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Neglect Not the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
& Be Sure Ye Are Found in the Faith, and Not Wanting.
Ezekiel 7:6, 8 &14,
"An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.
Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.
They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof."
You may be wondering why a passage from Ezekiel and a prophecy about Israel has been chosen for our opening text.
1) it is because of the urgency of the passage: An end IS COME. There is a finality to it, and an inevitable judgment looms: Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee...
2) The trumpet has been blown, the warning has been given, but we note that none go to battle; none heed the warning, and the wrath of the LORD Yahweh is upon the people.
Now let's look at 1 Thessalonians, not chapter 4, but chapter 2 verses 10 through 12,
"Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:
As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,
That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory."
We see here first that Paul states he and the Apostles he was with behaved holily, justly, and unblameably among the believers. In those days you were an open book. You were truly among the people. You didn't preach the word then take off in your car to a home or a motel miles away where no one really knew your life.
Secondly, the Apostles exhorted the believers to walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory. This is important, because so much of the latter part of 1 Thessalonians deals with the return of Christ for the believers, for the true believers: those who are walking worthy of God.
Look at 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13,
"And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints."
Here Paul is beginning to introduce the doctrine of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, emphasizing holiness, in fact, not just holiness, but hearts unblameable in holiness. The Holy Spirit, guiding and inspiring Paul's writing, is setting a high standard here. How unlike many churches today where there's more emphasis on entertainment, and shallow contemporary music, and more about what you can get from God, even to the point of covetousness, which is idolatry, and personal power. They abuse the authority of the believer and speak in unscriptural fashion to the principalities; for even Michael the archangel didn't bring railing accusation against Satan, but said, the LORD rebuke thee. ( Jude 9).
I want to spend a moment on this, these railing accusations. The Bible don't teach believers to tell Satan things like, "Get off me sucker! You can't touch me! I'm a child of God!" Yet I have heard this, and preachers who claim they never should be sick, and never suffer want. But look at Job, or Paul's thorn in the flesh - places in Scripture where God DOES let Satan afflicted a believer, and it's for God's purposes and good ultimately, but these declaratory statements by preachers are in error, and in fact some of them go so far as to teach God begets gods so we are gods. Avoid these preachers, for they are false prophets, deceiving and being deceived. We are warned these false prophets would be around when the end is come, and we see them all over the place today.
Now back in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7,
"Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness."
We see here again, building up to the return of the Lord, that sanctification is being stressed. Abstaining from fornication, which is a big deal. People think nothing of it today. Any sexual relations outside of marriage between man and woman is fornication, and that includes pornography. The Biblical word for fornication is "porneia" which is where we get the word pornography, literally, illicit sex in graphics. And this is a big deal because this vile affection is embraced not just by the world, but many professing believers are enslaved by it. It's no wonder this admonition to abstain from fornication comes right before the passage about the coming of the Lord!
1 Thessalonians 4:14-5:11,
"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."
The trump of God is going to sound. Will you hear it?
The trumpet of warning is sounding now. Do you hear it? Or, like in Ezekiel, are you ignoring it? Maybe you cant hear it, because the wrath of God abideth on you. The trumpet is a distant thing, an uncertain sound. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27)
"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand..." (Joel 2:1)
"Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law." (Hosea 8:1)
Note in Hosea, the LORD comes against the house of the LORD. 1 Peter 4:17 declares this again, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"
How dire and most dreadful is that!? Does the professing church even consider, even take this to heart? How much "strange fire" is offered on the altar of modern day churches? One example is singing the line in "Reckless love of God." I refuse to sing that, and if I find myself in a church where it's played, I'll sing "awesome love of God." Why? God isn't reckless. Reckless indicates not caring about consequences, or concern for the safety of yourself or others, such as Reckless driving. The rest of the song may line up with Scripture, but the chorus is just awful, and I consider it bladphemic.
God has declared an end is come, and shortly He will pour out His wrath. Does that mean today? Could be. Or it could be 10 or 20 years out. Or not in our lifetime. God's time isn't our time. We are commanded to WATCH.
