Alright, turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
The title of my sermon today is the Post-Trib Rapture.
I want to talk about the rapture and the end times and when these things take place according to the Bible.
Because there's a lot of confusion out there today.
A lot of people think that the rapture takes place before the tribulation.
A lot of people think that there's not going to be a rapture at all.
But what I'll show you from the Bible today is that the Bible clearly tells us that the rapture is after the tribulation.
There's many different proofs of that that we can find in the Bible.
Now before going into the actual timeline of the end times, I want to just define a few terms.
So first of all, the word rapture. What does that mean?
Now some people have an objection. They'll say, well the word rapture is not in the Bible.
So why are we talking about this rapture thing?
But the concept of the rapture is, see the word rapture just comes from a Latin word which means to be caught up.
And we actually find that in the Bible right here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
Look down your Bibles, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13.
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with Him.
For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so shall we ever be with the Lord, wherefore comfort one another with these words.
So what's described in this chapter here from verses 13 to 18, this is what we call the rapture, which again means to be caught up.
And we see that in verse 17 where it says we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them, talking about those who have been raised up from the dead to meet the Lord in the air.
So when we're talking about the rapture, it's just a term to describe the coming of the Lord in the clouds and then the resurrection of the dead, of believers in Jesus.
And then they which are alive and remain who are also believers in Jesus are also caught up.
And it talks about in other passages like 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that this is when we are changed to be like unto Jesus.
That the corruption will put on incorruption, the mortality will put on immortality it says.
Now that we define rapture, we want to define what the tribulation is.
Now the dictionary definition of tribulation is just grievous trouble, severe trial or suffering. I found that on dictionary.com.
And we actually see this definition found in the Bible itself.
Turn with me to Matthew chapter 24. Hold your place in 1 Thessalonians 4.
Turn with me to Matthew 24.
While you're turning to Matthew 24, I'll read to you from Daniel chapter 12 verse 1.
The Bible says,
So keep that in mind. He talks about this time of great trouble such as was not since there was a nation even at the same time.
And we know from the context of Daniel chapter 12 that this is an end times prophecy.
Now look down in Matthew chapter 24 in verse 21 the Bible says,
So you'll notice that in verse 21 the wording is very similar to what we find in Daniel chapter 12.
It's very similar. The only difference is that trouble and tribulation are interchanged.
So these mean the same thing. Tribulation just means trouble.
And when he talks about great tribulation, he's just saying it's a time of great trouble. It's a time of great suffering.
Particularly among unbelievers.
As it says in verse 22,
So he's saying that the days of the great tribulation are going to be shortened for the elect's sake.
Now the elect are believers according to the Bible.
Because it talks about in Romans chapter 8, who is he that condemned...
What is it verse?
Who is he that... What is it?
It talks about the elect being the saved. Romans chapter 8.
So yeah, the elect are the saved.
And the days are going to be shortened for our sake.
Because it's going to be persecution and tribulation and suffering upon unbelievers.
Now that we understand what the rapture is and we understand what the tribulation is,
What is the timing of these things? What is the timing of these events?
Because like I said earlier, there's a lot of confusion about this.
Some people say that we're not going to go through the tribulation at all.
That the tribulation is for the Jews or for some other group of people.
But that believers will just be raptured out of here before the tribulation.
Now that's wrong and that's not what the Bible teaches.
Here in Matthew chapter 24, look down at verse 29.
The Bible flat out tells us when the rapture will be.
It says in verse 29,
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light
and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken
and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven
and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn
and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory
and he shall send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet
and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.
So what's described in these three verses here, verse 29 to verse 31,
is exactly what's described in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
We have the Lord descending from heaven in the clouds.
We have the trumpet sounding and then we have believers being gathered unto Christ.
That's exactly what's talked about in 1 Thessalonians 4.
There's no doubt or no reason to believe that this is talking about a separate event.
And it tells us very plainly at the beginning of verse 29 that this is immediately after the tribulation of those days.
So the great tribulation which is talked about in verse 21,
the great time of trouble, the great time of suffering that comes upon believers,
after that's over, then the sign of the Son of Man appears in heaven
and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory
and then are his elect gathered from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.
So the rapture does not take place until after the tribulation.
Another proof of this is Luke chapter 21 verse 28,
which is a parallel passage to Matthew 24.
