John Hagee - The Mysteries of God
Today, "The Mysteries of God". Saint Paul told the Corinthian church that he was the steward of the mysteries of God in 1 Corinthians 4:1. Then in 1 Corinthians 15, he shares with the New Testament church one of the greatest mysteries of the Bible, and that is The Rapture of the Church. Read with me 1 Corinthians 15:51 and 52. "Behold I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump. For the trumpet will sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed".
Father, thank you for this mystery that's been revealed: and that we are looking for the imminent return of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for His bride for the meeting in the air. And all of God's children said, amen.
You may be seated. Let me explain the word "Mystery". A mystery in the Bible is something God knows but has not yet been revealed to men on earth. The historical setting is when Jesus left the earth, he told his disciples, "If I go again, I am going to come and to receive you unto myself". Well, they thought that he was going to be back in a matter of days. Days passed to months and months became years. And then believers began to die. And they went to Paul and said, "What is the fate of those who are dying? What is their relationship now to the Lord"? And saint Paul said, "Behold, I show you a mystery," something God has not revealed to the church before. "We shall not all sleep in death, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye".
How fast is that? It's faster than the batting of an eye. The batting of an eye requires a neurological stimulus to go to the brain and back. The twinkling of an eye is just the conscious recognition that it has gone just one way. Bang! It's the shortest definition of time possible with speech. We are just simply going to be here and then disappear from this planet. We'll just not be here anymore. We'll be in the presence of God.
The Archangel is going to blow the trumpet. Why is a trumpet going to be blown? Because in the Bible the blowing of the trumpet was the announcing of royalty. Jesus Christ is royalty. He's King of all kings. He's Lord of all lords. He is the Prince of Peace. His name is the name that's above every name. He is higher than the highest. He is greater than the greatest. He is the Almighty, all-knowing Son of the living God. Give him praise in this house.
When he sets his throne up in Jerusalem, kings, queens, mighty men of wealth and power from around the world are going to walk up Ben Yehuda Street and bow before the carpenter's son, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. "The dead shall be raised," Paul said, "In perfect health, and the living shall be changed instantly, rising to meet the Lord in the clouds of heaven". Why is the Lord coming into the clouds? Because Jesus is the bridegroom, and he is coming down to meet the bride. Just as in an earthly wedding, the groom leaves the platform and goes down to meet his bride, so is Jesus leaving the throne of his Father to stand in the clouds to receive you, and you, and you. When the trump of God shall sound, boom, we're in the presence of Jesus Christ!
If the rapture is going to happen, why now? Give me five major reasons that the rapture is going to happen now, from the Bible. First is the super sign, the rebirth of Israel. Why are you so sure? Listen very closely. Because the Antichrist is going to sign a seven-year treaty with Israel. Obviously, Israel has to be a nation before they can sign that treaty. Logic says that Israel has to be reborn to be there. Israel has to be reborn to satisfy all of the prophecy's of Daniel, of Ezekiel that God is going to gather the exiles from their gentile graves and bring them to the land that God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Israel became a state may 14, 1948. The Bible says, "Shall a nation be born in a day"? Yes, that nation was Israel, and that day was may 14, 1948 when the prophetic clock of God began to tick, saying that we were in the end times. We have come to the place to recognize now that Jerusalem is unified to the state of Israel. It happened june 6, 1967. The Bible says, "When Jerusalem is no longer trodden down by the gentiles, then shall the end times be," Luke 21:24. "Then shall the end come". The explosion of the age of apostasy, listen to this very closely because apostasy is the sign that saint Paul gave in the book of Romans 1:21. "Apostasy" means a departure from the faith. "Apostasy" means to revolt against God. Paul paints the portrait of apostasy in Romans 1. He writes, "Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were they thankful, but became futile in their thoughts. And their foolish hearts were darkened".
"Darkened" could be translated "Demonized". Start with the first thing. They knew God but they did not glorify God. The fact is God will not share his glory with anyone. The Lord's Prayer, "For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory", for how long? "Forever". When I say, "Give him praise and glory," it's a Bible requirement. It's not a religious phrase, because refusing to give God the glory that's due his name, that's due the sacrifice he has done to redeem us unto himself to make us kings and priests unto God, giving him highest praise and honor, to refuse to do that is apostasy. It's a departure from the faith. Right now, give the Lord a shout of praise and glory due his name!
The fourth evidence that we're in the last days is the knowledge explosion. God gave this to Daniel 12:4: God said to Daniel, "Daniel, shut up the book that you're writing until the time of the end". That's a quote. "When many shall run to and fro". I'm sure he was watching the 5 o'clock traffic jams on 1604. "When many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be greatly increased". Daniel was saying, there will come a generation where the knowledge just as an absolute hockey stick, it accelerates suddenly.
