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Bibleline Bibleline, dear God’s word on Bibleline, everywhere, every time. Here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the Internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. Online donations may be made through the Bibleline website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you’ll enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s concluding message of this teaching will be a blessing to you and your family.

If we who are alive, if we believe in the Lord, that He died and He rose again, even so them all, even so also them that have already died in the Lord. But you notice the only requirement here is if you believe. It’s the only thing a man has to do. It’s the only thing he can do. If you can’t be saved by your work, you’re going to have to believe and trust somebody else. So Christ died on the cross, paid for our sins, came back from the dead and said, if we believe it, then we can have eternal life and go to heaven.

It’s the only requirement to make it for the rapture. I love it. In verse 15, for this we say unto you by the word of Yankee that no, this we say unto you by the word of the Lord that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord alive when the Lord comes back get this shall not prevent. That’s a word that’s a little archaic now but it did mean not to go before. So we will not go before those that are asleep.

that are sweet are going to go before us. He says in verse 16, for the Lord, and even the rest of the verses here explains and tells you that, tells you what he means. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of the Archangel and with the Trump of God, and here is talking about there’s three things mentioned here. The first part says, and from heaven with a shout, then the voice of the Archangel and then the Trump of God.

When you read it over there in the book of Revelation in chapter 4, and it’s on the voice as of a trumpet. And there it says, and the first voice as I heard. And here is talking about in the book of 1 Corinthians in chapter 15, the last Trump. The last voice, the last thing that he said, right before the raptor takes place. He may not like to take that last trumpet and say that’s the last trumpet in the book of Revelation And there’s seven trumpets in there and so the rapture doesn’t take place until the seventh trumpet And so that means the church has got to go through the tribulation period No, not I don’t believe it Because I don’t studied enough of it to know that that it can’t happen that way if because God has everything in order and There’s a seven-year tribulation and the seven-year tribulation period is

is I believe that pale end of the 70th week of Daniel that goes along with the 69th week, which is part of the law and that the tribulation period belongs to that part of the dispensation. We are a different dispensation. For example, why are you right there in 1 Thessalonians in chapter 5? Look what he says here. In verse 2, for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord, so cometh as a thief in the night, our look of error.

But day that the Lord comes to the earth, that’s what the book of Revelation is about. This is the day of the Lord, specific day. Now this is the day of Christ. This is when it comes for us and this is when it comes with us seven years later. And he makes the statement and in verse three, for when they shall say peace and safety. Now that’s the first part of the tribulation period. That’s not us. In these verses you’ll notice that they and a them are we in an us.

They in them and we in us. Tell them two different types of people here. For when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction come up upon them. So the destruction is not upon us, it’s upon them. We’re not here. Get what else? He says, as travail upon a woman with child and they, they shall not escape. Well, we don’t have to worry about what we are not here. So how do you know we’re looking for four? But yee yee brethren so we’re not them.

And talking about the thief in the night, which is when Christ comes back empowering great glory at the end, that’s a different time period at the end of the tribulation period. But he says, but ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. Because see, we’re not going to be in the tribulation period. The thief in the night is a phrase that’s used in the book of Matthew also, and it’s at the end of the tribulation period.

It’s not the rapture. Now I know they made a movie some time ago called Thief in the Night. I watched it. I have people trust Christ to save you because of it. But the thief in the night is when he comes at night. It didn’t come in the daytime. The thief comes at night. Let me show you this and get this. In verse 5, ye are all the children of light and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. Look up here. This time in which we live, this is a day. The kingdom upon the earth, the millennia reign. That is a day. A day where the Lord is a thousand years. It is a thousand years. Here’s a thousand years, two days. But what separates a day from another day over There’s a night. The tribulation period is a time of darkness. It’s a night.

There’s the day. There’s the night. There’s the night and there’s another day. So these two days are separated by a night. So he’s telling us that are here. Ye are not up this period of time. This darkness can’t come upon you. It’s come to come upon them because when the raptor takes place and we’re taken out of here, Then the Antichrist is going to try to win the world by promising safety and peace and prosperity, and then sudden destruction comeeth upon them.

Where are we? We’ve already been taken out of here, and we won’t be caught up and meet the Lord in the air. Look what he says in verse 17, 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. So we have the rapture that’s going to take place. Now go back there to Revelation in chapter 4. So when he says here in verse 2 and immediately I was in the spirit and behold a throne was set in heaven and one sat on the throne.

So the first thing he sees that when he gets to heaven is a throne. I believe the first thing we’re going to see when we get to heaven is going to be a throne. It’s going to be a judgment seat of Christ. And all of us in this time period will stand at the judgment seat of Christ and the judgment seat of Christ is a rewarding stand. It’s not to see if you get to go to heaven or hell.

