Major Bible Themes

We are in chapter 12 of Schaeffer's book, Major Bible Themes. The Major Bible Themes, 52 Vital Doctrines and Scriptures, Simplified and Explained by Louis Barry Schaeffer. We've gone over a lot of different ones on God the Son. Chapter 12 is God the Son is coming for his saints. The question is, next week we have Gandhi's son, his coming with his saints. And the questions you should be looking at is 9, 10, 15, and 17. Those are the ones we'll focus on next week. The question is, what's the difference between this week and next week?

Width and four. Width and four. What does that mean, width and four? And then three and a half years later, we go back three and a half years. Oh, yeah. And last, which we'll get into, are you a mid trimmer or pre wrap or those things? Yeah. Yeah, the difference between the two is for and with. It comes for His saints, that's what we're going to talk about today, which is the rapture, the taking up of the saints. And the with describes the return of the Son with us, the saints, to set up the Millennial Kingdom. So that's the difference.

You know, the question about this, is the rapture discussed in the Old Testament and New Testament? Do we have indications of the rapture in the Old Testament and New Testament? No. No? Just in the Old Testament? No. Yeah, there's no discussion of the rapture in the Old Testament.

Do we have references of the Second Coming in the Old Testament and New Testament? Yes. Well, we have references in the New Testament, Paul says. I'm sorry, about the Second Coming. Do we have it in the Old and New? Yeah, I think so. Yeah, we have a lot of the Second Coming in the Old Testament. The interesting part, and we're starting to think about this, and I think actually Chaffer says something about that right at the beginning, was the fact that the Second Coming is brought out in the Old Testament, New Testament, But the rapture is only brought out in the New Testament. So, talking about the church and the rapture, it's only in the New Testament about that. So, my question is, when was the first time in the New Testament did anyone get a hint of the rapture? Versus the second coming of Christ and the seductivity. So, when was the first time that anybody had a clue about the rapture? when Jesus was talking to his disciples during the last seven years. Correct. Yeah.

And what did he say? He just said he was going to go and build more places for them in his father's house and come back and build. So did they understand that? No. They had no clue. What were their thoughts up until that point? Yeah, what did they want?

Physical kingdom. They wanted the kingdom. They wanted the ruler of the rain on earth. They were thinking, this is our guy. We got it. We're going to sit. He's here. And then at the Last Supper, he gives them the old one-two punch. And I think they went, what?

Because that's the first time we get a glimpse of it. And you look at it in John 14, 1 through 6. And yeah, John 14, one through six, this is where it first says, do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. And this is the kicker. For 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 to myself. And that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I'm going.

Did they know where they were going? Where he was going? What's Thomas' response? Thomas? Love Thomas, you know, the great doubter. Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you're going. How do we know the way? So this is the first time that he gives them the idea that he's leaving. And Thomas, being very honest, says, Lord, we don't know where we're going. We don't know where you're going. How do we know the way? And they want to follow him. They don't want to be left alone, so they're sitting there going, what? Where are you going? And you tell them, what? Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.

So the disciples had no clue what was going on. Again, what their thoughts were, here's our king. Here's the one who's going to establish this great kingdom. get these Romans out, all this stuff. Here's going to be our world peace, world leader, all this stuff. And he just told them at the Last Supper that, sorry guys, I'm leaving. They had no clue what was going on. So that was the first indication to the disciples what was to take place.

Alright, so, kind of go through and this is the, the, where did it go? Yeah, so this is how we've been going through it already. Starting at creation and his pre-existence, we come to his incarnation, substitutionary death, resurrection, and then his ascension, then Pentecost. Then we have what we're in right now, which is called the Church Age. And then, this is what we're talking about today. His coming for his saints. So, does he physically hit the ground? No. No, he doesn't.

I was talking to my mother-in-law last night. We were at my nephew's wedding and we just said, it says, in the clouds. I mean, where is it? Are we halfway up? I don't really know. It's kind of a weird answer or a weird question. It's like in the clouds. So we like on the puffy fluffies or? From above. I don't know. I never thought about that. It was like, I really don't know. So in the cloud, it says we're going to meet him in the clouds. But he does not touch down. The interesting part is here, the day of the Lord. What do you think when you think of the day of the Lord? The day of the Lord? When he's number one, when nobody thinks of anything but him, he comes down. So the Millennium?

