Thank you, ladies. Let's go and open our Bibles, please, the book of 1 Thessalonians tonight. The book of 1 Thessalonians, we're going to be in the fourth chapter of the book of 1 Thessalonians. There's a lot of things that people don't understand about evangelism, and we won't take the time to explain them all, but, for instance, people don't, get how someone can travel all the time. People will come up to me and say all the time, pastors will say, boy, I sure am glad I don't have to travel like you travel. And I wanna look at them and say, I sure am glad I don't have to stay in the same place every single week. And I've watched pastors counsel the same people about the same things and be patient and kind and loving, and I'm none of those things, just to be honest with you. Pastors just have to love their flock. I preach for a week, try to help the pastor hold up his hands like an errand in her, and then I head on out. I was adding it up today, and since the end of the first week of, what month was that, August, I've been in meetings now for 16 consecutive weeks. I remember when I went to Bible college, The president of the college told us that an evangelist should never schedule more than seven or eight weeks in a row. Well, we passed that a long, long time ago. 16 straight weeks we've been on the road. I preached 112 times in 21 different churches and in nine different states and two different countries since the first week of August. So we travel and travel and travel. I won't tell you where all we've been. I will tell you we go home and I'll be at Isom Baptist Church on Sunday morning and Sunday night. and then I'm actually off for the rest of the Thanksgiving week and the first part of the next week before we go to Germany where we'll be in Ansbach and Hohenfels and a town called Kaiserslautern. We'll have a wonderful time there preaching and serving the Lord and then we relax just a little bit. You can go online, determineministries.org and look up our itinerary. it takes a several pages and I want you to think about something as you look at our itinerary think about this for just a second we publish our itinerary with our address on our on our website which means that any person who wants to look us up can know where our house is and when it's going to be empty that takes a lot of faith right there if you think about it but people will ask different questions. There's some logistical questions, aren't there? One question that people ask oftentimes is how do you get your mail? Now you think about that. How do you get your mail if you're in evangelism? If you're in a different place every single week, if you're never home, we've been home actually, one of those 16 weeks, one of the 21 churches that we were in was actually in Welcome, North Carolina, which is about 35, to 37 minutes from our house. So we actually lived in our house for one week since the beginning of August. And so people will say, how do you get your mail? Well, here's what we do. I have a fella, his name is James. He's my pastor's son. And he goes to my, we have a PO box for the ministry and a mailbox at our house. And once a week, he goes to both. He calls me up and he tells me what's in there. Sometimes he has to mail me the things that are in there. He has to put them in a priority mail envelope that I've left behind already with a stamp on it. And so he will forward my mail to me. So I'll typically get it about eight to 10 days later than when it arrived in my mailbox. Used to be my brother-in-law did that. Then after that, Hannah Brenneman did it for a while. But when my brother-in-law first did it, we were living there in West Virginia. or living on the church property, and he was the assistant pastor at the time, he would check my mailbox, and then once a week, he would put all of my mail, and I mean all of my mail, in one priority mail envelope and send it to me. This big old envelope is overstuffed and all that kind of stuff by the time it gets there. See, he didn't go through and throw away the junk mail. Now, you know this, when you go to your mailbox, at least 60% of the mail that comes to your mailbox ought to go straight in the trash. There's an advertisement for the lowest car sales that you've ever seen. There's advertisements for grocery stores. There's advertisements for department stores. And by the way, men, I gotta tell you something about that. It's actually a blessing that I get my mail so late every now and then. Because when my wife gets a coupon from a department store and says, ooh, how long does this sale last? I have to look at her and say, sweetheart, it says right there, this sale ended on Saturday. I'm so sorry. You won't be able to save me money by buying something. Isn't that a, isn't that, excuse me, for being just a little bit male chauvinist? Isn't that just woman logic? A man doesn't think that way. Look how much I saved you by buying this. It doesn't add up, does it? But I would get all the mail until I finally told him, I said, listen, just send me the important mail. So then from then on, once a week, I get an envelope filled with bills. But usually there would be some sort of advertisement way back then. It was a very popular thing. It's still popular, actually more popular with what's going on in the world. But there would be some kind of advertisement of something that was going on up in Belpre, Ohio, or over in Marietta, or something that was going on in Parkersburg, or Vienna, West Virginia, or down. Lewisburg or across the border into Clifton Forge or Covington Virginia or over in the other direction in Huntington or across the state line into Ashland Kentucky there was almost always some sort of big prophecy conference some prophecy expert was going to show up he was going to answer questions that no one else could answer about prophecy he's written prophecy books he's got prophecy seminars he's done prophecy things on the radio and even on the television and he's going to be a prophecy expert and he's going to answer the questions that you can't answer have a problem with that and I have to tell you, you know I'm preaching on prophecy tonight, these guys that have elevated themselves into being experts about one specific thing about the Word of God, I struggle with that because I don't see a verse in the Bible that tells me to focus on one part of the Bible. Matter of fact, if you're going to pick one part to focus on, the Bible tells me to preach the word, be instant in season and out of season, reproof, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine. It tells me to cry aloud and lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. It tells me to preach the cross for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. Under us which are saved, it's the power of God. We're supposed to preach Christ crucified, but we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews, a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks, foolishness. We're supposed to preach it line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. We're supposed to preach the whole council. When Paul was leaving Ephesus after being there for three years, and he called all the pastors, they went over to the Greek island of Miletus, and he bid them farewell, he said this at the end of a three-year ministry. chapter Acts chapter 20 I believe it's verse 26 he said wherefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men What an amazing testimony. But why could he say that? The next verse says this, for I have shunned not to declare unto you all