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Making Sure You're
Not Left Behind
the Rapture will occur before the beginning of the seven-year tribulation
Robert Jeffress
Hi,
I'm Robert Jeffress and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. For generations,
people have used the Bible to concoct some pretty wild ideas about the end
times.
Many
have tried to predict the dates for the second coming of Christ and the end of
the world as we know it.
Well
today, we'll set wild speculation aside and open God's word for solid answers
to common questions about the rapture the prophetic event when God will call
his church to heaven.
My
message is titled, "Making sure you're not left behind". On
today's edition of Pathway to Victory.
Some
of you, like I, are old enough to remember the name of Jeane Dixon.
Jeane
Dixon was a popular psychic in the 1950s and 60s who made a number of
predictions - but her most famous prediction was made in 1956 when she
prophesied that a democrat would win the 1960 presidential election, and that
the winner of that election would be assassinated while he was in office.
Of
course, we know in 1960 John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United
States, and tragically 3 years later he was assassinated right here on the
streets of downtown Dallas.
Well,
immediately after the fulfillment of that prophecy Jeane Dixon became a media
sensation. Everybody turned to her to try to find out what was going to happen
in the future.
Now
what most people don't realize is Jeane Dixon also made some predictions that
didn't come true.
For
example, she prophesied that in 1958, Red China would plunge world into the
third world war.
She
predicted that in 1970 Fidel Castro would be banished from Cuba.
But
her most famous false prediction had to do with the Kennedys.
After
president Kennedy was assassinated, Jeane Dixon predicted that the widow Jackie
Kennedy would never marry again. The day after she made that prediction, Jackie
Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis.
But
compare Jeane Dixon's record - or any prophet's records - to the Bible.
Did
you know the Bible is filled with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of
prophecies of things that are going to occur in the future?
Many
of those prophecies have already come to pass. For example, in relationship to
the first coming of Jesus Christ there are more than 250 prophecies about the
first coming of Christ.
Prophecies
about the manner of his birth, the place of his birth, the type of life he
would lead - some of those prophecies were made 1.000 years before Christ was
born, and out of those 250 prophecies every one of them came to pass.
Amazingly
there are 250 prophecies about Christ's first coming - there are over 1.800
prophecies in the Bible about his second coming.
You
can't turn a page of the old or the New Testament without a prediction about
the return of Jesus Christ. And I believe every one of those predictions is
going to come true.
The
Bible has a perfect batting average when it comes to fulfilled prophecy.
Bible
prophecy, what's going to happen to us in the future ought to have a very real
application in how we live our lives now.
Last
time we began looking at the next event on God's prophetic timetable. It's
called the rapture of the church.
And
the definition of the rapture is the snatching away to heaven of all Christians
before the beginning of the tribulation.
Now,
I realize - especially after this week's emails - not everybody agrees with me.
About the rapture.
So,
for full disclosure I want to share with you just for a second three different
views about the rapture.
First
of all, there is what's called the post-tribulation rapture view.
The
post-tribulation rapture view. If you
look on your chart there where I put the rapture, just move it over to the right
seven years at the end of the tribulation.
That's
what the post-tribulationist believes. Post means after: the rapture happens
after the tribulation.
This
is the view that the church must go through the Great Tribulation. And at the
end of the tribulation, the church - whoever is alive at that time - will be
snatched away and then will come back at the second coming.
That
rapture and the second coming are almost concurrent events according to this
viewpoint.
Now,
proponents of this view make their argument this way. They say Christians in
every age have suffered tribulation, why in the world do you believe there's a
group of Christians who will escape tribulation?
That
just doesn't make sense. It's not true in history. Christians have always
endured tribulation.
Well
as we'll see in a moment, during the last seven years of earth's history, the
kind of tribulation that will be experienced is far different than any other
kind of persecution Christians have gone through before.
Secondly,
they say it's very obvious when you read Revelation 6-19 that there are
believers on the earth who are being persecuted by the antichrist.
If
these believers are not the church that was here before the tribulation - who
are they? And as we'll see next week there's a very logical answer to that
question.
But
that's the post-tribulation view. The church will be here for the tribulation
and then will be raptured at the end.
Secondly
there is the mid-tribulation rapture view. And that is the rapture will occur after the first three and a half
years of the seven-year tribulation.
The
proponents of this view say the first three and a half years are going to be
relatively peaceful, everybody's going to love antichrist, and it's only after
three and a half years that he turns against Israel and begins persecuting
Israel and the church: and that the earth suffers the wrath of God.