Matthew 24:30-31 & 42-44,
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."
The trumpet shall sound, and Paul even talks of the last trumpet in 1 Coeinthians 15:52, when "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
Take a look at Mark 13. A lot of people go to Matthew 24 because there's more detail, but Mark gives one detail Matthew doesn't, and that is, He expands on the part about watching.
Mark 13:32-37,
"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."
Jesus says WATCH 4 times in that passage, and 3 of those times He is commanding us to watch. It's not a suggestion, it's very clear, He "COMMANDED the porter to watch" Take ye heed, in other words, pay attention, heed this well, look here, this is like super important. WATCH.
Now, does He say argue and debate when the rapture us, and expend time and energy writing books or preaching a series on this topic? Nope. Not in the Bible. Jesus says we don't know when it is, so I go with what He said. Could it be pre tribulation? Sure. Could it be during the tribulation, after an antichrist is revealed? Sure.
I find it very interesting verse 35,
for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning...
Because He mentions 4 different watches of the night and there just happens to be 4 positions on the rapture, for those who believe in the rapture, and there are some who don't, but the 4 positions are pre tribulation: evening right before the night falls, mid trib: midnight, pre wrath: cockcrowing right before dawn, and post trib: morning.
So I refuse to get into debates about when the rapture MIGHT BE, and will proclaim that it WILL BE, and if we claim to know Christ, are we sanctified, and living holy and blameless, and unreproveable? Are we ready for Jesus glorious appearing? Are we watching? Do we have oil in our lamps?
Revelation 11:15-19,
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail."
This is describing the 7th trumpet. This is when the end comes. We don't know if this is an actual day or a period of time known as the Day of the LORD. It's a time of transition and a time of translation, that is for sure.
Revelation isn't Chronological order. I know some read it that way, but it's really more like Daniel - it repeats and gives more detail, enlarging or expanding on things previously written. But this isn't a discourse on Revelation... I'll give one example. Revelation 14:8-11 mentions Babylon has fallen. Jump ahead to Revelation 16:19 and Babylon comes into remembrance before God, then in chapters 17 & 18 you have the fall of Babylon described in full detail.
So after the end of Revelation 11 where it says the temple of God was open in heaven, you have an interlude with chapters 12 & 13. 12 covers a long period of time, some oast, some future, and 13 introduces the 2 beasts and the number of yhe beast. Then you have Revelation 14:7 picking up saying "the hour of his judgment is come," and in 14:14-20, the earth is reaped, the harvest brought in, the elect are taken by Jesus, the unconverted sinners are cast into the winepress of the wrath of God.
There's a little time in-between the two, and we don't know what it us, except that it will be shortened.
And notice the temple of God is opened. Jesus death rent the vail if the temple, and we have access to the Father through Him. The door is open. Nor only so the angels can come out, but that we may enter in. Let us be ready, and not caught when the door us shut, because Matthew 25 talks about the wedding, and once the bridegroom comes, the door is shut, and no one's getting in. Likewise in the days of Noah, God shut the door. No one could enter the ark. When God shuts the door it's final. Should put the fear of Almighty God in anyone, because we have no power in this area. It's all Jesus. He rent the vail, He makes the way. Be absolutely certain you are of His sheep, and hear His voice, and the sound of the trumpet, and have oil that you may meet the bridegroom and enter in! HalleluYah!
Revelation 19:11-16,
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords."
This day WILL come. We see signs all around us, as the prophets fortold. These are the days of Daniel & Revelation, Matthew 24 & Mark 13, and Luke 21:25-28,
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
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.
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. "
Look up! Watch! "Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you." (Joshua 7:13)
Examine yourselves, do not fail of the grace of God. That means don't be lacking by not having it, because of unbelief, because of knowing about Jesus but not knowing Jesus. Don't be deceived by sin, and stop offering strange fire that is not according to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't be of those who do not prepare at the sound of the trumpet and have the wrath of God abiding on them.
