All right, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, the part of the chapter that I want to focus on
is the famous passage there at the end dealing with the rapture.
And what I want to preach about today is this new Hollywood movie that's coming out this
Friday, Left Behind.
And this movie is one of a series of biblical quote-unquote biblical movies that Hollywood
has been putting out lately.
And it's almost scary how many biblical movies that they're putting out.
They put out recently the Noah movie, which was a complete perversion of scripture.
I didn't watch the movie, but I can read the synopsis of these movies online.
And they're nowhere near what the Bible teaches.
Then there's the Son of God movie.
Then there's an Exodus movie that's coming out now of Moses and the parting the Red Sea
and all that once again.
And then this new Left Behind movie that comes out Friday.
Let me tell you something.
It's not that Hollywood suddenly loves God and loves Jesus and loves the Bible.
That's not what's going on.
If you believe that, you're very naive.
And some people have said, well, they just know that they can make money off Christians
and whatever.
That's not it at all.
Because the phony Christians of our day in the United States will go see whatever worldly
movie they put out.
It doesn't have to be a Bible movie to get these worldly new evangelical Christians to
go to the theater and watch it.
No, there's an agenda, my friend, to twist and distort the teachings of the Bible.
And I believe that it is in preparation for the end times that the devil wants to distort
the Word of God and get people so confused that when these things begin to come to pass,
they will have no idea what's going on.
And they'll be tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine.
And these things will take them unawares.
They will not do as the Bible says and watch and be sober unto the end.
But rather, they'll have no clue what's going on.
Now I want to start in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, which is probably the most famous rapture
passage.
It gives the clearest teaching here.
And I want to start out by saying this.
A lot of people have wrongly reacted to all this false teaching about the rapture to just
go to the opposite extreme and say there is no rapture.
Because the pre-tribulation rapture is a fraud, because the Left Behind movie is a
fraud, they walk away saying, oh, the rapture just doesn't exist.
Well, that's just as dangerous of a teaching if you're going to deny that the rapture exists.
And the Bible is very clear in 1 Thessalonians 4 that the rapture exists, many other passages.
It's just that it comes after the tribulation.
That is the colossal difference between what the Bible teaches and what Hollywood is teaching.
Don't get caught up in every bandwagon that the world wants to get you on.
And so many people are so plugged into the world and they're so plugged into the media
and TV or social media or the news to where they just get caught up in every trend that
comes along.
The world has an agenda and it's a godless agenda.
We need to study our Bibles to stay anchored to the truth and not just be carried away
with the trends of the world.
You know, another example I have to think of is this show Duck Dynasty, okay, which
I've never seen the show, but I've seen all the bunch of long-haired hippies on the show
that are lifted up now as just the greatest Christian examples in America today.
I mean, these guys are just lifted up and exalted as these are our Christian role models.
Look at these wonderful Christians.
Let me tell you something, none of them are saved.
They're on their way to hell today.
Why?
They're not even believing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
They believe that you have to be baptized to be saved.
They believe in the seven steps to salvation of the so-called Church of Christ, false religion.
Seven steps to salvation, including baptism to be saved, and they're being lifted up as
all these great godly examples.
Get a haircut, then we'll talk.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, then we'll talk.
Become a Baptist, then we'll talk.
But this Church of Christ, false denomination, but nobody cares.
They're just so thrilled that somebody on TV, somebody in Hollywood is throwing Jesus
a bone or throwing God a bone.
No, wrong.
It's another Jesus.
It's a false gospel.
It's a false religion.
And any time the world is exalting someone, you know they're a false prophet, period.
The Bible says, woo unto you when all men speak well of you, for so they did unto the
false prophets.
And when somebody has a best-selling TV show amongst this godless generation of the United
States of America, you can just take it to the bank that they're not teaching the truth.
And let me tell you something.
When Hollywood puts out a movie, which by the way, I bring up Duck Dynasty because one
of those long-haired hippies from Duck Dynasty is the executive producer of Left Behind,
and is pushing this pre-trib doctrine also, in addition to all of his other heresies.
But you'd think that Baptists would wake up and realize when Hollywood's teaching your
doctrine, it's time to rethink your doctrine.
Because Hollywood never puts out an accurate biblical movie.
But if you ask the Baptists of our day, hey, is the Noah movie accurate?
No.
Exodus accurate?
No.
Son of God accurate?
No.
Left Behind?
Oh yeah, nails it.
Left Behind just dead on.
That's exactly how it's going to be.
No, it's a lie.
I hope that they wake up, but they won't.
But let me just show you from 1 Thessalonians 4 what the Bible actually teaches.
Look at verse number 13.
It says, but I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren.
And that right there is a whole sermon in and of itself.
We need to know the Bible.
And here's the thing.
You might say, well, why do we need teaching on Bible prophecy?
How does this apply to my daily life?
What does the Bible say?
He doesn't want us to be ignorant about these things.
So we need to know the contents of this sermon because God doesn't want us to be ignorant
of these things.
He said, 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 them.
Let me start out by saying this.
