08 The Appearing

Welcome

Questions

Question 1: What are the lost books of the Bible?

In reality, there are no lost books of the Bible; a detailed study of Christian history shows that we have known which books belong in the Bible and which ones don’t right from the beginning. You will occasionally hear of “lost” gospels, like the Gospel of Thomas, and some people will suggest that it was the Emperor Constantine who decided which gospels would be included in the New Testament at the Council of Nicea early in the fourth century - but there is no record of such a discussion at the Council of Nicea at all. (That idea comes to us from works of fiction like The Da Vinci Code, and even secular historians dispute what Dan Brown wrote in that book.)

The Bible does mention books that we no longer have, such as the book of Jasher (2 Samuel 1:18), and Paul’s letter to the Laodiceans (Colossians 4:16). These are not lost books of the Bible, however, because God never saw fit to include them in the Bible in the first place.

If you do a little digging online, you’re likely to find a Book of Jasher that some try to pass off as a translation of the original book of Jasher mentioned in the Bible. But, that’s a fabrication. Actually, it’s probably one of five books by this title that were written and printed long after the Bible was organized. One of them is a Hebrew book printed in 1613 and the name is actually Sepir Ha Yasher, which means, The Book of the Upright, and has nothing to do with Jasher at all. The first book of Jasher that we can find was published in 1750 and the name of the author was purportedly Jasher. It tries to cover the same ground as the first five books of the Bible from the creation of the world to the death of Moses, but it inserts a lot of variations and fanciful storytelling.

Several other books are called the Apocrypha, and may appear in different editions of the Bible as a separate grouping of books. The old testament apocrypha were mostly works of fiction that the Jews valued as cultural works, but they didn’t include them or believe them to be sacred texts. And, New Testament apocrypha are books written by authors who claimed to be an apostle, but all lived past the time of the apostles. For example, the Gospel of Judas was written as much as 200 years after the last apostle died, and yet the author proported to be Judas. If you read that book, you’d find stories of Jesus that are not connected to the biblical record at all. In fact, that gospel was written to sell a compoetely different sect of teaching called Gnosticism, which was a radical heresy the early church had to contend with.

The best course is to stick with the Bible. We haven’t lost any books, and the extra apocryphal books are at best interesting historical fiction, much like a Christian fiction book of today.

Question 2: Adam isn’t mentioned among the heroes of the faith in Hebrews chapter 11. Would that suggest that he isn’t saved?

No, not at all. There are many Old Testament figures who were faithful to God and still did not get mentioned in this famous “faith chapter.” You’ll notice that after sin, God Himself clothed Adam and Eve with the skins of animal after promising the coming Messiah in Genesis 3. He carefully showed them the way of salvation, and I have every confidence that we will see them in the kingdom.

Question 3: If Jesus is coming soon, is there any point in planning for the future, studying a profession, or even buying a house?

The Bible tells us that we do not know the day or hour of Christ’s return, and Jesus told us in a parable (Luke 19:13) that He expects us to “occupy until I come.” We should, of course, always remember that everything we own belongs to God, and that He wants us to dedicate our lives and our possessions to Him, but at the same time, He also expects that we provide appropriately for our families:

[1Ti 5:8 NKJV] 8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

While everything in prophecy tells us that Jesus’ return is very soon, we can’t know the day, the week, the month or even the year of His return. What Jesus invites us to do is to join Him in His mission of taking the gospel to the world. And that is far better done by people who are faithful workers in the marketplace, and well trained gospel workers. Education, gainful employment, and starting godly families are all very good things to do as we wait for Jesus’ return. The key is who and what we love. If our love of our spouse, or our job, or a fancy degree, eclipses our love of Christ and His mission, then that’s when we have a problem. But that would be a problem whether Christ’s coming was tomorrow or a hundred years away.

Givaway

Tonight we have the privilege of giving away a DVD series by Sean Boonstra called “The Appearing.” In this series Sean covers several of our recent topics, so this is a great review of what we’ve covered.

