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One is at the end of the chapter there, the famous passage about the second coming of Jesus Christ, and that's what I want to preach about this morning, is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Now let's begin at verse 13. I want to go through this passage to start with. It says in verse 13, But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Now first of all, let me explain this. He's talking about those that are asleep, and later he says those that are asleep in Jesus, or the dead in Christ is what he refers to a few verses later. This is talking about those who are believers who passed away, and he says that they're asleep. Now, a lot of people are confused about this. They believe in what's called soul sleep, and this is like what the Jehovah's Witnesses will tell you, that when somebody dies and they're a believer, that they just kind of lay in the ground, and they're just kind of asleep. Well, no, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 5 that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And when Paul talked about dying, he said, I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better for me to live as Christ and to die as gain. When the believer dies, quote unquote, or passes away, their soul goes immediately to be with Jesus Christ in heaven. They are absent from their body. But the body is what goes to sleep, not the soul. The soul goes to heaven. The body sleeps in the dust of the earth, the Bible says. Now, he says here in verse 13, but I would not have you be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep. Those are those who've been saved, but they've passed away. That ye sorrow not, even as others, which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Now, that proves it right there. If Jesus Christ is returning and he's bringing them with him, where were they? With him in heaven, obviously. He's bringing them with him. So the body, basically if you go down a few verses later at the end in verse 16, it says, the dead in Christ shall rise first. That's talking about their body rising. And then we have them coming with them. So basically the soul's already in heaven. Jesus Christ returns with them. The body is what's asleep and the body is what is resurrected. So hopefully that all makes sense to you. But he says in verse 14, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent or go before them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Now this passage is the most famous passage dealing with what many call the rapture. And that's not a term that appears in the Bible. That's a term that people use to describe the event where Jesus Christ returns in the clouds, the trumpet sounds, the dead in Christ rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. But see there's a lot of confusion today and a lot of false teaching on this subject. We're going to just cut through all the theological garbage this morning and just look at what the Bible actually says point by point, line upon line, precept upon precept. Now the first thing I want to point out to you is that the rapture is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Now I've heard my whole life and I've heard it hundreds of times and I constantly hear it to this day. Don't confuse the second coming with the rapture. Don't confuse those two things. Well here's why I'm confused. Because it says in verse 15, For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the what? The coming of the Lord shall not prevent them from serving. Don't confuse them with the second coming. Well it says right there the coming of the Lord. Unless this is coming 1.5, this would be the second coming. Because first of all the Bible calls Jesus Christ coming on this earth. It calls it the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first time he was here. When he was born at Bethlehem's barn there and when he was laid in a manger. That is considered the coming of Christ in many verses. And there are many verses that call Jesus Christ coming in the clouds at the rapture calls it the coming of Christ. That's the second coming. Don't let some theologian make up a bunch of terms and try to confuse you. Look the Bible says which things also we speak not in the words which man's wisdom teach it, but which the Holy Ghost teach it comparing spiritual things with spiritual. This is called the coming of the Lord. That's what I'm going to call it. And since there was already one coming I'm going to call it the second coming. Since he already came the first time. Now let me give you some other scriptures where it's called the second coming. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15 and I'll show you some other scriptures where the rapture is called the coming of Christ. Yeah but it's not the second coming. According to who? It's the second coming of Christ. According to the Bible. Because there was the first time he came. This is the second time he came. Any questions? Look at 1 Corinthians 15. While you're turning there I'll give you some other verses that call the rapture the coming of Christ. 1 John 2.28. And now little children abide in him that when he shall appear we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. That's referring to him coming for us. We don't want to be ashamed when that happens. James 5.7. Be patient therefore brethren unto the coming of the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5.23. And the very God of peace sanctify you holy and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 2.19. For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? So the Bible very clearly calls in 1 Thessalonians 4 what others call the rapture. He calls it the coming of the Lord. It's the second coming of Jesus Christ. Look at 1 Corinthians 15.22. Nothing could be clearer. For as in Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order. So now God's going to give us the order of being made alive. The first one it says Christ the firstfruits. Jesus Christ is called the firstfruits of the resurrection because he was the first one to rise from the dead. Now you say wait a minute what about Lazarus? What about in the Old Testament when a body was raised to life? The difference is that when those people from the Old Testament were raised again they still died. You know when Lazarus rose again he still died years later. He's not alive until this day. People in the Old Testament who were raised from the dead. But the difference with Jesus Christ is that he was sown a natural body. He was raised a spiritual body. He being raised from the dead dieth no more it says in Romans chapter 6. Death hath no more dominion over it. So Jesus Christ is called the firstfruits of the resurrection. Look at the next phrase. Because he says in verse 23 but every man in his own order. Christ the firstfruits. Afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. So we got first of all the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Then we have the resurrection of those that are Christ's at his coming. At the second coming when they are risen it says. And then in verse 24 it says then cometh the end. When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father. When he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is dead. That's referring to after the millennium. After Jesus has reigned for a thousand years and he delivers up the kingdom to the Father. There will be another resurrection at that time. So we see three resurrections. The firstfruits which is the resurrection of Christ. Then we see the resurrection of those that are Christ's at his coming. And then we see a resurrection after the millennium. That's it. There's nothing else listed here. Those are the only resurrections listed. Now go back if you would to 1 Thessalonians 4. And we'll finish going through it. 1 Thessalonians 4. And this is probably the most famous passage, the most turn to passage on what's commonly referred to as the rapture. Which the Bible calls the coming of Jesus Christ, or his coming in the clouds, the first resurrection the Bible calls it. So it says in verse 14, for if we believe, this is 1 Thessalonians 4. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so then also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the what? The coming of the Lord shall not prevent, or come before them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. We already talked about that. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord, wherefore comfort one another with these words. Now this is an often misunderstood and misused passage and let me tell you why. A lot of people will take that verse in verse 18 and say, well the Bible says comfort one another with these words. And they'll say well, you know, that means that we're going to be raptured before any of the persecution or tribulation comes. And that's what's so comforting that we're going to get to escape all that. Now, we've got to get to context here. What did he start talking about in verse 13? He said, I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning who? Them which are asleep. So the purpose that he's writing to them is to tell them about their loved ones who passed away, who were saved, that they wouldn't sorrow like those who have no hope. Because you see, if your loved one is not saved and they die, there's no hope for them. You know, it's a sad truth, but you only have one chance in life where you can believe on Jesus Christ. After you die, it's either heaven or hell. And so he's telling them that there are some who sorrow and they have no hope. Those who are unsaved or their loved one is unsaved. But the Bible says that those who've gone on to be with Christ, we don't sorrow as those which have no hope. Why? Look at verse 14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with them. So verse 13 talked about saved people who died. We're going to see them again. Verse 14 dealt with saved people who died. We're going to see them again. Verse 15. There they are again in verse 15. So far in all three verses they've been mentioned, haven't they? Look at verse 16. There they are again. The dead in Christ. He says in verse 17, There they are again in the clouds. What's the comfort in verse 13? What's the comfort in verse 14? What's the comfort in verse 15, 16, 17, every single verse? It's the comfort that your loved one who has gone on to be with the Lord, you will see them again. That's why you don't have to sorrow like those who have no hope. But you see how people can take verses out of context and twist the whole meaning? Okay, go to 2 Thessalonians 2. 2 Thessalonians 2, just a few pages to the right in your Bible. 2 Thessalonians 2. And let me say this morning, we are not as many which handle the word of God deceitfully. There are many people the Bible tells us who are deceivers, who are liars, who rest and twist the Scriptures. I just read for you 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 through 18 about three or four times all the way through in the past ten minutes. We're not handling this deceitfully. We're going through it word by word. We're looking at everything. I'm not pulling stuff out of my hat here. Look at 2 Thessalonians 2, but there are many deceivers. And Paul's going to warn us about some deceivers right now in 2 Thessalonians 2. He says, Now we beseech you, brethren, by the what? The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And by the way, in 1 Thessalonians 4, he calls it the coming of the Lord. We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind or betroubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. So according to verse 2 here, what is the big deception that's out there? Who's the liar that's out there? What are they telling people that's deceit? Well, they're telling people that the day of Christ is at hand. It says right here, Do not be soon shaken in mind or betroubled, 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. Don't let them deceive you, he says. For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, 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 worshiped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Now that's the guy who the Bible calls the Antichrist, or the son of perdition, the man of sin. The Bible teaches that there's going to be an event called the abomination of desolation, where he basically claims to be God. He sets himself up above all gods. He sits in the temple of God, stating that he is God. And Paul is saying here in 2 Thessalonians 2 that there's a lie out there, there's a deception out there that says that the day of Christ is at hand, that it can happen at any moment, that it can come at any time. He says that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed the son of perdition. And then it goes on to explain what he's going to do when he goes into the temple and claims to be God, and says that he's God. Now you say, well, what is the day of Christ? Well, it's pretty clear from the context. In verse 1, he said, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto him, which is what's described in 1 Thessalonians 4. But not only that, we could go to every single place that the day of Christ is mentioned. It's mentioned seven times. I'm not going to turn to all of them for the sake of time, but they pretty much all say the same thing. But in Philippians 1, 6, for example, it says, 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. And so that's when we will be completely sanctified. The Bible says, you know, the good work that he's begun in us, he will perform it until the day of Christ. The Bible teaches that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. We shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye when we're caught up together with him, and we will be without sin. Let's go to Matthew 24. So, so far we've learned this. Cutting through all the theology and man's teaching and garbage, this is what we've learned just from reading the Bible. Number one, we learned that the rapture, so-called, is actually called the coming of Jesus Christ in 1 Thessalonians 4. Number two, we've learned that that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. That's going to come first, okay? Now look at Matthew, and we also learned that, well, go to Matthew 24. It says in verse number, let's just start reading in verse number 29. It says, 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 the sign of the son of man in heaven. Now who's the son of man? Jesus Christ. He says, 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 of heaven with power and great glory, and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. Now keep your finger here in Matthew 24. Go to Mark 13. Keep your finger in Matthew 24. Look at Mark 13. Here's a parallel passage in Mark 13. It says in Mark 13, verse 24, keep your finger in Matthew 24. It says, but in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and 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 from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Now many people will try to discount this passage or cast aside this passage by saying, well, this passage is only talking to the Jews. Now, as far as I'm concerned, every promise in the book is mine, every chapter, every verse, every line. This isn't talking to the Jews. He's talking to his disciples. And did you know that one of his disciples was named Simon the Canaanite? Here's a hint. Canaanites aren't Jews, okay? And not only that, but just in case you're confused on that, look at verse 37. And when I say unto you, I say only unto the Jew. Watch. Is that what it says? I mean, it rhymes, but that's not what it says. It says, and when I say unto you, I say unto all. Watch. So is this written to just the Jews, just Israel? Now, that's what people say a lot of times when you just show them something in the Bible and they don't like it. They just say, well, that's the Jews, that's for Israel, that's something else. He's talking to the first church there, of which he's the pastor, and he's talking to his 12 disciples. Now, it's funny because just right after this, he's going to have the last supper with his disciples, right? And people will say, well, that's the church ordinance, because he did that with the church there. Yeah, well, okay, amen. And then when you look at the Great Commission, just a few pages after that, he's talking to the same people, same disciples. And people will say, see, the Great Commission was given unto the church. But all of a sudden, in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, it's the Jews. And Simon the Canaanite, well, he was a Jew too. Well, go, if you would, to Matthew 24, where we just left. And they'll say this, they'll say, and there's so many great places to turn. Turn to Romans 11, while you're fingers in Matthew 24. And then put your thumb, no, I'm just kidding, but anyway. Go to Romans 11, and we're going to look at that in Matthew 24. See, here's what they'll say, where he says that, you know, the trumpet's going to sound, that Jesus is going to come in the clouds, and he's going to gather together his elect. And this is what they'll say, well, the elect is the Jews. That's not those who are saved. Now, I looked up every single time that the word elect is used in the Bible, every single time. And it's always, 100% of the time, referring to people who are saved. Always, 100% of the time. He said to the Thessalonians, who were Gentiles, he said, you're elect. He said unto the Philippians that they're elect. But look, if you would, at Romans 11. Here's a really powerful scripture here. It says in verse 7, what then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Does that look to you like Israel is the elect? Look at that verse. It says that the election did obtain it, and Israel didn't. Because the Bible teaches in Romans 8 that the elect are those who are saved. He said, who shall lay anything to the terms of God's elect? It is God that justified it. If God be for us, who can be against us? We are the elect. He said in the Thessalonians, knowing, brethren beloved, you are an election of God. And you can look up every time the word elect and election are used, it's very clear. It's talking about Gentiles half the time. It's talking about Jews half the time. It's just anybody who's saved. Because in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile. There is neither bond nor free. But you're all one in Christ. But here's the biggest proof. Back in Matthew 24, let's let the Bible define itself. You say, well, who is the elect that he's going to gather? Well, anybody can just put this next to 1 Thessalonians 4 and see it's the same thing. A trumpet sounds, Christ comes in the clouds, he gathers his elect, we're caught up together with him, same exact events. But they'll say, no, the elect is talking about the Jews. Well, if you just back up a little bit in the chapter, when he talks a little bit about the elect, you'll see how ridiculous that is. He says in verse number 21, for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. So the days of the tribulation are going to be shortened, according to the Bible. Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, lo, here is Christ from there, believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, and so much that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Now let me ask something, according to that scripture, is it possible to deceive the elect with a false Christ or a false prophet? No. Because he said, if it were possible, they would do it. But it's not. It's not possible. If it were possible, then it would be able to be done. Because these false prophets and false Christs are going to be so convincing that they would deceive the very elect if it were possible. That means it's not possible. Now if that were talking about the Jews, then pray tell me, why are the Jews the most deceived people in the entire world? Go if you were to 1 John chapter 2. Keep a finger in Matthew 24, we'll be back, but go to 1 John chapter 2. You cannot show me a group that has more false prophets or more false teaching than the Jews, according to the Bible. Go to 1 John chapter 2 and look at verse number 22. It says right here, Who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Now, in order to deny that Jesus is the Christ, you have to believe that there is a Christ and that it's not Jesus. Now who knows what the word Christ means? Messiah. Yeah, because in John chapter 1 they say, we have found the Messiah, which being interpreted is the Christ. So, who out there is a liar bigger than the one who says there is a Messiah, but it's not Jesus? He says he's antichrist. Anybody who says that Jesus is not the Messiah is antichrist. Now, isn't that what Judaism teaches, so-called Judaism? Isn't that what the so-called Jewish faith with the star of their god, Remphan? Isn't that what they teach? And there's no star of David in the Bible. The only star that the Jews carried around on a flag in the Bible was the star of their god, Remphan, which is a false god. But anyway, isn't that what they teach, that there's a Messiah that's not Jesus? They're antichrists. Go to 2 John. You say, oh, you're anti-Semitic. We're not talking about a race of people here. We're talking about a religion, a false religion, the religion of the Pharisees, the religion of the Sadducees, the religion of those who yelled, crucify him and send his blood beyond us and on our children. That's the religion I'm talking about. It's Judaism that says that Jesus is not the Christ. It's antichrist. It's a liar. Go to 2 John. The Bible says in verse 7, for many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Who is a deceiver and an antichrist? The one who says that Jesus Christ is not come in the flesh. The one that says that Jesus is not the Christ. He's antichrist. Now, if it were not possible to deceive the so-called Jews, if they're the elect, then why are they following a bunch of rabbis who the Bible calls antichrist? These rabbis who go around saying, well, Jesus is not the Messiah. We're still waiting for the Messiah to come. Oh, their Messiah is coming, all right. And guess what he's called? The antichrist. Go to 1 John 2 again, just a few pages where we just were. I forgot to read this part to you. I read the part about who is a liar, but he that denyeth that Jesus is the Christ, he's antichrist, that denyeth the Father and the Son. Look at verse 18. Little children, it is the last time. And as ye have heard that antichrist shall come. That's singular, right? Antichrist? How many are we talking about? One, right? You've heard that antichrist shall come. There is one man known as the antichrist. But look what he says next. Even now are there many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time. And who are those many antichrists? He says he that denyeth that Jesus is the Christ, he is antichrist. So according to the Bible, every Jewish rabbi is an antichrist. I mean, when you see that guy walking through the airport with the long beards and the black dress on and the funny hat, let me tell you something. You're looking at an antichrist. And if you don't believe that, if you don't believe the Bible, why didn't you come to church this morning? The Bible says if he denies that Jesus is the Christ, he is antichrist. And there are many, many antichrists today. And they are deceivers. They are liars. And it says in Matthew 24 that the elect will not be deceived by false Christs and false prophets. The elect will not be deceived because we have an unction from the Holy One and we know all things. And the Spirit that dwelleth in us shall lead us into all truth. Jesus Christ said unto the Pharisees and the Sadducees, He that is of God heareth God's words. You therefore hear them not because you're not of God. That's what he said. And so the Bible is going to... And by the way, this sermon will separate those who... The Bible is their authority from tradition is their authority. Because everything I'm showing you is straight out of the Bible. Yet it flies in the face of what's being preached across America today in churches all over. They call themselves Baptists and independent Baptists. This is biblical. Two kinds of people in this world. Those who will receive what the Bible is saying and those who will say, I still just think that I'm going to wear a Star of David around my neck. And I'm going to fly with John Hagee to Israel and we're going to go... And by the way, John Hagee is an Antichrist. John Hagee said that Jesus did not come to earth to be the Messiah. That means he's an Antichrist. End of story. Period. He said Jesus did not come to be the Messiah. Okay, why don't you just wear a sign that says I'm an Antichrist. And that's why he gets along so well with all these other Antichrist rabbis. Because birds of a feather flock together. Water seeks its own level. You can tell a man who boozes by the company he chooses. But anyway, Matthew 24. So he's saying here, he'll gather the elect. Is he saying he's going to gather Jerry Seinfeld? He's not talking about the Jews. He's talking about saved, born-again Christians. He's not talking about David Lee Roth. You know, who's Jewish, supposedly. He's not talking about the Three Stooges there. You know, because they're Jewish. He's going to gather Curly and... What do they call him? Larry, Curly, and Moe. He's going to gather David Lee Roth. Man, he's going to split up Van Halen. I think they're right. He's going to gather Jeff Goldblum and Steven Spielberg. And he's going to gather Adam Sandler. And he's going to gather Captain Kirk and Spock. It will be beamed up here, okay? So the bottom line is that he's not talking about the Jews, okay? He's talking to believers when he says the elect. Those who are elect are those who are saved. And that runs through the whole Bible. I'm not going to turn to every scripture. I have a sermon on the elect where I went through that. I'm not going to do that this morning. But let's keep reading. Because we don't want to take things out of context here. Let's give it in context. We saw that immediately after the tribulation, the sun and moon shall be darkened. The stars haven't fell. We saw Christ come in the clouds. We saw the trumpet sound. We saw the elect gathered. Let's keep reading. Verse 32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors, that what is near? Christ coming in the clouds. He said, when you see all the things listed in this chapter, you'll know it's near, even at the doors. He says, verily I say unto you, verse 34, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Now he's not saying the generation that he's talking to. He's saying when you see all these things begin to come to pass, this generation shall not pass till it's all fulfilled. What he's trying to say there is this isn't going to be spread out over hundreds of years or something. He's saying when this stuff starts happening, it's all going to happen in that generation. It's all going to come right after the other. And he says in verse 35, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour. What day and hour? The day when he comes in the clouds in the cross's house. He says of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. So does any man know the day or the hour that the second coming of Christ will take place, the rapture will take place? No. No, no one knows the day or the hour. Only the Father knew at this time. Now, let me ask you this question. Does that verse say that no one will ever know the day or the hour? Does he say no one will ever know the day or the hour? Keep your finger here and go to Mark 13. Mark chapter 13, and I'll show you something interesting. Mark 13 is of course parallel passage, same thing. He says pretty much the same thing in verse number 32. Look at Mark 13, 32. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. So basically, he's saying right there that the Father knew the day and the hour, but did Jesus at that time know? But does he know now? I'm sure he has. He's up in heaven, he's glorified with God in heaven. Of course he knows the day and the hour, but he didn't at this time. This isn't saying that no one will ever know the day or the hour. Now look, when you see these things begin to come to pass, when ye shall therefore see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, it says earlier in the chapter, when you see that, you'll know it's near. You still won't know the day or the hour, but you'll know that it's near, even at the doors. You won't know the exact day, you won't know the exact hour. When you see the sun and moon darkened, it's a pretty safe bet, hey, it's today, okay? You know, in heaven. But let's keep reading, though. He says, of that day and hour knoweth no man, know not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. I'm in Matthew 24, 37. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in 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. Then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good men of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh. Now, the Bible's telling us here, we don't know the day, we don't know the hour. He says, well be ready, you don't know what hour is coming. Now, a lot of people will wrongly interpret that to mean he can come at any moment, including right now. Because they'll say, I've heard somebody say this, do you think he's going to come this hour? And I'm like, no. And he said, well, the Bible says he's coming in an hour that you think not. But here's the problem with that. The problem with that is that he just finished listing a whole bunch of events. And he said, events shall be great tribulation, you're going to be hated, people are going to be killed, there's going to be famines and earthquakes and pestilences. And then he said, immediately after the tribulation of those days, this is going to happen, but you don't know the day or the hour. But we do know that it's after the tribulation. So no, it cannot happen this hour. He says, we don't know the day, we don't know the hour, but you can't just take that verse out of context and just ignore verse 29, which says, yeah, it's going to happen after the tribulation. Now, a lot of people will say, Pastor Anderson, you think that God would allow his people to go through the tribulation? OK, well, let me read you some verses here. I don't want to confuse you with the Bible here, but let me read you some verses. How about this one? John 16, 33. These things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I've overcome the world. How about Acts 14, 22? Confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. How about Romans 5, 3? And not only so, but we glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. How about Romans 8, 35? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? How about Romans 12, 12? Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. How about 2 Corinthians 1, 4? Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. How about 2 Corinthians 7, 4? Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you. I am filled with comfort, I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. How about 1 Thessalonians 3, 4? For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation, even as it came to pass, and ye know. Revelation 1, 9. John said, I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was in the isle that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 2, 9. I know thy works in tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich, and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. We already talked about that. Fear not of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days, be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of light, and ye say, Hahaha, Pastor Anderson. None of those verses are talking about THE tribulation. They're just talking about tribulation in general. Yeah, but the problem is, I just read for you 90% of the verses from the Bible that use the word tribulation, including what I read you in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. So where are all these verses that are talking about THE tribulation? Well, Matthew 24, which said after the tribulation is going to be Christ coming in the clouds and gathering the light. You see, this thing of Christians won't go through tribulation. Well, from what I just read to you, it looks like Christians have always gone through tribulation. It looks like in Jesus' day, they were going through tribulation. It looks like the Romans were going through tribulation. The Corinthians were going through tribulation. The Thessalonians were going through tribulation. The Apostle John was going through tribulation. You see, believers have always gone through tribulation, but in those days shall be great tribulation, unlike anything the world has ever seen. Not that we've never experienced tribulation. Yeah, in all the will of God. You go to Matthew 13, Matthew 13. You see, believers have always gone through tribulation, but the thing is that in the last days, preceding the second coming of Christ, there will be great tribulation, unlike anything the world has ever seen. It's ridiculous to say, well, God would never allow His people to go through tribulation when He's been letting us go through it all this time. When He said, yeah, in all the will of God, the Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Here's the first time the word tribulation is used in the New Testament. It's funny because it's used in Matthew 13, and then it's used in Matthew 24. Look at Matthew 13, the first time you see the word tribulation in the New Testament. It says in verse number 22... I'm sorry, let's jump. I lost my place here. I'm looking for the part about the word, the one that was sown in the thorns. Oh, there we go, 21. The stony places, verse 20. But he either received the scene at the stony places the same as he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it, yet hath he not rooted himself, but doereth for a while, for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he's offended. So what does tribulation mean in that verse that I just read you? Talk about being persecuted. Talk about going through troubles and trials for what you believe. That's what we... I just read you a ton of verses about that. That's what tribulation means. 90% of the time I just read it to you. It's affliction. It's persecution. It's trouble. It's trials. It's whatever you want to call it. And it's consistently that throughout the Bible. So we see over and over again all these verses that mention tribulation. Now, let me show you something very important. Go to Matthew 24. And the reason I preach on this subject is because it blows my mind how I can preach this and talk to people, and there are so many people who don't comprehend this subject. And it's not that complicated. But again, I'm just constantly talking to people who don't understand. And even so many people in our church will come up to me and ask me questions that just show that they don't understand this subject. And it's not a criticism of them. It's just something that needs to be taught, apparently. It's something that needs to be preached more because there's so much confusion. And really, we need to study to show ourselves a proof. You know, I can't just spoon-feed you everything. I mean, you've got to read it yourself and study and learn, and mainly heavy on the reading, light on the studying, by the way. You know, get rid of all these man-made books. Look, you can go in my library. You're not going to find a single book on Bible theology, Bible prophecy. You're not going to find a single commentary. I don't need that stuff. You know what? You'll find a bunch of Bibles and then a bunch of books that have nothing to do with the Bible. Because I'm going to tell you something. I don't sit around and read books about the Bible. I read the Bible itself. And you know who's going to teach me the Bible? The Holy Spirit. And we've got way too many commentaries, and we've got way too many Internet theologians who want to Google it and Facebook it and blog it. Hey, you need to read it. Pick up a physical... Oh, you mean on my iPad? Oh, you mean, you're talking about on my Nook? No, pick up a physical book with white pages in black and you can read the Bible. Get a Bible. I'm talking to you back there. Somebody's using an electronic device as a Bible. You want a free tweet? No, it's all right. But you know what, though? We do need to get back to the physical book. Amen. And I'm all for listening to it on audio. And when I'm on jobs, I'll pull out my phone. I've got the Bible on my phone. I'll do my Bible memorization on my phone. But you know what? We need the book, okay? Because then you don't get distracted. If your electronic device just has pure Bible, hey, great, read it on that. But the bottom line is we've got people that are surfing the net to figure out what they believe. And they're reading a bunch of false teachers and false prophets. We need to get in the Bible to figure out what we believe and read it. And how about this? Go to church and hear preaching. That's biblical. Not surfing the net. And so where did I turn? Somebody help me out. Anywhere? Matthew 24. Did it tell you to turn back to Matthew 24? After we were in Matthew 13? Yeah. That's why I started recording. Oh, yeah, that's right. Okay, let me back up the recording and see if that's really what I thought. I was surrounded by electronic devices myself here. Anyway, let me go ahead and show you something I remember now. I want to show you something really important, okay? Because a lot of people try to twist the Bible. Well, let's just cut through it right now, okay? They'll try to tell you, oh, this is the Jews, this is