May the peace of the Lord be with you and your household. I give thanks to the eternal God, to the Almighty, for this time and this space that the Lord permits us in His grace and mercy to establish teaching of the grace and mercy of the eternal God.
We have arrived at this moment because the Lord’s grace has permitted it. It is because the Lord’s mercy has permitted it. We clearly know that it is not of him who runs nor of him who wills, but of God who has mercy. And in his book of Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah wrote: “We have not been consumed precisely because of God’s mercy, for His mercies are new every morning”.
As we arrive at this moment, we must give thanks to the Lord for the mercy that has allowed us to expose ourselves to His Word, to the power of His Holy Spirit, and above all things, to the work He is developing in these last times.
The Problem of Our Generation
We all know and are convinced that we are in the last times. The problem is that we are not preparing ourselves to receive the Lord. It’s not only about proclaiming that Christ is coming—we clearly know that. The problem is that we are not preparing ourselves to receive Him, because it’s not only about being with Him.
The Holy Scriptures establish that the last times are dangerous times. The apostle Paul writes to Timothy explaining in detail in his epistle: “The final times are dangerous times, because men will arise who are lovers of themselves”. In another section he tells him that “many will apostatize from the faith”.
For these times, the parable of the ten virgins written in chapter 25 of the gospel of Matthew finds fulfillment. They were all prepared to receive the bridegroom, but at the last moment, five of them could not transcend to the next stage. This is precisely what each one of us must keep in mind. It’s not only about confessing that He is coming—because He is coming, of course—it’s about determining whether we are ready, whether we are prepared to receive the Lord.
The Purpose of This Teaching
Tonight we are going to establish teaching grounded in the Word of God concerning the second coming of Christ Jesus, but particularly concerning the rapture of the Church. Why? Because a doctrine has been circulating for many years that is not founded in the Holy Scriptures. When I say it is not founded, I am referring to the fact that what it proclaims is not supported by the Holy Scriptures.
I am referring to the pre-tribulation rapture or catching away of the Church. It is not founded in the Word, and we have wanted to dedicate time to teach about what the Holy Scriptures teach regarding this matter.
The Church will be raptured—yes, it is established in the Holy Scriptures—but it will be raptured at the coming of Christ Jesus, not before. The problem we have with this doctrine that has circulated widely in many Christian circles (there are even songs, hymns, and choruses that have been based on it) is that God’s people are not preparing themselves to receive the Lord.
Why? Because the proclamation of this doctrine is teaching believers that it doesn’t matter what is going to happen on the face of the earth—the presence of the antichrist and the persecution that will develop in the last times—because after all, we are going to be raptured before that happens. This is not allowing God’s people to prepare themselves to face all these processes.
The Second Coming: A Doctrine of the Gospel
I want to begin by establishing that the coming of Christ Jesus is a doctrine of the gospel. The second coming of Jesus to the earth is a doctrine of the gospel, as is likewise the rapture of the Church, because both are events that are established and described in the Holy Scriptures.
Let us read the book of Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1, verses 9 through 11:
“And having said these things, while they beheld, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said: Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven”.
Forty days had passed after the resurrection of Jesus, and at the end of the 40 days, Jesus was taken up into heaven. The first verses of this chapter tell us that Jesus spent these 40 days with His disciples, teaching them about the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven.
At the end of the 40 days He was taken up on the Mount of Olives. There, two men dressed in white garments (we understand they were angelic beings that God had sent) told them: “Just as you have seen Him go into heaven, in the same manner you will see Him come”.
In chapter 24 of the gospel of Matthew, we also find instructions that Jesus had previously given to the disciples about how the last times would be and how the return of Jesus would be.
The second coming of Jesus to the earth is a doctrine of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. We cannot doubt this. Through the years, unfortunately, men and women with ministries have lent themselves to establishing doctrines that are not founded in the Word. I am referring to doctrines such as, for example, preterism, which establishes that Jesus has already come and was established (others declare it in a spiritual form).
The Holy Scriptures speak to us of the visible return of Christ Jesus, and this is very important that we understand.
First Characteristic: The Coming of Christ Is Visible
We are going to establish at least three fundamental biblical and spiritual characteristics of how the second coming of Christ Jesus will be. But before this, I want to establish that these last times are times of apostasy, and apostasy consists of distorting the Word.
