Take your Bibles, Revelation chapter 1, where we had the Bible reading from.
The title of the sermon today is, Behold He Cometh with Clouds.
From our memory verse, Behold He Cometh with Clouds, we're going to be talking about
the second coming of Christ.
Now if you've looked at our statement of faith, I've said that this church believes
in a post-trib, pre-wrath rapture.
And by rapture, that's not a word you're going to find in the Bible.
By rapture we mean resurrection, the resurrection of our physical bodies.
I prefer just calling it the resurrection, or the gathering in the clouds, or things
like this.
I'm not a big fan of the word rapture.
I've said this in another sermon before, but the thing is, everyone's so used to the word
rapture, so we just call it the rapture, because then when you say rapture, they know what
you mean.
We call it the second coming of Christ, when He comes and resurrects the dead, and gives
the believers new bodies, resurrected bodies, glorious bodies that are without sin, a promise
that comes from God.
Now I've preached in my old church, the church in Punchville, I preach on the post-trib,
pre-wrath rapture.
How many of you guys have seen that sermon?
So a few of you.
I won't be preaching the same sermon, okay?
Now that sermon, I think, it's either the first or second most popular sermon on that
YouTube channel.
People are really interested, and for a nothing church, let's put it that way, right?
There's no big names there in that church, but it's a pretty commonly viewed sermon,
and it's even been shared by other YouTube channels out there.
There's even three videos trying to debunk that sermon as well.
I've not actually seen them, but they're out there.
I've seen parts of them, but I haven't seen them again complete.
So it's a pretty popular topic.
People really want to know about the end times, and let me tell you this, there are so many
people that have grown up hearing about the pre-trib rapture, Christ coming before the
tribulation period, all right?
But they know there's something wrong with that.
They just can't put their finger on it.
They've been taught this from growing up.
They can't put their finger on it, why it's wrong, and so people are seeking to know the
answers and things that line up with what they've read, okay?
Now, I'm not going to rehash the same sermon like I said.
A few reasons for that.
I don't have a projector, so that really needed a projector because I was going through visual
things there.
So we're going to be teaching the same doctrine, but from a different perspective, okay?
I really want to dig in deep, and this is most likely going to be a two-part sermon.
Whatever I can't cover this morning, I'm going to cover on Thursday.
So if you're not working, maybe you can make it on Thursday if you want to hear the second
part.
But Revelation 1.7, behold, he cometh with clouds.
Behold, he cometh with clouds.
That's a very important detail about his coming.
And every eye shall see him, another very important part.
Every eye shall see him, and they also which pierce him, and all kindreds of the earth
shall wail because of him.
Even so, amen.
Now, I've added this to our, obviously, our statement of faith.
Now, if I was just honest with you, if I didn't have a pre-trib history, and I didn't change
from that position, and I was just starting a church, in the statement of faith I'd probably
just say, we believe Christ is coming back to resurrect the dead, and I probably wouldn't
have put the details of when and what have you, before or after the tribulation, or before
or after the wrath.
I probably wouldn't have bothered with that kind of information, because I think the key
thing is this.
We as a church, and there are believers out there that believe Christ is coming back.
Hallelujah.
Praise God.
He's coming back.
This world is not going to continue as it is in its wickedness.
And I remember when I first heard of the rapture, I remember very clearly I was a child in my
Baptist Union church.
And I had this idea that when people die, they either go to heaven or hell.
But I thought the earth was just going to continue indefinitely, just forever.
People will be born, then they die, heaven or hell.
And then when I first heard of end times, I remember just thinking, wow, there's a plan
to all this.
There's an end to this.
God has things in order.
This is not going to continue forever.
And yes, I heard about the pre-trib rapture, and then this was in the 80s.
And another popular video in that time was a movie called, what was it called?
There's a movie called, I forgot what it's called, but it's like a, what, sorry?
Not Left Behind.
There was one even before that.
It's like a really amateur type movie, but it was really popular.
It brought a lot of fear into people, like Christ is coming back, I've got to get right
with the Lord.
And it was a pre-trib.
And then there were people that were basically, same concept, it's about people that got left
behind, they missed the rapture, and then they tried to escape from getting the mark
of the beast and what have you.
And even approaching the year 2000, I remember there being a big hysteria.
Christ might come back in the year 2000, right?
And the Y2K bug, that was a big thing as well, and that was all going to be end times, and
Christ was coming back.
And we knew people that were stocking up on food and all kind of stuff because they thought
the whole world was going to go nuts and crazy.
But anyway, Christ is coming back, okay?
Now, there might be a believer, a fellow believer that doesn't believe the end times exactly
like me, but he believes Christ is coming back.
He believes we're going to have resurrected bodies.
That's the key thing.
That's the main thing, right?
We can stand together.
We can stand united in that cause, that Christ is going to come back, and this wickedness
of this world is not going to continue.
The wickedness of our flesh, our sinful flesh is not going to continue.
We're going to receive those resurrected bodies, okay?
But I thought, no, I'm going to put the detail in our statement of faith.
Number one, because we are an independent fundamental Baptist church, and most independent
fundamental Baptist churches in Australia are pre-trib, okay?
So I wanted to make sure we were transparent in case we had someone come in expecting one
thing.
At least they can check our website.
You know, we're not trying to deceive them.
Hey, we believe in the post-trib pre-Raph rapture.
That's clearly stated on there.
The other reason I ended up putting it on the statement of faith is because I think
there might be more post-trib believers out there, right, that might even be feeling a
little persecuted for what they believe.
In fact, I know that's true, and then for them to feel, hey, there's a church out
here that I can go to that believes the same way, and I don't have to step on eggshells
and be careful with what I have to say.
So I thought that was important, why it'd be on our statement of faith.
But behold, he cometh with clouds.
Now look at Revelation chapter one.
Let's read verses four to six.
Why was the book of Revelation written?
I'm not going to spend too much time in the book of Revelation.
We're going to spend most of our time in Matthew 24.
But just to get the context of our memory verse, okay, Revelation chapter one, verse
four to six.
John, to the right of Revelation was John.
John to who?
John to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace be unto you and peace from him which
is and which was and which is to come and from the seven spirits which are before his
throne and from Jesus Christ, who is a faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead
and the prince of the kings of the earth unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins
in his own blood.
Who is this written to?
To the churches, to the seven churches.
Let's make that very clear.
Chapter one, very clearly.
What else?
And to him that loved us, us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.
Who is this written to?
Non-believing Jews or to New Testament believers?
To New Testament believers, right, New Testament church believers.
Verse number six, and have made us, okay, us kings and priests unto God and his Father,
to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen.
Is there any doubt as to who John's writing to at this point?
To the seven churches, okay, to the churches, it's to all of us who have been redeemed by
his blood.
All of us who have been made priests and kings through Christ, amen.
Verse number seven, behold.
Now what does behold mean?
Behold means to look upon, to fix upon, right, to look, to watch, to keep your focus.
Behold, who is he writing to?
The churches, let's get this right.
Let's not explain this away.
Let's believe the word of God, behold, who?
The churches who I'm writing to, watch.
What do you need to watch for?
He cometh with clouds.
