Hello, this is Pastor Steve Anderson from Faith Ward Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona.
Hi, my name is Pastor Roger Jimenez from Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento, California.
The pre-tribulation rapture teaches that the second coming of Jesus will happen before the great tribulation.
Many that believe this doctrine also believe that Jesus could return at any moment.
The pre-tribulation rapture really began back in the 1830s.
It came about by a 12-year-old girl who supposedly had been saved for a year.
I don't personally believe she was saved based on the testimony that we have given from her.
And she was bedridden, and she one day went into a trance.
She had a vision, and when she had that vision, she began to mumble these words.
Those words were written down, and that's the basis of the pre-tribulation rapture.
Now, there's a couple things that are very interesting about that that we, as Bible-believer Christians, need to really ponder.
Number one, we've got to understand that the 1830s is pretty late in history.
I mean, for thousands of years from the time of Christ, we went through the Reformation.
We went through all sorts of theologians, you know.
Whatever you do or don't agree with men like Martin Luther or John Calvin or whatever it is,
the fact is that thousands of books, thousands of papers, thousands of essays,
and a whole lot of preaching had been done before 1830,
and no one had ever came up with the pre-tribulation rapture.
The concept had never came up. No one agreed with it until this young girl gave these words in a vision.
And by the way, three months later, it's documented that she spoke in tongues,
which proves to us that she's not saved, and in fact, it proves to us that she's demon-possessed
because we know that the speaking-in-tongues movement, the charismatic movement of today,
is not the same as what happened in Acts chapter 2 at the day of Pentecost.
She got this vision that some believers would be raptured before the tribulation,
and then the doctrine started to catch on in certain circles.
Eventually, there was a man by the name of Scofield who put out a reference Bible.
And in this Scofield reference Bible, it contains the Word of God,
but then it also contains a lot of his interpretations.
So about a hundred years ago, when Scofield put out his reference Bible,
the publisher sent copies of it to seminaries all over.
And so the students that were at these Bible colleges and seminaries,
they were exposed to the Scofield Bible in college and in seminary,
and with that, they were being exposed to the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture.
And so Scofield's notes point to a pre-tribulation rapture,
and they lead the reader to believe that it's in scripture when it's really not there at all.
People need to be warned that Christians throughout history have always gone through tribulation,
and there's a time of persecution and tribulation coming that's unlike anything that the world has ever seen.
And most Christians are not ready for it at all.
They've been lied to, they've been told this fairy tale that at any moment we're going to disappear,
we're all going to be gone,
but I'm here to tell you that people are going to be in for the shock of their lives
if we don't get this information out there.
One of the reasons I believe that Satan put out the theory of the pre-tribulation rapture
is honestly the whole premise of the pre-tribulation rapture
is that the Christians and believers will not go through the tribulation,
which we understand is not the wrath of God,
it's actually the wrath of the Antichrist,
it's the Antichrist persecuting Christians.
And I believe the biggest danger with the pre-tribulation rapture
is that we've got thousands of Christians out there that are not looking for the tribulation,
they're not looking for the abomination of desolation,
they're not looking for the Antichrist, they're looking to be raptured,
and they're going to be caught off guard when that persecution does come.
To have this mentality that Jesus Christ is coming at any moment,
we're expecting the second coming of Christ at any moment,
he could come today, he's coming today,
but really the person who's coming is the Antichrist.
And so everybody's expecting Jesus Christ to come back,
well when the Antichrist comes, he's going to say,
I'm Jesus Christ, I'm the second coming of Christ.
The Bible does not teach that Jesus Christ could come back at any moment,
but the person that probably could come at any moment is the Antichrist.
The Bible's clear he's going to come first.
And so Christians are expecting Jesus Christ to come at any moment,
and guess who's really coming? The Antichrist.
And guess who he's going to claim to be? Jesus Christ.
You try to warn people about it,
and they've been so brainwashed by their pastor
that the pre-tribulation rapture is going to save them.
They are not spiritually prepared for the kind of persecution
and the kind of suffering that's going to come upon this world.
I think a lot more pastors than you think
understand the truth about the rapture.
It's just that they're afraid to come out and say it.
It's sort of like the emperor's new clothes.
Everybody knows that the Bible does not teach a pre-tribulation rapture.
You don't have to look for that long to see the truth on this.
