The real point is that we be prepared. And
to be prepared is to become Christians.

A Christian is one who believes the gospel
of Jesus Christ, who has accepted Him as
the Son of the Living God and as personal
Savior.

Because of Jesus Christ's shed blood that
removes all sin; every person in the world
is invited to receive the free gift, the gift
of God, which is everlasting life.

The only requirement is faith in His love
and forgiveness of sin and asked to live
in one's heart.

The Bible tells of Heaven having streets of
gold, ivory palaces, a city where there is no
night 'pleasure forevermore'.

There we will have the opportunity to meet
the saints of the Bible and others who have
gone before. And, of course, loved one who
have left us.

What a glorious day that will be!

Heaven isn't anything like we know here on
earth. We can take the greastest joy we know
of here on earth and multiply it a thousand
times; and then we will only have what is the
beginning of the joy that would be in Heaven!

". . . .In thy presence is fullnes of joy; at thy
right hand there are pleasures for evermore"
Psalm 16:11

Heaven will be so great that there's not words
in our language to describe it.

There is a glorious future for the Church,
and there is a dismal future for the world.

The existence of the Church will come to
an instantaneous end and every believer
will be taken to the glory which is coming.

At that moment each one will receive their
new bodies, a glorified body that is like the
one Jesus Himself has.

Where does the Rapture fit into the 'big
picture' of history?

The Rapture ends the Day of Grace [the
Day of divine patience] and begins a time
called the Day of the Lord [when God is
able to work with His plan of judgment
on the world], which begins with the
Tribulation.

Merry Christmas

If the kingdom is now, why the Rapture?
Why can't it just grow and take over every
thing?

There are various kinds of 'kingdom now'
teachings in the world. The fact is that the
kingdom was rejected by Israel and will
not be established in the world until Jesus
comes in power and glory!

Today God represents Himself in this world
through the [unseen] body of Christ and
through the [seen] lives of the believers.

The kingdom cannot 'grow in the world',
but it will come suddenly and be imposed on
the world by the King, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Does Israel have a different calling and destiny
from that of the Church?

The Bible teaches that Israel is the heir of the
world. But it teaches that the Church is the heir
of the universe. "all things" are the inheritance
of the Christian, of the Church.

"Therefore let no man glory in men.
For all things are your's;
Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the
world, or life, or death, or things present, or
things to come; all are your's;
And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's."
1 Corinthians 3:21-23

The Church and its message was a mystery
in the Old Testament.

Paul says in Ephesians 3:1-6
"For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus
Christ for you Gentiles,
If ye have heard of the dispensation of the
grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
How that by revelation he made known
unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few
words,
Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand
my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
Which in other ages was not made known
unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed
unto his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit;
That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and
of the same body, and partakers of his
promise in Christ by the gospel:"

Why is the Rapture not mentioned in the Old
Testament?

The prophets of the Old Testament were not
given revelation of the Church, the Body of
Christ.

They were not told of the Rapture of the Church.
This a New Testament revelation. The Bible
speaks of the message of salvation by grace that
was given to the Church to give to the world.
1 Peter 1:10-12
"Of which salvation the prophets have enquired
and searched diligently, who prophesied of the
grace that should come unto you:
Searching what, or what manner of time the
Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify,
when it testified beforehand the sufferings of
Christ, and the glory that should follow.
Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto
themselves, but unto us they did minister the
things, which are now reported unto you by
them that have preached the gospel unto you
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven;
which things the angels desire to look into."

What is the difference between the Rapture
and the Second Coming of Christ?

The Rapture is a special event where the
Lord delivers the Church from the Tribulation.
It comes before the Tribulation and takes the
Christians out of this world before the seven
year period of the wrath of God. Jesus doesn't
come all the way to earth but meets them in
the air (1 Thessalonians 4"17).

At the Second Coming, He comes with the
Church to the earth. He returns with an army
from Heaven to conquer the world. (Revelation
19:11-16) This army is the Church that was
Raptured.