This is his coming that the church needs to be watching for.
He cometh with clouds.
Very important because there are those that are going to tell you, no, verse number seven
is not about the rapture.
Verse number seven is about when he comes back and he comes back to the earth, the battle
of Armageddon, and he establishes his kingdom.
Turn to Revelation chapter 19.
We're going to read about his second coming, well, I'll be careful with those words.
We're going to be reading about when he comes back and establishes his kingdom on this earth
and he fights that war, the battle of Armageddon, Revelation 19, verses 11.
This is what they say Revelation 1, 7 is about, but look at this.
And I saw heaven opened, so far so good, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat upon
him was called faithful and true.
This is a picture of Christ.
Now how is he coming?
On a white horse, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
First thing I want you to pick out, is it coming in clouds in Revelation 19?
He's coming on a white horse, different.
And 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 were in heaven followed
him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
So is it coming in clouds?
No.
He's coming on a white horse, and he's coming with armies from heaven.
Now they will tell you, those that believe in a pre-trib rapture will tell you, Revelation
1.7 is the same as Revelation 19.
That's a lie.
That's false.
Okay?
Behold, he cometh with, horse, clouds.
Behold he cometh with clouds.
I'm going to read to you 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, the most famous verse about the rapture.
Everyone agrees it's about the resurrection, it's about the rapture, 1 Thessalonians chapter
4 verses 16 to 17.
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.
Behold he cometh with clouds.
We're going to be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so
shall we ever be with the Lord.
So which one of those matches Revelation 1.7?
It'd be 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, right?
Being caught up in the clouds, not coming on a white horse.
The next thing about our memory verse, it says every eye shall see him, right?
Every eye shall see him.
Does that mean the rapture, remember this is right into the churches, does this mean
that it's a secret rapture?
Is it secret?
Is it invisible to most people?
No, every eye shall see, every eye, believers and non-believers alike.
Now let me cover the secret rapture very quickly.
I'll read to you 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15, 51 to 52.
Because there are those that teach the preacher rapture, they say it's secret, no one's going
to see it.
It's going to be a twinkling of an eye, and no one's going to know that it happened.
They get the verse from 1 Corinthians 15, 51 to 52.
Behold, I show you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
They'll say, see, the twinkling of an eye, it's so quick that nobody will see it, secret.
Now read the passage very carefully.
It says, behold, I show you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, so we'll not all pass
away and die, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
So our bodies that change from corruptible to incorruptible, from mortal to immortality,
when our bodies change at the rapture, when our bodies go through that resurrection, that
change in our bodies will be in a twinkling of an eye.
That's the reference.
That's the context.
Read it for yourself when you have time, very clearly about our changed bodies happening
in a twinkling of an eye.
But it's not saying the entire event of the rapture is going to be in the twinkling of
an eye.
Christ is sending in the clouds, the sound of the trumpet, the angels gathering the elect.
That's not going to happen in a twinkling of an eye.
Every eye shall see that.
Every eye shall see Him.
But it's the change in our body.
The resurrection will be like that.
It's so quick and you'll be in brand new bodies, no longer our sinful bodies.
The other reference they turn to is 1 Thessalonians 5 verses 2 to 4.
It says, for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in
the night.
Right?
Thief in the night.
You don't know when the thief will come.
It's a secret because if you knew he was coming you'd plan for it, they'll say.
It's a thief in the night.
I can't believe they say these things because you read the context and it's so clear that
to believers he's not coming as a thief in the night.
Verse 3, for when they, they, the unbelievers, when the unbelievers shall say peace and safety,
then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they
shall not escape.
This is talking about the wrath of God.
Okay?
They're not going to be able to escape the wrath of God.
Okay?
To them it's like a thief in the night.
But ye brethren, verse number 4, but ye brethren, you brothers and sisters in Christ, ye brethren,
are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief.
So is Christ coming as a thief?
Nobody knows your secret to the believer.
No.
Okay?
We are not in darkness.
We are of the day.
Okay?
The day will not overtake us or you as a thief.
It's a very misapplied verse to suggest that not even believers know.
It's going to be a thief.
Nobody knows.
No.
It's a thief to the unbeliever because they don't know the word of God.
Okay?
Oh, actually I'll read verse number 5 as well while you're there.
Ye are all, all of the believers, ye are all the children of light and the children of
the day.
We are not of the light, of the night, nor of darkness.
So the reason we know, the reason it's not going to be a thief to us is because we're
not of the night.
But the thief comes at night.
Right?
The thief, this is the analogy, the thief comes at night, but we're not of the night.
We're of the day.
Okay?
So we'll see Christ coming.
We'll know Christ is coming.
He's not coming as a thief.
The next thing in our memory verse that I want you to think about, it says all people
will wail.
This is point number 4.
All people will wail because of Him.
Okay?
Now, let me just look at that verse again.
Yeah.
And all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.
What is wailing?
Wailing is like mourning, being upset, having great sorrow, weeping, crying.
Right?
Wailing, in fact, is crying out.
Okay?
It's like being so upset that it's just, you're crying out in sorrow and in tears.
Now, the pre-trib believers will tell you, well, see, this is not the rapture.
This is when He comes back, you know, to fight the battle of Armageddon and the reason people
are wailing is because Christ is coming back to save the Jews in Jerusalem.
That's what they believe, right?
He's coming back to save the Jews and when they see Christ coming, they're going to start
wailing.
They're going to start crying because they realize this is Jesus, the one we've rejected.
This is Jesus, the one we've crucified.
That's what they'll teach.
But let me, think about this just a lot.
And these are the things for me as a previous pre-trib believer that never made logical
sense to me.
If I'm being about to die, I'm being persecuted by the armies of the Antichrist and then Christ
comes to save me, am I going to be wailing or am I going to be rejoicing?
Rejoicing, right?
Going to be thankful.
Hey, He's come to save us.
Yes, we made a mistake but He's coming for us.
That would be my thought.
That seems more logical to me, right?
I'm about to die and I've been saved.
Rejoice, not wail.
And the reason they say that is they turn to, and I'll read it to you, Zechariah chapter
12 verse 10.
This is what they say.
Well, Kevin, here's what you don't understand.
Zechariah 12 verse 10.
And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit
of grace and of supplications.
And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and say, this is the battle of Armageddon.
They shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for Him as one mourner
for His only Son and shall be in bitterness for Him as one that is in bitterness for His
firstborn.
Again, that never made sense to me.
Why would they be mourning when they've been saved from the Antichrist?
The problem is they misapply that prophecy in Zechariah.
Does anybody know when that prophecy got fulfilled?
It's not going to be fulfilled in the future.
It's already been fulfilled.
It's in John 19, if you want to turn there, John 19 verse 36, talking about the crucifixion
of Christ.
When Christ was pierced, when He was hung upon that cross, John chapter 19 verse 36.
For these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled.
His crucifixion was there so certain scriptures would be fulfilled.
A bone of Him shall not be broken.
That's one scripture.
But look at verse 37.
And again, what does again mean?
Once more.
Once more another prophecy is going to be fulfilled.
And again, another scripture saith, they shall look on Him whom they have pierced.
So when was Zechariah chapter 12 verse 10 fulfilled?
