Revelation's Ancient Discoveries

Revelation's Final Events

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: RAD

Program Code: RAD170007A


00:01 What does the future hold?
00:02 Where can we find certainty in a world of uncertainty?
00:06 The book of Revelation provides helpful answers for today,
00:09 tomorrow, and forever.
00:11 Join Mark Finley, author, and world renowned speaker on a
00:15 journey into the future with
00:21 Welcome, and thank you for joining us for this journey
00:24 through the book of Revelation.
00:25 Revelation is the last book in the Bible, and it focuses
00:29 especially on Jesus Christ.
00:32 Many people when they think about the book of Revelation,
00:34 think about mystic symbols.
00:36 They think about cryptic images.
00:38 They think about prophecy that they really can't understand.
00:41 But the book of Revelation, more than any other book in the
00:44 Bible, focuses on Jesus.
00:46 Our topic in this presentation is Revelation's Final Events.
00:51 Let's pray together and ask the Spirit of God to come
00:55 and to touch our hearts, to encourage us with the hopeful
00:59 message of the book of Revelation.
01:00 Father in Heaven, we thank You for the last book in the Bible,
01:06 the book of Revelation.
01:08 A book written by John on the island of Patmos to prepare
01:13 a people for the soon return of Jesus.
01:15 As we open the pages of that book, speak to our hearts,
01:20 bring us deep conviction, stir us within, and enable us
01:26 to sense the glory of Your soon return.
01:29 In Christ's name, Amen.
01:32 There's something really fascinating, something really
01:36 amazing about space travel.
01:38 When we think about travel through space
01:41 we are awe stricken.
01:43 Which ones of us wouldn't like to take a space journey
01:49 that was pretty safe?
01:50 You know, some of us, when we think about space journey's,
01:53 think about nervous; that we get a little nervous.
01:56 We are a little anxious.
01:58 We say, I don't know if I want to step onto some space shuttle.
02:01 But there is a space journey that's coming
02:04 that is absolutely safe.
02:07 You know, some time ago America was quite stunned as the
02:13 spacecraft Columbia blasted off.
02:17 There was a slight problem, nothing major.
02:19 Our eyes were glued to the television screens.
02:22 Thousands and thousands of people were watching as that
02:26 spacecraft hurtled through space.
02:29 Seven of our brightest, seven of our best astronauts,
02:33 some of the most talented, some of the most intelligent
02:38 people were there; bright smiles, bright eyes.
02:41 But yet as that spacecraft began to re-enter Earth's atmosphere,
02:47 a minor problem that took place when the spacecraft Columbia
02:53 blasted off, became a great problem.
02:56 The gasses entered in through a crack, evidentially,
03:03 in the craft, and the entire space shuttle blew apart.
03:09 In fact the headlines in the newspaper
03:12 were, Shuttle Breaks Up!
03:13 Time magazine quoted George Bush, President at the time,
03:18 on February 1, 2003, as saying, The Columbia is lost.
03:23 And then he said, America is saddened today.
03:26 There are no survivors.
03:29 This space journey began fairly well,
03:32 but it ended with no survivors.
03:36 The space journey that you and I are preparing for is one
03:40 that's not going to only begin well,
03:43 it's one that's going to end well.
03:45 The space journey that we are preparing for is the space
03:50 journey of the ages.
03:56 We can have absolute certainty that as we begin this space
04:00 journey from earth, when Jesus Christ returns again,
04:04 that Jesus will get us home.
04:07 We will travel. We'll travel beyond the moon,
04:11 our nearest neighbor at 250,000 miles in space.
04:14 We'll travel beyond the stars, and the planets,
04:18 travel beyond the sun, 93 million miles from here,
04:21 travel beyond Pluto, and Jupiter, and Saturn.
04:25 We'll travel through the sky, up through that open space in
04:29 Orion, and travel millions of miles in space
04:34 to our eternal home where there is no sickness, where there's no
04:38 sorrow, where there's no suffering,
04:40 where there is no death.
04:42 There is one thing that I'm certain about, many things
04:46 I'm certain about, but one thing for sure,
04:49 this world is not our home.
04:51 When I read the newspaper, and I see the gruesome details of
04:55 war, I know this world is not our home.
04:59 When I read about children with distended bellies that are
05:04 starving to death, whose mothers milk has run out,
05:08 I know that this world is not our home.
05:11 When I read about terrorist acts, and innocent people being
05:16 killed, I know that this world is not our home.
05:20 When I read of car accidents, and young adults being killed
05:26 instantly, I know that this world is not our home.
05:32 When I read about drunk men coming home and beating their
05:36 wives, breaking their noses, blood running down their face,
05:41 I know that this world is not our home.
05:46 One day we're going to travel, travel beyond the stars,
05:50 travel beyond the sun, travel through that open space in
05:55 Orion to the very throne of God.
05:59 The promise of God is that Jesus will soon return.
06:04 1500 times in the Bible, the Bible discusses
06:09 the return of Jesus.
06:11 For every one prophecy in the Old Testament on the
06:16 first coming of Christ, there are eight prophecies on the
06:20 second coming of Christ.
06:21 Once in every twenty-five verses in the New Testament,
06:25 it talks about the second coming of our Lord.
06:34 There are many people that are quite confused about the
06:36 second coming of Christ.
06:37 You read books, and one book says this thing, and the next
06:41 book says that thing about the return of Christ.
06:43 Christianity is quite confused about it.
06:45 Some people have the idea of a secret rapture.
06:48 They have the idea of a seven year tribulation.
06:50 Other people believe Jesus is coming in glory, power, majesty.
