The End of the Church Age...and After

    At the beginning of this study, we learned that God’s plan for the Gospel to this world included three seasons and three times. All three seasons were periods of spiritual rain that brought a spiritual harvest. We might recall that the first early righteous rain encompassed God’s Gospel plan for the Old Testament. The harvest it brought forth was none other than Jesus Christ our Messiah. He was the first of the firstfruits.

    The second rain was the early Pentecostal rain that brought the firstfruits harvest of believers who became saved during the church age. They are typified by the number 144,000 that we read about in Revelation 7 and Revelation 14.

    The third rain which fell, during the third season, was the latter rain which is bringing in a great multitude which no man can number during the Great Tribulation. We are now experiencing this final harvest of souls as we are nearing the end of the world.

    Between the first and second seasons, there was the three and a half year time when Jesus was ministering here on earth. It was a time of spiritual famine of hearing the Word of God. It was also a time of judgment. During this time, Satan was given a death blow and cast out of heaven. He was spiritually cast into hell in that he came altogether under the wrath of God. During this time, Jesus also was judged and experienced the punishment of damnation on behalf of all those He came to save.

    Between the second and the third seasons there was the time of God’s judgment on the churches and congregations. It, too, was a time of spiritual famine of hearing the Word of God. It, too, was a time that identified with three and a half years. This three and a half year time was a symbolic rather than a literal time. This second time identifies with the first part of the Great Tribulation during which God’s judgment came on the churches all over the world. The Holy Spirit withdrew from the midst of the congregations and Satan became the ruler in them. He is the abomination of desolation that is standing in the holy place. The true believers are either driven from the churches or are commanded by God to come out of them.

    The third season, which identities with the last part of the Great Tribulation during which, outside of the churches, a great multitude which no man can number are saved, is followed by the third time which coincides with the last day of the world’s existence. It is Judgment Day.

Why Speak about Judgment Day?

    The subject of God’s judgment first on the church and finally on the whole world is surely the most unpleasant subject of the Bible. But it is a subject that cannot be avoided because God has written so extensively about it in the Bible. The whole Bible is the Gospel. We cannot proclaim the Gospel without proclaiming Judgment Day. God set forth this principle in II Corinthians 5:10:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receiving the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

    Each and every human being has to give an account to God because we are created in the image of God. Wonderfully, if we have become saved, we have already stood before the judgment throne of God to answer for our sins. No, we were not personally there. We had a substitute, a stand-in, who stood there on our behalf. That substitute was the Lord Jesus who became laden with all of the miserable, rotten, awful sins of each one of God’s elect. He was found guilty, of course, and the consequence for Him was that He had to bear the awful wrath of God as payment for our sins. His punishment was equal to that which should have been endured by each and every one of God’s elect spending an eternity in hell. This is what the cross was all about. Therefore, these humans, whose sins have already been paid for because Christ endured the wrath of God for them can be forgiven and become children of God. Therefore, these individuals have already stood before the judgment throne of God and will never stand there again. In fact, when Christ comes as the judge, these saved individuals will immediately be caught up to be with Him in the air and shall always be with Him.

    However, which humans are God’s elect is not known to any man. Only if we have been saved do we know obviously, we are saved because we are one of God’s elect. Amongst the teeming multitudes of the world, many are of God’s elect, but we do not have the slightest idea who they might be. Therefore, we send the Gospel into the whole world knowing that through it, Christ will seek out and find the elect and save them.

We are Commanded to Warn the Wicked

    As we began to indicated, Judgment Day is an integral part of the Gospel.

    The true believers are, therefore, commanded to warn the peoples of the world that this terrible day is coming. In Ezekiel 33, God speaks of the

believers as watchmen. They are to sound the alarm when the enemy approaches so that the city can be ready when the enemy arrives. We read in Ezekiel 33:7-9:

So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt bear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speaker warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

    We learn from this passage that if we do not warn the wicked that they will die because of their sins (they will experience Judgment Day), we ourselves will come into judgment. We have disobeyed God’s commands to warn of impending judgment and that disobedience will prove that we ourselves have not become saved.

