I tell you. I hope you guys get a bus and start traveling. But not on Sunday, right? Amen. Alright. Turn to your Bibles if you would. 1 Thessalonians chapter number 4. Would you do that? Music was wonderful tonight. Let me say a big thank you to Melissa Barger and the decoration team and the beautiful decorations here in our church. How many think that our church just looks wonderful for the season? And I appreciate all the work and the energy they put into it. and the creativity. I appreciate that. And down through the years, we've had ladies that have been involved in this, and just through all the time that I've been here, things have just been beautiful year after year, and I'm thankful for the time, the sacrifice, the hard work that is put into making our church look nice and festive, and then other times of the year as well. Well, you should be in 1 Thessalonians chapter number 4. For the last several weeks we've been asking and answering the question, what's next? The unsettledness around us in our world makes us ask the question, where are we headed? That is exactly what the prognosticators are saying, the people in the media, politicians. Where are we headed? Well, I've got good news for you as Christians. You and I are not in the dark. Amen? God has given us in His Word an understanding of the events that are going to transpire in the earth's future. And there's one event to which all of creation is moving, and that is the second coming of Jesus Christ. The greatest event in the history of the world is that Jesus came the first time. The greatest event that will take place in our world's future is that Jesus Christ is coming again. Now we've learned that there are two phases to the second coming. That there is what we understand as the rapture, when Jesus comes in the air for His saints, what we've been preaching on these last couple services. And then we know that the second phase of His coming is His return to the earth, when Jesus leaves heaven and touches down on this earth with His saints. So you have to differentiate between the two. The rapture, He comes in the air, the atmospheric heavens. He does not come to the earth. We go up to meet Him. At the return, He does come back to the earth, to the Mount of Olives, from the place that He left to go back to heaven after His first coming. And we know that He's going to bring His saints with Him. And they're separated. These two events are separated by at least seven years. I explain why I say at least seven years in coming messages. We know the next event on God's prophetic calendar is the rapture. The leaving of the saints of God. Every Christian ought to be rapture ready. That means that, listen, Jesus could come at any moment, and how we are then is how we are going to meet Him. Whatever is in our life, whatever we might be doing, wherever we may be at, Whatever is going on in our lives at that very moment is exactly how we're going to meet the Lord Jesus. And so, there's coming a day, there's coming a moment when He's going to come for His own and we need to be rapture ready. When you come to I Thessalonians 4 beginning in verse 13, you're going to find the most definitive passage in all of the Bible about this great event. Here's what's interesting. Paul does not give it as a doctrinal treatise, although it is a doctrinal theological truth. He gives it as a means of comfort and hope and encouragement to a group of hurting Christians in Thessalonica. Look what he says, verse number 13, 1 Thessalonians 4. He said, but I would not have you to be ignorant. That means without knowledge, brethren. It wasn't a term where he's being derogatory. He's not casting off. He's not casting anybody down or speaking derogatory toward them. He's just saying, I want to help you to have information, ignorant brethren, concerning them which are asleep, your loved ones that have died prior to the event I've taught you, this rapture. that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope." Christian, here's what God says. It's not wrong to sorrow when our loved ones leave this earth. It's natural, it is normal, and it is necessary. Grief is a part of life that it helps us to begin to learn to get through the things that we cannot get over. We learn to adjust in our lives. And one of the ways we do that is to understand that when it comes to this matter of our loved ones who know the Lord and we know the Lord, that we sorrow, but we don't sorrow with a hopeless spirit. That we don't have to go into a despair of hopelessness because we have hope. Christian, death is not the end as it relates to the children of God. He says, verse number 14, Now that is an emphatic sense. For if, or since, we believe that Jesus died and rose again, just as assuredly as Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord shall not prevent." That is a word that we think of today of obstructing or hindering. Words change meaning over time. And when the Bible was translated, the word prevent meant to proceed or to go before. And he's saying, "...shall not proceed or go before them which are asleep." That means that the living will not go up before those who have died. Verse 16, "...