But as soon as anybody comes out, any pastor or any missionary
or any preacher comes out and says that the rapture comes after the tribulation,
they're blackballed.
The basis of the pre-tribulation rapture leans upon the misconstrued idea
that the tribulation is a period of God's wrath.
Advocates of the pre-trib rapture argue
that because believers are not appointed unto God's wrath,
therefore the tribulation must happen after the rapture.
However, the Bible paints a different picture
on what the tribulation is and when it will occur.
They confuse the tribulation with God's wrath,
and because they confuse the tribulation with God's wrath,
they say, well, God's not going to pour out His wrath on His own people.
But I'm going to show you very clearly tonight
that the tribulation has nothing to do with God's wrath.
And if you can just understand biblically what the word tribulation means,
I think the rest of it will come clear to you. It will make sense to you.
I'm here to tell you, my friend, that the pre-tribulation rapture is a lie.
It's not real. It's not found in Scripture.
Let's go to the first time in the New Testament, Matthew 13.
Matthew 13. Of course, Matthew is the first book in the New Testament.
And Matthew 24 is the first time that Jesus teaches His disciples
about this subject of the tribulation, the second coming, and so forth.
Look at Matthew 13. This is the first mention.
And I've noticed something about the Bible.
God wants us to understand the Bible.
He's not trying to play tricks on us and confuse us and make things difficult.
He wants us to know the truth. He loves us.
And so I've noticed that a lot of times the first time the Bible brings something up,
He defines it for us, and He helps us understand it.
That way, when we see it the second time, we'll know what He was talking about.
So let's look at the first time.
This is significant as being the first time the word tribulation is used.
The Bible reads in Matthew 13.21.
This is the parable of the sower, by the way.
The Bible reads in Matthew 13.21.
So the Bible just defined for us what the word tribulation means.
It says, look, when tribulation, and God says,
let me explain to you what that word means, or persecution, He's offended.
This is talking about somebody who hears the word of God.
They get excited about it. They get saved.
But they don't have a root in themselves.
And so when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word,
by and by, they're offended.
Now let me ask you something.
Do you see anything about the pre-trib rapture in this verse?
I don't either.
What do you see the definition of tribulation as? Persecution.
He says tribulation or persecution that arises because of the word.
So are these people going through tribulation because they're so bad?
No, they're going through tribulation because they're standing on the word of God.
And because they have taken a stand for the word of God,
because they have received the word of God with all gladness,
they're going to go through persecution or tribulation.
And He says if they're not rooted and grounded in what they believe,
by and by, they're going to be offended.
Second mentions Matthew 24. Let's go there.
Matthew 24.
Matthew 24.21.
It says, For then shall be great tribulation,
such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time,
no, nor ever shall be.
Let me ask you something.
Has tribulation happened before this tribulation in Matthew 24?
We read about it back in chapter 13.
Christians and believers throughout history have always gone through tribulation.
They've always gone through times of trouble.
They've always been afflicted and persecuted.
And the difference in Matthew 24 is that the tribulation that's coming in Matthew 24,
talked about in verse 21, says that it's going to be such as was not since the beginning of the world of this time,
no, nor ever shall be.
There have been some pretty serious tribulations in this world, have there not?
Think of Communist China.
Think of Cambodia.
Think of times throughout history when God's people have been persecuted and killed for the cause of Christ.
Oh, it was horrible in the Spanish Inquisition.
Oh, it was horrible when they were persecuted at this time or that time throughout history.
But the Bible says that there is coming tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time,
no, nor ever shall be.
He says there's great persecution.
He says run for the hills.
He says don't even go back to get your coat.
He says because there's going to be great persecution, great tribulation.
Let me show you another passage.
Go to Romans chapter number 8.
Romans chapter number 8.
Look at verse number 35 just real quickly.
Look at the Bible.
We've got to allow the Bible to define itself for us.
We must not come to the Word of God with, well, this is what I believe and I've got to make the text fit that.
We must come to the Bible with the idea that the Bible is going to tell us what we should believe.
We're not going to try to fit what we believe in the Word of God.
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Look at verse number 35.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation?
Now that word or there means you can substitute the next word for this word.
Notice what he says.
Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword.
Do you see how all those words defined Matthew 24 before the rapture?
Did we not see in Matthew 24 tribulation?
Did we not see distress?
Did we not see persecution?