From ancient times until the 20th century, men rode horses. They rode in chariots. They went in wagons. Then in one century came the knowledge explosion, the 20th century. My mother went to church for the first time in a wagon drawn by mules. And then came cars, and then trains, and airplanes, and jets. And then we put a man on the moon. In just a few years, we went from smoke signals to a telegraph, to telephone, to global television and telephones. You've got a telephone in your purse or probably looking at it right now. That telephone will tell you how to get home if you forget where you are.
The fifth evidence of the end of days is globalism. Every since Genesis 10 and 11, when satan ruled the world through one man by the name of Nimrod, satan's goal has been to get the world together so that he could rule and control humanity. And he's going to do that in the near future. A Hollywood movie star said, just the other day, "The world is falling apart". Yes, it is. And the Antichrist is standing just off stage in the shadows, waiting to become the new Caesar of planet earth, because he's going to restructure it into a godless, God-hating world that he rules.
You have two options, to know and to serve Jesus Christ, or to know and to serve the Antichrist. But you're going to serve one of those two. Who have you chosen? What happens to the Old Testament believers? Recognize that Old Testament believers are already in heaven. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Matthew 8:11: they're already there. The Bible says, "They will come and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob". You can't sit down with them unless they're there". There's king David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Elijah, Enoch, Elisha, and many others. God will resurrect the bodies of Old Testament believers at the time of his second coming to earth, after the seven years of tribulation.
Listen to Isaiah 26:16 and 19, speaking of Old Testament, Jewish believers. "But those who die in the Lord will live. Their bodies will rise again. Those who sleep in the earth will rise and sing for joy: for your life giving light will fall like a dew on your people". "Your people" there is the Jewish people. Isaiah was a Jewish prophet. He was writing to the Jewish people in the place of the dead. Confirmation comes a second time from Daniel, Daniel 12:1 through 4. "At that time, Michael shall stand up". Michael is the Archangel. "The great prince who stands watch over your people". That's God speaking to Daniel. Daniel is Jewish. "Your people" would be the Jewish people. The book of Daniel was written by a Jew to the Jews about Jewish history.
Listen to me. The church was not born until acts 2. There was no such thing as a Christian until that time. We are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. "There shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. And at that time," Daniel, "Your people" (the Jewish people), "Will be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book of life". So God obviously has a book of life for the righteous Jews. "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame, and some to everlasting contempt".
Daniel 12:2 speaks of the resurrection of Old Testament believers, "After a time of trouble," meaning the great tribulation. Daniel locates the resurrection of Old Testament saints, the Jewish people, after the great tribulation and before the millennial reign. Listen closely because few of you have ever heard this in your life. There is a 75-day gap between Christ touching down on the Mount of Olives and his starting the millennial reign. You find that in Daniel 12:11 through 12. That means that righteous Jews will be front and center in the millennial reign.
How do you know this? Because Zechariah says, in the 8th chapter, 23rd verse, "In those days, ten men from every language of the world," that would be gentiles. "Shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, 'let us gentiles go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.'" Why would gentile Christians be grabbing a Jewish man by the sleeve during the millennial reign, a thousand years of peace? Because during the millennial reign, Jesus Christ, a Jewish rabbi, is going to keep two feasts. One of them is the passover and the other is going to be the feast of tabernacles. Hum. Few gentiles know that. Fewer gentiles understand the feasts at all.
This happens during the 75-day gap that exists between Jesus' touchdown on the Mount of Olives and the official opening of the millennial reign. The next prophetic thing to happen is the rapture of the church. I've told you why. As soon as the bride of Christ goes to heaven, we're going to experience the Judgment Seat of Christ. That means you are going to answer to God for how you lived your Christian life, every word, every thought, every deed. Your works will be tried by fire. And if any of your works were impure, they will be burned by fire. Not you, your works will be burned by fire. Why? Because only pure things are going to stay in heaven. Then God is going to reward you with a crown.
There's one of five different kinds of crowns. And you're going receive a robe of righteousness. The Revelation said, "The robe of righteousness is the reflection of your righteous acts". You, right now, are getting dressed for a party that's going to last for seven years. There's going to be a marriage supper that's seven years long. Some theologians say it may last for a thousand years. And here's why. Because in the Bible, when a girl got married, the wedding reception was a reflection of the father's wealth. For some, that may have been an afternoon tea. If your daddy was really wealthy, it could last all week. Some lasted for as much as two weeks. But we're going to something that lasts, guaranteed, for seven years. And some think for longer than that. Why? Because God is our Father and he owns all the gold and silver in the world. He has unlimited resources. There's no reason for the party to end when we come back to earth the second time. Hum.
