Church History - Part 11

You are listening to David Porson podcasts. This is a series of 11 talks covering church history, Part 11, the return of Jesus. Well now I hope two things before we start tonight, one is that you haven't come to find fault and that you don't think this is a waste of time to study the question that's before us and that you don't think it's impractical. We shall find before we get to the end that it's a most practical and important question for the Christian to ask and answer in the convictions of his own mind. So I do hope that you've come convinced that it's an important subject. Secondly, I do hope you have come with an open mind on an issue that does divide Christians from one another. But I'll tell you why I've taken it. It's partly because of our studies in Zechariah, partly because of our studies in Thessalonians. It arises out of both. On Sunday mornings we've been looking into Zechariah and finding some pretty disturbing predictions about the future. And you really must have a heart of stone if you're not really concerned and deeply moved and in a sense anxious about this and wondering, you know, just how we can cope with such knowledge and live with it, especially how people in the Middle East could live with it. If you saw Panorama last night, you would know that many of the Jews are just failing to live with this knowledge, even though they don't have us full of grasp of the Bible as we do. And in particular, the question has been asked me more than once after a study in Zechariah, but will any Christians live through the events you've been describing? Not will they happen in my lifetime, so will I have to cope with these things, but will any Christians be alive surely? The Bible says that Christians will be taken out of the world scene before the worst occurs. And in particular, before the final world war, or Armageddon, or call it what you will, surely the Christians will have left the world by then so that we don't need to get anxious about these things because we won't be around. Now, it's to meet that kind of question. A very great deal hangs on it. A very great deal. If the church is to be raptured as the word has been coined before the great tribulation, before all these troubles, before that final world war, then frankly, we don't need to be quite so worried about these things on our own account. We should still, I hope, be terribly concerned for those who would have to face them, but in fact, what we ought to be doing in that case is living any moment and being ready for Jesus when he comes, which could be tonight or any day. And then the events which we've been describing would come afterwards. If on the other hand, that view were wrong, and the church were to go through the great tribulation and were to face these things and were to experience those final pressures, then it would be terribly important to prepare for suffering, to be forewarned as to be forearmed. And if we ought to go through these things, then it was a gracious act of God to tell us about them beforehand so that we can begin to fortify ourselves and be ready for the sufferings of those days. Now those are the two views I'm going to consider tonight. There is a third view which I might refer to, which isn't held by many Christians. Most Christians either believe that Christ will come before the great trouble for his saints or come after the great trouble for his saints. There is a tiny minority slightly growing at the moment who believe in what's called the mid-trippulation rapture. In other words, that Christians will leave in the middle. I may just refer to that, but I don't think it's too seriously or widely held, and I want to concentrate on these other two. Now just for the moment, let me say that I'm going to be very firm on one of these two views, which I believe is the true one to scripture, but having said that, let's look at both possible mistakes or either being right, which will be the safer for us to assume we are not going to face trouble and then find out that we do or to assume that we are going to face trouble and then how will you find out we don't. Now which is going to be the safer for us? And frankly, the second one is not safer for us. I think, which did I say first? I think frankly, the safest way for a Christian is to prepare for trouble, even if he hasn't to go through it. Then not prepare and be caught out. Now let me say straight away that I don't think the scripture is 100% clear, and if you pick and choose with texts, you'll come down on one or other side. I'm going to take tonight, not just texts, but the general tenor of scripture, the main thrust of the whole of the New Testament in this. And let me say straight away so that you know which line I'm going to take, I believe that the whole tenor and thrust of the New Testament is that the church will go through the tribulation and that we are urged to prepare for it. And to be forewarned and therefore forearmed. And the things which we've been speaking about on Sunday morning are things which we may live to see and which certainly the last generation of Christians in this era of history will live to see. And it's vitally important that we always be ready for what is coming in the future. Now let's begin quite simply by saying that there are two major events predicted in scripture. First there is the coming of Christ which I told you on Sunday night is referred to 300 plus times. And that's a tremendous number of times. And there is no question that when he comes he comes to remove Satan and suffering from the world. I'll put it in quotes just so that we leave the door open for literal or figurative language. But we have described in Revelation 20 a period of a thousand years on this earth in which Christ will do precisely that and establish his reign of righteousness and peace. Now the second event which is clearly predicted in the Bible, both old and new testament is the coming of Antichrist. Who will in fact bring to a climax Satan's power on this earth and the suffering. Of this earth. And I want you to realize straight away that the word Anti in the Greek does not mean against as we use it today. It means instead of it means substitute. It means someone who will take the place of Christ. Antichrist means someone taking the part of Christ or substituting for him. And it's intriguing that Satan once offered the post of Antichrist to Jesus. He said, "If you will bow down to me and accept my methods, you can have all the kingdoms of the world. You can rule over all the kingdoms of the world." And Jesus refused that not because Satan couldn't give him the kingdoms of the world, he recognized he could. Jesus always took Satan seriously. He said, "He's the God of this world, the prince of this world, the ruler of this world." And he knew he could give him all the kingdoms of the world. But he refused it because he would not bow down to Satan and would only worship God. Now as against a thousand years, the period of this person's coming seems to be seven years with the worst years, the second, three and a half years. Sometimes described as 42 months or 1,260 days. Various terms are used in Scripture. But the second half of that final seven years of the end of this era seems to be the time when Antichrist arises. Variously described in Scripture those seven years, but usually described as the big trouble or in authorized version language, the great tribulation. But I prefer the phrase, the big trouble because that gets across the field. The kind of Saxon guts they feel of the words, big trouble. In fact, the word tribulation, the Greek word means a threshing sledge, which was made up of some wooden beams, festened across each other with a spike