Joseph Prince - The Rapture, Your Blessed Hope In Dark Times
Praise God. With all that we see happening around the world today, that I was telling the pastors just the other day that the devil is outplaying his hand. By causing the focus to be on Israel in these last days is actually helping to fulfill Bible prophecy, because a hundred years ago Israel wasn't a nation. We know they were 2,000 years ago, but in A.D. 70 the Romans came. And Jesus prophesied. Jesus told them that "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how I wish I would have gathered you like a mother hen would gather her chicks under her wings, but you would not have me. And now your house used to be the house of the Lord, used to be", Jesus said, "Make not my Father's house a house of merchandise". Used to be the Lord's house, but now he says, "Behold, your house is left to you desolate".
It has become their house, and about 40 years after that the Romans came in, and they destroyed the temple and took the Jews captives to all the four corners literally. For 2,000 years they've been in the 4 corners of the earth. Even in Singapore you have them, but the Bible says they'll return. And our generation, or the previous generation in 1948, saw Israel come back as a nation against all odds. Against all the odds they came back as a small, tiny nation. And Isaiah prophesied, "Is it possible? Shall a nation be born in one day? As soon as Zion travails, she bring forth her children". It's the story of only one nation, the nation of Israel, amen?
Now, what the Lord has for us today is to be alert, to be awake, to realize that you are definitely in the last days, amen? And what have we got to look forward to? I want to announce to you the Lord is our bridegroom and is coming back for his bride, so first and foremost I wanna tell you there are two phases to the second coming of the Lord. And people confound the two. They confound the Rapture with the second coming of the Lord. The Lord will return after the seven years of tribulation. He will return for Israel, not for the church. For the church he will come in the Rapture, amen? Matthew 24 real quick up here. "Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple," say "the temple," "and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, 'Do you not see all these things?'" All these beautiful stones and all that. He says, "Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down".
And we know that happened, right, in A.D. 70. The Romans came, and they burned down the temple, and they overthrew the stones. Today, you go to Israel, you'll find the large stones below, all overthrown. Not one stone left upon another. The Western Wall is not the temple wall. There's no more temple. The stones have been overdrawn. "Now he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be?'" So, there are three questions here. Remember, Matthew 24 is spoken, listen carefully, it's gonna help you, because when you read Matthew 24, which is a very long discourse of our Lord Jesus, if the Second Coming is not important, pray tell me why did Jesus speak so long on it? The entire chapter 24 he spoke on his coming and the signs of that coming before he comes.
Now listen carefully. Matthew writes to the Jews. We can benefit from it, of course, okay? But primary the Gospel of Matthew is written to the Jews. There are three questions here the disciples ask Jesus. Peter, James, and John, according to Mark, came to him. And Andrew came to him. "Tell us, when will these things be"?
First question. "When will this temple be thrown down, all the stones be thrown down? When will these things be that you just spoke of"? Number one question.
Number two, "What will be the sign of your coming"? Not the Rapture. They do not know about the Rapture yet. Don't forget the Rapture is a mystery. They're talking about the coming of the Lord at the end of the Jacob's trouble, seven years of tribulation. "What will be the sign of your coming"?
Number three, "And the end of the age". What is the "end of the age"? What is the sign of the end of the age?
I wanna announce to you something that will help you. Matthew 24 is not for the church. It is spoken to Jewish believers who will live in the last days after the Rapture. Are you listening? The signs of his second coming. In the Rapture, Jesus comes for us. In the Second Coming, he comes with us, all right? You know what's for us and with us? Don't turn this into an English class, okay? All right. So, he's coming back for his bride, but he will come back with us at the end of seven years for Israel, amen? And when he comes for us, all right, in a sense, in the end of the Church Age because the church is raptured. Church is not a building. Church is made of people, Jew and Gentile, amen, who have received the Lord. Can I have a good amen?
