Caught Up or Left Behind: The Undeniable Truth of the Second Coming

Male announcer: Previously on “The Endtime Show.”
Dave Robbins: Every eye will see him, and at the sound of a great
trumpet, his angels are gonna gather the elect.
Imagine working beside someone.
I’ve built many houses and worked out in construction for
years, or maybe now I work in an office setting or you’re driving
down the road, you’re sitting in a room together, and suddenly
somebody starts to leave the ground.
The point Jesus is making is simple: People will be living
their everyday lives, working, resting, carrying on as usual,
when he returns.
♪♪♪
Dave: 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
If you begin down in verse 13,
it says, you know, he says he does not want believers to be
ignorant concerning those who are asleep.
The Bible often refers to saved–people who have been
born again, who have died, as just being asleep because for
them death is just temporary.
The apostle Paul says, “For if we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God
bring with him.”
And then he explains the orders of events.
He says, “We, which are alive and remain until the coming of
the Lord shall not precede them which are asleep, for the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout and the
voice of the archangel and with the trump of God.”
It all happens at the same time, it’s the last trump.
And “The dead in Christ shall rise first.”
This will not be a quiet event.
There’s gonna be a shout, the voice of the archangel, the
trumpet of God.
First, the dead in Christ will rise.
Then, 1 Thessalonians, man, I’m down about what, verse–chapter
4, verse 17.
The Bible says: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the air, in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Now, some people still deny that there’s a Rapture.
Huh?
Folks, this is how–this is what’s coming.
The Bible is crystal clear.
There’s no gray area on this stuff, and those believers who
are alive at his coming, they will be caught up together with
the resurrected saints.
My father-in-law Irvin Baxter will be one of the millions, and
I get to see him again.
My wife will get to see her dad again.
“To meet the Lord in the air.”
I’m telling you, it’s–up till that point, it would be the
best day.
Then Paul calls this a mystery in 1 Corinthians 15.
The Bible says: “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trump.”
So, not everyone’s going to die.
Some will still be living when Jesus returns, but all believers
are going to be changed.
Now I want you to notice.
The scripture does not simply say that we disappear.
It says we’re all changed in the moment in a twinkling of an eye.
Mortal bodies, bodies that have the ability to die, they will
put on immortality.
It’s going to be changed from a mortal to an immortal.
Corruptible flesh will put on incorruption.
The Bible says: “For this corruptible must put
on incorruption.
And this mortal must put on immortality.
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
‘Death is swallowed up in victory.'”
So when the last trumpet sounds, those who are alive will be
instantly transformed from mortal to immortal, and our feet
will leave the ground just as Jesus–didn’t the disciples
stand and watch Jesus go?
So, just as Jesus’s feet left the ground at his ascension, the
dead in Christ will rise first, and then together, resurrected
and transformed, we will meet the Lord in the air.
And in that moment, the words will ring true: “O death, where
is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory?”
So at the last trump, death loses.
Didn’t Jesus Christ defeat death on Calvary?
For those that have been born again, the grave loses, and
Jesus Christ reigns victorious, the revealing of Jesus Christ.
Now, okay, so let me talk to you about the revealing of
Jesus Christ.
This would be a good segue.
So when we talk about the revealing of Jesus Christ here,
you know, when you open the book of Revelation, you’re not simply
reading about symbols and beasts.
Some people get so wrapped up in that, but there’s a message to
the whole thing.
Now, I get wrapped up in the symbols and the
beasts, obviously.
But I don’t want to get so wrapped up in trying to figure
out every little nuance that I don’t get the message of the
entire book.
And, you know, some people try to make it into this mysterious
imagery where nobody can figure it out and it’s, you know, they
make it weird.
Bible prophecy is not supposed to be weird, you know, stuff
where it is scary, you know, just weird stuff.
It’s not made to be that way.
That’s not the Bible.
At its core, the book of Revelation is about one central
event, the revealing, the unveiling of Jesus Christ.
Revelation chapter 1, verse 1, it says: “The revelation of
Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to show unto his
servants things which must shortly come to pass.”
So the word “revelation” comes from the Greek word
“apokalypsis” which means to uncover or to reveal.
