A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): Today on A Daily Walk, we're talking about the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Christ. Did you know that the United States of America is not mentioned in biblical prophecy? You don't find it. I believe that one of the reasons why is because of the Rapture of the Church.

Imagine right now. I mean, you see the wickedness that is pervasive throughout the culture at this moment. Things that are being pushed and things that are being planned and voted on and all of this. You are well aware of what's going on. Imagine if those who were standing against it are suddenly removed. What happens? It just goes. Wickedness just rolls like a steamroller and nothing stops it. Nothing stands in the way. And that will happen.

Hey, we've got a great study in Revelation lined up for you today on A Daily Walk. Though they're often confused, there is a difference between the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Jesus. Pastor John Randall will help us make that distinction as he shares where he believes each falls on the prophetic calendar. By the end of our time together, you can be Rapture-ready. Before we get back to Revelation chapter one, we bring you these words from 2 Corinthians.

John Randall: The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter five, verses one and two, "We know that if our earthly house, this tabernacle, this tent, is dissolved, that we have a building from God, not made with hands. It's eternal in the heavens." And the writer says, "In this we groan." The older you get, the more you groan. You groan earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.

So some people believe, listen, our loved ones, we know this for a fact, they're with the Lord. They're with him. But when do they get their glorified bodies? Some say they get it at the Rapture of the Church when the trumpet sounds. Their bodies are instantly meet right there in the air. We're reunited with them. They get their glorified body, we get our glorified... we get them all at the same time.

There's a second thought. Others suggest that the dead in Christ receive their glorified bodies immediately. And the reason is because of the nature of timeless eternity, if you can understand that. Timeless eternity. And because they live in the eternal now. We live in time; they're outside of time. They already have it.

I tend to lean toward that direction myself. I'm not being dogmatic, but I'm saying that's the way I lean. And the reason is because Jesus was the firstfruits, the Bible says, of those who rise from the dead. And following his resurrection, we see him in scripture in a new body that is without limitation of time or space or matter for that reason. And he even passed through locked doors. He could disappear and appear from one moment to the next.

But here's what I know for sure, 100%. When you die as a Christian, you immediately go to be with the Lord in heaven. I also know for sure that Jesus is coming and I know that we're getting glorified bodies. That's what I know for sure and in that I rejoice.

But here's the thing, folks. At the Second Coming, nobody receives a glorified body. Because it's a separate, distinct event from the Rapture of the Church. The Bible also tells us that the Rapture will be secret and instant in the sense that we are immediately caught up to be with the Lord and not every eye will see him, only those who are caught up to be with him. But in the Second Coming, we just read it: every eye will see him. Everyone will see it. But at the Rapture, only those that are caught up will see him.

Another important distinction is concerning the timing of the Second Coming versus the timing of the Rapture. And again, you will find many godly people who love Jesus, who are born again, but they have varying opinions. We know that the Second Coming takes place at the end of the Tribulation. Both Old and New Testament books of the Bible verify that fact. It is certain.

However, when it comes to the Rapture of the Church, there are three primary viewpoints. There is the post-tribulational view. That states the Rapture occurs at the end of the Tribulation period, which is very odd for several reasons. We're going to go up and then we're going to come back down. Why? Why go up and then we're going to come right back down? That seems unbiblical, and I believe it is. I don't think that's accurate.

Then there are those who have the pre-wrath or the mid-tribulational view, stating that the Rapture occurs at or near the halfway point of the Tribulation. Again, I would disagree with that. And then we have the view that we hold here: the pre-tribulational view, that the Rapture occurs before the Tribulation period. As a family of churches, Calvary Chapels, we believe and teach this view: that prior to the seven years of Tribulation, that the Church of Jesus Christ that he purchased with his own blood on the cross will be raptured, caught up to be with the Lord before destruction comes.