Where do we find the Rapture? Well, six hours after Jesus sat down with the disciples on Mount of Olives looking at Jerusalem, talking about the future. I love it. You know, you see this outwardly, it looks like a carpenter sitting down there, all right, and describing the events of Europe. Cool, all right? Before it all happens. Can I have a good amen? At that time the temple was still there standing. The stones were still there. In fact, when General Titus of the Roman legion came in, Titus, actually, who became emperor of Rome later on. He was the son of the emperor, and he said, "Do not destroy the temple". He told his soldiers. They actually destroyed it. Jesus, the Son of God, said it will be destroyed, and it was.
So, six hours after he shared on the Mount of Olives about Matthew 24, six hours, about that, about six hours, he was in the upper room, the Last Supper. And the upper room are all truths, what we call church truths. It's for the church, okay? Then he told them this. Imagine him standing down there, knowing that even as he's speaking he's being betrayed. In a few hours' time he'll be hanging on the cross in that last night. You know what? Jesus look at them, and Jesus says, in the upper room, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me". You're about to find the key to having a heart that is not troubled. Are you ready? "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me".
Now, this is spoken to the church. "In my Father's house are many mansions". He didn't say "in my Father's house are many huts". Mansions. "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again," I will come again, "and receive you to myself". "I will come again and receive you to myself". This is the Rapture. Are you listening? Right? "That where I am, there you may be also". For the first time Jesus unveil to them a rapture. People call it secret rapture. You can call it what you want. Yes, it is for his own. Actually, the Rapture is nothing more than us having our final inheritance, which is a brand new body, a glorified body. Are you listening, people?
Now, there are those who say that only those... they believe in partial Rapture. Lemme just establish that the grace of God teaches us to look for the blessed hope, not for death. You know that death is not a scriptural posture. Like, people will say, "You know, everyone dies once," and all that. Do you know that statement is not scriptural? It's not New Testament posture. We're to look up, not look down. Are you listening? "Well, all of them in the past also, in every generation, Pastor Prince, they all look for that, but they died". Yeah, but think about it. Hundred years ago was it possible for the antichrist to sign a peace treaty with Israel? Where were they signing it? In London, because Israel didn't exist a hundred years ago. Come on. Are you with me?
All right. The Israelis were not back yet. So, for the seven years of tribulation there is Israel back in its land. Come on. Sabbath is being instituted. Today, you go to Israel, you have cold food for Sabbath, amen? Your elevator takes a long time to come down in your hotel room. Am I right? Yeah, it's back. So, hundred years ago it's not possible, amen? We are the generation that seen this happen. Now, having said that I wanna tell you this. That there's nothing for us to look for, for the Rapture. There's no event pointing to the Rapture. Rapture can happen any time. Any time.
Now, in the last chapter of the Bible Jesus actually said three times, "Behold, I'm coming quickly. Behold, I'm coming quickly. Behold, I am coming quickly". Show them real quick, last chapter of the entire Bible, chapter 22 of Revelation. "Behold, I'm coming quickly"! All right? Drop down. Verse 12, "And behold, I am coming quickly," all right? And last few verses of the Bible, all right? "Surely I am coming quickly". And someone says, "Well, 2,000 years have come and gone. Doesn't sound so quick," okay? What they means is this: when he said "quickly" he's not referring to time. The word "tachus" in Greek means when he comes, bang, it'll be sudden. That's the word "quickly". Vine says "swiftly".
In 1 Corinthians 15 it says it will happen in the twinkling of an eye. You know how fast that is? Okay, you all look. You all look at me. Yeah, that's it, all right? When he comes you'll hear a shout, "Come up here". Boom. Next thing you know you're in heaven, all right? You got a brand-new body, and you'll be good-looking, amen? Turn to your neighbor and say, "There's hope for you, bro," amen? Look at another sister and say, "Sister, look up. Your facial redemption draws near". Okay, so.
