In this sermon, the preacher discusses the events described in the last chapters of the book of Revelation and the promise of a new earth and heaven. He emphasizes the glorious day that believers have to look forward to, whether they are still alive on earth or in their graves. The preacher highlights the importance of being watchful and ready for the return of the Lord, as stated in Matthew 24. He also addresses the misconception that there won't be Christians on earth when the Lord returns, using the parable of the wheat and tares in Matthew 13 to explain that believers will indeed be present. The sermon concludes with a prayer for believers to live their lives in a way that pleases God, so that they may hear the words "well done, thou good and faithful servant" when they enter into the joy of the Lord.

Let's look at 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, beginning in verse 16 of chapter 4. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, everybody got it? 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. Okay, look at 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. That's the first event. The second event, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Okay, who are the dead in Christ? That means all the people who have ever lived on earth who have died. That means they're going to rise from their graves, be given resurrection bodies. Every Christian who has ever lived in all of history will be resurrected, given a resurrection body. At the same time, those Christians who are alive and walking around on earth at the time when Christ returns, they will experience this in verse 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them. Together with who? Well, going back to verse 16, to the dead Christians. So everybody who has resurrection bodies, whether you're alive as a Christian on earth at the time or you're dead, you'll be given a resurrection body like that. And the Lord will come, verse 16, and will rise, and will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, verse 17, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. The Lord Jesus comes back with an announcement, goes around the world, and if we're alive, we get a resurrection body, because obviously physically we can't go up into the clouds without problems, physical problems, so we're given a resurrection body. And the dead are given their resurrection bodies, and together, in verse 17, we're caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air as he comes back for the final judgment. The Spirit of Christ speaking through Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 51. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, that is, die. That means there will be Christians on the earth when Jesus returns. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, that is, resurrected with new bodies. Whether we are alive at the time or dead, we're going to be changed. We're going to be resurrected, given new resurrection bodies. Verse 52, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, it's going to happen like that, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. They're all saying the same thing, aren't they? A little different words, but they're all saying exactly the same thing. Scriptures clearly teach that there will be Christians on the earth when Christ returns at the last day, or the last trump. 1 Corinthians 15 makes that clear. It's made clear in Matthew 13. The reason I'm stressing this is there are some people who say that there won't be Christians on the earth when the Lord returns. Look at chapter 13 in Matthew, please. Verse 24. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came, and sowed tares among the weeds, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy has done this. The servants said unto him, This is what I want you to focus on. Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And in the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. Now, the wheat is, we know, the elect. The good seed is saved who are on earth. Are they to be raptured out of the world before the last day? Now, according to this, verse 30, Let both grow together until the harvest. And in the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, Gather ye first the tares, bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. So, they're going to stay. They're going to stay until the harvest. We're going to live with the wicked. That's why I've said, you know, the world may become more and more Christian, but it doesn't mean that everybody's going to be a Christian, because we know there are going to be tares on the earth at the harvest. Now, the main verse that people use to teach the so-called rapture, which is a word not found in the Bible, that's not really a condemnation of it. There are other words not found in the Bible, but we believe the concept of Trinity, for example, is Matthew 24, beginning in verse 40, which you probably are familiar with. Then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left. And people say, well, there's your rapture right there. You've probably heard people say that. Well, that's the rapture, right? Well, we'll see this in a moment. Christ is describing what happens on the last day. The saints are called up to meet the Lord as he descends the earth for the final judgment. The damned are left behind on earth, and they're going to be judged at the last day. They're wheat in the tares. That's all he's describing. It's not some period of time that, you know, they were raptured out, and then there's this millennium or something for a thousand years. There's nothing like that in the scripture. It's to indicate that. And there's a lot more to indicate that he's talking about the last day, which brings us to the third event following the millennium. The first event, as we said, the Lord himself should ascend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. The second event, 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. All that from 1 Thessalonians 4 that we just read. The third event will be the resurrection of the reprobate, the damned. It happens at the same time as the resurrection of the saved, but it's a different event called the third event. The Bible doesn't say they're caught up with Christ to meet him in the air, does it? They have no part in him. He doesn't want them to meet him in the air. They are resurrected, but they stay here on earth. Again, were they for a short time. They're given a resurrection bodies, but they stay on earth. Revelation chapter 20 verses 8 and 9 teaches that they stay on the earth. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. We're going to take a look at that Lord willing next time and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth. Gog and Magog to gather them together to battle, the number of whom is of the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth and compass the camp of the saints about in the beloved city, etc. So this is the evil people, and they're still on earth. They're still there. Let's go back to Matthew 24, please. Again, we're putting these puzzle pieces together. Matthew 24. In verse 37, the Lord says, He's talking about that day, the last day. Verse 36, he says, But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angel of heaven, but my father, the angel of heaven, but my father only. Then he compares it, what? To the days of Noah and the flood. But as the days of Noah were, verse 37 in Matthew 24, so shall also the coming of the son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the son of man be. Then shall, and then the verse we just read, Then shall two be in the field, one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left. Christ is saying that the damned will be left on earth. When Christ returns, the saints who are alive then will be caught up to meet him in the air. The rest of them will stay on earth and they'll be judged. So it's not a rapture verse here. Exactly what we read in Thessalonians 4 a few minutes ago. But again, how do we know this is going to happen on the last day and not sometime before that? We know because Christ likens this to the great flood of Noah's time. Well, how do we, what does that have to do with the last day? Well, the great flood was a picture of the last day. It's an Old Testament picture of the last day of earth. Christ says in verse 39, the taking of the saints out of the earth and the leaving of the damned will be just like the last day, just like when the flood came and swept away everybody except the saints, except God's elect, represented. Who were God's elect then? Noah and his family. Yeah, that was it. They were God's covenant people and they were it. And what happened to the rest of the people? Gone, drowned, swept away by the flood. Noah and his family had been taken away by the Lord and put in the ark, right? For safety. Noah and his family were the covenant people of God in the pre-flood days. The only ones in the world at the time. And the ark, guess what that was a picture of? It's a real, it happened in history. And when I say it's a picture or a symbol of, it doesn't mean it didn't happen, but the Lord used it to show us what was to come and so we could understand the future better. And he compares it, the future, to the flood and to Noah's ark. Well, Noah's ark, what was that a picture of? What was to come? It's a picture of another ark. It's called the Ark of the Covenant, which was to come later. And what does the Ark of the Covenant do? It's a picture of Christ and covering up sin, forgiveness of sin. Look at Genesis chapter 6, please. In verse 14, verse 13, verse 12, people are going to think, oh wait, start there, start there. Verse 11, the earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth and, behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. And, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood. Rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. Stop there. Pitch it within and without with pitch. What a very, so what's the big deal about that? What is that? Well, very, very interesting. Pitch is crude bitumen, which is basically what we know as asphalt. And it was abundant where Noah lived. There's a reference to, in the Bible, called slime pits. They are asphalt lakes. There's an asphalt lake in Trinidad. It's about a mile long. It's a natural phenomenon. We get asphalt out of the ground. It's mined. It's not made in a factory. And the Middle East and that area is known for having a lot of asphalt at the time. So it was common. So the Lord says, Make the ark and cover it within and without with asphalt, essentially. Pitch. And what did that do? Well, it made the ark watertight. The ark's going to be floating around here for 40 days, right? It can't leak. Well, the Hebrew word for pitch is the word kafar. And here's how Strong's Hebrew Dictionary defines kafar. Quote, To cover, specifically with bitumen, asphalt, figuratively to cover over, pacify, make propitiation, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel, appease, make an atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge away, put off, make reconciliation. Isn't that cool? In Exodus 25, the mercy seat is described by the Lord. The mercy seat is the covering of the ark of the covenant. The mercy seat is where the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled, which signified the atonement, the remission of sins of the people. It's the picture of the mercy