Tonight we’re going to give one of these DVD sets away. If you’d like to take one of these home, just drop a donation into the question box. We’re not keeping tabs, so it doesn’t matter what you give. They cost us around $20 or so, but whatever you can give is fine.

If you’d like to make out a check, make it out to Discovery Centers.

So, who are we giving this DVD set to? ________________

Tonight, our topic is “The Appearing”: what will it actually be like the day Jesus returns?

Then, Tuesday night, “The Anatomy of Evil”. We’re going to look at Revelation 12 and tackle one of the hardest questions in the world of religion - philosophers call it the “problem of evil” - if God is good, and God is love, then why do people have to suffer?

On Tuesday night night, we’ll let let God speak for Himself and get our answers straight from the Bible.

On Wednesday night, “The Ultimate Mind Game”. If you’ve ever wrestled with temptation - if you’ve ever wondered why you seem powerless to stop doing some of the things you KNOW you SHOULDN’T be doing - well, then welcome to the human race.

But on Wednesday night, we’re going to pull back the curtains and look at the war that’s being waged for your heart and mind right now - and we’ll look at some practical things you can do - right now - to turn the tide.

Is it possible that you and I can actually be among the people who finally stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb of God?

On Friday night, we’re going to look at the first part of a trilogy: “The Coming of the Lawless One.”

The Bible talks about a “man of sin” who promotes the “mystery of iniquity” or “lawlessness” - and he sits in the Temple of God pretending that he IS God.

On Friday night, we’re going to explore one of the most important themes in Bible prophecy, and that’s going to take us all over the Scriptures. If you’re going to miss a night, you don’t want to miss this one, because it’s a major foundation.

Of course, you don’t want to miss Saturday night, either, because it’s just as important. According to Revelation 14, in the last days, God’s people have a critical message for the planet, and we’re going to use the information we found the night before and examine a central part of that message.

I know you’re going to have a few pleasant surprises as we move along - and again, this is a big night: it’s material you’re going to need as we keep digging deeper into prophecy.

So you don’t want to miss this, either.

And of course, on Sunday night, we’re going to look at the third part of the trilogy, and we’re going to scan through the Bible, looking for a text that a lot of people are convinced is in there.

And whether or not it’s there might actually make a big difference in your life. It’s “Revelation’s Forgotten History,” and you’re going to want to check this out.

Then on Tuesday night, “A River Runs Through It,” and no, we’re not going to watch the movie: we’re just going to steal the title.

There’s a river in the book of Genesis, and a river in the book of Revelation, and we’re going to look at the all-important thread that ties them together.

Then, on Wednesday night, we’re finally going to get to a subject I know that a lot of you have been waiting for. This is one of those nights when all of your hard work is going to pay off.

We’re going to look at Revelation chapter 13, where this beast crawls up out of the water, and I think you’re going to be blown away by what we discover.

By the time we’re done with “Babylon Rising”, I won’t have to tell you what the Bible’s describing: you’re going to be able to tell ME.

But for tonight, “The Appearing.”

Prayer

Tonight, we’re going to look at one of the most talked-about subjects in the Bible. The Second Coming of Christ is mentioned more than 2,500 times, and some people have estimated that as many as 1 out of 8 passages in the New Testament mention Christ’s return or at least allude to it.

But what’s really strange, with all that biblical data, is that no two people seem to be able to agree on how the Second Coming takes place.

Walk into any Christian bookstore, and read all the books on the Second Coming, and you’ll find almost as many theories as there are books.

So the question I want you to consider is this: could a dozen different theories ALL be right?

No. Of course not.

So why is there so much confusion? Is it maybe because God hasn’t spoken clearly? Is the information in the Bible so vague that you can’t really make sense of it?

Tonight, we’re going to put all those books on prophecy to one side, and we’re just going to let the Bible speak for itself, because every time WE’RE confused, God has a way of speaking very clearly.

Tonight, we’re just going to deal in certainty - we’re going to deal with the things we know for sure.