Sleeping or being asleep in Jesus in the Bible is a euphemism for death.
This is referring to people who have died.
And the reason that it's called sleeping is that the Bible talks about how they sleep
in the dust of the earth.
It's talking about the body.
And the reason it's characterized as sleep is because one day that body will rise again.
There will be a bodily resurrection.
Now this is not a soul sleep.
And the reason why we know that for sure is that in verse 14 it says, if we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
So at the return of Christ, notice, he's bringing them with him that are asleep in Jesus, isn't
he?
He's bringing them.
But then later in the passage at the end of verse 16 it says, the dead in Christ shall
rise first.
So you notice in one verse it says he's bringing them with him.
Another verse it says they're going to rise first.
You say, how can that be?
Here's how.
The soul is in heaven.
The body is buried in the earth.
When he returns, he's going to bring them with him, the souls, and then they're going
to rise, the bodies, and basically in a moment, a twinkling of an eye, they're going to be
changed in the air and they're going to be transformed from that corruptible body to
an incorruptible body, to a new spiritual body.
But it's interesting in verse 14 that we have a very clear proof of the deity of our Lord
Jesus Christ because notice who it says is going to be coming in the clouds.
It says if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep
in Jesus will God bring with him.
Who's coming in the clouds?
Jesus.
And he's bringing them with him.
It says God will bring them with him.
And then it says, this we say unto you by the word of the Lord that we which are alive
and remain unto the coming of the Lord.
So again, it's calling Jesus the Lord.
It calls him God.
It calls him the Lord.
It says we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them
which are asleep.
Meaning we're not going to come before them that 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.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Now I don't see how you can read this passage and say that the rapture doesn't exist.
The Bible's crystal clear here and we're going to see it in a few other passages as well.
But the Bible's very clear that Jesus Christ will come in the clouds, a trumpet will sound,
there will be a shout of an archangel and then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we
ever be with the Lord.
Now a lot of people will say well the word rapture is not found in the Bible.
But the word caught up in the clouds is found in the Bible and actually where we get our
English word rapture is from the Latin because in the Latin Bible the word for catching up
or caught up is a derivative of the word rapture and so that's where we get that word in English.
It just sounds catchier than calling it the you know the catching away, the catching up.
You know it just doesn't sound as good as saying the rapture.
So it's just a different word to describe this event.
So to say that because the rapture, the word rapture is not in the Bible that the doctrine
of the rapture is not in the Bible is foolish because it says we're going to be caught up
in the clouds.
Whatever you want to call that, the catching up into the clouds, it just is kind of a mouthful.
But the doctrine is still there, the teaching is there.
But if you would flip over to Matthew chapter 24 and I want to show you some things about
this that the new Left Behind movie is not going to tell you because the Left Behind
movie is a fraud just like every movie that Hollywood puts out is a fraud.
But look at Matthew 24 and look at verse number 29 it says immediately after the tribulation
of those days.
And of course the Left Behind movie teaches that the rapture happens before the tribulation
even though the Bible clearly says it happens after the tribulation.
They teach that it can happen at any moment.
But the lies don't end there.
Keep reading, it says, 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, watch this, and they shall gather together
his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.
So first of all the Left Behind movie says oh it's going to happen before the tribulation.
The Bible says it's going to happen after.
But not only that, the Left Behind movie teaches that everybody's going to disappear.
Now did 1 Thessalonians 4 say anything about anybody disappearing?
Did it say people will disappear?
No it says that we'll be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air.
We get a little more detail in Matthew 24 because when it says we'll be caught up it
doesn't really tell us who's doing the catching up.
But in Matthew 24 it very clearly tells us in verse 31 that 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 there's no disappearance happening.
There's no pile of clothes.
I don't think these angels are going to show up, strip you of your clothing and then pull
you out of here.
You know they're going to catch you up as is and take you up in the clouds.
That's what the Bible actually teaches.
Now if you go down a little further in the passage it says in verse 36 but of that day
and hour knoweth no man, know not the angels of heaven but my Father only.
So no man knows the day or the hour but we do know that it's after the tribulation because
he just said that a few verses ago.
But then he says but 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 and
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.
Now this parallel with the story of Noah is that the day that Noah entered into the ark
it started raining and God shut the door of the ark and it rained on the ungodly and
they were flooded and all drowned and killed and up to that point they didn't really see
it coming but they were killed.
Now the same thing the Bible says is going to happen in the coming of the Son of Man.
Now he says in verse number 40 he says 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 you know not what hour your lord doth come.
And these verses is where the movie Left Behind takes its title where he talks about two people
being in the field right.
One's taken the other's what?
Left behind you know left behind.
That's where they're getting this from saying you know one's taken the other left.
So what's funny is that then to people to defend their false movie and their false book
series here's what they'll say oh Matthew 24 is not about the rapture.
They'll say Matthew 24 is not about the rapture it's about the second coming of Christ.
Well first of all 1 Thessalonians 4 the most famous rapture passage calls the rapture the
coming of the Lord.
So unless it's coming 1.5 that would make it the second coming right.
