Participants: Pr. Lyle Albrecht
Series Code: RIN
Program Code: RIN000015
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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. |
Revised 2014-12-17