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I just pray that you bless today's message and keep it in your hearts. And I thank you and need to see you in prayer. All right, amen. Good morning again. Matthew chapter number 24. Now the title of the sermon this morning is called the pre-trib fracture, the pre-trib fracture. And of course that's a reference to what is called the pre-trib rapture, which is the teaching that believers or the church, that's what they'll say, gets caught up in the air to meet the Lord before tribulation comes on this earth. And so we're gonna go way back and we're gonna basically break that down. We're gonna spend quite a few weeks just basically going through this chapter and talking about prophecy, because it's very important. There's so much in the Bible about prophecy that you really can't let too much time go in between teaching this. I did a little bit of this at the beginning of the year. And so now it's definitely time again to move forward with it. And you might be thinking, well, what is the big deal if somebody believes in the pre-trib rapture? Well, let's answer that question here. Look down at verse number four. You're in Matthew 24 with the verse number four. So the Bible says, and Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no man deceive you. Okay, and now what we believe and what we can easily prove is that believers will go through the tribulation. So to say otherwise is deception. It's not true. It's false. And so therefore, because that is false, there are consequences. Now go to Romans chapter number five. Now keep your place in Matthew 24. We're gonna come back to it later. But go to, I'm sorry, Romans chapter number five. So just to kind of get you caught up to where we're at so you're not walking into the middle of a movie, so to speak. Matthew chapter 24, we're dealing with the last week before the crucifixion, okay? And the disciples have basically, well, to be more specific, you have Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They are here asking the Lord privately when these things are gonna be. And by these things, I'm referring to the temple being thrown down and just basically the end of the world. And so at the beginning of the chapter we just read, you notice how the disciples basically bring to the attention of the Lord, hey, look at this temple. Look how great these things are. And he basically says, you know, not one stone's gonna be left upon another. And so they say, well, when are these things gonna be? Because they're thinking like, okay, it's gonna be the end of the world when this temple gets taken down. And so then he proceeds to teach them and to correct them and to give them the truth regarding the end times. And because we're told so many places in the Bible to not let anybody deceive us, to not be ignorant, of course, what does the devil do? He works overtime at getting people deceived and ignorant on end times prophecy. So why is it that pre-tribsters get so offended at our position? Has anybody in here ever noticed that? Anybody in here ever gone to a church where they teach the pre-trib rapture and they find out that you don't believe that? Okay, now most of the time it's like you slap their mom. It's just devastating. They can't believe it. Their heart is literally broken. It's absolutely 100% broken. They're broken hearted, they're offended, they're upset. Now we'll say in the last few years, talking with new evangelicals and just people that go to these, you know, Tree City Church or something, something church, Great Chair Church, okay, the good news about those people is they're not being taught anything. They don't know what they believe. And so when you mention these things to them, they're like, okay, cool, it makes sense. Okay, but there's still, unfortunately, the vast majority of professing Christ in them today believes in the pre-trib rapture. And specifically old, independent, fundamental Baptist churches, boy, a lot of those guys get very mad when you bring up the fact that the tribulation is a thing that we are going to go through. They just do not like it. They can't handle it. They get upset. They try to have conferences about it. And it's just, it's a real problem. It really is a problem. But in Romans chapter five, we've got five verses here that are gonna give us some insight on why they get offended. And of course, this would cause more offense, but it is what it is. Romans chapter number five, look down at verse number one. So Paul says, therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, making a reference to the fact that there's no mediator between man and God. We have the direct access. We have the privilege of approach. We can go to the Lord at any time and pray and get comfort and get help. Verse two, he says, by whom also we have access by faith into his grace, wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Okay, sounds pretty good. Look at verse number three. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also knowing that tribulation worketh patience. Now let's read that verse again, okay? I want you to look at that word tribulations. What does Paul say here? Verse three, and not only so, but we glory in tribulations, plural. And you notice, what is Paul teaching here? He's teaching that, hey, when tribulations come to us, tribulations, plural, doesn't matter, you know, what type, he's not saying, okay, well, there's one tribulation that's just kind of like your daily thing, the things that happen to you in your life, but you know, the great tribulation, okay, you don't have to worry about that. No, tribulation's plural. I mean, this is meant to be read throughout all time because guess what? Believers are going through the tribulation. So he says, not only so, but we glory in tribulations, okay? Isn't it kind of funny how we hold the position, which the Bible teaches, that we will go through the tribulation and we glory in it. We're like, bring it, let's go. Let's look for