The Generation That Will See The Rapture

NOVEMBER 1, 2020 STUDY NOTES MATTHEW 24:31-34 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES THE GENERATION THAT WILL SEE THE RAPTURE INTRODUCTION At the time of Jesus’ ascension, the followers of Jesus were told to go throughout the world, Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Those who will be a faithful witness for Christ will face persecution, 2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. The day of reward will come for those who are persecuted, Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. The greatest persecution that Christians will ever experience will be during the Great Tribulation But Jesus promised to deliver the “elect” from the Great Tribulation, Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. The deliverance of the elect, the True Church, will be at the time of the Second Coming of Christ Jesus is going to tell us that we cannot be date-setters concerning His return We cannot mark a day on the calendar and say, “this is it” But there will be a generation of believers that will see the season of His return, Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. The generation of believers that will see “all these things” will know that the door of heaven is about to open, Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. The return of Christ is of such significance, that Christ will not return without a warning Which will be the sign of the end of the age, Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: The world will be warned that the wrath of God is about to fall upon them The “sign of the end of the age” will announce to the church that their deliverance will be soon The “sign of the coming of Christ” will be clearly seen, Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. There will be no need of questions such as, “what has happened?” There will be no need of interviews seeking an understanding, “what do you think is happening?” The Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ are not two separate comings There is but one Second Coming and at that time the rapture will take place Christ will not be alone when He returns, the “dead in Christ” and the angels will be with Him The “dead in Christ” are Christians who have died physically Their body is in the grave and their spirit is with the Lord when He returns And there will be Christians living on the earth when He returns THE RAPTURE Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Pay attention to “His angels,” referring to “Heavenly Angels, and not “fallen angels” These “Holy Angels” are sent forth by Christ and are given authority and power through Christ How many will there be? There are plenty of angels according to scripture, Rev 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 1 There is no word to express the number, no one can count them, it is an innumerable number, Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, Angels will be active in the future, they will be greatly involved in the return of Christ, Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: “ALL” the holy angels, that is a lot of angels, there is no shortage of angels Angels are not going to be just spectators they will be active at the time of the return of Christ The Archangel will appear with Christ when He returns, 1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Jesus said that it will be the angels of God who will gather the wheat into my barn, Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Jesus said, “the reapers are the angels,” Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. There are angels on assignment before the coming of the great day of God’s wrath, Rev 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. There will be special angels with special duties before the Day of the Lord begins, Rev 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, The Day of the Lord will not begin until the 144,000 are sealed, Rev 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. The Day of the Lord begins when the seventh seal is opened, Rev 8:1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. There are angels on assignment when the Day of the Lord begins, Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. Seven angels are given seven trumpets related to the Day of the Lord’s judgment There is another angel standing at the altar representing the prayers of the saints, Rev 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. There are angels on assignment during the Day of the Lord, Rev 8:6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. Following the 7 trumpets will be the 7 bowls, Rev 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. There are 76 references to angels in Revelation, God will use His Angels Don’t be surprised that Jesus will send His angels--with a great sound of a trumpet, We must be careful not to confuse the many different trumpets found in scripture Jesus is referring to the trumpet of God that will sound at the time of the return of Christ When Jesus comes in the air to remove the church He comes with the trumpet of God, 1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: The trumpet will signal the resurrection of the dead at the time of Jesus’ return, 1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Those two verses refer to the same event identified in Matthew 24:31 The bodies of the “dead in Christ” will be resurrected and the bodies of living Christians will be changed The rapture of the church will be announced by “the trumpet of God” 2 Which is not to be confused with the seven trumpet judgments which are blown by angels, Rev 