Christian Soldier 90, Doctrine Of The Rapture, 18. - Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

GRACE BIBLE CHURCH

07-31-2022

PASTOR ROBERT R. MCLAUGHLIN

PDF: GBC07312022NOTES

Christian Soldier 90, Doctrine Of The Rapture, 18.

The divine order of events that we are studying and waiting for is:

(Y) R = Rapture

S = Silence of God

B = Big Genuflex

J = Judgment Seat of Christ

We are presently studying and almost finished with the doctrine of the Rapture.

This is followed by silence of God and now leads us to the next event that takes place after the Rapture and that

is:

Y Point 15. The Rapture and the Big Genuflex.

First of all;

We will begin with our main passage that will deal with why there was silence in heaven and why every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord; PHI 2:9-11; ROM 10:9-10.

REV 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen.

REV 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

REV 1:9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos [for the mentally disturbed], because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

REV 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,

REV 1:11 saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."

REV 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands;

REV 1:13 and in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His breast with a golden girdle.

REV 1:14 And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire;

REV 1:15 and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.

REV 1:16 And in His right hand He held seven stars; and out of His mouth came a sharp two edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.

This passage describes the silence of God and the reason for the Big Genuflex.

Our first principle is:

Y The Big Genuflex is where every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.

The Big Genuflex is the interim event between the Rapture and the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Therefore,

It is both the glorification of the Father's plan and the recognition of our Lord's battlefield royalty which was bestowed at His session; COL 2:13-15.

COL 2:13 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

COL 2:14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

COL 2:15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

This explains the phrase "every tongue shall confess to God."

What is confessed is the fact that our Lord's royalty demands the resurrection of His Royal Family.

We must have a resurrection body as He does because we are His family.

In resurrection body, the entire royal family will identify the Head of the family, Jesus Christ, to the glory of the Father.

It will be our moment of the greatest happiness ever as we will be in awe of His presence as we behold His glory.

Remember there is silence in heaven but that does mean we are silent with our heads bowed.

We are silent because “as we behold His glory” we are speechless because of that glory.

What is this glory that “we behold”?

It is His appearance and His performance.

Our role is to manifest that glory to the world.

How do we do that?

The glorification of God is by means of the Church (Eph 3:21) and it occurs when the believer attains spiritual adulthood and moves to spiritual maturity.

In EPH 3:20, Paul writes, Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

EPH 3:21 to Him [God the Father] be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Notice that God is to be glorified "in the Church" just like He was glorified by means in TLJC.

And;

It is at this time that the believer is said to be "filled with all the fullness of God," Eph 3:19.

EPH 3:19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.

And for more info on that passage study Wednesday night.

This happens when the believer glorifies God as he parlays the life beyond gnosis (Eph 3:19) into the life beyond dreams (Eph 3:20).

The life beyond gnosis is epignosis, which is the consistent function of perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine.

Learning doctrine in the Old Testament won't advance you in the life beyond gnosis.

You must understand the mystery doctrine of the Church-age which is found in the New Testament epistles, for it contains all the mechanics for the plan of God in this dispensation.

And the result is the attainment of spiritual adulthood.

Then you begin to gather fantastic and dynamic momentum.

Spiritual maturity parlays the life beyond gnosis into the life beyond dreams, which becomes the basis for glorifying God.

What does not glorify God is all your Christian service, sacrifice, and works done in the flesh or the OSN.

All this is wood, hay, and stubble and it will all be burned at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

The only Christian service and production that counts is the production that results from perception of doctrine.

Therefore,

Christian service and Christian works are not the means of attaining spiritual maturity or of glorifying God.

Spiritual growth is not measured in works; spiritual growth is measured by motivation and momentum.

After Wednesday’s message, when I came home I worked on the subject of motivation.

I am always amazed at the timing of God that many call a coincidence but I call a divine appointment.

You ask, “Why do I say that?”

Well, Thursday afternoon I had lunch with two friends that I haven’t seen for ten tears and when we entered into conversation our entire subject was on motivation.

