Excerpt from Chapter Two:
B. The Purpose of The Rapture
“For we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things
done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5:10)
“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now hindereth will continue to hinder
until he be taken out of the way.” (2 Thess. 2:7)
The purpose of the Rapture of the Church is two-fold. We are told that “we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ.” This judgment is not to judge the saints for the sins in their lives. It
is to “test every man’s work of what sort it is.” (1 Cor. 3:13) When we become Christians, our sins
are judged at the time of our casting our sins upon God. This is not to say that we do not sin as
Christians. But we are told that if we do sin, we have “an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous.” (1 John 2:1) Therefore, if any man sins, he can receive forgiveness and continue on
in his Christian walk. No, this appearance before the “judgment seat of Christ” is for the testing, or
judging, of our works that we have done while in the body as Christians. It will be at this judgment
where those whose “works” that are tested, will receive their rewards, or “suffer loss.” (1 Cor. 3:
15) Those whose “works” survive the test will receive a reward. But if their “works” do not
survive, and are “burned up” by the fire, they will “suffer loss.” (This subject will be discussed in
more detail in the next chapter.)
The second purpose of the Rapture of the Church, we are told, is that “only he that now hindereth
will continue to hinder until he be taken out of the way.” (2 Thess. 2:7) Who is this that “hinders?”
Could it be the Church? The Church is definitely the one who hinders! The Holy Spirit is within the
Church. Every person who becomes a child of God is endowed with the Holy Spirit to a certain
degree. Others have received the in-filling of the Holy Spirit such as those at Pentecost were. (Acts
2:1-4) It is the Holy Spirit that holds at bay Satan and all his evil work. Satan is able to do a lot today,
but when the Holy Spirit is “taken out of the way,” he will go rampant. When the Holy Spirit is
“taken out of the way,” then sin will abound in such a manner as never was experienced at any
other time on the earth. Antichrist will be endowed with satanic power and Satan will spread his evil
the world over.
The fact that the Holy Spirit will be “taken out of the way” at the time of the Rapture is not to say
that it will be removed entirely. The scripture says that it will “be taken out of the way,” perhaps
meaning that the Holy Spirit will step aside to allow Satan to do his evil work. It is the Holy Spirit
that woos and causes us to come to Jesus. We are told that there will be those who will become
born again believers during the Tribulation period. (Rev. 7) Therefore, the Holy Spirit will do a work
during this period of time.
Excerpt from Chapter Three:
At the time of our rebirth into the family of God, we became judged. Our sins were immediately cast
away “as far as the east is from the west.” God will never again remember our sins! He has
“swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.” He cannot and will not
remember “your sins.”
This is not to say that a child of God cannot commit sins. He can sin at any time, and many do.
However, we do not have to dwell in that sin. We are told that “if anybody does sin, we have one
who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” (1 John 2:1 NIV)
Therefore, if a child of God does commit a sin, he can go to the Father, and confess that sin, and
Jesus, Who is our “Advocate,” will speak to the Father in our defense. From that point on, you are
free from sin, and that sin has been judged.
Many people make the mistake in thinking that if they commit a wrong deed, or commit some sin,
whether it is a small sin or a large one, then they have lost their salvation. The truth of the matter is
that this is a lie of the enemy! If you make a mistake, all you need do is to go to the Father and
confess to Him your sin. We are told, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9) So there is no need to linger in a sinful condition when
you do commit a sin. Just confess that sin to God, ask for His forgiveness and get on with your
Christian walk! The sooner you do this, the better off you will be. The Holy Spirit will grieve within
you until you both confess the sin to God and ask His forgiveness, or until you just totally ignore the
Spirit and He leaves. But no Christian should believe that if he commits a sin, he is lost. He only
needs to confess that sin to God and ask for forgiveness, and then get on with his life.
On the other hand, if a Christian sins and does not go to the Father and confess that sin, he can fall
by the wayside. As long as you have sin in your life and do not bring it to God and ask for His
forgiveness, you’ll not live a productive life for God. You will have deceived yourself into thinking
that all is fine even though you still have some small sin. This is the way carnal Christians live. As
long as you have any sin in your life, you will not please God! The Word of God tells us that “If we
deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for
sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the
enemies of God.” (Heb. 10:26-27 NIV) As long as there is sin in your life, you will not enter into the
kingdom of Heaven! You will be one of the many who are left behind at the time of the Rapture.
Also, this you should know. If you die with sin in your life, you will be eternally lost! If you think that
having one small sin in your life is alright and that you will still be able to go to Heaven, you are very
sadly mistaken. No sin will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven! “He that committeth sin is of the
devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested.
