Music
Heavenly Father thank you for this evening and thank you for the gift of your son Jesus Christ and thank you for all the joy that we have in singing praise to you. I pray that you bless the service. We love you in Jesus name we pray. Amen.
All right for our second song flip over to 397 little as much when God is in it.
397 little as much when God is in it.
Song 397 little as much when God is in it.
In the heart.
In Jesus name.
It is great.
And
Forget it.
Oh Jesus.
Oh.
To all the.
Singing.
Thanks for coming to steadfast Baptist Church this evening if you didn't get a bullet and you like one lift up your hand nice and high on the front memory passage Psalm 58 also our service and soul winning times there please turn in your stats to your soul winning
Also if you're getting emails send those in to us as well so that way we can add people to our email list we're trying to grow that also we have our expecting ladies and prayer list please be praying for them throughout the week.
We're going to have a church finance meeting immediately following the service. So if you are a member of the church I just stick around if you've been to three services.
In this for in this recent month then you're automatically a member of your first time visitor if you haven't been here more than once or twice then we would just ask you to step out I don't know if I even noticed anybody like that so.
But just FYI it's not going to be really long but we'll try to get through it quickly also church reminders please be paying attention to those upcoming event.
We have our mighty men's conference there's a sign up sheet or not sign up sheet I'm sorry but the consent forms for guys if you haven't filled it out already.
And then there should be a place to deposit them there as well. So if you have a question Brother Oz can answer that for you but pretty straightforward.
Also the fire breathing Baptist fellowship please mark that down on the calendar.
We already started planning the event it's not everything's locked in just yet as far as all the details but we're trying to get them all locked in as soon as possible and I'll share that with you.
But just to give you some kind of an idea we will have our normal services on Wednesday night and then Thursday morning there's going to be kind of some activities.
So morning in the afternoon on Thursdays and then Thursday evening we're going to have to two preachers so we're going to have Pastor Jimenez and Pastor Mejia on Thursday.
And then on Friday we're going to have the same thing where we have activity in the morning and then we're going to have some activities in the afternoon and then we'll have two preachers again.
Now Friday night we're planning on doing it a little bit different where we're going to actually feed people in between services so we'll kind of have like a sermon pizza and then the second sermon.
And I believe it's Pastor Burson is going to preach the first service and then we'll have Pastor Anderson preaching our Friday evening service.
And so then Saturday we're going to have our spelling bee again and I'm trying to get that list out as soon as possible for you kiddos so that way you can start studying.
But it is going to be a little different we're going to keep the same first two age groups but the third age group is going to be under 16.
So it's going to basically be 13 it's like 12 or 13 to 15 this year so just FYI just because you guys are too smart for me so I have to I have to regulate it and bring it back down but that we're going to still have it out there.
Also we'll have soloing on Saturday. Some of the activities we're trying to get again we might God willing might get ice skating again or we might get trampoline park or a couple things like that.
Also we're planning on having ladies coffee tea during one of the days. It should be it'll probably be for ladies and nursing only though so you guys can try to help out with that.
Sunday Pastor Thompson is going to be preaching for us and then I'll be preaching on Sunday as well. So it's a it's going to be a jam packed event.
I think we might even have kind of activities on Saturday afternoon as well. So but I just don't want to give you all of the details until they're just dialed in 100 percent.
But I just want to at least give that out there and we give you the dates. So if you want to possibly even take off time just so that you can help out.
One thing I was going to ask is Sunday night I was planning we could have like a church dessert fellowship where everybody just brings a couple random desserts or whatever.
So we'll have a lot of guests. So like if we all bring a couple desserts you know one chocolate dessert and then another chocolate dessert then you know ever I can enjoy a lot of chocolate desserts.
Okay. So I think that would just be a lot of fun. You guys are really good at making stuff so I think that would be a great opportunity for us to have kind of a dessert fellowship on Sunday after the afternoon.
That's really all I have as far as announcements. We're going to sing song 119. One thing I want to note is there was there's a kind of a small typo or mistake on the lyrics of the one that y'all had.
And I need to get it fixed and get you a new version. But in the very bottom we kind of have this repeating chorus of the wicked have laid a snare for me.
It's that snare and four is just a little bit off from the way it should be sung. It's actually the snare shouldn't be held. It should go straight from snare to four and then the four is held.
So it's like the wicked have laid a snare for me. So that's kind of so there might be a little bit of confusion if you actually know how to read music.
For those of you that don't you were like I have no idea what you're saying right now. But just you know follow along with brother Dylan as he leads us.
But just for you that know how to sing music you might have gotten confused or tripped up on that because it's not written.
It's not written the way we would prefer to sing it. And that was my mistake. But hopefully we'll get you a new version.
And so that way when you're looking at it it makes sense. But yeah there on that that that first repeating chorus is the wicked have laid a snare for me.
Yet I heard not from by precepts. So there you go. All right. We'll go ahead and sing it. So I'm one hundred and nineteen.
All right. Let's sing it out together. Psalm one hundred nineteen.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
I have sworn and I will perform it.
That I will keep thy righteous judgment.
Very much.
I.
Teach me.
I.
All right. As the offering plates being passed around please turn in your Bibles to Second Thessalonians chapter number two.
Second Thessalonians chapter number two.
Second Thessalonians chapter two.
Second Thessalonians chapter two. The Bible reads Now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him that he be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us as that the day of the Christ is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except they're coming away falling away first and that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition who opposes and exalted himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God.
Remember you not that when I was yet with you I told you these things and now you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time for the mystery of iniquity doth already work only he who now leadeth will let until he be taken out of the way and then show that wicked be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness and then that perish because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved.
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that they all might be damned who believe not the truth but at pleasure and unrighteousness.
But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you brethren beloved of the Lord because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth.
Whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore brethren stand fast and hold the traditions which he have been taught whether by word or our epistle.
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God even our Father which have loved us and have given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.
Comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.
Let us pray.
Father we thank you for this church and we thank you for our pastor and his family.
I pray that the fullness of the Holy Spirit would rest upon him this evening and that he would preach with boldness and authority.
And I pray that you would lay on his heart and help him deliver the message that you prepared for him.
And Lord we thank you for the everlasting consolation.
We thank you for the free gift of salvation.
We thank you for Jesus and what he did for us Lord.
And thank you for all your abundant mercies every day and every morning.
And we love you and we love you Jesus and we ask these things in Jesus name.
Amen.
So we have good news and bad news this evening.
The good news is that we broke our record and so we get ice cream after the service.
The bad news is you have to wait until I'm done preaching.
So that's the only downside.
But now I'm excited to preach in this chapter and really what I'm going to be talking about is the pre-trib rapture this evening and how it's a cult.
So the title of my sermon is the pre-trib rapture cult.
Okay.
Now you know when it comes to views on eschatology what I find really offensive is not necessarily people having wrong views but being so obstinate when they're wrong at the same time.
And it's just so annoying how especially independent fundamental Baptist preachers today virtually all of them are pre-trib.
But boy it's a cult to where they can't stand anyone else having a different view.
And they can't even be friends with people that have a different view and they almost act as if it's an attack on the gospel or something.
Which again, you know, obviously I personally don't believe that the rapture is pre-trib and it's very clear from the Bible that that's not true.
But even though they're wrong on that issue I would still be willing to be their friends and I'd still even be nice to them about that.
And you know not everyone is in this cult because we do have some friends.
We've had people preach here that don't agree with us on that issue and they still can be a big boy about it and still actually be friendly and everything like that.
But the vast majority of churches today that are pre-trib are in a cult where you can't question this doctrine.
You can't debate them on this doctrine and if you're not part of the club they'll kick you out.
They don't want anything to do with people that are not in this cult.
And it just really makes me angry, you know, for a lot of reasons.
Number one because it's not true. Anything that's not true just makes me angry already.
Number two it also is kind of setting people up for the Antichrist because they're on such a hair trigger for Jesus to come back that I think a lot of people that are not saved are going to end up falling for the Antichrist because they were anticipating Christ and they themselves are not saved.
And I mean the Bible warns that the Antichrist is going to be so believable that if we weren't saved we would even fall for it.
Like it's just going to be so deceiving and the Bible says strong delusion.
When God is giving you strong delusion it's hard to not get sucked into that.
Also illustrating that Calvinism is false because if God is sending strong delusion at that point in time what's the point if we were all just...
I mean if everything is decided by God automatically what's the point of the strong delusion?
We're going to do whatever He wanted no matter how strong it was.
But of course the strong delusion is to show God's really pressing people and really trying to get them to make decisions that He wants them to make.
And you know the pre-trib rapture is scary because of those reasons.
Many people I believe that are not saved have been sucked into this junk and they may fall for this Antichrist because of this pre-trib rapture lie.
Another thing that makes me mad about it is there's not even a verse in the Bible that they can twist.
Like there's some doctrines out there where they kind of have their verse you know like faith that works is dead.
But it's like there's not even a pre-trib verse.
There's nothing that's like hey by the way Christ is coming before the tribulation and they're taking it out of context.
There's not a verse to even take out of context.
It's just not in the Bible.
That's why when you hear sermons on the pre-trib rapture it's charts and diagrams and PowerPoint presentation and a bunch of emotionalism.
Stories and whatever because they don't have any Bible on that particular doctrine.
It also makes me mad because it props up Zionism and it props up this love for people in Israel called quote Jews and it's just not biblical.
And a lot of times they realize like you can't sacrifice our sacred cow the pre-trib rapture because if you do people stop wanting to support Israel.
And it's just like well you know that's not my problem.
It's not my problem because I don't have an Israeli flag up here.
You know I also don't have an American flag.
I don't have any flags.
Okay now again I'm not against people loving their country.
There's nothing wrong with liking your country.
But you know what we're a church here and we're a church of believers made up of all nationalities and races and everything like that.
And I don't even care.
You know we have Canadians here.
You know they don't fly their flag because no one's proud but you know even if they did I wouldn't it wouldn't bother me.
Okay you know we have people from all kinds of different parts of the world.
Praise God I don't care about it.
But you know what we're not going to put some Israeli flag up here because we're not in Israel.
Nor do we worship the devil.
Okay that's another reason why we don't do it.
And they'll get mad about the preacher rapture you know being debunked because then it basically destroys their views on who the chosen are.
They're like well if you're going to not believe in preacher rapture what are you, replacement theology?
And you're like yes I am.
I mean that's exactly what I am.
I don't believe that the Christ rejecting God hating prenographers are God's chosen people.
You know like I don't know why you think that they are.
It's really bizarre.
But what this cult does is it does three things that really you know I want to talk about this evening is it destroys people's faith.
It destroys people fellowship and it destroys fighting.
And these are the three things that really you know are a danger when it comes to believing the preacher rapture.
Now I'm going to prove all this from the Bible.
Go if you would.
Well we're here so let's read a few verses before we get there.
But number one the preacher rapture this false doctrine destroys people's faith.
Now what is faith?
Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
So faith is putting your trust in something that the Bible says.
It's not blind.
It's not just well God wants me to have a Ferrari.
And so you know I just believe it by faith.
Well that's not faith that's imagination.
Because there's not a verse in the Bible that says God's going to give you a Ferrari.
OK.
But what you can do is you can read promises and scripture in the Bible and then believe them.
That's what true faith is.
OK.
A lot of people get confused on that point.
But the preacher rapture destroys faith because it's not in the Bible.
And then there's so many verses in the Bible that contradict their view.
And people don't get to have faith in those verses because these pre-trib churches won't talk about them.
They won't bring them up.
They're basically taking whole sections of the Bible and hiding them from the congregation because it destroys their narrative so easily.
Just a plain reading of the text will cause you to never believe in the preacher rapture.
I mean it's just so clear in so many places.
So they can't really go to those passages very often if ever.
In fact my church that I grew up in.
Not grew up I'm sorry.
The church that I went to in the area that I grew up in.
They preached on the preacher rapture all the time.
And then I went to a fundamental Baptist church and they also preached on the preacher rapture.
And I kid you not.
Before the service we would read Matthew 24 almost every single time and we never ever read verse 29.
Not a single time.
And they preached pre-trib for three months straight while I was there.
It wasn't like hey here's our alternative view on Matthew 24 verse 29.
It's like we just won't touch that verse.
And they would read like the whole section before it and then they read like after it but they just won't read that section.
That is destroying people's faith.
Because they're not having a chance to read the Bible.
Here's another passage.
Second Thessalonians chapter 2 virtually no one reads.
Why?
Because it destroys their doctrine.
Look at verse 1.
Now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Could the Bible be any clearer that we're talking about the return of Jesus Christ.
It's like hey FYI red blinking light.
This is talking about Jesus coming back.
And of course we believe Jesus is coming back. Amen.
Says this and by our gathering together unto him.
Now here's the thing when we talk about raptures and stuff.
You know these aren't really necessarily biblical words.
The biblical word is actually gathering.
Our gathering together.
Okay.
And so when we talk about a rapture what we're talking about is us being gathered together with Christ.
Now this is what the Bible is actually describing.
It's saying hey Christ is going to return and we're going to be gathered together with Christ.
Okay.
So this is the context.
Verse 2.
That ye be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us as that the day of Christ is at hand.
So he's saying I want you to not be afraid of the imminent return of Christ.
And notice that the imminent return of Christ caused people to what?
Be fearful.
Have problems.
Be distressed.
Have issues.
And it really does.
You know I grew up in a church that preached the preacher of rapture my whole life.
And I just remember every single year like praying that God would give me just like one more year.
You know like thinking like oh man I just I just really want to like you know go to high school.
And then it was like I just want to drive.
And then it was like I just want a girlfriend you know.
And then it was like I just want to get married at least.
I just want to have a kid.
Because like every single year it was just like Christ could come at any moment.
Christ could come back before I'm even finished preaching this sermon.
