The Local Church.

[Alan]

Brethren,

The lesson on, "The Calling Out of the New Testament Church from the Earth," is more lengthy than I can do in one lesson. So, this is lesson "a."

Alan

Revelation 1:4 & 11, “The Calling Out of the New Testament Church From the Earth.”Lesson #: "a"

According to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 the day is coming when the Lord Jesus will call out, to gather, to assemble, His saints, from the dead or those alive, from off the earth to meet Him in the clouds in the air. “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

This event in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is commonly called the, ‘Rapture.’ First Thessalonians 4:13-18 is very clear that the Lord Jesus is not coming to the Earth; He is only coming in the air and will be observed by only the dead saints raised from the dead and the live saints when He comes.

The ‘calling out of the saints from the earth’ to assemble His church in the air is similar to the, calling out of the assembly of the saints, the local church in Jerusalem, to witness the rising of the Lord Jesus into heaven as recorded in Acts 1:1-12. In Acts 1:4 we find out, “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.” The Lord Jesus called the saints from the Jerusalem church to assemble in the outskirts of Jerusalem, on Mt. Olivet, to give last minute instructions and to witness His ascension into heaven.

Just a very short time previously, as recorded in Matthew 24:1-31, Mark 13:1-37, and Luke 21:5-38, the Lord Jesus prophesied of the coming events, the coming signs, the seasons, of the events of the great tribulation and His coming again as KING OF KING AND LORD OF LORDS as recorded in Revelation chapter 6:1 to chapter 19:21 in order to set up the restored kingdom of Israel. The prophecy of Matthew 24:1-31, Mark 13:1-37, and Luke 21:5-38, includes various cataclysmic signs and for the Jewish disciples to specifically look for, ‘the abomination of desolation,’ (the anti-Christ).

In his, ‘Overview of Matthew 24,’ Dr. David H. Sorenson makes these crucial observations, “Several helpful keys to understanding the Olivet Discourse are to remember that (1) Matthew’s gospel was written for the Jewish mind. (2) The church is not directly in view in the Olivet Discourse. It already has been raptured to heaven. Rather, the focus is upon Israel during the Tribulation. (3) The Rapture has already taken place prior to the events discussed here. References to the coming of Christ are of His second coming in power and glory at the end of the Tribulation. The perspective of the entire discourse is of Israel as they are converted to Christ during this time of great confusion and judgement.” ⁱ

Furthermore, in the Old Testament prophets, the prophets prophesied that one day the Messiah would visit Israel and restore, after the repentance of the people, the kingdom of Israel. The detailed, literal, tangible, and physical, restoration of the nation of Israel was foretold by Moses, King David,Malachi Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and in type by Joseph in Egypt, King David and King Solomon. So, naturally, the assembled saints asked, “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? Acts 1:6

The Lord Jesus specifically stated, after the saints asked when the Lord would restore the kingdom of Israel (as promised by the Old Testament prophets), that the assembled saints were not given one sign to look for the coming of Christ to restore the kingdom to Israel. The Lord Jesus told the assembly of saints, “And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” Acts 1:7

In his comments on Acts 1:10 & 11, Oliver B. Greene makes this summation, “We must not confuse the two stages of the second coming: First, Jesus will come in the Rapture to receive His saints, and all believers will be caught up in the clouds to meet Him in the air. Then, He will come WITH His saints to reign here on earth for one thousand years. The hope of the Church is the RAPTURE – the time when we will be caught up to meet Jesus. His return “in like manner” as He ascended will be His coming to the nation Israel, in that glorious day when He will stand on the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem.” ⁱⁱ

In his comments on Acts 1: 7, Dr. David H. Sorenson states, “Jesus gently chided His eager disciples, pointing out to them that knowing the time and dates when these things would come to pass was not in their purview. That was reserved unto the Father. That truth remains to this day. Beware of date setters.” ⁱⁱⁱ

Therefore, the signs of the ‘times or the seasons,’ and the admonition to to look for the anti-Christ as given in Matthew 24:1-31, Mark 13:1-37, and Luke 21:5-38, are not given to the church. The saints in the local New Testament church are not to look for the ‘signs and the seasons,’ or the anti-Christ, or any other sign; we are to look for Christ and not the anti-Christ. In fact, as with Dr. Sorenson, the saints in the New Testament church should beware of date setters and those who confuse the events of the Olivet Discourse and make them applicable to the saints in the church age.

