25:21 from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels.
25:27 So when does the church get delivered from
25:30 and relief from the struggles and the stress
25:34 and the tribulation in the world?
25:36 When Jesus comes quietly like a thief in the night,
25:41 when Jesus comes with blazing fire and His angels with Him.
25:46 Now watch this, verse 8,
25:49 "He will punish those who do not know God
25:53 that's all the wicked, He will punish all the wicked
25:57 who do not know God
25:58 and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
26:03 They will be punished with everlasting destruction
26:07 and shutout from the presence of the Lord
26:10 and from the majesty of his power."
26:12 When are those ungodly, when are those wicked
26:16 going to be punished with destruction, watch.
26:19 On the day that He comes to be glorified
26:22 in His holy people and to be marveled
26:23 at among all those who have believed, that includes you,
26:26 the church because you have believed.
26:29 Now, how can He say it any clearer than that.
26:31 When Jesus comes to bring relief to the church,
26:34 He will punish the wicked with everlasting destruction,
26:38 when He comes to deliver you and to be glorified in you.
26:43 So how many wicked people are going to be running around
26:47 on this earth when Jesus comes to deliver His church.
26:52 None, none at all.
26:57 If the wicked are destroyed when Jesus comes to bring
27:02 relief to the church, then tell me,
27:08 how can there be a tribulation force
27:11 that worked in this world trying to save people
27:15 after the wicked have been destroyed.
27:20 You see the truth that was left out or left behind,
27:23 he said it's all a novel
27:26 after chapter 1, Jesus is coming.
27:31 After that it's a novel because the wicked are destroyed
27:36 with everlasting destruction
27:38 when Jesus comes to bring relief to His church
27:43 with blazing fire He even says.
27:47 That means that the church, some of you have already
27:50 figured it out, the church is going to be in this world
27:57 all the way through, until the end
28:00 even during the time of great tribulation.
28:04 We're going to be here. Pastor don't tell me that.
28:07 Well, that's not bad as it sounds.
28:10 Because God doesn't have to take us
28:12 out of the world to protect us from tribulation in the world.
28:17 In fact He tells us that
28:19 in Revelation 3:10
28:25 to the church at Philadelphia he writes,
28:28 "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently,
28:32 I will also keep you from the hour of trial
28:37 that is coming upon the whole world to test
28:39 those who live on the earth.
28:42 So since you have been faithful,
28:45 I am going to keep you from the hour of trial.
28:48 He does not say I am going to take you
28:51 out of the world before the hour of trial.
28:54 Now your footnotes might say that but that's not the Bible.
28:57 The Bible says I will keep you from the hour of trial.
29:01 The Greek word here it says I will keep you,
29:05 that Greek word is tereo ek.
29:11 what is tereo ek mean?
29:13 I will guard you, I will protect you.
29:17 Watch this.
29:18 He uses that same Greek word in John 17:15
29:24 in the Gospel of John 17:15, exact same word.
29:32 Jesus said, verse 15,
29:33 "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world
29:39 but that you tereo ek that you protect them from the evil one.
29:46 He uses tereo ek in exact opposition
29:50 to the idea of taking them out of the world.
29:53 No, I am not praying that you take them
29:55 out of the world but you protect them.
29:57 So, I will keep you from the time of trial
30:00 not take you out of it but protect you while in it,
30:04 just like He did with Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego,
30:07 those three faithful Hebrew servants,
30:09 the king said bow down and worship the image
30:12 and everybody who does it, I will throw you into the fire.
30:15 Well, they stood tall and everybody else bowed down,
30:19 and the king comes and throws them into the fire.
30:22 Now God could have prevented the king
30:25 from throwing them into the fire,
30:28 but He allowed them to be cast into the fiery furnace
30:32 and then he looks in there
30:33 and he says how many did we put in there.
30:37 They said, oh, king three.
30:39 Look, I see one, two, three, four
30:42 and one looks likes us as a man.
30:44 Jesus came and protected them
30:47 and delivered them in the middle of their fiery trial.
30:51 It takes more faith in God,
30:53 it takes more of a demonstration of God's power for Him
30:57 to protect us during the tribulation
30:59 and to snatch us out of the world
31:01 before the tribulation.