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," I want to be in that second group. What about you? "...shall be caught up together with them in the clouds," the atmospheric heavens, "...to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore," See, here he's going to make an application. "...Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." Paul's saying that, listen, when your loved ones pass that know the Lord, that's not the end. There's coming a grand reunion day for the people of God. And we need to be rapture ready at all times. Let's pray together. Lord, we love You. We thank You for the sweet Spirit, the wonderful music, the solo and the men's group and the choir, congregational singing. Lord, just the sweet Spirit in our service tonight. And now, Lord, it's time to open Your Word. I pray the Spirit of God might be our teacher tonight. I pray, Lord, You'd guide my thoughts, my tongue. Help me to speak Your Word with clarity. Lord, to be coherent. And Lord, that Your people would not only understand, Lord, but they would grow in their knowledge of You, their knowledge of end-time events. And Lord, to have hope. Lord, when we leave here tonight, we leave with a sense of hope that the rapture should not be a foreboding event. It ought to be a hope-filled event. And I pray, Lord, that tonight it bring joy and hope into our hearts to know that, Lord, our loved ones who have gone on, that one day we're going to see them again when we see You face to face. And we'll sure thank You for it. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Well, we've been learning about this truth called the rapture. And we've learned that it is a sure event. That Jesus, before He left earth to go back to heaven, promised His disciples, He said, I'm going away, I'm going to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself. that where I am, there ye may be also." He was giving them words of hope and comfort during a time of despair when the disciples were learning that Jesus was leaving them, and He's saying, listen fellows, there's coming a time that I'm coming back, and I'm going to receive you to Myself, and where I am, that's forever where you are going to be. We find that that is the very first promise out of three key passages in the Bible as it relates to the rapture. The second one is 1 Corinthians 15 verses 51 and 52. And there we know that the Bible says that the rapture is a mystery. It's a truth that is unrevealed in the Old Testament. Now, the translation of a saint to heaven is not anything new. We've already learned that. There are five historical raptures in the Bible. We looked at those of Enoch, Elijah, Philip, Paul, the Lord Jesus. And we know that in 4 of the 5 that a person was transported from earth to heaven into the very presence of God Himself. But the truth, the idea of the translation of an entire group of saints At one time, He will be taken from earth to heaven with something that was absolutely brand new. It had never been shared before. Here's what He said, We shall not all sleep. Not every Christian is going to die, but every Christian will be changed. Every Christian is going to receive a new body. A heavenly body suited for a heavenly environment. And Jesus made the promise, I will come again. For just as assuredly as Jesus spoke those words, there's coming a day when there's going to be a ransom throng that will vanish from this earth and be translated from earth to heaven. Amen? And then we learn that it's signless. That we're not to be looking for signs. And remember Paul told the Thessalonians, it's not for you to know the times and the seasons. That's not what's important. You need to be looking for the Savior. We need to fix our eye on the heavens looking for Jesus to come. We've learned that the rapture is imminent, that it could happen at any moment. Now, imminency doesn't necessarily mean soon. But it does mean inevitable. That at some time, some place in the future of our world, Jesus is going to come and those who belong to Him are going to be snatched out, we're going to be caught away, we're going to be transported from earth to heaven without any sign, without any warning. Jesus will return. to rapture and transport His saints to heaven. That's why we're to be looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. And we learned it's sudden. It's sudden. It's going to happen in a moment. In the slightest moment of time. The smallest moment of time. The twinkling of an eye that suddenly will vanish. Friend, it's going to catch this world by surprise. One moment we're here and the next moment we're in glory. Isn't that amazing? Then we know that number four, we learned it is a surprise event. That while it shouldn't catch us by surprise, it will catch the world by surprise. For Jesus will come as a thief in the night. And a thief doesn't tell you when he's going to come. It's when