Didn't the doctrine of the Rapture come
from a strange source?

The doctrine of the Rapture comes from the
Bible. It is Paul, under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, that presents the truth.

It is good to avoid silly stories from any kind
of source which are from people who would
take our attention away from any doctrine
of the Word of God.

Isn't it cowardly to wish for the Rapture to
deliver us from the problems of life?

Anyone who doesn't want to be beheaded
during the Tribulation can certainly anti-
cipate the Rapture, the deliverance from
the wrath to come.

To want to go through the Tribulation is
not courageous, it's foolish!

How can Heaven receive and process so
many millions of people arriving at the
same time?

This is no problem for God!

The arrival of the Church, the Body of Christ,
at Heaven will be a time of great reunion and
rejoicing. A home in Heaven was prepared a
long time before.

A feast welcoming and betrothing will be set
of each, and it is called "the marriage supper
of the Lamb." Not one will be missed or left
out.

Can we take anyone with us at the Rapture?

Not by holding on to them, as much as we
would like to. We can take all our loved ones
and friends by leading them to Jesus, so that
they become Christians.

When the Rapture comes, it will be too late
to do any more for Him.

What impression will the Rapture make on

the world?

It depends on the preoccupations the world

has at the time of the Rapture. The disappear-

ance of the Christians and the children of the

world will leave the people stunned.

The Antichrist will find it hard to come up

with and explanation. The teaching of the

Word now will cause millions to come to

Christ during the Tribulation. They as the

Tribulation saints, will face a time of fearful

persecution.

When the Rapture comes, what will happen
to the children of Christians?

All children who have not reached the age of
accountability (about 13) are counted as
believers, under the doctrine of grace. It is
believed that includes the children of the
unbelievers also. These will be taken up in
the Rapture to be with the Lord. This is for
all the unborn children as well.

How are we to prepare for the Rapture?

The main preparation for the Rapture is to
be sure we are Christians. Then, knowing
that we could be taken to Heaven at any time
should move us to be pleasing and obedient
to His Word.

We must live in a way that we will hear Jesus
when He calls, "Come up hither".

What prophetic events must be fulfilled
before the Rapture?

There are no prophetic events which must
come before the Rapture.

The predicted events of prophecy have to
do with the time following the Rapture
leading to the return of Jesus Christ.

So the Rapture could take place at any time!

QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE RAPTURE.

What qualifies a person to be taken up in
the rapture of the Church?

The Word teaches us that Christ will return
for His Church. Everyone who are called
"brethren" [1 Thessalonians 4:10] is a
member of the Body of Christ and will be
delivered in the Rapture. They must be a
Christian; that is one who has believed the
Gospel of Jesus Christ and knows Him as
personal Savior.

Every believer should be confident and filled
with anticipation of our Lord Jesus' return.

The prospect of the Church being delivered
unto Jesus is growing with each and every
passing day.

The earnest believer will say, "Amen, Even so,
come, Lord Jesus" Revelation 22:20.

The unfortunate characteristics of this life,
in this sinful world will be gone forever.

Our bodies of flesh, even though we are
Christians, are subject to deterioration. Paul
states that though the outward man perish
while the inward man is renewed day by day.

When Jesus comes, this will be all changed.
Never again will sickness and shocks of
this world touch the believer.

Being transformed forever into our glori-
fied bodies, we will be beyond that and it
will happen instantly when He comes.

"Beloved, now are we the children of God,
and it doth 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," 1 John 3:2

We will have glorified bodies when Jesus
comes back of us!

We will receive bodies like His and be glor-
ified in His presence forever. This means
there will be no more pain, sorrow, sick-
ness, suffering or death for eternity.

One glorious fact that helps the Christian
to be excited about the Rapture of the
Church is that we will receive a glorified
body.

"For our conversation [citizenship]is in
heaven; from whence also we look for
the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it
may be fashioned like unto his glorious
body, according to the working whereby
he is able even to subdue all things unto
himself." Philippians 3:20-21

Broadcasting the Gospel everywhere became
the mission of the Thessalonian Christians
because they believed that Christ was coming
again.