underneath each joint. And this was dragged by an animal on top of an animal was hitched to it and dragged it along over corn to separate the wheat from the chaff. And in fact, that's the word, the Greek word which is translated tribulation. It means a sledge with spikes on it. And your intribulation, when you feel that kind of thing is being dragged over you, and you're just being battered and beaten and torn. We get little feelings like this even now, but the big trouble is that the big sledge being dragged over the human race. Now the big trouble, here are some scripture references for it. Jeremiah chapter 30 verse 7 speaks of the time of Jacob's trouble. Daniel chapter 12 verse 1 speaks of a trouble arising such as the world has never seen. Matthew 24, that's a chapter we're going to return to. 21 is another mark 1319. That's a chapter that is simply another account of the same discourse of our Lord as Matthew 24 and the same discourse occurs in Luke 21. That's a chapter we're going to be looking at. And then you could almost say the whole of the book of Revelation. There are other references in scripture, but those are some of the key ones. And you can find others. Now so far Bible believing Christians, I don't think have any argument between themselves about these two great facts, the coming of Christ and the coming of Antichrist. These are two facts which we can expect in the future. The difficulty arises in relating these two events to each other, as to how they relate chronologically in time to each other. And these are the two systems that you will come across primarily in relating those two events. First of all, there is what I want to call the traditional way of relating those two events, which applied for the first 17 centuries of church history. That's right up to about 1800, so from the year not to 1800. Where Christians believed in both the coming of Christ and the coming of Antichrist? Now not all did. And not all do today because some just don't believe in Antichrist at all. Some Christians, alas, don't even seem to believe in the coming of Christ. But where Christians believed in the coming of Christ and the coming of Antichrist? For 1800 years they related them very simply that Antichrist comes first and Christ comes second, full stop. That it's as simple as that. And that Antichrist comes first as the substitute for the hopes of mankind, bringing in his dictatorship peace and security to the world of violence and anarchy that's looking for someone to get us out of the mess we're in. And the Antichrist comes as the false Christ, promising peace and security, but bringing totalitarian control and enslaving a world to Satan. That after Antichrist has come, Christ will come and destroy Antichrist and establishes kingdom and put the whole situation right. This was the view held by the early church, the apostolic fathers. That's a term given to those who wrote Christian literature immediately after the new testament during the second century AD, or at the end of the first and beginning of the second. And they, where they believe in Antichrist and Christ coming, always related the two coming, simply Antichrist first, Christ second. The reformers rediscovering the Bible. They believe this was the order. They even went so far as to make the mistake, I believe, now of identifying the Pope as Antichrist because, of course, they were suffering so much under his control. But you see, they're thinking in identifying the Pope as Antichrist reveals to us that they said Antichrist first, then Christ second. Can you see that? They did not believe they'd been caught away before Antichrist had come. They were wrong in saying the Pope was Antichrist, but nevertheless they were right in the order I believe. The Puritans held the same, the covenant is the same, the revivalists like Wesley of the 18th century the same. And if you read Wesley's notes on the new testament, you find the same. Now that's a traditional view. Whoever was mistaken for the Antichrist, it's interesting that in the early sufferings, when the main cause of the Christian suffering was the Roman Emperor, he was said to be the Antichrist. I don't believe he was. I think John in his epistle was more accurate when he said there are many Antichrist gone out into the world, not the Antichrist, but many who foreshadow him, who behave as he will behave. And the totalitarian control of the deified Roman Emperor was a picture of what Antichrist would be. Just as the abuse of the papacy of the Pope, or Pope's as the emperors at a later stage caused him a great deal of suffering to Bible-believing Christians. They were not the Antichrist, but they were little foreshadowings of the Antichrist. Or I think I would say there were foreshadowings of the false prophet, but never mind, that's all part of the same setup. But the main thing I want you to get is that the traditional view of Christians was Antichrist first, Christ second. Now the alternative view, which I'm going to call the dispensational view, appeared on the scene about 1825 onwards and is still very much with us and indeed very widely with us. This was a rather more complicated view and it's become very, very widely accepted among Bible-believing Christians in the last 150 years. If the coming of Antichrist is here, there is a coming of Christ for his saints first to take them out of the world scene before the reign of Antichrist. And that at the end of that period, Christ will come again with his saints and come right into the world to destroy Antichrist and establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. That establishment on Earth is something we pray for every Sunday that Kingdom come. That will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. And that on Earth applies to everything that goes before it. May your name be hallowed on Earth as it is in heaven. May your kingdom come on Earth as it is in heaven. May your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. And we do pray for the Kingdom of God on Earth. Now this event is given the name Rapture and this event is given the name Revelation. Now the word Rapture is not strictly a biblical word but it does come from the Bible. In one Thessalonians 4, the word caught up. We read this on Sunday night. We shall be caught up together in the clouds. The word caught up in the Latin is a word very like Rapture and that's where the word came from. It means the catching up in other words being caught up. The word Revelation is a biblical word and is a good translation of one of the Greek words used to describe our Lord's return. And I will mention it in a moment and going to more detail. Or broadly speaking those who have made this distinction distinguish between his coming and his appearing and distinguish the two and separate them by seven years. His coming for his saints and his appearing to the world with his saints. In other words this is secret in the sense that only Christians know about it and this is public known to the whole world. I don't think those who've made this distinction would go so far as to say there are two comings of Christ but I think they would say there are two stages of his coming separated by so many years. I think it's helpful to know where this idea appeared and how it spread. There are two main factors. One other thing that I want to put on this side which is rather important and one of the practical reasons for discussing this tonight. If this is believed then obviously Christ's coming for us could be at any moment. In other words we don't have to wait to see this happen. It could be tonight and then Antichrist could come up next week. He with me and this is why this has sometimes been called the any moment theory