Sermon
The Rapture and the Return of Jesus Christ
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Now turn with me in your Bibles to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4.
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First Thessalonians chapter 4. I want to read again from verse
1 Thessalonians 4 chapter mention
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13 right down to chapter 5, verse 8.
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Let's hear the Word of God reading of course from the King
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James Bible for those online. The words will come up on the
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screen. First Thessalonians chapter 4.
1 Thessalonians 4 chapter mention
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We're reading from verse 13. But I would not have you to be
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ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep that you
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sorrow not even as others which have no hope for.
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If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so them
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also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with them.
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For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which
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are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not
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prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall
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descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel,
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and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall
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rise first. Then we which are alive and
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remain shall be caught up together with them in the
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clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be
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with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another
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with these words. But of the times and the
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seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you, for
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yourselves. Know perfectly that the day of
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the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
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For when they shall see peace and safety, then sudden
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destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child.
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They shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in
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darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
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Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day.
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We are not of the night nor of darkness.
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Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be
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sober. For they that sleep, sleep in
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the night, and they that be drunken or drunken in the night.
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But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breast St
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of faith and love, and foreign helmet the hope of salvation.
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Amen will end the reading their first eight, and we pray God
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will stamp with his own approval and blessing this reading of the
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Holy Scripture. Now this morning we are
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returning to our ex Suppository studies in the book of First
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Thessalonians. And for a few weeks we've been
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looking at First Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 13 to 18, and
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I have been setting forth different themes.
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We've looked at the theme of comfort for those who are
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grieving, and we've looked at the theme then last week of
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truths connected to the coming of the Lord Jesus.
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Now today, my text is found in the verse 17.
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Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
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together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and
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so shall we ever be with the Lord.
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And I've entitled my subject today the rapture and the return
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of Jesus Christ to this earth in power and glory, the last Lord's
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Day. I set forth 4 truths about the
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coming of the Lord. One, the promise of His coming
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as factual. We talked about the certainty
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and the comfort of that promise. Secondly, we looked at the
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particulars of His coming that are foundational, namely the
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truth about redemption, the truth about His resurrection,
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and the truth of His reappearance, especially from
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the words of verse 14 and the words 15.
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For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so
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them also would sleep in. Jesus will God bring with him.
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For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, that we which
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are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not
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prevent them which are asleep. Remember, if Christ has risen
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from the dead, then his people, even though those who sleep in
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Christ, will God bring with. I told you this is a great
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truth, a truth that has gripped the New Testament church from
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the beginning. And that truth is about the
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bodily resurrection of the dead in Christ.
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At his return, the dead will not be forgotten.
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That was the argument that the Thessalonians had.
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They're not going to be disadvantaged.
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They'll not be lost. Their resurrection is first in
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order. And after the resurrection of
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the glorious dead, we read then verse 17.
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Then we which are alive and remain unto thee, then we which
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are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
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the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be
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with the Lord. I think of the picture here.
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Jesus Christ returns. Then there is a resurrection of
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the righteous dead. Then the righteous Saints still
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alive, and the earth and their bodies are caught up to meet the
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Lord in the air with the righteous dead.
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And then Christ will usher in His righteous reign.
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Notice 18 how it closes. Wherefore comfort one another
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with these words. And as we close last Lord's day,
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we thought about the purpose of His coming.
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That is fruitful. It brings comfort to the
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grieving. There's a call for holy living,
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and we'll see that next week. And also there's a believing
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concern for the glory of God. Now today I want to add to those
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4 truths about the coming of the Lord another truth that I
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deliberately left off, namely the truth about the rapture and
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the return of Jesus Christ in power and glory.
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So that's what we're thinking about tonight or today.
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First Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 17 and the rapture and the
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return of Jesus Christ. Now three things about the
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rapture. The rapture is a scriptural
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event. You've got to think about the
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Scriptures and the rapture and the return of Christ.
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You see, recently I was asked, do you believe in the rapture of
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the church? This was my answer.
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Yes, I do. Now.