This doctrine produced such motivation as the
world has ever seen. No one should miss the
opportunity of hearing that Jesus is coming
back and that, we should trust Him.

The believers at Thessalonica became
broadcasters of the Word of the Lord.
Being totally confident in the return of
Jesus Christ, they saw themselves as
having a great message.

The result was a mighty program of
evangelism to that, '. . . .in every place
your faith toward God is spread abroad,
so that we need not to speak anything"
1 Thessalonians 1:8.

Those who anticipates Christ's return doesn't
want to go anywhere, do anything, or commit
to any principle that they will not be proud of
when He comes.

So it is a doctrine of 'purifying hope' "And
every man that hath this hope purifieth him-
self even as he is pure" 1 John 3:3

The Rapture will not only deliver a gener-
ation of living Christians who are caught
up to be with Him.

It also upholds the reason for which every
Christian has lived a godly life in all of the
church age.

His return will be a testimony to this and
all previous generations that the life that
was committed to Christ was not that of
a fool. The wisdom of loyalty will be
settled forever when Jesus comes again!

Those in the church at Thessalonica became
followers of Christ. For them the deep mystery
of life was no problem.

They believed He would come again and every
step they took to pursue His perfect will would
soon be valid.

The Rapture of the Church will bring a quick
end to the foolish, mindless human attitude
of this world.

People will not care or be interested in their
grand businesses, sports or intertainment.
Our generation has lived by foolish and vain
deceit rather than the word of God.

They [the Thessalonian Church] received
the Word in much affliction, with joy in the
Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 1:6

Their constant awareness of the reality of
Heaven made them have little confidence
in the word of man. But they did have a
great confidence in the Word of God.

The Church at Thessalonica became one of
the classic churches of the New Testament
because of their anticipation of Christ's
return.

Paul said that they did several things which
made them one of the great churches of early
christianity.

Our attitudes as believers, are not to be fearful
but to be filled with excitement of Jesus' com-
ing.

"And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom
he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which
delivered us from the wrath to come."
1 Thessalonians 1:10

Paul compliments those of Thessalonica and
says that they were waiting for the return of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to come from
Heaven, by being watchful .

Christ is coming again for the believers.

This is the "special coming" the Rapture
of the Church. This is not His final coming,
when He comes in power and great glory,
but rather of His special relationship with
those who believe in Him.

For them, He will make a special journey!

God is preparing a special place for His child-
ren.

He is making arrangements for our home
in heaven. We can be sure that they are
being prepared with love; they will be splen-
did beyond our imaginations.

There will be plenty of room in Heaven!

Jesus Christ promises us that His Father's
house has many mansions. We can be
confident of a grand home which is far
better and more beautiful than the best
there is here on earth.

The Lord Jesus makes a promise to the
disciples that He will come again and receive
them to Himself.

We are not to be troubled, but confident in
faith. We that know that our eternity is
secure and who walks by faith, will be seen
as not having a troubled heart.

Fear of the future is gone when we trust in
God and truly believe in Christ.

Jesus Himself tells us how we should con-
template His return, as he spoke to His
disciples.

"Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in
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 unto
myself, that where I am, there ye may be
also," John 14:1-3

Other believers have reacted differently, by
becoming fearful at the idea of Christ ret-
urning.

Being greatly settled into the things of the
world, they resent even the suggestion that
all of that will be suddenly gone some day.

It is not good to get so attached to things in
any manner that would make the instant
disappearance a resentment.

What should be our attitudes as believers
about the future? Especially the Rapture!

We can't do as some where great groups
of people went out into a field or up into
the mountains, putting on white gowns
and looking up waiting for Jesus to come.
They really believed that Jesus was coming.

But their lack of knowledge of the Bible
led them to set a specific date and time of
His return. All it caused was disappointment.