At the crucifixion.
That's when they looked upon Him and they mourned.
They looked upon Him whom they pierced.
That was a fulfillment of Zechariah chapter 12, not some future event in Armageddon.
And I have some commentaries like on my computer.
And I looked up Zechariah chapter 12 verse 10.
All of them said Armageddon.
None of them pointed to John chapter 19 verse 37.
None of them cared what the scripture says.
They've got their teaching in mind and they feel like they need to make the Bible meet
what they've got preconceived in their mind.
We don't need to put away the Bible.
We take the Bible for what it says.
It was fulfilled when He was crucified on the cross.
This is not about an event happening in the future.
So the wailing when He returns is because they know they're going to face the wrath
of God in Revelation chapter 1 verse 7.
The next thing I want you to notice in that memory verse is that it's called His coming.
Right?
He cometh with clouds.
He comes.
It's His coming.
This lines up perfectly with the most famous rapture chapter in 1 Thessalonians chapter
4 verse 15.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord that we which are alive remain until
the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
The coming of the Lord, the rapture is called the coming of the Lord.
Behold He cometh with clouds.
Because that will tell you that the rapture is not His coming.
That's where you're getting confused Kevin.
It's not His coming.
His coming is the battle of Armageddon.
No the Bible calls the rapture the coming of the Lord.
When He comes in the clouds.
Now Hebrews chapter 9, I've got a lot of scriptures so you don't need to turn to
all these just so I can move on.
But Hebrews chapter 9 verse 28, if you take reference of them you can.
Hebrews chapter 9 verse 28 says this.
So Christ was once offered, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.
That's His first coming.
When He first came He bore the sins of many didn't He?
He took our sins upon the cross.
And unto them, so unto those of us who had our sins remitted of, unto them that look
for Him shall He appear the second time.
So when He comes again it's His second appearance.
The second time without sin unto salvation.
So He's not coming to pay for our sins again.
That was done the first time.
Now He's coming unto salvation.
The fulfilment of our salvation.
Yes we're saved but our physical bodies, the fullness of it, not just our spirit, not
just our soul but our physical body will be saved in that resurrected body that we receive.
The second time, let me just, the reason I say this to you is because the rapture is
the second coming.
We have the Bible confirming that it's His second appearance and we have the Bible confirming
it's His coming.
The second coming is the rapture.
The second coming is when He comes in the clouds.
So biblically the rapture is the second coming.
Don't let people throw you off and say it's not the coming, hey the Bible is our final
authority.
The Bible is where we take our doctrine from.
Not what man say to us.
Turn to Matthew 24, Matthew 24.
Now why am I turning to Matthew 24?
The pre-trib believers, and again guys, I was once a pre-trib believer.
So I don't want you to think that I'm just attacking these guys.
I'm attacking the doctrine.
I'm attacking the doctrine because I know what it's like to be trying to believe a
doctrine thinking that you're stupid because you can't work it out in the scriptures.
I know what it's like.
So please be patient if you talk to a pre-trib believer.
I've been able to convert some pre-trib believers to the post-trib pre-rap rapture.
But it didn't take one verse and it didn't take one week.
It took many, many months.
In fact I can think of one that took a couple of years.
So be patient with people because it takes a long time to undo the years and years and
years of programming.
Now you might ask, why did you change on the rapture?
First of all, I was never confident in the pre-trib rapture, I'll be honest with you.
I believed it because I thought everyone else believed it.
And when I read my Bible I found so many inconsistencies.
And I kept saying, Kevin, you're dumb, Kevin, you're stupid, you can't work it out.
Why can't you work it out?
Why can't all these other people work it out?
Except when I talk to the other people, they can't tell me why they believe the pre-trib,
they just believe it.
There are so many people like that, they just believe it but they don't know why.
And I remember someone came to me and said, like from another church, and said to me,
Kevin, there was a guy that came to our church and he was a post-trib believer.
He believed the rapture was after the tribulation.
And he said to me, and as soon as the service was over, all these men ran after him with
a Bible.
Hey look, this is where you're wrong, let me show you, let me show you where it's wrong.
They ran him out of the church.
The guy just wanted to find a church to worship the Lord, to fellowship with the Lord.
Because he believed differently, he got scared off on this doctrine.
I don't want to be the same with pre-trib believers.
I want to be patient, I want to be loving, I want them to realize that they're going
to go through the tribulation if they're the last generation of believers on this earth.
Be ready for it.
Be ready to stand up for the name of Christ.
That was the key thing that I took away from changing from the pre-trib.
The other reason I changed is because I knew the Lord was leading me to start a church,
to be a pastor, to be a bishop.
I had all these doctrines worked out, I knew all my doctrines, pretty much all the major
things, but the second coming always bothered me.
I couldn't teach the pre-trib rapture in a clear conscience, with a good conscience before
the Lord.
My aim is to please the Lord, my aim is not to please you.
I wanted to make sure I had a clear conscience before the Lord and I couldn't figure it out.
So I started looking on YouTube, came across Pastor Steven Anderson's preaching some sermon
before after the tribulation, before that movie came out.
I heard it.
I heard about the post-trib pre-rap rapture.
The main thing that stood out for me is that all the scriptures came together perfectly.
All the inconsistencies that I saw in the pre-trib were answered perfectly in the post-trib
pre-rap rapture.
Perfectly consistent.
Did I believe it?
Did I just say, all right, I now believe it?
No.
At that point, I still wanted to prove the post-trib pre-rap rapture wrong because I
was trying to prove the pre-trib rapture right.
So it took three months where I just studied it on my own without any other influence or
other sermons or anything else.
Just the Bible with me, asking the Lord to lead me, and sure enough, I came to the post-trib
pre-rap rapture as well.
There's a few differences to what I've heard preached, but I mean the major events,
the chronology of the major events on par perfectly.
We're in Matthew 24.
Let's look at verse number three.
Matthew 24 verse three.
The reason I mention that is because the pre-trib raptures, the pre-trib believers will tell
you Matthew 24 is not about the rapture.
Not only is it not about the rapture, it's not for you.
It's not for the churches to read.
This is for unbelieving Jews, they'll say.
Matthew 24 is for unbelieving Jews that are not saved.
It's not for the New Testament church.
False.
Look at verse number three.
As he sat upon the Mount of Olives, so as Jesus sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples
came unto him privately saying, who came to Jesus?
Was it the unbelieving Jews or was it his disciples?
It was his disciples.
The disciples came unto him privately saying, tell us, when shall these things be and what
shall be the sign of thy coming?
What's the rapture called?
The coming of the Lord.
What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?
These two things go together.
The end of the world as we know it and the coming of Christ.
Tell us about these things, they're asking Jesus.
Now were they just any disciples?
Jesus had many, many disciples.
Many of those disciples even stopped following him when they got offended by his teaching.
Who were these disciples that came to Jesus?
We don't need to turn there but I'll just read to you Mark chapter 13 which is a parallel
passage gives us more information.
Mark 13 verse three to four.
And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives over against the temple, who were the disciples?
Peter and James and John and Andrew, do you recognize those names?
Not only are they disciples, they're the apostles.