you least expect it. And Christian, if you and I are serving the Lord and we're loving Him and living like we ought to and we're following biblical truth, then we're always going to have an eye toward heavenward so that we're not caught unaware and we're rapture ready to meet the Lord Jesus when He comes for us. Now, number five tonight, you're going to find the rapture is a selective event. It's a selective event. Here's the question. When the Lord comes in the rapture, who will go up to meet Him? Now it's a given that those who are saved will go up to meet Him. All three passages on the rapture makes it clear that this is a family affair. It involves believers only. Those who have personally placed their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. That means young man, young lady tonight, if you've never placed your faith in Jesus Christ and He comes, then you would be left. And that would be a sad thing. Those that are unsaved will face the judgments of the tribulation period. Now, I want to look at three key passages tonight if I could. And let's just go ahead and solidify because we're preaching a definitive message on this subject. Let's turn in our Bibles to John 14. Could we do that very quickly? John 14. And I'm going to have you to underline some things just so we can see it. You notice here the Lord's told the disciples He's going away. He's going to prepare a place for them. We understand that in the Oriental custom of that day, that would have been a wedding chamber. This has to do with the Middle Eastern culture of marriage. We're in what would be called the espousal or the betrothal period like what Joseph and Mary were in. The marriage hadn't been consummated yet, the winning of the bride, the dowry, the claiming of the bride, winning of the bride, so to speak, the promise to marry. Jesus did that the first time. He said that He purchased His bride with His own blood. And then we know there's this betrothal period, this engagement period that lasts somewhere from six months to a year, maybe a little longer. And then we would move to The bridegroom would come for his bride. Once the wedding chamber was built onto the father's house, at the precise moment, the father would say to his son, go get your bride. And then that bridegroom would go into the city. He would go and the bride would be ready. And she would come out to meet the bridegroom. And they would go back to the father's house. And there the marriage would be consummated. And a great marriage feast and all of this. And so that's the imagery in the mind of the disciples. And he says in verse 3, if I go and prepare a place for you, would you underline that word, you? I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am there, ye." There's you, you, ye, maybe also. The promise of the rapture is not to everybody. It's only to the saved, and then it is only to those who are saved during this church age. These are church saints only. you was referring to these New Testament believers. He didn't say every saint. He said you as current saints. Those who have come to place their faith in Jesus Christ. And so we see that the bride of Christ consists of all believers from the day of Pentecost until the rapture of the church. forming His bride. And friend, one day we're going to be presented to Him without spot and without wrinkle unto God. And friend, we're going to be married to the Lord Jesus. He's going to come for His bride and only New Testament believers make up the bride of Christ. John the Baptist is a friend of the bridegroom. He's not part of the bride. Alright? Abraham and Isaac would have been friends of the bridegroom. They wouldn't have been part of the bride. The bride is New Testament church believers only. Now let's go to I Corinthians chapter 15. Could we do that? I Corinthians chapter number 15. I want you to look at verse number 23. Here he begins to talk about the resurrection. He hasn't, as of yet, spoken about the rapture. He's giving a definitive truth about the resurrection of the saints. What we understand as the first resurrection. Chapter 15 is the most definitive passage in all of the Bible as it relates to the resurrection of believers. And look what he says in verse number 23. But after he talks about Christ, Alright? Being raised from the dead. Then he says, verse 22, For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Look at verse 23. But every man in his own order. There is a sequence to the resurrection. It's pictured as a harvest, the harvest of the resurrection. One of the things that I do at the cemetery whenever I'm there, and I know the person that went to heaven, we know they're a believer, is I will give a little illustration. And I'll talk about how when I was a little boy I was planting corn with my granddaddy and he was dropping the seed in the row and I was coming along behind with a hoe and I was covering it up. He had dropped the seed. I'd cover it up. You know when you're a little kid, listen, you do a good job covering something up. You just