I've always heard it in two things, where it's his judgment poured out, and then finally his reign on the earth. So it's a two-part deal, not just... Two-part deal. So half day of the Lord, and then the half day of the Lord. Yeah, exactly. Okay. The first half day, and then the second half day. This is kind of, you know, when you think about it, when I was studying, I was thinking, kind of my first inclination is Day of the Lord. The day. So which day is that?

When he comes back. So, when he comes back? Yeah, when he returns, I think. Okay, any others? Based on your drawing up there, it looks like when he establishes himself with his saints. So, that's the day on Rapture? From then on? Yeah, that's, you know, when I look, it is.

It's not the day, like one day. The day of the Lord is from the time he comes for us at the rapture, through all the tribulation, through the millennial kingdom. That is the day of the Lord. Which is kind of, you know, versus half days or the day. Usually our mind puts it as one day.

It's not. When you look at it, when you look at the scriptures, when he says the day of the Lord, it's from the time of the rapture through. I think we use that term, though, in referring to history, because we would say, well, you know, back in the day of Roosevelt. Yeah. Or back in the day of George Washington. Kind of like a period. Yeah, period. Modern day. Yeah. But, you know, a lot of times when we, in Christendom, day of the Lord. Well that's the day of the rapture. That was the day of the second coming. That's the day... But you're right. Day one, day two, day... That's what we think of it a lot.

Don't want to touch that one. I was wondering, as far as it seemed like during the seven years, Yeah, and we'll get into that. He has a reference on here. I didn't check the guy. Marv Rosenthal. He's a big tribber. You'll see and we'll lay out the scriptures.

Some of them are pre-wrapped, which means in the three-and-a-half, go through the three-and-a-half, and then before that last half, we'll go through some of the scriptures. We start at the raptures when the day of the Lord starts, and that's the beginning of the tribulation, which is the first three-and-a-half. I mean, first three-and-a-half is Yahtzee time. It's, you know, happy-go-lucky. Everybody's, you know, fat, dumb, and happy. And then the hammer comes down for the last three-and-a-half. We're going to have a special time. No, it is. And a lot, you know, a lot of people go through that as pre-wrath. I think more it's kind of almost pre-wrath that because a lot of scriptures we'll look at say that we're not under wrath.

We'll look at that. We'll look at those. But when you see the day of the Lord, it starts at the rapture. So, and that means we're at that point. And then the tribulation starts. So, we'll go over that. But I just want to go over the Day of the Lord. But that, you guys are right. I mean, if you translate it to Roosevelt or modern day or something like that, that's more what we're talking about when we talk about the Day of the Lord.

It's a period of time beginning at the Rapture and ending at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. Okay? Alright, so we'll go over today about the Rapture. What is the Rapture? Yeah, what is it? I don't get it. I mean, is it when Christ comes back, when we first know He's talking to everybody from above, everybody hears Him or whatever, and is that the rapture? When the shout, shout in the trumpet. Right. We meet Him in the clouds. Okay.

And we'll look at first, those who are asleep, dead, and then us who are alive, are the second to go. And these are all done, and I love this term, It's like this. It isn't going to be like we... I don't think it's going to be we're going to hear it and we're all going to start running around and cheering and, you know, here it comes. It's coming. I think it is instantaneous. Because it says in the twinkling of an eye, you'll do this.

So it's... I don't think we're going to... I mean, it's going to be one... I mean, the instant we hear the trumpet and the shout, we're gone. It's not going to be, oh, gee, today's the day. We'll go, you know, celebrate and this is the day. Getting wine. What? Getting wine. Yeah, yeah. You know, like somebody would get naked and get on a hill somewhere and wait for the Lord, you know? No, no, not in this. I don't know where some of those people went. It's an ugly scene. It is, it's an ugly scene. It's an ugly scene. You know what I'm thinking? These people have done it repeatedly. It's like, you know?

So, no, and so the rapture is the actual day, the time, the moment that Christ comes for the church. And again, he does not physically reside. He comes down, meets us in the clouds, has a shout and a trumpet, and we're gone. First the dead, the body will be reunited, and then us who are living. So that happens. That's the rapture. There really isn't a term, rapture. If you look through, you can't scan and find rapture. It's our term for that event. So, you know, Monique, you can't run and scan for rapture in there. It's the term we give for that removal of the church.