06:54 Some people believe Christ is coming to set up
06:56 His Kingdom on Earth.
06:58 Some people believe that the second coming of Christ
07:01 is kind of a Spiritual coming where there's peace,
07:04 Nirvana, love on earth.
07:06 So many confusing ideas!
07:07 I love that old poem, What Says the Bible,
07:11 the Blessed Bible to Me?
07:13 This my only question be, what says the Bible,
07:17 the blessed Bible to me?
07:18 Wouldn't you agree that this is the book of books?
07:22 Other books written by men pale into insignificance in the
07:27 light of the book of books.
07:30 The Word of God gives us certainty about the events
07:35 of the second coming of Christ.
07:36 Now when we look at the book of Revelation
07:43 In fact, Revelation 1:1 says, The Revelation of who?
07:48 The Revelation of who? Jesus Christ.
07:51 So the book of Revelation is not a confusing book.
07:54 In fact the Bible says, in Revelation 22, that the book of
07:59 Revelation is not sealed.
08:00 The book of Revelation is an open book.
08:03 The theme of Revelation is Jesus.
08:05 And there are two great mountain peaks in Revelation:
08:09 1. The lamb of God, mentioned 27 times in Revelation,
08:13 speaks of the first coming of Christ.
08:16 2. And then Jesus, pictured as a king, speaks of the
08:21 second coming of Christ.
08:23 Revelation 14:14, describes this glorious event
08:27 of Christ's coming. It says,
08:36 The Son of God became the Son of man, so sons of men could
08:42 become the sons of God.
08:43 Jesus, the Divine Son of God, tabernackled in human flesh
08:49 to show us what God was like, and to share with us the keys
08:54 to victory over temptation, and sin.
08:56 So it is the Son of man that comes back,
08:59 the One that walked the dusty streets of Galilee, the One that
09:03 walked the cobblestone streets of Jerusalem.
09:05 He is Jesus, our friend!
09:07 He's coming to take us home.
09:09 We need not fear His coming. The Bible says,
09:17 Golden crown indicating His kingly authority.
09:20 Sharp sickle indicating the end, the harvest of this world.
09:25 The book of Revelation speaks about the glory,
09:28 the beauty of the second coming of Jesus.
09:32 Jesus came once as a babe in Bethlehem's manger.
09:36 When He came that time did many people recognize Jesus?
09:41 Did they? When He came once just a few recognized Him as Messiah.
09:47 Very, very few. The wise men came, shepherds gathered there
09:51 around Jesus' birthplace.
09:53 But very few recognized Him.
09:56 So we could say that once He came, in a sense, secretly.
09:59 But when He comes the second time, the Bible teaches that
10:03 He'll come in glory, He'll come in splendor.
10:06 The Bible teaches that this will be no secret event at all.
10:11 He came once to enter in the kingdom of grace.
10:14 He is coming again to enter in, to bring in
10:18 the kingdom of glory.
10:31 Jesus is faithful to His promise.
10:34 He promised He would come again.
10:36 He is faithful. Jesus' promises are true.
10:40 Many people make promises, and they don't
10:44 follow through on them.
10:45 But Jesus said, Let not your heart be troubled.
10:48 You believe in God, believe also in Me.
10:51 In My Father's house are what? many mansions.
10:54 If it were not so, I would have told you.
10:56 And if I go to prepare a place for you, I might come again.
11:01 I, it's possible that I'll come again.
11:04 Maybe I'll come again.
11:05 What does Jesus say?
11:06 I, what? will come again.
11:10 And the One who returns, is the One who is faithful,
11:13 and the One who is true, the One whose promises never fail.
11:17 Jesus promised to return, and He will be
11:20 faithful to His promise.
11:22 And in righteousness; there is a lot in this world
11:25 that is not righteous.
11:26 It's unfair, it's unjust.
11:27 But Christ is coming with all of the glory
11:30 of His righteousness.
11:31 He judges sin, He makes war on evil, and He triumphs over it.
11:39 This is all the angels who come with Him, white and clean,
11:43 followed Him on white horses.
11:45 Why this white horse symbol in Revelation?
11:48 What does the symbol of a white horse?
11:51 Why would God use that symbol of a white horse?
12:01 The book of Revelation was written in the 1st century,
12:07 and it was written in the days of the Roman Empire.
12:09 And when the Roman armies conquered a new nation,
12:15 when the Roman General came back to Rome, he always led a
12:20 procession on a white horse.
12:23 So he always would ride on a white horse, indicating the
12:28 strength, indicating the authority of the Roman Empire,
12:32 and indicating the victory, and the triumph
12:35 for the Roman Empire.
12:37 So when the Bible pictures Christ coming on a white horse,
12:41 it is describing Jesus Christ triumphing over all the powers
12:46 of evil, triumphing over all the powers of wickedness,
12:49 Jesus as the victorious Lord.
12:52 Revelation 11:15, notice again, and again, and again
12:57 in Revelation, we have this great theme of the
13:01 coming of Jesus Christ.
13:15 The kingdoms of this world will fade into insignificance.
13:19 The buildings of this world will come crumbling down.
13:23 But Jesus will reign forever, and ever.
13:27 Do you see why the book of Revelation is the most hopeful
13:31 book in all the Bible?
13:32 Because human beings are looking for solutions to problems
13:36 that defy those solutions.
13:38 Human beings are looking for solutions to the pollution
13:42 of the world, to the global warming of the world,
13:45 to the war of the world, to the famine of the world.
13:48 But yet, as hard as they try, and as Christians, we applaud
13:54 all efforts for peace.
