(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) Now, the part of this chapter that I wanted to focus on right now is the title of the sermon, and that is the beginning of verse 3, where the Bible reads, Let no man deceive you by any means. The title of the sermon says, Let no man deceive you. Now, many people are deceived. The Bible says in the book of 2 John, For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. But there are all kinds of deceivers, there are all kinds of antichrists, and there are all kinds of lies in this world. Preachers preaching a lie. The Bible talks about all throughout Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. He said prophets, preachers, who preach things out of their own heart. It's not what the Lord has spoken. It's not out of God's word. It's things that they've made up. Cunningly devised fables. Famed words. Their mouth is sometimes as smooth as butter, but it's a lie. It's false doctrine. People are trying to deceive you. Now, this is a church in Thessalonica that people were trying to deceive them. Now, look at chapter 5. I'm sorry, chapter 5, good night, chapter 3. I was thinking of verse 6. Chapter 3, and look at verse number 17. It says, The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle, so I write, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. You see, Paul was not the one who physically penned down these epistles. The only one that he physically penned down is the book of Galatians. He says, you see a large letter I've written with mine own hand. The rest of them, for example, Romans was penned down by Tertius. It says in Romans 16, I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. Notice the first words of 2 Thessalonians 1, 1. Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians, in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He had other people that were doing the actual writing for him. But he's explaining here that if a letter comes from him, it's going to have the salutation written in his own handwriting. It's the token of every epistle. He says, so I write, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. And that's why every one of Paul's epistles ends in something like that. Either the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. It's always like a little bit different. Because look at 2 Thessalonians 2 where we are. People had written a phony letter to the Thessalonians, pretending to be the Apostle Paul. That's why it says in verse 2, that you be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled, neither by spirit nor by word. And watch this, nor by letter as from us. A letter that seemed to be from Paul, but it wasn't really from Paul. And it was preaching a lie. What was the lie that was being taught? What was the false doctrine that he's warning about? He says in verse 1 of chapter 2, now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him. What's that gathering together unto him known as? We would call it the rapture, the first resurrection. He says that you be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled, neither by spirit nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means. So what's the lie referred to in this chapter? That the day of Christ is at hand. People were lying and saying that the day of Christ is at hand. He says let no man deceive you by any means. For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed in stomach perdition. He says don't let somebody lie to you and tell you that the day of Christ is at hand. That day shall not come, except there come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed in stomach perdition. Now if we're going to understand this passage of scripture we're going to have to know what is the day of Christ? Now what should we do? I know, we'll go grab a theological book. No. Oh I know, we'll go grab the Bible fiction. No. Oh I know, let's get on the internet. Oh I know, let's go grab the commentary. No. The Bible says we don't speak in the words which man's wisdom speaketh, but which the Holy Ghost speaketh, comparing spiritual with spiritual. But the natural man deceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. There are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritually judgeth all things, yet himself is judgeth with no man. We must compare Bible with Bible. Now the day of Christ is mentioned several times in the Bible. Let's look through and see these mentions and see if we can understand what the day of Christ is. I believe it's mentioned 7 times, and so let me pull out my notes here. I believe it's mentioned 7 times. Let's go through and understand these 7 times. Look at 1 Corinthians 1.8. 1 Corinthians 1.8. We're going to go through these in order. Exclude, well yeah we're going to go through these in order. Start with 1 Corinthians 1.8. Look at 1 Corinthians 1.8. Who shall also confirm you unto the end that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ? Because we're talking about the day of Christ, right? He says, Who shall confirm you unto the end that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ? Look at 1 Corinthians 5.5. 1 Corinthians 5.5. To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Now look at 2 Corinthians 1.14. 2 Corinthians 1.14. It says in 2 Corinthians 1.14, As also ye have acknowledged thus in part, that we are your rejoicing even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. Okay? Let's look at the 4th mention. Look at Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1 verse 6. Philippians 1.6. Philippians 1.6. Being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Now what is this good work that God began in us? Well when we got saved, the Holy Spirit involved us. The Bible says that we have received the earnest of our salvation. His Spirit. What's an earnest? An earnest is a down payment. Have you ever heard of earnest money? Like when you're buying a house, you put down money, like a down payment just to hold the house, let them know that you want to make an offer. You put down some money, the down payment if you will, is the Holy Spirit. Now when you got saved, your Spirit was resurrected. Your Spirit was quickened. But your whole body was not saved. Because I mean God did not change anything about your flesh. Your flesh is still sinful. Your body still has ailments. You may have illness or a handicap in your body. Okay? But the moment that you got saved, your Spirit was quickened. Your Spirit was born again. Your Spirit became a child of God. But your flesh is still the same sinful flesh as it was before. Now, throughout our lives we go through a process of sanctification. Daily, we die daily. Right? God said grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We're constantly growing. We're constantly in a process. The Bible says we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are at home according to his purpose, for whom he did foreknow. Them did he also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. And so we go through this process of the events of life, through going to church, through reading the Bible, through praying, we're constantly being sanctified. We're growing. We're becoming more and more like Christ is what we ought to be doing. We start out as a newborn babe in Christ. We mature. We grow. And we begin to resemble more and more Jesus Christ in our life. When will that process be complete? It will be complete on the day of Christ according to this verse. It says, He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. For it is God which worketh in you, the Bible says, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. God is working in your life. God is working through your circumstances. He's working through your job. He's working through Faithful Word Baptist Church. He's working through your daily Bible reading to conform you, to mold you, to make you grow into the person that he wants you to be, to do his will with your life. He's going to continue to sanctify you and work on you until the day of Jesus Christ. Because he said in 1 Corinthians 1, 8, the first mention we read, it said that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, today we are sinful. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And so we live a life trying to do what's right, and yet many times we do that we would not, as Paul said, because we're carnal, because we have the flesh. But wait a minute, on the day of the Lord Jesus will be the day when we're blameless. That will be the day when God's work of salvation is complete. For now is our salvation nearer than when we believe, is what the Bible says. Now look, we're already saved with a D, past tense. We've been saved, but the Spirit has been saved, the body has not been saved. The Bible says we have earnestly grown, waiting for the adoption, he said, the redemption of our body. See, our spirit has been redeemed, our soul has been redeemed, but our body will not be redeemed until the day of Christ. We will not be totally blameless until the day of Christ. We will not be totally conformed to the image of Jesus Christ until the day of Christ. It is our destiny to be conformed to his image. When is that going to be? Think about 1 John 3. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God. But it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when we see him, we shall be like him, for we shall, I'm sorry, but we know that when he shall appear, when he shall appear, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. You see, turn to Romans 8 quickly if you would. Romans chapter 8. Keep your finger in Philippians 1 because we're coming back to it. We're still going through all dimensions of the day of Christ. Look at Romans chapter 8. I want to show you this scripture here in Romans chapter 8. Look at verse number 19. It says in verse number 19. Well first look at verse 16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Right? So our spirit has been born again. Our spirit is saved. It says in verse number 19, it says, For the earnest expectation of the creature waited for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who had subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit. Remember, that's that earnest, that down payment. The firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body. So wait a minute. We've already been adopted, right? We're already God's sons. So why are we waiting for the adoption? Because he says, wait a minute, your Spirit is adopted. Your Spirit is a child of God. Your Spirit is born again. The flesh is not. The flesh will one day be regenerated, reborn, resurrected. That's on the day of Christ. Look if you would, for example, well you don't have to turn there. Why don't you turn there just to see it. Second Corinthians, second number six. I want you to see all this just to really let it sink in, what I'm trying to explain here. Look at second Corinthians 617, for example. The Bible reads, Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord. And touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord. So really, am I God's son today? Am I a son of God? Yes I am, but you know what? My flesh is not. That's why the flesh has to die. My Spirit is saved, my soul is saved, my flesh is not changed. It's not redeemed. It's not regenerated. It hasn't been adopted yet. One day it will be, and that day will be on the day of Christ. When we see Christ, when we receive the adoption of sons, to wit the redemption of our body. Now go back to Philippians 1. I'll read it for you again. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. So whatever the day of Christ is, it is the day when the work of sanctification in us will be complete. God's working in us will be complete on the day of Christ. Look at Philippians 1.10. Here's the fifth mention of the day of Christ. That you may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. Now we know when we see him, the work will be complete. We'll be blameless, we'll be spotless before Jesus Christ. When we see him, we shall be like him, and we shall see him as he is. But he wants us to approve things that are excellent so that we can be sincere and without offense until then. Because right now, we may have a lot of offenses. We may be insincere in our lives. Look at Philippians 2.16. Philippians 2.16, holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. So at the day of Christ is when Paul would know for sure whether he had labored in vain when it came to the Philippians. He's saying that he wants the Philippians to be holding forth the word of life. He's telling them how to act here. Let me turn there. My Bible isn't in that spot. Let me read for you the context here. Philippians 2.15, that he may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom ye shine as the lights in the world, holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. Again, compare spiritual things with spiritual. When did Paul talk about running in vain? When he was questioning their salvation in Galatia. They'd been taught by these people that had come in trying to teach that you must be circumcised in order to be saved. They were adding works to faith in order to get people saved, and they were lying, false teaching. He said, O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth? He said, I'm afraid of you. He said, I'm afraid that I've run in vain, that I've labored in vain. I mean, I preached to you the Gospel. Are you even saved? He said. You see, Paul would know one day whether he'd run in vain or labored in vain when he saw the church at Philippi at the first resurrection, in heaven, when he looks at them and says, OK, here you are. You're saved. See, I don't know if everyone that I've ever won in the Lord is saved. I mean, I've given the Gospel to people. They've said they believe. They prayed and asked Jesus Christ to save them and confessed with their mouth the Lord Jesus. They said that they believe it's eternal life. But do I really know for sure that everybody that I give the Gospel to is really saved? No. Some people lie. Some people pretend. Look at Judas and Harry, for example. And so he said, I'll know whether I've labored in vain on that day of Christ. That's when I'll be done being sanctified. So look at 2 Thessalonians 2. This is the last mention. 