The Rapture: Pre Tribulation, When will Christ Return? | Jack Hibbs Special
The Rapture: Pre Tribulation, When will Christ Return?
In this episode, we dive deep into the various views and understandings of the rapture, its implications for believers, and how it relates to the New Testament doctrine. We discuss the promise of deliverance given by Jesus in Revelation, the pre-tribulation rapture theory, and the importance of evaluating on scripture rather than influential figures.
As we continue to explore the rapture, we’ll also discuss the challenges of being a Christian during these times and the importance of being prepared for Jesus’ return.
Dear Lord,
Today…….I am asking all my prayer warriors to say a prayer that may help others. So many people are hurting now. Many are struggling with finances and need jobs. Some are facing foreclosure and don’t even know how they are going to make it from week to week.. Many are lonely. . Many are heartbroken. . Many are facing sickness and health is fading. . Some are dealing with difficult family members. Many have lost HOPE.. Tonight, let us put our prayers and faith together decree and declare breakthrough over our families. Financial miracles WILL take place. Jobs WILL be found. Our Bodies WILL be made whole & sickness WILL flee. Marriages and relationships WILL be restored. Family members WILL find Jesus. Heartbreaks WILL be healed. JOY WILL be restored and HOPE WILL be found. Print Jesus Name. Amen!!!!!! Keep God First…….
The believer today right now as we do this podcast, you are to be looking for the coming of Jesus Christ.
We’re living in days that are so indicative of what the end time speaks about. That’s right.
How close are we? Then the rapture could happen today.
Again, some of you may disagree because of your uh preconceived preloaded.
If I can put it that way, theological persuasion that a denomination might have given you or a, a view might have uh influenced you.
I’m just saying, let’s let the Bible stack up upon the Bible.
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Now, open your hearts to what God’s word has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs.
Well, everybody listen, welcome back to our study to our, look at, um, the question we put out a request for questions, got some great questions back.
And uh the bulk of them, as I mentioned last time together in our previous podcast.
If you were not with us, go ahead and check it out.
But uh by uh by far out and beyond is uh the question that came in regarding the rapture.
Can you clear up uh the different views of the rapture?
And that’s gonna take obviously more than one or two uh podcasts. But let’s just dive right in.
There are various views of the rapture of the church and I’m not gonna get into the unpacking of it.
We did that last time together, the word, where is it found and why is it there and the structure of it?
Let’s start off with this sec second installment regarding uh the actual um mechanics of the rapture.
If you would, when I say mechanics, I mean, not only the promise of it given in scripture, but um what will it be like?
Where is it placed? And that’s gonna launch us into following podcasts.
But um listen, what’s remarkable is that it is a uh New Testament scripture doctrine that is revealed as a mystery.
We mentioned that last time mysterion.
Um But let’s look at this revelation chapter three verse 10, Jesus said to the church of Philadelphia because you have kept my command to persevere.
I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth.
We touched on that last time. But this is important. From here we go. There’s a, there’s an hour.
There’s a moment, follow along with me. Even if we profoundly disagree with each other, just check this out.
There is a promise given by Jesus.
When he says in revelation 3 10, there’s an hour that a group of people will be completely exempt from, that will engulf the entire earth.
That’s a fact right there in scripture, I believe that he’s alluding to the rapture.
And it’s I think very important that it’s spoken to the church of Philadelphia in the seven letters to the seven churches that dove tails perfectly into again, a very important passage where I said last time that Jesus is the one who introduces the rapture doctrine, John 14 verses 1 to 3, let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God believe also in me for in my father’s house are many mansions.
And if it were not, so I would have told you.
And uh and so I go now to prepare a place for you.
And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am there, you may be also.
So we’ve got a promise of deliverance in an hour of global uh terror and global judgment.
And it appears as we assemble our model, it appears that it’s Jesus, removing his people at some point in time in the future, from this earth to take dwelling in a place where Jesus is, is in my father’s house are many mansions and that is very important because it’s an appearing.
Remember we talked about an appearing versus a physical coming.
Now, let’s look at this revelation chapter four verse one, after these things, I looked and behold, John says a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard was like that of a trumpet speaking to me saying, come up here and I will show you things that must take place after this notice.
Everybody, whatever is about to happen cannot happen until John’s vantage point is in heaven.
And his recording of what happens on earth is from heaven from that moment forward.
So I’m gonna ask you to assemble Revelation 3 10, John 14 verses 1 to 3.
Revelation chapter four verses one through 11 and I won’t go through it. All right now.
We covered it last time. But from revelation 41 on the church is never again seen in heaven, never again mentioned with all that’s being poured out on the earth.
The church is not there. The church never meets the antichrist because there is a seven year tribulation period that is something that’s commenced by a signing of a peace treaty.
Daniel tells us Daniel chapter nine verses 24 to 27.
