Sunday 2nd to Friday 7th Nov 2008 - A Series of six Prophetic Messages with Pastor Ian Wilson

Message 1 - Sunday 2nd November 2008 The Blessed Hope - The Rapture

Well, I'd first of all want to thank very much the Rev Patterson for the invitation to come and for the welcome. I want to congratulate you on your (church) 25th anniversary and thank the Lord for how you have been blessed and trust that the Lord will continue to bless you in the many years that lie ahead in His will.

We want to come to the word of God. 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 this evening and we are going to read from verse number 13. I have also been looking forward very much to the meetings. We do trust the Lord will undertake and bless as we come to study His precious word this evening.

First Thessalonians, chapter 4 and reading from verse number 13 please. I want to think of the blessed hope this evening - First Thessalonians, chapter 4 and reading at verse number 13.

"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye 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. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto 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: 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".

And we know that God always blesses the reading of His own precious, infallible and inspired word.

On the 24th of December, 1945, flight 19 set out from a US air force base in Florida. It consisted of 5 torpedo bombers and their crews. Somewhere in the expanse of the sea between Bermuda, Portarico and Miami, radar contact was lost. It has become to be known as 'The Bermuda Triangle'. These planes have been listed as missing in action. Don't know what happened, all of a sudden they just seemed to disappear.

One day millions will disappear from planet earth. Jesus Christ will come back to the earth and God's people will rise to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Factories will be without workers, pulpits will be without preachers, buses without drivers, planes without pilots, families without mothers and fathers, parents without children, children without parents. Millions will be taken to be with the Lord in what we call 'the rapture of the Church'. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming for His bride, the Church and many people will be missing.

There are many scriptures that speak about prophetic truths. There are some 1845 references in the Old Testament to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 17 Old Testament books give the Lord's return pre-eminence in their theme and the 260 chapters in the New Testament there are 318 references to His second coming. One out of thirty verses, twenty three out of the twenty seven New Testament books refers to the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ. For every mention of His first coming there are eight mentions of His second coming.

I remember a number of years ago when I used to go the church over in Coagh, I remember a brother coming to preach and he took as his text 2nd Samuel 19, verse 10: "And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?" and he took that text "...why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?" and you would think with so many verses that are prophetic, with so many clues that talk about the coming again of our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ, you would think that the pulpit to-night would be filled with men who want to speak about the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But as the Rev Patterson has reminded us this evening, it's a rare thing now-a-days, it's rare in many of our pulpits to give those who will preach this glorious truth that Jesus Christ is coming again. I want to congratulate you for having your pulpit open for the ministry, this glorious ministry that Jesus Christ is coming again.

I remember as a young boy watching Blue Peter and one of the things they did in Blue Peter was they asked the children to work out what things would be like in the year 2040 and one child came up with this idea that people would be able to transport through the air without any aircraft or vehicles, they would just be able to transport from on place to another, just instantly - perhaps they had been watching something like Start Trek or something like that! It's seems so strange and yet one day it's going to happen. One day God's people are going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. It's the blessed hope of every believer. It's as I said, it's what we call 'the rapture of the Church'. It comes from the Latin 'rapere', which means to transport from one place to another. And I want to think about that this evening, very simply, just as we look at some scriptures, because there are many signs that you find in the word of God. Signs that are given concerning the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ - and many of these things seem to be happening in the day and age in which we live.

We know that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to establish His millennial kingdom. We know that He is going to come back to the land of Israel and for that to happen Israel had to be in the land and years ago that seemed impossible - and one of these (meeting) nights we are going to think about the 'Valley of dry bones'. And what a miracle the nation of Israel is. Someone once said that if you want a word to prove the Bible is the inspired infallible word of God, we could do it in one word 'Israel'. And if you could look at Israel to-night and look at the word of God, you would have to fall on your knees and say 'this is the word of God'. And Israel are in the land to-night when you think of what they have come through. Think of all the persecutions from 1548 BC when Pharaoh decreed that all the new born males should die. Right throughout history, the Assyrians attacked them in 722 BC, the Babylonians came in and wanted to kill all the Jews. Antiochus Epiphanes had a decree that would kill all the Jews, right into current history, right back to the second world war when Adolph Hitler tried to wipe out as many as he possibly could. And yet to-night Israel are in the land, and that's a glorious thing.

