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March 23, 2020 1:35 pm
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Undermined Christian lady asked as we get closer and closer to the events of the last things it's only literal to have questions 2000 years ago. Even the disciples had some delay on Turning Point.
Dr. David Jeremiah takes us to the Mount of olives with Jesus ounce of those questions and revealed a fresh new perspective for us to take time listening now as David introduces today's message all of the school's discussion and I want to thank you for joining us today.
Today were going to turn to the New Testament book of Matthew and certain continue what we been talking about for the last two days you don't miss any of this discussion will sure most of you have heard of the Olivet discourse. What in the world is it and why is it important to find out right now so the cartoonist said pre-tribulation rapture was the whole that every parent had that Christ would come back before their children became teenagers. Those of you who have gone through that are happy to be in that stage right now can understand that. I'm sure we began a study of why we believe that the church will not go through the tribulation and we study together some of the very important reasons in the Bible upon which we base our firm belief that immediately before the seven year tribulation the church will be rapture out of this world to set the stage for just a moment, let me remind you that we believe according to the Scripture that there will be a period of judgment upon this world lasting seven years in duration. That will come before the millennial.
When the kingdom of Christ shall be established on this earth. There are a number of positions that are held by those who are within the greater spectrum of Christianity concerning the tribulation. We learned that there are some who believe as we do, that the church will be taken out of the world before the tribulation begins. We call them pre-tribulation was there are others who believe that in the middle of the tribulation. At exactly 3 1/2 years that the church will be rapture at that point in time. We call those people made tribulation was. And then there is a grave and growing host of folks who believe that the church will be taken through the tribulation. Enraptured after the tribulation and those folks are called post-tribulation was we discussed together that we believe in the pre-tribulation rapture for a number of reasons and we just had got started going through some of those things we talked about the fact that in the word of God, especially in the book of Revelation there is a great section of Scripture that deals specifically with the events of the tribulation. Beginning in Revelation 4 and going through the 18th chapter, the material in that section of the book of Revelation is completely dealing with the tribulation.
Interestingly enough, the church does not appear as on earth one single time during that whole section of Scripture go 19 times in chapters 1 through three of the book. The church is mentioned and is the topic of discussion. As soon as you move the chapter forward, the tribulation period begins. The church is absent, no longer mentioning that whole section of Scripture. We talked about the fact that in the book of Thessalonians. Where we are told about the coming of the man of sin and the beginning of the day of the Lord. But the Scripture teaches that that cannot come until the restrainer be taken out of the way and we discussed that the restrainer was the Holy Spirit who lives within the heart of every believer in the Scripture clearly teaches that the tribulation period cannot start until the Holy Spirit be taken out of the way and the Holy Spirit will not be taken out of the way until the rapture. In other words, the rapture must come before the tribulation because the Holy Spirit must be taken out of the way before the tribulation starts. We look at that tremendous passage in Revelation chapter 3 in verse 10, dealing with the church of Philadelphia, which represents the true church at the end of time, and in that passage of Scripture. We were reminded that God had promised to us that we would be From the hour of testing, not simply, that would be kept from testing or preserved through testing what that God has promised his church that we would be From the very hour of testing that we would not see that our Lord experience.
It therefore we would not go through the period of tribulation. We looked at many other passages of Scripture.
Many other clear indications of the pre-tribulation will position along with the arguments from the New Testament we look back into the Old Testament pictures of V-neck and a lot of them know I am the firstborn of the Hebrews and the spies of Jericho, all of whom were provided for and cared for by God in advance of his judgment upon the ungodly. The pattern of the Scripture is clear, but God has not called us to wrath, but to salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, we continue that discussion of the pre-tribulation rapture and we talk mainly about the Olivet discourse were going to get there just a few moments.
First of all I want to just add a couple of things that I didn't have time. Just so you have them in your notes some more indications of the pre-tribulation will position that you want to be aware of one of the things that are friends and the other camps do not understand is this that the rapture, for all intents and purposes is rendered inconsequential if it is post-tribulation. If the church is preserved during the tribulation.