it. We're gonna keep working. We're gonna keep learning the Bible. We're gonna keep preaching. You're not stopping us. It is what it is. Come get me. Hey, that's pretty much our attitude regarding the thing. We glory in it, right? Bring it, but what do other people say about that? They say, oh, no, that's not right. You can, here's what they'll say. You can stay for the tribulation if you want to, but I'm leaving. Oh, really? You must have an extremely high vertical jump. You must be genetically gifted beyond all manner of men and think that you're just gonna go up. I mean, what does that even mean? I mean, seriously, if I've heard that 10 times, I've heard it 1,000 times in my life, okay? When the horn blows, I'm going up. If you pre-trippers or you post-trippers wanna stay here, you can stay here. You're like, we have a choice in the matter. It's ridiculous, but notice this. This is the state of mind that we are in, and notice that they are not in that state of mind. Why is that? Look at verse four. So he says that tribulation worketh patience, verse four, and patience experience and experience hope. Okay, so there is a process here of glorying in tribulations. It brings knowledge, it brings patience, it brings experience, it brings hope. Look at verse number five. He says this, and hope maketh not ashamed. Why is it that they are ashamed regarding the tribulation period? Okay, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us. So why would these Christians not glory in the fact that the Bible says we will go through tribulation, we will go through the tribulation? And I would submit to you it's because of a lack of knowledge. It is a lack of knowledge which breeds a lack of patience, a lack of experience, and a fundamental lack of hope. That is what it all boils down to. They get offended because they have a lack of knowledge about God, and therefore they don't have that peace with God that we have, okay? And so what I mean by that is when a person takes the view of a pre-trib rapture and they really just get adamant about fighting against tribulation in our position, you know what you're gonna often find is a lot of other false doctrine, okay? They get off course and then they make another turn and they make another turn, and before you know it they're pretty much full-blown Zionists and it's just an absolute mess. But this is the mindset that we have. We want to glory in tribulations, accept it, because that's what the Bible says, and as a result we will get knowledge, patience, peace, all the stuff that it's talking about here, and of course this isn't just talking about the great tribulation, it's tribulation at all of any sort. So meaning when we realize as believers whether we live to see the day or not, when the tribulation comes, I mean if we can remember this passage here we're gonna glory in it and understand, wait a minute, it doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter because the Lord's coming back soon at that point, now we can look and see, okay it's definitely gonna be quick, it's gonna be happening soon, let's just go out and get as many people saved as possible and hey, and enjoy eternity, because the day of his wrath is coming and that's something that we can all rejoice in and look forward to. So go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 15 and let's move on here, and let's do some definitions this morning and we're gonna start off with the definition of rapture. What does that mean? What is the rapture? You're not gonna find the word rapture in the Bible just like you're not gonna find the word trinity, it is a single word used to describe an event, okay? So nothing wrong with using that word, it's just a word that we use to describe an event. We're gonna look at two passages about this here real quickly. 1 Corinthians chapter number 15, look at verse number 50. 1 Corinthians 15, 50 says this, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit corruption. We've talked about that in depth recently, look at verse 51. Behold, okay, Paul talking to the Corinthians, he says, Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. Okay, well, when is this? Look at the next verse. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. And then he says in verse 53, for this corruptible, meaning this body, okay, this physical body that we have for this corruptible, must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immorality. Okay, and so of course, notice here, who is the one that gives us this immortality, this incorruption, it is God. It is not something that we earn, it's not something that is a process that you have to follow. Salvation is a free gift, okay, you do not have to earn it. You cannot earn it. Now go to 1 Thessalonians chapter number four. So really verse 51, 52 there, describe, a little bit more vague than what we're about to read, but describe what we're about to read, a little bit more vague than what we're about to read, but describe this event of when we will all be changed, when life as we know it down here is changed, it is over, and we no longer have to deal with the negativity that our flesh brings, the bad thoughts, the evil things that we are tempted to do, all of that is going to go away. This body will be done for, we will eventually get our new bodies, and so on and so forth. So 1 Thessalonians chapter number four, look down at verse number 13. So we're defining what the rapture is. Verse 13, Paul says this, "'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.'" What is he talking about here? He's talking about ignorance. Okay, what did Jesus say? Let no man deceive you, okay? We have to constantly be on guard that other people are not making us ignorant, that we're not making ourselves ignorant, and that we're not being deceived. And what Paul here is trying to do is he's trying to provide comfort to the Thessalonians, because I'm sure there were people there that had issues or had questions. You know, what happened to our brethren that died