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The person that asked was very surprised and they said, oh, I
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thought that Free Presbyterian ministers didn't believe in the
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rapture. And I said to them, well, I do,
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it's a scriptural event. And I turned into this text of
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Scripture, First Thessalonians 4 and 17.
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And I pointed to the person who'd asked the words, caught up
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together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
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And I said to the individual, First Thessalonians chapter 4,
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verse 17 teaches the rapture of the church.
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Now listen to this at the return of Jesus Christ.
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Now one of the chief concerns for many Christians is what do
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these words mean? What do you think they mean?
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What have you heard that they mean?
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Let me try to answer this negatively.
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Let me tell you what it doesn't mean.
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There are those who teach in the evangelical world to this day
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that there's two separate future comings of Christ, and those two
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future separate comings of Christ are divided by a
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seven-year period. Now, I do not believe in two
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separate future comings of Christ divided by a seven-year
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period. I do not believe that.
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Why? Because the Bible doesn't teach
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that. The Bible doesn't teach 2
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separate future comings of Christ divided by 7 years.
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So I want to be clear in that, and I want you to be clear.
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And I tried to press this home to the person that asked me
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about the rapture. The Bible doesn't teach 2 future
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comings of the Lord Jesus. 1 secret, one silent, although
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significant. And then seven years later
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there's the actual visible return of Christ to the earth.
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You see, here's the argument of those that hold to that view.
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There are verses that mention the coming of the Lord.
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You can see that First Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 15
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does not mention. For this we say unto you, by the
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word of the Lord, that we which are alive remain unto the coming
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of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep.
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The word coming is the Greek word Perusia, 1st Thessalonians
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415 All unto the coming of the Lord.
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And here's the argument. The rest of the verses in the
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Bible that mention the coming of the Lord has to do with a
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silent, secret but significant coming of the Lord to the heir.
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The word for coming in every reference has nothing to do with
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Christ's coming in future judgement, that there are other
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New Testament words to signify his arrival to meet out
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judgement, and those words are appearing and those words in
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Revelation. Now the question for us this
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morning is this, What does the Bible teach?
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Does the Bible teach one word that talks about the coming of
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the Lord, a coming for its people, dead or alive, a coming
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that's significant but silent and secret, and then seven years
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later returned visibly in judgement to deal with the rest
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of humanity. There's some people teach that
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and they use the word coming, a silent secret coming, and then
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they use the word appearing and revelation to teach that he
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appears seven years later after his silent secret coming to deal
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firmly with the ungodly. Now I hope I've explained that
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I'm not a good explainer, especially when it's something
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complex for us. We have to ask the question, is
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this scriptural? Is this what the Bible teaches?
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Now, I don't want the system. I'm not interested in a system,
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whether it's taught by JN Darby or Mr Schofield.
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I want to know what the Scripture says.
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So for us, the question is, this is a Scripture.
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Now I want to tell you this morning that that theory, as I
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have explained it negatively, doesn't stand up to the
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Scriptures. It's not what the Bible teaches.
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And when you examine the three primary Greek words that are
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used to describe Christ's return, they are never separated
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into different phases. Now, beloved, listen to me
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carefully. This is not an argument for the
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sake of having an argument. This is not taking a sweep at
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those who hold to dispensational theology.
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This is about being true to the Scriptures.
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Here's a simple question that the dispensations have the
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answer Does the Bible teach 2 future comings, 1 secret, one
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silent although significant, and then seven years later return to
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the earth and power and glory? You have to answer that, Or does
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it teach which? This is what I believe now,
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connection with the rapture, one singular climatic visible return
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when dead Saints are raised and the living Saints simultaneously
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are caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord
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in the air. And as the Bible says, and so
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shall we ever be with the Lord. Now I'm attempting to answer
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this from Scripture. So if anybody asks you, do you
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believe in the rapture, here's the answer.
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Yes, I do. Why?
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Because it's a scriptural event and it happens singularly and
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climatically at the return of Christ.
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That's the first thing. The second thing is this.
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It's not only a scriptural event, it's a singular event.
