His Perfect Love

Guest (Male): Pastor Matt Vandervinn says the church isn't appointed unto wrath, and it's a good reason to believe the church will be raptured before the tribulation.

Matt VanderVen: The best reason for the pre-tribulation rapture because there's no condemnation. There's just no condemnation. Wrath is for the unrighteous, you know? Romans 1:18, the unrighteous who hold unrighteousness. Compare that to Romans chapter 5 verses 8 9. We are delivered people from wrath.

Guest (Male): It is time once again for his perfect love. Welcome to the program today. We're traveling through Revelation at a snail's pace as we want to glean as much from it as possible. And here lately, Pastor Matt Vandervinn has been talking about the rapture. Today, we'll hear a call to action to take the good news to a lost and dying world. The door of salvation is wide open, and the Lord is calling people to come in and be saved, and he wants to use us to tell them about it. Are you up for the challenge?

Matt VanderVen: How can you read this good book, the good news, and not come away with that same desire and passion for those that are not, for those that are being lied to, for those that are being indoctrinated in the public, in the government, in the schools, being right led right to the pit of hell? And be comfortable with that, and be okay with it like it's not my family, it's not my kid, it's not my brother, my sister, my uncle, my aunt, my nephew, my family, my friend. How do I get to a place where I can lay my head down at night or look in a mirror and know and feel comfortable with who I am when I see these things happening and I'm not being part being used by God to bring about change.

That doesn't mean I have to get on a plane and go to Africa. Means I got to walk outside. I mean, the Lord may call you to do that, by the way, and go. But if I can walk outside of my house and walk to my neighbor I promise you if you spend that time in your life, the time you have now doing the things for Christ you will not have regret when you stand before Jesus. You will not going to have regret. I can't think of anything worse than standing before the Lord knowing the truth of the gospel, knowing what I know now, and being comfortable with being indifferent.

I can't think of anything that is more satanic, demonic than turning around and knowing what he's doing and somehow looking the other way as though it's not affecting me and his creation. This is not to convict people. These are marching orders. This is a call to action from the Lord Jesus Christ because as we're going to transition here as we're going to look in verse one, he's telling us very clear, there is a door and it's standing open, and I want everybody's butt in there. Okay, he didn't say it that way. That's Pastor Matt paraphrasing.

I want everybody coming through that door. I want everybody coming in. The door is open wide. Okay? I'm just going to give you five types apologies types that we can see in scripture here, and then I'm going to go right into that, and that'll take our time here this morning. Revelation 19 7 through 8 Return with Jesus Christ, the bride makes herself ready. How can that be if she's on the earth going through the tribulation? It's not possible. We have to be up there in heaven with him, harp paused. She already had the white dress on the raiment.

Where did she get it from? From the bema seat? Yes. Second Jesus loves his bride without spot and without blemish. We need to see ourselves and others as Jesus sees us, justified. The bride that he loves dearly, John 14 He says, I'm going and I'm going to come back for you. There's an identity crisis right now in the United States of America and around the world. People are saying I'm filthy rags. Amen. We are. The second thing they say is I'm inadequate and I can do nothing good for the Lord. That's a lie from the pit of hell.

That's not true. Jesus Christ you and Jesus are a multitude. The last thing he wants to do is have you put yourself on a shelf or the enemy to convince you to put you on a shelf because he thinks I don't know how to speak. I Boy, Moses tried that. I don't have the right words. I'm not very good. Yeah. And Moses became the pastor of the first church in Israel. 2 million people. Don't tell them no. Next thing you know, you'll have like a 2 million people church, right? Be careful now. Right? Song of Solomon.

It's all about marriage, proposal, commitment. I'll come for you. Never know when he's coming for you. I want you to think of the Jewish wedding, preparing a place in the dad's house, the guy would. The wedding party goes into the wedding chamber. They're alone for 7 days. 7 interesting number, 7 years. Just them. They come out at the celebration at the end. It's a celebration at the end of the supper. And nobody can doubt that this man loves his bride. The cross. The best reason for the pre-tribulation rapture because there's no condemnation. There's just no condemnation.