That he might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)
If a person who has once known Jesus as Lord and Savior commits sin and turns their heart away
from God, they will be doomed to Hell. Unless they confess the sins they have committed, and
continue their walk with Christ, they will not be ready for Jesus’ coming. We are told, “But because
of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the
day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God will give to each person
according to what he has done. … For God does not show favoritism.” (Rom. 2:5-6, 11 NIV)
Therefore, we all will be judged. Either we are judged when we repent, or we will be judged on the
day of God’s judgment of the sinners. For the child of God who has repented of every sin, there is no
wrath of God. That person will, as long as he is free from sin, be “caught up” to be with Jesus and
then it will be his “works” that will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ, not his sins.
Those who do not believe, or do not become born again into the family of God have “already been
convicted; has already received his sentence.” How can we say this? Because it is written in God’
s Word! We are told that those who refuse to believe in Jesus, who refuse to make Him Lord and
Savior in their lives, “is judged already;….He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’
s name.” For the unbeliever, the one who never allows Jesus to become his Lord and Savior, he is
already sentenced to spend eternity separated from God. Unless the unbeliever repents and asks
Jesus to become his Lord and Savior, he will spend eternity in “the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:11-15)
Excerpt from Chapter Five:
B. The Seventieth Week
“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the
woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is. And the other is not yet come;
and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he
is the eighth, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who
have received no kingdom as yet, but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have
one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.” (Rev. 17:9-13)
In these verses of scripture we are told that the “seven heads” are “seven kings.” We are told that
“five are fallen.” These five kings are the kings of the empires that had once ruled. They are Egypt,
Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece. These five “are fallen,” meaning they no longer exist.
We are told that “one is.” At the time of this prophecy, the empire in power was the Roman Empire,
which is the sixth empire. (The old Roman Empire ended in AD 476.) We are told that there will be
another empire but it has “not yet come.” This next empire that is yet to come will be the Revised
Roman Empire. It will be made up of ten kingdoms and we are told that they will “receive power as
kings one hour with the beast.” The fact that it says they will serve as kings “one hour” means they
will only reign as kings for a short period of time. But we are told that “the beast that was, and is
not, even he is the eighth, and goeth into perdition.” (vs.11) This eighth king or kingdom will be the
Revived Grecian Empire, over which Antichrist will be King. He is the “man of sin --- the son of
perdition” (2 Thess.2:3) and he “goeth into perdition.” (Rev. 17:11) Antichrist will fight a war with
three of the ten kingdoms within the Revised Roman Empire, and he will “subdue” them. (Dan. 7:
24) Then news of countries out of the east and north mounting an aggression against the Revived
Grecian Empire (Dan. 11:44) causes the remaining six kings within the Revised Roman Empire to
“give their power and strength” (Rev. 17:13) to Antichrist in order to fight against these warring
countries. Therefore, Antichrist will then have control over the Revived Grecian Empire as well as
the Revised Roman Empire.
1. The First Half of the Week – 3 ½ Years
The establishing of a “covenant” with Israel by Antichrist marks the beginning of the Seventieth
Week. (Dan. 9:27) Antichrist will then become involved with a war, which will be ongoing for the
first half of the Tribulation period. We are told, “At the time of the end the king of the South will
engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry
and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.”
(Dan. 11:40 NIV) This war will be between the “king of the South,” which is Egypt, and the “king of
the North,” which is Antichrist, who is the king of Syria. We know this because Syria borders Israel
on the north and Egypt borders Israel on the south. (We must remember that the end-time
prophecy is to Jerusalem and the Jews and it is Israel that is the central point in the prophecy.) We
are told that Antichrist will “storm out against” the king of the South. He will fight with great fury
and he will “subdue three kings.” (Dan. 7:24) The “three kings” that he is able to “subdue” are
Egypt, Greece and Turkey. Once he gains victory over these three kings, he will have succeeded in
bringing the old Grecian Empire back into one group. These four kingdoms, i.e. Egypt, Greece,
Turkey and Syria, along with their holdings, become the Revived Grecian Empire. It will take the
entire first half, 3 ½ years, of the Tribulation period for Antichrist to “subdue” these three kingdoms
and gain control over the entire Revised Roman Empire.
The Revived Grecian Empire will be made up of the kingdoms of Egypt, Greece, Turkey and Syria.
Once these kingdoms become the Revived Grecian Empire under the rule of Antichrist, the
remaining six kingdoms of the Revised Roman Empire will give their power and authority to
Antichrist. (Rev. 17:13) As stated earlier, the reason these six kings of the Revised Roman Empire
give their authority and power to Antichrist is that the news of war with countries out of the east
and north causes them to want to ally themselves with Antichrist to be able to win this war. This
will give Antichrist power over the entire Revised Roman Empire, which includes the Revived
Grecian Empire.
The understanding that Antichrist will rule the world is a misconception. He will be a world ruler, in
the same way as the President of the United States is considered a world ruler. However,
Antichrist will not rule the entire world. He will rule over only those areas that he has authority over,
which are the kingdoms within the Revised Roman Empire. Many countries outside the Revised
Roman Empire will not come under the authority of Antichrist.
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