Matthew chapter 24 clearly states that Jesus spoke of false prophets arising, false Christs, and that they would deceive many people. In these last days many of us were impacted by the presence of a false prophet who established that the earth was going to be destroyed by flood on December 25th, and many people were deceived by declarations of this type. In the successive years many other people will arise.
Why the deception? For two reasons. First: all these men who are arising outside the Word of God are operating with demonic forces. They establish doctrines of demons. Second: because God’s people are not adequately preparing themselves in the Holy Scriptures. Many do not know what the Holy Scriptures proclaim regarding the second coming of Christ Jesus.
Every Eye Shall See Him
I want to begin by establishing the first characteristic: the second coming of Christ Jesus is a visible coming.
Let us go to the book of Revelation, chapter 1, verse 7: “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen”.
If you have your Bible open, underline this phrase so that we may understand clearly that the second coming of Christ Jesus is not a secret coming, it is not an invisible coming, it is not a coming that only a few will see. These are points that have been established in past years trying to make people believe that only a few will participate.
There are doctrines that say that only 144,000 will participate in a hidden form, in a singular form. The Word of the Lord does not establish that. I read again: “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him”.
The first characteristic regarding the second coming of Christ Jesus is that everyone, without exception, everyone will see Him.
A Supernatural Coming
We must establish something important: many could think that we are going to see Him on television, on the news broadcasts that will be transmitting. No. The second coming of Christ Jesus is a supernatural coming. He comes and sets His feet upon the Mount of Olives.
If you refer again to Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1, they were watching the ascension of Jesus on the Mount of Olives, and the men told the apostles: “Just as you have seen Him go, so you will see Him come”. Jesus will set His feet upon the Mount of Olives.
If you go to the book of the prophet Zechariah, chapter 14, it clearly says that He will set His feet upon the Mount of Olives and afterward will enter Jerusalem through a gate that is currently sealed. That gate is the one Jesus will use to enter Jerusalem.
But what is important is that we understand that the coming of Jesus is a supernatural work. People on the other side of the world will not find out through newscasts or television. No. The coming of Jesus will be in such a way that everyone, the entire world, will see Him in the heavens as if He were above us. It is a supernatural work so that no one can say that they did not realize the coming of Christ Jesus.
Verse 7 of Revelation chapter 1 clearly says: “Every eye will see Him”. There is no secret coming, there is no incognito coming, there is no spiritual coming.
Observe that verse 7 clearly says: “Those who pierced Him”. Who were those who pierced Him? It is speaking of the Jewish people, but in addition it says: “All the tribes of the earth”. Every eye will see Him.
Like Lightning
I want to go to the gospel of Matthew, chapter 24, verse 27. We find the direct word of Jesus: “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be”.
Note one thing: what does lightning mean? Let us not confuse it with thunder. Thunder refers to the sound, but lightning refers to the bolt that is drawn in the firmament, in the sky, among the clouds. Everyone who is in the vicinity becomes aware of what is happening.
Therefore, the first thing we must understand is that the coming of Christ Jesus is not a silent coming, an incognito coming, a spiritual coming. The Word of the Lord is speaking to us of a visible return, of a tangible return, of a material return. Jesus returns to the earth—not in spirit—He returns in the same way as He was taken up into the heavens.
The disciples shared with Him. If you go to the gospel of John, the night Jesus rose, the day Jesus rose, He presented Himself before His disciples and told them: “Touch. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have”.
Therefore, the return of Christ Jesus is a visible return, it is a tangible return, it is a material return. Jesus establishes Himself upon the earth. The book of Revelation speaks to us of a permanence upon the earth from that moment of 1,000 years, what is known as the millennium. The millennium is established for 1,000 years, and afterward, at the end of that time, this creation that we see, in which we live, will be destroyed to establish a new earth, a new heaven, as is established in the book of Revelation.
The return of Christ Jesus is to close the cycle of this creation. This creation that began in the book of Genesis will be closed precisely by the coming of Christ Jesus.
The first characteristic that we must have clear: Jesus is coming a second time to the earth to establish His millennial reign upon the earth. But it is a return, a visible, tangible return. Every eye will see Him. Any doctrine that establishes that Jesus comes incognito or appeared in a spiritual form is an apostate doctrine. It is not founded in the Holy Scriptures.
Second Characteristic: The Coming of Christ Is After the Manifestation of the Antichrist
The second characteristic I want to present is that the coming of Christ Jesus is after the manifestation of the antichrist.