So in other words, the book of Revelation is about pulling back
the curtain, and it’s about making known what has been
hidden because John–the apostles, they didn’t understand
the writings of John.
They couldn’t.
It’s gonna happen years and years.
Now, chapter 1, 2, and 3, they kind of got the gist of that.
But once we started off into the prophetic portion, man, them
guys were like, “What?
No, I don’t understand.”
Same way with the book of Daniel.
So what is being revealed here?
Well, Jesus Christ in his glory, returning to earth as King of
kings and Lord of lords.
And the book of Revelation, it dramatically unfolds how the
Second Coming will take place.
It describes the events leading up to it, the spiritual conflict
behind it.
Yeah, i.e., Revelation 12, the war in heaven, and the
triumphant return of Christ to establish his kingdom.
Revelation chapter 11 says: “At the seventh trump, the kingdoms
of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of
his Christ.”
So the Second Coming is not some minor event in prophecy.
It is the crowning moment of human history.
It is–it’s the day when the governments of men are brought
down and the long-promised kingdom of God is established on
the earth.
We’ve talked about the kingdom of God thousands of times, but
I’m telling you, it’s coming.
If you’re born again, you’re already part of the kingdom
of God.
Did you know that?
And you’re being prepared to rule and reign as kings and
priests with Jesus Christ on the earth.
That’s Revelation 5:10.
Throughout Revelation we’re given multiple views of the same
great event and almost like watching it from different
camera angles.
Think about this.
Each passage adds detail, clarity, and power to this
picture, this revealing of Jesus Christ.
Revelation is not merely a book of just mystery and, you know,
it’s a book of unveiling.
It is the revealing of Jesus Christ.
This is why it’s so important to understand prophecy, the
segmentation, and the skeletal structure of the book
of Revelation.
It is such a fabulous book.
And it’s the revealing of Jesus Christ and the declaration that
he is coming back to reign on the earth.
Now, let me give you a for instance.
The sixth seal is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
And there’s another clear picture here about the Second
Coming in Revelation 6, the opening of the sixth seal.
John writes that there was a great earthquake.
This–now you’ll remember this from, this terminology here,
from Matthew 24.
In the sixth seal, “the sun turns black, the moon becomes as
blood, the stars of heaven fall to the earth as figs shaken from
a fig tree in the mighty wind.”
Now, this is not some kind of symbolic poetry alone.
This is the dramatic unveiling of the day of the Lord.
The heavens depart like a big scroll being rolled together.
You’ve seen a scroll unrolled.
Every mountain and island is moved out of its place.
The earth itself responds to the appearing of Jesus Christ, and
what happens next?
Kings, generals, the wealthy, the powerful, the famous, the
poor, every free man, every slave, they all run.
Your money is not going to be able to hide you from
this thing.
Everybody thinks, “Well, I’ve got tons of money and I’m, you
know, and maybe I can just buy my–” no, I’m saying not
everybody, but I’m saying there are some people who think their
money can buy them out of any situation.
But I’m telling you, the Bible says that the wealthy will–
that are not ready to meet the Lord, that they will run and
hide, and they will hide in caves and in the rocks of the
mountains and cry out for the rocks to hide us from the face
of him that sits on the throne.
Folks, listen, you don’t want to be in that position.
The Second Coming needs to be the most, the crowning event in
your life.
“I made it.
I’m a success.”
What do you mean by success?
Did you–is it because you had millions of dollars in the bank?
Nope.
There’s nothing wrong with that.
But the crowning success of your life is if that trumpet sounds
and your feet start to leave the ground.
Imagine.
Oh, man, you talk about a smashing success.
I don’t care if you have $0 in your bank account.
I don’t care if you live under a bridge somewhere, or if
you’re wealthy.
Praise God.
You were blessed in this life.
And–but I’m saying everybody in between.
If your feet leave the ground, man, you were a
smashing success.
But the thing is, why are the people gonna say, “Hide us”?
Because “hide ’em from the face of him that sits on the throne
and from the wrath of the Lamb.”
Well, we love to preach about the mercy of God, right?
And the–and thank God for his mercy.