The Bible says,
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift your heads, for your redemption draweth not.
Now immediately before that in that chapter is when he talks about these same things that he talks about in verse 29 verse 30.
The signs appearing in heaven of the sun being dark and the moon being turned to blood and the stars falling from heaven.
He's saying when you see these things come to pass, then look up your heads, for your redemption draweth not.
So the redemption of the believers does not come until after the tribulation, after these signs appear in heaven.
And what redemption is this talking about?
Well the same redemption it talks about in Romans 8 verse 23 where it says that we are waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our bodies.
Because the Bible tells us that when Jesus Christ comes, that our vile bodies will be fashioned like unto his glorious body in Philippians chapter 3.
So that is the rapture.
Again as I talked about earlier, that the corruption will put on incorruption and us mortals will put on immortality.
We will be changed to be like unto Jesus at his coming.
That redemption does not take place until after the tribulation, after these signs appear in heaven according to the Bible.
So for somebody to say that, well that redemption, you know the rapture takes place before the tribulation, before these things come to pass.
That contradicts what the Bible clearly says.
Now they'll say, well this is talking about a completely separate event.
This is talking about the second coming, which is not the same thing as the rapture.
That's a common argument that preachers use.
The problem with that is that, as we'll see in a moment, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 tells us that the rapture that's described in that chapter is the coming of the Lord.
And it's a no brainer to realize that because Jesus Christ comes in the clouds.
Of course it's the coming of the Lord.
Now this is exactly what we're talking about in Matthew chapter 24.
If you go back to verse 3, it says,
So everything that Jesus preaches in this chapter is in a response to the disciples question,
What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?
Then he goes into all this detail about persecution of believers and the abomination of desolation and the great tribulation.
And after the tribulation, the sun and moon being darkened and Jesus returning.
Because he's answering the disciples questions of the signs of his coming.
Then he says, look in verse 32,
This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away.
But at that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
For as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
and knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
Then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left.
Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left.
Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
So there's no doubt that this is talking about the second coming.
It says this three different times in that passage we just read that this is the hour that the Lord doth come.
The coming of the Son of Man it also calls it.
So there's no doubt about that.
But they'll say, well this is actually talking about what's spoken of in Revelation chapter 19.
When Jesus comes on the white horse at Armageddon.
Now first of all, nothing mentioned in this chapter is mentioned in Revelation 19.
There's no comparison whatsoever.
If you want to go with me to Revelation chapter 19 we can make a quick comparison.
That there's no similarity between these two chapters.
What did we see in Matthew chapter 24?
After the tribulation the sun was darkened, the moon was darkened, the stars fall from heaven, the powers of heaven are shaken.
Then the Son of Man comes with the clouds of power and great glory.
And then the believers are gathered unto him.
Now do we find any of this in Revelation 19?
Look at verse 11.
And I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse.
And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns.
And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.
And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations.
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fellows that fly in the midst of heaven,
Come and gather yourselves together into the supper of the great God, that ye may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of captains,
and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men,
both free and bond, both small and great.
And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse and against his army.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he had deceived them that had received the mark of the beast,
and them that worshipped his image, these both were cast alive into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone.
So again, what we see in this chapter does not line up with Matthew 24 whatsoever.
There's no mention of the trumpet, there's no mention of Jesus coming in the clouds and gathering his saints,
there's no mention of the sun being darkened in any of even the preceding verses leading up to that.
In fact, as we'll see later, the only time in the book of Revelation that those events are mentioned are back in Revelation chapter 6.
Much earlier in the timeline of Daniel's 70th week.
So, no, this is not talking about a separate event, this is not talking about Armageddon.
It's talking about the rapture, and there's many other proofs of this as well.
So go back to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
Go back to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
Remember that they say that Matthew 24 is the second coming, but 1 Thessalonians 4, that's the rapture, that's a different thing.
That's just coming 1.5 or whatever weird doctrine they come up with.
But look at verse 15 in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, the Bible says,
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
So he calls this thing that he describes here, the coming of the Lord.
So how can you say that this isn't the second coming?
That is complete nonsense to say that.
Then it also talks about in chapter 5, just read, and it's chapter 5 starting at verse 1,
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comest at this thief in the night.
