The world will be plunged into chaos. "Those who remain" will be in a state of shock. They will be awe-stricken, fearful and trembling. We will only briefly describe here some of the chaos the world will experience: People will be missing from all walks of life. Airplanes will veer off their courses and many will crash because their Christian pilots and co-pilots will have been "caught up" to be with the Lord.

Trains will run wild, and many will crash, as Christian switchmen and engineers vanish. The world's highways will be a tangle of wrecks because many, many thousands of Christian drivers will have disappeared. The dazed, fearful and astonished survivors of these crashes will grope through the debris looking for their loved ones; but they won't find them. They will have been taken bodily to Heaven in a split second

At the paper mill in Plymouth, North Carolina the operator in charge of the machinery will simply be taken off the job. There will be mountains of paper filling up the area because no one will know how to shut it down.

All communication lines will be jammed as "those who remain" search for those who have disappeared. Police, fire and rescue crews will work around the clock. Hospitals will overflow. Emergency shelters and first aid stations will be inadequate. The Red Cross and all other emergency units, plus the military facilities, still will not be enough.

Emergency governmental powers will be put into effect to stop the looting, killing and fighting over the spoils that those who have gone will have left behind. Insurrectionist will become opportunists. Anarchy will prevail in many areas. Governments will quake and tumble as the established order is shaken to the core.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ EFFECT TO BE WORLD-WIDE

Multitudes will be missing, in greater or lesser degree, all over the Earth. Wherever there were true believers in Jesus, people will be missing ? in America, China, Asia, the Islands of the seas, South Africa; all over the world. More will be missing from the predominantly Christian Counties. But even there, vast multitudes will be left behind. Even the most godly countries are not godly anymore. Thus the reason for God to remove His own people. He will do this so as to bring trial and tribulation on "Those who remain" to see if they will repent and turn to Him for salvation.

Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? (KJV)

God wants you to turn from your wild dash after pleasure, lust and sin. He wants you to seek the way of eternal life. HE WANTS TO SAVE YOU.

The Bible says this will be a time of great fear and stress declaring that:

Luke 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. (KJV)

DON'T BELIEVE THE "OFFICIAL EXPLANATION"

Authorities will try to explain the disappearances. Science fiction writers today are pre-conditioning the minds of the masses to the point they will believe anything--"even that a vast armada of UFO's came swiftly and suddenly, snatching millions out of the world. But don't fall for these imaginations. Don't believe the great lie that the news media will spread as the official explanation. No UFO armada will be needed. No invasion from outer space by some weird creatures will be responsible for the disappearances. The saints of God and all the innocent babies will have been instantly carried into Heaven by the power of God ? a phenomenon similar to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. They will enter into heaven to abide in the peace and splendor forever.

A MAN OF GREAT POWER

Out of the stress and turmoil will step a man of great power who will claim to have all the answers. His coming is prophesied in the Bible, which declares he will come forth "with all power and signs and lying wonders." DON'T BELIEVE THIS MAN. DON'T FOLLOW HIM! He will be the one referred in the Bible as "the beast;" the one commonly called "the Antichrist".

When these things happen, the tribulation period will have begun. The Bible says it will last for seven years. It will be a time of judgment and of great distress on Earth as God pours out judgment after judgment to cause man kind to consider his ways and to look to Him for deliverance.

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HOW DID WE GET TO THIS PLACE IN HISTORY?

In speaking about these strange visions he had experienced, Daniel notes:

Daniel 12:8-10 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. (KJV)

Daniel observed that at the end of time the "wise" would understand. In Biblical terminology, the "wise" are people who study what God has to say and become enlightened to its meaning by the Holy Spirit. I believe that down through the centuries since John wrote these incredible revelations from God, in the book we know as Revelation, men have received a blessing from reading them even if they understood very little of what they read. But today we live in a unique era. Now the promise of fulfillment for every person who lets the Holy Spirit illuminate the words he reads.

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A TIME WARP

One problem that even very sincere students sometimes encounter with the Book of Revelation is that its language seems so figurative. I think there are several key reasons for the heavy use of this symbolic style.

Two of them are:

1. Hostile critics of the book will find it pretty tough sledding and will thus be hampered in making sensible criticisms of it.

2. But a more important reason for the symbolism is that the predictions of the book were so far removed from the language of John's day that ordinary Greek words (the 'ingua franca' of New Testament times) couldn't adequately convey the message. After all, how could God transmit the thought of a nuclear catastrophe to someone living in the year A.D. 90!

