so you just read matthew chapter 24 now this is a chapter that is under attack by so many heretics
today people denied that it's even about the rapture but what's funny about that is when
it comes to the scriptures where jesus is talking about how hey watch because you know
not when the son of man is coming back right no man knoweth the day or the hour all
of a sudden matthew 24 mark 13 luke 21 is about the rapture then but when you show them
proof that hey look it has all the same attributes of the rapture then they'll switch their position
and say no no no that's you know the battle of armageddon or something like that and it has
nothing to do with the second coming of christ but i'm going to show you over the course of
this sermon that matthew 24 mark 13 luke 21 the theological term for this sermon jesus
preached is the olivet discourse and i'm going to show you beyond any shadow of a doubt that it
is talking about the rapture the title of my sermon is fundamental truths about the rapture
and i'm going to talk about you know old testament types or pictures of the rapture we're
going to look at characteristics of the second coming of christ what is that day going to look
like what's going to happen and then i'll show you as well the timing of the rapture
and basically all things rapture this morning here today so what i want to do first of all
is define a few terms i'm going to be using for the next hour just in case there's anyone
here who needs a quick refresher or someone who maybe hasn't heard of this stuff before
daniel 70th week i'll be talking about about that a lot you see a chart here this isn't
to scale okay so it's not completely perfect but this is daniel 70th week and what we did
was we put together a chart here in order to picture what exactly is going to happen in the
end times daniel 70th week is a seven-year time period in the end times which culminates with this
event right here armageddon where jesus returns he dismantles satan's new world order and sets
up his own kingdom the anti-christ that's a fake messiah the anti-christ i believe will
one day be inhabited by the devil himself which is why he's referred to as the son of perdition
in second thessalonians chapter two and he's going to rule over a corporate world government
in the end times the tribulation is a period of time in which christians are going to face
insurmountable persecution that's the first half of daniel 70th week and great tribulation
is where christian persecution reaches its climax that's this area right here i'll get to that
a little bit later on but the first point i want to make is that the rapture is pictured
in the old testament we see this clearly in several places i'm going to show you three
examples of that obviously there are way more but for sake of time so we're not here for
three hours this morning i'm going to stick to just three examples two of them were cited
by jesus himself the first old testament type of the rapture that i want to talk about is
the flood so i'm going to write it right here the flood is a picture of the rapture and you'll
have to excuse my poor handwriting i didn't write this stuff which is why you can read it
but anyway the first old testament type is the flood now you're there in matthew chapter 24
look at verse 37 it says but as the days of noe were so shall also the coming of the son
of man be now the name noe that's just the new testament rendering of the name noah because of
course the new testament was written in greek in the old testament written in hebrew hebrew
predominantly look what it says in verse 38 for as in the days that were before the flood they
were eating and drinking marrying and given in marriage until the day that noe entered into
the ark and knew not until the flood came and took them all away so shall also the coming
of the son of man be so jesus refers to the flood to make his point about the second coming
and he does so for a reason oftentimes preachers will focus on the fact the people
were eating and drinking before the flood came and destroyed them all but i think the primary
point jesus is trying to make by citing the flood is to talk about the fact on the same
day that the waters came down from heaven noah and his people went into the ark remember that
the ark had one door which signifies there's only one way to heaven the bible jesus himself
says i am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me so let's
go back to genesis chapter 7 and look at the story jesus is talking about here the flood a
really famous story so go to genesis chapter 7 genesis chapter 7 and when you get there raise
your hand i'm just kidding you don't have to do that but go to genesis chapter 7 look at verse 11
when you get there in genesis chapter 7 let's take a look at the story being cited by christ
in order to explain the rapture what it's like what his second coming is going to be like in
verse 11 it says in the 600th year of noah's life in the second month the 17th day of the
month the same day where all the fountains of the great deep broken up and the windows of heaven
were opened what i want to focus on there in that verse is it says in the same day look what
it says in verse 12 and the rain was upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights in the self same
day entered noah and shem and ham and jay fifth and the sons of noah and noah's wife and the
three wives of his sons with them into the ark so in the same day that noah entered the
ark the bible says in verse 11 was the same day that it began to rain it says there in verse
number i should say they entered to the ark verse 13 it was the same day that it began
to rain in verse 11 the bible says so notice god's established pattern here the righteous are
saved then he pours out his wrath and we see that in the end times as well the righteous are
taken out and then god begins to pour out his wrath here in the second half of daniel's 70th
week now i'm going to look at the second old testament picture of the rapture here the second
type and that would be lot and sodom or sodom and gomorrah so i'm going to go ahead and write
that here lot and sodom all right so in genesis chapter 19 you don't have to flip there but in
genesis chapter 19 it says in verse 16 and while he lingered the men laid hold upon his hand and
upon the hand of his wife and upon the hand of his two daughters the lord being merciful unto him
and they brought him forth and set him without the cities so what's happening here is the angels