But the Bible’s very clear, there’s also a day of reckoning,
and a lot of people love to talk about, oh, you know, Jesus
Christ, the, you know, he’s coming back with mercy and love
and kindness and gentleness.
He is.
But a lot of–and a lot of people like to say, “Man, we’re
gonna spend eternity with him in heaven.”
I love to talk about that as well.
But there are–the word “hell,” the subject of hell, the subject
of the wrath of God.
A lot of people won’t even mention that anymore because
they think, “Well, that’s gonna drive people away.
I’m stepping on some toes.
Maybe I will offend somebody.”
Listen to me.
Listen very closely.
Jesus taught on the subject of hell more than any other
preacher or teacher in the Bible.
He knew how hot and how long it was going to be: eternal.
So I love teaching about the love and mercy and grace of God.
I absolutely love that.
That’s our hope.
That’s our promise.
But also when we talk about the Second Coming, we’ve got to talk
about there’s a day when rebellion is gonna
meet righteousness.
Revelation says: “For the great day of his wrath has come, and
who shall be able to stand?”
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Dave: The seventh trumpet gives us another powerful glimpse of
the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
In Revelation 15, it says: “The kingdoms of this world are
become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall
reign forever and ever.”
So this is a great transition.
The sixth seal, now I’m over in the seventh trumpet.
And it’s a great transition from human government to God’s
government here on the earth, the kingdom of God, from corrupt
systems and failing empires, human government, to the eternal
kingdom of God, 1000 years on the earth, and then we will
enter off into eternity after the Great White Throne Judgment.
The prayer that we’ve prayed for just generation after generation
after generation, “Lord, thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven,” well, that’s finally gonna be
fulfilled in the 1000-year millennium reign.
That can happen in your life right now, though.
We don’t have to wait till then.
But the entire earth is gonna be transformed at that point.
The Bible says the 24 elders fall on their face and they
worship God.
They say, “O Lord God Almighty, thou hast taken and to Thee Thy
great power and hast reigned.”
Daniel saw it centuries earlier.
He watched as “the thrones of men were cast down and the
ancient of days, Jesus Christ, took his seat.”
That’s Daniel chapter 7.
These–and all of these earthly powers.
You say, “Man, this whole world government, it’s just corrupt.”
Well, it’s gonna get more corrupt, but it’s gonna go, it’s
only gonna last for a short period of time, and then it’s
gonna be gone.
God’s coming back and tear down the thrones of men, and God’s
throne is going to stand.
And there’s nothing that could even remotely begin to
defeat that.
Revelation says the nations will be angry.
Their rebellion is going to climax in Armageddon, and
they’re going to move fast against Israel, but their rage
is going to be met with the wrath of God.
And yet at the same time, this is not only a moment of
judgment, it’s a moment of reward.
I’m right here in the seventh trumpet still.
The prophets and the saints, the Bible says: “The Lord comes with
a reward for them.
All who fear his name, small and great, will receive their reward
at that point.”
And then the Bible says the temple in heaven is open,
lightnings, voices, thunderings, and a great earthquake.
This also happens at the end of the seals in Revelation chapter
8, so here’s something that’s very remarkable, and I wanna
note here: at the end of the seals, the trumpets, and the
vials, each time we see the same signs, voices, thunderings,
lightning, and a massive earthquake.
Why?
Because they all culminate at the same moment, the Second
Coming of Jesus Christ.
And–but if some people see the book of Revelation as this
weird, mysterious, you know, beast and all this, and I don’t
even want to study it.
Man, it’s the most, one of the most awesome books in the Bible.
And it, and it is meant to be understood, and it can
be understood.
I’m very thankful for that.
Also, the simultaneous harvest is the Second Coming of
Jesus Christ.
But you remember, the wheat and the tares in Matt, the–both
Matthew and Revelation described the same powerful moment, the
final harvest at the end of the age, where the, in Matthew 13,
Jesus tells the parable of the wheat and the tares, the Son of
Man, he sows good seed into a field, the field’s the world.
The wheat represents the children of the kingdom,
saved individuals.
The enemy, the devil sows the tares among the wheat.
The tares represent the children of the wicked one.