that. Okay, well, let's just defeat, let's just put the final nail in the coffin right now. Let me just show you how clear this is. The Bible says in verse 29 of Matthew 24, 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 power of the heavens shall be shaken. Now, let me just, I'm just going to draw this on the board for you, and I shouldn't have to do this. You know, you shouldn't just be able to read it, but I just want to make this real clear because some people have a preconceived idea and they just can't get this, okay? Now, there's two events in verse 29, okay? We've got the tribulation. Everybody looking, I want everybody to look down at your Bible or electronic device and look at verse 29. There's two things that are happening, the tribulation and the sun and moon being darkened and the stars falling from heaven. Which one happens first? Okay, the tribulation happens first. Everybody got that? Okay, so we've got it right here, and we're going to make the tribulation be orange, okay? Tribulation, okay? Okay, I'm going to spell tribulation. No wonder my people don't understand. All right, tribulation, okay? Then, what comes after the tribulation, according to verse 29? Sun and moon being darkened, right? So then we have the sun and moon being darkened and the stars, not Monday, Sunday, okay? Sun, moon, and stars darkened, okay? Everybody getting this? So, does anybody dispute this? I mean, that's what it says, right? The tribulation, then the sun, moon, and stars are darkened. And the sun, moon, darkened, stars fall. Go to Revelation 6. Revelation chapter 6. Now, I'm not going to spend too much time on this, but in Matthew 24, of course, the Bible talked about all the... It talked about famines, pestilences, earthquakes, wars. He said there'd be wars and rumors of wars, nation rising up against nation, persecution of believers. Well, in Revelation chapter 6, all the same things are described. You know, when the first seal is opened, a man on a white horse with a crown, and he's going out to conquer. The second seal is opened. There went on another horse that was red, and power was given to him that sat there on to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another. The third seal is opened, and we've got a man on a black horse announcing famine. The fourth seal is opened, and we've got death and hell and one-fourth of the earth being filled with destruction and killing from pestilence, famine, sword, all these things. And it's all the same stuff that's described in Matthew 24. Same stuff. But look at Revelation 6. We're just keeping this simple. It says in Revelation 6 in verse number 12, And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair. Okay, check. And the moon became as blood. Check. Okay. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely face, when she is shaken of a mighty way. Check. And, by the way, the fig tree was mentioned in Matthew 24, too, if you were paying attention. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the chief captains and the mighty men in every bond and every decrement hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? So here's what I want to point out. After the sun and moon are darkened, right, what do these guys start saying? The mighty men, the chief men, the great men, the chief captains, what are they saying, you know, to the rocks? Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? So we have the great day of his wrath. Now, nothing could be more clear than the fact that this is the order because in Matthew 24 there's tribulation followed by the sun and moon being darkened, and in this passage we have the sun and moon being darkened and people saying right after it's darkened, the great day of his wrath is come. Now you say, well, why did you write is so big? Well, because if you have a King James Bible in your hand, it says is come. Now, if you have a false Bible in your hand, like the New King James, the NIV, the HIV, the RSV, the SUV, you know, the STD, the MIC, KEY, MOUSD, if you have one of these other false versions, they all change this to the day of the Lord, the great day of his wrath has come. But the Bible says that the great day of his wrath is come. Now, let me give you a little grammar lesson. That means it's come today. Not in the past. Not it's come and gone. No. It is here. It's like the song, joy to the world, the Lord is come. This is right now. So let me ask you this, and I'm getting real, I'm breaking this down real simple. Did the great day of his wrath come before this? Or did it come at this time? And I'll give you a hint. There's a really big word on the board that will help you. So it's in present tense there. He's saying is come. So it just happens, what that means, right now, today. So therefore, and let's keep reading. Let's get the context. So he says the great day of his wrath has come, and who shall be able to say it? You say, well, this isn't chronological. Okay, what about this? Revelation 7. Tell me if this is con... What did I say? Tell me if this is chronological. And after these things... Hmm. That's chronological, right? Okay, I was making sure. After these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God and their forheads. Now let me ask you something. According to verse three, have the sea, has the sea been hurt yet? No. By these angels. Have the trees been hurt? No. Yeah, okay. So, you know, after his wrath, the great day comes, okay? The trees and the sea haven't been hurt yet. Now we're going to start hurting trees, Al Gore. Now we're going to start hurting the sea, Jacques Cousteau, okay? So, hurting trees and sea. Okay, this is where God is pouring out his wrath. How about the great vials of the wrath of God, such as turning the sea into blood, such as turning the water into wormwood, such as raining fire and brimstone, such as sores appearing on the bodies of those who worship the beast in his image, such as God sending darkness and locusts and smoke and hell on earth. Had that started yet at this point? No. Because that all comes when he's pouring out his wrath. Okay? Now look, this isn't complicated, folks. This is what most people will teach you, okay? And I'll use my pink marker for this. This is what the early preacher will teach you, okay? This is the false doctrine right here. Is that what they teach, or is it? The tribulation is when God pours out his wrath on this earth. That's the tribulation. And we're not going to go through the tribulation because God will not pour out his wrath on his own people. And that's what they'll say. Why is he not going to pour out his wrath on his own people? And they'll say, God has not appointed us to wrath. Okay, but is tribulation the wrath of God? No. I just showed you all these verses where tribulation was God's people being persecuted by the world. I showed you verse after verse after verse. Nothing in the description of the tribulation in Matthew 24 has anything to do with God's wrath. It's about people delivering you up to be afflicted, and they shall kill you. You shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. An earthquake. That happens all the time. There was an earthquake yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. Literally, there are earthquakes all over the world every day. Okay? All these things are not God's wrath. But when God darkens the sun, when God darkens the moon, when God starts making the stars fall from heaven like a big tree, that's God's wrath. And when God starts turning water into blood and burning up all the trees and sending locusts out of the pit of hell to torture people for five months, that is the wrath of God, my friend. Is God going to do that to us? No. He's not going to. Because you see here, first is the tribulation. Then you have the sun when it starts to darken, and then you have God's wrath. It doesn't matter whether you think Matthew 24 is written to Jerry Seinfeld. The truth still remains that the moon is darkened after the tribulation and that the wrath comes after that darkening. I mean, I don't understand what people can't get about this. I mean, it's very clear. You know? And so, no, tribulation does not equal the wrath of God. And there's no scripture that says that because this wouldn't make any sense. Well, his wrath doesn't come till after these things, and these things all come after the tribulation. It must be two different things. It can't be the same thing. It just doesn't make any sense. So we keep reading here. He seals the 144,000. Verse 5 says that the tribe of Judah were sealed 12,000, of the tribe of Reuben were sealed 12,000, of the tribe of Gad were sealed 12,000. I'm going to spare you the whole list here, but he lists basically 12 tribes there. Verse 9, a little more chronological order for you. After this, I beheld and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues. So is this other group that comes after, are they only the Jews? He says, no, they're of all nations. And in fact, there are so many that no man could number it. Now, the biggest number in the Bible that man numbers. Remember when the, well, this isn't the biggest, but remember when the Ethiopians came against Asa? There were a million of them. They numbered them. When they numbered the people, when Joab numbered the people, he came up with 1.1 million. You remember when the angels were around the throne, and he said that there were 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands and thousands, which