    Therefore, the nature of this study to a high degree has been a warning that Judgment Day is not only coming but is already here because it begins with God’s judgments on the churches and congregations.

    Remember, we read in Revelation 14:7 that the believers are to publish with a loud voice that the hour of God’s judgment is come. In Jeremiah 50 and Jeremiah 51, God is warning of the judgment that will come upon Babylon. Later in this study, we will learn that God speaks of the churches as Babylon during the Great Tribulation.

    In Jeremiah 50:2, God commands:

Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.

    In other words, we have no options. As true believers we are watchmen who are to warn the world of impending judgment. We are to warn the churches and congregations that they are already under the judgment of God.

Judgment Begins Earlier than Judgment Day

    When we speak about Judgment Day, we are speaking about the end of the world when Christ comes on the clouds of glory as the judge of all the

earth. At that time, all the saved are raptured to be with Him forevermore, and the unsaved, one by one, must appear before the judgment throne. There they will be found guilty of their sins and they will be sentenced to eternal damnation to pay for their sins.

    What we do not normally recognize is that the time of judgment really begins some years earlier than the time of the end of the world. Fact is, it actually begins at the beginning of the Great Tribulation. It begins not with judgment upon the wicked of the world, instead, it begins upon the churches and congregations that exist all over the world. We can know this is the situation when we carefully examine a few Scriptures. Earlier in our study, we looked at I Peter 4:17. Because of its clear teaching, we should examine it once more. We read:

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

    A careful analysis of the original Greek language reveals that the first part of this verse would be better translated, “for the time that judgment to have begun (is) from the house of God and if first from us, what the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?” There are two entities in view in this verse, the house of God, on the one hand, and those who obey not the Gospel, on the other hand.

    Throughout the church age, the house of God was the local churches as they were spread throughout the world. They were the location of the holy place because wherever there were true believers, they were normally identified with a local congregation.

    On the other hand outside of the churches were all the peoples of the world who had no interest in the Bible and no identification with the churches. They are in view in this verse as “them that obey not the gospel of God.”

Judgment Begins with the Local Church

    Thus, in this verse God is setting forth the principle that when judgment begins it will begin in the house of God which identifies with all the churches. From there it will become a worldwide judgment upon all the nations of the world. We can be sure that when it has encompassed all the nations of the world, it will be the last day, the end of the world.

    This analysis of this verse is very parallel to a few verses in Jeremiah 25. Remember, earlier in our study we learned that Jeremiah 25 is focused on the judgment at the end of the world. This is seen in verses 26 and 27, which warn:

And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.

    In this verse, the king of Sheshach is the king of Babylon. Spiritually, the king of Babylon is Satan who rules the nations of the world. In Jeremiah 25, God lists a great many nations of the world which are representative of all the nations of the world which will experience the judgment of the last day. Significantly, the first peoples named are Jerusalem and Judah. We read in verses 17 and 18:

Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me: To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;

    As we have learned throughout this study, the only entity that can identify with Jerusalem and Judah are the churches and congregations.

    Then in Jeremiah 25. verses 28 and 29, God makes this declaration:

And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

    In these verses we find parallel language to that of I Peter 4:17. On the one hand is the city called by God’s name, where the evil of God’s judgment begins. That is the house of God of I Peter 4:17 where the time of judgment has begun.

    On the other hand there are all the nations of the world that must drink of the cup of God’s wrath, that is, they must experience the final judgment. They are spoken of in I Peter 4:17 as those who have not obeyed the Gospel of God.

    In these two parallel passages, God is teaching that when the judgment of the last day is ready to come, God begins with judgment falling on the churches and congregations. Surely, this emphasizes the perfection of God’s justice. Those who have lived in the favored environment of the church, who were once enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gifts, who were made partakers of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 6:4-6), will first experience the wrath of God if they have not become saved. As God brings judgment on the churches where these unsaved are ordinarily to be found, it is a testimony to the nations of the world, indicating the perfect integrity of God as He follows the beginning of judgment with the judgment of the last day.