2 Thessalonians 2, he said, Hey, let no man deceive you by any means that the day of Christ is at hand. Now, there's another day mentioned throughout the Bible, the day of the Lord. Many times, scores of times the day of the Lord is mentioned. That's the day when Jesus Christ is going to appear in the clouds. That's the day when the sun and moon are darkened and they look up and see the sign of the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with great power and glory. So, the day of Christ, what is it? It's the rapture. What is it? It's the last day to be sanctified. It's the last day of God working in you when you see Jesus Christ face to face and you are like Him and you shall see Him as He is and your body is redeemed, your spirit is redeemed, your soul is redeemed. You can stand before Him completely saved, a child of God. So don't let anyone deceive you that that day is at hand. What does it mean to be at hand? It means you can reach out and touch it. It means it's right there. It's something you can physically be at hand. The Bible says in James, you know, to basically be careful what you say because the Lord is at hand. I mean, He's there. He knows. What does it mean if something is at hand? It means it's where you can reach out and like somebody's hand. It's right there. Well, chronologically, if the day of Christ were at hand, that means that it could happen at any moment is what it's saying. I mean, if it's at hand, you know, the day of Christ is at hand. You know, you see people holding signs, you know. The day of Christ is at hand. It could be today. It could be it. You see the TV preacher stand up and say, Jesus Christ could come tonight. But it's a lie. And don't let anyone deceive you by any means. You say, well, wait a minute. My preacher is an independent fundamental Baptist, said that Jesus Christ could come anytime. Hey, let no man deceive you by any means. I don't care if he's a Baptist. I don't care if he's an independent Baptist. I don't care if he's an independent fundamental Baptist. I don't care if he's an independent fundamental, soul winning, King James Bible only Baptist. Hey, let no man deceive you that that day is at hand. It's not. You see, there is no verse in the entire Bible that says that Jesus Christ can come at any time. In fact, he says, don't be deceived that the day of the Lord is at hand. He said, that day shall not come. And let's get to context. Look at verse one. Now we beseech you, brother, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him. See, he's not leaving us doubting or wondering what are you talking about. No. He's saying that gathering together of his children unto him is what he's talking about. He's calling it the day of Christ. He's saying don't let anyone deceive you that that day is at hand. He says, for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first. What's that falling away? That's talking about people departing from the faith. The Bible says that the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter days time shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of the devils. People will turn away from the true Gospel. They'll turn away from salvation by faith. He says, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Now notice the capital Z. Is that talking about the God of the Bible, though? No. The reason it's a capital Z is because he's not claiming to be a God. He's claiming to be who? God. I mean, he's claiming to be capital G God, the only God. He's saying he's above anything that is called God. He's going to put himself above all the religions of this world. He's going to put himself above Jesus, above God. He's going to put himself above, you know, Buddha, Allah, Mohammed. He will oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped. That means that he will demand everyone in the world to worship him. He will demand, now, this has happened before. Look at, think, but you don't have to turn there. Think about Daniel chapter 3. King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden image and he demanded that every single person in this kingdom worship that image to the abate. Think about King Darius in chapter 6 of Daniel, where he stated, and the book of Daniel is a prophetic book. It talks a lot about the Antichrist. In chapters 11 and 12, he goes into great detail. It talks about the second coming of Christ. It talks about the resurrection of the dead. And in this book of Daniel, there are all these foreshadowings throughout the first chapters, all the stories that you learn in Sunday School. King Darius made a proclamation throughout his whole kingdom that no one could pray to any other god. They had to pray to him only in Daniel chapter 6. And Daniel opened his windows, as before, and got on his knees three times a day and prayed to God. And he was arrested, he was thrown in the lion's den. You know the story. God sealed the mouth of the lion. The lions did not eat him. King Darius couldn't sleep all night. He was worried about Daniel. He woke up in the morning. He called down to Daniel. He said, is your God able to deliver you from these lions? And he said, oh King, live forever. God has delivered me. He said, God protected me. He brought Daniel out of the lion's den, and what did he do next? He took all the men that had provoked him to make that decree that no one could pray to anyone except him for 30 days. He threw them into the lion's den with their wives and children. And the lions had the mastery of them before they even hit the bottom of the den and break all their bones and consumed them. Just to show that it wasn't that the lions weren't hungry. It wasn't that the lions weren't hungry. It was that God did not allow them to eat Daniel, because they sure were hungry a few minutes later when Daniel's adversaries were thrown in. So we see that this man of sin, the son of perdition, commonly known as the antichrist, will demand that everyone worship him. It says, the day will not come except that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he ask God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. That is going to happen before the day of Christ, according to the Bible. That demand for worship from the antichrist. Look at verse number 5. Remember ye not that when I was with you I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. He's saying, now you know, now you understand basically what has to happen first. Now you understand the chain of events here, that there's going to be a timing. He says, for the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, and them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. So we see here that the antichrist, look at verse 7, he says, the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way. Now who's the key there? Who's the key that's being taken out of the way? Now if you have a Scofield reference Bible, which I do not recommend, Scofield reference Bible by the way is one of the most famous study Bibles that's used among the independent active circles. I grew up with a Scofield Bible, I mean I did my daily Bible reading for probably half of my life with a Scofield Bible, that's what I had. That was what was given, his Bible. And I read that thing, the Scofield Bible, read the introduction at the beginning, by Scofield, he says the King James Bible is filled with errors. He said other versions are better, that's what he says right in the beginning, I mean just in the introduction of the Scofield Bible. He says the revised version is better, you know he names some other versions, I forget which version he names, he says these other versions are better, but he said the reason that I chose to do my study Bible in the King James version is because it's the most popular. And so that's why, but he said that's why I corrected it in the column all of the states in the King James. And so he corrects and changes the Bible in the column, and he flat out says the King James is wrong, I'm just using, that's how we ought to decide which Bible to use, right? Because it's popular. So if Scofield were alive today, what would he be using? The NIV, because it's the most popular. So he didn't believe in the King James Bible, he believed that these other modern versions that were already coming out in his day were better. He said the Westcott and Whore Greek text is better, in his introduction, just read it. The first page of the Scofield Bible, Genesis 1-1, he already begins his lies and says that there's a gap between Genesis 1-1 and Genesis 1-2, where there was another earth, other people, before Adam, that were destroyed by God in his judgment, and that there were thousands of years of history before Genesis 1 verse 2. Come on. And yet people believe this thing, they have it, I mean if you have it, get rid of it, you know what I mean? Get a Bible that's just the text of the Bible, God's Word. You don't need Scofield. He wasn't a Baptist. He believed in thousands and thousands of years before Adam even existed. He didn't even believe that Adam was the first man. He didn't even believe that the King James Bible was the right Bible. You know, in his errors, I could go on and on telling you all the weird stuff in that Bible. And this is what the Scofield Bible says on this page. It says that he, in verse 7, is the Holy Spirit. Now, and this has been preached, I've heard this my entire life from independent Baptist prophets. Oh, the Holy Spirit's going to be taken out of the way. The Holy Spirit's going to be taken out. Now let me explain something to you. Pronouns in the Bible, a pronoun, what is a pronoun? Man, you learn a lot when you come to this church. You know, you learn English, math, science. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, right? And every pronoun has what? An antecedent. Ante means what? Who is in Spanish class? Ante say? Ante means before. Have you ever heard of a precedent? It's something that comes before. An antecedent is the noun that comes before the pronoun to tell us what a pronoun means. Now, can anyone show me any place that the Holy Spirit is mentioned in this whole chapter leading up to verse 7? Is the Holy Spirit, and don't get mad at me for calling the Holy Spirit it, because the Bible calls the Holy Spirit it and he, interchangeably, both. And, for example, the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the chosen God. Now, the Holy Spirit is a person, he, but it's also called it throughout the Bible. And so that's not my mistake, that's what the Bible says. Look at verse 1. Is the Holy Spirit mentioned in verse 1 of chapter 2? No, not there. What about verse 2? No. Verse 3? No. Verse 4? No. Verse 5? No. Verse 6? No. Verse 7? No. But I'm just convinced of it though, that that he must be the Holy Spirit. Verse 8? No. Verse 9? No. Verse 10? No. Verse 11? No. Verse 12? No. Verse 13? There he is! Through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. But wait a minute, are you actually going to expect me to believe that that's the he in verse 7? No. There's no mention of the Holy Spirit anywhere near that verse or before it. And yet they say the he is the Holy Spirit. Now, let's just stop and think for a second. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way. Now, does the Holy Spirit sound like somebody who you take out of the way? Let's just take God out of the way. The Holy Spirit's God. How do you take God out of the way? He's God. And that's ridiculous. God is on my present. David said, if I ascend into heaven, behold thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. God's everywhere. God is on my present. And so you don't just take God out of the way. People say this, well, you know, I know that the rapture is going to happen at any moment. I know the rapture is going to happen at any time. I know the rapture is going to happen before the Antichrist comes, because when the Holy Spirit is taken out, I'm going to be taken out. Because I have the Holy Spirit inside me, right? So when God takes out the Holy Spirit, it's going to be like, whoa, it's going to take me with it. Whoa, that's interesting. Wow, that's really fascinating, but that's not what this says at all. There's no mention that the He is the Holy Spirit, number one. Number two, you can't take God out of the way. Number three, if the Holy Spirit is going to be removed from the world. I mean, we're talking about the Holy Spirit that's been in this world since Genesis 1. The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the deep. I mean, the first thing, when God came down to earth, the Holy Spirit was there. They say, oh, He's going to be removed. OK. Then how's anybody ever going to get saved after the rapture if the Holy Spirit's gone? Isn't the Holy Spirit the one who saves you? Isn't the Holy Spirit the one that quickens you and regenerates you? Isn't it the Spirit of God, through His Word, that reproves the world of sin and righteousness and judgment? Isn't the Holy Spirit the one who goes before us and works in the hearts of people and bears witness to them the truth of His Word? But supposedly the Spirit of the Lord is going to be taken out and work. You know, this is just kind of a roundabout way of God, kind of a hint, hint, wink, wink, nod, nod. Hey, He's going to be taken out. Oh, the Holy Spirit. Oh, so that means we're going to be great. I mean, get back. Do you think that the Bible is really that hard to understand? Because I don't. I think the Bible is easy to understand if you're saved, if you just read it and don't have a preconceived idea. And so who's the E? Well, who's mentioned in the chapter? Well, we've got Jesus Christ, we've got the Antichrist, and that's about it. So who do you think is going to be taken out of the way, Jesus or the Antichrist? Not really the Antichrist. He doesn't call him the Antichrist. He calls him what? What's the word he calls him? The man of sin. The son of perdition. Who else is called the son of perdition in the Bible? Judas. Judas is scary. What happened to Judas right before he betrayed Jesus when he sat at the Lord's Supper, Jesus dipped the sop and handed it to him. What happened the moment that Jesus handed the sop to Judas? What's the Bible saying? Anybody know? Satan entered into him. You remember that? The moment that Jesus handed the sop to Judas, it says Satan entered into him. He is the only other person in the Bible besides the Antichrist that's known as the son of perdition. And here's what you have to understand. Jesus and the son of perdition are the only people who are mentioned. So if God's telling us he, I don't think he's just talking about some other person who's not mentioned and expecting us to guess or fill in the blanks. I mean, why don't we just put Mickey Mouse in there? Until Mickey Mouse is taken out of the way. Because if you're just going to put whatever you want, right? No. You have to take a look at the antecedent, okay? You can't just put it in whatever you want. And so you have to understand that who are we talking about? Jesus or the man of sin? The man of sin is who's going to be taken out of the way for the wicked to be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of God. You say, what is that talking about? Well, this is what it's talking about. The man of sin is going to be a human being. He's a man. Just like Judas was a human being. He had parents. He was a child. He was a baby. He was born. He grew up. He lived his life. He chose the wrong path. He never believed. Somebody said, oh, Judas proves that you can lose your salvation. The Bible says he never believed on him. The Bible says in John 6 that he was a devil from the beginning. The Bible says that he did not believe on Christ at all throughout. Read John 6. It's clear. The man of sin is a man. He's a human being. But that man will grow up, and he will basically become the tool of Satan. He will become some kind of a world leader, some kind of a religious leader, a political leader, mixed into one, rolled into one. He's going to be raised up. He's going to come on a white horse, conquering and to conquer, to take over the whole world. And when he comes, he's going to receive a deadly wound to his head. This is what it says in Revelation 13. He will receive a deadly wound to his head, and that deadly wound will be healed. And all the world will wonder out for the beast. Now look at Revelation chapter 17. I could preach all night on this subject, but we're just kind of tackling one chapter, one aspect. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Did I take 13 or 17? We'll go to 17 then. I must have been right, so let's go to 17. Look at verse number 8. This is talking about the beast. The beast referred to in chapter 13 is the Antichrist. The beast receives the deadly wound. He's healed. The world wonders. They worship him and so forth. Look at Revelation 17.8. The beast that thou sawest was and is not. Now what does that mean? What does it mean to is not? He is not. It means that they're not alive. Because it's said of Joseph when his brother invited him to death, it said Joseph is not. And all throughout the Bible that term is used to say someone is not alive. He is not. Jesus is he which is and which was and which is to come, the Almighty. Jesus also said this though, I be the liveth and was dead. I'll be alive forevermore. Amen. At the keys of hell and to death. What does this say? The beast puts us on was and is not. So he was, that means he was alive. He is not. So is he alive right now while this verse is speaking? No. He's explaining to us something. He's explaining what this beast is. He says he was and is not, and watch this, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder. What are they going to wonder about? Think about this now. Put this together in your mind. They're going to wonder about the fact that he was not and that he ascended out of the bottomless pit. The fact that he died and now he's back from the dead. Do you follow that? It says he was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. What are they going to wonder about? When they behold, behold means to see, to look upon. When they behold the beast that was and is not and yet is. Now, he is not and yet is. Well, he is but he isn't. That's basically what it's saying. I mean, look at this. You may get a look at this. I know we're going a little deep, but it's Sunday night. When they behold the beast that was and is not, so is he? Answer me, is he? He is not and yet it is. Okay, whoa there. Why? Why is he ising and not ising at the same time? Okay? Look at Revelation 13. Alright, man, this sermon is way too confusing. Hold on, I have a quote from Bill Clinton. What does the word is mean? No, that's a different sermon, sorry. We've got to make stuff for a second. Okay, Revelation 13. He talks about the beast here rising up out of his feet. It says in verse 2, at the end of verse 2, it says, the dragon, who's the dragon? Satan, gave him his power and his seed and great authority. So the devil's the one putting this guy in power. It says, and I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death. Now if I said he was stabbed to death, if I said he was shot to death, if I said he was drowned to death, did he die? It says, and his deadly wound was healed. So he died, but the deadly wound is then healed. He's revivified, right? He ascends out of the bottomless pit, which is what the bottomless pit held. It says, his deadly wound was healed and all the world did what? Wondered after the beast. You've got to put this together here. You've got to put Revelation 17 and Revelation 13 together here. What happens? He dies, his deadly wound was healed, the world wonders. He is, he was and is not, he ascends out of the bottomless pit, the world wonders. Now look, you've got to put those two things together and see the parallel here. They wondered because it came back to life. Who is he pretending to be? Jesus Christ. He's pretending to be the second coming of Christ. And so he's basically, you know, acting out this portion, the death and the resurrection. He's counterfeiting it. Because does he really come back from the dead? Does the anti-Christ really resurrect from the dead like Jesus did? No. Satan takes control of his body. That's why he is and yet is not at the same time. He dies and basically the devil takes over his body and comes back to life, right? He's revivified, if you would. It says, they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast. And they worshipped the beast saying, who is like unto the beast who is able to make war with him. And there was given unto them a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth and blasphemied against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations. What's that mean? A one world government. All nations. Basically under the control of the beast. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life. Lamb slain from the foundations of the world. So is everybody going to worship him? Only those who are on tape. Okay? You say prove it. Okay? Look down at verse number 14. And deceive it then that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the signs of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword and the lip. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast. And that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image. So is everybody worshiping him? No. Because as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forays and that no man might buy or sell, say he either had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man and his number is six hundred threescore and six, you know the proverbial 666. And so back to Second Thessalonians chapter two if you will. Who is this he that has to be taken out of the way in order for the wicked, capital W, right, that's a person, the wicked one. Who is called in the Bible the wicked one? I write unto you little children because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you young men because you're strong and the word of God abideth in you and he hath overcome the wicked one. What are we talking about? The devil, Satan, that wicked. The wicked he says, until that, let me turn there, sorry, and then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan. Now is that after chronologically? No, after means according to. Like when it talks about how the people living in that city where the Danites went and took over and the Book of Judges says their dwelling was careless after the manner of the Zydonians. It means according to the manner of the Zydonians. All throughout the Bible the word after means, he's saying even him whose coming is after the working of Satan. With all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved. So who is this man that has to be taken out of the way? The man of sin. Satan's tool. He does not become the antichrist until he receives his deadly wound. He's the man of sin, he's the son of perdition. He rises up conquering and conquer but then he receives that deadly wound in his head, he's healed of that deadly wound, he's sent out of the bottomless pit and now he's the antichrist. Now he says I am Jesus, you saw me come back to life, right? Worship me, bow down to me and then he's going to make an image, a statue, a braven image. And people are going to have to worship that image. He's going to say receive my mark in your right hand or in your forehead. He said where did he come up with that? Because God said he shall see his face in their name and his name shall be in their forehead. One day in the new heaven and the new earth the name of the Lord will be in our foreheads. He's going to counterfeit that by giving you some kind of a mark in your right hand or in your forehead. Don't be deceived by the NIV in these modern Bibles that say on your right hand, on your forehead. No, it says in, King Jesus, in their right hand or in their forehead. You know it could be something under the skin, who knows what it is, this mark. It's going to be something where you can't buy or sell. You're going to go to the grocery store, you're going to ring up the groceries and you're going to go, scan it. You say, oh that's impossible. That's very possible. Now, people who were reading the Bible a couple hundred years ago might have said, I wonder how that's going to work. How are you going to pull that off? No man might buy or sell. Couldn't they buy and sell from each other? I mean, couldn't you find a store that's not enforcing? No, not today, not today. Well, when one day there's no more cash, no more coins. Coins aren't worth anything anymore. I mean, these coins in my pocket, they're almost worthless. I could throw them on the ground and people wouldn't even hardly bend over and pick them up. What's really worth something today? Paper money. Because these, you know, 25 cents. What can you buy with 25 cents? Very little. But when you buy things with paper money, what's paper money? Is paper worth gold? No. It's only what the paper represents. An idea in people's mind that that paper represents is $20. What happens when that paper's gone? Pretty soon it's just going to be $20. Deducted from your account. Deducted from your bank account. Cashless society. Oh, then they'll never have any more problem with all the drug dealers, all the people not paying their taxes, right? Because how are you going to buy drugs if you don't have the bar code? Now you'll have to go to the doctor and get drugs. You'll have to get high off all the prescription meds. That's a bummer, huh? Probably cheaper anyway, right? Because the government pays for it. Anyway, there's no difference between what the doctor's giving out and what the dojo's giving out. I mean, come on. You can get some hardcore drugs from the doctor. Just tell them that it hurts and you don't know where. They'll give you the drugs, you know, or just tell them you're hearing voices in your head. Oh, okay, take this. You know, here's a psychiatric drug for you. And so are you seeing this? Are you seeing a man who would rise to dominance, rise to power, run the whole world? He receives a deadly wound. Someone, who knows? You know, someone somehow tries to assassinate him, you know, the sword, whatever. His deadly wound is healed. And people are amazed and they're told, worship him. He's Jesus. Now look, Jesus died once. He's not going to come and die and be risen again and again and again. No, he died for sins once. And unto us, look for him, shall he appear the second time, without sin unto salvation. He died once. Once for all, O sinner receiveth. Once for all, O brother believeth. Hey, Jesus died once for all. Done. It's finished. He paid it all. He rose again. He lived it forevermore. He said, I was dead. Be all, I'm alive forevermore. Amen. And so this man, this imposter, will die and that's when Satan is going to enter, that's when Satan is going to enter into his body. Just ask Satan. You say, that's insane, that's crazy, I don't live. Satan entered into Judas Iscariot's body. But then afterwards, Judas, you know, Judas didn't die or anything, Judas was just possessed by Satan. Afterward, when he saw what happened, Judas felt bad about it. He repented. He said, I betrayed the innocent blood. And he said, you know, they said, what did we do with that seat out of that, you know, when he tried to give the money back? He tried to give the 30 pieces of silver back. I don't want this. He threw it on, he got angry, and he just threw it. And he went out and hanged himself. Killed himself. And he killed himself on the side of a cliff and the rope break. He crashed it down and all his bowels gushed out, the Bible says very graphically. And that field is known as the field of blood, the Bible says. And so, you got to understand that the he there is not mystery he. The he is the man of sin, who will be taken out of the way in order for the wicked to be revealed in most comings after the working of Satan, the anti-Christ. You see, just as God has the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the devil kind of manufactures that too. He has his, you know, physical incarnation, you know, that's trying to impersonate Jesus Christ. You know, you've got the dragon and the anti-Christ and the false prophet, instead of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It's kind of like the evil trinity of the book of Revelation. The demonic trinity trying to impersonate God, counterfeit God and his workings. Don't let somebody, I mean, come on, are you going to let somebody deceive you and tell you that he is the Holy Spirit? There's no evidence. There's no basis. And Revelation 13 and 17 explain what that's really talking about. Now, why should we not be deceived by this, the gathering together unto him? Why should we not be shaken in mind or troubled with spirit, word or by a letter as must be present? Let no man deceive by any means, for that day should not come, except there come a falling away first. What's that, people turning away from the truth, turning away their issues of great apostasy. He says, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposed and exalt himself of all his called God and all the part that we already read. It says in verse 10, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness and them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. You see, people all over the world, Hindus, Buddhists, Catholics, Muslims, are all going to basically worship this guy. Because God is going to send them a strong delusion. God is going to darken their eyes and blind their eyes and darken their