You know, we were studying Thessalonians on Tuesday. The reason that there was all that discussion was that the saints in Thessalonica were concerned about the fact that the They were anticipating that they were going to miss the train. Some had said they had already missed the train. If you happen to die before Christ, before what we call the rapture, then you don't get to go in the rapture. that no, every believer goes in what the sequence is, Thessalonians lays it out. And that's why most of the verses will go over from Thessalonians, because that's right.

They were questioning, yeah, did we miss the boat? Has it already started? Are we left behind? They had a lot of questions like that. So Paul lays it out in a lot of verses in Thessalonians, some in Corinthians. But Thessalonians is the one that really hits it directly, because they were concerned about that. And they said some had been teaching that it had already happened. So they're going, did we miss the boat? Are we following the wrong train? So the rapture, we'll go over what it is, timing of the rapture, the rapture versus the second coming, the purpose of the rapture, and what the effects of the rapture are.

Okay, the primary ones, again, are out of Thessalonians and Corinthians, 1 Corinthians. I'll go ahead and read just so we can get through it here. The primary passages, 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 through 18, and then 1 Corinthians 15, 51 through 53. So, first one, 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 through 18. and set out a new American standard.

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." Again, this is his direct one. He's directly addressing the Thessalonians' concern about the ones who had died. even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus." Again, he's reassuring them.

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. So, who's the first ones to go? The dead. Okay? For the Lord himself will descend from the heaven with a shout, and the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall always be with the Lord, and therefore comfort one another with these words." Okay, first dead, and then us, as my brother-in-law, picture that I hadn't even thought about. Millions and millions of us meeting the Lord in the air. You know, I'm thinking about that. These are rabbit trails, I'm sorry. Engineer brain goes crazy. You know, the twin flame and I, we do that. Are we in the air with him for a while? What does the world, do they see us for a moment? A twinkling?

I think we're out of here. I think what happens is that we go from like people that die now, persons that die now, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. You go from time-space reality to eternity, and that's what the rapture does. You go from time-space to eternity instantly. But you know this meeting in the clouds, how long is that? I mean, it says we do it. We're there for an instant, a sparkle, a twinkle, I don't know. I don't think so, but we meet for some reason in the clouds. I don't think they hear the shout. No, I don't think they do.

But if we're dead, if the people that are dead and they are not in Christ, why are they also going up? They're not, just believers. Yeah. Okay, so then who are the dead that are going up? I saw their soul, as soon as you die, their soul goes up. The body.

So we get reunited with our body that's been completely destroyed? Here's the deal, those Christians who have died from the time of Pentecost to the time of the rapture are already at home with the Lord now. Like Malloy, he's there. Now when the Lord comes to get us that are still here, he'll bring Malloy with him.

And his body will rise out of the grave and be transformed into a a new creation body and join with house, soul and spirit, it will happen so fast that you won't be able to time it. Then we go right behind them and as we approach our bodies are changed to spiritual bodies and all that happens in the blink of an eye. So yeah, the body is remade, but it's to the new body. And like we change, we'll be changed instantly from this fleshly body to a spiritual body.

Which we have no clue what it's going to look like. It looks like the resurrected glorified Christ. Yeah. Okay. So, but that transformation happens. When the dead, the bodies will be reunited, but it will be changed to the new body, as we are changed to the new body, but it's instantaneous. Whenever, whatever period in life you were in, that's looking, that's what it would be. And what scripture was that, Mike? 2nd California, I think. And you won't need a mirror.

You know, regarding Monique's question, I thought, it really hit me when you were saying that, is the words, in Christ. That is the key. People who are believers, who are in Christ. They're dead. They're not together. You're already in Christ. So you were saying, what with these non-believers, but it's the dead who believe in Christ. Okay. See, and they're left here for the three and a half years of fun, and then three and a half years of Bury me under a rock. Try and hide me. Because it is, you know, in the final, the blood will be so thick, or so high, it's...

When you read about the earthquakes in Japan, that won't even make the back page. You know, I think about some of those things, you know, and the wave that came through, and the tsunami, and things like that. I mean, what they'll experience in the tribulation, we can't even explain. God's in control of that, and able to, in an instant, create a wave that wipes out three miles inland of Japan and heartbeat. You know, that's His power.

When you get to the tribulation, that's what I say, I think it's under, I mean, they're trying to climb under rocks, they're doing anything to get away from it, you know. So it's, you know, for those who are not in Christ, and I think Russ got it, you know, it's that in Christ, how important our identity And then, you know, what that means. It's just, you know, but as Mike says that, you know, those people who are trying to get under rock, they're still cursing God. I just, you can't, I can't, that my finite, my finite mind, you know, when your finite mind tries to get around, why can't people just understand what Christ is offering, the free gift?

