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[0:00] Please turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and we'll be looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 51 through 58.

[0:18] Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.

[0:33] 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.

[0:48] For this perishable must put on imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

[1:00] 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.

[1:20] O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

[1:35] But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

[2:01] There are two principal passages that set forth the doctrine of the rapture of the church, and what Gary just read is one of them.

[2:14] The other is found in 2 Corinthians 4, verses 13 through 18. And these are not the only two, but they are the two most principal and most detailed as regards the rapture.

[2:27] There are at least a dozen other passing references to it that are easily assigned to the rapture itself, and eventually perhaps we'll look at them or at least give you a list of them.

[2:38] And before I get into the message proper, I want to touch on something that is referred to in verse 52 of this passage. It talks about the last trumpet.

[2:50] The trumpet will sound. The dead shall be raised imperishable. This, of course, is all in connection with, happens simultaneous to, the rapture or the translation of the church.

[3:01] And the question was asked afterwards, what is this trumpet business? What is that all about? I have researched it, and the only conclusion that I can come to is that it is referred to as the last trumpet because it is the final trumpet sound for this particular dispensation called the church age, or the age of grace, or the dispensation of the grace of God.

[3:32] And the sounding of this trumpet will be curtain time. The church will be removed instantaneously when that trumpet sounds.

[3:43] I have no idea what it will be like. It is a very well-established institution in the state of Israel, that of the trumpet blowing.

[3:55] And the trumpets were actually a ram's horn. They weren't the kind of trumpets that you buy from Elgin, Illinois. Brass and shiny and all that that we see in marching bands and everything.

[4:06] But it was a ram's horn. And some of them were very long. Some of them as much as three feet long and curved. And it took a lot of oomph to blow one. And it was generally assigned to the different priests to blow the shofar.

[4:19] S-H-O-F-A-R. That's the meaning, the definition of the word or the spelling of the word in Hebrew. The shofar. They would sound that. And sometimes it's called a trumpet.

[4:30] But actually it was a ram's horn. I don't know this for sure. Like a lot of other things, I don't know about the future. But my suspicion is this.

[4:42] Is when that last trumpet sounds, no one will hear it or respond to it other than believers.

[4:54] And I have likened it before to the proverbial dog whistle. That when that whistle is sounded, humans don't hear it because it's on too high a frequency.

[5:05] But dogs do. Now this is not to equate humans and the body of Christ with dogs. But I am suggesting that no one will be able to respond to that but those who are believers.

[5:18] Everyone else will probably hear absolutely nothing. So, just that brief aside before we even make it an aside and get into the message.

[5:32] Out of the two principal passages regarding the rapture, with numerous others providing collaboration, with numerous others providing collaboration, we have just heard read, the one from 1 Corinthians 15.

[5:43] The other, as I mentioned, is from 1 Thessalonians 4. And I want you to be able to make the connection between the rapture, the mystery, the Apostle Paul, and prophecy, and all of these things conglomerated into one setting if we can, because my striving for this particular session is for clarity.

[6:07] There is a great deal here that is capable of being confused. And I want to make it as clear as possible. Be advised that the Apostle Paul alone introduces the subject of mystery.

[6:26] The word mystery doesn't mean something that cannot be known. It means something that can be known only if you have the key to it, only if you have the ability to unlock it.

[6:45] And what the Apostle Paul is being used of God to do is to unlock this mystery. This mystery has been hidden, Ephesians 3 tells us, has been hidden in the mind of God from eternity past, but was never brought forth, never disclosed, kept secret so that no one had an idea that it even existed.

[7:14] until Paul the Apostle came on the scene and God revealed that mystery to him. And I want to emphasize something here. He revealed it to him exclusively, in much the same way that God revealed the law given on Mount Sinai to Moses exclusively.

[7:40] He didn't give it to Moses and Aaron and Miriam and a half dozen. No, he gave it to Moses exclusively. And Moses was charged with the responsibility of communicating it to the people.

[7:53] In the same way, with this new dispensation, an entirely new thing, never thought of before by anybody, is revealed to the Apostle Paul, and it is called the mystery.

[8:09] And Paul even introduces it when he says, Behold, I show you a mystery. This is something you never knew before, never heard. The rapture is described as a mystery.

[8:24] Something known only because its secret has been revealed. Now, probably the word that best describes, the single word that best describes the word mystery, as it is used in the Bible, is that word secret.