31:04 There is not one verse in the Bible
31:06 that says He is going to take us away before the tribulation,
31:09 not one verse.
31:15 Are we going to be here through till the end?
31:17 Watch this, this is one of my favorite places in Psalm
31:19 that talks about it,
31:22 Psalm 91:2, "I will say of the Lord,
31:24 "He is my refuge, my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
31:31 You better trust Him because what's going to happen.
31:35 Look at verse 7,
31:36 "A thousand may fall at your side,
31:38 ten thousand at your right hand,
31:40 but it will not come near you,
31:42 you will only observe with your eyes
31:45 and see the punishment of the wicked,
31:47 it will not come near you.
31:50 God is big enough to protect you,
31:53 you will see it,
31:54 you will see him fall to the left and to the right
31:56 but it's not coming to you.
32:02 There is nothing in here in the scripture,
32:05 not one verse that talks about
32:08 God taking us out before the tribulation.
32:11 Somebody said, well He loves us too much
32:13 to let us go through it all.
32:17 Didn't He loved John and let him be beheaded.
32:21 Didn't He loved Peter who got crucified upside down.
32:24 Didn't He loved Isaiah when He let him get sword
32:27 in half in a hollow log.
32:29 God's people have been tormented
32:31 and persecuted through the years,
32:33 of course He loves them.
32:35 But what a demonstration of love to protect us
32:41 from the fiery trial.
32:43 You don't have to be afraid of the tribulation,
32:46 as long as you follow the Lamb.
32:50 Not one verse says
32:51 we will be taken out of this world, not one verse.
32:54 But what about the one that says
32:56 two men will be in the field, one would be taken,
32:58 the other left, there it is pastor.
33:01 Well, let's take a look at that verse.
33:03 Don't want to miss anything here,
33:04 Matthew, Matthew 24, in Matthew 24:41,
33:12 "Two women will be grinding grain with their hand mill,
33:14 one will be taken and the other left."
33:16 You see, here is the rapture.
33:18 They are grinding grain with their hand mill,
33:20 one gets taken, the other left
33:22 and she is grinding away
33:23 wondering where did she got taken to.
33:26 Not fair I got to do it all myself now,
33:29 it doesn't say that.
33:32 Doesn't say anything like that.
33:34 In fact it says just the opposite.
33:37 You see that's what happens when you take one fence post
33:39 and try to line it up one verse out of context,
33:43 it comes out opposite of what God wanted it to say.
33:46 Watch, so easy, backup a little bit,
33:49 verse 37, "As it was in the days of Noah,
33:53 so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."
33:56 So what is it going to be like when Jesus comes?
33:59 It will be like it was in the days of Noah?
34:02 What was it like then?
34:05 Verse 38, "For in the days before the flood,
34:08 people were eating, drinking, marrying
34:09 and giving in marriage,
34:10 up into the day Noah entered the ark
34:13 and they knew nothing about what would happen
34:16 until the flood came and what, took them all away.
34:27 That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
34:31 Two men will be in the field,
34:33 one will be taken and the other left.
34:36 Now what is it going to be like at the coming of Jesus?
34:39 It's going to be like it was in the days of Noah.
34:42 What was it like then?
34:43 Well, they were eating, drinking, marrying
34:44 and doing all these things
34:45 and they were not aware of anything until what,
34:48 the flood came and what did it do?
34:50 It took them all away.
34:54 Now who, here is the question.
34:57 Who was taken away in the days of Noah?
35:02 The wicked.
35:04 Where were they taken to?
35:07 On to the water, to their destruction.
35:11 That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man,
35:15 two men will be in the field,
35:17 one will be taken and the other left.
35:19 Who is taken?
35:21 Who was taken in the days of Noah?
35:23 The wicked.
35:24 Who is left? The righteous.
35:28 This verse isn't talking about rapturing up to Jesus at all.
35:33 If you read it in the context of the chapter,
35:35 it's talking about when Jesus comes,
35:37 there will be two categories of people.
35:39 Sheep and goats, good and the bad,
35:42 the wicked are going to be taken away, burned, destroyed.
35:45 The righteous are going to be left.
