Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days

The Rapture of the Church is the final event of the Church Age, the ingathering of the harvest of the Church, when Christ comes for His Bride (all believers in Christ, who have been saved in the Church Age), and takes them to Heaven. In this video, we see how the Pre-Tribulation Rapture originates from the teaching of Jesus.

In John 14:1-3, Jesus established key truths about the Rapture, distinguishing it from His 2nd Coming to the earth in power and glory: (1) It is a Coming of Christ for believers only. (2) His Purpose in the Rapture is to be reunited with His Bride and take her to Heaven, whereas the Purpose of the 2nd Coming is to judge His enemies and establish His Kingdom on earth. (3) In the Rapture, Christ does not come and land on the earth and dwell and reign here, as He does in the 2nd Coming (Zech 14:4), but He comes close to the earth to receive His Bride to Himself, for: “we will meet the Lord in the air” (1Thess 4:15). (4) He then returns with His Bride to the place He has prepared for her in Heaven, where they abide together during the time of Judgment on earth, called the Day of the Lord (Tribulation), after which we will return with Him in His 2nd Coming.

In Matthew 24:3 (the Olivet Discourse), Jesus was asked 3 questions: (1) when will the Temple be destroyed, (2) what will be the Sign of Your Coming, and (3) what will be the Sign of the End (Consummation) of the Age (the Tribulation)?” Jesus answered the 1st Question in Luke 21:20-24, and the 2nd Question in Matt 24:7-35, which means He answered the 3rd Question in Matt 24:36-44, starting with: “But of that day and hour (of the Start of the Tribulation) no one knows (it is God's secret)" (v36). In contrast to the Day of Christ’s Coming in power and glory, which is clearly signposted and its timing knowable in advance, this Day, when the Tribulation starts, is unknowable, without any warning signs - it will happen suddenly. Then in v37,39,42,43,44 this key moment when the Tribulation starts is described as 'the Coming of the Son of Man' indicating that the Coming of Jesus in the Rapture is the signless initiating event of the Tribulation (the Day of the Lord), whereas His Coming in power and glory is the sign-posted event bringing the Tribulation to its end (the Great and Awesome Day of the Lord).

In v37-41, Jesus compared the events before, during and after His Coming in the Rapture to the days of Noah. In this analogy, He uses the world-wide Flood as a fitting type of the world-wide Tribulation, as it's the only example in history of a world-wide judgement. (1) In the days before the Flood, normal life was going on, with no signs of what was about to happen. Then (2) the believers entered the Ark, a place of safety above the scene of judgment, which triggered (3) the sudden outpouring of the world-wide Flood to fall from Heaven on the very same day. So, likewise (1) before the Tribulation, normal life will be going on. Then (2) just before Tribulation-Flood falls, all believers will be removed in the Rapture to safety in Christ, our Ark of Salvation, above the scene of judgment. Then (3) the Tribulation will immediately start. So, just as the disappearance of the believers into the safety of the Ark was the initiating event for the Flood, so the disappearance of believers into Christ at the Coming of the Son of Man at the Rapture, will be the initiating event for the Tribulation. v40-41 then confirms that at this Coming of Christ at the start of the Tribulation, He will call the believers to Himself, taking them from the earth to be with Him ('para-lambano'), leaving the unbelievers behind to face the world-wide judgment of the Tribulation, for 'one will be taken, the other left', just as God called Noah's family to Himself in the Ark (Genesis 7:1), leaving the rest to face the world-wide Flood. So Jesus spoke of an unknowable Day without any preceding signs, when He will come to take us to be with Him, just before the Tribulation-Flood, which is different from the signposted Day, at the end of the Tribulation when He will come to the earth in power and glory.

Then in v42-44 He emphasised that His Coming in the Rapture is imminent, which means God keeps the timing of the Rapture secret, so as far as we are concerned, Christ could come at any moment. But, His Coming at the end of the Tribulation is not imminent, for all the events of the Tribulation must happen first. So, He must be talking about 2 distinct events on 2 different Days. In v43, He compared His Coming in the Rapture to a Thief, for He will come to take His precious ones from the earth, so to the world it will seem as if a Thief had come. But He is no Thief, for He will only take His own, who belong to Him (purchased with His Blood). Believers will not experience His Coming as a Thief, but as our Bridegroom coming for His Bride. In 1Thessalonians 5:2-3, Paul summarises this teaching of Jesus.