Little did I realize that my teaching on motivation would be a preparation for our conversation.

We had a great time and they told and they were amazed by my knowledge of the subject.

(Of course I didn’t tell them I had just finished studying the subject 😊)

What I was impressed with is that they told me that there are a lot of people who listen to us that I have no idea about,

The live in the Boston area and all they have to do is click on their computer and they can go to our website, click a button and be live as a non face-to-face doctrinal student of the Word of God.

By the way, they were so impressed with our website and what Samantha has done and is doing.

They said it was the BEST site on the Internet!

Not one of the best but the best!

So,

The issue here in bringing glory to God is not what you do, but why you do what you do or what was your motivation behind you bringing glory to the Lord.

Motivation is what is located inside the individual's soul impelling or inciting action.

Everything you do in life has some type of motivation behind it, no matter what that motivation is whether good or bad.

Hence,

Motivation is both the mental and-or emotional incentive or impulse.

Mental attitude is not emotional.

And the reason why I say both mental and-or emotional incentive is because;

You can do things that you don't feel like doing and you do it because your mental attitude says to, and that is proper motivation.

You do not have to feel like doing something in order for it to be genuine or the production of divine good.

James put it like this in;

JAM 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.

He didn't say, the one who feels like doing the right thing, he said the one who knows to do the right thing but still refuses to do so.

Mental attitude is the key to motivation not the feelings or emotions.

A motive is any thought which determines a choice or induces action.

Proper motivation can encourage, influence, convince or persuade an individual to do what is right!

However, doing what is right is not the ultimate purpose, it is the motivation which is most significant.

PRO 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives.

Look at 1CO 4:1 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

1CO 4:2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

1CO 4:3 But to me it is a very small thing that I should be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself.

1CO 4:4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.

1CO 4:5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God.

And that's why if you have an urge or a feeling to do something, you should check into the word of God and receive divine guidance from doctrine.

For example,

Peter had an impulse to try and stop the Lord from going to Jerusalem where he would suffer in Mat 16:21-23.

MAT 16:21 From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

MAT 16:22 And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid {it,} Lord! This shall never happen to You."

MAT 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."

Peter had a sincere impulse but he was sincerely wrong.

And…..

The Lord will test your motivation even if it's from the emotions, PSA 7:9 "For the righteous God tests the heart [right lobes] and the emotions [reins]."

Again;

Our motivation or reasons why we do what we do, give what we give, serve how we serve, learn what we learn, will be evaluated.

In the Christian life;

The believer is either motivated by doctrine and the filling of the Spirit, which produces personal love for God, or by the lust pattern of the OSN and Satan's cosmic system which produces good and evil.

This is why James said in;

JAM 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your lusts [OSN].

Your attitude toward doctrine and spiritual growth determines proper motivation.

In fact, most of you have heard this verse hundreds and hundreds of times, but do you realize that motive is one of the main principles in the passage?

I’m talking about a verse we all love; HEB 4:12.

Let’s look at it and break it down as it relates to our subject of the Rapture and the Big Genuflex.

HEB 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two‑edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge (here comes the motivation) the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Note that doctrine judges your motivation.

As you sit and listen to doctrine, there are certain areas of your life where doctrine hits you right between the eyes, not the pastor but the Word of God.

The Bible is a book that is alive and active!

And not only that;

It is said to be sharper than any two-edged sword.

Let's read the passage.

HEB 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword,

Our Lord said it another way in;

JOH 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

Now,

As a result of the word of God being living and active, it does two things and it works for two reasons.

If you look closely at verse 12 you will see the things that it does and at verse 13, the reason why it works.

First, what does it do?

HEB 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing

First, it pierces, diikneomai meaning to cut through and to penetrate the garbage, confusion, excuses, rationalization and tradition.

And notice how far it pierces;

“as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow,” which means to the innermost intimacies of man's being, the human soul and the human spirit.

And;

The second thing that God's word does, it judges!

HEB 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge.

We get the word critic from the Greek word kritikos translated judge which means to critique, to judge, to discern, or to evaluate.