Why have a rapture the Lord Jesus is coming again immediately at the end of the tribulation. Why do the saints need to be rapture anyway.
There is absolutely no purpose for a rapture if it occurs at the end of the tribulation. And if all believers are ruptured and glorified just prior to the inauguration of the kingdom age. Then there will be no one to populate and propagate the kingdom will be gone. Post-tribulation is teach kind of a yo-yo principle of the rapture.
They tell us that the tribulation were to go up and come right back down just as fast as that the rapture and the second coming, but there's absolutely no purpose that is no reason for them to Scripture.
I often have thought about the fact that God in his consistency is at stake, even in prophetic events. The character of God is a God of grace demands that the church escape the tribulation. For you see the great majority of the church is already dying there not here anymore, they've already escaped the tribulation by dying and going to heaven. What good purpose could God have for a small group who just happened to be left at the end of times to be subjected to this awful tribulation or Protestant purgatory. I can imagine one good reason. As we study the Bible we learn that there needs to be a period of time between the rapture and the second advent of Christ in order for certain things that take place that are programmed in the Scripture, the Bible teaches that after the church's rapture and goes to heaven while the tribulation period is going on down here, the judgment seat of Christ, is taking place in heaven and believers are being brought before the bema seat to give an answer for the things done in the body that is a program that takes considerable time. I know that Christ could do it all in a moment of time, but the emphasis of the Scripture is that everyone of us shall give an account of himself to God. That's the program that goes on here. While the tribulation goes on down here were also told in the Scripture that the marriage supper of the Lamb is convened during that period of time. So there needs to be some time between the rapture and the second advent. I don't want to take anything for granted. I just want to take a moment to remind you that God's program for the future. Is this. We who are in the church age now will come to the end of that church age when Christ comes in glory to receive his own and we will be caught up to meet him and rapture out of here the dead in Christ shall rise first and we who are alive and remain shall caught up together to be with the Lord.
Immediately after that the tribulation period begins on this earth. The judgment seat of Christ in heaven for period of seven years. The most awful judgment. The world has ever conceived double take place here on this earth.
It is the judgment of God against unbelieving Israel and Gentile rebels during that period of time. Many terrible things will happen, as we shall see in a few moments. At the end of the tribulation. The Bible tells that Christ will come back in his second coming. We call it the second advent. Unfortunately, many Christians combine the rapture and the second advent, and don't see any distinction between the two. If you do that you will always be confused about prophecy.
It will never make any sense to you. All you have to do is study those two events separately and you can see that they cannot possibly be the same in the rapture, Christ comes for his saints. In the second advent comes with his saints in the rapture. He comes to the midair position were caught up to immediately go back with him in the second advent is feet touched the ground over and over again. The Bible teaches us that those two events are not the same they are separated they are different in one of the things that happens when we study prophecy to get us into trouble is when we tried to take the attributes of the second coming and make them fit the rapture or vice versa. That is the cause of much confusion and studying the Bible of the Bible teaches us that the entire church will be rapture at one time the church is the body of Christ.
There is no partial rapture. The body of Christ is not dismembered in the rapture the church according to the Bible as the bride of Christ and will not be fractured. It will be taken together to be with the Lord there will be some of the Scripture says who will be ashamed at his coming. That in itself, but the teaches that there is no spirituality that is preserved in some sort of partial rapture.
The Bible says that even the carnal people who will be a shame that is coming or going to be rapture taken home to be with the Lord. Even those who are not in fellowship with God who are Christians are going to be rapture. The Scripture speaks of it being a shame over and over again.
The Bible teaches that the rapture includes the whole church. The whole body, the whole bride everybody who saved at the time when the Lord comes back. And after that the tribulation period begins. Now we have gone through all of these various discussions about the preacher relational rapture, but sooner or later we have to deal with Matthew 24 and 25 so turn in your Bibles to Matthew 24 and 25 not going to go quickly through a very involved passage of Scripture. And if you don't stay with me. You can get lost.