And I guess I want to start with what might seem like a very strange question:

Did Jesus even say that He’s coming back?

Now after all these nights together, you KNOW that I believe in the Second Coming - but still, every so often, someone asks this question.

So let’s make absolutely sure He did.

John 14:1-3

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.

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.

Emphasize important concepts like “In My Father’s house are MANY mansions - does that sound to you like God is only planning on a handful of people? No.”

really emphasize “I will come again.”

So you tell me - according to the Bible, did Jesus say He would come again?

Yes.

And WHY is He coming back? It’s because the deepest desire of God’s heart is to have you in heaven with Him. That’s the whole point. Jesus isn’t coming because He wants to destroy the world - He’s not coming because He wants to see a big catastrophe - He’s coming because He wants YOU with HIM.

So yes, the Second Coming of Christ is biblical, and it’s some of the best news in the world.

But what, exactly, should we expect the day that Jesus arrives?

Tonight, I’m going to show you five things you can know for sure.

And this is really important, because many Christians have read a lot of books about the Second Coming - there have been some big titles in recent years - but very few Christians still sit down and read the WHOLE BIBLE to find out what God says.

And some day soon, knowing the truth - the absolute truth - about Jesus’ return is going to be very important, because BEFORE Jesus comes, there will be huge deceptions on a global scale.

Listen to the words of Jesus:

Matt 24:23, 24

Then if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Christ!” or “There!” do not bleive it. For false christs

and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Again and again, the Bible underlines the fact that DECEPTION is going to be a big problem in the last days - and the deception is going to be so overwhelming that even “the elect” might fall for it.

That means even Christians will be in danger of falling for lies.

And according to Bible prophecy, if there’s one topic where deception will be really prevalent, it’s the Second Coming of Christ.

This is one place where you want to be absolutely sure.

In the very end, the only safe place for you to stand will be the Bible - you won’t even be able to trust the evidence of your senses. Not when a beast power and the spirits of demons are the ones performing miracles.

You need to be absolutely sure of what the Bible says - and the Bible gives us five things we can know for sure.

Number one:

when Jesus returns, He REALLY returns. It will literally be Him.

And I know that seems kind of obvious, but there ARE people who say that the Second Coming of Jesus is only symbolic, or spiritual.

Some people say that it’s a metaphor for spiritual awakening - that when you achieve higher planes of consciousness, that’s when the Second Coming happens for you.

Other people say it’s just symbolic of a new period of earth’s history - when peace and tranquility reign.

But that’s not what the Bible teaches. The language is pretty obvious: it’s a literal return by a literal Jesus.

How do I know that? Listen to this passage from the book of Acts. This comes from Acts chapter 1, where Jesus returns to heaven, and the disciples are watching Him go up into the sky. Listen to this carefully:

Acts 1:10-11

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand

gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

The Bible says the VERY SAME JESUS who went UP into heaven is the Jesus who comes back - AND it says that He comes back the same way He went.

So that makes me want to ask some questions.

If the “same” Jesus who went up is the One who’s coming back, then I want to know WHICH Jesus went up.

And the Bible says it was a REAL Jesus with a PHYSICAL body. Listen to what Jesus says right after His resurrection from the dead.

The disciples were having a little trouble believing that Jesus was really alive, and I guess that’s understandable, because if one of YOUR friends came back from the dead, it might take a little while for that to sink in.

So Jesus PROVES it.

Luke 24:38-39

And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet,

that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

“I know this is hard to believe,” Jesus says, “so go ahead and touch Me! I am absolutely real!”

And then Jesus does something that REALLY proves it - He asks for something to eat, which is a very human, and a physical activity.

This wasn’t a ghost. Jesus was resurrected as a real, live human being.

And THAT’S the Jesus who went back to heaven, which means the Jesus who comes again is ALSO a real, live human being.

Of course, Jesus is also God in human flesh, but He’s distinctly human - distinctly physical.