But you know, all these signs point to the truth that Jesus Christ is coming back to the earth. Because there are no signs that have to be fulfilled for the event that we are talking about to-night. This event, known as 'the rapture', is the next event in God's prophetic plot and so all the signs you find in scripture relate to His coming to the earth - and that won't take place until at least seven years have passed from God's people are taken away. During those seven years we have what is called 'the tribulation' and then the last three and a half years are called 'the great tribulation period' and then Christ will come to the earth.

And so the things that we are seeing point to the Lord coming to the earth. How much nearer must this coming to the earth be? There are many things that we are told to look for in scripture. Paul says in 2nd Thessalonians, 2, verse 3 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first" and the words 'falling away' speaks of an apostasy and Paul says in the last days there is going to be a great apostasy in many of the churches, a turning away from Bible truth. A turning away from gospel truth - and of course we see it to-day. We see so many jumping on the ecumenical bandwagon. So many that have turned their back on the word of God and turned their back on the glorious truths of the Gospel. We could point to the European side and we are going to look at that in tomorrow night's meeting.

You know men, prophetic students of a bygone age, men like H H Orme, great preachers of the word, were saying before there was such a thing as the European Union, that there would be a united states of Europe before the Lord Jesus would come back. People thought they were crazy. People thought they were mad. And some of the things we are seeing are being fulfilled before our very eyes, or at least there are shadows being cast in the day and age in which we live. As we look at the world morally, we look at it religiously, look at it politically, look at it whatever way you want to look at it, then you have to concur that Jesus Christ is coming very soon.

And so to-night we've come to this glorious truth of the rapture, the next event in God's prophetic calendar. You know, the Lord Jesus Christ promises in John 14, verse 3, He says ".... I will come again, and receive you unto myself....". You know, the angels declared it in Acts 1, verse 10, remember at the ascension of our saviour, "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 ye have seen him go...". This same Jesus, the One who suffered, the One who died, the One who was buried, the One who rose again, this same Jesus will come again. The angels declared it, the Lord promises and here, in 1st Thessalonians, the apostle explains it. Do you know what Solomon said? 'A three fold cord is not quickly broken'. A three fold cord - and there's the three fold cord of this truth this evening. The Lord promises, the angels declared it, the apostle explains it. And we have it clearly taught in the word of God.

On 19th August, 1995, Allen Hansen, a famous footballer of Manchester United, said 'You'll never win anything with kids'. They went on to win eight Premier League titles, five F.A. Cups, a league cup, a European Cup winner's cup and the Champions League in 1999. He had predicted the future and he got it all wrong. Let me tell you, this Book doesn't get it wrong. What this book says about the future will happen and if Jesus Christ said He will come again, He WILL come again.

Let me say a few things about it this evening. First of all let me say something about the timing of it. The rapture of the Church is imminent. That means it could happen at any moment. It could happen in a moment and it could happen at any moment - as I said, there are no signs that have to be fulfilled. We have already read from Acts 1, verse 11, when they were told this same Jesus shall so come in like manner. In 1st Thessalonians 1 verse 10, - if you are still in 1st Thessalonians go back to chapter 1 and look at verse 10 for a moment. 1st Thessalonians, 1 verse 10 - in fact you'll find a reference to the second coming of the Lord in every chapter in 1st and 2nd Thessalonians and it's a wonderful study on its' own - and here in the first chapter, look at verse 10. This is Paul's exhortation to them, they are "... to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come" - or 'from the coming wrath' - and that's referring to the tribulation. But you see that word 'wait', it means to wait expectantly, it's in the present tense. It was a daily and a constant expectation. In other words it could happen literally at any moment.

Let me read what Paul said in Philippians 3, verse 20. He said to the believers " For our conversation or our manner of life, or citizenship is in heaven: from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:". Paul says, 'don't be getting all caught up with the things of the world', because our citizenship is in heaven. We belong to another place and he says we are looking, we are looking, for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour, to come again. And that word 'look' means to look expectantly. In other words for the believers of the early church it was a 'present', it was a 'continuous', it was an 'any moment' expectation that Jesus would come again.

