Andy Walton - Class 1: Get Ready to Meet Jesus

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   You might not believe this, but I wrote this talk that I'm going to tell you about in just a minute, 14 years ago. And I started putting it together. And for one reason or another, I've never given this as a talk until now. I don't really know why it was the case, because I've been looking at it, and working on it, and tweaking it.

2. 0:24

   I had it peer-reviewed by some brethren. And it has, you know, I've written it up as a sort of an article, and if anybody's interested in reading it, at some point you can. But I've never actually given it as a talk. And, well, it was what you were just saying. A couple of weeks ago, I'm driving along, and into my mind came this desire to give this talk. It's been there for 14 years, and I suddenly thought, I want to give this talk now.

3. 0:53

   And the talk that we're going to do this evening is all about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's all about the return of Jesus Christ from our perspective, i.e., those who are alive when Jesus gets back. That's what this talk tonight is about. But the overall theme of the three talks that I've put together is on the screen.

4. 1:19

   Get ready to see Jesus. Now, actually, I gave that title. It might not seem like I've given that title a great deal of thought, but actually, I have. I really thought about the words in this title. To start with, I was going to call it getting ready to see Jesus. And then I thought, no, I'm not going to call it getting ready to see Jesus, because there isn't enough urgency in that title.

5. 1:49

   This, if nothing else, I need to impress on you the urgency of the Lord Jesus Christ coming back. That's exactly what this is about. You know, when my two daughters were growing up and we were going out somewhere, they were supposedly getting ready in the bedroom. If I called up to them, Amy, Sophie, are you getting ready? We're going to go in a minute.

6. 2:13

   That wouldn't have quite the same impact as get ready. We're going. And it's in that sense that I wanted to put it across, because if I said, you know, we're getting ready to see Jesus, then you might think, yeah, getting ready. I can spend a bit of time doing that. You know, I can maybe start next week. I might even start getting ready in a couple of months when the exams are over.

7. 2:38

   I might start getting ready, you know, when things of this bit of my life is, no, forget it. Right. This is about getting ready now. It's a sense of urgency. And the sense of urgency is simply this. I believe, and I don't know whether you do or not, you can tell me afterwards, but I believe that the return of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent.

8. 3:06

   And I use that word, and I'm going to explain to you what I mean when I say imminent. But I truly do believe the return of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent. And by imminent, I mean that Jesus is coming back within days, weeks, or a few months, or maybe a few years.

9. 3:26

   The word imminent does not include decades, centuries, and millennia. All right. In other words, we're on the very brink of Jesus coming back. And because of that, there is this sense of urgency. And you might say, well, if it's a few years away, is it still urgent? Well, it is urgent. If you think of God's plan and purpose, what is it?

10. 3:50

    6,000 years, roughly, with mankind. If the return of Jesus was a few years away, then if you made the 6,000 years one day, we are within five seconds of Jesus coming back. This is urgent. And as I say, I want you to keep this in your mind, because the more we feel a sense of urgency, the more likely we are to do something in our lives.

11. 4:22

    Don't you think? If we thought that the return of Jesus is a long, long way in the future, then actually we might act very differently than if we thought it's going to be tomorrow. And we've got to get that sense of urgency, you know, building up. So, there's three talks. Tonight is purely and simply looking at the return of Jesus from our perspective, who are alive when he gets back.

12. 4:50

    Next week's talk is about the events leading up to that. So, we're actually going backwards. We're starting with the return of Jesus, then we're going backwards to say, well, okay, that's what it's going to be like when he returns. What are the events? What should I be looking for leading up to that?

13. 5:08

    And when you stop and think about it, in the Bible, there are many, many different parts, moving parts, to this prophetical jigsaw puzzle. There's many nations involved. And we need to see, you know, how it all fits together. And I'm not saying to you, you know, I've got 100% the right answer. We're all fallible people.

14. 5:30

    But I'm going to give you my best attempt at putting together all of the prophetical jigsaw pieces next week. So, we've got a sketch. We've got a plan as to what potentially is happening going forward up to the return of Jesus and a bit beyond. And the final week is I'm going to give you what I consider to be irrefutable evidence that Jesus is going to return imminently.

15. 5:56

    And it cannot be decades away or centuries away or millennia away. We are on the very brink of it all. And maybe it's because I had these thoughts in my mind that I thought now is the time to, after 14 years of working on this, to get it off my chest. So, thank you for being here and helping me do that.

16. 6:21

    So, if you think about it. Right, this is start of talk now. So, this is all about Jesus coming back. This is about there's going to be some people alive when Jesus comes back. And I have a very good feeling that every single person in this room is going to see Jesus come back.

17. 6:42

    Even those of you who might think, I don't feel that. Well, I'm a bit old. Am I going to make it to tomorrow? No. I actually think, yeah, look, there's accidents. I'm not saying that, you know, terrible things happen, car crashes, all the rest of it. But leaving aside that, I actually think every single person in this room is going to see Jesus come back.

18. 7:03

    That's how close we are. And I stopped and thought about this. And actually, you know, in the Bible, there are many places that specifically talk about the people who are alive when Jesus gets back. But interestingly to me, God in his mercy has written something. He has written a number of things down that only, only apply to those people who are alive when Jesus gets back.

19. 7:34

    And if it is going to be us in this room and around the world right now who are alive, then surely we should get our heads around it. Because God has said, I want to tell you a little bit about what you're going to go through when I send my son back. And in some ways, fortunately, there aren't hundreds of passages that we need to look at.

20. 7:57

    Actually, there's only four or five. So should we look at them? Right. Have you still got 1 Thessalonians 4? So let's have a look at 1 Thessalonians 4. This is one of the passages that is specifically aimed at those people who are alive when Jesus himself returns to planet Earth. So let's have a look at this.