So that’s the first item on our list:

Jesus will literally return. It’s not symbolic - He’s not just coming in a spiritual sense - it’s really going to be Him.

And that means that you and I will see the same Jesus the disciples saw, and on that day, it won’t just be a Bible story, it’s going to be you and Jesus, face to face.

Point number two:

When Jesus comes, you’re going to SEE it - with your own eyes.

How do I know? Remember: the disciples WATCHED Him go up, which means that you and I will WATCH Him come back. Here’s what it says in Revelation chapter 1:

Revelation 1:7

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him...

How many eyes? EVERY eye. When Jesus comes, everybody’s going to see it.

And when you go back to the book of Isaiah, the Bible promises that one day, the eyes of the blind will be completely restored - and that means that even BLIND people will see Jesus come.

And the face of Jesus might actually be the very first thing that some people ever see.

Every eye will see Jesus come. Listen to the words of Jesus Himself:

Matt 24:30

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn,

Now that must be the saddest statement in the Bible. Why in the world would ANYBODY mourn the coming of Jesus?

Go back and read the words of Jesus. Over and over, He says “fear not.” In John 14, He told us “let not your heart be troubled.”

But in spite of that, there WILL be people who mourn when Jesus comes. So what kind of person doesn’t WANT Jesus to come?

It’s the person who refused to believe that it’s real. It’s the person who kept putting off a relationship with Jesus until it was too late. It’s the person who isn’t ready - and now they have to face the verdict of the judgment all by themselves.

And what a shame - because right now, there’s time for everybody to BE ready. There is no point in being lost.

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn,

and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

When Jesus comes, EVERYBODY sees it. The people who are ready see it - and the people who are NOT ready… they see it, too.

You’re not going to have to turn on CNN to watch the Second Coming of Christ. You won’t have to check your Twitter feed. When Jesus comes, you’re going to see it for yourself.

In fact, the Bible says it’s going to be like lightning:

Matt 24:27

For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

NOBODY misses lightning. Even if you can’t see it, you can hear it. And if you can’t hear it, you can feel it. There’s a charge in the air, and even if you close your drapes, you’re still going to see the flash.

Now let’s suppose there’s a HUGE thunderstorm going on right now, and there’s a flash of lightning every two minutes or so.

What if I told you that only the Christians were able to see it? Would you believe that? No.

The language of the Bible is unmistakable. When Jesus comes, everybody sees it.

“But I heard this theory that says . . . ” I know. I’ve heard that theory, too. But right now, I’m only dealing in certainties. We’re just looking at what the Bible explicitly says. No obscure or confusing verses. Just the plain certainties.

And the Bible says, unequivocally, that when Jesus comes, every eye will see Him.

So here’s what we know:

Jesus will literally return. It will really be Him.

And when that happens, you’re going to see it.

Point number three: when Jesus comes, you’re going to hear it. How do I know? That’s what the Bible teaches. Listen to how Jesus describes His return:

Matt 24:31

And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

I play the trumpet a little, so lets just get a small blast from a trumpet to see if its audible or not.

...

Did you hear that?

The second coming is going to be really LOUD — much louder than I can blow the trumpet.

How loud? Loud enough to wake the dead! Listen to this:

1 Thess 4:16, 17

For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

When Jesus comes, He returns with a SHOUT, and it’s going to be so loud that the dead come back to life. That expression, “loud enough to wake the dead,” is apparently a biblical concept. We get it from the Second Coming of Christ.

Jesus said, in John chapter 5, “Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in the grave will hear His voice.”

When Jesus comes again, there’s going to be a HUGE commotion.

Folks, if God yells, do you think you might hear it?

If the trumpet of God is sounded all over the planet, do you think you’re going to hear it?

And if the dead start popping out of their graves all over the place, do you think you might notice it?

Nobody is going to miss the Second Coming. It’s the biggest commotion in the history of the planet, and YOU are going to hear it.