and it would honestly believe and preach and teach. Now you must be right with Christ now because he could come tonight. The traditional view would say no he couldn't come tonight. Until certain things have happened he can't come. The dispensational view would say yes he could come tonight because nothing has to happen before this part whereas many things have to happen in between. Well now It started with a man called J. N. Derby. I have not been able to trace any person before this. I'd very much like to know if you know of any. But it does seem that this man, who was an Anglican curate at first and who spent a great deal of time studying the scripture very carefully and gathered around himself in Dublin, a group of equalists and seeker Christians who really found a great deal of truth in the Bible that had been neglected in the church, particular the church from which this group arose, namely the Church of England, which was formal in that situation and didn't have spiritual life. And this dear man who was heading for the Anglican ministry, got his Bible and was convinced there was more to Christian life than this. And many thousands of people have reason to be profoundly grateful to what J. N. Derby, as he became a factually known, rediscovered in the scripture. But while he rediscovered many things that you can find earlier in church history, he discovered this for the first time. And as you know, his teachings were passed on to a group calling themselves Christian brethren. Broadly speaking, that's a family of some 28 varieties, but it was wrongly called Plymouth Brethren because his teachings were taken up by a group in the southwest of England fairly soon. 1825, beginnings in Dublin, 1830 or thereabouts, beginnings in Plymouth in the southwest of England. But it is largely through the brethren that this teaching was at first disseminated. Though let me say straight away that some outstanding brethren never did agree with J. N. Derby on this. Men such as SP Tregellers, in our day and generation, G. H. Lang, and outstanding of all, the man who really felt J. N. Der had made a mistake on this particular issue, was George Muller, the man who founded the often homes at Bristol. But for the most part, the Christian brethren accepted J. N. Der's interpretation on this. In particular, a congregational minister in America called C. I. Schofield, a man who was called to his pastorate by D. L. Moody, no less. And this man, too, discovered a great deal in the Bible that had been neglected and lost and praised God for all that he rediscovered. And he began to write at first for his own benefit notes in his Bible. And then because he became such an effective teacher of the Bible, people asked him to write notes for them. And so he began the vast project of producing a Bible that would include notes, an annotated Bible. And the Schofield reference Bible was published in 1909. In fact, it's been republished many times since, and I dare say that quite a few of you have a copy on your bookshelves. Now there is a great deal that is helpful in this Bible, but we have to say that he accepted J. N. Der his interpretation of the order of events at the end of the age. And that went through into his notes. And since literally millions of copies of that reference Bible have circulated, and since it is always difficult when you read a Bible with notes in it, not to take the notes with the same authority as the text. Then it has given a very widespread impression that this is the only interpretation of God's Word. And especially in America, the Schofield Bible had a very, very large influence. More in the United States than I think here. The brethren were soon joined by Pentecostal groups and Pentecostal groups have tended to accept this same approach to the last things. And therefore Christians have been urged to be ready at any moment for the return of the Lord for the saints when all true believers will be taken away. In summary, the three steps are the secret rapture when all true believers, born again believers, and usually believed Old Testament saints will be taken out of the world, leaving the Jews, the Gentiles, and the professing church. I mean by that church goes who are not born again, leaving them to face the great tribulation. This coming will be inaudible and invisible to the world. If the trumpet does sound, it will only be on a wavelength that believers can hear. The only thing that the world will know is the absence of believers from it. The second stage then is the great tribulation, a time of very severe, suffering for those Jews, particularly the people of God, the ancient people of God, and the Gentiles and the professing church. If any point to God during that period, it will be the Jews. And the third step in this second system is the glorious appearing. We've seen already that that word is a biblical word appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. When the world will see Christ coming with His angels and with His saints, and every tongue will confess and every knee bar, and it will be known by the whole world as lightning from the east to the west as Jesus put it. And as lightning flashes across the sky and everybody knows it. In fact, the light can travel five times round our earth in one second. If you knew that, speed of light 186,000 miles per second, which means that that's five times round the world, a fifth of a second and lightning has gone round the world. That's as quickly as our Lord's second coming could be known. It's quickly as lightning can travel. Now, when we test this theory, and we're going to test this first before looking positively back at the other one, let's decide how to test. Now, I don't believe that the historical test is the right one. And I don't believe the fact that this theory did not appear until 150 years ago rules it out. There were other things in the Bible that were not discovered or were hidden for many centuries. The Reformers rediscovered truths that had been hidden for a thousand years. So the historical side doesn't settle the argument by any means, though quite frankly, I have to ask myself the question, why 1800 years of Christianity didn't see something so important and so clear. It is a bit puzzling, but it doesn't settle it. So I'm not going to use the historical argument. I've only given you the history to help you to get the background. Or must we use the psychological argument? I mean by that, that the story or the idea of the secret rapture is a very powerful psychological idea. It's pretty sensational for a start. It's pretty terrifying. Also, it's certainly dramatic. And to say to someone, you could wake up tomorrow morning and your family could be gone, is a very powerful psychological stimulus. And many people have come to Christ as the result of that. And there is no doubt at all about the power in the idea. But I want us to reject all arguments from powerful appeal. What we preach must be the truth. Not because it's psychologically effective, but because it is theoretically sound. And therefore there is only one argument that I'm prepared to look at, and that is, is it biblical. Not how long has it been taught or not taught? Not what effect has it had on people. But the vital question is, what does the Bible say? In other words, we are looking into the Bible for two things. First, a double coming, if I can put it that way, coming for his saints and coming with his saints. And secondly, the teaching of Christ coming any moment. Now, if we. If these are both true, they were just as true for the first generation of Christians as they are for us. The teaching must be the same. Apostolic teaching never changes. We are an apostolic church in the sense of preaching