[8:40] If you have a secret, in order for it to really be a secret, it is something that nobody else knows about but you. And no one else will know about it unless you choose to let them in on it.

[8:55] And when you do, the secret is out. At least it's out to one other person. But as long as it resides in your mind, in your memory alone, it is a very private thing.

[9:11] Nobody else even has a clue about it. That's the way this mystery is. The rapture was never known, never even imagined, until God divulged it to the Apostle Paul to be revealed to another mystery, the body of Christ.

[9:29] And that is a mystery. If you read Ephesians 3, and eventually we will get there, this is a key passage for this. And there the Apostle Paul explains another mystery.

[9:43] It is another occasion of him unfolding a truth that not only was never heard before, but was never even dreamed of before.

[9:56] And that is the mystery called the body of Christ. As you go all through the Old Testament, if there is anything that really stands out regarding the Jewish people, it's their separateness.

[10:12] They were a distinct people, set apart unto God, not to be like any other people. God said, you shall be a peculiar people unto me. So there's nobody like them at all.

[10:24] As you go through the Old Testament, that is made abundantly clear. And when you come into the Gospels, it is reinforced. And the Twelve were sent exclusively to the nation of Israel.

[10:35] And as the book of Acts opens up in chapter 2, we've got a Jewish apostle named Peter preaching a Jewish message about Pentecost to a Jewish audience.

[10:46] And the whole thing is as Jewish as you can get. So if there is anything that the Jew prided himself on, it was his separateness.

[10:57] He had a separate diet. He had a separate day of the week. He had a separate everything. The peculiar people. Nobody on earth like the Jew. And I suppose it would have been considered reasonable for the Jew to assume that it's always going to be that way.

[11:12] But that's not what God had in mind. Because what God had in mind was the introduction of another entity that would be wedded with the Jew and all the barriers and distinctions between Jew and Gentile regarding the Sabbath, regarding kosher diets, and all the rest of it, would be eliminated.

[11:40] And the watchword for this new thing would be grace. Grace and more grace. This is why Paul is referred to as the apostle of grace and the apostle to the Gentiles.

[11:56] To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

[12:09] And he is opening the door to Gentiles to become one with believing Jews in forming this whole new thing that was never before imagined.

[12:24] And now, the separation and the distinctions are gone. They are passé. Many, of course, have never come to realize this.

[12:36] The principal party, Israel, has never embraced this concept. This is why we still have Judaism. This is why we still have Orthodox Jews and Reformed Jews and a few other branches of Jews and they are all practicing their Judaism in one level or another because they do not see the legitimacy of that barrier broken down.

[13:04] Paul says that Christ has broken down that middle wall of partition that separated Jew from Gentile. And now, there is no difference for all are children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

[13:18] There is neither Jew nor Gentile nor bond nor free that is slave nor free. Even maleness and femaleness is done away with. And that is not to kowtow to what's going on today in our culture but it is simply saying that men and women are together on the same plane of equality before God.

[13:41] The worth of a woman is as great as the worth of a man. Well, do you know something? It always has been. But it hasn't always been recognized.

[13:53] It hasn't always been believed. That is why in the Bible women were given virtually an inferior position to men. In fact, in some of the Jewish law courts a woman's word was not even to be submitted under testimony because well, she's a woman, you know.

[14:14] I mean, woman. Now, that's not God's attitude. That's not God's attitude. Never was. But that is in part the attitude of fallen humanity.

[14:28] And I've always thought that down through the years, down through the years, males have subjected females to a position of lesser and inferiority because they could and they did.

[14:50] Make no mistake about it. The differentiation between the sexes is great. No question about it. There is a distinct maleness and a distinct femaleness and that is by divine design.

[15:08] And thank God for the differences. But insofar as value is concerned and worth is concerned, there is no distinction. So, that's something else that was foreign to the Jew and it was difficult for them to understand.

[15:29] Many, of course, still do not today. With the rapture being a mystery never before disclosed prior to the revelation given by Paul, this requires that none previous to Paul ever knew or wrote about the rapture.

[15:50] Now, let me repeat that. With the rapture being a mystery, which means it was never before disclosed prior to the revelation given by Paul, this requires that no one previous to Paul ever knew or wrote about the rapture.

[16:11] Consequently, passages often referred to as the rapture that were prior to Paul must be re-examined in light of the mystery concept.

