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This morning's message is a sequel to "Living Now In The Days Of Noah". Now last week we had completed No. 13 message and I entitled that "Noah in a Nutshell".

There will be a total of 7 tapes to complete this series of messages.

The message today is one which every Christian should know. You should know these details, just how you know to get from home to work. You will come across this over and over again.

Now the question of whether the church will go through the Tribulation, whether the body of believers will go through the tribulation is asked more than any other question. There will be hardly two weeks go by that somebody does not come up to me and either asks me directly or indirectly something about it.

The reason being, that many, many churches teach what they believe is a "Conditional Rapture". You will only go to heaven, and it will probably be somewhere halfway through the 7 year period providing you are hanging on, enduring for the Lord and doing things.

"Youth With A Mission" is a group and this is one of their Images tenents, that you have to endure and unless you are doing what is right, you are not going to make it at the Rapture. Now that is contrary to the Scripture.

There is no such thing as "conditional salvation" in this age in which we live. Either you are saved, or you are not. If you are saved, you are going to make it at the Rapture. Some of the Charistmatic Churches, in particular, preach a conditional, a partial Rapture. Barry Smith who is a good speaker and he has a lot of good information, one of the things Barry and I would disagree with - he has the church going out half-way through the 3-1/2 year period. Partial Rapture, if you like. I call it a "rupture".

Now such teaching, the Church of Christ in Mount Albert - they teach the same thing. So you see it is a wide-spread thought among churches. And why do they teach it? Well, the reason behind it, and I don't think they do this on purpose, but it engenders and causes in the congregation a type of bondage - subjection to the church. See the people in the church feel that if they are not doing as church elders, deacons and pastors in the church say, and they are supposed to know more about the Bible than the congregation, then maybe these people are not going to make it at the Rapture. So there is a sort of fear, a sort of bondage.

But I have to tell you that the Christian message, or the Christian life is one of liberty. It is not one of bondage at all! When a Christian knows that he will not go through the Tribulation, I know, and I am sure as you know, then this should give you joy and encouragement and gratitude to the Lord and his walk and his witness will be great, and will reflect it.

I mean you are not worried about what will happen, you are not worried about the stock crash - so what! If the whole world ozone layer disappears completely, we are not going to be here when all the bad things start at the Tribulation period. Now I could give you many, many more reasons than 7, but 7 is a good number and if I can give you the seven real lu-lu's, that is better than a whole lot. I have got a book here, it is called "The

Rapture Question", by John Walvoord and I have had it for many years, and excellent book and in the back part of it here, he has got 50 reasons why the Church will not go through the Tribulation. We are only giving you 7 today.

These are the top 7 reasons why the church will not go through the Tribulation.

1. "The Church is not appointed to wrath" - full stop! That would be the prime reason. You know this because we have been doing this in the past few weeks. Turn to 1st Thessalonians chapter 5.

I wonder how many of you know would know these 7 reasons and you could write them down. I hope that by the end of this morning's message you will have written them inside the cover of your Bibles or a good place to write them, if you have got space is at the end of 1st Thessalonians. Thessalonians has to do with the Rapture.

1st. Thess. chapter 5 verse 9: "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."

Now what is this wrath of which Paul is speaking? See we can easily determine this from the context. Paul is here speaking of the wrath that is to come on the unsaved at the end of this age during the Great Tribulation. Look what he says just two verses further on: Look at verse 11 - "Wherefore comfort yourselves together,- that is a happy feeling - `comforting' - and edify one another, even as also ye do." Remember those words "comfort yourselves together." Now can you recall when you read the same expression previously, just a few verses earlier? Just turn back to 1st Thessalonians 4:18 - Look at that, almost the same words:

"Wherefore comfort one another with these words." - see it - comfort one another with these words - why comfort one another with this words? What has he been talking about?

Look at verse 16 and verse 17 - "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and reImages shall be caught up together - this is the Rapture, he is talking about the Rapture and he says - `comfort one another with these words' O.K? The Rapture is going to bring `comfort'. But not only that, it will keep us from the wrath that is about to follow.

