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Alright, amen. Well, we're back in Matthew chapter number 24 and we're actually going to make it pretty much through the end today. And the reason for that is because if I had a lot of other things planned to go over, we're going to have to put those on Wednesdays because otherwise we're going to be here for another year. And it's already been over a year and a half since we've been in Matthew, so we kind of need to get through this here at some point. So, Matthew chapter number 24. We're going to be talking about the day of the Lord today. We're going to be talking about the day of the Lord and some things surrounding that. Now, it's kind of interesting that on Saturday, the nation of Israel came under attack by the terrorist organization called Hamas. And the reason why I think that's interesting is because I did a lot of searching, went online to try to find all these videos made by the new evangelicals. And they keep showing these paragliders and they're showing them coming down over various spots in Israel. And the videos are like the only way that this could have happened is if Russia and China used their secret technology to drop off Hamas. And so that proves Ezekiel is being fulfilled. The day of the Lord is at hand. The horn's about to blow. We're out of here. And there's just literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of videos right now being made by people. Like Daniel's being fulfilled. The two witnesses are about to come on the scene. It's just about over. So get ready to leave this earth. We're done. Rapture's happening. Any minute. I'm surprised we're still here. All that stuff. I've seen it all. It's absolutely mind-boggling. Here's the funny thing about those Hamas paratroopers. If you do a close-up on them, they have motors behind them. They're just paramotoring, I guess is what you would call it. They don't have enough money to rent a C-130 or the equivalent and get dropped off on a large scale. It's stupid. It's mind-boggling. I don't want to get too bogged down into that. But it does kind of apply to what we're talking about today because, again, people will use this stuff and try to twist Bible prophecy. And they get people riled up and they're just like, yeah, Bible prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes. We can use this to go out and tell people before it's too late. You're not going to get people saved because you went and told them a story about some terrorist that paraglided out of an airplane over the nation of Israel. So, yeah, there is that. A lot of false information. And, of course, in this chapter, we're told not to be deceived several times. Surrounding the day of the Lord, the Bible is very clear. Through the Old Testament and the New Testament, we're told to look forward to the day of the Lord. We're told to live our lives in remembrance that the day of the Lord will come at some point. And, of course, we don't want to be ignorant of these things. Now, we don't have time to go back to the Old Testament and take a look at all the references to the day of the Lord because when you do a study on this, one thing you're going to find is that the day of the Lord, there's a lot of little day of the Lords that were kind of fulfilled back in the days of Israel. We're talking about the final one. We're talking about the big one today. So, with that being said, you're in Matthew 24. Look down at verse number 21. So the Bible says this, You know, another reason to understand the language in this chapter and just to understand these doctrines is because there are a lot of websites out there and a lot of people that are saying that these things have already happened. You know, they'll say, well, the Catholic Church fulfills all of this and we're right now, you know, living, so to speak, in God's wrath. There's a lot of weird things out there. And a lot of these weird ideas, believe it or not, are actually pushed by Seventh-day Adventists. Has anybody ever seen a website that's called, like, Amazing Facts? You know, Amazing Bible Facts? You know, this facts, you know, about the maps and all this stuff. When you dig deep behind those websites, a lot of them are put on by Seventh-day Adventists. Like, you really got to dig deep. But you'll find that the Seventh-days are behind that. And, of course, we don't want to believe anything they say. So we want to go to the Word of God, study these things and come to our own conclusions. Clearly, this hasn't happened yet. And just look at that verse, And, of course, this is after the revealing of the Antichrist, after the abomination of desolation is set up. And, of course, we've talked a great deal about that. It is the beast, the false prophet, the second beast, rather, that John sees that implements that and forces that to happen. He's the main driving force behind the abomination of desolation. That has not happened yet today. Look at verse 22. It says, It says in, I was listening to one guy and he's like, cross out that word, elect, right there and write Jews. Cross it out, write Jews. That's what he said. Cross it out and you write Jews. He's like, this is not the church. This is Israel. This is all about Israel. We're gone by now. Okay. And these are the same clowns making these videos saying that Ezekiel is being fulfilled and all this stuff is being fulfilled. And they're about to start sacrificing animals again. And it's like, your own physical temple doesn't even have a roof on it. And I'm supposed to believe right now because, you know, Israel is under attack. All this crazy prophecy is being fulfilled. It's just a skirmish. And these people have always been fighting. It's just ridiculous. Okay. The elect are the born again, the saved. Those who believe on Christ. Okay. The Jews in Israel today do not believe in Christ. But what else does this verse tell us here? What does it tell us? Because we know it's not just Jews. It's believers. It's the saved. It's crystal clear. We've proven that a thousand times. Well, it proves that the rapture comes after tribulation. It proves that there are saints that are Christians that go through the tribulation, that go through great tribulation. And because of the intensity of this, okay, because of the abomination of desolation, because that image is somehow able to literally make war with the saints. And, of course, we know the dragon, the