35:48 Then, yes, we are caught up to be with Jesus
35:52 but that's not what this verse is taking about.
35:56 It's just the opposite.
35:59 So wicked taken, the righteous are left.
36:01 Do you want to be taken or left?
36:06 I want to be left.
36:08 I wanted to be left behind, that was switch, isn't it?
36:13 Are you sure preacher?
36:15 Did you come out right on that,
36:17 nobody else was saying that?
36:18 Well, they are.
36:19 You are not hearing but look,
36:21 let's double check and ask Jesus again.
36:23 Jesus, did Colon get it right.
36:27 Luke 17:34, "I tell you on that night
36:33 two people will be in one bed,
36:35 and one will be taken and the other left.
36:37 Two women will be grinding grain together,
36:40 one will be taken and the other left."
36:42 See same thing but here is the difference.
36:48 The disciples asked Him where Lord?
36:52 I'm gonna stop here for a second.
36:54 Jesus just said two women will be grinding grain,
36:58 one will be taken, the other left.
37:01 And the disciples say where?
37:04 Which one are they asking about?
37:06 The one that's taken
37:08 or the one that's left grinding grain.
37:12 I mean they know where the one that's left is,
37:14 she is still there by the grain.
37:17 Where Lord, where are you going to take him?
37:19 Isn't that the question?
37:23 Look at His answer.
37:25 He replied, "Where there is a dead body,
37:27 there the vultures will gather."
37:30 Where are they taken?
37:32 To their destruction and there is our link to Revelation.
37:39 When Jesus comes, the wicked will be taken
37:44 to their destruction where the dead bodies are,
37:47 the vultures are gathered, that's not a very pretty picture
37:50 but kind of getting in fuzzy focus
37:52 so you can remember it again.
38:03 So now we are ready to understand the millennium.
38:06 Revelation 19.
38:09 In Revelation 19 and by the way
38:12 while you are looking for that one turning to it.
38:17 Let's review so far what we seen.
38:20 Jesus come, visible glorious return.
38:22 We are caught up to be with Him.
38:23 The wicked are destroyed, so who is left on this world?
38:28 We are in heaven, wicked are destroyed.
38:33 Who is left to have a second chance?
38:39 Nobody.
38:40 There is no second chance after Jesus comes.
38:45 If you are going to get ready, you better get ready now.
38:49 Don't wait until after.
38:51 There is no second chance.
38:53 Who would like for you to think there is a second chance,
38:56 that's a easy one.
38:58 Now let's go to Revelation 19:7,
39:03 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory,
39:06 For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
39:09 and his bride has made herself ready.
39:12 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear."
39:15 The bride is ready, the lamb is ready to come for his bride,
39:20 the problem is his bride is under attack by the beast
39:24 and the kings of the earth, holding her captive.
39:29 So what's going to happen?
39:31 Good news, Chapter 19:11,
39:35 "I saw heaven standing open
39:37 and there before me was a white horse,
39:39 whose rider is called Faithful and True.
39:41 With justice he judges and makes war.
39:45 His eyes are like blazing fire.
39:47 " Verse 16, "On his robe
39:48 and on his thigh he has this name written:
39:51 King of kings and Lord of lords."
39:53 Who is the rider on the horse?
39:55 It's Jesus.
39:58 Who is He coming to make war against?
40:00 Look verse 19, "I saw the beast
40:03 and all the kings of the earth
40:05 and their armies gathered together to make war
40:08 against the rider on the horse."
40:11 They are not there to make war against Israel,
40:14 it doesn't say that.
40:15 There they are to make war against the lamb,
40:18 but He is not the lamb this time,
40:20 He is a warrior riding on horse, why?
40:22 Because the kings of the earth
40:23 and the beast are after God's people,
40:26 He is coming to deliver us.
40:28 Good news, amen.
40:32 They gathered together to make war
40:34 against the rider on the horse and his army.
40:36 "But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet,"
40:41 in the middle of verse 20,
40:42 "The two of them were thrown alive
40:43 into the fiery lake of burning sulfur."
40:46 So the beast, false prophet are destroyed.
40:49 Who is left then out of the dragon, the beast
40:51 and the false prophet?
40:53 The dragon, the dragon is the devil.