what the apostles taught. And if these two ideas are the truth, then they were true for the very first generation of Christians. Do you follow me? And must have been taught then. It would not be enough to say, well, it wasn't true of their day, but it is true of ours. No, we must base truth on what the apostles taught. So we ask, is this double coming and any moment true to the Bible? Let's first look at a matter of vocabulary. Words used. This is the kind of careful Bible study that we need to make. The double coming I've said already has been labeled the rapture and the revelation. We'll put that one in inverted commas because it's not strictly a biblical word. We'll put that one just normal because it is. Now, let's go. Are there many words used in the Greek about our Lord's second coming? For example, let me just give you three. I'll spell them in a kind of English equivalent so that you can see them in English lettering and spelling and almost in English form. Some of them. The first is Peruvian, which literally means coming, but it usually means a royal visit, a royal coming. And that's the word I mentioned the other Sunday evening in church. The second word that is used is a word that in English, we spell like this. Epiphany. In Greek it's epiphany, but we'll just spell it in the English way at the moment, epiphany, which means appearing. And the third word that's used is the word Apocalypse. Or Apocalypse is in Greek, which means an unveiling to fling a curtain back to reveal someone on stage. It's a very vivid word, you know? The day the curtain goes up and there is someone in the centre of the stage, the exciting moment, band playing, trumpet blowing, curtain up, bang. That's a wonderful word Apocalypse, an unveiling. The epiphany means simply being able to see what couldn't be seen before. Something that was invisible, becoming visible, and the word Peruvian, as I say, means a royal visit. Now all these words are used. And those who have sought to see a double coming have applied the first word to this, and the second and third to this. That in fact the coming of Christ refers to the first visit for his saints, the secret, and the appearing and the unveiling to the point where he meets the world. Therefore this is to the church and this is to the world. And the Perusia is to the church, the epiphany and the Apocalypse to the world. Now that sounds very straightforward until you really begin to look at it, and then you get into difficulties. The fact is that all these three words are always used interchangeably, totally interchangeably, of Christ coming for the church and to the world. If you study the New Testament very carefully, you will find this. For example, the word Perusia is used of both the church and the world. I can give you references afterwards, but if you're interested, one Thessalonians 4th, 13th is used of his coming for the church and two Thessalonians 2, 1, it's used of his coming to the world. Same word is used both times. It epiphany likewise. One Timothy 614 it clearly refers to the rapture of the church. Two Timothy 4, 1 and 8 it clearly refers to the revelation to the world. And the same with the Apocalypse. In one Corinthians 1, 7 it refers to the rapture of the church, in two Thessalonians 1, 7 it refers to the revelation to the world. In other words, you can't split up these three words. They are all used interchangeably, of exactly the same event. And the most you can say is that all three cover both. They are all his coming, they are all his appearing, they are all his unveiling. And it just cannot be established. In fact they are all used interchangeably of a single event. That Christ is coming back. First he will meet the dead. Remember they will get there first. Second he will meet the quick or those who are still living. And third he will meet the world. And that these three words are used of all three events as being part of the same process if you like. We can say that he is coming for his saints here and coming with his saints there. Here it is in the air and this is on earth. And his feet shall touch the Mount of Olives. Zechariah 14 will study this Sunday morning. But in fact the way the language is used is exactly the same way it is used of Palm Sunday. That when Jesus came to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday some people went to meet him and then traveled on with him immediately the same day and then appeared to the city. Remember? Now the word meet for example is very interesting. In one Thessalonians 4 we study last Sunday night. We meet the Lord in the air the word meet means to approach someone who is approaching you and continuing a journey. It is a Greek word that means just that. Not someone who is static and we meet him but meet someone who is on a journey. And just as the crowds went out the disciples went out to meet Jesus waving palm branches on Palm Sunday that is exactly the language used of his second coming. In other words we just sort of meet him before it gets there and come on down with him. You got the picture? That's the kind of language being used all the time. Now that doesn't settle it yet by any manner of means. But in fact a careful study of Paul's writings for example reveals that Paul never distinguishes between two comings. It is always one coming in three parts and it is a constant process of movement or in the one great appearing in the one great unveiling in the one great royal visit. Now that does Peter ever draw the distinction or John or James as we shall see in a moment. Now so far we've looked at the vocabulary but now let's look at certain other things. Christian hope is one of the three vital Christian virtues. Faith is primarily related to the past and what God has done for us in Christ. Love is primarily related to the present. None of these are exclusive but hope is the virtue that relates us to the future. And we are to set our hope on future events. We are to link our thought, gird up our minds and set our hopes on something for the future so that we're firm as we face it. Now what do we set our hopes upon? On Timothy 613 we are to keep the commandments of God on earth until His appearing. Not until His coming for us but until His appearing and remember that word means His appearing to the world. Or Timothy 4.8 to those who love His appearing again it's the word that's used for His appearing to the world. We are to look for the blessed hope and the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Titus 213. Now some people have said well our blessed hope is His coming for His saints and His appearing but unfortunately in the Greek those two words are substantive that go with the same article. Now in simple English that means, sorry Brian, his brand-forn here. Does he? No he's gone. Oh he won't mind me telling you this because we put it in the song about him at the concert but when he says it's a joy under thrill to have someone with us. In fact he's using two substantives about the same thing. You with me? He's not saying it's one thing that's a joy and another thing that's a thrill. He's saying it's a joy and a thrill together about the same thing. Got it? And the blessed hope and the appearing are the same thing substantives in Greek. For example 1 Peter 5.4 when the chief shepherd is manifested and that's the word again for appearing to the world we shall receive a crown of glory. 1 Corinthians 1.7 we are waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we're waiting for. This is the center of our hope. 1 Peter 1.13 set your hope on the grace that is to be revealed at the revelation. Again the word for the appearing to the world. 