devil is behind that. And he's been given this power. It literally just cleans the world's clock. Like, it's just going around and just getting all flesh, you know. I mean, because you don't just have the abomination of desolation happening. You have these seals being opened. You have famines. You have a lot of other issues going on. The Bible says that basically the love of many shall wax cold and people are killing themselves or killing other people. And it's just terrifying times all around throughout the entire world, okay, throughout the entire world. But we're supposed to believe that this is just really mainly centered around Jerusalem and Israel. Of course, they have a role. Of course, there's going to be a part played by them. Okay, but this affects the entire world, the entire world, the entire planet. So just never forget that. Verse 23. Now, here's where we're going to spend some time. Look at what it says. It says, Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not. Now, I titled the sermon Jesus is Over Here, okay. The reason why I titled that is because so many times we're told out soul winning or through conversation that people have met Jesus Christ. They've had a near death experience or they were in their closet praying. They decided to give this up. They decided to give that up. And all of a sudden they had a vision. They saw Jesus. Okay. And what do they say? Well, I saw it. He was over here. He was in my car. He was in my bedroom. You know, my bed chambers, whatever. Okay. We're told not to believe it because look at the verse. Okay. Now, any means any. Any man, any person, if anyone shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ. What does the word here mean? Well, it means in, at, or to this place or position. So if somebody says here is Christ, he was in my head. He was in my vision. He was in my car. He was in my laundry basket. He was, you know, whatever. We're told not to believe it. Okay. We have permission to ignore it. I hear this all the time out soloning. Hey, I had a near death experience. We heard this on Friday. And I saw Jesus and it was real. And you have to believe me because I'm a lover of Jesus. And he was as real as you are right at my door. And he told me X, Y, and Z. It was with brother Evan. He's like, you should have asked her if, if she, what he looked like. Because nine times out of ten when you ask somebody what Jesus looked like, they'll say, well, he had the long hair and he was white. It's like, that's unbiblical. That is not what Jesus looked like. He did not have long hair. He was not a hippie. Go to Hebrews chapter number one. But of course, keep your place there. Okay. Another thing people will do is they'll try to manipulate with their children. Well, my kid's heart's stopping. Hey, that's sad. We understand that. We, you know, I get it. Okay. But they'll say, but he saw Jesus and Jesus held him and walked him around up in heaven and showed him all these different things and told him what was going to happen in the future. And, you know, gave him a revelation and he's back now. And he's kind of like a miniature prophet. I don't know if you guys have ever heard that. I've heard it a few times. I think sometimes God puts me in these situations just so I can have these stories to pass on. I don't know. But either way, I don't believe it. I don't care how cute the kid is. I don't care how cute the little girl is. Okay. God bless you, but I don't believe you. Okay. Because the Bible says, if any man shall say unto you, lo, here is Christ. Or there, believe it not. Okay. So if a religion says, hey, you know, our top dog, our top guy is in regular communication with him and his prayer closet or his prayer chamber and his special section of his temple. We are not supposed to believe it. Okay. The word of God is with us today. And besides, Hebrews one is very clear about this. We read this all the time, but I think it's definitely very important. So let's see what it says. Hebrews one, look at verse one. It says, God who at sundry times and in diverse manners. Okay. So God who at times of old and in different manners or different ways, spake in time past. Okay. Meaning he used to communicate this way with his people. Spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. Okay. So he used to have prophets that would come and they would speak a message and the test to see whether or not that was true was whether or not the thing came to pass. Okay. Verse number two, hath. Okay. Present tense. Meaning right now, hath in these last days spoken unto us. Spoken. Okay. Look at that word there. Spoken. Meaning one time. Hath present tense. Beginning of the verse. Hath in these last days spoken, meaning one time unto us by his son whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the world. And of course, according to John chapter one, we know that Jesus is the word of God. Look, you have to realize that means something. That means something very significant. Why is one of the names that he goes by the word of God? Okay. It's very simple because he has a message to humanity. He has a message to mankind. He has preserved it. He has given it all to us and this is how he has spoken to us. So again, when people say, hey, I had this revelation or God told me, now I don't have an issue when somebody is like, hey, you know, I've been studying the Bible. I just feel like this is how God's, you know, kind of communicating with me. That's fine. Where I take issue is when your short haired preacher woman or long haired hippie preacher or anybody really gets up and says, well, God told me that this congregation needs to give this much money or this congregation needs to do this or we need to change the service times or you know, you need to not do this or the error or whatever. Okay. That's when I have a problem because of this verse here. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son. His son is the word of God. God has spoken unto us by the Bible. We go to the Bible to prove whether or not something is true, whether or not something is false, whether or not something is wise or whether something is foolish. Now go back to Matthew chapter number 24. Okay. Again, this is very important because he reiterates this statement here. Okay. Don't believe it. When people tell you, Hey, Christ is over here. He's over there. He's alive today on this earth. He's, he's just not coming out and speaking to everybody. He's only kind of dealing with the politicians and things of that nature in certain preachers. Okay. I've heard all of this stuff. Don't believe it. It is a lie. Okay. Verse 24 says, 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. Okay. Now I don't believe that this has quite happened yet because the elect today, those of us in this room, those of us who are saved, who read the Bible, study the Bible. You know, when we look at the Kenneth Copeland's of the world, the Benny hands, you know, these faith healers, it's easy for us to be like, that's fake. Okay. Even before I started really digging into the Bible 20, 30 years ago. Okay. And we would go to churches. It would, you know, claim, well, we're not Pentecostal, but then they would, you know, have a Pentecostal fit, whatever, you know, we knew something was wrong. Okay. The Holy ghost tells you the Holy ghost, you know, gives you that, that, that, that feeling. And then that's biblical. Okay. Because the law of God has written on our hearts and the Holy ghost, what he does is he points to what Jesus said. And so I don't have an issue with that, but it's very easy to see that these fake healings today are fake. Okay. Again, we've talked about this a million times. Why does it always have to happen in Africa? Okay. Why is it always so some guy in Africa raised someone from the dead? Why can't you do that here? Why can't you go down to this hospital here and start raising the dead and healing the sick? Why not? I want to see a death certificate and then a rebirth certificate. I've been saying that for years and I still have not seen one yet. Why is that? Because they're frauds, they're liars, but there is coming a day where this verse will be fulfilled. So as demonic activity increases, as we get closer to the time that the Antichrist is coming on the scene and the devil is more involved in the world, okay, he's going to be able to give his prophets some sort of power and these, they're going to start to do signs and wonders, okay, and they're going to start to do these things and the Bible is very clear here and so much that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect and we're going to have to hunker down and be like, hold on, we need to test this, okay, because you're going to see people that, you know, you're going to see people that you know of and they're going to fall for it and you're going to be like, wow, that's crazy. I went soloing with that person. That's crazy. I've heard them give the gospel. That's crazy. You know, I never would have thought they would have fallen for it, okay? This thing, when it goes down, it's going to expose false brethren. It's going to expose people that are not saved because in every sect, you know, and I'm not saying in this church anymore, but you know, in just about every group of Christians on this earth, there will be people that come in and emulate and mimic and it's very easy to do. Okay. You can go talk to the guys at Faithful Word. They've had a number of them, you know, over the years, they've had a number of people who they trusted and thought were saved and they were like, wow, they preach great sermons. I went soloing with them and we learned later on they were just good at memorizing things, memorizing the right things to say and rehearsing and practicing, okay, it can be done, but during these times you're going to see those type of people take the bait and they're going to fall for these false signs and wonders, which is why I think we need to get ahead of it and constantly bring it up and preach against it. So look at verse 25. Look at this. Look, this is how important this is for you to understand. He says this again, behold, I have told you before. Verse 26, wherefore, if they shall say unto you, behold, he is in the desert, go not forth. And isn't that true today? Oh, he's in Israel. Okay. He's in Israel. He's over there. He's working with the Jews. He's getting ready to turn all their hearts towards him. It's like, don't believe it. Okay. He's at the right hand of the father, drawing all men unto himself. That's what the Bible says. Verse 26, wherefore, if they say unto you, behold, he is in the desert, go not forth. Behold he is in the secret chambers, believe it or not. So the secret chambers, okay, again, the secret temple or just a select person's mind or a select person's visions, whatever, we are clearly told not to believe it. And then he makes this statement here. Look at verse 27. For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the son of man be. Now keep your place there. Obviously we go to 2 Thessalonians chapter number two, 2 Thessalonians chapter number two. And let's get into this. So what we're going to do now is we're going to kind of do a walkthrough here just to give you a basic overview of what the day of the Lord looks like, what it consists of, and then we will be close to being done after that. So of course, Peter mentions this at the day of Pentecost when he's preaching a sermon and he quotes Joel and he talks about how the sun shall be turned into blood and the moon or the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, quoting the prophet Joel. But again, you know, Paul reiterates this to the Thessalonians because it's clear by studying the books that somebody had gotten to them. Somebody had, you know, got their mind stirred up saying, hey, you know, the day of the Lord is at hand. The rapture's coming any minute now. Kind of like today. That's the prevailing view in America. And it's just not true. Look at what Paul says again here, 2 Thessalonians chapter two, verse two. So he says this, that ye 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. Now, you can just about go to any one of these Pentecostal type preachers. You go to their YouTube channel, go to their websites, look at their sermons, and at some point you're going to find just about every one of these people saying, you know, I had a vision and God didn't give me the exact date or the exact time, but he's coming soon. And it could be any moment here. So we've got to be ready. Now of course we want to be ready. And of course he's coming soon according to his timeline, but there are things that have to happen. And what we're told here is that the day is not at hand, meaning immediate, meaning it can just happen right here, right now. There is a process. Look at verse three. Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except, and we've talked about this a few weeks ago, there come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition. Now the question is, has any one of those happened yet? You can make an argument that the falling away is starting, okay, sure you can, you can make that argument, but no matter what they say, the son of perdition, the Antichrist has not been revealed yet. Therefore the day of the Lord cannot happen at any moment. Okay. Again, we're going to take a look at this, go to revelation chapter number six. Okay. And this is really a death blow, just another death blow to these pre-trib people. Okay. Cause they're saying, well, the day of Christ is at hand and it could happen at any moment. And what they do though, is they separate the rapture. They separate the gathering together unto him from the day of the Lord. And you cannot do that. It's impossible to read the Bible and do that because what you're going to see is that the rapture happens between the sixth and seventh seal. So the first, let's say three and a half years, roughly of the tribulation, okay, you're going to have these different seals that open up. We don't have time to get into it. You can go look back there at that chart if you want like a quick reference, but you're going to have the first seal, second, third, fourth, fifth. We'll look at that one briefly. And then the sixth seal. So in between the sixth seal, which we're about to read here, which is where the sun's turned into darkness and the moon turns into blood, okay. In between that event and the seventh seal, which is God's wrath, is the rapture. That's our gathering together unto him, okay. And because of the way that's clearly laid out, there is no way that the rapture just happened secretly before that. So hopefully that makes sense. Look at verse number 12 of Revelation chapter number six. And again, this is talking about the sixth seal here, okay. So no rapture as of quite yet. Look at verse 12. So he says, 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 and the moon became as blood. So again, just like Joel said, just like Peter said, okay, this is consistent here. Verse 13, and the stars of heaven fell onto the earth even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind. So remember, John is seeing a vision explaining this stuff here, okay. So again, he's not saying that this happened in John's day, but this will happen in the future. Verse 14, and the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together and every mountain and island removed out of their place. You know what you're about to read here, I know we've read this before, but again, this is very interesting because today you have a lot of people that are rich making bunkers and making like these underground, you know, hideouts and stuff like that. And I think it's funny how God's gonna basically even allow people that don't have that money to do the same thing and hide from them. Look at what it says. So it says in the kings of the earth, verse 15, and the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the chief captains and the mighty men. Now look at this. And every bond man, what's a bond man? Well, a bond man is somebody who's bound, okay. Somebody who was not free. Now look at the next part. And every free man. So your people in America, hey, I got the constitution, you know, I'm free, okay. Look at what these people do, okay. So from rich to bond, look at what all of these people do, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. So it's funny how the rich are spending all this money and storing up all this food underground. And this is true, this is what they're doing, okay. And when Christ comes back and the heavens roll away and it's revealed that everything they said wasn't true is absolutely true, okay, even the poor people are able to find their way to hide in the earth. And to me, again, you know, I read this and it's just absolutely insane. It's absolutely nuts that they think they can hide from God because nothing like this has ever happened before. They literally look up and it's like, oh, whoops, we were wrong, okay. But look what they do, verse 16, and they said to the mountains and rocks, so again, they'd rather talk to the creation over the creator. They worship the creature more than the creator. It's what they do, right? They talk to the mountains and rocks, you know, the earth that they love, Earth Day, right? Let's save the earth, let's do this stuff here. Let's worship the creation. And they 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. And of course, these people have obviously taken the mark of the beast and so they're scared and they should be because they're going to go to hell, verse 17. And look at, this is another statement that they make, okay, look at this, look at what this reveals. For the great day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand? So they know who he is. They know what's going to happen, that the day of the Lord is also the day of wrath. So for us, it's a glorious day because we get out of here, we get to meet the Lord in the air, we get to see those who have gone on before us, you know, Paul talks about that to the Thessalonians, okay? But those who are reprobate, those who are just never got saved, okay, who are still here, they're like, uh-oh, the day of his wrath has come and who is able to hide us from him? What's even more insane is that when you keep reading, the Antichrist is still able to convince the armies of the world that are left to actually go and commence the battle of Armageddon and actually try to fight a war against God. Now, some people say that, you know, you might try to convince the world that they're just aliens and I think that's very possible, I definitely think that's a good speculation there for sure. But either way, it just, I mean, this is max stupidity, this, I mean, think about all the stupid stuff that we talk about all the time that the government's trying to do, you know, a boy can be a girl, all, just all of this stuff, okay, all of this junk that's going on today and this takes a cake where they can physically see Christ in heaven and they're just like, hide us from him, okay, we don't want anything to do with him. You know what else that tells you? Some people to the bitter end just don't want to get saved because some people have