Let us go to the second epistle of the apostle Paul to the Thessalonians, chapter 2, verses 1 through 3:
“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come”.
Note verse 3—pay close attention: “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come”. Who will not come? He is speaking of Christ Jesus, He is speaking of the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Verse 1 clearly says: “He will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition”, whom the apostle John calls and identifies as the antichrist.
The antichrist is not only because he is against Christ, but because he is the antithesis of Christ, that is, the impersonator of Christ.
The Historical Process
Verse 3 is clearly presenting to us a historical process. Christ Jesus will not come (says the Spirit of God through the mouth of the apostle Paul) unless there comes first:
- Event number one: The apostasy
- Event number two: The manifestation of the antichrist
- Immediately after: The appearing or the manifestation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Therefore, it is important that we understand: if the gathering together of the Church is at the coming of Christ Jesus, and Christ Jesus comes after the manifestation of the antichrist, we must have clear understanding that the Church, God’s people, believing men and women, men and women of faith, men and women who have put their hand to the plow and have not looked back, will pass through a process of tribulation.
The Holy Scriptures declare it clearly, and many are following an apostate doctrine because they are proclaiming that the Church is going to be raptured before the persecution. As I said at the beginning, I want to emphasize this because it is very important: there are people of God who are asleep, there are people of God who are not preparing themselves.
It is not only about receiving Jesus. Clearly the Holy Scriptures (and this text is very determinant) present to us that before the coming of Jesus, the antichrist will be manifested, and the antichrist will bring a process of persecution upon all those who have not decided to bow down before the enemy.
Apostasy: A Worldwide Movement
It is very important that we understand: apostasy is already operating. Apostasy does not only have to do with doctrine or operate exclusively within the Church. This is the concept that many people developed in past years—that apostasy was a movement that occurred exclusively within the churches.
I must tell you: apostasy is a worldwide movement, it is a demonic spiritual movement that operates in all areas of human existence. Understood within politics, understood within economics, understood within the social, within the cultural.
There are many people who are being confused and dragged away precisely by the cultural pacts they have made. There is apostasy that is being inculcated within culture, so that we may see that it is not only within the walls of a church that we will have apostasy. It is in all areas of human existence.
Apostasy gives entrance to the antichrist, and this is a matter of years, not much time. We are already in a process of apostasy within all levels, within all areas of human coexistence.
The Antichrist in Revelation
Not only in this text do we see it. I would like for us to see the book of Revelation, chapter 6, verses 1 and 2:
“Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, ‘Come and see.’ And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer”.
When people have entered the book of Revelation, they have confused this character with Christ Jesus, precisely because of the fact that he appears on a white horse, that he has a crown, that he has a bow, and a crown was given to him and he went out conquering. For this reason many people say: “That is Christ”.
I must tell you: the character being described in Revelation chapter 6, verse 2, is not Christ, it is the antichrist.
A few minutes ago I told you why he is called antichrist (and it is the apostle John who defines him in this way): it is not only because he is against Christ—”anti” meaning against—no, it is not only for that reason. He is called antichrist because he is an antithesis of Christ, that is, he is the opposite form of Christ, the one who impersonates Christ.
In Second Thessalonians, chapter 2, where we were reading, if you continue in verse 4, it says, referring to the antichrist: “So that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God”.
For this reason it is important that we understand the coming of Christ Jesus. Jesus is not going to appear one day in our human midst as any other person appears. The coming of Christ Jesus is in the clouds. Revelation chapter 1, verse 7, which we read a few minutes ago, clearly says: “He is coming with the clouds”. Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1, verse 11, the men with white garments told the apostles: “Just as you have seen Him go into heaven, so you will see Him coming in heaven, from the clouds”.
For this reason it is very important that we understand and have clear knowledge, that we be grounded in the Holy Scriptures. This character being described in chapter 6 is not Christ, it is precisely the antichrist.
The fact that they present him on a white horse—synonymous with peace, synonymous with having great acceptance by a great majority (not by all, but by a great majority)—is telling us that the antichrist will not have resistance in the world to begin his government.
The Prophetic Outline in Revelation
Why am I speaking to you about this? Because verse 3 of Second Thessalonians chapter 2 spoke to us that before He comes, Christ Jesus, the apostasy will be manifested and the son of perdition. And I want to show it to you in other scriptures.
In chapter 6 it is speaking to us of the antichrist. Go to chapter 11 of Revelation, verse 15:
“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’”
Let me present to you this outline. The book of Revelation is practically divided into seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. Basically that is the outline of the book of Revelation: seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls.
The seventh seal gives beginning to the seven trumpets, the seventh trumpet gives beginning to the seven bowls, and the remaining chapters explain in detail each of the sections being presented, whether in the seals, in the trumpets, or in the bowls.
Observe verse 15: the seventh angel sounded—the seventh trumpet, the last trumpet—and it tells us there that loud voices were made that proclaimed: “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ”. It is speaking of the coming of Christ Jesus.
The first seal is speaking of the appearing of the antichrist. The seventh trumpet, the last trumpet, is speaking to us of the coming of Christ Jesus.
The Last Trumpet
There is a basis for this. Let us go, please, to First Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 52. The Spirit of God, through the mouth of the apostle Paul, established this word:
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed”.
Paul, by the Spirit of God (not by his own invention), without having known John, is speaking of what John had in vision. This is very important: between the moment when the apostle Paul wrote this word and the writing of Revelation many years passed, because Revelation is almost at the end of the first century, while the apostle Paul is writing here approximately in the year 60.
They had not known each other to share knowledge, but nevertheless, the apostle Paul is speaking, by the Spirit of God, of something that was declared to the apostle John: “The trumpet will sound, the last trumpet”. And we have just read it in chapter 11.
With this, what I am showing you is that indeed Second Thessalonians, chapter 2, verse 3, is presenting to us the historical outline of what is going to happen. Christ will not come—let no one be deceived—He will not come until the apostasy comes first and the antichrist, the son of perdition, is manifested. And Revelation clearly confirms it: the antichrist appears in chapter 6, in the first seal; Christ Jesus, Lord and Savior, appears at the last trumpet in chapter 11.
It is clear that the rapture of the Church, our gathering together with Christ Jesus, is not before, it is after. It is after the coming of Christ Jesus.
An Unprepared People
I want to leave tonight, by the Word of God, this: God’s people are not preparing themselves for the coming of Christ Jesus. They are not preparing themselves. In the same way this false prophet appeared declaring things that are not sustained in the Word of God, there are many, very many believers who are believing in a pre-tribulation rapture.
This is not allowing them to see the work of God nor is it allowing them to prepare themselves. Receiving Christ Jesus implies passing through processes of tribulation, passing through processes of frustration, passing through processes of persecution, for which God’s people are not prepared.
They are not prepared because today, before any crisis situation, many people (and I am speaking of men of God, of women of God), many people become discouraged. How much more in processes of persecution?
For this reason the Spirit of God in these last times is speaking to us: People of God, awake. People of God, rise up from that doctrinal drowsiness in which you are living. It is a doctrinal drowsiness, listening to doctrines that are not founded in the Word of God.
Third Characteristic: The Rapture of the Church Is at the Coming of Christ
I go to this third characteristic with respect properly to the rapture of the Church. Now we are going to confirm everything we have seen up to this point.
When Is the Rapture of the Church?
I return to Second Thessalonians, chapter 2, a text I already read, but I am going to concentrate now on verse 1:
“Now, brethren, concerning” —pay close attention— “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him”.
See how the Spirit is presenting both events in one. They are not two separate events or events separated in distance in years, because that is how it is currently presented: “The Church is raptured, it passes in heaven (some say for three and a half years, others for seven years), and at the end of that time we come, we return to the earth with Christ Jesus”.
That is what is presented. It is not endorsed by the Word. The Word is presenting to us the coming of Christ Jesus and our gathering together to Him as a single event. It is a single event, they are not two events.
When the Church is going to be raptured—we are not denying that the Church is going to be raptured, we are not denying it because this is doctrine of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven—what we are establishing is the truth of the rapture of the Church: at the coming of Christ Jesus.
I read again verse 1: “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him”.
Here we have the first testimony of the Holy Scriptures. The Church is raptured, yes, but it is raptured at the coming of Christ Jesus. The Church is not raptured with everyone disappearing (which is how it is presented): “Suddenly hundreds and hundreds disappeared, and no one explains what is happening”. That is not how the Word of the Lord is presenting it.
Matthew 24: After the Tribulation
I go to another text. I go to Matthew, chapter 24. On this occasion I want to read from verse 29 to verse 31. Verse 29 says:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days” —take note, and if you are accustomed to underlining, underline that part, because these are direct words of Jesus— “after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken”.
“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven” —which, as we already read in Revelation chapter 1, verse 7, every eye will see Him. It is a visible return, not spiritual.
I continue reading verse 30: “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”. It is speaking of the second coming of Christ Jesus.
But here is the forcefulness of these texts. Verse 31: “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other”.
When is the rapture of the Church? At the coming of Christ Jesus. “Then He will send His angels with the sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other”.
The Elect
I have heard (and I must say it with much pain) ministers say: “Those who are described in verse 31 are those who were left behind”. They still cling to the idea that the rapture was before, and they assure and say: “Those who were left behind are the mediocre ones, they were the ones who were not established”. That is how they present it.
But note something very important. The Holy Scripture says: “They will gather together His elect”. This word is mentioned in this chapter on three occasions: verse 22, verse 24, and here in verse 31.
Look, moreover, it says in verse 22: “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened”.
If these were the ones who were left behind, if these were the mediocre ones, if these were the ambiguous ones, if these were the lukewarm ones, it turns out that these are the ones who are now determining how things are going to be carried out.
There is no pre-tribulation rapture. The only rapture, the only catching away that the Holy Scriptures present is at the coming of Christ Jesus. There is no other. It is the only one.
And clearly the Holy Scriptures are telling us with all these texts that it is not that people began to disappear, that the airplane and the pilot disappeared and no one realizes what happened (which is how it is presented today). No. In the same way as Christ Jesus—every eye will see Him—everyone in the world will become aware of what is happening: dead people being resurrected from their tombs, and men and women, children, young people, young ladies who are alive having their bodies transformed (because that is how it is established in Holy Scripture), being transformed and together with the dead who are being resurrected, they begin to be taken up into heaven to be gathered together with the Lord in the clouds.
Not to Remain in Heaven
But not to remain there. It is not that they are raptured to be gathered together and remain in heaven. No.
The Holy Scriptures (and we could look that up if you have time to do so)… Let us go to the book of the prophet Zechariah, chapter 14, verses 1 through 4:
“Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle”.
See verse 4: “And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south”.
It is speaking of the moment when Jesus comes again: we are gathered together in the clouds with the Lord, but the Lord does not remain in the clouds. He descends.
That is what we read in Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1. He descends: “Just as you have seen Him go, so you will see Him come”. He descends with all those who have been raptured—some from among the dead, others transformed in life—they descend, He sets His feet upon the Mount of Olives, and enters Jerusalem.
This text is also speaking to us of a prophetic sign that many do not know: that at the coming of Christ Jesus, Jerusalem will be taken. It will have been in a process of war with many nations, but finally what up to this moment has not been seen will be seen at that moment—that Jerusalem will be taken, and as described in chapter 14 of Zechariah, many people in total persecution.
First Corinthians 15: Each in His Own Order
This is what we must understand. When is the rapture of the Church? At the coming of Christ Jesus. Not before.
I want to go to another text. There are many texts, but I want to go to First Corinthians, chapter 15, and I am going to read particularly verse 23. I will begin in verse 22:
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” —speaking of the resurrection of the dead.
But note verse 23: “But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits” —it is speaking of the resurrection of Christ Jesus; Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection from the dead— “afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming”.
Not before. Not before. At His coming.
The rapture of the Church is at the coming of Christ Jesus.
First Thessalonians 4: The Two Supernatural Events
I go to one more text. First Thessalonians, chapter 4, verses 13 through 17. See what the Spirit of God, through the mouth of the apostle Paul, teaches us:
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope”.
Those who have fallen asleep here in this text is not referring to those who are physically sleeping, it is referring to those who have departed from this earth, because within the doctrine of the gospel, a man of God does not die, a woman of God does not die, because death no longer has jurisdiction over the man and over the woman of God. Only those who have not acknowledged Christ Jesus die. The man of God, the woman of God, departs from this earth but does not die, because death no longer has jurisdiction over him or over her. For this reason it says: “fallen asleep”.
I read verse 14: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord”.