We looked at that before I wanna focus on the pre tribulation rapture theory or doctrine. OK.
It’s so specific that right in the middle of the all of it discourse that Jesus gave to his disciples concerning the last days, Jesus said this and if you’re not careful, you, you’ll miss it.
In Luke chapter 21. This is important because Luke chapter 21 is the all of it discourse speaking predominantly to context the Jewish people and the believers during the tribulation period, not the church.
There’s the tribulation saints, the church age saints, you and I and the Old Testament Saints.
In Luke 21 Jesus is talking about the events that are also mirrored in Matthew 24 Matthew 25 and uh Mark’s Gospel uh as well.
And so watch this. Luke 21 34 Jesus is be careful because your hearts could be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of this life.
And that day will close in upon you unexpectedly like a trap.
In other words, throughout the New Testament, we are constantly warned to be ready, be ready, be ready, be ready.
My goodness. Second Thessalonians is all about that. First Thessalonians, many areas of the gospel itself throughout the epistles.
It’s everywhere. It’s a New Testament um Common uh challenge Exhortation.
So verse 35 Luke 21 he says for it will come upon all those who live on the face of the earth.
Wow, whatever’s coming is gonna affect everybody on the earth?
Could anybody be exempt from that Paul or could any or Luke or Jesus or what’s going on here?
Verse 36 be always on the watch and pray that you may escape all that is about to happen and that you may be able to stand before the son of man in the midst of all of the foreboding, horrific things that are gonna come upon the earth dwellers during the seven year tribulation period.
There’s a parenthetical insert by Jesus himself saying, hey, I’m paraphrasing right now.
Hey, you guys what I said in Luke 21 36 didn’t I say it in John 14 verses 1 to 3.
You’re gonna get out of here before the entire world is engulfed in my coming judgment in my coming wrath upon the earth during the tribulation period.
Titus 2 13, we are there admonished to be looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and savior Jesus Christ.
Notice you’re supposed to be looking for the coming of the messiah, not the anti messiah for Jesus Christ, not the anti-christ, the believer today right now.
As we do this podcast, you are to be looking for the coming of Jesus Christ. You see.
Well, Jack, we’re seeing all kinds of things about a global government, global religion, global currency, a digital currency.
We’re, we’re here. We’re hearing about all these things regarding uh DARPA developing uh these subcutaneous uh invisible or visible, whatever you want, you want to look like a tattoo or not, but a, uh, a, a system by which you are electronically able to deduct money from your account, go shopping at a store, uh, walk around this world, having your heart rate, your blood pressure, everything recorded back to your physician or on your app.
Um, we’re living in days that are so indicative of what the end time speaks about. That’s right.
How close are we? Then the rapture could happen today.
Again, some of you may disagree because of your uh preconceived preloaded.
If I can put it that way, theological persuasion that a denomination might have given you or a, a view might have uh influenced you.
I’m just saying, let’s let the Bible stack up upon the Bible. So watch this very cool.
First Thessalonians has written to the Thessalonian believers and remember this, first Thessalonians has to do with the rapture.
Second Thessalonians has to do with the events of the second coming. Very simple.
12 rapture comes before the second coming. The first coming was Palm Sunday.
Rapture is at any time, predominantly gentile but not exclusively so but absolutely exclusively the church.
And the second coming goes right back to the first. It deals with Israel Christ return to Israel.
It’s a physical return and it’s coming for the establishment of his kingdom.
Number one, first, Thessalonians chapter one, verse 10, wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead.
Even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come, come. Boom. That’s awesome.
The wrath to come does not mean hell. The wrath to come is God’s wrath on earth.
His vengeance, his indignation. The, the holy pure white hot fire of God’s wrath is gonna be poured out upon the earth.
And by the way, it is starting with the seven year tribulation at its commencement at the signing of the peace treaty, it begins in the 1st 3.5 years is God’s wrath being poured out in the area of, listen, the anti-christ deceiving the world with peace and prosperity.
That’s how it starts. Deception. God gives people over to what they want. That’s a judgment of God.
Remember you say Jack, that’s a stretch. Not at all. It’s, it holds to the law of exposition of constancy.
Do you remember when the Children of Israel wanted meat in the wilderness? They said we want meat.
We’re sick of this manna. We have Manna every day. We’re tired of it.
We don’t want to have it anymore.
Uh We want meat and they were grumbling about what God had given them.
And so God said, Moses get out of the way. I’m gonna give him meat.
And so God sent the wind to blow and quail by the bazillions, quail began to fly and the Bible says they were flying.
Uh I forget what the height was but in English it’s about four ft to the ground down four ft.
So God sent a bunch of quail to the Children of Israel at, in the strike zone. Ok.
They, they, they were just able to start batting these quail right out of the sky.