    This knowledge helps us to understand the purpose of the Great Tribulation. It is the time when the end-of-the-world judgment has already begun. Every church, every congregation in the world is. therefore already under the judgment of God. It is a judgment that cannot be changed. It will transition into the judgment of the last day.

How Will Judgment Be Seen in the Local Church?

    How is this judgment on the churches to be? What form will it have? We know that the judgment of the last day will be very similar to any courtroom scene. The judge will be Christ who is seated on the judgment throne (Revelation 20:1l). He will be assisted in some way by the true believers (I Corinthians 6:2). The accuser will be the Word of God. The accused will be each and every unsaved person. The result of this trial will be that the accused are found guilty of sin. The sentence is that they will be in hell (also called the lake of fire) forevermore.

    But if judgment begins with the house of God (I Peter 4:17), which is also called “the city which is called by my name” (Jeremiah 25:29), what will be the nature of that judgment? It surely will not be a trial like the judgment of the last day.

    When we examine the Bible to get help with this question we can begin to understand this judgment. First of all, we have learned that the Holy Spirit is not operating within the churches to give wisdom and direction to the church overseers, and He is not applying the Word of God to the lives of the unsaved within the congregation. That already is a very severe judgment on the church because what is a church without the presence of God within it.

    Secondly, Satan himself posing as an angel of light will reign in the churches. That means that those within the churches will think they are serving Christ when in actuality, they are serving Satan.

    Thirdly, those within the churches will receive the mark of the beast (Satan). This means that for certain they are to be judged on the last day because the Holy Spirit is no longer in the midst of the congregations and these unsaved individuals will have no possibilities becoming saved.

Is Everyone Presently In A Church Doomed?

    The question can logically be asked: Since we are now in the time of Great Tribulation, does this mean that all of-those who are presently in the churches have the mark of the beast and therefore are guaranteed to end up under eternal damnation?

    This is a most fearful question. But only God can answer that question. Certainly, if a person is elect of God, he absolutely will become saved if he is not already saved. However, the nature of the saved person is to do the will of God. This is true because a saved person has been given a new resurrected soul in which he only wants to do the will of God. Furthermore, God will work in him to will and to do of God’s good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Therefore, If he is a true believer, he will want to be obedient to all that God commands, even if obedience is difficult or does not seem reasonable. As we continue in this study, we will see that God has specific commands for the believers in our day.

    On the other hand, if he persists in disobeying God’s command, he better carefully examine himself to discover whether he is indeed a child of God. If he persists in disobeying God’s commands to depart out of the local church, it may be evidence that he has the mark of the beast. How terrible!

    The language of the Bible concerning these questions is most ominous. But it better be listened to because the words of the Bible are God’s words. Revelation 13:16 and Revelation 14:9, 10 warn:

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first. and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because ye have done all there works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.

    What happened at Shiloh? It was the place the ark, which was to be kept in the holy of holies of the tabernacle, was brought after Israel came into the land of Canaan. For over than 300 years, it was there, Remember, the ark represented the presence of God with Israel. But then in the year 1068 B.C., in the days of Samuel, the Philistines threatened Israel, The Israelites wickedly took the ark out of the holy of holies and brought it to the front line of battle. We read of the sad consequence of this action in I Samuel 4:10, 11:

And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinhas, were slain.

    This terrible event means that Shiloh had been utterly forsaken by God. Never again did the ark come to Shiloh. In Jeremiah 7:15 God declares that Judah (the churches of our day) will be cast out, and Jeremiah 7:14 tells us, “this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust,” will be cast out. Then comes the even more ominous declaration in verse 16:

Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.