13:56 We applaud all efforts to feed the hungry.
13:59 We applaud all efforts to treat disease.
14:03 But here's what we know: no human solution,
14:07 no human solution can solve the problems of this world.
14:13 There is only One that can solve those problems.
14:16 And there is only one event that can bring that solution.
14:25 The kingdoms of men rise and fall.
14:28 Nations have their place on the stage of human history,
14:32 but they rise and fall.
14:35 But Jesus' kingdom will reign.
14:38 He shall reign! What does it say? forever,
14:41 and ever, and ever.
14:43 His kingdom will last through all eternity.
14:55 Many people have different ideas about how
14:58 Jesus is going to come, but the Bible is very clear.
15:01 The first thing that we want to notice is this: that there will
15:05 be those that claim that Christ has returned.
15:18 In other words, there will be those that see in what they
15:24 believe a being of dazzling brightness.
15:27 There will be those that see in that being, one that they
15:30 believe is the Messiah.
15:33 What if a Messiah like being of dazzling brightness
15:38 appeared in Los Angeles?
15:39 What if He appeared there in the great Coliseum,
15:42 spoke to thousands, and they were being healed?
15:45 What if a Christ-like being, being of dazzling brightness,
15:50 angelic being appeared?
15:52 What indeed if he appeared in a place like Chicago,
15:57 in Grant Park, and spoke to thousands?
15:59 What if he appeared in St. Louis?
16:00 What if he appeared in New York City, in Times Square?
16:04 What if he appeared in Paris, or London,
16:07 England, or Beijing China?
16:09 What if thousands were being healed?
16:11 Would you go to see him?
16:12 What does Jesus say?
16:15 there. Why not? Because the Bible says,
16:31 Jesus Christ is not coming as some cosmic master,
16:35 some being of dazzling brightness to walk on the
16:39 earth at this time.
16:40 Christ is coming in the clouds of heaven.
16:49 Our Jesus is coming in the clouds of heaven.
16:52 Now Satan can appear as a being of dazzling brightness.
16:57 Satan can masquerade, and appear as Christ.
17:02 Satan could walk up and down on this earth.
17:05 But Satan does not have the power to come in the clouds
17:09 of heaven like a glorious being and raise the dead.
17:13 Only Jesus Christ can do that.
17:17 Satan has a plan to deceive the multitudes.
17:21 Wouldn't the Devil try to counterfeit, and impersonate,
17:26 the second coming of Christ, when all humanity is looking
17:30 for solutions to their problems?
17:32 Wouldn't that be something that you think the Devil might do?
17:37 Now, five facts about the coming of Christ: 1.
17:43 It's not some Spiritual coming.
17:46 Jesus is not some Cosmic master that's going to come in some
17:51 vague vapory way, and bring peace, Nirvana on earth.
17:59 Jesus ascended up in the sky literally;
18:01 He'll return literally. The Bible says,
18:12 The disciples were looking up, straining their eyes to see
18:17 Jesus as He ascended into heaven.
18:20 Man steps off a mountain and goes down.
18:23 God steps off a mountain and goes up.
18:26 Because the law of gravity cannot keep down the
18:30 Creator of gravity.
18:35 The disciples looked.
18:37 The angels come and they say to the disciples,
18:40 in these very words,
18:48 Jesus ascended into heaven in glory, He will return in glory.
18:52 He ascended into heaven, He will return the same way He went up.
19:04 We look at Scripture, and recognize that this is no
19:10 supposed Cosmic master, who is going to walk on earth.
19:14 He is coming down from the sky in glory.
19:19 Now Christ's coming will not only be a literal event,
19:22 it will be a visible event, not only seen by the righteous,
19:26 but also seen by all humanity.
19:28 The Bible makes that very plain.
19:39 The eyes of the young, and the eyes of the old, the eyes of the
19:44 educated, and the eyes of the uneducated.
19:47 Chinese eyes will see Him come, and European eyes will see Him
19:50 come, and Asian eyes will see Him come, and the eyes of
19:55 Europeans will see Him come, and the eyes of Americans will
19:58 see Him come, and the eyes of Australians will see Him come.
20:00 The Bible says what? every eye will see Him come.
20:04 Now somebody says, Well, Pastor Mark, I thought only the
20:06 righteous were going to see Him, and that they were kind of two
20:09 phases of His second coming.
20:11 The Bible does not teach that.
20:12 It teaches that every eye will see Jesus when He comes.
20:19 Not only literal, or real Christ, not only visible,
20:23 that we will see Him come, but it will be an audible event.
20:28 Not only will every eye see it, but every ear will hear
20:32 Jesus at this event.
20:34 The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16,
20:43 Now that doesn't seem very silent, does it?
20:45 With a what? With a what? a shout! The Bible says
21:00 Have you lost some loved one by death? a father or a mother?
21:05 You've laid them in some grassy grave on a hillside.
21:09 You can't wait to see your Mom again.
21:12 You can't wait to see your Father again.
21:14 What about that baby that died in childbirth?
21:18 You long to see them again.
21:20 What about that son or that grandson?
21:23 What about that friend?
21:27 Tears run down your face as you hear the
21:31 story of their death.
21:32 But the Bible says, The Lord Himself shall descend from
21:35 heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
21:39 with the trumpet of God, the trumpet of victory.
21:42 And the dead in Christ shall do what? they shall rise first.
21:48 One evening I was standing on the platform of one of the great
21:52 auditoriums in our world, and I was talking about the
21:55 second coming of Christ.
21:56 I had just talked about this passage in 1 Thessalonians 4.
22:00 And as I did, I said, How can I make it real to my audience?