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We could going to spend a little time now thinking about the
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singularity of the rapture and at the return of Christ and
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here's the evidence. So you're going to have to do
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some turning of the pages of the Bible.
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Listen to this. The Greek words do not support 2
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comments. There's the first line of
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evidence. There's the first argument, the
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three Greek words Perusia translated coming first
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Thessalonians 415. It literally means presence
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after arrival. The coming is used for the royal
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visit of a king, and the Bible doesn't divide the word Perusia.
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When the king arrives, his presence was public.
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His presence was proclaimed. Long live the king.
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You could hear the shout. You could hear the trumpet being
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blasted. His presence was visible.
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His presence was authoritative. The news was the king has
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arrived. Turn over there to Matthew
Matthew 24 chapter mention
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chapter 24. Look at this verse of Scripture.
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Now, I would encourage you to listen to this again.
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I would encourage you to underline these verses.
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Matthew chapter 24, verse 27. Now we're going to take our
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time. So you find the place.
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It'll come up and screen for those online.
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For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even
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unto the West, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
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Now the word coming, there's Perusia.
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Now let me point out, lightning is not secret, it's seen.
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Lightning is usually not silent, but is accompanied with
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thunderous noise. The lightning splits the sky.
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The lightning is not hidden. For as the lightning cometh out
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of the east, and shineth even unto the West, so shall also the
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coming, the Perusia of the Son of Man, be.
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Now the same word is used, and we'll keep that in mind.
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We'll come back to that passage of Scripture a little later in
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First Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 23. 1st Corinthians 15
1 Corinthians 15 chapter mention
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verse 23. It says in First Corinthians 15,
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verse 22 for the context. For as in Adam all die, Even so
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in Christ shall all be made alive.
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Notice verse 23 now, but every man in his own order, Christ the
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first fruits that's connected to the first fruits of the harvest,
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Christ in his resurrection glory afterwards, they that are
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Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he
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shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father,
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when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and
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power. I put it to you, when does the
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resurrection happen? It happens at His coming and
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they that are Christ at His coming.
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And if the resurrection happens at His coming and the coming, as
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we're going to see is after the tribulation of those days, as
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Matthew chapter 2427 to 31 teaches, then there cannot be
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two separate events connected to His coming.
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There's one singular coming. The same word is used in First
1 Thessalonians 3 chapter mention
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Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 13.
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It says to the end, He may establish your hearts in blame,
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in blamelessness and in holiness before God, even our Father at
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the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his Saints.
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Notice that with all his Saints at the coming, the Perusia, it's
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the same word. Or we could turn over there to
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2nd Thessalonians chapter 3, and in the verse 8, Second
2 Thessalonians 3 chapter mention
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Thessalonians chapter 3, and in the verse, sorry, Second
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Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 8.
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And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall
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consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with
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the brightness of His coming. See, it's all one singular
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event. So I'm putting it to you.
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The Greek word perusia does not support 2 comings.
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Here's a second word, and I have to be very quick.
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The word appearing, if you turn over there to Second Timothy
2 Timothy 2 chapter mention
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chapter 2, and in the verse 8, Second Timothy, sorry, Second
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Timothy chapter 4 verse 8, it says, Henceforth there's laid up
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for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
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judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all
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them also that love His appearing.
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Now the word appearing there is the word.
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The Greek word epiphania, and it means it's shining forth, it
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means something that's visible. It's a visible manifestation, A
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blazing revelation. And it's from which we get the
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English word epiphany, and it describes something revealed,
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something that's been revealed and bursting forth visibly.
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And it's a good Bible word and it describes the return of Jesus
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Christ. That's exactly what Paul is
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saying here. Paul's talking about his death,
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and he's saying here something really wonderful.
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Henceforth there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
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because of His faithfulness to the blood in the book which the
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Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day, what day,
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the day of His return, and not to me only, but unto all them
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also that love His appearing. If you go back there to 2nd
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Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 8, we read.
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And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall
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consume with the spurt of His mouth, and destroy with the
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brightness of His coming. Notice these words, the
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brightness of His coming. See, Paul, under the inspiration
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of the Holy Spirit, combines the two terms, Perusia and
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Epiphania. The word brightness is the Greek
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word Epiphania, and it could literally read the appearing of
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His coming. Brightness means appearing.
