Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: I believe the Bible is very clear and tells us that Jesus Christ will take his church, his bride, his wife, out of this world seven years before the great tribulation before it comes. That's why the rapture of the church is such an important doctrine to the church.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. It is good to have you with us today as we continue our study of the spiritual realm and the life beyond what our eyes can see.

Today, Raul will challenge us to daily anticipate Jesus' return. The world is spiraling into deep spiritual darkness, but you can walk in the hope and light of Christ. Through his salvation, he's guaranteed your future in a heavenly home no matter what lies ahead in the final days of world history. Our study today is titled "The Church in Heaven." Here's Raul Ries.

Raul Ries: This morning, what we want to do is we want to look at the Book of Revelation once again. For many of you that have never studied the Book of Revelation, some people think it's a very hard book to be understood. In chapter one, you have the introduction to the book. Chapters two and three, very easy to remember, seven churches, speaking of the church age.

Then in chapters four and five, the church is no longer in the earth but it's in heaven now. Then in chapters six through 18, you have the last seven years of world history. Then in chapter 19, you have the second coming of Jesus Christ. And in chapters 20 to 22, you have the actual kingdom age, the new heavens, and the new earth. That's the outline to the book.

But this morning, we want to see now that the church history and the church age now has come to an end. What happens to the church after the church age comes to an end? We find out in chapter four of Revelation. We're only going to take the one verse this morning, chapter four, verse one. Why don't you turn there with me in the Book of Revelation.

It says, "After these things I looked, 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 things which must take place after this.'" That is the word 'meta tauta' in the Greek, after these things.

Now, John finds himself in the Isle of Patmos. The Lord came to him. What is amazing is that John is the only survivor out of all 12 apostles. One committed suicide, the others were killed or martyred. John was taken and placed in the Isle of Patmos to not only be in prison there, but for the rest of his life until he would die because he would not bow his knees to Caesar Nero and say, "Caesar is Lord."

But there in the Isle of Patmos, Jesus came to him and revealed himself to him completely. John never expected it, that Jesus would use him to reveal to him not only the past but present and looking to the future of the church and what would happen at the end of the world. Now John, coming to the end of the church age, what do we mean by the end of the church age?

There is a period of time that is coming upon the world. The Bible calls it the Great Indignation, or Jacob's Trouble, or the last seven years of world history, or the 70th week of Daniel as it is called. This will be the last seven years of world history where God will deal with the nation of Israel and God will bring his wrath upon an unbelieving world like the world has never seen before in history.

It will be a time of great, great wrath on the earth. And yet to us, it's really no shock because we read the Bible, we study the Bible, we know what Jesus said, we know what the Bible says about the last days, especially what is going to take place upon the earth. And yet, we are living in a period of time where we, the church of Jesus Christ, is coming to a time of distress, but a time where we're not only believing but looking forward to the coming of the Lord.

This great event that is going to take place, which already should have taken place but it hasn't, because it has been promised to the church for 1900 years, and it is called the rapture of the church. Where the true church of Jesus Christ will be taken to heaven. That's where John is caught up in chapter four, verse one of Revelation, being taken to heaven before this great period of time for seven years that comes upon the world, a time of indignation, a time of wrath, a time of trouble that unless those days were shortened, no flesh will be able to survive it.

The world has never seen that before. And yet, on the other side, there are those people that do not believe that Jesus is going to come. There are those that study theology, you have what they call pre-rapture, post-rapture, and mid-rapture. These are three camps of belief. Number one, pre, which means that we believe that these things will happen before the last seven years. God will take his church out.

The mid-raptureists believe that the actual rapture will happen in the middle of the tribulation period, and the church will go through the first three and a half years and then be taken to heaven. And the post-raptureists believe that the church will go through the whole seven-year period, and at the end of seven years will be taken up and immediately come back down with Christ. I don't believe that.

I believe the Bible is very clear and tells us that Jesus Christ will take his church, his bride, his wife, out of this world seven years before the great tribulation, before it comes. That's why the rapture of the church is such an important doctrine to the church. To me, it's amazing and it must have been amazing to John when he was caught up, 'harpazo', into heaven.

Did you notice very clearly in chapter four of Revelation verse one, that it says, "As I was looking, behold, a door standing open in heaven." He informs us that there's a door in heaven when you get there. Jesus talked about him being the door to the sheepfold. "I am the door," he said.