21. 8:23

    Now, this is tonight. We're going to really delve into some stuff. But I'm not going to get you flicking around too much. So we're going to sit in this chapter for a little while. And if there's a verse elsewhere that I need to bring in to help explain, then I'll put that verse on the screen to save us ferriting around.

22. 8:41

    OK? So let's have a look at 1 Thessalonians 4. Verse 13 says, this is Paul writing, the Apostle Paul writing to an ecclesia in Thessalonica. And he says to this ecclesia, to these faithful brothers and sisters back then, he says, I don't want you to be ignorant. I mean, you know, I want you to understand, says Paul, that there are some people who are asleep, he says, and I don't want you to sorrow when those people are asleep.

23. 9:46

    Because if we actually believe that Jesus died and rose again, which we do, well, those who are asleep, it says, when even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. So what is this talking about? Well, I'm sure we all know very well that when the Bible talks about sleep in this context here, he's not really talking about people who've had a lie down and they've had a good night's sleep.

24. 10:17

    These are people clearly who have died. And it says that, doesn't it? For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. And in John chapter 11, look at, here's Jesus. And Jesus was talking about Lazarus and Lazarus had just died.

25. 10:41

    And Jesus said, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up. And the disciples said, well, Lord, if he's sleeping, he will soon get better. They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping. But Jesus meant Lazarus had died. So he told them plainly, Lazarus is dead. OK, so there's an instance, and there's many of them in the Bible, as we know, that death is symbolic of sleep or sleep is symbolic of death, whichever way, which way around we want to put it.

26. 11:14

    So Lazarus is really dead. Jesus says, really, it's like a sleep. And of course, it is a bit like a sleep, because if Jesus, when he comes back, he's going to raise people from the dead. Well, that's exactly like being asleep. It's just a long, long sleep. And out of the graves, they will come.

27. 11:33

    Now, by the way, when you look at verse 14, you see when it says, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. They might have different versions in here. I'm just reading from the AV for a minute. Now, actually, that almost sounds like they're coming back from heaven in some ways.

28. 11:54

    They look like God is bringing these people who've died with Jesus. It's a much better translation, you know. Instead of it saying God brings them, it's actually far better translated. God brings forth. So it should say, that verse should say, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which also sleep in Jesus will God bring forth with him.

29. 12:22

    Because it's God's power that is going to bring people forth from the grave. We know that it's God's power that does it. Because in verse 16, at the very end of it, it says, it's the trump of God that causes the dead people to rise. So God is bringing people forth from the grave when Jesus comes back.

30. 12:51

    Okay. So all of this isn't yet talking about those who are alive when Jesus comes back, is it? But wait a minute. Let's keep reading. In verse 15, it then says, For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, Now here we go, look, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep.

31. 13:26

    So 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. So what's this talking about? He's clearly saying there's going to be some people who are alive and remain, whatever that means, we'll look at it, unto the coming of the Lord.

32. 13:50

    And, well, we'll look at the next bit in a minute. Some of you have got different versions, yeah? And I bet some of you, instead of it saying alive and remain, it says alive and survive. Has anybody got that? Does anybody's version say those of you who are alive and survive, or something like that?

33. 14:08

    Anybody? Who are still alive. Yours is alive and still alive? Still living. Still living. Right. Okay. Excellent. Now this seems quite a strange thing to say, isn't it? Because if you are alive, you have survived. You are still living. Why is he saying those of you who are alive and are still alive, when Jesus returns, shall not prevent those which are asleep.

34. 14:37

    So why is he saying those who are alive and survive? You with me on this? Isn't that a bit weird? Why doesn't he just say those are alive? And it's because he isn't saying twice those who are alive and are still alive, because that's ridiculous. It's actually talking about, you see where it says in the authorised version, those which are alive and remain.

35. 15:02

    And the word remain literally does mean to remain steadfast. He isn't just talking about those who are alive and are still alive. He's actually saying those who are alive and are remaining in the truth. That is exactly what he's getting at here. Those who are alive and have stayed steadfast in the truth.

36. 15:30

    Have a look at this. This is Revelation chapter 3, verse 2. He says, Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain. For I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon you.

37. 15:58

    So the context of this in Revelation is saying, look, you better remain. And I'll tell you how you remain. You remain by holding fast. And you remain by repenting. And if you don't hold fast, and if you don't continue with a repentant attitude, then fundamentally, when I come back, it will be unexpected like a thief.

38. 16:22

    Here's a modern version of the same passage. This is the New Living Translation. Wake up, says this version. I like this. Wake up. Strengthen what little remains. For even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. Go back. Now this is good.

39. 16:43

    Look at this. Go back to what you heard and believed at first. Hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don't wake up, if you don't wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpectedly, as a thief.

40. 16:58

    Right? This is what Paul is saying. When he says those who are alive and remain, he's saying those people who are still alive when Jesus gets back, and those people who have held fast, who have, they've gone back, perhaps they've left the truth, but at this point in time, they've thought, no, I'm going to go back to what I believed, right back at the beginning.

41. 17:22

    We all know people, don't we, that have left the truth, sadly, and the excitation is, wait a minute, go back to what you first believed. Go back, and repent, and turn to me again. And however long we've been in the truth, and however faithful we are, this is a great message for us all to keep in our hearts and minds.

42. 17:44

    We need to remain. Otherwise, Jesus will come suddenly, he'll catch you unawares, and he'll be just as unexpected, as a thief, because you weren't expecting, the thief, were you? You didn't think, oh, tomorrow, do you know the thief's coming? No, I didn't know he's coming. Yeah, it's in the diary, it's on the calendar.

43. 18:03

    The thief's coming tomorrow. Brilliant. Okay, so we'll stay up then, shall we? Yes, that's awesome. Nobody knows. Nobody knows when he's coming. But we have a much better chance of knowing, if we're repenting, turning back, and believing, and absorbing all of this. And so, back in Thessalonians, this is exactly what Paul, I believe, is getting at.