So, another important proof that Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 4 are the same thing,
thus showing that the rapture is after the tribulation, is that he calls this event the day of the Lord.
Now we have to remember that when the book of 1 Thessalonians was written, there were no chapter divisions.
This is a letter that Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica, and these chapter divisions came later.
So this is just one continuous thought, he's not moving on to a different subject.
That's why verse 1 begins with the word but, because it's a conjunction, he's continuing the thought that he was talking about in chapter 4.
So the times and the seasons, that's the times and seasons of the rapture, of the coming of Christ in the clouds which he just talked about.
And then he says, for yourselves know perfectly, for meaning because, so why do you not need me to write unto you of the times and seasons?
Because you already know that the day of the Lord comes as the thief in the night.
So it makes it very clear that this event, which is described when Jesus comes in the clouds, is also called the day of the Lord.
Now what does the Bible say about the day of the Lord?
Joel 2.31, the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.
So the Bible tells us that before the day of the Lord, which 1 Thessalonians 5.2 defines as the rapture, before that the sun will be darkened and the moon into blood.
And according again to Matthew chapter 24, that takes place after the tribulation.
So the Bible tells us that there is an order of events there and it makes it very clear what this order is.
First is the tribulation. After the tribulation, according to Matthew 24 verse 29, then the sun is darkened and the moon is darkened and the stars fall from heaven.
And the Bible says that is before the day of the Lord.
And the Bible tells us that the day of the Lord is the rapture.
So again, the rapture is after the tribulation. It's very clear.
Now turn with me to Revelation chapter 6.
And while you're turning to Revelation chapter 6, I want to address an argument again that some of these pre-tribbles use to try to defend their doctrine.
Because they don't have any clear verses in the Bible to support this idea that the rapture comes before the tribulation.
That we won't go through tribulation. There's nothing in the Bible like that.
So they'll have to grasp at straws and take verses out of context and just take little verses and just twist their meaning.
And one of these verses that they use is 1 Thessalonians 5, 2, which we just read.
It says, for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh of the thief in the night.
So the way that they interpret this, they say, well, because it comes of the thief in the night, that means it could just happen in any moment.
It's just a surprise to all of us. It just happens suddenly. It's imminent.
They'll call this the imminency of Christ's return or the imminency of the rapture.
That's the name of their doctrine.
But the thing is, this is not teaching imminence. This has nothing to do with any of that.
Another, and I'll get into that in a second, but another verse that they use is also in Matthew 24, verse 36.
Where it says that, you know, of that day and hour knoweth no man.
And it says only the Father knows the day of the hour. I'll paraphrase it.
So they'll try to take that and they'll say, well, of that day and hour knoweth no man.
So that means it could just take place at any moment.
Because there's no signs leading up to it. There's nothing, you know, leading to it.
There's no warning. It just happens just like that.
And it's going to take us all off guard is basically what they're saying.
Now, we've already explained that the pre-tribbers will say that Matthew 24 is not the second coming.
Yet they use Matthew 24 to try to prove the pre-trib rapture, which, again, makes no sense.
They'll also use this verse right here, verse 2.
But look at verse 3. Let's just continue reading and understand what the context says.
It says in verse 3, For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
You are all the children of light and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober.
For they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
So, he says that the day of the Lord comes up the thief in the night for, again, meaning because, when they shall say,
now not when we shall say, when they shall say, talking about unbelievers, talking about others,
peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape, it says.
But it says in verse 4, But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
So he's saying that the day of the Lord comes up the thief in the night, but not upon believers.
Because he says you're not in darkness, that that day will overtake you as a thief.
So what does it mean that the day of the Lord comes up the thief in the night?
Does it mean that it will just take place at any moment? There's no warning?
No, it's saying that it's going to come as sudden destruction upon unbelievers,
because they're not ready for it, because they're not saved.
But for us, it will not overtake us as a thief. That's what it clearly says in verse 4.
So let's just take this one verse, verse 2, out of context and just ignore the rest of the chapter.
And also ignore what else the Bible says about the day of the Lord.
So they agree that the day of the Lord is the rapture, because they try to use this to defend the preacher of rapture.
But as we'll see in a moment, the fact that the Bible calls us the day of the Lord
proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the rapture is after the tribulation.
You're in Revelation chapter 6. Revelation chapter 6.
Hope down to verse 12.
The Bible says in Revelation chapter 6, verse 12,
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake.
And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became his blood.
And the stars of heaven fell into the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her in timely figs,
when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together,
and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Now so far, what we see in those three verses there is exactly the same as what's talked about in Matthew chapter 24.
Again, the sun is darkened, the moon is turned into blood, and the stars fall from heaven.
When does the Bible say this happens?
Before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord, in Joel 2.31.
Continue reading in verse 15.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men,
and every bondman, and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains,
and said to the mountains and rocks,
Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.
For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?
So it's talking about the wrath of God here, which is the day of the Lord.
Because the Bible defines what the day of the Lord is in Isaiah chapter 13 verse 9.
It says, Behold, the day of the Lord cometh cruel both with wrath and fierce anger,
to lay the land desolate, and he shall destroy the sinners that are out of it.
Just like we saw in 1 Thessalonians, right?
That when they shall speak of peace and safety, talking about unbelievers,
then sudden destruction cometh upon them.
So the day of the Lord is characterized by God's wrath and destruction upon unbelievers.
And that's exactly what we see in chapter 6 verses 16 and 17.
That after the sun and the moon are darkened, then the great day of his wrath is come.
So it didn't happen before that, it comes now.
The day of the Lord happens after these signs appear in heaven.
And when does the Bible say that these signs appear in heaven?
In Matthew 24 verse 29, immediately after the tribulation.
So the day of the Lord does not come until after the tribulation.
This is not difficult to understand if we just compare scripture with scripture.
I want to use an illustration just to help us to understand this.
I would like two volunteers to just come up here.
Alright, Eric and Jake.
So I'm going to have one person represent the tribulation and one person represent the rapture.
And I'm going to represent the sun and moon being darkened.
So we're going to do this like a timeline.
So from your perspective, imagine there's a timeline here, left to right, just like a regular timeline.
So according to the Bible, immediately after the tribulation is when the sun and moon is darkened.
So you're going to represent the tribulation.
So according to the Bible, when is the sun and moon dark?
After the tribulation.
So in the timeline, if I'm representing the sun and moon being darkened, I'm after you.
Does that make sense?
And according to the Bible, when does the day of the Lord come?
Or when is the sun and moon darkened before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord?
So he represents the rapture, which is the day of the Lord, according to 1 Thessalonians 5.2.
So therefore, he's after.
So in the timeline, imagine Daniel's 70th week is just this whole wall right here.
In a timeline, you have first the tribulation, then the sun and moon being darkened, then you have the rapture.
It's not that hard to understand because the Bible uses very clear words like before and after.
These are not difficult words to understand.
Anybody who speaks English knows what these mean, but apparently pre-trib or don't.
So thank you. You can go sit down now.
And they might say, well, if the rapture is after the tribulation, that means we're going to be here for the tribulation.
But I know that's not fair.
Why would God let us go through tribulation?
Why would God let us go through that time of great suffering and trouble?
They'll quote 1 Thessalonians 5.9, which says, God hath not appointed us unto wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.
And they'll say, see, we're not going to go through tribulation.
But it doesn't say God has not appointed us to tribulation.
It says God has not appointed us to wrath.
Because the Bible tells us if we are justified by his blood, we are saved from wrath through him.
So I'm not saying we're going to face God's wrath.
The Bible never teaches we're going to face God's wrath.
Because remember, the day of the Lord is God's wrath.
And the day of the Lord is when the rapture takes place.
So it goes tribulation, the sun and moon are darkened, the rapture, and then God begins to pour out his wrath on earth.
And that's exactly what we see after Revelation 6, which we just saw lines up exactly with Matthew 24.
Then if we read into chapter 8, it starts talking about the trumpets and how God is raining down hail and fire and mountains from heaven and the waters are turning into wormwood.
And the sea is becoming blood and the rivers are becoming blood and all these plagues are coming upon the earth as a punishment for the sins of this world.
That's the wrath of God, but by that time, we were already raptured out of here.
Because Revelation chapter 7 talks about the great multitude which appears in heaven.
Now look at that Revelation chapter 7, if you're still there in Revelation 6, it says in verse 9,
After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which shouldeth upon the throne and unto the Lamb.
And all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen.
Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen.
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they?
Watch this, in verse 14, And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
So John is seeing this vision in heaven. First he sees, in the earlier part of the chapter, the sealing of the 144,000.
Then after that, he sees this great multitude of all nations, kindreds and peoples suddenly appear in heaven.
And he asks, Where do these people come from? You know, whence came they? And the answer is, These are they which came out of great tribulation.
So the Bible tells us right here that this great multitude that appears in heaven, not just of the Jews, because remember the pre-tribbers think that the Jews are going through, are the ones going through the great tribulation.
But it says all kindreds, nations and tongues and peoples. Okay? So regardless if you're Hispanic, German, Japanese, Indian, it doesn't matter what your ethnicity is, if you believed in Jesus and you went through great tribulation, you're part of this crowd right here, according to verse 14.
So it's not just the Jews. So that proves to us that believers will go through the great tribulation. Not only that, but as I mentioned earlier, the Bible never promises that we won't go through tribulation, it promises that we won't face God's wrath.
I agree with that. That's why we believe in the post-trib pre-wrath rapture. Not, you know, the doctrine that some people believe that the rapture is after the Daniel 70th week, after all the trumpets and all the vials.
That doctrine is foolish. That's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible shows us very clearly that the rapture takes place at the sixth seal, which is already after the tribulation.
But there's several promises in the Bible that we will go through tribulation. Let me read a few examples.
John 16, 33.
So here's several examples right here where the Bible tells us that we will go through tribulation. Jesus Christ himself said in John 16, 33, in the world ye shall have tribulation.
And yet these people are saying, well, God's not going to let us go through tribulation. Not according to Jesus. According to Acts 14, 22, we must, must, must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God.
Okay? So there's no doubt that the Bible teaches we will face tribulation. And it gets more specific than that. There is a guaranteed promise in the Bible that we will see the antichrist, we will see the man of sin, and that the man of sin, the beast, will persecute believers.
Okay? Now, pre-tribbers don't like that. And the main reason why is because they're scared and because they don't want to go through tribulation. A lot of them are weak, unfortunately.
But the Bible makes it very clear that we will be here for the tribulation. We will be here for when the antichrist is revealed.
Now, there's this phrase among pre-tribbers where they'll say, well, we're not looking for the antichrist, we're looking for Jesus Christ. You might have heard that before.
And the thing is, of course we're looking for Jesus. Of course we're waiting for him. That's who we want to come.
But the unfortunate news is the antichrist is going to come first, and that's what the Bible tells us.
It's 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Turn with me to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 if you're not there already. I'll just start reading in verse 1.
It says, Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto it.
So what are we talking about? The same thing that we're talked about in 1 Thessalonians 4. The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to 1 Thessalonians 4.15, that's the rapture, right?
And then our gathering together unto him. Again, that's the rapture. That's when his elect are gathered unto Jesus.
In verse 2 it says that you be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled, neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us, as at the day of Christ is at hand.
Now some dispensationalists out there will say, well, the day of Christ and the day of the Lord, these are two different things.
Christ is the Lord. And the Bible even calls him the Lord Jesus Christ several times.
So just because it's worded differently doesn't mean it's two different things. The day of Christ and the day of the Lord are the same thing. How do we know that?
Because verse 1 already told us we're talking about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto him.
Which, according to 1 Thessalonians, is the rapture. The day of the Lord. The day of Christ and the day of the Lord are the exact same thing.
And so he says not to be shaken in mind is that the day of Christ is at hand.
So the day of the Lord, the coming of Jesus, the rapture, is not at hand. It's not imminent like these pre-tribbers teach.
In verse 3 it says let no man deceive you by any means for that day, the day of Christ, the day of the Lord, shall not come except there come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition, who opposeth and exulteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
So that day, the day of Christ, will not come until there's two things that happen first. The falling away and the man of sin is revealed, who opposeth and exult himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped.
So before Jesus Christ comes, according to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, according to the word of God, not according to a commentary or some chart in a book or whatever, but according to the Bible,
before Jesus Christ comes, before the day of the Lord, before the day of Christ, the Antichrist, the man of sin, is going to sit in the temple and declare himself to be God.
Go with me to Revelation chapter 12 and we'll see what the man of sin does, what the Antichrist does, when he is revealed.