So, three times he's saying, "I'm coming quickly". Not in terms of time, but in terms of suddenness. Suddenness, in the twinkling of an eye. Are you ready? All right. And in 1 Thessalonians where we find the Rapture touched on in detail, I think I just wanna show you first in Titus. Show them Titus. "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, godly in the present age". That's what grace will teach you, amen? It's not for us to teach. It's for grace to teach. It's for us to teach grace, and grace will teach people, amen? And then, look. Nothing. Verse 13, "Looking for the blessed hope". This grace will also teach us to look for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Can you see that? Can you see that?
All right. It's part of the grace teaching, to teach people to look for the blessed hope, amen? Now, if not all of us are gonna be raptured, okay, I tell you this. Unbelievers will not be raptured. Professing Christians and not possessing Christians, they profess they have eternal life, but they don't have eternal life, they were never saved, will not be raptured, but I don't believe in a partial Rapture. If you're born again you are going up. You don't agree with me, we can talk about it on our way up, all right? But whether you believe, you don't believe, but the point is that you're robbing yourself of the blessed hope. When you see the papers and the media and all that, you're worried about what's gonna happen in the future, what's gonna happen to your finances, what's gonna happen to your family and all that. Of all the generations we're the generation, I think, of any that have seen Israel come back as a nation. We can fully expect, come on, that most likely it's our generation in this year of jubilee, amen? Are you with me so far?
So, those who teach that we're going through the Tribulation, they don't understand that the Tribulation is seven years. The last part of the Daniel's prophecy given by the angel Gabriel actually is seven years. It's called The Time of Jacob's Trouble, a Great Tribulation, and it's called The Day of God's Wrath, or The Day of the Lord. The day of God's Wrath, but look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. 1 Thessalonians 1. "For they themself declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you," Paul is writing, "how you turned to God from idols," he told the Thessalonian Christians, "to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven". You see, I told you almost every book in the Bible talks about it. "To wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come".
Those seven years is known as The Day of God's Wrath, amen? God is pouring upon those lawlessness, upon people that have broken his covenant, those who came against Israel, and all that, all right? In these seven years God is pouring his wrath. We are delivered from the wrath to come. His writing to Christians when he says he will deliver us from the wrath to come, he's not referring to condemnation. That they already have. They've been delivered from eternal wrath, from the lake of fire. All of us have, but we'll be delivered from the wrath to come. Praise God. Aren't you glad you came tonight? Amen. You feel the hope rising?
Okay, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. It tells us, "God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," again writing to Christians. This is not talking about salvation, being born again. Talking about our salvation of our new bodies. Romans 8 says the redemption of our bodies. How many of you know that you're gonna have a brand-new body? Gonna look good, bro. Gonna look good, sister. All right? But meanwhile while waiting help yourself. So, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Same book. Same book. "I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren". So, whenever the Holy Spirit says he doesn't want us to be ignorant, don't be ignorant, all right? "I do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep".
"Fallen asleep" is a term used for believers. We don't die because Jesus has conquered death. The sting of death is gone, but while people are waiting for Jesus to come, should they pass on, it's called fallen asleep. So, what happened to Thessalonian believers? They had Paul in their midst. Paul actually ministered there for three weeks. Only for three weeks, but during the three weeks Paul taught them about the Rapture. Think about it. Three weeks, he mentioned about the Rapture, but then after Paul left some of them passed on. Their loved ones passed on, so they thought that "these loved ones, what's gonna happen to them? 'Cause Paul says those who are alive will be caught up, but my loved ones have died. Will they miss the Rapture"?
So, Paul wrote that, wrote to them this letter, saying that "don't sorrow as others who have no hope concerning your loved ones who fall asleep. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus". Then he says, "For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord". So, whatever he's about to say about the Rapture, it is not a figment of his imagination. It is the Word of the Lord. I said it's the Word of the Lord. "For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord," all right? He says that "we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep". Drop down. "For the Lord himself", I love this, the Lord himself. Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses, amen? "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. Therefore comfort one another with these words".