No, that’s already decided. You’re in heaven. So this is a judgment that takes place in heaven and it’s it’s a reward instead. God’s going to reward you for what you did for him. So that means if he’s going to reward you for what you did, he must be keeping the books on what you’re doing. He knows every thought, every deed, every word, all of it. He keeps the books. That’s why you and I, if we believe this, if we don’t have to worry about what anybody else says or does, we don’t have to to worry about what works and don’t work, what the results are.

All we gotta do is just be faithful, do what we can with, what we have, where we are. Nothing else will matter. When you and I get to heaven, it’s not going to matter how you and your wife got along. Well, it can make a difference. But there’s some things that won’t make a difference. And how things happen, and how people treat you, and their meanness and their ugliness. Whether it’s the husband, whether it’s the wife, or whether it’s the kid.

If you’ll just be faithful and don’t take vengeance, when you get to heaven, will it be worth it all? So that’s why knowing this is supposed to challenge and motivate us to serve the Lord with all our hearts because that day is coming. Now remember, when he saw this, a throne set there, he says he saw the Lord as a jasper in a sardine stone, which is like a blood red. And whether or not that’s a reference to the robe that he had on, of powering majesty and all that, it doesn’t, but there’s no description of what he actually looks like.

And that’s what I would have wanted to focus on, but it doesn’t tell us. It just says he’s there and there’s a throne there and it looks like this stone and the color, which is usually yellow and red, the blend of it. But look what else he says in the verse three. And there was a rainbow round about the throne, a rainbow. Where do you think a rainbow in the world is doing up there in heaven? If you remember, there was a time upon the earth where God, well, he kind of poured out a little water here and a little bit of water there.

And there was a flood and there was mud. And God says, I’m going to give you a rainbow. And the rainbow was supposed to be the validation of the promise of God. promised that he would never destroy the earth again by a flood. People said, well, that’s just a local flood. You’re right. Five months it reigned. And then after that, this thing was over a year. And if it was only a local flood, remember the Apostle Peter made the statement.

He says that the Lord destroyed the earth the first time by a flood but is preserving it in order to destroy it by a local fire. Well if it’s on a local flood it must be a local fire too and if it’s just a local fire, well the easiest thing to do just goes in place in the middle of a desert where the fire can’t burn nothing. You know, I don’t think so. I think that the whole earth was in golf with water And I believe that’s going to be renovated by fire and God’s going to burn it all up.

And he says there in Peter that that’s what’s going to take place. And if it is, what manner of persons ought you and I to be because of what we see coming upon the earth? How we’re supposed to be. Now, in verse four, it doesn’t really say who in the world the 24 elders are. Whether or not it’s a reference to the Old Testament saints and And there’s supposed to be the 12 foundations in the holy city, and then you get the 12 apostles, and maybe it’s a combination of both of them there.

I don’t know. You know what? I don’t care. If God did not tell us who they are, why should I try to guess who they are? Another thing, as you read this, you’ll find out that John doesn’t give us any hints that he understands all of this. He does not tell us, hey, I understand what this is. And it doesn’t try to explain it to you. He just recorded it. I don’t know if John understood because he sure didn’t explain it.

When it was all over with, he might have said, there’s a, now I wonder what this means. I wonder what this means. I wonder what this means. Do you know there was another book that was sealed in the Old Testament where God had revealed things a man and he wrote it but then he didn’t have a clue what it said. Maybe I know who it was? Daniel. He said seal up the book until the time of the end. Did you know the book of Revelation is the book that helps to reveal the book of Daniel?

And understand many of the things in the book of Revelation, you need to book a Daniel. But But this came later on. And it says that in the end time, in the last days, knowledge will be increased. But I don’t know if it’s talking about the technology that we have, because I don’t believe the technology of this world is helping me to understand the Bible. I believe the Bible is helping me to understand the Bible. I do not use world events to validate whether the book is true or not.

If Israel was not in the land, I’d still believe this book, every word of it. If there was no such thing as a Russia, I couldn’t prove anything. I’m still going to believe this book because I believe the book is true. There has been over the last, I guess, 500 years, people have spent a lot of time trying to figure out who the Antichrist is. And it was supposed to be that Pope and then that Pope and then that Pope and then this president.

So they’re trying to figure out who it is. Well the Bible makes this statement that he’s not going to be revealed until the tribulation period. And then he shall be revealed. See the words are say that. I knew he was going to So look there in 2 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, and 2 Thessalonians, and 2 Thessalonians, and 2. You will find that the Antichrist that goes into the holy city is revealed at a certain time. Look at in verse 4.