22:05 How can I just describe the second coming of Christ so
22:09 powerfully that people longed to be ready for His coming?
22:12 So I described a scene, and I said, Suppose you had a little
22:16 baby, and let's suppose that baby's name was Amanda.
22:20 I don't know why I used that name.
22:23 I had never used that name before.
22:26 It's a common name, but not a super common name in America.
22:29 And so I said, Suppose you had a little baby called Amanda.
22:33 And suppose at six months Amanda died in a crib death.
22:40 She suffocated in the crib.
22:43 And suppose you buried her, and your heart was just broken
22:48 over the death of Amanda.
22:50 And imagine you're at her grave. and there as you're praying,
22:53 And there as you're praying, longing, with tears coming down
22:58 your face, to see Amanda again.
23:00 The earth shakes, the sky illuminates
23:03 with the glory of God.
23:04 Christ comes with ten thousand times ten thousand angels.
23:08 The sky is illuminated with the glory of God, and Jesus calls,
23:12 Amanda, come forth!
23:13 And that grave opens and that little baby comes out,
23:16 and the angel puts that baby in your hands again.
23:19 And those little hands begin to pat your cheeks.
23:22 And you look into that little face, and you ascend into heaven
23:26 with Jesus in the sky.
23:28 At the end of the meeting, a lady came up to me and said,
23:32 Pastor, can I talk to you? I said, Sure.
23:34 She said, How did you know?
23:35 I said, How did I know what?
23:37 How did you know I had a little baby?
23:39 A baby that died in the crib at six months?
23:43 And how did you know that that baby's name was Amanda?
23:48 I said, I've never used that name in a sermon before.
23:53 But the Holy Spirit impressed me to use that name,
23:57 at that moment, just for you.
24:00 Because Jesus loves you so much.
24:02 Jesus wants you in eternity.
24:05 Jesus wants you to be with Him, and He wants you to know that
24:09 one day He can put that baby back in your arms again.
24:12 Christ comes with a trumpet symbolizing the blast that will
24:18 wake the dead, symbolling victory.
24:21 He comes with a cycle symbolizing that earth comes
24:24 to an end, and earth's harvest indeed is over.
24:28 The Bible puts it this way,
24:32 The graves are opened, the dead come out.
24:35 Then scripture says that
24:47 The Bible says, we shall be caught up together with them
24:51 to meet the Lord in the air.
24:53 Your mother is going to be looking for you.
24:55 That mother that was so faithful to Christ,
24:58 she's going to be looking for you.
24:59 That friend that you prayed with, and studied the Bible
25:02 with, they're going to be looking for you.
25:04 That son, that daughter, Dad's going to be looking for you.
25:07 Dad, don't walk away from Christ now!
25:10 Dad, don't turn your back on Christ now!
25:12 Because what if your son is saved,
25:13 and he's looking through heaven.
25:15 He says, Where's my father?
25:16 I want him to be here!
25:17 Children, your parents are going to be looking for you.
25:20 This is no time to walk away from Christ.
25:23 Your parents are going to be looking for you.
25:25 What does the Bible say?
25:26 We're caught up together with them!
25:27 Think of the joy of celebration.
25:29 Think of the jubilation.
25:31 Think of the thrill of being caught up together in the air.
25:35 You don't want to miss that for some of the cheap
25:38 pleasures of this life.
25:40 The Bible is clear, we will be caught up together.
25:44 I love the word together.
25:45 Families holding hands, husbands, wives, parents,
25:48 children with them in the clouds to do what? to meet the Lord.
25:53 Where? We going to meet Him on earth?
25:55 Meet the Lord where? in the air.
25:58 The Devil can never counterfeit that.
25:59 Christ is coming literally.
26:01 Christ is coming, so every eye will see Him.
26:04 Christ is coming, so every ear will hear it.
26:07 Christ is coming to raise the dead.
26:11 Christ is coming to give immortality to the living.
26:15 And we ascend through the sky with Jesus.
26:18 So shall we ever... Not temporarily, not momentarily.
26:23 So shall we what? ever be with the Lord in eternity.
26:29 Life is short. We appear here momentarily,
26:34 and then we're off the scene's history.
26:36 But Jesus is coming, and we can ever be with the Lord.
26:41 Notice Matthew 24:26.
26:48 or look, He's in New York, or Chicago,
26:51 or Los Angeles; wherever.
26:54 Why not? Because our Christ is coming in
26:57 glory to raise the dead. Now
27:04 It is the event of the ages.
27:18 So this is no secret event.
27:20 It's like lightening shining from the east to the west.
27:28 He's coming to redeem His people.
27:31 He's coming to resurrect the dead.
27:34 He's coming down through the corridor of Orion in glory,
27:39 and power, and majesty. He is coming soon.
27:43 Now, the Bible says in
27:49 This is a key verse.
27:55 Now notice, it does not say that only the righteous will
28:00 see Him when He comes.
28:02 It does not say that He is coming to rapture His saints.
28:06 Not at all; He's coming literally, He's coming visibly
28:09 so that every eye sees it.
28:11 He's coming audibly, so every ear hears it.
28:14 He's coming to raise the dead.
28:16 But notice, it does not say in the text, that only the
28:21 righteous will see Him. It says,
28:27 Remember Revelation 1:7 said,
28:32 Does that mean the unrighteous will see Him as He comes?
28:36 Let's let the Bible speak for itself.
28:38 What does the Scripture say? And they
28:41 That is the tribes of the earth.
28:43 That is the unrighteous.
28:45 That is the unsaved.