take lot out of the city afterwards god pours out his wrath on the faggots the queers get it
they get the fire and brimstone they get totally destroyed but notice the righteous lot gets taken
out first and then the fire and brimstone commences that's what happens again in the
end times you've got the rapture the righteous are taken out the same day that lot was taken out
of sodom he began to rain god began to rain fire and brimstone the lord rained fire and
brimstone from the lord in heaven and destroyed the queers in the second half of
daniel's 70th week you can bet that that plenty of homos are going to get wiped out
there and that's obviously justified now go to joshua chapter 6 if you would joshua chapter 6
and this is the third and final old testament type i'm going to reference here to talk about
pictures of the rapture in the old testament and this third type is going to be rahab
rahab the harlot and jericho so i'm going to write that right over here rahab and jericho
so what happens here with with regard to rahab the harlot is that her and her kindred they are
preserved from destruction they're saved from destruction on the same day that the israelites
invade the city of jericho and wipe it out look at verse number 22 the context here is
the children of israel knock the walls of jericho down they invade they take over
and in verse 22 the bible says but joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the
country go into the harlot's house and bring out thence the woman and all that she hath as he
swear unto her and the young men that were spies went in and brought out rahab and her
father and her mother and her brethren and all that she had and they brought out all her kindred
and left them without the camp of israel and they burnt the city with fire and all that was
therein only the silver and the gold and the vessels of brass and of iron they put into the
treasury of the house of the lord of course we found out later on that one of the children of
israel achen out of covetousness keeps some of these items here from jericho and he gets
punished for it but rahab the harlot her father her mother her brethren all that she
had they were kept safe they were given asylum and then god pours out his wrath if you will
with the israelites coming in and wiping the city clean the bible says it was burned with fire
and when god pours out his wrath in the second half of daniel's 70th week there's going to be
plenty of fire there's going to be plenty of wrath and destruction being poured out
but we see god's pattern of behavior which is secure the righteous then doll out judgment
secure the righteous then doll out judgment that has happened over and over again throughout
biblical history and is going to continue in the end times now the second point i want to make
is that the rapture occurs after the tribulation it doesn't occur before the tribulation or in the
middle of the tribulation it occurs after the tribulation go to daniel chapter 7 if you would
daniel chapter 7 so i talked about a few examples of old testament types of the rapture
pictures of the rapture showing god's pattern of behavior that he secures the righteous then
pours out his judgment now we're going to look at exactly when the rapture is going to occur
so much deception when it comes to this topic most churches will tell you jesus can come back
at any time that the rapture is going to happen before the tribulation you don't have
anything to worry about but here's why that's a dangerous doctrine because it's the catalyst
for just pure apathy in all the churches most of the churches that you'll find if you think
you're just going to get out of here at a random point and no man knows when that day is going to
happen which i agree with right but it's going to happen after the tribulation but my point is
if you don't if you think that you're just going to get raptured out at any second
then you don't have the motivation to go out and win souls because tomorrow could be the
end of your life you could just end up going to heaven so it inspires apathy it's a false
doctrine now in daniel chapter 9 the bible says and he shall confirm the covenant with
many for one week and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the ablation to
cease and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate even until the
consummation and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate what i just read about there
in daniel 9 27 is the abomination of desolation and what this is referencing is the
seven year period i've already referred to here daniel's 70th week and the abomination of
desolation according to that verse it's right here at the midpoint the abomination of desolation
is going to be when the anti-christ sets up the image the abomination of desolation in the
temple of god he's going to proclaim himself to be god and he's going to force people in
order to receive the mark of the beast which will enable them to buy or sell they will have
to worship the beast and his image and that happens directly at the midpoint this image is
set up in a rebuilt temple in jerusalem and again people must worship that image to receive
the mark those who reject the beast those who reject his image will be executed many christians
will die during this time so i'm going to go ahead and write in the midpoint right here
the abomination of desolation i'll abbreviate it with aob right there so now you're there in
daniel chapter 7 if you would look at verse 24 daniel chapter 7 verse 24 it says and the
10 horns out of this kingdom are 10 kings that shall arise and another shall rise after them
and he shall be diverse from the first and he shall subdue three kings and then it says
that he shall speak great words against the most high and shall wear out the saints of the
most high and think to change times and laws and they shall be given into his hand until a time
and times and the dividing of time he's going to think to change times and laws which means
it might be illegal one day to even gather together like we are at church it might be
illegal one day to go out and reach the lost with the gospel of jesus christ but the part i
want to focus on there is the end of verse 25 where it says a time and times and the dividing
of time so what that's talking about is a time is one year times is two year two years and the
dividing of time is a half of a year so if you add that all together and even if you're
not very good at math you can manage to do this one plus two is three plus a half three and