Think about that. Ah. The marriage supper is seven years. The second coming, Christ returns to Jerusalem. He'll be followed by the Old Testament saints, the New Testament church, and the angels. In that 75-day gap between his landing at the Mount of Olives, here is what will happen. There will be the judgment of the nations, Matthew 25. The basis of judgment is how did the nations of the world treat the Jewish people. Let me say it in a sentence: all antisemites are going to hell right there. Jesus guarantees that. Jesus said, "Inasmuch as you've done it unto the least of these my brethren, you've done it unto me". Think about that. The Bible says in the book of Genesis, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you".
If something within you hates the Jewish people, that something in you will send your soul to the very fires of hell itself. There's going to be a duty assignment of the righteous. The Bible says, "If you suffer with me, you will reign with me". Say that with me. "If you suffer with me, you will reign with me". Jesus said that. He said, "One of you will reign over one city. Some of you will reign over three cities. Some of you will reign over ten cities". But in the millennial kingdom, every city, every state, every nation on the face of the earth, is going to be run by a dedicated Christian, according to the Word of God. That's going to happen. It's called "A Theocracy," and I can hardly wait for the day! Bring it on!
The assignment of believers has happened. And now, satan is bound and cast into hell. During the millennial reign, the lion will lay down with the lamb. Men will beat their swords into plowshares and study war no more. People will live, the Bible says, "A baby may die at a hundred years of age". In the millennial reign, people will live as long or longer than they lived in the Old Testament. After a thousand years of perfect peace, think about this, perfect peace. God is going to release satan from hell and bring him back to the earth. Why? I mean why? Because there will be people born by the millions in the past thousand years who have never chosen anything but Christ.
"Choose you this day whom you will serve". God insists that you have the right of free moral agency. He will not force himself on anyone, so he is going to turn the devil loose. He will go into the earth and deceive people. He will deceive millions of people. That's mind boggling to me, how they could have a perfect life for a thousand years, and this tyrant from hell is turned loose: the same guy, who deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden, they lived in absolute perfection and he had them out of that Garden in nothing flat.
He will put together a mighty army, and they are going to go to Jerusalem. What happens when that army shows up? Zechariah says, "God will cut them to pieces". God is done with the Jewish people being attacked by tyrants. What happens? God shows up with all of his might and all of his force to demonstrate to the world that he is in absolute control of this planet, absolute control of this planet.
Then we will all go to heaven while the earth is burned with fire. Why? To purify it. When the earth has been burned with fire, it will then be recreated like the Garden of Eden. The Bible has come now full circle. What Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden, we are going to have. Earth's last empire is going to arrive in Jerusalem. In revelation 21, John describes the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, and it's planted. Jesus Christ is going to sit on that throne, not for a thousand years, but forever, and forever, and forever, and forever, and forever, and forever. The final throne has arrived! And of his kingdom, there shall be no end! Hallelujah to the Lamb of God!
How complicated is it? The good people get to go in and the bad people can't get in. It's just that simple. You can get it as complicated as you want, but that's how simple it is. If you don't know Jesus, you're in a world of hurt. I'm here to tell you that this process could launch today. We should be out of here. And from there on through the second coming, the millennial, the eternal kingdom, and then the Bible says, "And time shall be no more". You'll never see another person in church shake their watch. Forever, a million years from now, you're going to be alive and well in the final game of thrones, ten million years, twenty million years, a hundred million years. And you're worried about getting to be 70? Man, you haven't even started. When we get on the other side, brother, it's going to be a wonderful day in God's tomorrow.
Can we stand? Can we stand? This is what I want to do: when king David lost his throne because he had an arrogant and disobedient son, he left the city of Jerusalem and was hiding because Absalom wanted to kill him. And the high priest went to the tribe of Judah, and said, "David is from you, and you should be the first to invite the king to come back to Jerusalem and take his rightful place". We are descendants of Jesus Christ spiritually. He adopted you at the cross. He really did. And you became kings and priests unto God. Today, as his children, as his bride, I want us to give him a praise and a shout of welcome back, come and take this earth as your footstool, and rule forever. Hallelujah! Even so, come Lord Jesus! Blessed is the Lamb of God! We receive you, Lord! We receive you, Lord! Even so, come Lord Jesus! Even so, come Lord Jesus! Hallelujah to the Lamb of God! Glory! Glory! We say, come Lord Jesus! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen!