05-06-12 Departure - The Second Missing Piece

We are going to return to our prophecy series today,

and pick up right where we left of

two weeks ago.

If you’ve been with us for this study

you will remember that we were studying Matthew 24,

looking at the comments of Jesus

that He gave to His disciples

immediately following the last time

He ever set foot in the Temple in Jerusalem.

As He walked out of the Temple

one of His disciples commented

on what a magnificent structure it was.

He responded by saying,

Matt. 24:2 "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down."

As soon as the disciples

had a chance to talk with Him privately

they asked for a little more information,

and the words we have in the two chapters that follow

were Christ’s response to that request.

He began by telling His people

that the events immediately preceding

His return to set up His earthly kingdom

would be preceded by five ‟birth pangs”:

• False Christs,

• wars and rumors of wars,

• increased tensions between people groups,

• famines,

• and earthquakes.

Then, after offering those birth pangs,

He turned His comments specifically

and exclusively to the Nation of Israel

giving them information they would need

during the months immediately preceding the return of Christ.

We took the time two weeks ago

to read a large section of those comments

in Matt. 24:9-27,

and we saw a number of evidences

to support the belief

that these words were being spoken

specifically and exclusively to the nation of Israel.

1. He was talking to and about a people

who will be living in Judea.

2. He was talking to a group of people who are continuing to honor and keep the Old Testament Sabbath.

3. In His comments he called Himself “the Son of Man”,

the Old Testament title He used to identify Himself to the Jewish people.

4. And He refers specifically to an event

that Daniel, the Old Testament prophet,

stated would take place

inside the temple in Jerusalem

during the reign of the Anti-Christ.

So, He offered His general birth pangs backdrop,

then fast-forwarded to the Nation of Israel

in the months and days

immediately preceding His return.

But we saw something else in this passage two weeks ago as well -

we saw that, between those birth pangs

and the events described in this closed-circuit passage to Israel

there are several missing pieces -

events that, by the time we get to verse 9 of Matt. 24,

have already taken place,

but events that Christ chose not to elaborate on.

We looked at the first of those missing pieces two weeks ago.

It’s found in that ninth verse

of Matt. 24.

Matt. 24:9 "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

By the time these events that Christ is describing for us in Matthew 24:9 and following take place

the nation of Israel

will be hated by all nations

because of their submission to

and identification with Jesus Christ.

We recalled Hosea’s prophecy in Hos. 3:5

where he tells us:

Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.

And we took the time to look at several other prophetic passages in Scripture

that tell us that, prior to Christ’s return,

there will be a national turning of the Nation of Israel to Jesus Christ,

as they recognize Him as their promised Savior and Messiah.

We saw, too, how the Nation of Israel

will produce a mighty army of Christian evangelists

during the final months preceding Christ’s return.

And that’s about as far as we had time to go,

except to raise the question

about what in the world could serve

as a catalyst so significant

that it would wake up the Nation of Israel

to the truth about their Messiah Jesus Christ.

And the obvious answer to that

is found simply in the fact that

there will come a time

when the Holy Spirit will accomplish a work in the hearts of the Jewish people,

giving them eyes to see

what they had never been able to see before.

And I am not going to get off track here,

but I do have to say that

I never cease to be thrilled

by the ability of our God

to communicate Himself to those

who are willing to hear His voice.

I had a conversation with a person

some time ago in which they said,

“I’ve never been involved in church much,

but recently I have found I seem to have this longing to know God.”

I knew exactly what they were saying.

I remember the first time that longing

entered my life.

I was a 19 year old college kid.

Church, and the Bible, and God

were so far down my, “fun-list-of-things-to-do”

that they didn’t even make it on the paper.

And then, suddenly and without warning,

there He was...

asking for my life,

for my future,

for my trust in Him.

I knew He was real,

I knew what He wanted.

Communication was definitely not the problem.

WILL was the problem - my will -

I had to choose.

Looking back

it’s remarkable how much that first introduction to my Creator

has affected my whole philosophy of Christianity,

and church,

and Bible teaching,

and Pastoring.

You have probably noticed

that I don’t try to recruit people to the Christian religion.

I know all too well

that until a person has been confronted with the Person of Jesus Christ,

and has submitted themselves to His authority in their lives,

my attempting to get them

to believe a set of doctrinal beliefs

or commit themselves

to a some standard of moral behavior is worthless, or even destructive.

It caters to that pride-generated

religious nature within us

that allows us to live in the illusion

that we’re pretty good people

doing a pretty fine job

with God on the fringes of our lives.

I have no interest whatsoever

in recruiting more people

for the Christian religion.

I have an intense longing

to point people to the Person of Jesus Christ,

to assure them that,

if they choose to place their lives into His hands,

they will find Him absolutely trustworthy.

And I have a great desire

to encourage

and feed

and help strengthen those who have met Him,

and submitted to His authority in their lives.

When the nation of Israel turns once again to their Creator, Jesus Christ,

and bows before Him,

I know that their submission may very well come simply as the result

of the work of God’s Spirit

in the lives of those involved.

BUT...

there are some other prophetic passages

that make me think there might be

a major catalyst involved in the process as well.

I want us to look once again

at a passage in Romans 12

that we looked at briefly two weeks ago.

It comes toward the end

of what is certainly one of the most uncomfortable passages to our human minds in all the Bible,

the passage in which

Paul is talking about man’s free will

and God’s sovereignty.

We are not going to open up that discussion right now,

or it will be weeks before we return to our prophecy series,

but I do want to bring us back

to Paul’s concluding comments

about God’s dealings with the nation of Israel at this point in history.

In Romans 12:25-27 he says:

Rom. 11:25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery so that you will not be wise in your own estimation that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;

Rom. 11:26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, " The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob."

Rom. 11:27 " This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins."

Now, I think I can show you

what Paul is saying here most quickly by offering another time line:

And the main thing I want us to see here

is that Paul seems to be telling us

that two major events

in God’s prophetic plan

will happen simultaneously -

the time of the gentiles will end,

and Israel will turn to Christ.

He says - Rom. 11:25 ... a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;

Once the fullness of the Gentiles is completed,

the partial hardening will be removed,

and Israel will respond to their Savior.

OK, two big questions then come up.

1. How will God end the time of the Gentiles?

2. How will that ending impact Israel?

The first question is answered for us clearly in Scripture,

and I think the answer to the second question is strongly implied.

To get the answer to the first

we need to go to two other passages in the New Testament.

Both of these passages come out of

the two letters Paul wrote

to the church at Thessalonica.

From comments Paul makes within these letters

it appears as though prophecy

and end-time events

were huge topics of interest to the Thessalonians.

In his first letter

Paul described for them

the final event

that will bring to a close the time of the Gentiles

and catapult the world into the final climactic events of human history.

Then, in his second letter

he offered them a time-line of the order in which these events will take place.

The first passage, found in I Thess. 4:13-18,

was written by Paul

in response to a growing fear

among the people in the Thessalonian church.

They knew that Christ had promised

He was coming back.

They, of course, like us, did not know

when that return would be.

But as persecution increased in the early church,

and many of the believers were being killed,

the Thessalonians became deeply concerned

about what would happen to those Christians who died

before Christ returned.

Paul wrote these words

to clear up the matter:

1 Thess. 4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope.

1 Thess. 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

1 Thess. 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.

1 Thess. 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.

1 Thess. 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

1 Thess. 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

So, Paul says three major things to them here:

1. When Christ returns

He’s not coming back alone -

He’s bringing all of us with Him.

2. In order for that to happen

He has to first come get all of us.

3. He will do that in the twinkling of an eye,

by pulling all Christians suddenly, instantly off this earth,

meeting us in the air,

and then keeping us with Him

and bringing us back with Him

when He returns to set up His earthly kingdom.

And yes,

you did hear both me and Paul correctly.

There will be an event coming in the future

like nothing this world has ever seen before.

As the great kick-off event

for the final days of human history as we know it

Christ is going to literally,

physically pull all living Christians off this world in an instant.

The church has tagged this event THE RAPTURE,

a term that is not found in Scripture,

and one that I personally think is kind of stupid.

I prefer to call it THE DEPARTURE.

OK, the Thessalonians got all excited

about this up-coming event,

but then rumors started flying around that somehow it had already taken place,

and they had missed it.

So, Paul wrote a second letter,

and in it he laid out for them

a clear time line of events.

I want to read the passage in its entirety,

and then I’ll give it to you in a time line.

This is from II Thess. 2:1-12

2 Thess. 2:1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him,

2 Thess. 2:2 that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

2 Thess. 2:3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

2 Thess. 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

2 Thess. 2:5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?

2 Thess. 2:6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed.

2 Thess. 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

2 Thess. 2:8 And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;

2 Thess. 2:9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,

2 Thess. 2:10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

2 Thess. 2:11 And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false,

2 Thess. 2:12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

Now, very quickly,

Paul talks about 6 mayor future events in this passage,

and then puts them in chronological order for us.

The 6 events are:

1. Removal of the restrainer

2. Deluding influence

3. Apostasy

4.Revelation of Anti-Christ

5.Return of Christ in Power

6. Judgement and destruction of wicked

And let me give it to you on a time line:

So, there are two major missing pieces

between Matt. 24:8

and Matt. 24:9.

The first is the end of the Gentile era

through the Departure,

and the second is national revival in Israel.

And I think the two are linked.

I believe when Israel suddenly sees

hundreds of thousands of Christians gone

it will serve as the catalyst to drop them to their knees before the Lord they rejected.

And why won’t the rest of the world

respond the same way?

2 Thess. 2:11 And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false,

2 Thess. 2:12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.