So I want you to put your thinking And Try to Stay with Me As We Think Our Way through This Discussion. Matthew 24 and 25, Commonly Referred to As the Olivet Discourse Is a Passage of Scripture That Deals with the Tribulation. It Has Particular Reference to the Jew, the Sections of Matthew 24 and Mark 13 and Luke 17 and Luke 21 Ought to Be Studied Together, These Passages of Scripture Speak to the Issue of the Preparation of the Coming of Christ, the Jewish People and to Help Them Understand the Nature of the Kingdom. The Passages Are Written, Dealing with the Questions That the Disciples Asked the Disciples. Here Are Not Representatives of the Church.
They Are Representatives of Israel. You See, the Church Has Not Even Been Conceived of yet in Matthew 24. It's Mentioned in the 16th Chapter, but It Does Not Come into Being till We Get Overtaxed to and the Church Is Not in the Minds of the Disciples They Don't Understand It.
They Haven't Even Been Able to Put Together the Difference between Christ's First Advantage Second Advent, There Still Trying to Get the Kingdom in the First At-Bat and It Doesn't Fit My Don't Understand It, They Don't Know Anything about the Church and I Have Never Heard of the Rapture Is Not Even Been Presented to Them.
The Rapture Does Not Come into the Experience of the Disciples until the Night before the Crucifixion in the Upper Room. The 14th Chapter of John.
So What Were Dealing with in Matthew 24 and 25 Is Our Lord Speaks to the Disciples Doesn't Everything to Do with the Church in Direct Application and It Doesn't Everything to Do with the Rapture Because It's an Unknown Thought. Now with Those Two Things in Mind, Let's Notice That It Is a Jewish Passage of Scripture.
First of All, It Takes Pl. in Judea. All you have to do is read Matthew 24 and you learn that there is a very Jewish reference in the 20th verse it says in verse 20 but pray that your flight be not in the winter either on the Sabbath day course. The church does not celebrate the Sabbath, nor observe it. That is a specific reference to a Jewish celebration in Matthew 24 and 15 we read about the abomination that is set up, which was prophesied by Daniel concerning the Jews when we get to the ninth chapter of Daniel will discuss that this is a reference to what's going to happen in the middle of the tribulation when the temple is desecrated the abomination of desolation. It is a Jewish thing. The word intellect, which is found in the 24th chapter of the book of Matthew is often referred to the church because we talk about the church as being the elect and yet here it is a reference to the Jews, not the church. It is a reference to those who are selected by God in a special way that we shall see in a moment when you turn over to the 21st chapter of the book of Luke you discover the very same thing in that passage we are dealing with God's message and plan for the nation of Israel as he communicates it with the representatives of the Jews, the disciples in Luke 21. The church is not mentioned.
Christ never mentions the rapture. There is no clear evidence that it is even in the minds of anybody in that discussion. Now the Olivet discourse was delivered by Christ during the last week before the crucifixion. Probably it was on Tuesday evening, shortly after he left the temple for the last time he speaks in the Olivet discourse concerning the last day events, and in essence the whole passage is a response to some questions that were asked him by the disciples noticed chapter 24, Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.
And Jesus said to them see you not all these things verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down as he sat upon the Mount of olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, tell us, when shall these things be what things the throwing down of the stones of the temple, the destruction of the Temple. That's the first question when will the temple be destroyed. Question number two and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and number three what shall be the sign of the end of the age. The disciples asked the Lord three questions is the temple going to be destroyed, what is the sign of thy coming, and when can we expect the end of the age now Jesus Christ answers the last two questions in Matthew's gospel chapter 24, 25, it doesn't answer question number one. And the reason he doesn't answer here's because it's answered in another passage of Scripture that prophecy was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when Jerusalem was destroyed in the temple was flat and all the stones were laid flat.
That prophecy was answered during that particular period of time, but the last two questions which in essence are really one question have to do with the end time Jesus Christ answers the time question in Matthew 24 versus four through 31, and in chapter 25 verses 31 to 46.