this idea like, well, if we could just somehow show people Jesus that they'll believe, right, if we could just somehow prove that he's up there by logic or whatever, that they'll believe. Well, here's a time in future history that he's going to be revealed to the entire world and these people don't want to believe it. They can see it with their own eyes and they're like, nope, we want to stay down here. We don't even want to look at you. We don't want anything to do with you. Go to chapter number seven. So definitely a good indication there of what the soul wanting will be like before the end of the Great Tribulation, not going to be the most friendliest of times, apparently. Revelation seven, look at verse number 13 says, one of the elders answered, saying unto me, so again, John's seeing this vision here and he says, what are these which are red and white robes and whence came they? So as John's having this vision, an elder comes to him and asks him this question because he wants to make sure John understands this. Verse 14, and I said unto him, sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, these are they which came out of Great Tribulation. And that same guy who said, cross out elect in Matthew 24 and write Jews. He said the same thing about this passage. Hey, cross this out. Make sure you write Jews. OK, this is Jews. It's like, wait a second. How are these all Jews? Where are the Christians? Do we even go to heaven or do we just annihilate after we're dead? It's like insane. So again, look at the verse. Verse 17, and I said unto him, sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are they which came out of Great Tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. OK, which where does this happen? Is it down here? Is it underneath the cross of Christ where, you know, Golgotha? Is this in Israel? No, it's in heaven. OK, so this this prevailing dispensational idea that the Antichrist is going to somehow remove the blood of Christ so people can't get saved and they have to reinstitute sacrifices is ridiculous. This happens in heaven, in heaven. Verse 15, 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. So again, we're talking about between the sixth seal where the sun and moon are darkened. Then you have the rapture after that, and then the seventh seal opens, which is God's wrath. Now, after the seventh seal begins, your trumpet and vial judgments, OK, so one trumpet sounds, one vials poured out, another trumpet sounds, another vial is poured out. So go to Revelation Chapter number eight. So like I said, we're just going to kind of walk through just so you have just a base some basic framework of how these things work, how the day of the Lord will go. OK, don't let anybody else also confuse you. We went over this a few weeks ago. I don't know if you remember, but the day of the Lord and the day of Christ are the same event, OK, because again, people like to separate these. Well, the day of the Lord is for this and the day of Christ is for this. So the day of Christ is for Christians, but the day of the Lord is for the Jew. Yeah, that's it. That sounds good. False doctrine. They're the same day, the same exact day. So Revelation eight one. Look what it says. So when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. Now look at verse number two. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God and said unto them, or I'm sorry, and I saw the seven angels which stood before God and to them were given seven trumpets. OK, so that's what begins that event there. God's wrath. So here's the picture. Sixth seal is open. The sun and moon are darkened. And after that, there is the rapture. Now during that, remember, the Great Tribulation is going on. The abomination desolation is going on. People are taking the mark of the beast. People are happy. OK, they're like, yay, we finally have world government. We're finally getting the fundamentalists out of here. OK, and woke ideology will prevail or whatever it is that they want to say. OK, the moment we're out of here, OK, things get really real on earth. The heavens are rolled back as a scroll and the world now knows without a doubt who is sitting on the throne and they're afraid and they're scared and it's about to get really bad here. OK, let's give you a little taste. Go to Revelation chapter number nine. So again, after that, OK, after that rapture there begins God's wrath. Remember the first part of the last seven years before the millennium is the tribulation which rolls into Great Tribulation, which then we're taken out of here because remember those days have to be cut short. Otherwise there would be no flesh saved. OK, so rapture happens. OK, then the seventh seal is opened and that's going to begin God's wrath. So the day of the Lord for us is a great day, but the day of the Lord is a day of wrath which begins God's wrath, which literally becomes hell on earth for those who have rejected him. Now, let's just give you a little bit of a taste of this before we go back to Matthew. Look at verse number one of chapter nine. And the fifth angel sounded and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. OK, well, what's the bottomless pit? Well, that's hell. OK, that's where people are in, that have rejected Christ. This is hell. So this is not the devil here. This fifth angel, I've heard people say, well, this is the devil. He comes down and lets his homies out. It's not what it says. Verse two. And he opened the bottomless pit and there arose a smoke out of the pit as the smoke of a great furnace and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. Boy, I bet that's some real scent for you. OK, rotting souls. Verse three. And there came out of the smoke, now this is what I find very interesting here also. There came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth and unto them was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power. OK, so the question is, it doesn't say they were created right here. Says the angel of the bottomless pit comes down, opens it up. OK, once he opens up the bottomless pit, literally hell is open. You know, these people over in Switzerland trying to open up another dimension through that thing called CERN. OK, they could only dream of something like this. God's like, oh, you want to play games like that? You want to try to open up another portal? Well, I got one for you. He opens up hell and as this