In this 3-part Series, we take an in-depth look at the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, showing how it harmonises many prophetic Scriptures.

The End of the Age (the Tribulation) will be by far the worst period of time that will ever be, utterly unlike the Church Age, because it will be (1) a time when evil comes to its fullness (in the antichrist), and (2) a time of ever intensifying Divine Wrath (through the 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, 7 Bowls), leading up to the 2nd Coming, and we are not appointed to wrath (1Thess 5:9). The Judgments of the Tribulation begin with the breaking of the first 6 Seals by Christ in Heaven (Rev 6), which means the whole Tribulation is a time of Divine Wrath, that's why it is also called the Day of the Lord. God’s Wrath does not start with the Bowls of Wrath, for we are told that in them His Wrath is completed (Rev 15:1). The fact that Christ is now moving into Judgment mode is seen by the fact that He is no longer SEATED, but He now is STANDING (Rev 5:6-7, c.f Psalm 110:1). Surely a loving and powerful Bridegroom, before He bombards His Bride’s dwelling place (the earth), would first extract her from it before releasing His Wrath.

The Church Age will end with the Rapture - the Coming of Christ for His Church in which He instantly catches up all living believers to meet Him in the air and translates them into immortal bodies without experiencing death. At the same time all those in Christ who have died during the Church Age will be resurrected and will also meet Christ in the air. If the Rapture is before the Tribulation, then it is imminent, which means we should be watching for Christ’s Coming for us, which motivates us to holiness and evangelism. But if the Rapture is at the end of the Tribulation, then He will not come for at least another 7 years, and since the antichrist will come first, our main focus should be on preparing ourselves for the antichrist. Scripture teaches us to look and wait for Christ, not antichrist.

Harmonising 1Thessalonians 4:15-17 and 1Corinthians 15:51-52, Derek explains why the Rapture Trumpet is called the Last Trumpet. Christ will sound His Trumpet twice. At the 1st Trumpet, the dead will be raised, and at the Last Trumpet, we who are alive will be raptured.

To understand the significance of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, we need to understand its purpose in the Divine Plan as the climactic moment in the Divine Romance, where Christ, our Bridegroom, comes to fetch His Bride, so we might be married, fully united together forever. We see how the Divine Romance was foreshadowed in the Jewish marriage customs. Christ's promise to His Bride in John 14:1-3 fits perfectly into this scenario, and confirms a Pre-Tribulation Rapture, because He promises to come back specifically for His Bride in order to take her with Him to Heaven for a period of time, before He returns to the earth in His 2nd Coming. Rev 19:7-8 confirms the Pre-Trib view, for there we see the glorious Bride already in Heaven before the 2nd Coming, only now she is His wife. She returns with Him in the 2nd Coming (v14). Therefore, the Rapture must take place sometime well before the 2nd Coming.

Derek also shows that the 24 elders, enthroned in Heaven in Rev 4-5, before the Tribulation begins, are men who represent the whole Church in Heaven, since they sing to the Lamb: "You were slain, and have redeemed US to God by Your Blood out of every tribe, tongue, people and nation" (Rev 5:9-10). So, at the start of the Tribulation, the Church is already in Heaven confirming the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

Rev 3:10 promises the faithful Church (represented by Philadelphia) that they will be kept from the Hour of Trial, which shall come upon the whole world. Since this Hour of Trial (the Tribulation) is world-wide and will come upon all who live on the earth, the only way they can be kept from it is to be removed from the earth in the Rapture before it begins. Notice they are not kept (protected) in the trial, but they are kept from the very Time of Trial (Tribulation) coming upon the earth.

In conclusion, the Rapture is imminent. He will come suddenly for His own, and He take us to Heaven with Him, before the Tribulation begins.