The Bible tells us specifically not to do that,
That no one knows but the Father. Not even
Jesus!

We are to have a sense of certainty about the
events of past prophecies and it comes from
faith that God will bring it all to pass.

Of the timing, we are not to set the day or
the hour of His return. Still with all the
things we see going on around us in our
world today, surely it should cause us to
look up for our redemption is drawing nigh.

Christ is coming again! We must be ready!

The events in the prophetic Word are a part
of this mystery called 'time'.

The end-time events are controlled by the
God who stands above time and is able to
do with it as He wills.

The fulfillment of the Tribulation is in
the midst of events that certainly appear
as the events of our times.

The timing of prophetic events are shown
in Scripture to be unavoidable, but they
are always subject to change in the hand
of God.

It could be that Israel has taken independent
action against Babylon. Even as far as being
nuclear

The last two of these judgments take place
during the days of the Tribulation. This would
mean that the Rapture may happen between
Stages One and Two. If that's the case, the
Rapture could be a part of God's soon to be
plan.

Jeremiah says, "At the noise of the taking
of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is
heard among the nations" Jeremiah 50:46

He tells us that a day is coming when all the
nations will gather to war against Isreal.

Stage Three, the destruction of Babylon by
Israel, could be the act that draws interna-
tional concern.

And even military action against what they
will see as aggression by Israel.

Stage Two, the coming of the Soviet Union
against Babylon, can also be seen described
in Ezekiel 38.

This battle takes place after the beginning
of the Tribulation.

The nation of Israel
". . . .Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the
LORD of hosts is his name.
Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of
war: for with thee will I break in pieces
the nations, and with thee will I destroy
kingdoms;" Jeremiah 51:19-20

A single nation from the north.
"For out of the north there cometh up a
nation against her, which shall make her
land desolate, and none shall dwell therein:
they shall remove, they shall depart, both
man and beast." Jeremiah 50:3

An international military alliance.
"For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up
against Babylon an assembly of great
nations from the north country: and they
shall set themselves in array against her;
from thence she shall be taken: their
arrows shall be as of a mighty expert
man; none shall return in vain."
Jeremiah 50:9

Jeremiah the prophet tells that there will
be three phases of destruction of Babylon,
three military powers will cause its down-
fall.

An international military alliance.

A single nation from the north.

The nation of Israel.

The Day of the Lord, the time of judgment
upon the world, cannot come until the
Rapture comes first.

Isaiah, being an Old Testament prophet,
didn't foresee the Rapture of the Church,
or even the Church itself. If Isaiah were to
speak in our time, He might say, "the Day
of the Lord is at hand and therefore, the
Rapture comes soon. A time of judgment
is coming upon the earth but the Church
will be delivered from it!"

Over the years there has been only one,
humanly speaking, that has prevented
world communism. That is the United
States of America. Its nuclear power and
ability and willingness to use it.

What is it that has happened to the United
States that makes the Prince of Rosh feel
that he can move without resistance to the
South?

One, of course, is the Rapture of the
Church! It would take the leadership
class; and if several million people were
gone, it would be difficult for the country
to quickly regain itself as a major power.

Maybe that's why it's hard to find America
in the final picture in the Word of God???

The "Evil Empire" isn't going to die without
a whimper.

Its doom will take place as it loses its army
on the northern mountains of Israel.

Their shortages of everything and their unful-
filled ambitions will force them to attempt
a lightning strike to the South.

The remaining Soviet Union forces us to
face two aspects:

They have a diamond-hard military estab-
lishment.

They are running short of everything
including oil.

Russia continues its course. The world
leaders said "the breakup of the Soviet
Empire" and "Communism is dissolving
before our eyes."

This may be true, but what took its place
still has 11,000 nuclear warheads pointed
at the United States.

We are told that they still 'could destroy
the United States in thirty minutes'.

Rome revived [Europe] will bring the world
the Antichrist.

He will apprear after the Rapture of the
Church.

It is at the beginning of the Tribulation that
'the man of sin' will be revealed.