smoke is billowing out of hell, come these creatures, OK? And what you have to understand is where are those creatures right now? Well, they're there, apparently, and apparently they're right now in the bottomless pit, OK? And someday they're going to be released and they're going to take a break from tormenting those people. Not that hell stops or anything like that, but out of the smoke come these locusts and these things. I mean, look, hell's got to be more terrifying than we even understand, OK? I mean, not only are you just burning continually and never being consumed, but apparently if these things are there right now, which is what it sounds like, I mean, could you imagine just hearing them fly around and just absolute terror, OK? So these things come out onto the earth. They're given power like scorpions have power, so they're going to be able to torment and sting and hurt. Look at verse four. And it was commanded then that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. So what else happens during this time, OK? Well, obviously you have the ministry of the two witnesses, but you're also going to have 144,000, OK? You sound like a Jehovah Witness now. God will send 144,000, OK? But here's the thing, they're not all Jews. They're all Hebrews, Old Testament saints. And there's 12,000 from every tribe. Because remember, what is real Israel? Real Israel was the nation divided up into 12 distinct tribes, OK? And so these are special people, obviously throughout history, who God has reserved for this time. They come down, they have a seal in their foreheads, and nothing can hurt them, OK? And so the locusts are told, hey, don't hurt these people, and they go and torment everyone else, OK? So literally, this is hell on earth, above ground. Verse five, to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months, and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man, OK? How terrifying is that going to be? That's going to be insane, because what the Bible's going to tell us is that these people will seek death, you know? They'll seek death, but they won't be able to die. You're not going to be able to overdose, you're not going to be able to commit suicide, because God is going to take that from you. OK, look at verse six, and in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it, and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. So who's ever heard of the Illuminati card game? Probably everybody in here, OK? And people, oh, the Illuminati card game is predicting the future. Well, one of those cards apparently is like this deaths, those anti-death serum, where like you get this card, you don't die. It was kind of funny how God clearly has a sense of humor. It was like, yeah, well, I'm going to give you that card, but it's not going to play out the way that you think. Look at this. I'll take death from Earth, and you can have your fun with your Illuminati card game and your new world order, and we'll see how you like that, OK? Verse number seven, and the shapes of the locust were like unto horses prepared unto battle, and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. Now, if this were to happen in our lifetime, and God said, hey, I'm going to give you guys the opportunity to design a couple of the faces on them, I'd make them like Donald Trump. I mean, think about that. Wouldn't that be kind of, that would be pretty tormenting, and I'm not saying, I'm not endorsing him, I'm not saying he's saved or anything like that, I don't believe that, but I just think that with as many people that just hate anything, because he does stand for some truth, you know what I mean? I just think he's obviously clearly wrong about the Bible, but as much as people hate him and stuff, and even around this liberal neighborhood here, I mean, that would be some serious torment. You know how much the little ones with the face of Trump or something, oh, you're racist. Go back to Matthew 24, OK, now obviously I'm just joking around, but I mean, I would definitely make it if, you know, I feel like I'm going to make this so you guys pay, and I definitely got a few doors around here I'd send these guys directly to, by the way. All right, so hopefully that makes sense, OK, that's kind of in a nutshell. Great tribulation, OK, which comes, it starts the moment the antichrist receives his deadly, you know, his new life, if you will, comes back to life, and the false prophet's like, hey, we ought to make an image unto him, set it up. Once that happens, the antichrist has been revealed, then begins great tribulation, and of course, the antichrist is given power to make war with the saints and to prevail, overcome us, proving rapture comes after tribulation. Even says that here in Matthew, OK, verse 29, immediately after the tribulation. There's no getting around it, there's no escaping it, it's after the tribulation, a sick seal is opened up, sun and moon are darkened, the world's starting to go like, whoa, what's going on here, you know, hold on, what about our world peace, what about getting rid of all the Christians, what about getting rid of the fundamentalists? Well, we're taken out, heaven is rolled back as a scroll, and eternity is revealed to those on earth, and those on earth say, hey, we want no part of it. Seventh seal is opened, and the day of the Lord becomes a day of wrath to those who are on this earth, and then of course, Revelation chapter nine begins a lot of the stuff that they can look forward to, the torments, and it gets worse from that, and it really takes a whole sermon to describe the rest of it, so with that being said, let's review here real quick, Matthew 24, look at verse number 24 again. So Jesus says, for there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that it, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very light, OK, which is why we need to study and check things and realize. Now look at this again, behold, I have told you before, wherefore, if they shall say unto you, behold, he is in the desert, go not forth, behold, he is in the secret chambers, believe it not. Then he says this, OK, when I come back, there will be no mistake, no mistaking it, there will be no questioning, like, is that the Lord? No, you're going to know it's the Lord. For as lightning, verse 27, for as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. OK, now this is where people get all crazy with this verse, oh, this