and went to be with the Lord? You know, are we ever gonna see them again? What's it gonna look like? And he's comforting them, and he says, "'Sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.'" Okay, now there's nothing wrong with sorrowing when you lose somebody. Everybody does that, that's natural, but I will tell you, there is a whole nother level of sorrow that people have that have no hope, people that are not saved. I'll tell you a quick story here. It was a couple years ago I had met somebody who unfortunately lost his father, and I mean, this guy, he took it hard. You know, self-proclaimed atheist, took it very hard, just going through therapy, different treatments, drugs, nothing was carrying him. And he was enrolled in this shock therapy program, okay? And I was talking to his mom, and he was kind of there, and she was like, you know, this shock therapy is like changing him, like it's really weird, I'm scared, I don't know what to do. And you know, I was just thinking to myself like, that reminds me of this verse here, you know, people that sorrow, that have no hope, I mean, they just, I mean, I can't imagine the terror and just the absolute fear that they live with on a daily basis, which by the way, it's a good motivation for us to not only understand this, but to get people saved and give them the truth. Look at verse 14, he says, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, then which also sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Now notice what's missing here, okay? Notice what's missing, notice what this does not say. For if we believe that Jesus died, rose again, lived a perfect life, got rid of our sins, blah, blah, blah, okay, there's no long list like that. Why is that? Again, salvation is a free gift. Verse 15, 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 them which are asleep. Okay, meaning we're not gonna get up there before then, we're not, it's gonna be a simultaneous event, so to speak. Look at verse 17, it says this, this is really the main verse where we get the word rapture from. 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. Now look at verse 18, wherefore comfort one another with these words. So what's the emphasis here, okay? If we were gonna escape tribulation, if we were not gonna go through the great tribulation and not gonna see our brethren die and not experience this, why wouldn't Paul make that the emphasis of hope? I mean, don't you think that's pretty important? Don't you think that would be like, oh, okay, we're good to go. But what's the emphasis here? The emphasis is on the actual day of the Lord when this event happens, the moment that we're caught up. He's saying, don't worry about your brother and he doesn't even use the word died, right? He notices asleep and that's how we're supposed to look at that when a brother dies, that they're just asleep, that they're just with the Lord, they've gone on into glory. Okay, so again, notice the focus here. Then we which are alive, verse 17 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 Lord. Now, the situation here and the controversy surrounds on the timing of this, okay? And again, pre-trib people say, well, this here is before the tribulation, okay? And I'm gonna show you that it's not before the tribulation. It is actually an event that happens on the day of the Lord, which Matthew 24 says very plainly after the tribulation. After the tribulation, Mark 13, Luke 21. Okay, very, very, very clear. Now, before we move on to the definition of tribulation, I just wanna give you one example of what the tribula, or I'm sorry, of what the rapture is not. Go to Revelation chapter number four real quick. Revelation chapter number four. Revelation chapter number four. So if you're familiar with the book of Revelation, starts off in chapter one with John explaining that he's getting a vision. He's on the Isle of Patmos and he's received a vision from the Lord. And then it proceeds to move on to chapters two and three to the letters to the seven churches which are in Asia, okay? And of course, we've gone through these in detail in the past. And it's just basically going through each of these letters, what they've done good, what they're doing bad, what they need to do to move on forward. Now, right after John gets done explaining this, okay, in chapter number three, Revelation chapter number four, people say, okay, this is where it proves that there is a pre-trib rapture, okay? Because what they'll do is they'll hyper-spiritualize chapters two and three and say, this is really the church age. And then everything in Revelation after that has to deal with what they call the seven-year tribulation, which it's not seven years. We'll get into the timing and all that later. But they'll basically use that. They'll say, okay, chapters two and three, church age, chapter four, tribulation, and we're not appointed unto wrath, so therefore we're gone. And they'll even say things like this. Chapter four is just crystal clear that we're all caught up to heaven and it's pre-trib. Okay, so let's look at three verses here and see if that's true. So look at verse number one of Revelation, chapter number four, who says this. After this, I, okay, pay attention to that word, I. After this, I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven. And the first voice, which, now pay attention to this word, I, see that, I, which I heard, was as it were of a trumpet talking, now pay attention to these two words, with me, with me. Now does that say with the church, with every believer in the world? No, with me, which said, come up hither and I will show, pay attention to this word, the. Okay, the is singular for you. Like we would just say you, but the is singular meaning John, okay, the person receiving the vision. The things which must be here after. Now look at verse number two. And immediately, pay attention to this word, I. Does that say every believer in the world who's ever existed? Or does it say I? If we go back to