There
is a variation of this view called the pre-wrath rapture, popularized by Marvin
Rosenthal.
Basically,
it's saying the first three and a half years of the seven years are natural
disasters, which the church will have to experience. They're called the seal
judgments in Revelation 6.
But
halfway through the tribulation, before antichrist persecutes the world, and
God persecutes the world, Christians will be snatched up.
Now,
there are three problems with this view of the pre-wrath rapture or the
mid-tribulation rapture.
First
of all, Revelation 5-6 teaches that that first series of judgments against the
earth at the beginning of the seven years are unleashed by Jesus Christ
himself.
So,
this is not just a natural disaster that just happened to happen, it's not even
a satanic judgment - it is a judgment by God himself.
Secondly,
if the church is present during these first judgments in Revelation 6, why is
there no mention of the church in Revelation 6?
You
find them before then. You find them in Revelation 19, but there's no mention
of the church in Revelation 6.
And
finally, as we'll see next time, Daniel 9 and other passages of scripture treat
the tribulation not as just three and a half years, but an entire seven-year
period of time.
And
if we are here during any part of that, it means we have to suffer the wrath of
God, which we've been delivered from.
Now
the third view is the one I presented to you, and that's the pre-tribulation
rapture view. That is, the rapture will occur before the beginning of the
seven-year tribulation.
I
heard somebody say one time: well, I don't know which view is correct - pre,
post, or mid - but I just assumed beyond the first flight going out of here.
Well,
I would too. I don't only hope, I plan on being on the first flight out of
here. And there's a good reason to believe that we who are believers will.
Let
me share with you, there are many reasons I could share with you, but let me
share with you why I'm absolutely convinced that the church is not going to be
left behind for the Great Tribulation, why we are going to be spared not only
the wrath of antichrist, but the wrath of God.
Four
quick reasons: number one, the purpose of the tribulation.
The
purpose of the tribulation. What is
the purpose of these final seven years of judgment on the earth?
The
scripture says, first of all, the salvation of Israel as well as gentiles.
Revelation
7 says there will be a multitude of people saved during the tribulation. It's
their one last chance to be saved.
God's
a merciful God: he doesn't wish anyone to perish. This is a final opportunity
for Israel as well as gentiles to be saved.
Number
two, the condemnation of unbelievers. This is God's pouring out his wrath upon
the earth.
Now
the fact is neither purpose applies to the church. We who are Christians do not
need salvation. We've already experienced it through Jesus Christ, and we
certainly don't need God's condemnation.
The
Bible has promised that we would be spared from that. So, there is no reason
for the church to be here during these final seven years.
The
tribulation is a time of God's correction of Israel and God's wrath against
unbelievers. Neither of those purposes applies to the church, which is one
reason I'm convinced the church will not be here.
Secondly,
why am I convinced the church will not be left behind for the tribulation? The
lack of reference to the church in Revelation 6-18.
When
you study the Book of Revelation, the church is prominent in chapters 1-5.
And
the church is prominent again starting in chapter 19 when Christ returns and we
return with him, but in chapters 6-18 that describe these seven years of
horrific persecutions not once do you find the church mentioned.
Isn't
that interesting? No mention of the church, the bride of Christ, in Revelation
6-18. Why is that? It's because the church isn't here. We're in heaven.
It's
unbelievers who have been left on the earth. But the church, the bride of
Christ will not be there.
Number
three, why do I believe the church won't be left behind? Because of the
teaching of Revelation 3:10.
Turn
over to Revelation 3:10. Remember the Book of Revelation though applicable to
all of us was written originally to seven specific churches in Asia Minor.
But
even though they were literal churches - people believed that parts of the
message to these churches extended beyond the present situation into future
generations.
And
that's true in Revelation 3. God's addressing the church at Philadelphia, but
when you get to verse 10 it's obvious the message is expanding beyond the
church of Philadelphia to a future church.
Look at verse 10, "Because you have kept the
word of my perseverance", the angel said, "I will also keep
you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole
world, to test those who dwell upon the earth".
.
God
said to the church at Philadelphia: there is a time of worldwide testing that I
am going to save you from.
Now
there was not worldwide testing during the time of the church at Philadelphia.
He is talking about a future time I believe, the Great Tribulation.
And
he is saying not just to the church at Philadelphia, but to all Christians who
are living in that age right before the tribulation, I am going to spare you
from that time.
