Bramhall, John W: The Coming Of The Lord 39 ~ 2 Corinthians 4;14

Beloved radio friends, we greet you in the precious and in the worthy name of the blessed Lord Jesus, our soon coming Savior. How we pray, beloved radio friend, that you know the Savior, that you have received him, that you are trusting the work which he did alone upon the cross of Calvary for your salvation, that you may be sure, whether it be by the undertaker or whether it be by the upper taker, by the coming of the Lord. Be sure that you'll spend eternity with him and not in the lake of fire, where torment will be forever and ever. We continue our study and bring another question relating to the coming of our Lord Jesus to consider today. The question is this, it's really two questions we would like to ask relative to the Lord's return. First, when the Lord comes for his saints, as it is described in First Thessalonians chapter four, will that great event be publicly known by all the world? Second question, when the Lord descends to the earth with his saints, as it is described in Jude chapter fourteen as well as Revelation one seven, and even in the prophecy of Zechariah chapter fourteen, When the Lord comes to the earth with his saints, will that be a public event for all the world to see? Now get the context of these questions very clearly and distinctly in your mind. The distinction between his coming for his saints and his coming with his saints. Common sense will tell us Christ must come for his saints before he can come with his saints. So that our questions concern the problem. These two events, will they both be publicly revealed to all the world? Now let's consider number one. When the rapture takes place, First Thessalonians chapter four verse thirteen through eighteen, describing when the Lord comes for his saints, will the world know of it? Please note verse sixteen that we quote, the Lord himself shall descend from heaven to the air. Please note, the Lord comes alone. This is undoubtedly how he will fulfill the promise of John fourteen three, which we have touched upon in other messages. When Jesus said, if I go away, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And do not even those words of John fourteen suggest that when he comes, he's not coming to, nor even for the world. He is only coming for his own children, those who belong to him. And on this occasion, this great event has nothing to do with the unsaved and those who do not know him in this world, but specifically he is coming only to take his redeemed people out of the world to glory, when the dead in Christ shall be raised from their graves, and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. Now, a little further note. Surely the world cannot see the event and will not, but let us consider the rapidity of that event from First Corinthians fifteen fifty one and fifty two. Listen to the words of Paul. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, meaning in death, but we shall all be changed, meaning the living saints must be changed in a moment and in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump. Please note the rapidity of that event. It is described as being done in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, in the fraction, a very minute fraction of a second, if you please, that whole event will be consummated. Did not the Lord Jesus in Revelation twenty two say three times, I come quickly, I come quickly, I come quickly. And each time he refers to his coming for his saints. And the very last message he gave, I come quickly. Now, from these scriptures, we do and we must conclude that the world will not publicly witness that blessed event. And I can assure you, my listener, the television cameraman will not have any pictures of it. What the world will say and what the world will do when the saints have gone will be, for the greater part, difficult to explain, but I'm sure many will say, that was a good reason to get rid of those Christians. Now they're out of our way. But now let's look at question number two. When the Lord descends to the earth with his saints, and may I quote the words of Zechariah, when he writes to say, the Lord thy God shall come and all the saints with thee. Zechariah fourteen and verse five. And in the context of that same scripture, we read in the preceding verse that the Savior's feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives. Zechariah fourteen and verse four. Now we raise the question, when the Lord comes with all of his saints to the earth, will the world see that? Will the world know it? Now there are a many numbers of scriptures that we could read, but I would like to take one special verse from the book of the Revelation, chapter one and verse seven. That book of the Revelation in a great measure covers the aspect of the great and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Now listen to the words of Revelation one verse seven, the very theme of the whole book. Behold, he, meaning the Lord Jesus, behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so are men. Now here you have, and let me please point out to you in outline the truth of the verse. You have the certainty of his coming declared. Behold, he cometh. All the many previous promises condensed in this one statement. Behold, he cometh. Second, you have the manner of his coming described, with clouds. I believe not the clouds of the atmosphere, but the clouds of many angels and many saints. Innumerable. Read Revelation nineteen eleven to the end of the chapter. Read Matthew chapter twenty five and verse thirty one, and you'll find saints and angels are coming with him, innumerable in number. And then third, you've got the publicity of his coming. Note it. Every eye shall see him. No one will miss the sight. The glory and the greatness of the sight will reach from one end of the earth to the other, north and south and east and west, from the north pole to the south, from the east to the west. Every eye will visibly look upon the sight when he comes in power and great glory. Fourth, note the reference particularly to the people of Israel. Even they that pierced him, did not Zechariah the prophet write, they shall look upon me, says the Savior, whom they have pierced? Zechariah twelve and verse ten. And then, note the universal wailing and weeping at the sight when Jesus comes. All the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. The nations and their inhabitants will be filled with fear. The songs of reverie and mirth will turn to shrieks of fear and horror, and the world of the ungodly, the wicked, the adulterer, the murderer, the whoremonger, the thief, and all unrighteous ones will become absolutely afraid, for we read in the scriptures that Jesus will destroy the wicked by the breath of his mouth when he comes in judgment. What can we conclude? Can we not say with the words of John, shall we not ratify what the Savior declares, even so, Lord Jesus? And what can we but conclude about our questions? First of all, concerning the rapture, the world will not publicly, not only not see it, but they'll not even know the event until it has happened. Neither can they. That event will take place only between the Lord himself and his own dear people, when he comes for his saints. The second question, the coming of the Lord with his saints, then all the world will see it. Has not Jude written, behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon all? Now, my beloved friend, this question we would raise in our closing moments. In which event will you be the partaker? My beloved friend, if you are saved, and my fellow believers who are listening who are saved, let you and I rejoice. May we truly say in the words of John at the close of the word of God in Revelation twenty two, even so come, Lord. Even so, come today. Even so, come, Lord Jesus, taking thy bride away. Oh, how my heart is yearning, longing for thy returning. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Even so, come today. My beloved friend, if you're unsaved, I pray that the Holy Spirit will trouble your heart, your soul, your conscience regarding your sin, your need of salvation through Christ and faith in his atoning blood. It is the desire of God that you may come to him through his son. It is the desire of the Holy Spirit to bring you to Christ, who will bring you to the Father. And Christ is your only savior. My beloved, remember this. You make the choice. You either choose to meet the Lord in the air, or you make the choice to be consigned to everlasting punishment by rejecting him. Will you not make sure of your salvation today? Well, as the prophet Isaiah written, call on the Lord. Call on the Lord while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return unto our God, who will have mercy and will have abundantly par- pardon. Call upon him while he is near. My beloved, if you're not saved, one deep purpose of heart that is ours in giving these special messages on the coming of the Lord is to win your soul to the Savior before you can be lost eternally. God help you to come. Trust the Savior today. Make him your own. He will meet you in the air. You will meet in the him in the air. When you belong to him, whether you're dead in the grave or living when he comes, the saviour will meet him in the air above. Grant, when the roll is called up yonder, my friend, you'll be there. Oh, blessed God and Father, may the Holy Spirit do his work of conviction and saving some precious dear soul, in Jesus' name, for his glory. Amen.