Israel's sin resulted in her capital city being sieged by the Syrians and experiencing serious famine. When the king repented, Elijah prophesied that within 24 hours, the siege would be lifted and Israel would possess abundant provisions. However, this promise could only come to pass if God's people believed His Word and acted on it. We see how God brought His Word to pass through 4 heroes of faith, namely 4 lepers, who rose up at twilight, and marched their March of Faith to the Syrian camp.

When the lepers acted (marched) on the Word of God, then God’s power was released. When the 4 lepers marched, God’s army marched with them, and as a result, the enemy fled in terror and victory was assured! It was only when they acted in faith, walking on the Word of God, that Heaven marched with them, resulting in total victory and abundant provision.

Likewise, for God’s promises to be fulfilled in our life, we must rise up out of passivity, and do what God tells us to do, and march our March of Faith. When we arise and march our March of Faith, walking on the Word of God, we are not marching alone, because God and His army will march with us, causing the enemy to flee in terror before us, and bringing us into the full possession of His promise. If the 4 lepers could do it, then so can we!

The Lord Jesus came to make all things new through His death and resurrection. (1) God made all things, but (2) man has corrupted all things, including himself, but (3) God became a man in the Person of Jesus Christ to make all things new, and if we receive Him as our Lord and Saviour, He will make us a New Creation in Christ. One day, God will destroy this universe and make all things new, by creating a new heaven and earth, which will last for ever (Revelation 21:1-7).

The first 4 Divine Institutions were established by God before man fell into sin: (1) FREE-WILL, (2) WORK, (3) MARRIAGE, and (4) FAMILY. Therefore these are the primary DIs, which God ordained to form the main structure for our social life. When the Fall happened, sin came into the world, along with the lawless spirit of satan, which attacks the Divine Institutions (e.g, crime attacks our personal freedom). Thus the Fall made it necessary to bring in the next 2 Divine Institutions of (5) HUMAN GOVERNMENT and (6) the NATION STATE, in order to protect the first 4 Divine Institutions, by restraining sin and limiting the spread of its evil consequences.

The division of mankind into nations is necessary to restrain the spread of the virus of sin and evil around the world, because if evil takes over one nation, at least it can be contained within its borders, whereas a one-world system is vulnerable to being completely taken over by evil. If all humanity was united under a One-World Government, an evil man would become world dictator, and be satan’s instrument to control all mankind, forcing men to reject the true God. This was and is satan’s Plan.

So, the main Purpose of the Divine Institutions of Human Government and the Nation State is not to interfere in our lives, by overriding our freedoms, but to restrain the spread of evil, which always attacks freedom, and the other primary Divine Institutions: (1) by maintaining Law and Order within the Nation, and (2) by defending the Nation against all external attacks.

In this video, we focus on the 7th and final Divine Institution - the CHURCH of Jesus Christ, which has been invested with spiritual authority by God. The Church is God’s spiritual Representative in the earth, entrusted with the Gospel of Salvation. As a Divine Institution, it exists for the sake of all people, including non-members. Its purposes are: (1) to fulfil the Great Commission by preaching the Gospel for the salvation of all people (Mark 16:15-20, Romans 1:16-17), and to teach and make disciples of all people (Matthew 28:19), (2) to pray for all men, especially for those in authority, creating peaceful conditions, so that the Gospel might spread freely (1Timothy 2:1-4), and (3) to restrain evil and lawlessness in the earth (2Thessalonians 2:6-8, Matthew 5:13-16). We have been given the spiritual authority (the keys of the kingdom) to get this job done (Matthew 16:18-19).

The Church is called to uphold, honour and protect all the Divine Institutions, by teaching the truth, preaching the Gospel, and exercising her spiritual authority in prayer, thereby restraining the spirit of lawlessness, which seeks to destroy our freedoms and even society itself, by undermining the DIs, which provide peace, freedom and order, which are necessary for us to be free to fulfil our mission of preaching the Gospel.