of God in forgiving the sins of his covenant people. The Hebrew word for mercy seat is kaporoth. Let's remember that word, kaporoth. Kaporoth comes from the Hebrew word kafar, pitch. The pitch that covered the ark and that saved Noah and his family from death, making the ark watertight, was a symbol of the covering of the mercy seat. The mercy seat itself is a symbol of Christ as the covering of the sins of his people. In Romans 3.25, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, propitiation, the root kafar, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. First John 2.2, and he himself is the propitiation for our sins. First John 4.10, God sent him a son to be the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation means covering for sin, atonement. The word propitiation in the Greek is the word hilosmos, which is the translation of the Hebrew word kaporoth, which comes from kafar, which is pitch. They all fit together. So by comparing the last days, the last day of earth to the great flood of Noah's time, Christ made it clear that the flood was a picture of that last day. And by saying, as he said, we read for in the, as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came and took them all away. So shall the coming of the son of man be. Christ was making it clear that he's talking about the last day. The saints will be taken by Christ. The damned will be left on earth to be destroyed immediately. Not something this wouldn't happen sometime before the last day or before the millennium. There's no rapture taught in the scriptures other than this last day raptures. So the Lord Jesus will descend from heaven in the clouds, accompanied by the announcement, which the whole world will hear. Well, how do we know the whole world is going to hear this announcement? Because he says so in Matthew 24 30, then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see all the tribes of the earth shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great, great glory. And verse 31, he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. So we will meet the Lord in the air. The damned will be left on earth and the final judgment that he comes back and the final judgment begins. The condemned will be judged and found guilty. Revelation 20 verses nine to 15. The damned is then thrown at the lake of fire forever. I'll read to Revelation 20 beginning verse nine. And let's say nine to 15. Well, we read this a few minutes ago, but it's it's the I won't go reading it, but it's the devil casting into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And there's the judgment. The dead are open and they're judged. They're judged out of the books and death and hell cast in like a fire, et cetera. And immediately following the final judgment, the earth will be made into a new earth in chapter 21 of Revelation verse one. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. And at verse 10, and he carried me away in the spirit in Revelation 21 to a great and high mountain and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God. Every Christian who's ever lived, who had shortly before been given a new resurrection body and caught up to meet the Lord in the air, will descend into this new earth and live with him forever. See, once we're up with him in the clouds, as he's coming down, we're not going to be separated from him. We come down to the earth in the new into the new earth, Revelation 21, 24 and the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it of the new earth. And the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. Revelation 22 verses three and four, and they shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the lamb shall be in it again, the new earth and his servants shall serve him and they shall see his face and his name shall be in their foreheads. So we're going to stop here because we looked at the big picture, the major events described in the last chapters of the last day of the book of Revelation, and then the new earth and new heaven. And just think about that as you read this, what a glorious day we have to look forward to, whether we're still here on the earth or whether we're in our graves, whether we're alive on the earth or alive with Christ in heaven. It's a better way to put it. We'll be given resurrection bodies and we'll be alive, we'll be conscious, more conscious than we are now. With him on that great day when he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. He says in Matthew 24, watch therefore for you know not what hour your Lord doth come. It's your memory verse this week. Watch therefore for you know not what hour your Lord doth come. See he might, you know, we think about, oh, well, yeah, Jesus, let's look at the window and he might come any minute now. Of course he could if he chose to come any moment, but you don't know what hour your Lord is coming for you. We're not guaranteed even another breath, are we? You could, you could die going home today. Are you ready to face him this afternoon? Will he say to you, well done, thou good and faithful servant. So redeem what time you have left here to please him in that way. So he'll say that to you when you enter into the joy of your Lord. Let's go to him in prayer. Father, indeed, it is our prayer that, that while we still have, our been, our given time on this earth, father, that we would glorify thee in our lives, that we would do those things that please thee, father, that we, our Lord Jesus said, if you love me, obey my commandments to do, do thy will. So Lord, that we father asked for that, that when we are ushered into the press, into thy presence, that thou will say to us, well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of our Lord.