It's pretty interesting because those people that he's talking about are those people that have made their commitment through faith in Jesus Christ, receiving, accepting Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. I think that we have to be very careful because many times there are people that are trying to push and shove and actually bring loved ones and friends into the kingdom that are not born again of the Holy Spirit because we love them so much.

We want to believe that they're going to be with us forever. But the Bible's very clear that whether it's your mother or your father, or your grandparents, or your sons or your daughters, or nephews or nieces, or even friends, that unless they're born again of the Holy Spirit, they will never be able to see God unless they come to repentance and through faith in Jesus Christ receive the Lord Jesus Christ into their hearts. Regeneration, not religion. That's the key. You have to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

Because there are people that are going to be left behind. That's the other side of the coin. As people are going to be taken up, people will be left. That's going to be a time where a husband and wife and children will come to a great separation. When the Lord comes as a thief in the night and the trumpet will sound, and one shall be taken and the other left. That's what the Bible teaches.

Now, concerning the rapture of the church, it will be an event where the Lord will use this event to deliver his church from that place that is coming or that thing that is coming at the end. Where unless those days were shortened, no flesh will be able to survive it. As a matter of fact, in Matthew 24:15, Jesus said, "Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, whoever reads it, let him understand."

He's speaking of the antichrist. He's speaking of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem by the Jews. He's speaking about the tribulation, this period of time that is coming upon the earth. Even Jesus himself, in talking to the disciples when he was getting ready to go to Jerusalem and he only had a week left and they were going to kill him.

In instructing the disciples for three and a half years, he had told them over and over that Jesus had to go to Jerusalem. And that he was going to be betrayed and that they were going to arrest him. They were going to scourge him, they were going to mock him, and then they were going to crucify him and put a crown of thorns on his head. And eventually, he would die on the cross for the sins of the world. When they heard that he was going to be leaving, they got really bummed out.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Connect with us anytime at somebodylovesyou.com for scripture-rich resources to strengthen and support you as you journey with Jesus. And Raul's four-lesson "Heaven or Hell" series is available on both CD and thumb drive. We'll tell you how you can get a copy in just a few minutes. But first, here's more with Raul Ries.

Raul Ries: So he writes in John 14 verses one through four to the disciples and he says, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions and if it were not so, I would have told you. But I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself so that where I am, there you also will be with me."

What a great promise he made to us. Not only to his disciples, I'm a disciple of Christ. You're a disciple of Christ. The promise is to each one of us individually. I believe that the rapture of the church can happen at any time. When Paul the apostle was in Thessalonica writing his epistle, First and Second Thessalonians, there was a problem in the city among the believers.

Many of the believers' family members had died. And they were asking the question, as Paul was teaching, saying, "Well, look, if this is true and my mother or my father have died, and the Lord is going to come and take us with himself, are we going to have our family there that have known the Lord?" And Paul said, "Yes."

He said, "Listen, in First Thessalonians chapter four, verse 13 through 18, listen to what he said: 'But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep or who have died, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.'" Who doesn't have any hope? The unbeliever. Christians have hope, you see?

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have died in Jesus." You notice what he's saying? That Jesus is going to be coming with our loved ones and our friends. My father, my father-in-law, my grandmothers. They're going to be coming one day in the clouds with the Lord.

And then what? "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have died." You see? They're there, we're not. But we will be. How? "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first."

Listen, when a person dies, where does the spirit go? Immediately to the Lord. There is no soul sleep. He doesn't have to wait till the Lord comes. The body is buried without the soul and without the spirit. It's gone. Here the Lord is saying that the dead in Christ are going to be coming with Jesus, then we which are alive and remain, look what he says.

"And the dead in Christ will rise first, and then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." There's going to be a reunion of those loved ones and friends as we are caught up. The word "caught up" here is the word 'harpazo'.

There's no word 'rapture' in English in the Bible. It's used 'caught up'. 'Harpazo' means a snatching away in a twinkling of an eye. He says we'll be with him in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air. "And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." We are to comfort. I'm trying to comfort you this morning.

That when we die or if the rapture of the church takes place and we go to heaven, what happens in heaven? When we get to heaven, it will be a place that we will spend for seven years during the last seven years of world history where we will go first of all to the Bema Seat of Christ. That is, we will go to be judged.

I thought you said we already been judged for our sins? That's right, on Calvary when we repented and accepted Christ. But as believers, we're going to be judged for our works, our motives. Why did I pray? Why did I give? Why did I go to church? Why did I witness? All these things that we do for the Lord will be tried by the fire.