And the reason we believe that is because God has not appointed us unto wrath, but he has appointed us unto salvation. Furthermore, we believe that following the Tribulation period of seven years, Jesus comes back. We come back with him and he establishes his kingdom and he'll rule and reign in a literal millennium for a thousand years, the Bible says.

Now, in order to help us understand this a little bit further, why we believe that the Rapture is before the Tribulation and a separate event, Jesus said in Luke 21 verses 34 through 36: "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that day come upon you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare to all of those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and stand before the Son of Man."

When Jesus said "that day", he's referring to the Tribulation, seven years of judgment that is coming upon the earth. And in verse 36, he says in relation to that day, "Pray that you will escape." And that's exactly what I'm doing and I'm anticipating it. There are some people who will foolishly say, "Oh, those who hold to the Rapture before the Tribulation, you guys are nothing but escapists," as if that was a bad thing. Jesus said pray to escape. Yeah, I'm going to do that.

Revelation chapter 3 verse 10, John writes the words of Jesus to the Church of Philadelphia, which is a faithful last days church. And this is what he says: "Because you have kept my command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth."

Jesus said to the faithful last days church, committed to the word of God, committed to keeping his command, committed to preaching the word of God unapologetically, he said, "I'm going to keep you from the hour of Tribulation." Not out of or in the midst of it, I'm going to preserve you in it. No, he said, "I'm going to take you out of it." That's the translation. I'm going to take you out of the hour of trial that's coming upon the earth. Why? Because you've been faithful to my word.

As you continue, and we will, study through the book of Revelation, friends, here's what you're going to find. You go to chapter four and there's a description of the throne of God. And the 24 elders are bowing down before his throne. You go to Revelation chapter five, you see a scroll with seven seals, believed to be the title deed to the earth. And an angel asks the question, "Who is worthy to take the scroll and to loose its seals?"

And John the Revelator begins to weep because no one was found on the earth, under the earth, anywhere worthy to take the scroll. And then it says Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, takes the scroll, loosens the seals, and then suddenly in heaven, worship breaks out. And this is the song they sing in heaven. Listen, we don't know the tune, but we have the lyrics in Revelation chapter five verses nine and 10. Listen to what it says and ask yourself this question: who could sing this song?

"Revelation chapter five: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open the seals, for you were slain and you have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe, out of every tongue and people and nation. And you have made us kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth." Folks, there is only one group of people that can sing that song. That's the blood-bought bride of Christ in his presence before the Tribulation takes place.

Because when you go from chapter five to chapter six, chapter six opens with the Tribulation. And the church in heaven is not mentioned again until they come back with him to rule and reign at his Second Coming at the end of the seven years. When you look at the character of God revealed in scripture, you come to find out that it's not consistent with his character to judge the righteous with the wicked.

I think of the example of Sodom and Gomorrah, delivering Lot out of that city before destruction came. I think of Enoch, it says, a picture, an Old Testament picture of an individual raptured. Enoch walked with God and was not, for God took him before the flood came upon the earth.

When it comes to the church being taken before the Tribulation and why we believe that, listen, ask yourself this question: what is the purpose of the Tribulation? It's an important question to ask. It has a twofold purpose. The first reason is to bring Israel back to her Messiah. Daniel chapter 12 verse 7 says when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things will be finished.

The Lord is going to use this seven years of Tribulation to bring the nation of Israel back to her Messiah. God is not done with Israel. Don't even think for a second what these guys are teaching in replacement theology, that somehow the church has replaced Israel. God's not done with Israel. It's obvious from the Bible. And you'd have to rip pages out and rewrite it. God has a plan for Israel. He's not done with them.

But also, the second purpose of the Tribulation, listen, is to judge a Christ-rejecting world. When you realize the purpose of the Tribulation, that is twofold, you ask yourself the question: what part does the church play in the Tribulation? And the answer is the church has no part of the Tribulation because the church has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus went to the cross, shed his blood to purchase the church to spare his bride from the wrath by taking wrath upon himself. Why would he now pour out his wrath that he died to keep us from? He wouldn't.

