Israel: Hope & the End Times - Part IV • December 3, 2023
Part of Israel—Hope & the End Times
December 3, 2023

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ISRAEL: HOPE & THE END TIMES - PART IV

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The Rapture: Are you Ready?

  • Revelation‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭9‬‬
    Then I witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and she cried out because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth. Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born. She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days. Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

  • ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬‬
    When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

  • ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭12‬:‭17‬‬
    And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.

The Millennial Reign

  • ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭20‬:‭1‬-‭3‬‬
    Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.

The New Heaven & Earth

  • ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭1‬-‭7‬‬
    Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

The next significant event to take place is the rapture of the church.

In this message, we will look to the Word for answers to the following questions:

– What is the rapture?
– Why is there a rapture?
– When is the rapture?
– Is it before of the time of tribulation the bible speaks of?
– Who will go in the rapture?

1. What is the rapture?

  • ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭18‬‬
    Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Caught up together – the Greek word here is Harpazo. In the Latin bible, the word is rapturo, which is where we get the word “rapture” Harpazo – literally means to seize hastily, to snatch away.

  • ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭50‬-‭53‬‬
    What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

  • ‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭24‬-‭27‬‬
    For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

  • ‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭28‬-‭35‬‬
    “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

One will be taken – Greek word used here is paralambano.

Context of this word is marriage – to receive and be joined to someone in relationship.

  • ‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭1‬-‭3‬‬
    “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

2. Why the rapture?

– Relationship with Jesus for all eternity.
– Rescue from the coming judgment

  • ‭‭Daniel‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬‬
    “At that time Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued.

3. When will the rapture be?

The Wrath of the Lamb

  • ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭6‬:‭15‬-‭17‬‬
    Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”

Not Appointed to Suffer Wrath

  • ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬‬
    For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

  • ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭10‬‬
    for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

  • ‭‭Luke‬ ‭21‬:‭36‬‬
    Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

“Counted worthy” – this helps us begin answer the question

4. “Who will go in the rapture?”

  • ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭64‬:‭6‬‬
    But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

  • ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭9‬‬
    For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

  • ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭1‬-‭6‬‬
    “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’

  • ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭7‬-‭13‬‬
    “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ “But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’ “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’ “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

  • ‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭35‬-‭40‬‬
    “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready. “Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

Those who are ready and waiting!

Live your life. Get married. Go to school. Build a business. Plan for tomorrow but live like He is coming TODAY.

In a flash, in a twinkling of an eye…

  • ‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭38‬-‭40‬‬
    He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready. “Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

  • ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭17‬‬
    The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

  • ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬‬
    Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

MY NOTES

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