verse one, you've got I, I, with me, thee. You have four references in one verse talking about John. All singular. Now we got number five here at the beginning of verse two. And immediately, I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne was set in heaven and one sat on the throne. Verse three, and he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone and there was a rainbow round about the throne in sight, like unto an emerald, okay? So what's going on here? Because what people say is, well, this pictures that the church is caught up, okay? They'll say, well, this is basically John saying that we are caught up to be in heaven with the Lord. That's not what it's saying at all, okay? And it's time we hold people accountable for saying stupid stuff like this. And that's bad Bible doctrine, okay? If they're gonna get that sloppy on Bible doctrine, what else are they gonna get sloppy on? Okay, I mean, take your pick. I mean, it's crystal clear after this, I looked, okay? This vision is for him. Now, this passage obviously is for every believer and it applies to us, but it's in no way, shape or form implying explicitly or implicitly that the whole church is gonna get caught up after the church age, okay? That's bad Bible interpretation. That's not true. It's clearly John describing what he saw so that we could understand these things and move forward, okay? So again, that's a crystal clear example of what the rapture is not, okay? This is not talking about the rapture in any way, shape or form. This is specifically about John who was on the Isle of Patmos that received revelation so that we could then understand end times and therefore not be deceived. So hopefully that helps. Now, let's move on here. So we know what the rapture is. It's our catching away. It's when God takes us out of this world, get everything new, okay? So go back to Matthew chapter number 24 and let's understand what the tribulation is and by the tribulation, I mean the big one, okay? Now, obviously we all go through tribulations. We all go through hard times. So basically what that means is it's trouble, it's perilous times, it's things of that nature. Now, if you look at that chart back there, it's kind of got a very generic basic breakdown of the end times, the last seven years of the world, so to speak. You have 1,260 days which describe tribulation and then you have, after the abomination desolation, you have about 75 days, okay? And that's what's referred to as great tribulation. We're gonna talk about that next week, okay? So we'll kind of recap some stuff from this week and then we'll go into detail into that and what that looks like and what that means, what the Bible says. And then you have 1,215 days of God's wrath. This is where basically God pours out hell on earth and basically messes with people and really punishes the earth for not believing in him and all sorts of things. And we'll look at that, obviously, a couple of weeks from today. So let's take a look at some stuff here, okay? We understand now, we got our definition on what rapture means, okay? Let's see what tribulation is. Now, you're in Matthew 24. Look down at verse number four again. Let's look at this verse again. It says this. It says, and Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no man deceive you. So what he's about to do is he's about to go into the tribulation period, what that's gonna look like, what that means. And again, tribulation, it's perilous times. It's dangerous times, it's trouble. It's really the 1260 days before the abomination of desolation, okay? That's what tribulation is. And so to answer any questions about what it's gonna look like, perfect passage right here. Verse number five says this. For many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many. Now I've heard this verse explained a couple of different ways and both of them make perfect sense. Both of them are true, okay? And God's word is deep like that. It's eternal like that. And so some people, there's basically two groups. So some people say, okay, well, for many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many. And so people say, yeah. So people will show up on the scene saying, hey, I'm the savior, okay? And they'll deceive many. They'll say that I'm Christ and deceive many. And we see that, okay? People do that. There's a guy by the name of Tyler Doka who claims to be Christ. He's an idiot. He's a reprobate and a clown, okay? But really the second way also applies where if you look at the verse again, he says for many shall come in my name. So they'll read that like saying, for example, wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst. So what he could be saying here also, and this is true, for many shall come in my name saying I am Christ and shall deceive many. So in other words, we have a lot of people and this is the majority, okay? A lot of people today do come in the name of Christ, okay? I mean, this church right over here, they would tell you we're here in the name of Christ, okay? But they deceive many. The Catholic Church does that. The Mormons do that. The J-Dubs do that. New Evangelical Christianity does that. So on and so forth, okay? And really there's more of that style than there is of the other people just pretending, no, I'm the Messiah sent from God, okay? Because it's kind of hard to fake miracles and things of that nature. Now you can get some people, but not very many. And to be fair, you're in Matthew 24, look down at, let's see here. Look at verse 24 real quick, because he does mention those people again. It says this, verse 24, for there shall arise false Christs, false prophets, shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible, they should deceive the very elect. And of course, we'll talk about that in detail in a couple of weeks. But so false Christs, okay? So again, there are people that identify as the Messiah, but we know them to be false saviors, false Christs, and things of that nature. But either way you read it, they're both true. We do have people that claim to be Jesus Christ, claim to be the Messiah. But really it says for many shall come in my name. Okay, many means most. It means the majority or a great number of. And what you see today is a great number of people saying or claiming to come in the name of Jesus saying, hey, look at the works we've done. We're casting out devils. We've done many, one of things, things of that nature like we talked about on Wednesday. And they deceive many, they deceive most. Most people are deceived in that way versus the other people that just claim to be Jesus. So again, just some food for thought there. Look at verse number six. It says this. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, see that ye be not troubled. For all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. So what are we doing here? We're trying to understand the tribulation. Okay, the time period right before the great tribulation, before the Antichrist is revealed, the abomination of desolation takes place. We're trying to understand what it's gonna be like. And so far it sounds like our day. And if you wanna be honest, even if you were to go back into John's day, it would kind of sound like their day, okay? But obviously when you do your study and you really think about it, all of these things are gonna be intensified is what I think the implication here is. So we've got many people deceiving, people in the world about Christ. You have these wars, rumors of wars. That is definitely going on today. And there's a lot of people troubled about these things. Now I'm not saying we're in the tribulation period, so please don't say that, okay? You're gonna know that when you see the abomination of desolation. Okay, that makes sense. Okay, that's what's been going on. I get it, crystal clear, okay? So again, wars, rumors of wars. He says, see that you be not troubled for all these things. Now look at this, must come to pass, okay? So why is that important, must come to pass? Well, because you got all these goons getting on the news and saying, well, I can make peace. I'm a peacemaker, blessed are the peacemakers, you know? Saying, hey, if you adopt this policy, if you all just give up your guns, give up your rights, the war is gonna stop. Okay, well you as a smart Bible-believing Christian know that that person's lying to you because Jesus said these things must come to pass. So they are going to happen. So when people make claims like that, you say, no, no, these wars are gonna happen, you're not gonna be able to stop it. Therefore, you know what, I'm not giving you anything. I'm gonna keep what's mine, I'm not giving up the Bible, I'm not giving up my guns, I'm not taking your secret juice, shut your mouth and go along your way and I'm gonna keep doing what I do. So a little rant for you this morning. Now look at verse seven. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there should be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. So again, when I read that, what I believe we'll see is these things intensified, going on all over the earth, all over the planet and it will be obviously an unfortunate time. But what is your job? What is my job as a believer? Well, we're supposed to look at verse six and be not troubled. We're supposed to be Romans chapter five and glory in tribulations. That's the hallmark of a mature believer. To look at a tribulation and say, let's go, let's get through this, let's go for it, okay? Not to be the other way. Look at verse number eight. All these things are the beginning of sorrows. Now also notice something here, okay? No mention of hey, pass this on to future generations but you guys don't have to worry about it. There's no mention of anything like that. Verse number nine. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you. Who's the you? Is it Peter, James and John and Andrew? Well, it's every believer. That's what he's talking about there. That's crystal clear. And they shall kill you. Well, wait a second here. Oh, I get it. That's the Jew. Because after we're all gone, the Jews just magically all turn to Christ, right? Isn't that what the Zios want you to believe? Yeah, that's false doctrine. Okay, it ain't happening. Ain't happening. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and ye. There's three times there. Three times. It's time people learn to count and to read these things as they're written. Okay, and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. Now there's this funny thing that keeps popping up on social media. You know, Russia is like, hey, we've got these sanctuary cities and we're inviting conservatives to move over here and it's gonna be great. Here's some wisdom for you. You want some wisdom this morning? Look at verse number nine. You hear something like that, this is what needs to pop in your mind. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and ye shall be hated of, what does that say? Next two words. All nations for my name's sake. Is Russia all nations? Is Poland all nations? Is Hungary all nations? Yeah, okay. You ain't hiding. You know, you might be able to hide, you know, wherever you're at. But in general, there's no nation that you're gonna flee to and escape this. It's going down, okay? But that's okay because we glory in tribulations like Paul taught us, okay? This is crystal clear. I get this is a tough truth, okay? But guess what? We have a tough God. And if you read the word of God, you're gonna be a tough believer and you're gonna get through this. It's not gonna phase you. You don't have to go to Andrew Tate and these so-called masculine men that are on the internet to get tough. You just need to understand the Bible and that will make you a tough person that will put thick skin on you. So again, all nations for my name's sake. This is where we're headed, okay? This is where we're headed. Now, just speaking of Russia, what happens if you go to Russia today and start knocking on doors and preaching the