a half years so we're talking about here a three and a half year period and this makes sense
because seven divided by two would be three point five now remember one month on the biblical
calendar is 30 days that's a very important point if you're going to try and plot this stuff
on a chart to understand that one biblical month is 30 days on the biblical calendar now three and
a half years would then be 42 months which would then be if you do the math 1260 days
now you see that prophecy a lot in the bible a prophecy concerning 1260 days what we read
about there in daniel 7 25 is a prophecy concerning the anti-christ but it also helps
us when trying to figure out when the events of the end times will take place so let's go ahead
and plot 1260 days in the first half of the chart here the first half of daniel 70th week
1260 days covers the tribulation period and you see seals one through five here seal one
refers to the anti-christ rising to the top of the globalist political power structure seal two
refers to wars there's going to be world war everywhere explosions violence seal three famine
hyper inflation seal four death in the quarter of the earth seal five martyrs appear in heaven
i believe that you'll find that in matthew chapter 24 verse 9 and then the abomination of
desolation happens afterward now go to daniel chapter 12 if you would daniel chapter 12
the question we're going to answer now is does the rapture happen before the tribulation or
after the tribulation the old ifb will tell you before any of this occurs anything whether it's
the start of the tribulation all the way to armageddon they'll tell you the rapture happens
before any of this goes down that it'll happen at just any moment any time it could be tomorrow
and they often joke about it when they come to church if there's a low attendance oh man i guess
the rapture happened because in their eyes they think uh you know that it's imminent now
you're there in daniel chapter 12 if you would look at verse number one let's talk about
let's see when the rapture is actually going to happen in verse one it says and at time and
at that time shall michael stand up the great prince which standeth for the children of thy
people and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even
to that time and at that time thy people shall be delivered every one that shall be found
written in the book now what i want to focus on there is it says there shall be a time of
trouble that sounds like tribulation to me so we see the tribulation comes first and it says
a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that time now that sounds a
little familiar doesn't it you heard theo read matthew 24 earlier and it says in verse 21 of
that chapter for then shall be great tribulation listen to this such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time no nor ever shall be so i believe that's what's being
referenced there in daniel chapter 12 verse 1 the tribulation look at verse 2 and many of
them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to shame
and everlasting contempt i'm here to tell you today if you're saved today if you have the holy
spirit today if you're sealed forever you will wake up to everlasting life not everlasting content
but notice that we see a resurrection following the tribulation people will be delivered the
bible says but that happens after the tribulation is talked about there in daniel so now skip down
to verse 11 if you would look at verse 11 it says in verse 11 and from the time that the daily
sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that make it desolate set up there shall be
a thousand two hundred and ninety days and it says in verse 12 blessed is he that waiteth and
cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days don't worry i'm going to explain
this in a moment if it sounds confusing but go thou thy way till the end be for thou shalt
rest and stand in thy lot at the end of the day so the word rest is being used there in verse 13
because daniel is saved and he's going to rest until the day that he's resurrected and
he's gathered together amongst the elect and given his glorified body just like the rest of
us that's what's going to happen to us as well at the rapture we're going to receive a
glorified body in first corinthians chapter 15 it says we will be changed this corruptible
body will put on incorruptible we'll never be able to die we'll never be able to sin
we'll have perfect bodies now the bible says that there's 1290 days from the time
that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that make it desolate set up
i believe that's the same event and here's why when the anti-christ reveals himself
to be a false messiah to be a fake god remember he sets up the abomination of desolation
but remember folks the whole reason why people do animal sacrifices to begin with
is to point to a future messiah well it would make sense for the anti-christ after
he reveals himself to be quote god to get rid of or to cease the animal sacrifices that
are going on there in the temple in jerusalem so i believe that's the same event now
now with that in mind the 1290 days then they start it starts at the midpoint and it continues
to the end of daniel's 70th week so i'm going to go ahead and plot that on the chart now
we see 1290 days here
the question is though why does daniel 12 11 refer to 1290 days rather than the 1260 number
you see in the first half of the seven years it you know you would think if it's divided in
the middle that these numbers would be equal but the reason why there are 30 more days on the
second half of the seven years i hope you guys are following i know this might be a little deep
but just follow along with me it'll make sense the reason why there are 30 more days on the
second half of the seven years is because on the biblical calendar you have to remember
every six years there's a leap month so you have to add 30 more days to the calendar
they basically repeat a month so you after it's just like we have a leap year in our calendar
in order for everything to even out mathematically it's the same thing with
the biblical calendar every six years you add 30 days to the calendar in order for it all
to fit together like a perfect puzzle from a mathematical standpoint so that's why i have
1290 on the other side now notice it says in verse 12 blessed is he that waiteth and cometh
to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days now the reason why this person
would be blessed is because those who come to the 1335th day from the beginning of this
