Matthew 24:1-3. "Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them (His disciples), “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
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Everywhere you look, there are definite signs that we are living in the end of the ages. It is most likely that we will see Jesus return in our lifetime.
There seems to be quite a bit of confusion, though, about Jesus' second coming and the Rapture of the Church. Many Christians and preachers confound the two, often making them as appear one and the same. They are not.
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Three Questions.
Just like you and I, the disciples were curious about future events. Who doesn't want to know what's coming, right?
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After His prophetic words, Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to Him and asked about the signs of the end of the age, recorded here in Matthew 24: #1, When will these things be? #2, What will be the sign of Your coming? #3, What will be the sign of the end of the age?
These questions are in reference to His 2nd coming, not the Rapture. They knew nothing about that. The rapture is a mystery that was only revealed to the Apostle Paul, though Jesus hinted about it in the upper room.
They were interested to know when Jesus would return to set up His earthly kingdom. Their first question, "When will these things be?" was about the events that Jesus mentioned in regard to the destruction of the temple. But the other two were about His second coming, which will now happen after the seven years of tribulation.
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It should put your mind at ease to know that Matthew 24 is not written to or about the Church. It is about Israel and the Jewish believers who will be on earth AFTER THE RAPTURE, during the Tribulation, also called, "The time of Jacob's trouble." The Rapture will have already taken place, thank God, and the Church, comprised of saved Gentiles and Jews, will be in heaven. Only after we are out of here can judgnent fall. Quite literally, all hell will break loose.
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The Sun And The Morning Star.
Revelation 22:16-17. “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely."
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Our God LOVES to hide gems and wisdom in His word. In this verse from the very last chapter of the last book of the Bible, Jesus calls Himself, "The Bright and Morning star." In the very next verse He says, "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.'" This is an obvious reference to the Rapture of the Church. Of course, only Christians will be raptured. Unbelievers will be left behind to endure the judgments of Tribulation.
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Turn with me now to the very last book of the Old Testament, "Malachi." In chapter 4, verse 2, is this declaration: "But to you who fear My name, The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings;"
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Tell me: What do you see first: The Sun, or the Morning star? The Morning Star, of course! It shows up about 3 to 4 o'clock, BEFORE the sun rises. Now tell me, Church: Which happens first: The Rapture or the Second Coming? The Rapture, of course! The reference in Revelation is about the Church, while the reference in Malachi is about Israel!
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Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled.
Jesus' admonition to us, "Let not your heart be troubled," sure is a tall order these days, being the darkest and most dangerous of times to be alive. Lawlessness, violence, and destruction are all around us. Every day in the news are more and more acts of terror, credible threats of nuclear attack, cyber attacks, and all kinds of threats to our way of life.
In light of all that chaos, how can we do what Jesus asks? How can we "Let not" our hearts be troubled? Jesus Himself gives us the answer.
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The Key To Rest.
John 14:1-3
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
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Jesus Himself gives us the key to having a heart that is not troubled. He said,"I will come again and receive you to Myself." This is the Rapture. He will come and receive us to Himself that where He is, we may be also in our MANSIONS (not huts) in the sky. The knowledge of this causes our hearts not to be troubled.
The Rapture is nothing more than us receiving our new bodies that are immortal and incorruptible; and we will be with Him forever! Our incorruptible bodies will never get sick or bored or tired and there will be NO MORE DEATH!
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Teach Grace, Not Godliness.
Titus 2:11-13 "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and glory in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,"
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It is not for us to teach people how to live godly lives, but to teach grace. Grace teaches people how to live right. The most important part of that grace teaching is teaching our people to look for the blessed hope, which is the glorious appearing of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ. THIS APPEARING IS THE RAPTURE!
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The implication here is that failing to teach about the blessed hope, The Rapture, causes people to lose hope. Why? Because they cling more tightly to the things of this world and tend to forsake reaching the lost. Those who are robbed of this blessed hope are worried about what is going to happen. They worry about what they hear on the news, they are afraid for their families, and worried about what might happen to their finances. The list goes on and on.
But of all the generations that have come on the earth, ours is the one that saw Israel come back as a nation. We have seen many prophecies from ages past happen before our eyes. We are the ones most likely to see the coming of our Lord in the clouds! That is GOOD NEWS!!! That is reason to hope, not to be hopeless.
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Secrets In The Hebrew Language.
Pastors are concerned that their people live holy lives in the meantime, but gow best to do that? Many go about it by teaching do's and don'ts; you know, "Law." Jesus has a better idea!
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Below is the Hebrew word for, "Righteousness:"
Tsadeqah: (צְדָקָה)
Hebrew reads from right to left and is a form of picture writing, like Chinese. The letters from right to left are, "Tsade (צ), dalet (ד), koph (ק), and hei (ה)."
Tsade means "Trail or journey," Dalet means "Door," Koph means, "Back of the head," and Hei means, "Grace." The word pictures give us a glimpse of God's perspective on what righteousness means to Him:
"We who have taken the path to Jesus, the Door, have been turned back (from our former life) and into the realm of His marvelous grace!"
That is righteousness to God.
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The Church Is Not Going Through The Tribuation.
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10
"For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, who He raised from the dead, event Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come."
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Paul, in writing to the Church at Thessalonica, explained in more detail about the Rapture to reassure them that they will not be going through that terrible time. This is one of many assurances in scripture that the Church will be in heaven during that time.
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First, he talks about the Rapture. That's the "Waiting for His Son from heaven,"part, Who delivers us from the wrath to come, meaning theTribulation. Those years are called "The day of God's wrath." We are not appointed to wrath, Church. Jesus paid for us! He took it in our stead! That gives rest, peace, and assurance to our hearts. "Looking for the blessed hope," helps us "Let not" our hearts be troubled.
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Tribulation.
During those seven years, everyone who did not accept Jesus as their Savior, those who are "Professing Christians," not "Possessing Christians," everyone who has broken His covenant, come against Israel to destroy her, and/or persecuted the Church, will all be the focus of God's wrath during that time.
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But if you're a believer, you only need to be "Alive and remain," and you're going up, even if you don't agree with me that there is a rapture. We can discuss it on the way up.
Regardless of how faithful you have or haven't been, no matter what your position in the Church may be, or how many degrees you have, if you know Jesus, YOU ARE GOING UP!
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Therefore, comfort one another with these words, and Let not your heart be Troubled.