First coming Bethlehem.
Second coming in the clouds trumpet sounds we're caught up together with them according
to 1 Thessalonians 4.
You say oh Revelation 19 you know he comes on a white horse at Armageddon.
That's never called the coming of Christ.
Show me one place in the Bible where Jesus on the white horse at Armageddon is ever called
the coming of Christ.
It isn't there.
And if it were called the coming of Christ it would be a third coming but that's it's
never called that.
It's never referred to as that.
Whenever we see the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints for example that's
where it says.
Them that are asleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
Okay at the rapture 1 Thessalonians 4 people will say well the difference between the rapture
and the second coming is that at the rapture he comes for his saints and at the second
coming he comes with his saints.
Wait a minute it says that if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so them also
which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him at the rapture.
So he's coming with his saints at the rapture.
That's what the Bible says.
I mean they have all these cute things of the difference between the second coming and
the rapture.
No the rapture is the second coming.
That's what it's called the coming of our Lord.
Okay people don't disappear.
Okay they're carried away by the angels they're caught up by the angels the Bible says he'll
send his angels to gather his elect.
Now another thing that's interesting though is that these people will tell you Matthew
24 is not about the rapture but then they'll take their whole concept for the movie two
in the field one taken the other left from a chapter that's supposedly not at the rapture.
So then some people will say well first he's not talking about the rapture then he's talking
about the rapture again.
Look God's not the author of confusion.
This passage is all talking about the same event of Christ coming in the clouds gathering
the elect one is taken the other is left behind.
Okay that's what's actually being taught and it's after the tribulation.
Now go to Luke 17 Luke chapter 17 and actually Luke 17 is the first time that Jesus really
goes into detail and teaches people about the rapture and teaches people about his second
coming because even though you don't get to Luke 17 until after Matthew 24 when you're
reading the Bible Luke 21 is parallel with Matthew 24.
So if Luke 21 and Matthew 24 are parallel that means Luke 17 comes first.
So this is Jesus first teaching unto his disciples that's recorded in scripture where he really
goes into detail about what it's going to be like when he returns and in Luke 17 it
says in verse 22 and he said unto his disciples the days will come when you shall desire to
see one of the days of the Son of Man and you shall not see it and they shall say to
you see here or see there go not after them nor follow them for as the lightning that
lighteneth out of the one part under heaven shineth under the other part under heaven
so shall also the Son of Man be in his day.
Now what that's saying there is that if you have to wonder is this the second coming of
Christ then it's not it.
If there's any doubt in your mind if anybody's wondering you know is this really the big
one or not it's not because the Bible says there will be no doubt if anybody tells you
oh it's the second coming of Christ oh he's here he's there he said if there's any doubt
about it it's not because when Jesus Christ returns the Bible says it will be like the
lightning that lights up one side of heaven all the way to the other.
Now we experienced this last night there was a lot of lightning last night but there was
one particular lightning bolt that literally I had my back to where the lightning struck
and it lit up the whole sky in front of me because it literally just lit up the whole
sky 360 degrees around where I was it was that bright last night anybody see that type
of lightning last night but I was outside dealing with the gigantic tree that fell
on my house but anyway it thankfully didn't do any damage thank the Lord because it was
like an act of God that it didn't damage anything but a big giant tree came crashing down thankfully
nobody was injured or anything but we were out there working on it and there was a lot
of lightning and stuff like that.
If you have to wonder it's not and that's what God's warning us.
See all the people that are gonna be deceived by the Antichrist they don't understand this
concept that there will be zero doubt when he comes and he says in verse number twenty
five but first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation talking
to the people that he was with at the time and as it was in the days of Noah so shall
it be also in the days of the son of man they did eat they drank they married wives they
were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came
and destroyed them all.
Watch this likewise also as it was in the days of Lot they did eat they drank they bought
they sold they planted they builded but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained
fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all even thus shall it be in the day
when the son of man is revealed.
So a couple things we see here first of all we saw in first Thessalonians chapter four
and in Matthew twenty four that the rapture comes after the tribulation not before this
left behind movie is a lie.
Secondly we saw that this idea that the left behind movie teaches where everybody disappears
and you have piles of clothes that's also a lie because the Bible says that he'll send
forth his angels to come and gather the elect from one end of heaven to the other.
But then thirdly we see here that according to the Bible on the day that the rapture takes
place the same day God will rain fire and brimstone from heaven the same day that we
are removed and he compared it first to Noah and said the same day Noah entered into the
ark it rained upon them and of course that was water that flooded and drowned them.
But then he said also as it was in the days of Lot where it rained fire and it says the
same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone thus shall it be also in
the days of the coming of the son of man it's going to be the same way he said when
Jesus comes back.
And if you study Revelation that's exactly what happens literally a half hour goes by
after we are removed and God pours out fire and brimstone upon this earth and burns up
and by the way it says that it's going to burn up all the grass that's on the earth.
I mean it's going to rain fire and brimstone to the point where all the grass is going
to be burned up.