The church at this moment is salt and light in the midst of a decaying, sinful culture. The Holy Spirit of God working through the church to be a light in the world. But the Bible makes it clear that the day will come when that which restrains the flood tide of evil, that is the Holy Spirit working through the church, will be removed. And that is when, when the Lord takes his bride, his church, in the Rapture, that is the day when evil will have nothing standing in its way.

Did you know that the United States of America is not mentioned in biblical prophecy? You don't find it. And I believe that one of the reasons why is because of the Rapture of the Church. Imagine right now. I mean, you see the wickedness that is pervasive throughout the culture at this moment. Things that are being pushed and things that are being planned and voted on and all of this. You are well aware of what's going on. Imagine if those who were standing against it are suddenly removed. What happens? It just goes. Wickedness just rolls like a steamroller and nothing stops it. Nothing stands in the way.

And that will happen. The Bible makes that clear. When all hell will break loose on the earth. The Rapture, the translation of living believers to heaven without experiencing death in a moment. The trumpet's going to sound, the Lord's going to descend, the church is caught up, bodies instantly transformed into glorified bodies, reunited with our loved ones in the air and taken to heaven and safely tucked away for seven years during the Tribulation period. And then we will return with Christ when he establishes his kingdom in his Second Coming.

It's the removal of believers from the earth as an act of deliverance. But the Second Coming includes the removal of unbelievers as an act of judgment. There's a clear difference. The Second Coming will not take place until after these other end time events occur. But the Rapture, friend, listen, listen carefully. The Rapture is imminent. It's imminent, meaning it could take place at any moment. That there's nothing left on the prophetic calendar of God for the Rapture to take place. It could happen at any moment. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, it could happen.

The Bible tells us in the book of Titus chapter two: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." Friend, is that what you're looking for? Let me ask you this: is there any problem you're having right now in your life that the Rapture could not solve? I sincerely doubt it.

The Bible says that he who has this hope within himself purifies himself just as he is pure. But I want to say something to you now as we conclude today. That as wonderful as this glorious appearing will be for those who are ready, who are waiting, who are caught up to be with the Lord, there will be those who will be left behind, who will miss it. They're not ready. They're not prepared.

I don't say this to scare you into following Jesus, but I will say the truth of being left behind is frightening if you don't know Jesus. It's a reality. And I think it's important for the church to be aware of it, to be preaching it: that Jesus Christ is coming in the Rapture and the Second Coming. And to be ready because you don't want to be left behind. And I'm not talking about a fictional story. I'm talking about a biblical reality, friend, of people who are not ready and they will miss.

Oh, there'll be people that get saved during the Tribulation period, but they'll have to die for their faith. Because if they take the mark, they're not going to heaven. They seal their fate. And we'll talk more about that as we go through the book of Revelation, we get into the Tribulation period. But the fact is some aren't prepared. They're not ready to meet the Lord. I can't imagine what that would be like. And some people say, "Well, I'll just get saved during the Tribulation. That's if it's real and all this stuff is true. Okay, all right. If I show up here some Sunday and nobody's here except me, at that point I will call upon the name of the Lord."

We jest, we laugh about it, but the truth of the matter is if you can't stand for Christ right now when you're surrounded by these people, you think you're going to stand for Christ when they're gone? You're not going to be ready. Either we believe what the Bible says and it affects the way that we live or we don't.

I had a conversation with my friend Friday in my office, my friend Bill. And Bill and I were talking about an accident that he and his sons went through. They were hit in a head-on collision by a drunk driver. And he and his two boys, they all should have died, but they survived. And one of the things that impressed me about Bill's testimony, he said it and it just hit me so hard.

He said, "You know, John, when that car turned toward us and came 75 miles an hour and impacted us, there wasn't even a second for me to speak a word. There was no time for me. And if I had a moment, I would have said the Lord's name. I would have called out to the Lord." He said, "I didn't even have a second." And he said, "If we weren't ready, we would have been lost, but we were ready." And he said to me, "That's why when I come to church and I see you give the call for people to come forward," he said, "I would just say to every one of those people, you don't know how much time you have. You may not even have a minute, a split second, if you're waiting." And it was so impactful for me.