1 Peter 4.13 at the revelation of Jesus Christ you may rejoice. And 2 Thessalonians 1 it couldn't be clearer that we will be in affliction but we will receive relief from our sufferings when the Lord brings vengeance on the world. Again couldn't be clearer. In other words the Christian is to set his hope on Christ's coming to the world and he's to hold on till then. He's to look for the appearing. He's to set his hope at that point when Christ appears to the world. Not on a secret appearing first to the church but on his open manifestation. So the appearing coincides with the rapture that is our blessed hope. The two things surely go together. Now there are certain other phrases we're going to look at and then we're going to look at the general thrust of the New Testament. It's like a thief in the night which seems surely to indicate unexpectedness. Any moment could be any time. Now this phrase is on the lips of our Lord in Matthew 24 and Luke 12. It then goes through to 1 Thessalonians 5, 1 Peter 3 and Revelation 3 and chapter 16. It runs right through the New Testament and it's applied to our Lord's coming. But and this is the important thing. is always applied to the careless and the unprepared. In other words, the second coming will be like a thief in the light night to the world. And one Thessalonians 5 makes it quite clear. It's not as a thief in the night to you. You are not of the night, you are not asleep, you're not drunk, it will not surprise you, it will not overtake you like a thief in the night. It is those who are asleep, those who are not prepared, those who are not watching. And so it is only those who are asleep to whom it comes as a thief in the night, not to all Christians. Those Christians who are alert and awake and watching won't be in the slightest bit surprised. They will be ready and watching. They will see the first signs of the burglar coming. They'll hear the snap of the twigs. They'll see the moving shadow. They will see the signs of his coming. Another phrase that makes it a little difficult for us is the phrase, the Lord is at hand, which implies that he is near. Now looking at this Greek phrase again, I'm afraid you're gonna have to take my word for it on some of these, but there are two Greek words, one of which means relatively near. And the other means imminent. Now this word is used for an event that is within the foreseeable future. But which allows intervening events between now and then. The second word means any moment with nothing to happen in between. Now Paul uses both words and it's very interesting to see how he uses them. When he's talking and when the other writers are talking about our Lord's coming to the Christian, the word used is the gentler Greek word, which means in the foreseeable future. The only occasion when Paul uses the Greek word, which means imminent, in other words, could be right now. Is in two Thessalonians two, where he says to the Thessalonians, don't let anybody confuse you by telling you that the day of the Lord is imminent, right now. And he goes on to say in the rest of the chapter, very straightforwardly and very simply, haven't I told you already of the certain things that must happen before that can happen. And he then goes on to talk of the coming of Antichrist. Says, don't you realize that that must happen first? So don't let anyone forge a letter from me and don't let anyone rush you into panic and don't let anyone get you off balance or off-keyle by telling you that the second coming is imminent. But rather, cool off. Get a hold of your thinking again and realize that the man of lawlessness must first appear and didn't I tell you that one hours with you. Now what about words like wait for and expect and look for? Well, I mentioned the very fine work of a brethren scholar on this one, whose work in Greek and Bible study showed that these words all mean to be awake, alert, and alive to a situation and preparing for it. They do not mean looking for a totally unexpected event for which nothing can be done. They mean to be so alive to the situation that you can see something building up towards it. In fact, they fit in very well with the word watch, which I think is one of the most important words that our Lord used constantly and it's used elsewhere in the New Testament of our right attitude to his second coming watch. Now that raises the very big question, watch what? Now if our Lord could come at any moment without warning, what is there to watch? Putting it very crudely, you can only say two things. You can only say either that he means we must walk around with our eyes fixed on the sky and watch the sky and I cannot believe it meant that. The only other thing is that you can watch yourself. Now remember a very fine children's address when I was a boy, a man who took this and he said, "W-A-T-C-H, watch your words, your actions, your thoughts, your conduct and your habits." But that's watching yourself. Now if our Lord could come back tonight without any warning, how do we watch? The only way is to watch yourself and watch out that you're ready. But in fact when you study the context of the use of the word watch, Jesus is always telling us to watch world events and discern the signs of the times, learn the lesson from the fig tree. When you see it budding, you say, the spring has come, the harvest is coming and you see what's happening. Watch there for watch, watch and pray and the word watch means to watch for the first signs. If you knew a burglar was going to come to your house tonight, you'd sit up and watch and you'd probably spot him long before he got to your house, wouldn't you? You'd be looking out, of course you would. And watching us to discern the signs, leading up to his coming now quite frankly, many of the signs that must appear before his coming have not happened yet. So I personally don't believe that our Lord is coming back tonight. I wait to see those coming mind you. I believe that many of the signs, the fig tree is budding. I believe we are near in the sense of that Greek word, but not near in the sense of that. And the immanence of our Lord's return is not taught in the New Testament. The nearness of it is. The foreseeable future of it is. And every Christian should foresee the future and should see when the foreseeable future becomes the seeable present. You with me on this? That's what watch means. And when you see the future becoming the present, you know that you can look up for the day of your redemption is drawing very near. Now let me go to the main thrust of the New Testament. The view of a secret rapture before the great tribulation of the big trouble. Therefore teaches two things that believers will have no warning, but unbelievers will have much warning. And frankly, the disappearance of every Christian from the face of the earth is not an event that would go unnoticed. If you consider how many there are reckoned to be 850 million professing Christians in the world today, you know, I don't know how many of those are real Christians. The Lord knows those who are His, but it's going to be many, many thousands disappearing from sight. Now that's an extraordinary position. Believers get no warning, unbelievers get much warning. I'm not meaning they're warning from the scripture. I mean warning from what you can see. Whereas quite frankly, the more I read my New Testament, the more I find that the real position is precisely the opposite that the believers get much warning and that unbelievers get no warning. And it is this total reversal of the main thrust of the New Testament that worries me most and that causes the greatest question in my mind. Let me now run through the New Testament in the light of what I've said here. Let's take first the gospels. Start with our Lord's teaching. We can't go through