(2011) Over the past two weeks, we studied the Age of the Gentiles We ve learned this age is a long period of history Jesus defined the age as a period beginning with Babylon s conquering of Israel SLIDE 4-34 SLIDE 4-35 Daniel taught us the progression of events during this time period and the event that ends this period: Christ s return SLIDE 4-36 Daniel used metaphors given in dreams to explain God s plan for history He used a statue and four beasts to depict the Gentile empires that would come and rule over Israel and the world In particular, Daniel s visions focused our attention on the final Gentile kingdom, the one that would rule at the moment of Christ s coming The fourth kingdom itself moves through various stages of development, beginning with Rome SLIDE 4-37 Later it transforms numerous times into a variety of nations and forms, but always trampling Jerusalem and dominating world power In its final form, Daniel told us it would lead to ten world rulers The ten rulers would be joined by an eleventh, who would ultimately remove three of the first kings SLIDE 4-38 We took time to learn these details because they form the context, the backdrop for the events of Revelation And as we ll learn a couple of weeks from now, they also give the reason for many of the events described in this book For now, I am leaving unanswered the question of why God brought the age of Gentiles into being It s enough that we understand what it is and how it leads us into the events surrounding the Church period and the rest of Revelation
2! Speaking of the Church period, it s time we returned our attention to the place we left off in the book of Revelation We ended chapter 3 with the seventh letter to the churches SLIDE 4-39 With that final letter, we finished the second major division of the book of Revelation: the things that are And if we glance at the first verse of chapter 4, we see the telltale sign of the beginning of the final part of the book: the things that happen after these things Before we begin reading that chapter, we need to reflect on the meaning of that phrase in the original Greek language SLIDE 4-40 In fact, we need to consider three related phrases which we will encounter numerous times long our study of John s revelation The first phrase is meta houte houtos This is the Greek phrase that begins Chapter 4 (After these things...) It conveys the sense of sequence (i.e., following) but with cause-and-effect implied (i.e., a result of the earlier things) The second phrase is meta tauta You can find this Greek phrase in Rev 7:1 (After this...) We ll study the context of that chapter in the future, but it s meaning is accompanying these things Simultaneous activity, not cause-and-effect Finally, we ll see the simple Greek word kai used commonly in John s narrative This means then and simply means the next thing John saw It says nothing about the relationship between the events So John is told that the events in chapter 4 and beyond are meta houte houtos - the next events in time and are related to the earlier events
3! What were the earlier events? They were the history of the Church, the Church period So the events in chapters 4 and beyond are events that take place after the events of the Church period That includes the entire seventh church, our period So simple logic requires we conclude that if the events of chapter 4 are after the Church period itself Rev. 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things. Rev. 4:2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. Rev. 4:3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Rev. 4:4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twentyfour elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. Rev. 4:5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; Rev. 4:6 and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. Rev. 4:7 The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. Rev. 4:8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME. Rev. 4:9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, Rev. 4:10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Rev. 4:11 Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created. John is called to look through a doorway into heaven a vision of things that must take place in the future
4! In v.2 we see how John was able to receive this vision He was transported in the Spirit This phrase is similar to the one Paul uses to describe his vision of the throne room 2Cor. 12:2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows such a man was caught up to the third heaven. If Paul himself couldn t decide how he was granted such visions (whether by vision or in person), then how are we to know what happened to John In the end, it doesn t matter...he received this vision somehow The first thing John sees is a throne in heaven and One sitting on the throne This description is similar to elsewhere in Scripture in describing God the Father enthroned in heaven Around His throne 24 thrones will elders on the thrones First let s consider the word elder It s presbuteros in Greek, meaning literally gray-haired men It important to note that this term is only ever used to describe human leaders in the church...never angels Secondly, they are wearing white garments and wearing crowns White garments are pictures of salvation We saw that earlier in the letters to the churches Again, angelic beings do not receive white garments or salvation...only men do And the crowns they wear are an important detail In Greek there are two different words for crown Diadem = royal authority by birthright Stephanos = an award earned by effort SLIDE 4-41
5! In this scene, the elders have stephanos they have earned The crowns, therefore, are the rewards eared by their works done in faith The white robes are the salvation they received by faith alone Finally, the number 24 is significant Numbers often have symbolic meaning in Scripture The symbolic meaning does not deny nor replace the literal meaning...they work together God appointed 24 families descended from Aaron to minister before the temple as priests for Israel Knowing that the temple on Earth was a shadow or picture of the one in Heaven So 24 becomes a picture of the entire compliment of human rulers over God s people Taking all these clues together, we conclude these are human elders, saved by faith, having entered heaven and received their rewards The fact that we see 24 and not some lessor number strongly implies that whatever group they are leading is present in complete form Otherwise, how do we explain all 24 elders present in heaven while yet their flock is still on earth? In v.5 we find another clue...the seven Spirits of God We know God s Spirit is not divisible (no spirit is), but we do have other Scripture describing the Spirit of God as having a sevenfold nature or character