The Bible tells us that he is the cause of our persecution during the tribulation. The suffering and the trial and the trouble that we will go through as believers during the great tribulation comes from the Antichrist, comes from the beast.
Look in Revelation chapter 12 down in verse 17. It says, And the dragon was wroth of the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The verse is talking about Satan the dragon. He makes war with those that keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. That's Christians. It's not Jews, obviously.
Now look in chapter 13 verse 7. The preceding verses leading up to that are talking about the beast and describing him.
And it says in verse 7, And it was given unto him to make war with the saints. Who are the saints?
1 Corinthians 1 says that the saints are those that have called on the name of the Lord. Again, the saved.
So he makes war with the saved, the saints, people who are believers in Jesus and to overcome them. And power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations.
The Bible tells us very clearly that the man of sin will sit in the temple of God declaring himself to be God before the day of Christ.
And it also tells us that he is going to make war with the saints and overcome us.
So, yes, we will go through tribulation, just like the Bible promises, and it makes it even more specific that the beast will make war with us, that he will persecute us, that we will be killed.
Go to Revelation chapter 20. Revelation chapter 20.
Now this is after Armageddon and all these things. This is the chapter talking about the millennium.
It says in verse 1, And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled, and after that he must be loosed a little season.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.
And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Verse 5, But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Verse 6, Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
So the Bible tells us that after Satan is thrown into the bottomless pit, and when Christ rules for this thousand year period, that saints will rule and reign with Christ, who were beheaded because they did not worship the beast and his image.
And it says that these people who are alive and reign with Christ, that they were part of the first resurrection.
So remember, pre-tribbers believe that the rapture, which includes the resurrection, according to 1 Thessalonians 4.16, they believe that's before the tribulation.
They believe that we don't go through any persecution, that we don't go through any tribulation, that all these things take place before.
But the problem is that the Bible tells us very clearly that there are going to be some people part of the first resurrection who were beheaded because they did not worship the beast.
So how is that possible if the resurrection takes place before the beast is even revealed? It's not possible.
Now there are some people who make the argument, well, oh, first is just talking about, you know, first is an importance.
They'll say, oh, it's just the main resurrection with no evidence. But not only that, it says in verse 5, but the rest of the dead live not again.
So in order for it to say the rest of the dead live not again until after the thousand years were finished, that would mean that there's going to be these two resurrections.
So there's that first resurrection. It's talking about numbers here. It's not saying, oh, it's the main one or it's the most important one.
It's just saying that the dead in Christ were raised up at this time and this is after they'd already been persecuted by the beast.
And then there's going to be another resurrection. The rest of the dead will live again after the thousand years.
So in summary, the preacher rapture is a false doctrine and the Bible makes it very clear that the rapture is after the tribulation.
Now why is this important to us? Because we have to understand, first of all, we should love the Bible because it's true and we should believe the Bible because it's true and we need to know what's coming.
Regardless of if it's in our lifetime or not, because we have no idea if it's in our lifetime. This could happen hundreds of years in the future.
It could happen ten years in the future. Nobody knows. So it could be irrelevant to us because we might not go through these things.
But we also might go through these things. Because again, we don't know when these things are going to take place.
For all we know, the seventh week could start tomorrow. Who knows? Nobody knows.
So we have to be ready to face this tribulation and not let it take us off guard.
And Jesus made it very clear that we're going to go through these things and that he will come after the tribulation.
So we shouldn't, you know, get wrong doctrine on this. We should have the right view of the end times.
We should believe what the Bible says and the Bible makes it very clear.
It says immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, the moon shall be turned to blood.
Okay? So these things take place in an order that the Bible clearly lines up.
And that's first, you got the tribulation, the great tribulation, persecution of believers.
Then you have the sun and moon being darkened. Then you have the rapture. Then you have the wrath of God.
That's the order that the Bible clearly tells us. If you don't believe that, you're not believing what the Bible clearly teaches.
So let's have a word of prayer.
Father, I pray that you please help us to believe the Bible, Lord, and to understand what your word says about these things and to study the book of Revelation and study the end times, Lord.
You put in your word for a reason.
Help us, God, to not listen to false teachers who teach wrong doctrine, Lord, but to study out your word and to just believe it.
In the name of your son, Jesus Christ, God, we pray. Amen.