The Bible indicates that there will be four
great empires. They are Babylon, Media-
Persia, Greece and Rome.

The Roman Empire will be revived in the
last days. The closest to it is our present
day Europe. When we hear of 'the United
States of Europe' we sense an empire that
is creating itself right before our eyes.

But in the Tribulation Israel will make a
peace treaty with "the prince that shall come"
Daniel 9:26, the leader of Europe.

This treaty will signal the beginning of the
Tribulation Period.

Now, Israel is being forced by many countries
and particularly the United States, to make
peace with the Palestinian and the neighboring
Arabs.

The program is called 'Land for Peace' which
is totally against the word of God.

Today the Jews have been gathered
together after being scattered around the
world for many centuries and are now in
their own land again.

Israel became a nation again in 1948. It
has been able to survive despite hopeless
odds and many wars.

In the Gulf War, Israel was the only nation
which was attacked by devilish Scud missiles.
But by divine protection, casualties were
light.

Not since World War II has there been such
a spirit of expectation in the world as there
is now; in both the religious and secular
societies.

In the Middle East, and especially with Israel,
we have seen occasions which appear to be
much like those predicted in the prophetic
word.

The timing of the Rapture with reference to
the Tribulation is clear - the Rapture will take
place before the days of the Tribulation.

The timing of the Rapture with reference to
the Church Age is also clear - the Rapture will
end the Church Age.

People everywhere are wondering how we
should consider the timing of the Rapture
when we watch the developments of our
present time.

It is clear that the Church must be taken out
of the world before the days of the Tribulation.

This is because it would be impossible to have
the message of the Gospel of the grace of God
and at the same time have the Gospel of the
kingdom as related to by the Lord.

The Rapture is the event that marks the end
of the Church age and the beginning of the
Day of the Lord, which starts with the Trib-
ulation.

The religion of the Tribulation will also
bring the rebuilding of the Temple (2 Thess-
alonians 2:4).

Also the establishing of Temple sacrifices
(Daniel 9:27).

And other forms of Old Testament-like
Jewish worship.

So the religion in the world during the
Tribulation will be Judaism, or as some
moderns might call it, "Neo-Judaism".

It appears that the Sabbath day will be re-
constituted.

The rule is that a Sabbath day's journey
must not be violated on that day.

In the next verse, Christ reveals of what era
he is speaking. "For then shall be great
tribulation, such as was not since the begin-
ning of the world to this time, no, nor ever
shall be."

The message of the Tribulation as given to
us by Jesus Himself is not the same.

He warns about the coming of the "abom-
ination of desolation" as signaling that the
Tribulation is fully come on the world.

He says, "And woe unto those who are
with child, and to those who nurse child-
ren in those days! But pray that your
flight be not in the winter, neither on the
sabbath day," Matthew 24:19-20

All who believe in the finished work of the
cross and accept salvation as a free gift from
God are given everlasting life.

By making this decision, they become heirs
of God, joint heirs with Jesus, and objects
of His blessings for all eternity.

The message of the Church is that because
of the death, burial and resurrection of
Jesus Christ, God has a free gift for man.

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord." Romans 6:23

There is a point that is not understood by
Christians in our time and not understood
at all by the world.

This world still believes a mistaken view of
Christianity.

It thinks that the Church makes the annouce-
ment, "If you come to church, you will go to
heaven" or "If you clean up your act and live
straight, you will be forgiven of God and you
will make Heaven someday"

This isn't the message of the Church at all!

Believing Christians, saved during the Day
of Grace, will be heirs of the universe.

The event that marks these two eras in
God's dealings with mankind is the Rapture
of the Church.

Remember that the believing Jews and the
believing Gentiles during the Tribulation
will be heirs of the world. "For the promise,
that he should be the heir of the world, was
not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the
law, but through the righteousness of faith."
Romans 4:13

A day is coming when the Body of Christ will
be complete. And this group will be raptured
out of this world.