Talk about the Man of Sin, the son of perdition. The last part of verse 3 there says, and that man of sin be what reveal the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped so that he as God, sit it in the temple of God, showed himself that he is God. This is when it happens, I believe. And if you’ll notice in verse three, let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come, except there come a fallen away first, which I believe is a reference to the rapture, and that man of sin be revealed, which is after the rapture, he will be revealed.

Now, can we know who it is before him? Well, there might be some clues. I’ve got a few opinions, but you know, I can’t prove it with the scriptures. I have ideas and most people do. But that doesn’t mean that it’s right. So I’m just gonna wait a little while longer. There’s a few pieces of the puzzle that I haven’t put together. But I can tell you this, we are living in some exciting days. Because you see, the tribulation period is a seven year, we believe, peace treaty.

because there’s a covenant that’s going to be made with Israel. And it says, in the mist of this treaty, which is in the middle, is where he breaks the peace treaty. Well, that means there has to be a nation in order to make a treaty. There has to be a temple and there has to be sacrifices made because he causes the sacrifices to stop and he goes into the temple and claims himself to be gutted. It has to all that has to take place in a seven-year period.

So while we’re up there, he’s down here. And whether or not we’ll know who he is before we leave, I don’t know, but I want the Lord, even though I know it’s gonna be really fast, where we’ll really be moving on. I said this before, I want him to slow it down just enough so that on the way up, I can tell everybody, I told you so, I told you so, I think it’s going to be a great moment.

But anyway, we get to the Thessalonians. That’ll be a very good study also. Go back here to chapter 4. Chapter 4. So he says, in verse 4, and round about the throne, there were four and 20 seats, and upon the seats, four and 20 elders sitting clothed in white raimans, and they had on their heads crowns of gold. Now, there’s a good possibility. These are people. They are individuals. If you look over there very quickly and talk about they were raid in white clothes, look there in Revelation chapter 7.

Revelation chapter 7. During the tribulation period, there will still be multitudes of people that will trust Christ the Savior. Look in verse 9. After this I look in low a great multitude which no man can number of all nations and kindred in people and tongues stood before the throne. So this is in heaven. And before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, palms in their hand, cried with a loud voice and salvation to our God, which said it upon the throne and unto the Lamb.

And all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four living creatures are beast and fell upon the throne on their faces before the throne and worship God sent a man blessed blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever amen. And one of the elders answered and said to them, what are these which are arrayed in white robes? When they came from, and I said unto him, sir, thou knowest.

And he said unto me, these are they which came out of great tribulation and have wash their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. So are there going to be people who are going to be crucified? I mean, killed, as I should say, in the tribulation period. Yet, maltitudes will trust the Lord from all nations and multitudes are going to be killed. And the reason is going to be killed because they will not accept the mark of this last one world government.

That kind of scary sometimes because we’re already conditioning the world to work with numbers. Whether it’s your Social Security number, your bank number, your password, you already got these little secret things all over the place. And I’m just as guilty as a rest idea. But he said, have you already received the mark of the beast? Now, there are some people, some deadness. Believe if you go to church on Sunday, that’s the mark of the beast. Ooh. So now nobody’s gonna come to church on Sunday.

But we are living in the last days. We’re living when we’re talking about some things that can only take place. You see, a lot of these things, they couldn’t have happened 50 years ago. But they can now. And buddy things can move very fast. As the election coming up, you think it’s important, I believe it’s very important. I believe that as Christians we still have a responsibility to try to preserve our way of life as long as we can.

And if it doesn’t, it ought not be because we didn’t try and we didn’t care and we didn’t try to find out who to vote for and so forth. So anyway, I’m going to start right there because after this starts a whole new ballgame and we’ll look at some of these because I think it’s very exciting. If you are here or if listening by way of internet And of course, by some of the letters and phone calls I’ve gotten recently, I know that there’s people that do watch.

And I think it’s exciting. They even got one from somebody in Hungary. And there’s different places where people are watching. I wish I could figure out how many. I love to know that, but not necessary. We just need to believe that it’s worth it. And one day when we get to heaven to find out. So anyway, thanks for having me. We all be excited about it. Look up here. You know what? I got a phone call from a guy named Tom Stokes.

Anybody in here knowing? Everybody knows them? I think everybody knows Tom. He said, preach, I just want to let you know that I led the bus driver to the Lord the other day that picks me up and brings me back. He says, and after I led him to the Lord, Mercedes, the little ladies that sits back there, they can’t see. see. She also rides on that. She said, she was all excited. I’d love to see her get excited. And Tom says, I even did the wall of the illustration.

He said, he did it. He says, and he asked the guy, and the guy says he understood and says he trusted the Lord and Savior. So, hey, if If a blind man can do it, you can do it. So just find a victim, somebody. And it go to town on them. And it will work. So you can do it. Just find somebody that, you know, and explain to them. This hand represents you and me. This is you and me.