the counsel of God. The reason people are so interested in those prophecy preachers is that the only thing that most Christians, most Christians, not this church, but most Christians know about Bible prophecy came from a 12-volume work of Christian fiction. More Christians know what they know about prophecy from that series of Christian fiction books than have ever heard it from the pulpits of the Bible-believing churches in the United States of America. People are now very interested because of what is going on in Israel, what is going on in Palestine, what is going on with the world in Hezbollah and Hamas. And we're not gonna get into that because I'm here to tell you this, if your message is based upon the current events on Fox News or CNN or MSNBC or any of those other places, your message will change every change in the news cycle. If your message is built on the word of God, it doesn't have to change. So tonight, I wanna look at 1 Thessalonians chapter four. The church at Thessalonica has been confused. They've been taught by someone, and we don't know who, that they have missed the rapture, that they've missed the Lord's coming, that they've missed his appearing in the sky, and they believe that. And as they believe that, notice what's happened here. Paul is gonna write them and teach them. As a matter of fact, as you look at the books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, you'll find that percentage-wise, Paul deals with what we call eschatology, or the study of last things. He deals with that more percentage-wise with the church at Thessalonica and those two epistles than any other church. He deals with Bible prophecy, the events of the future, in every single chapter of both 1st and 2nd Thessalonians. And so finally you get to 1st Thessalonians chapter four. And as we're gonna look beginning in verse 13 here in just a moment, you're gonna see what Paul is going to tell this church. He's gonna teach them about what we call the next event on God's prophetic calendar. Please understand there's not a group of signs that say the sun has to turn red. I don't care what the guys on television says. There's no signs that say the sign about wars and rumors of wars is about the second coming. It is not about the rapture of the church. The only things that needed to be fulfilled before the rapture of the church could take place they both took place 2,000 years ago. Remember what Jesus said? The one sign of the rapture? He said this, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there you may be also. Before the rapture could take place, Jesus had to ascend into heaven. That happened 2,000 years ago. The only other thing that had to take place before the rapture takes place in John chapter 20, I believe it is, when Jesus tells the apostle Peter, he says, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither thou wittest. For when thou shalt be old, another shall bind thee, and carry thou whither thou wittest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. Simon Peter had to die before the rapture could take place because Jesus, said that Simon Peter's been dead for 2,000 years or nearly that now so nothing has to be fulfilled for the rapture to take place Paul is gonna give us what I typically call the most significant passage on the rapture of the church in the New Testament. And I want you to notice it as we look at 1 Thessalonians chapter four, the pinnacle passage on the rapture, beginning in verse 13. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. I'm sorry, I skipped a verse, verse four. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we, which are alive and remain, 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. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. I'm gonna preach tonight a message on the rapture of the church, the next thing that's going to happen. And we're gonna see what the Bible tells us about it tonight from this passage of scripture. The Lord and heavenly Father, we thank you for this evening, Lord. We thank you for our time together in your house, Lord. We pray that as Christians, we're gonna realize that even though we would go when the rapture takes place, even though we're looking for the shout and the soon appearing of our Savior, most of us aren't ready for the rapture today. And lost persons in this auditorium, Father, may they realize just how close they are to doom when the rapture takes place. May they realize that time is ticking, that now is the day. Today is the day of salvation. Now is the acceptable time. Father, help us to live our lives in light of the imminent return of our Lord and Savior, your Son, Jesus Christ. For it's in his name we ask it, amen. I want you to notice, number one, the first thing we see is the education on the rapture. You say, Brother Harper, you keep using that word, rapture, and you said this is the pinnacle passage in the New Testament on the rapture of the church, but I don't see the word rapture here anywhere now please understand there is an English word rapture which means joy and that kind of stuff this when we see that when we talk about the rapture in the Bible we're not talking about the English word for rapture we're talking about a transliteration of a Latin word remember the Bible was first translated from Greek into Latin before it was translated into English, and the word that is used here to describe us to be caught away is the Latin word rapturos, and we have transliterated that into the word rapture. It does not mean just joy, it does not mean just overflowing with excitement or anything like that. It is actually speaking of the specific event when God's people are translated and taken up into heaven. It's that moment when we hear the shout and the trumpet. So here is the Bible definition of the word rapture or the event called the rapture. It's when Jesus steps out in the clouds with the shout and with the trumpet to call home all who are dead in Christ and all those that are alive and remain in Christ to be with Him forever and ever. As I mentioned, it's the next event on God's prophetic calendar. It does not take place in the middle of the tribulation. It does not take place at the end of the tribulation. There's a very common movement now to preach on something called the pre-wrath rapture, that the rapture takes place three and a half years into the tribulation. My problem with that, although there are more than just this, is that as a child of God, I've been saved from the wrath to come. I'm not just saved from the great wrath, I'm saved from all the wrath. So the rapture is going to take place before the tribulation period. Say, Brother Harper, how do you know that? I'll give you three reasons why I know that as we talk about the education on the rapture. Notice, it's God's picture. In Revelation chapter two and chapter three, there are seven churches mentioned. Now some Bible scholars over the years and some some very good Bible scholars have tried to make those to be about seven church ages, seven times of history throughout since Jesus ascended up until the rapture takes place and they've said that each one of those represents so many years and all of that kind of stuff personally do not hold to that, I don't get mad at anybody who does, I just don't, but whether you believe they represent something else or not, everybody believes this about those seven churches. They're seven literal churches. There's seven letters from the Apostle John, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, to seven literal pastors