proves that the rapture comes before the tribulation, OK, because the carcasses are the gentiles, and the eagles represent the Jews who America financially support, that's how it works. No, that's stupid, OK, that is dumb. I can't believe I even had to regurgitate that, it proves that I've heard that more than once, by the way. OK, so let's talk about what this means, OK. What in the world does this mean, for wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Well, real quickly, back up to verse number four, OK, verse number four, just one more time, the Bible says this, and Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no man deceive you. So what is the context before he says that? What is he talking about? Well, he's talking about false Christs, he's talking about these false Christs and these false prophets who would point to you and say, hey you, guess what, Christ is over here. Or guess what, he talks to me up here. OK, we're not supposed to believe that, OK. So obviously we're going to go to Revelation 19 here in a second, but let me just give you some thought here, let me kind of show you what I see metaphorically first, and then we'll go to also what he's definitely talking about here. So he says, for wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. What is a carcass? Well, carcass is a dead body, OK, he's talking about false prophets here. Verse 26, these false prophets, what are they going to say? Wherefore if they shall say unto you, behold he is in the desert, go not forth, behold he is in the secret chambers, believe it not. Verse 27, he clearly tells you, hey, when I come back, there's going to be no mistaking, everyone's going to see it, the whole world will know. And then he makes the statement, for wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Remember his point here, don't get deceived, OK, so let's think about that for a second. The carcass is a dead body, the false prophet is a carcass, any false prophet is dead, OK. Now what you have to understand is basically this, OK, what do the eagles represent? We go back to Leviticus chapter 11, you'll see that it's clearly mentioned that an eagle is an abomination to eat rather, OK. God doesn't look at it like, oh, I wish I didn't make the eagle, but it's an abomination as far as food goes. Now if I get hungry enough, I would eat an eagle, whatever, but in Old Testament Israel, it was on the list of things that they should not eat, OK, so it was an abomination and that sort. Why? Because they feast off of the dead, OK, and his whole point here in the last part of this chapter up to verse 28 is to let us know that, hey, there's going to come false prophets. False prophets are dead, and he makes a statement where the eagles are, OK, guess what? There will the eagles be gathered together, OK, so where you see the dead carcass, where you see these false prophets, the eagles are going to be gathered together as well, and so basically he's saying dead preachers attract dead people spiritually, OK, and that's one thing that you can definitely pull from this, I believe, is definitely true today, OK. You're talking with somebody out stolen and you're like, oh, you know, I just think Kenneth Copeland is such a great man of God. I just think, Russell, you know, they're telling you without telling you I need to be saved. I'm not saved. That's what they're telling you, OK, because Jesus said that my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and the voice of a stranger they shall not follow. Somebody who is saved is not going to be like, you know, I really think that the pope is on to a lot of good and, you know, we ought to listen to him and we ought to support him, OK. Go read 1 Timothy chapter 3. Go read Titus chapter 1 and then come back and tell me that the office of the pope and these bishops and these women preachers, that that's valid, OK. It's not valid. You know, the Bible is very clear. It's crystal clear. It couldn't be any more clear. It's as clear as the heavens being rolled back as a scroll. That's how clear it is. A pastor must be married with children. That is what the Bible teaches, OK, so when you get people like, well, but I don't really necessarily think it means that and believe that you're dealing with a problem here most of the time for where the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. OK, so it's very easy for us to understand this where these false prophets are. There's going to be a flock of people that feast off of that because people that are not saved, they need that. They feast off of dead. They don't want to feast off the living because they don't have the new man, OK. But if you have the new man, you go read Romans chapter 7. The Bible is very clear. Paul said, you know, I delight in the law of God after the inward man. OK, well, guess what? Most people who claim to be Christians today, they don't have the inward man. So they're going to flock to the dead man. They're going to flock to the carcass. They're vultures is what they are. And it's kind of funny that that same crowd of people are always saying, hey, I believe Jesus could be over here. He could be over there. I think he's alive today working on earth with the Jews over in Israel. I believe he visited John Hagee. I believe he talks to Joel Osteen. I believe he could talk to anybody and tell them what to do. How else do you think these churches have tens of thousands of people? Clearly, God's blessing them, right? And it's like, what in the world is going on? None of that is true whatsoever. Jesus clearly tells you here, don't believe it. For where so ever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. OK, now there's another reason, a main reason why Jesus says this, and it's in Revelation chapter 19. OK, so dead preachers attract dead people. This verse is also a reference to the Great Supper of the Lamb, which happens when? Right before the millennium, so at the Battle of Armageddon. That's what Jesus is talking about. It follows the natural progression of prophecy in Matthew chapter 24, Mark 13, Luke chapter 21. You have the seventh seal, the day of God's vengeance begins, pours it out on the earth. There's a three and a half year period after that as well. The Antichrist is able to assemble the armies of the world and say, hey, we need to take on Jesus. We need to take on those that dwell in heaven. And of course, it's not going to