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Good evening brethren, please take your Bibles and turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse number 3, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse number 3. I'm continuing the series on the end times and what I left off last time was teaching on Great Tribulation. And I had to cut that sermon in half and I'm glad I did because I have many other things to speak about here. And if you look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse number 3, again a very common verse that we've been looking at during this series. 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 we see that the day of Christ, the rapture, cannot come except there come a falling away first. The title for the sermon tonight is A Falling Away. What is this falling away? What does this mean? What is this about? Well, I know how much you guys love it when I go back to the Greek. I'm just joking. But you know if you do go back to the Greek, the term that is being used here to describe this falling away is the Greek word apostasia. Apostasia, where we get our English word apostasy. And so what is apostasy? Apostasy is moving away from the truth. You've got a truth and you're deciding no, I'm not going to heed that truth, I'm not going to walk by that truth, I'm going to go and teach otherwise. It's knowing the truth and departing from that truth. It's not just a lie, it's actually knowing the truth and departing from that truth. It's an abandonment of that truth or of that faith. It's been unfaithful toward biblical truth. That's what the falling away is. And what we see here then, before the rapture takes place, there has to be a falling away first, a departure from the truth. And please now take your Bibles and go to Luke chapter 8. And as we're teaching about the great tribulation, teaching how believers will suffer in that great tribulation time to come for the name of Christ, for his testimony. We want to make sure that we're believers that do not fall away during this time. That we are believers that remain faithful to the end. And as we saw in the last sermon that God will give a great measure of his Spirit the way he did on the day of Pentecost. So we will be able to do great works for God, preach the gospel throughout all nations. But let's not forget that it's going to be a very difficult time. I'll read to you a few passages while you turn to Luke chapter 8. But in Revelation chapter 2 verse 10, the Bible reads, So what do we learn here is that Jesus is instructing the church here to be faithful unto death. If he has to tell his believers be faithful unto death, that would mean there are some believers that would not be faithful unto death. The fact that they need to be instructed to be faithful means some will not be faithful. That would be a falling away from the faith, a falling away from the truth. But if you do remain faithful unto death, he promises to give you a crown of life. If you lose your life for Christ's sake, he'll give you the crown of life. And that means the crown of life must be worth losing your life over for the name of Christ. So there is great reward in being faithful. There is great reward in not falling away during tribulation. I'll also read another passage to you in Romans chapter 5 verse 3. Romans chapter 5 verse 3, it says, And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also. So if we are this generation that goes through great tribulation, or just normal tribulation that believers suffer throughout all generations, that we should glory in that. Why? Knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and that's important for you to remember, tribulation worketh patience. In order for us to get through tribulation, we need to be patient people. And, you know, God will allow tribulation to get that patience into us. But in order for us to endure tribulation, we must also be patient. You'll soon see these two things come hand in hand, the patience and tribulation. But let's keep going. Verse number 4, And patience experience and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. And so God wants to use tribulation in our lives so we can be better Christians, so we can be more faithful, so He can work things into us so we can shine brighter as the light of Jesus Christ, as the light of the world. And so we're talking about falling away, aren't we? Falling away. And there are two places in the Bible that use this term to fall away. And the first one, well, you know, you guys are in Luke 8, that's what I'm going to turn to soon. But the first one that I want to look at is Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 6. There's a lot of opinion out there, even within, you know, the brethren within my church, as to what this passage is about. I'm not too concerned right now what this passage is about. Let's just take the principle of what it means to fall away. Look at Hebrews chapter, well, no, I'll read to you. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 6, it says, If they shall fall away and renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. So crucifying the Son of God afresh. So if someone were to fall away, that would mean that they would fall away, they would be unfaithful to the sacrifice that Jesus Christ has done for us. That he's gone to the cross, he's died for our sins, that was something that was once understood, but they've fallen away from that understanding. They've fallen away from that biblical truth. That's what it means to fall away. Now you guys are in Luke chapter 8, look at verse number 9. Luke chapter 8, verse number 9, we're looking at the parable of the sower. And this is so important. Notice how Jesus uses the term fall away in this parable. And just as a quick summary, it is only the first seed that was sown was about a non-believer, somebody that did not get saved. I've covered this in my previous preaching on the parable of the sower. The other three seeds that were sown are saved people, but then they respond differently in the spiritual walk. Some are faithful, some are not faithful. So let's pick it up there in Luke chapter 8, verse number 9. And his disciples asked him, saying, what might this parable be? And he said unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to others in parables, that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this, the seed is the word of God. So this is about sowing the word of God. It's about sowing the gospel in the hearts of men. Verse number 12, those by the wayside are they that hear, then cometh the devil and taketh away the word out of their hearts, notice, lest they should believe and be saved. So they receive the word, the word is being given, but the devil comes along and removes it out of that person's life. That person was not able to believe at that point in time. And because they couldn't believe they got the gospel, they are not saved. Verse number 13, notice this next group. They on the rock, so