Let me read to you Titus 2, verse 13 "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ". Again the word 'looking' is a constant expectation and as Paul taught to believers in the first century, that they were to expect Christ to come at any moment. That's how they were to live, with that constant expectation. James puts it very bluntly, as he loved to do, he said 'be ye also patient, stablish your heart for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh' and the words used there speak of a judge and he's at the door of the court and someone is ready to say 'all rise' and the judge will step in and take his place and that's the picture that James gives us. It's as is if someone is ready to say 'behold the bridegroom cometh'. Jesus Christ could come before this week is over. Jesus Christ could come before this meeting is over this evening. Don't be fooled to-night, don't be a scoffer to-night. Yes, the signs are wonderful and it's great to study them, but remember they point to the Lord coming to the earth, not to the air. This requires no sign. This requires no prophecy to be fulfilled. This could happen to-night. Jesus Christ could come before this meeting is over.

Now look back in 1st Thessalonians, chapter 4 just while we look at some of these verses. We're just thinking of the timing of it to begin with - it could happen in a moment and at any moment. Look at verse 13. Paul says "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren…" - Paul didn't want them to be uninformed. Sad that so many believers to-day are uniformed. Paul says I don't want you to be ignorant, ignorance is never bliss when it comes to the word of God. Paul says I don't want you to be ignorant, he says that about many things. He said it in Romans 11, verse 25, about Israel, about how "... blindness in part is happened unto Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in". He said it in 1st Corinthians, chapter 12, about spiritual gifts and what a mess some have made of those. He said it out of 2nd Corinthians too, about the devices of the devil, he doesn't want to be ignorant of his devices.

Here's something else: Paul doesn't want these believers to be uniformed and to be ignorant about this great truth 1st Thessalonians 4: 13, "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others..." . These Christians were concerned because some of their loved ones had died and they wondered what lay ahead for them, would they miss out at the rapture. Would somehow they miss out when the Lord comes back and so they are concerned here about what's going to happen to loved ones who have died in Christ. Do you notice two words that Paul uses in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4: verse 13, about those who die without Christ? "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep - that's those who have died - that ye sorrow not, even as others, which have no hope".

Aren't those two very serious words to-night - if you're not saved? Paul says if you die without Christ you've got no hope, no hope. It must be a terrible thing for the doctor to pull back the blankets, or the covering, the curtain at the bedside and have to go out for someone that could sit down beside them and say 'look, I'm going to be honest with you, you've got no hope'. It must be an awful shock for someone to look at you medically and say 'you've got no hope'. It's a tragedy. Let me tell you this a thousand times, a thousand times why, for someone to die without Christ and for God's word to say 'you're a no hoper'. Nobody likes to be called a 'no hoper', but if you're not saved to-night and you die without Christ, you've got no hope - not even a glimmer of hope. Don't let anybody ever fool you into thinking because you've gone to church to-night, you've got hope. You've got no hope. Or because you happen to be a Protestant to-night, or you happen to be a Catholic - I don't care what you are to-night, if you die without Christ, you've got no hope, absolutely no hope to-night, -'I've got a saved mum and a saved dad' - I don't care, you've got no hope where you die without Christ. -'There are others in my family who were saved' (we thank God for that) - but still if you die without Christ, you're a 'no hoper' tonight.

Paul says those who die without Christ have absolutely no hope. I remember just a couple of years ago - you remember there were some miners families trapped in the United States of America. It was a sad thing because the families were waiting and news came through to the families 'we've reached them and they are saved!' But there was a false message. Within ten minutes they were told, 'sorry, they're not saved, they're dead'. You know, it was a message of false hope and I'm not going to give you any false hope to-night. Paul says that if you haven't got Christ in your heart, if you've never repented of your sin, and you die in that way, you have no hope. No hope. There's no purgatory, there's no second chance, you've no hope if you die without Christ. Thank God you've got hope to-night. Thank God you've got opportunity to-night and night by night - I know these meetings have believers in mind, but I will be bringing the Gospel out when occasion gives it and if you have unsaved friends don't be afraid to bring them in, because we'll be taking every opportunity to preach the Gospel and to tell them that they need to trust Christ as their own and personal saviour.

Look what Paul says in 1st Thessalonians 4: verse 17. You can see what Paul's talking about here and we're just thinking of the timing of this. Then Paul 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". Why does Paul talk about 'we'? You see, Paul expects us to be part of that number that's caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And I believe if Paul expects it, then we should expect it. I'm trying to show you to-night that this is immanent.