heart that they'll believe this lie. And it says that they all might be damned who believe not the truth. That they all might be damned who didn't repent of their sins. Is that what it says? They all might be damned who didn't go to church and get baptized. No, it says they all might be damned who believe not the truth. Because the Bible is clear, whosoever believeth, who believeth and believeth not, shall be damned. That's who's going to be damned. That's who's going to go to hell. But at pleasure and unrighteousness. Now, just quickly, turn if you would to Matthew chapter 24. We're almost done with the sermon. I just want to show you something quickly in Matthew 24. Matthew chapter 24. You see, we don't want any man to deceive us as that the day of Christ is at hand. We want people lying to us, and there are a lot of people out there lying and saying, Oh, he'll come back at any moment. And they literally think that they're not going to endure any persecution. The Bible says, Yea, all the will of God be Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. They think they're going to go from their cush, you know, just easy, made in the shade life as a Christian, comfortable, everything's great, no problem, and then poof, they're going to disappear before anything bad happens. When in reality, the Bible says persecution is coming for believers. And you better believe it's coming, unlike the world's ever seen. Look at Matthew 24. Here's the verse, because I've asked this question to hundreds, literally hundreds of people. I've said, Show me in the Bible where Jesus could come back at any moment. Show me. Show me in the Bible. Show me. And there's only one place that anybody's ever taken me. I mean, usually people are like, Oh, I don't know, is there something like where it says? You know, but whenever anybody actually says, Okay, let me take you there. This is where they take me. And usually they don't open the book and take me here. They just quote it. Usually they say, Well, Jesus coming back at any time, because the Bible says in verse number 36 of chapter 24, and they don't usually know the reference, but they'll usually quote this verse to me. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father on the sixteenth. Therefore, because no man knows the day or the hour, he must be coming at any moment. We don't know the day. It could be today. We don't know the hour. It could be before this hour is over. But wait a minute. You say, Wait a minute, there's another place where it says the same thing. You're right. It's in Mark 13, but it's the same exact sermon. Jesus made this statement one time. He made this statement in the Olivet Discourse as the sermon has come to be known. But wait a minute. There's a pronoun again. See, pronouns are the key, my friend. Listen to me. Let me make a statement. I want to go down in history for this quote. Anyone who believes in the pre-trib rapture does not understand pronouns. It's true. Now, that's not a very profound quote, but it's true. The only reason anybody believes in the pre-tribulation, right, because they don't know what a pronoun is. They think he can be whatever it wants, and then they think that they can be whatever it wants. Of that day. That is a pronoun. Of that day and hour knoweth no man. Know not the angels of heaven. It's a possessive, or not possessive, it's a pronoun that modifies, a pronoun modifying the word day. That day and hour knoweth no man. What day? Which day? What day are you talking about? Let's go back to chapter 29, I mean verse 29. Chapter 24 verse 29. Immediately after the tribulation. Oh, that day! You see how people are taking things out of context here? They take a verse that says no man knoweth the day or the hour, therefore he can come at any time, but wait a minute. If it's after the tribulation, has the tribulation happened yet? No. Has the tribulation even started yet? No. So can he come back at any time? No. We don't know the day or the hour, but we do know that it's after the tribulation. Read it. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear. When he shall appear, remember, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is, the day of Christ. Then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds. Remember the trumpet sounds? We shall be caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. They shall see the son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, and he shall send his angels with a great sound of the trumpet. And they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree, when his branch is yet tender, and put at the fourth leaves, you know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, although you don't know the day or the hour, so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. So is it at the doors now? Is it at hand now? Is it near now? Is it at the doors now? Know when you see these things, what things? These is a pronoun! These things, ok? I get worked up about grammar. These things, what things? The sun being darkened, the moon being darkened, the stars falling from the... Now do you think you're going to notice that? The sun being darkened, the moon being darkened, the stars falling from the sky, the powers of heaven being taken? You're going to notice that. You're going to see it happen. Thank you, Junior. You're going to see it happen. And when you see that, he says, then you know it's near. Then you know it's at the doors. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. He's saying once these things begin to happen, you know, cause you, this is kind of, that, that state is referring to the whole chapter, cause he goes into like years of events in the chapter. He talks about the wars, the famines, everything up to the tribulation. He says, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away, but of that day and hour knoweth no man. We do know the times and the seasons. We'll see the times and the seasons. We'll know when it's near. We'll know that it's at the door. Do we know the day or the hour? Anybody tell me the day or the hour? Now does it say that we're never going to know the day or the hour? No, it just says present is no man knoweth the day or the hour. Now, when we see the sun and moon darken, we'll know the day. Okay? We'll know it's today, right? I mean, okay, let me put it this way. After the fact does anybody know the day or the hour? After it's over? Yeah. Cause we'll say, yeah, that was the fact gone. So that's the day, that's the, you know, where were you when Jesus came back? Okay, you'll know the day or the hour then. See, he's not saying no one will ever know the day or the hour. He's saying we don't know the day or the hour. But when we see these things happen, we'll know it's coming. So Jesus cannot come back until the sun and moon are dark. Jesus cannot come back until the man of sin is revealed in the son of perdition and all that that we went through that's going to take place, the mark of the beast, that whole drama that's going to unfold, Revelation 13, Revelation 17, 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2. He says, but as the days of Noah were, so shall it be also, also the coming of the son of man be. For as the days that were before the blood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the son of man