Now some people have asked they said you know well if all the grass is burned up with
the sounding of the first trumpet there of the wrath of God being poured out where he
rains fire and brimstone on the earth they say how can the locusts be told that they're
not going to eat any grass with the fifth trumpet.
You know what that proves is that there's a substantial period of time between the first
trumpet and the fifth trumpet because of the fact that if you burn up all the grass you
know what's going to happen a year later you're going to have all the grass again because
grass grows up in the course of a year you're going to have all the grass come back.
I've seen some places that were very severely burned there's a hiking trail that we've been
going on most of our lives in northern California by where I used to live and there was a major
forest fire.
So first I went on this hiking trip and it was all nice and green and pristine well then
a fire came through and just wiped out like half of the trail and just burned it to all
the trees burned up all the green grass burned up but we went back there just shortly after
that fire year two three whatever later and there are all kinds of new grasses and plants.
Now the trees are going to take a lot longer to be replaced so you just have these big
black burnt sticks sticking out of the ground and the sun's just beating down on you no
shade but all of the grasses and things are just thriving because without the trees they're
growing better and there's all kinds of it doesn't take long for the grass to be replaced
my friend but the Bible is really clear that God is going to pour out his wrath on this
earth and it's going to take years it's not going to be something that happens all in
one day or something like that or or even in the course of one year as a lot of people
teach it's going to be spread out over the course of over three years in fact.
So in this passage it's compared unto the days of Lot well let's think about the story
of Lot just for a moment we don't have to turn back there and look at it hopefully you're
familiar with the story but let me just give you the synopsis Lot is a righteous man he's
a saved man and he decides to live in Sodom because of the fact that it was a well-watered
plain and he saw the financial prosperity that he could achieve by being there his cattle
is going to thrive by being in such a nice place but the problem was that the men of
Sodom the Bible says were sinners before the Lord exceedingly well all sins equal no they
were sinners before the Lord exceedingly because their sins were very vile and wicked in the
sight of God and so Lot living in the town of Sodom is in danger of being destroyed with
Sodom and God comes to Abraham and tells Abraham that he's going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah
and Abraham knows that his nephew lives there so Abraham seeks to intercede for Sodom and
he says you know what if we can find 50 righteous in the city would you destroy it and God says
no Noah gets to thinking or Noah goodnight Abraham gets to thinking I'm mixing up the
days of Lot and the days of Noah here but you know Abraham gets to thinking and he says
you know I don't know if there's 50 righteous people in that city so he said what if it's
just 45 I mean just because five people are missing are you going to destroy it for one
to five and God says I won't destroy it if there's 45 okay how about 40 and Abraham keeps
talking God down 30 20 finally gets down to 10 he says God please don't get angry at me
one more I'm going to say one more thing and he's a great negotiator he's the kind of guy
that you want to take to Tijuana with you you know but I mean he ground him down to 10 people
he said what if there are just 10 righteous people will you destroy it and God says I
won't destroy it and of course God ended up doing what destroying it because there were
not 10 righteous people in Sodom but what's interesting is that even though Abraham prayed
for God not to destroy the city he didn't really care about the wicked he was worried
about the righteous he was worried about Lot so what's interesting is that even sometimes
when we pray for things God doesn't always answer our prayer the way that we pray it
but sometimes God will answer it in another way and he'll do what we need he'll do what's
good for us even if we didn't know how to ask because Abraham could have prayed and
said God would you just get Lot out of Sodom before you destroy it right and that would
have been a better prayer than to just say oh just let the city continue to be a cesspool
of filth and iniquity God knew what Abraham's intent of his heart was and that's what the
Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit will do according to Romans 8 he will intercede for
us because the Bible says we don't know how to pray as we ought and I know there have
been a lot of times when I was in a situation where I didn't really know what to pray for
I didn't really know what needed to happen but I just prayed God let your will be done
just help me out here do something God I don't know what's needed and God when he
hears that kind of prayer he'll answer it in the way that's right and sometimes we'll
pray for the wrong thing and God will give us something better and so Abraham prayed
and in a sense his prayer was not answered because God destroyed the city but in a sense
his prayer was answered because instead what God ended up doing was sending his two angels
to the city to remove Lot from the city now when the two angels show up at Sodom of course
the filthy Sodomite perverts are there and they want to basically lie with these men
carnally disgusting perversion of men and by the way men with men it's disgusting that's
what the Bible says the Bible used the word filthy vile and we ought not become permissive
or tolerant of it you know preachers today they've been they've bought into this political
garbage it's like they get more of their beliefs from politicians than from the Bible so they
have this thing where they're on this kick against gay marriage that is the dumbest thing
I've ever heard in my life arguing about whether gays should get married or not that's not
what the Bible says the Bible doesn't say anything about that but you know who talks
a lot about that politicians people like Obama people like Mitt Romney people like John McCain
they love to talk about gay marriage because they love to have it both ways politicians
like to have it both ways so they want to say on one end oh I'm for the family I'm against
gay marriage you know protect marriage all the conservatives you know this is gonna be
the conservative side of the auditorium then they go over to the liberals you know who