some of that sowing of the seed fell upon rock, or stony places, we'll soon look at it. They on the rock are they, which when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no roots, look at this, which for a while believe. Now what did we notice in the previous verse? That if you believe you'll be saved. So did these people believe? Yes. How long do you have to believe to be saved? Just once, right? You believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. So they did believe, but notice the next words. And in time of temptation, fall away. You see, you can be a believer of Christ, believe the gospel, but you can be a very unfaithful Christian. When a time of temptation can come your way, times of difficulties and trials, you will fall away from the faith. Not that you lose your salvation, once saved, always saved, eternal security, eternal life, everlasting life, but of course you're not faithful to the Lord. You're not doing the works that God has asked you to do. Let's keep going, verse number 14. And that which fell among thorns are they, which when they have heard, go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. So this is another group of believers that they believe the gospel, they receive it, but then they just go off the life. They go off the pleasures of life, they live for themselves, and they can bring no fruit to perfection. And of course the fruit is other Christians, salvation. Look at verse number 15. This is the seed that fell on the good ground. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruits, notice the next words, with patience. Remember it said tribulation worketh patience. These are people that when they go through trials and difficulties, they have the patience so much so that God can use them effectively in winning souls, in being fruitful. So these are people contrary to those that fell away. And notice verse number 13 once again. They on the rock are they, the ones that fell on the rock, and then at the end of verse number 13, and in time of temptation fall away. Now you can turn here if you want, Matthew 13 verse 20. Matthew 13 verse 20. And I want to show you this parable again, a parallel passage about this parable, but this time it's recorded in Matthew 13. Matthew 13, please, verse number 20. Matthew 13 and verse number 20. But he that received the seed in stony places, so that stony places in Matthew is the same place that fell on the rock in the book of Luke. The seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word and anon with joy receiveth. Yet hath he no root in himself, but dureth for a while, notice the next words, for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. By and by he is offended. Okay. Notice then, Luke describes it as falling away. They fall away. Matthew describes it as being offended. This is what it means to fall away. It's not that you just depart from the truth. It's that you've been offended by that. You know, you've received offense because of tribulation or persecution. Someone has mocked your faith. You've been fearful to lose your life for the faith, and you become offended. And when you become offended, that's when you fall away from the truth. Let's think about this then. If the rapture, before the rapture comes, before the day of Christ, there has to be a falling away first, what are we going to see? We're going to see true, born-again, saved believers get offended. Persecution is going to come their way. We already saw the tribulation. People will hate the children of God. They will hate believers, and they will be persecuted. They will suffer tribulation. And some, as we saw in the previous sermon, will be faithful. You know, should they walk in the ways of the Lord, do the work that God has left us to do, but then others will be offended. Others will try to seek and hide and be unfaithful to Jesus Christ, you know, at the time of his coming. And the first point that I have here, when we're talking about a falling away, we don't want to be Christians that fall away, but there will be Christians that fall away. We don't want to be that type of Christian, do we? So the first thing we need to accept is, number one, expect tribulation. Expect persecution. Expect trials. Expect people to hate you for the name of Christ. You know, if you don't have that expectation and you find yourself in difficulties and trials, you will be tempted to be offended and fall away and say, well, this is not a life for me, the Christian life. It's too difficult. I'm going to back away and pretend not to be saved, pretend to not be a believer of Jesus Christ. No, the first thing you need to do in order for you to be able to face tribulation is to expect tribulation. And again, we're talking about an end time series. So many of my brethren have been taught that they're going to be raptured before any great tribulation, that it's all going to be smooth sailing and before you know it, it could be any moment, you're going to be in the clouds of heaven with Jesus Christ and you're not going to face any difficulties. You won't face that loss of life. The pre-tribulation rapture is a doctrine which is not preparing God's people for tribulation. God's people for tribulation. And what I'm saying to you, point number one is to expect tribulation. Please go with me to turn to, or you're in Matthew. So go to Matthew 24 for me, Matthew 24 and I'll just read a few passages to you. Go to Matthew 24 and I'll read to you from John 16, 33, Jesus says, these things have I spoken unto you that in me you might find peace or have peace, sorry, in the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Jesus says it's a promise, it's a guarantee in the world ye shall have tribulation, but we need to find peace and joy and cheer in Jesus Christ because he has overcome the world and you can be an overcomer with Christ if you are a believer of him, if you're saved of your sins by his death, burial and resurrection. Also in 2 Timothy 3, verse 12, it says, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Yea, it's guaranteed, if you're going to live godly, if you're going to shine as a light, you will suffer persecutions, guaranteed that you're going to share in the sufferings of Jesus Christ in this life. Now you're in Matthew 24, look at verse number nine, Matthew 24, we've been going through Matthew 24, haven't we? Revelation and Daniel, we've been looking at all these passages of the end times, but notice the next words here in verse number nine, Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake, but notice verse number 10, and then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. Hey, who would be offended? Remember there's a falling away, a falling away from faith, a falling away from being faithful to Jesus Christ, a falling away from the truth. Now, I'm sure the world will betray believers, but I'm expecting by these words of Jesus that many shall be offended, that Christians will betray Christians, that those that are unfaithful