seven-year period they will be raptured that's why they're blessed because they're going to
take part in the second coming of christ they're going to see the messiah in the air they're
going to look up because the redemption draweth nigh and they're going to see their savior
and they're going to meet him in the air as the angels gather together they like that's why
this person will be blessed because it's referring to the rapture so the 1335 days starts at the
beginning of daniel's 70th week and as you notice here it puts you just over the midpoint
now there might be a little too much space here again it's not a perfect chart but it puts you
just past the midpoint there so let me go ahead and write let me denote this here
this is 1335 days that we read about there a few minutes ago so let's do some math let's
find out when this rapture is going to happen okay well it already we can pretty much already
figure it out now but 1335 days you subtract that by 1260 what do you get you get 75 and
that is how we know that the great tribulation will last for 75 days it's not just some random
number that our movement made up it's biblical so 75 days right here of great tribulation
after this point you get the return of christ you get the second coming of jesus christ
so now that we've done our math and i wrote well i gotta fix one thing actually let me
take care of that here so now that we know that the great tribulation lasts for 75 days
we now know how long god's wrath is gonna last for and if you subtract 1290 minus 75
what are you gonna get 1215 that's how long god will be pouring out his wrath on this earth
1215 days and i got that number from subtracting 1290 minus 75 doing a little math this morning
trying to get your brains ready for the rest of the day so the post trip position makes
perfect sense just from the book of daniel alone we don't even have to have the olivet
discourse we don't even have to have second thessalonians chapter two if you just read
the timing that's given to you in daniel chapter 12 you compare it with other prophecies and
other different scriptures there you have it folks tribulation rapture happens after this is when
it's going to occur now go to matthew go back to matthew chapter 24 and let's look at some
clear scriptures a clear scripture right here that tells you when jesus is coming back
and it proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that this pre-trip position it's nothing more than
a dispensational zionistic fairy tale folks and it's promoted by some of the worst people
it's also the newer doctrine it came out in eight in the 1830s you had john nelson darby
who popularized it john nelson darby created his own bible he's burning in hell today
he was a reprobate son of belial who tried to alter god's word and he's the one that came
up with this doctrine to confuse people and unfortunately a vast majority i would think
of biblical christianity have been deceived by this false doctrine thinking jesus can come back
at any time and like i said earlier that inspires apathy so you're there in matthew 24
look what it says in verse 29 it says immediately after the tribulation of those days
shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the star shall fall from
heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken it says in verse 30 and then shall appear
the sign of the son of man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn
and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory
and he shall be and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they
shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other now
if you want to study this at home what you can do is you could take matthew chapter number 24
mark 13 luke 21 and line it all up with first thessalonians chapter 4 the famous rapture passage
and revelation chapter 6 and what you're going to notice is that each one of those chapters
have very similar characteristics why because it's describing the same event matthew 24 is under
attack people think it's not the rapture they say it's not the rapture in order to wiggle
their way out of this inconvenient verse here in verse 29 which specifically states that it
happens after the tribulation but it's a perfect fit if you line it up all together those
scriptures i reference so the question is though who are the elect it says in verse 31 and he
shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect
now there's something you'll hear from the old ifb which is the elect are supposedly these bunch
of christ rejecting askenazi these christ rejecting jews in jerusalem today who believe in the
talmud which says blasphemous things about jesus it is wicked as hell and these jews
supposedly are the elect here in verse 31 that's garbage that's one of the stupidest
doctrines you could believe in the bible says in romans 11 and i'm not going to spend too much
time on this because i don't have too much time but in romans 11 it says what then israel
hath not obtained that which he seeketh for but the election hath obtained it
and the rest were blinded so we're seeing a distinction between israel christ rejecting jews
and the election so how can the election be israel there are two different groups the elect
are those who believe on the lord jesus christ people who are saved are the elect you guys
are the elect that's what the bible says now go to revelation chapter seven if you would
election means chosen when you get saved you're chosen of god because you chose through your own
agency to place your faith on christ through your free will you chose christ and so god chose you
now you're flipping to revelation chapter seven while you go there i'm going to read out of
second thessalonians two where the bible says now we beseech you brethren by the coming
of our lord jesus christ and by our gathering together unto him one thing i forgot to mention
the rapture it's often referred to in the bible as the day of the lord and the day of christ
now you're going to revelation chapter seven i'm reading out of second thessalonians two
it says that she be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word
nor by letter as from us as that the day of christ is at hand and then it says let no man
deceive you by any means you know what that means it means the pre-trippers out there who
are talking about how the rapture can happen at any moment at any time promoting this eminency
myth they are deceivers according to the bible they're deceiving you intentionally and it says