    How awful! Here, God is commanding Jeremiah not to pray for the nation of Israel, the church of his day. In our day, we are now in the place of Jeremiah, so the application is that God is commanding us not to even pray for the churches. There is no hope of any kind for the local churches. We are not even to pray for them. They are in a most dangerous place.

A Warning from Ezekiel

    The awesome character of God’s judgment on the churches is vividly portrayed in Ezekiel 9. In this chapter God paints a picture of six men who have been given the task of destroying all the unbelievers in Jerusalem, beginning in the sanctuary. Seven men are chosen. Six of them carry a slaughter weapon. Amongst them there is a seventh man who is commissioned to “set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof” (verse 4). Then the six men are told in verses 5-7:

And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. And he said unto them. Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.

    In this ugly passage, God is emphasizing His purpose for the churches and congregations. They are typified by the sanctuary and the city. This prophecy can relate only to the judgment on the churches during the Great Tribulation. It surely indicates how serious God is about bringing His judgment. It surely indicates that there is no debating or arguing with God.

    In Ezekiel 9, verses 8-10, the Bible says:

And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said. Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.

    These verses disclose God’s conclusion concerning the condition of the churches. We can argue with God that our church is not that bad, that our minister is sincere and faithful, that we cannot see how God can bring His judgment of our church, and that we need more time to think this out, but God is teaching that misjudgment will fall.

    Look at the picture God has given. The city and the sanctuary are filled with those who have been slain. Verse 7 records:

And he said unto them, Defile the house, and till the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.

    Can the remnant remain in the city? We have learned from many passages that the true believers are to depart out. The city has become a house of the dead.

    A significant phrase is emphasized in these verses. In verse 9, God declares, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood.”

    What does it mean that the land is full of blood? Do realize that when a church is holding its members by insisting that it remains faithful and God is still saving, effectively, they are calling for spiritual death upon those in attendance. If the Holy Spirit is no longer in the midst of that church. those present have been lured into a death trap. God is no longer saving there and

yet their trust is that by being there, God might save them. What a horrible situation.

    And the longer they remain in the church, the greater the reality that “for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie” (II Thessalonians 2:11).

    Then suddenly, it is the last day. Once we get to the last day, it is too late for salvation. There is no hope for those remaining unsaved. This will be a sad day for those who remained in the churches, hoping that God would save them. But salvation is not possible in the churches today because the Holy Spirit has been taken out. Judgment Day is the day that identifies with John 5:28-29:

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that budgets him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

    In Revelation 19:11-15, God speaks of it using language of a final victory over the enemy:

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

    In Revelation 16:16, it is spoken of as the battle of Armageddon:

And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

    The timing of this terrible and grand event is known by its relationship to the timing of the end of the Great Tribulation.

    In Matthew 24, God gives us a very careful chronology that covers the relationship of the final tribulation to the return of Christ. In Matthew 24:29- 30 God declares:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

    This tells us emphatically that the last event before the return of Christ is the tribulation spoken of in Matthew 24:21-22. The words "immediately after" do not allow for any passage of time between the tribulation and the events spoken of in verses 29-31.

    The events that immediately follow the tribulation, i.e. the sun is darkened and the moon does not give its light, indicate that it is the end of time.

    The sun and the moon regulate the passage of time. When time is no more, Christ has returned. It is the last day of this world’s existence. Then we read that the stars begin to fall from heaven. This is language of Judgment Day and the destruction of the universe. God gives us further amplification of this event in Revelation 6:12-17, where He declares:

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men. and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

    This can be language of Judgment Day only. We are not surprised to read of the collapse of the universe. In II Peter 3:10-13 we read:

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what mannerly persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwellers righteousness.

    We see that one fact stands out. This universe will be destroyed when Christ comes again. It must be destroyed because it is under the curse of sin.

