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And just ask that you give us a big message to help us understand it in our heart and in our body. Amen. All right, good morning, amen. So we're in 2 Thessalonians chapter number two. If you would just turn over to chapter number one before we get started here. So typically on Sunday mornings, we've been going through the book of Matthew and what we're doing is we're in chapter number 24. Now this morning, we're really not gonna go back to Matthew chapter 24. We're actually studying the contents of Matthew 24, which are end times prophecies. A couple weeks ago, we started talking about the rapture. We gave definition for what the rapture is and then we talked about the seven year period before Christ returns. We broke that down and we saw what the Bible said about that how the first three and a half years are tribulation and then there's this event that changes everything and it's called the abomination of desolation. And with that taking place begins what we call great tribulation. And in Matthew 24, we're told that those days are cut short for the elect's sake. Now after that, which we haven't got to yet, the last part of that period is what's referred to as God's wrath, okay? And that's after the day of the Lord. What we're gonna do today is we're gonna talk about the third temple and what the Bible says about the third temple. We're gonna talk about all sorts of different things in Second Thessalonians chapter number two. We moved the Bible reference charts to either wall. So if you need help, like don't be ashamed to use those charts, look, cause we're gonna have a lot of turning today, okay? This is not, I typically try not to do sermons like this on Sunday mornings, it just worked out that way but there's gonna be a lot of reading today so hopefully that doesn't discourage you, I doubt it will. So let's get this thing started, okay? So chapter two begins off with Paul saying, now we beseech you brethren, okay? And so we wanna understand the importance of what Paul's really trying to communicate to the Thessalonians and ultimately to us as well. Now if you would, chapter number one, look at verse number seven. So Paul says this, he says, this is part of his introduction, he says, and to you who were troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. Verse eight, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now what does it mean to obey the gospel, okay? Especially in this context here. Well it means to believe the gospel, it means to be saved, okay? And obviously today you have a lot of people that hear the gospel or before they even get a chance to hear the gospel, they reject it, they don't wanna obey it, they don't want to believe it. Or even worse, what they'll do is they'll go to a church that teaches them they have to work for their salvation. Okay, that's not obeying the gospel, that's disobeying the gospel because the gospel is salvation, God's free gift to mankind, to anybody who will receive it. So verse nine says, who shall be punished, okay? So these people that do not obey the gospel, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, okay? Now go back to chapter number two. Now it's important to understand that destruction, where it comes from, okay? It comes from, remember the word from, it denotes source. So that destruction and that vengeance is coming from God. A lot of people will use this passage here to say, well hell's just separation from God. And that's not what it's talking about at all. It's saying that the destruction, the turmoil, the punishment, the vengeance, all of that stuff is coming from God to this earth. And that's a very devastating thing to read. I mean, you read that and it's like, wow, that's pretty harsh. And so Paul doesn't want the Thessalonians to be worried or to be concerned about that day, okay? One, because obviously they're saved and two, because during the time of this writing, they're kind of confused or you could tell when you read it, there's people who'd come in and say, hey, the day of Christ is at hand and you had a lot of different ideas trying to be injected into their local congregation and Paul's trying to iron some of these things out and set the record straight, okay? So that's the context here, the day of the Lord. That is what Paul is really talking about here and when these things are absolutely gonna happen. So now let's get in to the text. Look at verse number one, it says this. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord. Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him. Now what does that gathering together unto him mean? That is the rapture, okay? So in English, we like words that, we like one word to describe an event, okay? It'd be kind of hard if we didn't have the word rapture and we just kept referring to it as our gathering unto him or gathering unto him, it gets kind of cumbersome. So what people have done is just assigned a word to this and that word is rapture. You're not gonna find the word rapture in the Bible, but obviously you find the doctrine and here is a perfect example. You know, it's kind of like the word Trinity. You don't find the word Trinity in the Bible, but you find the doctrine in the Bible. So nothing wrong at all with that. So let's talk about what's going on here. So he said, now we beseech you, okay? So he's urging them, okay? We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him. Now when you read this chapter, okay? Really you've got three people that it's talking about, okay? You've got the Lord Jesus Christ, you have God, you have the son of perdition, and then later in the chapter it mentions Satan, okay? So just keep that in mind, those three things right there, because we're gonna talk about that extensively today. Now last week I mentioned when we read this passage describing some different things and talking about the abomination of desolation, I brought up the question, how can a what be a he and all that? We're gonna answer that today. We're gonna answer some stuff about the temple of God and what's going on with that. So let's look at verse number two. He says this, okay? So he's giving the purpose. So he's giving them the urgency in verse one, okay? We beseech you, pay attention. We want you to understand. Verse two, look what he says. 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, what's going on today and has been going on for a long time is that most Christian people teach that the day of Christ is at hand, okay? Well, the horn's gonna blow, the horn's gonna blow, the Jews are building the temple, it's almost here, and we could be gone at any minute, okay? The traditional teaching in professing Christianity today is that the rapture happens before the tribulation and it happens before the anti-Christ is revealed, okay? And I just wanna show you how unbiblical that is, okay? It's so unbiblical. Yeah, I almost feel embarrassed for even having to read this and to try to prove this to you because it's so crystal clear. So again, let's just make sure, we're gonna go through this slowly. Let's just make sure we understand very clearly what Paul's intention is, okay? What is his intention? Well, that they be not soon, verse two, shaken in mind or troubled, neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us as that the day of the Lord or the day of Christ is at hand. Now, I don't have time to go to all these different places, but the day of the Lord and the day of Christ are the same event, okay? And we'll talk about that in the future, in the coming weeks, okay? So it's not immediately, okay? It's not the next thing