Did we not see famine?
I'm sure there will be nakedness when there's thousands of people dying in famines.
Did we not see peril?
Did we not see swords and warfare?
The Bible is very clear that the word tribulation does not mean the pouring out of God.
The word tribulation simply means this, affliction, persecution, trouble.
Now, let's go to where the rubber meets the road.
Revelation chapter 1.
Revelation because look, out of 22 mentions of tribulation, five of them occur in the book of Revelation.
Now, isn't the book of Revelation the book that's about the end times, the prophecies?
Isn't it the book that's about the tribulation?
Isn't it the book that has the most prophecy of the New Testament?
I don't think anybody's going to disagree with any of those statements that I just made.
So this is where we should really perk up because a lot of the verses that we've heard about tribulation so far,
we're just talking about tribulation in general.
Stuff that was going on back in Jesus' day, stuff that was going on back in the Apostles' day,
stuff that's going on throughout all history in regard to believers.
But when we get to Revelation, we still might have some of that too, but we're getting into a book that deals with prophecy.
Starting right out in chapter 1.
I mean, is God trying to confuse us?
I don't think so.
It makes perfect sense to me.
Look at Revelation chapter 1 verse 9.
This is the author of the book of Revelation.
I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation,
and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos.
Why is he there?
For the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Why was he on Patmos?
He's being persecuted, that's why.
He's stuck on an island.
He's in exile.
He's being punished for preaching God's word.
Because of the word of God, he's on Patmos experiencing what?
It starts with a T.
Tribulation.
And by the way, he's speaking to the reader saying,
I'm your companion in tribulation.
That means I'm going through tribulation and you're going through tribulation.
Why?
Because we're both saved.
And that's what life's going to be like when you're saved.
You're going to go through trials and tribulations.
Any pre-trib rapture there?
He said, no, I'm going through it.
I'm in it.
You're in it if you're reading this.
Hopefully, if you're my companion.
Otherwise, you're probably not even my companion.
I mentioned number two in the book of Revelation.
Revelation chapter 2 verse 9.
He's talking to the church at Smyrna.
By the way, these aren't church ages.
These aren't epochs of time.
These are literal physical churches that actually existed in these geographical locations.
There was a church in Ephesus.
There was a church in Smyrna.
And these aren't periods of time.
These are conditions that any church could find themselves in.
They could be a church that's like Ephesus.
There could be a church that's like Smyrna.
Well, it says in verse 9.
He's talking to the church at Smyrna.
I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich.
Jesus is saying, I know your tribulation.
Did he say, I know you're not going to be here for the tribulation?
No.
He said, I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich.
And I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but of the synagogue of Satan.
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer.
Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation.
Ye shall have tribulation.
Ye shall have tribulation ten days.
Be thou faithful unto death, and I'll give thee a crown of life.
Any pre-trib rapture in that verse?
We're getting toward the end, folks, and we haven't seen it yet.
Let's go to verse 18.
The church at Thyatira.
So, quick review.
John, probably the greatest of the disciples.
The one whom Jesus loved.
The one who leaned on Jesus' breast at the Last Supper.
The one that was part of the inner three of Peter, James, and John.
One of the pillars in the early church.
John said, I'm going through tribulation, and I'm your companion in tribulation.
In chapter two, we saw the church at Smyrna, and they were going through tribulation.
He used the word twice with them.
That was mentions two and three.
Let's go to mention four.
The Bible reads in verse 18.
And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write.
Who's he writing to?
The church in Thyatira.
These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass.
I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience and thy works.
And the last to be more than the first.
Notice he mentioned the works twice.
Once at the beginning of the list, once at the end of the list.
And he said the last to be more than the first.
He's saying your works are increasing.
You're abounding in works.
You're doing more and more as time goes on.
He says notwithstanding, in spite of that, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest, or allowest, he's saying,
thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess to teach,
and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
So what is God upset at this church about?
He said your works are great.
Your charity, your service, your faith, it's great.
But he said in spite of all that, notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee.
What is he mad about?
Because there's this woman Jezebel in the church who's being allowed to teach.
And what is she doing?
She's being allowed to teach and to seduce my servants.
So is she out seducing the heathen in bars?
No.
She's come into the church and seducing whom?
God's servants.
Is she coming in and seducing people that aren't saved?
Is she coming in and seducing people that aren't serving God?