40:56 Beast counterfeit system of worship
40:59 developed in the Church of Rome
41:01 early in the medieval times.
41:04 False prophet, Protestant America
41:08 working together with Rome
41:10 to acknowledge her authority to change God's word,
41:14 another counterfeit system of worship.
41:17 They are both cast into the fire.
41:19 No more counterfeits anymore, just the dragon against Jesus,
41:25 good against evil.
41:27 This final conflict has come down
41:29 to the very bottom line, no more pretending to be God,
41:33 no more deceiving people, I am the Lord God,
41:36 no that's done, that's over.
41:40 We are getting to the final, final phase of this conflict.
41:46 Two of them were thrown into the lake of fire.
41:48 Now watch 21, "The rest of them, who is that?
41:51 All of those who joined with him in rebellion against God.
41:55 "The rest of them were killed with the sword
41:59 that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse,
42:02 and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh."
42:06 And that's exactly what Jesus said was going to happen.
42:11 There is a description of the return of Christ.
42:16 Good news if you follow the Lamb,
42:19 bad news for those who follow the beast.
42:24 What happens next?
42:25 Chapter 20:1, "I saw an angel coming down out of heaven,
42:28 having the key to the abyss,
42:30 holding in his hand a great chain.
42:32 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent,
42:34 who is the devil, or Satan,
42:35 he bound him for a thousand years.
42:37 Threw him into the abyss, locked and sealed it over him,
42:40 to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore
42:42 till the thousand years were ended.
42:43 After that, he be set free for a short time."
42:45 Now folks Revelation is a symbolic book
42:47 you understand that, there is no bottomless pit.
42:52 King James translates it bottomless pit,
42:54 not a very good translation.
42:56 There is no bottomless pit that's going to hold Satan.
42:59 The Greek word there is Abussos.
43:02 There is something interesting about that Greek word Abussos.
43:06 In the Old Testament
43:07 Greek version of the Old Testament
43:09 the one that Jesus had the actual version
43:12 that Jesus used when He was here,
43:15 it was in Greek and back in Genesis 1:1 says,
43:20 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
43:22 The earth was without form
43:24 and void and darkness was on the surface of the deep,
43:29 and that word deep is Abussos,
43:35 a wild empty chaotic wilderness of nothing,
43:41 before Jesus began creating order.
43:46 And that's the way it's going to be at the end.
43:48 He would be cast into an Abussos,
43:51 an abyss a wild chaotic nothing,
43:56 the wicked are destroyed, the righteous are gone.
44:00 There is nothing left on this earth,
44:02 every mountain flees, every island is gone,
44:05 there is nothing left on this earth.
44:07 Jeremiah says the cities are in ruins,
44:10 there are no birds in the air, it's empty, it's only the devil.
44:16 May be his angels with him but we know the devil is there.
44:22 It was a bottomless pit,
44:24 he could go down to the other end
44:25 and come out in China.
44:28 It's not a bottomless pit, it's an Abussos.
44:32 He can't deceive the nations, why not?
44:35 Because there are no nations for him to deceive, they are dead.
44:40 He has thousand years, watch.
44:43 "Cast him in the bottomless pit,
44:46 and sealed and kept him from deceiving the nations anymore
44:51 till the thousand years were ended.
44:52 After that, he will be set free for a short time.
44:55 So now we have a thousand years where Satan is bound.
44:58 When does it begin?
44:59 Verse 4, "I saw thrones on which were seated
45:03 those who had been given authority to judge.
45:05 And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
45:08 because of the testimony of Jesus
45:10 and because of the word of God.
45:12 They had not worshiped the beast or his image,
45:15 they had not received his mark on their foreheads
45:17 or their hands.
45:19 They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
45:24 So when do the thousand years begin?
45:26 They begin with the resurrection of the saints of Jesus Christ.
45:33 When are the saints resurrected?
45:36 They are resurrected when Jesus comes
45:39 with the loud command, trumpet call of God,
45:41 the dead in Christ arise first,
45:43 those of us who are left remember,
45:48 those of us who are left, the wicked have been taken,
45:51 they are destroyed, we are left,
45:52 together we are caught up to be with Jesus in the air.
