Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Some of God's mysteries are meant to be understood, and others are not. In this series of messages, our Bible teacher, Pastor Al Runge, discusses the mysteries of the kingdom of God. I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pen and paper ready. And now, with today's message, here's Pastor Al Runge.

Pastor Al Runge: Thank you for tuning in. I am concluding my series on the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Today, I want to focus on the mystery of the day of the Lord. At the very beginning of the church in the first century, false teachers flooded the young church with false doctrine. Satan seeks to infiltrate the church with his agents of deceit.

The apostle Paul warned the leaders of the church of this satanic strategy in Acts 20:29: “For I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” The object of false teachers is to make disciples for themselves, not for the Lord Jesus. They do it in order to gain spiritual control over God's flock.

False teachers troubled the believers in the early church, and Paul had to write to the church that was in Thessalonica. Listen to what he had said in his epistle in Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 1: “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 has already come.” Those false teachers were frauds. They even made counterfeit letters from the apostle Paul to deceive the church.

In this passage, the apostle Paul wrote about our Lord's return in two separate events. First, Paul spoke about the gathering together of believers to be with Jesus, which refers to the rapture of the church. Secondly, Paul spoke of the coming of the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, which refers to the day of the Lord. Don't confuse the two events that are separated by seven years of the Great Tribulation. Notice what Paul says in verse 3: “Let no one deceive you by any means, for that day, that is the day of the Lord, will not come unless the falling away comes first.”

I believe that the falling away does not refer to the apostasy of the church because the church has always had trouble with apostasy. Paul is referring to the apostasy of the entire world. Look with me at Revelation 13:8: “All who dwell on the earth will worship the beast, that is the Antichrist, those whose names were not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” So the day of the Lord will not come until after the revelation of the Antichrist. This is not speaking of the rapture that can take place at any time.

There are those who misinterpret this passage by teaching that the rapture cannot take place before the coming of the Antichrist and at the end of the Great Tribulation. They confuse the rapture with the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. The rapture and the day of the Lord are different events. Here are some of the major differences. First, in the rapture, our Lord comes to deliver us from the wrath to come in the Great Tribulation. Look at First Thessalonians 1:10: “Wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

However, the purpose of the day of the Lord is to execute the wrath of God on the earth. Look with me at Revelation 19:15: “Our Lord Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” So in the rapture of the church, Jesus comes to deliver us from the wrath to come in the Great Tribulation. But on the day of the Lord, Jesus comes to execute the wrath of God on a rebellious creation. Now, secondly, in the rapture we are caught up to celebrate our unity with Jesus. Look with me at Revelation 19:9: “Then he said to me, ‘Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’”

The official uniting of the church with her Lord in an eternal unity is compared to an earthly marriage feast. In an allegorical sense, Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. All heaven will be there for the celebration of the unity of the church with her Lord. After the marriage feast is completed, then the day of the Lord takes place. Listen to what the Jewish prophets had to say about the day of the Lord. Isaiah 13:6: “Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.” In Isaiah 34:8: “For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion.”

Look at Joel 2:31: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.” Our Lord Jesus comes to make war with the nations and to judge them. So let's look again at Revelation 19:11. Look what John wrote. He said: “I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True,” that's Jesus, “and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns.”

Thirdly, let's talk about the difference between the rapture and the day of the Lord. In the rapture, Christ comes for His saints, and it is a secret event. Look with me at First Thessalonians 4:16 and 17: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, 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 clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” Listen, we're going to be with Jesus forever. We’re caught up immediately.

Now, on the day of the Lord, Jesus comes back with His saints. He comes first for His saints; seven years later He comes back with His saints, and it is a visible return. Revelation 19:13: “His name is called the Word of God.” Who is the Word of God? Jesus is the Word of God. “And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.” The saints do not come in battle armor and with weapons to fight, but they are dressed in the fine linen of priestly garments. They do not need to engage in the fight against the enemies of God because the Lord fights against them with His word.

Listen to verse 15: “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations.” Let me set the prophetic scene up for you. Picture this. The armies of the entire world gather together to attack the Jews, and then Jerusalem falls. The end of Israel's existence is threatened. And then suddenly heaven opens, and the Messiah returns visibly with His saints. He speaks one word, and look what happens in Zechariah 14:12: “This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. On that day, men shall be stricken by the Lord with great panic.”

Can you picture it? One word from our Lord's mouth and a million soldiers will disintegrate instantaneously while still standing on their feet with weapons in their hands. They were wanting to destroy the Jews forever, but one word from the Son of God and those armies will dissolve. Look with me at Second Thessalonians 2:8: “And then the lawless one,” the Antichrist, “will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”

The Lord doesn't return just to fight and to judge the world, but He comes to rule the world for one thousand years. Revelation 19:15 tells us: “And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.” The Lord is coming to dissolve all the governments of the earth and to sit on the revived throne of David in the renewed temple at Jerusalem. He shall rule the world with a rod of iron for a thousand years.

The reason for His iron rule on the earth is obvious, because mankind will still have their sinful and rebellious natures during the Millennium. Now, look with me at verse 16. That's in Revelation 19:16: “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” The word king denotes political power and the word Lord denotes ownership. He owns the world and all that is in it because He created it all.

We will return with Him to be His kings and His lords. He shares His reign and ownership with all His saints. Listen to Daniel the Jewish prophet in Daniel 7:18: “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.” You see, in Christ, we have an incredible inheritance. Look with me at Romans 8:16: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” What an inheritance! We shall inherit all things through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, you cannot be neutral in this spiritual conflict. You're either with Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, or you're against Him. Now, the invitation is still out for you. The invitation to come, to repent of your own works, to trust in Jesus, to be reconciled with God. But the day is coming, if you do not receive the love of the truth, if you do not receive Jesus, if you do not accept the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation through His shed blood, then you will be with the enemy. You will be with the Antichrist, and you will face the judgment and wrath of God.

So I plead with you, receive the Lord Jesus Christ now. Receive Him in your life while this is still the day of salvation. This is not the day of His wrath. That's my prayer for all of you. As you listen, that you might receive Jesus. And if you've already received Him, you might share this wonderful message of reconciliation with those whom you know. Well, may God bless you, and that's my prayer for you, that God will bless you with truth and understanding and insight. And I pray for this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Pastor Runge. We've been listening to Pastor Al Runge teach on the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God. If you would like to have your own copy of this series, or perhaps you'd like to share it with a friend, you'll be glad to know that it's available on convenient compact disc. Just ask for ART-24, the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God. It's available for a suggested contribution of just $6 or more.

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And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. This is Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick begins his series on the Second Coming of Elijah, right here on Messianic Perspectives. Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries of San Antonio, Texas, and is made possible on this station by the freewill contributions of our listeners in this area.