6! Is. 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. Since we know God s Spirit is not divisible, then we must conclude that the reference to seven is intended to communicate something symbolic concerning the Spirit When used symbolically, the number seven means completeness or perfection So the implication of seven Spirits is that we are seeing the entirety of God s Spirit - the whole Spirit Today, the Spirit present throughout the world Earlier, we defined the true believer as anyone having the Spirit of God So everywhere the Church goes, the Spirit is present in the world But at this moment in John s vision, the Spirit is seen in His entirety in the throne room In other words, the Spirit of God is no where else but in here at this moment Finally, in vs.6-8, we see four strange creatures appointed to serve God before His throne Looking at their descriptions and their praise words, we can see a close parallel to the creatures Isaiah saw before the throne Is. 6:1 In the year of King Uzziah s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Is. 6:2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. Is. 6:3 And one called out to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory. Collectively, John sees all these praising God on the throne as He deserves to be praised as Creator of all things
7! And the details from all we see argue for a specific conclusion The church is present in heaven First, this is a scene that takes place after the events of chapter 3...meaning after the seventh period of the church ends Secondly, a full compliment of 24 elders are on their thrones, suggesting that the body of people they rule over is also completely present Third, they are humans who have received salvation by faith and rewards for their service Fourth, the arrival of the entirety of God s Spirit is the strongest evidence to tell us that the entire Church must be in heaven Scripture says God (His Spirit) will never leave us nor forsake us Jesus said He would be with us always So if the Spirit leaves the earth, even if only for a short time, the Church must leave with Him Let s remember that the Church is a term used to describe those who receive Spirit baptism Spirit Baptism is the indwelling of the Spirit, which did not happen until So how did the church move from earth in chapter 3 to heaven in chapter 4? To answer the question, let s begin with a statement Jesus makes to the disciples in John 14 John 14:2 In My Father s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. Jesus reassures the disciples that in His Father s house there are many homes
8! Heaven is a place ready to accommodate Jesus followers And Jesus says that if He leaves to prepare a place for His followers, then they can be sure He will return for them Let s look at the language carefully First, Jesus mentions leaving We know He departs from the disciples presence when He ascended into Heaven And the reason He left was to prepare a place for the disciples But how is He preparing a place if Heaven already has many dwelling places? The answer is that Jesus isn t literally preparing rooms in Heaven Jesus is using language from the Jewish wedding tradition to draw a comparison The Jewish wedding ceremony involved several steps SLIDE 4-42 A bride was selected for the groom by the groom s father, usually by way of a servant or relative The a price would be paid for the bride and she would be betrothed through an exchange of gifts and a meal with a cup of wine The bride would remain at her own home waiting for the groom to come claim her on a unspecified day in the future The groom spent the time building an addition onto his father s home for he and his bride Meanwhile, the bride for her part is readying herself for the Groom, making herself beautiful and preparing to greet him When the house was ready, the father gave the order for the groom to claim his bride The groom went to the bride s home arriving unannounced and claimed his bride taking her back to his father s house for the wedding
9! Usually after one week, the married couple returned to the bride s home to continue the marriage celebration with the bride s family You can find a wonderful example of this process in Genesis 24 and the story of Abraham, Isaac and Rebekah So when Jesus said He was going away to prepare a place for us at His Father s house, He was invoking Jewish marriage tradition He is our Groom, we are His Bride We are betrothed to Him and await His return Meaning the building that is happening is not one of building rooms but rather building a Bride As Paul says... Rom. 11:25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery so that you will not be wise in your own estimation that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; Once the building process is complete, then the Groom will return In John 14 Jesus says He will receive us to Him so that where He is we will be Receive us to Him is different than Him coming to us And the result is that we join Him where He is, not the other way around According to that description, this isn t a reference to the Second Coming of Christ In John 14 Jesus is not describing Him coming to Earth He s describing a moment when He returns to collects His disciples and bring them to His Father s house in keeping with the Jewish marriage tradition Since we have seen the entire Church present in Heaven in chapter 4, then we must conclude that the moment Jesus described in John 14 occurred between chapter 3 & 4
10! The church age will end when Jesus returns to collect His church and return with them to His Father s house Paul teaches us this same fact in his first letter to the Thessalonians 1Th. 4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 1Th. 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 1Th. 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 1Th. 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 1Th. 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 1Th. 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. Paul comforts the church by reassuring them that those Christians who have died are not left behind in God s plan to redeem us This church knew Jesus had promised to return or His disciples and bring them back to His Father s house But they worried that death prevented Christians from receiving Jesus promise Like a bride that dies before her groom returns to claim her But Paul said those who have died will not be left behind In v.16 that the Lord will descend receive to Himself (like Jesus described in John 14) first those Christians who have died Then those who are still alive will join this group And all will go with the Lord back to be with Him In v.17 Paul uses a term caught up In the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, this term is translated raptura, which becomes rapture in French