1 John 2:28,
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
Amen
& Be Sure Ye Are Found in the Faith, and Not Wanting.
Ezekiel 7:6, 8 &14,
"An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.
Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.
They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof."
You may be wondering why a passage from Ezekiel and a prophecy about Israel has been chosen for our opening text.
1) it is because of the urgency of the passage: An end IS COME. There is a finality to it, and an inevitable judgment looms: Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee...
2) The trumpet has been blown, the warning has been given, but we note that none go to battle; none heed the warning, and the wrath of the LORD Yahweh is upon the people.
Now let's look at 1 Thessalonians, not chapter 4, but chapter 2 verses 10 through 12,
"Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:
As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,
That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory."
We see here first that Paul states he and the Apostles he was with behaved holily, justly, and unblameably among the believers. In those days you were an open book. You were truly among the people. You didn't preach the word then take off in your car to a home or a motel miles away where no one really knew your life.
Secondly, the Apostles exhorted the believers to walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory. This is important, because so much of the latter part of 1 Thessalonians deals with the return of Christ for the believers, for the true believers: those who are walking worthy of God.
Look at 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13,
"And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints."
Here Paul is beginning to introduce the doctrine of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, emphasizing holiness, in fact, not just holiness, but hearts unblameable in holiness. The Holy Spirit, guiding and inspiring Paul's writing, is setting a high standard here. How unlike many churches today where there's more emphasis on entertainment, and shallow contemporary music, and more about what you can get from God, even to the point of covetousness, which is idolatry, and personal power. They abuse the authority of the believer and speak in unscriptural fashion to the principalities; for even Michael the archangel didn't bring railing accusation against Satan, but said, the LORD rebuke thee. ( Jude 9).
I want to spend a moment on this, these railing accusations. The Bible don't teach believers to tell Satan things like, "Get off me sucker! You can't touch me! I'm a child of God!" Yet I have heard this, and preachers who claim they never should be sick, and never suffer want. But look at Job, or Paul's thorn in the flesh - places in Scripture where God DOES let Satan afflicted a believer, and it's for God's purposes and good ultimately, but these declaratory statements by preachers are in error, and in fact some of them go so far as to teach God begets gods so we are gods. Avoid these preachers, for they are false prophets, deceiving and being deceived. We are warned these false prophets would be around when the end is come, and we see them all over the place today.
Now back in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7,
"Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness."
We see here again, building up to the return of the Lord, that sanctification is being stressed. Abstaining from fornication, which is a big deal. People think nothing of it today. Any sexual relations outside of marriage between man and woman is fornication, and that includes pornography. The Biblical word for fornication is "porneia" which is where we get the word pornography, literally, illicit sex in graphics. And this is a big deal because this vile affection is embraced not just by the world, but many professing believers are enslaved by it. It's no wonder this admonition to abstain from fornication comes right before the passage about the coming of the Lord!
1 Thessalonians 4:14-5:11,
"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."
The trump of God is going to sound. Will you hear it?
The trumpet of warning is sounding now. Do you hear it? Or, like in Ezekiel, are you ignoring it? Maybe you cant hear it, because the wrath of God abideth on you. The trumpet is a distant thing, an uncertain sound. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27)
"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand..." (Joel 2:1)
"Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law." (Hosea 8:1)
Note in Hosea, the LORD comes against the house of the LORD. 1 Peter 4:17 declares this again, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"
How dire and most dreadful is that!? Does the professing church even consider, even take this to heart? How much "strange fire" is offered on the altar of modern day churches? One example is singing the line in "Reckless love of God." I refuse to sing that, and if I find myself in a church where it's played, I'll sing "awesome love of God." Why? God isn't reckless. Reckless indicates not caring about consequences, or concern for the safety of yourself or others, such as Reckless driving. The rest of the song may line up with Scripture, but the chorus is just awful, and I consider it bladphemic.
God has declared an end is come, and shortly He will pour out His wrath. Does that mean today? Could be. Or it could be 10 or 20 years out. Or not in our lifetime. God's time isn't our time. We are commanded to WATCH.