In Revelations 16, verse 15, the Lord Jesus says "Behold, I come as a thief." Some of you probably know what it's like to be burgled. Among an assembly of God's people you sadly usually find that some have been the victim of burglaries - it's terrible. But I can tell you this, no thief ever rang anyone up and says 'I'm going to burgle your house to-night - would you get out and let me do it'! They don't do such a thing. The Lord Jesus Christ is going to come suddenly, He's going to come unexpectedly, He's going to come without notice - and I believe He's coming soon. Are you ready for Him? Jesus can come at any moment.

Maybe you're not saved to-night and you think this is foolish. Do you know what Peter said in 2nd Peter, 3: verse 3? "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers,……". And what are they scoffing about saying 'where is the promise of His coming'? You know to-night that if you scoff at this, that you're actually fulfilling prophecy yourself. If you're saying to-night 'this is nonsense' you're actually fulfilling the prophecy that we're reading about to-night. I would urge you to-night that if you don't know Christ, trust Him before this service is over.

A T Pearson says 'Immence is the combination of two convictions - certainty and uncertainty. Certainty that it's going to happen, uncertain to what the time will actually be'. I was just thinking of the timing. You know when we great one another in 2008, we would say 'good morning' or 'good afternoon' or 'hello'. Do you know how they used the great others in Bible times, in New Testament times. In 1st Corinthians 16, verse 22, Paul says this "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha". And when they would meet each other they would say 'Maranatha' and Maranatha means 'Our Lord Comes'. They believe that Jesus Christ could come at any moment. This is the truth of the last event. What we are talking about to-night is the next event in God's prophetic calendar. I wonder, to-night, are you ready for it, because before we move on, that's the most important thing - are you ready to-night? If the Lord Jesus Christ were to come back to-night, would you be caught up or would you be 'caught on'? Would you be left behind to face the wrath of God and the horrible tribulation and a lost sinner's hell for all eternity?

You know, this makes a nonsense of any talk of the Church going through the tribulation, because when you study Revelation you will see the tribulation events are set out before us. You'll have the seven seal judgements, you'll have seven trumpet judgements, then you have the seven vial judgements and you can follow them through in Revelations from chapter 6 through to chapter 19. And you see if this coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is immanent, then the Church can't go through the tribulation, because then we would know when Christ is going to come. You could sit there and you could look at the events and you could say 'well, He can't come to-day because these things haven't happened yet'. But I believe that Jesus Christ is coming before the tribulation period because in 1st Thessalonians 5, verse 9, we are told "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ". And Revelation, 3 verse 10, the Lord Jesus says "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the whole world……" And the Lord, speaking about that tribulation period says to the Church 'I'm going to keep you from it, not keep you through it, I'm going to keep you from it'. You see Jesus Christ is coming and He expects us to expect Him. Be expecting Him to-night. That's just a little bit about the timing of it to-night.

Let me say something about the triumph in it, it's a blessed hope, it's a happy hope for those of us who are saved. When a believer dies and his body is laid into the earth, the soul goes immediately to be with the Lord. Paul tells us that in 2nd Corinthians, 5: verse 8 "We are confident, I say, and will be willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord". Remember the thief who died on the cross. The Lord Jesus says 'to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise'. Now the Jehovah Witnesses would change that and they'll say that the Lord Jesus Christ said to-day 'you're going to be with me in paradise'. And they break it up because they believe in a thing called 'soul sleep' but that's not what the Bible teaches. Paul says that 'you're absent from the body and you're present with the Lord'. The old body is laid in the earth, the soul goes immediately into the presence of the Lord.

Look at verse 14 in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4. This is a blessed hope. "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, (this is for believers) even so them also which sleep in Jesus (those who have died in Christ) will God bring with him". That word 'sleep' is used of Christians and refers to death. It's never used of Christ's death. You see, since Christ took the sting out of death, death to the believer is just like sleep, we just pass from one place to another. We enter into the presence of the Lord and death has lost its sting - it's just a shadow, it's the 'valley of the shadow of death' and a shadow will never do you any harm. If a vehicle knocks you down you'll be badly injured but if the shadow of a vehicle hits you, you'll not feel a thing. Death to the believer has lost its sting. The pain is taken out of it, and Paul describes death to the believer just like sleep. Look again what he says in verse 14: "……even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him" Verse 15 "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep". He says in verse 14 that God's going to bring them with Him, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back He's bringing the souls of those who have died in Christ with him. Remember their bodies are in the grave, the souls are in glory and when the Lord Jesus comes back to the earth He's bringing the souls of the believers with Him, that's what He says in verse 14 "…even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him", verse 15 "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord," this is not a fairy story, this is the word of the Lord, "that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep".