So, the Rapture is such that he comes, the world won't even know, because it will happen in the twinkling of an eye. We will hear his voice. The world won't. All they know is that we all disappear, and that's why the world is preparing movies like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". You see how many intelligent people believe in UFOs but not in God? It takes more faith, you know? Because the devil, there's all kinds of apparitions in the heaven. Jesus talked about the signs in the sky so as to deceive even the very elect. The Jews will be deceived. It talks about it, so, church, lemme just tell you this. The Rapture will happen so fast that only those who are saved will be attuned to him. When a magnet passes by all kinds of objects - rubber, plastic - nothing happens, but this paper clip. I say "paper clip," means all those who are saved, those who are born again, all right? It pass by. Poof. That's it, amen?
Now, you might be a small paper clip. You might be a paper clip, all right, as good looking as Pastor Mark sitting in front here, and he looks good tonight, all right? You might be a big paper clip. You might be a blue paper clip, might be a red paper clip, might be a yellow paper clip. Doesn't really matter as long as you're a paper clip, but don't be an imitation plastic, all right? Once the big magnet, amen, comes over us, we're all going up. Are you listening, people?
In fact, in this passage twice, those who teach, "Well, only those who are specially faithful will go up". The other day I remember I was having dinner with some friends. We invited some other friends, and, usually, I always get caught with friends of friends, all right? And this friend asked me this question. He's a believer, all right? He says that "you believe that everyone will be raptured"? I said, "Yes". "Well, I believe only those who are faithful". And I said, "I believe you are one of them". He said, "Uh, yes". I said, "How faithful is faithful? At what point is faithful faithful, then you are faithful? How do you know you're faithful? Until what point are you faithful then you're faithful, you know"? So, he look at me, "Uh, what do you mean"? All right?
Lemme just tell you this. Lemme just tell you this. Thessalonians is the same book where Paul actually told the Christians there, some of them were busybodies. They were walking disorderly. They were lazy, not working. "If any will not work, neither should he eat," he says. And some Christians were lazy, yet he says this, "The Lord himself", go back. Yeah, look at this. Who will qualify? "This we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain", all you need to do is be alive and remain. Didn't say those who are special overcomers, those who are specially devoted. Usually this kind of teaching is born out of pride and usually they include themself, that they are going but the rest are not because they're not faithful.
Now, don't go to the ten virgins and all that, because the ten virgins only appear in Matthew 25. Matthew 25 is after Matthew 24. Matthew 24 is what I talk to you just now about the Jews, okay? And ten virgins is the bridesmaids. Is not the bride. Ooh. I just hit a home run. Ten virgins are accompanying the bride. Notice the bride is not there, raptured already. He's coming back for the Jews. You know, remember how, guys, how the bridesmaid makes life difficult for us? We're not in love with them, right? Remember at the door you gotta do this, you gotta do that, you gotta drink this, gotta drink that, and all that. Hi-ya. Gimme my woman. Get out of the way, woman, you know? But they make life difficult. I gotta do push-ups, you know? I still remember I gotta do push-ups. They're not the ones I married. Thank God, right? You're marrying the bride. And, okay, that's another thing altogether, but notice we who are alive and remain. Drop down. Verse 17, "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together," even those who are busybodies, those who are lazy amongst them who are Christians, those who are not working. It says we who are alive and remain. They're amongst them, as long they're saved. I'm just reading Bible, people. Are you listening?
Now let's go to 1 Corinthians 15, all right? "Behold, I tell you a mystery". The Rapture is a mystery. A mystery means you can't find it in the Old Testament, even though there are experiences of Rapture. Enoch was raptured bodily. Elijah was raptured bodily. Remember that? So, the Rapture happen in the Old Testament, but now will be a wide-scale rapture of the church. And then, you'll find people who call themself whatever names they are in Christendom, saying after we're raptured, "Well, however they disappeared and all that, I'm still around," and people will be confused, instead of seeing the truth of the Rapture. But many will repent when they see us disappear. Amen. And you know who evangelize during the 7 years? One hundred and forty thousand Billy Graham who are Jews. One hundred and forty thousand Jewish evangelists will preach the gospel of the kingdom, okay?