gospel? You're gonna go to jail is what you're gonna do because there's only one religion that's allowed there and that's Orthodox Christianity, which is hypocritical in their part because I've seen a video of Putin talking about how the Quran is holy and sacred and stuff like that. These people are all bought and paid for. They all work for the devil and some are worse than others. You say, is Zelensky worse than Putin? Probably, oh yeah, of course, okay? Anybody who Biden and his administration support, they're super wrapped up, okay? Like super reprobate. You'd rev your engine, well, rep your engine. Okay, that's what you think of when you talk about these types of people, okay? Verse 10, and then shall many be offended. Oh man, that sounds like today, doesn't it? I'm offended, I can't believe you said that. And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. Well, the Bible says, great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. Think about that. Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. So if you take that verse and you apply it here, what do you see? Then many or then shall many be offended. That means that most people of the earth during this time do not love the law. They do not love the Bible, the truth, the word of God. So therefore people are getting offended and that's what you're seeing today. It's why so many different sections of Christianity and professing Christendom, why they hate this church and hate our friends so bad. You know, and you say, yeah, but they have a Bible. No, they don't have a Bible. They have something they call the Bible. They have something they call church. They have something they call brother, someone they call sister. Okay, but it's all a facade, it's a lie, it's not true. It's deception is what it is. They're offended because they don't have that peace that we talked about earlier. Why is that? Because they don't love the Bible. They don't love the word of God. I've told you this a thousand times. The moment a man gets up in his pulpit and says, well, this isn't in the original manuscripts. You have a man or a sissy boy for that matter, who does not love the Bible, who does not love the truth. And so of course, when they hear somebody like us, you know, they get offended and they get upset and they wanna stop you. Oh, they must be stopped. You don't represent Jesus Christ. You're hateful. You're a hate monger. You should be silenced. You're bringing shame to the cause of Christ. No, actually you, Mr. Soy Boy, who gets offended, you're bringing shame to the cause of Christ because my Bible says great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. That's why the post-trib pre-wrath position doesn't offend us because we don't care about going through tribulation. We glory in it. We're tougher than you. We're stronger than you. You say you're being arrogant. No, I'm being honest. That is what the Bible teaches. That is what we must understand. Look at verse number 11. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. So you have this weird thing going on where so many people are getting offended and all the nations hate us. But yet you have people claiming the name of Christ or showing up, talking Bible, talking this, okay? Again, so what does that tell you? That tells you, guess what? Pseudo-Christianity will be alive and well is what that tells you. That is what this is saying here. Look at verse number 12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Okay, this is the deal. You know, you're looking at the news these days. You're talking with people. You're seeing video clips on social media of people just running into stores and just loading up shopping carts and just bursting out the front door, okay? In California and other states like it are passing laws saying you can't stop them. You can't say anything to them. You just gotta let them go. Okay, and that's a pretty mild one compared to what's really going on. These people are trying to enact laws that basically tie your hands behind your back. If Gavin Newsom could have his way, he would have it to where you basically can drink soy milk, eat Impossible Burgers, stay in your home, not leave, have an electric car and house a bunch of criminals and if they molest you, rape you, beat you, you have to be okay with that and not be offended. Seriously, that's what it would be. Why is that? Why is the world going in that direction? Well, it's because of this verse right here. Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Iniquity shall abound. So what the devil's doing right now is he's putting people in positions of power and positions of influence to make sure that iniquity abounds. What's iniquity? It's horrible stuff. It's sin. It's unrighteousness. It's breaking the law. It is all of those types of things that we talk about and see that God hates, okay? And the Bible's telling, Jesus is telling you, this stuff's going to flourish. It's going to abound, okay? It is going to be prevalent. It's going to be the majority. And so the byproduct of that is that people's love is going to wax cold. It will cease. And you're seeing that today. I'm not saying we're in the tribulation. I'm just saying, hey, if you wanna make some sense about what's going on today, it's all in this chapter. Look at verse 13. But he that shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved. Okay, now of course we all know people like to extract this verse and say, see, right here. Okay, they won't read the verses prior to this. They're not gonna read the verses after this. They're just gonna say, well, if you endure to the end, then you'll be saved. Okay, why didn't Paul tell the Philippian jailer that? Why didn't Philip tell the Ethiopian eunuch that? Why didn't Jesus say that? Okay, what is he talking about here? Jesus did say this, but it's in reference to the tribulation period. Go back real quickly to verse one. Matthew 24, verse one. And Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. Verse two, and