[16:25] And the first one we want to consider is in Matthew chapter 24. Let's go there, please. Matthew's gospel chapter 24. 24. This is a question that surfaced just last week as we were concluding.

[16:41] I think it was submitted by my darling daughter. She is her mother's daughter, inquisitive and always asking questions, and never afraid to ask them, and never afraid to put her father on the spot if she doesn't have the answer.

[16:57] So, I want you to look at this if you would, please. Matthew 24 and verse 32. Jesus is speaking and he says, now learn the parable from the fig tree.

[17:11] When its branches have already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. Even so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that he is near right at the door.

[17:24] Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. That's a study in and of itself. Verse 34. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

[17:37] But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.

[17:50] Noah. Now, I want to stop here and just insert a thought. What I am suggesting, in fact, I think in light of everything that is involved, I have to insist on this, that the coming of the Son of Man in verse 37 has direct reference to the second coming, not the rapture.

[18:12] And as we go on to examine the context, I think the case can be made to support that rather easily.

[18:23] The coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days, that is, the days of Noah, which were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark.

[18:41] I don't think that the content of verse 38 is anything that is meant to be pejorative at all, or negative. I think verse 38 is simply saying, everything was going along as what was considered to be normal.

[18:57] It was just day-to-day routine, everyday stuff. Nothing had changed until the day Noah entered the ark. And they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away.

[19:13] So shall the coming of the Son of Man be. And this taking them away, we make synonymous with their death, their demise.

[19:25] They were taken away by the flood. They did not survive. We have no idea how many people there were who perished in that flood. But suffice it to say it was a considerable number.

[19:40] And I base that on the fact that civilization had been underway for I don't know how many hundreds of years or maybe even close to a thousand years.

[19:51] After all, Methuselah was 969 years old when he died. And yes, those were actual years, but we'll not go into that now. So it could conceivably be well over a thousand years that you have people who were multiplying and probably rather prolific because you've got to remember there were no birth control pills, there were no abortions, there were no anything, and people had babies, women had babies in a quite regular fashion because no precaution was taken.

[20:25] So you've got a tremendous influx of human beings and the more people you get, the more people you get. So we're multiplying, we're not adding exponentially and there's a tremendous number of people and we're talking about a conflagration that is so incredible and so worldwide that there are eight survivors.

[20:48] We can't even imagine the death toll. Surely it would have been in the millions. Think of that. How many people did you think were alive when Noah and his family went on that ark?

[21:03] I can assure you it wasn't a few thousand. It was a lot of people. A lot of people. The lifespan was longer and if what we surmise is true that there was a vapor barrier over the earth that collapsed with the flood and this vapor barrier served as a protective device that protected people from the ultraviolet rays and everybody knows it's the ultraviolet rays that age you, that age the skin.

[21:39] And dermatologists are trying to convince women to stay away from the several hours of sunbathing because when they hit their 40s and 50s they will regret it because of what it does to your skin.

[21:51] So all of these things would be different and there's a tremendous number of people. And when it says that they are taken in verse 40 or verse 39 took them away in verse 40 then we have the controversial passage then that means in this connection with this same time and same thing there shall be two men in the field one will be taken and one will be left.

[22:17] Well I would be the first to admit that on the surface that certainly sounds like the rapture because we know that's the way it's going to be when the rapture occurs. There will be two men in the field and one will be taken and another left.

[22:32] There will be two men in an automobile or two women in an automobile and one will be taken and one will be left. And this is going to go on all over the world. We can't fathom anything like that.

[22:44] That is just mind-boggling. If it sounds otherworldly, it's because it is.

[22:57] It is otherworldly. It is supernatural. And the conflagration that is going to occur is just unthinkable. There are going to be seven forty-sevens in the air with a Christian pilot who's gone.

[23:18] Gone. Who's going to fly that thing? It's going to crash. It's going to be driverless automobiles and trucks.

[23:30] You just can't imagine the mayhem, the confusion, the body count. And the world is going to be at a loss for an explanation.

[23:44] What in the world happened? Where did these people go? What's going on? Is this the end of the world or what? There's going to be all kinds of scuttlebutt, all kinds of theories and rumors floating about.

[23:57] It's going to be a time that the world is going to be wringing its hands and have no answers. And the body of Christ is going to be gone.