of seven literal local New Testament churches. There was a church in Ephesus, there was a church in Thyatira, there was a church in Philadelphia, there was a church in Pergamos, there was a church in Sardis, there was a church in Laodicea. All those churches were actually there, and the Apostle John, and again, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, writes seven literal letters seven literal pastors of seven literal local New Testament churches. Then in Revelation chapter 4 and verse 1 the Bible says this, after this I looked and behold a door was open in heaven and the first voice which I heard was as if it were a trumpet talking with me which said come up hither and and I will show the things which must be hereafter. And the apostle John is translated up into heaven for the rest of the book of the Revelation. Now, follow me carefully on this. That's the picture of the rapture at the end of the seven churches, and then John is taken out with a shout and with a trumpet. Say, Brother Harper, how do you know that's a picture of the rapture? Because from Revelation chapter four and verse one, through the remainder of the book of the Revelation, there is not one further mention of the New Testament church on planet earth in the rest of the book. John is taken out with a shout and a trumpet just like you and I are gonna be taken out with a shout and with a trumpet. Notice, it's God's picture. Number two, quickly, it's God's pattern. It's God's pattern. The tribulation period is not a time for the Lord to rain down judgment on the church. and God has a pattern of removing those that are his people before he punishes those that are not his people. You think about this, Rahab is delivered from Jericho before the inhabitants of Jericho are killed. Lot and his wife and his two virgin daughters are carried by the angels outside of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah before the fire and brimstone fell. Noah and his family are safely ensconced in the ark before God shut the door and the fountains of the great deep burst forth. God has a pattern of removing his people before he judges those that are not his people. It's God's picture. It's God's pattern. But number three, quickly, it's God's promise. In John chapter 15 and verse 18, I believe it is, Jesus said this, I will not leave you Comfortless. It's chapter 14 and verse 18. I will not leave you comfortless. Then in verse 26, he finishes the thought and says this, for the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost. Do you know it's an impossibility for a person to be a saved child of God on planet Earth today without being indwelled by the Holy Ghost? As the Apostle Paul put it, almost incredulously, when he asked the church at Corinth, he said, what? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you're not your own, for you're bought with a price? Therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's. The instant you get saved, you are indwelled by the Holy Ghost. He takes up residence inside of you, and you are thereby sealed until the day of redemption by the Holy Ghost. So you cannot be here without the Holy Ghost. Jesus said, when I leave, I'm going to leave you the comforter, and you will not be comfortless. But there is a time when the Holy Ghost leaves. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, beginning in verse 7, the Bible says this, for the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Only he who now letteth, that word means to let, it means to hinder, he who now letteth or hindereth will let or hinder until he be taken out of the way. Now what happens after he's taken out of the way? Then shall that wicked be revealed whom the Lord shall destroy with the spirit of his cup with the brightness of his coming I mean just read it so consume with that way shall be revealed in the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming in his comings after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders the truth is the Antichrist can't be revealed until someone who is letting or hindering stops letting and hindering now Somebody, I had a preacher one time say, Brother Harper, that could be anybody. He said, for all you know, that could be Mickey Mouse. Well, it can't be Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse wasn't hindering when Paul was alive. Whoever was hindering when Paul was alive. is still hindering today, because the Antichrist has not been revealed yet, so he's still hindering today. Whoever it is that was hindering in 62 AD is still hindering in 2023 right now. That kind of rules out everybody that you know and everybody that I know on planet Earth, doesn't it? Matter of fact, it only leaves you two options. It leaves Satan, whose job it is to hinder the church, and the Holy Ghost, whose job it is to hinder Satan. It's not Satan though, we can rule that out because Revelation chapter 13 and verse three says it's the dragon that gave the Antichrist his power and his seat and his great authority. And then in verse four it says, and they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast. So it's almost absurd to assume that Satan is taken out before his Antichrist begins to rule and reign. So if Satan isn't the one talking about that's going to be removed, the one who's letting, that's gonna continue to let, until he's taken out of the way before the Antichrist is revealed, then who is it? It has to be the Holy Ghost of God. It can't be anybody else. He is taken out before the Antichrist is revealed. Say, Brother Harper, that's kind of scary, not for me and you. I can't be here comfortless. I can't be here without the comforter. So here's the truth of it, Christian. When he goes, I go. I can't be here without him. That's my Savior's promise. See, understand, there are three reasons why we can say conclusively that the rapture is the next event on God's prophetic calendar. It is God's picture, it is God's pattern, and it is God's promise. What is the rapture? It's when Jesus steps out in the clouds with a shout in the trumpet to call home all who are dead in Christ and all those who are alive and remain in Christ to be with him forever and ever. takes place before the tribulation because it's God's picture God's pattern in God's promise not just what is the rapture on the education of the rapture but when is the rapture isn't that the question isn't that the question that every preacher that preaches on prophecy is going to tell you sometime in his message he's going to say something like this well I don't want to name a date but I When is the rapture? You read the guy who said he knew exactly when the rapture was gonna take place. He wrote books about it. He did television and radio interviews about it. Gave the exact date that the rapture was going to take place. That date came and went and the rapture didn't take place. The man was so embarrassed that he moved himself and his family to China and he changed his name to Wang Day. When is the rapture? I'm gonna give you the best possible answer that I can. I don't have any idea. I don't have a clue. I don't even have a guess. I'm not gonna say, I don't wanna name any dates, but I'm not gonna name any dates. Because I do not know when the rapture is going to take place. And by the way, excuse me for being bold, but neither did Jack Van Impey, neither does John Hagee, neither does Tim LaHaye, neither does Jerry Jenkins, Neither does any of those guys that uplift themselves and say that they're prophecy preachers. The simple truth is nobody knows. So Brother Harper, how do you know those men don't know? How can you say that? I didn't say it, Jesus said it. Mark chapter 13 and verse 32. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man. Know not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Mark 13, 35. Watch ye therefore, for you know not when the master of the house cometh. at evening, or at midnight, or at the morning, or at the cock crowing. 1 Thessalonians chapter five and verse two. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord shall so come as a thief in the night. Nobody knows when he's coming back. I said, Brother Harper, wait a minute. Is it okay to speculate? I actually, I probably take this one step farther than most guys do, but I'm gonna take it here anyway. I not only believe that you can't know, I believe it's wrong to even guess. Remember what our Savior said, remember, after he had resurrected from the dead, after he had ministered on the earth for 40 days, been seen of over 500, he's on the mountain about ready to ascend into heaven, and his disciples ask him a specific question. Lord, is it now time to restore the kingdom to Israel? That's about one specific moment in Bible prophecy. Remember, Jesus could have said, no, no, you'll know when, if the moon turns red. No, no, you'll know when, when the stars all line up. Oh, you'll know when, when this kingdom falls or that kingdom falls or this man rises up. You'll know when, when this certain earthquake happens or this certain war takes place. You'll know when, that's not what Jesus said. You know what Jesus said? He didn't just answer their question, answer their question with this statement. He answered any question about Bible prophecy with his answer. In Acts chapter one and verse seven, he said this, Not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power. When's the rapture gonna take place? Once again, Mark 13, 32, no man knoweth the day nor the hour, nor not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son but the Father. And let me tell you something, when a guy stands up and tells you he knows when the rapture is going to take place, you have a biblical responsibility to turn him off. I don't care if you've been listening to him all your life. You have a biblical responsibility to mark him down as a heretic. because the incarnate Son of God, who was raising people from the dead, feeding 5,000 with loaves and fishes, causing storms to stop and walking on the water, Jesus said, neither the Son, even right at that moment, the Son of God did not know when the rapture is going to take place. So when a preacher stands up and says he knows when it's going to take place, he just told you he is smarter than Jesus Christ was when he was walking the earth. That's heresy, my friend. Turn him off, ignore him. Everything he says after that is going to be completely false because he doesn't know. And if our savior didn't know on planet earth, that man doesn't know either. When is the rapture? I don't know. I remember in 1976, hearing a preacher stand up. preached at a citywide crusade in Charleston, West Virginia. I'm just a 13 year old boy, just passed my 13th birthday when he was there. And on Friday night, he was gonna preach on Bible prophecy. And he's quoting scripture after scripture after scripture. And then he said this, the revived Roman empire that we find in Daniel chapter two, in Daniel chapter seven, we find the antichrist over that in Revelation chapter 13, that is the European Common Market, that's what he said, that is the European Common Market. He said right now, he said that revived Roman Empire will have 10 nations, the 10 toes of that beast of iron and clay from Daniel chapter two. And right now he said this, there are nine nations in the European Common Market, but Belgium is about ready to join, they're finishing up the process for their membership, and as soon as Belgium joins the European Common Market, there'll be ten nations and Jesus Christ will return there are 25 nations in what's known as the European Common Market it still exists there are 16 full member nations and nine associate member nations that means 25 that means Daniel made a terrible mistake when he interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream because all Daniel saw was two feet there must have been three others Now, when you heard that man preach 20 years ago, he no longer said European Common Market, he then said the European Union until more than 10 nations joined the European Union. And every time the group got larger, he had to come up with a different interpretation. Every time he would quote the same verses as proof texts for his wrong theology. Every time he made a mistake. And like I said at the beginning, if your message is based upon the nations that rise and fall, Your message will change every time a dictator is killed, every time an election is held, and every time a coup takes place. If your message is built on this book instead of on newspaper clippings, it never has to change. No one knew 2000 years ago when Jesus was returning and no one knows today. It's a great way to sell books. It's a great way to promote your podcast. It's a great way to get Facebook friends and have people look at your Instagram posts. But the truth of the matter is nobody knew then and nobody knows now. When is Jesus gonna return? When's the rapture gonna take place? I don't know. I don't have a guess, I don't have a clue, and no one else knows, and no one else should have a clue, and I don't even think we should speculate. Jesus said, it's not for you to know. Modern day translation of that would be basically this, it is none of your business. That's what our Savior said. Notice number one, the education of the rapture. We saw what is the rapture. Once again, it's when Jesus steps out in the clouds with a shout and with a trumpet to call home all who are dead in Christ and all those who are alive and remain to be with Christ forever and ever. It takes place before the tribulation because it's God's picture, God's pattern, and God's promise. When is the rapture? I have no idea, not going to offer any speculation, and I don't think you should even listen to anybody that does offer speculation. Number three, what's going to happen after the rapture? Well, the Antichrist is going to be revealed. We saw that in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. A lot of Christians are worried about the Antichrist. I do find it interesting that if you read any theological commentaries that are over 100 years old, none of them speculate on who the Antichrist is. That's a modern day thing we've been speculating on who the Antichrist is. The trouble with all those speculation, and by the way, I've probably given you this list before. I remember in the, if you read any book written in the 1930s, you're gonna find that they all thought that Adolf Hitler or Benito Mussolini were gonna be the Antichrist. In the 1970s, some of you will remember this. I heard messages that almost conclusively proved in the mind of the preacher that Henry Kissinger was in fact the Antichrist. Mr. Kissinger obviously wasn't the Antichrist. Every president for the last 50 years has been accused of being the Antichrist. Ronald Reagan was gonna be the Antichrist. Remember what they said about Ronald Reagan, the reason he was the Antichrist? Because his first name was Ronald, and Ronald has six letters in it. His middle name was Wilson. Wilson had six letters in it. His last name was Reagan, and Reagan had six letters in it. So for the first time