At that time, God will renew His plans with
the nation of Israel and will again declare
that "The kingdom of heaven is at hand."

The believers in Jesus Christ during the
Tribulation are saved by faith as always.

They are saved onto the kingdom that will,
during the Millennium and then throughout
eternity, produce Heaven on earth.

A guilty humanity, by faith in Christ, could
be saved by grace.

They would inherit not only the kingdom
of Heaven, but be heirs, perhaps rulers of
the universe. How fortunate are the people
in the Body of Christ!

Man is guilty! God, if He were to save man,
He must open a court.

There, He can declare guilty sinners, when
they admit their sins, to be forgiven.

He has been conducting this court for about
2,000 year.

There He declares sinners guilty and then,
if they agree, they are cleansed in the blood
of Jesus. It is called "faith".

There is, and can be, no other way.

The people of Israel rejected both the King
and the kingdom He offered.

This rejection wasn't just verbal, but also
scriptural. They nailed Him to the cross.

That's when everything changed. Sinful man
was now disqualified from salvation by just
receiving the kingdom. If he were to be saved
he must be saved by grace. No deals, no
nothing!

So, Matthew describes Jesus' ministry by
saying, "And Jesus went about all Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, and preach-
ing the gospel of the kingdom, and healing
all manner of sickness and all manner of
disease among the people."
Matthew 4:23

During the Tribulation, the message what
will be preached to the world is called "The
Gospel of the Kingdom."

It is the same message that Jesus presented
to the nation of Israel in His earthly ministry.

Particularly as it is given in Matthew's Gospel.
The earthly ministry of Jesus was the King
speaking, "From that time Jesus began to
preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand". Matthew 4:17

The Church today is the care-taker of the
message that God has a gift for a world
that comes on a free basis.

No work of man [before, during, or after
salvation] is a part of that salvation. And
it doesn't make his eternal life any more
sure.

This is the day of grace and salvation, and
salvation is by grace only. So the Gospel
of grace is the message that everlasting
life is available to all by faith alone!

Paul says in Romans 4:3 "For what saith
the scripture? Abraham believed God, and
it was counted unto him for righteousness."

The word for "believed" is the word "amen".

Because the world is guilty and unable to
work for God, comes to "him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
Romans 4:5

We are saved, not by our own righteousness,
but because we are "justified" freely by the
grace of God.

To be justified means to be "declared
righteous." It doesn't mean to be made
righteous, but rather righteousness by
which we are saved is that which we have
been given.

The message of "grace", Paul declares to be
"the Gospel". It holds the message of the
death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus
Christ.

It says that the sacrifice of Christ on the
cross was sufficient enough to save us to
the uttermost who will believe in Him.

Paul says, "For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God,
being justified freely by his grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,"
Romans 3:23-24

Paul tells us what price grace becomes ours,
"For I delivered unto you first of all that
which I also received, that Christ died for
our sins according to the scriptures; And
that he was buried, and that he rose again
the third day according to the scriptures,"
1 Corinthians 15:3-4

The message that the Church has been
preaching to the world is the word that,
". . . .by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God, not of works, lest any man should
boast" Ephesians 2:8-9

Here is a wonderful offer of salvation by
the favor of God because of Christ. It is
the core of the Gospel

"Kept from the hour" is Christ's faithful
promise to His Church which can be the
object of confidence on all our parts.

In this Day of Grace, we who are Christians
have been given the precious possession of
the Gospel . But it will be different once the
Tribulation begins!

Does the Church deserve to escape the
Tribulation? Of course not! But, the
condemnation which every Christian
knows he deserves has already been ab-
solved by Jesus on the cross.

Because the iniquity of us all was upon
Him, we are saved by righteousness that
He has given us by virtue of His shed blood.