it all. It's quite certain that Jesus taught ignorance of the date of His coming. He even confessed that while He was on earth, He didn't know Himself. Only the Father knew. I presume that now He's back with the Father, the Father has shared that knowledge with Him. But He's not shared it with us. Equally certainly that Christ taught His followers to be alert and watchful. But was He telling them to be watchful for an imminent return without warning at any moment? Or for a return in the foreseeable future preceded by certain other things? And once you've asked that question, I think you've answered it. Funnily enough, in Luke 1911, it says He deliberately told a parable for those who thought that the kingdom was imminent and told a parable which clearly implied a considerable time delay while the Master was in the far country. But far more than that, He taught many things that had to happen before the return. For example, He taught the Gospel must first be preached to all the nations. Then shall the end come so universal evangelism. In Acts 1, He said to the disciples, "You will be my witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth." Now, until they had been, you couldn't expect. Christ's return, could you? There are many events like this that He puts in between. But Matthew 24, if we took no other chapter, would be the one that would settle it for me. Matthew 24, He predicts certain things to happen, which would be the signs of His coming. And I want you to notice that Matthew 24 was not said to the world or to the Jews, but to the disciples. For his followers, and he warned them for example that before the end they would see wars and unrest among the nations, apostasy from the faith, Jerusalem restored to the Jews, the appearance of Antichrist and the Great Tribulation. And he told them quite clearly, "Listen to this, immediately after the Tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather the elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. I don't think anything could be clear that that paragraph begins with the Great Tribulation and it ends with the rapture." And it says then in the middle, "Immediately after the Tribulation of those days he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of the heaven to the other, from the fig tree learn its lesson, know that the summer is near. The paragraph before the one I read speaks about Antichrist, the abomination of desolation in the holy place and many other things, but that paragraph alone." In other words, Jesus was preparing his disciples to go through all this and say, "Don't let it get you down. Don't let your hearts be troubled. I've told you these things beforehand so that when they begin to happen you can look up because it's a limited time then." He even then says, "If those days had not been shortened no human being would be saved, but for the sake of the elect those days will be kept short, for the sake of the elect. Why is Christ going to reign for a thousand years and Antichrist for only seven or even three and a half at worst?" Well so that the elect for their sake. Now if the elect have already disappeared from the scene, why for their sake? Can you see? The whole chapter, the thrust is, believers, much warning. Prepare to go through this and then respond to the trumpet call. When he talks about sending his angels with a loud trumpet call, gathering the elect from the forewinds, I cannot believe that that is any other than what we've read in one Thessalonians 4. The trumpet's sounding, all of us gather together. That's why I like that thing some youngsters put on their dashboards. If you hear the sound of a trumpet grab the steering wheel quick. The wrong thing about stickers like that is that I think they are giving an impression of imminence. If not openly I think by implication that kind of slip does tend to give that impression, which is frankly why I couldn't use it, but I like it. Now go on from the gospels to the epistles. What is the main thrust of the epistles? There is surprisingly little emphasis on the rapture. Only mention once or twice. One Thessalonians 4 is the outstanding example but very little elsewhere. In fact the two epistles that deal specifically with the second coming are one and two Thessalonians. There's very little about the second coming in any other epistles. So let's just take those as representative we could go through the whole lot. One Thessalonians 5, as I've already said, talks about his coming as a thief in the night but not to the believer like that. Not unexpectedly to the believer who is alert, awake, watching, ready and knowing that he's not destined for wrath but salvation is just eager to go. But two Thessalonians 1 and 2 are key chapters. We're going to see this on the next few Sunday evenings. In two Thessalonians 1 as I've already said, the relief from suffering comes at the revealing of Jesus to the world. Not before. If you read one, two Thessalonians 1 carefully or realize this. In two Thessalonians 2 as I've already said Paul was disturbed because the Thessalonians were disturbed by those who were saying it's imminent. It could be happening already and they were worried in case they'd missed it. And this had upset many and was wearing them unduly. Some of them thought it was so imminent that they'd even stopped work and Paul said, "Get back to your jobs." I told you when I was with you there are certain things that must happen, including the appearance of the man of lawlessness which every commentator recognizes is the Antichrist. So stop getting so panicky. Now of course most of the New Testament epistles were written before 8070. That's very significant because in 8070 Jerusalem was besieged by the Romans that Jerusalem siege took place and Jesus had predicted that his followers would see that. And therefore can you see that during the time when most the epistles were written they did not expect the imminent return of Christ because frankly there was something he had already said would happen that had not yet happened which they hadn't seen. He had told them how to cope with that he told them to flee. When they saw that begin to happen and as a matter of church history the Christians did flee from Jerusalem and Judea across the Jordan to Pella. And all the Christians were safe when Jerusalem was besieged. One and a half million Jews were killed but no Christians were because they had been told by Jesus that when you see it begin to happen you get out. You don't even go back for anything if you're on the rooftop run. Get out if you're in the fields don't go back run. And they did in a matter of history they ran and they went to Pella now in Jordan and they escaped all that. But you see they expected that before his coming and it didn't happen to Lady 70 and most the epistles were written before. So it's not surprising that the epistles don't teach an imminent any moment return. There were still things that hadn't happened. But it's when we come to the book of Revelation which says more perhaps about the second coming than any other book in the Bible that we really find this whole thing. The emphasis in the book of Revelation on the whole way through is overcoming in suffering or under pressure, overcoming by conquering the suffering when you're in it. And in fact, through the whole book of Revelation, God's people are on earth during the big trouble. If you want the references, so many. 611, 790, 14, 11, 3 to 12, 12, 17, 13, 7 to 8, verse 10, verse 15, 14, 12 to 13, and 15 to 16, 15 to 16, 16, 6, 17, 6, 18, 4, 20, 24, 19, 2, 24, and thereafter we don't mind. Because we're into the new heaven and the new earth. But the Lord's people, the Lord's saints are mentioned in every one of those