Therefore, it is said to be able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart.

In fact, our Lord said the same thing in JOH 12:47.

JOH 12:47 "And if anyone hears My doctrines, and does not guard them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world."

JOH 12:48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My doctrines, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day."

Now, why does it work so well?

What is it about God's word that regardless of culture, age, sex, or circumstance, when it is learned and believed, it works?

What is the reason for that?

Look at the next verse that goes along with this verse

HEB 4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

It works, first of all, because it is universal in scope.....no one is hidden from God's sight!

He knows everything about us including our innermost secrets and all the skeletons in our closet and all the mistakes we are going to make for the rest of our life!

By the way. knowing all that, He still loves you with unconditional love.

In fact, it goes on to say HEB 4:13.........all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

When God deals with a any issues, all things are exposed!

Therefore,

The word of God works because it is universal in scope and secondly, it is limitless in exposure.

All things are open means all things are uncovered.

And,

”laid bare” means to be totally and completely exposed.

You see,

God's two-edged sword reveals the thoughts of your heart and the motivation behind your actions!

It is able to go beyond the action to the motive into the thought life so that He is able to expose and reveal to us the true meaning behind our thoughts, our words and our actions.

And this is why the Lord said to Samuel in

1SA 16:7 "God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

Evil is the source of anti Christian motivation,

Psa 21:11; 1Co 10:5-6; Mar 7:22 23.

PSA 21:11 "Though they were motivated to do evil against Thee, and devised a plot, They will not succeed."

Speaking of the Exodus generation in 1CO 10:5 we read;

1CO 10:5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well pleased; for they were laid low [by the sin unto death] in the desert.

1CO 10:6 Now these things happened as examples for us, that we should not crave evil things, as they also craved [evil things].

There is your false motivation.

In fact, in MAR 7:14 our Lord brought out evil motivation;

MAR 7:14 And after He called the multitude to Him again, He {began} saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:

MAR 7:15 there is nothing outside the man which going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.

I dedicate that to all the sermons against what a person puts in their mouth.

MAR 7:16 ["If any man has ears to hear, let him hear."]

MAR 7:17 And when leaving the multitude, He had entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable.

MAR 7:18 And He *said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him;

MAR 7:19 because it does not go into his heart [where his motivation is and where he can be defiled], but into his stomach, and is eliminated? ({Thus He} declared all foods clean.)

MAR 7:20 And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.

MAR 7:21 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,

MAR 7:22 deeds of coveting {and} wickedness, {as well as} deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride {and} foolishness.

MAR 7:23 "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."

False motivation hinders spiritual growth, Phi 2:14; Job 17:11.

PHI 2:14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing;

JOB 17:11 "My days are past, my plans are torn apart, even the wishes [motives] of my heart.

There are a lot of people who do the right thing but they do it in the wrong way, with false motivation.

They give, they serve, they pray, they learn, they even apply what they learn, but they do it with false motivation.

PHI 2:14 said in my corrected translation was;

PHI 2:14 “Keep on doing all things without complaining or without sullen discontent [which means without sulking and pouting or argumentations which undermines authority].

If you're going to reach the different stages of spiritual growth, it takes authority to get there.

If you're going to advance in the Christian way of life you must do it under the authority of your right pastor without pouting and argumentations which undermine his authority.

JOB 17:11 describing Job in reversionism he says "My days are past, my motivations are torn apart, even the desires of my heart [right lobe.]"

False motivation hinders spiritual growth.

And this means a good deed may be promoted by a bad motive.

The great issue in spiritual giving is motivation,

2CO 9:7.

2CO 9:7 Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart [been motivated in his right lobe]; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful or a joyful giver.

For the mature believer, God turns evil motivation into grace blessing, Gen 50:20, Deu 23:5.

The motivation of the mature believer is often maligned, Exo 17:3.

EXO 17:3 But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"

No one was ever more maligned than Moses who was a mature believer with great humility and great motivation.

There was nothing wrong with the motivation of Moses but everything wrong with those who criticized Moses's motivation.