Is she coming in and seducing those who are just warming a seat and not doing anything for God?
No.
She wants to go into the church and seduce God's servants, those who are actually serving God,
to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
And I gave her space to repent of her fornication and she repented not.
What does it mean to repent of your fornication?
Quit doing it.
Isn't that what that means?
He's saying I gave her space to repent of her fornication, she repented not.
I gave her an opportunity to quit doing this.
She didn't take that opportunity.
She's still doing it.
She is still seducing my servants to commit fornication.
Verse 22.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation,
except they repent of their deeds.
And I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts,
and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine,
and which have not known the depths of Satan as they speak,
I will put upon you none other burden, but that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
Right there you see it.
Saved Christians that are serving God are being seduced by this wicked woman,
and God says that if these servants of God, because look, let's go back to the tribulation verse and see it.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her.
Who is the them that commit adultery with her?
God's servants, the ones that she's seducing to commit adultery with her.
He said, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation,
except they repent of their deeds.
You say, wait a minute pastor, you said all five times in the book of Revelation when the word tribulation is used,
it's talking about believers.
That's right, and this passage is no exception,
because this passage is talking about disobedient believers who are committing adultery,
which is a very wicked sin, and if they don't repent of that or stop committing adultery,
he said I'll cast them into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
So here's the thing, if you're going to tell me that this teaches a free tribulation rapture,
it doesn't mention the rapture, it's talking about saved people that were serving God,
you'd have to basically say that you can lose your salvation.
I don't believe that.
The Bible says, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
The Bible says, he that believeth on him is not condemned,
but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed,
in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
It doesn't just say he doesn't believe right now, it says he hath not believed,
because people that are saved have never believed on Jesus Christ,
because once you believe on him, he says, I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
You can't lose your salvation, because the Bible says that one day Jesus will say to the unsaved,
depart from me, I never knew you.
And so these people are already saved, they're already serving God,
they're already a part of the church, they get sucked into this horrible sin.
But as far as just a concrete mention of going through the tribulation,
the final tribulation, as it were, Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Revelation 7, I think is fair to say.
Look at Revelation 7, let's see if this teaches a preacher or rapture.
It is sure better, or else the preacher or rapture is in big trouble in the desert.
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of earth,
holding the four winds of the earth, and that the wind should not blow on the earth,
nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
So he sees these four angels, and he says, verse 2,
And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God,
and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth,
and the sea, notice, the angels that are supposed to hurt the earth,
but in verse 3 he says, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees,
till we have sealed the servants of our God in their forehead.
So it's very interesting, because he says these angels are going to hurt the earth,
but he says don't hurt the earth yet until we've sealed the servants of our God.
But at chapter 7, has God began to hurt the earth?
And the answer is no, because he says don't hurt the earth until I first seal my 144,000.
I'm not going to take the time to read, well look at verse 4,
And I heard the number of them which were sealed,
and they were sealed and 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
I'm not going to take the time to read verses 5 through 8 there,
you can read it if you want, but all he's saying is he's showing us the 12 tribes,
how 12,000 of these servants of God come from each of the 12 tribes of Israel,
and he's just making that very clear for us.
Look at verse 9, so in verse 1 we saw the four angels, right?
The angels are the reapers, and what happens? Verse 9,
It says after this, I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number,
of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the lamb,
clothed with white robes and palms in their hands.
He says, here's what he said, he says I saw four angels go down to earth,
and then I blinked and I saw just millions of people in heaven.
He said I saw a multitude, he said I couldn't even number them,
and it's interesting because in Revelation chapter 5,
he numbers for us the angels and the four beasts and the four and the elders,
and he says there was 10,000 times 10,000.
But you see this passage here, and in Revelation chapter 7, that's nothing else than the rapture.
You've got this great multitude, notice they're not just Jews,
he says no man could number, he says of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne
and before the lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands.
Look at verse 10, and cried with a loud voice saying,
Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the lamb,
and all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts
and fell before the throne of their faces and worshiped God saying,
Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
be unto our God forever and ever and Amen.
And one of the elders answered saying unto me, what are these which, notice it's interesting,
and one of the elders, this is the guy that's showing John around,
and he goes to John and he says, and one of the elders answered and saying unto me,
he asked John a question, he said, what are these which are raid and white robes?
He says, who are all these people that just showed up?