45:55 There is no one left on this earth.
45:57 So the thousand years begins when Jesus comes for the church.
46:03 And he was prevented from deceiving the nations anymore
46:07 for a thousand years.
46:09 They came to life, they reigned with Christ,
46:11 a thousand years."
46:13 Verse 5, "The rest of the dead did not come to life
46:16 until the thousand years were ended."
46:19 So now we see two resurrections,
46:22 one at the beginning of the thousand years,
46:24 that's the righteous, that's us if we die first,
46:27 at the end of the thousand years
46:29 the rest of the dead, who is that?
46:31 The wicked, they are resurrected,
46:34 so there are two separated by one thousand years.
46:39 If I die, I want to be in the first resurrection,
46:44 not the second one.
46:46 So now we see the boundaries for the millennium,
46:49 one thousand years, two resurrections,
46:52 the resurrection of the good, the bad.
46:54 Remember what Jesus said,
46:55 the time is coming when all who are where,
46:59 in the grave will hear my voice,
47:01 those who have done good to the resurrection of life,
47:05 those who have done evil to the resurrection of damnation.
47:10 Two resurrections, a thousand years apart.
47:12 So we are taken up to be with Christ for a thousand years,
47:16 the devil is on this earth, the wicked are dead.
47:19 What's he doing on this earth?
47:21 What are we doing up there?
47:24 We will notice again, verse 4,
47:25 "I saw thrones on which were seated
47:27 those who had been given authority to judge."
47:33 Bible even tells us that we are going to judge even angels,
47:40 so what do we judge, why do we judge anything?
47:46 Because they are going to be a lot of surprises
47:50 when we get there on that day.
47:53 You are going to see people there
47:54 you never dream would make it.
47:57 I can't wait to be there.
48:00 You know what I am looking forward to?
48:02 I'm looking forward to all my friends
48:06 in a Christian college that I used to go to
48:10 when I turned away from God.
48:13 And I'm going to see them there,
48:14 and they are going to say Jac Colon, is that you?
48:19 I can't wait.
48:20 There are going to be some surprise.
48:22 What are you doing here?
48:24 And I can tell my story, and they will say praise God,
48:29 He didn't make a mistake.
48:33 I belong here because of the blood of Jesus.
48:38 There are going to be some other kinds of surprises,
48:41 disappointments people we thought
48:44 surely would be there, favorite preacher,
48:48 favorite Bible teacher, relatives, friends,
48:53 the good deacon,
48:55 who is the only one that would ever mow
48:56 the lawn in the hot sun in the summer time,
49:00 surely he would be there.
49:04 Where is he?
49:07 And about that time and angel comes walking by.
49:14 You say, angel my deacon, why is he not here?
49:20 And the angel says you shut up, we don't ask questions up here.
49:30 The thrones are seated
49:33 for those who have been given authority to judge.
49:36 Angel says come here,
49:39 opens the book there it is?
49:44 I didn't know,
49:46 I didn't know every question is going to be answered,
49:53 so that when God finally destroys the wicked
49:56 and saves the righteous everyone will know
50:02 that it is an act of love and God has done the right thing
50:09 and sin will never rise up again,
50:14 but He is not finished yet.
50:16 There is still another piece to make sure
50:19 that sin never rises up again.
50:22 We have more verse 7,
50:24 "When the thousand years are over,
50:26 Satan will be released from his prison."
50:29 How does that happen?
50:30 The wicked are raised up again,
50:33 and he goes out to deceive the nations
50:35 in the four corners of the earth,
50:36 Gog and Magog.
50:37 So now Gog and Magog are not some little country,
50:41 they are all the wicked from the four corners of the earth,
50:45 all the wicked and they gather them for battle.
50:49 In number they are like sand on the seashore,
50:51 they march across the breath of the earth
50:53 and surround the camp of God's people,
50:55 the city that He loves, so the new Jerusalem
50:58 comes back down to this earth, the wicked are raised up.
51:02 The wicked surrounded.
51:04 Satan says let's attack the city.
51:06 Look they are just a few, we are so many.