Listen to this prediction in the book of Psalms:

Psalm 50:3

Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

You know, the Bible says in Isaiah 35 that one day, the “ears of the deaf will be unstopped” - and that means the first thing SOME people will ever hear is the voice of Jesus.

And you’re going to hear it too - this is a VERY NOISY event. And that gives us our next point:

We already know:

Jesus will really come back. It will really be Him.

When He comes you’re going to see it. You’re not going to have to watch it on the eleven o’clock news.

When Jesus comes, you’re going to hear it.

And point number four. . .

When Jesus comes, it’s going to put the fourth of July fireworks to shame. It’s going to be the most glorious event in the history of the world.

Let’s go back and look at that passage from Psalm 50 one more time:

Psalm 50:3

Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

This is a very big event. According to the Bible, it’s “tempestuous.” Listen to this description from the book of Revelation:

Rev 6:14

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

When Jesus comes, the whole sky comes unglued. The earth is shaking, and the mountains and islands are moving around.

And that’s when you and I see Jesus!

Now listen carefully to the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:

Matt 16:27

For the Son of Man will come in the Glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

Now notice this: when Jesus comes, He gives out His rewards. And that’s because the judgment hour is already finished - it happens before the Second Coming.

So when Jesus comes, everything is final. There’s no changing your mind; and you’ve already chosen your reward.

And that means the time to make things right with Jesus is right now - tonight.

The Bible says when Jesus comes, it will be unbelievably glorious. He comes in the glory of the Father - and He brings the angels with Him.

And how many angels would there be? He tells us in Matthew 25:

Matt 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.

When Jesus comes, heaven is silent, because ALL the angels come.

And how many are there? Fifty? A hundred? A thousand?

Listen to this:

It’s a description of the angels in the throne room of heaven.

Revelation 5:11 NKJV

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,

Ten thousand times ten thousand! That’s one hundred million. And then it says “thousands of thousands,” which means there are millions more.

It’s a lot of angels - and it says the same thing back in the book of Daniel, in the judgment scene:

Daniel 7:10

…and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

At bare minimum, there are 100 million angels, and every single one of them returns with Jesus - ALL of them.

And the presence of just ONE angel at the tomb of Jesus was enough to make battle-hardened Roman soldiers pass out.

This is a LOT more than one, and it’s going to be the most beautiful thing you ever see.

When Jesus comes, it’s really going to be Him.

When Jesus comes, every eye will see Him.

When Jesus comes, every ear will hear Him.

When Jesus comes, it will be the most spectacular event in the history of the world.

And when Jesus comes . . .

. . . it will mark the end of this world’s history.

It’s final. There is nothing you can do to stop it, and there is nothing you can do to change it.

It will be the stone crushing the statue - the kingdom of God replacing every human kingdom - and it will be final.

When Jesus comes, the decisions are made, and the rewards are final. Listen to the words of Jesus in the book of Revelation:

Rev 22:11-12

He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still;

he who is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give every one according to his works.

At this moment, it’s all over. The judgment is finished, and the angels close the books. All the rewards are final.

If you’ve chosen Jesus, that decision will stand forever. And if you’ve rejected Him, that’s permanent, too - because when Jesus comes, He hands out ALL the rewards at the same time.

There are no more chances.

That’s why they blew the trumpets in the camp of Israel ten days before the day of judgment: it was your last chance. If you didn’t make things right, you were removed from the camp of Israel forever.

No more chances.

When Jesus comes, there are only two groups: those who are ready, and those who are not.

And those two groups will react completely differently when they look up and see Jesus.

On the one hand, you’ve got the people who blew it - they put it off. They refused to believe.

Revelation 6:15-17

And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, and every slave, and every free man, hid themselves in the

caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the

Lamb. For the great day of His wrath has come; and who is able to stand?

Now imagine that. These people are afraid of a LAMB. It’s not a lion, it’s a LAMB - and that doesn’t make any sense.

Nobody’s afraid of a Lamb!!! - except for these people.

And you’ll notice: they KNOW who He is. When they look up and see Him, they KNOW that it’s Jesus - and that’s because at this point, the message of Jesus has gone to the whole world.

