Rise into the Sky

Introduction

Going through Mark verse by verse chapter 13 Jesus begin teaching the disciples about the future. He begins to prophesy

The disciples asked verse specific questions regarding what signs will proceed the coming destruction of the temple, when will be the end of the age and when will Jesus come into His kingdom and sit on the throne.

Last week we focused on here Jesus said ---

I showed you where in the OT this period of time was for 7 years

Its purpose was for the judgement of Isreal but ultimately the salvation of Isreal. It was also a poring out of God’ wrath on the nations of the world for their sins and rejection of the one true GOD.

So if this is true then what does the Tribulation have to do with the church? If this period of Time is called the time of Jacob’s trouble by the prophet Jeremiah. What able the bride of Christ, what about the body of Christ the church? Thats what we will look at now.

We are not appointed to wrath

1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 ESV

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

1 thess 5:1-

we must pull some observations from this passage

1 Thessalonians 5:9–10 ESV

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

Times and seasons

Paul taught them because they were fully aware about the “day of the Lord” will come like a thief in the night he uses the metaphor of Labor pains. Sudden destruction will come upon them

They will not escape? Escape what?

But Christians are not in darkness meaning Christians should be able to see what’s going on. We are children of the light because we have the word of God.

The Day of the Lord will not catch the Christian like a thief

For God has not destined us for wrath

We are to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ

The tribulation again is a period of 7 years in time. This is the 70th week of Daniel Chapter nine to fulfill the 490 years that were decreed regarding the nation of Isreal. This again is a time of Judgement and wrath pored out on earth. The prophet Jeremiah, Daniel and Jesus all said there has never been a period of time that bad nor will it ever be that bad again if the days weren't cut short no human being would have survived.

Paul just told the Christians in Thess who were worried they had entered into this period of Time known as the day of the Lord because of the persecution they were suffering. They were in fact not in the tribulation.

GOD HAS NOT DESTINED US FOR WRATH

So then what will happen to us during this 7 year period of Time??

Come with me

THE JEWISH WEDDING

Turn to

John 14:1–4 ESV

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”

We must understand a jewish principle and tradition from this passage

The bible says we the church are the bride of Christ. During this period of time there was a process of jewish tradition for marriage.

Families were very patriarchal. The homes were built attaching to the main home

Most of the marriages were arranged by the father of the Groom and the bride. SO THE FATHER CHOOSES A WIFE

There is a Betrothment ceremony normally sealed with a cup of wine

Then the groom would go from the ceremony night and go back to his fathers house and begin to build

The bride nor the groom knew the exact night of the wedding. The father was the only one who knew. The son would build the room onto his fathers house and he would build until his father came and said it was complete.

He then would send his main servant and his son to go and get the bride. The servant would proceed the groom normally with a loud shout in the middle of the night followed by the sound of a trumpet.

The bride would come out with her lamp filled with oil, they would be hoisted up into carriage and they would be carried back to the fathers house. The bride and the groom would go into the newly constructed room or dwelling place. They would then consummate the marriage and a 7 day celebration would begin.

Called into the clouds to meet the LORD

Turn with me to 1 Thess chapter 4

1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 ESV

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 thess 4:16

What observation do we see here?

first Paul was comforting the Thess Christians who had lost loved one with these words. They would be reunited on this day.

The LORD himself will descend from Heaven into the clouds. Not the ground, there are other passages regarding his second coming to start the millennial kingdom with touching down on the mount of olives. This is different. He descends from Heaven with the cry of command the voice of an archangel so there is an announcement and then then sound of a trumpet. Very similar to what took place the night of the wedding.

Those who have died in Christ first will rise from the dead with new bodies ( read about it in ) then those who are alive at the time of the groom coming for his bride will be “caught up” together into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and then will always be with the Lord.

We are to be comforted by these words. We are not appointed to wrath

The word rapture where does it come from? “its not even in the bible” either is the word trinity

The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words harpazō ἁρπάζω

harpazō

Harpazo means to snatch up and catch away to snatch up. Latin vulgate

Oil in the lamp

Oil in the lamp

Matt 1:

Matthew 1:1–13 ESV

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor,

Matthew 25:1–13 ESV

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Matt 25:1-

Here we have again Jesus using the jewish wedding to teach about this important event. When the church is taken away to be with the Lord during the Tribulation period there will be people who were not truly in Christ and they will be left behind to go through the Day of the Lord.

As in the Jewish wedding no one knew the day nor the hour not even the son knew only the father. Jesus here says keep your lamps burning and always be ready to meet the Lord eagerly waiting for the wedding night as a young bride eagerly waited her groom to come and rapture her away back to his place the groom prepared for them.

We go with the Lord and wrath comes to world

So we go with the lord back to the fathers house just as Jesus said would happen in there will be a wedding feast and celebration for 7 years which parallels the 7 days of wedding feast and celebration with a jewish wedding.

Revelation 19:6–9 ESV

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

This is a beautiful wonderful teaching in scripture we should be ready for and excited about. We should be inviting people to this event through the Gospel of Jesus.

After the 7 years we will return to the earth with Christ to set up the millenium Kingdom. He will gather all people left on earth to Jerusalem. Isreal will embrace their Messiah. There will be more on this and much more next week.

Conclusion

GOD has not destined or ever appointed the Church to suffer under the wrath of God. There is a huge difference between suffering persecution by the world, the hands of devil and suffering under the wrath of GOD spoken in the OT and the book of Revelation

The bible gives us so many clues and insights if we will search for them. Don’t be the one who neglects the prophetic scriptures. Jesus Said blessed is the one who reads the words of this book and understands them. All scripture is God breathed

Jesus is preparing a place right now for us his bride. He will come again in the hour that is unknown but by His father alone. We are to be excited about this and eager expect it

Always have your oil burning and be ready, Are you ready? Do you invite people to the wedding. Remember what the angel said in

God has a calendar and nothing will change it we are moving so fast towards these events. Don’t waist your time.