Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
051320
Some of the things that we can expect as the "Day of God's Wrath" approaches.
Remember this principle: We are not waiting for any prophecies to be fulfilled but we are to prepare ourselves for what will happen just before the Rapture.
For example, the Bible tells us that just before the Rapture comes, there will be a great fallen away among believers.
The gathering together to Him speaks of the Rapture when all of God’s people will met the Lord in the air --- they will be gathered together by our Lord; 1TH 4:15-18.
This refers to the restraining ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
I also believe that the phrase, “He who now restrains is a reference to Satan and the unholy trinity will do so until He [God the Holy Spirit ] is taken out of the way.
This is referring to the restraining ministry of God the Holy Spirit who keeps the unholy trinity from destroying the entire human race.
First of all, let me give to you a little introduction of the time that is coming or the new dispensation which is called the Tribulation Period.
The Tribulation Period is a time coming on this earth which is called "Satan's time of desperation"
"It is also called the day of wrath." ZEP 1:14 Near is the great day of the Lord, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the Lord! In it the warrior cries out bitterly.
"It is called The hour of trial; Rev 3:10."
It is not a time that you would want any of your family members, friends, neighbors, and if you truly understood it, even your enemies to have to go through.
It is a great period of wrath on this earth, both from God and from Satan, Zep 1:14-18.
It is a time of great judgment on the earth like never before, Rev 6:12-17.
It is also said to be a great time of indignation, Isa 26:20-21, Isa 26:20 Come, my people, enter into your rooms, And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while, Until indignation runs its course.
ISA 26:21 For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; And the earth will reveal her bloodshed, And will no longer cover her slain.
For the Church-age believers who are either on earth or on heaven waiting for the Rapture, the Tribulation Period is called the hour of testing, Rev 3:10.
Now, think of it, why would the Lord instruct the man to love His wife like this if He did not treat His bride, the same way?
I mean the following passages tells us that when the Tribulation Period begins, what will the Bride be doing or trusting in and what will happen to His bride, the Church, as the worst time in history is happening in the world called the Tribulation period.
But, being the Bride of Christ, we are told by the apostle Paul in 1TH 5:9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
The wrath of God will be what the entire world knows as one of the worst times, and that is the wrath of God toward unbelievers and fallen angels…….but not for the Bride.
1TH 1:10, we are told to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Now, if you believe that God cannot lie then you must accept the fact that He will protect His bride, especially from wrath, from Satan and his kingdom of darkness.
This is why Rev 3:10 says 'Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth.
In this hour or the time of the Rapture just before the Tribulation Period begins, the Lord promises His believers who are alive at this time, that they will be taken out from the world because they will be raptured; Rev 3:7-13.
It is the phrase in verse 10 that is of interest to us when it says to “keep you from the Tribulation Period, which is the future-active-indicative of the verb “tereo” which means to watch; to guard by keeping the eye upon someone; to protect; to take care of someone.
With this verb we have the preposition “ek” which means that the Lord will take us out of the time that is about to take place on the earth which is the Tribulation period.
The word is also used to say that the believers will be taken away from others, to be led, to remove, it means that the Lord promises to remove us from the Tribulation period that is coming upon the rest of the world.
The Tribulation Period is also said to be a time of
Destruction, Joel 1:15.
Darkness, Joel 2:2;
Desolation, Dan 9:27.
Punishment, Isa 24:20-21.
And the "wrath of God" will be poured out upon the world during the great Tribulation period……but not the Church, she will be getting married in heaven while the citizens of this world are freaking out and fallen apart.
If the church is destined to endure the persecutions of the Tribulation, it is hopeless to proclaim the coming of the Lord as an imminent hope and a joy if all we are waiting for is the Tribulation Period.
What’s the use of looking forward to the worst time in all of human history if we have to go through it ourselves and alone?
On the other hand, if Christ will come for His church before the predicted time of trouble, Christians can regard His coming as an imminent daily expectation.
So, because of a theological event known as the Rapture, the church, the body of Christ will not go through the Tribulation Period unless it is a power that we possess to enjoy handling it.
The Rapture is a time of joy because the Rapture is used in a technical theological sense for the resurrection of the Royal Family of God, the entire Church.
The Lord would never command us to treat one another in our relationships based upon doctrine unless we have the power and the ability to do so.
As a part of your love toward others and what the Lord did for us, one of the most overlooked principles of restoration and love are those principles of love that remind us of how much He truly loves us all.
- The Head and the Body is another principle of truth that we all must have because it recognizes the unity and the Head with the body, the Church, and how it is to function.
If He is the Head and we are His body, do you think He is going to treat His body different than Himself as the Head of the spiritual body?
- We also have the relationship of the Shepherd and the Sheep.
Notice, that if He lost one sheep out of 99, he would go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?
JOH 10:11 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
- The Vine and the Branches stresses the unity and fellowship that exists with our Lord and His church.
- The Cornerstone and the building. This speaks of both the gentiles and the Jews being connected.
- The High Priest and the Royal Priesthood.
- The Groom and the Bride analogy.
This just speaks enough of the analogy, is Jesus Christ a wife beater or a wife saver?
- The Last Adam and the New Creation.
- The Head and the Body.
- The Shepherd and the Sheep.
- The Vine and the Branches.
- The Cornerstone and the building.
- The High Priest and the Royal Priesthood.
- The Groom and the Bride analogy.
- The King of kings and the Royal Family of God.