in the history of the greatest nation on the face of the earth, the most powerful man on the planet had six letters in his first name, six letters in his middle name, six letters in his last name, that's 666, he must be the Antichrist. Then it became popular to say that Bill Clinton was the Antichrist. Without endorsing a political party or political candidate in any shape, way, matter, or form, I think they were a lot closer with Bill Clinton than they were with Ronald Reagan. Then George W. Bush was gonna be the Antichrist. His first name is George. George has six letters in it. His middle name is Walker, and Walker has six letters in it. But you jumped ahead, didn't you? You're in your mind right there, you're spelling Bush, B-U-S-H. That's only four letters, Brother Harper. You forget he's Bush Jr. I was with a pastor in Texas in 2019, and this pastor told me this. And you remember the political situation in our country in 2019? He said, I believe that President Trump is going to win reelection hands down. He said, and after he is done with his second term, his son, Donald Jr. is going to be elected president, and he's going to serve for eight years. And then Eric is gonna be elected president, and he's going to serve for eight years. But once after the end of Eric's presidency, the nation is going to turn against Almighty God, because the Bible says that the rapture takes place at the last trump. See, you can laugh at that. I had to sit there in the truck with this pastor and go, well, that's interesting, brother. I've never looked at it that way. The antichrist is going to be revealed. Think about this for just a moment. We just got through telling you that no man knows when the rapture is going to take place, neither the son, but the father. And then Jesus says, you can't know things that the father has put in his own power, it's not for you to know. But here's something that I think we fail to understand. We fail to apply to our biblical interpretation. Satan doesn't have any inside information. He doesn't know when the rapture is going to take place either. So do you ever stop and think that in every single era, as a matter of fact, every single day of human history since Jesus ascended, Satan has had to have a man ready to step in and be the antichrist. He's had to have someone because he doesn't know when Jesus is returning and he has to have an adult male ready to step in and rule the world just as soon as Jesus comes back. all the speculation about this one individual that is especially concocted by Satan to be the Antichrist. They all assume that he knows the exact date the rapture's gonna take place when he doesn't have a clue. I don't know who the Antichrist is. You say, Brother Harper, wait a minute, is it okay to speculate? I don't see a verse that tells me not to speculate on who the Antichrist is. So what I'm saying is, speculate all you want if you wanna waste your time. Because he's not even revealed until after we're gone. He doesn't affect us at all. I've heard all kinds of speculation as to who he was. I was in a church not too long ago and a guy says that he believed that a computer was going to be the antichrist. I said, well, that's interesting. They finally developed a computer that can last for 1,000 years, because the beast is thrown into hell, into the lake of fire, and 1,000 years later, he's still there. And so if the beast is a computer, that's a pretty good computer. I wouldn't mind buying that one, I'm sorry. My computers don't last 1,000 years. But who is he? You've got two choices. You can spend your life trying to figure out who the Antichrist is, or you can spend your time looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. You can spend your time looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God. What I'm trying to say is, Christian, the Antichrist does not affect us at all. Is it interesting speculation? Of course it is. Is there any chance that we're gonna get it right? No. Notice the education on the rapture. What is the rapture? It's when Jesus returns with the shout and the trumpet. When is the rapture? I don't know. I'm not speculating. And anybody who speculates is saying he knows more than Jesus knew. Thirdly, what's gonna happen after the rapture? The antichrist will be revealed. Who's that, Brother Harper? I don't know. I don't have a guess. And quite frankly, to say it as clearly as I can, I don't care. Notice, number one, there's the education of the rapture. Number two, watch this carefully, there's the exclusivity of the rapture, or the exclusive nature, if you wanna write it that way, of the rapture. Who's gonna go in the rapture? Oh, Brother Harper, we live in a Christian nation, we're gonna go. No. I'm a member of Bethel Baptist Church, I'm gonna go. Nope, that's not what that means. I'm an independent Baptist, that means I'm gonna go. Nope, that's not what that means. There are people living in a Christian nation. Most likely there are people that are members of this church. There are people certainly that call themselves independent Baptist that have never trusted Christ as their personal savior. That's who goes in the rapture. Paul says it clearly. Look at verse 14, for if we believe. that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. How do we know what people are that, what are the people are that believe that Jesus died and rose again? Romans chapter 10 in verse nine tells us that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. And verse 10 says this, for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. The truth of the matter is, only saved people go in the rapture. You can be a church member. You can be the most faithful person on the planet. But if you haven't trusted Christ as your personal savior, you're not going in the rapture. And then the Bible tells us again, back to 2 Thessalonians, it says this, because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. For this cause, God shall send them strong delusion. They should believe a lie. Now people will get saved in the tribulation period. Multitudes of people will get saved during the tribulation period. There'll be 144,000 witnesses that are going over the entire world and preaching the word of God. But I do want you to think about that number, 144,000 witnesses and 6 billion people, it's gonna take a while. John sees them underneath the throne. He sees the multitude under there in their white robes. He says, who are these? And God says, these are they that have come out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. There are multitudes going to get saved in the tribulation period. But here's not who's not going to get saved in the tribulation period. People who have received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. If you've heard the gospel time and time and time and time and time again and you've rejected over and over and over and all of a sudden one Sunday your pastor is preaching and all of a sudden everybody's gone except two or three people you're gonna look around and go you know what I think I ought to go ahead and get saved all that message all those messages were right no no no that is salvation by sight that is not salvation by faith And the simple truth is God is going to be the one that sends you the strong delusion. The rapture takes place. If you've heard the gospel, you're done. Oh, Brother Harper, that's just mean preaching. I mean, I've read lots of things and heard other people say that you could still get saved after the rapture of the church, and that's what