HOMESICK FOR EDEN – PART II

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is taken from sermon notes.  In PART I, Pastor Pat talked about the next great event on God’s timeline: The Rapture.  He covered the how & why of it and how it sets the stage for the 7-year Tribulation.  [Rob P.] ]  

 

Deception will mark this time of tribulation… people will grab on to anything with the hope that it’s the answer to the terrors of Judgment.

Matthew 24:5–8 (NKJV) – ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.(birth pains)

 7 scrolls will be opened by Jesus… each one will bring judgment on the earth…the last of the  7 seals or opening of the 7 scrolls ,  begins the 2 half of the tribulation period… call the Great Tribulation.

7^th seal begins the time of the GREAT tribulation:  3 ½ years…

  2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 (NIV84) –  Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. ⁴ He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

 ANTICHRIST:  A man of peace will come on the scene… ANTI Christ… he will perform signs and wonders and miracles… A new temple will be built in Jerusalem and he will go there and proclaim himself to be God and require the world to worship him. 

Mark of the beast… 666: 

“Abomination of Desolation” … They will say “peace, peace”… But that’s when sudden destruction comes.

 Return of the Jews…. to Jerusalem:  3 reasons.  They will come back.

1. Persecution
2. Temple worship.
3. Hopes that the Anti Christ is the Messiah.

(Abomination of Desolation) – [EDITOR: This seems to refer to a sacrilegious object that will be set up in the newly rebuilt Jewish Temple at the mid-point of the Tribulation]  Many in Israel and the world will follow him…and then there will be great turmoil and calamity unlike the world has ever seen.

 The Second period of the Tribulation is called The Great Tribulation”

It will be marked by 7 trumpets and 7 bowls of wrath.  It will be a Terrible time”

 Jeremiah 30:6–7 (NIV84) – Ask and see: Can a man bear children?  Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale?  How awful that day will be!  None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.

Matthew 24:21–24 (NLT) – For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. ²² In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones. Then there will be this warning from Jesus  – ²³ “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. ²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

Who are these chosen ones?… They are the144,000 Jewish witness and those who believe.

But: MANY WILL BE DECEIVED…those who do not have the Holy Spirit and those who do not walk in the HOLY SPIRIT will be easily deceived…They will want to believe that the Anti Christ is the THE Messiah THE deliver. The HOPE for the hopeless.

They will be the ones who take the Mark of the Beast and pledge loyalty to him and this will seal their doom at the end of the ages…. They will have “stepped over the line to never return.” Their misery has only just begun.

Revelation 14:9–12 (NLT) – Then a third angel followed them, shouting, “Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand ¹⁰ must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. ¹¹ The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.”  ¹² This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.

During these 7 years in heaven/ the raptured church will be judged at the Bema Seat

 Bema Seat of Judgment:  and Marriage Supper of the Lamb:  

2 Corinthians 5:10 (NLT)  For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

  1 Corinthians 3:10–17 (NLT) – Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.  ¹² Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. ¹³ But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. ¹⁴ If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

What will be the standard of Judgment?   The WORD of God:  The written word and the spoken word.

 

It will be a Time of  REWARDS: and LOSS: (Believers may lose their rewards – But they will remain in Heaven.)   The great loss is:  “WHAT could have been will never be”

1 Corinthians 9:24–25 (NIV84)  1 Corinthians 9:24–27 (NLT) – Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! ²⁵ All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a crown that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal crown.   ²⁶ So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. ²⁷ I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

• POINT: Everything will be judged;  Believers will receive crowns and white linen robes… just like a bride in a pure white dress who stands before the groom to be married.
• The White stands for purity, loyalty and eternal devotion.   Then….. Marriage supper of the Lamb will take place.