That
word "from" - that's our English word. The Greek word is the
preposition 'ek'. I will also keep you out of the hour of testing
that is about to come upon the earth.
We
have been delivered not just from all testing, but from the testing, the
persecution that comes from God.
And
finally, and perhaps most importantly the reason I am absolutely convinced we
will not experience the Great Tribulation is because of the promise of God that
believers will be spared his condemnation.
The
promise of God that believers, Christians, will be spared God's condemnation.
In John 16:33 Jesus said, "In this world you
will have", what? "tribulation".
Jesus
said every follower of Christ in every generation is going to suffer problems.
That tribulation, that problem, part of it is just the difficulty of living in
a fallen world.
Because
we live in a fallen world, we suffer everything from broken relationships to
broken health. We have personal problems because we live in this sin-infested
world.
Not only that, I think Jesus when he said, "You're
going to have tribulation" was talking about the persecution that
every follower of Christ is going to endure for his faith.
Certainly,
Jesus' followers experienced it. All of the apostles except one were martyred
for their faith.
Listen to this description of what happened to the
first century Christians who were Christ followers. Hebrews 11:37-38 says, "They
were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death
with the sword: they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute,
afflicted, and ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in
deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground".
.
That
was the first century church. Ladies and gentlemen, the 21st century church
around the world isn't doing much better. Christians everywhere are being
persecuted because of their faith.
For
example, we see our Christian brothers in Africa, in Egypt and other parts of
the Middle East who are being slaughtered because of their faith in God.
That's
the kind of suffering and persecution that is going on in the world right now
against Christians, and we as a church ought to be speaking up and out against
it. We ought together as Christians say: this cannot stand.
Let
me tell you what's happening right now, and has happened for 2.000 years is
nothing compared to the horrific things that are going to happen during the
Great Tribulation.
The
Bible says there is going to be a time when not just man pours out his wrath
upon man, but God for the first time since the flood pours out his wrath upon
the earth.
That's
what makes the tribulation different than any other time in history. The
tribulation will not just be man persecuting man - it will be God pouring out
his wrath on mankind. And ladies and gentlemen, you and I have been promised to
be spared from that wrath.
Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no
condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus".
If
you and I have to experience some future wrath of God then it means the death
of Jesus Christ was ineffective and absolutely unnecessary.
The
fact is Jesus when he died on that cross, he took the wrath of God that you and
I deserve for our sins.
And
that's why we have the promise that there is no condemnation awaiting us if we
have trusted in Christ Jesus.
I
remember reading the story about a group of cowboys who were out in the middle
of nowhere, and they found themselves caught in a raging prairie fire. As the
fire rapidly approached them, it became evident that no escape was possible.
Finally,
one of the cowboys said: quick, let's burn all of the ground around us: let's
just burn this ground around us.
The
other cowboys thought he was ludicrous. Why would we burn ground around us when
the fire is already approaching us?
This
man said: because the fire cannot come where it has already been. The fire
cannot come where it has already been.
Ladies
and gentlemen, the fire of God's wrath burned: it was poured out on Jesus
Christ when he died on the cross.
He
by his own choice decided that he would take the punishment from God that you
and I deserve.
God's
wrath was poured upon Jesus Christ, and we never have to fear that wrath if we
trust in him. Why? Because the fire cannot come where it has already been.
That
story not only illustrates why we don't have to fear some future wrath of God
on the earth, but it also explains how we can escape not the seven years of
God's punishment, but an eternity of God's punishment that we all deserve for
our sins.
Not long ago I was being interviewed by a secular talk
show host who wasn't a believer, and he asked me a question, and he said: "Now
pastor, do you believe we're living in the last days? I hear you talking a lot
about the last days. Do you believe we're living in the last days"?
He was kind of mocking me in good nature. I said "I
absolutely do. In fact, I'm certain that you and I are living in the last
days".
He said: "Well, how can you be so certain of
that"?
I said: "Well just think about it. You and I
are both in our late 50s. Now 20-40 years from now one of two things are going
to happen. Either we're going or he's coming, but soon we're going to meet him
one way or the other".
And
that's true for every one of you here today. Most of you are living in your
last days. It may be 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, 50 years: but
compared to eternity it's a short amount of time that we have left before we
face God.
Either
he's coming, or we're going: but in a relatively short amount of time you and I
are going to stand before God.
Hebrews 9:27 says, "It is appointed unto every
one of us once to die, and then the judgment".
