← Prophecy Watchers
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Here at Prophecy Watchers, we believe that as scripture continues to unfold, the Rapture is right around the corner. Nearly 800 fellow believers from across the nation will gather in Colorado Springs this June to hear from 16 of the most trusted Bible experts and speakers committed to teaching prophecy with clarity, accuracy and conviction. Don't wait. Register today at raptureintherockies.com and be a part of this life changing event.
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B
Hello, I'm Gary Stearman and welcome to Prophecy Watchers. We have a very special guest today, an author and his book and he is from England and His name is Dr. Paul Wilkinson. Welcome to Prophecy Watchers.
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C
Thank you. Thank you, Gary. Great to be here.
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B
Well, we have a fun subject today. Maybe I shouldn't say that, but you can correct me later if you wish. Your book is called the Beautiful Simplicity of the Rapture. Now, I love to talk about the rapture of the church. I've read your book. It's very readable, it pulls you along, it's very conversational, but it's loaded with information and, and I love that. Why did you write this particular book right now when you did?
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C
So, Gary, I'm going back a few years, maybe three years, to a resort town in Wales called Llandudno, not too far from my new church, which is an evangelical gypsy church, a church amongst the gypsy people, the Roma people. And one of their young trainee ministers was encouraging me to write again. And he said, paul, we need something from you to explain to our people as simply as possible why we the church, do not cannot go through the tribulation. So can you write something? And so I began writing a pamphlet with illustrations because my brothers and sisters in the gypsy church, many of them, their school education ends at age 11 and they go out and work with their fathers. And so I was trying to bring this subject down to a level where everybody could understand, make it conversational, as if I was sat with them in their caravans, in their trailers, just with our Bibles open and just going through all the arguments and the wonderful blessings that there are in the truth of the Rapture. So that booklet in Time just got expanded into a book because the Lord impressed upon my heart that every one of my brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world, whatever level of education or level of Bible knowledge needed to just be presented with something that was manageable and that would give them not just knowledge and information, but through the Holy Spirit, a real stirring in their hearts for coming of the Lord Jesus
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watching the world today. The word trouble keeps popping up here There, economics, weaponry, artificial intelligence, satellite trails of even hundreds of satellites that have the sole function of spying on and reporting upon what human beings are doing. And you look at all this and you say, something is up, something got to break one of these days. And we see the tensions in various. And you were in Europe, and there are many tensions there. I'm sure you're watching. And when you look at the Rapture described in the Bible, the word troubled is used. Don't be troubled, says Paul. When you see all these things, I like that.
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C
Yeah. And the Rapture is often positioned in the context of a troubled spirit suffering grief. So I believe the Lord Jesus introduced the truth of the Rapture during the Last Supper there in John 14. Let not your hearts be troubled. He's just told his disciples he's going away, and they can't follow, at least not yet. And they're troubled. And Peter says, lord, why can't we follow you? They've been following him day and night for three years. Why can't we follow you? And the Lord says, do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me, My Father's house and many mansions or many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me where I am now. The Lord Jesus is not talking about his second coming. He's not talking about earthly events and the fulfillment of prophecy and Israel, Jerusalem, the Antichrist, the mark of the beast. He's bringing comfort to his own people. His disciples saying, I'm going to come again and take you. And then Paul, as we know, he's the one that was given the privilege of revealing the mystery of the Rapture. First Thessalonians, chapter four, which you've just read from in the context again of grief that those Thessalonians are grieving because loved ones have suffered and died and they're wondering, have they somehow missed out when the Lord Jesus descends from heaven and the Lord gives the Apostle Paul that word, no, don't be troubled. Don't grieve like the rest of the world grieves. We have a hope and a certain hope that Jesus will descend from heaven and into the air and catch us away. Doesn't talk about descending back to the Mount of Olives, doesn't talk about any events happening on the earth. He's giving comfort to God's people, which is why Paul says in verse 18, at the very end there, encourage one another, comfort one another with these words. Not scare the living daylights out of each other as many in the church are doing with their tribulationism, but comfort, encourage one another. And Paul isn't saying, well, that's my duty. He's saying, thessalonians, get alongside each other and keep talking about this hope you have. Jesus is coming for you.
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B
Of course the dark side would like to dash our hopes and bring disappointment of all kinds. And questioning Scripture, what does this really mean? What does this really mean? But we're supposed to be comforting one another. And your book, by the way, the beautiful simplicity of the Rapture, does that extremely well. It is a comforting book to read and also it clarifies a few points that people are debating these days. And I think you've done a very good job of that.
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C
Well, the second word in that second major word in that title, Gary, is simplicity. And that was inspired by the words of the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians. And he said this amazing words. Paul, a man saved by grace, just as we were saved by grace and our viewers were saved by God's grace. He says, I am jealous for you with godly jealousy or with divine jealousy, for I have betrothed you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin or pure virgin to Christ. So here is the Apostle Paul, who was once trying to knock down, destroy the church, now being commissioned by the Lord to build up the church, saying, I've got the jealousy of Jesus in my heart. My primary responsibility is to prepare you for that day when you are going to be presented to the Lord Jesus. But then he says this, and I believe this is pertinent to what is going on in the church. With all the talk of tribulationism, you're going to go halfway through it. You're going to go 5/7 of the way through it, you're going to go all the way through it, or there's not even a tribulation. We're in it now. Paul says, but I fear lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity and purity that is in Christ. What does Satan want to do? He wants to complicate, he wants to confuse, he wants us fighting against one another. He wants to create division. He wants to cause our brothers and sisters to give up trying to understand the Rapture and he wants to veil the imminency, the imminency of the Rapture. And so what does he do? He raises up men with whether it's through their pride, I don't know. Only the Lord knows. But the minds of our brothers and sisters are being corrupted from a simplicity, not a simplistic faith, but the simplicity of our faith in Jesus. And the Rapture isn't about a doctrine as such. It's about a person. It's the person of the Rapture. That's what the book is all about. That's what Scripture is all about. Like the Lord Jesus reminded the Pharisees all the scriptures point to me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. And sadly, many brothers and sisters are being kept from coming to the Lord Jesus by the complex, ugly complexity of a lot of teaching in the church today.
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Amen. We are talking with Dr. Paul Wilkinson and his book. You know what I want to say about his book is it really is worth reading. And by the way Paul, you're invited to contribute to our monthly magazine. We call it the Prophecy Watcher. If you have an article that is just burning up your desk drawer and you want it published somewhere, the Prophecy Watcher would be a good place to publish it. And here's how you can get your copy.
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At Prophecy Watchers we believe that God has called us to be a voice in these last days to warn you of things to come, to educate you on the study of Bible prophecy and to boldly proclaim the soon return of Jesus. For your gift of just $50 or more, here's what we'd love to send you 12 monthly issues of our Four Color magazine the Prophecy Watcher in your choice of prophet, print or digital. Plus five bonus DVDs packed with eye opening teachings from prophecy experts including the Mystery of the Rapture, the Great Apostasy and the revealing of the Antichrist. Holy Fire in Jerusalem. New shocking discoveries surrounding the Shroud of Turin. The stones cry out the archaeological evidence for Jesus. The Mystery of the Ten Kings. Could these be the wealthy and influential oligarchs who control our world today? As an added bonus, we want to send you a one of a kind prophetic treasure. A book that examines every prophecy in the entire Bible. Exploring Bible prophecy from Genesis to Revelation is the work of two prophecy legends, Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson. It's a book you'll find on the shelf of every every prophecy expert. This 560 page masterpiece is our bonus gift to you. This $120 value can be yours for your gift of $50 with shipping included in the USA. Call us at the number on your screen or visit us online at ProphecyWatchers TV for our international friends. Please note that additional shipping fees do apply and all prices listed are in US dollars. The signs are everywhere. The prophetic puzzle is almost complete, and yet so many are still asleep. That's why the prophecy watchers exist, to shine a light in the darkness and help believers understand the lateness of the hour. We believe Jesus is coming soon, and your support helps us take this urgent message to the ends of the earth.
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And we're back with Dr. Paul Wilkinson. And we have been talking words of comfort. And I think that is so good. What a contrast to today's transworld television. You flip it on, you go through the news channels, and after a while, your blood pressure begins to rise.
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C
That's right.
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And that's anything but comforting. You turn to your wife and you say, do you think that a war could start right over here? And she said, well, it looks like it. And this is sort of where we are today. And the Bible is the cure for that problem.
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C
Amen.
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Amen.
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C
And the Bible, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The key, isn't it, Gary? It's the relationship with our Lord Jesus. You can just read the Bible, study the Bible, read books about the Bible, and miss entirely what the Bible is trying to communicate. So, yeah, like the sons of Issachar in Old Testament times, we're to discern the times, we're to understand as the Lord gives us insight what's going on, what it means, what it's pointing towards. But first and foremost, the word of God is there to draw us into a closer walk with the Lord Jesus. And as a very old Bible teacher 30 years ago in my life said to me, the Bible is a window through which you see Jesus. And that has to be a wonderful sentiment. Yeah, And I have that window closed at times. I can forget to open the curtains and just see Jesus. And we can get caught up in what's happening and even in prophecy itself. When it is the person of prophecy, it's the person of the rapture, it's our Lord Jesus that the Holy Spirit is constantly trying to move our hearts and minds towards.
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Now, we do know that there are horrors in our future. Prophecy talks about it. It's happened in the past. We've had big wars, a series of them. They've cooled down and we think at last mankind has found his sensibilities and he's going to do the right thing. And then another war starts. And the Bible tells us that in the Last days. This is exactly what's going to happen. And I really like the idea of focusing on comfort. That is in a day when you ask yourself, am I going to be in the next war? There's no way to face that except through the word of God.
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C
Absolutely. We are promised by the Lord. We're told that in this life, in this world in which we live, we will have tribulations. And depending on where we live on planet Earth, will determine the extent, the extremity of those tribulations. The Lord Jesus said, you will have tribulation in this world, in this life, because this world is governed by Satan, father of lies, the great deceiver. God is sovereign, it's his earth. But Satan has been allowed for a time to have control over the minds of unbelievers. So we're not battling against flesh and blood. We have principalities and powers constantly fighting against us. We've got our own old fallen flesh to contend with as well on a daily basis. So it is difficult. We are promised that we will enter the kingdom of heaven through many tribulations. Paul says, and the Greek word there is thlipsis, and it means a pressure that comes on the spirit of the believer. And that's what we experience when we go through trials. And I'm sure there's brothers and sisters right now going through a eclipsis, a pressure, maybe through grief, through sickness, through marriage problems, family problems, persecution, it's eclipsis. But when the Lord Jesus spoke about the tribulation or the great tribulation in Matthew 24, he wasn't talking about the day to day experience of the believer. He was talking about a time coming on this earth limited to seven years and in particular the final three and a half years when certain events would characterize that period of time when a thlipsis would come upon the whole earth and upon everyone living upon the earth. And the good news that we have is the Lord Jesus says, you're not promised that period of time that flips us. Because as he went on to say, that will be a time of tribulation like nothing ever seen on earth since it began, the days of creation, up to the present time and a short period of time. The Lord Jesus said, because if it hadn't been cut short in God's sovereign wisdom and God's sovereign plan, the Lord said, nobody would survive. So we are not promised to go through that because we have been delivered from the wrath to come. Yes, we have. Paul commended the Thessalonians in his very first letter. You turned to God from idols and now you are waiting for the son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come. And the word he used there is anomeno in the Greek and it means to stay up watching expectantly knowing that the Lord is coming, not knowing exactly when, but knowing that is coming, but he's coming before the wrath of God falls upon the earth.
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Well, watch is a very important word to us. It happens to be in the title of our magazine and the sign saying the Prophecy Watchers happens to be in front of our building. And this idea of watching involves studying. And in other words, which is what we're doing right now, we're encouraging you by saying, look, if you're the least bit worried, here's what you need to do because there is a remedy. And this book, I want to go back to your title. The Beautiful Simplicity of the Rapture. Maybe the word comfort belongs in there somewhere because it is comforting to think about these things. And I mean, it comforts me. I can tell you after I have watched TV or read a newspaper or a magazine and my stomach is grinding just a little bit and I say to myself, wow, what can we do? Well, here's the Word of God and Paul's book, the Beautiful Simplicity of the Rapture. I love thinking about that subject.
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C
You know, Gary, I'm from England, as you announced at the start. And I don't know if all the viewers will be familiar with a very famous Queen of England, Victoria. And during the Victorian period, which was a large portion of the 1800s, the 19th century, Queen Victoria was on the throne. And that's when Britain had an empire. You know, the sun never set on the British Empire. This tiny island had influence all over the world. It was the great mission sending nation of the earth the time incredible evangelical, premillennial, pre tribulational scholars who are studying at conferences around the uk, studying Bible prophecy, studying God's word. But when Queen Victoria lost her husband Albert, she went into deep grief. And from that moment on, she never went out in public without being dressed in black as a sign of her grief for her husband. But she was greatly comforted by the words of the Lord Jesus in John 14, let not your hearts be troubled. That's where she drew comfort from. And she would go around her estate, the royal estate, and she would visit elderly folk that had once served her, maybe that were coming towards the end of her life or were suffering some kind of illness. She would sit by their bedside and read John 14 to them to give them comfort that the Lord Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place. So it's a beautiful, simple, comforting truth that the Lord has given us through His Spirit by His word.
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Indeed. By the way, if you'd like to get the beautiful simplicity of the Rapture your own copy, here's how you can do that.
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Comfort one another with these words. That's the heartbeat of the beautiful simplicity of the Rapture. By Paul Wilkinson One day, those who trust in Jesus will hear his voice and in an instant be caught up to meet him in the air. It's a promise meant to steady our hearts. What follows is a world plunged into the darkest time in history, the Tribulation, A time of judgment, loss and unimaginable suffering. Understanding it reveals why the Rapture matters and why Israel remains central in God's plan. 80% of America's churches do not believe in the pre Tribulation Rapture. Some believe we'll endure the entire Tribulation and die for the cause. Others have adopted the Partial Rapture theory, assuming that only the most faithful of Christians will experience the Rapture. Then there's the pre wrath Rapture crowd who who believe the church will experience part of the Tribulation, a belief that seems like a mixture of workspace salvation and Christian purgatory. There's no doubt that discussing the timing of the Rapture can be a divisive issue. But does that mean we should allow false teaching to seal away what Jesus calls our blessed hope? His return for his bride should be our greatest moment in a time, a celebration that will last for all eternity. Get your personal copy of Paul's book for your gift of $30 or more with shipping included anywhere in the USA. Visit us online at ProphecyWatchers TV or call the toll free number you see on your screen. For our international friends, please note that additional shipping fees do apply and all prices listed are in US Dollars. We're also offering the Rapture and Inheritance package and it includes Paul's new book plus a second book that ties all of these end times events together, the Inheritance of God. The package is available for your gift of $55 or more and comes with two important bonus DVDs from Mondo Gonzalez and Pastor Andy woods offering further proof of the pre tribulation rapture, a $40 value. Gary Stearman calls Paul's new book one of the finest books and ever written on the Rapture. At its heart, Paul's book draws us back to Jesus, his deep, unwavering love for his bride and his unbreakable promise to come again. It's a message that lifts the soul and anchors the heart in hope. As the world grows darker and more uncertain, don't lose sight of what matters most. Jesus is coming soon, not as a distant idea, but as a living promise, one that could be fulfilled at any moment. Don't be caught off guard. Stay awake, stay ready. And as you stand watch, know this, your support is vital to the work of prophecy watchers. Because of you, we're able to continue proclaiming truth, shining light into the darkness, and pointing people to the blessed hope of his return. Together we watch, together we wait. And together we look for his appearing.
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B
And we are back with Dr. Paul Wilkinson and I have a problem, and that is we don't have enough time to carry out a really long and involved conversation. The clock is always spinning and we're coming down to the end. And I would like for you to tell our audience what mind, after you have written this book, you've presented this very clear message about the simplicity of the rapture. What's on your mind today that you'd like to share with our audience?
- [24:51]
C
Well, Gary, I think for me, the words, the final words of the Apostle Paul when he was in prison in Rome, he's writing to his beloved son in the face, Timothy. He knows that he's not going to be caught up in the rapture as a living saint, that the Lord is going to take him home. And his final words were, I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I've kept the faith. That body of truth that's been entrusted to the church by the Lord Jesus through his apostles, you know, he's kept the faith. And part of that faith that we have as believers is, is our blessed hope, which is the phrase he uses in his letter to Titus. What we're talking about today, what the book is about, is our blessed hope. So the Old Testament doesn't speak of our blessed hope. It doesn't speak about the church. The church was hidden. It was a mystery. The Rapture was hidden. It was a mystery. And so all the prophecies of the Old Testament, they speak about world events, in particular about the epicenter of Israel and what God is going to do with the Jewish people, what he's going to do with the nations. They lay out prophetic timelines. What will happen, when it will happen, who will be involved. But we are not encouraged in the New Testament to look at prophecies being fulfilled. We're not to focus on world events primarily. We're to have an understanding because God has laid it Araney's word. We are to be looking and longing for our Lord Jesus to come. And as we do see events relating to Israel and relating to the nations unfolding, we are to be stirred more and more to share the gospel of our Lord Jesus to as many people as we can, to be as prayerful as we can, to withdraw ourselves from the world in terms of its enticements and entrapments, not to get sluggish spiritually by all the temptations that Satan wants to present to us. And so Paul there in prison, what does he say? I've fought the good fight. I finished the race. I've kept the faith. And there is now in store for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. And we could stop there, Gary, and say, amen, Apostle Paul, you deserved it. Go for it. You know, you've served the Lord so faithfully and all the miracles. But Paul didn't stop there. He said it wasn't just a crown for himself, but for all who have longed or loved his appearing. And if you are looking and watching for the Antichrist, if you are looking and watching for all kinds of prophecies to be fulfilled, you will not be looking and longing for the Lord Jesus. And that's what's happening in the church. There's a distraction coming through the Tribulationists. And this word final word from the Apostle Paul is there for the Holy Spirit to get our focus back on what matters most, and that's being ready for Jesus.
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B
Dr. Paul Wilkinson, it's been wonderful talking with you. And we're talking about comfort, not comfortable conflict. Hey, you keep watching. We are.
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Thank you so much for joining us today here at Prophecy Watchers. We would truly be grateful for your financial support. You can give easily by visiting prophecywatchers.com.