And Christ is going to be here.
And you know we're just at a tipping point and it's about to happen.
And it was just like living my life on this edge of just like at any moment I could be raptured.
You know it's just like that's a stressful way to live your life.
Then it's just like at any moment I could just be sucked out of here.
You know it's like what are you doing?
And you know but it destroys people's faith in the Bible.
And you kind of start getting numb to it.
Because you just you've been waiting for so long.
It's just like man it's like you keep saying this every single year.
And you keep making it seem like it's just going to happen.
So then people start becoming dead and null to it.
Because it's just like is this ever even going to happen?
You know why do you keep saying this?
You've been saying this for decades.
You've been saying this every single year.
You've been saying this every single sermon.
Like when is it going to actually happen?
And it's just a lot of fear mongering and it's destroying people's faith.
And you know what the Apostle Paul doesn't want people to be on this like tipping edge of just like
when is Christ coming? I don't know.
When is he coming? When is he coming? I don't know.
It's like he wants people to actually understand there's a few things that have to happen before Christ returns.
Like what? Well look at verse number three.
Let no man deceive you by any means.
For that day shall not come except there come a falling away first.
And that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition.
So there's two things that have to happen before Christ can return.
That's not me saying it. That's the Bible saying it.
Now number one it says there's a great falling away.
This one is arguably the most difficult to ascertain.
And really I'm not going to put a lot of stock in this point because
you could probably just argue that at any point throughout history at any time
people just feel like there's a great falling away.
Because we live in a dark world.
I mean at what point in human history is everybody saved and loves the Bible?
Like virtually never.
Now I could argue or I could see how you could argue today
that it feels like there's already been a great falling away.
Just in the fact that we have so many false prophets and false teachers.
I mean in the Dallas-Fort Worth area alone we are filled with false churches.
We have T.D. Jakes. We have Kenneth Copeland.
We have Robert Morris. We have Todd White.
I mean we have just so many big false prophets, so many false teachers,
so many fake Christians, so many fake denominations.
I mean you've got all kinds of crazy churches out there and virtually no one's saved.
I mean you could argue to me that there's already a great falling away.
And our society as a whole you could argue this.
I mean they're literally telling us that men have become women.
That men menstruate.
That men get pregnant.
And I'm thinking like what?
That's a pretty great falling away from truth.
I mean when you've fallen that far it's like wow.
Like we're in pretty bad shape.
I don't know how much more reality denying we can get as a society.
But let me just say that I personally think it's possible that it could get even way worse than what I'm saying right now.
So I think that this particular point I'm not going to put a lot of stock into because we could argue this point all day long.
The second one's where it's really at.
But just to give you an idea I think it's possible and I think this could happen.
Especially since we're talking about the end times and the rapture and all this.
Is that you know with people like Elon Musk and some of these other individuals that are really pushing like the neuro link and some of these other chips and stuff like that.
Look plenty of people already have chips in their body.
Okay and people are like is that the mark of the beast?
It's not because they didn't have to worship the antichrist to get it.
Okay.
I think it's possible and I don't know what's going to happen.
But just understanding this context.
It's possible that chips or being imprinted with some kind of electronic device becomes a wide scale adopted economic currency before the antichrist.
Now why I think that is because when the antichrist actually comes to power and he stands in the holy mount and he's declaring everybody small or great to receive a mark in their forehand or in their right hand.
Or they can't buy or sell.
Well the only way that means anything is if it's actually enforceable.
Right.
I mean if some guy stood in the Middle East today and just said hey you can't buy or sell unless you have this mark.
It really wouldn't matter to a lot of us because we go and buy all kinds of stuff with cash and cards and you know how long would it even take to roll out this electronic device that everybody's going to have to get.
I mean it would take months and months and months for them to even manufacture it all get it all distributed for people to already have them.
So in my mind it's probably something that's all the infrastructure has already been rolled out in mass.
And as soon as the antichrist makes this declaration it's like pushing a button on a particular computer screen that's going to turn it on or off.
And it will affect everybody instantly.
That's my personal just kind of view of how that might work.
Okay.
I could be wrong.
I'm just saying.
Now think about this.
If the U.S. government tomorrow said you know what we've decided we're going to start throwing out Biden chips.
Everybody has to get a Biden chip if you want to buy or sell in the American currency.
And we're going to eliminate cash.
Everybody has to bring their cash in.
We have to start getting Biden chips.
You know what happened?
Every single false profit in our country would say it's the end and this is the mark of the beast.
All of them would say Christ is going to come tomorrow.
I mean we're finally here.
Here's the mark of the beast.
Christ is coming.
And what would happen is Christ wouldn't come.
And think about the mass exodus that can happen from all the churches and all the fake Christians because they are pushing it so hard and so long.
And then we get to the passage in the Bible in 2 Peter that basically says oh where's the promise of his coming?
Where there's all these scoffers and mockers saying like you guys kept acting like it was going to happen and never did.
And then you just have this giant like humongous shift away from Christianity like you've never seen before.
That's just a theory that I have.
I could be totally wrong.
That was just my personal opinion.
But I'm saying when we look at this verse I could argue that we're not even there yet.
And I could argue that we're already there yet.
So on one side I was arguing like we're there.
Men are menstruating.
We've fallen away from truth.
Another argument is like maybe it's going to be way worse than we even imagined.
Where chips have already been implemented in the system.
Every false prophet has been prophesying his coming.
And we just see like no one being Christian in America at all anymore.
I think both are possible.
I don't really care.
But the second one is one that we can't really argue for it of having already happened.
And there's no way after it happens that you won't have recognized it.
And it's the second where it says that the son of perdition is being revealed.
The man of sin is revealed.
The son of perdition.
Now you say well when's that?
When's this event?
Well the Bible tells us when the event is.
Notice what it says in verse 4.
That was really clear.
There's going to be a guy that's doing what?
He's in the temple of God showing himself that he is God.
And he's called God.
So there's going to be a guy in the temple in the Middle East saying I'm God.
Sitting on a throne saying he's God.
Calling himself God.
I mean that's a real clear sign.
When has that ever happened?
It's never happened.
You know the Preterist, it's like hey Preterist, when did this happen in 2 Thessalonians 2?
That didn't happen.
But there is coming a day when the man of sin, the son of perdition, the antichrist,
he will sit in the temple and he will declare himself God.
When does he do that?
After he sees the deadly mark, he's healed, his wound is healed, he comes back to life presumably
and he basically just says look I'm God.
And then everybody's just like who can make war with the beast?
Who can make war with this guy?
And he causes everyone, small or great, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead
and they have to get it specifically his numbered version, right?
The 666 version.
And that they have to worship him or they can't buy or sell.
Now what's interesting about this is the book of Revelation already tells us where that is in the timeline of events.
It's the midpoint of the end of Revelation.
In that midpoint, you know what happened before that?
All those seals were being broken.
You had the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, all these seals are broken.
And I believe the fifth seal is this particular event that we have in scripture.
But what's super clear is that Jesus Christ can't come until this antichrist has been revealed.
Well this antichrist is the one that was causing all the wars,
was going forth and conquering and doing all these different things that we read about in scripture.
And what's so funny is every once in a while the pre-tribbers will get to these verses
and they'll just be like well, you know, this coming is like Revelation 19 when Jesus is coming in the clouds or something like that.
But wait a minute, let's think about the language that it used, okay?
It said by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto Him.
Let's go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Let's just flip back the page.
Just flip back the page, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
Let's see what these other verses say because they'll say like, well, 1 Thessalonians 4 is the rapture.
Okay, well what language does it use?
1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13.
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others, which have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, that ye which are alive and remain,
unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep.
So here's the coming of the Lord matching the coming of the Lord in 2 Thessalonians.
And he says this, 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.
This is important.
Okay, number one, it uses the same language of together, together, right?
We're gathered together in 2 Thessalonians chapter number two.
We're getting together with the Lord here.
Think about this.
This verse is, 1 Thessalonians 4, everybody agrees with the rapture.
I don't care if you're pre-trib or mid-trib, post-trib, pre-wrath, post-trib.
Like everybody's just like, hey, 1 Thessalonians 4 is the rapture, okay?
What does it say in verse number 17?
And so shall we ever be with the Lord.
So at what point are we not with the Lord after this mark?
Never.
So then what's the point of me being gathered again later?
There wouldn't be because I'm already with Him.
There's not another gathering.
I'm already with Him.
This is the gathering.
There's only one gathering and how long am I with Him?
Forever.
Now if He left again and then, okay, now there's another gathering, whatever.
No, no, no.
I'm gathered together with Him right now.
At this point in history, I would be gathered together with Him.
So this matches the same language, the same time.
Plus, if I'm gathered with Him at this point,
there's no need for me to be gathered again in Revelation 19.
You know why?
Because I'm already with Christ.
And whenever you look at Revelation chapter 19,
Christ is coming from heaven with us.
Why? Because we've already been gathered and we're already with Him.
Okay.
Now here's another thing that's interesting.
Chapter 5, look at verse 1.
But of the times and the seasons, brethren,
you have no need that I write unto you.
Now that's an interesting verse.
He's saying I wouldn't even have to write 1 Thessalonians chapter number 4
and you would already know about this event.
You would already know everything you need to know about this event.
Now, why does that make sense?
How in the world do Christians already know about the timing
of being gathered together with Jesus?
It's because Jesus told us in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
But, you know, if He didn't tell us in Matthew, Mark, and Luke,
I don't know how they would make sense of this verse.
Like, hey, I don't,
you don't even need me to tell you about this event that I've never told you about.
That no one's ever told you about.
No, no, no.
If I have no need to tell you, then it must be somewhere else.
Right?
Just like what it said in 1 Thessalonians here, like,
I don't need to tell you the Gospel.
You don't need me to tell you the Gospel here.
Why?
Because we have it in John.
Because we have it in Romans.
Because we have it in Acts.
Like, it would make sense because it exists somewhere else.
So for the pre-Tribber, they have to find a passage that matches 1 Thessalonians chapter 4
that was already told to them beforehand.
Well, where's that?
They don't have it.
But I have it.
It's called Matthew chapter number 24.
Well, let's go there.
Let's go to Matthew 24.
You know why there's no need for the Apostle Paul to have told them this?
Because they already knew it.
But you know what he was doing?
He was bringing things to their remembrance, right?
Obviously, sometimes it's important to repeat things.
You could repeat it to the pre-Tribbers all day long and they just won't get it for some reason.
Matthew 24.
And a lot of times they'll go to this chapter but they just won't read verse 29.
We're going to read it today.
But before we read it, look at verse 3.
And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, talking about Jesus, the disciples came in and privately saying,
Tell us, when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?
So notice the context of Matthew 24 is the return of Jesus, the coming of Jesus Christ.
Look at verse 29.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven 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, what's the next word, coming in the cloud.
Hey, what do you think Matthew 24 verse 29 is about in verse 30?
How about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ since it literally says that?
It's the coming of Jesus Christ.
How is this any different than what 1 Thessalonians 4 said?
When it said Jesus Christ is coming in the clouds and then we read in Matthew 24,
Jesus is coming in the clouds, what's the sign of you coming in the clouds?
So it's saying he's coming in the clouds here just like it said in 2 Thessalonians 2.
And then in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 it said that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ was the time that what?
We're gathered together, right?
Okay, well what does it say as we keep reading?
It says, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory,
and he shall send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet,
and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.
Notice again, gather together.
Notice a common theme, 2 Thessalonians 3, gather together.
Matthew 24, gather together.
1 Thessalonians 4, together.
And notice every time it's being gathered together, gathered together, gathered together.
Why? Because it's the same event that we're talking about,
how we're going to be gathered together with Jesus Christ at his return.
And of course a lot of these elements overlap, they match.
Go if you would to Mark chapter 13.
Go to Mark chapter number 13.
The Bible's super clear on this topic, but you know what some people will say?
They'll say, oh well, Pastor Shelley, you're so ignorant
because it's said that he's going to gather together his elect.
And I have been to a pre-trib church where they read verse 29,
and I was like physically unable to control myself.
I was thinking like, what in the world just happened?
Did he just debunk his whole sermon?
Like I'm sitting here thinking like, do you know what you just read?
And then he's like, now we want to make sure that we're not going to apply that verse to us.
OK, this is for the elect.
And then he goes to somewhere in Psalms and shows how the elect is Israel.
And so he's like, see, he's talking about Israel.
You don't want to get screwed up on this because if you start applying that to us,
it's going to change how you behave, you know, as a Christian.
And I'm thinking like, yeah, I might start believing the Bible, you know.
But I'm going to read this before I answer that question.
But look at Mark 13, verse 24.
The Bible says, but in those days after that tribulation,
the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light
and the stars of heaven shall fall and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
And then shall they see the son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
And then shall he send his angels and shall gather together his elect from the four winds
from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
See, Pastor Shelley, you're just screwed up.
It's the elect again that get gathered together.
OK, what does it say in the last verse of this chapter?
And what I say unto you, I say unto Jews.
Oh, wait, did I read that wrong?
And what I say unto you, I say unto Israel.
Oh, no, no, no.
And what I say unto you, I say unto all.
Watch.
Oh, but the elect is just the Jews.
No, no, no, it's to everyone.
Everyone is being warned.
Jesus Christ will come back and it's not just for the Jews.
Now, let's prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the elect is not just Jews.
Go to 1 Peter, chapter number one.
It's towards the end of your Bible.
First Peter, chapter number one.
Here's the problem.
When you only use one place in the Bible for a definition is you could be wrong.
You need to look at all the different uses of a particular word in the Bible to make sure your definition is right,
because sometimes a definition can be multiple like the word wine.
The word wine in your Bible sometimes means an alcoholic beverage,
and what we would think of at the store, wine in a box or something.
Other times wine just simply means the juice of a fruit.
It could be a non-alcoholic juice that comes from a fruit.
That's also wine.
So there's intoxicating wine.
There's non-intoxicating wine.
So then some people will go to passages in the Bible where it talks positively about wine,
and they'll say, see, it's cool to drink booze, and you're like, no?
How about all these other places in the Bible where it's saying not to drink booze, like wine is a mocker?
How does that match with your drinking booze doctrine?
It doesn't, okay, because you have to look up all the different definitions.
The word repent, the word repent can be used in a lot of different contexts.
The word believe could be used in multiple contexts.
You have to look at all of them,
and when it comes to the elect, you know, it's not so much that it doesn't mean Israel.
It's just that your definition isn't all the way narrowed in to the accurate definition.
What is elect?
Elect means chosen.
So you could technically elect all kinds of things, right, and you could choose all kinds of different things,
but when it comes to the elect just as a group, it's just the saved.
The Bible constantly makes it clear to those who have believed in Jesus Christ.
So I don't care if you're red, yellow, black, or white, if you believe in Jesus Christ, you are elect.
And look what the Bible says in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 2.
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Grace be unto you and peace be multiplied.
Now he's saying the reason why we're elect is according to the foreknowledge of God,
but notice what made us elect.
We were sanctified, and it was the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
It's not talking about an ethnicity here.
Now look at verse 1.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
What does he mean by strangers?
Strangers are non-Jews.
So the author is literally saying, hey, people that are not Jews, you are elect because what?
You believed on Jesus Christ.
That is why you're elect.
And you know what? There's so many religions out there that want to make themselves elect, or a race elect, or a nationality elect.
But let me tell you something.
God is not a respecter of persons.
He doesn't care what your ethnicity is.
And the Jews are not elect.
Strangers who have believed in Jesus Christ are elect.
I'm elect. You're elect if you believe in Jesus Christ.
Not because I did anything special, but because I believe in Jesus Christ.
Now, let's prove it further.
Go back to 1 Thessalonians, chapter number 1.
1 Thessalonians, chapter number 1, where we kind of started off our sermon.
If you run into the Ts, you're next to all the other ones, alright?
1 Thessalonians, chapter 1.
Look at verse number 4.
Knowing brethren, beloved, your election of God.
Now, is there any confusion that Thessalonians is written to Gentiles?
No. It's very clearly written to Gentiles.
But just in case you're a naysayer, let's prove it a little bit harder, okay?
Because he's talking to those in Thessalonica, those who are pagan, how they're elect of God.
But you know, he makes a contrast in chapter 2.
Look at verse number 14.
So he's saying, you guys are different than another group.
You know which group? The Jews.
And you suffered things of your own countrymen like they did of the Jews.
Meaning that the church of Thessalonica did not suffer at the hands of the Jews.
They suffered at the hands of Gentiles because they're Gentiles.
You know what? Those Gentiles are elect. Those Gentiles are saved.
The Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets,
and have persecuted us, and they please not God,
and are contrary to all men, are not the elect.
You know, it's funny. I think someone had like posted on Twitter.
They had said something like, the Jews are not God's chosen people,
or they're not elect, is just an anti-Semitic lie.
There was just like, someone's like, some Jew or some ADL,
or someone's like, hey, these people that are saying the Jews are not God's chosen people,
this is just an anti-Semitic lie.
And then it's just like, down below, it's community notes.
And it's like, well, actually, the Bible says that the Jews are not God's chosen people.
It's just like, oh, based.
You know, sorry, facts. The Bible says that.
Well, actually, the Bible says that y'all killed Jesus.
They're like, well, there's this anti-Semitic lie that Jews killed Jesus.
It's called 1 Thessalonians, chapter number 2, who both killed the Lord Jesus.
I'm just reading the Bible.
The Bible says that the Jews killed Jesus.
They're like, how dare you just lump a whole group of people together.
That's what the Bible did.
How dare you say, it wasn't every single Jew.
Take it up with the Holy Spirit, because he said the Jews.
He just clumped all these people together and just said, Jews killed Jesus.
People are like, ah, these are just anti-Semitic lies.
You know what? I have a personal friend who's a Jew that loves Jesus,
and you know what? I like him.
I'm not anti-him. I'm not against him.
I don't dislike him.
And you know what? To be a Semite is not even just limited to Jews.
It's basically like anybody from that region.
So there's other people in this room that would fit that description.
I'm not going to point their nose out or anything, okay?
But let's just be honest.
There's some Semites among us, and you know what?
I love them, too.
I'm not anti-Semitic.
I'm not anti-Satanism.
That's what I am.
And you know, it's so silly, because it's like these pre-Tribbers,
they're just like, oh, but you got to, it's the elect.
We love the elect.
And it's just like, dude, the elect that you love so much
are the biggest distributors of pornography in our country,
are the ones charging so much usury and interest.
You know, I didn't have time to read it,
but I was looking at the laws of Connecticut of 1673 that I had.
It has a section on usury.
And I was looking at it, and it was basically like saying,
hey, we're not going to charge usury, you know,
contrary to the Bible.
But they did allow for people to be fined or something, basically,
a portion of money if they owed a debt.
And it was like the most you could be charged was six out of a hundred dollars.
I'm using dollars just to give you some kind of like colloquialism.
But it was like you couldn't be charged more than that for the year.
Six out of a hundred dollars.
Now, anybody that knows anything about compounding interest rates knows
many of us are getting raked over the coals at rates way higher than that
and just completely devastated through usury and interest and everything like that.
But they were saying like, hey, we're not going to have these predatory lending practices
in our colony, in our society.
And let me tell you something.
You know, the synagogue of Satan is the one oppressing the world
through usury, through pornography, through smut, through filth,
through all the evils that are going on in our society.
And yet they have to hold on and cling on to this elect definition
that's not biblical.
Now I'm going to prove any more.
Go to Colossians chapter number three.
Go to Colossians in the New Testament.
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians.
Look at chapter three, verse 12.
Now, okay, I want to read verse 11 because it gives us great context.
But look at verse 11.
Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is in all,
or I'm sorry, is all and in all put on therefore as the elect of God,
holy and beloved, bows of mercy's kindness, humbleness of mind,
meekness of love, etc.
You know what he's saying?
It doesn't matter if you're a Jew or a Greek or a barbarian
or a Scythian, male, female, anything.
If you believe in Jesus Christ, you're elect.
And you should act like that.
You should act like a Christian, act like someone who is saved.
Now, go over to 2 Timothy, chapter number two for a moment.
I'm going to prove my point now,
now that I've kind of laid a little bit of a groundwork.
Point one was this.
The pre-Trib rapture cult destroys people's faith.
Now, this is not a new thing to me.
This is not my personal opinion.
This is what the Bible teaches, okay?
I'm going to prove this beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Look at 2 Timothy, chapter two, verse 16.
But shun profane and vain babblings,
for they will increase unto more ungodliness,
and their word will eat as doth a canker,
of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus,
who concerning the truth have erred,
saying that the resurrection is past already
and overthrow the faith of some.
So according to the Bible,
when you have a wrong view on eschatology,
you have a wrong view on Jesus Christ
or his return or any of these events,
it literally damages people's faith
and can cause them to lose the faith
and to overthrow their faith.
Oh, you know what?
People have already been resurrected.
No, that hasn't happened.
The rapture has not happened.
And as a result of that,
it could cause people's faith to literally be destroyed
by having the wrong end times view.
And I guarantee there's plenty of people.
They go to church, and they hear about how Christ
is basically going to come back before the sermon's over,
and they get all hyped up and excited,
like, oh, yeah, woo, Christ is coming back!
And then it doesn't happen.
And then they're just thinking,
like, this guy seems like a liar.
This guy doesn't seem like he knows what he's talking about.
I've been coming to this church for 50 years,
and Christ still hasn't come back.
What's the problem?
Well, it's because the man of sin hasn't been revealed yet.
We're not there yet.
Why waste so much precious church time,
you know, trying to scare you into thinking
Christ is about to come back when it's not even true?
It's literally destroying people's faith,
causing them to quit church, not show up,
not believe large portions of the Bible.
And frankly speaking,
people that have a pre-trib rapture viewpoint
cannot understand Revelation at all.
It is just like...
I mean, Revelation to them is, like,
just a complete mystery.
It's called revelation.
It's not called mystery.
It should reveal things.
Like, Revelation is one of the clearest books of the Bible
on end-times prophecy.
And then they'll act like,
oh, man, it's just so hard to understand.
That's just because your pre-trib rapture is false.
If you throw that in the trash,
Revelation just starts making perfect sense.
And you're like, how does it make perfect sense?
Because it's just going perfectly in chronology
of, like, everything that's going to happen.
You're like, you mean, like, when it says
and next or then, it actually means, like, next or then?
Like, yeah, it literally means that.
It's, like, literally just following
a perfect, you know, chronology
of the events of the end-time.
And, of course, there is one overlap.
But once you figure out the overlap,
I mean, it's easy. It's clear.
Go over to Titus chapter 3.
Just flip the page to the right.
You're right there.
Titus chapter 3, and look at verse 10.
So point one is this.
The pre-trib rapture cult destroys
the faith of Christians.
And you know what?
It just makes me upset how many Christians tonight
are anticipating Christ's return tonight,
and it's not true.
Jesus Christ will not come back today.
He won't come back tomorrow.
He won't come back this year.
He's not coming back next year.
Now, when we start getting to, like,
three or four or five years in the future,
I have no idea, okay?
And I'm never going to predict when He's coming back.
Okay? So don't worry.
But I do know it's not going to happen now.
I know it's not going to happen this year.
I know it's not going to happen next year.
We have not entered into the end-times tribulation period
by any stretch of the imagination.
And, you know, there's a lot of evil that's happened.
There's a lot of problems.
But the mark of the beast is not here.
It does not exist.
Okay?
So you could go online, go on the internet.
The mark of the beast is here.
We're in the end times.
Jesus has already come.
I mean, think about how many false prophets
have even prophesied of Jesus coming back
and just destroyed people's faith.
There's the great disappointment.
There was an event in history
where this false prophet got up and just said,
on this day, in this year, Jesus Christ is coming back.
And then guess what happened?
He didn't.
And they're like, well, He came back with just us, you know.
I'll tell you all about it later.
It's like, no, He didn't.
There's all kinds of cults out there
that have predicted Christ's return,
and they're always wrong.
I think that Robert Breaker,
I'm pretty sure he's predicted Jesus Christ coming back,
the YouTube dry erase false prophet.
It's like, dude, anybody that predicts
Jesus Christ coming back and is wrong
is just someone you should never listen to ever again.
There's an instant you're wrong.
There's an instant I never want to hear you speak again.
That's what the Bible really says about these people.
Now, when it comes to someone that believes
in the preacher of rapture or a church that believes this,
I don't think it's necessarily something
that I would just decide not to be their friend
or not hang out with them
or not support other parts of their ministry.
It's obviously, I mean, I'm telling you
I don't believe it, okay?
But if someone did believe it, you know what?
I'm gonna be nice to that person,
and I'm gonna try and show them the Bible,
and I would still be willing to be their friend.
But you know what?
They treat us like we're heretics.
Now, look what it says in Titus chapter three, verse 10.
A man that is an heretic after the first
and second admonition, reject.
Now, I want to point this out because even if,
let's just say hypothetically, we live in fantasy world
and we're wrong and they're right, okay?
It really is a preacher of rapture
based on no verses in the Bible.
Then wouldn't you at least, even if I'm a heretic,
wouldn't I at least get two admonitions?
But they won't even give me the first one.
They won't even debate you for the first,
they won't even show you their stupid doctrine at first.
It's so complicated.
They'll be like, well, we gotta have an expert
come in here or whatever.
Like, they're not even willing to have the first debate.
And it's like, if you're so right and I'm so wrong,
wouldn't you lovingly just open up your Bible
and just show me how I'm wrong?
But you know what?
They won't do that.
Oh, you listen to Pastor Anderson?
Get out of here.
Oh, you don't believe in the pre-trib?
Click.
I mean, I remember this guy called me from Germany
and he's just like talking to me about his church.
He's just like, yeah, we need more support.
And I was like, okay, tell me about your church.
He's like, yeah, you know, my dad started this church
and then I've taken over.
We've had this church for decades.
And I'm like, well, how many people do you have in your church?
Twelve.
Wow.
That's a lot of decades for 12 people.
And I was like, okay, well, what part of Germany are you in?
He's like, oh, we're in this small village.
I was like, well, how many people are there?
He's like, 600.
He's like, have you ever thought about going somewhere else?
And he's just like, yeah, I've thought about that.
Okay.
I'm like, why would I give you money
to keep building your 12-person church?
Like, why wouldn't you decide to go somewhere else
or like, is there another option here, you know?
So, I'm just kind of trying to be like,
I wasn't being hostile.
I was just kind of trying to be friendly
and like, learn about his ministry.
And then he's like, I think I said, okay, well, what do you,
you know, did you go solo any?
He's like, yeah.
Okay.
He's like, we've already knocked on every door.
I was like, well, you know, maybe you should try
going some other places or whatever.
And I was like, well, what do you think about,
you know, like, salvation or whatever?
And he's like, yeah, you got to repent of your sins
and all this.
And I said, oh, okay, you know,
well, the Bible talks about God repenting.
You know, what does that mean?
Hey, do you believe in the preacher of rapture?
I was like, well, I don't, I said, you know what?
I don't care about end times eschatology.
That's not a point of fellowship for me.
So, like, I don't care.
And he's like, no, did you believe in the preacher of rapture?
And I was like, no.
And he's like, bye.
And then he just hung up.
I was like, what in the world?
You want my money?
You call me.
I don't know you from Adam.
And you call me from Germany,
which wasted like $20 on my phone bill.
It's like taking international calls or something.
I had to spend $20 to talk to you for 5, 10 minutes.
And you want my money.
And as soon as you find out I'm not pre-trib,
you just click.
You know why?
Because it's a cult that can't defend their doctrine.
That's why.
And he knows if he even took my money
or had anything to do with me,
he would get dropped by his cult
and they wouldn't support him anymore
and so he can't have anything to do with us.
He also knows that repent of your sins,
he's a heretic and he would have gotten called out for that too.
That's why he made the instant connection like,
this sounds like someone, you know,
probably related to Pastor Anderson, the new IAB,
like, I better be careful.
And it's just like, they're buzzword.
Do you believe in pre-trib rapture?
You know.
Oh, click.
It's a cult and they won't have fellowship with me.
I'll have fellowship with the pre-tribber,
they won't have fellowship with me.
It's like, hey, why don't you all have more friends?
It's like, because no one wants, you know,
they don't want to be my friend.
You know, they don't want to be nice to us.
And, you know, frankly speaking,
I'm not interested in joining cults anyway.
So, you know, it doesn't really hurt my feelings.
But at the same time, it just doesn't make any sense.
Go to Revelation chapter two, go to Revelation chapter two.
But you know what's so funny is I'm such a heretic
for believing in the post-trib, you know, pre-Rapture.
But you know, by them being pre-trib,
you know who they hang out with?
Hardcore dispensationalists.
They'll literally be buddies with someone that teaches
that you were saved by works in the Old Testament,
but they believe in the pre-trib rapture,
but they won't hang out with me
who believes salvation by faith alone in all generations,
the everlasting gospel, but I differ than them on eschatology.
How stupid is that?
How hypocritical is that?
And think about it in the Bible.
I mean, you know, am I really that scary of a person
because I don't believe in your timing of the rapture?
I mean, look at Revelation chapter two, verse 14.
How about this church?
But I have a few things against thee,
because thou hast them there, or there them,
that hold the doctrine of Balaam,
who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block
for the children of Israel to eat things sacrificed
unto idols and to commit fornication.
So this church is literally teaching people
to eat meat sacrificed unto idols
and to commit fornication,
and yet Jesus is talking to them.
Like, am I that bad?
Am I really worse than this church?
There's another church in here that has a woman preacher.
And you know what?
The whistle was supposed to be sent to all seven churches
for them to all read about each other.
It's like, these seven churches can know about each other
and associate with each other,
but you can't associate with me
because I don't believe in your stupid preacher rapture.
Give me a break.
Oh, I don't want to be ecumenical.
You don't even know what that word means.
People get so wound up about ecumenicalism.
It's like, ecumenicalism is when I start having
a Catholic and a Hindu come in here and preach.
Okay, that's what true ecumenicalism is.
Not like, well, this independent,
vulnerable Baptist preacher does close communion.
I can't, you know, I can't associate with him.
You don't even know what ecumenical means.
And it's so stupid.
It's like, the whole world is destroying itself.
The whole America is literally promoting men
wearing women's underwear
and that they can menstruate
and that they can go into the bathroom
and then you can't be my friend
because of the timing of the rapture.
It's like you're letting the devil win.
Fundamental Baptists should be friends
with other Fundamental Baptists, folks.
Now, look, if you're wrong in the gospel, go to hell.
I don't care about you, okay?
But, you know, when we're not talking about the gospel here,
it's like it's so foolish for us to not be friends.
And why are they not friends with us?
Because they're in a cult.
But you know what?
People need to start leaving the pre-trib rapture cult.
And, you know, I don't care if they're pre-trib
as much as just leaving the cult.
And you know what I do know?
As soon as they leave the cult,
we'll probably come on our side anyways.
Because, you know, we have the Bible on our side.
Okay, we have faith on our side.
But it is ridiculous to sit here and act like
I'm such a raging heretic, you can't hang out with me
because of my views on eschatology
when we look at some of the churches in the Bible,
what they were tolerating.
I mean, am I really worse than Pergamos here, folks?
I mean, that's ridiculous.
And of course we're right.
I'm just saying, even if I was wrong,
is this really worse?
No.
Go to 1 John, chapter number 4.
But you know what?
Old IFB churches all day long,
better not hang out with the new IFB,
better not hang out with Pastor Anderson,
better not hang out with Pastor Shelley, you know.
Oh, man, then you'll start thinking all crazy things.
You'll start thinking things about them Jews, you know.
And we've got to bless the Jew, amen.
Let's run with the Israel flag a couple more times in here.
It's like, dude, why can't you just read the Bible out loud?
You know how to fix these churches,
just forcing them to read sections of the Bible,
the whole church.
How about this section of scripture?
1 John, chapter 4, verse 20.
If a man say I love God and hated his brother,
he is a liar.
Isn't that so funny?
They always talk about our churches or me,
like we're so hateful.
Oh, you're so hateful and so mean or whatever.
You know what?
You're hateful for not liking us.
You're hateful.
You're the hateful one.
You're the liar because you don't love us.
When are you reaching out?
I mean, I've never had any of these pastors
call me and be like,
Pastor Shelley, you're sincerely wrong
on the preacher of rapture.
Let me explain it to you from the Bible.
You know why?
Because they're wrong, and they know they're wrong,
and they know they can't defend their position,
so they just hide.
They hide, and they destroy fellowship.
Go if you would to Galatians, chapter 4.
Go to Galatians, chapter 4.
I'm going to wrap up here.
Point one is the preacher of rapture destroys faith.
Point two is it destroys fellowship.
But point three, it destroys fighting.
And I kid you not.
I was in an Old Ivy church.
The sermon's on the preacher of rapture,
which I was thinking, how wonderful.
It couldn't be on any other topic
the one time I show up here.
But literally, after reading Matthew 24
and telling us how this is actually for the Jews,
he's just like, look, if you apply Matthew 24 to us,
you're going to start getting involved in things
that other Baptists are getting involved in
that we shouldn't be getting involved in.
Oh, you mean like the spiritual war?
Oh, you mean like this word called persecution?
You want to know why they refuse to believe
that it's a pre-wrath rapture?
It's because they don't want persecution.
It's a sign of what's in their heart.
They're so afraid of tribulation and persecution,
they have to project this pre-trib doctrine.
And the only way for them to not be persecuted
is to hide, is to not say what they believe,
is to not tell anybody what they believe.
And they just hang on for dear life,
like, what are you coming back?
It's like the world keeps getting weirder and weirder,
and they're just like, I can't say anything anymore
or I'm going to get persecuted.
But they just keep hiding and hiding.
I mean, they're sermons.
You have to put in their little code on their website
just to get the sermons.
Why? Because they're afraid of being persecuted.
Because it's going to be really hard to convince their whole church
that they're not going to go through tribulation
when they're going through tribulation.
I don't know if that's a shock.
Imagine if I was like, hey guys, we're not going to suffer any persecution.
No tribulation.
Christ is going to come and take us out before we see any tribulation.
You'd be like, what? What's wrong with Pastor Shelley?
This guy doesn't understand these words, right?
And so they're affecting people's zeal.
Now look at Galatians chapter four, verse 16.
The Bible says, Am I therefore become your enemy
because I tell you the truth?
They zealously affect you, but not well.
Yea, they would exclude you that you might affect them.
So here's the thing.
Am I really their enemy because I tell them the truth?
And of course, this context is about salvation.
But what I think is interesting is how they're zealously affecting them,
but not well.
And you know, the pre-trib rapture affects people, but not well.
It causes them to refuse to stand up against the evils of this world.
It's just a wet blanket on zeal.
It just causes them to basically be a wet noodle, refuse to say anything,
because they just think they're going to get out of here.
You know what the whole sermon was?
Let me tell you about all the horrible things that are going to happen to people
and how we're not going to be there.
I'm thinking like, what's the point of that?
Like, oh man, people are going to really be suffering for Christ, not us.
Oh man, you know, all these bad things are going to happen, not us.
Oh man, look at all these sections of Bible that have nothing to do with us.
You know, it's just like the whole thing.
It's like, how are you going to be zealous when none of it applies to you?
Go over to 2 Timothy 3. We'll finish, okay?
2 Thessalonians chapter number, I'm sorry, 2 Timothy chapter 3.
Look, it's important to believe the right doctrine because it affects your whole life.
And, you know, knowing that Christ is going to return doesn't,
it doesn't change my attitude honestly.
Like, I'm not like sitting here just like now so sad or something.
Like, oh, I just wish he was coming back.
You know why? Because I'm already facing tribulation.
So, I'm just like, okay, bring it on.
You know, but for the Christians that have never faced any persecution or any tribulation,
to them it's just so scary.
And it's just like, but I just don't want to have to do it.
That's like, but look at the people in the Bible.
I mean, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they got to go to the fiery furnace.
Now, at first it sounded rough, you know.
I'm sure before that they were thinking like, this is not something I really wanted to try.
You know, I didn't really want to go into a furnace that's been heated seven times.
But you know what? After the experience they were like, that was pretty cool.
It's like your kids for the first time on a roller coaster ride.
They're like, no, no, no, no, no.
And then after they ride it, they're like, I want to do that again.
But you know what? That is how the Christian life is.
You know, sometimes you're like, I don't know if I want to go through that.
But then you go through and you're like, that was kind of cool. Let's try it again.
You know, let's get a bigger protest next time.
You know, it's like, bring it on.
You know, that's the kind of, and I mean, anybody in here,
I guarantee all of you, if I said, hey, God wants you to go through finding a furnace,
but you're never going to be hurt. You'd be like, I'm ready. I want to do it.
But if it was like, we're not sure, you'd probably be like, nah.
You know, I'm good. I don't need to figure it out.
You know, it's like it's 50-50 whether you're going to burn alive or make it through.
Do you want to try it? You're like, nah.
So like for these pre-trippers, they're sitting here thinking like, nah, I don't really want to try it.
So they just won't preach the truth.
But look what the Bible says in verse 12.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Now this point proves that the preacher rapture is destroying people's faith,
destroying their fellowship, and destroying their fighting. You know why?
Because if you're godly, you're going to suffer persecution.
So the reason why you're not suffering persecution, it's really clear why.
Because you're not godly. You're not godly.
And let me tell you something. A lot of these pre-trib churches, because they're in this cult,
they've stopped preaching the Bible.
They preach feel-good messages because how in the world are you going to preach?
I mean, have you even read Psalms? It's all about persecution and tribulation.
Have you read any of the stories in the Bible about the men of the Bible?
It's constant tribulation and persecution.
So then when you go to a pre-trib church, what's left over to preach
is that it's not about tribulation and persecution.
Another sermon on Psalm 23 today.
Another sermon on 1 Corinthians 13.
Oh, everybody, let's just feel good. Okay.
Make sure to tip your Starbucks waiter.
Sometimes they give out the paper straws, but we can endure that persecution.
Okay, guys?
It's just like everybody's just so weak and lame and they're never persecuted.
They're like, you know, if they have the pronoun on their name badge, you know, just use it.
Just be nice. Okay, guys?
It's like that's not what the Bible teaches.
Okay? And so we need to help those that are in this cult realize it's okay to leave.
It's okay to believe the Bible. It's okay to actually live out your faith.
You know what? Our church has suffered a lot of persecution and tribulation,
but to me, where I'm standing right now, it's really been like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
where I just feel like it wasn't even any sin.
And it's just like, you know, if someone had said like, hey, I'm going to tell you what you're going to go through,
I'd have been like, nah.
You know, we're like sitting on the other side of a lot of this and I'm just thinking like, that was awesome.
Let's try it again.
Let's get on the roller coaster again.
And you know what? That's just the reality.
We're headed towards tribulation and persecution.
Just get over it. Just embrace it.
Just be a faithful Christian.
You know, some of the people in Revelation were told to be faithful unto death.
And you're not even being asked that.
Can you just be faithful unto life?
Can you just be faithful?
It's good to help other churches realize it's okay to be friends with steadfast Baptist church, you know.
And if you get a little persecution or tribulation, you know what I'll say?
Good job on being godly.
Let's close in prayer.
Thank you Heavenly Father so much for giving us these scriptures and these verses so we could prepare for the future.
I pray that you would just help us to understand that even though you want us to go through some tribulation and some persecution in this life,
that the sufferings of this life are not even worthy to be compared with the glory that is going to be revealed in us.
That it's really not even a big deal and that you're still a faithful creator no matter what we go through.
And even if we do suffer greatly, that we'll just be rewarded for it for all of eternity.
And that it's better to be faithful and believing the Bible than to just hide ourselves and harken to lies and be a coward.
I pray that you would embolden us and that you would embolden those in our lives to actually live out their faith and to challenge this world
and to get involved in the spiritual fight and to not just cower and hide away.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Alright, for our final song we're going to go to 229, Since I Have Been Redeemed.
And please remember to stick around, those of you that are members, for our financial meeting after the song.
229, Since I Have Been Redeemed.
Song 229, Since I Have Been Redeemed.
I have a song I'd love to sing Since I have been redeemed Of my redeemer, Savior, King, Since I have been redeemed
Since I have been redeemed Since I have been redeemed, I will glory in His name
Since I have been redeemed I will glory in my Savior's name
I have a Christ that satisfies Since I have been redeemed To do His will, my highest price Since I have been redeemed
Since I have been redeemed Since I have been redeemed I will glory in His name
Since I have been redeemed I will glory in my Savior's name
I have a witness bright and clear Since I have been redeemed Dispelling every doubt and fear Since I have been redeemed
Since I have been redeemed Since I have been redeemed I will glory in His name
Since I have been redeemed I will glory in my Savior's name
I have a home prepared for me Since I have been redeemed Where I shall dwell eternally Since I have been redeemed
Since I have been redeemed Since I have been redeemed I will glory in His name
Since I have been redeemed I will glory in my Savior's name