28:52 So when Jesus comes, there are not two phases of His coming,
28:58 divided by a seven year tribulation.
29:00 When Jesus comes, the second time to return,
29:03 every eye sees Him.
29:04 The righteous see Him, and the wicked see Him.
29:07 The saved see Him, and the unsaved see Him.
29:11 The holy see Him, and the unholy see Him.
29:14 When Jesus comes there is a great divide.
29:18 When Jesus comes the righteous look up, and they are just
29:24 delighted, and thrilled.
29:26 And they're filled with joy and jubilation when Christ comes.
29:29 When the unrighteous see Him, they run for the rocks and
29:33 mountains to fall upon them.
29:35 They are frightened at His coming.
29:40 Really, Christ's coming is the climax of human history.
29:44 When Jesus Christ comes, all of history comes
29:48 to one focal point.
29:49 When Jesus Christ comes, all of history comes
29:52 to an end as we know it.
29:54 History is not circular, going around in circle, after circle,
29:59 after circle with no end point.
30:01 History had a beginning point.
30:03 God created this world in six literal days,
30:07 and rested on the seventh.
30:09 Six twenty-four hour periods, and the seventh twenty-four
30:13 hour period, the Sabbath.
30:14 History had a beginning point.
30:16 This world had a beginning point, and this world
30:19 will have an end point.
30:20 Jesus came in history once when He died on the cross.
30:24 He will come at a point in history a second time,
30:28 in a glorious, climatic event. The Bible says,
30:49 The trumpet of victory, the trumpet of triumph,
30:52 at the last trumpet.
30:53 The Bible then goes on to say,
31:00 We have corruptible bodies.
31:02 We have mortal bodies.
31:03 Our bodies are subject to disease.
31:06 They're subject to pain.
31:07 They're subject to suffering.
31:09 They're subject to death.
31:10 But one day Jesus is going to come.
31:13 The trumpet's going to sound, and these bodies of ours are
31:16 going to be raised what? incorruptible.
31:19 No more suffering, no more sickness, no more disease,
31:22 no more heartache, no more cancer.
31:30 Mortal means subject to disease, and death, and decay.
31:34 Immortality, living forever, and ever, and ever with Jesus
31:39 Christ through the ceaseless ages of eternity.
31:42 Christ comes and we are ushered through the carter of the sky,
31:47 to live with Him forever, and ever, and ever,
31:51 in eternal glory where there is no worry, no fear, no anxiety.
31:55 Sometimes does your stomach get tightened,
31:59 and you get a little worried?
32:01 Sometimes do you get headaches because you're
32:03 under such tension?
32:05 Sometimes does fear grip your soul?
32:09 Just think of what it's going to be like to live in a world
32:12 where there is no worry.
32:13 You never worry about anything again.
32:17 Think about what it's going to be like to live in a world
32:19 where there is no fear. You never fear.
32:22 Think of what it's going to be like to live in a world
32:25 where there is no evil, no sickness, no war, no heartache,
32:30 no suffering, no death.
32:31 That's going to be an amazing world, isn't it?
32:34 I don't want to miss it, do you?
32:36 Jesus is coming to usher in eternity.
32:40 And one day we, with the whole Universe, will sing from the
32:44 depths of our soul:
32:53 We will see that the way God dealt with the controversy
32:57 between good and evil, this controversy between Christ
33:01 and Satan, this great controversy in the Universe,
33:04 we will see that in the way God dealt with that controversy
33:09 has been fair, and just, and right.
33:12 It has demonstrated His love forever.
33:15 And that's why sin will never rise a second time.
33:19 Because Jesus has dealt with the controversy in a way
33:24 to reveal, before a waiting world, before a watching
33:28 Universe the majesty, the greatness,
33:31 and the beauty of His love.
33:33 Just think of what it's going to be like when He comes!
33:37 Husbands embracing their wives, and saying, It's over!
33:40 It's over! It's over!
33:42 No, honey, it's not over, it's just beginning!
33:45 And we ascend to heaven.
33:47 Think of what it's going to be like for mothers to grasp
33:51 the hands of those children again.
33:54 Think of what it's going to be like in that glorious day
33:56 to ascend through the sky.
33:58 You say, Pastor, that's too good to be true!
34:01 It's too good not to be true.
34:04 In your heart you know that you were created
34:06 for something better.
34:08 In your heart you long for that something better in Jesus.
34:12 We will look up, Isaiah 25:9, we'll cry out,
34:22 Now underline, circle, we've waited, and He will save us.
34:25 We've waited for Him.
34:26 We've not surrendered to the cheap,
34:29 tawdry pleasures of this world.
34:32 We've waited for Him.
34:33 We've not sold out like Judas did for a few pieces of silver.
34:38 In this life we have done what? we've waited for Him.
34:41 We've not accepted the false Christ.
34:43 We've not been deceived by the false Messiah.
34:46 We've not accepted the one that's come this earth
34:49 as a being of dazzling brightness,
34:51 and walked on the earth and claimed he could heal.
34:54 We have waited for Christ; He will save us. Notice:
35:04 We are rejoicing, but there is another class.
35:09 You know, the Bible says,
35:14 When is the accepted time?
35:15 The only way to be ready for Christ is to get ready
35:18 today, and stay ready.
35:26 Christ appeals to us not to get ready tomorrow.
35:30 If you're watching this broadcast, here in this
35:33 auditorium, and you said, You know,
35:36 I feel a stirring in my heart.
35:38 I sense that this world doesn't have much to offer.
35:42 But I'm hesitating.
35:44 There's something that I don't want to let go.
35:46 I just haven't come to the place of a full
35:49 commitment to Christ yet.