will, you know, will turn their backs and backstab those that are trying to live godly, those that are trying to preach the gospel during difficult times. And you know what? There are some churches that during this coronavirus, you know, they may be allowed to meet and they're getting, you know, spoken badly of. You know, people are trying to betray, you know, God-fearing people that are just trying to have church, you know, during this time, and this is just one pestilence to come. What about the future? How much betrayal could we see at the hands of Christians from one to another? You're still in Matthew. Go to Matthew 26. Matthew 26, verse 31. We're fast-forwarding now to the night before Christ will be crucified, and you may remember these words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 26, verse 31. It says, All ye shall be offended. You know, Jesus is with his disciples, with his apostles, and he says, All ye shall be offended. Listen, these are great men of God. These are disciples of Jesus. They've been walking with Christ, working in his ministry for the last three years. And Jesus says, all of you will be offended. All of you. What this tells me then, brethren, is that all of us have the capacity to be offended in Christ. We all have the capacity to fall away from the truth. This is why we need to be faithful. You know, number one, point number one was expect tribulation, expect persecution. Notice what the next word says. All ye shall be offended because of me this night, for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Now look at verse number 33. This is how Peter the Apostle responds. And Peter, I love Peter. He gives me a good laugh every now and again when I read about how he responds to Christ. But Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Okay, so the words of Peter. You know, yeah, okay, you said that. Yeah, they all might be offended, but not me, God. Not me, Jesus Christ. I will never be offended by you. And of course, you know the story. When Christ would be arrested, Peter would deny him three times before the cock crew. And so, you know, even great men of God, even great people that followed after Christ and did amazing miracles and works can be offended by Jesus Christ. Hey, they saw Christ being arrested. There was great fear amongst the believers and they were offended at his teaching. They were offended at Christ. Okay, so we need to keep this in mind. All right, there is come in a time of great tribulation, the greatest tribulation that's ever been known to men. And so as believers, we have these stories for us in the Bible to know that we can be weak, but also that we can learn from the examples that we read about, like Peter. All right, now please turn to John chapter 16. This is a very important passage. Please turn there, John chapter 16. John chapter 16. As I said, so many Christians today are blinded. They're not expecting tribulation, you know. And I believe those that are expecting tribulation, you know, may consider that they would be the generation to go through this end times. The great tribulation would personally be better prepared during this time of this coronavirus outbreak. I think they would be better prepared. Whereas Christians that have been told their whole life, don't worry, you'll be raptured before any difficulties, they're probably going to find it much harder to go through these times that we're facing right now. So we need to be prepared. And look, if you're not prepared, then use this time wisely. Use this time wisely where there's a lot of fear, there's a lot of turmoil, there's a lot of uncertainty for you to prepare yourself for difficulties, for tribulation. See how well you stack up with what God wants us to be in the Bible. John chapter 16 verse 1. Let's apply the following reading to the end times. It did apply for his disciples at that point in time, but again, there's great tribulation to come. John chapter 16 verse 1. These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. Jesus does not want us to be offended. Jesus does not want us to fall away. And so he teaches us something that we need to know so we don't be offended. What is it? Let's keep going, verse number 2. They shall put you out of the synagogues, yea the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God serveth. What do we learn about the end times? What do we learn about the end times? That the antichrist will claim to be God, will exalt himself above God, right? And is going to persecute the believers. He's going to wage war against the saints, alright? And many saints will lose their lives. And notice here, it said that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God serveth. Because the antichrist will claim to be God. And so if you're being persecuted by a wicked world, they're going to think they're serving God by killing God's children. Let's keep going, verse number 3. And these things will they do unto you, notice the next words, because they have not known the Father, nor me, nor Jesus. They don't know Jesus, they don't know the Father, they don't know the Son, they don't know the Father. Verse number 4. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, you may remember that I told you of them, and these things I said not unto you at the beginning because I was with you. But now I go my way to him that sent me, and none of you asketh me whither thou goest thou. But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow have filled your heart. You see, Jesus wants us to not be offended. He's teaching us that we are going to face persecution, tribulation, some will be put in places and killed. You know, as a representative of Jesus Christ. Look at verse number 7. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you, or profitable, that's what the word means, expedient, profitable, 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. And so when Jesus Christ, you know, ascended up into heaven, he sent the Comforter. If you know your Bibles, the Comforter is the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost which you were born of, you're not born again of the Spirit, but also the Holy Ghost that indwells the believer. As the temple of God, God indwells you through the Holy Spirit of God. And the Holy Spirit here is called the Comforter. It's called the Comforter. Look, he doesn't get given that name because he can't give comfort. The fact is, the Holy Spirit is a Comforter. He is the Comforter. And so point number 2, in order for us to not fall away, in order for us to not be offended, is that we need to draw comfort from the Comforter. Draw comfort from the Comforter. Psalm 23 verse 4, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. You see, the Holy Spirit is with us. He indwells us. We can have comfort through the Comforter. And so if we're facing persecution, we're facing tribulation, don't forget, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. You know, we have the Holy Spirit. We need to ask God for that comfort. We need to ask that comfort, otherwise we may fall away. We may be offended by the persecution to come. So that's point number 1 again, was expect tribulation. Point number 2 is draw comfort from the Comforter. Now please take your Bibles and go to 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 23. The Bible reads, Being born again, so what's being born again? Being born of the Spirit. When you're saved, believing on Christ, the Holy Spirit revitalises that old dead spirit. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible. Now let's stop there for a moment. So we did have a birth that was corruptible. When you were born from your mother, you were given a corruptible flesh. You say, well this is not about flesh. Yes it is, let's keep going. Not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, what's incorruptible? By the word of God. So when we've been born again, we've been born again by the word of God. We've heard the preaching, we've believed the word, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Which liveth and abideth forever. Notice verse 24. For all flesh is as grass. Now you'll notice that this flesh here is going to be compared to the corruptible seed. For all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower thereof falleth away. So there's another falling away. So the Bible's saying here, look, there's grass. When the grass grows, it'll produce a flower. And the flower, it's said there in verse 24, is the glory of men. You know, which by man glory is their pride, their achievements, the things that men glory about is like that flower. But men, their flesh is as grass, it says there. And why is that important? Because it's the grass withereth. The flower thereof fadeeth away. We're all going to pass away. Our flesh will not live forever. It is corruptible. It has a sinful nature, our flesh. And that's why it's not just being born of the flesh. You must be born of the Spirit. You must be born of the incorruptible seed, which is the word of God. Notice verse number 25. But the word of the Lord endureth forever, and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. The reason I wanted to read that passage to you, brethren, is because if you're saved, you've been born of incorruptible and you've been born of corruptible. When you're born of corruptible, that's the flesh. That's the old man. When you've been born of incorruptible, that's the Spirit. That's the new man. Point number three is that we need to walk in the new man. We need to walk in the new man because the old man will fall away. Just like the flower thereof fall off away, the old man falls away from the Spirit of God. The old man falls away from the commandments and the teachings of God. The old man seeks to be the old man seeks to sin. The old man seeks self-gratification and pleasure against the word of God. No, point number three is that we need to walk in the new man, that which is born of incorruptible seed. And even 1 Corinthians 15 puts it this way, and this is, of course, talking about our resurrected bodies to come. Right now we have the corruptible body. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 51, Behold, I show you a mystery which are not all asleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, notice the next words, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. You see, right now we have a corruptible body, but there's come a time when the new body that we receive by Christ will be incorruptible. It'll line up with the incorruptible spirit, the new man that we have who will finally have an incorruptible flesh. And then it says in verse 53, For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So, you know, we need to understand, brethren, that we have that old man, the corruptible. We have the new man, the incorruptible. If we want to remain strong and not falling away, not being offended, we must walk in the new man, the incorruptible man. Now please turn with me to 1 Corinthians 10. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 6. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse... Actually, let's read verse 12 first. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 12. The Bible reads, Wherefore let him that thinketh his standeth take heed lest he fall. Hey, we don't want to fall. We don't want to fall away. We don't want to be offended. So we need to take heed lest we fall. We don't want to fall. That means what was written before verse 12 is instruction so we don't fall, okay? So let's pick it up there in verse number 6. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 6. Now these things were our examples to the intent we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. So there's number one. We need to overcome lust. If we want to stand and not fall, we need to defeat lust, get lust out of our hearts. Let's keep going. Verse number 7. Neither be ye idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. So don't be an idolater. Don't, you know, obviously follow false gods. Don't look up your star signs, these kinds of things that you may put your heart and trust in. Put away this idolatry, you know, things that are in the way of the Lord God. Set them aside. Verse number 8. Neither let us commit fornication as some of them committed, and fell in one day free in 20,000. So fornication, get that out of your life. If you've got that in your life, that's a wicked sin. And if you're part of a church and your pastor finds out, he'll probably kick you out of church over fornication. Okay? Fornication over the wicked sin, get that out of your life. Verse number 9. Neither let us tempt Christ as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of serpents. So tempting Christ with evil, you know, and we need to stop doing that. Listen, God's given us his word, we need to live in accordance to his word. You know, don't say, well, you know, how can I live my life if I don't walk in accordance to God's word? What's going to happen to me? That is tempting Christ, that is tempting God. You know, you don't need to put yourself in a place of danger to see what will happen. You can be disciplined for that behaviour. Verse number 10. As some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer. So murmuring, that's complaining, whining. Oh man, I wish, you know, this coronavirus had been locked down. Whining, complaining, instead of, you know, trying to be positive. Hey, murmuring, whining is something you need to get out of your life so you don't fall. Verse number 11. Now all these things happened unto them for in samples and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Notice that. And they are written for our admonition. What is being taught here is that we can all do these sins, okay, and we need to be admonished. We need to read the stories of the Bible and see how God brought judgment upon them and say, well, I don't want God's judgment. I don't want to fall like the Old Testament Israelites feel, you know. So, and then it said there Number 12. So point number four, brethren, in order for us to not fall away is be admonished. Learn. When you pick up your Bible and you see the mistakes that the Old Testament saints, even the mistakes New Testament saints made, all right, learn from that and say, well, I'm being admonished by what I've read. If I'm also in these sins, if I'm doing these same things, then I know that God's judgment will fall upon me. I need to get this out of my life or I may very well fall, okay? Not only when you read your Bible but when you go to church and you're listening to preaching or you're listening to preaching on YouTube now, right? You know, you're listening to preaching and you hear something and you know there's a sin that you have that's being taught against. Well, don't just ignore it, you know, be admonished. Receive the admonition and say, wow, I see that this is a sin you know, yes, this is bothering me, I need to get this out of my life. Start making proactive steps into getting that sin out of your life. Don't be like, well, maybe in two weeks I'll start thinking about that sin. No, as soon as you hear it, be admonished. Point number four, lest you fall, be admonished and brethren, there are some sins that are very hard to defeat. Some sins that have great power over you and if you're struggling to find an answer, the first thing you need to do is just go to God and say, God, I don't know how to defeat this sin. I'm struggling with this. Please help me. Please do something in my life so I can have victory over this sin. Go to God for victory over your sin. Jesus Christ has already given you victory by his sacrifice. You know, you need to tap into that power of Christ that he has defeated all sin. It's all being condemned in his flesh. Go to God when you need to be admonished for your sins. All right, brethren, now I'm going to show you some slides as we, those are the four main points that I had for you regarding not falling away but I'll put these slides onto the video so you guys can see it. I'm just pulling this out for myself. My biggest concern when it comes to the pre-tribulation rapture, it's not that we just have a different timing of when Jesus Christ is coming back. It's that people, like I said, aren't expecting tribulation. Honestly, most believers that go to a church that teaches on the pre-trib rapture is expecting it'll all be just fine. We're going to go about life. You know, we're not going to be tested or tried and go through difficulties. Christ is coming. It's going to take us away from any major difficulties. What was point number one? Expect tribulation. Expect it, all right? Now, I don't have the book here. I left it upstairs in my office. But you know how I've been showing you guys the book Things to Come, Things to Come. And this is what it says in page 203 and 204 in Things to Come under the pre-tribulation rapture theory in chapter number 13. These are the writings of J. Dwight Pentecost. It says this, and again, this is about the pre-trib rapture. It says this doctrine of imminence or at any moment coming is not a new doctrine with Derby, as is sometimes charged, although he did clarify, systematise and popularise it. Now, brethren, let me tell you this. John Nelson Derby of the Plymouth Breveren, he created the pre-tribulation rapture. Nobody taught it before that. He is the one who put together dispensationalism, which is the bedrock of pre-tribulation raptureism, and then he was influential in the lives of other people, even to C.I. Scofield, who wrote the Scofield Reference Bible, and through that Bible and through Dallas Theological Seminary, they were able to influence generations of preachers and for them to teach on a pre-tribulation rapture. But before Derby, nobody taught it. Nobody taught it, okay? And J. Dwight Pentecost here is acknowledging that this is something that is charged toward Derby, and so he's going to say, well, this isn't right. I'll show you. This is what he writes. He says this same imminence, and when he says imminence, he's talking about the pre-trib rapture. I just want you to understand that. This same imminence is clearly seen in the writings of the Reformers, all right? And then he writes, Schaeffer quotes some of the Reformers to show that they believed in the imminency and the return of Christ, of the return of Christ, the imminency of the return of Christ. So what he's going to attempt to do now is go to people that lived before John Elton Derby to show that they were believing in a pre-tribulation immanent rapture, okay? And he's going to first go to the Reformers. So let's have a look at the first Reformer that's mentioned in the book, and that's Martin Luther. Of course, many of you may be aware of Martin Luther. He started pretty much the Protestant movement in Europe, and that's where we get the Lutheran church from, and he translated the Bible into our German. And so these are words that he said, and I'll just read it to you. I believe that all signs which are to precede the last days have already appeared. Let us not think that the coming of Christ is far off. Let us look up with heads lifted up. Let us expect our Redeemers coming with longing and cheerful mind. So look, first thing I want you to understand, before I keep going, I believe, my position on the end times, a post-tribulation pre-Tribulation rapture, has nothing to do with the Reformers. It has nothing to do with the men that we're about to read. I'm not placing any faith of my doctrines on these men. It's purely on the Word of God. I'm just trying to show you that there is a misunderstanding. There are a lot of lies in the pre-Tribulation world of people claiming this was a teaching before John Nelson Darby. And so they'll point to this quote here from Martin Luther and say, It's an imminent rapture. It's about to happen at any moment. Is that what he really believes? Do you see that? Yes, he's expecting the coming of Christ, probably in his lifetime. All of us should be expecting the coming of Christ. All of us should be thinking and watching for Christ. We should all be excited. We should all be looking for that blessed hope to come. But when we look at other writings of Martin Luther, and it's here in the works of Martin Luther, 6 page 481, these are the words of Martin Luther. Did he believe that he's not going to go through tribulation? Did he believe that he's not going to face the Antichrist that believers aren't going to do this? Look what he says. The book of Revelation is intended as a revelation of things that are to happen in the future. Notice the next words. And especially of tribulations and disasters for the church. For the church. Tribulations and disasters for the church. The pre-tribulation teachers say, no, we're not going to go through those tribulations and disasters that we read about in Revelation. Martin Luther was expecting that was going to happen. He was prepared for tribulation. He was prepared for difficult times. And our pre-trib brethren pointed to this man, J Dwight Pentecost. And it's like, well, this proves that people believed the pre-trib rapture before Derby. No, he didn't. He believed that these difficult times of the book of Revelation was going to happen for the church. The next one that's quoted is John Calvin. John Calvin who started the theology of Calvinism. And so John Calvin says in a quote, Scripture uniformly enjoins us to look with expectation for the advent of Christ. The advent means coming. So we should be looking for expectation for the advent of Christ. Is that a pre-tribulation rapture? Is that what he's teaching? But that's what J Dwight Pentecost wants you to think is teaching. That's what pre-tribulation teachers want you to think because they don't want you to believe the truth that the pre-trib rapture was created, was invented by John Nelson Derby. But when you look at other writings of John Calvin in his Institute's Volume 2, page 411, he writes, we ought not to follow in our inquiries after antichrist, notice next words, especially where such pride proceeds to a public desolation of the church. A public desolation of the church. What he's saying is the antichrist will public desolate or persecute the church. John Calvin wasn't expecting a pre-tribulation rapture. He was expecting that the New Testament churches would face the antichrist. Okay, so he was prepared for coming tribulation. The next reformer that's mentioned in the book is John Knox. John Knox, and I believe, you might correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe he's the founder of the Presbyterians. And so John Knox writes, the Lord shall, sorry, the Lord Jesus shall return and that with expectation. What were this else but to reform the face of the whole earth, which never was nor yet shall be till that righteous king and judge appear for the restoration of all things. So for some reason they think this is a pre-trib rapture, the words that he just said. But did he believe that saints would not face the antichrist? Well no, in the history of the reformation, page 76, he writes, the great love of God towards his church, whom he pleased to forewarn of dangers to come so many years before they come to pass, to wit the man of sin, the antichrist, the whore of Babylon. Was he expecting the church to wit or to witness the man of Christ? What's he saying here? He's saying that God warned the church, he warned the New Testament churches that they would face the antichrist. Listen, John Knox didn't believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. These are lies of J. Dwight Pentecost that he has in his book. This is deception. Let no man deceive you, said Jesus Christ. We have so many preachers deceived themselves and deceivers deceiving other people. It's all going to be fine. You're going to be raptured before tribulation. And then the next man that's mentioned is Hugh Latimer, and I don't really know much about him, but his words are, the last days cannot be far off. Per adventure it may come in my day, old as I am, or in my children's days. So he thought, hey, yeah, the coming of Christ might happen in his day. It seems like every generation Christians think the coming of Christ will happen in their day. You know, at some point one generation is going to get it right, okay? But is that teaching a pre-trib rapture? No, because in his other teachings, and I found this here in the Day of Judgment, a sermon by Hugh Latimer, he writes, or he preached, and then shall they see the Son of Man come in a cloud with power and great glory. That's Matthew 24. You know, the chapter that pre-tribbers say is not for you, okay? And then he says, St. Paul to the Thessalonians set out the coming of Christ in our resurrection. Now St. Paul's words are these. This say we unto you in the word of the Lord that we which live and shall remain to the coming of the Lord shall not come before them which sleep, for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and the voice of the archangel and the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall arise first. Then we which shall live even we shall remain shall be caught up with them also in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord, wherefore comfort one another with these words. That's 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, which the pre-trib brethren will say. That's the rapture. But Hugh Latimer, who they claim was a pre-tribber, associates that with the teaching of Christ in Matthew 24, which is after the tribulation of those days, which is about facing the coming great tribulation to come. So Hugh Latimer was not a pre-tribulation rapture believer. He believed the church, the saints, will go through and face the Antichrist. Okay? Now the next one that I've got for you is a man named Morgan Edwards. And usually when you're talking to your Baptist brethren, they'll say, see, Derby wasn't the first one. Even Morgan Edwards, who was a Baptist pastor and a Baptist historian, who lived before Derby, he died in 1795, even he taught that the rapture will happen before the tribulation. Did he really? Let's have a look. By the writings of Morgan Edwards in the Millennium of Last Novelities, he writes, the distance between the first and second resurrection will be somewhat more than a thousand years. I say somewhat more because the dead saints will be raised and the living changed at Christ appearing in the air. That's 1 Thessalonians 4. And this will be, notice the next words, this will be about three years and a half before the Millennium. He believed that Christ was going to come in the air three and a half years before the Millennium. The pre-tribulation teachers believe Christ is coming in the rapture seven years before the Millennium. So when Morgan Edwards says about three years and a half, well, that's what we believe. We believe it's about three years and a half. After three years, a maximum of 75 days, those days shall be shortened, that's about approximately three and a half years before the Millennium. So Morgan Edwards' position on the end times is closer or maybe the same as what I believe, what I teach. And then he says, before the Millennium, as we shall see hereafter, but will he and they abide in the air at all that time? No, they will ascend to paradise or to some one of those many mansions in the Father's house and disappear during the full said period of time. The design of this retreat and disappearing will be to judge the risen and changed saints, for now the time has come that judgment must begin and that will be at the house of God. 1 Peter 4. And so, no, Morgan Edwards did not teach the pre-tribulation rapture. John Nelson Darby made it up. And you've been deceived. If you're a pre-trib, you've been deceived by John Nelson Darby and the people that he has influenced over many generations. Now, I do have some other names here that I want to quote. There's Cyprian, because when you look up different websites, different books, again, they'll point to different men that apparently taught the pre-tribulation rapture before Darby. And so, again, I'm not using these men as my support. I'm not saying these, the reason I believe what I believe is because of these men. Not at all. All I'm showing to you is that the pre-tribulation brethren that bring these men up, that say it was the historical position of the church, they've been lied to. They've been deceived. They're trying to deceive you. These men did not believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. They believed they would go through the great tribulation. They believed they would face the antichrist, the beast. Cyprian in 200, this is, you know, a very early Christian, writes, Know that still more terrible things are imminent. May regard it as the greatest advantage to depart from it as quickly as possible. By an early departure, you are taken away and delivered from the shipwrecks and disasters that are imminent. Let us greet the day which assigns each of us to his own home, which snatches us hence and sets us free from the snares of the world and restores us to the paradise and the kingdom. Oh, there's the pre-trib rapture. He believed that, you know, we're going to be, what's it say there? Depart quickly. So there it is. There's the pre-trib rapture. Is that really what he believed? Because in the epistle 55, it says, these are the writers of Cyprian, the day of affliction has begun to hang over our heads and the end of the world and the time of the Antichrist to draw near so that we must all stand prepared for the battle. You see, he was expecting for the coming of Christ because he thought in his life he was going to face the Antichrist. He was saying we need to prepare for battle, that Christians need to prepare for battle against the Antichrist to stand up and face the persecution to come. Hey, these men were expecting great tribulation. Alright? And then we have the golden ticket with our pre-tribulation brethren. It's Ephraim the Syrian. Ephraim the Syrian. And if we look at his writing here in the Latin text, a translation of his writings, it says, why therefore do we not reject every care of earthly actions and prepare ourselves for the meeting of the Lord Christ so that he may draw us from the confusion which overwhelms the world believe you me dearest brother because the coming of the Lord is nigh believe you me because the end of the world is at hand believe me because it is the very last time. Now notice the next words. For all the saints and elect of God are gathered prior to the tribulation that is to come and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins. Hey, that kind of sounds like it's saying that we're going to be raptured before the tribulation. A few things you need to think about here. This is Ephraim the Syrian. Do you know what language Syrians speak? Not Latin. Syriac. Okay. But what you're reading is a Latin translation of his works. Think about that. Why don't they just go to the Syriac writings? I'll tell you why because it doesn't line up with a pre-trib rapture. That's why. Okay. Now in the next slide we have this man named Paul J. Alexander who was a historian, he's passed away now, but he did some study in this Ephraim and his writings and he discovered that the original writing was in Syriac. I mean that makes perfect sense. He's a Syrian. Okay. His initial writings was in Syriac but then that was translated into Greek and then the Greek was translated into Latin. Okay. So the Latin which we just read which was then translated into English, right, that Latin was not translated directly from the Syriac. It was translated from the Greek which was translated from the Syriac. So obviously there was, while this was being translated there was changes in the translation or a misunderstanding of what was written in the Syriac if you're taking it from the Greek. Alright. If you want to know what Syria and the Ephraim actually wrote when he said people will be gathered before the tribulation you just go to go back to the Syriac. You got to go back to what he actually wrote and if you go back to the Syriac text it says nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against king and hey that's Matthew 24. Lawlessness will be sovereign on earth and the defiled will pursue after the saints. Look the defiled will pursue after the saints. That's, he's talking about the antichrist. He's talking about the beast. People will openly apostatize, hey that's like falling away and augment the left side. The righteous ones will suffer indignation from those who belong to the side of the sinners. Does this sound like he thinks people are going to believe it's going to be raptured before tribulation? He's talking about people being, going through tribulation. Then he writes, people will flee to cemeteries and hide themselves among the dead pronouncing the good fortune of the deceased who had avoided the calamity. Blessed are you for you were born away to the grave and hence you escaped from the afflictions. So what he actually wrote is not that believers, you know, living believers will be raptured before tribulation. He's saying living believers will be thankful that other believers that have passed away before this would not face the tribulation. That's what he actually wrote. Okay. It's a lie of the pre-tribulation to say that Ifrian the Syriac, or Syrian, believed in a pre-tribulation. No he didn't. Okay. He believed, he was just saying that people will be thankful that other believers would not go through it because they had already passed away. Alright. Let's, he says, For if, for if the days, sorry, I'm not sure where I left off there. And then he says, But as for us, woe is us, as for us, the other Christians, the other believers, woe is us, for when we die, vultures will serve as escort for us, and if the days of that time were not shortened, the elect would never survive the calamities and afflictions. For our Lord revealed and disclosed to us in his Gospel, when he said, Those days will be shortened for the sake of the elect and of the saints. So you can read that in the Syriac text. The actual, the actual language he would have written it in actually says, No, we are going to face the Antichrist. He was prepared, he was expecting that we would go, believers would go through great tribulation. Alright. And in the next slide, just very quickly, I had told you that this is Ifrian the Syrian, but this is actually all a hoax. All these writings is actually a hoax. It wasn't Ifrian the Syrian that actually wrote these things. It's a guy that's now known as pseudo-Ifrian. Pseudo means fake. Okay. This is some other guy writing, pretending to be Ifrian the Syrian. And he lived in the 7th century, not in the early 300s, as, you know, the pre-tribbers will try to claim that he lived and try to claim that the pre-trib teaching was an early teaching from that time. No, it wasn't. This man didn't even believe in a pre-trib rapture. He didn't even live in the time they claimed that he lived. You can do your own research on that in your own time. Now, the last person that I want to turn to here is a man named Irenaeus, Irenaeus of Leons. Now, Irenaeus, if you look at the time he lived from 130 to 202 AD, you know, he was a very early Christian. And the reason he's very popular is because he was a disciple of Polycarp, and Polycarp, you know, history teaches that Polycarp was a disciple of John the Apostle. And, of course, John the Apostle wrote the book of Revelation. Now, I don't know. I don't know if that's all true, but that's why Irenaeus, his writings are revered because they think it's very close to what would have been taught, you know, by the apostles in the early times of the churches. I don't know. I don't need to read Irenaeus. I can just read my Bible and know exactly what they taught, okay? So, I'm not putting any weight in this, but this is one that they often quote as well, okay? And so, Irenaeus wrote this, And therefore, when in the end the church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said there shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be. And so, you know, it says here the church shall be suddenly caught up from this. So, the pre-tribulance they see, he believed in a pre-tribulation rapture. They're so deceptive because they don't read the next sentence. I'll show you, within the same writing, the next sentence, look what it says. This is in the book Against Heresies, chapter 29, book 5. The next sentence says, For this is the last contest of the righteous, in which when they overcome, they are crowned with incorruption. He's saying the tribulation is the last contest of the righteous, in which we can get the crown of incorruption. So, he believes that the churches would go through tribulation, that the churches would face the antichrist. And they're so lazy, that's chapter 29 in this book. If you just go three chapters back in chapter 26, he writes, And they, the ten kings who will arise, shall lay Babylon waste and burn her with fire, and shall give their kingdom to the beast, look at this, and put the church to flight. They will persecute and pursue the church. That's what he believed. He believed believers, the churches, New Testament churches, would go through tribulation, being persecuted by the antichrist. Now, I'll just show you that, brethren, in case you've been deceived, people point to these men and say, see, they believe in the preacher rapture before Derby, not true. If you go and just do some investigation, do some research, you find all of them believe they would go through tribulation. They all believed they would face the antichrist. Okay? Now, please go to Jeremiah 14. We'll end on this. Jeremiah 14. Jeremiah 14. The biggest danger of the pre-tribulation rapture is that they are not preparing the believers to go through hardship. They're not preparing believers to go through tribulation. And so this is a warning to pastors. If there are pastors listening to this, take heed to Jeremiah 14, verse 13, because God was telling Jeremiah that difficult times was coming for Judah. They were going to go through hardships. Okay? And in Jeremiah 14, verse 13, Jeremiah speaks to God. After God has told him that Judah's going to go through difficulties, he says to God, then said I, our God, or our Lord God, behold, the prophets say unto them, that's unto the people, ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place. Jeremiah's saying, look, there are other prophets out there telling the people that it'll be peaceful. They're not going to go through war. They're not going to go through famine. They're not going to go through difficulties. What does God say to Jeremiah? Verse 14. Then the Lord said unto me, the prophets prophesy lies in my name. I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them. They prophesy unto you a false vision and divination and a thing of naught and the deceit of their hearts. And so God says that he did not speak unto them. God speaks to us today in his word. The pre-tribulation rapture is not in the word of God. It's coming from their hearts. It's coming from them being deceived and being deceivers about the end times. Verse number 15. Therefore, thus saith the Lord, concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say sword and famine shall not be in this land, by sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. Hey, there's a judgment. If you're telling people, don't worry, you're not going through tribulation, you're not going to go through hardships, well, you're going to fall by the sword. You're going to fall in difficult times. Verse number 16. And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, because of the famine and the sword, and they shall have none to bury them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters, for I will pour their wickedness upon them. Brethren, we need to be prepared for a coming time. We do not want to be people that fall away, that are offended by the truth, you know, of God's word and offended to stand up for Jesus Christ. If you're not being told you're going to go through hardships, you're going to be offended. You're going to fall away. So please go to Jude, go to the book of Jude, and we're almost done. Jude, please, and look at verse 24. Go to Jude. So in conclusion, brethren, number one, expect tribulation. Number two, draw comfort from the comforter. Number three, walk in the new man. And number four, be admonished. You know, we need to put these things into our lives, be prepared, so we can be ready to face great tribulation should we be that final generation to come, that final generation to come in that end times. Jude, verse 24, some beautiful words here. I'll end on this. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling. Hey, we don't want to fall away. The only one that's going to keep you from falling is our Lord God and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceedingly joy, exceeding joy. I want God to be joyful when he sees me. I don't want him to see me and not fall away, be offended at standing up for Christ. No. Verse number 25, to the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. And you know what? Our Lord God is deserving of all glory and majesty. He's warned us. He's prepared us. He's given us his Holy Spirit to go through these difficult times. Brethren, are you prepared? Brethren, are you expecting difficulties in tribulation? You need to. You need to. The Bible tells us that believers will go through great tribulation. If you've been lied to, you know what? Open up the Word of God and go and find out for yourself what the Word of God says. Be prepared. Don't fall away. God bless. Now unto him that is able to keep, able to keep you from falling and to present you a bold mercy for the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. To the only Christ, God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.