verses as on earth. Now that's pretty striking. There's just no gap. Because as you know, all those chapters are where the troubles are, and that's a pretty continuous testimony. If we turn to chapter 13, we have a picture of the anti-Christ and the false prophet, the political and the religious beasts who take over world control. And in fact, it could not again be planar when we read this. The beast is allowed, verse 7, to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and town and nation, and all who dwell on earth were worshiped. Everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of the life of the Lamb that was slain. In other words, this false prophet will get the whole world to worship anti-Christ with the exception of those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. They will refuse to. And the anti-Christ is allowed to make war on the saints. Chapter 12, the one immediately preceding this, in figurative pictorial language talks about a woman fleeing to the wilderness to escape these things. I believe that woman represents the church and that saints as in the days of the siege of Jerusalem will need to get out of urban areas. I think the most striking one that clinched it for me was chapter 16, verse 15. That's not one I've listed up there. But let me tell you what it is. From verse 12 to verse 16, there is described the battle of Armageddon, the final world war, which comes at the very end of anti-Christ's reign. And there is a striking verse in the middle of that battle. Let me read it. The kings of the whole world as well. assemble for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. "Lo, I am coming like a thief, blessed is he who is awake, keeping his garments that he may not go naked and misseen exposed, and they assemble them at the place which is called in Hebrew Armageddon." Now that is extraordinary to have that verse in the middle of it. Have you ever noticed that little verse there? Now if the saints are to be ready and awake for a rapture before the tribulation, why is this same verse about a thief in the night and blessed is he who is awake, right there in the middle of the battle of Armageddon? It's as if God wanted to stick that warning in at the last possible minute, don't even let Armageddon lull you to sleep or you know, cause you to be so distracted that you're not watching. Right in the middle of Armageddon, the same words that everywhere else are addressed to believers to be awake and to be told not to be caught out like a thief in the night. This is applied here to something that is to happen in the middle of Armageddon. Now what is to happen at Armageddon? Well we know that's precisely the point at which as the nations gather for battle, that's when Christ will step back in. That's the very point and that verse to me tells me that the Christians are there. What about chapter 7? These are they who have come out of the great tribulation. Now think that I would have thought that was clear, you can't come out of something if you've never been in it. Can you? You can't travel out of Gilford unless you've been in Gilford and you can't come out of the great tribulation unless you've been in it. And these are they who have been through it. They've been through hunger and thirst because we know that under end to Christ people will not even be able to buy or sell unless they're registered with him. But now the promise is made to those who have come out of the great tribulation, that they shall hunger and thirst no more, that God will look after them from now on. So as if having been through that terrible experience, God says, "Now I'll look after you just the opposite way and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." All this language about guiding them to springs of living water and wiping away every tear from their eyes doesn't appear again in the book of Revelation until chapter 21 and 22. And I believe in Revelation 7 we're seeing a little foretaste of the ultimate outcome of this. When God will compensate those who've been in the great tribulation, but who washed their robes white and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, they're out of it. And he will compensate for all they've been through. Have they been hungry? They shall hunger no more. Have they wept? He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. And I believe it describes the great multitude of Christians from every tribe in Kindred and Tung. Well now it's time I came to a conclusion. I believe all doctrine is very practical, and that what we believe will affect how we behave. It must do. What you really believe affects your behaviour. If you believed it was going to pour with raining when you came out tonight, you would either bring an umbrella or a raincoat or hope to get a place in the car park nearby. Your behaviour would be affected by your belief. Now your belief might be wrong, but your behaviour is affected nonetheless by wrong belief. You might go out, think it was raining or cold and go out with a big overcrowded umbrella and come back sweltering at night from London with a sun pouring down from a cloud of sky. The important thing is this, that your behaviour was conditioned by what you believed, whether it was right or wrong, and our beliefs do affect our behaviour. Now this doctrine we've been taking tonight is utterly practical. The kindling of our hope. One generation of believers will be taken out of the world without dying. That's exciting. Like Inoc, like Elijah. Now the only two, so far, who've been taken out of the world without dying, even Jesus wasn't taken out of the world without dying. From the mount of transfiguration he could have stepped right back into heaven, I believe, but he didn't. He said his face from there to go to Jerusalem to die. But Inoc and Elijah managed it and were a little foretaste of a future generation that will be taken out of the world without dying. But I believe that we will be taken out of the world without dying only if we are alive on earth at the end of the great tribulation. And therefore I believe that the Bible is full of teaching, unsuffering, to prepare God's people for it. There is a hundred times more teaching on facing suffering in the New Testament than there is on the rapture. Hundred times. In the world you'll have tribulations of Jesus. Said Paul through many tribulations we shall enter the kingdom. Two Thessalonians suffer a fliction up to the coming of Christ. One Peter four, twelve, fire a trials. Revelation one, two, and three are warning Christians about suffering to come, telling them that he that overcomes will receive the crown. Now there were two very serious periods of suffering in church history. One was under pagan Rome and one was under papal Rome. Thousand years later. It's interesting the book of Revelation came into its own in both those periods. And in China today the book of Revelation is the most read book by Christians. It's a coincidence that the Chinese people's republic has 666 representatives sitting in government. But you can see what a help this book is to Chinese living under that totalitarian regime. I believe the scripture does point forward to a time even more serious suffering for the saints than under Rome or under the Pope. And that we are heading for this. We therefore are called to watch and pray that we may have strength to escape. Luke 2136 is a key word, key verse. Jesus said, pray that you may have strength to escape. There will be some possibilities of escaping some of that suffering, not by being raptured because we don't need any strength for that. That would just take me out. But by following the directions of our Lord when it comes it will mean In practical terms, Christians living in towns getting out of those towns with their families and going to live as far away from urban centres as they can. I know of some Christians who are already doing that. I think they are jumping ahead of time and doing it. But I have met recently this summer a Christian who has bought a little farm as far away from citizens he can get and is planning it so that he can grow his own food and can be self-supporting from self or his relatives if they need it. Now in fact, Christ did tell us when you see the abomination of desolation. Get out as quickly as you can. Fleet the wilderness. By 2074 the planners tell us that 98% of the world's population will be living in one city, one urban belt, round the coasts and rivers of our lands. And only 2% will be left in the country. Sure you know that already more and more people are leaving the country. And the instructions are, "Escape while you can." Protect your family if you can. Pray, watch and pray that you may have strength to escape from what you can. And Christians should do that. They're not fools. They shouldn't court martyrdom. If they can protect themselves and their family, they should. And there are directions for that. But more than that, I believe we must fortify ourselves now. I mean, quite frankly, if when all these troubles come, we're all safe in glory. Fine. But wouldn't it be awful if that is not true? And Christians were totally unprepared for the suffering. And it caught the manawares. It could be terribly. Could shake their faith. And I believe the main thrust is that we should produce a generation not of soft Christians, but of those who can endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Those who can be tough when it's going to be needed. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Frankly, if I believed in a secret rapture first, knowing the weakness of my own flesh, I'm afraid I would say, "Blow you, Jack, I'm all right." I would tend to think this. But my own understanding of the Bible teaches me to ask myself, "Am I ready for such suffering? How do you get ready? Watch and pray. Prayer is a strengthening. But to be very practical, I remember saying to a man this once, I said, "I don't think I could be a martyr. I don't think I could go to the lions for Christ." I think I'd funk it. And this man said a profound thing to me, which I've never forgotten. He said, "How do you know?" He said, "I will tell you something." He said, "If you under small pressures now, pray and turn to the Lord and stand under a bit of social ridicule or a little social ostracism, if you are prepared to stand now and experience a little of his grace now to stand, he will give you martyrs grace when the Christ is comes. But if you do not stand in little things now, the big crunch you will not stand either. But it's his grace that does it, but he doesn't give it unless you're used to receiving it. Now I found that a profound help. So the little things that get me down now, can I turn to him for grace and watch and pray now? And come through on top and overcome now. Then if so, then I will overcome then. But if I go under now, I'll go under them. So we can be preparing. We can be praying for that strength. to stand before him. In fact, Luke 21.36 says, "Not only pray that you may have strength to escape, but also to stand, to stand, having done all stand, it's the same word. It's a tough word, it means when you're beaten back, when you can't go forward anymore, when the enemy is all around you, you stand firm, having done all stand, pray that you may have strength to stand." That's the preparation. There are certain things to be completed yet, I don't believe the gospel has gone to all nations yet, but as Jesus said to his disciples, "When you see all these things, you know that he is near at the variegates, and this time he's using the word imminent." And when you ask, when you see all these things, what things he has just mentioned, the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation, when you see these things, then you can talk about an imminent return of our Lord, until then it must be in the foreseeable future. I believe therefore that we must have cool heads and warm hearts, and that we must be preparing now for the suffering that comes. Finally, may I just quote one sentence from one of the best books on this whole subject that I've read. It's a sentence from the preface, from a man who knows that he will be disagreed with, from a man who knows that his position is different from other Christians, and yet he finishes his preface with this lovely sentence, and I would put the emphasis here, though I've taken one position fairly strongly, and tried to back it up. I would finish with this sentence in the Spirit in which he wrote it, "Suppose you are not convinced. Suppose you are not convinced. Shall we who are relying on the same Redeemer begotten by the same God, inhabited by the same Spirit, incorporated in the same body, entrusted with the same gospel, assorted by the same devil, hated by the same world, delivered from the same hell and destined to the same glory. Shall we have so much in common, allow ourselves to be divided in heart or service, because and just because we are of different minds on this secondary matter. God forbid." Now I would finish on that Spirit. I've told you my own understanding. I recognize freely that it's not held by, even perhaps the majority of Bible believing Christians today, though once it was held by almost all of them, and I realize that there are genuine and deep differences of conviction. The glory I believe of this fellowship here is that we can still hold all these other things in common, agree to different love until the Holy Spirit of truth brings more light from His Word. I would hate to divide from any Christian brother over this issue. On the other hand, understanding scriptures I do, I feel I could not face the Lord Jesus as pastor of a flock, whom I had not prepared for suffering if that suffering was to come to them. And I would rather run the risk of being wrong this way, and preparing people for suffering, and say, "You ought to prepare to face it, then to run the risk of having the opposite mistake, and saying, 'You'll be out of it all before it happens,' and then finding that it does. So it's out of a pastor's heart that I took this subject and tried to answer the question. And now you must do what the Bereans did with Paul's teaching, go home and search the scriptures to see whether these things be so, and if they are not so, then you can scrap it and forget what I've said. But if they are so, then as you've prayed in that hymn we're saying, "Ask to be delivered from any notion or fancy, that is man-made dogma, and pray for the truth that sets us free." Shall we pray? Father, I leave all that I've said now in your hands and ask that your spirit of truth will lead all of us into the truth. And if the view I've presented is not the truth, then I just thank you your Holy Spirit can blot things out of the memory. And if it is, then Lord, fortify us, help us to watch and pray and prepare us for what many of our fellow Christians in the world are already experiencing, suffering, persecution under totalitarian regimes. Lord, they're already in it in much affliction. And we're not, we're very fortunate. But Lord, may that not make us flabby Christians or soft. We ask it in the name of him, who for the joy that was set before him? Endure the cross, despise the shame, even Jesus Christ. Your suffering servant and our blessed Savior, whose appearing we love, Amen. You have been listening to David Paulson. Other talks by David Paulson can be found and downloaded free of charge by visiting www.DavidPawson.co.uk