35:52 The longer you wait the harder it's going to become.
35:56 Now is the day of salvation.
35:59 You didn't turn in to this broadcast by accident.
36:02 You're not in this auditorium by accident.
36:04 Christ brought you here.
36:06 If there's something in your heart, something in your life,
36:09 Christ wants you to get that settled now.
36:12 Because now is the accepted time,
36:15 now is the day of salvation.
36:24 The choices that we make today either tie us, and bind us,
36:29 and lock us in sin, or the choice to accept His grace,
36:34 the choice to accept His pardon, the choice to accept His power.
36:38 That's a life changing choice that frees
36:42 us, that liberates us.
36:44 As some people say, Well, Pastor, summarize it.
36:47 Summarize all the events that happen when Jesus comes.
36:50 Here they are: First
36:55 The Bible says every mountain and every island will be
36:57 moved out of its place.
37:12 on the righteous dead and living, and they will ascend
37:15 into heaven with Christ.
37:19 by the brightness of Jesus' coming.
37:22 They will not live on earth.
37:28 as they ascend to heaven together.
37:35 Those are the events that surround the coming of Christ.
37:38 But somebody says, Pastor Mark, I really still
37:42 have some questions.
37:43 And I've heard a lot about something called
37:46 the secret rapture.
37:47 And what about this idea of the secret rapture?
37:51 Where does that come from?
37:53 And, you know, I'm a little confused because doesn't the
37:56 Bible say that Christ is going to come as a thief?
37:59 Isn't that implying secretly?
38:01 And doesn't the Bible say there'll be two in the field,
38:03 one will be taken, one will be left?
38:05 Doesn't that kind of imply that Jesus' coming is kind of secret?
38:10 I see all those texts in the Bible that you read,
38:12 and they're pretty clear, but help me with these texts:
38:15 I'm so glad you asked that question.
38:17 Let's go to the secret rapture, and take a little look about it.
38:21 First we need to keep clear on this.
38:24 Mathew 24:36. When the Bible talks about the second
38:27 coming of Christ it says:
38:34 Well, the first thing we notice is this: When somebody comes
38:37 to you with a time chart and says, This is when
38:39 Christ is going to come.
38:40 I've got all this figured out.
38:42 Beware, because Jesus says, But of that day and hour what?
38:44 nobody knows. So what then does Jesus say after that?
38:55 What's another expression for one hour?
38:57 What is that? What time the thief would come
39:06 So in other words the references in the Bible to Jesus coming as
39:12 a thief are not speaking about the manner of His coming,
39:16 but the time of His coming.
39:18 The references in the Bible that speak about Jesus coming as a
39:22 thief don't deal with the time at all.
39:24 They deal with the manner.
39:25 Rather they don't deal with the manner at all,
39:28 they deal with the time.
39:29 It's the time that these prophecies deal with,
39:32 not the manner of Christ's coming.
39:34 If a thief comes to your house, does the thief say, Get ready!
39:42 I'm coming at one o'clock in the morning!
39:45 Is that what the thief says?
39:47 Is that the way the thieves do it here around 3ABN?
39:51 No, you don't have any thieves here.
39:52 This is paradise! Ah, no, is that what the thieves do?
39:55 Do they say, Here I come!
39:57 I'm coming now! No.
39:59 So when the Bible talks about Christ coming as a thief,
40:02 it's not talking about manner.
40:04 He's coming so that every eye can see Him.
40:06 That's the manner of His coming.
40:07 He's coming so every ear can hear it.
40:09 That's the manner of His coming.
40:10 He's coming to raise the dead; lightening in heaven.
40:13 But we do not know the time, so He's coming quickly.
40:16 He's coming unexpectedly like a thief.
40:23 Just like in the days of Noah.
40:25 Did they expect the flood to take place in the days of Noah?
40:28 Not at all. Just like in the days of Lot.
40:30 Did they expect fire to come down and burn
40:32 Sodom and Gomorrah? Not at all.
40:39 Now here is one of the clearest references that the Bible
40:43 says to explain that.
40:45 Verse 43 says He's coming as a thief. Verse 44 says:
40:57 So the thief imagery in the Bible does not speak about the
41:01 manner of Christ's coming.
41:02 It speaks about the time of His coming.
41:05 He comes quickly. He comes rapidly.
41:09 He comes unexpectedly, like a thief.
41:13 Now Peter makes this plain.
41:16 2 Peter 3:10, and this should really answer the rapture
41:20 question about Christ coming as a thief, and the idea that
41:23 He's coming secretly. Look what it says.
41:29 You know, there was a movie about called the
41:31 Thief In the Night, about the rapture that said
41:33 that He's coming secretly.
41:35 Totally contrary to this text.
41:39 And what happens when He comes as a thief in the night?
41:45 That's not very secret.
41:47 And then it says,
41:53 So this whole thief imagery has to do with the second coming of
41:57 Christ, and subsequently, the millennial period after that,
42:02 and the coming of Jesus.
42:03 When Jesus comes the second time the earth is destroyed.
42:08 It's left desolate, and that eventually it's burned up.
42:12 This whole thief imagery has to do with He's coming quickly,
42:16 and this world will be a thing of the past.
42:25 He comes as a thief to the unprepared.
42:28 He comes quickly, unexpectedly, rapidly.
42:31 You know, somebody says,
42:36 That expression is found in Matthew 24,
42:40 and it's also found in Luke 17.
42:43 Now some people have this idea, Well, you know, we are going be
42:47 taken away in the rapture, and then other people are going
42:51 to be left alive on earth.
42:52 It's rather fascinating.
