A New Beginning presents a fascinating book about heaven from Pastor Greg Laurie. I began an extensive study of the topic of heaven. What is it like? What will we do there? Will we see our loved ones again?
Short answer yes, if they're Christians. But I've written about this in detail in a book called As It Is in Heaven.
So if you've had questions about heaven, and I think we all do, I think you ought to order a copy of this book, As It Is in Heaven. Get your copy at harvest.org. Jesus' last statement in the Bible is, Behold, I am coming quickly. What does that mean?
Next week, next month? No one knows the day or the hour. Today, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us understand what the Bible is really saying. The word quickly means suddenly, swiftly, in the blink of an eye. In other words, when Jesus comes, it's fast and without warning.
I am coming quickly. Therefore, we should live in a constant state of expectancy. This is the day when the Lost our found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing graves break the sound.
But can you hear when the angels are singing? This is the day, the day when I begin. The more we believe a warning, the more it changes our actions. If the car makes a funny noise, we think, hmm, that's odd.
Now the elevator makes a funny noise and our adrenaline immediately starts flowing.
Well today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie brings us words of insight and warning about what's to come during God's last day's plan. It's information that gets us excited. It's information that some may ignore to their peril. Let's listen and check ourselves.
Well, all around us. are what we would call signs of the times. And they're all saying one thing: Jesus is coming. Even skeptics, even non-believers. Are you asking, haven't I heard about this somewhere before?
Is this what you Christians call Armageddon or the last days? They're wondering. About it because of the things that are happening. It seems like every day you turn around, not even every day, every couple of hours, there's a new news cycle, some dramatic event. And so many of these events are saying, Jesus is coming back again.
So, how should we react to the things happening in the world today? Here's what Jesus says: John 14, verse 1. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions.
If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself. Jesus is referring to the rapture. The teaching of the rapture was given 2,000 years ago by Jesus.
on the Mount of Olives. He answered a question they asked: What will be the sign of your coming?
So he gives a flyover of the end times events here in Matthew 24. Let's read a few of those verses, starting in verse 3. As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ and will deceive many.
And you'll hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There'll be famine, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. Drop down now to verse 8 of Matthew 24.
All these are the beginning of sorrows. Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, whoever reads this, let him understand. We'll stop right there.
So that brings me to point number one. The tribulation period begins with the emergence Of Antichrist. Verse 5: Many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many.
So there is a period of time coming. On the earth, called the Great Tribulation Period. It is my firm belief that Christians will not be in the Great Tribulation period. In fact, I don't even think the great tribulation period can start until the church, I mean Christians, are removed from this earth.
Now, the Antichrist is going to emerge on the scene as a great world leader. A man with peaceful overtures, a man with economic solutions. In fact, no one will be able to buy or sell unless you have taken this convenient little mark. It's going to be a cashless society. He's going to do what no other leader has ever been able to do.
And some will even hail him as the Messiah. The prefix anti doesn't just mean against, it also means instead of. He's a false Christ. He's a false Messiah, masquerading as Messiah. But the tribulation period lasts for seven years, and at the three and a half year mark, midway.
He shows us true colors. Commits the abomination of desolation, and then the judgment of God is poured out upon the planet.
So, in my opinion, the next event is the rapture. Then Antichrist, then this seven-year period. This peace treaty is signed. Culminating in the battle of Armageddon fought in the Valley of Megeddo in Israel. Then Christ returns in the second coming.
And then the millennium begins. The word millennium means 1,000. The 1,000-year reign of Christ on the earth. This is where when you read about the lion and the lamb together and all that, that happens in the millennium. And finally, Heaven comes to earth effectively.
The New Jerusalem. Adorned as a bride for her husband, comes down from heaven to earth.
So the emergence of Antichrist starts a tribulation period, which cannot begin until the church is removed. Therefore, Don't be trying to figure out who the Antichrist is. And every now and then, someone says, I know who the Antichrist is. No, you don't. You don't know.
In fact, the Bible never tells us to be looking for the Antichrist, but it does tell us to be looking for Jesus Christ.
So that should be our focus, right? The tribulation period ends with the return of Christ to the earth. Verse 30, Jesus says, then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Nation will rise against nation, verse 7. Kingdom against kingdom.
There'll be famines, pestilences, earthquakes in various places. It all culminates in the valley of Megeddo for the battle of Armageddon.
Now let's shift gears. And look in Matthew 24, verse 36, where Jesus warns about date setting. Why is this important? Because every now and then someone comes along and says, I know when Jesus is coming back again. This is what Jesus says.
Look at verse 36. But of the day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and took them all away.
So will the coming of the Son of Man be. Watch therefore, for you don't know what hour the Lord is coming. know this if the master of the house Had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect. No, Christ is talking here about the rapture, not the second coming.
Listen to this. I know when the second coming is. No one knows when the rapture is. You say, Greg, what do you mean? You know when the second coming is?
It's at the end of the tribulation period.
So in the rapture, he comes for his church in the second coming. He returns with this church. In the rapture, he's delivering us before judgment. In the second coming, he's returning with judgment. When is the second coming?
At the end of the tribulation period.
So, once it begins, it'll be seven years. No one knows the exact date, I don't think, but you have a general sense of when it will be rapture. We don't know when that's going to happen. That's what Jesus is talking about right here.
So, if someone comes along and says, I know the exact date of Christ's return, you can be sure of one thing. They're wrong. It's as simple as that.
So what is this thing called the rapture? Our English word rapture comes from the Latin translation of the Greek word. Harpazzo. That word is used 14 times in the New Testament.
So, it is a biblical event that's spoken of a number of times. The best-known verse about the rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:17, that says, The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. The dead in Christ will rise first, and we which are alive and remaining shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. He said, I still don't understand.
The rapture. Is a future event when Christ Himself will descend from heaven, as He promised. And in the blink of an eye, or as the Bible says, the twinkling of an eye, everything will change. Those who are in the grave will rise again.
Okay, this is the bodily resurrection. What happens to a Christian when they die? Their soul goes into heaven, but there's going to be a bodily resurrection. Greg, are you actually saying bodies will come out of the grave? That's exactly what I'm saying.
Because that's what the Bible says. As Job said, in my flesh I will see God.
So, your loved ones who are lying in graves right now, one day God will resurrect their body. When will that happen? At the rapture.
So the dead in Christ rise first, and we which are alive and remaining shall be caught up together with them. With who? With loved ones who have preceded us.
So imagine this for a moment. You're just going about your business. Ordering in and out burger animal style. An extra crispy fries. And all of a sudden, you're in heaven.
You're saying, What happened to my burger? I don't know. I don't care. Maybe you take it with you. Maybe there's something better than In-N-Out Burgers in heaven, I'm sure.
But whatever it is, all of a sudden everything changes. Your reality changes. Maybe the loved one you were thinking about. who has died in faith.
Well, suddenly you'll be looking at them talking to them again. This is a great hope.
Now, could this happen in our generation? Yes.
Well I don't know. But I hope so. And I think we need to be ready for it because I do believe with the Events that are happening before our very eyes right now could happen at any time. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everyone, I want you to know about our app called Harvest Plus.
Think of it as a harvest version of Netflix. We have all of our resources in one place. We have our movies like Steve McQueen The Salvation of an American Icon, Johnny Cash of Redemption of an American Icon, A Rush of Hope, and much more. Then we have our television program, daily devotions, and much more.
So go and download the Harvest Plus app.
Well, Pastor Greg answers a common question as he continues his message now called Jesus and the Last Days. Why is there a rapture? The context of Paul's teaching on the rapture was a response to the believers in Thessalonica who had loved ones die. They were wondering if they would miss the rapture and if they would ever see them again.
So in 1 Thessalonians 4.13, Paul says, brothers, I don't want you to be uninformed about those who have died, so you grieve as those who have no hope. See, when we lose A loved one. We grieve. Christians grieve. Christians mourn.
Sometimes people say, well, if they were a Christian, you shouldn't mourn, you shouldn't cry, they're in heaven. True, they're in heaven, but not only should I mourn. But I think it's really important to mourn. When I talk to people who've lost a loved one, I encourage them to weep. I encourage them to cry.
The Bible says there's a time to laugh and there's a time to cry. The depth of your sorrow is an indication of the depth of your love. Even when Stephen died, the first martyr of the church, we read godly men mourned over him. But didn't Stephen go to heaven? Oh, yes, he did.
He even was given a glimpse of heaven before he died. But still, they mourned because they were sorry. But here's the difference between the grief of a Christian and the grief of a non-Christian: we grieve hopefully, they grieve hopelessly. And here's why we grieve hopefully. because we know we will see our loved ones again.
That's a big deal. They're not just a part of our past, they're also a part of our future.
So when we have a loved one who has passed on before us, we don't say, Goodbye. We say I'll see you later. I'll see you later. Because you will. That's the hope of the rapture.
So it could be even sooner. than we think, but that's up to God. Jesus' last statement in the Bible is, behold, I am coming quickly. in Revelation 22. The word behold means pay attention.
So he's saying, hey, listen to what I'm saying right now. I am coming quickly. And we read that and I say, well, quickly. Why'd you say this 2,000 years ago? I guess your definition of quickly is different than mine.
Sort of like when my wife and I are leaving the house. I'll say, are you ready? She says, I'm ready. That has a different meaning to her than it does to me. Ready to me means we're getting in the car and we're leaving.
Ready to her means I'm going to go upstairs, I'm going to change my outfit possibly. I'm gonna straighten up a little bit before I make it to the car. I mean, there are times when I'm sitting in the car. Are you coming? I'm coming and I'm waiting.
It seems like an hour, it's probably three minutes. I've actually gone in the house, what is it you do? And those final moments, but what she does, she straightens, straightens, straightens, straightens everything.
Okay. That's why I have a neat house.
Okay, that's great.
So what did Jesus mean when he said I'm coming quickly. The word quickly. means suddenly, not necessarily soon. The word from the Greek means suddenly, swiftly, in the blink of an eye. In other words, when Jesus comes, it's fast and without warning.
Another way of putting it is you could just say the coming of Christ is imminent. It could happen at any moment. Therefore, We should live in a constant state of expectancy.
Okay, so. A good litmus test. of where you are at spiritually. is how you react to this. If you hear this and say, I love it, I hope he comes today, I would say you're probably walking with God.
However, if your reaction is the very opposite of that and you would have a sense of apprehension or dread, that is not a good thing. I love John's response. Jesus says, Behold him coming quickly. John says, Even so. Come, Lord Jesus.
That's great. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Let's say that together. Come, Lord Jesus.
That's how we should feel. Lord, I'm ready for you to come. Is that how you are feeling and living right now? Remember when we were kids and we would play hide and seek? I hope you don't still play that in your 50s, but maybe you do.
But you know, you count to 20 or whatever, and then you say, ready or not, here I come. One day Jesus is going to effectively say the same thing, ready or not? Here I come. I used to play it with my grandkids when they were very little. And they would hide, but I always could find them.
Because They would hide behind the curtains and I could see their feet. Here I come, and there they are, laughing out loud, so very easy to find. They love that. Let's do it again, Papa.
Okay, let's do it again. I'd count to 20. Come back, they're hiding in the same place. That's us trying to hide from God. Nothing is hidden from God.
Everything is known to him.
So we need to be ready.
So, my question to you is: if Jesus came back today, Would you be ready? If not, Why not? That needs to be resolved. Coming back to the Lord's statement in John 14. He said, in my father's house are many mansions.
If it were not so, I would have told you. If I go, I will come again. and receive you to myself. I've prepared a place for you. And then he says, where I go, you know, and the way you know.
Thomas says, we don't know where you're going. And we don't know the way. And Jesus said, you know the verse. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes of the Father but by me.
How can I get right with God? How can I know with certainty that when Christ comes, I will be ready to meet him? By putting my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. Who died on the cross for my sin. And rose again from the dead.
And if I will turn from my sin and put my faith in him, I'm forgiven. This is not about. Living a good life or doing X amount of good works. It's about having a relationship with a good God who paid the price for our sins.
So, if you've not done that yet, I would like to give you an opportunity to do so, to pray a prayer and say, Lord, come into my life so you can know you'll be ready for the Lord's return. If you need to do it, do it right now. Let's all pray. Father, I pray for every person here, every person watching, wherever they are. If they don't know you yet, let this be the moment they believe.
When our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed. Maybe God has spoken to you. Maybe you see your need for Jesus Christ. Maybe you're not sure if you're ready for the Lord's return. Listen, if you would like Christ to come into your life, If you would like him to forgive you of your sin, If you would like to know with certainty that you'll go to heaven when you die, If you would like to be ready for the Lord's return wherever you are, I want you to pray this prayer after me, and I want you to pray it out loud right where you are.
wherever you are. Pray this, Lord Jesus. I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you are the Savior. who died on the cross for my sin.
I turn from my sin now. And I choose to follow you. From this moment forward. I want to be ready for your return. Thank you for hearing this prayer.
In answering this prayer, In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Yeah. Pastor Greg Laurie, leading the most important prayer of all. Today, on a new beginning, he's praying with those who are making a change in their relationship with God today.
And if you've just prayed that prayer, and you've meant those words sincerely, We want to be the first to welcome you into the family of God. And then we want to help you get started. Let us send you Pastor Gregg's New Believer's Bible. It's a special edition of God's Word that's tailor-made for those who have just become believers.
So many study helps for new Christians. We'll send it free of charge upon request. Just ask for the New Believer's Bible. You can call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300.
or write a new beginning box four thousand riverside california nine two five one four or go online to harvest dot org and click know god And then let us take a moment to thank you for praying for this ministry. And for supporting it through your generous donation. It's an investment in kingdom business. Isn't that right, Pastor Greg? Yeah, it's really true, Dave.
And I believe it's so important because, you know, the gospel saves lives, it saves eternal lives. Because when a person believes in Jesus, according to Scripture, they pass from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to the power of God. And then, of course, that changes the course of their future. That impacts their children and their children's children. The gospel changes everything.
and thousands and thousands of people respond every single year. Thanks to the Lord. Also, thanks to you for your investment in this ministry, enabling us to reach people. wherever they are.
So if this is something you care about, I encourage you to make a financial investment. And a new beginning in harvest ministries. Yeah, that's right. And we really do appreciate your support. Thanks for partnering with us today.
It can make a real difference, not just for today or this week, but for eternity.
So get in touch with your support today by calling 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24-7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300. or write a new beginning box 4000 Riverside, California 92514 or go online to harvest.org.
Well, next time, Pastor Greg takes us to Matthew 26 for a message called Jesus and the Pretender. You think you know who it is? Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Lord. Take a day, the day when life begins.
