Page 74 - Pneumatology - A Study of the Holy Spirit

The Future Work of the Holy Spirit

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Have you heard of eschatology? It is the study of future events as prophesied in the Bible. Almost 27
percent of the Bible constitutes prophecy of future events. 100% of the time, many have been fulfilled. But
still, of the 1,817 and of the 8,352 verses that contain prophecy, hundreds are yet to be fulfilled in the future.

Major future happenings include the Rapture of the Church as described in I Thessalonians, the Great
Tribulation found in 2 Thessalonians and the Book of Revelation, and the Millennial Kingdom described by
the prophets and the Book of Revelation. So, we must ask ourselves, what will the Holy Spirit be doing
during these great future events? A verse in 2 Thessalonians says something about the Holy Spirit being
taken away or removed during the Tribulation. Does that mean He won’t be on earth during that time?

These and many other questions will be handled in this lesson on the eschatology of the Holy Spirit.

The Lesson ...

Holy Spirit and the Rapture

The rapture of the church is the culmination of Jesus’ promise to build His
church (Matt. 16:18). The church will consist of saved Jews and Gentiles who
have been baptized by the Holy Spirit by faith. The glorified Christ will appear
in the sky in clouds and will bring the dead and living church saints into the
presence of His glory. These truths are collectively declared in I Thess. 4:13-
18, I Cor. 15:51-53, John 14:1-3, Phil. 3:20, Titus 2:13, and in I John 3:1-3. Up
to this time in history, one of the Holy Spirit’s works has been to restrain sin in
the world. His restraint of sin will then be removed.

The Bible declares that the Holy Spirit was involved in the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Heb. 9:14, Rom. 1: 4,
8:11). In like manner, the Holy Spirit’s work during the rapture will be to make alive those who have fallen
asleep (died) and to raise those who are alive. Paul’s letter to the Romans says, “if the Spirit of Him who
raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your
mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom 8:11).

The rapture, then, is to be seen as not just a day when Jesus returns to take His bride to Heaven. The rapture
must also be seen in the culminating work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church members by raising them
up to life (cf. 1 Thess. 4:16; cf. Jn. 6:40, 63; 2 Cor. 3:6)

Holy Spirit and the Tribulation Period

The next major event on the eschatological calendar is the rapture
of the church. We are all looking for the coming of Christ to
permanently redeem his Bride, the Church. Following the rapture,
the world will enter seven years of history called the Tribulation

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