So I'll tell you a mystery. "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed". You know why I underlined the all? Okay, what book is this? Do you know the Christians in Corinthians they are called babies in Christ by Paul? So all means what? Includes them. How about those Christians that are suing one another in court in Corinthians? And some of them were going to temple of prostitutes, all right? Paul rebuked them. "Don't you know your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Should I take the members of Christ and make them one with a prostitute, a harlot"? He rebuked them, but he still rebuked them as like a father will rebuke a child. "We shall all be changed". Amen? "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye", look at me. That's it. All right? Was there a twinkle? Oh, you missed your chance. Anyway.
"At the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible," imagine your body is incorruptible, "and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality". Amen? Hallelujah? And this, go on, "When this corruptible has put on incorruption". You're going to have a body that is incorruptible. Incorruptible, you cannot grow old any more. You cannot have disease anymore. No more pimples. No more wrinkles. No more falling hair. No more falling teeth. No more falling everywhere. We'll have a brand new body. This corruptible will put on incorruption. And we're not floating like a spirit. We have a body. And think of this, this body here, all right?
When this mortal has put on immortality, "Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, O hell, where is your victory?'" Drop down. "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ". In the context of both, both sin and death, Christ gives us the victory. "Therefore, my beloved". Why is therefore therefore? Because of the rapture. The mystery just unveiled. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord".
Pastors and leaders, if we preach the rapture, our people be encouraged to even work harder for the Lord 'cause time is short. Amen. The reason why we have people that they have no heart for missions, no heart for souls and all that, they're holding tightly to this earth, is because the blessed hope has been removed from their sight. You know, we are in the year of jubilee for our church. Rema is that this is the year of jubilee. And I preached the very first Sunday this year from Leviticus 25. There's something very, very beautiful about Leviticus 25 in talking about buying property, buying lands during the year of jubilee or before jubilee. There is an instruction from God.
Now, this is applicable for them in the Old Testament, but the principle. Watch this. Leviticus 25, "When you buy land from your neighbor, the price you pay must be based on the number of years since the last jubilee. The seller must set the price by taking into account the number of years remaining until the next Jubilee. The more years until the next jubilee, the higher the price; the fewer years, the lower the price. After all, the person selling the land is actually selling you a certain number of harvests". So if jubilee is like 49 years from now, we just passed jubilee, then whatever you sell is expensive, all right? You got to pay more. You buy more. I'm I right? But if next year is the year of jubilee, let's say you stay in Israel, all right, at time. You know that next year is the year of jubilee. When you buy, will buy at a higher cost? Of course, not. It's only 1 year left, 2 years left, 5 years left. So depending on when is jubilee determines the valuation.
So how do we value the things that we're holding on? Nothing wrong with studying hard. In fact, the Bible says, "'Occupied till I come,' Jesus said". Your hands got to be busy. Keep on doing. Don't be lazy, saying, "He's coming back. I'm not going to work, all right? I'm not going to study anymore. Jesus is coming back, you know". And these are the slothful ones. The Bible says, and we saw just now, "Therefore," what? "Be steadfast, be unmovable, abounding in the work of the Lord". Can I have a good amen?
In fact, teaching the blessed hope, a lot of people say, "You know, when you teach the blessed hope, people become lazy". Yeah. You know, whatever you'll preach, there'll be always lazy ones, always, amen, regardless of who the preacher is or passage from the Bible you teach from, all right, but you cannot judge a truth based on the few. Are you listening? The truth is that in 1 Corinthians 15, when that is taught, when the rapture is taught, the mystery is unveiled. "Therefore, my brethren, become steadfast in the work of the Lord, abounding in the work of the Lord".
Parents, do you know when the rapture happens your children will never ever step into a hospital ever again? Do you know that when the rapture happens there'll be no such thing as your children dying in the future? They cannot die anymore. There are no hospitals. Your children will have a brand new body forever. Think about it. Our hearts, you know "But, pastor, in this new body will we be able to taste our food 'cause I love sashimi. I love sushi". Well, it says this in Philippians, "Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious body". So our bodies will be like his body. Remember Jesus told Thomas, "Touch me. A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see me have". That was his resurrected body. Our bodies will be transformed like his glorious body. All right?
