Recently, one of man-stream media outlets published an article entitled “Rapture Anxiety,” They defined it as a type of “religious trauma” expressed by those who once believed in the return of Christ for His Church, but who have now left, or who are questioning their faith in the essential doctrines of the Christian Faith. That is very interesting in view of the latest surveys that said only 27% of those who claim to be born-again believers believe Jesus will return to the earth.

The truth is, the Lord’s return has two parts. The first is the Rapture, to which we refer as “Our Blessed Hope,” (Titus 2:13), when Jesus will come for those who received Him as their Savior and Lord, and the second part is His physical return with those He ransomed and redeemed, to establish His kingdom upon this earth for 1,000 years, and then reign in the New Heaven and New Earth forever, world without end.

We will explain this further in our next sermon, “The Age of Apocalypse: The Return of Christ,” based on our study of Revelation 19-20.

When it comes to our salvation, eternity is too long to be a little bit wrong. Sadly, much of what we hear as “gospel” today has nothing to do with God’s plan for our redemption. Today’s gospel is about following our dreams, using God to overcome our weaknesses, and believing God wants us to have our best life now!
Beloved, the Bible says, God chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world, so we should be holy and blameless before Him.” He redeemed us from the penalty of our sin, and reconciled us with Himself through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, so that He could adopt us as His children. And God did all of this according to the good pleasure of his will, and to the praise of his glorious grace.
We will explain this further in our next sermon, “This I Believe: We are saved by Grace – God’s plan of Salvation.” 

In Revelation chapters 16-18, the Apostle John describes the Lord’s step-by-step victory over the beast and his evil empire.
His first step will be to defeat all the armies of the world that have come against Jerusalem.  The Bible refers to this as the “Battle of Armageddon” because the Valley of Har Megiddo is where the armies of the world will assemble.
At that same time, the Lord will release the seven bowls of wrath to destroy all who refused to believe in Him as their Savior and Lord.  Those seven bowls of wrath will render the earth nearly uninhabitable until Jesus removes the curse and restores it to its original condition.
Then, having destroyed the city of Babylon, which will serve as the capital of the Antichrist during the tribulation, He will destroy the New World Order Satan used to rule the world.
Once Satan’s false religious system, corrupt political system, and dishonest economic system are destroyed, Jesus will set up His kingdom on this earth as it now is in heaven, and He will rule the earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords for 1,000 years, and then in the new heaven and new earth forever, world without end, and that is what we have to look forward to in the future.

The term “cheap grace” can be traced back to a book written by German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, called The Cost of Discipleship, published in 1937. In that book, Bonhoeffer defined “cheap grace” as “the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.”

As we look at the world tonight, we can’t help but wonder how much longer the Lord will put up with such disrespect towards Him, and such inhumanity toward others. As the Psalmist asked, “O LORD, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth. Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve. How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant? They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting.” (Psalm 94:1-4)

   While there is sufficient evidence to prove we are already under God’s judgment, a greater judgment awaits those who refuse to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. We will explain this further in our next sermon, “The Age of Apocalypse: “Voices from Heaven,” based on our study of Revelation 14:1-16:21

What separates Christianity from all religions is the fact that Jesus rose from the dead physically and visibly, and that validated His deity.

In Romans 1:4, Paul said Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
In Acts 2:32-36, Peter said, “Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God…God has made Him both LORD and CHRIST, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

 So, when the translators found the English word to describe the One to whom all respect and honor is due; the One to whom was given all power and authority in heaven and earth they gave it to Jesus of Nazareth, for He is LORD, MASTER, ADONAI, JEHOVAH GOD, so that:

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10,11).
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9).

The end times will be chaotic, to say the least. In fact, it will be such a time of confusion and uncertainty that the people will long for a leader who can restore peace and security in a time of fear and apprehension. Those people will get their wish as a powerful, charismatic leader spouting peace and unity will come on the scene. But he will turn out to be much more than they bargained for. He will be a dictator whose cruelty will be more than any other the world has ever known. He will be the Antichrist, the man who will rule the world and be worshipped as Christ.

We will explain this further in our next sermon, “The Age of Apocalypse: The Number of the Beast,” based on our study of Revelation 13:11-18

The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to the Christian faith. It is crucial to our understanding of God, how He has revealed Himself to us, and how we are to relate to Him. While we cannot fully understand everything about the Trinity, it is imperative that we get a solid grasp on what this essential doctrine means, for it affects our worship, our prayers, and our witness.

We will explain this further in our next sermon, “This I Believe; In the Triune Nature of God.”

Since he was not able to destroy the Promised Seed at Jesus’ birth, Satan set his life purpose to destroy those who believed in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Revelation 13 describes the events Satan will use during the seven years of tribulation to bring the whole world under his control, including severe persecution and martyrdom. 

However, Satan’s rule will not be for long, for when the Lord returns, all of the kingdoms of the world will become the Kingdom of our Lord, and Satan, along with the Beast and the False Prophet will be cast into the lake of fire.

While Christians will not see the rise of the Antichrist, the study of this passage should inspire us to share the gospel with those with whom we want to spend eternity.

Years ago, Dr. R.C. Sproul said, “The greatest weakness in the church today is that almost no one believes God invests His power in the Bible. Everyone is looking for power in a program, in a technique, in anything and everything except where God has placed it: His Word.”

We will explain this further in our next sermon, “This I Believe: The Essential Doctrines of the Christian Faith – God’s Revelation of Himself to man.” based on the Epistle of 2 Timothy 3:13-17.