on God's prophetic calendar. Now look at verse three. Let no man deceive you by any means, okay? By any means, by any avenue, by any tactics, okay? We talked about this when we started the series, how Jesus said, and he emphasized, do not be deceived. What do you have today? A bunch of deception, just a ton of deception. That's what you have, okay? And there's various means like the Left Behind series, like the Scofield Reference Bible, like scholars, archeologists, people claiming to have dug up new texts of the Bible and oh, and in the original manuscripts, it actually says this and proves my point, okay? We're not to allow ourselves to be deceived by any means. Let me just emphasize this again, okay? This stuff here, you have got to study on your own. You need to make sure that what I'm telling you is right. You need to make sure that what you're hearing from other people is right, okay? The Bible says to study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, okay? So that is just, I just cannot emphasize that enough. You have to study these things on your own. But let's keep moving here. Let no man deceive you by any means for that day. What day? The day of the Lord, the day of Christ, the day he mentioned in chapter number one. For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. And so what do we have going on here? Well, the day of the Lord is not gonna happen unless there's a falling away first and then the man of sin gets revealed. Well, we know from our study last week that the man of sin or the antichrist, he gets revealed when? When the abomination of desolation is set up, okay? Now we're gonna get back into that, of course, in the future, okay? But this is so important for us to understand. There has to come a falling away. Now I bet almost everybody in here has heard some preacher or has been in some church where they say, this is the rapture, the falling away. And if you go back to the Greek, if you go back to the original manuscripts, if you go back to the original languages, it's referring to a departure, meaning we're departing this earth. It's not what it says, okay? That is not what it says. A falling away. Go to Luke, keep your place here, but go to Luke chapter number eight, one verse for you over Luke chapter number eight. Let's see if we can allow the Bible to define the Bible. What does the Bible say the falling away is? Because this is gonna be very important to interpret the rest of this passage here. So Luke chapter eight, look down at verse number 13. The Bible says this. So Jesus giving or explaining and interpreting a parable, he says this, they and the rock are they, which when they hear receive the word with joy. And these have no root, which for a while believe and in the time of temptation fall away. Okay, well, we don't have time to break down this whole passage, but what he's saying here is basically what you and I see all the time. We see people get saved all the time. Sometimes they'll even come here for a short period of time and they'll be excited and they'll be on fire, so to speak, but then the world or their family or problems get to them and they're like, well, church is no longer a priority and they fall away, okay? Meaning they just basically go away and they don't contribute anything to the kingdom of God anymore. So that's what we're talking about, the falling away. And obviously you could see a falling away and there's other scriptures to support this, just a general falling away from even wanting to know the gospel, okay? And because the Bible says iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. And so the more wickedness that is allowed to happen on this planet, the more people in their own reasoning look at that and say, oh, well, how would God allow that to happen? And so you have to deal with that as well. But go back to chapter number two of 2 Thessalonians. Let's take another look at this verse here, okay? So the falling away is not the rapture. The falling away is not us falling up or falling over and up like a curve. Like maybe we fall this way and then kind of go up, okay? You'd be surprised, but people say stuff like that. You know, it's a real thing and it's horrible. It's bad Bible interpretation. Look at the verse again. Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first. So this event has to happen before the day of the Lord. Crystal clear. And then what does it say? And that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition. All right, now let's look at verse number four. Let's read it and then we'll talk about it. Who, okay, referring to the son of perdition, referring to the antichrist, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God. Now, okay, this is Bible prophecy. And I told you, you have to study yourself. You have to look at these things. You have to read the Bible for yourself, compare, contrast, think, meditate on these things. And I told you last week that the tentacles of Zionism are very deep. Now, I'm not referring to any of our friends' churches, by the way, okay? But I've been to churches that claim they're not Zionist and yet they still will interpret these things in a zionistic way. And my goal is to look at it for what it's saying, okay? Now, I understand today that the Jews in Israel are building a temple. And the reason why they've gotten as far as they have is because of misguided, misinformed, ignorant, so-called Christian people. They keep sending them their money. Send the money there. Send the money, send the money, send the money, okay? But what I'm gonna submit to you is I'm not sold, okay? Because what I keep hearing from a lot of the zios is that, well, the Jews have to have their temple and the Antichrist will walk inside of their temple because it's the temple of God. And then he's gonna profane that and he's gonna declare himself God. I'm not sold on that, okay? And I'm gonna show you why I'm not sold on that. I understand they're building it, okay? But I've got a lot of problems with that. And there's a lot of things that I just do not click for me. And number one, read the passage, okay? Look at that word there after the semicolon. What does it say? It says, so that he, the Antichrist, as, okay? What does the word as mean? Used in comparison to refer to the extent or degree of something, okay? That's what the word as means. So that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God. Well, capital G, God, okay? Let's talk about that, okay? Well, we know that God is in his throne in heaven, but the Bible, and you're gonna see this in a minute, is crystal clear that he sits in the temple because he's in the midst of us. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We are the temple of God, okay? The Jews building some building over in Israel today, that would not, Paul would not refer to that as the temple of God. The veil was torn. We're gonna rehash this this morning because a lot of people say, oh, you're off your rocker. I can't believe you said that. I can't, you know, you're going against the narrative. I'm just studying the Bible for what I see it, okay? That is not the temple of God. It's not, okay? So if they build that and some guy goes in there and sacrifices a pig, the whole thing's an abomination. It doesn't matter, okay? The fact that they're even building that is a slap in the face to Jesus Christ. That's what I'm saying, okay? And you're gonna see that. Now go to 2 Samuel, back to the Old Testament, 2 Samuel chapter number seven. 