That word 'prevent' means to precede or go before. You see, they thought that believers who had died were going to loose out. They were going to miss out at the rapture and Paul says, 'no, they're not', because when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back with the saints, he is bringing the souls of the believers with Him and those of us who are alive and remain, we're going to be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. But look at verse 16: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout". The Lord Himself is coming back, He's said as much. He said 'I will come again'.

Notice He's coming with a shout. And every time the Lord shouted in scripture, someone rose from the dead. I'm sure you know that already. In John 11: verse 43 "And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice Lazarus, come forth". And up from the grave Lazarus came. In Mathew 27: verses 50-53 "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost". What happened? "And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many". And when the Lord shouts, there's going to be a resurrection, and what a resurrection's going to be that day. Do you see what it says 'the dead in Christ shall rise first'. Those of us who are alive, we are going to have to wait a moment. The dead shall rise first and they are going to be reunited with their souls in the air, then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. The dead in Christ shall rise first.

As a young boy I used to be fascinated by magnets. I used to love to take a magnet and see what the magnet would stick to. You know a magnet won't touch copper, brass or lead. Because it's a different nature, it will only lift iron. You see, when the Lord comes back those who've got His nature are going to rise like a huge magnet to meet the Lord in air. You see, the moment you were saved Peter tells us that He gives us a divine nature (2nd Peter 1: verse 4 - "……partakers of the divine nature,……"), and those who are saved and alive when Christ comes back, are going to rise to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. What a triumph it will be, the dead in Christ shall arise, what a shout of hallelujah there's going to be 1st Thessalonians, 4: verse 16: "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:".

The voice of the archangel - there's only one archangel named and his name's Michael. Pastor Willy Mullan(?) used to say 'There is only one archangel. Don't talk about archangels!' - he may well have been right, we can't be sure. But the voice of the archangel, probably Michael who's mentioned in scripture on six different occasions - you'll find him in Daniel 10 when he's battling with the demons of hell to make a way for Daniel's prayer to be answered. You'll find him in Daniel chapter 12 when he stands up for Israel during the tribulation period. You'll find him in Jude 9 when he's contending with satin over the body of Moses. You'll find him in Revelation 12, once again standing up for Israel. And here we find him in 1st Thessalonians 4: verse 16. He always seems to be the one who is brought up to defend against satin.

Do you know what I believe to-night, I believe first of all, that it's going to mean that God is going to turn back to Israel again and that's why Michael is there. Remember the focus of attention is away from Israel, because blindness in part has happened unto Israel. But now God's going to turn His attention on Israel again during the tribulation period and into the millennial kingdom. But I believe also that if we think of Michael contending with the devil, remember the devil's fear of influence and power. Ephesians 2: verse 2, "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air……". You see that's satin's the name. And you see, as believers rise to meet the Lord in the air, the archangel and all his angelic host will be there. It will be a safe passage. How the old devil would love to stop it. How the old enemy would love to thwart it if he could but he hasn't got a hope. There's like an armed guard just standing as God's people rise to meet the Lord in the air.

It also mentions then, in 1st Thessalonians, 4: verse 16, the "trump of God". When the trumpet sounded, in Numbers 10, there are three reasons for the trumpets. There was a call to worship - when they wanted a solemn assembly they would sound the trumpet. It was a call to walk - when they would move on, the trumpet would sound. It was also a call to war - when the battle was raging, the trumpet would sound and they would march into battle. This trumpet they used to usher in the final movement of God in relation to Israel - at the same time it's going to assemble God's people, the Church as we rise to meet the Lord in the air!