[24:08] And do you know, there's a passage in Thessalonians that we'll get to eventually. It talks about the hindrance when that which hinders is removed.

[24:21] We in the Christian community are becoming more and more of a hindrance to those who would like to take this country in a different direction, a direction in which it has never gone before.

[24:40] And we traditionalists, patriots, may well be looked upon as an impediment to those goals that they want to reach.

[24:51] We are a hindrance. Well, the time is coming when the hindrance will be removed. And the world will have an open shot at whatever it is they want to become.

[25:05] And it isn't going to be pretty. But let's move on. two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken, and one will be left. And if you look at the context here, all of this passage is dealing with the subject of judgment and retribution.

[25:23] It is not talking about rescue or removal or rapture from the scene. It is talking about death, destruction, all of this negativity coming upon this world at this time.

[25:38] This has nothing to do with the rapture, even though it has a similar kind of ring to it in that one will be taken, one will be left. The one that will be taken in this context is taken in death, in judgment.

[25:55] And the one that is left simply survives. And there are other references, and we ought to look at Luke 17 while we're here in the Gospels. Let's come to Luke 17 and verse 26.

[26:09] And one of the reasons that I want to clarify this is because this, an understanding of this, solidifies the idea that the rapture, which is a mystery, did not exist and was not revealed until the Apostle Paul brought it on the scene.

[26:28] And please, please understand, we are not trying to make a big deal out of Paul. It could have been anyone else. It just so happened that he was the strategic one that God used.

[26:42] And for people who say, well, you're making too much of Paul, all I can say is, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. And Paul made it very clear that the words that he writes are the words of Christ.

[26:56] Christ. So Jesus made much of Paul. We ought to make much of Paul. The time is coming when Paul's influence will fade.

[27:08] It will pass off the scene. It will pass off the scene with the rapture, the body of Christ, because he was the one who initiated that truth that God gave to him.

[27:21] And when the church is gone, then things revert to where they were before. And Paul will be off the scene. And what will move in his place will be the general epistles, Hebrews, James, Johannine epistles, and the book of the Revelation.

[27:41] They will come front and center. And then the dispensation of the grace of God will be part of history in the same way that the mosaic economy is now part of history.

[27:54] So do you see the progression? Old Testament, the law, Moses, the transition in the book of Acts, where one is fading out, the other is fading in, and now we have a full-fledged situation regarding the church, the body of Christ, and the dispensation of Israel is passé, as Romans 9-11 makes clear.

[28:18] So, all of this progression has to be kept in mind. And if you don't see the progression of Revelation in Scripture, you're doomed to hopeless confusion.

[28:31] So, in this passage, in Luke chapter 17, and beginning with verse 26, just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it shall be also in the days of the Son of Man.

[28:50] This is repetitive from what we just read in Matthew. And if you look at the text, verse 29, fire and brimstone destroyed, it will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed, on that day, and this has to do, of course, with the second coming and the tribulation period.

[29:09] And when he says in verse 35, verse 34, I tell you, on that night, there will be two men in one bed, one will be taken, the other will be left.

[29:21] Left how? Left to survive, the other taken in judgment. There will be two women grinding at the same place, one will be taken, the other will be left. Two men will be in the field, one will be taken, the other will be left.

[29:33] And to solidify what we have been saying, they answer the question, they ask the question, a very legitimate question. He says, one will be taken, the other will be left.

[29:44] And answering, they said to him, where? What do you mean? Taken where? And Jesus answered, where the body is, there also will the vultures be gathered.

[29:58] Where do vultures gather? Where there's carnage. where there is food. And in this case, the food is going to be deceased humans.

[30:14] Now, I know this is very distasteful to think about and to contemplate. But we all know that this is a life cycle and this is the way it is.

[30:25] We care for the bodies of our departed loved ones by burying them in the ground because the thought of them being eaten by animal predators is just too ghastly to even consider.

[30:39] So, we safely bury them away where wild animals and such cannot get to them. But you know very well what happens if that is not the case.

[30:50] It is a veritable jungle out there and the vultures, believe it or not, the vultures are a creation of God whereby they belong to the divine, what shall I call it, the divine society of hygienists and they pick the bones clean.

[31:16] This is the way it is in the jungle when an elephant dies, all the other animals come in and they feed on the carcass. This is just the way it is. It is part and parcel of the fallen world.