The apostles of Christ asked him privately, tell us, when shall these things be and what
shall be the sign of all these things shall be fulfilled?
Now do the apostles, do the apostles represent the New Testament church or do they represent
unbelieving Jews?
Who is Jesus speaking to?
The saved.
Right?
Ephesians 2 19.
Now therefore ye are no more strangers than foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints
and of the household of God and are built upon the church, the Ephesian church, the
churches are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone.
The apostles are a vital part of the foundation of the New Testament church.
It's these same men coming to Jesus, tell us about your coming, tell us about the end.
Is there any doubt who Jesus is speaking to in Matthew 24?
He's talking about, he's talking to the apostles, he's talking to believers, he's talking about
the forefathers, the foundation of the churches.
Look at verse number 4, Matthew 24 verse 4, Matthew 24 verse 4.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no man deceive you.
Take heed.
Listen.
That's what it means to take heed.
Listen.
Take notice of what I'm going to say.
Listen to me.
Listen to Matthew 24.
The pre-trib believers will say, no, don't listen to Matthew 24.
It's not for you.
Who are you going to listen to my friend?
Are you going to listen to Jesus that says take heed or are you going to listen to those
that say it's not for you?
Jesus says take heed.
Listen.
Don't worry about what John Nelson Darby says, the creator of the pre-trib rapture.
Don't worry what C.I.
Schofield says, the man that made it popular through North America.
Don't take heed to them.
Don't take heed to Dallas Theological Seminary.
You know the seminary that popularized dispensationalism and pre-trib rapture throughout all the fundamental
churches that trade pastors through the many years, many decades to go out and preach on
dispensationalism, pre-trib raptureism.
No.
Don't take heed to them.
Take heed to Jesus Christ.
Verse 5, for many, what did Jesus say?
For many shall come in my name saying I am Christ and shall deceive many.
The first thing Christ wants you to know is that there are going to be false Christs
at the end of the world.
They're all going to accumulate to the antichrist, to the beast.
We'll find out that later on.
The beast himself.
Verse 6, and ye shall hear wars and rumors of wars.
See that ye be not troubled for all these things must come to pass but the end is not
yet.
Remember they asked him, tell us about the end of the world.
The end is not yet.
When is the end?
The end, in the context of Matthew 24, is the rapture and when God starts pouring out
is wrath.
I know it's not the end of everything, but in the context of Matthew 24, the end is when
Christ comes back.
That's why the apostle says, tell us about your coming and of the end of the earth.
Those things coincide together.
We'll see that further on anyway.
The end is not yet.
Verse 7, for nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there shall
be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places.
Verse number 8 is important.
All these things, everything is just listed there.
The false Christs, the nations against nations, the famines, the pestilences, the earthquakes,
all these are the beginnings of sorrows.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
I love Matthew 24 because God gives us, Jesus Christ gives us this breakdown and he breaks
it down very specifically for us.
These first troubles upon the earth and yes, the last generation of Christians are going
to go through that.
Jesus calls that the beginning of sorrows.
I know some people like to call this the tribulation and I don't have a problem with that.
But if we want to be as specific as Christ is, we know that first part of it is called
the beginning of sorrows.
Following the beginning of sorrows, so what takes place after this?
In verse number 9, then, so after these things, after the beginning of sorrows, then shall
they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you.
Who is Christ talking to, the unbelieving Jews?
To his apostles, right, to the believers.
They shall deliver you to be afflicted and shall kill you and ye shall be hated of all
nations.
Why are they hated?
For my name's sake, for the name of Christ.
Is this unbelieving Jews?
They don't have the name of Christ.
They reject the name of Christ.
They reject the Savior.
How can this be about unbelieving Jews?
It's about believers.
This is not good news, I know.
It's not a good thing to think about being persecuted, being killed, being, you know,
what else was there, kill you, afflicted and hated.
I know these aren't things we're looking forward to, but Jesus said, take heed, listen.
This is important.
Verse number 10, and then shall many be offended.
When I read that, I'm reminded of, you know, a lot of people term this new generation,
the millennials, as generation snowflake, because they're always offended, right?
You can't even tell.
I don't know.
I've told you before, I used to manage this call center, and some of the young people,
you just ask them nicely, oh, can you do this, or do you think I'm not working, just offended.
You just ask them nicely, something, everyone's offended, you ask something, can you just
go an extra mile on this, you know, offended, angry.
Jesus prophesied of this.
Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another, and
that's true.
If you're easily offended, it's because you hate other people, because you think they've
done wrong to you, they've offended you, and you hate them.
That's why you're so easily offended.
Shall hate one another, and many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many, and because
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Just a general love between people, between mankind, you know, you're a fellow human
being, I love you, I'll take care of you, you need something, let me know, your neighbor
comes and asks you for something, you probably help out your neighbor, even if they're non-believers.
They're just a general love for people, that's going to wax cold, that's going to disappear.
People aren't going to love each other, they're going to hate one another.
People are too easily offended.
Verse 13, but he that shall endure until the end, the same shall be saved.
He that shall endure until the end, the same shall be saved.
Again, guys, this is where the pre-tribbers will say to you, hold on, well not all pre-tribbers,
but the hyper-dispensational pre-tribbers that believe in multiple Gospels will say,
well, hold on, are you saved?
Because if you go through the tribulation, you're going to have to endure until the end
for salvation, for the soul's salvation.
Have you heard that before?
They believe in multiple Gospels, they believe that in the tribulation period, there's another Gospel.
You're saved by faith and with works, and you've got to endure those works to the end
in order for you to be saved in yourself.
Now, if you take that verse by itself, I guess you could, it sounds like that, you can be confused
if you're a novice believer, but what did we just read about?
What's the context?
Remember, you're going to be afflicted, you're going to be hated, you're going to be killed, he said.
So what is this salvation?
He that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.
It's the salvation of your flesh, it's the salvation of your body, not the salvation of your soul.
The context tells you that immediately.
I'll just read to you Mark 13, I'll tell you that Mark 13 is a parallel passage.
This makes it a little bit clearer.
Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son, and children
shall raise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.
Notice that.
Even family members are going to betray one another.
They're going to betray believers to be put to death.
Verse 13, and you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that shall endure
unto the end, the same shall be saved.
So Mark 13, a parallel passage, puts it a little bit closer together.
The fact that your family members are going to put you to death in the end times.
But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved.
The salvation of the body, the salvation of the flesh.
That's what's been referred to.
And again, what is the end?
Endure to what end?
Again the end of the world as we know it.
Because when Christ resurrects his believers, that's when he's going to pour out his wrath
and destroy the earth.
Again further evidence later on.
Verse 14, Matthew 24, verse 14.
Now before I read this, so people say well if we're going to be afflicted, if we're going
to be hated, if we're going to be killed, does that mean we run and hide?
Is that what we do as believers?
Do we run and hide?
Do we stock up on food and make sure that we're growing our veggies and our fruit trees
and we have somewhere to run and hide and to be away from this persecution?
But look at verse 14.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.
And then shall the end come.
So what is the purpose of believers when we're being persecuted, when we're being killed
and we're being afflicted?
That should drive us more to go and preach the gospel to all the world.