reach out there with that hoe. You grab a big bunch of dirt. You just feel like you're doing a great job. My granddaddy looks back at me and he said, Kevin, what are you doing? I said, I'm planting corn. He said, no, you're burying corn. He said, you keep doing that, we'll never see that corn again. He said, just put a little dirt over it because we expect it to come up. Do you realize when we talk about the body of a believer, alright, that person's already with the Lord. Their body is what remains. We don't bury our dead, we plant them. It's a harvest. We're expecting them to come up. Amen? We're looking for the day when Jesus comes and they'll be raised. So it's a picture of a harvest. Now notice what he says. Christ, the firstfruits. Jesus' resurrection is a prototype. It is a picture of the believer's resurrection. He was raised out from among the dead. Now watch this. There were others that had been resuscitated in the Bible. We call them resurrections, but they're actually resuscitations. Lazarus, for instance. Jairus' daughter. The widow of Nain's son. Jesus, we say, raised them from the dead. He did, but He only resuscitated them. They died again. Jesus rose from the dead never to die again. There's a little word meaning, out from among the dead. And friend, listen, here's the good news. Listen, that our believers, our loved ones may die, but if they die in the Lord, they will never die again. They'll be raised out from among the dead. Like the Lord Jesus, alright? Now look what He says. afterward they that are Christ." Who belongs to the Lord Jesus? Church saints. Now, there is a sense in which all saints belong to the Lord Jesus. I get that. I understand it. But Jesus is going to pray in John 17 to the Father, "...those Thou hast given Me." Alright? Now watch this. In the Old Testament, I'm feeling this thing that this is going to be... we're going to have a part three. How many are getting that feeling? I'm getting that feeling. But anyway, let's keep going. Are you ready? So in the Old Testament, Israel is the wife of Jehovah God. And so the nation of Israel is the wife of Jehovah. New Testament church saints are the bride of Christ. Christian, when you study the Bible, it's very important that you make a difference where God makes a difference. and don't confuse what God hasn't confused. And so he speaks here, they that are Christ's are those that belong to Him in this age of grace. These church saints that make up His body, they make up His bride, they are the assembly of the Lord. And one day we're all going to assemble in glory. That's what he's saying. And so notice he goes on to say, And so here's the harvest of the first resurrection. I'm not sure if this is in your notes or not, but I'm going to give it to you. You can put it in your notes, okay? You have Christ. He's the firstfruits. That was His resurrection. Church saints are pictured as the full harvest that takes place at the rapture. Okay? So it's probably not there, so you can put it in there, okay? So right here, 1 Corinthians 15, 23, Christ is the firstfruits, alright? He's the first to be raised out from among the dead. Then church saints are the full harvest, they that are Christ at His coming. Alright, are you ready? All other saints, both Old Testament and Tribulation saints, are gleanings. That would be the picture. You would have the first fruits. You would have the full harvest. And then you would have the gleanings. You remember they would glean after the full harvest. Ruth did that. The leftovers. And it's not that God's saying these are the leftovers. It's just the sequence of the resurrection. Everybody's important to God. But we know that Old Testament saints, tribulation saints, are not part of the church. They don't belong. They're not part of the bride of Christ. They are not Christ at His coming. So when Jesus comes, Abraham's not getting up. And Isaac's not getting up. And Jacob's not getting up. Only church saints get up. There's a future resurrection for them. Alright? The gleanings part of the resurrection. Alright? I'm going to give you a verse. It should be in your notes. Daniel 12, 13. Is that in your notes? Look what the angel says to Daniel. But go thou thy way till the end be. For thou shalt rest, you're going to die, Daniel, and stand in thy lot, your group. What is Daniel's group? Old Testament saints. at the end of the days. End of what days? The end of the days as it relates to the nation of Israel. When you deal with the end times, church, it's very important that you differentiate between the end times of the church and the end times of the nation of Israel. They are not the same. They're different. If you read the church into Matthew 24 and 25, you will make a colossal blunder. Because it is not there. It's dealing with the nation of Israel and the end times as it relates to it. You see, you understand, the church was a mystery. It wasn't revealed in the Old Testament. A lot of preachers preach like it was. And they do a lot of typology preaching and they want to