Now look at 1st Thessalonians, 4: verse 17: "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". Here's the rapture. Now there are those who will say 'that I don't believe in the rapture because you can't find the word in the Bible'. Let me tell you there are 774,747 words in the King James version of the Bible and you won't find the word 'rapture'. Tell me something else - you'll not find the word 'Bible' and you'll not find the word 'Trinity' but all of us believe those thing to-night. The English word 'rapture' comes from the Latin 'rapere', which means 'to seize' or 'to snatch away' and it corresponds to the Greek word that Paul uses here 'harpe~' which means 'to be caught up'. Its like a harpoon, that's where harpoon comes from - something snatched away. And Woost/Wurst(?), one of the greatest Greek scholars tells you how the word was used. It was used to catch away speedily. We find it in Acts 8, verse 39 when the spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. This is going to be something that happens in the twinkling of an eye. When the Lord comes, we are going to be caught up in an instant, in a moment.

It also means to 'seize by force'. It was used in John 6, verse 15, when it says they tried to come and take the Lord by force - that's the word, to take by force. Some of God's people are so much in love with this old world that it will be a (indistinct) left over when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back. Some perhaps like Lot's wife, will maybe need to be dragged out. It means 'to catch away speedily'. It means ' to seize by force'. It means 'to claim for oneself' - it was used of a bride going to claim her bridegroom (and what a beautiful picture it is when the Lord Jesus comes for His bride, the Church). It was used when they were moving to a new place. They would be caught away and put into a new place and what a place we're going to - 'I go to prepare a place for you'. And what a wonderful mansion it is going to be in glory.

Something else. It (to rapture) was used to rescue from danger. If someone was in danger and they would be snatched away or caught away, that's how the verb would be used - to 'catch them away'. That's how we are going to be caught away before the danger comes, because God hath not appointed us to wrath. "Oh joy, oh delight, should we go without dying, No sickness, no sadness, no dread and no cry, caught up through the clouds with the Lord into glory, when Jesus receives his own". It's a triumph to-night, it's a blessed hope to-night, there's the rapture to-night.

Then there's a wonderful reunion. Look what it says in 1st Thessalonians, 4: verse 17, '…caught up together with them…'. You know, Paul's writing to sorrowing saints. Saints who have watched loved ones die, saints who have stood at graves while their loved one has been laid into the earth and covered over. And they were troubled - 'what's going to happen, what's going to happen when Jesus comes back? Are they going to have to wait? Are they going to miss out? Have they lost out because they have died? - What's going to happen? Paul says 'no, they are not going to loose out'. You see, this wonderful reunion, caught up together with them. Whenever your heart's breaking over a loved one to-night, and you miss them so dearly - you know, this is a blessed hope for a believer to-night. A blessed hope, a happy hope to-night - you're going to see them again! Those who have died in Christ, they are going to rise up and you're going to be caught up with them together and what a happy reunion that is going to be.

It's a blessed hope for the believer to-night. There's a lovely picture of it in Luke's Gospel Chapter 7. Remember the widow of Nain, she's coming out to the city gate and as the Lord is going in he meets the funeral procession and her only son has died and her heart's broken and it says this that after the Lord touched the coffin, 'he that was dead, sat up and began to speak, and He delivered him to his mother'. And I can just see the Lord, taking this young boy and bringing him to his mum, what a reunion, what a joyful occasion that must have been. Can you see it to-night? Can you see the Lord Jesus Christ there? Can you see those loved ones that you miss so dearly and there they are and they are caught up together with them to-night. What a wonderful, what a blessed, what a glorious reunion!

You know, in Exodus chapter 14; verse 13 - and I'm taking this out of context but there's words in it I want to leave with you - 'Mosses said unto the people, fear ye not' - this is them standing at the Red Sea -' stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom you have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever'. And sometimes I take those words and I can preach them at a funeral service. And I can stand and I can say to the family 'do you see this loved one that is in Christ, if you're not saved when you die, this is going to be you 'Ye shall see them again no more for ever'. Isn't that heart breaking to-night? It's heart breaking to stand at a grave and to lay a believer to rest and look around at the family and so many of them are still out of Christ and without a saviour. And you just have to say to them, 'if you don't sort yourselves out, you'll never see them again'. Will the circle be unbroken. 'By and by Lord, by and by, there's a better home awaiting in the sky Lord, in the sky'. Are you not one in the family that is not saved to-night? Are you not one that has broken that lovely circle? Is your family like Noah's family to-night, they're all safe in the Ark but you're not. You're the one that's outside to-night. What a sad thing it was and what a sad thing it will be if when you close your eyes in death, you'll never see your family again.