[31:27] That is partly what we have created. So in this passage we have got a reinforcement to the idea that it is human carnage and if we will confirm that with Revelation chapter 19 the plot thickens and I think it becomes even more apparent that this is what we are talking about and that these passages have virtually nothing to do with the rapture.

[31:52] But let me say this. There are a lot of people, maybe even the majority opinion, but we become so used to traveling in the minority it doesn't even bother me anymore.

[32:04] But this is probably a majority opinion. People say well two taken and one left, that's the rapture, that's got to be the rapture. Well, when you look at the context and when you study the Bible, context has to dominate.

[32:18] Context is king because context is that which establishes the subject matter. and if we take an interpretation that is taking it out of its context, we really have no legs on which it can stand.

[32:35] But in the context, it's all part and parcel of the same package. And when you compare scripture with scripture, you allow the Bible to interpret itself.

[32:46] I've often told you, and I believe this with every fiber of my being, more so now than I did as a younger man, I am not competent to interpret the Bible and neither is anybody else.

[33:00] That is why the Bible has to be its own interpreter. And you allow the Bible to interpret itself by comparing scripture with scripture.

[33:11] And when a certain subject is referenced in one part of scripture, you need to look for other references that are talking about the same thing and see if they gel.

[33:26] And if they gel, that's a good indication that they are together. One is giving light on the other. This is what we mean when we say scripture interprets scripture. And here in Revelation chapter 19 and beginning with verse 11, here's what we read.

[33:47] John says, I saw heaven open and behold a white horse. And he who sat upon it is called faithful and true. And in righteousness he judges and wages war.

[33:59] His eyes are a flame of fire and upon his head are many diadems. And he has a name written upon himself which no one knows except himself. And he is clothed with a robe dipped in blood.

[34:12] And his name is called the word of God. The armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses.

[34:23] Now listen, this has nothing to do with a rapture. This is second coming stuff. I don't know if it's true or not.

[34:35] I don't know if they still have it or not. I know it was true at one time. And that is, it was said at least in the 1930s, 1940s, that the newspaper, the New York Times, had already locked away in its vault a headline article depicting the second coming of Christ.

[35:01] And the print of the copy was like six inches high and it was going to be across the masthead of the newspaper that Christ returns again.

[35:13] And it's called second coming type. And it's the only type size anywhere known. Of course, whether it still exists in the vaults of the New York Times now, it's questionable because they don't believe much of anything.

[35:29] I don't think they even believed in the first coming, much less the second. But anyway, the text goes on to say, in verse 15, and from his mouth comes a sharp sword so that with it he may smite the nations.

[35:44] And here we look at the symbolism that is involved because the book of Revelation has a great deal of symbolism in it. It doesn't mean that it is not depicting something that is real and actual, but it is using symbolism and it does so for the sake of emphasis.

[36:00] We know what a sword is able to do. When a sword is put into play, it can slay, it can slice, it can stab, it can do all kinds of things. There is power and authority with the one vesting that sword.

[36:14] And the sword here of course is nothing more than the spoken word of Jesus Christ. This is the same one who spoke the words, let there be light, and there was light.

[36:27] And he is going to speak again. So it will not be, he isn't going to come with a sword sticking out of his mouth and a hilt on it and the point and all the rest of it. But the symbolism really describes it in a dramatic way.

[36:39] so that with it he may smite the nations and he'll do so with the word of his mouth. He will rule them with a rod of iron and he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the almighty.

[36:52] And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of Kings, Lord of Lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun and he cried out with a loud voice saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, come, assemble for the great supper of God.

[37:22] Isn't this ghastly? I want to emphasize one thing here and if you get this embedded in your soul it will do you well.

[37:37] This is all about sin. This is all about the payoff, the upshot of human sin and rebellion against a righteous God and creator.

[37:54] That's what this is all about. This is the time of judgment. This is the time when the world gets what it has coming and it's called justice.

[38:11] The day of grace is past. That's gone. And all those who have rejected the grace of God are going to have to face the judgment of God.

[38:28] Those are the only two options. grace or justice. Grace means you do not get what you deserve but you get the glorious benefits that Jesus Christ purchased for you and gives to you as a gift.

[38:50] That's grace. Those who turn up their nose at that, those who deny their need for that, those who are self-righteous, those who are defiant, let them be.