sit over here no I'm just kidding but then they come over to liberals and then they say
oh man I love queers and homos and faggots they're wonderful in fact I'm gonna hire more
of them in my administration than any president who's ever been in history and I'm gonna put
I'm gonna point them to the Supreme Court I'm gonna hire them on my staff some of my
best friends are perverted filthy pedophiles you know so they basically they do it both
ways so over here they make the conservatives happy by telling them I'm gonna protect marriage
you know but there's but then over here they're like oh but we'll still just let homos adopt
children and live to live together and be queer together adopt children that have been
taken from their parents because their parents smoked pot and let's take it away and give
it to a sodomite listen to me it's one thing for the world to be deceived by that kind
of garbage but are you Christian are you Bible believing Baptist gonna actually be deceived
by the rhetoric of these politicians that are lying and saying oh we need to protect
marriage protect no we don't we need to stand against homosexuality period in general and
not tolerate it at all I have zero tolerance for it then to sit there and say oh let's
tolerate it let's work with you let's invite you to church let's be your friend let's treat
you nicely let's not offend you but oh but just one thing you just can't get married
you just have to just you know live together and act like you're married and and adopt
kids together but you just can't call it marriage just call it something else and then God will
be okay with it you know it's a bunch of stupidity my friend you know the Bible teaches that
if a man lies with another man they should be put to death that's what I mean if our
if that's what a politician should be saying he should be saying you know if I'm elected
you know murderers and adulterers and homosexuals are going to be put to death you know and
he's not going to win but you know what though he might actually get me voting again even
though I've pretty much decided I'm never going to vote again that he might get me to
vote again if he said that but the but the bottom line is though I can't believe he said
that but that's what the Bible said okay but people are more influenced by the world and
politics than they are by the Bible you can't show me one scripture dealing with gay marriage
in fact I'm okay with gays getting married right before they're killed you know for being
a for committing the crime of homosexuality and again I'm not a vigilante I don't believe
that we should take the law into our own hands I've never harmed anybody I'm not going
to harm anybody but I'm telling you something in America homosexuals used to be put to death
in America in America a few hundred years ago they were put to death okay and you know
why because the people who are running the country based what they believed on the Bible
and they said let's base our laws on the perfect law of God imagine that but no America knows
better now and so this whole philosophy of oh you know I even heard an independent fundamental
Baptist preacher say this he said I don't have anything against gay people and I think we should
treat them like everyone else but they just shouldn't get married what in the world it's
bizarre my friend but that's what happens when you don't read the Bible and when you watch TV
all day that's what you're gonna end up you're gonna or listening to talk radio all day that's
what you're gonna end up saying stupid things like that I don't believe in it but as it was in
the days of Lot so will it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man is this another sign of
the times that we're approaching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ because it's starting to
get like Sodom and Gomorrah in America today and in Israel today in Tel Aviv they have the sodomy
abounding and so that's another sign of the times because remember in the last days in Revelation
chapter 8 you know what God calls Jerusalem Sodom he says it's spiritually Sodom and and
it's already happening over in Israel it's it's the queerest place in the whole Middle East but
in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah God sends his two angels and you know by the way anybody who's
offended right now you're liberal anybody who's offended right now you have your head so far in
TV and talk radio that's why your opinions messed up come back to me when you read this whole book
cover five times and then we'll see if you're still offended but anyway the two angels come
into Sodom and they want to get Lot out of Sodom so they basically just tell him you need to get
out of here you know God's going to destroy the city you need to get out of here so Lot he tries
to warn his family and he tells them God's going to destroy this place and they laugh at him and
make fun of him and they don't believe it so then the angels tell him you just need to get out of
here just with you and your wife and the two daughters that are right here with you you four
just need to get out of here right now and what does Lot do he lingers he's you know let me just
check my stuff you know they're like no he's gonna destroy the city you need to get out and
he's he's lingering so eventually what these angels finally do is they grab hold of Lot's
hand right they grab his wife's hand and then the other angel grabs the two daughters right
because the two angels have two hands four people so they each grab one by the hand and they
literally drag Lot and his family out of Sodom I mean by the hand they grab them and drag them out
of there and of course they told him not to look back Lot's wife sinned and look back she left her
heart in San Francisco so she turned back and became a pillar of salt now it's amazing how that
story parallels with the rapture so nicely because if you think about the Bible teach that God's
gonna send his angels to gather his elect right and so it says they're gonna be caught up together
in the clouds they're gonna be taken by the angels up into the clouds and so it's a perfect
illustration where the two angels went into Sodom and laid hold on Lot and his family and take them
out of the city that's exactly what's gonna happen so this movie that's coming out on Friday is a
fraud where it shows everybody disappearing and a pile of clothes there's nothing like that in
the Bible in the Bible it's actually angels that are going to be sent to lay hold on those that
are saved and to carry them away into the clouds okay in fact the Bible even teaches that when a
person dies okay like for example Luke 16 is a great example of this the story about the rich
man and Lazarus when Lazarus who was saved died the Bible says he was carried by the angels unto