And we must never ever separate chapters 4 and 5 in 1st Thessalonians. Why not? Because they make it clear that the Rapture is God's method of comforting us, or getting us away from the wrath of the tribulation.

You see, look again at 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 16, 17, `rapture', `rapture', then in 18 `comfort one another'. Now go down to Chapter 5 verse 9 - "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."

Verse 10: "Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live to gether with him. (11) Wherefore comfort yourselves together....." You see the `comfort' is tied up with the Rapture, which gets us out before this happens.

Now here is the big 64 dollar question - "How can we be sure that this wrath is not just adversity or bad times or God bringing an earthquake on San Francisco and that sort of thing?" Easy - we simply do it by comparing Scripture with Scripture. That is what we are told to do.

Turn over to Revelation Chatper 6. You want to have these things written in the margin of your Bible because you don't have to remember exactly where to turn. And this is a terrible, terrible thing that we are going to read about here. Verse 17 - "For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Now it says - THE great day, not A great day! The great day of His wrath is come. Do you know what happens on THIS GREAT DAY OF HIS WRATH? Look at verse 12, same chapter -

"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; (13) And the stars of heaven feel unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. (14) And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places - that is really something happening isn't it? (15) And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man,- what did they do? - hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains (16) And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from THE WRATH OF THE LAMB:"

This is not just adversity folks, this is the DAY OF THE LORD. Now the day of the Lord - isn't that an expression we read just a moment ago back in 1st Thessalonians 5? Turn back again to 1st Thessalonians 5 - remember, we were looking at the `comfort' section of 1st Thessalonians 4:18 and 1st Thessalonians 5. Look at 1st Thessalonians 5 - the very first verse:

"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. (2) For yourselves know perfectly - and here it is - THAT THE DAY OF THE LORD so cometh as a thief in the night."

This wrath is going to come when they don't expect it! Before we leave this subject of wrath, incidentally, while we are in 1st Thessalonians, - I mean 1st Thessalonians 5:9 would be plenty, but just let us turn back to 1st Thessalonians 1 verse 9 - this is Paul speaking:

"For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; - and look at verse 10 - this is the one:

"And to wait for his Son from heaven, - note `from heaven' - whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. You put a ring around the word `delivered' and you say `past tense' - we are already delivered. Not `which will deliver us' - we are delivered - us, FROM the wrath to come. - Right away from it, we are not even going to get there. Put a ring around the word `from'. In fact, this was said to me just three weeks ago, we had a visitor in this church here who queried me on the church going through the tribulation and seeing we are in here, just turn over to 1st Thessalonians 3.

This visitor said "Oh no, the church must go through the tribulation because 1st Thessalonians 3 shows it." And this is what he did. Look at 1st Thessalonians 3 - and he quoted verse 4:"For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that WE SHOULD SUFFER TRIBULATION; even as it came to pass, and ye know." There you are, he said, that's the church to go through, it says we are going through the great tribulation.

Well, for one, the Great Tribulation isn't there. He didn't read this properly, did he? Look at it again, look a verse 3 - you see you don't take a verse - they say a text out of context is pretext and he had a pretext.

"That no man whould be moved by these afflications: - this is Paul speaking - for yourselves know that WE - who is he talking to? He is talking about himself, Paul and his group - are appointed thereunto." He is talking about afflications. Look at verse 4:"For verily, when WE were with you, WE told you before that WE should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know."

Now look at all these "WE" type words here, WE in verse 3 - WE are appointed - WE were - WE told - WE should. Paul is talking about himself, and is talking about tribulation that he should go through, but this is the bottom line, this is something that the guy didn't see.

And when he saw this, he just stopped talking. Look how verse 4 ends - "EVEN AS IT CAME TO PASS" - it has happened. You see this is past tense, this has already happened. It cannot be referring to the Great Tribulation. Paul is talking about afflictions and they were going to suffer tribulations, even as it came to pass. You know, I got beaten up, I got kicked out of the Synagogue, all this happened to me, even as it came to pass. This is not something that is future, this is something that has already happened to Paul. I just mention that because you will have that thrown at you every time. No, the church is promnised deliverence from the even - from the Great Triblation.

