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Jack Van Impe Ministries
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each day on our A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE Chapter four begins the prophetical future. Remember chapter 1, verse 19: Write the things which thou has seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. That text presented three tenses and informed us that the Book of Revelation is written in chronological order: the past- chapter 1; the present-chapters 2 and 3 (the history of the seven churches to the present time); and the future-chapters 4 through 22. Now let's take a peek at what's coming. Verse 1: 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. John states, "After this." After what? After the completion of the history of the seven churches. After this, John sees a door opened in heaven and hears a trumpet-like voice loudly and victoriously crying, Come up hither. This is the rapture of the church of Jesus Christ. When it occurs, multitudes from all kindreds. people, tongues, and denominations will meet the Savior face to face. What is the Rapture? It is the literal, visible bodily coming of Jesus Christ to call out of this world, literally and bodily, every born-again believer-first the dead, then the living. First we see that Jesus is coming bodily. Remember the cultists of bygone days who said that the Lord was about to return? Clothed in white sheets, they sat on the mountainsides in anxious anticipation-but Christ didn't come. Date-setting is wrong! But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only (Matthew 24:36). Because of their embarrassment, these cultists immediately stated, "Oh, we were right; Christ did come, but it was an invisible manifestation. He came as a spirit." Not so! When Jesus Christ returns, both in the Rapture (chapter 4) and at His Revelation (chapter 19), He will come literally, visibly and bodily. Proof? Acts 1:9-11: And when [Jesus] had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly 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. The Lord will return exactly as He left. How did He leave? Let's see. In Luke 24:39, Christ appeared to His disciples and said, Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. Then, in verses 41 and 42, He went on to say Have ye here any meat [food]? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them. The Lord Jesus Christ possessed a new resurrected body-a body that could be seen, a body that could be touched, and a body that could partake of food-a literal body! Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above [or over] five hundred brethren at once...After that, he was seen of JamesāAnd last of all he was seen of me also (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). No doubt about it, when He returns and the shout, Come up hither, is given, we will see Him. At this glorious moment, we, too, shall receive new bodies. The Bible teaches in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 17: 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. Notice that the dead in Christ shall rise first. (Perhaps this is because they have six feet further to rise-to the level of the living. Ha!) Then all of us together are caught up into the heavenlies to meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the twinkling of an eye. You don't believe it? Then listen! Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [be dead], but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we [the living] shall be changed. Watch it. For this corruptible [the dead in Christ]āmust put on immortality (1 Corinthians 15:51-54). How fast is the twinkling of an eye? Close your eyes for a moment. Open them. That's it! General Electric Company tells us that the twinkling of an eye is eleven one-hundredths of a second. Just that quickly, at that blessed moment, we shall be changed to be like Jesus. David said, I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness (Psalm 17:15). John adds that when we see Jesus, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2). Then Paul chimes in and states: [He] shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body (Philippians 3:2 1). This, then, is the Rapture. Some Christians say they do not believe in the term rapture. They argue that one cannot find the word rapture in the Bible. Interestingly, one cannot find the term Bible in the Bible either, but I'm holding one! Listen carefully: The word rapture, in English, comes from the Latin, rapio, which means "a snatching away." We have just learned from God's Word that all Christians, living and dead, are going to be snatched away in the twinkling of an eye, so whether one knows it or not, one believes in the Rapture. The Bible also clearly teaches that there is a difference between the Rapture and the Revelation of Christ. We need to fully understand this truth because it is the basis for understanding the Book of Revelation, prophetical truth, and the placement of signs. Simply stated, there are two aspects, or stages, in the process of Christ's second coming, and both begin with the letter "r." We have already designated the first phase as the Rapture. The second phase is called the Revelation. Chapter 4 describes phase one, while phase two is described in chapter 19. The intervening chapters-6 through 18-basically cover a seven-year period called the Tribulation. The Rapture (chapter 4) precedes the Tribulation, and the Revelation (chapter 19) follows the seven-year period of judgment. Chapter 4 is a meeting in the air, whereas chapter 19 is a return to the earth. Chapter 4 removes the believer from the judgments described in chapters 6 through 18, and chapter 19 restores the believer to his earthly sojourn as he returns with Christ to planet earth. The Come up hither of Revelation 4:1 is synonymous with the call of 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17: 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. Immediately following this event, the inhabitants of planet earth experience seven years of incomparable judgment. This judgment ends with the Battle of Armageddon, at which time the door of heaven is again opened (see chapter 19, verses 11 through 16) in order that the believer may exit heaven with Christ for the return trip to earth. This return of Christ with His saints is called the Revelation, and comes from the word revealing. At that time the Lord will reveal himself to all humanity, so why not call this event the revealing, or revelation, of Christ? Let's not quibble about the labels concerning the Rapture and the Revelation. The truths are there; believe them! The labels only help one organize the teaching systematically. The question often arises, "Will the church of Jesus Christ be on earth during the Tribulation hour?" The answer is an emphatic, "NO!" The Church is mentioned sixteen times in the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation, but is not found in chapters 6 through 18-the Tribulation period. Why? First of all, the Tribulation is Israel's time of suffering. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it (Jeremiah 30:7). And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people [Israel]: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people [Israelites] shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book (Daniel 12:1). Secondly, the first sixty-nine weeks of Daniel's prophecy involved Israel. Why wouldn't the seventieth week? The Bible is plain: Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people [Israelites] and upon thy holy city [Jerusalem] (Daniel 9:24). That is why the signs in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 17 and 21 have to do with Israel and the Middle East. Third, during the Tribulation hour, the people involved are instructed to pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day (Matthew 24:20). Israel is eternally identified with the Sabbath day (see Ezekiel 20:12,20). Fourth, when Christ returns to Jerusalem (see Zechariah 14:4), all the tribes of the earth mourn (see Matthew 24:30). The mourners are the twelve tribes of Israel, numbering hundreds of thousands of individuals who were brought to repentance by the preaching of the 144,000 Jewish representatives from each of the twelve tribes (12,000 per tribe). Finally, the persons experiencing the woes of the Church are never called "a synagogue," but rather the church (Acts 2:47). As already stated, the Church cannot be found in Revelation 6 through 18, the portion of the book describing the horrible Tribulation hour. Israel, however, is seen in the midst of the holocaust (see Revelation 12:1-5). This correlates with the elect of Matthew 24:22. Jesus said, And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. This elect group is not the Church but Israel, for God has two elect groups upon earth-the Church and Israel. First, let's look at the Church. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love (Ephesians 1:4). This chosen group is called the elect in 1 Peter 1:2. However, the Church, the bride of Christ, elected to be His sweetheart and wife for all eternity, is not in view in Matthew 24:22. Instead, this text has Israel, the wife of Jehovah, in mind. What? How can that be? Where was Israel chosen? In Genesis 12:2,3 God said, And I will make of thee a great nation, and l will bless thee, and make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. In Deuteronomy 7:7 and 8, the Israelites were again reminded of their elect status: The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers...[He chose you]. This oath that chooses Israel as an elect group of people has never been abrogated: For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance-or without change of mind (Romans 11:29). Because of God's unchanging covenant or oath, Romans 11:26-28 declares, And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, there shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins...as touching the election (the elect), they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. When God chose Israel as His elect wife, He chose her forever because the calling of God is without change of mind. Though Jehovah's spouse has often committed spiritual adultery by turning to iniquity and idolatry, still Jehovah loves her because God abides faithful. There is no doubt about it, Israel is the elect group mentioned in the Gospels for whom the days of judgment will be shortened. Israelites are the ones who will pray that their flight for safety will not be on the Sabbath (their day of worship); who will suffer persecution in their own synagogues (only Jews meet in synagogues); and who have the name of Jacob, and who will experience Jacob's time of trouble (see Jeremiah 30:7), for Jacob is Israel (see Romans 11:26). Hence, a period of seventy weeks is determined upon Israel (see Daniel 9:24). The nation of Israel has seen Jerusalem compassed [about] with armies (Luke 2 1:20), and will again observe the armies of the world posed against Jerusalem for the final war as God gathers all nations against Jerusalem to battle (Zechariah 14:2). This definitely is not the Church. All Christians slipped out through the open door in the fourth chapter before the judgments of heaven and earth began to be unleashed in the sixth chapter. They were evacuated when the shout, Come up hither, was given. There are those who say that Revelation 4:1 is an exclusive picture of John the Beloved in a vision, being caught away in the presence of God. Therefore, they reason, this has nothing to do with anyone else, including the Church. This argument is fallacious because chapter 4, verse 10 states: The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne. When will believers be crowned? Immediately after the Rapture. Proof: Thou shalt be recompensed [rewarded] at the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:14). Again: And when the chief Shepherd shall appear [His coming], ye shall receive a crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4). Obviously, the Judgment Seat of Christ must take place before believers are crowned. Then they lay these crowns at Christ's feet, in verses 10 and 11, meaning they were already in His presence. The only way they could have gotten there is through the Come up hither of verse 1. We must also remember that John, the representative of all of God's people, is shown the things which must be hereafter and the things that will happen, both in heaven and on earth. Chapters 4 and S picture that which takes place in heaven, while chapters 6 through 18 picture that which occurs on earth-the Tribulation. CHANGED LIVES-one at a time Because of your weekly program, I have recently opened my heart to Jesus Christ and asked Him to forgive my sins and for salvation. I study your weekly newsletter each week and I am finding the book of Revelation truly exciting. I have much work to do to educate myself however, other than yourself and Hal Lindsey's program, there is not much more on television available regarding the prophecies. Keep up the good work as I'll always be watching. Rick HIGHLIGHTED PRODUCT OFFERS The Everlasting Hatred: The Roots of Jihad On September 11, 2001, an ancient fight-to-the-death conflict exploded on the shores of the United States. Though most Americans didn't realize it, we were already involved in this struggle that is driven by a hatred that goes back 4,000 years. In the aftermath of 9/11 most Americans are asking:
Islamic Fundamentalism's purpose is to replace the Judeo-Christian world order with an Islamic world order. Every American needs to understand the enormity of the threat we face and why. This book will answer these questions with evidence from both Biblical and secular history. It will also bring new hope for the coming "perilous times."
What is the future of Iraq and the Middle East? This War Had a Much Deeper Significance Than Reported The tyranny of Iraqi rulers today has its roots in ancient Babylon of biblical times. The prophet Jeremiah referred to the dangers poised by Babylon, Iraq of today, to the region, and to God's punishment for the cruel despots of the land of two rivers. Some would say that Jeremiah prophesied current events. WE ACCEPT PRAYER REQUESTS HERE We receive prayer requests from far and wide via the mail, fax, phone, email and now through the prayer section of our website. FEEDBACK: Please help us with your valuable input. Let us know if you enjoyed this electronic newsletter. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!! CONTACT INFORMATION: E-MAIL: jvimi@jvim.com PHONE: (248) 852-5225 (8am-4:30pm Eastern Time) FAX: (248) 852-2692 MAIL: Jack Van Impe Ministries JVIM FAMILY OF WEBSITES: JVIM PROPHECY
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