Viruses, earthquakes, tornadoes, and famines are present because mankind has rebelled against God. Therefore, not only was man cursed but the universe over which man ruled was also cursed. We read in Romans 8:20-22:

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

    The creation looks with eager longing at the revealing of the sons of glory (the believers), because it is at that time that the universe will be made free from the curse. Immediately after the unsaved are judged and removed into hell, the redemption of the earth, its destruction and re creation as a new earth, along with the new heavens, must take place.

    Therefore, we are not surprised to read that the stars will fall from heaven and the heavens will be rolled up when Christ returns. From Matthew 24:29 we know that this is immediately after the tribulation.

    Any system of teaching that suggests that following the tribulation Christ will return to this sin-cursed earth to set up an earthly throne, offers an impossible suggestion. The return of Christ immediately following the tribulation signals the end of the present universe.

    We might note the conduct of the unsaved immediately after the tribulation, when the universe is collapsing and Christ comes in power and great glory, In Matthew 24:30 we read that all the tribes of the earth mourn. In Revelation 6:15-16 we read that all the peoples are in abject terror and call upon the mountains to hide them and the hills to fall on them. No wonder they are in great terror. It is the great day of the wrath of the Lamb! It is Judgment Day, when they must give an account of their sins and receive the righteous condemnation of God as payment for their sins.

The Elect Are Gathered

    Now let us look more carefully at Matthew 24:31, for there God reveals the first thing that Christ will do when He comes in great power and glory. Note how parallel the language in this verse is to I Thessalonians 4:16-17; both passages speak of the rapture. We read in the Matthew account that Christ will send His angels. I Thessalonians 4:16 speaks of the sound of the trumpet.

    Christ speaks in Matthew 24 of gathering the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. I Thessalonians 4:17 speaks of those who are alive being caught up to be with Christ. As we saw earlier, the elect are the believers who are being raptured from all over the earth. These are the believers living on earth, whose commonwealth is heaven (Philippians 3:20).

    So, we see that there is parallel language in Matthew 24:31 and I Thessalonians 4:16-17 concerning angel activity, the sound of the trumpet at Christ’s return, the rapture of the believers, and the end of time, when Christ returns to judge the nations.

    The Bible speaks repeatedly of Christ coming as a thief or as a thief in the night. Jesus says in Matthew 24:43 (the context concerns His return):

But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

    God declares in II Peter 3:10, regarding the destruction of the universe at the end of time:

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

    In Revelation 3:3 we read this warning:

Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

    In Revelation 16:15, God speaks of the end of the world, and He says:

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

    On the basis of these verses various doctrines have come forth, amongst

them is the suggestion that Christ will come silently: Suddenly and quietly the Christians will be removed from the earth. This idea certainly appears to be valid in the light of the language of Christ coming as a thief in the night.

    But is this really so? I Thessalonians 4:16, which speaks of the rapture of the believers, does not suggest that He will come silently as a thief. There God speaks of the shout of command and the trumpet of God. This is anything but a silent coming.

    Wonderfully, the Bible is its own commentary. If we follow the Biblical rule of letting the Bible explain or interpret the Bible, an understanding of the phrase “thief in the night” can be found. We shall discover that the Biblical references that use this phrase are not at all suggesting a silent coming of Christ. Moreover, we shall discover additional support for the clear teaching of the Bible that the rapture will occur simultaneously with Judgment Day.

    In I Thessalonians 5:1-9 we read:

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, tie hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

    In this passage, we find a clear reference to the day of the Lord coming as a thief in the night, The day of the Lord is the day when our Lord Jesus Christ will come on the clouds with power and great glory. It is the day when He comes as King of kings and Lord of lords.

As a Thief in the Night

    In these verses God teaches that that day will come as a thief in the night.

    Is He then teaching that He will come when no one expects Him? Certainly, this is to be true for the unsaved. Verse 3 records:

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

    The unsaved are not looking for Christ to come in judgment. They may not be looking for His return at all. They may believe, in their evolution- theory blinded minds, that mankind is finding answers to living in this world. These answers may assure them that by exercising careful diligence, mankind can continue a million years or more on this earth. Certainly they are convinced that insofar as Judgment Day is concerned, if it happens at all, it is probably millions of years away. In their own minds they have concluded that they need not reckon with God; they think they are secure and may safely pursue their lustful pleasures.