Yes we might need to flee, but the purpose of fleeing is not to hide.
The purpose of fleeing is to go and preach the gospel throughout the whole world.
That's what we're about guys.
Because we know when the time comes that the time is short, that Christ is coming soon.
We only have a short period of time left to do great things for God, to be rewarded in
heaven.
And if you lose your life for Christ's name, how great is your reward?
You're going to be in heaven and people are going to say how did you pass away?
I got beheaded for the name of Christ.
You'll be a champion.
You'll be a hero in heaven.
But if you just say I just died in my sleep, oh okay, that's good, but it was nice and
peaceful.
But you know, it's not a big story, right?
You're not the hero.
We need to go and preach the gospel.
Sometimes God, listen, I think God needs to bring a bit of persecution into Australia.
I think so.
I think for these churches that have the right gospel, that aren't preaching the gospel door
to door, I think they need a little persecution.
They need a little bit of that going on, right?
To get them out there and do the things that God would have us to do.
Verse 15, now this is an important part.
Now this ties into what we just read.
So being persecuted, all of that, when ye therefore shall see, see, okay?
Now you might say, Kevin, how do we know if we're in the end times?
Is it the wars?
No, there's always been wars.
Is it the pestilences?
No, there's always been pestilences.
There's always been famines.
There's always been Christians afflicted throughout the centuries, right?
How do we know we're in the end times?
Jesus tells us, verse 15, when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken
of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth, let him understand.
So Christ says, hey, read, read Daniel, so you can understand what I'm talking about.
But this is the event that we're going to see, and when we see this event, then we'll
know we're in the end times.
We'll know it then.
Daniel 9, 24, actually turn then, Daniel chapter 9, Daniel chapter 9, verse 24, the 70 weeks
prophecy of Daniel that was given to him.
I talked about this a little bit when we talked about the age of the earth, and we used Daniel's
70 week prophecy to help us to get to the date of the earth.
Daniel chapter 9, verse 24, Daniel chapter 9, verse 24, the Bible reads, 70 weeks are
determined upon thy people.
So 70 weeks of this prophecy determined upon Daniel's people, and we'll talk about that
in a minute, and upon thy holy city, to finish their transgression and to make an end of
sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness
and to seal up the vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
Know therefore and understand.
What did Jesus say?
Who shall readeth?
Let him understand.
What does God tell in Daniel?
Know therefore and understand.
This is something God wants us to understand and know in relating to the end times.
From the going forth of the commandment, the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem, and they
were in Babylonian captivity, if you remember that, from that commandment to restore and
build Jerusalem unto the Messiah, the prince shall be seven weeks, and three score and
two weeks.
So seven plus three score and two, 39 weeks.
The street shall be built again and the wall, even in troubled times, and after three score
and two weeks.
So another three score and two weeks, another 32 weeks, 32 plus 37, 69 weeks, shall Messiah
be cut off.
That's when Messiah was crucified, but not for himself.
He didn't die for himself.
And the people of the prince, now this prince, this prince is not the Messiah.
This prince is the antichrist.
And the people of the prince shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary,
and the end thereof shall be with flood, and unto the end of the world desolations are
determined.
Remember that abomination of desolations.
In the midst of the week, so we have 69 weeks of 70 weeks, we're left with one week left.
Remember, every week represents seven years.
There's a future seven year period coming up, but now it says in the midst of the week.
What does midst mean in the middle?
In the middle of the week, in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and
oblation to cease.
I'll read verse 27 again because this is important.
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.
I'm not sure if I read that or if I skipped it.
But the concept I'm teaching here is the antichrist, the beast will come and make a covenant with
many.
Some people say it's the covenant with the Jews.
Maybe, but I personally believe it's a covenant with the whole world, because it says many.
Covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice
and oblation to cease.
So this covenant that he makes with many is a sacrificial system, like the Old Testament
system of sacrifices, where animals were sacrificed.
He reinstates these animal sacrifices, which were done away within Christ.
He brings them back, right?
Just like spitting in the face of Christ's sacrifice.
He brings them back, and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations,
he shall make it desolate.
So in the middle of the week, he's going to actually put a stop to the sacrifices, and
until the consummation, and that determinant shall be poured upon the desolate.
I know the language is a bit challenging, and I don't have the time to go through it
in detail, but while you're in Daniel, turn to chapter 11.
How does he make this abomination of desolation?
How does he make the sacrifices desolate?
What does he do?
Daniel 11, verse 31, Daniel 11, verse 31, and arms shall stand on his part, and they
shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice.
So these sacrifices, this new covenant that he brings in place, will be taken away, and
they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
Now look at verse 36.
And the king, so we're talking about this prince before, but now he's a king, same person.
And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself.
This abomination of desolation is when this king, this antichrist, this beast, exalts
himself and magnifies himself above every god.
He thinks he's the God of gods, and he speaks, and shall speak marvelous things against the
God of gods.
He blasphemes against God, he blasphemes against Jesus Christ, and shall prosper till the indignation
be accomplished, for that is determined shall be done, and neither shall he regard the God
of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god, for he shall magnify himself
above all.
So this man comes on the scene, in the middle of the seven years, three and a half years
into it.
So I believe the abomination of desolation, sorry, the beginning of sorrows takes three
and a half years.
Then in the midst of this week, this man exalts himself as God.
This is the abomination of desolation.
He believes he deserves worship, and he blasphemes against God, and he magnifies himself above
all people.
This takes place in the middle of the final week, the middle of the seven years, so three
and a half years into this period.
Go back to Matthew 24, Matthew 24 verse 16, Matthew 24 verse 16.
Just checking the time, I'm definitely going to need two sermons on this one.
Verse 16, so Jesus is now speaking, remember he was speaking to you, you will be afflicted,
you will be killed, right?
Now look at verse 16, then let them, which be in Judea, flee into the mountains.
And people say, see, he's speaking to the Jews, but he says, let them.
I'm not speaking to you, I'm speaking about them at this point, okay?
Let them, which be in Judea, flee into the mountains.
Why?
Because the Antichrist is going to set himself up in Judea, in Jerusalem.
He's going to be a replacement of Christ, this is why people call him the Antichrist.
He's going to put himself as though he is Christ in Judea, and so people are going to
flee from him, because he's going to bring wars and persecution to those that don't worship
him.
Verse 17, let him, which is on the housetop, not come down to take anything out of his
house.
Again, let him do this, neither let him, verse 18, neither let him which is in the field
return back to take his clothes, and woe unto them that are with child, and to them that
give suck in those days.
So it's going to be difficult with the people that live in Judea, this period of time.
But now he makes a change, he goes back to us.
In verse 20, but pray ye, you see that, you see the change?
From them to ye, but pray ye, you guys should be praying, pray ye that your flight, what's
flight?
Fleeing, right?
Pray ye that your flight be not in winter, neither on the Sabbath day.
So there is a requirement for us to flee when his persecution comes.
But again, we don't flee to hide, we flee to go to areas to preach the Gospel throughout
the whole world.
I want to make sure you understand that.
If I say flee as Christians, I'm not saying hide, I'm just saying go elsewhere and preach
the Gospel.
Verse 21, for then, so we had the abomination of the salvation, this antichrist exalts himself
as God, for then, this period of time, there shall be great tribulation.
This is the great tribulation.
Now yes, there were wars, there were famines, pestilence before, there was trouble, if you
want to call that tribulation, I'm fine with that, but just understand there's a difference
between the beginning of sorrows, which is tribulation to the whole world, including
Christians, but now, the tribulation, the great tribulation, is specific tribulation
for believers, specific.
No longer is the whole world being targeted, now Christians in particular are being targeted
by the antichrist.
For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world
to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
This is going to be the worst tribulation, the worst persecution, the worst affliction
on Christians than any time in history.
It's a scary thought.
Now it makes sense to me why people want to avoid this period.
Ah, we've been taken out before the tribulation.
It's the worst time ever for Christians, it's the worst time ever for believers.
Now when I change positions from pre-trib to post-trib, and look, some people don't,
some people see the truth, and they go, but that's scary, that scares me, that brings
me fear, and God, you know, does not give us a spirit of fear, I've heard that years,
so it can't be true, but the reason they're afraid is because they've been lied to their
whole life.
They've been told something, and now it's a shock to realize what the word of God says.
And I had a little bit of that fear when I changed positions to post-trib, because this
whole time I thought I'm going to miss it.
And then I could be, if this is the final generation, could be us, right?
But here's the thing that I found with changing positions, is that when I realized, hey, I'm
scared of this, you know what made me think?
That means I've got to be closer to the Lord, that means I've got to walk closer
with Him, I need to have greater comfort from Him, I need to grow spiritually, I need to
be prepared for anything that might come my way.
Do you think that makes you a stronger Christian, or does that make you a weaker Christian?
Makes you a stronger Christian because you're relying on the Lord more than you ever have.
And let's say we're not the final generation, let's say we're not, and this might happen
a hundred years from now, two hundred years from now, but the thing is, if there's ever
tribulation in your life, you're going to be better prepared for it, even if it's
local tribulation, right?
Even if it's just wars and problems and trials you go through, the closer you draw
to the Lord, the greater ability you're going to have to be able to overcome the trials
and tribulations of life.
And so I don't see, you know, even if we miss out, even if it's not us, our generation,
hey, you're still ready for troubles.
And if you're going to be a believer, you're going to struggle in this life, okay?
So it doesn't promise us a bed of roses as Christians.
So people will still say, well, Kevin, see, this great tribulation, that's not for Christians,
that's for the unbelieving Jews.
Don't you remember Daniel's 70th week, it was determined upon thy people, right?
And they'll say, thy people are the Jews.
Please leave a finger in Matthew 24, go back to Daniel, Daniel chapter 12 verse 1.
Because this was my final roadblock to accept the tribulation is because I still had in
my mind, this is for the Jews.
This is for unbelieving Jews, not for New Testament Christians, well, it's determined
upon thy people, it's to the people of Daniel, that must be the Jews.
So I thought, so I started reading Daniel and every time thy people were referenced,
I wanted to know who they were.
Surprisingly, Jesus never, or God never identifies them as Jews, but He does identify them, He
does tell them who He is.
Daniel chapter 12 verse 1.
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children
of thy people.
There it is, thy people.
And notice the next part, and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since
there was a nation, even to that same time.
So you can see the same kind of language being used.
This is the time of trouble, such as never was before.
Same kind of idea that we read in Matthew 24.
And at that time, thy people shall be delivered.
So God promises us, during this time of trouble, there is going to be a deliverance.
He that endure to the end shall be saved.
There is a deliverance, thy people shall be delivered.
Who are thy people?
Everyone that shall be found written in the book.
Whose names are written in the book of life?
Believers, not non-believers.
Non-believers can have their part taken out of the book of life.
But the believers, they're the ones whose names are found written in the book.
Remember we covered that before, the book of life.
Thy people, Daniel, thy people are believers whose names are written in the book.
Does it say they're the Jews?
No.
Now, are some Jews believers?
Yes.
Okay.
I'm not saying nationality, it doesn't matter.
It's whether your name is found written in the book.
That is the people of Daniel.
And that is who this final week is determined upon.
This time of trouble.
Verse 22.
Back to Matthew 24.
Matthew 24 verse 22.
I think the sermon is going to be a little long, but I feel like I need to cover Matthew
24.
Matthew 24 verse 22.
Jesus says, and except those days be shortened, there shall no flesh be saved.
Remember we said, he that endureth to the end shall be saved?
What does it say?
What needs to be saved?
There's no flesh saved.
It's not about the salvation of the soul, it's about the salvation of the flesh.
So God says, look, I need to shorten those days.
Those days need to be shortened, otherwise no flesh will be saved physically.
But then he says this, but for the elect's sake, for the elect's sake, those days shall
be shortened.
So I personally believe we won't know exactly how long the tribulation period is.
Yes, I've spoken to some of you and some of you mentioned the 75 days that you're going
to find in the book of Daniel when you compare that.
But even if 75 days are listed for this period, Jesus says those days shall be shortened for
the elect's sake.
So I believe it's going to be shorter than those 75.
In fact, I believe those days can be measured in days.
When he says those days shall be shortened, I believe the tribulation is a period that's
short, that can be counted with days, not with weeks, not with months, not with years,
not with days, because those days shall be shortened.
The question is, who are the elect?
The elect are the unbelieving Jews.
No, Colossians 3.11, for there is neither Greek nor Jew.
There is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond
nor free, but Christ is all and in all, put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and
beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.
The elect of God is neither Jew nor Greek, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, right?
Nor bond nor free, but barbarian or Scythian, none of those things.
The elect of God are the believers, those that have put on Christ, that Christ is in
all.
For the elect's sake, for your sake as a believer, Christ is going to shorten those
days so your flesh can be saved.
Matthew 24, verse 23.
Then if any shall say unto you, lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not, for there
shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show you great signs and wonders,
in so that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
There is a Bible saying that believers, true believers, will be deceived.
No.
It's not possible.
If it were possible, he says, if it was possible, the deception is so great, but it's not possible.
If it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
It's not possible.
I don't believe any believer, any true believer, is going to be deceived by the Antichrist.
Even those that believe in the pre-true rapture or other end time periods that are true believers,
when this takes place, they're not going to be deceived anymore.
They're all going to believe in the post-true pre-Raph rapture.
And that's where you're going to come in, because you're going to have to teach it
to them if it's in our lifetime, because their pastors have let them down.
Verse 23.
Sorry, I read that already.
Verse 25.
Behold, I told you before, wherefore if they shall say unto you, behold, he is in the desert,
go not forth, behold, he is in secret chambers, believe it not.
So Jesus says, look, my coming, when I come, it's not secret.
It's not in secret chambers.
It's not out in the desert where nobody can see it.
There's no secret rapture.
There's no secret resurrection.
There's no secret coming of Christ.
What does it say in verse 27?
For as lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall the coming
of the Son of Man be.
As lightning.
Now, you've seen lightning before, right?
If you've seen it, you see how it starts, you see where it starts and goes down, and
there's a period of time from where it starts to where it ends.
You see the whole thing.