talk about how Joseph's bride was a Gentile bride and it's a picture of the church and a picture of Jesus. That may be a picture, but Joseph didn't know that. And Boaz didn't know that Ruth, as a Gentile bride, could be used as a type or a picture of the church. He didn't know that. We're reading that back into the Old Testament. That's not something that Jacob knew. That's not something that Joseph knew or Boaz knew. Okay? They didn't know that. Be careful that you don't read what you know into what's back there. Because God hadn't revealed it yet. Okay? Are the wheels turning? Alright. Good. Good. Alright. And look at Revelation 20 verse 4 and 5. Here's tribulation saints. And I saw thrones. Somebody's getting ready to reign. And they sat upon them. Who's they? You're going to find out. And judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus. These are tribulation martyrs. and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived." They had died, but now they're alive. Resurrection. "...and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Do you see that? So important. Alright? The word brethren. Did you notice something? Look over if you would please. In chapter 15 verse 1, more of a brethren. He mentions it again in verse number 6. Then again in verse number 50. He said, now this I say, brethren. He's going to say it again in verse number 58 of chapter 15. Therefore, my beloved brethren. He's talking about the family of God during this dispensation. Those that make up the body of Christ. that what we understand is a New Testament designation for church saints. Let's look at one more passage. Could we do that? Look at 1 Thessalonians 4. You say, preacher, why are you spending so much time on this? Because I'm trying to help us understand what's next and who it relates to. And give us understanding of the Scriptures. Look what he says in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 13. By the way, you can go back and underline those words, brethren, brethren, brethren, brethren. You see that? He's talking of church saints. They that are Christ, that's church saints. I would underline that. Church saints, church saints, church saints. Those who go up in the rapture, it's selective. Look at I Thessalonians 4.13. I would not have you to be ignorant. Who, church? Brethren, did you see that? Are you in I Thessalonians 4.13? Brethren, concerning them which are asleep that you saw are not as others which have no hope. He's talking to believers. Look at verse 14. You can underline this. Them also which sleep in Jesus. No Old Testament saint was said to have slept in Jesus. It's in New Testament believers who have died prior to the rapture. These are their loved ones. Paul had taught them that Jesus would come for them in the rapture. And now they're concerned. They've written Him a letter. Listen, our loved ones, they've died. Have they missed the rapture? And Paul's saying, no, they've not. Them which sleep in Jesus. They know the Lord. Their bodies are asleep, but their souls with the Lord. Look at verse 16. Notice he says in the last part of it, the dead in Christ. In Christ. That is a distinctly New Testament designation of believers in this age of grace. That's not said of tribulation saints. It's not said of Old Testament saints. Only you and I are in Christ. Abraham was never said to be in Christ. David was never said to have been in Christ. Daniel was never said to be in Christ. Tribulation saints are never said to be in Christ. Only Christians in this age of grace are in Christ. That means we have been united with Him through the Spirit, baptized into His body. He is the head of which we're the body, and we make up the body of Christ. Alright? Look at verse 17. Then we, who's that? That's living believers. Those who are saved that will be alive. Paul thought he would be in that number. Did you see that? Then we, which are alive and remain. Here's what's clear. The Bible is distinctly clear that the rapture is restricted exclusively to believers in this dispensation of grace only. Listen, all other saints will go up. Alright? At a different time, prior to the kingdom, or what we would understand as the millennial reign of Christ. Alright? And then unbelievers during this time will be left, that are alive when Jesus comes, will be left to face the horrific judgments of the tribulation period. Alright? So it is a selective event. Let me give you this, number six, real quickly. It is a sequential event. A sequential event. It's sure, signless, sudden. It's a surprise. It's selective for believers only in this age of grace. Alright? And church, listen. It's not preached on much anymore. It's really not. I haven't taught on it in years. I teach it in our college, or I did. I've handed that off to another pastor that does that now. Dispensationalism. Anybody ever heard that term before in our church? Some. Those of you, I see Bible college students raising their hands. Yeah, I just had it this semester, Pastor. Yeah, well anyway, God has dealt with different