Nothing we do. You know, I think of, I look at the Middle East and all these guys who were, you know, got to pray ten times to the east, and you know, all these things, you know, and all the whatever. You know, all the religions have things to do. Think of what we have to do. Believe.

Non-meritorious act. And we get what? You know, if we go through the 34 things, we get immediately when we're placed into Christ, positionally. get this, all you got to do is believe. But, you know, God didn't make us robots. He didn't snap and say, you're all going to do this. We have to still believe.

So, um, okay. Now the other passage, uh, was, uh, first Corinthians. Where are you? Um, first Corinthians 1551 and I'll do 51 through 57. Behold, I tell you a mystery. Again, he's saying a mystery. So what does a mystery mean? Something that hasn't been revealed. So he's telling, behold, I tell you a mystery. This is something I haven't told you.

We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed in a moment. Changed in a moment. The body, in a 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. First the dead, then us. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. When a 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.

O death, where is your The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. I like that one, too. You law people. The power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, so you see, we're changed. The body is changed. Those who were dead changed instantly. However, the time frame, in that twinkling of an eye, we're changed right behind them. Okay? All right. So, yeah?

Why does it say last trumpet? I mean, aren't there going to be trumpets during the seven, during the tribulation? I mean, why does it say last trumpet? I think, I think this is at the rapture. And I don't know if there are several or not or whatever, a shout or, you know, this, I think is, I don't know. I wonder if there's a cavalcade. of trumpets? I don't know. I really don't know the answer on that. Do you?

You know, I was just thinking, are there trumpets when the bowls of wrath are opened up? That's what I think. But she's saying, here's the rapture, it's saying the last trumpet. Yeah, so why did they call it the last? I don't know. Yeah, I don't know that one. I'll look at that and see. Yeah, that's a good question. Because yeah, there's several trumpets. It might be the last for us. Yeah. Could be. Yeah, that might be why it is. Yeah, I don't know. That might be what it is. Yeah, the last one we need to worry about.

So the definition, the rapture is catching away of the church, those living from the earth, to meet the Lord in the air when he comes for the church, those who are asleep and alive. So again, the progression is those who are already passed away, asleep, and then us who are living, okay? Prior to the rapture, there are two groups of believers. Those who are asleep, they died physically and they are absent from the body, but present with the Lord.

And if you look at 2 Corinthians 5, it's in verse 8, but I'll read 6 through 10 just so you get the context of it. So therefore, being always of good courage and knowing that while we're at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. Verse 8, we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore, we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. So again, absent from the body, present with the Lord.

And then those who are alive, those are the two categories of who Christ is coming for at the rapture. Those who have died in Christ, and those who are still alive physically on the earth, who are in Christ. At the time of the rapture, God does what? To those who are asleep, He resurrects them with a glorified body. This is what we are talking about, Monique. They get a glorified body and they rise up to meet Him in the clouds. And if you look at 1 Corinthians 15, 35-44. But someone will say, how are the dead raised?

And with what kind of body do they come? You fool, that which you sow does not come to life unless it dies, and that which you sow you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain perhaps of wheat or something else. But God gives it a body just as he wished, and to each of the seeds of the body of its own. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of man, and one flesh, and another flesh of beast, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars. For stars differ from the star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead.

It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body. Again, two different. and then our new body, imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, but is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

So he goes through a great explanation about two different bodies. So Monique, this is where it's, you know, there are two different types of bodies. Okay? Earthly, fleshly, physical, and then a spiritual. And we'll be raised into a new body. Okay, and then only... Oh, this is kind of an interesting one. To those who are alive, they do not experience physical deaths, they are changed into glorified bodies, they are caught up or raptured to meet the Lord in the air.

And we've gone through those verses, 1 Corinthians 15, that was in the first one. This is where you get into one of the partial rapture positions. These are a couple of the different ones. A partial rapture. I really studied this. I started looking at it. There's a partial rapture. This is incorrect view saying that all believers will be raptured. Wow, what a bummer. You know, let's see, you want to have the markup? No, wait, what is it? You know, only the good looking ones. Isn't that what the Jehovah Witnesses teach? Only 144,000? Well, that's the 144,000, and you know, that one way, you know, I always wonder, I shouldn't be on the tape as much, but, you know, it's kind of like, wow, 144,000, what number am I? Am I 144,001? Or 143,999?