And the servants, they want to uproot the tares, right?
Should we pull them up?
The master says, “No, wait until the time of the harvest and
we’ll gather them both.”
And Jesus said, “Look, the time of the harvest is the end of the
world, and the reapers are the angels.”
This is gonna be the Rapture is what it’s talking about.
At that moment, there will be a separation, and I want everybody
to hear this very plainly.
At the time of the Rapture, Matthew 20, Matthew, where
we at?
Matthew 13, the wheat and the tares.
There’s gonna be a time of great separation here.
The tares, the wicked one, will be gathered and burned in fire.
You understand what I’m talking about here?
There’s gonna be–the Bible says there will be weeping,
wailing, gnashing of teeth.
But the righteous will shine forth as the Son in the kingdom
of the–of their Father.
And so, which group do you want to be a part of?
Some people say, “Ah, you know, I just, I don’t get it, and I
don’t want God running my life, so I’m gonna do what I want.
I don’t care what God thinks.”
Well, you can say that now.
You do have the option.
You do have the–you have free choice.
You can do whatever you want.
But there’s coming a day of reckoning.
And I’ve got to tell you that, I would–I would be failing you
if I didn’t tell you about what scripture says about this
great separation.
And I love to talk about the Second Coming, and the mercy and
grace and love of Jesus, and he is all of that.
But there’s coming a time when there’s going to be separation,
these two harvests, two destinies.
And Revelation 14, it’s the same exact event, the simultaneous
harvest there.
John sees one like the Son of Man sitting on a white cloud and
a sharp sickle.
Remember the story?
This is Revelation chapter 14.
The command is given: “Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the
harvest of the earth is ripe.”
So that’s the gathering of the saints.
It’s like the wheat in Matthew 13, the catching away of
the righteous.
And then comes the second harvest.
The angels gather the vine of the earth, the rebellious
nations, and they cast them into the great, great wine press of
the wrath of God.
That’s Armageddon.
And so the battle begins in the north, the plain of Megiddo.
It moves down in Jerusalem.
You know, scripture says right here in Revelation 14 that the
blood will flow for 1600 furlongs, which is about
160 miles.
And that’s the very distance from, if you average it out and
look at it from a map that you go from Megiddo all the way over
to the Jordan Valley, the path down up into Jordan, where it
turns and goes–would go west right there at the Dead Sea.
I’ve been on the road.
I’ve been on all the roads.
And it goes right up into Jerusalem.
So this is not some symbolic, you know, thing I’m trying to do
to sensationalize stuff and scare you to death.
I’m not trying to do that.
I am a watchman on the wall that God has called Endtime
Ministries to be–to say, “Look, the Second Coming is
coming before very long.
Make sure you’re ready for this event.”
This is not some kind of symbolic exaggeration.
It is the sobering reality of judgment.
First, the righteous are gathered, then the wicked face
the wine press, the two harvests, the one return, one
final separation.
It’s talked about over and over and over.
Matthew 25, another.
So the question remains, when the sickle is thrust into the
earth, which harvest will you be a part of?
I could leave it right there, but let’s continue.
And see, I know this is sobering.
To me, it’s exciting.
I’m like, I’m ready to go.
And the only–I’m kind of torn.
Do I want the Rapture to happen tonight?
Yeah, in one way I do, in another way I don’t.
And everybody’s like, “What, Dave?
Are you kidding me?”
Well, there’s a lot of people that still need to be saved.
I mean, I have family members that need to be saved yet.
So do I really want the Rapture to happen tonight?
In one way, yes, come, Lord Jesus, but in another way, I
look at my family members and my–I have friends.
I have friends in other–in different religions, and I have
friends in my–the sphere of influence of “Endtime”
is global.
I have people that I deal with overseas and just, and I look at
some of them and I think, “Lord, that person still needs to
be saved.
Hold off just a little longer.”
I know that sounds crazy to some people, but if you’re a soul
winner, if you’re into building the kingdom of God, “Lord Jesus,
come today, but for the sake of individuals that aren’t ready to
meet you, hold off just a little bit.”
Is anybody out there a soul winner?
Come on, you know what I’m talking about.