is over 102 million? Those are some pretty big numbers. John numbered the angels at 102 million. This group, no man could number. After this, I beheld a little great multitude, verse 9, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues. Every nation, every language is represented. Stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which stood upon the throne and under the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elves, and before beasts, and fell before the throne on their face, and worshiped God, saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying to me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And here's the key word right here. And whence came they? What does whence mean? Somebody yell me out. Where. What's that? From where. Okay? Because the word wither, wither means to where. Hither means to hear. Thither means to there. Whence means from where. Thence means from there. Hence means from here. And so he says, whence came they? In our monoconacular, he's saying, where did they come from? From where came they? So did they just get there, or were they just been there forever, for years? No. He said, where did these people, who are these people, and where did they come from? That's one of the elders asked John. And John says unto him, Sir, thou knowest. He's like, you're asking me. You're the one who's showing me everything. Why are you asking me? And he said to me, Yeah, I was just kidding. These are they, which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sunlight on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living founts of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. So this great multitude of all nations and people that appears in heaven, where did they come out of? Great tribulation. And by the way, that's the last time the word tribulation is ever used in the whole Bible. Never used talking about turning water into blood. Never used talking about pouring out fire and damnation. Go to verse one of chapter eight. We're getting this in context. We're just reading it verse after verse. And when he had opened the seventh seal, remember the sixth seal was whenever this sun and moon darkened heaven, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer, and there was given unto him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints ascended up before God out of the angel's hand, and the angel took the censer and filled it with fire at the altar and cast it into the earth. And remember, this is only a half hour after that multitude appeared in heaven. He said there was voices, thunderings, and lightings of the earthquake, and the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angels sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth. And the third part of the trees was burned up, and all green grass was burned up. Are the trees getting hurt now? Oh, yeah. So what happened between this and burning up the trees? And, you know, if you keep reading the chapter, he's turning water into blood. He's sending poison and death and destruction. What happened in between? A great multitude appeared in heaven. That's exactly what it said in Matthew 24. The sun and moon are darkened. Jesus came in the clouds and gathered his elects. That's what happened here. That's who that crowd is in heaven. Then he starts pouring out of hell on earth. That's why we're not going through the wrath of God. But are we going through this? I'm already going through it right now. Why don't you start serving God, too, and join the club? Because the Bible says, Yea, and all that will live Godly Christ, Jesus shall suffer. That's why John, that's why when you pick up the book of Revelation, John says, I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, because I hope you're reading this, you're going through tribulation, too, because I'm sure going through tribulation on the isle of Patmos. And he says, You're my companion in tribulation if you're serving God, because all that will live Godly Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. And so this is referring to the wrath of God after... Now, here's what's funny. I grew up being taught. You know, the book of Revelation never mentions the rapture. Now, that's kind of silly, because isn't it kind of a major event? I mean, isn't it kind of a big deal? Jesus coming in the clouds and the whole sun and moon being darkened and people being caught up, and they say, No, no, no, you know, the rapture is just where everybody just disappears and nobody knows why. And everybody's going around saying, Where is it? Okay. I don't think they're going to be wondering that. I think they're going to be wondering, Why did the sun darken? Why did the moon turn into blood? They're not going to be saying, Where's Steve Anderson? They're going to be saying, Why is fire and brimstone falling? Who's that guy coming in the clouds with power and great glory? What's that trumpet sound? Oh, no, no, no. It's going to be a special secret trumpet that only the saved can hear, like a dog whistle. He's going to get the trumpet and go... And everybody just doesn't hear anything, except believers. It's a special trumpet that only certain people can hear. Can you show me that, Bob? So they talk this rapture up. You know, the rapture's not mentioned in the book of Revelation. That seems odd, but they've gotten a little bit more clever now. So go to Revelation 4-1 and they say, This is the rapture in Revelation, brother. I'm going to get rid of this board so I don't feel like I'm in a classroom here. Class is dismissed. Get back to preaching mode. Look at Revelation 4-1, and here's what they say. Buddy, this is the rapture. And I heard a preacher say, Man, if you can't see the rapture in this verse, you're blind. Let's see if we can see it, shall we? After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me. Now, is it a trumpet? No, it's a voice like a trumpet talking to him, which said, Come up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. And they'll say, There's the rapture. Right? Everybody see that? No, because it's one guy. He hears a voice talking to him. No Jesus in the clouds. No sound of a trumpet. Just a voice like a trumpet. No archangel. No dead in Christ rising first. No people coming. No, no, no, it's all right there. But here's the most ridiculous part of all. Verse 2. And this is why you've got to get off the Internet, my friend. I'm not saying don't use the Internet. I use the Internet all the time. I'm saying when it comes to your Bible doctrine, get it from the Bible. Because on the Internet, people just post single verse. And the same thing with the commentary. Same thing with the book on Bible prophecy. They'll just show you verse 1 and tell you what it means, but if you're reading an actual Bible, like an actual, you mean like a physical book? Dad, tell me about when you were a kid and they had books. Well, they were papers and they were stacked, you know, they had a leather cover. That's what we're going to be explaining to our kids one day. When I was a kid, we had these things called books. No, really? But here's the thing. If you have the book in front of your hand, you've got verse 2 right in front of you. And what's verse 2 say? Somebody call out to you. What does verse 2 say? Oh, immediately I was in the Spirit. So did John even get caught up to heaven? Physically? No! So they say see, John being caught up to heaven is symbolic of the rapture. I'm not looking for a symbol of the rapture, I'm looking for the rapture. And here's the thing. John did not get caught up to heaven according to this verse. He was in the Spirit when he went up to heaven. Did his body go up? Hey, the rapture is a bodily resurrection of the saved that have gone before and it's a bodily us being caught up together. This is not a bodily anything. This is John in the Spirit. This is not the rapture. But this is the kind of nonsense because people don't want to read the Bible and see what it teaches. They want to figure out what they're going to teach and then, oh, let's find a way to make the Bible say that. Let's prop that up using the Bible. Instead of letting the Bible teach us, well, we're going to find a verse and make it the rapture. No, this has nothing to do with the rapture. It's nonsense. The rapture is described in Revelation in two places. It's described in chapter 7, which I just showed you very clearly, in a perfect analogy with what happened in Matthew 24. And then here's the thing. When you flip over to chapter 12, I'm almost done with my sermon tonight or this morning. Yeah, I'm going to be done tonight, so you better be comfortable. This subject has got me fired up, okay? When I start seeing the sky turn a little dark out there, the sun is going to be darkened before this sermon's over. Then you'll know what I'm talking about. But anyway, look at Revelation 12, verse 1, and it says, And there appeared a great wonder in heaven. This is chapter 12, so we jumped forward in the book of Revelation. There appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she, being with child, cried, travailing in birth, the pain to be delivered. There appeared another wonder in heaven, of old a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and cast them into the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man-child, now this is the key, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her child was caught up unto God unto his throne. Now who is that