for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first and that man of sin be
revealed the son of perdition who opposeth and exalted himself above all that is called god
or that is worshiped so that he as god sitteth in the temple of god showing himself that he
is god that's the abomination of desolation people will be forced to worship that image to
receive the mark now we see there a certain sequence of events must happen first before the
day of christ before the second coming of christ that destroys imminency right there it's done
finished put a nail in the coffin of that imminency doctrine the anti-christ comes first folks
why would it explain this to me how does it make any sense that the real thing
comes before the fraud who's going to believe in the fraud if the real thing comes first
stupid revelation six you're still in revelation seven in revelation six it says
and i beheld when he opened the sixth seal and lo there was a great earthquake
and the sun became sackcloth of air of hair and the moon became as blood the sixth seal
is right here the rapture the second coming notice it says that the the the sun will be
black as sackcloth the sun will be darkened verse 13 and the stars of heaven fell into
the earth even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind and the
heaven departed as a scroll when it's rolled together and every mountain and island were moved
out of their places and the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and
the chief captains and the mighty men and every bond men and every free men hid themselves
in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks
fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the
wrath of the lamb for us the rapture is going to be a monumentous positive happy event because
we're saved so we're going to be excited obviously to see our messiah return for the
second coming of christ but for those who aren't saved they're going to be scared out of their
minds and you see here they're yelling for the rocks and the mountains to cover them to
protect them from the wrath they know is coming see there's no excuse for people to turn
their back on god romans chapter one tells us that the creation itself is a witness to the fact
god exists and he expects something out of us a certain pattern of behavior and people who don't
want to retain god in their knowledge i believe they know deep down that there is a creator and
when that creator returns they're going to be petrified knowing that they're going to get it
now it says in revelation seven where you're at now i just want you to notice that revelation
six it talked about the sun and moon being darkened and that rolls right into what i'm
about to read to you in revelation seven in verse nine it says there and this i beheld and lo
a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues
hey sam gibb it says all nations kindreds and peoples and tongues this isn't just jews you
moron sam gibb what a loser yeah the bible says there that all kindreds and tongues and nations
are going to take part in the rapture because it's not just for the jews the same guy that
thinks jesus isn't his messiah that the name of jesus is some sort of mistake give me a break
how do people even listen to this guy you know we're in the falling away today because guys
like sam gibb are being promoted by the old ifb a loser a moron who doesn't know his bible
at all but feigns himself as some sort of professor or some sort of professional
when it comes to the scriptures he doesn't know a thing verse 10 i had to get that off my chest
i'm sorry and cried with a loud voice saying salvation to our god which sitteth upon the
throne and under the lamb and all the angels stood round about the throne and about the
elders and the four beasts and fell before the throne on their faces and worshiped god saying
amen blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be
unto our god forever and ever amen and one of the elders answered saying unto me what are these
which are arrayed in white robes and whence came they now why do you think he's asking this
because they appeared in heaven he's who are these people this is a great multitude of people
who have appeared in heaven where did they come from who are they give me some information
about who these people are that's what john the revelator is asking here now i'm gonna read
to you verse 14 this is the verse that i guarantee you it appears in the old ifb's nightmares every
night they think of verse 14 here in revelation 7 and they just wonder how can we wiggle our way
out of this one how can we explain this one away well there's no way to explain it away
look what it says in verse 14 and i said unto him sir thou knowest and he said to me
it was the angel by the way i need to correct myself it was the it was one of the elders
who asked whence came they where these people came from it was not john the revelator it was
john who then asks sir thou knowest and he said to me these are they which came out of great
tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb
therefore are they before the throne of god and serve him day and night in his temple
and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them these are people who came out of
great tribulation the bible says great tribulation this right here this 75-day period right here
these people came out of that so how is it pre-trib if the people appearing in heaven
came out of great tribulation explain that one to me in first thessalonians 5 the bible says
for god hath not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by our lord jesus christ i
believe that amen i have no issue with that verse we're not appointed under wrath and guess
what if you're saved you're not going to go through god's wrath it's not going to happen
but you will go through tribulation you see you're raptured out before the wrath of god
begins what a lot of people miss you know the mistake the error that they fall into is they
don't make a distinction between tribulation and wrath revelation six it says for the great day
of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand so how is god's wrath coming present tense
if these seals you see on the chart there are part of god's wrath too doesn't make any
sense the reason why they're saying that god's wrath is come present tense is because it starts
at that point after the righteous are removed we saw in the old testament pictures of the
rapture right the righteous they're secured then judgment is dulled out that's what happens