Matthew 24:30-31 & 42-44,
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."
The trumpet shall sound, and Paul even talks of the last trumpet in 1 Coeinthians 15:52, when "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
Take a look at Mark 13. A lot of people go to Matthew 24 because there's more detail, but Mark gives one detail Matthew doesn't, and that is, He expands on the part about watching.
Mark 13:32-37,
"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."
Jesus says WATCH 4 times in that passage, and 3 of those times He is commanding us to watch. It's not a suggestion, it's very clear, He "COMMANDED the porter to watch" Take ye heed, in other words, pay attention, heed this well, look here, this is like super important. WATCH.
Now, does He say argue and debate when the rapture us, and expend time and energy writing books or preaching a series on this topic? Nope. Not in the Bible. Jesus says we don't know when it is, so I go with what He said. Could it be pre tribulation? Sure. Could it be during the tribulation, after an antichrist is revealed? Sure.
I find it very interesting verse 35,
for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning...
Because He mentions 4 different watches of the night and there just happens to be 4 positions on the rapture, for those who believe in the rapture, and there are some who don't, but the 4 positions are pre tribulation: evening right before the night falls, mid trib: midnight, pre wrath: cockcrowing right before dawn, and post trib: morning.
So I refuse to get into debates about when the rapture MIGHT BE, and will proclaim that it WILL BE, and if we claim to know Christ, are we sanctified, and living holy and blameless, and unreproveable? Are we ready for Jesus glorious appearing? Are we watching? Do we have oil in our lamps?
Revelation 11:15-19,
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail."
This is describing the 7th trumpet. This is when the end comes. We don't know if this is an actual day or a period of time known as the Day of the LORD. It's a time of transition and a time of translation, that is for sure.
Revelation isn't Chronological order. I know some read it that way, but it's really more like Daniel - it repeats and gives more detail, enlarging or expanding on things previously written. But this isn't a discourse on Revelation... I'll give one example. Revelation 14:8-11 mentions Babylon has fallen. Jump ahead to Revelation 16:19 and Babylon comes into remembrance before God, then in chapters 17 & 18 you have the fall of Babylon described in full detail.
So after the end of Revelation 11 where it says the temple of God was open in heaven, you have an interlude with chapters 12 & 13. 12 covers a long period of time, some oast, some future, and 13 introduces the 2 beasts and the number of yhe beast. Then you have Revelation 14:7 picking up saying "the hour of his judgment is come," and in 14:14-20, the earth is reaped, the harvest brought in, the elect are taken by Jesus, the unconverted sinners are cast into the winepress of the wrath of God.
There's a little time in-between the two, and we don't know what it us, except that it will be shortened.
And notice the temple of God is opened. Jesus death rent the vail if the temple, and we have access to the Father through Him. The door is open. Nor only so the angels can come out, but that we may enter in. Let us be ready, and not caught when the door us shut, because Matthew 25 talks about the wedding, and once the bridegroom comes, the door is shut, and no one's getting in. Likewise in the days of Noah, God shut the door. No one could enter the ark. When God shuts the door it's final. Should put the fear of Almighty God in anyone, because we have no power in this area. It's all Jesus. He rent the vail, He makes the way. Be absolutely certain you are of His sheep, and hear His voice, and the sound of the trumpet, and have oil that you may meet the bridegroom and enter in! HalleluYah!
Revelation 19:11-16,
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords."
This day WILL come. We see signs all around us, as the prophets fortold. These are the days of Daniel & Revelation, Matthew 24 & Mark 13, and Luke 21:25-28,
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
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.
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. "
Look up! Watch! "Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you." (Joshua 7:13)
Examine yourselves, do not fail of the grace of God. That means don't be lacking by not having it, because of unbelief, because of knowing about Jesus but not knowing Jesus. Don't be deceived by sin, and stop offering strange fire that is not according to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't be of those who do not prepare at the sound of the trumpet and have the wrath of God abiding on them.
1 John 2:28,
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
Amen