Abraham's bosom right so the angels again were sent down and picked up Lazarus just his soul not
the body but they picked him up and carried him to heaven because obviously Abraham was in heaven
and Abraham's bosom is not a place it's a body part but that's another sermon of itself so we
see here in Luke 17 let's keep reading it says likewise as it was in the days of Lot and we're
living in days that look a lot like the days of Lot by the way because of all the sodomy that
abounds he says as it was in the days of Lot so shall it also be in the days of the Son of Man
let me let me find my place here it says in verse 28 they did eat they drank they bought they sold
they planted they builded verse 29 but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and
brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is
revealed so right there we clearly see that when people are taken in the rapture no one's gonna be
wondering you know where is everybody what's happening and just going through their lives
trying to figure out these disappearances what happened no because they're gonna be running for
cover because of fire and brimstone raining out sky I mean when there's fire and brimstone raining
out of the sky you're not wondering hmm I wonder what this pile of clothes is about not that
there's even gonna be a pile of clothes because that's not even accurate anyway but they don't
portray it that way they don't have God's wrath being poured out at all after the rapture from
my understanding this movie it's just everything goes on as normal and then you know the Antichrist
begins to take power and everything all stuff that the Bible teaches happens before the rapture even
happens because when the rapture happens God starts pouring out his wrath it's pretty clear
let's keep reading it says in verse 31 in that day he which shall be upon the housetop and his
stuff in the house let him not come down to take it away again this is a reference to Lot remember
he's trying to go back and get his stuff he that is in the field let him likewise not return back
remember Lot's wife whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it and whosoever shall lose
his life shall preserve it I tell you in that night there shall be two men in one bed the one
shall be taken and the other shall be left again left that's where this new fraudulent movie is
even taking its title from left behind right it says the other shall be left two women shall be
grinding together the one shall be taken and the other left two men shall be in the field the one
shall be taken and the other left and they said answered and said unto him where Lord and he said
unto them wheresoever the body is thither will the Eagles be gathered together now let me just point
out a few things in this passage here first of all it's interesting because it says in this passage
in that night right so it talks about it being at night in that night two men are gonna be in one
bed the one taking the other left two women in the grinding together one taking the other left
but then in other places it says like in that day you know they'll be in the field and one will be
taken in the other life but that's because it's going to be both day and night at the same time
because the earth is round so if you think about it if it's night in one place it's gonna be day
in the other and vice versa so some people could look at that as a contradiction if they don't
think about the fact that it's a different time you know it's gonna be a different time of day
depending upon where you live on this earth when this happens but it says that they're gonna be in
the field other people are gonna be in bed now I've heard some people just with it never ceases
to amaze me the bizarre things that people come up with somebody said oh this proves that that
homos are saved because there's two men in one bed and the ones taking the other life I mean
what do they think of next good night but this is the world that we live in today it's so creepy
the way that people think anymore because it's just become so perverted but they don't understand
that throughout the world there are people who sleep in the same bed just because they're poor
people you know poor people share bunks together and sleep in a bed and it's not because they're
a sodomite it's they're sleeping in bed you know because they're they're just normal people that
are just workers who share a bed it's actually pretty common throughout the world we live in
America in the lap of luxury you know we wouldn't think of sharing a bed with anyone you know except
our spouse but you know throughout the world that's not the guy I mean there are all kinds
of people just lining up and on a bed in other parts so who's been to another part of the world
and seen something like that where people just line up all the Nigerians have their hands up
South America Mexico right so we're seeing some places where people do that you know but to the
American mind this is foreign all the American mind can think of is just homos because they've
been watching so much Hollywood to get all these weird thoughts in their head like what normal
person would even I've been reading this verse my whole life that and thought never came in my mind
just growing up and reading it I'm like what in the world are you nuts so it says they'll be left
and then and then the last verse I just want to emphasize this last verse it says where so ever
the body is thither will the Eagles be gathered together now a lot of people really choke on this
verse and I don't really understand why because he's using a parable he's using an illustration
and he says wither so ever the body is there will the Eagles be gathered together now keep
your finger here go back to Matthew 24 where we were reading Matthew chapter 24 says that
pretty much the same thing in verse 26 kind of helps tie these passages together look at Matthew
24 verse 26 it says wherefore if they shall say unto you behold he's in the desert go not forth
behold he's in the secret chambers believe it not for as the lightning cometh out of the east and
shineth even under the West so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be for whatsoever the
carcasses not notice the word carcass instead of body that'll help us understand a little more what
Jesus is saying for so ever the carcasses there will the Eagles be gathered together now a lot of
people will look at that and say well a carcass is bad carcasses are bad and so therefore when
the Bible talks about the one taken and the other left it's the bad people that are being taken
because I'm telling you these pre-tribbers have to scramble to find something to salvage their
false doctrine because the cat's out of the bag the Bible says it's after the tribulation trumpet
sounds he has the so they they're like oh what do we do you know we've been saying all these years
that Matthew 24 is about the rapture when we talked about one taken the other left and all
these years we've been saying no man know that the day or the hour turns out that verses in
Matthew 24 2 and then Matthew 24 says after the tribulation what are we gonna do so we got to
find a way to just make Matthew 24 not be about the rapture at all anymore but you called the book
left behind I know you called the book left behind says left right there and it says talks
about people being left behind I know I know but we got it scratch that we got to come up with
another thing yeah that they're oh I got I got it this isn't the rapture it's bad people being
removed the good people stay it's brilliant and this is the new doctrine that's that's been being
taught now the rat I just saw some pastor preach a sermon last Sunday the the rapture of the wicked
that was the title of sir like basically the bad it's the bad people that get raptured the good
people stay what in the world well just keep telling yourself that once I'm gone you know
what's all those faithful word people are God just keep telling yourself that but anyway this
is what they're teaching now because here's and here's what they say well the carcass I mean
carcasses are bad you know I mean car the car who wants to go to the carcass quick because he says
one shall be taken the other left one taking the other and they're like where Lord like where are
they going to be taken to and he gives them this really cryptic answer with us however the carcass
is there will the Eagles be gathered together so in this parable the Eagles represent who the
people who are being taken right the people are being taken are the Eagles and where are they
going to the body to the carcass and then they say well that's a bad place because carcasses are bad
but here's thing when you're an eagle carcasses are good I mean if we were to ask an eagle and I
know animals can't talk just bear with me but if we were to ask an eagle hey our carcasses a good
thing or a bad thing about oh man carcasses are great and if you ask me I think carcasses taste
pretty good myself you know I wouldn't mind throwing a carcass on the barbecue this afternoon
because a carcass is food unto the Eagles that's good so to say oh a carcass they're going to a bad
place no when you're an eagle you live for carcasses that's what they use that super good
vision for to spot carcasses because that's their food that's what they like okay and of course I
I've preached whole sermons where I really went in depth on you know why it's using the illustration
of the eagle and the body and the carcass I think my sermon the four Gospels is where I went in and
really covered that a lot but the bottom line is that people are grasping at straws to try to
defend a Hollywood movie and to just to try to defend this pet doctrine it's not biblical my
friend and and again I'm going to close down the sermon but I just want to give you just a quick
review of what is not look don't go see this movie on Friday night it's it's there to brain
watch don't go see any of these biblical movies that Hollywood's putting out and it's and you
know what I know it's tempting because I'm gonna tell you something when I was a kid I used to love
watching the biblical movies that Hollywood put out when I was a kid here's why because you love
the Bible and because you love the Bible you love the stories you love the story of Moses
you love the stories of Samson and you love the story of of Joseph so when somebody puts out a
movie about it your flesh the temptation is man I love that sir I would love to see a movie about
that story and theoretically in a perfect world where Hollywood would actually put out movies
that were a hundred percent biblical it'd be pretty cool wouldn't it I mean it'd be cool to
be able to go down to the theater you know I don't know maybe during the millennium you know when
Jesus is ruling and reigning I mean it would be cool to go down to the theater and watch a movie
about Moses right watch a movie about Noah if it stayed true to the biblical story it'd be fun I'm
just saying from a human fleshly perspective you know what it'd be entertaining it'd be fun it'd
be cool to watch and that's how they get you sucked in is just that that good desire that
you have to love those stories but I'm telling you it is a fraud you know it's like the bull
fighter he puts out that you know that red carpet there to try to get you to taunt it into coming
his way but behind it there's a sword that the bull doesn't expect that's going to kill him and
so I know it's tempting to want to see these Bible movies but we as Christians need to stay
away from these movies and we need to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness
but rather reprove them we need to stay away from this movie don't support it don't drop your money
into the you know because they want to have a big showing they want to have a big box office
take of money and you don't want to be a part of that number one and number two you never want to
get this attitude that says oh well I can watch it and it's not going to influence me it's not
going to affect me because it does influence you you know when you get these twisted Bible stories
and I remember when I was a kid watching the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston and I watched
the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston before I'd read the story in Exodus I saw the movie first
you know and I remember after watching the movie the first thing I did was I went upstairs I'm
going to get out the Bible I'm going to read Exodus I'm going to see how accurate this movie
is and I remember reading it and just being blown away with how different the Bible story was and
I'm sure that movie was way closer to the truth than what they're putting out now but still I
remember just noticing thing I remember coming to my parents saying hey you know and me and my
parents were talking about you know what in the movie was accurate and what wasn't and and going
through it but I'm telling you it does influence your thinking you know I still think of Moses as
Charlton as no I'm just kidding you know it influences your thinking you don't want to just
go there and think oh I can watch this and so you know what just stay away from it it's a lot
everything about this movie that's coming out on Friday is a lie and the only good that can come
of this movie is if you just use this movie maybe because people are going to be talking about it
if you just use it to just talk to people about spiritual things and then you can get on the
subject of the gospel and give somebody the gospel or you can explain to somebody who says oh this