And they did so because;

Moses was a constant challenge to their pride until finally their pride blew up and triggered the mechanism of jealousy, vindictiveness, implacability, etc.

And all of this was filed into the soul where they combined with evil and this explains all of the maligning that came in the direction of Moses.

So this shows up the principle of proper and improper motivation.

When there is proper momentum, there will be the production of gold, silver, and precious stones which will be rewardable at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

What is The Pattern for Glorifying God in the Church?

It is the pattern of perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine is the pattern of the three R's.

(Y) Reception of Bible doctrine is the #1 priority.

Therefore, your #1 priority is the daily reception of the mystery doctrine of the Church-age.

(Y) Retention refers to the metabolization of Bible doctrine, so that epignosis doctrine in the right lobe is the basis of momentum in the PPOG.
(Y) Recall is comparable to the concept of wisdom; it refers to the application of doctrine.

And this results in understanding the ten unique characteristics of the Church-age which we also noted on Wednesday evening or the last time we were together.

What are those ten unique characteristics?

I will not give them all to you but the seventh one because it gives us the main reason why we should have confidence at the Rapture, during the silence of God and now at the Big Genuflex.

And that is the fact that the seventh one says;

The body of the Church-age believer is indwelt by each person of the Trinity; EPH 4:6; 1CO 6:19; JOH 14:20.

Do you know and realize that all three members of the Trinity live inside of you?

God the Father lives inside of you says EPH 4:6.

EPH 4:6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

God the Holy Spirit lives inside of you says;

1CO 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

God the Son lives inside of you says;

JOH 14:20 "In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

The point is that with the right motivation to experience the glory of God, we are able to have momentum in the spiritual life.

So,

Doctrinal momentum is based on solving problems and it is based upon handling the problem of suffering, whether it is deserved or undeserved.

There is X-amount of suffering for blessing involved in momentum, because this is the way you apply doctrine to your experience.

Glorification of God is the execution of the PPOG through the advance to spiritual maturity.

This means advance through the three stages of spiritual adulthood.

The pattern for glorifying God includes suffering for blessing, not divine discipline or self-induced misery under the law of volitional responsibility.

Self-induced misery results in divine discipline, which is designed to cause us to rebound and recover life in the PPOG.

However, only suffering for blessing has momentum.

Therefore, when you pass these different tests, you are qualified for blessing and therefore glorification.

Glorification of God is related to the distribution of your escrow blessings for time; EPH 1:3-11.

Ephesians 1 teaches that the first thing God ever did for us is the means of glorifying Him, which is to receive the blessings He has provided for us.

Billions of years ago, God the Father deposited into escrow, the greatest blessings that you and I can't even imagine.

And these fantastic blessings are tailored perfectly just for you.

Under the doctrine of election, God wills the highest and the best for you as a believer, and it’s only when you receive that highest and best that you glorify God.

This is why we have noted that every believer has a tremendous escrow account in heaven.

People often ask what is God's will for my life?

And the answer is very simple.

God's will is for you to glorify Him.

How?

Here’s a verse that gets right to the point!

MAT 5:16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

God's will is for you to;

Withdraw from your escrow account as much as you can and that brings glory to the Lord as we are about to look at a passage that tells us WHY there will be a Big Genuflex right after our doctrine of the Rapture.

The point is that God has the highest and the best for you.

He has the greatest blessings, blessings that stagger the imagination.

And;

God's will for your life is for you to have the most phenomenal blessings.

And the very fact that some of you don't believe that and you think God is fighting against you because of some area in your life, reveals that you have bought a lie from Satan.

Satan will try to cause you to feel guilty and get on a works program so that you will not glorify God.

The fact that you do not have the most phenomenal blessings in time and eternity simply means that you're choosing to be a loser.

It is making choices that makes us losers.

It is making choices that makes us winners.

So,

God not only wills the highest and best for each believer but, at the same time, He provides equal privilege and equal opportunity to attain these blessings.

Equal privilege means that you are in union with Christ and His church.

Equal opportunity means that you have logistical grace support.