Furthermore, we read, “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” As the saints were assembled when the Lord Jesus rose into the clouds, heaven above, so will the saints, dead and alive, assemble when the Lord Jesus comes into the clouds and calls us home to be with Him forever more. When the Lord Jesus returns for His assembly He will appear in the clouds as He left.

Please take careful note. Only the saints witnessed the ascension of the Lord Jesus into the air. The lost; the religious lost and the worldly lost, did not witness the ascension of Christ. The ascension of Christ into heaven is in the manner of the coming of Christ, as a thief, for the saints in the church. The lost majority of the people are not going to witness the coming of Christ when He calls us out of this planet we call earth. In Revelation 1:7 we clearly see that the entire world will witness the return of Christ, “Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” And, in Revelation 19:11-21 the Lord Jesus is clearly seen by the entire world. Therefore, the manner of the coming of Christ, the rapture, for the church as recorded in Acts 1:1-12, is not the same coming of Christ as recorded in Revelation 1:7 and 19:11-21

Furthermore, the coming of Christ, the rapture, can happen at any time, or is ‘imminent,’ and will take place before any of the events, or signs, take place as recorded in Matthew 24:1-31, Mark 13:1-37, and Luke 21:5-38.

The ascension of Christ as witnessed by the saints assembled on the Mount of Olives was a time of unique blessing. As the assembled saints left the Mount of Olives, to this day, the Second Coming of Christ for the church age saints is a ‘blessed hope’ in the hearts of all the saints. “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13

i Sorenson, David H., Dr., Understanding the Bible – Commentary - Matthew, (Duluth, MN: Northstar Ministries, 2007), page 252.

ii Greene, Oliver B., The Acts of the Apostles, Vol. 1, (Greenville, SC: The Gospel Hour, 1968). page 39.

iii Sorenson, David H., Dr., Understanding the Bible – Commentary - Acts, (Duluth, MN: Northstar Ministries, 2007), page 297.

Edited January 3, 2021 by Alan
grammar

[Alan]

I have been reading, "Lectures on the Book of Revelation," by William Kelly. I would like to recommend Kelly's book, "Lectures on the Book of Revelation" to all my friends here on Online Baptist.

I will be adding the following quote by William Kelly when he commented on Revelation 3:10 to, "The Special Promise Given to all the Churches," lesson.

William Kelly – Kelly’s books are available at the Internet Archive at the "Internet Archive" website:

https://archive.org/details/lecturesonbook00kell

William Kelly in his, Lectures on the Book of Revelation, alludes to the fact that when God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 19:23-25, that Abraham was a type of the saint that was kept from the destruction during that time of destruction or, ‘hour of temptation.’ It must also be noted that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is a type of the world that is corrupted by its own sins of the flesh and which God destroys in the 7-Year Tribulation Period and later when He destroys the whole world by fire (2 Peter 3:10-13).

William Kelly states, “Ours is the place of Abraham. He had not to fly to go to a little Zoar like Lot, who was saved indeed out of the judgment, but not much to his honour. The Lord had a heavenly-minded saint, as well as an earthly-minded one. Abraham was not in the sphere of that temptation at all. So the church will be kept from the coming hour. This is our confidence – not merely preserved in or through it, but “from” it.” ¹

1 Kelly, William, Lectures on the Book of Revelation, (London: W. H. Broom, 1871), p.78.

 

 

 

[Alan]

Lesson # 5b

Revelation 1:4 & 11, “The Calling Out of the New Testament Church From the Earth.”

The objective of this study, “The New Testament Church,” has been to discuss the passages of scripture that pertain to the local church. I have attempted to abide by that objective. The objective in this lesson is one: At what point does the local church, the body of Christ, cease to be on the earth and all of the saints in the church are assembled in heaven. In this lesson we will be looking at two passages, the words of the Lord Jesus in Revelation 1:19 and the fulfillment as written in Revelation 4:1.

In Revelation 1:19 the Lord Jesus stated, “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.” The things that the apostle John were to write down were: (1) The things which thou hast seen. (2) The things which are. (3) The things which shall be hereafter.

The phrase, ‘things which thou hast seen’ are the events as recorded in Revelation 1:1-20. This includes the calling of John as a prophet in revealing the end times, the characteristics of the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus as the Almighty, the vision of the Lord Jesus in His glory, and the vision, along with the interpretation, of the seven candlesticks.