At the coming of Christ Jesus (which is the rapture of the Church) two events will happen in a supernatural way:
First event: The resurrection of the dead. The resurrection of the dead in Christ Jesus. Not all the dead—this is the first resurrection. The resurrection of those who have acknowledged Jesus as their Lord, the resurrection of those who departed confessing that their life had been surrendered to the Lord. Not all the dead. This first resurrection is speaking to us of those who decided to walk with Christ Jesus, of those who surrendered their lives to Christ Jesus.
Second event: When the dead have risen (not with a material body, but with a glorified body)… Why do we call it glorified? Because it is a body that emanates light, the same body that Jesus had when He rose from the dead. The same body: a nature that can no longer die, a nature that although it is tangible (Jesus clearly said: “Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have”), a tangible body, but not subject to death, but not subject to the climatic or atmospheric or gravitational conditions of this earth. No longer subject to this earth.
And next, when that has happened, those of us who remain (says the apostle Paul, and see how he himself is including himself), those of us who remain until the coming of Christ Jesus, we will be transformed. We will see a physical transformation to acquire a body similar to those who rose from among the dead: a glorified body.
Immediately, Matthew chapter 24, verse 31, says: “Then He will send His angels to gather His elect”. We will be assisted by angels who will take us in the heavens to be gathered together with the Lord, but not to remain in the heavens, but to descend on the Mount of Olives together with Jesus.
Because after that is when the wedding of the Lamb is established. The wedding of the Lamb is in Jerusalem, and it is established as the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ Jesus.
Conclusion: Coming Out of Apostasy
With this, with these texts (there are many texts, because the rapture of the Church is a doctrine of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, it is not the invention of a preacher, of a pastor, or of a minister; it is established in Holy Scripture), but the order that we need to understand, coming out of the apostasy in which many have been living, is in the sense that the rapture of the Church is at the coming of Christ Jesus. Not before. There is no pre-tribulation rapture. There is not.
Therefore, this false doctrine is necessary to cast aside. Because if we continue maintaining that idea, we would be likewise confused and entering or permitting apostasy in our lives. And know that the purpose of apostasy is precisely to separate us from Christ, to distance us from Christ, to distance us from faith in Christ Jesus.
The Urgent Call
In closing this annual cycle of teachings with this theme, practically in the same way as we began it, what we want is to denounce: there is much apostasy within the Church. Much apostasy, very much apostasy, more than we can believe.
There are men and women ministers who are walking in apostasy, and they are those who say: “Right now, I don’t want to enter into theological questions. What does it matter when Jesus was born? But what is important is that we proclaim that He was born and that He is the Savior of the world”.
They are those who today try to conciliate, to reconcile with the world. We cannot conciliate with the world. We cannot enter into conformity with the world. We were called to establish a word, and it is a word of truth.
The reason why there are many believing men and women bound by demons is precisely because the truth has not yet been born in them. Have we not read that the Holy Scriptures say: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”?
There are many men, many women who are bound by demonic forces that are manifesting in many forms: in sicknesses, in precariousness, in lack of understanding. Because Holy Scripture clearly says: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that the light of Christ should not shine on them”.
We cannot be free while we are cultivating and conforming ourselves, conciliating with doctrines of the world. We cannot be free. Churches can be filled, temples can be filled, congregations can be filled, but that is not synonymous with the message of the gospel or salvation being proclaimed among them.
For this reason, it is important today that we understand: it is necessary to return to the Holy Scriptures and depart from what the Holy Scriptures say. Not from denominational doctrines, not from theological doctrines, not from postures of men and of women, of philosophical schools, religious. No. Because likewise we will go with them to hell if we do not return to the Holy Scriptures.
The Restoration of All Things
It is necessary (said the apostle Peter in his first message in Jerusalem), it is necessary that we understand that heaven retains Jesus until the times of restoration of all things.
For this reason I said at the beginning: it is not about saying “Come Lord Jesus”, it is not about, while we continue cultivating heretical doctrines. Christ Jesus is not coming, because the Word of the Lord says it: heaven retains Him until the times of restoration of all things.
For this reason, by restoring the Word, by restoring the doctrine of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, then and only then can we say: Come Lord Jesus, come Lord Jesus, because we are ready, we are prepared, Lord, to be with You.
The eternal God, the Almighty, it is my prayer that He give you understanding, give you understanding so that you may see the truth of the gospel and come out of the religious obscurantism in which we have been living until now.
I bless you. May the peace of the Lord be with you. Amen.
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