Jesus said unto them, see ye not all these things, verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately saying, tell us, when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming and the end of the world? No mention of salvation. They're not saying, Jesus, tell us how we can get to heaven and no, we're not going to hell. It's not anywhere in here. We're way past that, way past that. We're way past that. So what does this mean? But he that shall endure what? Endure all the things we just read, man. Okay, the wars, the rumors of wars, the iniquity abounding, the earthquakes, the pestilence, the famines, all of this stuff. That's what he's talking about enduring. Okay, not enduring the commandments and following this and following that. Okay, people that extract this verse and spout that off as a method to get to heaven should be shocked, not by us, but by the government. But of course we live in an unrighteous world and that's not going to happen. But people that say stuff like that are dangerous people. Okay, they are sending people to hell by causing them to believe that. What does this say? But he that shall endure to the end of the same shall be saved. So if you're crafty enough, if you understand how to operate here and God's given you the health, you can be a real terror during this time. Yeah, you can pop out, give people the gospel, hide, you know, stuff like that. I mean, seriously, you can. There is a way to survive this year, okay. But unfortunately most people will be martyred. Look, they can't kill the soul. These people can kill the body, that's it. All they can do is change your location. They can never stop your life, never. Okay, so anyways, another rant down the tube there. Look at verse 14. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come. Okay, he's talking about the end there. Okay, so the gospel will be preached during this time. There will be someone to preach the gospel. There will be, God will preserve people to get the truth out, okay. Now, of course, if you're a pre-tribber, you're reading this as if the church is gone. And so like a Jew magically just, oh, okay, I guess the Bible's true. And all they do is they pick up the Bible and they start learning all these things and get caught up with the times and they get supernatural gifts and healings. No, false doctrine. Believers, those that are saved preach the gospel, okay. Look at the verse. And this gospel of the kingdom. Okay, and again, people that wanna extract verse 13 and apply it to salvation will never go back and take a look at all the reference to the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of the kingdom of God, which is the same thing, it's the good news. The Messiah paid the price for your sins. Salvation's free, the work is done, it is finished, okay. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. Okay, so what's the focus here? The gospel getting to all nations. Okay, your zio reads this and says, oh, Jew, Jew, Jew, Jew, Jew, yes you do, Jew, Jew, Jew. And there it's just Jew, everything's Jew. It's all about the Jew, okay. No, the focus is getting people saved. That's what this is about. And then what? And then shall the end come. And then the rapture will come and hell on earth shall move forward. Now we're getting close to being done. Go to 2 Thessalonians chapter number two. I got like maybe three more passages, okay. 2 Thessalonians 2, John 16, Acts 14 and then we're gonna be done for this morning. And again, we're gonna come back and break more of this stuff down next week. So we understand now the definition of rapture. We've got that. We understand what tribulation is. You're gonna understand next week what the great tribulation is, but you have a good understanding. And I know you guys know this stuff anyways, but you get it, okay. Now what's up with the timing of the rapture? Because I keep telling you it's after the tribulation, okay. Now with the pre-trib of saints, there's nothing left that has to be done. The horn could blow at any moment. I used to have a pastor, the horn's gonna blow. I'm surprised it hasn't blown yet. It could blow by lunchtime. Every service, the horn's gonna blow. It could blow today. The horn's coming, okay. Is that true? Is that what the Bible says? Okay, because the rapture happens on the day of the Lord when he comes back. And you'll have a very clear picture of timing if you stick with us the next few weeks. Let's take a look at something here. 2 Thessalonians chapter two, look at verse number one. Now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And by our what? Gathering together unto him. Remember that is the rapture, okay. Remember that word. Gathering together unto him. Verse two, that ye be not soon shaken in mind or troubled neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us as that the day of Christ is at hand. What does that mean? He's basically saying, hey, I want you guys to be troubled and to be all caught up and to be all thinking that it's like right now. Like it's at hand at this moment, like just a right around a corner, okay. Now, why does he say that? Well, let's keep reading verse three. Look at this. Does this sound familiar? Let no man deceive you by any means, okay. How many times do we have to read that? Well, a bunch more because this is very important. People say, oh, pre-trib, oh, it's just harmless. There's nothing really wrong. No, it's harmful is what it is. That's why we're told we need to clearly and concisely understand how these things work. Let no man deceive you by any means, okay. By any means, by that newspaper that we get every month from, well, what is it? It's got Sam Gibbs face on it all the time. The Baptist Press, his old IP, it's a joke anyways. But by any means, okay, by a video, by a letter, by a, Paul's like, I don't care if you see a spirit. And I'm like, hey, it's pre-trib. Nope, that's not what the Bible says. Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come. Oh, starting to get serious. Sounds like he's gonna tell us something here. Like, well, no. Okay, what does it say? Except there come a falling away first. Again, we're gonna deal with that later, falling away first. So people falling away from the truth, people getting offended on a high level. He says, and that man of sin, that's the one that gets them. And that man of sin be revealed. The son of perdition. Now, has that happened yet? Now, if you see on the news today, you know, this guy like, hey, just want you to know you're gonna worship me, I'm God, blah, blah, blah. Then okay, you know, then you could say the days at hand. Okay, but that hasn't happened yet, has it? Okay, so what has to happen before the day of the Lord, before the catching up, before the gathering unto him? What has to happen? Well, two things. The falling away and that man of sin be revealed. What does it mean to reveal something? To uncover, to manifest, to expose, to show, okay? That hasn't happened yet. The son of perdition, the son of hell, the antichrist. Nobody knows who the antichrist is. Yeah, there's probably a million videos online of people saying, oh, I know who it is because I'm wise and I got wisdom and I calculated this guy's name and he's over in Rome right now and if you really do this with his name in Greek numerology, it comes out to six and six. Okay, run from those people. You don't need to get all crazy with it. It's right here, okay? You wanna know something? It's right here in verse three. And then there's some attributes given. Look at verse four. 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. And again, we'll come back later on and really scoop up what that means. But I just got two more things for you. Go to John chapter number 16. So John 16, then Acts 14, we're gonna be done for this morning. Okay, so the timing's very clear. I mean, it's literally after that happens, okay? And when is he revealed? Well, you're gonna learn next week, the abomination of desolation, okay? It's like, oh, there he is. Okay, we got it. Crystal clear now. John chapter 16, look at verse 33. Look at what Jesus says here. He says, these things have I spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. Notice how we started off the sermon in Romans chapter five talking about what? Peace, okay? How do we get peace? We get peace by knowing and understanding God, that access that we have to him which provides hope, okay? And what does that cause? It causes us to glory in tribulations, plural. What do we have here? These things have I spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation. Does it say you might have tribulation? It's possible you'll have tribulation. Well, you have some, but you're not gonna have that great tribulation. You're not gonna have that 1260 day period. That's not what it says. In the world ye shall have tribulation. As long as believers are in this world, there will be tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. You gotta ask yourself, who's Paul been spending time with to be able to write Romans chapter number five? Oh, I get it. Spent it with Christ. Cause that's who taught it to him. This is ridiculous. Go to Acts chapter 14 real quick. Last verse and we're done. And again, I'll make the timing even more specific next week. And as we go through this, there will be no doubt. It's not even debatable, okay? People wanna debate, no. You got nothing. You seriously have nothing, right? What are you gonna do? Go to Revelation chapter four and try to say that, of I I with me, the I is referring to the church. That's terrible. That is absolutely embarrassing. And it just makes me feel weird. It makes you feel weird. Okay. It's just cringy is what it is. It's super cringe, right? Is that what it say? Acts 14 verse 22, last verse. So Paul says this, confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them. So obviously they're visiting people. They got saved and they're like, hey, how's everything going? They're confirming them, teaching, checking up. Who says, confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith. And that we must, okay, what does must mean? Means mandatory, means obligatory. You're obligated. It's gonna happen. There's no escape. We must through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God. Now, you know something that we, who's that we talking about? That's the church. That's the believers. That's the kingdom of God. That saved people. Much tribulation. So that's all that the world can offer you. Guess who's in charge of the world up until 75 days after the tribulation. Well, obviously God's in charge of everything, but he's allowing Satan to literally and physically run the planet during that time. And the only thing that the world can offer you is tribulation. I mean, think about it. What do you have to, you have these clowns out here and run around, you know, you can tell they don't work. They don't work very hard. What do they do? They work up to the government to give them everything. Right? Isn't that what socialism is? Isn't that what they want today? They want the world to give them everything. Okay. Government to solve all their problems. The government will never solve your problems. Okay. The only thing the government can do is cause you grief by hiring more IRS agents and more this and more that. Okay. The last thing we need is more people in the world having control or even influence over our lives. Okay. So hopefully that makes sense. So we're gonna stop right there for this morning. We'll pick it up again next week and we'll start to progress through the chapter. We'll start to move on. We're gonna understand great tribulation. We're gonna understand the abomination to desolation, all that stuff. 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 this morning. Just pray that you'd bless the fellowship after the service and the soul-winning to come. And we just also pray, Lord, that you'd bring us back again safely tonight. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.