child that was to rule all nations with a rod of iron? Jesus. So what are we reading about in Revelation 12? The birth of Christ. Are we not? Read about the birth of Jesus Christ. Then he says her child was caught up unto God unto his throne. So what are we reading about there? The ascension of Jesus Christ, okay? Here's the thing, if you read the book of Revelation, if you start in chapter one, now how many chapters are in the book of Revelation? Twenty-two, right? If you start reading in chapter one, it's all chronological. We start out with John on the Isle of Patmos, right? He's going through tribulation. Then he starts talking about the seven churches. And those are churches, those are literal churches, not periods of history. No, they were literal churches that existed at that time. Seven churches that physically existed in Asia. Then in chapter four, he's caught up in spirit into heaven, starts talking about the things that he sees in heaven. Chapter five, a book is produced that Jesus Christ begins to open the seals. As the seals open, we start seeing these various warfare take place, persecutions, famines, okay? Now, have those seals begun to be opened yet? No. Because once those things start happening, it's like a freight train that says, this generation will not pass away. Yes, we're experiencing earthquakes. Yes, we're experiencing famines and warfare. But we're not to the level that's described in Revelation 6. So no, that hasn't started yet. Then, after all those five seals are opened and everything, then when the six seals are opened, sun and moon are darkened. Christ comes in the clouds. People who are unsaved are scared to death, and they're crying out. God has his great multitude in heaven. He begins to pour out his wrath on the earth. He begins burning up the trees and turning the earth into just a total hell on earth. And all that. And then at the end of chapter 11, he comes and sets up his kingdom on this earth. And, you know, the famous song, the Hallelujah Chorus, right? Everybody knows that song? And he says, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. And we see that in Revelation 11, we see he sets up his kingdom on this earth. He rewards all the saints. He does all this stuff. Well, in chapter 12, we jump backward, and we're back at the birth of Christ. And we go through the birth of Christ. Then in chapter 13, we go through the tribulation, and he describes the tribulation where people are being given a mark of the beast and people are being persecuted. Believers are being killed. And you say, Well, the church is never meant for that. He talks about it over and over again in chapter 13, the saints, that the antichrist will make war against the saints, and he'll persecute the saints, and he'll wear out the saints. Then in chapter 14, we see the 144,000, same thing we saw in chapter 7, and we see the rapture described again in chapter 14 as he's going through the college again. Because, see, all you have to do is take the book of Revelation and just cut it in half. The first 11 chapters are in perfect chronological order, and then in chapter 12, we jump back to the birth of Christ and go in perfect order all the way through the end of the book. Look at chapter 14 and see the rapture clearly depicted. Right after the tribulation, right after the 144,000, exactly the same as it was the first time, it says this in verse number 14, Revelation 14. 14. And I looked, and behold, a white cloud. Sound familiar? And upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man. Sound familiar? Jesus coming in the cloud? Having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that had sat on the cloud. Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is right. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was root. So this is Jesus in the cloud, reaps the earth. You see the voice of the archangel there? Yes, it was. Then look at what comes next. Right after, that is described. Verse 17. And another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire, and cried with a loud cry to him, and had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even under the horse bridles, by the face of the thousand and six hundred forlorn. So what do we see again? Rapture followed by wrath. Then look at the next verse, verse 15. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last praise. Chapter 15, verse 1. For in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire, and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the heart of God. So here we have the great multitude appearing in heaven. Same exact thing over and over again. And then in chapter 16, he gets to pour out his wrath with the seven vials. Notice the seven vials. You can't help but notice the similarity with the seven trumpets. The first trumpet is where the fire of brimstone and hail fall from the sky upon the earth. The first vial is where he pours out his vial upon the earth, and the man gets sores all over their body that had taken the mark of the beast. The second trumpet is when the sea is turned into blood. The second vial, the sea is turned into blood. The third trumpet is when wormwood, that star falls into the earth and turns the rivers and fountains of waters into poison. The third vial, the river and fountain water is turned into blood. The fourth trumpet is when the sun and moon, or when the sun is darkened for a third part of the day. The fourth vial is when the sun is putting out, like, heat spots and scorching people, and people are blaspheming God because it's so hot. You know, it makes Phoenix look like nothing. The fifth trumpet is sounded, and we have the pit opened, okay? And there's a big smoke that comes out of the pit that darkens the sky, and then those locusts from hell come out for five months to torture people. The fifth vial says the sun and air are darkened. Same thing. Darkness on the kingdom of the beast. The sixth trumpet sounds, and the army of the horsemen... First, the rivers of the Euphrates are dried up, and the great army of the 200,000 horsemen come, and they're killing people and breathing fire and all that horrific thing described with the sixth trumpet. The sixth vial, you know, you see pretty much the same thing. The river being dried up, an army coming, same type of thing. The seventh trumpet, hey, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of this Christ. The seventh vial, and it's like, it is done. You know, here it is. We're to the end, okay? So it's clear that, no, the vials of the trumpets are not the exact same things, but they're taking place over the same period of time. You can see the cause and effect of one or the other. One of them sends out the smoke. The smoke makes it dark. It's just two different angles of the same types of occurrences that are going on at the same time. And you say, well, how do you know all this stuff? It's just reading the Bible. You just got to read it. You got to study it. You know, you got to memorize it. And I challenge people who believe all their doctrine from what they read in a book or heard from a pulpit somewhere, you know, I challenge them to memorize these chapters. I challenge them to memorize the book of Revelation, memorize Matthew 24, memorize 1 and 2 Thessalonians. You won't walk away saying that Jesus can come back at any moment. You won't walk away saying pre-trib rapture. Can I get an amen? Pre-trib! Let's hear it for pre-trib. You know, pre-trib is garbage. It's not pre-trib unless the prefix for pre means after. Which I don't think it does because I didn't go to preschool when I graduated from high school. You know, you go to preschool before school. You know, it's not called post-school. And so I'm sorry, but people get mad about this. I've had so many people quit the church about this. Get out of here because you know what? If you don't like this sermon right here and you sit there and listen to this sermon and say, oh, I can't believe it, it just shows you don't care what the Bible says. Anyway, you'd be happier somewhere else because if you can't handle this sermon, you're not going to be able to handle next week's sermon either. And you're not going to be able to handle tonight's sermon. And you're not going to be able to handle Wednesday night's sermon. And you're not going to be able to handle the preaching here, all the other preaching because it's Bible preaching. And it's not always going to be what you think and what you believe. If you want to go to a church that preaches everything that you already think and already believe, then go ahead and go there and they'll pat you on your little head and tell you you're going to drive your nice fancy SUV and live in your fancy house and then one day you're just going to disappear someday. So who cares? Let America go to hell. And by the way, America's going to hell. Let our government destroy our country. Let it all fall apart. Let the world go into despair and darkness. Who cares because we're going to be out of here. We're going to be gone before anything bad happens. You know what? Anyone who preaches that, I'm going to call them exactly what the Bible says is a deceiver. That's what the Bible says. It says let no man deceive you. It doesn't say let no man preach something to you because he's a little mistaken. And he's just a little off on that. It says let no man deceive you. Don't be lied to because anyone who preaches a preacher at rapture is a liar. Anybody who says the day of Christ at hand is a liar. He said that day shall not come except they'll come a falling away first. The man of sin will be revealed and if they preach that to you, they're deceiving you. They're a liar. And you say, well, no, no, they're just mixed up. We don't need mixed up preachers. What is the guy who's mixed up going behind the pulpit? What are we doing going to church with somebody who doesn't know the Bible behind the pulpit preaching something that they run out of a book? He has no business being a pastor. And anybody who's preaching a preacher at rapture needs to either get right with God, figure out the truth, or get out of the pulpit and put somebody behind the pulpit who knows what they're talking about. You walk up to these preachers and I've walked up to this guy. He was an expert on the book of Revelation. And he had charts. He was putting up charts. He had all kinds of video screens. I walked up to him and said, hey, in chapter 14, what do you think about the angel reaping and the son of man and the clouds and all that? What do you think about that? I'm not really sure of the part you're talking about. I'd have to have it in front of me. Now look, if you just got saved six months ago, if you've been in church for a couple of years, if you're a small child and you don't know what Revelation 14 is about, you've only been saved for a few years, you've only read the Bible once, that's fine. But don't come up to me and tell me I'm an expert on the book of Revelation and you don't even know the events of chapter 14. You don't even know what I'm talking about. You're the expert. We need preachers who know the Bible. And this doctrine is garbage. And there's no verse to support it. None. We just looked at all the verses. There's no verse that supports this stuff. And yet people believe it and they preach it. They're just a bunch of liars. Or they're just a bunch of... Let me preach what I've been taught. No, that's not what we need. We don't need a robot behind the pulpit. We need a spirit-filled man who's actually reading his Bible, not just parodying what he learned in some Bible college. Let me get out my Bible college notes. Let me see. This says there's going to be five raptures, the sun will be to be darkened six times, and Jerry Seinfeld is going to be transplanted by the angels to the Holy Land. Any questions? Hand David the roll. Hand the three stooges. And you say you're fired up about this doctrine. Yes, I'm fired up about it. It's not even that this doctrine is the most important doctrine in the world, because it's not. There are other things that are more important, you know, like salvation, like the King James Version, like whatever, all the different things. But the thing that fires me up about it is because to me it epitomizes believing man and not listening to what the Bible says. It just epitomizes I got my doctrine from man. Because you have to see people show me a verse, they can't show you. I've had people tell me on this, I say, okay, I say, well, you're an older pastor, show me what you believe. And then they can't show me. And they're like, well, there's that part about no man knowing the day or the hour. And I say, okay, show it to me. I don't know what the reference is. You have to like show them. Here's what you believe and here's why it's wrong. They didn't even show you what they believe. It's like you have to show them what they believe. But it's the part about no man knowing the day or the hour. Okay, where's that found? I don't know what the reference is. I don't have it in front of me. Okay, well, let me find it for you. Okay, let me hold your hand with one hand and let me find it for you, okay? And then let me change your diaper and then I'll show it to you, okay? And then I'll tell you why you're wrong because it just says five verses up immediately after the tribulation. I kind of see what you're saying. I kind of see your point, but I think it is not readily dividing. I think it's something about the Jews is what I remember Professor Fatbon telling me. And look, it couldn't be any clearer, folks. I just proved it to you five different ways. I could preach on this until tonight. Do you want to turn to Luke 21? Do you want to turn to Luke 17? Do you want to read the whole book of Revelation with me? Do you want me to quote for you the whole book of Revelation from memory? Do you want me to quote for you 1 and 2 Thessalonians from memory? Learn what you're talking about and people come up to me and they ask me questions about this all day long. What about this? What about this? You know, we need to get back to being able to read the Bible. I mean, it's fine if you have a question for me to come up and ask me, but you know, you'd be better off just reading. Like, first read this stuff. First read Revelation like 25 times, okay? Then read 1 and 2 Thessalonians about 25 times. Then read 1 Corinthians 15 25 times. Then read John chapter 5 25 times, and then come talk to me about it. You know what I mean? And then I can answer your question. But the thing is, you probably won't even have a question after you've been there. You know what I mean? But just the lazy man just wants everybody to just hand it to him. And you can search this, and I talked to a friend of mine and I showed him this doctrine, and he read through the whole New Testament because he'd never heard it taught the way that I taught it because he'd been, you know, deceived. And he read the whole New Testament in a week and a half. It's been a week and a half. He just read through the whole New Testament looking at every scripture on the second coming. He started Matthew 1 and just went through the whole thing. And he prayed. And he said, God, if the preacher of rapture is taught, show it to me. And he went through every chapter, and he came back and said, you know what? He said, Steve, because this is before I was pastor and I was just Steve. He said to me, Steve, he said, it ain't fair. He said, you're right. We've been lied to. You know, and that's what any honest person ought to do. Pick up the Bible, read it, and you need to say, why are you so mad? Why are you criticized? Why are you trying to? Because I criticize ignorance. That's why. And I'll criticize deception, and I'll criticize lies, and I'll criticize ignorance, and false teaching, and false doctrine. And you know what? The pre-tribbers, they love to criticize me. They hate my guts. And they hate everybody else who takes a stand on this doctrine. And there have been so many preachers and evangelists and missionaries who've come out and said, hey, the Bible doesn't teach a pre-trib rapture. And they're blackballed. They're kicked out of everything. All their speaking engagements are engaged. They're excommunicated. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. And I've been excommunicated for a long time. The way things are going, you see the one world government emerging. Don't you? You see the nations joining together against the Lord and against His Christ as prophesied. You see the technology available for not being able to buy or sell without a mark in your right hand or in your forehead. It's all there. We might be living in those days. We need somewhere, somebody to thunder against the lies and provide the shining light and the truth on this. Lift our eyes and have a word of prayer. Bob, we thank you so much for our church to God. And we thank you for those preachers who have had the guts to stand up and preach what they believe on this doctrine. I know many are in the closet, dear Lord. I know many know this doctrine and they know what the Bible says about the tribulation and the rapture and the wrath of God. But they're in the closet, Lord, because they're afraid to take a stand for it. I pray that every single preacher who believes what I believe on this would come out of the closet and preach the truth from the housetops and not be scared of their little fellowship and their little denomination and their little Bible college friends. And God, I pray that the bunch of deceivers that are in this country behind the pulpit teaching lies, I pray that you would either open their eyes to the truth on this or I pray that they would be removed from the pulpit and be replaced with someone who knows the truth of your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right. Let's go ahead and sing a song before we go. Let's sing It Is Well With My Soul because It Is Well With My Soul is a song that deals with the sermon tonight because the author of It Is Well With My Soul believed exactly what I believed about this really from the words of the song. Look at 145. Song number 145. We're just going to sing one verse only because the last verse, the applicable verse, it says, And Lord, hast the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a stroll. You remember that from Revelation 6? Right when the sun and moon were darkened and it said the heavens depart as a stroll when it's rolled together? Let's sing it out, a biblically accurate song, 145 on the last verse of the song. Let's sing It Is Well With My Soul because It Is Well With My Soul is a song that deals 145 on the last verse. Let's give the intro back. And Lord, hast the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The drums shall resound and the Lord shall descend even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, even so, it is well with my soul, it is well with my soul, it is well it is well with my soul.