You see the triumph in it to-night. You see the rapture, you see the reunion, then you see the royalty. You see the word 'meet', in 1st Thessalonians verse 17, 'to meet the Lord in the air'. You know, I've never met royalty face to face. I remember as a young lad I was in an organisation called 'The Church Lads Brigade' and we went over to London one time and it was their 25th anniversary - I think it was - and the Queen was inspecting and I could see the Queen from a distance driving through in a big Range Rover and she waved, waved at me - I think it was me anyway, I know there were hundreds there! But I've never met her face to face, but she was towards me. It was to me as meeting a royal dignitary and you know we are going to meet the King of kings, and Lord of lords. What a wonderful reunion that's going to be with the saviour. And we shall meet the Lord in the air - what a special word it is. You see the rapture, you see the reunion, you see the royalty, then you see the remaining - look what it says in verse 17: 'Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: so shall we ever be with the Lord'. 'What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see'. This is what John says, 'Beloved, now we are as of son's of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is' - we are going to be like Him! We can't fully take this in.

The Psalmist said (Psalm in 16: verse 11), 'Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore'. Fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore! Psalmist again said (in Psalm 17: verse 15), 'As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness'. Eternal pleasure, eternal joy, eternal satisfaction! We can't really take it in to-night. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. When Paul got a glimpse of heaven he never was the same after it. He said 'I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far, far better'. What a triumph! What a triumph to-night. Think of the rapture, think of the reunion, think of the royalty, think that we remain there for all eternity.

Then we see something remarkable in 1st Corinthians, 15: verse 51. It says: 'Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,' and Paul says this is a mystery. This is something hidden that's now revealed. This is something the Old Testament believers new nothing about. This is a New Testament truth. This is something that just has been revealed. 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 in a split second. Those of us who are alive and remain, this old body is going to be changed and made right unto His glorious body, no more pain, no more anguish, no more death, no more tears, no more sorrow, no more chemotherapy, no more arthritis, no more diabetes, no more cancer. This body will be changed immediately to be like His. And you are going to be with Him through all eternity. No wonder Paul finished, in 1st Thessalonians 4 verse 18, with these words: 'Wherefore comfort one another with these words'.

Believers to-night, if there is someone you really love to-night, if there is someone your heart still breaks over, when you get into the house at night and you close the door and you turn the key and you're all alone and how you've missed them so dearly, and how you long for that reunion. Listen, may this encourage your heart to-night. Paul says this in comfort, comfort one another with these words. 'On the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore'. Do you need comfort to-day? Comfort for sickness? One day Jesus will come and this old body is going to be changed. Comfort for suffering? This world is a dread to us; this old world is not our final home. Comfort for sorrow? Are you feeling the pain, the loss this evening? We're going to see them again.

We've just been thinking about the blessed hope to-night. We have thought about the timing of it, it could happen in a moment. We have thought about the triumph. What a blessed hope, the rapture. Think of all those things we have thought about this evening.

Then let me finish with the tragedy of it. If you're still in 1st Thessalonians, chapter 4, just go into chapter 5 and I'll be finished just in a moment. Paul has been speaking about the rapture and look what he says in verse 1-2 of chapter 5. 'But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto to you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night'. Now the day of the Lord encompasses that tribulation period and Paul says to the believers, 'I don't have to tell you' - do you see who he's talking to there - 'for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night'. He's talking to sensible believers. He says I don't have to tell you 'that the day of the Lord'. I don't have to warn you 'that the day of the Lord'. I don't have to tell you 'about this awful tribulation period that's coming along'.

Then look at verse 3, because he changes. He stops talking to believers and he starts to talk about unbelievers. For when they - it's now 'they', it's not you - 'For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape'. There's going to be phoney peace (and we're not going to deal with it to-night). Anti-Christ will introduce a phoney peace and they'll be saying 'Peace' but sudden destruction is going to come upon them. But then look at verse 4-5, he goes back to the believer. 'But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night nor of darkness'. Don't worry, believer. This is not your experience, don't worry, he's talking to believers now. Look at verse 6, 'Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober'. Paul says listen, we're not going to go through the tribulation, but you need to waken up. You need to be sober, he's not talking about being drunk, he's talking about being sober, being serious. If you truly believe that Jesus is coming again, you need to open your eyes and see what's happening in the world.