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Appearing means brightness is from the word Epiphania.
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And here's Epiphania and part of Perusia coming together to the
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same event. No gaps, No2 phases.
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The 2 words are used together interchangeably.
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The appearing and the coming not as two separate events, but two
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descriptions of the same event. See, the Bible never speaks of a
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silent secret Perusia followed by a later appearing.
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They are singular. They are the same.
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Go back there to 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1 and
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verse 7. Second Thessalonians chapter 1
2 Thessalonians 1 chapter mention
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and in the verse 7, it says unto you who are troubled, rest with
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us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his
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mighty angels. She that word revealed.
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It's another Greek word, apocalyptus, and it means
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revelation. Paul writes when the Lord Jesus
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shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.
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I put it to you, that's a public unveiling.
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That's a proclaimed unveiling. You see, Paul is using these 3
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words interchangeably. The appearing is the coming.
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The revelation is the coming. The coming is visible, it's not
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hidden. That's the Greek words very
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quickly. And secondly, the order of
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events in Matthew 24. Let's go back to Matthew chapter
Matthew 24 chapter mention
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24 and we'll read a wee bit there.
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Matthew chapter 24. I've already read verse 27, but
Matthew 24 chapter mention
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we'll read it again. For as the lightning cometh out
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of the east, and shineth even unto the West, so shall also the
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coming of the Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass is,
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there will the eagles be gathered together.
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I believe that has to do with the valley of Megiddo, the day
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of Armageddon. Look at verse 29.
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Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall
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the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
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and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
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heavens shall be shaken. Then shall appear the sign of
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the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the
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earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming.
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That's the same word, Perusia in the clouds of heaven.
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And how does He come? With power and glory.
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And then look at verse 31. And then shall he send his
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angels with a great shout sound of a trumpet, and they shall
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gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of
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heaven to the other. Now do you see that noted
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carefully? You've got the tribulation here
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immediately after the tribulation of those days, and
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then you've cosmic signs in the heavens, and then you have the
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visible coming, the same Lord Jesus out of heaven.
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And then when He comes, the angels gather his elect from one
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end to the other, accompanied with the great sound of a
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trumpet. And when I compare that passage
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of Scripture with First Thessalonians chapter 4 that we
1 Thessalonians 4 chapter mention
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have been studying, that I've read to you quite a number of
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times. For this we say unto you by the
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word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the
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coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
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For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a
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shout. But the voice of the Archangel
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with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
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Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
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together with the middle clouds to meet the Lord of the air, and
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so shall we ever be with the Lord.
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You see in that passage you've got to shout.
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The King is coming accompany with the voice of the Archangel.
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Then there's the sound of the trumpet, Then there's the
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descent of Christ, and there's the resurrection of the glorious
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dead. And then we which are alive,
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we're we're, we're, we're changed.
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We, we accompany them and we are are caught up together with them
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to meet the, the, the Lord in the air.
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It's the same elements. It's the very same sequence.
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The gathering of the elect in Matthew chapter 24 matches the
Matthew 24 chapter mention
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catching up in First Thessalonians chapter 4.
1 Thessalonians 4 chapter mention
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There's not any textual evidence for any different event.
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See, I believe the rapture happens at the coming of Christ.
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That's why I believe in the rapture, and the timing's
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important, not at the beginning, but at the end, after the
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tribulation of those days. Let me explain something very
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quickly for a time has gone. You see the word there in
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Thessalonians in verse 17. First Thessalonians chapter 4,
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verse 17. Notice these words.
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The word caught up. That is the Greek word.
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Hard pass, Harpas. And it literally means to cease
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suddenly, to snatch away, to take by force, to carry off
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powerfully. And it was used to Philip in
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Acts 8 and 39. The Spirit of God caught away
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Philip. It's a design, A divine
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irresistible action, a supernatural action that's very
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significant. They they put it all together.