As a result, "There is, therefore, now no
condemnation to them who are in Christ
Jesus" Romans 8:1

"Therefore as the church is subject unto
Christ, so let the wives be to their own
husbands in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the
washing of water by the word,
That he might present it to himself a glorious
church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing; but that it should be holy and
without blemish.
So ought men to love their wives as their
own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself.
For no man ever yet hated his own flesh;
but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as
the Lord the church:
For we are members of his body, of his
flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his
father and mother, and shall be joined
unto his wife, and they two shall be one
flesh.
This is a great mystery: but I speak
concerning Christ and the church."
Ephesians 5:24-32

Paul was speaking of human marriage,
but he also was referring to Christ and
His Bride, the Church.

An hour of temptation, an hour of trial, an
hour of tribulation.

Christ makes a promise to the Church. The
promise is that She will be kept from that hour.

This is a clue as to the timing of the Rapture
of the Church , to the Tribulation. the Rapture
of the Church is placed in Scripture as coming
before the Tribulation, because the Church
will not be touched and escapes from the judg-
ment of the Tribulation.

Speaking to the Church in the last days,
the Lord 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 world, to try them that
dwell upon the earth." Revelation 3:10

The judgment of God doesn't come upon
the world in our time because of the Church,
the Bride of Christ, is in the world today.

Christ isn't going to bring His Bride to heaven
bruised, battered and bleeding from the per-
secutions of the Antichrist, which will come
upon the world during the Tribulation.

He will take Her home so that She will be
kept from the Tribulation that the world
will face.

During this Age of Grace, God tells us that
man is putting iniquity in the bank. He is
treasuring it up, but the judgment of man's
iniquity is sure to come

It doesn't come by way of vengeance from
God during this gracious era, but it will
come during the period of time called "the
Day of the Lord," which begins with the
Tribulation.

"But after thy hardness and impenitent
heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath
against the day of wrath and revelation
of the righteous judgment of God, Who
will render to every man according to his
deeds," Romans 2:5-6

The Lord has said how sinful man is to be
seen.

Paul gives a clear time between the Church
Age, which is the Day of Grace and the Day
of the Lord, which is the day of judgment.

That time is the Rapture of the Church!

During the Day of Grace, which is now,God
deals with the world with unlimited patience.

2 Chronicles 7:14

Paul didn't want them to be troubles by
the idea, "by [reason of] the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ and by [reason of] our
gathering together unto him."

The Day of the Lord was not present because
Christ had not come and gathered the saints
to Himself. Paul was saying that the Rapture
of the Church hadn't taken place yet.

voice of warning

Paul wrote:
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by
our gathering together unto him,
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or
be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word,
nor by letter as from us, as that the day of
Christ is at hand." 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2

He admonishes the believers not to be
deeply troubled by believing that the Day
of the Lord had come upon the world.

The Tribulation is the beginning of " the
Day of the Lord."

The Christians were conscious [because
they had read about it in the Old Testament]
that there was a time of fearful judgment
coming upon the world called "the Day of the
Lord."

The churches needed instructions as to the
way to know the presence of the Day of the
Lord and the way to know that the Day of
Grace was finished.

As the Tribulation progresses, there are
mighty earthquakes, tremendous heat,
the appearance of the Antichrist, a world
occult religious organization, and then the
Battle of Armageddon, which will be fatal
to millions of soldiers.

This time of natural disasters mixed with
divine judgment will bring awful distruct-
ion across the face of the earth.

"And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and
them that sat on them, having breastplates
of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and
the heads of the horses were as the heads of
lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and
smoke and brimstone.
By these three was the third part of men killed,
by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the
brimstone, which issued out of their mouths."
Revelation 9:17-18

A third part of men killed. This means up to
one-half of the world's population and be-
yond at this point many other natural
catastrophes will take place.

The Tribulation is the time of the outpouring
of the wrath of God upon a wicked world.

At the time of the horsemen, when the fourth
horsemen rides forth, the word says, ". . .And
power was given unto them over the fourth
part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with
hunger, and with death, and with the beasts
of the earth" Revelation 6:8

In the beginning days of the Revelation,
about twenty-five per cent of the world is
killed in the opening wars and pestilences of
those days.