But then here's the real tragedy in verse 7, 'For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night'. Paul's now talking about the unbelievers again. He says, see those who go through life and ignore this glorious truth that Jesus is coming again. He says they are like people who are drunk. If you ever see someone who is full drunk they don't have control of their senses. They are not aware of what's going on. I had someone in my own family who walked out into the middle of the street and was dying. For twenty five years he just lay like a vegetable. He had no idea where he was going, no idea of what he was doing. Paul says, do you see the unbelievers, they're like someone who is drunk, they have no idea what's happening, they're living as if this is not real, they're oblivious to it. They're oblivious to it, but sadly they're going to waken up some day and find themselves in the awful, awful tribulation period.

Look at verses 9 & 10; they get back to believers again. 'For God hath not appointed us to wrath' - you see the nonsense of the Church going through the tribulation. Paul when he's talking to believers, he tells them they are delivered from wrath. They don't have to worry about the day of the Lord. Then when he talks to the unbelievers, he describes them like those who are drunk. They're not aware; they're just living as if nothing matters. Let me tell you that here to-night, Jesus could come to-night. And when Jesus comes and the Church is taken home, all hell will break out in (? indistinct). And when I talk to young people on Friday night about global warming I'm going to show them the effect of global warming during the tribulation period. You see with the boys you are talking about to-day - 'it's a teddy bears picnic', it's a teddy bears picnic. Let me tell you, the biggest threat to our climate is not CO2 or greenhouse gasses, it's sin, it's sin. But this tribulation period is going to come, but God's going to take the believer home first.

Remember how Lot was rescued out of Sodom and Gomorrah before judgement fell. Remember how Noah was rescued before judgement fell, remember how Enoch was caught up into heaven before the flood. You see, the believer is going to be caught up before the judgement of God falls. To the believer to-night, the blessed hope is a triumph. For the unbeliever to-night it's a tragedy, it's a tragedy if you die without Christ.

Let me say a couple of things briefly about the future of things. What's it mean to you believers to-night? Let me tell you this, it means you will attend a meeting because in Hebrews 10: verse 25 the Hebrew writer says 'Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching' and he's talking about the day when Christ is coming back for the believer. Where would you like to be on a Sunday morning if the Lord Jesus comes back and you weren't in your place and your seat was empty and you were at home for no good reason? Or
when the prayer meeting is on during the week, the Lord Jesus comes back that night, would you be ashamed, would you be embarrassed? You see, if you truly believed that Jesus was coming again, you'll want to be at the meetings. You'll want to remember the Lord - for as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till He comes. You'll not want to be ashamed - now little children, abide in Him that when He shall appear and you will have confidence, and not be ashamed. You'll want to live lives that are pleasing to Him.

Beloved - now are we the sons of God and it doth not yet appear that we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifies himself even as He is pure. Believer, if there is sin in your life to-night, you wouldn't want the Lord to come until you have dealt with that sin. You see this teaching to-night, it's great to come to prophecy but its not 'head' knowledge you're after to-night, it's the heart - if it doesn't get from here to there then it's a waste of time. And it must affect your walk if it's going to be effective. What's it mean to the unbelievers to-night? Very simply, flee from the wrath of God.

My time is gone to-night. Well, let me tell you that Jesus Christ is coming again. Jesus Christ could come before this week of meetings is over, He could come before the meeting closes to-night. Believer, how do you stand to-night before the Lord? Unbeliever, the Bible says you'll have no hope, you'll have no hope. I was listening to a news night recently and the reporter said that to-day, (it was the 20th October), is the 64th anniversary of General McArthur's promise that he kept to the Philippians. They had occupied the Philippines in one day after Pearl Harbour. They had to leave the Philippines and flee and go to Australia, but when McArthur was leaving in 1941 he looked at the people on that island and he said 'This land, I promise you, I'll come back again, I'll come back again' and true to his word, on 20th October 1944, he came back again and liberated the Island. He kept his word. One, greater than General McArthur, said over 2000 years ago, 'I will come again'. And let me tell you …… He will keep His word, He is coming again.

Let us pray:

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