You know, in the Book of Revelation, the apostle John speaks of the 7 churches. And one of those churches is the one true church - that is the Philadelphian church. Just as the final church today, the Laodicean church is the apostate church. They have all got different bits and pieces to them. Just turn with me for a moment over to Revelation chatper 3 and let me just show you something here which supports what I have said - "kept from the wrath".

Now Revelation Ch. 3 in fact you will note in verse 7 - it is this church he is writing to and note in verse 10: "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee FROM the hour of temptation, which shall come upon ALL the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth."

Note that this verse speaks about the hour of temptation which shall come world-wide. This is a world-wide time and note that the promise is to keep it FROM - not to keep it IN. You see some of these people who think the church is going into the Tribulation - they say "Well you are going into the Tribulation, and God is going to protect us".

Well that is not what my Bible says. It doesn't say he is going to keep us IN the hour of temptation, he is going to keep us FROM the hour of temptation.

And here is a good question - "Who is the true church?" - we are looking here at the Church of Philadelphia. Why the true church is that body of believers who believe God's Word, people who believe that Word of God, have trusted in Christ for their salvation, that group of people, that body of believers is not compromising, they are not an apostate church, and such a church is promised deliverance.

The first reason why the church will not go into the tribulation is that God has promised that the church will not endure wrath - it is not appointed to wrath.

What is the second reason? This is a very simple one, in fact this is one of the simplest of the lot. The church is never ever, not even once, mentioned in any event that takes place during the Tribulation. It is totally forgotten, it is not there! Not once, not even once! Even though thousands of words are written about the Tribulation, you would think that if the church was anywhere in the tribulation, it would be some passing reference to it - but not once is it mentioned!

We are in Revelation, turn back to Chapter 1. I mean if you are going to be at a picnic or something like that, you are going to be at some event, a long event that goes for years and you are part of it, you would think that your name would be mentioned? It is the same with the Tribulation. If the church is going to be there, surely it will be mentioned!

Verse 19: "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter." You see the Book of Revelation is divided by Jesus Christ into three distinct parts.

• Past - he says "Write the things which thou has seen".
• Present - "The things which are".
• Future - "The things which shall be hereafter."

Now let me ask you a question. When do the tribulation events, and there are thousands of them, literally hundreds of them, but thousands of words written about them, when do they occur in the Book of Revelation? I will give you the answer, between chapters 4 and 19. From chapter 4 to chapter 19 all of that has to do with the Tribulation.

Now I ask you a question - "How often does the word `church' or `churches' occur in this section? Not once! Not even once! Yet the Church and churches are certainly mentioned 19 times in the first three chapters of Revelation. Once Revelation gets on to the Tribulation the word `church' vanishes.

Now why does the word church cease by the end of chapter 3? Simply because in Chapter 4 the church is no longer on the earth, it is up in heaven. And it is represented by the 24 elders! The Tribulation is down here on earth, but praise the Lord, the church is going to be up in heaven and the Bible account from chapters 4 to 19 have got nothing to do with the church. So that is a very good reason and it is a very hard one for the people who say that the church is going into the tribulation. They get a little embarrassed when you tell them that one. Here is a 3rd reason, a really good reason and this to me is an absolutely insurmountable problem for those who think that we have to go into the Tribulation first.

What do you think it would be? Any ideas?

The Jews? - No!

It is one we keep hammering from this pulpit a lot. The Rapture is imminent? It is a signless, timeless event. That means it could occur before this service is right over. Therefore it means, it must be before the Tribulation since the tribulation is a time which is just chock-a-block with signs!

See there are lots and lots of signs about the tribulation. Let me put it another way - if the church IS to go through the Tribulation, then the Rapture cannot be imminent because other things have got to happen first! And yet all of Scripture teachers that the Rapture is a signless, timeless event and even Paul the apostle was expecting it to happen in his lifetime.

He wasn't to know that the church age was going to be extended for some 1800 or 1900 years. Turn with me to 1st Thessalonians 4. See if it is imminent, then it can occur today and that means that none of the signs of the Tribulation period can come in.