You know, and again, again, it's works oriented. You know, it's what do you have to do to make the great? You know, I ask them, what more do you have to do than what Christ did? You know, I ask us, what do you think you have to do to get into heaven? What more do you have to do?

Nothing, just believe. Nothing. Just believe. Believe. Non-meritorious act. You know, you believe and you're transformed. You're on the cross, you're crucified, placed into Him, new body, new position. What more do you have to do? Why beat yourself up? It's those crazy things. All he wants is to have fellowship with you. Intimacy with you. That's what he wants now. It's not work, it's not do we have to...

And I go back to my early days as a Christian before learning a lot of identification things. I was a type A-er. I'd go after things. I'd do things because I would do it because it would please God. He'd smile a little bit more because Gordon was doing great things for him. He's going to smile at me. He's going to bless me because I'm doing these great things. What more do I have to do than what Christ has already done? The only thing I have to do is know Him intimately. That growing grace and knowledge of Him. How nice is that versus all these other works? The 144, make the cut. You've got to be shining. How long have they been in it? When was that 144,000 filled up? Was it a few years back or is it... We're getting two a year for the last...

I don't know. I'm so thankful that we do not have to do anything. Just believe. The other one which was interesting. Only those who are watching and waiting. So if you're not watching, if you're a little asleep out here today, if it happens right now and you're not eagerly watching and waiting, you don't make the bus. You didn't get the ticket.

And they get it from Hebrews 9.28, so Christ also having been offered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin. Is that a condition? But doesn't it say in Acts not to be watching? Not to be watching? I think you're always supposed to be watching and waiting. I thought, you know, it always says that.

I think you were to be eagerly awaiting, you know, as a bride, you know, bride and bridegroom. I think to put that in perspective, though, that the believer As he grows in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, this becomes what's in his heart.

He is expecting. I mean, we discussed, boy, you know, look at the events of history. Look what's going on. Maybe the Lord's coming today. How cool would that be? So it isn't, you know, Lord, look at me, I'm watching and waiting. It's that he builds into you in this new life. I can hardly wait for him to get here.

You know, I look at it as, you know, a bride and a bridegroom. I mean, you're waiting for But it's in your conscience, isn't it? It's in your conscience. It's just you don't even have to think about it. You know, I think it's as you love somebody. As you love somebody, what do you want? You want to be with them. That's what you want above anything else. You want to be with them.

And so I think as we spend time here and we get to know him, I want to be with him. You know... Maybe today, Lord. Today, Lord. You know, or if he takes me home, to be absent from the body and present with the Lord? Yahtzee? You know, you ask me, you ask me if I want to come back. How did you get the Yahtzee? That's the Hezekiah 3-5.

You know, I say this, you know, to believers, I mean, to somebody who goes to be home with the Lord, would you ask them if they want to come back to this trashy place? No way. No, when we talk about Lazarus and some of that, what a bummer. What a bummer. That's like, are you kidding me? But any believer, Hal, any of the ones that go before us, if you think you'd ask him, oh yeah, I want to go back to this because I can do great things on earth. Absolutely not.

You're face to face with the Lord. So I think it's this eagerly awaiting. You love them so much, you want to be with him. You want to be face to face. The Lord checked me out as soon as possible. But you know with Hal, I think that he enjoyed telling others about God, and that was such a mission for him that it must have been... So did the Lord miss... He had five other things he was supposed to do, and the Lord said, nah, you're done. But we don't have to do those last five things. No. You know, I agree.

We talk about a lot of people. I know a lot of believers. Why did you take them home now? They were great. Boy, he could have slayed the world. Done. All the things he had for them to do, done. Let's put it this way. God has 59 things for you to do. You get the 59 done. You want to wait around and do 5 more? Number six, no man, the minute you're home, and it's happy. You look at Paul too. That's why he can go through stonings, all this stuff, everything. If he goes home with the Lord, he's home.

We can be expectant, but still, I thought that we were admonished by Luke to not sit around and do nothing in anticipation. Well and that's kind of what a lot of the identification and the grace, actually when we talk about grace, we run in this a lot.

You know, grace, it's unmerited, you know, which means you don't do anything. So I go in a room and I just contemplate. All I do. Is that what you, no. Isn't the watching and waiting is more of a heart attitude, not a physical? It doesn't mean you don't sit and do nothing, it's your heart attitude.