2 Samuel chapter number seven. Now, last week I mentioned and kind of brought this up, we bring this up quite a bit, that a lot of Bible, a lot of Bible verses, okay, a lot of passages in the Bible will have not just single, but they'll have double or sometimes even like triple fulfillment, okay? They can be fulfilled in different ways. And you're gonna see that here in 2 Samuel chapter number seven. So just to set the context, David has been given rest by God from his enemies. So he's kind of sitting around in his house and you know, David, a man after God's own heart, David loves God. And David is sitting around and he's like, you know what, Nathan? You know, I've got this great house. I'm just basically sitting here. I've got comfort, I've got rest, but the house of the Lord doesn't have rest. And what does that mean? Well, if you're familiar with the beginning of the nation of Israel, God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, okay? And so obviously inside of the tabernacle, you had the Ark of the Covenant and you had basically everything that you would see in the temple. Again, I don't have time to really get into that in detail. There's a lot to be said, but they had the tabernacle. The tabernacle you could think of as like a portable temple and it would move with the children of Israel. Well, obviously after David unifies the kingdom, he's got rest from his enemies. He can tell, okay, we're settled here. We've defeated everybody. We're just hanging out here. I want a permanent fixture for the tabernacle so it's not in a tent anymore. And so what he does is he asks the Lord for permission to build the temple. And now let's see God's response in accordance with David's request. Look at verse number seven. So this is God's response to the request of David and he says, in all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel, spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel saying, why build ye not me in house of cedar? Okay, so God is letting David know right off the bat that that temple was not his idea. Okay, that was David's idea. Not a bad idea, David did love God. We need to understand that. We need to remember that. Now look at verse eight. Now therefore, so shalt thou say unto my servant David, thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheep coat from following the sheep to be ruler over my people Israel. Verse nine, and I was with thee, whether so over thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. Verse 10, moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own, and here it is, and move no more. Neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them anymore as before time. This is a prophecy here. Okay, this is a prophecy, believe it or not, to the third temple. Okay, so let's back up and talk about these temples. After this, what happens? God says, David, you've shed too much blood on the earth, but I'm gonna give you a son, and we're gonna read that here. I'm gonna give you a son, and he is going to build the temple. Now David, obviously he's satisfied. He's like, okay, you know, I understand. David got to prepare for the temple. He definitely got to do that. And then after Solomon takes the reign, Solomon completes the temple. And Solomon prays to God and says, let this temple be a beacon of light to the whole world that people from all nations afar may come here and call upon thy name. Okay, that was the heart of Solomon during that time. Now, obviously after that, Solomon married a bunch of different wives. They turned his heart. God got mad and it said basically, I'm gonna divide the kingdom. Okay, I am going to divide this kingdom. And fast forward many, many, many, many years later, the Babylonians come in and basically destroy the temple. And one of the things I just want to kind of throw out there, you can study this on your own. We'll do a study in the future, is what happened to the Ark of the Covenant? Because that was the whole point of David wanting to build that temple. Because the Bible says that the Ark of the Covenant is God's footstool. It's what it says. And I think it's 2 Chronicles somewhere. So obviously Ark of the Covenant, you know, if you were not a Levite and you touched it, you would be dead. Remember the Ark of the Covenant when the Philistines captured it, God cursed the land. And there's a lot to be said about that, okay? So we don't know what happened to that. We don't know if God just destroyed it. A lot of people today have claimed to have found it. We don't know, okay? But all you see is basically the Babylonians come in, temple destroyed. 70 years later under, what is it, King Cyrus? Okay, after the Babylonians, they get mopped up by the Medo-Persian Empire. Cyrus comes in and says, okay, now I'm gonna let you rebuild the temple, okay? They get a second temple. And that second temple, no mention of anything about the Ark of the Covenant, okay? All you basically read is it just wasn't as good as the first one, but it's the home of the Jews at that point in time, not the same glory, not the same thing. You fast forward to the time of Christ, to the crucifixion, what happens? Well, God tears the veil inside of the temple, signifying that that thing is done, okay? So just hopefully that helps you out. Just a quick overview here before we move on. So back to this prophecy in verse 10. I told you this is a lot this morning. Don't fret, if you can't keep up, you can always ask for the verses. Watch this again, look at verse 10. Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell any place of their own and move, and this is key, no more. Okay, that's one of your clues to understand that this is a prophecy. Neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them anymore as before time. Well, 70 AD, who destroyed the temple? Well, the Roman Empire did, okay? So obviously this isn't talking about that. This isn't referring to the fact that they're gonna have a physical building for the rest of their lives, it's not what it's saying. Neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them anymore as before time. What did Jesus tell us in Matthew? To be not afraid of them, which can kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. And then what did he say? He said, don't worry because not an hair of your head shall perish. Okay, so if you read this with the understanding that we are the children of God, we are the temple of God, and that we have the new man, it makes total sense that it's talking about us. It's a future prophecy. But yet you're gonna see double fulfillment because obviously Solomon will build the temple. Okay, verse 11. And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies, also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. Okay, so obviously this is Nathan speaking on behalf of God. Look at verse number 12. And when the days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. Okay, so talking about Solomon here. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish his throne of his kingdom forever. So obviously a reference to King Solomon, but also this is one of those dual fulfillment deals in reference to Jesus Christ. You can see the Jesus Christ pictured in here. Now go to Matthew chapter 12. And we're gonna go to Matthew 12, and then next up is gonna be John chapter number two. So Matthew chapter number 12. Matthew chapter 12. Let's try to understand this temple business. Okay, let's understand this. Let's see what the Bible has to say. Because the last time I preached this, I think it was late December, and I got some emails. I'm assuming from dispensation. I don't know. I'm just super mad. You know, people get so mad that I said that I didn't agree or wasn't sold on the fact that that temple over there is gonna have any significance. Let me also say this while you turn into Matthew chapter number 12. This is another reason why I'm not so sold on that is because of the delusion. Okay, Jesus mentions the delusion. Paul mentions the delusion in 2 Thessalonians. Okay, strong delusion will be sent unto this earth. Every new evangelical Christian, okay, right now, practically most of them, are looking for the Antichrist to walk into that temple and somehow defile it, and it's all about the Jews. Here's the thing. The Bible says that only the elect will not be deceived, that this delusion is so strong that even the elect would fall for it if that were possible. So what that means is that every false church out there, okay, most of professing Christianity is gonna fall for this. Look, and if you don't believe me, give me 10 minutes after the service, and I'll just take you to one of these churches, and we'll just walk up to people. Hey, hey, you know, I'm a Christian. Are you a Christian? And we'll just ask them what they think. Hey, man, how was service today? Okay, hey, how do I become a Christian? You know, tell me that. Or we'll just take you to knock some doors. Okay, just take you to knock some doors, and you'll run into people that go to just about every church in the area, and you ask them how they know that they're saved, and they're gonna give you a wrong answer. Those, listen to me, those people are gonna fall for this, okay, and I just think this is me, this is my speculation here. This is my speculation. This is what I think. I think that if the Antichrist sets up the abomination of desolation in New York City or the Vatican or just somewhere else, okay, I think that most Christians today would be like, oh, well, he's not the Antichrist. He's a prophet, or he's from God. We've got some things wrong, right? We don't have a perfect Bible today because we don't have the original manuscripts, and here comes this guy who can call fire down from heaven. He's got a deadly wound that's been healed, okay? He's unifying people. He's kind, he's tolerant, he's all of these things, okay? They're gonna be like, well, the Jews are still over. It's not playing out like that. I believe they would fall for it that way, okay? Now, I'm not saying 100%, okay, the Antichrist isn't going to go and have something to do with that temple. Maybe that will be the first place that he or that the beast establishes the image which he gives life to. I'm not sure, okay? All I know is there is strong delusion coming, and there's no verse in the Bible that promises or even implicitly states that there will be a third temple. Well, let me take that back, okay? There are some places where I could look at and say, yeah, that might indicate that they do get success with the third temple. So let me take that back. Let me just make that clear, okay? So Matthew 12, look at verse five. Look what Jesus says here. He says, or have ye not read in the law how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless? Verse six, but I say unto you that in this place is one greater than the temple, okay? So who is greater than the physical temple? Well, it's Jesus Christ. It is the Lord. Go to John chapter number two. John chapter number two. So very clearly in 2 Samuel chapter number seven, God said, hey, this cedar temple that you want to build was never in my heart. It never came into my mind. It was not my idea. This is your idea, but just so you know, I'm gonna grant you that petition. And furthermore, I am going to establish a home for my people where the wicked will no longer move them nor afflict them, okay? And that is obviously in reference to today, to the new kingdom of God. Remember, we are the Israel of God. The Israel of God today is not bound by race or nationality. It is a new thing. It is a mystery that we're studying on Sunday nights. John two, look at verse 16. It says, and said unto them, that soul dove. So obviously this is Jesus in the temple cleaning up because people are abusing it. They have turned the temple into a grocery store, an exchange market. And he says, take these things hence, make not my father's house and house of merchandise. So this is the second temple. And during this time, obviously that is where God said, religion will continue here until further notice. Verse 17, and his disciples remembered that it was written, the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, what sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things. So remember the Pharisees, they're all mad, right? They're like, you overthrew our bookstore. You don't like our coffee shop. Hey, you don't like this stuff. Look what Jesus says. Verse 19, Jesus answered and said unto them, destroy this temple and in three days, I will raise it up. Okay, so who is the temple? It's Jesus, okay? So what's the third temple, right? You had the original one that Solomon built. You had the second one, which they're dealing with now, the one post captivity, okay? Or still actually in captivity, but what's the third temple? It's Jesus Christ. When you get saved, what happens? You get placed into the body of Christ. So the third temple is the body of Christ. Verse 20, then said the Jews, 40 and six years was this temple in building and wilt thou rear it up in three days? Right over the top of the head, just right over, okay? Right over the top of the head, verse 21, but he spake of the temple of his body. Look at that insert there by the narrator, but he spake of the temple of his body. Look at verse 22. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. And of course that is the great question for today. Do we believe the scripture? Do we believe what Jesus says that he is the third temple? And of course, I know you all do. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter number three. 1 Corinthians chapter number three. And look, all I'm trying to do is just show you that I've got a bunch of Bible verses saying that the body of Christ is the third temple. And why are so many people upset and angry that I said, oh, you're saying that there's no third physical temple and the Jew doesn't have anything to do with it, okay? And well, the Bible doesn't say he's going out to make war with the Jews. He's making war with the saints. But when you're a dispensationalist or you're sucked up into Zionism, well then it makes sense why you would believe that because what they teach is that we're all gonna get raptured out before any of this happens and the only people left are people who just realize, oh, they made a mistake and then all the Jews are gonna come and get saved, right? That's what they say, because the Jews are their heroes. The Jews are their football team. That's what it is, okay? And they're just like, well, you know, he's making war with the saints and the saints are the Jews. They're the only people left. They're all gonna turn to him. And then in the millennium, we're all gonna get to serve them because they're gonna bring back the animal sacrifices. I purposely sit out to really find out what they believe and here's one theory that I heard and I don't know how popular this is. I'm just gonna share it with you. So here's one of the things they're saying. They're saying if you go to Israel today and you go to the crucifixion site, okay, they say they got it all blocked off because underneath there is the Ark of the Covenant and people have gone down there and filmed it and there's angels protecting it and you can't see it. It's like, well, why can't we get the video? Well, it's in a safe location. Okay, sure it is. But anyways, they're like, well, people died down there. Okay, so what these people are putting forth now, what they're saying is that, well, during the earthquake, after obviously Christ had died on the cross and the soldier pierced his side and the water and blood ran out, that that ran down the crack, got on the Ark of the Covenant and then what's gonna happen is the Antichrist, he's gonna pollute the sanctuary, okay? So he's gonna go down there or somebody's gonna go down there, take the Ark up and basically get the blood and do something with it and he's gonna remove 1 John 5.7 or 1 John 5.8, which says, for there are three that bear witness on earth, the spirit, the water and the blood. Okay, and so when he does that, salvation is no longer gonna be possible because he pollutes the blood of Christ, he pollutes the sanctuary and so then the only way people can get saved is if we bring back the animal sacrifice and thus, since we're all Gentiles, okay, in the millennium, we'll get to help them do their animal sacrifices. Yeah, how's that for a mind twist? You wanna talk about mental gymnastics? There you go. Good night. I don't even know why I brought that up because now I'm just looking at this like, what is this? What did I write here? All right, 1 Corinthians 3, look at verse 16. Know ye not that ye, ye, talking to the believers, know ye not that ye are the what? The temple of God and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you. Verse 17, if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Okay, why is God going to take vengeance on this world? Why is he going to throw the false prophet, the beast, the antichrist in hell? Okay, it's not just because they're Christ rejecters, it's because he is going to destroy the temple of God on earth. He is going to make war with the saints, the Bible says. His abomination of desolation is to make us desolate because we won't worship him because our names are written in the book of life. And the Bible is very clear. If your name is written in the book of life, you will not worship the beast nor his image. So keep that in mind. Go to 2 Corinthians 6. Verse 16 again. 2 Corinthians 6, verse 16. In what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? Okay, look, in what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? If the Jews complete that temple, it is idolatry at best. It is not the real temple of the holy God, that is us. Look what he says, for ye are the temple of the living God. Okay, the Jews are building a temple and it's going to be in the temple of a God, but it's not our God. It is not the God of the Bible. For ye are the temple of the living God. As God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people. He's quoting the Old Testament here, which we don't have time to get into. Go to Ephesians chapter number two. This is prophesied all throughout the Bible. Look, this is why I'm telling you, you have got to write these things down. You have got to read these things on your own time. Ephesians chapter two, look at verse number 19. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God. Verse 20, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. Look at verse 21, in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto unholy temple in the Lord. Okay, last place I'm going to have you turn is Revelation chapter number 21. Then of course he says, in whom ye also are building together for an habitation of God through the spirit. We as the body of Christ are the third temple. We know that the antichrist will come after us because we will not worship him nor his image. We're not going to have any part of that. So his abomination is what makes us desolate. But everybody just focus, oh, it's going to make the Jews desolate. It's going to make some of them desolate. I'm sure some of them are going to be upset because the Jews, even since the days of Christ, they've been looking for an army. They've been looking for a king. They've been looking for a Messiah that will come on the scene and make them great once again. That's all they care about. They don't care about Christ. They don't care about salvation. They don't care about the word of God, not whatsoever. Last one about this, Revelation 21, 22. So after the new Jerusalem comes down, John is seeing this in a vision. He says this, and I saw no temple there in, for the Lord God almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. Why do I have all of these verses? But then I get 500 emails from angry Zionist Christians, dispensationalist, telling me how stupid I am. Oh, I bet you didn't even go to Bible college. I bet you didn't do this. Bet you don't know this. But I got all this proof here. Give me one. I just want one verse about your temple. I want one. Can you do that for me, please? Do I have to pay you? I'm just asking a question here. Where is it? Oh, you're being rude. I'm just sick of it. Sick and tired of it. Go back to 2 Thessalonians, chapter number two. All right, verse four, again, let's just back up just so we can get back into this here, okay? Third temple is the body of Christ, okay? Look at this. Verse four. So the antichrist, 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. So what Paul's doing here is he's saying he's gonna be putting himself in a position as God is. So as God dwells in the temple, meaning us, he's gonna do that similar thing, okay? It's not explicitly saying that he's going to do that in the Jewish temple and then the Jews are gonna be like, oh no, not this again. Let's all turn to Christ. Look, Jesus said, if another comes in his own name, him shall ye receive. That's what he said. He's basically giving them a prophecy. Hey, when the beast comes, when the antichrist comes, him you're gonna receive, but you won't receive me who keeps pointing back to the father and saying, you know, I'm not here of my own accord. I'm following the father's plan and they don't care. They didn't want any part of that and he called him out for it and said, you're gonna follow the beast. You will be deceived by the beast. All right, verse five. Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things? Okay, now verse six. And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. Now let me just stop and throw this disclaimer up so I'm not trying to get in trouble, okay? I've got friends here in the New IFB and they explain this different. I know some people that think that it's Michael, the Archangel that withholdeth and they've got some decent, you know, scriptures on that. I know people that say, well, this is the antichrist here that's withholding before he receives his deadly wound. I don't have a problem with that. But what I'm gonna do now is I'm gonna share with you how I read this, okay? You don't have to, don't agree with me. Try to find something wrong. That's what I'm saying. Study this out. You make sure that what I'm telling you is decent and correct. But here's the thing, okay? We could be different on prophecy. Prophecy, you're gonna, here's what you're gonna find as you study prophecy throughout your Christian life. You're gonna have to change certain things because you're gonna learn new information. There's gonna be new revelations in society and you're gonna be like, okay, you know, and you're gonna have to compare and contrast and that's okay, okay? What I'm not doing is teaching you some false doctrine, okay? Just because somebody has a different position on how they interpret certain passages about prophecy doesn't mean it's false doctrine, okay? We can be different. We can be in different stages of learning. It's okay. Unless you believe that this falling away is the rapture. Yeah, that is the toughest thing. That is just too much. I can't deal with that, okay? So let's break this down, okay? So he says this in verse six because this throws a lot of people off. This has thrown me off, but let's get into it. He says, and now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. Okay, what is that? Go back up to verse number three. What is withholding? So we have something that is preventing, that is stopping the day of Christ from happening or rather the revelation of the anti-Christ. We have something that is stopping that, okay? So what is that? Because Paul says, and now you know. Well, that means he must've just told us. So all we can do is just back up and try to understand. Look at verse three. Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition. So what's withholding? What is this withholding here? What is it? It's the fact that the falling away hasn't happened yet. Okay, you don't have to turn there. In fact, I want you to turn to Daniel chapter eight real quick, but keep your place here. Matthew 5, 13, you're the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. Okay, so what is preventing, what is withholding the anti-Christ at this time? It's the fact that the falling away has not occurred yet. And yes, people are falling away at larger rates than they have in the past. We get that, we understand that. But what is preventing is the salt of the earth, the light of the world. It's the body of Christ, okay? And for the last several decades, we've read about and we've been seeing how many Christian pastors and Christian churches are no longer talking about this stuff or just being super vague about it. And they're not calling out sin for what it is. They're not really hunkering down on the gospel. They're wishy-washy and they're inviting people that believe in false gospels to come preach at their churches. And they're blurring the lines and things are getting bad. And this is why our society is the way that it is because God's people for so many decades now in this country have not called out sin for what it is. They are not teaching how God really feels about these things. And so as that continues to shrink and to disappear, the more iniquity, the more evil comes on the scene, okay? So that is what is withholding, okay? That is what is preventing that he might be revealed. Now, Daniel chapter eight. So I read for you Matthew 5, 13. And Jesus says, again, you are the salt of the earth, but at the salt have lost his savor wherewith shall it be salted. It is then for good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under the foot of men. So in other words, if we're not doing what we are supposed to be doing for the kingdom of God, we're really not doing God any good. And we might as well just go home. That's basically what he's saying. We might as well, we're good for nothing. That's what he's saying. Similar language here, Daniel chapter eight. Now we're gonna get into Daniel a little bit more next week. We're gonna break this down, okay? So I don't have time to get into everything on chapter eight but Daniel has received, this is one of the four visions, okay, that he has received. Just for context quickly, look at verse 11. So I just wanted to get you familiar with this. I'm not gonna even explain what's going on here. He says, yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. Verse 12, and a host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression and it cast down the truth to the ground and it practiced and prospered, okay? So this is another one of those double fulfilling things. We'll talk about it next week, okay? But it's also applicable to the end times, to the antichrist doing what he's gonna do. Look at verse 13 now. Then I heard one saint speaking and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, how long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression of, and here's that word, desolation, to give both to the sanctuary and to the host to be trodden underfoot. See, why did you bring that up? Because I want you to connect that to Matthew chapter five, okay, this is what the antichrist will do. He will trodden us, he will stomp us, he will be given permission basically in a green light to go after the saints of God. And I know this isn't comforting. I know this isn't like the best Sunday morning thing you could ever hear, but it's the word of God, okay? Now go to 2 Thessalonians chapter two again. See, why did you bring that up? Because that is the falling away, okay? The falling away is what is withholding this guy from being revealed, because he said it cannot come except there be a falling away first. So verse 14 of Matthew chapter five, you don't have to turn there, he says again, you're the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid, okay? So keep that in mind here. We are what is withholding, and obviously we're in Christ, and remember your antecedents in this chapter. You have the Lord Jesus Christ, you have the son of perdition, and then you have Satan, the devil himself, okay? So hopefully that kind of makes sense. Look at verse seven. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way, okay? Now, if you believe that that's talking about the antichrist before he received his deadly wound, I could see how that fits, I got no problems, okay? Let me just submit to you what I believe here. Keep your place there, go to 1 John chapter two. So towards the end of the Bible there, 1 John chapter number two, because I just want you to understand what the mystery of iniquity is, because Paul's telling these guys, hey, this mystery of iniquity that we're talking about here, the antichrist, all this stuff that's gonna happen, okay, it's already working, meaning the devil at any given time has a man ready to step in should the falling away happen, should whoever this is that is stopping this should say, okay, I'm gonna take, you know, step aside so that you can go ahead and do this, okay? The devil always has a man ready. John explains it like this, the mystery of iniquity, verse 18 of 1 John two. It says, little children, it is the last time. And as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time. Verse 19, they went out from us, but were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest, that they were not of all, or they were not all of us. So again, what is John saying there? Well, there are many antichrists, okay? Now the antichrist, obviously he will be against Christ. That's obvious, but really anti means like type. So he's gonna be a type of Christ. He's gonna claim that he's a savior. He's gonna claim that he is the Messiah to humanity. He's gonna unite the earth, not only the economy, but also the religions of the world. And we'll do a full thing on him. I just wanted to throw this at you to kind of give you some information on what the mystery of iniquity is, okay? There's always a remnant, I guess you will, really not a remnant, there's a lot of people that are antichrists that are in every generation that we're all having to deal with. And it's kind of funny how in verse 19, he says that they came out from us. Now I'm not gonna sit here and definitively, dogmatically say that the antichrist will have been somebody who went to an independent fundamental Baptist church, you know? I don't know, but he's gonna have something at some point to do with us. He's gonna know our doctrine. He's gonna know the Bible. Unfortunately better than most Christians. Go to John, now the gospel of John. Let's see here, I'm gonna have you go. Yeah, we got time. John 14, John 14, okay? I'm gonna read for you 2 Thessalonians 2, seven again. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Okay, so Paul's letting him know, hey, this mystery is, the ball's rolling, okay? The ball's rolling right now. But again, the emphasis here is comfort. He's saying, hey, don't be shaking in mind. Don't be thinking, okay, this is just like right now gonna happen. No, there's something that has to happen first. There's something withholding. There is something preventing this from happening, okay? And what I believe it is, I believe it's us. I believe it's the believers. I believe it's the salt and light of the world, okay? And then he makes this statement. Only he who now letteth will let, okay? So this could be he who allows this to be happening. Or you could say, this is the old use of the word letteth and it's talking about restraining. You're gonna come to the same conclusion practically, okay? And then it says, only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way. And this is, okay, listen to this. This is where most Christians, okay, pre-Tribbers are like, taken away, taken out of the earth. Okay, hold that thought. That's what they say, okay? When the Holy Spirit is taken out of the earth, well, I've got the Holy Spirit, I'm out too. And then they'll always throw this at you. You can stay if you want, post-Tribber. You can stay if you want. Now I'm gonna give you a few verses on the Holy Ghost for a couple of reasons, okay? And one of them is I don't want you to think that that position is so stupid that it's not worth considering because there's some valid reasons why this, I believe here, is God in this passage, okay? Number one, okay, we're gonna come back to this. I'm gonna actually have to illustrate this, but he says taken out of the way, not taken off the earth, taken out of the way. Now, just so you know, there was a time before the Holy Ghost was actually in the world doing his ministry, but we know the Holy Ghost is God. So it's like, how can it be God, but be sent, okay? And this is kind of one of those mysteries, okay? God, I mean, is infinite in ways that we just can never really wrap our mind around. I heard a preacher one time say, yeah, I know one thing God can't do besides lie. I was like, what? Well, he can't travel. Well, you're gonna see that's false because he can travel. It's crazy, right? Think about it. How can God be everywhere, but still be able to travel? It's insane. John 14, look at verse 16. Jesus says this, and I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever. Go to John 14, 26. But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. Go to chapter number 15. So what are we learning so far? Just two verses, okay? Well, the Holy Ghost is being sent to the earth, okay? Being sent to the earth. Well, why are you bringing this up? Are you a pre-trib guy saying that the Holy Ghost is gonna be taken off the earth? No, but the Holy Ghost can move. God can hold something and step aside. That's what I'm saying. You're seeing that here. Obviously, the Holy Ghost has been there since day one before then. He's eternal, okay? But there was a time where he was not in the earth as he is now. John 15, 26. If you ever get confused and you wanna just like have a quick tool to help you remember all the verses about the comforter, just remember your sixes. John 14, 16, 14, 26, 15, 26, and then we're gonna go to 16, seven, okay? So look at, what'd I say, 15, 26. It says this. But when the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. Now go to chapter number 16. Look at verse number seven. There is a clown out there. I don't know if you guys have heard this. His name's Tyler Doka. And he, I didn't watch the video. Pastor Thompson told me about it. But this guy, I guess he like makes a video where he measures his head. And he's like, the measurements correspond exactly with the dimensions of the temple in the Bible, okay? And he's like, I don't know. We're worried about people like that, okay? Drugs, too much fluoride in the water, I don't know, okay? John 16, look at verse seven. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send him unto you. So this transaction here is Jesus telling the disciples, hey, I need to go into the Father so the comforter can come unto you. And you guys can get to work and build this temple, the real temple of God. Look at verse eight. Here's the mission that the Holy Ghost has. And when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, okay? Now, go back to 2 Thessalonians chapter two for a second. What is the job of the Holy Ghost? He reproves the world of sin. It should never cease to amaze any of us that no matter how small our movement is, no matter how small our church is, we always seem to get the attention of the most vile, wicked people, even politicians. Even the governor of the state knows about our church. The mayor does. It is crazy because the enemy will say, oh, nobody knows who you are. You just quit, give up. You got a small church. You only got like 30 people, blah, blah, blah. And it's like, then why are we having such an impact? Why is Pastor Anderson's church, why is Pastor Anderson, for that matter, who's got a church, I don't know, they're doing well. They got like 300 something people, okay? People will still mock him and say, you don't have 1,000 people. You don't have 5,000 people. You must not be doing something right. But yet he's gotten the attention of how many different nation heads and been banned from how many countries, okay? Why is that? It's because the Holy Ghost is using us. That's why. He reproves the world of sin. He gets what we do and he manifests it. He gets it out there. It doesn't matter if YouTube wants to cancel us. He's gonna get his truth out to this world. That is what he does, okay? Now, I'm just gonna read Matthew 24, 24 for you guys in regards to that. Jesus says this, Now, again, we say, why are you bringing that up? I'm bringing that up because that is so important to understand during the end times. So, 2 Thessalonians chapter two, look at verse, let me see here. Look at verse number 11. Actually, look at verse number 10. It says, Now, we're gonna back up to verse seven again. So, I'm just bringing that up to emphasize again of deception. And, you know, I brought that issue up that some of the dispensationalists are teaching about how the Antichrist is gonna take the Ark of the Covenant out of the earth and basically pollute the actual blood of Christ and people won't be able to get saved anymore and they'll have to go back to animal sacrifices and that justifies their third physical temple, okay? Look, I don't know how or if that's ever gonna manifest but it's things like that that are gonna deceive the Christians today, okay? They're gonna deceive, now you're Buddhist, you're Islam, you know, all these other isms. They're just gonna see this guy call fire down from heaven. They're gonna see the miracles. They're gonna see the signs. They're gonna hear his agenda, how well-spoken he is and the things that he says against them in heaven and they're gonna be right on board, okay? But my focus and what I like to spend time on is what's gonna get the new evangelical? How are they gonna possibly fall for it, okay? Well, we know that they're deceived. We know that they're saying, well, the Holy Ghost is gonna be taken out of the world, okay? And so that's why all this crazy stuff's gonna happen but that is not the case. He's not being taken out of the world. Let's look at that verse again. Let's just settle back for a second and look at this phrase taken out of the way, okay? Verse seven, for the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way. So there's