Verse 16 - Who is saying this? "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first (17) Then - look at what Paul says - WE WHICH ARE ALIVE - Paul is talking about himself - he doesn't say THEY which are alive - no! he thought it was going to happen while he was still walking the earth - THEN WE WHICH ARE ALIVE and reImages shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, - see?

Turn back to 1st Corinthians 15 - you may say "Well, that was just a slip of the pen that Paul made". Oh no it is not! Many times Paul says this. This is another passage to do with the Rapture.

Verse 51 - "Behold, - Paul says - I show you a mystery - WE shall not all sleep, but WE shall all be changed, - he doesn't say THEY - WE - (52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and WE shall be changed."

He expected it to happen! You know in Philippians chapter 3 verse 20 says WE look for the Saviour in heaven, and we don't look for the tribulation events. In what he is looking for is the coming Saviour. He is not looking for any of these things in the Tribulation.

Are we looking for the Tribulation? No, we are not! Why not? Because we won't be here, it is a waste of time. Titus 2:12 and 13 talks about that blessed hope - we are looking for "that blessed hope" and that IS what we are looking for - not our blessed nuisance which is what the Tribulation period will be.

Here is the 4th reason that the church is not going to be going through the tribulation period. It is a very important one - the church is to be judged at the Judgement Seat of Christ, which occurs between the Rapture and the Second Coming.

You while things are going on down here on earth and God is pouring out His wrath, up in Heaven the church stands before the Judgement Seat of Christ and Christ cannot come for His own, which He does at the Rapture and WITH His own when He comes WITH them - coming back at the Second Coming at the same time. You see the post-tribulation folks, the folks who say that the Rapture occurs at the end of the Tribulation, they really have got a problem here. In fact they do all sort of squirmy things but of course, God can do things in a split-second. But the Bible makes it quite clear that it is not just some fleeting moment.

Turn with me to Romans chapter 14. See the Judgement Seat of Christ is something which involves every born-again believer. Verse 10:

"But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall ALL stand before the judgement seat of Christ." Look at verse 12: "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."

Sure God could compress time and make it instantly, but there is nothing in the Bible that suggests that. There is everything in the Bible that suggests that the Judgement Seat of Christ is going to be a testing - wood, hay, stubble - gold, silver, precious stones - for the things we have done on the earth here. How important is it for Christ - remember that little hymn that goes "Only what's done for Christ will last?" - That is what happens up there.

At the Rapture, Christ comes FOR the saints. 1 Thessalonians 4:16. With a shout, and a trump and the voice of the archangel and Christ comes for us and up we go. But at the second coming, when He comes down, we are coming down with Him. We don't somehow try and get mixed up and have a judgement seat of Christ. In fact, the Bible says in 1st Thessalonians 2 about the day of Christ and that is the DAY UP IN HEAVEN when in that period of time, when the church is being judged.

Turn with me to 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 - Verse 1 "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him," In that one verse you have got the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ - that is when He comes to stand on the Mount of Olives `and by our gathering together unto him' - that is at the Rapture, which comes first. (2) "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand." Now the day of Christ is up in heaven and that takes place simultaneously that the day of the Lord is down here on earth. A different place.

What is the 5th thrilling reason is this that the thrilling reason is that the church will not be going through the Tribulation. The church is to be removed from the earth before Anti-Christ is revealed. Anti-Christ is revealed at the start of the Tribulation period.

We are in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 let us just have a look at this again. See what we are going to read here is something very important. Verse 1: "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (2) That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, - somebody had sent them a forged letter - as that the day of Christ is at hand. (3) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. (4) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (5) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? (6) And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

Look at verse 7 - "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. (8) And then shall that Wicked (capital W - that wicked one) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (9) Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, (10) And with all deceivableness of unrigheousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Now what it says here folks is, "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: - verse 7 - only he who now letteth will let - this letting is the same at letting a house - to let a house, you get a cross reference there in Luke 20 verse 9 - what it means here that the Holy Spirit is going to be removed from the earth, the Holy Spirit that is restraining evil and this Holy Spirit is going to be removed from the earth and then that Wicked one will be revealed.