I believe. That's just mean to tell people they're not gonna have another chance. No, no, let me tell you what mean preaching is. Mean preaching is promising you a chance that you're not gonna get. mean preaching is saying you can pray your way out of purgatory mean preaching is saying just put it off and when a bunch of people disappear then you're finally gonna know that the Bible is correct no but how many missionaries have stood right here in this pulpit and said I'm going to Mozambique Mozambique has this many millions of people and only 3% of them have ever heard a gospel witness How many times have you heard missionary after missionary after missionary talk about the countless millions and billions that have never heard a true, the true message of the gospel? Those are the ones that are gonna get saved during the tribulation, not the ones that heard it and received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. You have to give the devil credit. Every now and then you have to give him credit. He's come up with a pretty good idea here, hasn't he? When I was younger, I remember you could hear stories from evangelists and pastors. I'll never forget hearing the story of a man in his 50s walking out the back door talking to the evangelist that was preaching that week of revival meetings. And he shook the evangelist's hand and he says, I'm coming back tomorrow night and I'm getting saved tomorrow night. The evangelist said, no, no, let's just do it now. We'll just go off together and you can get, you can trust Christ as your personal savior right now. The man said, no, no, I'm okay, I'll do it tomorrow night. He let go of the evangelist's hand, he took two more steps, clutched his chest as his left arm went numb, and he died of a massive coronary in the vestibule of the church. Or the young man who was in church did not look anything like a church attender. And after the service was over, he walked by the pastor and he laughed at him and he mocked at him and he made fun of him, went outside and got on his motorcycle and pulled into traffic and was broadsided in the sight of the whole church by a semi-tractor trailer. We used to be able to tell stories about people dying. And people would become afraid. People would get worried. But see, the devil has convinced us that we're in control of our own mortality, hasn't he? If you exercise enough, if you eat right, if your cholesterol is low enough, if you're A1C and your sugar is low enough, and you do this and you do this and you eat right, boy, you're pretty much just gonna live forever. You're gonna cheat death. Don't believe me? Go home and watch a Honey Nut Cheerios commercial tonight. You eat Honey Nut Cheerios, you're gonna keep your cholesterol so low, you're pretty much just gonna live forever. Isn't that what the devil tells us? He has convinced us that we have no fear of death because we're in charge of our own mortality. Even if the devil were right, and of course he's not, it's appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. Even if the devil were right, even if you were in control of your own mortality, you're not in control of when the rapture's gonna take place. And when it takes place, you're just as doomed as the rich man who died and was buried and in hell lift up his eyes. The truth is, Christian, if you make it through, The tribulation period. Let's change that. Let's say you die in the third year of the tribulation period, lost person. You've rejected Christ. God sent you strong delusion. You're believing a lie. And by the way, no one goes to heaven believing a lie. Everybody that goes to heaven goes believing in the way, the truth, and the life. You're gonna believe a lie. And after three years of the tribulation, you die in one of the judgments. You open your eyes immediately in a lake that burns with fire and brimstone. You're there for a thousand and four years until finally you're taken out for something called the great white throne judgment. You stand in front of the Jesus sitting on the throne because the Bible says the father has given all judgment to the son. It is Jesus sitting there at the great white throne judgment and all of a sudden your knees buckle. you fall on your knees and you join the chorus filled with the Jeffrey Dahmer's, the Osama Bin Laden's, the Saddam Hussein's, the Jack the Rippers, the John Wayne Gacy's of the world. the atheists that shook their fist at the heavens and said there is no God you fall down on your knees with the billions of them and you proclaim the one sitting on the throne as King of Kings and Lord of Lords you say on your knees at that judgment what you would never say on planet earth and at that moment he looks at you and says something that's out of character or seemingly is out of character since Adam and Eve sinned Has the Lord not done everything to pave the way for humanity to come back to him? Hasn't he had one message for every single sinner that has ever lived on planet Earth? And we could boil it down to one word. Come. He that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Come. But on that day, He's going to look at you and He's going to say, go away. More accurately, He's gonna say, depart from me. Ye that work iniquity and the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, I never knew you. That's what's going to happen. Notice, number one, we saw the education of the rapture. Number two, the exclusive nature of the rapture. Number three, the encouragement at the rapture. I love the end of verse 13. It says, but I would not have you, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. I heard a preacher one time stop at the word not, and he preached an entire message on why it's wrong for a Christian who has lost a brother or sister in Christ to cry at their funeral. We're not supposed to be sorry when they leave. That's just a bunch of junk right there, I'm sorry. Because if you read John chapter 11, you find the savior of the world who knows he's going to see Lazarus in the resurrection, who knows Lazarus is going to heaven, but also knows he's gonna raise him from the dead. At his tomb, Jesus wept. It doesn't say that you sorrow not. Stop reading half sentences. It says you sorrow not even as others, which have no hope. I heard a preacher put it this way. at the grave side of a Christian who's gone on to heaven. A Christian can look at the casket and he says, See you later. The lost person says goodbye. The most perfect picture of this actually has nothing to do with the rapture of the church. Remember, in the Old Testament, in 2 Samuel chapter, I believe it's 11, when David has been confronted by Nathan after, as we mentioned earlier in the week, his sin with Bathsheba and his sin against Uriah the Hittite. Nathan comes in and tells him that story of the poor man who has one ewe lamb that eats at his table and sleeps at his bed, and the rich man that has lots of flocks. And when the rich man has company, he takes the poor man's lamb and slaughters it and feeds it to his guests. David becomes incensed and said, that man should repay fourfold. And then Nathan told him, thou art the man. One of the judgments that you're gonna face, David, for your sin This is the baby that Bathsheba has delivered is gonna die. David went in his room, he closed the door, he laid on the ground, and he prayed day after day, nonstop. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, begging God to spare the life of his son. He heard his men talking outside, remember that? And he realized that the baby was dead. He left his room, he cleaned himself up, I love this, He went to the house of the Lord. Do you realize how much after God's own heart you have to be to go to the house of the Lord after the Lord has taken your child? Then he came back and sat at the meal with his men. And his men said, David, we don't understand. When the baby was alive, you prayed that God would spare him. Now that the baby is dead, why don't you ask God to give him back? And David gave the sweetest answer for anyone who's ever lost a child like we have. David's answer was this. He cannot come to me, but I will go to him. That's the encouragement of the rapture. We're gonna be reunited. Notice number one, the education of the rapture. Number two, the exclusive nature of the rapture. Number three, the encouragement of the rapture. And then lastly, we'll be finished, the encounters at the rapture. Now the rapture takes place, the Bible tells us, and we'll look at those verses in a moment, in a moment at the twinkling of an eye. Scientists in Philadelphia have discovered the exact unit of time that a twinkling of an eye is. It's the amount of time between the moment that the light turns green and the instant that the person behind you honks their horn. That's a twinkling of an eye. Scientists have said numbers like this, and there are lots of different speculations you'll see, 11 one thousandths of a second. That's fast. So Brother Harper, how can things happen in that little amount of time? Because God doesn't wear a watch. It's an old joke. This man's in his prayer closet, and the Lord appears to him. The Lord says, I'll let you ask me a question. And the man said, Lord, how long is a million years to you? And the Lord said, about a second. He said, well, Lord, how much is a million dollars to you? The Lord said, about a penny. And the man said, Lord, can I borrow a penny? And the Lord said, in a second. God's going to accomplish a lot in that twinkling of an eye. The first thing we see, there's three encounters. The first one that I see here is with the dead in Christ. Notice the exact wording of this passage of scripture. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we, which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds. It sure looks to me like there's a reunion in the clouds. I don't know how long it will feel to us, but it looks that way to me. Now, when we get to heaven, you might say, there wasn't a reunion in the clouds, and I'll say, oh, you were right, sorry about that, and then we'll just go on into heaven and worship the Lord, and the Lord will judge you for being so picky. It sure looks to me like there's a reunion in the clouds. My great uncle Warren, who preached the gospel for over 50 years, my son Andrew, my brother-in-law Kemp, my dad, They'll all be there. Looks like there's gonna be a reunion in the air. There's a song we used to sing all the time in West Virginia. There's gonna be a meeting in the air in that sweet, sweet by and by, and I'm gonna meet you and greet you over there in that home beyond the sky. Such singing you will hear, never heard by mortal ear. It will be glory, I do declare, for God's own Son will be the leading one at that meeting in the air. We're gonna be caught up together in the clouds with the dead in Christ. I asked my wife's uncle, I mentioned him in the announcements. I asked him one time, he was married for a number of years, his wife died of pancreatic and liver cancer. I asked him, I said, do you think that I'm right about that? He said, I certainly do. He said, because shortly after that, we're gonna see our savior and no one else will matter after that. The first encounter is with the dead in Christ. But the second encounter, sometime between the time we hear the sound of the shout and the trumpet, and the time that we meet our Savior, we're gonna get a brand new body. Now heaven would be wonderful in these bodies, wouldn't it? Heaven would be wonderful no matter how you got there. Heaven would be wonderful in these bodies. Could you imagine though, your first step on the street of gold with a limp? A walker, a cane, in a wheelchair, the first time you heard the angel choir sing, to have to have it interpreted, have to turn up your hearing aid, first time your mansion is there in front of you, to have to have someone describe it because you're blind, or you have to squint because you have glaucoma or cataracts. Oh, heaven would still be heaven, but I'm glad we don't go there like that. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, beginning in verse 51. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, we shall all be changed in a moment at the twink of an eye at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. And this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So that when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, this mortal shall have put on immortality. Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Reminded in 2 Corinthians chapter five, verses one and two, for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God and house not made with hands, for in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with the house which is from above. Or Philippians chapter three, verses 20 and 21, for our conversation is in heaven, from which also we look for the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body and make it, it might be fashioned like into his glorious body. Sometime between the moment I hear the shout and the moment I meet my Savior, I get a brand new body. This body doesn't make it. There's something bigger than that, though, than just having good legs to walk on the street, good eyes to see your mansion, and good ears to hear the angel choir sing. Because with that brand new body, it's likened to His glorious body. It's a body without sin. It's a body without sickness and sadness. Robert Murray McShane was a great preacher of days gone by, even though he died before his 31st birthday. He wrote a poem, I'll never forget reading it, on my first day at Bible college in North Carolina in 1994. a teacher by the name of Ernie Childs, put it up on the overhead projector. That tells you how long ago it was. He wrote a poem entitled, I Am Debtor. The last stanza, the poem has 17 stanzas. I won't go through it all, but the last stanza says this. And when I stand before thy throne, dressed in beauty, not my own, and when I see thee, as thou art. Listen to this and love thee with an un sinning heart. Then Lord, well, I know not till then how much I owe for the first time. I won't worry about sin. Isn't it true, Christian, that every time that you start to get right, every time you come to an altar, every time you make a decision that you're gonna serve the Lord and be one of God's mighty Christians, or you're gonna give up compromise, and no sooner than you get up off of your knees, sin creeps back in almost immediately. The devil seems as if he's waiting there at the altar for you to stand back up. Every time you've made a decision to draw yourself closer to the Lord, it is sin that got in the way every single time. But on this day, there's no more sin. I have a body like his glorious body. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Notice the first encounters with the dead in Christ, the second encounters with our new body, but the third encounter, well, that's the best of all. Then we which are alive and remain 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. We're going to meet him in the air. I heard one preacher say, and I hope he's accurate about this. He said, the reason the Lord himself steps out is because he's as excited to see us as we are to see him. On that day, every trial, tribulation and temptation is forgotten. That one that poets have tried to describe, but as best as they can do, still doesn't do him justice. Artists have tried to paint him. Preachers have tried to describe him in the most glowing of ways. They just don't seem to do him justice, do they? We're gonna meet him. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus. What a day that will be when my Jesus I will see. we're gonna finally see the one that we have loved without ever having met. The one that we've been looking forward to meeting since the day we trusted him as our personal savior. Literally the culmination of everything that we believe takes place in the clouds when we meet the Lord in the air. If you're here today and you don't know Christ as your personal savior, that's not how you'll meet him. You'll meet him in judgment. We'll meet him in the clouds. But Christian, please understand two things. There are some that will be ashamed before him at his coming. 1 John chapter two tells us that. Can you imagine being ashamed before him at his coming? Could you imagine the culmination of everything and still having to be ashamed? Brother Harper, how could that happen? Oh, you've been in church Sunday morning, Sunday night, all the way through Friday night. And because I preach a little bit fast, you've heard two or three messages every single night. You start adding it all up and you decide Sunday morning, I think I'm just gonna miss this Sunday. I think I'm just gonna take it easy. I'm preached up right now, I'm doing just fine. You're laying there in your bed at 11 o'clock on Sunday morning. and there's a shout and the trumpet. And you're ashamed before him that it's coming. Maybe it's an invitation in a revival service. And you say to yourself, no, no, no. I know I should go forward, but I'm not going to. And you get to your car and you think, whew, dodge that bullet. And just as you get ready to sit down, there's a shout and a trumpet. and you're ashamed before him at his coming. Wanna be better on Sunday? I will tell you this, I will promise you this. If you've been here every night this week, and you're here tomorrow night, when Sunday comes, you are going to be tired. You are gonna be looking for an excuse, and the devil will quickly provide one. But you're gonna say, no, no, no, I'm not forsaking the assembling of myself together. I wanna go, I wanna hear my pastor preach this morning. You're gonna get here, you'll be sitting there in the seats, and all of a sudden, Brother Gray's gonna have you turn in your hymnal. And then you're gonna stand and you're gonna start singing that wonderful, wonderful old song, Victory in Jesus. You're gonna start singing, I heard an old, old story, how a savior came from glory. Before you get done with the first verse, you've already forgotten that you're tired. Something about that song, you just can't sing it without gusto, can you? Then you're gonna get that last verse. I heard about a mansion he's built for me in glory, and I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea, about the angels singing the old redemption story, and some sweet day I'll sing up there my song of victory. And then there's a shout and the trumpet, and you sing the chorus at the reunion in the clouds. And you're not ashamed before him at his coming. which Thursday night of a revival, Lord's dealt with your heart. You come to the altar. You stand up from the altar and there for a moment. And for most of us, if you're like me, it doesn't last as long as we want it to last. But you can stand there and say right now, there's nothing between my soul and my savior. And there's a shout and the trumpet and you're not ashamed. And understand this, it doesn't matter how much you do for the Lord, you're not going to be raptured out while patting yourself on your back. You're not gonna meet him face to face and say, boy, I sure am glad I was such a great Christian. Oh, we're not gonna go proud Christian, but let's not go ashamed. The pastor mentioned it. It's so unusual because in over a thousand meetings, we've sung it in one church, and we had one church that sang the song as a choir number. But it's the verse, the song I think about every time I think about the rapture. And I cannot sing the chorus anymore. Years of preaching have diminished what little bit of vocal ability I had, but the verses go like this. By and by. when I look on his face. Beautiful face. Listen to this. Thorn-shadowed face. By and by, when I look on his face, I wish I had given him more. The second verse says, by and by, When he holds out his hands, welcoming hands, nail-riven hands, by and by, when he holds out his hands, I wish I had given him more. Christian, we won't go proud, but let's not go ashamed. If you're here today and you don't know Christ as your personal Savior, today is the day. The Bible is clear. Today is the day of salvation. Even more specific, behold, now is the acceptable time. When does the Lord want you to get saved? Here's the answer. Now. Let's bow our heads and close our eyes, no one looking around. I don't know when the rapture is going to take place. You may not get out this door before the Lord returns. But how many would say, Brother Harper, if the Lord came back right now? I know I would go. I know I will be raptured. I know I've trusted Christ as my personal savior. I believe that Jesus died and rose again, and I've trusted him, and I know if I died right now or if the rapture took place right now, heaven is my eternal home. Would you slip your hand up, please, as a testimony? I know that for sure. Hold your hand up and keep it up for just a moment. Thank you, and put your hands down. How many would say, Brother Harper, the Lord kept bringing back into my mind times that if Jesus had returned just today, I'd have been ashamed. Not a one of us that was ready every single instant of every single moment of today, but how many would say, Brother Harper, the Lord brought to my mind I wonder, Christian, are there those in the auditorium that there's things that you should have done so far this week that you haven't? Things that the Lord convicted you about, but you stayed right there. And you wouldn't want to meet Him with that unfinished business on your heart? I'm gonna say, Brother Harper, there are things that I need to deal with that we've already talked about this week, and I wouldn't want him to come back without me dealing with them. Would you slip your hand up quickly all over the auditorium? Thank you, I see your hand, and I see your hand, and I see your hand. What a tragedy it would be to be among the list of those that are ashamed before him at his coming. Why don't you do what the Lord's laid on your heart tonight. Don't hesitate, don't wait. Don't let the devil convince you to compromise and stay right there. Dear Lord and heavenly Father, we thank you for this evening. Lord, we thank you for our time together. Thank you for your word. Thank you for the truth that your son is coming back to get us. Father, have your will and your way in everything that's done in this invitation. Help your people to do what you've laid on their hearts, in Jesus' name. With your head still bowed and your eyes still closed, let's stand. All over the auditorium, everyone please standing, no one looking around. Just a moment, the piano's gonna begin to play. Won't you join those that have already stepped out as she begins.