We're resting in the Lord, but he's using us in mighty ways. And he said, I've got all these things for you. And when you look at what all the logical imperatives of, if you, then you, he's got lots of things that we're doing. If we were to sit, contemplate, just going to block ourselves in the room and just contemplate the Lord, that's all he wants us to do. No. Why would you have all these other things about life?

So no. And yeah, it's not an eagerly wait, we just sit in a room eagerly. No, you're as part of your life. God uses your life to teach you things. So if you're just sitting in a room, I don't know how much you're going to learn. Yeah. But we get that, like I said, when we teach grace, we get that a lot, unmerited.

We're not supposed to do anything. lots for you to do, but you do it for what? A position at rest that you're not doing it to please him, not doing it for anything. You're doing it because you love him and it's who you are in Christ. You do it because that's who you are, not because you have to. Well, and he's doing it through you. Yeah, he does it through you.

I mean, we have the Holy Spirit, we have the indwelling. The other one, Philippians 3, 20 and 21, For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior. the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform this body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory by the exertion of the power that he has even to subject all things to himself." So again, these eagerly waiting. Is it only the people who are eagerly waiting to make the cut?

Is that what these are saying? Why? I'll use a no, not to imply. Because it's placing a requirement on you. Exactly. That's why you can't say that only those who are eagerly waiting, because that puts the burden on you. And these are also indicative statements. If you look at the Greek, it's indicative, which means it's fact or reality. It's not an imperative command. These are facts. You're eagerly waiting because you're waiting for Him. That's who you are. You want to be with the one you love. So it's not a requirement, it's a fact that we are eagerly waiting for.

Boy, I get about through half of these lessons. You seem to blow through it. This question has the most disagreements between Bible scholars. The timing of the rapture. There's pre-trib, mid-trib, pre-wrath. really look him up and see what it was, and then post-trib, you know? Which view do you like the best? Which would you rather be? Pre-trib. Pre-trib, you know? And, you know, even though I want that, I mean, just, I can't say it.

So, the scriptures tell us that, which is great. Everybody know what trib means? Tribulation, the tribulation periods. We go, we went back here. this seven-year period between when we're raptured and when the Lord comes back to establish his millennial kingdom. And again, three and a half years is happiness, peace, great things, wonderful, and then the hammer happens at three and a half years. At three and a half years, everything falls apart. Armageddon at the end were rivers of blood.

But only for those that have not believed, right? Right. And there'll be some tribulation saints, but it's really those, because we're raptured, the church is raptured out. Right. Okay? And so we're gone. Which is the pre-trib, which is Those who are asleep and those who are alive at that point whenever the rapture happens and we hope soon any day we hope We're out of here.

So it's the unbelievers who are left and they established for three and a half years, you know You think what goes on at that period, you know millions and millions of people What are they thinking You know Not that I want to be, but I was left behind. Not a believer. They won't be singing, oh, happy days. Well, for three and a half years, they will. They'll establish things, and they will be happy days. They'll be glad we're out of the way.

There are lots of things you can say. Two pilots who were believers, you're on that plane. Do you have any computers? Yeah. So, well, you know, look at these verses. And there was a correction on if you do have this slide series. This one was on the slide second, but it's really first Thessalonians.

Again, a lot of things on the rapture. And we are gone. You know, there's plenty of verses that we have. You look on the screen. plenty of verses it says we are removed before wrath and when the day of the Lord starts is when we're raptured so that's the beginning of the tribulation period so and a lot of these verses if you look at them it will say that you know this is the beginning of the day of the Lord it actually says the day of the Lord and that's when it begins so that's when the day of the Lord starts that's when this tribulation seven and a half year period starts and then the millennium after that so a lot of verses prior to the tribulation period. And not in the middle of it, not a mid-trib where pre-wrath or mid that we are raptured. All these verses come up and establish that we are removed. That's the beginning of the tribulation.

So we're gone before even three and a half years ahead of time. So, alright, we need to close. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time again. We thank you. We thank you so much for all these things that you have taught us about the rapture, that we are not going to be part of the tribulation, that we are not going to see your wrath. We are thankful for that. We just look forward to that day eagerly, knowing that what a day that will be, that we will be meeting you in the clouds and seeing you face-to-face in a new body that we can fully see and appreciate who you are and we just are waiting for that day eagerly and we just thank you again just for all the truths that you have in your word and that you have answered all these questions that come up we just thank you for that we thank you again just