Now here is a problem. If the Holy Spirit is going to be removed - just turn with me to Romans 8:9. Here is a problem that is not really a problem but answers a query. Romans 8:9 - here is the Holy Spirit resident on the earth, it is about to be removed before the wicked one is revealed and look what it says:

"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. You see, the Bible says that the Spirit of God dwells in the believer.

You remember 1st Corinthians 3:16? "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you." In other words, if the Spirit of God is going to go up to heaven which dwells in us, The Spirit of God is going to take its house with it - that is, each one of us.

So we are taken up to heaven and the moment we get to heaven, then that Wicked one is revealed. I believe quite clearly that the Anti-Christ is alive somewhere around here today. I would love to know who he is, but I won't know, he won't be revealed until I am up in heaven. I will look down from up in heaven an say "Ah, it was him!"

He is probably around about his late 20s or early 30s right now, somewhere. So that is the 5th reason, the Holy Spirit is removed and as the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we have to be removed.

What is the 6th reason? This is a very easy one and a common one - You think about it, Ambassadors are always called home before war is declared. This is a standard thing, two countries hating each other, but they always withdraw their ambassadors before they declare war on each other. Now turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5. Here is a verse you all know by heart, just about, look at verse 20.

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Now what does all that mean? It simply means that we are God's representatives down here on earth. And throughout the Bible with no exception, God saves His own people from wrath.

Now when the tribulation period comes, it is going to be the unleashing of the wrath of God on mankind. The Jews are going to be put through this refining fire. God is going to refine them - it is going to be the wrath of God. It is going to be the wrath of Satan. But God is the one who is going to be pouring out His wrath on the earth.

Now before that happens, God will take out His believers. Rahab, for example, she was taken out of Jericho before it was destroyed. Even miserable old sod, Lot from Sodom. He is not one guy I am wanting to shake the hand of when I get to heaven. I don't really have much respect for Lot, but he was a saved man.

The Bible says `Just Lot'. What happened? God did not fire rain and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah until Lot was saved. I don't really think he should have been saved but I am not God because Lot was such a miserable guy, but he WAS SAVED!

Noah was saved from the flood, I mean there are so many instances you can give before God brings out judgement. If that person is a good person and has a right standing with God, God does not condemn that person. Of course, Enoch he is the perfect type of the church, he was translated - straight up to heaven, didn't die and that is a perfect example of what happened before the flood.

We are a type of Enoch, the same thing is going to happen, we are going to be taken. And what is the final reason?

Well the final reason is one which is a bit deep for a lot of people and yet, really, I think it is a fundamental one. For the purpose of the tribulation is primarily, for Israel and for the gentiles. It is not for the church. It is called "The Time of Jacob's Trouble". It is primarily for the Jews, but the gentiles get involved, but it is not for the church.

I am going to show you something that is very important in these last couple of minutes. Go to the Book of Jeremiah, chapter 30. Here is another one of these instances where there is a lot of details about the tribulation and again you will not find the church mentioned.

Verse 4: "And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah - not the church - Israel and Judah. (5) For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. (6) Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? (7) Alas! for that day -this is a term that is used over and over again - that day, it means the day of Jacob's trouble - or the tribulation period -is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it."

In other words, it is for the Jews - Jacob's trouble - but God is still going to save them out of it.

(8) For it shall come to pass in that day saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: (9) But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. (10) Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.

Now note the church is not mentioned. This is the Jews - thy people - the time of Jacob's trouble. In Daniel 12:1 we read exactly the same thing when he talks about `thy people'. The church is not mentioned in any one passage. Now it is not mentioned in any passage in the New Testament; it is not mentioned in Matthew 24 - which has all to do with the tribulation period. Folks let us simply close this message by saying - if you and I are believers, we don't have to have any fear of the tribulation we won't we going through it - why not? because we have been saved by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ oon the cross. So what should be our response? Our response should be to witness for the Lord, to win others to the Lord, to be faithful Christians and do all that He would have us to do.

 

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