51:08 Here is our chance, we are like sand on the seashore,
51:11 so they go to attack the city, they surround the camp
51:14 but fire comes down from heaven and the devoured them
51:18 and the devil who deceived them
51:20 was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur
51:23 where the beast and the false prophet
51:25 had already been thrown
51:26 and they will be tormented day and night for ever.
51:30 Why does God raise up the wicked
51:33 and then destroy them again.
51:35 Why don't He just let them stay dead.
51:38 Here is why?
51:40 "I saw a great white throne, and Him who was seated on it.''
51:43 In Verse 12, "I saw the dead,
51:44 small and great standing before the throne,
51:46 and the books were opened.
51:48 And another book was opened, which is the book of life.
51:51 And the dead were judged according to what they had done,
51:54 as recorded in the books."
51:59 The judgment.
52:03 "The lake of fire is the second death.
52:06 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life,
52:08 he was thrown into the lake of fire."
52:12 They are raised up again, the wicked are raised up
52:15 again to appear before the great white throne, why?
52:21 Because the Bible says every knee will bow
52:26 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
52:34 When does that happen?
52:36 That's the very last day, even Satan himself is included
52:42 in that every, he is going to acknowledge that God is right,
52:47 that he was wrong,
52:48 he has had a thousand years to think it over,
52:52 he doesn't repent, the wicked don't repent,
52:55 they don't want to be in that city,
52:56 there will be nothing there for them
52:58 to do for eternity, boring for them.
53:04 And they are cast into the lake of fire
53:07 and that's the last piece that convinces everyone,
53:11 God is just, God is love
53:18 and sin will never rise up again.
53:23 What a story.
53:26 Do you realize that every being who has ever lived on this earth
53:33 is going to be present on that day.
53:36 All the wicked, all the righteous.
53:42 The righteous will be inside the city
53:45 because that's where the Lamb is and they follow the Lamb.
53:50 The wicked on the outside, everyone is going to be there.
53:55 You are going to be there, you can't change that.
54:01 The only thing you can change is where will you be?
54:08 Inside the city
54:11 or on the outside wishing you were inside.
54:18 Just follow the Lamb.
54:24 Lord God, we thank you and we praise you for Jesus
54:30 who gives us life and He has paid the price.
54:35 Thank you Jesus, amen.
54:40 Hello, I'm Lynn Bryson,
54:42 pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist church
54:43 here in McMinnville, Oregon
54:45 where we have been filming this Revelation
54:47 Now series on this set,
54:48 that you can watch it on your television.
54:51 You may have some questions right now,
54:53 and perhaps you would like to receive Jesus in your heart
54:55 but you are not quite sure how to do that.
54:57 If that's your desire and I invite you
54:59 to bow your head with me and pray
55:00 and repeat the words after me.
55:03 Dear Lord and Father,
55:05 thank you for sending Jesus to be my savior.
55:10 I want to invite Him into my heart right now.
55:14 Please come in and forgive me for my sins,
55:17 and thank you for the free gift of salvation.
55:22 I know that Jesus is preparing a place for me in your house.
55:27 And I am eager to see you.
55:30 Thank you for this day in Jesus' name, amen.
55:38 If you pray that prayer with me, then congratulations
55:41 because you have received Jesus into your heart.
55:44 Now you would be wondering right now,
55:46 what am I supposed to feel, perhaps you are feeling
55:48 a peace coming into you that you've never felt before,
55:50 both are normal, don't rely on your feelings so.
55:54 Believe God's word
55:56 and believe that what He had said is true
55:58 that He loves you and that He has forgiven you.
56:02 This is the perfect time to find answers
56:05 to some of your question.
56:06 And if you do have questions,
56:08 I want to invite you to locate a Seventh-day Adventist church
56:11 in your local area.
56:13 Seventh-day Adventist churches are listed in the phone books,
56:15 so you can find one by going to the yellow pages
56:17 or the white pages or you can get on the internet
56:20 and do a Google search for Seventh-day Adventist churches
56:23 or you may want to just go ahead
56:24 and call the McMinnville Church right here in Oregon.
56:27 If you are calling from the United States
56:29 our phone number is 503-472-7841
56:34 or you can email us at sdachruch@onlinemac.com
56:40 or go to our webpage at www.mcminnvilleadventist.org.


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Revised 2014-12-17