Now, beginning with Mat 24:15 our Lord begins to describe what it will be like for both believers and unbelievers beginning in Mat 24:15 "Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
The abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through the prophet Daniel will happen when the Unholy Trinity, (that is, the Devil, the Beast, and the False Prophet), will come on the scene and sit down in the throne room of Jerusalem as the new king or the Only Messiah for the Jews and every other nation in the world.
So short that it is the only dispensation that we know had to be cut short because of the danger of self-destruction.
Because our subject is dealing with the future of the world and the things that are about to happen, I need to make certain about what we believe concerning the Rapture of the Church and the Tribulation Period.
(1) First of all, the great Tribulation is punishment for a Christ-rejecting world, and the nation of Israel, who rejected her Messiah, Rev 6:12-17.
(2) The nature of the church, and the promises of Christ forbid the church from going through the great Tribulation.
For example, the nature of the church COL 1:22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach
The promise of Christ HEB 13:5 "for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,"
(3) There must be an interval of time between the rapture and the second coming.
(4) The scripture's which deal with the great tribulation have particular reference to the Jew, Mat 24:1-31; Mar 13:14; Luk 21:23-36.
The abomination of desolation has to do with Jerusalem and the Temple, DAN 11:31 "And forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation."
The Sabbath is for the Jews only, Exo 31:16.
In LUK 13:6, the fig tree represents the nation of Israel, And He {began} telling this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, and did not find any.
So, notice that the Sabbath is used, Mat 24:20.
Jerusalem is trodden under, Luk 21:24.
Kingdom of God is near and at hand, Mat 24:14.
Church is never mentioned; Temple implied; abomination of desolation denoted.
(5) The Tribulation is mentioned as a gross time of darkness, evil, and sin, where none have faith. Isa 60:2; Jer 13:16; Luk 18:8.
(6) Satan persecutes the women in the Tribulation (Israel). The church is not to come under condemnation. Rev 12:1-4; Rom 5:9; 8:1; 1Th 1:10; 5:9; 1Co 15:55-57; 1Th 4:13-18.
(7) The Church is not of the world. Joh 17:14; Phi 3:20; 2Ti 2:3-4.
The church is a spiritual extension of Jesus Christ, with promises that are heavenly related. Eph 1:3; 2:6.
(8) Christ is preparing a home for His body the Church, and has promised to return and to take His bride back with Him, Joh 14:3; 1Th 4:13-17.
Joh 14:3 "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."
(9) The Church has been promised deliverance from the wrath to come. Rom. 5:9; 1Th 1:10; 5:9; Rev 3:10.
(10) The believer is told to watch, or have an attitude of anticipation for the Lord's coming.
If believer's are to go through the great Tribulation, they would be advised to watch for the signs of the prophecies of the coming of Jacob's trouble, Rom 8:23; 1Co 1:7; Gal 5:5. Tit 2:11-13.
Why would we in Rom 8:23 groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body?
Or in 1Co 1:7 await eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Or in TIT 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;
(11) God has always protected His people in unique fashion's in the face of judgement.
Enoch before the flood; 2Pe 2:6-8.
Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah.
(12) The instructions by the apostle Paul never include any preparation or warning that the church will encounter it.
(13) If the Church goes through the Tribulation then the Jew's as well as the Gentiles of the Tribulation period would become part of the Church.
(14) The church at Thessalonica would not be concerned of any disadvantage of the dead in Christ if those who were alive had to go through the great Tribulation, 1Th 1:4.
(15) The message of the church is the message of the Gospel of grace, and peace which secured at the cross by Jesus the Christ. Eph 2:8-10.
The message of the great Tribulation is one of God's judgment. Rev 7:4-8; 12:17; 19:10; Mat 24:14.
(16) The iniquity of the anti-Christ cannot be released until the Holy Spirit, the restrainer is removed with the Church. 2Th 2:3-7 (mystery of lawlessness).
(17) The church is called to pray for those in authority 1Ti 2:2; if the church was on earth in the great Tribulation why would those who come through the great Tribulation pray for the destruction of those in authority? Rev 6:10.
(18) Christ's return for His church is unconditional, and He returns to heaven, Joh 14:1-3.
The great tribulation is conditional, and based upon the abomination of desolation. Mat 24:15-16.
(19) Christ returns for His bride in the air and does not touch down upon the earth at the Rapture.
Joh 14:1-3; at the second coming he comes down to the earth.
(20) The bema seat judgement takes place after the Rapture.
This represents the divine production in the Spirit or in the flesh. 1Co 3:12-15.
(21) Time is needed for the bema seat, and the marriage of the Lamb, and His pure bride dressed in white, the church.
(22) The Rapture is a mystery and secret, the second coming is a world display of power. 1Co 15:51-52.
(23) The Rapture comes at a time of false peace and safety.
The promise of the anti-Christ.
(24) After the Rapture (Rev 4) the day of the Lord begins with the opening of the first seal, Rev 5.
(25) The Church is never mentioned from Rev 4-19.
(26) The 144,00 Jews from Twelve Tribes; the two prophet's probably Elijah and Moses and the angel witness the gospel, Rev 11:3.
The church is never mentioned as fulfilling Her great commission during the great Tribulation.
So, the hope of the Church is the return of Christ at the Rapture, who will deliver them from the greatest outpouring of judgment in the history of the universe, Tit 2:11- 13; 1Th 1:10; 4:18; 5:11.