Therefore;

There is no excuse for any believer in all of the history of the Church-age for not receiving phenomenal blessings and to bring glory to the one we will see one day in all His glory.

The reason is just plain old negative volition toward doctrine.

It takes perseverance and positive volition toward doctrine.

And,

You can't be positive if you submit to negative feelings and depressions.

Or; If you allow someone's personality to get you angry and it gets in the way of your motivation or momentum.

And so, when you think doctrine doesn't work and you start to peel off and begin to miss vital doctrines, you've had it.

All you do is cut yourself off from being able to withdraw from your escrow account in heavenly places.

So, the question is obvious?

Why are you here?

Only the believer who stays with doctrine can really answer that question!

You and I are here to glorify God through the glory that our Lord received for finishing the work that God called Him to do; JOH 19:30.

JOH 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.

So, why are you here?

As most of you have heard so many times before and a verse you should never become familiar with that describes why we are here;

REV 4:11 "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created."

So much for why you are here,

A second question is;

Why did God create you?

He tells us why in Isa 43:21.

ISA 43:21 "The people whom I formed for Myself, Will declare My glory."

Now, the next question you should have is;

"How can I glorify God?"

Glorifying God demands understanding.

And you will be kept alive by God long enough to have the opportunity to understand.

You will be kept alive by God to fulfill His plan.

Unless you're a cosmic believer and you reach the point of divine discipline and become a loser.

The principle is that;

God's will for your life as a member of the Family of God is to bless you and to give you prosperity in the midst of all adverse situations.

Therefore, in eternity past;

God looked down the corridor of time and They saw all the problems we would have and all the decisions that we would make and so God provided a fantastic plan which included His highest and best just for you.

And…..

You glorify Him when you live in that plan and receive all the blessing’s He has provided for you to receive.

EPH 1:3 again says (eulogetos) Worthy of praise and glorification be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

EPH 1:4 just as He (God the Father) elected us in Him before the foundation of the world,

Notice once again, it is for His glory!

God had a reason for all He has done for you and this reason gives purpose to your life.

Remember that;

Anything God does results in His glorification.

God does not depend on us for His pleasure or His glory.

He enjoyed these things in eternity past when no one else existed.

God doesn't depend on us for His pleasure and glory but instead He expresses His pleasure and glory toward us even when we fail.

Therefore,

Because God is to be glorified you and I are the beneficiaries of His blessings and divine provisions.

In this way, God is glorified.

God is not glorified by our system of human works but is glorified by meeting our every need.

ISA 26:15 Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, Thou hast increased the nation, Thou art glorified;

ISA 60:21 "Then all your people will be righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.

PSA 50:15 And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will glorify Me."

God is glorified when He rescues us!

Moses found out what God's glory was all about in Exo 33:18-19.

EXO 33:18 Then Moses said, "I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!"

The Lord said, you want to see My glory, here it is.

EXO 33:19 And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion."

Notice that;

His glory is revealed by His graciousness and His compassion.

It is not manifested by miracles being performed by heaven and thunder and lightning come down from the heavens.

No….

His glory is revealed by being gracious and compassionate toward ALL believers whether in the OT or NT.

So,

God's glory that we will see one day experientially, is manifest in time by His grace and compassion toward us.

Just think about it, He does all the work and we get all the blessings as it were.

We know that because of verses like

1TH 5:24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

And how about our old friend from the book of Philippians which says in;

PHI 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

He works – We receive

We receive – He is glorified.

PHI 2:12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

PHI 2:13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

PHI 2:14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing;

PHI 2:15 that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,

PHI 2:16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may have cause to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

God's pleasure is to give to His creatures!

This is why Elihu (the doctrinal friend of Job said in JOB 36:11 that, if we obey God and serve Him, we will spend our days in prosperity and our years in pleasures.

So, The Big Genuflex in the doctrine of the Rapture begins when we see Him for the first time as the apostle John literally describes for us by means of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s look at the main passage now and get ready to break it down then break it down verse by verse on Wednesday evening but before we leave let us read Rev 1:7-14 again.

Beginning in REV 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen.