Ponderosa Bible Church Sermon Based Small . - Pbcpayson

Ponderosa Bible ChurchSermon Based Small GroupTuesday, February 23, 2021The Rapture:Will theChurch GoThrough theTribulation?Passage: Malachi 4-A Facilitator Guide-For the Facilitator: As a small group facilitator, if you have not heard Pastor Joe’steaching, then please go online to our YouTube channel and watch the video titled “TheRapture: Will the Church Go Through the Tribulation?” in order to have a full discussionfor this small group.“Digging Deeper” Fellowship time:Fellowship time suggestion: Hello everyone! We are entering oursecond week in our Small Group module! I have heard a lot of goodfrom all of you on how your small groups are going and that is exciting! (:Last week your fellowship went long as expected. This week I wantyou all to reign it in and really get to talking about the previous Sunday’smessage. With all of that said, this portion of the small group isdesigned to help develop fellowship and to have a good time getting toknow your small group members. Some weeks these “digging deeperquestions will be more serious and other times they will just be fun! Thisweek we will have fun. So, I want you to ask your small group: “Whatwas the worst haircut you ever had?” Have fun with this question, laughabout it, and try to keep it at half an hour! Have a good time guys!1

Sermon Based Study Questions:For the Facilitator: A few things to remember while leading this study: (1) Youare not TEACHING, you are facilitating! There will be small group leaders whohave led a small group that will teach, but that is not the primary purpose of thisleader guide, the primary purpose is to help you facilitate. Your job as a smallgroup leader is to facilitate a discussion, not teach a lesson. The pastor hasalready taught the lesson, now you are trying to start a discussion on what wastaught. You are putting a magnifying glass to the teaching and teasing out thedetails. (2) As a small group leader you want to bring out personal application ofthe Sunday message (which means you should have listened to it). Ask questionsduring the discussion, “How does this apply to you? What did you learn? Howdoes this change your views on Christianity?” Etc. Personal application is thegoal of the Sermon based small group. (3) It is not the goal of this outline to getthrough the whole guide, the goal is to foster conversation. While progressingthrough this guide is a desired outcome, don’t consider getting to the end as“success.” Success as defined by the “sermon based small group” is defined asequal parts fellowship and a deepening study of the Sunday Sermon. (4) Not everysub-point under a question needs to be asked, these are suggestions for you toconsider while you are talking about the question from the study guide. If youasked the study guide question and had a good discussion about it then you maynot even need to discuss the sub-points. These points exist to help you encourage adiscussion.2

This week’s scripture:Malachi 4, “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when allthe arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set themablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing inits wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall treaddown the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the daywhen I act, says the LORD of hosts.“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commandedhim at Horeb for all Israel.“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day ofthe LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and thehearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree ofutter destruction.”3

(1) Why do we say that the Tribulation Period isfor the Jews?**Ask ONE of the following UNLESS you think that asking both will makefor a better discussion**A. Up until listening to this teaching, had you ever thought of the greatTribulation as being for a particular group of people?-orB. How is the Tribulation for the Jews? What does that mean? For the Facilitator: In answer to this question you need to understand that thegreat Tribulation is mentioned in many of the Old Testament Prophet’s messages andgiven further clarity in the New Testament. One scripture that Pastor Joe often quoteshas to do with Daniel’s 70th week. This particular prophecy can be found in Daniel9:24-27. The prophecy reads as follows:“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finishthe transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring ineverlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint amost holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going out ofthe word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, aprince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall bebuilt again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after thesixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing.And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and thesanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war.Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with manyfor one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice andoffering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makesdesolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”4

The particular language that Daniel uses in verse 24 is that “70 weeks aredecreed.” This means that God had decided at the time Gabriel was giving theprophecy to Daniel, that 70 weeks are determined. What were they determined for?Gabriel answers the question in verse 24, “to finish the transgression, to put an end tosin, and to atone for iniquity.” Who were the weeks determined for? Gabriel also answersthis in verse 24: “about your people.” Daniel’s people were the Jews.Now, there is a lot of eschatology involved in this prophecy and there are also a lotof Messianic implications. In this prophecy the birth and death of Jesus is predicted, butin verse 27 the rise of the antichrist and the seven year Tribulation is also prophesied.Here it is if you have never heard it before: “And he shall make a strong covenant withmany for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering.And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreedend is poured out on the desolator.” Anyone who has ever watched a “rapture movie” orstudied end time prophecy knows that the Tribulation kicks of with the anti-christ makingpeace with the Jews and halfway through it breaks his covenant. This idea comes from the“70 weeks prophecy.”Most end time scholars call the Great Tribulation “Daniel’s 70th week.” So whatdoes this have to do with it being for the Jews. Because, as we have noted, this prophecyabout the Great Tribulation was declared about Daniel’s people and part of a 70 weekdeclaration that God made regarding the Jewish nation. The Great Tribulation was neverintended for the whole world, but as a means to bring the Jews to repentance and tofinish prophecy that was declared.Now, there is a lot here I didn’t answer, and I just broke down in a little over a pagea whole bunch of Eschatological ideas, so, if I missed something, I do apologize, I wasjust trying to answer the question. Something to take note of that I did forget to mention isDaniel’s “week” is a week of years. That means that one seven year period was a Jewish5

week. So, when Gabriel declares “70 weeks have been determined,” he is is talking abouta 490 year period of time, with the last seven year period to be finished at a later date.(2) Explain some differences between the Raptureand the Second Coming?**Ask ONE of the following UNLESS you think that asking both willmake for a better discussion**A. Did you think that there was a difference between the second coming andthe rapture?-orB. Why are the differences between the rapture and the second comingsignificant? For the Facilitator: Many believers in Christ are confused about the secondcoming and the rapture. This, by-in-large, has to do with the variety ofEschatological ideas that are being espoused and the fact that many believers areignorant in regards to eschatology.One of the things that confuses believers would be the idea of a “postTribulation Rapture.” This particular point of view says that Christ will not returnuntil after the events of Daniel’s 70th week. Of course, this means that there wouldbe no rapture, only the second coming. Thus, the second coming of Christ isreferred to as the Rapture, when in fact it is not.The differences between the second coming and the rapture are as follows:6

In the rapture Christ meets his Church in the air, in the second comingChrist returns with his Church In the rapture the Church goes to heaven with Christ for the “Marriagesupper of the Lamb,” in the second coming the Church rules and reigns withChrist on the Earth In the rapture the Church is rescued from the great tribulation, in thesecond coming the Church comes with Christ to execute judgment (Jude 14) In the rapture Christ meets his Church in the air, in the second comingChrist touches his foot down on the Mount of Olives In the rapture Christ catches away the righteous, in the second comingChrist judges the wicked In the rapture the Church is taken away and the Jews experience thepromised 70th week, in the second coming Christ sets up his Kingdom inJerusalemAs you can see, there is a host of differences between the rapture and thesecond coming.(3) What is the Day of the Lord?**Ask ONE of the following UNLESS you think that asking both willmake for a better discussion**A. Do you look forward to seeing the Day of the Lord?-orB. Is the Day of the Lord and the second coming of Christ the same thing?7

For the Facilitator: The second coming of Christ and the Day of the Lord arethe same thing. The day of the Lord is not restrictive to a day of Judgement, butjudgment is part of that day. The day of the Lord can be called a “Day of settingthings right.” God, through Malachi even gives a description of how this willlook for both the righteous and the wicked when he says:“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all thearrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shallset them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave themneither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun ofrighteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go outleaping like calves from the stall.”Here the prophet clearly illustrates the two-fold nature of the Day of the Lord.However, this day is much more than that. In the day of the Lord the Earth will berestored (Romans 8:19-21), Eden will return, the predatory nature of animals willbe erased, the effects of sin will be undone. This day is not just judgment day, it isrestoration day. We will be with our savior forever, as God intended and there willbe no need to fear any longer.(4) What is missing in the passages of the Bookof Revelation dealing with the Tribulation Period?**Ask ONE of the following UNLESS you think that asking both willmake for a better discussion**A. Did you know that other portions of the scripture also dealt with the GreatTribulation?-or-8