And whence came they? He says, and where did they come from?
And John, in verse 14 says, and I said unto him, sir, thou knowest.
He says, you know who they are.
And he said, yeah, look, and he's like, yeah, I was just testing you, because look what he said.
And he said, and he said to me, so the elders said to John,
these are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the lamb.
So what do we see? A great multitude, no man can number.
What are they doing? They're praising God.
Everybody got the picture? Huge, what a great scene.
It's massive multitude brought together from all backgrounds, all praising God in unison.
Therefore are they before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple.
And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, neither shall the sunlight on them nor any heat.
For the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters,
and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
Anybody see the three tribulation rapture in that verse?
I mean, isn't that just the final nail in the coffin of this doctrine?
It's false. It's a lie.
People will say, well, we don't have a clear verse that says it's before the tribulation,
but we don't have a clear verse that it says that it's after either, so we have to study to show ourselves approved.
Yeah, study to show yourself approved, but you've got a really clear verse that says that it's after.
Look at Matthew 24 verse 29.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light
and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken
and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.
Does it talk about him coming all the way to the earth?
No, it says he's in heaven.
It says and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn.
I wonder if that has something to do with that flaming fire from 2 Thessalonians chapter 1
that's going to be falling around the same time, same day.
He says 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.
So here we have Jesus coming in the clouds after the tribulation
and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet.
Does that sound familiar from 1 Thessalonians 4, the trumpet sounds?
And they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.
Clear verse, plain as the nose on your face, clear as crystal that it's after the tribulation.
Was there any comparable verse of all the other verses we looked at about tribulation that said before the tribulation
there's going to be Jesus coming in the clouds, a trumpet.
So here's the interesting thing.
Matthew 24, you have the antichrist coming.
You have wars and rumors of wars.
You have nation rising against nation.
You have famines, earthquakes, pestilences.
You have all these things.
The Bible tells us specifically it refers to that time frame as the tribulation.
It specifically tells us after the tribulation of those days, it says he sends forth his angels and gathers his elect.
In Matthew chapter 7, we have those elects showing up.
We have the angels going down to earth.
We have those elects showing up in heaven.
And then the Bible specifically tells us that they came out of great tribulation.
I mean, just exactly like Matthew 24.
We just looked at several occurrences of the word tribulation in scripture.
None of those occurrences teach that the tribulation is a period in time that Christians won't go through.
With this in mind, let's now tie everything together and see how the post-tribulation rapture fits perfectly with end times prophecy
starting off with the key rapture passage in 1 Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians chapter 4 is the key rapture passage.
Now, a lot of people will say that when the Bible talks about the rapture, he says,
comfort one another with these words.
And they'll say something like, well, what's comforting about the fact that we have to go through the tribulation?
I thought the comfort was that we're going to get out of here and escape all that.
But if you read what the passage is actually saying, that's not what the comfort is.
He says at the beginning, he says, but I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,
that you sorrow not even as others which have no hope.
So the reason that God's telling us about the rapture is because he doesn't want us to sorrow about our loved ones who've been saved
and they've already passed away like those who have no hope.
He says, I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,
that you sorrow not even as others which have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with them.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord
shall not prevent them which are asleep.
So notice, every single verse, he's bringing up the fact that we're going to see these people again who've passed on.
Every verse. He says, for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,
and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these birds.
Now, this passage doesn't even bring up the tribulation at all.
In 1 Thessalonians 4, he's not talking about the tribulation.
He's talking about the fact that people were mourning about their loved ones
who had passed on, they'd gone on to be with the Lord.
He said, I don't want you to sorrow about them like those who have no hope
because you're going to see them again.
At the rapture, those of us that are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds.
And he said, comfort one another with these words.
So if you get the context, the comfort is that you're going to see your loved ones again.
That's the context of the passage.
He says, I don't want you to mourn like those who have no hope
because we will be caught up together with them.
We will see them again someday.
If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with them.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
That's why 1 Thessalonians 4 is one of the most popular scriptures for funerals.
Because at funerals people will use this as a comfort to people that they will see their loved ones again.
If their loved one was a believer, if their loved one was saved.
This is a great passage to show that they're going to see them again.
That's the comfort.
There's no comfort here mentioned, you're going to escape persecution.
You're not going to be persecuted.
You're not going to go through tribulation.