[39:02] They will face the justice of God. And the justice of God means you get just exactly what you deserve. And that's not going to be pretty.

[39:14] That's what this is all about. that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves and small and great.

[39:35] And my contention is this passage ties in with the Matthew passage and with the Luke passage. all three of them are speaking of one and the same time.

[39:50] And it has nothing whatever to do with the rapture. It has everything to do with the time of judgment and it will be very, very severe. John 14 and with this one we must close.

[40:04] This too is a very popular passage that is frequently referred to as a rapture passage. And I would be the first to admit it sounds like it on the surface.

[40:18] It does. It sounds like it. Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places.

[40:30] If it were not so, I would have told you, 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, that where I am, there you may be also.

[40:45] Well, isn't that what's going to be true with the rapture? That Christ is going to come and receive us unto himself, that where he is, there we may be. That certainly is true. But this is not a rapture truth.

[40:58] This is a second coming truth. And the King James, I think, renders it, go to prepare a mansion for you. We sing that song, we sometimes sing it quite often at the nursing home, retirement home that Marie and I and some great people minister at.

[41:17] We go there, we've been going there now for six years at two o'clock on Sunday afternoon and we hold a little service for them. One of the songs that they sing with gusto is a mansion over the hilltop.

[41:30] And the thinking for many is, is that when Jesus went back to heaven, he got his carpenter crew of angels together and they started building these mansions.

[41:42] And they're in all shapes and sizes. Some of them have two baths, some of them have three baths, some of them are two stories, some of them split levels and all great. And he's up there and they're just working feverishly getting all these people places ready for believers to occupy.

[41:55] And that all sounds kind of exciting, I guess, but I don't think there's a word of truth to it. And that there aren't any realtors in heaven who are going to close deals and there aren't going to be any home loans or anything like that.

[42:09] That's not what this is all about. Actually, it is dwelling places or positions and it has nothing to do with believers dying and going to heaven and getting their mansion and you've got a gold street and silver sidewalks or whatever else the rest of it is.

[42:27] That's just materialistic. And it's going to be a lot better than that. This is speaking of the temple, the earthly temple, the physical temple that now does not exist in Jerusalem at all because it was completely destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans and it has never been rebuilt.

[42:57] And some are of the opinion that the mosque of Omar sits on that same site, that the Muslims built it there in the 8th century when Muhammad was making his way through the Mideast and that they built this mosque of Omar, which still stands today.

[43:15] It's the object that you see with the golden dome and the blue and surrounding where the temple was. But this is quite clearly referring to the earthly physical temple and Ezekiel in chapter 40 through 48 talks about the building of a millennial temple.

[43:35] But let me shortcut this and say, remember the passage in Luke chapter, I'm sorry, John chapter 2, when Jesus had just come on the scene and was just beginning his earthly ministry and one of the first acts he did was he went into the temple, remember that?

[43:53] And he took a scourge, a whip, and he chased out the money changers and upset everything and set the animals free and all. You remember what Jesus said? He said, my father's house shall be a house of prayer.

[44:12] you have turned it into a den of thieves. And he referred to the standing Jewish temple as his father's house.

[44:25] And as he, being on the scene, was greater than the temple. So what Christ is talking about, and this is born out in Ezekiel, and we'll not take time to go to it, but for those of you who want the reference, I would refer you to Ezekiel chapter 40.

[44:41] verses 7, 10, 12, 16, and 17. These are living quarters. And he is talking about a place of position or authority that will be occupied by the twelve.

[45:00] You see, in John 14, when Jesus is delivering this message that so many have found comforting about, let not your hearts be troubled, who is he talking to? He's talking to the twelve apostles.

[45:12] This is the night of the Last Supper. They are the only ones present. Well, they might not have even been twelve, because Judas may have already gone out into the night, but at any rate, there were eleven there. And earlier, please remember this.

[45:24] Jesus said, I think this is Matthew, maybe Matthew 17, but don't hold me to that, where he addressed the twelve apostles, and he said that you who have followed me, meaning those twelve that had signed on to be with him as his disciples, you who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man comes into his kingdom, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

[46:05] I don't have any idea how to take that other than literally, because it doesn't mean anything if you try to spiritualize it. Sky's the limit.

[46:16] Nobody has any idea what it would mean. I think it is to be taken very literally, and that those twelve apostles, as a reward for having followed Christ during his earthly ministry, and his passion, and his resurrection, and his post-resurrectionist, they are going to be rewarded.