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The Lord descends, there's a shout, the voice of the
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Archangel, the trump of God. And we read that the dead in
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Christ rise first in which we were alive and remain, are are
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caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
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the air. It's nothing silent here,
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nothing secret here. The Lord is seen, The Lord comes
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visibly, the Lord comes bodily. The the shout is heard word, the
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trumpet that sounds is victorious.
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The graves are open. This is cosmic.
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This is significant. The church rises to meet the
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king. Notice the words in 17 to meet
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the Lord in the air. The the word meet is upentius.
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The word is used in the ancient world for a delegation that went
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out to meet the visiting king and then escort the king back to
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the city in triumph. The same word appears.
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See, we have to be fair to scripture.
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The the same word appears Matthew 25 verse 6.
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The virgins go out to meet the bridegroom.
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Well, they don't go off with the bridegroom to some other place.
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No, they they return with the bridegroom to the house where
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the marriage has taken place. And same happened in Acts 28,
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verse 15, when the believers went out to meet Paul.
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Paul was coming as a prisoner. He was coming to Rome to be
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tried before Caesar and they went out to meet Paul and escort
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Paul back to Rome. The word doesn't imply A
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departure. It doesn't imply A departure
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away with that individual forever or for a time.
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No, it implies reception. It implies an escort.
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The dead Saints are resurrected, they arrive to meet Christ, to
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see the Saiyans in the air and simultaneously the living
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Saints. They are raised, they are
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changed, they are transformed, and they also arise to meet
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Christ in the air. And the purpose is that his
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churches going out to meet the King, and they accompany him and
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royal triumph back to this earth.
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The rapture is not a removal for seven years before his coming.
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It's an integral part of his coming.
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Could I tell you something else very quickly?
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Bear with me for a few minutes. The resurrection destroys the
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pre tribulation gap of seven years.
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See the pre tribulation teaching requires this, a resurrection
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before the tribulation, the Church Saints dead and living.
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And then it requires another resurrection after the
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tribulation. We'll call them the tribulation
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Saints. That's the Saints that are saved
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between the the seven-year period.
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Those are saved. How do they get saved out of
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great tribulation? How do we know there's a people
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saved out of great tribulation? Well, listen to the Bible.
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In Revelation Chapter 7, we read this Revelation 7.
Revelation 7 chapter mention
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Bear with me here. Verse 14 It says this.
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And I said unto him, Sir, Thou knowest.
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And he said to me, These are they which came out of great
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tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white
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in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are they before
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God. They are they before the throne
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of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.
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He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
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You see, contrary to 1st Corinthians in 15 and 52, we
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read in a moment, at the last trump, the dead shall be raised.
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The last trumpet can't be a a trumpet 7 years before.
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There's not a trumpet mentioned in the Bible seven years before
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the last trumpet. The Lord Jesus said, I will
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raise him up at the last day. And the context of first first
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Corinthians 15 verses 50 to 58 is that we shall not all sleep,
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but we shall all be changed. See, see that references to
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those who are alive when when Christ returns, as well as the
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glorious day during the graves. The rapture's not secret, the
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rapture's not silent. There's a shout, there's the
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voice of the trumpet. And it says in Revelation
Revelation 1 chapter mention
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chapter 1 and verse 7A, tremendous statement.
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Revelation One and seven says this.
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Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him.
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Do you get that? And they also which pierced him,
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and all kinders of the earth shall wheel because of him.
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Even so, Ah, man, the same Jesus, the one who died and rose
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again and went into heaven, the same Jesus shall come out of
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heaven. And He ascended visibly bodily
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and, and, and, and and and powerfully.
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His return will be visible, bodily and powerful.
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I'll tell you something else very quickly.
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The cosmic upheaval marks the coming of Christ in Matthew 24.
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I, I put it to you, the sun is darkened.
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The moon shall not give her light.
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There's the falling of the stars.
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There's the sign of the Son of Man appearing.
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The angels gather the elect, the sound of the trumpet, every eye
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shall see. And it's not secret, it's
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public, it's global, it's, it's, it's, it's climactic, it is
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castroscopic for the earth. The coming of Christ shakes the
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heaven and the earth. See, the Bible teaches, I
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believe one climatic thunderous arrival of the King from heaven.