! 11 We have adopted the word rapture to describe the moment the Church is caught up to be with Jesus in keeping with His promise in John 14 In this passage Paul gives us an overview of how the removal (or rapture) of the church proceeds First there is a heavenly shout This word in Greek is keleusma, which means a military order Therefore, the removal of the Church begins when a heavenly order is issued Secondly, there is a trumpet call The mention of a trumpet connects this moment to the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah SLIDE 4-43 This feast is a picture of the Rapture, and it fits between the Feast of Pentecost and Yom Kippur, which is a picture of Christ s Second Coming This reaffirms our understanding of timing of Rapture After the beginning of the Church (Pentecost) and before the return of Christ to Earth (at the end of the Age of Gentiles) Third, those who have died in Christ are caught up to Jesus Finally, those who are alive and remain will join them in the clouds Notice that both dead saints and living saints participate together in this event We meet Him in the clouds (i.e., we go toward Him, not Him toward us) Jesus Himself is never seen arriving on Earth in this moment This is a process that matches Jesus statement in John 14 The second major passage we need to consult is in Paul s first letter to Corinth
12! 1Cor. 15:45 So also it is written, The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 1Cor. 15:46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 1Cor. 15:47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. 1Cor. 15:48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 1Cor. 15:49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. 1Cor. 15:50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Paul is teaching on the subject of resurrection And at this point he describes the nature of the body we will receive for our eternal existence in the heavenly realm Paul says that just as our current body is made from the earth and is specially constructed for this environment Likewise, our next body will be constructed in a heavenly pattern suitable for a heavenly existence This change is necessary because flesh blood simply cannot inherit the kingdom Paul means this in two ways Our next body won t be made of earthly flesh and blood It will be made in a different from altogether Secondly, he means that our current sinful flesh is incompatible with the holiness of heavenly life So Paul says it must be replaced 1Cor. 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 1Cor. 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 1Cor. 15:53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1Cor. 15:54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.
13! Paul now describes the experience of the rapture Paul calls this truth a mystery, meaning this is a new revelation God is giving His people This is not something revealed earlier to prior generations of believers This is an event reserved for the Church period and therefore was never explained to prior generations of saints Paul says the mystery is the fact that not all believers will experience death Paul uses the term sleep which was a polite way of saying physical death In the same way we say passed away to politely indicate death But Paul says nevertheless all believers will be changed Given Paul s context of teaching on resurrection, we know Paul is referring to that exchange of one body for another when he says changed At the last trumpet, Paul says all believers will instantaneously receive a new body First, the dead will receive their imperishable body Followed by the rest who are changed instantly And in conjunction with 1Thess, we know we then proceed to the clouds to be with Christ The removal of the Church occurs after the seventh Church period in Rev 3 And that removal has resulted in the scene John sees in chapter 4, the full compliment of elders and the entirety of the Spirit before the Throne Furthermore, we have many supporting passages of Scripture to confirm this pre-tribulation timing for the Rapture First, there is a complete absence of even a single reference to the church during Rev 6-18, which describe the next period of human history on Earth following the Church period
14! The next time the church is mentioned is in chapter 19 of Revelation at the moment of Jesus Second Coming So the Church is already in Heaven before Christ s Second Coming Secondly, Paul says in 1Thess that the reason for the Rapture is to remove the Church before the wrath that is appointed for the world 1Th. 1:9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 1Th. 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. Third, Paul taught that this coming time of God s wrath would come upon the whole world, yet the Church would not experience it 1Th. 5:1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 1Th. 5:2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 1Th. 5:3 While they are saying, Peace and safety! then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. 1Th. 5:4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 1Th. 5:5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 1Th. 5:6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. 1Th. 5:7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. 1Th. 5:8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 1Th. 5:9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 1Th. 5:10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Finally, the New Testament is literally filled with teaching concerning the imminent return of the Groom for His Bride Jesus Himself taught numerous parables, some we will study later, that indicate we should expect His return at any moment
15! But if we hold that the Rapture could not to happen unless some preceding events take place, then we contradict the Scripture s teaching concerning the imminent nature of that return There are some frequently-cited passages of Scripture that some believe teach of a later Rapture (i.e., somewhere during the events of Rev 6-18) We will address those passages in a coming week and show how they have been misinterpreted Others simply deny the reality of a rapture This view is does not take the text of Scripture literally Or it misinterprets the references to the Rapture as a reference to Christ s second coming So here are our outstanding questions we must yet still answer Why is there an Age of the Gentiles? What was/is its purpose? Why does the Church exist in the first place? SLIDE 4-44 Why is the Church protected from the wrath to come? What happens after the Church is removed? We will answer those questions over the next 2-3 weeks as part of an extended introduction to the period that follows the Church period...the time of Tribulation