They KNOW who Jesus is, and still, they rejected the invitation. So now they’re horrified - of a Lamb! That’s absurd!

It shows us how pointless it is to be lost.

These people react with abject terror, because they KNOW that they’ve blown it, and they know that it’s final.

But YOU don’t have to be in that group. There IS another choice - another group - that has a completely different reaction. Listen to what THEY say:

Isaiah 25:9

And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord, we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

Let me tell you tonight: there is no reason NOT to be in this group. Right now, there is still time to choose.

These people are excited to see Him. THEY shout - and JESUS shouts - and the angels are excited! - because the family of God has finally been restored.

And right now, the choice is yours: there are only two groups, but you get to choose - and I don’t know about you, but it seems like there really is only ONE good decision.

I want to be among those who welcome Jesus with open arms - don’t you?

Five points. Five things we know for sure about the Second Coming of Christ.

1. Jesus will literally return.

2. Every eye will see Him come.

3. Every ear will HEAR Him come.

4. It’s going to be the most spectacular event in the history of the world, and

5. It will mark the end of this world’s history, and every decision will be final.

Now, I want you to look over those five points very carefully, because I want to ask a question.

How do those five points fit with most of the modern thinking about the Second Coming of Christ?

It’s a really big question, because right now there are hundreds of theories. But in the last 100 years or so - maybe a little bit longer - one of those theories has risen to the top and become really popular.

And that theory kind of looks like this:

Chart

It says that at some point, Jesus suddenly comes for His people, and He takes the believers back to heaven, and leaves everyone else behind.

Then the antichrist appears, and for the next seven years, the world undergoes a terrible tribulation.

Then at the END of the seven year tribulation, Jesus comes back AGAIN - with all the believers - and sets up His kingdom on earth.

Now there ARE variations on this. For example, some people say the antichrist appears halfway through the seven years. But in general terms, this is what the most popular theory in modern Christianity looks like.

And the question is: is THIS theory biblically accurate? Because it is, after all, only a theory, and every human theory needs to be constantly examined in the light of the Bible.

So that’s what I want to do - and in a lot of ways, this theory DOES agree with Scripture.

For example:

it teaches that time is running out more quickly than most people think, and that’s absolutely true.

it also teaches (at least in its most popular versions) that before Jesus comes, there will be a massive deception that leads millions of people away from God - and that’s also true.

and of course, it teaches that when Jesus returns, it’s going to come as a surprise to millions of people - and I think THAT harmonizes with the words of the Bible quite nicely.

It also teaches that the safest, most reliable place to secure your beliefs in the last days is in the Word of God - and how can I argue with that?

And it also teaches that the time to make your decision is NOW, not during the final crisis.

So in a lot of ways, this theory really harmonizes with the Bible - no question about it.

But I still have some questions, and really, the first question is one that was posed by Dr. Rowland Bingham, the one-time editor of Christianity Today.

kind and gentle tone — position of genuine inquiry along with the audience — you want to know.

You want to encourage honest inquiry and discovery.

He tells the story of trying to write his sermon on a Saturday night, when his wife suddenly asked him a question.

She said, “I have to teach Sunday school in the morning, and we’re talking about the Second Coming … and I’m looking for that verse where Jesus comes back and secretly steals away with all the believers. Do you know where that is?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” he said. “That’s in First Thessalonians, chapter 4.”

So she went away and read it.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Well, THAT didn’t seem right, so she went back and said, “Honey, that might be the NOISIEST verse in the whole Bible!”

Now listen to what Rowland Bingham says:

“In sheer desperation I took out my Bible and threw myself helplessly on the Lord… The weeks the weeks that followed that innocent query and

the trouble into which it landed me is a separate story.

Now listen to this very carefully.

If you hold the theory of a secret rapture of the church, try out that simple question on yourself.”