He answers the sign question in the section that's in between those two 2432 through 25, 30 now. It was not appropriate for Jesus Christ to speak directly of the rapture at this time for the disciples were not prepared to understand it. They knew nothing of the church Jesus had not instructed them regarding it as yet they would learn of it later, but even when they learn of it and simply informing the Gospels.
It's not until the apostle Paul that the full-blown proof of the church is brought into existence. That's why it is called a mystery for the word mystery in the New Testament is a very technical word which means true that has been known from the beginning of time but is not yet been revealed. In other words truth that is existed from time beginning but has not been uncovered church.
As far as the disciples were concerned, was a mystery, though it was in the heart and mind of God. He had not revealed it to them as yet and so they could not understand the rapture if they didn't even understand the church and so there's no reason for us to expected in this passage. It was enough for the Lord to refer directly to the Jewish related matters with which they were able to deal now the disciples question indicates. As we read it that the thing they were most concerned about was when the temple was to be destroyed me. They could see that that was right in front of them and in order to get an understanding of the questions you need to understand how they viewed the temple. The temple was the most magnificent thing in the world of their day and the thought of the temple being destroyed brought to the minds of the disciples the certain understanding that the end of the world would come synonymous with the destruction of the temple. If the temple were to be destroyed. As far as the Jews were concerned the world was over and that must certainly be the cataclysmic event which would usher in whatever they could understand about the kingdom of Christ.
And so when asked the question about the temple. It was with fear in their hearts, realizing that if this was a true prophecy, and it would be fulfilled that it would be synonymous with the end time and so the next questions were logical, Lord, when the temple was destroyed, then your second coming must be. Shortly after that. What is the sign. How shall we know when the end time comes. In essence, the second and third questions in Matthew 24 and 25 are the same. The coming of Christ and the end of the age are the same. The answer to the one is the answer to the both of them. Here again, it is questionable whether the disciples clearly understood at that time that there would even be a period of time between the first coming in the second coming of Christ. They didn't understand that your member when we started our study. I mentioned to you that for the disciples, the first and second coming was almost like it was in the Old Testament. The Old Testament prophets viewed the first and second coming is one gigantic mountain peak viewed from a distance it looks like just one event.
It wasn't until you got closer to it that you realize that that one mountain peak was in essence to the first coming in the second coming. When he came at Beckley heaven when he comes in the future and in between those two mountain peaks a gigantic rolling valley of time in which we live today. The disciples were just barely getting a hold of that truth. So what they were talking about and asking these questions in Matthew 24 was this Lord.
When are you going to calm and establish your kingdom. We thought you were going to do it now but you haven't done it. So when can we expect that you're going to come back and do what we thought you were gonna do when you hear the first time the whole issue of Matthew 24 and 25 has nothing to do with the rapture by specific reference. It has everything to do with the advance that are going to come immediately before Christ comes to set up his kingdom. Now listen, let's go through our chronology again when the church age. The rapture comes the tribulation. And then the kingdom what events in our timeline take place immediately before the kingdom. What events the tribulation seven years prior to the millennium is the tribulation. And if you win, you probably see him cut up a trellis in my mind and my little invisible chart that I carry in my head, but you can figure this out. It's not right science and it's very clearly presented in the Scripture, and I hope you will stay with us as we continue to explore the handwriting on the wall story of Daniel in the Old Testament inserted with a couple of programs to help us get our bearings as to where the soul fits in the future will see tomorrow for more information on Dr. Jeremiah series.
The handwriting on the weeds visit our website David Jeremiah adult/radio where we offer two free white help you stay connected monthly magazine Turning Points in their daily email devotional sign up today at David Jeremiah adult/writer David Jeremiah adult/radio when you do, be sure to ask you a copy of David's helpful and encouraging you both houses to questions about living in the last fuels were gifted in the amount you can also purchase the Jeremiah study Bible, English standard version. The new international version as well as standard of large print James useful notes and articles by Dr. Jeremiah David Jeremiah adult/radio join us tomorrow as we continue the handwriting on the wrong Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah taking time to listen to non-piece in question