You're not going to go through affliction.
You're not going to suffer.
That's not what this passage is about at all.
This passage is about seeing your loved ones again.
That's the comfort.
And so people will take this comfort thing and just twist it into,
oh yeah the comfort is we're going to get out of here before the tribulation.
It's not in this passage whatsoever.
Okay.
Then as soon as you finish up with the 1 Thessalonians 4 passage,
which is the big famous rapture passage,
you get into chapter 5.
He picks up with a conjunction, but.
So he's still on the same subject.
Chapter 5 verse 1 he says,
But of the times and the seasons, brethren,
ye have no need that I write unto you.
Why does he have no need to write unto them about the times and the seasons?
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
So he talks about the rapture.
He explains Jesus Christ coming in the clouds.
And then he says of the times and the seasons,
you don't need me to write and tell you
because you already know that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
So right there he's calling his coming in the clouds.
He's calling the rapture as it were.
He's calling it the day of the Lord.
Because he gets finished talking about Jesus coming in the clouds.
And he says, But of the times and the seasons,
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.
So he's referring to his coming in the clouds as the day of the Lord.
They're both one and the same.
They take place at the same time.
He says, For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Now a lot of people will take this and say,
See, he's coming as a thief in the night.
We don't know when he's coming. He could come at any moment.
Like a thief in the night he's going to come and we won't be expecting it.
But that's only if you're not saved.
Because the Bible says,
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day.
Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober.
The day of our gathering together with the Lord Jesus Christ
shall not come till there's a falling away and the man of sin be revealed.
The only thing that's imminent is the fact that the Antichrist is coming.
The pre-tribulation rapture pretty much hangs on this idea
that Jesus Christ could come back at any moment.
And it's what's called the imminent return of Christ.
They believe that Jesus is coming back at any moment.
And I've asked several people where they're getting this from
or where the Bible says that Jesus, it could come at any moment.
And what they inevitably come back at me with is,
Well, the Bible says no man knoweth the day or the hour of his coming.
But what I always ask them to do is to show me where it says that in the Bible.
Because if you go to where it actually says that in the Bible,
it's in this exact same chapter, Matthew 24, 36.
And the Bible says in Matthew 24, 36,
But of that day and hour knoweth no man,
know not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
So people will take that verse and say, see right there,
no man knoweth the day or the hour.
That means it can happen at any moment.
But notice he said, but of that day, no man knoweth the day or the hour.
So the question is, which day?
Well, it's the day that he just finished talking about.
And here's the thing, back in verse 29,
he said that that day is after the tribulation.
He said in verse 29, immediately after the tribulation,
he describes the events that are going to happen.
Then he says, of that day and hour knoweth no man.
So we don't know the day or the hour,
but one thing we do know is that it's after the tribulation,
because he says it in the same passage.
So basically, pre-tribulation rapture believers will take this verse out of context.
They'll take this verse, but of that day and hour knoweth no man,
know not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
And they'll say that proves that no one knows when the rapture is going to take place,
therefore it can happen at any moment.
But then what's funny is you'll just go up a few verses
and show them the part where it says after the tribulation in the exact same passage,
and all of a sudden they'll say, oh, that's not about the rapture.
You'll point to the verse that says after the tribulation,
they say that's not about the rapture.
But then a few verses down when it says no man knoweth the day or the hour of that day,
all of a sudden, oh yeah, see, that's the rapture right there.
And then when you go down a few more verses and it says,
then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken, the other left,
all of a sudden that's the rapture again.
And so is Matthew 24 about the rapture or not?
Because it's clearly about the rapture.
Because you've got the trumpet sounding, you've got Jesus coming in the clouds,
you've got the elect gathered, as it says in Mark 13,
from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven,
and it's clearly the rapture of that day and hour knoweth no man.
Do I know the day or the hour that the rapture is going to take place?
Absolutely not.
But do I know it's after the tribulation?
Well, that's what Jesus said.
And I guess I could illustrate it like this.
If I told you I'm going to come visit you after the summer is over,
I'm really busy throughout the summer.
As soon as summer is over, I'm going to come visit you.
Now, I don't know when I'm going to visit you.
And in fact, I'm going to show up unannounced.
I want you to just be ready at any moment.
I'm going to show up.
It's going to be after summertime,
but I'm going to be passing through L.A. at some time,
and I'm just going to drop in on you at that time.
