9/16/07 – 37LAW “The Real Truth About the Second Coming of Jesus“– Pt 3
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Hello!  This is Richard Vaughn

Today’s message is “The Real Truth About the Second Coming of Jesus – Pt 3”

Before we begin, let us seek God’s guidance, “Heavenly Father, as we continue this most important subject regarding the real truth about the second coming of Jesus, I pray that You bless those listening today with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that we may understand that you Jesus is coming far sooner than expected and in a manner the church is not preparing for. We pray for wisdom, knowledge and understanding so that we may live in the center of Your revealed will, as we ask in Jesus Name, Amen.”

Right now, I continue to keep my pledge, to cry aloud and spare not, to lift up my voice like a trumpet and to show God’s people where they are transgressing God’s law.

For the last two weeks we have been studying the real truth about how Jesus would come the second time, in the clouds of heaven with power and glory and every eye in the world seeing him; and the fact that the devil could not duplicate His coming. Satan therefore developed the two counterfeit teachings that has almost the entire Christian world under great deception. First - that Jesus is already here—you can see Him in the desert, or somewhere else. Second - He's in the secret chambers—coming secretly. A secret rapture if you please.

So far in our studies we have shown six truths about the second coming of Jesus:
1.	He's coming literally. That means it's real. No imagination is required. It's an actual event occurring at a precise moment in time. The angel’s verified it when they said in Acts 1:11, “… this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
2.	He's coming personally.  Jesus Himself promised that in John 14:3 “… I will come again, and receive you unto myself: that where I am, there ye may be also."  
3.	It's a visible event. That's because it's dazzling in brightness and every eye sees it. Revelation 1:7 "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him..."
4)	It's an audible event.  Not only does every eye see it, but every ear will hear it. First Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:  
5)	It’s a Resurrecting event. First Thessalonians 4:16 “… and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”
6)	It's a glorious event.  Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:”

Last week we also talked about the false theory of a secret, silent, invisible rapture which has become so popular and we gave the history on how this deception came into the church.

Every time the Bible mentions that Jesus is coming as a "thief", it is talking about the time of His coming, the suddenness, the unexpectedness, and not the overall manner of His coming.
 
The fact is that Jesus Himself explained clearly just how a thief's coming could be related to His coming:  

Matthew 24: 42-44 "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come."  What's He talking about?  The time of His coming.  "But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch, (time or hour), the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an (what?) hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."  

A thief comes when the owners are not looking for a thief.  And so it is for the multitudes of this world as they continue in their sin, their rebellion against God, and their pleasure seeking, they're not expecting Jesus, and therefore His coming will take people by surprise. But we have seen the Bible plainly tell us— IT WON'T BE SECRET, SILENT AND INVISIBLE!! 
Let's look at another text and see what the Bible says.  2 Peter 3:10  Here we read a text about the thief in the night. "But the day of the Lord will come as (a what?) a thief in the night."  It doesn’t say He is going to come secretly and snatch all His people out of here. We need to read the whole verse. It says, "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise." Does that sound secret?  Obviously the "thief" part has nothing to do with secrecy because the heavens pass away with a great noise! And look what else the verse says, "... and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." Now you can see why those who teach a secret rapture do not read the last half of the text. The "thief in the night" illustration is used five basic times in the Bible:  Matthew 24:43; 1 Thessalonians 5:2,4; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 3:3 and Revelation 16:15.  

Now let us look at Revelation 3:3, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” Do you see the key is to watch, so it does not take you as a thief, in other words, unexpectedly.

Now let us look at Revelation 16:15, “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” Jesus is talking about a person’s character and not being prepared for His coming. Not one of the "thief in the night" illustrations even hints at an "invisible coming." Only if taken out of their setting could they be made to give the impression of something secret. Notice how opposite the Bible describes it.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” Paul is talking about vigilance so that it does not occur unexpectedly. 

Let's go to the second text that is used to defend the so-called "secret rapture". Have you ever heard the verse, "One shall be taken, the other shall be left"?  Some have asked, “Wasn’t Jesus speaking of the secret rapture when He said in Luke 17:34-36, One shall be taken, and the other left?” In fact those three verses read as follows, “I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”  

The secret rapturists point to these verses and say, "See, people are suddenly disappearing". But if they read carefully, they will realize that the ones who are taken, are actually taken to their death. As it reads in the very next verse 37, when the disciples wanted to know where they were taken. It reads, “And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles (or vultures) be gathered together.” Matthew 24:28 uses the word carcase instead of body.

This “taken” principle is made clear in Matthew 24:38-39 “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”  You see, the ones that were taken, were taken to their destruction in the flood. But the ones that were left were in the ark saved. It was in verses 40 and 41 Jesus talks about the ones taken, which are the lost, and the ones who are left are the saved that have waited for Jesus to come back.

Matthew 24:40-41 “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”  The left are those who are alive and remain.

Verse 42 is a direct warning from Jesus, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.”

So the lost who have not died in the plagues, are destroyed when Jesus comes. They will have been taken to their first death. And what about those who are left alive? That is beautifully documented in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain (these are those who are left after the wicked have been taken to their destruction) we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (that means go ahead of) them which are asleep. 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:  Then we which are alive and remain (again the living righteous who were left) shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Well time is up for this week. Next week we will conclude this study on this subject,  “The Real Truth About the Second Coming of Jesus – Pt 4”.
”If you would like to worship with seventh day Sabbath-keepers, come to the Victory Everlasting Gospel Church at our new location at the Hampton Inn Conference suite in South Hill, VA at the exit 12 interchange of Interstate 85. We meet at 9:30 am and will be meeting there until out new building has been completed.
Until next week, Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. Come Lord Jesus.