What question? Where is it in the Bible? I think that’s a valid question. All my life, I have heard about a secret coming of Christ, and if it’s factual, you SHOULD be able to find it in the Bible.

So look at our five absolute certainties, one more time -

When Jesus comes, He comes back the same way He went up. It’s really going to be Him.

When Jesus comes, every eye will see Him.

When Jesus comes, every ear will hear Him.

When Jesus comes, it lights up the whole planet, and all the angels come back with Him.

And when Jesus comes, it’s the end of earth’s history, and all the rewards are given out.

If you look at this carefully, you won’t find the theory of a secret coming of Jesus anywhere in THERE.

Remember: EVERYBODY sees Him at exactly the same time. Listen again to what the Bible says:

This is Jesus speaking, and He’s easily the biggest expert on the subject.

Matt 24:30

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn,

and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Now I know what some people will say: “That’s only describing the wicked! This is when Jesus comes back AFTER the seven year tribulation!”=

And I might be able to accept that, except that the next verse says something different. It says that THIS happens at the same moment Jesus comes for believers:

Matt 24:31

And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heaven to the other.

The wicked are mourning the Second Coming at the very same moment when Jesus comes with all His angels to gather the righteous together.

When Jesus comes, WE ALL SEE it. He’s not going to come quietly for the righteous, and publicly for the wicked - He just comes once for both groups.

And Jesus said it will happen like it did during the flood:

Matt 24:38, 39

For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,

and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

So here’s the question: did the righteous and the wicked experience the flood together?

Yes, they did.

Here’s the truth of the matter: you can search the Bible from cover to cover - and I have - and you will not find Jesus coming secretly for the believers BEFORE the wicked see Him.

It’s just not in there.

Now if that’s not the way you’ve always thought about it, I completely understand - and you’re absolutely not alone.

I just want you to search this out for yourself and see what you find, because in the last days, it IS important to know what the Bible actually says.

And honestly, there are a few more troubling questions - like: when does the antichrist appear?

According to the most popular theory today, the antichrist makes his appearance AFTER Jesus comes for the church—after the secret rapture. It happens at some point during the seven-year tribulation.

And that seems to make sense - except for one small problem: Paul says that the antichrist makes his appearance BEFORE Jesus comes for the church.

When Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonian church, they got so excited by his description of the Second Coming that they assumed it was going to happen any minute.

So Paul writes them ANOTHER letter, and he explains that there are a few things that have to happen first. Listen to this:

2 Thes 2:1-4

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by

spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away

comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as

God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Paul couldn’t be any clearer. Jesus doesn’t come for the church until AFTER the antichrist appears!

There’s no mistaking this - and it doesn’t fit the popular theory at all.

And honestly, there’s more. The Bible also teaches that the antichrist is actually destroyed by the brightness of Jesus’ coming, and it’s still in the context of Jesus coming for the church.

Listen to verse 8:

2 Thes 2:8

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

Do you see it? When Jesus comes for the church, everything is finished. The lawless one is destroyed, and the story of this planet is finished.

There are no second chances . . .

. . . but in this theory, there IS a second chance, during the seven years after Jesus comes for the church.

It’s a popular theory, but it’s NOT IN THE BIBLE, and that should raise all KINDS of red flags.

Remember what Jesus said about His second coming:

Revelation 22:11, 12

He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.

And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

When Jesus comes, it’s over. No second chances, no make-up exams - because when Jesus comes, the judgment is closed, the decisions are final, and so are the rewards.

The most popular theory in the world today is NOT in the Bible. So let me propose a more biblical scenario:

According to the plain facts of the Bible, at some point in history, the antichrist appears, and then Jesus returns in glory to end world history.

Those are the undisputed biblical facts, and honestly, in recent years, more and more people are discovering that we should have been reading the Bible more carefully.

We’re discovering that for the first 1,800 years of Christianity, nobody believed in a secret coming of Christ. Nobody.

But what about all those verses that say Jesus will come as a thief in the night? Doesn’t the Bible teach that?