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THE TIME MACHINE

You might say that John was put into a "divine time machine" and transported nineteen centuries into the future. Try to put yourself in his place. Suppose you were suddenly catapulted nineteen centuries into the future and confronted by the marvels of that time, then instructed to return to your own century and write what you had seen! How would you begin?

You would have to describe things which have no existing terminology ? even in our own modern era. You would be forced to try to communicate in terms of things we know about now. If someone were to read your account nineteen centuries after it was written, they would be forced to search for clues to unlock the meaning of your symbols. This is how John used his symbols.

We can usually discover the meaning of the symbols by observing how they are used elsewhere in Scripture. The book of Revelation is sometimes called the "Grand Central Station" of the Bible because so many Biblical symbols find their ultimate fulfillment here.

Sometimes John employed terminology which can be understood only when the prophecy's fulfillment is near. FOR EXAMPLE, John describes a horrible war in which fire and brimstone are rained down on people. In John's day the only thing capable of producing fire and brimstone was a volcano; it was one of the most dreaded forms of destruction.

But this is really a classic description of the horrors of an atomic explosion; "fire and brimstone" says it pretty well! Before the development of the atomic bomb no destructive force known to man could equal the power of a volcanic eruption or even come close to fulfilling the description of "fire and brimstone."

[November 13, 2002 ? I feel quite certain that those that lived through the bringing down of the twin towers in New York City on September 11, 2001 would have described the event as being quite descriptive of the falling of those two buildings.]

In a number of cases in the Book of Revelation, John provides the interpretation of the symbol right in the same context. With the help of a good concordance we can pretty well determine the meanings of most of the other symbols.

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A GREETING OF COMFORT

Revelation 1:4-6 John, To the SRB Page 1331, Note 3 seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father-- to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (NIV)

The original recipients of the Book of Revelation were the seven churches in Asia Minor. But the book was OBVIOUSLY intended to reach much farther than to just those few hundred Christians of the first century A.D. John's greeting to them and to us is, "grace and peace from the triune God." In many Bible narratives people greeted each other with the words "grace" and "peace." It would be easy therefore to assume that John's greeting was just a casual expression like "how do you do?"

I am convinced, however, that this phrase is loaded with careful intent. Remember, this book was penned only a few years after Nero's brutal persecution of Christians in Rome. These believers in Asia Minor had therefore experienced very little of this world's peace.

History also shows that after the death of Paul and John, legalistic Judiaizers began infiltrating many of the prospering little churches which the Apostles had founded or aided. The legalists tried to force the new believers back under the Mosaic Law as a way of life. [Much the opposite as the modern day church in general is in the process of re-interpreting our understanding of Scripture in a more liberal sense]. John's greeting of "grace and peace" was thus rich with meaning for these struggling churches.

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A TRIUNE SOURCE OF THE PROPHECY

John reiterates emphatically the true source of the Revelation by graphically describing its three givers. He describes God the Father as "Him who is and who was and who is to come." This represents the present, imperfect, and future tenses of the verb "to be" ? the "I AM WHO I AM" of the Old Testament.

Someone recently submitted with much emphasis that when he wrote down the word God, it was only right to write it thus: GOD. Well, if one is going to go to those extremes it might be well to pose it as, ?I Am Who I Am!? Or even ?E? or ?El.? Who knows for certain how God wishes it to be written. The New Testament writers seemed comfortable with numerous methods of penning it down. I think it better to meditate on Who God is, and not how to write His name.

When one reads the Jerusalem Post and there is a mention of God it is usually ~od. To this day there is much reverence for the name of God. Wood that everyone in America had such deep reverance for the Lord God. However, a reverence only for God?s name will not qualify one for the rapture of Christ?s Church.

The best definition of a life source that philosophy can give us is "an unmoved mover." John goes way back before that! He continuously existed before the beginning of all things. John 1:1

An unusual description is given of one who I believe is the Holy Spirit. He is called "the seven Spirits who are before His throne." Seven is the number which always stands for completeness or perfection in biblical symbolism. Since these "seven Spirits" are in a context which is speaking of God the Father and God the Son as being the source of the revelations, I believe these "seven Spirits" refer to the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.

The number seven speaks of the fullness of the Holy Spirit's powers and ministries to the believers. This "Spirit" is said to be "before God's throne." It's almost like One who is standing there waiting for instructions before going out, and we know that the Holy Spirit is that One who has been sent to fulfill the purposes of the One who sets on the throne.