    If they relate to the Bible but are unsaved because they follow a gospel other than the true Gospel, they, too, will be quite sure that Judgment Day is of no real concern. After all, God is a loving God. He does not wish that any should perish. Somehow God has a marvelous plan for this earth and its inhabitants that will ensure maximum love for all. In their blindness, by their false gospels, which seem so successful and God ordained, they will be certain that there is still hope for a utopia on this present earth. Again, as in the case of those who wish to deny God altogether, they will feel that all is secure.

    So, for the unsaved, Christ comes unexpectedly. As a matter of fact, His coming will be a horrible surprised for then those who are not saved will discover they are to stand for judgment. They will discover that, while perhaps they thought all was well between them and the Lord, they actually had been following a salvation plan designed to their own liking rather than the salvation designed by the Bible. Christ’s coming will be a moment of truth. They will realize that they had never served Him as Lord. They had been obeying the Bible only when it was convenient. They had never trusted Christ as the only one who could save them. Rather, they had been seeking a salvation based on the grace of God plus their own meritorious efforts. They had thought they were at peace with God and secure in Christ, but it was a false sense of security. At His coming the terrible truth will come to them that they never had been born from above.

    For all these people, Christ’s coming will bees a thief in the night. Notice what will happen to those for whom His coming is as a thief in the night: Sudden destruction will come upon them, and there will be no escape.

    This is the language of Judgment Day. Remember what happened to the people of Noah’s day? Suddenly they were deluged with water and destroyed. Remember Sodom? It, too, experienced sudden destruction. Remember the language Jesus uses as He speaks of Judgment Day in Matthew 7:13:

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

    In II Thessalonians 1:9 God writes:

Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

    What an awful moment! What a terrible place to be! No wonderer read in Revelation 6:16 of men calling upon the rocks to fall on them and the hills to hide them. No experience of trauma that mankind has ever experienced can approach the awfulness of Judgment Day.

    The Bible discloses more that relates to this momentous occasion. It indicates that there will be people present for whom our Lord’s coming is not as a thief in the night: These people are the true believers. They are ready for His coming because their sins have been washed away in Christ’s blood. They are the ones who are not under the dominion of darkness. They are the children of the day (a synonym for Christ Himself). They are the children of the light. Jesus is the light. They belong to the Lord. We read in these verses that the day of the Lord will not overtake them as a thief, for they have anticipated His coming and are ready for it.

    We thus see that when Christ returns in judgment, believers will still be here. Therefore, these believers could not have been raptured earlier. Since Judgment Day is the end of time. we know that the believers will now be raptured. They in no sense are to experience judgment, as I Thessalonians 5:9 declares, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”

    We know that believers will go through the Great Tribulation period. That period is not the wrath of God that must be visited upon unbelievers as payment for their sins. The wrath of God is the punishment the unsaved are

to experience eternally as a result of their sins. The true believers in no way are to experience this for Christ has covered all their sins by His blood.

    Revelation 6:15-17 speaks eloquently of the wrath of God:

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

    This is the wrath from which the saved are free. Praise God for such a wonderful salvation!

    In summary, then, we see that the verses of I Thessalonians 5 can be understood very readily when we recognize that there is a simultaneous occurrence of the rapture and Judgment Day. While Christ comes as a thief in the night to bring judgment upon the unbelievers, the believers are ready for His coming. For believers He does not come as a thief in the night. For them it is the marvelous moment when their salvation is completed: They are raptured to be forever with Christ.

    Before we finish our study, we should spend a little time with the subject: when is the rapture? A careful look at this question is very appropriate given the fact that it occurs immediately after the time of the Great Tribulation and immediately after the third season of the latter rain.

    We will examine this subject in Appendix C.