We are the SALT of the earth (Matthew 5:13). SALT is TRUTH, which restrains corruption. The SALT of God’s WORD includes the TRUTH of the Divine Institutions, so as we respect, value and hold forth the TRUTH of freedom, marriage, family, work, the government, the nation-state and the church, we help to restrain corruption (lawlessness) in society. We must stand for the truth of the 7 Divine Institutions. We are SALTY by speaking TRUTH and living in RIGHTEOUSNESS, honouring the DIs, and thereby we restrain the spirit of lawlessness in this world. In our prayers, we are to pray for the Divine Institutions (for all those in authority), and to stand against the satanic spirit of lawlessness. The Purpose of the Church is to bring men to salvation through the Gospel and to know the truth through the Word of God (the Great Commission), but that requires the establishment of peace and order in society through the Divine Institutions, so it is of first importance that we pray for the authorities (the Divine Institutions).

Human authorities are imperfect, but we are still required to submit to their authority, which is from God. Authority can be abusive, when it oversteps its boundaries, especially if it tries to override our free-will without good cause. In such cases, we are not required to OBEY it, especially if it tells us to do something that is contradictory to God’s Word, which is the higher authority: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). However, we are to maintain a respectful, submissive attitude toward that authority, even when we are justified in disobeying it, because that authority is ordained by God.

An illustration of how the spirit of lawlessness (rebellion) works (manifests itself), when the authority fails, is seen from the story in Genesis 9 of Noah’s drunkenness after the Flood.

This reveals how the spirit of lawlessness works to undermine, discredit and destroy the authority, when it gets the chance. It looks for an opportunity to strike when the authority fails, using this occasion as an excuse and basis to attack and even overthrow that authority, all done under a cloak of righteousness. Thus the lawlessness (rebellion) in a person’s heart is often manifested when an authority sins or fails. This story also reveals that those who are rebellious against God-ordained authorities) come under a curse.

The first 4 Divine Institutions (Free-will, Work, Marriage, Family) were all established by God in Genesis 1-2, before the Fall of man, so they define and describe how God has structured our society, revealing the way that He intends us to live together. So it is vital we honour these institutions and authorities as being of God.

The next 2 Divine Institutions: HUMAN GOVERNMENT (Genesis 9:5-6) and the NATION STATE (Genesis 11, Deut 32:8, Acts 17:26) were brought in after the Fall, in order to restrain sin and to limit the spread of its evil consequences, and to help create a society of order and peace, so that the Gospel can go forth freely (1Timothy 2:2-4).

Through the Divine Institution of HUMAN GOVERNMENT, God gave man the responsibility and authority to restrain evil in society, and to exercise judgment upon evil. So the primary purpose of Human Government is to maintain Law and Order - restraining evil, by punishing evildoers, according to justice (Romans 13:1-7, 1Peter 2:13-17).

The DIVISION of mankind into NATIONS was instituted by God at the Tower of Babel, when He multiplied the languages. This was necessary, because satan’s plan was to use the Institution of Human Government to unite fallen mankind under a One World Government at Babel, in rebellion against God. The Tower of Babel was satan's first attempt to bring mankind under one ruler (Nimrod, a type of his final world-ruler, the

antichrist). Satan’s plan is to create a totalitarian one-world government, under one evil ruler, so he can subjugate all humanity to his will, and cut them off from God, forcing them to worship his antichrist instead of worshipping God.

Although globalism with a one-world government sounds like a good idea, it will be the means for evil to take over the world. The one-world vision is based on humanism, that man is basically good, who can create utopia independently from God. But man is sinful and corrupted by power, so this project is doomed to failure. With satan’s help, an evil man will take all the power, and then evil will take over the world through him. So God restrains evil by dividing the world into different nations, which limits the power of any evil ruler. If an evil dictator takes over a nation, his control is limited to that nation. Thus, the spread of evil is restrained.

At this time, satan’s spirit of lawlessness wants to destroy all the Divine Institutions, which are God-ordained structures, which preserve freedom, and stand in the way of satan’s one-world government under antichrist. In particular, satan wants to destroy the Nation State, by removing borders and replacing nationalism by globalism. In the Tribulation, in the last 3.5 years, satan will succeed in establishing his totalitarian one-world government, with antichrist as world-dictator, forcing everyone under penalty of death to take the mark of the beast, and reject God and His Christ, and instead worship the antichrist. Thus, the modern rise of globalism is a sign of the end-times. God will destroy this lawless one-world empire established in rebellion against God (Babylon the Great, the 2nd Tower of Babel), just as He judged man’s rebellion at the first Tower of Babel. He will do this at the 2nd Coming of Christ, when King Jesus will establish His Kingdom over the whole earth. Thus God ordained the Nation State, giving it the right (authority) to protect and defend its borders, to be a brake on the spread of evil over the world, and to restrain satan’s efforts to set up his one-world antichrist empire.

