Grace World Outreach Church

Key Take Away: The most terrifying ordeal for any person, outside of going to Hell, is being cast into The Winepress of the Wrath of God; or as I call it, The Rupture.

By combining the text of Matthew and Luke, we come up with the following outline:

1. A Conceived Depiction of the Tribulation Days – Luke 17:20-24
a. The Pharisees expected the Kingdom of God wrongly – Luke 17:20-21

(1) Luke 17:20 – “observation” means “hostile watching” (Greek = Parateresis is used only here).
(2) They felt threatened by the Coming of the Lord because they would be out of a job.
(3) Luke 17:21 – “within you” means “in the midst of you,” meaning the kingdom of God is right in front of you through Me (Jesus) but you won’t recognize Me.

b. The Disciples expected the Kingdom of God immediately – Luke 17:22-25

(1) He tells them they will not see it in their lifetime (v22) but it will gradually come.
(2) He warns them not to listen to false prophets and messiahs (v23)
(3) He tells them that His Second coming will arrive suddenly (v24)
(4) He tells them that He must first suffer on the Cross of Calvary (v25)

2. A Comparison Describing the Tribulation Days – Matthew 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-30

Notice 4 outstanding things from both texts:

a. The sinfulness of the Genesis sinners – Matthew 24:38; Luke 17:26-27; Genesis 6:5-6

b. The safety of the tribulation saints (Noah) – Matthew 24:38b; Luke 17:27b; Genesis 7:1, 7, 13, 23.

c. The surprise of the tribulation sinners, Matthew 24:39 (Greek= “and they (the sinners) did not know.”) Noah knew the time – Genesis7:4

Question: Why does Jesus then warn the disciples to “watch therefore…” – Matthew 24:42

Question: If Noah represents the tribulation saints and the flood victims the unbelievers, why does Jesus warn the disciples? How do the disciples fit into the picture?

Answer: The disciples form a mysterious third category: church saints who are raptured before the tribulation!

d. The safety and surprise of the church saints – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

The following chart illustrates this mystery (that has led many to believe the church goes through the tribulation.)

3. A Caution for Discernment in the Tribulation Days – Matthew 24:42-44; Luke 17:31-33

We see 3 Key things here:

a. The call for prophetical recognition – Matthew 24:42, 44

b. The construing of a spiritual riddle – Matthew 24:43

Note: Jesus said if the watchman had known what hour, he would have watched. This implies that if the watchman did not know the hour, he would not have watched. Therefore, there are two hypothetical watchmen:


Watchman #1 Knows and watches.
Watchman #2 Does not know, does not watch.


Question: Who does watchman #1 represent?

Answer: The same end-time group that knows when the Lord’s coming and watches out for it: Tribulation Saints

Question: Who does watchman #2 represent?

Answer: The end time group that does not know (or care) or watches for the Lord’s coming: Unbelievers.

Question: Which watchman are you?

If you say #1, surely you are watching for His return but “do not know the day or hour.” You can’t be #1. If you say #2, surely you don’t know the hour, but are you not watching? You can’t be #2.

Solution: The disciples form a third category:

Watchman #1 Knows and watches: Tribulation Saints
Watchman #2 Does not know or watch: Unbelievers
Disciples Do not know, but watch: Church Saints

c. The crisis of volitional resolve – Luke 17:31-33

Luke speaks of the saints of God during the middle of the tribulation when anti-christ declares himself to be god and persecutes saved Jews and gentiles – 2 Thessalonians 2:4

We see several reactions of these saints to a call to run for their lives:

(1) The crisis to rush – Luke 17:31
(2) The crisis to remember (Lot’s wife) – Luke 17:32

- She hesitated
- She loved the world
- She was destroyed
(3) The crisis to reject – Luke 17:33
- The Mark of the Beast – Revelation 13:16-17, 14:9b-10
- If you find yourself going through the tribulation,
do not try to save your life by taking the mark (an
embedded computer chip) but save your soul by
trusting God and be willing to be martyred.

4. A ComingDuring the Tribulation Days – Matthew 24:27-28; Luke 17:34-37

Let’s answer some questions:

a. What happens? – Luke 17:34-36; Matthew 24:40-41

(1) There is a removing
(2) There is a remaining

b. When does this happen? – Matthew 24:29

(1) This happens after the tribulation – Matthew 24:29
(2) In other words, after the Battle of Armageddon and at the Second Coming of Jesus

c. Who is taken and who is left? – Luke 17:34-36

(1) Tribulation unbelievers are taken
(2) Tribulation believers are left to go on and populate the millennium
(3) This is the RUPTURE, not the Rapture

d. Where are they taken? – Luke 17:37; Matthew 24:28

(1) When Jesus returns at His Second Coming, The Rupture happens: His angels gather all of the unbelievers from all over the earth and He (Jesus) kills them with the sword of the Word out of His mouth.” – Revelation 19:15b-18
(2) They are taken to a huge valley outside Jerusalem created by an earthquake – Zechariah 14:4; Revelation 14:19-20a; Joel 3:13-16a
(3) Then the Lord Jesus literally tramples and crushes the bodies and eagles eat the flesh – Isaiah 63:1-4; Revelation 19:15-18
(4) The blood of the crushed flows up to “the horse’s bridles” – Revelation 14:20(AMP)
(5) This is called the “winepress” – Revelation 19:15
(6) The blood flows for one thousand six hundred furlongs or 200 miles – Revelation 14:20 (AMP)
(7) It flows south from Jerusalem down to Bozrah – Isaiah 63:1-6 and finally empties out into the Red Sea! – Jeremiah 14:17-22 (See Chart “The Winepress of the Wrath of God”)
(8) Finally the Tribulation saints are gathered from the four corners of the earth to enter and populate the Millennium – Matthew 24:31



Conclusion:

Therefore, the following depicts the 6 stages of the Second Coming of Christ:

1. Realization – the time we are in now
2. Rapture – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
3. Ruin – 7-year Tribulation – Matthew 24:9-26; Daniel 9:27
4. Return – Matthew 24:30-37; Zechariah 12:10
5. Rupture – Matthew 24:27-28, 40-44; Luke 17:34-37; Revelation 19:17-18
6. Regathering – Matthew 24:31

Personal Reflections:

1. Jesus is coming very soon.
2. Jesus invites us to His “Grace Supper.” Luke 14:15-24 where we can eat, love, forgiveness, grace blessing, etc.
3. If we refuse, we will attend “The Grief Supper.” The winepress of God where you will be eaten up and trampled because of your sin. – Revelation 14:19-20, 19:15-21
4. Surrender to Jesus now before it’s too late!!
5. Jude 1:22-23, “And on some have compassion…. but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire!!!