John leaves no question as to their identity of the person who sends grace and peace to the brothers and sisters.

Its Jesus Christ Himself. These marvelous titles are given to Him:

1. "the faithful witness"

2. "the firstborn of the dead"

3. "the prince of the kings of the earth"

In what sense was Christ a FAITHFUL WITNESS?

As a true Prophet, He revealed God to men. Christ did not merely reveal God by what He said (as other prophets had done), but He was in His person, a perfect revelation and witness of all that God is.

Someone once said that Jesus was a perfect "portrait" of God. Not so, Jesus Christ is the PERFECT PHOTOGRAPH of God! All that we can possibly conceive of and understand of God, the Lord Jesus Christ is... ? And more! Hebrews 1:3

Jesus ask Philip, "How do you not know me?" John 14:9

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FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD

The reference To Christ as the "firstborn of the dead" clarifies a puzzling statement in Colossians 1:15, where He is referred to as "The firstborn of all creation."

It may be that we can gather a better insight concerning the terms used in this verse by looking at the New International Version:

Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (NIV)

On the surface it almost sounds like Christ came into existence when He was born into this world ? in other words, that He wasn't eternal. But this isn't the point of the statement. The point is that Jesus Christ was the first person ever to be permanently resurrected from the dead. (The resurrection of Lazarus was temporary--he died again.)

The term "firstborn" simply means that Christ is the first of a long line of people who will be resurrected with glorified, immortal bodies, and I've placed an order for a terrific one--one which won't ever get old or over weight, need glasses, and a hat to cover my bald head!

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THE RULER OF KINGS

When we see the mess the world is in, it is sometimes hard for us to believe that Christ is actually the "prince of the kings of the earth." This is because even though Christ has the "right" to rule the earth, He isn't exercising this authority over kings and kingdoms at this time.

Satan won a "temporary" legal right to rule the kingdoms of the world when Adam foolishly relinquished his God given authority in the Garden of Eden. When Satan took Christ to a high mountain, showed Him the kingdoms of the world, and offered them to Jesus in return for worship, Christ didn't dispute Satan's temporary legal claim to these kingdoms.

The Lord knew that when His work on the Cross was finished, Satan would be too! John 12:31

Now it is only a matter of time until Christ comes back to earth and claims His role as King of Kings and Lord of Lord overs the rulers of this world!

WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE!

John assures his readers that they have not been left to themselves until that day, with only a "future" hope of redemption. In a flood of praise he proclaims that right now, as we are in all our imperfections, we are loved with the continuous and pure love of Jesus Christ. Sometimes we are tempted to think that the love of God had its highest culmination in the past, when God gave His Son to die for mankind.

But the case is just the opposite. God's love reached out to man in all his ugliness and sins; now it floods believers who have all been washed from their sins and clothed with Christ's robes of righteousness!

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FREEDOM IS NOW Revelation 1:5

Revelation 1 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed[1] us from our sins in His own blood,

Footnotes

1:5 NU-Text reads loves us and freed; M-Text reads loves us and washed.

Notice the past tense of that verb. If only we could get it through our heads that we "HAVE BEEN" cleansed from our sins and their eternal judgment! The fullness of God's great love is a "present" reality and His forgiveness of our sins is a "past" fact. We don't have to wait and work to be forgiven. The work was fully accomplished when Christ shed His blood for us about 2,000 years ago.

All that remains for us to do is to accept the pardon which God is so eager to give us and to delight in the realities of His ever-present love.

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GOD'S ULTIMATE STATEMENT

JESUS

"I AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA." Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last. Christ is claiming, in other words, to be "everything from A to Z." It's as simple as that. He is everything that God has to say. If God wants to communicate with mankind, He will do it through His "Last Word," Jesus Christ. Revelation 1:6

TWO MAJOR ATTRIBUTES OF CHRIST are emphasized in these opening comments of the Revelation:

1. Who is and who was and who is to come conveys the idea of ETERNITY OF EXISTENCE; that is, Christ existed before any specific point in time and will continue to exist AFTER time gives way to eternity.

2. Added to that attribute is the title, THE ALMIGHTY. This literally means, "The omnipotent and all powerful One." These attributes can only be true if someone is God!

There is no limit to Christ's almighty power.

Colossians 1:17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

This is saying that "in Him all things hold together." He is like the mysterious nucleus of an atom, ? holding tremendous explosive power from being unleashed. He himself is that unfathomable source which keeps every atom from literally exploding!

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