8:6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. The trumpet in Matthew 24:31 will sound at the time of the rapture The sound of the trumpet will announce the coming of the Day of the Lord, Joe 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; Following the rapture, the Day of the Lord will begin, which is the time of the trumpet judgments Before the Day of the Lord begins God will gather “His elect,” and they shall gather together his elect “Shall gather together” is one word in the Greek The picture is they will be gathered in-order to be delivered from the Great Tribulation “Elect” is another word for the people of God, the people of God are those who are born again The “elect” will be gathered in-order to be protected from the Day of the Lord Jesus will gather the elect unto himself to protect them from the coming wrath of God Jesus used the same word when speaking to Jerusalem, Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! The mother hen gathers her chicks in-order to protect them from approaching danger The “elect” will be delivered from the approaching danger, they will be gathered--from the four winds, Which refers to the four points of the compass, every direction upon earth is represented The emphasis is that not one will be overlooked, not one will be missed They will come from throughout the world, from the four corners of the earth, Mar 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. from one end of heaven to the other. This precise phrase does not occur in any other verse of scripture “One end” and the word “other” in this verse are the same original word meaning “an extremity” And literally reads, “from the extremity of heaven to the extremity of heaven” The elect will be gathered from all parts of the world, not one believer will be left behind Every living believer will be delivered from the time of the Great Tribulation We find four important facts concerning the return of Christ in verses 30 and 31 1. Jesus is going to come and “they shall see the Son of man coming” (30) 2. His coming is associated with the clouds, “coming in the clouds of heaven” (30) 3. His coming will be associated with a trumpet, “He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet” (31) 4. Angels will be greatly involved in the events of His return, including gathering “his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (31) Keep these four truths in mind and compare Matthew 24:30-31 with 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 Jesus is coming, 1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. His coming will be associated with a trumpet, 1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 3 His coming is associated with clouds, 1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now remember the four important facts found in Matthew 24:30-31 and put them together That which is being described will occur at “the coming of the Lord” (1 Th 4:15; Mt 24:30) His coming will be announced with “the trump of God” (1 Th 4:16; Mt 24:31) All believers will meet the Lord “in the clouds” (1 Th 4:17; Mt 24:30) The presence of angels and the voice of the archangel (1 Th 4:16; Mt 24:31) Believers are gathered to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:17) Those believers are the “elect” gathered by the angels (Mt 24:31) Following Matthew 24:31, Jesus will be instructing all future generations of believers There will be a generation of believers alive when the 70th week begins So, the same instructions are for believers today and for believers until Jesus returns They are not written to frighten us, but to encourage us in our faith We are taught how to prepare for the return of Christ, we are to be watchful and faithful In the last days, there will be people living as if there is no end to an earthly life Living as if this life is all that there is to life, a worldly way of life is all that will matter to them Christians should be living a faithful life for Christ because they see the signs of the season SOMETHING YOU WILL SEE Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: Now Jesus begins to apply what He has been teaching And Jesus selected a fig tree to teach us the truth that He wants us to learn The “fig tree” is not a symbol of Israel as has often been taught today There is no question that the “fig tree” is a literal fig tree according-to Luke’s account, Luk 21:29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; His example is the fig tree or any other tree, we can learn something from the trees “Learn” means to give attention, to seek understanding, be listening to learn Learn in-order to apply the truth to daily life If you are going to learn you have-to pay close attention We must make it a habit to study God’s Word, listen to it, learn it, and live it When Jesus gave a parable to His disciples it was to help them better understand a truth Which was a truth that He had already taught them This parable is a simple analogy, it is not complicated or hard to understand It was very easy for the disciples to understand what Jesus was saying When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: Fig trees were common trees in Palestine, they were used for shade trees and provided fruit Fig trees lose their leaves in the winter, but every spring, new leaves appear Leaves come forth on trees that are still alive, that is the change that takes place in the spring When the sap begins to rise, and the fig tree begins to bud out, and leaves begin to sprout forth The appearance of the leaves is a sure sign that summer is now at hand The fresh new growth tells us that summer is almost here, and harvest would soon follow The figure