42:54 Let me just take my Bible momentarily, and take it and
42:58 turn to Matthew the 24th chapter.
43:00 Matthew 24. And I want to surprise you with this text.
43:05 What's the popular idea of those who teach the rapture?
43:08 Oh, those people are taken away in the rapture,
43:10 and the others are left alive.
43:11 Well, this is rather fascinating, Matthew 24,
43:15 Jesus says, Verse 36, But of that day and hour no one knows,
43:20 no, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father.
43:23 Then notice what it says, Verse 37, But as the days of Noah;
43:27 as the days of what everybody? Noah.
43:29 As the days of Noah, so also will the coming
43:33 of the Son of man be.
43:34 What's it going to be like? the days of Noah?
43:37 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and
43:40 drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day that
43:44 Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came
43:49 and took them all away.
43:51 What happened to those who were taken away by the flood?
43:57 What happened to them?
43:58 They died! Well, the idea of the rapture is we're taken
44:01 away in the rapture.
44:03 The Bible doesn't say that.
44:04 When these people were taken away, they were taken away
44:07 into the flood and died.
44:09 Now when you come to Luke 17th chapter, you have something
44:14 very interesting here.
44:20 Now here it reverses the symbolism.
44:22 What happens to the people that are left?
44:25 Are those that are left left alive on earth? Not at all.
44:31 What happened in the days of Noah?
44:33 Two classes: one went into the ark,
44:35 one did not go into the ark.
44:37 The ones that went into the ark were saved.
44:39 The ones that did not go into the ark were destroyed.
44:47 So in the days of Lot.
44:50 What happened in the days of Lot?
44:51 Two classes: those that leave the city are what? saved.
44:58 Those that stay in the city are what? burned. So
45:06 There are two classes.
45:08 Two classes: days of Noah.
45:11 One saved, one lost.
45:13 Days of Lot. One saved and one lost.
45:16 Two classes: days of Noah.
45:19 Some are alive; they go into the ark.
45:21 Some are destroyed; they stay out of the ark.
45:23 Days of Lot. Some stay in the city.
45:26 They're consumed and burned.
45:27 Some come out of the city, and they are what? they are saved.
45:31 So when the Bible talks about one taken, one left, it's talking
45:36 about two classes: one class are saved, and one class are lost.
45:41 One class are alive, and one class are destroyed.
45:46 The Bible is very clear.
45:48 What happens when Jesus comes?
45:50 There is no rapture.
45:52 There are two classes to make their eternal decision
45:54 for or against Christ.
46:18 How horrible it is!
46:19 Jesus created them to live with Him forever.
46:23 Jesus created them to be with Him through all eternity.
46:27 Jesus created them to live, but they run, they hide from
46:31 the face of the Lamb.
46:32 Twenty-seven times in the book of Revelation
46:35 it talks about the Lamb.
46:36 The Lamb who came, the Lamb slain from the
46:39 foundation of the world, the Lamb who provides salvation
46:42 for all mankind, the Lamb who reaches out with love,
46:46 hangs on Calvary's cross to save humanity.
46:49 But they're frightened.
46:51 They've never come to Jesus in this life.
46:53 They've never given Him their lives, and so they run in fear.
46:59 Two classes: one filled with joy, one filled with fear.
47:03 Two classes: for one it's the happiest day of their life.
47:08 For the other it's the saddest day of their life.
47:11 Two classes: for one it's a new beginning, for the other
47:17 it's a tragic ending.
47:19 And every single one of us have that choice.
47:24 What will I do with Jesus?
47:26 Will I accept Him as my Lord and Savior?
47:30 Will I give Him my life?
47:32 Will I live with Him forever, or will on that day,
47:36 in horror and agony, I run from the One who longs to save me?
47:42 You see, Jesus wants to save every human
47:44 being, but He can't.
47:46 If Jesus brought all of Chicago to heaven, would it be heaven?
47:53 or would it be Chicago?
47:55 If Jesus brought all of New York, and all of Los Angeles
47:58 to heaven, would it be heaven, or would it be
48:01 New York and Los Angeles?
48:02 See, until you have heaven up there,
48:05 you've got to have heaven down here.
48:07 Until you can live in the kingdom up there,
48:09 you have to have the kingdom right in here.
48:11 And that's what Jesus is doing right now.
48:14 He's building a people who want to live in heaven more than they
48:17 want to live on earth.
48:18 Who want to live in eternity more than they
48:21 want to live in time.
48:22 Who want to live in a land of glory rather than a land of
48:26 degradation and sickness.
48:28 And they cry out these laws
48:33 And the answer to that question is those that have been saved
48:38 and redeemed by the grace of Christ. You see,
48:46 This is no time for playing around.
48:49 This is no time for fiddling on the knife edge of eternity.
48:54 his is no time to push Christ out of your life.
49:14 Remember, Jesus promised in John 14:2, 3,
49:18 we quoted it earlier.
49:19 Here it is from the screen.
49:22 And Jesus can't wait for you to be there with Him.
49:33 That's what the second coming of Christ is all about.
49:36 The second coming of Christ is not primarily about
49:40 destroying the earth.
49:42 It's not primarily about destroying wicked people
49:46 who are destroyed because they turned from
49:49 the claims of His love.
49:50 The primary reason for the second coming of
49:52 Christ is stated here.
49:54 I am coming to receive you to Myself.
49:57 Jesus is coming for you.
49:59 He no longer wants you to live in a world of heartache,
50:01 or sorrow, or disappointment.
50:03 No longer wants you to live in a world of pain and suffering.
50:06 No longer wants you to live in a world of tears.