A major key to the order, peace and stability of our society is that the Divine Institutions (DIs) are upheld as God intended, and a major key to our personal success in life is discerning, honouring and submitting to God’s authorities in these DIs. Our submission to God is not just about our direct relationship with Him. A major part of being submitted to God is being submitted to His Government in the earth, which is mediated through the delegated authorities of His Divine Institutions (Romans 13:1-2). Although human authorities are imperfect, we are still required to submit to their authority from God, remembering that He will hold all authorities accountable for how they use their authority, for they are functioning under His authority.

This video especially focuses on revealing the ORIGIN and NATURE of LAWLESSNESS, which is not just transgression, but rebellion against God and His authority. It seeks to undermine, overturn and destroy the authority of God, including the DIs. We need to discern the spirit of lawlessness, and be on guard against it, wherever it is working in the world, because it is toxic to our spiritual life and health - it originates from the spirit of satan. Jesus predicted in the end-times: “Lawlessness will abound" and as a result "the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). Like Christ, we must love righteousness and hate lawlessness (Hebrews 1:9).

Lawlessness rejects God, the Source of all authority, which results in atheism and secular humanism, with its ultimate manifestation in atheistic communism, where God is rejected and His Divine Institutions (especially free-will) are subjugated under the all-powerful totalitarian state, resulting in the destruction of freedom. The whole world is heading towards experiencing a global totalitarian dictatorship under the antichrist - 'the man of sin' (2Thess 2:3), literally: 'the man of lawlessness' (the embodiment of lawlessness), who will be possessed by satan. Right now the spirit of lawlessness is at work in the world, but the Holy Spirit through the Church is restraining it, delaying the revelation of the antichrist (the ultimate manifestation of lawlessness) until the time ordained by God. This restraining action will continue until the Church is taken out of the way in the Rapture, and then the lawless one (the antichrist) will be revealed in the Tribulation. But when Christ returns in power and glory at the end of the Tribulation, He will totally destroy him (2Thess 2:6-8).

God governs this world through delegated authorities, through human beings, who carry His authority. There are 7 different realms of delegated human authority called the Divine Institutions. The spirit of lawlessness in the world comes from satan. Lawlessness is not just disobedience to God, but the very rejection of God’s authority and His right to rule over us. It is rebellion against all law and authority. Jesus said in Matthew 24:12: “Because LAWLESSNESS will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” This spirit of lawlessness will come to its fullness in the antichrist, the man of lawlessness (2Thess 2:3), and it involves a rejection of all Divine Authority, including His Divine Institutions.

The 4 Divine Institutions established by God BEFORE the FALL: (1) Free-will, (2) Work, (3) Marriage, (4) Family. Free-Will is the first and fundamental Divine Institution. The other DIs are built on the foundation of free-will. When they work properly, they protect our freedom by creating a society of order and peace. This video focuses on the what God's Word tells us about the Divine Institutions of WORK, MARRIAGE (husband and wife) and FAMILY (parents and children).

The lawless view says authority is the problem, and if you remove authority then all will be well, but actually sin is the real problem. So, children need the restraint of authority, until they learn to master their flesh (sin-nature), at least in a basic way. They need authority to grow up properly, otherwise they become spoilt and selfish. If you just let children do whatever they want, their selfish sin-nature will be fully expressed and thrive, and you will spoil them, and they will end up disrespecting their parents, teachers and other authorities. When you take the restraint of authority away, lawlessness thrives, and as a result everyone loses their freedom, because it becomes a lawless environment - chaos reigns. Righteous authority creates an atmosphere of order, peace and unity. It protects freedom and good self-expression. Abusive authority should be dealt with, but not by diminishing or destroying the principle and institution of authority itself. Rather we need to teach authorities how to express their authority correctly in love.