of harvest is used to represent judgment Harvest is when unbelievers will be separated from believers Harvest will be the time to reward the righteous and punish the wicked SOMETHING YOU WILL KNOW Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Here comes the lesson that we are to learn from the fig tree 4 “You” can only be referring to the followers of Jesus Christ, the “elect,” those who are saved The lesson is for the believer, the lesson is for the Christian Unless there is to be living Christians on the earth at this-time, there is no need for the lesson Jesus now gives us the truth that He is teaching us through the fig tree when ye shall see all these things, In-order to “see” you must be watching “Watching” is something that he will teach us later in this chapter Watching is important, Christians are to be watching for the things that Jesus has spoken of Seeing all the things that Jesus has mentioned is like seeing new leaves on a fig tree When you see “all” of “these things,” all that Jesus has presented in this chapter “All” the things that are associated with the 70th Week of Daniel “All” the things that are called “the beginning of sorrows” (vs. 8) “All” the events which follow the birth pangs (vss. 9-14) Including the abomination of desolation (vs. 15) and the Great Tribulation (vs. 21) Including the Cosmic Disturbance (vs. 29) The time will come when they will “all” appear “All” of these events have been presented in an order and will begin to occur in an order So, Jesus said, when you begin to see the events occur together at the same time When you see one event leading to another, then you will know that His return is near All-of these things have never occurred together at the same time, so the time is yet future Today we see the possibility of all these events coming together, so we can--know that it is near, even at the doors. You can then know, you can then realize, you can then recognize that “it is near” You can know that it is right at the door, but what is Jesus referring to as “it?” Luke tells us, Luk 21:31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Before the Kingdom of God on earth is established, Jesus must return The King must be present to establish the Kingdom If the Kingdom of God is near, the return of Jesus is at the door When Christ appears, all that relates to His coming kingdom appears The reference is to the whole series of events that will take place when Christ returns “Near” implies that nothing more in God’s plan of redemption must occur Nothing else needs to take place before the return of Christ and the end of the age How often have you heard someone say, “Open the door and see who it is?” The door will soon be opened, and we will all see who is coming God is in control He can bring it all together at any time Today is in the hands of God, tomorrow is in the hands of God, the future is in God’s hand “All” will be fulfilled in God’s time and according-to His time it is but a very brief period-of time ONE GENERATION WILL SEE IT ALL Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. “Verily” is often used by Jesus to introduce an important statement, it means “Truly I tell you” Just as the budding of the fig tree means that it is not long until summer The fulfillment of “all these things” means that it is not long until the return of Christ Theologians debate over the meaning of “this generation,” what generation does Jesus refer to? There are different views: 1. The Disciples of Jesus that were with him that day Those who believe this view say that the events of Mt 24 were fulfilled in A.D. 70 The time when Jerusalem was destroyed, but “all” did not occur at that time 5 2. The Jewish race, or the nation of “ISRAEL” Meaning that Israel will witness all-of the events, Israel will not be destroyed or die off It is true that Israel will exist until all is fulfilled, and the end of the age comes It is true that Israel will continue as a nation until the return of Christ But the events described are not limited to the nation of Israel Israel is not the only one who will experience them 3. The Christ rejecting generation When the world has reached the point of ultimate hate and rejection of Christ The Revelation speaks of “earth dwellers,” those who have committed their life to the world The world will be filled with worldly minded people at the time of Christ’ return But they are not going to be watching for the events of the 70th Week to be fulfilled 4. The Generation that is alive when “all” of the final events occur There will be a generation of people who will see all-of these things begin to come together That same generation will see all-of these things come to their conclusion Within the time of a single generation, all-of these things will happen The generation that will be living when the 70th week begins will see the return of Christ The generation that is alive during the great tribulation will see the return of Christ But what are “ALL THESE THINGS”? till all these things be fulfilled. All-of the things described in this chapter will happen, just as they have been described Could we be that generation that will see “all these things fulfilled?” Whether we are or not does not change the way that we are to live until Jesus returns All generations of believers are to live as if Jesus would return today Christians must live their daily life with the expectation of the return of Jesus The rest of the chapter will teach us to watch and wait for His return Live for Christ today because He is going to come one day In other words, get carried away with Christ today, because Christ will carry you away one day Listen to the song 6