somebody standing in the way of the antichrist, okay, from being revealed. Now, when the antichrist is on the scene and he's actually doing what he does, okay, we're not gonna really know who he is. Some people will probably be able to guess, right? But you're not gonna officially know until he receives the deadly wound and then comes back to life with the spirit from hell, okay? That's when you'll know for sure. But right now, there is someone, there is a he stopping this, that's withholding this, that is preventing him from coming on the scene because the mystery of iniquity doth already work. The devil always has a man ready to step in to that role, okay? So let's just take a look at this, okay? Because of course, the pre-turbers say, well, he will be taken out of the way, meaning he'll be taken off the earth, okay? Let me just quickly illustrate this for you. I don't know how, I should have brought another table, but I think you guys can see this here. Let me put this over here and let's pretend that this is a wall, okay? This is a wall, this is in the way of this. This truck is trying to go through here, okay? He's got a mission that he wants to accomplish. There's a place that he wants to go, but he can't because this is in the way, okay? Once this is taken out of the way, then Des can then go on his way, okay? It's not saying that this will be taken out of the way and then go up and up and up and off and completely out of the building and down the street and into the next state. That's not what it's saying. It's not. Taken out of the way, okay? We get that? It's not that hard. People are complicating this and it's just frustrating. Just chill for a second. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way. Who's the he? Who do you think the he is? That's the better question, okay? Look at verse eight. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. So I believe that right now the Lord is stopping us. Say the Lord moves out of the way and lets people do what they want to do all the time. If you really think about it. The Lord is preventing this through the body of Christ. That's how I see it. Again, you might have a different interpretation. That's totally fine. That's totally fine. But the question I'm going to be asking you is show me how you came to that conclusion. If you say, well, I heard this. That's not going to be good enough. You see what I'm saying? Show me how you got there. If I have to do this, then so do you. Because we're all the same. There's nothing really special about me. I just met some qualifications and now I'm here. But God has the same standard as far as studying the Bible for all believers. Study to show thyself approved. And so that's how I read it. I believe that it is God. And God's going to step aside and say, okay, you know. I mean, Jesus even said, you know, when I come back, am I even going to find faith on the earth? It's getting more and more difficult to get people saved across the board, it seems like. Especially around here. You know, I'm talking to my friends in other churches and they're like, yeah, you know, this one has been a little bit rough. We'll probably have roller coasters like that as the day approaches, okay. And we're told we can see this day approach. And the more we see the day approach, what are we supposed to do? More fellowship, more church, more interaction with God's word so that we're not deceived. And so that we can continue to do what we do, which is preach the gospel to the lost and edify one another. So I believe that when God says, hey, the time is right. Okay, I'm going to step aside and just allow you to do this. Okay, I'm going to allow you to do this and I'm going to take vengeance on this world for what they have done. And that's how I read it. You may read it differently and that is totally fine. Verse eight, one more time. And then shall the wicked be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth. So he steps aside, allows this to happen and then he comes back and he consumes this guy with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Verse nine, even him who's coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. So again, remember, I believe also that as this day approaches, you're going to see a resurgence in these apostolics, these Pentecostal types, because sooner or later someone's going to get it right and they're going to actually be able to do miracles to people. Not that it's right, right, but you get what I'm saying. They're actually going to have some sorts of power and there's going to be an increase in demonic activity and people are going to fall for it. Okay, they're going to fall for this stuff and be like, oh, oh yeah, he's from heaven. He's from God. But what are we supposed to do? Well, we're supposed to read these things and understand them. Well, verse nine is telling us even him who's coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. That's going to be their method. That is going to be how he deceives people. Verse 10, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. And that's going to look many different ways. Again, the false gospel, human achievement is going to be very big. It's going to increase and increase. Unrighteousness, deception, deceivableness of unrighteousness. We can't emphasize enough how unrighteous it is to tell somebody that they have to work for their salvation or that God just gives it to everyone. Either one is work salvation. He says, and then the parish, because they received not the love of the truth that they might be what? Saved. Saved. So because people get to a point where they just don't even want to receive this truth, God is going to say, okay, all right, devil, I'm going to let you have your run at the world. Okay, verse 11, we're almost done. And for this cause, okay, and for this cause, God shall send them strong. Send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that they all, and all means all, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. And of course that looks many different ways. We are going to go over these verses again. I just wanted to kind of leave you with that this morning because again, this is a lot of information, but the whole point of this is to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the third temple is the body of Christ. Whether or not the Jews are successful at building their temple, it doesn't matter. It's not the temple of God. It's not. I'm sorry. Don't know what to tell you. It's not the temple of God, and him going in there and making the Jews desolate, that is not what this is about. This is about the saints. This is about the war with the saints, and the Bible is clear, and you're going to see this next week, that he will be successful. He will trodden us underfoot, but as Jesus said, not an hair of your head is going to perish. We ought not to fear them that can kill the body but cannot destroy the soul in hell. So we're going to stop right there. We're going to do a lot of overlap. I'm going to come back next week. I'm going to review some of this stuff, and then we're going to move on to some other things. So let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Dear Lord, thank you so much for allowing us again to be able to gather here this morning. I just pray that these things would sit well, Lord, that we would continue to study these things, and to always have an open, ready mind to receive truth from your word. I just pray that you bless the fellowship after the service and the soul wanting to come and bring us back again safely tonight. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.