Whatever comes out of the fire, that will be your reward. And if nothing comes out of the fire, you will be saved as by the fire. Because salvation is the free gift of God given to us. So it's pretty clear what he says here to each one of us. That's why it's very important not only to know the Lord but to know that one day we are going to be seized upon.

We're going to be snatched away in a twinkling of an eye. Historically, the Bible tells us that. As a matter of fact, when Jesus was teaching and he was talking in the Gospel of Luke. Luke writes to us in Luke 21:34 through 36, and listen to what he says as he's talking about the last days.

He says, "But take heed to yourself, lest your hearts be over-weighted down with carousing, drunkenness, cares of this life, and that day would come upon you unexpectedly." We don't know when it's going to happen. He says, "For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the earth," speaking of the tribulation.

"Watch or be on the alert therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that are going to come to pass and stand before the Son of Man." Jesus is saying that we would pray that we would be counted worthy to escape all these things that are going to be coming on the earth.

Then again, in teaching in Matthew's Gospel on the coming of the Lord, Matthew 24:40 through 51 he said, "Then two will be in the field, one shall be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one shall be taken, the other left. Watch or be on the alert therefore, for you do not know the hour your Lord is coming.

But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief would have come, he would have been watching and never allowed his house to be broken into." Watching. "Therefore you also be ready for the Son of Man is coming in an hour when you don't expect him. Who then is a faithful and wise servant whom his master made him ruler over his household to give them food in due season?

Oh, how happy is the servant whom his master when he comes will find him so doing the will of God. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master delays his coming. He's not coming,' and he begins to beat his servants, to eat and drink and get drunk with the drunkards.

The master of that servant will come on a day when he's not looking for him and an hour when he's not aware of and he will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." He's warning to be ready. You don't know when he's going to come. Don't get caught doing something you're not supposed to be doing. Be ready.

Now meanwhile we wait for the Lord to come, what should we be doing? Number one, we should be truly waiting for him to come. Waiting with great expectancy by faith. Secondly, we need to be looking for the coming of the Lord. Titus tells us, "Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ."

So if we're waiting and looking, what's the next thing? We need to be ready for his coming. We need to prepare. We need to get things right. In Matthew 24:42 he said, "Be on the alert. Watch therefore, for you do not know the hour your Lord is coming." And if we are waiting, looking, and getting ready, what's the next thing that we should do?

We should love the coming of the Lord. In Second Timothy 4:8 he says, "Finally, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to everyone who has the love of God because he's coming again. Who love his appearing." We love that he's coming again.

So if we're waiting, looking, and getting ready, and love his coming, what's the next thing we should do? We should be praying. Praying for your loved ones, praying for your children, praying for your grandchildren, great-grandchildren, praying for your friends, praying for the church. Because he said, "He who testifies of these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

Guest (Male): It is natural to feel anxiety as headlines fill us with accounts of war and economic instability, but we hope you've been reassured today by God's promise of a future with no fear or suffering. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Today's message was titled "The Church in Heaven."

For a donation of five dollars or more, we'll be happy to send you a complete unedited version with much more teaching. Just call us at 800-634-9165. And to further anchor your heart in this eternal hope of heaven, we'd like to offer you Raul's four-part series titled "Heaven or Hell." It's available on CD or USB.

It's a study that will challenge you to consider whether you're truly ready to stand before the Lord, either at the end of your life or when Christ returns. You'll see the urgency of true faith and repentance as you look to him for the forgiveness of your sins. Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order Raul's four-lesson "Heaven or Hell" series.

We'll send you the CD set for 18 dollars or the flash drive for 10 dollars. That's 800-634-9165. Our mailing address if you'd like to order by writing is Somebody Loves You Radio, Post Office Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. Whether you're at home, at work, or out and about, you can access our many free resources.

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This is a listener-supported ministry, and we're thankful for your partnership as we share the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. Next time on Somebody Loves You Radio, we'll get more insights into God's requirements for entrance into heaven. You'll find freedom in the certainty of salvation based on grace and not good works. Now with a closing thought from today's study, here's Raul once again.

Raul Ries: And in conclusion, there was an inscription on a British old cemetery that read like this: "Pause my friend as you walk by. As you are now, once I was. As I am now, so you will be. Prepare, my friend, to follow me." A visitor who read the epitaph added these lines: "To follow you is not my intent until I know where you went."

Good point. We need to know where we're going. And this morning the Lord has told us where we are going: to heaven. If we believe and put our trust in faith in Jesus Christ, we're hooked up to heaven. Amen.