How many can say our bodies are lowly, right, even now? Okay? But it will be transformed. "Conformed to his glorious body, according to the working by which he's able even to subdue all things to Himself. Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved". Every time he teaches the rapture, it's say something practical. "This is how you stand fast. Therefore, the power to stand fast". Can you see it? This idea when you teach the rapture is not practical, you know, it's a sweet lullaby or lalaland, you know, "For me, Pastor Prince, you know, I don't teach rapture because it will all pan out. If he comes, he comes. Doesn't come, doesn't come, you know". There are too much confusion down here. That's your excuse for not studying the Bible, and you're robbing the church of the blessed hope because the last part of the grace of God, deny ungodliness is, yes, the first part, but the last part says looking for the blessed hope. And we are robbing the church of the blessed hope.
Everyone who has this hope, if a pastor preaches this, all right, the congregation has the blessed hope. That hope purifies. Amen? In fact, there is a parable that Jesus says about a servant that says in his heart, "My Lord delays his coming". Look at the result of wrong believing. He says, "My Lord delays his coming". The next thing you know, he is beating up the man servants and maid servants. In other words, if you don't believe the imminency of his coming for you, all right, the result is, you come against the new commandment, which is love one another. Can you see that? Are you all learning, people? Who are you going to see when he comes? Jesus. Okay, let's try again. This is quite serious. After I teach all this thing I realize that y'all don't know who is coming. Oh, boy. Let's try again. Let's try again. Wow, talk so much, finally I just realized, y'all know whose appearing we are talking about now. Yeah, come on. Come on, church. Give him praise. Hallelujah? Your bridegroom, the one who love you.
"Oh, Pastor Prince, don't you know that after we are raptured there'll be the judgment seat of Christ"? Well, number one, there is no word for judgment seat, all right? I know they call it judgment seat in English, King James and all that, but the original word is bema seat of Christ. Bema seat is also the seat where the stephanos, the crown, is given to all the champions in those days. They come to the bema seat. Y'all watched the movie "Ben-Hur" when Ben-Hur went round and round and round. Remember that? And he won finally. He came to the bema seat. That's the bema seat. I want to announce to you, however it's been taught to you, we are not going to stand at the white throne of God to be judged for our sins. We have passed from death to life. Amen. We have forgiveness of sins. Are you listening? By him, we are justified from all things. When you stand before the Lord Jesus at the bema seat of Christ, don't forget, the judge (you're going to call him the judge) - the judge is your righteousness.
Another thing. Another thing. Have you ever considered the fact that when you stand before him at the bema seat of Christ after the rapture you're standing in your new body? Will he at that time tell you go to hell? Of course not. Listen. Some people, they're not settled in their hearts with the message of grace, of the gospel of grace. They don't realize that we are forgiven. Amen. There's no wrath in the future. And they believe teaching this will cost license, when actually teaching this will cause true holiness, as we've proven. Teaching on the blessed hope does not produce lazy people. It produces people abounding in the work of the Lord, pure people zealous for good works. Boy, I'm glad I'm in this church. I really am glad I'm in this church listening to these truths. Amen? I'm I preaching from the Bible. Come on. I'm I preaching from the Bible?
Let's bring this to a close. Hallelujah. And the more you see the day coming, let's not forsake the assembling. I'm so glad y'all came today, because, you know, in Hebrews it says, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, so much the more as you see the day approaching". As that jubilee, that final jubilee comes closer and closer, amen, let's hold the things of this earth. Yes, let's work hard. Let's study hard, amen, if you are a student, and let's be involved in social outreach, all right? Let's be a blessing to mankind. Amen? But remember this. Hold it lightly 'cause he's coming. Amen. The key to having a heart that's untroubled in John 14, "Let not your heart be troubled". The next verse says, "I'll come again and receive you unto myself". Can I have a good amen?