Wrath is for the unrighteous, you know? Romans 1:18, the unrighteous who hold unrighteousness. Compare that to Romans chapter 5 verses 8 9. We are delivered people from wrath. And then finally five, it's finished. Romans 3 25 propitiation. You all know what that word means. It's a fancy word, means substitute. Think about it as a penal substitute or prison. So wrath for the church and bride serves no purpose. It would be like the cross didn't complete or finish the work. It was like it would be like saying to Jesus, which again I would equate the blasphemy, when he said to Leo in the Greek or Telestai conjugated, it is finished.

It's like looking at Jesus and saying, no, Jesus, you really didn't mean what you said. As though his substitute wasn't accepted by the Father in heaven, that our sins were forgiven. Otherwise, why would we be being punished when we've been forgiven already? He finished his work on the cross, and it's finished. Finished means finished. We know he did it, and therefore we're not given unto wrath. So verse one, after these things, I look and behold a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying, come up here and I will show you the things which take place after this.

I love this passage. Verse one. So we understand this is after these things. After what things? What did we just learn all about after the rapture which ends the church age? He uses this word meta tauta. So after this, after the rapture of the church culminates in the church age okay? Remember, up to this point, chapters 1 2 and 3 okay? It's very very important. Nothing in scripture have we talked about up to this point going on talking about the church going into after chapter four, okay? Up to 19 times up into chapters 1 2 and 3, not after this.

The purpose of the great tribulation is truly to deal with Israel. Did you guys know that? Primarily, and then Christ rejecting nations secondarily. Please do not misunderstand that. That is so much problems with eschatology or end times events. People are just getting this wrong biblically, and it's so clear. How do we know that God has a plan for Israel? Because he tells us over and over again, God has a plan for Israel. Ezekiel chapter 11 verse 19. I'll just read them with you this morning. Then I will give them one heart. Who's he talking about?

Israel. And I will put a new spirit within them, and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. He says he didn't say I'm done with Israel and I am calling the church now Israel. Did he say that anywhere? Nope. What about another passage? Ezekiel chapter 36 verse 26. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. Speaking of Israel again. And I will take that heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Jeremiah 31 33.

But this is the covenant. God is a promise keeper. He is a covenant keeper. He says that I will make with the house of Israel. Underline that. We can't miss it. He is not saying the church because the church isn't here. Jeremiah 31 33. We are already part of that new covenant. He says after those days, says the Lord, I will put my law in their minds, the word, and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And then in the New Testament, Hebrews chapter 8 verse 10.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord, I will put my word, my laws in their mind, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. How can anyone ever read the word of God and come to that understanding that God is talking about the church when he says Israel? And in context hermeneutically, he is talking about Israel. That's why the primary reason for the great tribulation is judgment against Israel as he's done in the past, Babylonians, the Assyrian captivities, to do what?

To write their hearts, to call out to God. And it's just when you think about it overwhelming to think it takes a great tribulation to get through to them, to say, hey, you need to call on Messiah Yeshua. You need to call on Jesus. This is what it's going to take, but they will. And that's the good news. God's a covenant keeper. They will, and then he's going to give them this new heart. And that is so wonderful that Israel's going to get saved. You see, the church hasn't replaced Israel. I can't stress this enough and to to we need to have this right understanding of Revelation and all the scriptures.

There's two different plans. Romans 11 chapter 11 verses 1 and 2. I say then, has God cast away his people? This is Paul speaking. Certainly not. For am I also am am I not also an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin? Paul God has not cast away his people whom he foreknew. Or do you not know that what the scripture says of Elijah? We talked about some of the other prophets a moment ago. Now he pleads with God against Israel. Come see, no. Okay, now is we pick up as I mentioned in verse one he says that there's a standing open door.

Jesus opened the door for all believers in heaven. This is an important point. Man locks the door from the outside. So kind of he locks it so Jesus can't get in. Does everybody get that? Because there's no lock on the inside. Jesus has turned around and and and he put a lock on the other side. Jesus said, I don't need a lock. I want to come in. And what does he say? We read it already. He's what? Knocking. And what did he say he was knocking on? The hearts that he would come in and be our Lord and Savior.

And and notice he didn't make this discriminate as where he said, well, certain people, I've created certain people to knock on their hearts and other people I don't knock on their hearts because they're destined to hell. I don't read that anywhere in scripture. As a matter of fact, again, I like the words he says after he thinks I looked and behold an open door, a door open standing in heaven. He didn't say an open door for certain people, an open door for other people. He is giving us very inclusive words here. And Jesus has unlocked that door on the inside.

Obviously, this is an invitation for all to come in. Now it's an important point. The door in heaven is open. Up to this point or from the viewpoint of Christ we've seen everything from earthbound or earth's perspective. Now John is raptured up to heaven, and he's looking at this from God's perspective. God is standing up in heaven saying, there's no gate. There's no pearly gates, and Peter's not standing there with a a clipboard, your name, social where were you born, when'd you get saved? You know why you don't need a gate? Cuz everybody's invited in.

Everyone's welcome. All come unto me, follow me. I will give you rest. God has desired that from the very beginning. We put up gates. Men, humanity puts up gates. God tears them down. That's why that word division diversity. Look at the etymology of these words. We're so worried about diversity, and all things that diversity revolve around is divisiveness cuz it divides. Jesus tells me he's a God of unity, and he brings together. Do you see what's going on here? People are buying it hook, line and sinker. They're fighting about race, they're fighting about gender, they're fighting about all these other things.

It's too bad they're not fighting about Jesus. Satan's laughing all the way to the pit of hell cuz he's got half the world confused about what's the main thing. Well as we continue reading here, it's an important point as I said, the door is open. And it's only now in chapter four does our view shift again to heaven, right? And what does John say, right? He's kind of raptured up and says in the spirit it was immediately verse two says that immediately. So we know it's a rapture. He says his voice was like a trumpet.

Now that's not saying that it sounded just like a trumpet. It was like. I was fortunate just a couple of weeks ago to go one of one of my most favorite events in my life. I got to just go see one of the brothers in this fellowship perform trumpet. He was playing. And it was a recital, and I got to go watch him and and I attended that and I sat there, and it was really precious because I am looking at this young man. You know when you look at somebody and you know they were meant to do this and they're using the gifting of God to do it, it's the gift of the Holy Spirit, you get to watch it there's nothing like it.

I watched this man take that trumpet, and I was thinking of this very passage that I am covering in the scriptures. And he takes that trumpet and it's so it sound is so unique, it's beautiful. But when he starts playing it, it doesn't sound any like anybody learning to play trumpet like you know? It's not what we might think of this loud, obnoxious. It was actually very beautiful. It was very controlled, it was measured and it was very natural. Just watching him. It reminds me of when God came to Elijah. He says it came to him with a still small voice.

It wasn't this overwhelming, overpowering feeling. It was something that when we hear God there's that peace that comes over us. Almost like you know what I am talking about. If you've had the Lord visit you, it's that presence of just everything washes out that you know supernatural moment is happening and it's you and Jesus. And all these things just fade away when you are with the Lord. I pray all of you have had that experience with the Lord in your prayer closet. John's having that experience. He's with God and he's He says he hears him, it's like a trumpet.

He says, come up here. That's the first words he hears. He's raptured up. Come up here, John. It's an invitation. The first thing that Jesus gives him is an invitation. He's given all the world an invitation. Come unto me. John is doing his best in terms to describe this. Don't get up to heaven and go, that sounds like a tuba. That didn't sound like a trumpet. Like this is he means like or as. It's a simile. It is loud, it's clear, but it's beautiful. And I believe it involves all of our senses before the fall.

You think of taste, you think of sound. Have you thought about the senses? You ever if something happens in the hair and the chicken goosebumps you guys call it here. We call it chicken skin. The chicken skin come goosebumps comes up and and and you feel it on the back. You know what I am talking about? When you get that feeling say Rochester, New York, Buffalo thing, chicken skin. If you are wondering where it comes from. The goosebumps it's that I wonder in heaven are our senses going to be kind of pricked that way, just heightened pre fall?

I think it's second is what about the viability of the rapture? Is there anybody here wondering how's that work? What's it look like? You just saw it. You read it. John just said the Lord told him, come up here and I will show you what things must take place. He's got to be in heaven to see this from God's perspective. And what's it say in verse two, the first word? Circle that in your Bible. Immediately. Is is that not what we read in 1 Corinthians 15 50 that it was in a twinkling of an eye?

It was immediate. 200 milliseconds. The purpose of the shift from perspective and view is to show John who is the inspired author here, the viewpoint necessary to understand what's going to take place in the third section of Jesus's outline to us in this book of Revelation. And that's where we're going to be continuing to move next week if you should tear it. Our focus is going to shift from this present age. And I hope you are ready for this. This is going to be heavy and deep. You know, many of us think about COVID and we talked about millions.

One's too many to die, but we saw millions die. I just want you all to think about what it's going to be like when there's 2 billion people that are missing off the face of this earth because of death within weeks to a month. How did the world handle when millions were dying? Everything shut down, didn't it? We couldn't get toilet paper. We couldn't get common household items, right? I want you to I am glad you don't have to be here, and I don't have to be here, but I want you to think about when I say you should have such a burning heart for the lost I want you to think about what you were feeling and thinking initially when COVID came out.

We didn't know how scary it was going to be. We didn't know if it was Ebola at first, right? We didn't know the severity of it. They were shutting everything down. Remember how you felt isolated? You couldn't leave your home. Part of you were like, great, I can work from the house. This is wonderful. But a part of you were like I just want to go outside. We're in New York where I have a lot of friends and there are many. They weren't they would be under house arrest if they went outside. They had sheriffs driving by their house.

New York's very liberal, okay? Sheriffs were driving around a person's house. I happen to know somebody's a good friend of mine, a doctor, his son was or excuse me, his cousin got the COVID very early case out of college, came home, and the sheriff came by his office, said I need to take a report who's living in this house. According to our records, this is who lives here. I need to see you all here because we have a reported COVID case here. Uh none of you to leave. If I find out that any of you leave, I will be taking you into custody.

This happened. This is not this I know for a fact. This is not a oh I heard or what I I know for a fact this happened. There's a trusted source. I just I am bringing this back to what it was like in that moment, okay? Just want us all tuned in. Now imagine what that's going to be like when you have 2 billion people that are dying because of water streams being contaminated, air being contaminated. All these things on earth, earthquakes, things that you and I can't even imagine nor would we ever want to.

That is how devastating this is going to be. That that's the passage we can read to go into. These are heavy and sobering things. I want us coming and I want us to come with an intention. It's not a game. We are not here to play church. This isn't just for us to learn and then keep to ourselves. The reason that Jesus used this and gave us this account, this remember Revelation Apocalypse means unveiling. I spent all that time in the Greek in the beginning. He is unveiling this to you and I for several reasons.

One that we can reach the lost and the prodigals and let them know this is what's coming, and don't grow weary telling people about me because I am coming really soon, and this is what's going to happen. So it's a call to action. Everybody agree Jesus wants us to be about this call to action, and it should burden our hearts for it. The second thing for the born again believer in Christ gathered here it's actually meant to bring a calmness over us because if we were worried about our loved ones that are saved and our friends and things and we are going out and we are doing this I have always said if something ever goes down, I would love everybody to come and report to the church.

