Simply teaching the Bible, simply

This study, taught by pastor Barry Forder at our Sunday morning service on Sunday 21st February 2016 is the 7th in our verse-by-verse study through the book of Revelation. As we have previously noted, the book of Revelation is divided up into 3 sections as explained by Jesus Himself in Chapter 1 verse 19: The things that John had seen – i.e. the vision of Jesus in chapter one; the things that are – the things that existed at that time, namely the seven churches that have been the focus of Chapters 2 & 3, which also depict the seven eras of the church throughout history, and finally… The things that shall be ‘after these things’ – the things that will occur after the churches; literally, after the church age, once the Church has been taken out of this world. Jesus made a promise to His disciples in John 14:1-3 that He was going to prepare a place for them in His Father’s house – Heaven – and He would one day come again and take us from earth to that place. From numerous scriptures, it seems this will occur before the time of Tribulation, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, in an event often referred to as the Rapture. (1 Corinthians 15:52 / 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). The division of the book of Revelation, as noted above, supports this notion of a ‘pre-tribulation’ Rapture, where the Church will be taken to Heaven before the commencement of the Tribulation (also known as the ‘Day of the LORD’). Isaiah (Isaiah 13:9-11), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 46:10) and Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14) all underscore that the Tribulation will be a time of God’s judgment, when He pours out His wrath on this unbelieving and Christ-rejecting world. It therefore follows that believers will not be here for this time of God’s wrath because we have already been declared ‘not guilty’ because of Christ’s completed work on the cross, where His blood was shed as payment in full for our sin. God’s wrath fell on His Son at Calvary (Isaiah 53:10), it will not fall again on the Church He has purchased. So, just as with Lot, who was removed from Sodom before the judgment fell (see Genesis 18:25), in like manor the Church will be removed – Raptured – prior to the Tribulation, just as Paul said: “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).