The Second Coming of Christ. He returns. He is coming. "I'm the Alpha and the Omega, who was, who is, and who is to come." He is coming. You know, in the early church was suffering great persecution by the Romans, you know they encouraged one another with a word. It was an Aramaic word meaning the Lord is coming, or O come, Lord. And it was the word Maranatha. They would say that to one another, Maranatha. Like a closing greeting. "Hey, let me remind you, Maranatha." That's right. He's coming. He's coming.

Those of us who believe in Jesus should live every day as if we expect him to come at any moment, because he could. Let me ask you a question today as we close: are you ready to meet the Lord? If you're not, you can be. The Bible says these things we have written unto you that you might know that you have eternal life. And if you don't know it yet, you can know it today.

You say, "Pastor, how can I know today that I have the hope of heaven? How can I know today that when the trumpet sounds, I'm going to be caught up to be with the Lord and not left behind?" Here's how you can know, friend. You humble yourself, you repent of your sin, you turn to Christ for salvation, and he will save you and he will change your life and you'll be ready. That's how you know.

And so I want to challenge you today to be Rapture-ready, friend. And if you want to receive Christ, I'm going to give you that opportunity. If you don't know, God wants you to know. He sent Jesus because of his love for you to die on the cross. He hung there and bled for your sins and mine. And he rose again from the dead and now he offers you eternal life. And if you want to receive that and have that assurance of the hope of heaven, then as the band comes up and closes out, I'm going to give you an opportunity to get up out of your seat wherever you're at and come and stand below this platform and receive Christ.

And when you get here, I'm going to lead you in a word of prayer. Could be one of you, could be many of you. But today, if you can hear his voice, don't harden your heart. Today is the day of salvation. Don't put it off any longer. God won't force his way into your life. He knocks at the door of your heart and said if you will open it, I will come in. I'll save you and I'll change your life. Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father, we thank you this morning for the hope of heaven, for the promise of your return. Lord, I pray today that if there are any listening, hearing what I'm saying, and the Spirit of God is bringing conviction and an awareness that they need to turn and be saved, that today would be the day. Lord, not another moment, not another day would go by without responding to the love of God, without responding to Jesus as Savior and Lord. And so, Father, I pray that you would give them the courage to stand to their feet and come and pray and receive Christ today and have their eternal address altered. That they could leave this place different than when they arrived this morning. And so we ask this now in Jesus' name. Amen.

Guest (Male): Well, friend, that invitation extends to you as well. If you'd like to receive Christ today and know for certain that you are Rapture-ready and on your way to heaven, we'd love to chat with you. You can email us to get the ball rolling at adailywalk@gmail.com. Pastor John Randall's message about the Second Coming in Revelation can be heard again at adailywalk.org or through the Calvary South OC app. You can also listen wherever you get your podcasts and we're on oneplace.com as well.

Well, how's your devotional life these days? We'd like to recommend Oswald Chambers' devotional, My Utmost for His Highest. For a cost of $18, you'll receive the updated language gift edition. Now, these rather brief scripture-based readings will both comfort and challenge you in your daily walk. Discover what it means to offer God your very best for his greatest purpose. Call us at 877-242-0828 or go to adailywalk.org.

And if the Lord is leading you to take an active role in this ministry through a one-time gift or ongoing support, allow me to direct you to our website. That's a good way to donate to the ministry and it's super convenient as well. You can donate safely and securely at adailywalk.org. And while we're on the subject of devotionals, I should mention A Daily Walk devotional. A great way to start the day. These short videos are released each day at adailywalk.org, and I think you'll find them encouraging. We'll get back into Revelation chapter one next time on A Daily Walk. Pastor John will be speaking about the King of Glory. This program is made possible through your generosity and brought to you by Calvary South OC.