And the reason I want that is I want first of all I want some worship. Secondly, I want us praying, all of us, everyone of you, family, friend. You get everybody here. We can fill this place up. It's fine. Third thing, we get rice, we get things that we have for preparation that we have always I am always thinking this way. We can be off grid here. We have uh we have our own water well and treatment center. There's a reason the Lord allowed us to put that in here. We have our own waste system here.

When this comes down, we're not going to be in the great tribulation, but just things getting heavier. We're going to come together. You know what we're going to do? We're going to pray, and we're going to break up into teams. We're going to take food, we're going to take things out. And you know what? We're not worried about our souls cuz we're intact. But we're going to go out and reach people that the rest of the world is afraid to go. Just like when, you know, everything else happened, they hunkered down. They're afraid to go out.

You know Calvary Chapel up in where I am from in Finger Lakes is doing? This the system pastors were right in the midst of COVID in the beginning of it, taking food, taking things and setting up meal what we call meal trains, but bandwidth we are going out and they were giving food out right away. And what happens if you get sick and die? Well, I know I am going. I am not it doesn't change anything I am doing. I am I am sad. Why do I got to worry about that? I am going. I am going to go to go.

That's what we need to be like. We need to have that settled in here so when things do start getting intense more than they are, that we're not afraid. And Jesus Look, it's very simple. If if how many of you when you go on a vacation love to get to the destination, but the traveling in the in between are kind of like you maybe a little anxiety, a little fear and trepidation about that, right? But when you get to the place you are finally at, you don't want to leave and you even want to extend the vacation if you can, right?

Cuz you are having a great time and you are you are enjoying it. How about those that when something new is going to come, you get a little anxiety, a little nervous about that? But when somebody explains to you step one, step two, step three, step four oh okay, so this is what's going to happen, and then this is what's going to happen, and and what does that do to your stress level? It brings it down. What does that do to your anxiety? It brings it down. Why? Because you understand what's coming. You're not afraid of the unknown.

Sometimes the fear of the unknown is worse than the actual situation in itself. Jesus knows us because he created us. So the second reason that he gave us this is so that everyone of us gathered here today doesn't have to have fear anymore. Doesn't have to be anxious about leaving their homes. Doesn't have to be anxious about being wherever, doing whatever because you're invincible in the will of God. He's told you what's coming, and it's not going to happen to the church. We're out of here. So let's take every moment of every day, all of our resources and time, all the things we can do to be all about Jesus, to be all about God so that we're not playing church, so that we're not playing Christian, and so that we don't turn around and hold on to the things of this world, have a loose grip, enjoy being saved, enjoy knowing that you're whole and right with the Lord.

And now answer the call to action that Jesus gave each and every one of us through his great commission. I always say it, be the hands and feet of Jesus. Be the end of agent of change. Amen.

Guest (Male): You're listening to his perfect love and a study in Revelation chapter four about the rapture and our call to reach out to the lost around us. Pastor Matt Vandervinn's messages are archived for you at his perfect love.org and oneplace.com and look for us wherever you get your podcasts. We also offer a mobile app. This is a great way to take Pastor Matt's teachings with you on the go. You can learn more about the mobile app and start your download when you visit our website his perfect love.org. We can't thank you enough for your prayers for this ministry.

Please pray that as God's word goes forth that lives will be greatly impacted for the glory of God, and people would grow by his grace and love, or even enter into a relationship with him. And if you have a prayer request, please send that our way. You can email that to us through our website at his perfect love.org. If you live in the Mechanicsburg, PA area, we hope you'll stop by for a visit just like you hear on the radio. Pastor Matt teaches verse by verse through the Bible here at Calvary Chapel, Harrisburg, Westshore. Sunday morning services begin at 8:30 and 10:30.

We have a midweek gathering on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. We're located at 28 North Locust Point Road in Mechanicsburg, PA. Go to ccharrisburg.org for more information. And then join us next time when Pastor Matt will pick up where we left off in Revelation here on his perfect love.

Matt VanderVen: His perfect love is brought to you by Calvary Chapel, Harrisburg, Westshore.