They had quail, they’re eating quail and the quail started to come out of their nose.
The Bible says, and the Bible tells us because that they grumbled.
God gave them what they wanted, but he sent leanness into their soul as judgment. Wow, think of that.
So watch out what you ask for.
If you keep asking God for it, he just might give it to you. It may not be good.
So remember that that’s the wrath starts out with what looks like. It’s a good stuff.
But the last half of the tribulation period is absolutely the things that we often focus on and that is the incredible devastation of earth and, and things that are going on.
Just know this all seven years is the wrath of God. Don’t anybody fool you.
Now, first Thessalonians chapter two, in each of the five chapters is a promise verse 19.
For what is our hope, our or joy or crown of rejoicing?
Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his appearing or at his coming?
That is for the church. Number three.
First Thessalonians 3 13 says this so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
You’re gonna say Jack. No, no, no. That’s the, that’s the second, that’s the post tribulation view. No, it’s not.
Listen, I’m gonna prove it to you in the next section of Scriptures.
When Jesus comes back to pick up his church, he appears in the atmosphere, but he brings with him those who died in Jesus.
That’s why it says when he comes back to get the church here us first Thessalonians three, he brings the saints that died in the church age with him.
In that second. Before we go up, their bodies come out of the grave glorified. So here we go.
First Thessalonians chapter four verse 13.
But I do not want you to be ignorant brethren concerning those who have fallen asleep or died.
It is in Jesus lest you sorrow as others who have no hope for.
If we believe that Jesus died and rose again.
Even so God will bring with him, those who sleep or died in Jesus. That’s John 14.
Everybody that is John 14. That’s everything we’ve been talking about for this.
We say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord.
Isn’t that an amazing Paul thought that there was the great chance of him being raptured too will by no means precede those who died in Jesus for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout.
But the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together.
Remember last time, that’s the word rapture in there. We’re not gonna get into it again.
Go look at our previous podcast uh together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And thus, we shall always be with the Lord.
That’s John 14 verses 12 and three, verse 18 says of first Thessalonians four.
Therefore, comfort one another with these words, you, you shouldn’t get in a fight about it.
You shouldn’t get in an argument with men about it. We have different views. That’s OK.
But just know this, it’s to be a comfort. Rapture should be a great, great comfort. First Thessalonians chapter five.
And this is the final exhortation in first Thessalonians regarding the pre tribulation rapture view for God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
You and I will not see the wrath of God that is gonna be coming upon the earth.
This is awesome. The pre tribulation rapture view is the only rapture view that takes the word of God in total.
Listen and literal. I told you before, I used to be a post tribulation.
It’s not easy. You’ve got to jumble up Israel and the church together and you’ve got the church experiencing the wrath of God.
So, no, no, no, no, we don’t, Jack.
We have, we have the church being sheltered from the wrath of God.
You just made that up nowhere in the Bible. Does it say that?
In fact, it says that tribulation saints Daniel chapter seven verse 21 as, as well as revelation chapter six on that, those who believe in the Lord Jesus during the tribulation period must die for their faith.
So don’t tell me about, about being kept through.
Somebody will say no, it’s the, it’s, it’s the post tribulation rapture because just like God kept Noah through the flood, he’s going to keep the church through the tribulation.
You’re making it up. It’s not there that promise.
By the way that I should say that event better fits the remnant of Israel in the tribulation period than it does.
The church. The church is not in the seven year tribulation period. It doesn’t fit, you can’t find it.
It doesn’t apply. There’s no reason for it. It’s for God dealing with an unbelieving world.
He will, he’ll purge Israel from the unbelieving Israel and out of it will be the remnant and the remnant will die for their faith in Christ.
But before they do that remnant will preach the gospel to the ends of the earth and tons of gentiles will be saved.
We talked about that before second Corinthians chapter five, I’m trying to jam this in under a 20 minute podcast today for your listening pleasure.
Second Corinthians 51 says for we know that if our earthly house is talking about our body, this tent is destroyed.
We have a building from God. A house not made with hands eternal in the heavens.
He’s talking about a body. That’s why some of us speculate when Jesus says in my father’s house are many mansions.
It does mean areas to live in. But some say, could it mean bodies? I’m not gonna worry about it.
I’m just gonna be happy about it.
Um Verse two and for, for this, we grown earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation, which is from heaven.
If indeed having been clothed, we shall not be found naked for we are in this tent.
Uh We groan uh being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed or better clothes.
We’re get a glorified body that mortality. This flesh may be swallowed up by life.
Now, he has prepared us for this very thing is God who also has given us the spirit as a guarantee.
So we are always confident knowing that while we’re at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.
And the reverse of that experience is for you and I to have our bodies transformed at the coming of the rapture.
The pre tribulation, rapture view is not a fairy tale.