The bridegroom is coming. I said the bridegroom is coming for his bride. And let's look at the final chapter of the Book of Revelation in closing. It says here, "I, Jesus have sent". This is the final chapter of the entire Bible. "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David". Straight away you see what? The root is something that produces. He is deity. He produced David, all right? "And I am the Offspring of David. I came out of David". That's his humanity. He's deity and he is humanity. Hundred percent man, hundred percent God. "The Bright and Morning Star". To the church, he appears as the bright and morning star. This is the final chapter of the New Testament, but the final chapter of the Old Testament is Malachi or Malachi. And the final chapter of the entire Old Testament is this. "To you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings". S-U-N.
For the church, he comes as the bright and morning star. For Israel, he comes as the sun. Which one comes first in a day, the morning star or the sun? Which one comes first? Oh, you're not sure. The bright and morning star. All right? In fact, it appears very early, 4 a.m. 5 a.m., you can see it already. All right? Most people believe is Venus, all right, but it's the bright and morning star known as the bright and morning star. Jesus says, "I am the bright and morning star. When the world is dark, get ready. I'm coming". Amen. The world is dark right now. In other words, he's coming for the church first, and then, all right, when it becomes like sunny, he's dealing with Israel again. And to Israel, he comes as the S-U-N. Okay?
So we go back to Revelation, the last chapter of the entire Bible. "And the Spirit and the bride say Come"! Just like Rebecca. Finally, the unnamed servant brought her throughout that wilderness, days and nights through the wilderness with all her mates accompanying her. And every night at the fireplace she will say, "Tell me more about Isaac. This man, I've never met him". And he says, "Well, he's the son the Father loves very much, and to him, the Father has given everything". In fact, tonight I feel like telling you the story of how one day God told Abraham, his father, to offer him, and she began to hear with rapt attention. Same thing the Holy Spirit is conducting us to this earth, this wilderness. And we love the One whom we have not seen, the One we're going to marry. Amen?
Now, we are already married to him, but the celebration of the marriage is going to happen when we see him face to face. And then finally she saw Isaac. And I shared with you all last Sunday she fell off her camel, right into his arms. Y'all remember the song? He will sweep us off his feet, the bridegroom will. And God is waiting. Three times he says, "I'm coming speedily. I'm coming. I'm coming suddenly". Three times in the final chapter. He must really, really want us to know. He's longing for us. Are you longing for him?
We're not for Bible... I mean, our head full of Bible knowledge. We are for our heart full of passion and love for our Lord because he first loved us. Amen? And he's waiting for the Spirit and the bride. When the Holy Spirit and the bride can say, "Come". Some of us cannot say come because our hearts are too bound. Our jubilee idea is so far away. We value the things of this life too much for us to say, "Come, Lord Jesus". But for us with bridal affection, you see his glory is beauty. You say, "Come, Lord Jesus". He's the end of all suffering. As far as you and your children are concerned, no more sorrow, no more tears, no more crying, no more pain. For how long? Quite a long time. He's waiting for the Spirit and the bride to say, "Come". Amen?
Stand to your feet. If you have never made Jesus your Savior and your Lord, he died on that cross for your sins. Long before you knew him, he loved you, and he died for your sins. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, and on the 3rd day, God raised him from the dead because not just sin, but death is hateful to God. God never meant for men to die. And Jesus conquered death and rose from the dead. And the only thing believers are waiting for is the inheritance of a glorified body. But, friend, if you've never made Jesus your Savior and Lord, I want to help you right now. Pray this prayer, and in one instant, just like our bodies will be in one instant suddenly be transformed, right now you'll be passed from darkness into light. You will pass from death into life. If that is you, you want this, pray this with me:
Lord Jesus, I believe that you died on the cross for my sins. You bore my judgment and my condemnation because you loved me, and you rose from the dead having conquered death for me. You are my Lord, my Savior, my lover, my bridegroom forevermore, in Jesus's name. Amen.
Can you say, "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord?'" Amen? The gathering of God's people today I believe you've been blessed. God bless you. You are dismissed.