in the end times revelation 12 it says therefore rejoice he heavens and ye that dwell in them woe
to the inhabitants of the earth and of the seal of the sea rather for the devil has come
down unto you having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time so the
first half of the seven years that is the devil's wrath the tribulation is attributed
to satan himself remember jesus said in the world ye shall have tribulation when you get
saved it's not a get out of tribulation free card although i mean obviously this day will be
shortened but in our daily christian life we will face tribulation yay and all that will live
godly and christ jesus shall suffer persecution the bible says but matthew 24 you don't have
to go there the bible says then shall two be in the field the one shall be taken and the
other left two women shall be grinding at the mill the one shall be taken and the other left
watch therefore for ye know not what hour your lord doth come we don't know when the rapture is
gonna happen exactly when it comes to the day and time we know it'll happen after the trip
but we don't know the day the hour these date setters are a bunch of liars and they're
wicked and they're deceiving you you can't predict the exact date of the rapture that's
what robert breaker does with his giant whiteboard that looks more convoluted than the
most difficult algebra profess it you know a lecture that you'll ever see just got arrows
going everywhere and things going up down left right that's because the pre-trib model is way
too difficult to understand folks and you you watch any robert breaker video and he's got
things going an arrow going this way he'd be talking about you know the deity of christ and
it's like arrows going up and down and left and right i mean it's a simple doctrine
there's a 14 000 arrows every time that guy makes a video but anyway enough about him
the bible commands us to watch so that when the rapture does come we're ready for it so it
doesn't catch us off guard that's why it says in mark 13 what i say unto you all jesus said
what i say unto you i say unto all watch first less than five it says but ye brethren are not
in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief obviously the day of the lord the
bible says will come as a thief in the night but if you're studying your bible if you're
studying end times bible prophecy that day is not going to overtake you as a thief because you're
going to see it coming right you're going to know that once these sequence of events that we
talked about this morning come to pass that the end must be near you'll be ready now again
you won't be able to predict the day and the time that no man know what the day or the hour
but once you see the abomination of desolation once you see the events of the tribulation you'll
be ready for the second coming of christ go to joel chapter 2 joel chapter 2 my third point is
the rapture will feature a certain set of characteristics and we're going to look at that
now the you know that the the characteristics of the rapture it says the first characteristic
i want to talk about is that you know the bible says the sun and moon will be darkened
the sun and moon are going to be dark that's the first distinctive you have to look at when
you're studying out the rapture in the bible that the sun and moon are darkened that's a huge
clue that what jesus was talking about in the olivet discourse was in fact his second coming
because he he referred to the sun and moon being darkened now the day of the lord it's
going to be miraculous it's going to be amazing for those who are saved but those who are
unsaved they will be petrified in isaiah 13 the bible says behold the day of the lord cometh
and it says cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to lay the land desolate and he shall destroy
the sinners thereof out of it for the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall
not give their light the sun shall be darkened in his going forth and the moon shall not cause
her light to shine so the sun and the moon will be darkened the first rapture distinctive there
we see it in isaiah chapter 13 after we're taken out then god begins to pour out his
wrath you see the seven trumpets and vials in the second half of daniel's 70th week so
i'm going to go ahead and write the first rapture characteristic here which is sun and moon
darkened right there so the sun and moon are dark and that's something we have to look
out for when you're studying this topic now you're there in joel too look what it says in verse 10
it says and the earth shall quake before them the heavens shall tremble the sun and the
moon shall be dark and the stars shall withdraw their shining now this passage is
talking more about the vengeance aspect of the day of the lord because remember it happens all
in the same day we're taken out then god begins to doll out judgment and that's what this is
focused on it talks about darkness in joel chapter 2 verse 10 flat out says the sun
and moon will be dark the stars will withdraw their shining which is what it says in matthew
24 when it says the sun will be darkened the moon shall not give her light and the
stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken you say well
hold on a minute ben the day of the lord is not the rapture that's something completely
different and there are some people who teach that but the problem is it is the rapture in
first thessalonians 5 it says but of the times and the seasons brethren you have not
you have no need that i write unto you for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the
lord so cometh as a thief in the night so what's he talking about here remember first
thessalonians 5 the beginning of it is a continuation of the thought in the second portion
there of first thessalonians chapter 4 the famous rapture passage and so he's talking about
the day of the lord characterizing the second coming of christ as the day of the lord and
saying that it will come as a thief in the night in acts chapter 2 the bible says the
sun shall be dark shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before that great and
notable day of the lord come and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the
name of the lord shall be saved so we see there acts chapter 2 talks about the sun and
moon being darkened we read it in revelation chapter 6 where the sun and moon are darkened
it all lines up the first rapture distinctive let's move on to the second characteristic
now which is that a trumpet sounds at the rapture an audible trumpet will sound the entire world
will hear it go to zephaniah one if you would zephaniah chapter number one
and i'm going to write trumpet sounds on the board as the second rapture distinctive
to look out for
so trumpet right there
jesus returns with majesty and with pageantry you would expect that from god himself to make
a grand entrance it's going to be a global event verse 14 of the chapter it says the
great day of the lord is near look at verse 14 the great day of the lord is near
and hasteth greatly even the voice of the day of the lord the mighty man shall cry there
bitterly that day is a day of wrath a day of trouble and distress a day of waste and desolation
a day of darkness and gloominess a day of clouds and thick darkness a day of the trumpet
and alarm against the fenced cities and against the high towers now the reason why it's talking
about there a day of the trumpet is because a trumpet will audibly sound at the rapture
that's what the bible says in first corinthians 15 it says in a moment in the twinkling of
an eye at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible
and we shall be changed why why is a trumpet going to sound because the prince of peace is
back because of the second coming of jesus christ of course a trumpet would sound to welcome
him back to earth it makes sense now leviticus chapter 25 you don't have to go there but it
says in verse 9 then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the 10th day
of the seventh month in the day of atonement shall you make the trumpet sound throughout all
your land now that's significant because we see there in the old testament god commands
that the trumpet of jubilee sound just after the midway point of the hebrew calendar year
on the day of atonement and that i believe signifies the fact that the trumpet will sound
at the rapture just after the midpoint of the seven year period the of daniel's 70th week
in the end times jesus christ returns a trumpet sounds on the day of the lord and again it
happened shortly after the midpoint so the bible is in perfect harmony it's amazing there
are so many nuggets you can find so many pictures in the old testament that fit like a
puzzle the third characteristic i'm going to talk about is that it's a global event the rapture
isn't something you're going to be able to miss and it certainly isn't going to be secret
all eyes will be on jesus when he returns for the second coming go to first thessalonians
chapter four and let's look at this together in first thessalonians chapter four if you would
jesus is going to appear in the air it's going to be a grand entrance the second coming
of christ will capture the attention of every single solitary soul on the face of the planet
it's not going to be secret nobody's going to be able to miss it people aren't going to wake up
one day and realize their loved ones are gone like it depicts and the left behind series
those stupid books and the movie that's garbage they came out with a new one with nick cage
i watched it before i was saved and even then i thought it was dumb the secret rapture is
fiction folks it says in revelation one behold he cometh with clouds and every eye shall see him
and they also which pierced him and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of them even so
amen so the sun and moon are darkened jesus appears with the sound of a trumpet
jesus comes with clouds the bible says you can't miss it it'll be a global event every
eye shall see him now in acts one it says and when he had spoken these things while they beheld
he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight and while they looked steadfastly
toward heaven as he went up behold two men stood by them in white apparel which also said
ye men of galilee why stand ye gazing up into heaven this same jesus which is taken up from you
into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven so the same way
that christ ascended after his earthly ministry is the same way he's going to return he's going
to come with clouds and you're not going to be able to miss it first thessalonians 4 look at
verse 13 in this chapter it says there in verse 13 verse 13 of first thessalonians 4
but i would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep that
you sorrow not even as others which have no hope for if we believe that jesus died and
rose again even so them also which sleep in jesus will god bring with him so hey look
don't sorrow for the dead they're sleeping and the bible uses the word sleep because it's
going to come a day where they awake out of the ground they're going to be resurrected
the bible says you will see that person again if they're saved when they're gathered together
amongst the elect verse 15 for this we say unto you by the word of the lord that we which
are alive and remain after the coming of the lord shall not prevent them which are asleep
for the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel
and with the trump of god and the dead in christ shall rise first so again let's talk
about the characteristics here you have the trump of god you have jesus appearing
excuse me you have jesus appearing with clouds descending from heaven the angels gather
together the elect now additionally everyone who's ever been saved throughout all of human
history they will rise up out of the graves what a miraculous wonderful event that's gonna be
you're gonna see everyone has ever been saved in glorified bodies come out of the grave
matthew 24 it says and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet
and they shall gather together his life from the four winds from one end of heaven to the
other so you have the elect gathered and notice these same characteristics appear in first
thessalonians chapter 4 and matthew chapter 24 which proves it's describing the same event in
verse 17 of the chapter it says then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the lord
wherefore comfort one another with these words all believers who've ever lived they will rise
up out of the graves like i said and those who are alive and remain those who are who have
survived the great tribulation the 75 days of great tribulation the mark of the beast and all
the rest of it they're going to get glorified bodies they're going to be changed and then
they'll ascend up into the sky and meet christ so let me write here a global event
and you'll have to excuse my terrible handwriting but that is the final characteristic i wanted to
talk about there now go to first corinthians 15 and we're going to be done first corinthians 15
and this is my final point that the rapture is the culmination of our christian life it's
an extremely important event and that in and of itself is an understatement when you get to
first corinthians 15 if you would look at verse 50 look at verse 50 when you get there
it says in verse 50 now this i say brethren that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god
neither neither does corruption inherit incorruption behold i show you a mystery we shall
not all sleep but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last
trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall
be changed for this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on
immortality the days of struggling with your sinful flesh will be over obviously it'll be over
when you die and you get to you go to heaven to be with the father and jesus christ
to be with god but at the rapture you're gonna get a physical glorified body the days of
having to worry about walking in the spirit rather than the flesh the days of worrying about
your body breaking down when you get older back problems knee problems sicknesses disease
and all the rest of it those days will be over at the rapture when you get a perfect body it
says in verse 54 so when this corruptible should have put on shall have put on incorruption
and this mortal shall have put on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
written death is swallowed up in victory we fight hard to subdue the old man in our daily
christian lives but there's coming a day where you're not going to have to worry about that
anymore the bible says in galatians chapter five if you walk in the spirit you shall not
fulfill the lust of the flesh well i look forward to eternity where i'll never have to
worry about fulfilling the lust of the flesh the bible says not to make provision for the
flesh to fulfill the lust thereof we're not gonna have to worry about that anymore
once you know we we die obviously and then of course when we get our glorified body
in luke 17 it says and then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud with power
and great glory and when these things begin to come to pass then look up and lift up your heads
for your redemption draweth nigh all i have to say about that is i can't wait i hope i'm
alive to witness this wonderful event so the rapture characteristics the sun and moon are
darkened you've got the trumpet sounds jesus returns with clouds all eyes see him it is
a global event i wrote the chart here detailing exactly when the second coming of christ
will happen and the elect are all gathered together and now i just want to close with this
you know i remember when i heard my first sermon on the end times and i was thinking in my mind i
said man this is amazing i had never really learned about these concepts before about the
rapture about the second coming about the tribulation the great tribulation the persecution
that christians are going to go through i didn't know a lot about it but as a babe in christ
i'm learning i'm learning about the return of christ and all the rest of it i remember thinking
in my mind man how amazing would it be just how amazing would it be if if one day i could be the
catalyst for someone understanding the truth of the gospel of jesus christ and taking part
in the event that we learned about this morning i remember thinking how amazing would it be if i
could get my friend my best friend who i've grown up with to believe on the lord jesus christ
and to get eternal life and to take part in this event the rapture so that he too can be gathered
together with the elect to meet jesus christ in the air how amazing would that be i remember
thinking how amazing would it be if i could get my mom and my dad who've been deceived by
the wicked disgusting filthy pedophile catholic church how amazing would it be if i could get
my mom and dad saved if i can get them to understand what the bible says about the gospel
of jesus christ and i can see them at the rapture and i can see them be gathered together amongst
the elect to meet jesus christ in the air i remember thinking how amazing would it be
if i could get my best friend my friends everyone within my social circle my roommate
my cousin my grandmother my grandfather everyone everyone within the sound of my voice if i could
get them saved so they too can take part in this miraculous wonderful second coming of christ
so i can see them be gathered together amongst the elect so i can see them in heaven first but
if we make it all the way to this period i want to see them there i want to see them
meet jesus in the air what we need to do with these truths you say well how does this
apply to me so what okay rapture happens after the trip cool you gave us some some little
nuggets about the end times how does this apply to me i'll tell you how this applies to you
we need to be using this as an incentive to make sure as many people as possible
can take part in this rather than this we need to make sure as many souls as possible
can be sealed with the holy spirit of promise so they can be gathered together with
jesus christ in the air rather than endure his wrath that's what we need to take out of the
sermon that's the call to action and you can start today at two o'clock when we go out and
we knock doors and we reach the lost with the gospel of jesus christ and we show them that it's
by faith alone on christ not by works once you're saved you're always saved and we can make sure
as many people as possible get to see jesus in the air rather than endure the wrath of god
the seven trumpets the vials and then eternal torment in hell after it's all over let's make
sure that we take these truths and use it as an incentive and let it inspire us to go out and
win souls like we've never won them before and we can start today at two o'clock when we go out
soul that's all i've got let's pray lord heavenly father i thank you so much for steadfast
baptist church for brother theo and marcel and joe and everyone else here and pastor shelly
i just pray that you help us to take these truths we've learned and do something with them
and reach the lost with the gospel and lord i just i just thank you so much for having
like-minded brothers and sisters in christ who know what's going on who will not be caught off
guard by this event and who are studying this out lord thank you for all that we have and
i pray that you bless this church and bless the soul-winning later in jesus name i pray amen
you