Left Behind movie you know people might know that you're a Christian at your work hey you're going
to see this new Left Behind movie because they think you're going to be into that you know
that's an opportunity to say hey you know what actually this new Left Behind movie is completely
unbiblical here's what the Bible actually says and then you could also get into the gospel and
things like that because it could be a good I mean that's the only good I could see coming from
this movie is just just a just a conversation piece just to start a conversation about biblical
things with people but look the devil has a reason for coming out with this movie and for coming out
with a succession of biblical movies in a row that are all twisting the truth and it's to prepare
people for the end times when these things actually happen to get them so confused and so
mixed up they won't know what to expect and it's only the few that are standing against this movie
the majority of Christians are just coming unglued with how excited they are about this
new movie what are the quickly review what are the problems with the movie number one it depicts the
rapture is happening before the tribulation happening at any moment that's a complete lie
the Bible is very clear it's gonna happen after the tribulation you say well what's the problem
with believing that well here's the problem the tribulation is gonna start happening and you know
what the Christians are gonna say oh this can't be the tribulation because the rapture hasn't happened
yet and they're not gonna see it coming at all it's gonna roll right over them and they're they're
gonna have no clue what's happening because they'll keep telling themselves well this can't be it
because we're still here then finally it's gonna get to a point where they realize oh whoops this
is really happening but by then they're already gonna be so thrown for a loop and then they're
gonna be okay well what now and then they're they're gonna be confused and not gonna know
and then you know what a lot of people are gonna say oh well there was no rapture turns out the
rapture wasn't even biblical this is just the second coming of Christ and it's really who
Antichrist so you can see how this is all gonna work together with the masses of apostate Christians
out there so number one the movie teaches that the rapture is before the tribulation the Bible
said after the tribulation okay number two the movie shows people disappearing that's not
biblical no one's gonna disappear the angels are gonna come and carry them away you know number
three the movie shows people saying you know where is everybody what happened what's going on it no
fire and brimstone falling out of the sky no people running for cover and asking for the
rocks to fall on them and and by the way when there's no trumpet in the movie you don't hear
the sound because this is what the pre-trib rapture teachers tell you they say well only
Christians will hear the trumpet it's like a doggy whistle you know or he's like and then
just every dog in the neighbor you know comes and nobody hears it just the dogs here know when the
and the Bible is clear it says every eye shall see him you know what that's left behind movies
missing Christ never comes in the clouds in this movie there's no coming of Christ God it's just
people just disappear going along people disappear that's it I don't know how this is all exactly is
gonna play out as far as how it's actually going to happen just specifically in our culture in our
day but we do know that the Bible says first there's going to be the tribulation there's
gonna be the Antichrist the mark of the beast persecution beheadings all these things are gonna
happen first then the rapture then God pours out his wrath it's not going to be a disappearance
it's going to be the angels coming and gathering and not only that but I think that this left
behind movie has way too many people disappearing I mean the Bible says broad is the way that lead
it to destruction many there be which go in there out because straight is the gate and narrow is the
way which lead in the life and few there be to find it but whenever I've read the advertising
for this left behind movie it's like what if can you imagine just tens of millions of people
disappearing from the United States like no because unfortunately most people aren't saved
you know planes are just crashing everywhere because the pilot saved well how many how many
planes do you think this morning how many planes do you think are piloted this morning by a saved
pilot and a saved copilot you know what I mean just stop and think about that and I'm not saying
that there aren't saved pilots I'm sure that there are many saved pilots but first of all that's not
a job that a lot of saved people go into I mean I don't be wrong I'm sure there are plenty of
saved pilots but a lot of saved people it's important to go to church on Sunday and and you
do have to miss a lot of church to be an airline commercial airline pilot you know or to be a
flight attendant it's not really the best job for a Christian to have because you end up missing a
lot of church okay and being away from your family a lot which is not very healthy thing anyway but I
mean are there really going to be that many planes where both the pilot and the copilot are both
saved you know and all these air traffic controllers they're all saved and they're all
disappearing and you know entire classrooms of children it's like a children's classroom and
they're all just gone every single one the teacher is the only one left now I believe that part about
all all the no I'm just kidding I'm just saying folks just stay away from this movie it's not
biblical there's nothing biblical about it it has no redeeming quality you know Nicholas
he doesn't even claim to be a Christian did you know that he even said I don't even believe in
any of this he's just making the movie teaching things which they ought not for filthy Lucas
sake he doesn't it's all about money and I'm sure this movie is gonna be a big success and make a
fortune but I'm not gonna have anything to do with it let's buy rides and have a word of prayer
father we thank you so much for the truth Lord and and that we don't have to be deceived by
Hollywood or politicians or the media Lord help us to everyday read our Bibles Lord because it's
the only way we're gonna keep our feet anchored to reality and actually have beliefs that come
from Scripture Lord please help us to read our Bible more than we listen to anything on the
radio Lord and and just get our doctrine and our philosophy and our attitude from Scripture and
not to just be spoon-fed what the devil has for us this Friday night Lord and in Jesus name we
pray. Amen.