Every
one of us in this room, everyone watching on television - we're all going to
stand before God in judgment.
There's some people say: "Well, that's ok.
That's ok, I'm not fearful about standing before God in judgment. I'm a pretty
good person, actually. I'm not perfect, nobody is, but I'm sure better than
those Islamic terrorists you talked about who certainly deserve to go to hell:
and I understand why they're going to hell. But I'm a pretty good person. I
don't have to fear about going to hell".
See,
our problem is - and we all do this - we judge ourselves based on other people.
We use other people as our standard of judgment.
And
we always like to find somebody who's worse than we are to compare ourselves
to, and that way we feel pretty good about ourselves.
Well
folks, God doesn't judge us according to our relative righteousness compared to
other people. He judges us compared to the righteousness of his Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Jesus
was perfect. God is a holy God. He demands absolute perfection, and by that
standard we all fall short.
The Bible says in Romans 3:23, "For all of us
have sinned".
You
have, I have, the pope has - we've all sinned and we've all fallen short of the
glory of God.
Now
here's the problem with our sin: sin creates a debt that we owe God. Did you
know that?
God
is a holy God, and our sin, every time we sin against a holy God: it increases
our debt toward God. It increases how much we owe God every time we sin.
Now,
there is a day coming when you and I are going to have our loan called in.
We're going to stand before God, and God's going to look at that long list of
indebtedness we all have to him because of sin, after sin, after sin.
But
God's a holy God - he just can't write it off, and say: oh, we'll just forget
about it. His justice will not allow him to do it. He demands, he has to demand
payment.
And
if you and I come before God at the day of our death with a long list of
indebtedness to God we will spend eternity trying to pay off that debt,
separated from him in hell forever, and ever, and ever.
Now that's bad news, but that's the news that Jesus
told. That's what the Bible tells about. You say: "Well, I don't
believe in hell".
Well
then you have to call Jesus a liar because Jesus taught more about hell than he
did about heaven. And we all deserve to go there because we all have a debt
toward God.
But
here's the good news - God says: I understand the predicament you're in. I know
you're spiritually bankrupt and can't pay off this debt, but I offer to pay it
off for you.
In
fact, I'll pay your debt off early if you'll let me do so before you die. I'll
let your debt be paid off completely by what my Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, did
for you.
Now
don't miss this, the most important decision you ever make in life and eternity
is this: who's going to pay for your sin debt to God?
Do
you want to spend all eternity trying to pay off that note, that loan to God
that we can never pay off? Or do you want to accept God's offer to allow Jesus
to pay that debt for you?
If
you wait until you die to stand before God and make that decision - you've
waited too long. It's a decision we have to make on this side of the grave.
And
hear me this morning, when you choose to allow Jesus to pay that sin debt for
you, you never have to fear the wrath of God during the tribulation: and more
importantly, you never have to fear the wrath of God for eternity.
Why
is that? Because the fire cannot come where it's already been.
Dr. Robert Jeffress is
Senior Pastor of the 14,000-member First Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas and
a Fox News Contributor. He is also an adjunct professor at Dallas
Theological Seminary.
Dr. Jeffress has made more
than 2000 guest appearances on various radio and television programs and
regularly appears on major mainstream media outlets, such as Fox News
Channel’s “Fox and Friends,” “Hannity,” “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” “Varney & Co.,”
and “Judge Jeanine,” also ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and HBO’s “Real
Time with Bill Maher.”
Dr. Jeffress hosts a daily
radio program, PATHWAY TO VICTORY, that is heard nationwide on over 1000
stations in major markets such as Dallas-Fort Worth, New York City, Chicago,
Los Angeles, Houston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Philadelphia, and
Seattle.
Dr. Jeffress hosts a daily
television program, PATHWAY TO VICTORY, that can be seen Monday through Friday
on the Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) and every Sunday on TBN and also daily
on the Hillsong Channel. PATHWAY TO VICTORY is the second-highest rated
ministry program on TBN’s Sunday schedule. Dr. Jeffress’ television broadcast
reaches 195 countries and is on 11,295 cable and satellite systems throughout
the world.
Dr. Jeffress is the author of
26 books including, NOT ALL ROADS LEAD TO HEAVEN; A PLACE CALLED HEAVEN: 10
SURPRISING TRUTHS ABOUT YOUR ETERNAL HOME; CHOOSING THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE; and
his newest book, COURAGEOUS: 10 STRATEGIES FOR THRIVING IN A HOSTILE
WORLD.