50:08 He cannot stand to be away from you any longer, so He's coming.
50:12 He's coming for you. Think of it.
50:15 Think of the promise that every father has,
50:19 every mother has, every son has, every daughter has,
50:24 on that day when their loved one dies.
50:27 Think of the promise.
50:28 Jesus says, I will come again to receive you unto Myself.
50:32 I will come, and lightening will flash through the sky.
50:36 I will come, and mothers will receive their babies
50:40 in their arms again.
50:41 I will come, and friends will embrace one another once again.
50:45 Jesus says, I will come.
50:48 Sin, and sorrow, and suffering, and heartache will be over.
50:51 I will come, and the dead will be resurrected.
50:54 I will come, and children will be placed in their
50:56 mother's arms again.
50:58 I will come, and dad's will embrace their kids again.
51:01 I will come, and men and women from all ages will come.
51:04 They'll be resurrected from the north, to the south,
51:07 to the east, to the west.
51:08 They'll come out of their graves.
51:10 They'll rise with Me in glory.
51:11 And Jesus says, I will come again.
51:13 Is there anything, anything, that would keep you from being
51:18 ready for the coming of Jesus?
51:21 Anything deep within your heart?
51:23 You see, there's only one thing that can satisfy,
51:27 now and forever, and that's Jesus.
51:31 And Jesus is reaching out to you today.
51:35 You know, I was 17 years old, and I didn't know
51:39 anything about the Bible.
51:41 Didn't know anything about Jesus.
51:44 And my Dad said to me one Saturday night; He said,
51:49 You're hitch hiking to the dance, aren't you?
51:51 I said, Yeah Dad, I'm hitch hiking to the dance.
51:53 He said, You know, it may rain.
51:55 You may get all wet, and you're not going to look too good
51:56 when you go to that dance.
51:58 What time's the dance start?
51:59 About 9 o'clock, Dad.
52:01 Hey, look, there's a meeting going on about
52:04 7 o'clock at night.
52:06 It's across from the dance.
52:07 And there's a preacher that's speaking.
52:09 Why don't you go? I'll take you.
52:12 And then run across to the dance.
52:13 You see, my Dad was a Seventh-day Adventist
52:15 believing in the second coming of Christ, but I wasn't.
52:17 And Dad was very wise.
52:19 I get in the car. I didn't want to hitch hike,
52:21 and stand on the cold road.
52:23 He took me to that meeting.
52:25 It was kind of boring the first night.
52:26 At least I thought it was.
52:28 I ran across to the dance.
52:30 But the second night the preacher talked about the
52:32 second coming of Christ.
52:34 And they sang a song, Open mine eyes that I may see,
52:37 glimpses of truth illumine me.
52:41 And that second night I fell on my knees.
52:44 I said, Jesus, open my eyes.
52:47 Help me see the glory of eternity.
52:49 And, Jesus, get me ready for Your coming.
52:52 Ask Jesus to open your eyes.
52:54 As Jesus to touch your heart.
52:56 Ask Jesus to speak to you right now as Celestine sings.
53:13 Open my eyes that I may see, glimpses of
53:21 truth Thou hast for me.
53:26 Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall
53:34 unclasp and set me free.
53:39 Silently now I wait for Thee, ready my God Thy will to see.
53:52 Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit Divine.
54:13 Open my ears that I may hear, voices of truth
54:21 thou sent is clear.
54:24 And while the wave notes fall on my ear,
54:30 everything false will disappear.
54:37 Silently now I wait for Thee, ready my God Thy will to see.
54:49 Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit Divine.
55:04 Would you like to say to Jesus right now, Lord, open my eyes.
55:10 May the things of earth fade into insignificance.
55:14 May the things of time fade into eternity.
55:19 Lord, open mine eyes.
55:21 Help me to see You in all of Your beauty,
55:24 and all of Your glory.
55:26 Lord, open mine eyes.
55:28 Help me not be so entranced with the things of this world
55:32 that I miss eternity.
55:34 The greatest event in the history of the ages is the
55:39 second coming of Christ.
55:41 And if you miss it, if you miss it, you have missed
55:46 everything in life.
55:47 Without the second coming of Christ, the grave is a dark hole
55:54 in the ground, and death is a long night without the morning.
55:57 But with the second coming of Christ there is hope;
56:01 hope to see our loved ones again, hope to be with our
56:04 children, our families again, hope that this old world will be
56:08 recreated like the garden of Eden again.
56:10 As we bow our heads to pray, would you like to say, Jesus,
56:14 open mine eyes to see the glory of eternity.
56:18 Let's pray together.
56:20 Oh Father, come, come!
56:23 And as the old song says, open up mine eyes that I can
56:25 see, glimpses of truth.
56:28 Illumine me, Spirit Divine.
56:31 Father we thank You that there is hope for this world.
56:37 We thank You that death is not a dead end.
56:41 We thank You that we were created for
56:43 a life, and not death.
56:45 We thank You that You've got a much better world.
56:49 That there's a world of tomorrow coming.
56:51 That one day we'll be caught up to meet Christ in the sky,
56:54 and travel beyond the sun, the moon, and the stars to eternity.
56:57 Oh Jesus, we surrender our lives to You, to be ready
57:02 for that great event.
57:04 In Christ's name, Amen.
57:05 Thank you for joining us for Revelation's
57:10 Ancient Discoveries.
57:12 We are going to be probing the great prophecies of this book,
57:16 and looking more deeply into each chapter of the
57:20 book of Revelation.
57:22 So stay with us here on 3ABN, and be blessed today.


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Revised 2018-03-26