“Caught Up or Left Behind?”

ENOCH ~ “Going for the Gold” series part 6

Gen 5:21-24; Jude 1:14-16 & Selected

I.  By Faith Enoch…

·        Practiced Righteousness

Genesis 5:22, 24 “… Enoch walked with God … ²⁴ Enoch walked with God…”

·        Proclaimed Christ’s Return

Jude 1:14-15 ¹⁴ Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones ¹⁵ to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him."

·        Pleased the Lord

Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

·        Promoted to Glory

Genesis 5:24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away…

II.  The Second Coming of Christ Entails Two Stages…

Stage One:  The Rapture of True Believers

(Church – Imminent – Selective – Thief in the night – Obvious)

·        Jesus is coming for His church for whom He died for

·        Jesus’ coming is imminent, it could happen at any time

·        His coming is selective… only those who placed their faith in Him – born again

·        His coming is as a thief in the night… you must be ready

·        Christ’s coming will be obvious… millions from all over the world disappear…

·         When this happens there will be Worldwide Chaos…

Without warning, millions of people instantly vanish from the face of the earth! In the following hours, civilization is torn apart as anarchy and chaos reign supreme. It is a time of great tribulation for those Left Behind. This will literally be the headlines in Newspapers, CNN, and the Fox News Network. Society trends and current events are pointing this direction. We see tremendous advances in technology and communications, which are leading us closer to events we read about in the Bible – events that take place in the "last days".

Many people today avoid prophecy saying it's too scary or hard to understand. Yet God does not want us to be ignorant concerning the future.

	It’s estimated there are over 1,845 references to the Second Coming of Christ in the O.T.
	In the N.T.'s 260 chapters, there are 318 references to the Second Coming of Christ.
	This is one 1 out of every 30 verses! 23 of the 27 N.T. books refer to this great event.
	For every prophecy concerning the birth of Christ there are 8 looking forward to His return!

What’s going to happen when the rapture occurs?

    PPT - Empty Suit of clothes…

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

1.    "With a shout" (en keleusmati). The word means a military command. The commander-in-chief of the universe will shout louder than any voice has ever shouted—shout even as He did when He was upon earth: "Lazarus [Believers]  come forth" (John 11:43). Rev 4:1 "Come up here"

2.    "Voice of the archangel" will cry out. What will He cry? His shout will probably be the rallying cry for all the armies of the heavenly angels to join in the praise of the glorious event. Christ taught that the heavenly angels would be with Him when He returned to earth (Matthew 24:31; Matthew 25:31; 2 Thes. 1:7). archangel Michael (Dan. 10:13; Jude 9)

3.    "Trump of God" shall sound. The trumpet has always been for the purpose of arousing attention and warning. The whole universe — earth and heaven, believers, unbelievers, and angels — will be aroused; and all unbelievers will be warned. The Lord God Himself is now appearing and the events of the end time are now being launched upon earth.

Now Look at these verses…

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep (die), but we will all be changed-- ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

·        “Mystery”, Something that is unknown in the O.T. but revealed in the N.T.

·        Two Stages are separated by a seven year period called the “tribulation”

·        Prior to Noah’s flood Enoch was taken

·        Prior to the tribulation period Christians will be taken

Stage Two: The Literal Return of Christ to Earth

(Every eye shall see, power & great glory, execute judgment)

Mark 13:24-26 ²⁴ "But in those days, following that distress (tribulation), "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; ²⁵ the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' ²⁶ "At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

·         There is a growing hunger in society to know the future…

·         I read where 62% of Americans believe Jesus Christ will return someday.

·         We "sense" something happening globally, supernaturally God is stirring His people.

III.  “Signs” of Christ’s Return… (Compare: Mt 24, Lu 21, Mark 13, etc…)

Matthew 24:3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

®      Israel as a Nation & Jewish Hatred –

Ezekiel 36:24 "'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. Luke 21:20 "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.

·        Hitler exterminated 6 million Jews, world pressure to become a nation in 1948

·        Israel surrounded by Arabs… Jerusalem divided city with Palestinian Muslims

·        Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vows to wipe the Jews off the earth

®    Wars & Terrorism –

Luke 21:9-10 ⁹ When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away." ¹⁰ Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,  Luke 21:26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

·        911, Saddam blowing up Kuwait’s oil fields, Iraqi /Afghanistan war…

·        Global terror networks… thank God USA did something – protect our freedom

®    Religious Deception –

Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect--if that were possible. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,

·        Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda claims he is Jesus, the Messiah

·        266 nations with 6.5 billion people… over 4200 religions… 19 major groups

·        Religion is man’s attempt to find God & afterlife / heaven… Christian 33% dropping, Islam 19.6% growing, Hinduism 13.4%, Non-religious 12.7%, Buddhists 5.9%, Jews .2%

·        Atheists, Satanist, Agnostics, New Age, Baha’I, Tribal religions

®    Catastrophic Disasters –

Mark 13:8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. ; Rev 6-16

·        Western wild fires, increasing frequency & intensity of earthquakes, Tornado’s,

Tsunami waves taking nearly 300,000 people, Hurricane’s, famines…

®    Escalating Wickedness –

Matthew 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ; 2Tim 3:1-5

·        Sex, Sex, Sex, pornography, drugs, alcohol, homosexuality Gay pride, alternative lifestyles, redefined marriage, self-centeredness, proud, amoral God haters…

®    “One World” Posturing – Rev 13,17,18; Dan 7,9

·        From the United Nations to national identity cards, implantable transponder chip, could this be the forerunner of the 666 mark the Lord speaks about in Rev 13?

®    Perplexing Problems –

Luke 21:25 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Isaiah 24:17-18 ¹⁷ Terror and pit and snare await you, O people of the earth. ¹⁸ Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake.

·        Technology explosion yet we’re seeing crisis after crisis, Fossil fuel running out, Environmentalist & many in congress blocking drilling, digging for coal, nuclear, refineries… now we’re paying $4./gal for gas or oil for heat… looming food crisis because our corn is being turned into biofuel… 20 percent of the U.S. corn crop was converted into 5 billion gallons of ethanol in 2006, but that amount replaced only 1 percent of U.S. oil consumption… 22 lbs of corn to produce 1 gal of fuel is causing food shortages in the world’s poor… BAD SCIENCE but sounds nice!

·        Global warming, ozone depletion, strange weather patterns… the most vocal to save polar bears are the most vocal to abort babies….

PPT – Are we living in the End Times?  I truly believe we are the final generation!

Thank God Jesus is coming!

Hopelessness – despair – fear – panic – if left behind

Luke 21:34 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation (debauchery, godless living), drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.

What Must I Do?  Be Saved and Be Serving Jesus!

Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my heart and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Forgive my sins, take control of my life, and allow me to be ready to meet Jesus when He returns and not be left behind. Amen.