people at different times in different ways. How God dealt with Abraham is different than how God's dealing with you today. How God dealt with Old Testament Israel, they were under law. We're under what church? Grace. You have to differentiate and make a difference where God makes a difference. Alright? And then we learn it's sequential. Here in I Thessalonians 4, 13-18, we find that these events are simultaneous. They're going to happen in the twinkling of an eye, but what happens when Jesus comes, it's going to happen in a moment of time. There is a sequence to it. And I'm going to give it to you, the first part, and then we'll come back and preach the rest of it. Are you ready for it? First of all, you're going to find that Jesus Himself is going to leave heaven and come to the atmospheric heaven. So there is the return. Look, if you would, in verse number 16. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven. He's going to come into the atmospheric heavens. The heavenly bridegroom will return for His bride. Look up verse 14. He's going to bring with Him all the souls of those who were saved that died prior to the rapture. He's answering their question about what happened to their loved ones. They sleep in Jesus. That's their body. but their souls with the Lord. Look at verse 14. To be absent from the bodies to be present with the Lord. For if we believe, since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. He's not talking about the body that's been put in the ground. He's talking about their soul. Listen, my loved ones in heaven, listen, they're there. And in some form you can see them, they can interact, but they don't have bodies. They don't have bodies. They haven't got one yet. They don't get it until the rapture. But we do know that they're not some kind of wisp floating around. By the way, they don't come back and visit you either. Away with this superstitious junk. Be biblical. They don't come back for us. Well, Grandma came back for Grandpa. No, she didn't. I'm not trying to be unkind. No, she did not. Grandpa went to see Grandma. Okay? Preacher, you're awful. No, I'm biblical. And we need to be biblical and quit being superstitious. Drives me nuts. And listen, I love hospices as an organization and some things they do, but they get so superstitious about death it drives me nuts. I'm sitting there and they're saying, oh, oh, I saw a dove out there. Well, probably what you saw was a pigeon to be honest with you. And God didn't send it to let you know that He was coming for your loved one. That might make you feel sweet and fuzzy, but that's not biblical reality. That person who's dying has no control over the moment they die. God, our times are in His hands. We go at the precise moment that God says that we go. Now I know I'm sounding ugly, but I'm not trying to be ugly. What I'm trying to do is help us to be biblical, to live by truth and not by superstition and fancifulness and sensationalism. We need to live by what God says. I want to scream at them sometimes. They're just trying to be kind. They are. They're trying to make people feel good in a moment of very difficult times. But listen, an untruth never, ever, ever truly brings solace and comfort to a hurting person. What they need at that moment is to anchor themselves to the truth of God's inspired, revealed truth so that you and I can anchor ourselves to something that will stabilize us in the storms of life. That's what we need. I hear this all the time. Well, when somebody's hurting, don't quote Romans 8.28 to them. Why? It's in the Bible. It's a promise that God's given to us. It's a wonderful promise that God's going to take everything, the good, the bad, the harsh, the sweet, everything that comes into our lives, and God's going to work it all together for our good. God's in charge. That's what it's saying. What's wrong with that? Why is that bad counsel? No, that's Bible counsel. It brings comfort to people and hope. And this is what Paul's doing right here. And he says, Jesus is going to come. Now, listen, give me five minutes. I'm going to fast forward, okay? We're going to go quick, alright? There are sounds that are going to announce His coming. Now, when you read different books and different prophetic writers, all of them have different ideas. I don't know exactly how it's going to work. I'm going to tell you what I think. These sounds represent. Others believe that they just are all significant of one shout and that's Jesus. I don't tend to think that because that's not what the Bible says. How many of us believe we ought to believe what the Bible says? The Bible said it was the voice of the archangel, not the voice of Jesus. He's not the archangel. He's the Son of God. He didn't say it was like the voice of the archangel. So let's talk about these cries, these sounds. First of all, there's the command to get up. Look at verse 16. I do believe this is the voice of the Lord. Look at verse number 16. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. It is a shout of command. It's used of a general giving an order to his soldiers. It's to be obeyed. Who is He giving a shout to? He's shouting to those bodies of believers that are in the grave. It's a shout of command to come forth from the grave. That's what it is. It's a shout of command. Get up! That's what it is. By the way, Jesus has already given that command. Remember what He said to Lazarus? Come forth. You remember that? Alright? Three times Jesus shouts in the New Testament that He raised His voice, and every time there was a resurrection. He shouted the tomb of Lazarus, and He that was dead came forth bound hand and foot in grave clothes, didn't He? Alright? On the cross, Jesus cried out, Into thy hands I commend my spirit." Alright? And the Bible says, Matthew 27, verses 50 and 53, 53, And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. I tend to think, this is my thought, Okay? It doesn't say this. Alright? And I don't like to preach from silence. That's always a dangerous thing to do. But I'm just going to surmise that these believers didn't die again. I believe they went to heaven with the Lord. I believe that. They came out. Now some believe they died. Now either way, I'm fine with, but they came out. Look at this next one. And they're going, at His return there's going to be a shout and the entire ransomed church of God shall rise. It's the command to give up the grave, to give up the dead. All who are in the graves, the Bible says, shall hear His voice and come forth." I believe that's the Lord's shout of command. Then there's the cry to give up. Here's the voice of the archangel. Look at verse 16. with the voice of the archangel. There's only one archangel mentioned in Scripture. I hear this and I hear people say, well, there were three archangels. There was Gabriel, Lucifer, and Michael. That's not what the Bible says. The Bible says that Michael is designated as the archangel. He is the general of the armies of the angelic hosts of heaven. And when Christ comes and we go up through the atmospheric heavens, now think about it, where does Satan dwell? He doesn't dwell in hell. He's as far from hell as he can possibly get. He will not be cast into the lake of fire under Revelation chapter number 20. Okay? And so, what is happening here? As we go up, folks, to heaven, we're going to pass through enemy territory. Satan and his demonic hordes. Satan and his demons and his fallen angels would do everything he can to prevent believers from going to heaven. I believe the moment Jesus descends, when He shouts, Michael shouts, and the angels of heaven come down into the atmospheric heavens. Now, does Jesus need for them to do that? No. Does He need for you and me to do anything? No. He can do it all Himself. But aren't you glad He uses people? He lets us serve Him, right? I'm going to knock that tree over. I can see it, Miss Melissa. I apologize if it goes. Hang with me. I'm excited right now. I don't know if you all can tell that or not. Stay with me, okay? Are you with me? Everybody here? Okay. So the angels come down. He doesn't need the angels, but do the angels serve Him? Absolutely. Friend, can I tell you what they're going to do? They'll give us an angel escort to glory. It's almost like the Calvary escorting people to safety. Can you imagine that? The angels come down and they escort us into heaven. I think that's a wonderful time. By the way, Satan can't keep the Savior from his saints and cannot keep the saints from their Savior. It's a cry to give up. Hey, Satan, you have lost. You are defeated. And my people have won the victory. How about that? Alright? Are you ready for the last one? And we'll close and we'll finish up next. I don't know when we'll finish up, but we'll get there. We've got other stuff happening. There is the call to go up. Look at verse number 16. and with the trump of God. The Bible calls it the last trump. So we know that there's the sound of a trumpet. Do you know this blast of a trumpet would signal victory? And it's the last trumpet as it relates to God's program for His churches, for His saints that are in this dispensation of grace. And it's God saying, I'm finished. What I started the day I saved you, I've now completed. It's the last trump. God's work as it relates to His church is finished. Now let me tell you something not to do. Don't go running over to Revelation 8 and start trying to find those trumpets and make this trumpet the Revelation trumpets. They're not the same. Those trumpets in Revelation have to do with Israel and the judgment of God on this earth. This trumpet has to do with God's people in this dispensation, in this dealing with God right now. It's for you and for me. And it's a trumpet of victory. Here's what I'm going to leave you with, Christian. You've got the victory. We are not defeated. Jesus said, the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church. We're not going down, church. We're going up. And nothing can hold us down. Amen? Hallelujah. Let's stand to our feet tonight. I know it got long and tedious.