It’s not escapism and people are going to say, well, Spurgeon didn’t talk about it. So it can’t be true.
Listen, neither did a Luther, neither did Calvin, neither did Zwingli. Neither did, uh, name it.
I don’t even think Finny did put it. Fill it in the book. Go. Why didn’t they?
You might say, well, if it’s such a big deal, why didn’t they?
Well, number one, let’s forget about people who spoke about it.
The prophet spoke about it. Isaiah 21.
Uh I Isaiah 20 or, or 26 I’ll have to, it’s Isaiah 26 verses 19 to 21. Alluded to it.
Isaiah 26 19 to 21. But it’s certainly the New Testament authors and it’s certainly Jesus.
So for the last 2000 years, it’s been on the calendar. Everybody.
So stop looking at what others have said. Look, I don’t even cite, you never hear me.
Quote Chuck Smith, Tim Lahay Ed Henson. Uh Hal Lindsay, Chuck Missler, uh John Wolf Ridd uh Mark Hitchcock.
Um I could go on and on about pre tribulation, rapture. View to Thomas Ice.
Um Listen, I used to listen faithfully and I used to go attend the services of Doctor Walter Martin in Orange County.
Loved him. He was a post tribulation. Do you know why he was?
He said why he was Doctor Walter Martin said, I’m a post tribulation is because I had such a vivid dream that I was going through the tribulation period.
Walter Martin died and he went to heaven when Jesus Christ comes back to pick up the church, he’s gonna be bringing Walter Martin with him.
Ok? But Walter Martin built his post tribulation view, not on scripture, but on a dream that he was convinced came to him by God.
Uh Clearly, it, it was a dream for either a different reason or it didn’t come from God, but don’t get me wrong.
Walter Martin, check him out. He’s amazing. But friends listen, we are out of time. This is ridiculous.
It goes by too fast. Um We’ll go through this until you think it’s a good time to, to uh leave this aside.
But um we’ll come back next time looking at two things at the same time.
We’re gonna look at the mid tribulation rapture review and the post tribulation rapture view. Why do people believe it?
What scriptures do they use to believe it? And uh what are the dangers to believing it?
So, Jack, are you kidding me? No, no, no.
What are the dangers to believing any other view that says my master delays his return because these other things have got to happen first, right?
So much. So the Bible warns us, Jesus himself said, don’t pay any attention to somebody who says that something needs to take place before the master comes.
You need to have your oil lamp burning and you need to have an extra cache of oil.
You know what the parable said we need to be waiting and we need to be ready.
I’m gonna submit to you as we close.
It’s really hard to be a Christian at a time like this whereby we engage the culture for righteousness.
We get in all kinds of trouble for doing good.
Our names are smeared all over the internet because we are Islamophobes, trans phobes, uh whatever phobes.
Um and yet love all those that are attacking us and love all those communities.
In fact, one of my good friends is a Muslim um all that stuff.
It’s hard to stay faithful to shine in the light and be in salt knowing that Jesus could come back in any second.
Why don’t we just listen, why don’t we just fold our arms and, and sleep, so to speak.
Why don’t we just wait? Let’s put on white robes and sit on the roof.
No, the Bible says occupy till I come, you gotta keep doing the right thing until he shows up.
I’m gonna submit to you that because I believe Jesus could come back today.
This is why we’re planning a pastor’s conference regarding the future of California. So who cares about California?
Well, I have to care because I’m still here.
I have to prepare for the next 100 years, but I believe Jesus could come back today.
I’ll submit to you that, that takes more discipline than the mid and post tribulation rupture view.
So there I’m kidding. I’m kidding. Hey, you guys, I hope you like my shirt.
Um Real Life Network Hawaii that says a on it if you didn’t figure that out.
But that’s our real life uh network logo.
And uh this is one of the first things those, those guys from our offices in Hawaii, they uh they run in uh TV, K A L O TV, in Hawaii and throughout the Hawaiian islands uh channel uh 10 29 on spectrum uh over the Hawaiian Islands.
But those guys, man, when they heard that the Real Life Network was gonna be launched, they jumped on this and they, they, they beat us to the punch.
Good job. You guys, they’re based in Honolulu but um Real Life Network is coming, it’s gonna be launched uh pretty quick.
Palm. No. Uh what is it? When’s it coming? Pentecost, Sunday.
We’re going 24 7 video on demand but 24 7 broadcasting uh channel and it’d be just like Hulu, just like Netflix, just like Amazon Prime, except it’s going to be yours for free and you just subscribe when that time comes.
We’ll let you know about it, but you guys will get back in this.
Listen, let’s build up this audience because we want, we want the tech people to realize uh that you guys care about this stuff.
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So we encourage you to share this. Let’s make this thing happen uh by God’s power. That is all right.
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It’s time for real life. Isn’t that the truth? People want transparency. People want authenticity.
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