work. Revelation 19, look at verse 11, we're getting close to being done. It says this, and I saw heaven open and behold, a white horse. He that sat upon him was called faithful and true. And in righteousness, he doth judge and make war. This is the Jesus that the new evangelical Christian does not know. This is the Jesus of the Bible, faithful and true. That means his truth is faithful to all generations, means his word is true unto all generations, and that he is about righteousness, which he gives to people, doesn't say you have to earn it. And he does judge and make war. He makes war. That is very clear here. Not just at this time, but he makes war right now. You go tell somebody what the Bible says about the alphabet people and guess what? You just made war by using the word of God. Look at verse 12, his eyes were as a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that no man knew, but he himself. Verse 13, he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood and his name is called the word of God. So again, where's the blood? Well, it's not underneath the cross over in Israel. Ron Wyatt didn't go down there and take a sample and take it to a lab. That's a lie. That is not true. Verse 14, learn the Bible. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Verse 15, and out of his mouth go with a sharp sword that with it he should smite the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God. Okay. Again, who is this? Is this the Quran you're reading? No, this is the word of God. This is the Bible. This is the same Jesus that saves people. Okay. Now I get it. This is not the Jesus of professing Christianity today. But look at verse 16, and he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Verse 17, and I saw an angel standing in the sun and he cried with a loud voice saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God. Okay. So what happens when Christ comes back at this battle here with the saints? Okay. The Bible says he's going to wreck those. He's going to basically kill all of those people that came to fight him. And here we see this angel calling the birds of the air, the vultures, all the fowls. This would include eagles. Okay. And they are going to feast on these people. They're going to feast on these chief men of the earth, these mighty men, these people that thought they could actually defeat God on his throne. And then last but not least verse 18, that you may eat the flesh of Kings and the flesh of captains and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on And the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both great or small and great. So again, it's not just the rich here. It's not just the special forces. It's not just the high achievers. It's your guy down at the trailer park. Okay. That's like, you know, I'm going to take the mark of the beast too. He's going to get it. There's no mercy for that. The only thing that happens is you get destroyed on this earth and then in hell for ever and ever. Okay. Okay. One more time to Matthew 24 in verse 28 for where so ever the carcass is there will the Eagles be gathered together. Okay. Obviously I think I could see some spiritual metaphor here. Okay. Where these false prophets are. People are, most people are going to flock to them. Okay. And that's your cue. That's your sign. There's a problem here. Okay. There's a problem because they're pointing people astray and they're trying to tell you, Hey, you know, he's over here. We're told not to believe it. Okay. And I realize that most people are going to flock there because they have all the signs, all the goods, all the wonders, and so on and so forth. Okay. And look at verse 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the star shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Verse 30 and 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 of heaven with power and great glory. And of course, again, we looked at what they specifically say when this happens. They're like, Oh, it's the Lord. We're not going to be able to beat him. And they call for the mountains and rocks to fall upon them in verse 31 and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect. Okay. Not Jew, not Christ rejecting Jew, but his elect, the saved, okay, from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other, which by the way also proves, okay, that people of all nations, all tongues, all languages can be saved. Not just people that speak Hebrew or Greek or whatever, but people of all languages. Okay. Then he gets into a parable, which we'll talk about later. So you say, what's the significance of this? What's the importance? And again, I've already told you, it's important that we understand these things because most people. Now you understand this, most people who call themselves Christians today do not understand these events. And the reason why they don't understand them is because they don't go to the Bible to try and understand them. They go read commentary, they go read different books, listen to different speakers, and that fills their heads and their minds with false information. And then that keeps perpetuating and that keeps getting pushed out there. Okay. It's your job. And it's my job to make sure that our converts get straightened out immediately on this stuff because you know what? It is possible for a season for someone to get sucked into a false prophet. Not all of these preachers out there who preach repent of your sins talk about it all the time. Okay. In fact, a lot of times they'll even say things that sound good. They'll say things like, oh yeah, it's just by faith alone. Okay. But they're using an ESV or they're using the New King James and you just go get somebody saved and they, wow, this guy could speak very well. This is, this is great. I'll listen to him. Next thing you know, they're all jacked up on all sorts of information. Okay. And they have to be the agents that are able to unravel that and to rope them into the truth so that we can continue the work that God has given us to do. So let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much Lord again for allowing us to be able to gather here and we just thank you for your truth and your clear prophecies in the Bible. Just pray you bless the soul winning Lord after the service and then pray that you just bring us back again safely tonight. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.