44. 18:30

    He's specifically talking, I'll come back to that slide in a minute, he's specifically talking about, God willing, me and you, in this room, who are still alive, and remaining in the truth, when Jesus gets back. That's who he's talking to. Now, what does it mean then, when it says, so we now know, we've got a group of people, who are alive when Jesus gets back, and have remained in the truth, when Jesus gets back, unto the coming of the Lord.

45. 18:57

    And it says, these people who are alive, when Jesus gets back, shall not prevent them, which are dead, or asleep. Now, what does that mean? So, modern versions, of course, help us out. And so, there is the authorised version, which says the word, prevent, but the NIV, the Norton International version, says, will certainly not precede, those, who have fallen asleep.

46. 19:27

    What? So, God, through Paul, is saying, those of you, who are alive, are not going to precede, or come before, those who have fallen asleep. Well, actually, Paul, I didn't, I didn't think we were. You're telling me, that we're not going to come before, those who have died, and actually, I didn't even think, well, was going to come before.

47. 19:50

    There's nowhere in the Bible, that says, we're going to come before them. Why is he suddenly saying this? It's clearly something, he wants to get off his chest, and tell us, this is something important, that we should know. The, the New Living Translation, actually says, that the people, who are alive, when Jesus gets back, will not meet him, ahead of those, who have died.

48. 20:14

    You see that? That's actually, quite a good translation. We, who are alive, who are alive, and remain, unto the coming of the Lord, are not going to meet Jesus, ahead of, those who have died. Now, if we don't come before, it means that we could, therefore, yes, we might not come before, but we might come at the same time, and that verse would still hold true.

49. 20:43

    So, we might all be gathered, at exactly the same time, couldn't we? And that verse would still be true, because when we come before, we've just come at the same time, as the dead.

50. 20:56

    But actually, that isn't what happens, you know. Because, look, here, in verse 16. for the Lord himself, shall descend from heaven, with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ, shall rise first. So, not only do we not come before the dead, whatever happens to the dead, happens first.

51. 21:27

    In other words, it happens, before, those, who are alive. Now, the big question, therefore, is, if what happens to the dead, happens to them first, there is clearly, some delay, because, otherwise, it wouldn't be first. If we're all at the same time, if we were all dealt with, at exactly the same time, it couldn't, he could not have written, the dead, are dealt with first.

52. 21:55

    He couldn't write that. So, the question, in my mind then, is, well, what is the delay, between the dead, and those who are alive? Is it just a matter of seconds? Well, I would say, if it's just a matter of seconds, if Jesus comes back, blows the trumpet, the dead are raised, and then it's just a matter of seconds, and the, that those who are alive, are also dealt with, why does he say, that the dead, are dealt with first?

53. 22:18

    Because really, there's no time gap. So, it probably isn't seconds, or maybe it's days, or for that matter, maybe it's weeks, or for that matter again, maybe it's months, or maybe it's a few years. But whatever it is, there is a time gap, between Jesus coming, and the dead being raised, and, us, who are alive, and remain, meeting, Jesus.

54. 22:50

    Because otherwise, Paul has written a whole bunch of stuff here, that is meaningless, and he's impressing on us, this very, very fact, that the dead, are dealt with first, before us. Now, I don't know how long this period is, but we're going to build up, a whole picture in a minute, because there's other places in the Bible, that tell us clearly, there is a delay, between the two groups of people, and this is super interesting.

55. 23:22

    I'm even going to show you, what we're going to do, during that delay. Right, so, the dead clearly, are raised, and taken to judgment. I'm not dealing with, where the judgment is, tonight, mainly because I don't know, 100%, no. But the dead are dealt with, somewhere. But then in verse 17, it says, and by the way, you notice there is a colon, at the end of verse 16.

56. 23:49

    Well, there is in the authorised version, and that is, in the original text. And whenever a colon goes in, it indicates a time delay, all the way through the New Testament, when you see colons, every single solitary time, it's the writer's way of saying, actually, there's now a delay, there's a break, there's a gap.

57. 24:10

    Every single solitary time. If you do it, it's hard to search for a colon, in the Bible, but if you do, you'll see there's always a gap. So, you notice at the end of verse 16, the dead in Christ will rise first, colon, gap, then, we which are alive and remain, there's that phrase again, shall be caught up together with them, who's them, well, the dead who've been raised, in the clouds, to meet the Lord, in the air.

58. 24:37

    So, shall we ever be with the Lord. Now, what is this talking about? We who are alive and remain, are going to be caught up together? What does this mean? Well, we're very fortunate that God, always gives us the answer somewhere in the Bible, and this phrase, being caught up or caught away, doesn't happen very often in the New Testament, it's a pretty rare word.

59. 25:10

    And here is one of the occasions. Now, this is where Philip and the eunuch had been having a chat, and at the end of the baptism of the eunuch, it says in Acts chapter 8, verse 39, when they would come up out of the water, because Philip had just baptized the eunuch, the spirit of the Lord, that's the power of God, caught away, that's exactly the same word as where it says, caught up, caught away, Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more.

60. 25:41

    And he went on his way, rejoicing, that's the eunuch here, but Philip was found, and that literally means he was discovered, at Azotus. Now, this is about 15 miles away, when I've looked at it. So, one minute, there they are, Philip's just baptized the eunuch, next minute, Philip is caught away by the spirit of God, the power of God.

61. 26:04

    So, this isn't, you know, if you got in a chariot, and galloped 15 miles, you wouldn't say, well, the spirit of God has got him from May to be. Clearly, something miraculous happened to Philip, to transport him, from where he was, to over here, and God uses exactly the same word, caught away.

62. 26:26

    Now, what I don't think happened, was that Philip sort of lifted up, and went for, you know, oh, there's a man flying through the heavens, and off he goes, and down he lands. I don't think that happened. I think God's power, teleported, this man, from where he was, to somewhere else. He just appeared.

63. 26:47

    You probably have to blink, where am I? How's that happened? And he just carried on. And, amazingly, back in Thessalonians, that's exactly what we're being told. Then we, we which are alive and remain, are suddenly, caught away. Doesn't mean we're suddenly flying, and there's people flying around everywhere, but we are literally, caught away, and taken.

64. 27:14

    Now, where are we taken? We're going to see exactly where we're taken, actually. It doesn't really tell us here. It says that we end up in the clouds, to meet, and some people say, well, the clouds, of course, are those who've been raised, because the clouds are symbolic of people, and so they are.

65. 27:30

    And that might be right. But the trouble is, it can't be the full picture, because you know something? Paul doesn't just leave it saying, we're taken into the clouds. Do you notice what he says? We go into the clouds, to meet the Lord, in the air. Now, that is a very specific Greek word.

66. 27:52

    And the word air, literally means, the lower atmosphere. The lower atmosphere. So in Greek, they had a word for the lower atmosphere, where the air is much thicker, and we can breathe it. And they had a word for the higher atmosphere, which is thin, and you can't breathe it. And they had two different words, and they used the word air, God does through Paul, to say, they're taken up, into the clouds, into, and in case you wonder, it's into the air.

67. 28:21

    It's into the lower atmosphere. Now, we might find this a little bit weird. We might think, whoa, what do you mean? Taken up, into the air. You know, what are you saying? We're going to heaven? Well, of course we're not. Do you know where we end up? We end up, categorically we know where we end up.

68. 28:42

    We don't forever, it doesn't say, by the way, we remain in the clouds forever. It does say that we're forever then with Jesus, with our Lord, but we are transported miraculously somewhere. And the somewhere that we are taken to, well, actually, we know where we do ultimately end up, because in Zechariah 14, when Jesus comes and stands on the Mount of Olives, and I believe he's actually coming down at this point, he doesn't like just walk in.

69. 29:11

    He took off from the Mount of Olives, and he will so come in like manner as you've seen him go. And he comes back to the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem, and look what it says in verse 5. He doesn't come on his own. It says, the Lord my God, this is a reference, as we know, to Jesus himself, shall come, and look who's with him, at this point.

70. 29:32

    All the saints. When Jesus touches down on the Mount of Olives, the saints are all there with him. So we know that we, our ultimate destination, when we've been caught up, is to end up with Jesus, in Jerusalem. I don't know what happens entirely in between. So we're caught up, we're taken through the air, somehow or other, I'm sure we're not just seen flying around, but Jesus is going to gather us together, and take us to, ultimately, to Jerusalem, with all of the saints.

71. 30:09

    Now do you know something? There's another passage, that says exactly this. Exactly this. Which we'll look at in a second, but I just want to show you, before I do, what the order of events, that Paul is going through, is saying. Here it is, look. He says, in this passage, that we've just read, in 1 Thessalonians 4, that Jesus, descends from heaven.

72. 30:33

    The second thing he says is, there's a loud shout, and there's a trumpet, call of God himself. And when the trumpet is blown, the dead in Christ, rise at that trumpet blast. And Paul says, it happens, it's first for them. Later, there is a gap, there's a colon, there's some period of time, isn't it, it can't be at the same time, as us, because it's happening, to them first.

73. 31:01

    Those who are alive, and faithful, me and you, God willing, are then caught up, at some point, to be taken, to be with Christ, and those who've been raised.

74. 31:14

    Where else, does it say this? Well, have a look, at this chapter, here. So this is Luke, and chapter 17. So in Luke chapter 17, well let's read this, this is Luke chapter 17, verse 24, it says, for as lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part, under heaven, shines unto the other part, under heaven, so shall also the son of man, be in his day.

75. 31:48

    So when Jesus comes, it's like lightning. But the same day, that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone, from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even though, shall it be, in the day, when the son of man, is revealed. Okay, so in the day, that the son of man, is revealed, it's going to be a bit like, it was, at the time of Sodom.

76. 32:12

    In that day, he which shall be, upon the housetop, and is stuffed in the house, let him not come down, to take it away, and he that is in the field, let him likewise, not return back. Remember Lot's wife. So the, revealing of Jesus, which is like, lightning in the heavens, is all happening, on a day, day, day, day.

77. 32:34

    And when this happens, don't go and grab, all your bits and pieces. Remember Lot's wife. And pretty much, the next verse says, because says Jesus, I tell you, in that night, there shall be two, in one bed, and one, shall be taken, and the other, shall be left. So, the revealing of Jesus, is all happening in the day, and then suddenly, he switches to say, and in the night, you're going to be taken.

78. 33:07

    Even Jesus here, is subliminally telling us, look, I have come in the day, but you're going to be taken at night. Now, clearly we know, that some parts of the world are day, and some parts of the world are night. But, what he's trying to say is, look, it's all happening here, but you're taken here.

79. 33:24

    I come in the day, you're taken at the night. But, do you notice, and it goes on and says, doesn't it, that there's two people doing this, and one's taken, and the other left, and two people are doing that, and one's taken, and the other left. The apostle Paul in Thessalonians says, those who are alive and remain, they're going to be taken.

80. 33:40

    But, only those who are faithful, are going to be taken, at that point. So, I think even here, there's a little bit of an inference, that there is a delay, between the appearing of Jesus, and us being taken. Now, do you know what the disciples said to that?

81. 34:03

    What did they say? I'm keeping you awake now. What do you reckon the disciples said to that? What would you say? Jesus said, you're going to be taken. What would you say? Where? And that's what they said. And Jesus says, well, I'll tell you, I'll tell you where, I'll tell you where they're taken.

82. 34:24

    Ah, Jesus, he gives us, he gives it to us in symbolic terms. He says, wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. You can imagine going, oh, we can't ask that now. What? We ask where we're taken, when you come back, and you're now saying, where the body is, the eagles are gathered together.

83. 34:44

    Now, here's an interesting thing. Because this word body, in Luke chapter 17, can mean one of two things. It's the Greek word soma, which can mean a living body, or it can mean a carcass, a dead body. It can mean both. Right. So, the eagles, we're like eagles, we're taken to either a living body, or a dead body.

84. 35:04

    I don't know which one it is. But we do know which one it is, because, Jesus also quotes this, exact same phrase, in Matthew 24, verse 28, and now, in this, in this chapter, it says, for wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. So, actually, the eagles are taken to a carcass, a dead body.

85. 35:29

    So, wait a minute, I'm a faithful, I'm alive, I'm taken, and I'm taken to a dead body. That doesn't sound great, in fairness. I wish I was taken somewhere a lot nicer than that. And just to show you, this, this word here, carcass, is the Greek word, tomah, I don't know if that's how you say it, but, it definitely means a dead body.

86. 35:50

    So, the eagles are taken to a dead body. Great. What does that mean? Here's what it means. The eagles equals the saints. Jesus said, I'm going to, you're going to be taken, and in the Bible, eagles equal saints. In Isaiah 40, verse 31, it says, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not be faint.

87. 36:20

    In other words, the saints are like eagles. And eagles are also symbolic of judgment. So, the saints, we're being told, are like eagles, and they're going to fly off somewhere, they're going to be taken somewhere, and they're like eagles. And eagles in Lamentations, in fact, lots of places in the Bible, eagles are symbolic of judgment.

88. 36:40

    So, the saints are going to judge somewhere. The carcass, I believe, is the carcass of the nations, where, do you remember the, well, you don't remember, because I haven't told you this, but you know it, that Armageddon, where all the nations are going to be gathered, where it's going to take months upon months upon months to bury the dead, is the carcass to which we're taken.

89. 37:03

    We're taken to Israel, to Jerusalem specifically, and in Revelation 11 verses 8 to 9, it talks about a dead carcass, it talks about a dead carcass, being symbolic of nations being gathered for judgment. In Zechariah 13 verse 8, it says that, we're going to, how many months does it say that we have to spend burying the dead?

90. 37:24

    Seven was it? Seven months. This is the carcass. It's where all the nations have been centered in a great conflict over Jerusalem. And we as eagles are taken to this carcass of nations, based in Israel, in Jerusalem, and in fact, in Jude, verse 14, it says, behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon all.

91. 37:53

    And that is where we're taken. We're taken to Jerusalem. Now we come back to this bit. Remember, this is the order. Jesus descends from heaven. There's a loud shout and a trumpet call of God. At the trumpet sound, the dead are raised. And that happens to them first. There is some period of delay, however long, then we which are alive and faithful are caught up.

92. 38:18

    We are taken to be with those who've already been raised and taken to Jerusalem and to Israel. We also go through the process of judgment and so on. Now, does it say this anywhere else? That this is the exact order? Well, it does. You see, God, what he does when he writes the Bible, you know this, he doesn't put it all in one chapter.

93. 38:44

    It would be a lot easier if he did, but he doesn't. He makes us, it's a bit like a logical puzzle. He says, I'm going to write a bit of info here, and I'm going to write a bit of info here, and I'm going to write a bit of info here, and a bit more over there.

94. 38:57

    And your job is to search it out and to join it together, and it's like the most amazing jigsaw puzzle. Now, in Matthew 24, it's the same story. Watch this. Verse 27. For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines into the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

95. 39:17

    For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Same story. That's us. Now, this has confused a lot of people. Verse 29 of Matthew 24 says, immediately after the tribulation of those days. It shouldn't say immediately after the tribulation of those days. It should say immediately with the tribulation of those days.

96. 39:41

    Do you know how I know that? Because, if you look it up when you get home, that particular word that's translated after is 345 times translated as with, and only 88 times translated as after. It can mean one or the other. And I'm absolutely certain, it should say, immediately with the tribulation of those days, i.e. when Jesus comes, will the sun be darkened, and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

97. 40:14

    And then it says, shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and he shall send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.

98. 40:38

    Now what some have said is, well, wait a minute, this when Jesus is coming here, these clouds are the saints. But do you know something? There is only one way that those clouds could be symbolic of the saints, and that is, if there is two trumpet blasts.

99. 41:00

    There'd have to be two. Because guess what? The trumpet, when it was blown, in Thessalonians, caused the dead to rise. But here, the trumpet isn't blown until this verse. So you've got Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven, and he shall send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet. That is the very same.

100. 41:24

     There's only one trumpet blast, brothers and sisters. There is one trumpet blast. And at that one trumpet blast, the dead are raised. So these cannot be clouds of saints, because the trumpet... But then you say, well, maybe verse 31 is really mixed in with verse 30. Maybe that's what's going on. But it isn't.

101. 41:45

     Because the logical puzzle solves that for us. Because in Mark chapter 13, it says, then they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and great glory, and then he sends his angels to gather his elect. So the angels are sent to gather the elect after Jesus has appeared in the clouds.

102. 42:13

     Which means that the... where it says here that the sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, it really should say, and then he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they begin to gather together the elect.

103. 42:35

     Some of them are dead that are raised, and some of them are alive and who are collected. The clouds... The only way that those clouds can be the saints is simply if there are two trumpet blasts. There's been one earlier on that nobody heard that raised the dead, and now there's another trumpet blast, and the...

104. 42:56

     and I don't think there is. Do you know what? The trumpet's only mentioned four times in the... or five times in the New Testament. There's only one trumpet blast. Okay? Here's another interesting thing. You see here it says all the tribes of the earth mourn when they see the sign of the Son of Man.

105. 43:15

     I'm going to tell you exactly what the sign of the Son of Man is in just a minute. But all the tribes of the earth mourn when they see the Son of Man coming in the real clouds in heaven. Now, do you know something? That word mourn is only mentioned literally about four or five times in the whole of the New Testament.

106. 43:36

     And here is one of the very few other times where it's mentioned. In Revelation 1, it says, Behold, Jesus comes with clouds and every... Say, these are real clouds. And every eye shall see him and they also which pierced him and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. And that word wail is exactly the same word as mourn and it's hardly used at all in the New Testament and God's linked us together.

107. 44:07

     He says, Everybody's going to see him come and all the earth is going to mourn. Do you want to know what the sign of the Son of Man is? It tells us what the sign of the Son of Man is. Look, Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn.

108. 44:28

     Why are they mourning? Because they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven. The sign of the Son of Man is that Jesus in heaven himself coming back to earth. I don't quite know what that's going to look like but we will see it and it'll be a bright light.

109. 44:46

     It'll be with tens of thousands of angels more than likely because one of them at least is blowing the trumpet and we will see something in the heavens and that sign that is seen in the heavens calls the world to go into a mourning a blind panic.

110. 45:03

     So we now know that this order that we got from Thessalonians is mirrored exactly in Matthew and in Luke and in Mark. Jesus descends and appears in heaven. everyone sees him and it must include us. It absolutely categorically must include us. We cannot be taken away before Jesus appears in the heavens as some say because then Paul has written the whole thing in reverse.

111. 45:35

     He's written the whole thing in reverse and he hasn't. He's written it in the order of things that happen. Jesus appears in heaven. Everyone on earth sees him including us. The world mourns and wails. I'll show you what we do in just a second. There's a loud shout and one trumpet call that raises the dead.

112. 45:52

     The dead in Christ at that point are raised and are judged somewhere. Meanwhile we keep living for a little period of time and finally we're caught up to be with those who've been raised at some point later. Now you might say well wait a minute why? Why is there a delay? Why aren't we just instantly taken?

113. 46:13

     Why is it the dead happened first? Why are we dealt with later? And you know something there's a heck of a good reason and we're told exactly what that reason is. And Jesus do you want to know what we do and why? I'm going to tell you regardless.

114. 46:35

     This is the most amazing parable. It's Matthew 25. Now come and look at this. because this will blow your socks off. This is amazing.

115. 46:49

     This parable of the ten virgins I'm going to show you is specifically about those who are alive and remain when Jesus comes back. It's specifically aimed at us.

116. 47:02

     You know they say don't they to always read things in context. and if you read the verses because this is just one long speech by Jesus on the Mount of Olives and if you read the previous verses of the chapter before you'll see that this is definitely talking about those who are alive when Jesus comes back.

117. 47:27

     if you have a look in verse 40 of Matthew 24 two people are in the field one's taken and the other left this is the same story one's taken and the other left these are people who are alive when Jesus comes back. two women are grinding one's taken the other left watch because you don't know when Jesus is coming back.

118. 47:46

     This is talking about people who are alive the dead do you really think the dead are busy grinding at the mill when Jesus comes back? Uh uh the dead are doing absolutely nothing when Jesus gets back because they're dead they're asleep. This is talking the context is people who are alive when Jesus gets back and so the parable of the ten virgins in the context of where we are in the speech of Jesus is all about those who are alive when Jesus gets back.

119. 48:17

     Now in verse let me just read some of this then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom and five of them are wise five of them are foolish they that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps and while the bridegroom tarried all of them slumbered and slept.

120. 48:43

     Now I'll tell you what that means in just a second but first of all some of your versions might say bridesmaids does anybody's version say the parable of the ten bridesmaids? Some of them will I know but it isn't. These aren't bridesmaids these are virgins and when you study the word virgin in the New Testament in every instance it's talking about somebody that's betrothed to be married.

121. 49:08

     Well wait a minute you don't get ten brides marrying one person but in this parable this parable is exactly that. This parable is about Jesus who's the bridegroom marrying a multitudinous bride.

122. 49:28

     All different people and some of it like this and some are like that. he couldn't do the parable with just one person because he's trying to show that there's different types of virgin. There's some that are wise and there's some that are foolish.

123. 49:45

     Have you ever wondered why there's ten by the way? I love numbers in the Bible. Do you know something? Do you know what the number ten is symbolic of? It's symbolic of righteous judgment. That's exactly what it's symbolic of. Righteous judgment. There were ten commandments and by those commandments God would righteously judge the people.

124. 50:07

     There were ten plagues that came on Egypt and those ten plagues righteously judged Egypt. There were exactly ten generations from Adam to Noah and then judgment. Righteous judgment came on the earth. Ten is symbolic of righteous judgment and even though we read this and might think hmm is God really dealing with these ten virgins righteously even that number ten is telling us I am dealing with these virgins righteously.

125. 50:36

     That's why there's ten. And half of them are wise half of them are foolish. Now they've all got their lamps haven't they? And some have got oil in their lamp and some haven't got oil in their lamp. That's what it says. And of course that's the bit that distinguishes whether you're wise or foolish.

126. 50:55

     Because how many of them fell asleep? I know you're feeling drowsy now but I've started I've got to finish this. So can you keep going a little bit more? Are you sure? The door's there. You can make a room for it any time. It's probably another five, ten minutes so you're okay with that.

127. 51:12

     So look what was my question? Yeah. So the wise have got oil the foolish have got no oil but how many of them are asleep? all of them. So that didn't distinguish whether you were wise or foolish whether you'd fallen asleep. What distinguished whether you're wise or foolish was whether you've got oil or not.

128. 51:36

     So out of all the things that we have to have it's oil. We might wonder exactly why there are you know what's a virgin actually symbolic of? A virgin is symbolic of somebody that is going to marry the bridegroom. So in the Bible it says that a harlot is a false religion who's sleeping around with all sorts of different faiths and all sorts of different people that don't care about the truth.

129. 52:07

     These people aren't like that because they're all virgins. This is quite alarming when you stop and think about it because these people are virgins. They haven't mixed in with false religion but they're still foolish.

130. 52:26

     Right. They are a religious person who hasn't mixed up with false religion like a harlot but they're still foolish and the critical bit that this virgin is missing is oil. What is that? Well we know in the Bible in Psalm 119 verse 105 that the lamp it says is the word of God.

131. 52:50

     So the lamp itself is like a lamp to my feet says David. But the lamp needs something. It has to have oil in it to make it work. Otherwise it's just a dead old thing. It's not doing anything. And in a sense you know this gives us a clue to what oil is.

132. 53:10

     Because oil is the bit that we have to put into the word of God. Let me tell you some interesting facts about oil. It's one of the most valuable products in the whole of Israel. If you discount gold and things like that oil was next in line. It was one of the most valuable products in Israel.

133. 53:31

     And if you think about it what's the most valuable thing that we can bring to God? God. It is our faith. That's the one thing that he's looking from us. God's word only works with our faith. If the Bible's shut on my shelf, I never read it, do anything with it, what good is that to me?

134. 53:51

     A big fat nothing. If I open it and read it and absorb it and do it, now it is a lamp to shine on my feet. But if I don't do anything with it, it doesn't do anything for me. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. And oil, when you look in the Old Testament, was given in most offerings.

135. 54:13

     And we give our lives through faith to God. Oil is symbolic of faith, our belief. That's exactly what oil is. Now, what happens then? So the bridegroom tarries and they've all grown weary. Even those with faith have just thought, oh my God, where's the promise of his coming? A Christadelphian said that to me only two weeks ago.

136. 54:39

     Andy, we've said for 50 years Jesus is coming, well, he hasn't. Could be another hundred. And I said, it sounds a little bit like you're saying, where's the promise of his coming? For all things continue as they were. Well, all things are continuing as they were, this person said to me. This is going pretty sleepy.

137. 54:58

     But something happens. Check it out. Verse 6. And at midnight, there's a cry made. Now, this word cry means an enormous shout. In fact, some versions will translate it as clamour. This isn't like a little whimpery noise. This is a great big enormous shout. And suddenly somebody shouts, behold, the bridegroom cometh. Or as Young's translation says, the bridegroom doth come.

138. 55:28

     Come out to meet him. Well, what do the virgins do? Verse 7. They're all awake. They're trimming their lumps. They're getting their lumps ready. They're trimming the wick. They're making sure they've got oil. They're lighting it. And the foolish say to the wise, because they've got no oil, excuse me, I've messed up, no oil.

139. 55:48

     Can you help me? Can you sort it out? And the wise say, well, I'm ever so sorry. I haven't got enough for both me and you. I can only suggest that you go to those who sell it and go and buy it yourself. And these virgins are now in a blind panic. So they are running off to go and somehow get oil.

140. 56:06

     Meanwhile, everybody else is trimming their lamps, getting themselves ready. And verse 10 says, while they went to buy, the bridegroom came. So there's a great big cry here. The virgins all then get busy and wake up. And sometime later, the bridegroom actually does come, in verse 10, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut.

141. 56:30

     And afterward came also the other virgins saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. And you better watch therefore because you don't know the day or the hour wherein the son of man cometh. That means appears. That word literally mean appears. And it's quoted from exactly verse 6 where it says, behold, the bridegroom cometh.

142. 57:02

     Exactly the same word in exactly the same tense. Do you know something? This is what this parable is about. This bit where it says at midnight there's a great shout and a great clamour, this is the exact point when Jesus appears in the clouds of heaven with the trumpet. There's a great noise and a great shout.

143. 57:25

     Now you just imagine for one minute if we did see the Lord Jesus Christ appear in the clouds of heaven with a great shout. Is that going to wake us all up?

144. 57:37

     Is there any virgin that's going to roll over and put East Enders on at that point? No. Would this room be heaving? Would all the meetings? Oh yes. There would be people that you haven't seen for 50 years wandering through the doors. And do you know what they're going to ask you for?

145. 57:58

     They're going to say what is happening and how do I get faith? But something very dramatic happened the instant that Christ appeared in the heavens. And do you know what that is? The thing that suddenly changed is that faith instantly ceased to exist. You cannot live by faith when Christ has just been seen.

146. 58:25

     It's impossible to do that. And so the reason that the foolish virgins can't get oil and the reason that we can't even give it to them those who had faith before is because the second that Christ appears in the clouds of heaven the second the sign of the son of man is up there in the heavens is the second that our chips are up and there is nothing that can be done from that point on if we had had a knowledge of the truth at that point there's nothing that can be done whatever our circumstances are that very second he appears that is our faith done and sealed which is why these foolish virgins say give us oil give us oil and I can't give you oil now I can't give you faith Jesus is now here oh my goodness what am I going to do I run around I will start buying books I will start looking around somebody help me please and then when we who are alive and have remained faithful are caught away they are left and are judged later in Matthew 25 because he goes through the judgment of all the different categories of people in the rest of Matthew 25 which is why Jesus concludes with these words watch therefore because you don't know the day or the hour when the son of man appears that's what that word cometh means it means to walk onto a stage it means to suddenly make his presence known and that's what wakes them up and in the last two minutes I want to tell you an amazing story and it will

147. 1:00:06

     explain what this parable is really all about and it wasn't until I finally understood this parable you see this parable is based on ancient Jewish weddings that Jesus knew very very well and here is how an ancient Jewish wedding operated to start with the virgin the bride and the bridegroom would effectively agree to get married and get betrothed and that was a legally binding thing it wasn't like engagement nowadays they were considered to be married at that point even though there hadn't been a ceremony even though there had been no consummation of the wedding when they actually said I'm married to you I will marry you it was they signed a contract and a price was paid for the bride and it was locked down and you were considered that's why Joseph said I might divorce my engaged wife Mary because even though they hadn't

148. 1:01:14

     they basically were betrothed now here's the weird thing do you know what happened then they had to live apart for about 12 months the bride lived in her home still lived at home and the bride groom he had to do something do you know what he had to do he had to build a chamber a bedroom really on the side of the father's house his own dad's house he had to start building this and during the time that he was building this room back at his father's place he is not allowed to see his future wife and you know something the only person who could tell the son who is about to get married that the room was ready was his own father and you can imagine this bride groom getting something up pretty rapidly because I want to get married you know I'm going to just put a lick of father comes in no no no no it's not ready yet keep going you've made a right bodge job of that I want you to do a better job of that so now he's working and the father strung this out he strung it out for around about 12 months there's no date set for the wedding meanwhile back in the village over here where the bride is she doesn't know when her future husband is actually going to show up she has no idea when he's going to come she knows it's a long time and so she waits and waits and one day the father says to the son he has a good look at this building that he's made and he

149. 1:02:54

     says right do you know something it's now ready son you can go and bring your bride back here now to spice it up a bit what they did was they didn't just go in the day oh no no no that was not romantic enough because it was all about snatching the bride away in a romantic

150. 1:03:18

     room got together a whole bunch of his best men and people that he was friends with and said right my dad's giving me the go ahead I can now go and get her brilliant right let's go tonight can't hang around anymore he said I can go we'll go at midnight they used to go in the middle of the night so they're coming down from this village over here and they don't come quietly oh no they don't creep along they don't want to like completely freak her out so what they do is make a right racket and what they used to do they lit loads of light so there's loads of lanterns lit and there's a whole stream of them could have been 30 or 40 of them and not only did they light light so you could see them coming in the dark one of them would blow the shofar horn all the way so now coming down the valley is this woman who suddenly she's been waiting she knows it's about now but doesn't quite know and this one night there's this great big noise she hears and she looks out the window and in the darkness these bright lights and this great big fanfare going on and this is it he's finally come I mean she's awake now I'm telling you now her heart is desperate she has been waiting she started doubting he was even going to turn up this poor woman had to wear a veil for the last 12 months to show that she's not eligible she's fed up of this thing and it's gone on and on but now

151. 1:04:51

     it's happening so now she's super super excited it's in the middle of the night there's not electricity she didn't flick a light she now gets a lamp luckily for her there's oil in it so she trims it she gets the light on she starts doing her hair she doesn't want to look like an old bag when he turns up because fundamentally he might turn round and go the other way so she wants to look pretty decent so now with the light on she can get herself ready and finally she sees him coming down the whole way and there's the knock on the door and then she is taken you can imagine the joy of this between the two of them they've not seen each other the twelve months and now they go all the way back in the middle of the night to the place that was built and the wedding ceremony happened the next day and in this parable that's exactly what this is about apart from there's a whole bunch of these people that are all marrying the same person and some had kept oil and some had forgotten to keep oil and now the person who's forgotten oil can't get themselves ready aren't trimming the lamp aren't preparing are looking disheveled are looking scared are actually worried now as to whether he will take them that if you haven't got oil if you haven't trimmed if you haven't prepared you're not going you see here's the multi-million dollar thing we have to get oil in our lives now the faith must be operational in our lives now we might grow sleepy and

152. 1:06:30

     tired of waiting but we can't allow our oil to run out it's the critical thing that God wants to find with us and what Jesus wants and in that little bit of preparation time is the very same delay in 1 Thessalonians 4 that little colon that said there's a delay between the dead being raised and here's why there's a delay I don't know about you but I spend a lot of time thinking about work and family and problems or even nice things like holidays and doing things and spending money and having a good time I wonder when Jesus appears in the clouds of heaven whether we will meet each other and I say to you hey I've just booked a holiday in Corfu day after Jesus appeared in heaven I say John I'm thinking a book in holiday !

153. 1:07:24

     Corfu what do you think to that? Andy have you lost we are not going to talk about things like that we need a period of time to sort our minds out because however faithful however much we look at this I'm telling you now where there has to be a period of time to clear our minds the dead have had that they've been asleep for a thousand years or more and they don't wake up with all that same baggage Jesus knows

154. 1:07:56

     to trim our lamps we will meet in this room probably daily until the point that we are taken to be with him we know that we meet each other two or three times a week when he comes back that's exactly what's going to happen along with all those who had no oil in their lamps and are desperate now to get it and unfortunately they can't and that would be very and you know something for those people who aren't allowed in well I think for those people there'll be serious weeping and gnashing of teeth why did I not get it right before and so last slide we've done all this we've done all this and we've done that this is the picture I want you to remember this is exactly what we're going to see this bridegroom !

155. 1:08:52

     He comes from heaven and we shall see him will be exactly like that picture where they're looking out the window this bride and she sees this bright light and the horn being blown and the whole world also sees this and reacts with wailing we react with exactly the opposite with absolute joy and anticipation that we are about to meet the Lord we don't want to look like !

156. 1:09:20

     person there ! 1872 where there's the five wives and there's the foolish they're all desperate and in pandemonium and crying because they haven't got it right we need to watch therefore because we don't know the day or the hour wherein the son of man coming and that is why it's urgent it's utterly totally urgent that we get this right and next week it won't be as long at !

157. 1:09:50

     hopefully but next week we'll look at all the events that are leading up to this most amazing thing when he does appear in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory !

158. 1:10:32

     his