The phrase, ‘and things which are’ are the events, and admonitions, of Revelation 2:1 to 3:22, as depicted by the seven local congregations, or churches, or local assemblies, in Asia that are representative of all of the churches throughout the church age.

The phrase, ‘and things which shall be hereafter’ is a clear reference to the events after the events of the church age, or from Revelation 4:1 to 22:21.

In Revelation 4:1 we read of the start of the events of, ‘ the things which must be hereafter,’ “After this I looked, and, behold a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” (Revelation 4:1).

The first phrase in Revelation 4:1, ‘After this’ is a reference to the events in the seven churches as recorded in Revelation 2:1 to 3:22. After these events describing the characteristics of the church age marks the beginning of the apostle John being caught up into heaven and the beginning of, ‘things which must be hereafter.’

Therefore, the prophecy of the Lord Jesus, ‘’the things which shall be hereafter,’ is fulfilled ‘after’ the departure of the church age saints as revealed in the Revelation 4:1 phrase, ‘’After this’ and then, ‘things which must be hereafter.’

According to the words of the Lord Jesus in Revelation 1:19, ‘the things which shall be hereafter,’ and the words as of a trumpet talking in Revelation 4:1, ‘things which must be hereafter,’ the coming of the Lord Jesus, commonly called the ‘rapture,’ for the saints marks the end of the church age and the calling out of the church from the earth to the clouds to meet the Lord as written in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Furthermore, the calling out of the New Testament church, the Body of Christ, as written in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 occurs before the events of the beginning of the 7-Year Tribulation Period as recorded in Revelation 6:1 and following. This is why the rapture of the church age saints is called, ‘the pre-tribulation rapture of the church.’

[Jim_Alaska]

OK Alan, the time you posted this was two hours ago; where is the next installment?  A whole two hours has gone by

. 

[Alan]

The next installment will occur as soon as I get out of this traffic jam.

 

 

 

[Alan]

Enoch – A Type of the Church Age Saints

Enoch was a saint, a man of faith, who lived a holy life in the wickedness of the ante-antediluvian age. Enoch walked with God and pleased God. “Amos 3:3, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” The mind, the thoughts, and the daily life of Enoch was in heart agreement with God and all of His ways. The Chinese have this proverb to explain the mind of Enoch with the mind of God, 俗語說「同心同德。」Translated to English it means, “To be of one mind.” Or, “Same heart, same virtue.” Enoch is a saint that is an example for every Christian to emulate.

Enoch is a type of the saints who are alive when the Lord Jesus comes in the air at the rapture and will never experience the death of the body. Genesis 5:21-24, “And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” Enoch, as with many other saints of God, walked with God. His walk with God was so intimate that God decided to take Enoch home into heaven without dying. Thus, Enoch became a type of saint who enters into heaven, in the rapture, without dying.

The prophet Amos explained how to walk with God, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” Amos 6:6. The Lord Jesus explained how to walk, or abide, with Him, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:4-5. Enoch, by faith, walked, or abideth, with God.

Hebrews 11:5, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Because of his relationship with God, Enoch escaped physical death and is a type of the saints in the church age who will escape death at the coming of Christ; the rapture. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 “ For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” When the Lord comes again for the saints in the church age those that are alive will, like Enoch, never taste the sting of the death of the body.

Also, besides escaping physical death, after Enoch was ‘translated’ or, ‘caught up’ from the earth into heaven, those left behind wondered where he was, ‘and was not found.’This is also like the coming of Christ for the church in the rapture. 1 Thessalonians 5:2, “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” The world will not see the saints caught up to heaven in the rapture as the Lord Jesus is coming as a thief in the night. A thief does his work in secret. A thief is extremely careful not to let anyone know what he is doing or when he takes something. A thief secretly sneaks in a house, or business, or bank, by night, to steal the family jewels, valuables or precious stones, and departs by night, or secretly, in order to not be seen.

In the mind of the Lord Jesus, His saints are like precious jewels. “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.” Malachi 3:17. The Lord Jesus is coming for His jewels, that rightly belongs to Him, as a thief in the night.

 

[Jim_Alaska]

Very well done Bro. Alan. It was worth waiting for.  

[Alan]

"The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat." Proverbs 15:30

Thank you.