Does anybody have any loved ones that aren’t ready to meet the
Lord yet?
Or a backslidden individual that you know, or a backslidden loved
one, or somebody that you’ve been witnessing to, and you’re
saying, “Lord, I want you to come today, but they’re not
ready yet.
So just hold off, maybe?”
You understand what I’m saying?
You love people and I don’t want to see anybody go to hell.
Okay, the marriage supper of the Lamb is the Second Coming.
You know, many have tried to complicate the Second Coming of
Jesus, but the Bible makes it very clear and powerful.
When Jesus returns, he comes for his bride, the church.
He comes to make war at Armageddon.
The Rapture and the Second Coming are not two
separate events.
They are one glorious, unstoppable,
undeniable appearing.
The Lord said, “When you come at your appearing.”
It doesn’t say appearings, plural, with an S on the end.
It says: “At the–your great appearing.”
Revelation 19 opens with the sound of heaven erupting in
praise: “Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
The marriage of the Lamb has come.
The church, the bride of Christ, has made herself ready.”
Throughout scripture, the church is called his bride.
And when he returns, we are caught up to meet him.
We’re clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
That’s the righteousness of the saints that he purchased for us
with his own blood on Calvary.
You remember, forgiven, cleansed, ready to go.
The Bible says: “Blessed are they which are called unto the
marriage supper of the Lamb.”
The call has gone out at that point.
It’s God’s will that none should perish, but each must respond.
The call is going out now, you understand.
That is, the Bible says: “Many are called, and–but few
are chosen.”
The call is going out to you today from this program.
And of course, there’s going to come a time in the future when
the Rapture occurs, but that call has been happening for
thousands of years now.
During the different dispensations did people respond
and obey the plan of salvation during those dispensations?
At one point it was a tabernacle plan.
At one point it was a temple plan.
Now it is a–the born again plan of salvation, and to be
part of the bride we must be born again.
Heaven opens.
Jesus–and John is seeing a vision here, we’re in Revelation
19, he sees a vision of a white horse.
“And he who sits on it is called Faithful and True.
His eyes are like fire, and on his head are many crowns.
His name is the Word of God.
God manifest in the flesh.”
John 1, John 1:14.
Jesus Christ, he comes to judge.
He comes to make war.
Read Revelation 19.
The armies of heaven, which is the church, follows him, clothed
in white.
That’s the church returning with him.
Together, we come to Armageddon.
Together we witness the defeat of the Antichrist and
his forces.
And so, right here at the very end, my main question to you
today or my main statement would be, “Be ye also ready.”
In the near future, just as the lightning flashes from the east
out of the west, the skies are gonna open and Jesus is going to
return to the earth.
And, you know, Bible prophecy always comes to pass.
There’s not one-tenth of 1% chance that this isn’t gonna
happen, folks.
And when he comes, it’s gonna be a moment of separation.
Every person on earth will fall into one of two categories.
You’re either gonna be a wheat or you’re gonna be a tare.
You’re gonna be saved or you’re gonna be lost.
You’re gonna be a sheep or a goat, harvest of the vine of the
earth or the harvest of the earth.
You’re either gonna be a saint or a sinner.
And for some people, Jesus will come as this loving bridegroom
and receive him as his bride forever and for others scripture
says he will return in flaming fire, taking vengeance upon them
who know not God and obey not the gospel.
So, the opportunity really is now, folks.
The invitation is now.
The warning is very clear.
“Therefore, be ye also ready, for in such an hour as you think
not, your Lord doth come.”
Say, “Dave, you’re trying to scare me.”
No, I’m trying to warn you.
If you’re not ready, get ready.
Now’s the time.
The Bible says this is the day of salvation.
Man, if I know what to do, I’m gonna make myself ready, and I
don’t care what I have to do.
I’m gonna do that because when that trumpet sounds, my feet are
gonna leave the ground, and we want your feet to leave the
ground as well.
That’s the goal in all of this.
So man, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
I’m so looking forward to that day, and–but we’ve got a big
job to do, don’t we?
We’ve got to teach and preach the gospel of the kingdom of God
so we can make the world ready to meet him as well.
God bless.
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