[46:33] And they are going to have thrones, from which they will judge in righteousness. Their living quarters are going to be there, on site, in that temple.

[46:46] Now, this is not unusual, because in the Old Testament, the priests had living quarters there in the temple, where the people met, and where the animal sacrifices were offered, and all of the business of Judaism was conducted, the priests had live-in quarters.

[47:04] They lived right there. And that's exactly what Christ is talking about. But then, all of these twelve, probably none of whom, are from the tribe of Levi.

[47:20] That's the priestly tribe. What are these non-Levites doing? Hey, listen, the old dispensation is gone. It's passé. And Christ said prophetically that he was going to make the nation of Israel a kingdom of priests.

[47:37] And these twelve are going to head it up, and they are going to administer justice to all of the nation of Israel. And how much of the rest of the world, I don't know. And what responsibility we will have in that kingdom, I don't know.

[47:52] But I do know we will be gainfully employed. We will not be doing nothing. And this business about lying around on a cloud and strumming a harp is pure nonsense and doesn't have a bit of biblical support at all, you know.

[48:07] So we are going to be involved in this. And all of this is talking about that time which is to come. None of this has anything whatever to do with the rapture.

[48:19] But we've got all of the glorious information we need regarding the rapture in 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4. And in several collateral passages like Titus 2, I think it's looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

[48:42] And he will appear in glory. And Philippians 3 says that then our bodies, our humble bodies, our bodies of humiliation, our bodies of weakness will will be translated into a body of glory just like that of Christ.

[49:00] And that will be amazing. Then we will be complete. Then we will be all that God intends us to be. Then we will be in his image.

[49:12] And John says, beloved, now are we the children of God. And it does not yet appear what we shall be.

[49:23] But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is.

[49:34] in that glorified body. It's going to be something. So, bottom line for each of us is this.

[49:46] We're all going to face one of these two issues. We are either going to face the grace of God and embrace it and take Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin and enjoy his peace, his forgiveness, his eternity.

[50:05] Or we're going to turn a deaf ear to it all and say, I don't want anything to do with it. I'm just on my own and I'll make out just fine. Thank you. And I'll take my chances with the justice of God because I think I've been a pretty good person.

[50:22] You fit one of those two molds. I don't know about you, but I've chosen the former because I don't want anything to do with the justice of God.

[50:34] The Old Testament, I think, one of the psalmists said, God has not dealt with us according to our iniquities for who could stand?

[50:51] Nobody. That's who. Father, our prayer for everyone within hearing of this would be unreservedly to flee to the Savior.

[51:08] This one who gave himself for us is worthy of our trust and our loyalty, our confidence, our hope, our everything. thing. We want nothing to do with your justice.

[51:24] We are grateful that it exists because you are a just and holy God. You cannot do less than dispense justice, but we are so grateful that you are willing to do more.

[51:38] You are willing to impute your righteousness to us simply by believing on your Son, the Lord Jesus, who died for our sins. And our prayer for everyone within hearing of this was that in an unreserved way, we would reach out and by faith embrace Jesus Christ, acknowledge their sin, thank you for your death on their behalf, and rejoice in the forgiveness that you bestow, all because of Jesus.

[52:08] We are so grateful. Thank you for the truth found in these passages. We pray for further enlightenment and understanding. Anything that has been uttered that is of the flesh or untrue, we sincerely want it to pass away.

[52:26] Take no lodging in hearts and minds. What is of your spirit, may it be sealed to our spirit for future reference. We bless you in Christ's name. Amen. Is there a quick question or comment?

[52:39] Anyone? Anyone? I don't blame you if you don't have, I guess I didn't leave much time, did I?

[52:58] I even took a minute extra, so. But we will entertain a question or comment. If anybody is on a real tight schedule and needs to run, feel free to run. I won't think you're mad at me.

[53:08] Just go ahead and leave. Anybody? Anybody? Anybody? Anybody? No questions? Okay. I want you to sing a little chorus with me.

[53:20] Okay. I'll praise your name, Lord. You know that? I'll praise your name, Lord, and sing your song.

[53:33] I'll praise your name, Lord, my whole life long. I'll praise your name, Lord, until I'm home.

[53:47] I'll praise your name, Lord, and sing your song. Go on your way. Bless you.