". . . .These are they who came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb" Revelation 7:14

Amazing spiritual results will take place
during the tribulation. Great numbers of
people will turn to Christ as Messiah by
their faith.

The anguish of the tribulation will produce
results even as it is a fearful time.

The Tribulation will also be a time of salv-
ation for the Gentiles.

"After this I beheld and, lo, a great multi-
tude, which no man could number, of all
nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and
tongues, stood before the throne, and
before the Lamb, clothed with white robes,
and palms in their hands,"
Revelation 7:9

voices of warning!

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The Tribulation will be a time of spiritual
revival for Israel and a time for them to
reach the world.

The 144,000 witnesses in Revelation are
the twelve tribes of Israel that are saved
during the Tribulation and will preach to
the rest of the world.

Israel will spread the Gospel of the King-
dom by their new faith in Jesus Christ as
their Messiah!

The Tribulation will be a time of converting
Israel.

"And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is
written, There shall come out of Zion the
Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob; For this is my covenant unto
them, when I shall take away their sins,"
Romans 11:26-27

God promises to work with His people in
goodness, but will be severe with them
during the Tribulation.

Israel will be brought to a place of decision
and faith.

This is the reason for the silence of God in
relating to His people during the past 2000
years since the death of Christ.

But the Word of God says that He has not
completely cast away His people.

The Bible tells of "the casting away" of
Israel and announces that that produced
the settling of the world.

Then the Bible tells of the receiving of Israel,
which will be life from the dead for the nations
(Romans 11:15). Israel moved into a time of
blindness and isolation from God until a time
called "the fullness of the Gentiles" Romans
11:25.

The Tribulation is the time of Jacob's trouble.
Jeremiah says, "Alas! for that day is great,
so that none is like it, it is even the time of
Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it"
Jeremiah 30:7

Israel is held responsible by the Lord for the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

God hasn't completely forsaken His people.
He has one last round of discipline for Israel.

That time of discipline will come during
Daniel's 70th week, the week of the Tribulation.

During the Church Age, God hasn't had any
specific program with the nation of Israel.

Instead (in this Day of Grace), He has been
calling both Jew and Gentile to faith in Jesus
Christ as the Savior of the world.

All who believe (in this day) are members of
the Body of Christ.

The house of Israel has been left desolate
for nearly 2,000 years now.

The children of Israel have been scattered
across the world and have been through
persecutions and rejection in nearly every
nation of the world.

This period has been a era of Israel being
cut off from the true vine and the Church
has been grafted in.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the
prophets, and stonest them which are sent
unto thee, how often would I have gathered
thy children together, even as a hen gathereth
her chickens under her wings, and ye would
not!
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me
henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord."
Matthew 23:37-39

Here is Jesus stating in advance what was
going to happen when the God's chosen
people rejected their Messiah. Their house
would be left unto them desolate.

Daniel's prophecy says that an event will take
place at the end of the 69th week, " Messiah
shall be cut off" (Daniel 9:26).

The prediction of the death of the Messiah of
Israel, Jesus Christ, is given to us by the
prophet Daniel. This event was so stunning
it proved the people's rebellion and sin, that
the crucifixion of the Son of God stops the
clock of prophecy. At His death, the veil of
the temple was split from top to bottom, and
the plan of God for His people, the Jews, came
to a halt.

The Tribulation is the 70th week of the
prophecy of Daniel.

"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy
people and upon thy holy city, to finish
the transgression, and to make an end
of sins, and to make reconciliation for
iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness, and to seal up the vision
and prophecy, and to anoint the most
Holy." Daniel 9:24

Here are the goals God is determined to
fulfill in that 70-week time that will take
us to the completion of history.

We have learned that the Rapture is the
method that Jesus will use to take the last
generation of believing Christians home to
be with Him.

The Bible teaches that the believers will be
physically transported from earth to Heaven.
It is an undeniable fact in the Word of God.