Like, you see it start, boom, but for a period, it's all there, and then it disappears.
I personally believe that Christ is using the analogy of lightning and from east to
west.
I personally believe that he's going to circle the globe, because people say, how is everyone
going to see Christ when he comes, because they've got this idea that he just descends
in one place.
My belief is he comes like lightning from east to west.
He transgresses the whole globe, and so every eye shall see him.
That's my personal belief.
So shall the coming of the Son of Man be.
Again, because every eye must see him, right?
Every eye must see him.
So it's like lightning.
It starts from one place, goes there, but then, because it's so quick, everyone sees
it, right?
It's there for a period of time.
Now look at verse 28.
This is a challenging verse, but it's not that difficult, really.
It's challenging at first, but then once you work out the solution, it's pretty simple.
Verse 28.
But wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Now people say, seek heaven.
This is the battle of Armageddon.
This is when Christ comes back, defeats the enemies of the antichrist, and his bodies
and carcasses.
And I'll just read to you Revelation 19 verse 17, so you know where they're coming from.
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all
the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, come and gather yourselves together unto the
supper of the great God, that ye may eat the flesh of...
Pay attention now.
So Christ comes, defeats the armies of the antichrist, wipes out the armies with his,
you know, the two edges of the tool that comes out of his mouth.
He wipes them out.
Then the angel says, hey, all these birds of prey come gather together to be part of
this great supper of the Lord.
Okay?
Now pay attention here.
That ye may eat the flesh of kings, plural, right?
And the flesh of captains, plural, and the flesh of mighty men, plural, and the flesh
of horses, plural, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, plural, both
free and bond and small and great.
Many, many bodies, many carcasses, okay, when Christ comes and defeats these enemies.
Now look at, again at Matthew 24 verse 28, Matthew chapter 24 verse 28.
For wheresoever the carcass is, plural, no, singular, one carcass, for wheresoever the
carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
What is being gathered?
Jesus just finished telling us, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.
So what is this carcass that the eagles are gathering to?
Is it Revelation 19 where there's multiple carcasses?
No, there's one.
Let me read to you a parallel passage in Luke 17.
This isn't Christ teaching the same teaching on the Mount of Olives, but it's the same
teaching, just at another point of his life.
In Luke 17 verse 24, Luke 17 verse 24, he says, For as lightning that lighteneth out
of one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven, so shall the Son
of Man be in his day.
And then in verse 34, later on, I give that so you can see the same context of his coming.
Then in verse 34 he says this, I tell you, in the night there shall be two men in one
bed, the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Two women shall be grinding together, and one shall be taken, and the other left.
Two men shall be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Now look what the disciples say in verse 37.
And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord?
And he said unto them.
Jesus is saying, look, there are going to be two, one's going to be taken there, there
are going to be two here, one's going to be taken, they say where, where are they taken?
Where Lord?
And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
Wheresoever the body, singular, is, thither will the eagles be gathered, same teaching,
be gathered together.
So what he's saying is, he's using an illustration of birds of prey coming to, being gathered
together when they see that carcass or that body.
And he says, hey, he's using that illustration to say those that are going to be taken from
the earth and gathered together, they're going to be like birds taking flight to the body,
to the carcass, referring to himself singular.
This isn't Revelation 19.
This isn't the Armageddon.
This is just illustration from Christ using the birds of prey as analogy.
It's like we're going to be hungry, like hungry birds taking flight into the air to be with
Christ.
Matthew 24 verse 29, moving on.
Immediately after the tribulation, immediately after the tribulation, immediately after the
tribulation, immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and
this moon shall not give her light and the star shall fall from heaven and the powers
of the heaven shall be shaken.
The celestial bodies will be darkened, the sun will be darkened, the moon will be darkened,
the stars will fall from heaven.
Now if that's literal stars or meteor showers, I don't have a full understanding of that.
But the point is, everything's going dark.
Everything's going dark in verse 29, after, immediately after the tribulation.
So the tribulation's over with now.
The tribulation's finished.
It's over with.
A few days.
The days shall be shortened.
Remember, after the three and a half years, the rise of the antichrist.
There's still another three and a half years to go, but shortly after that middle period,
we have the tribulations finished and the celestial bodies go dark.
The celestial darkening.
Verse 30, 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.
Let me just read the parallel passage to you here.
Because you might say, well, again, the pre-trib is not, this is not the rapture.
Yes it is.
Matthew 20, Luke 21, parallel passage, Luke 21 verse 27.
And they shall see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads for your
redemption draweth nigh.
When we see the celestial darkening, we see the sun and moon darken, the stars fall from
heaven.
What's our instruction?
Look up.
Lift up your heads.
Christ is coming.
Hallelujah.
He's coming to take us.
Our redemption draweth nigh.
Remember Revelation chapter 1 verse 7, our memory verse.
What were the key things that we looked at?
And then look at Matthew 24 and look at the key things that we see here.
Are we instructed to what?
Remember it said, behold, he cometh with clouds.
Behold, watch.
Yes.
Look up.
Yes.
That's true.
Jesus.
Behold, he cometh with clouds.
Yes.
The son of man coming in clouds, coming in a cloud.
Yes.
Every eye shall see him.
Yes.
Because it says all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the son of man.
Yes.
Will the people wail?
Will they wail?
Will they mourn?
Yes.
All the tribes of the earth mourn.
Yes.
Is it called his coming?
Yes.
And they shall see the son of man coming in a cloud.
Five out of five.
Revelation 1 7 is Matthew 24.
No doubt about it.
Who was Revelation 1 7 written to?
The churches.
Matthew 24 then is written to who?
The churches.
The apostles.
The disciples.
The foundation of the New Testament church.
Not to unbelieve in Jews.
What a false doctrine.
What misleading.
I don't know how people sleep at night after preaching this heresy, or maybe I'll call
it heresy, this false doctrine.
To me the Word of God is clear.
The Word of God is clear.
Matthew 24 is the same coming of Revelation chapter 1 verse 7.
Now some people will say this.
Verse 31.
Matthew 24 verse 31.
It says he sends his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together
his elects from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.
Aha!
Gotcha here Kevin.
Right?
The gathering is not from the earth.
It's not the rapture because the gathering here in Matthew 24 says it's from one end
of heaven to the other.
So they say see Jesus is just gathering the believers from heaven.
They're going to come back with him on those horses in Revelation 19.
But remember when we talked about the creation how we said there's three heavens.
There's a sky, there's a solid, you know, outer space and then there's the third heaven.
So heaven can refer to not just where God is but the sky as well.
So parallel passages, right?
This is why God's given us multiple accounts so we can go back and read.
So Mark 13, Mark 13 verse 27.
Same teaching.
Same Mount of Olives.
Same thing.
Mark 13 verse 27 says and then shall he send his angels and shall gather together his elects
from the four winds, pay attention now, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost
part of heaven.
So from the uttermost part of the earth, from earth to the uttermost part of heaven, from
earth to heaven, from earth to the sky, from earth to the clouds, right?
We put these verses together and we can see they're gathering these people on the earth
to heaven, the sky, the atmosphere where God is, where Christ is in the clouds when he
comes down.
It's from earth to heaven.
Verse 36, Matthew 24 verse 36.
We're going to move on a little bit here because we can't cover verse by verse everything.
Verse 36, but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but
my Father only.
But of that day and hour knoweth no man.
How many times have you heard pre-trib preachers say, well, we don't know when it's going to
happen.
It can be tomorrow.
It can be five minutes from now.
It can be next week.
Why don't we know?
Because no man knoweth the day or the hour, right?
And when I used to hear this preaching and I was already converted to the post-trib pre-rap,
I'd be able to say, amen, yes, no man knoweth the hour, the day or the hour of his rapture.
The problem is you don't believe Matthew 24 is about the rapture, but I can amend that
bit, right?
I can amend that bit because that's the truth.
We don't know the day or the hour, but we know it's immediately after the tribulation.
How can you miss that?
It's just a few verses before that.
Just read the whole chapter.
If you're not going to read the whole Bible, just read the whole, can you just read the
whole chapter?
If you're going to quote a verse, can you just read the chapter that verse is in, right,
to get some context from what you're reading?
No man knoweth the day or the hour, because we don't know, right?
We'll start to know when we see the abomination of this session.
We'll know it's the end times.
And you know, is it going to be an imminent rapture that can happen at any moment?
No.
I'll tell you, it will be an imminent rapture when the sun and moon go dark, when the stars
fall from heaven.
That's when I'll believe in an imminent rapture, because I've got my head raised
up high, ready to see Christ coming and being gathered by the angels.
Verse 40, Matthew 24, verse 40.
Then shall two be in the field, and one shall be taken, and the other left.
Two women shall be grinding at the mill, and one shall be taken, and the other left.
Look at our instruction.
Watch therefore.
Watch.
Behold, he cometh in clouds.
Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
The instruction is to watch.
Be watchful for end times events.
Be watchful for the coming of Christ.
Matthew 24 gives us a bit more information.
A bit of a long sermon, guys.
Are you guys all right?
Everyone's comfortable?
All right.
We've got air conditioning.
We're good.
Matthew 24 gives us a few more details about the rapture.
So we're instructed to watch.
We got that from Revelation 1.7, instructed to watch.
We have the clouds.
We have that, and the event is called His coming, right?
But there's a bit more information from Matthew 24.
We get the information that He descends from heaven, okay?
So the next information, He descends from heaven.
The next information we have is that there's angels present, right, because they do the
gathering of the elect.
The next information that we get is the sound of a trumpet.
The next information that we get is the gathering of believers, the rapture, the elect into
the air, into the clouds, okay?
That wasn't in Revelation 1.7, but we get more information in Matthew 24, okay?
I want you to pay attention to that because now I want you to turn to 1 Thessalonians
chapter 4.
I'm almost done.
1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
The most famous chapter about the rapture, whether you're pre-trib, post-trib, pre-wrath,
whatever it is, everyone agrees chapter 4 of 1 Thessalonians is the rapture.
Let's read from verse 15.
And again, these pre-rapture believers will say, the rapture is not the coming of Christ.
It's not the second coming.
Verse 15, for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord.
So we're speaking on behalf of the Lord.
We're speaking to you on behalf of Jesus Christ, that we which are alive and remain unto the
coming of the Lord, unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
It's called the coming.
It is the coming of the Lord.
Believe the Bible, please.
Believe the Bible.
Verse 16, for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven.
There we have the Christ descending from heaven lines up with Matthew 24 with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel.
Do we have the angels present?
Yes, we have the voice now of the archangel.
And with the trump of God, do we have a trumpet?
Yes.
And the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Verse 17, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them.
The gathering of believers, yes.
Where are we gathered?
In the clouds.
Yes.
Sorry for shouting.
Yes in the clouds.
To meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Matthew 24 is the coming in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
Yes the Lord descends.
Yes we have the angels.
Yes we have the trumpet.
Yes we have the clouds.
Yes we have the gathering of believers.
Lines up perfectly with Matthew 24.
Where are the believers gathered?
From earth to heaven.
From the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
So shall we ever be with the Lord.
We'll never leave the Lord's side ever again after that event takes place in the clouds.
Praise God.
Praise God that is coming to take us.
Praise God.
Oh there's one more thing I forgot to mention.
Are we instructed to watch for this event in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4?
Yes because it continues, look at chapter 5.
Chapter 5 continues.
But of the times and seasons brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
We read some of these verses already.
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.
They shall not escape the wrath of God that's going to be poured upon the earth after this
event.
But ye brethren, ye brethren are not in darkness that they should overtake you as a thief.
Ye 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.
What does that mean?
Should we not sleep at night?
No it's not talking about physical sleeping, it's talking about watching for the Lord because
we're of the day.
Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober.
Let us watch for this event, the day of the Lord.
Why are we going to be able to watch for it?
Because Revelation 1 says behold, pay attention, fix your eyes upon it.
Matthew 24 says the sun and the moon will be darkened.
The abomination of desolation that takes place before that, the rise of the antichrist, the
persecution of the Christians.
Watch.
We'll know.
When these events take place, we'll know the time is coming for Christ to come.
This isn't just imaginary watch the clouds, Jesus might come back at any moment.
No, there are real events that we are to watch for.
Watch.
Don't be like others.
Watch and be sober.
For they that sleep, sleep in the night and they that be drunken, are drunken in the night.
Let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and for
in the helmet the hope of salvation.
We're instructed to watch.
Those seven elements from Matthew 24 are all here found in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and
5.
Let me just, I'll just say what those seven elements were again.
The instruction to watch, the clouds, the event is called his coming, Christ descends
from heaven, the angels are present, you have the sound of the trumpet and the gathering
of his believers in the air.
All seven aspects in Matthew 24, perfectly found there in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4,
which everyone says is the rapture.
How can you deny clear scriptures?
Don't deny clear scriptures.
And people say, well, Kevin, you're teaching that God will pour out his wrath on the New
Testament church.
And I'm not going to cover the wrath of God at this point in time.
But we do believe in a post-trib, pre-wrath.
We're not appointed to his wrath.
Are you seeing 1 Thessalonians chapter 5?
Look at verse number 9, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 9.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, God's wrath does not begin until after the gathering of his believers, after
the rapture.
The last generation of believers will go through the tribulation, but they will never experience
the wrath of God, never.
We are not appointed to the wrath of God if you're saved in Christ.
Christ took on his wrath.
Christ took on the wrath of God when he paid the penalty for our sins.
But unfortunately, too many Christians have been brainwashed into believing that the tribulation
and God's wrath are one and the same.
They're not.
The tribulation comes from the antichrist.
The tribulation comes from the world against believers.
But God's wrath is the answer to that tribulation.
God's wrath will come upon the wicked.
God's wrath will come upon the antichrist, the beast, the first prophet, the devil, and
the armies of the antichrist, those that take the mark of the beast.
God's wrath will be poured upon them.
If you read the book of Revelation, it's the seven trumpets and the seven vials where God
brings the end of the world as we know it and destroys the world with his wrath.
That wrath we are not appointed to.
That is why our church believes in a post-trib pre-wrath rapture.
We'll continue this on Thursday.
Let's pray.