This is sin. We all have sin on us. God says that He loves us, but He hates what we do wrong. And because we’ve all sinned, we’re all sinned. all condemned. We’re all condemned to hell. Now we don’t need someone to down the cross and pay for our sins to keep us from going to a place if it doesn’t exist. So I believe there is a literal fire burning hell and I don’t want to go there and I’m so glad to know for over 50 years I have been saved.

I can’t go there. I’ve been saved. I can’t go to hell. I’m going to heaven. But to go to heaven see you, you have to be perfect as His righteousness is God. That means that I’m so good, I’m going to heaven because I’m a sinner. But what happened was this. God says, you can’t earn eternal life, you can’t work your way to heaven. You need to save you. This hand represents Jesus Christ, the Lord, God in the flesh. Came into the world because He loves us, hates our sin because it separates us from Him.

So Christ took our sins, paid for them on the cross, and the payment was death. He had to die and shed his blood, come back from the dead. Said if we would accept the payment he made for us, we get to go to heaven, oh what he did. God says, you’re saved by grace. For by grace are you saved through faith that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. So when you trusted Christ as your savior, God saved you from hell, gave you eternal life, you became his child and you’ll go to heaven whenever you die.

So I guess if you do that, you’re good to go. You’re good to go. Or after take place right now, you’re good to go. It’s the only thing you have to do. Now, you know you are going to have to face them. And if you have trusted Christ as your Savior, He wants to reward you for what you did for Him. Maybe we need to get on the stick. You know, every once in a while I like to play a little game of golf.

You heard me use that little illustration about the Godfrey hit the golf ball landing on a pile of ants He swung missed the golf ball killed a thousand ants Swung again, missed the golf ball, killed another thousand aunts. After a while, there was only two aunts left. They looked at each other and said, you know, if we don’t get on the ball, we’re going to get killed. And I could say, if you don’t get on the ball, you’re going to get killed.

This farmer, he goes down there and he’s going to milk the old cow, puts the bucket down there and gets a half full neck, that cow, throw the bucket, slapped him with a tail. Next day, he goes down there and puts that bucket under there. He’s got a half full. God kicked the bucket over and slapped with a tail. Next day he goes down there and puts an axe against the wall. He says, milk or hamburger. Milk or hamburger.

So with you and I, milk or hamburger, let’s pray, shall we? Our Father, thank you so much for your blessings to us. We’re thankful for all you’ve done for us and forgiven us your word, or we don’t claim to understand it all. There’s a lot we don’t know, but father there’s enough that sure is good and just a little bit that we do understand It’s exciting and father. We pray for wisdom as we go through the book to understand more and more And we pray that you’d help us to see it to be challenged by it To realize how important it is to be found faithful to you and father We pray that if there’s anyone here that if they’ve never trusted you savior or we pray that they would Would you have still body nice clothes and no one looking around?

If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, would you trust Him right now? The raptor is going to take place. One of the day is going to happen. Just like God said, it’s going to happen. Are you ready? Or do you go into the tribulation period? If you’ve never trusted Christ as your Savior, would you trust Him right now? And if you will, I’d like to have prayer for you. I’m not going to trick you or put you against the wall or badger you.

I just want to know because I’m concerned and I’d like to have prayer for you in close. Is there anyone at all before we close? Yes, I’ll trust Christ as my Savior tonight. I’d like you to pray for me. Would you just slip your hand up very quickly, put a wrap back down? If you’ve already trusted Christ as Savior, you never have to do it again, but if you haven’t and you’re not real sure, so I want to be sure of going to heaven.

So right now I will trust the Lord. We just slip it up, and we’re all. Our Father, we thank you again for your blessings, for all you’ve done for us. And there’s many people, no doubt, that has different requests on various people that they know and are hurting. Some need jobs, some health problems, some are facing surgery. And Father, we just commit these people to you. Lord, I know that there are many that have unspoken requests. Father, you know their heart’s desire.

You know what they’re going through and how they think, how they feel, how someone were hurting, how someone was grieving. Nobody will just pray right now as they talk to you and bring their petitions before you, even with Thanksgiving, that you would hear and answer their prayer and answer their request. We commit each person here to you. We just pray your will to be done. Give us a good service that’s coming Sunday. In Christ’s name we pray, amen. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr.

Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bibleline and pledge your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. If you wish to hear today’s program again or would like to download a free MP3 of today’s or any previous Bibleline program, go to BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the spinning globe in the upper right corner of our homepage.

If you’re in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, calvaryoftampa.org. Thanks for joining us on Bible Live, and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friends, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon. And just keep looking up.