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Philippians 3 Tenthy talks about he is coming out of heaven.
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Not an Angel, not a representative, not something
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invisible, unseen, not an influence, but the Lord himself,
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the same Jesus, the one who was kneeled to the tree, the one
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with the same the kneel pierced hands, the one who was crucified
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in the body, the one who was glorified in that body, that's
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the one who's coming. The day of the Lord is a
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thunders event. Everybody pointed out that in
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Second Thessalonians chapter 2 verses one to three, Paul
2 Thessalonians 2 chapter mention
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connects the coming the Perusia with our gathering unto him.
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See, the day cannot come except there's a falling away.
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That's apostasy, and that's happening all around us.
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And that day cannot come until the man of sin has revealed the
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Antichrist, and he will be revealed in due time.
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And the gathering happens unto Christ after the revelation of
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the man of sin, not before. See, when we look at the events,
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we learn this is a scripture event.
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We learn that this is a singular event.
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It's not 2, but just one. And last of all, this is a
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supernatural event. Notice it says at the end.
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And with this we finish. So shall we ever be with the
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Lord? See, the Bible ends with
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permanence. The Bible ends with a promise.
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This is not about an escape plan.
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This is about meeting a returning king and Prince.
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This is about resurrection. This is about reunion.
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This is rejoicing in a most glorious transformation, when
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the dead in Christ are raised corrupt, incorruptible, when we
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who are alive are changed and we're all gathered to Christ. 1
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Coming, 1 appearing, 1 Revelation of Christ.
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And when that happens, there's the resurrection of the Saints.
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There's one glorious return, and as I've said, our hope is not to
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escape trouble or tribulation. Our hope is in Christ Himself.
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Sadly, and I say this as I finish, you see, these two
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separate future comings divided by 7 years were taught
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principally by a man called JM Darby and another man called
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Schofield. You might have seen it or heard
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of it in the Schofield Bible, but it was never taught in the
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early church. It was never taught until the
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19th century, and that's when it gained popularity and it's known
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as part of the dispensational system.
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Now, I'm not knocking the dispensational system.
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I'm not attacking brethren. I'm not using argument for the
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sake of argument. But let me say this as I finish
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our authority is not in a system.
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Our authority has to be in the Scripture.
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What does the Bible say? And I've tried to show you what
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the Bible says, the three Greek words connected to coming,
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appearing, and revelation. I've tried to point out that the
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resurrection happens at the return of Christ, not before.
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I've tried to point out that the trumpet sounds, the last trumpet
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at that event, and when the trumpet sounds, there's a
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gathering to Christ. The glory is dead and we who are
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alive in the earth. And that one event is cosmic
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Saints, the sun, the moon, the stars impacted.
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There's a shaking of heaven, there's a shaking of earth, and
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the Lord is visibly seen at that event.
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It's a supernatural event. So when asked do you believe the
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rapture, you go out and say, yes I do.
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But ask them what they mean. And if they start talking about
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two separate comings divided by 7 years, just simply tell them
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that it's not scripture. You can't prove it from the
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Bible. It's based on a system taught by
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two men. We need to come back to the
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scriptures. And I've studied this, I've
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studied it quite a bit at length.
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I've listened to a particular man whose name I can't remember
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about two years ago. And I, I, I wrote 8 sermons to
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do with the coming of Christ. And this man was a believer in
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dispensational theology. He was very high up in the
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dispensational movement. And he come to this conviction
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that the rapture is at the return of Christ, not seven
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years before, not midway through, but after the
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tribulation. And you know what they did to
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him? They put him out of his
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assembly. I leave that with you.
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I pray the Lord will bless these few truths.
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I'm sorry it has taken so long to get to this point, but I
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trust that what I've said will be helpful in our study on 1st
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Thessalonians. Now, next week in the will of
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God, we'll deal with eight verses.
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And then the following week we'll deal with a few more
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verses just to try and hurry the study alone.