All authorities should sanctify God as the final authority, to whom they are accountable.

Your authority is delegated to you by God, in order to represent Him. It does not give you the right to do what you want. God will hold you accountable and judge you for how you have used your authority. We are to carry our authority in humility before God and man. Don’t be ashamed to claim and operate in your authority, but if you misrepresent God, and treat your children wrongly or unfairly, don’t be ashamed to apologise, for you are acknowledging that you are under a higher authority. Let them know that you are under God’s authority, and that your authority comes from God (it is not intrinsic to you), and that you are to represent God, and are accountable to Him. This is how you sanctify God. This makes you accountable, and will cause them to respect you more. If they understand that you are acting under God’s authority, then you will carry more authority in their eyes, because they will see you as representing God and acting with His authority, so that by submitting to your leadership, they are also submitting to God. Sanctifying God also makes you accountable, so when you fail, you apologise, and that will cause them to respect you more.

A major way God, the Lawgiver, governs this world and expresses His authority is through the DIVINE INSTITUTIONS, which are spheres of delegated human authority in the earth. He governs through human beings, who carry His authority, in 7 distinct realms: (1) FREE-WILL – our God-given authority over our own life, (2) WORK, (3) MARRIAGE (between a man and a woman), (4) FAMILY (this includes their children), (5) Human GOVERNMENT, (6) the NATION STATE, and (7) the CHURCH. These define the distinct realms of delegated authority that God entrusts to man. The first 4 Divine Institutions were introduced by God at the beginning before the Fall of man.

The opposite spirit to God’s Spirit is the spirit of lawlessness, which rejects God’s Law in this world, especially through the Divine Institutions. The Bible predicts that in the end-times the spirit of lawlessness will increase in the world and even infect many in the Church. Lawlessness is not just breaking God's Law of God, but it is to reject the Law of God itself. It is rebellion against God's authority and right to govern the world. The spirit of lawlessness attacks and seeks to undermine true authority, especially as embodied in and expressed through the Divine Institutions, as defined by God’s Word.

A big part of our submission to God is submitting to the human authorities in our life, for they carry the authority of God. All authority comes from God. Only God has absolute authority, but He delegates His authority to man, so man is meant to exercise authority under God, in His Name. God entrusts man with authority and holds him accountable for how he uses it. We are called to honour and submit to God’s delegated authorities, even though they are imperfect. The spirit of lawlessness seeks to overthrow God's delegated authorities, often using their failures or imagined failures as a basis and excuse. You cannot submit to God without also submitting to His delegated authorities. A major key to success in life is to understand and honour God-ordained authority (Ephesians 6:1-3).

The Divine Institutions are real structures, built into man’s social existence, designed, initiated and ordained by God, revealed through His Word, and they apply to all mankind. God designed the Divine Institutions for our good, to provide stability, peace, blessing and prosperity. Satan works through the spirit of lawlessness to attack and undermine all the Divine Institutions. It is vital to understand the Divine Institutions and respect, defend and uphold them, not violate them.

In this Series, we will study all 7 of the Divine Institutions, and in this teaching (Part 1), we study the first and fundamental Divine Institution: FREE-WILL.

Hilary shares from the story of the forgiven sinful woman, who responds by worshipping and loving Jesus extravagantly (Luke 7:36-47). She is given as an example of the truth that the one who is FORGIVEN much, LOVES much. A big reason that we don't love Jesus more and deeply appreciate His forgiveness is because we don't know how just how much we've been forgiven ourselves. We need to understand the magnitude of our un-payable sin-debt (represented by the 10,000 talents in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:21-35), that we owed the Lord, which He has forgiven; then we will be able to forgive the much smaller sin-debt that others owe us. This Parable also reveals that if we will not forgive others, we cut ourselves off from God’s forgiveness, life, blessing and grace, and as a result, we come under the power of sin and the curse. We then feel oppressed, imprisoned and suffer torment (Matthew 6:15, 18:34-35, Mark 11:26).