Yes, it does - in Second Peter 3:10. Let’s read it:

2 Pet 3:10

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night…

Does the Bible say that Jesus comes like a thief in the night?

Yes, it does.

But does that mean He comes quietly and secretly? Not if you read the whole verse. Let’s read the whole thing:

2 Pet 3:10

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

Let’s be honest with the text - does that sound like a secret coming of Christ to you?

There’s just no way to make it say that - there’s nothing secret here at all!

So why compare Jesus to a thief in the night? It’s not because He sneaks in like a cat burglar - it’s more like a home invasion - where He kicks in the door and suddenly appears!

Listen to what it says in First Thessalonians 5:2-3.

1 Thes 5:2-3

For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.

The second coming isn’t a secret . . . it’s a surprise!

So where in the world did we get this other idea?

Well, it really dates back to the Middle Ages. Over the centuries, the Christian church compromised on a lot of things, and we did some stuff that clearly wasn’t biblical.

For example, we opened religious torture chambers and we burned people at the stake. We may as well be honest about it - because it’s true.

And at one point, religious scholars in the Middle Ages started to realize that the Bible predicted problems inside the Christian church.

“Look, it says here that there will be a great falling away - and it says that in the last days, people will have a FORM of godliness, but they’ll deny the truth.”

They began to recognize that the New Testament is honest about bad Christianity the same way the Old Testament was honest when Israel did something wrong.

So they called for people to repent - and they called for people to come back to the plain teachings of the Scriptures. Right?! Well...

Now some people did the right thing - they repented. But other people had trouble accepting it.

So - around the 1500s - Christian scholars started to argue, and some people, in an effort to take the spotlight off the Christian church, started to develop NEW THEORIES about Bible prophecy.

There was a guy by the name of Luis Alcazar who started to teach that Bible prophecy was all in the past - it all happened under Nero, or Antiochus Epiphanes – so obviously, the Bible can’t be describing US.

Now that was only moderately successful, and you’ll still hear a few people talking about those theories today.

But another guy by the name of Francisci Ribera did something different. Instead of saying that all of Bible prophecy was fulfilled in the distant past, he said it was all going to be in the distant future.

He said that the big stuff hasn’t happened yet - and his disciples created this idea that everything happens in the last seven years of earth’s history.

And this idea was MORE successful, but it didn’t really take root until the 19th century, when it suddenly made its way into mainstream Christianity . . . more than 1,800 years after Jesus.

And today, it’s by far the most popular theory - and here’s what it did:

It said that the Old Testament prophets - like Daniel - couldn’t see the New Testament church. They could see the cross, and they could see the last seven years of earth’s history - but they couldn’t see the church.

You and I were hidden from view.

And that took all the heat off Christians during the Dark Ages: if Daniel couldn’t see US, then WE can’t be the problem.

But honestly? We MADE that up during a heated debate - and more than 1,800 years after Christ, it suddenly became the most popular theory on earth.

We make movies based on this - we write books based on this - but it’s all made up. It’s deliberate fiction - and we know that for sure.

Please: go home and search the Bible carefully, because there has never been a more important time to know for sure what it says.

I just have two things to ask you tonight:

Check your Bible and stick with what it says, and

Please: be ready for Jesus to come.

Prayer

“Father in heaven, tonight the only thing that really matters is not what I say - and it doesn’t matter what BOOKS say - we just want to know what YOU say.

“We understand that the hour is late, and there has never been a more important time to know what the Bible says . . . for sure. We choose to stand on the Bible alone for what we will believe - and we long for Jesus to come.

“We pray these things in His wonderful Name, Amen.”

Folks, Tuesday night, a new subject: The Anatomy of Evil. If God is good, then why do people suffer?s

Good night, and God bless.

You might want to stay up front tonight and be ready for questions. When people ask, if they seem agitated - just say “I know. It IS different - and I have nothing to urge, except to ask people to study the Bible carefully. If you can find it in the Bible, then I honestly have no argument.”

Stay kind, positive and affirming. :)