be. The day that Noah was taken out of danger and put on the ark and the door was shut, that day it began to rain and judgment fell. In the day of Christ, the day that we're taken out, the same day God's going to rain fire on us. Read Luke chapter 17, it says the same thing. Now one more thing, this is a statement that people choke on for some reason, they have trouble understanding it. Put your finger in Mark 13 and keep another finger in Matthew 24, it's the last thing I'm going to show you. Keep your finger in Matthew 24 and turn to Mark 13. People have a problem with this statement. It says that they shall send his angels with the great sound of the trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds. Now what's the four winds referring to? North, south, east and west. He talks about that throughout the Bible. He talks about that in Revelation 7. Remember they were holding the four winds of the earth in Revelation 7? He says from one end of heaven to the other. Now people have said, no wait a minute, this isn't talking about the rapture. I know there's a trumpet, I know that Jesus comes in the clouds, I know he gathers together all the same, I know the trumpet sounds, but believe me it's not the rapture. That's what they'll say, as odd as that is. Because Jesus just never even mentioned the rapture. Now that doesn't mean he says, obviously it's the rapture, but they'll try to say, oh it's not the rapture. And this is why they'll say, he says from one end of heaven to the other, see he's just going to pick up, these are all the Christians right? He's just going to pick them up from this side of heaven. That's what's really happening in this chapter. Ok guys, we're moving you today from this side of heaven to the other. Ok now look, let's hope you'll notice him. One end of heaven to the other is a term that's used in the Old Testament. It's used throughout the Bible. Who's ever been to Montana? What's Montana called? Big, big sky country, right? Because you see a very big sky. I know it's big here in Arizona too, but it's bigger over there. Why? Because in certain parts of this world, the sky's not as big as it is in Arizona. Because of the way the landscape is, you don't see as big of a horizon. Now look, what is the water gathered, remember in Genesis chapter 1? He called it dry land, he called it earth, where it gets very basic. The light is called day, the darkness is called night, the earth, the seas, and he defines that. He talks about the waters up in the sky, he called it what? Heaven. He calls this birds flying in the heaven. So he talks about the heaven and the earth. And sometimes he's talking about heaven being where God lives, the third heaven it's called in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. But sometimes when he's talking about heaven, he's talking about the sky. From one end of heaven to the other, where does the heaven end and the earth begin? Think about it. At the horizon, does everybody understand what I'm saying? From one end of heaven to the other. He's talking about the entire world. Every person. Look at Mark 13. We're not talking about some kind of, oh man I just got settled into my new mansion. You know what I mean? Wait a minute, you said you're building me a mansion Jesus, I got here, I got the mansion, now I need to move to the other end of heaven? I know it's silly, but people are like, literally, trying to get people to let go of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, it's like you're trying to amputate part of their body or something. They don't want to give it up. It's like trying to get them to amputate one of their arms or something. It's like they're losing a loved one. They're just so, oh no, that's not true, you can't take it away from me. They just want to hold on to it and you're like, look, it's a lie, it's false, the Bible says. Maybe he's just moving people around from one side of heaven to the other, I don't know. Maybe the Holy Spirit's taken out, I don't know. They come up with the weirdest things. But look at Mark chapter 13, verse number 24. In those days, after the Tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, the moon shall not give away light, the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, and then shall He send His angels and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, what's that talking about? North, south, east, west, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Now wait a minute, that doesn't sound like a relocation project in heaven anymore, does it? Compare spiritual to spiritual. I mean, if you go around saying that, oh no, that's just all about moving people from one side of heaven to the other, what are you going to do with Mark 13? How does that fit? From the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Because it's expressing the same thing. As far as you can see this way, north, south, east, west, all the way this way to the uttermost part of heaven, to the uttermost part of the earth, Jesus tells us to preach the Gospel, first in Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. What are we talking about? Basically we're just making it clear here that this is the whole world that's involved. Not just a certain group, not just certain people. The uttermost part from one end of heaven to the other. The uttermost part of the earth, the uttermost part of heaven. It's just talking about the universality of this event. And so that's all tonight. I don't want to sit here and beat a dead horse. I could literally preach for the next ten hours on this subject. We could go through the whole book of Revelation, we go through Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17, Luke 21, and it'd be great! But we're not going to do it because we've done it again and again and again. But today I just wanted to make sure that nobody deceives you. People try to deceive you. They'll try to twist that 2 Thessalonians 2, they'll try to twist these paths. I hope tonight's sermon helped you to see a little more clearly and understand here, wait a minute, I know what this is saying. I know what Paul is saying. I know what God was saying. And you know what? I'm not going to let anybody deceive me. Because I know what this means. I know what this says. I'm not going to be fooled. Father, please bless the sermon to our ears, dear God. So many deceivers are in this world. And God, I know that there are a lot of really good people, and Christians who win souls, and they're great people, they're fundamental Baptists believe in this doctrine that Jesus could come back at any moment. But Father, they've been deceived by some very bad people. People like Scofield, people like Darby, wicked people, false teachers, false prophets, all the other false doctrine that they taught. This is one that they added, the preacher of Rapture, and unfortunately so many good Christians and believers and righteous people have been deceived by this. Father, help the faithful word Baptist church to heed the admonition to let no man deceive us by any means. Other Baptist churches may be deceived, but let it not be said a faithful word that we're deceived. We love you and thank you so much for giving us the truth and for giving us the Bible with all the answers. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.