That doesn't mean that you know when I'm coming.
Just because I'm coming after summertime,
I can still come at any time.
So saying that nobody knows the day or the hour
doesn't mean that it can happen at any moment.
So in Matthew 24, the Lord Jesus Christ has given us an outline
of the events that are going to take place during the tribulation,
and He talks about persecution coming.
But in verse 15, He says,
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,
who so readeth, let him understand.
And then it says,
Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains,
let him which is on the housetop not come down
to take anything out of his house.
And He goes on and He explains the fact that
when you see the abomination of desolation,
that's when things get really bad.
That's when He says don't even go back home.
He said just run from the hills.
He's like that's going to be persecution like has never been on earth.
Now the interesting thing about this
is that when you read the abomination of desolation,
you know, I always just assumed that that was the antichrist.
And when you read it there in Matthew 24, 15, it says,
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation
spoken of by Daniel the prophet.
But when you compare that to Mark 13,
the Olivet Discourse found in Mark chapter number 13,
the Bible tells us about the abomination of desolation.
Verse 14, it says,
But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation
spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
standing where it ought not.
And it uses that term it for the abomination of desolation,
almost speaking of it as an object, not necessarily a person.
He says,
But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation
spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
standing where it ought not,
let him that readeth understand,
and let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains.
Now obviously He mentioned that it's spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
and when you study the abomination of desolation in the book of Daniel,
the Bible tells us in Daniel chapter number 11,
in verse 31 it says,
So in Daniel chapter 11,
it tells us that they place the abomination of desolation.
In Mark 13, it refers to the abomination of desolation,
not as a person, but as an it.
And then in Daniel chapter 12 in verse number 11,
it says,
So when you study this phrase, abomination of desolation,
you find it referred to as it, not a person, but a thing.
You find in Daniel that it says they shall place it,
and we're told that it's set up.
So it's being talked about as if it's not a person, but a thing.
And I believe the abomination of desolation in the book of Revelation
is found in chapter number 13,
and if you look at verse number 14,
it says in Revelation 13, 14,
So here you find the false prophet,
who's kind of playing the part of John the Baptist for the Antichrist
and preparing the way for him and teaching about him.
You find John the Baptist trying to get the world to worship the beast,
and it tells us that he sets up an image of the beast in verse 15,
and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast,
that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many
as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
And then in verse 16, it tells us,
So you find that in Revelation 13, they set up an image.
People are forced to worship the image.
If they don't worship the image, then they're put to death.
If they worship the image,
I believe that's when they receive the mark of the beast,
and that image is what I believe is being referred to as
the thing that's going to be set up,
the thing that's going to be placed,
the it of Mark 13 is that image of the Antichrist,
and we need to understand that things are going to get bad
throughout the tribulation,
but when we as believers see an image of a man,
and that man is declared God at that point,
and that man in that image is something that they're going to want us to worship,
we need to understand that is the great tribulation.
That's the time that you just head for the hills.
That's the time you don't even go back to get your coat.
That's going to be a time of great persecution.
If he could come at any moment, then what are we watching for?
If he could come at any second,
if he's going to come in a twinkling of an eye,
and we're not going to know,
and it's going to overtake us like a thief in the night,
then what are we watching for?
But he said, no, you, brethren, are not in darkness
that that day should overtake you as a thief.
It's going to take the unbelieving world as a thief,
the children of darkness, but he says,
you, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief,
and yet preachers over and over again will say,
he's coming as a thief in the night, thief in the night, thief in the night.
When Paul is flat out saying, if you're saved,
it will not overtake you as a thief in the night,
because you already know it's going to happen,
and that's why Jesus said,
then when these things begin to come to pass,
then look up and lift up your heads for your redemption draw of night.
So he's saying, you're going to see things happen,
and then he said, when you see these things begin to come to pass,
look up for your redemption draw of night.
Watch.
Watch for these things.
Watch for wars and rumors of wars.
Watch for famines.
Watch for the pestilence.
Watch for the abomination of desolation.
He said, when you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation
spoken of by the end of the product,
he said, when you see these things come to pass,
when you see the sun and moon darkened,
then look up for your redemption draw of night.
He said, Pastor Jimenez, why does this matter?
Well, here's why it matters.
The pre-tribulation rapture is a doctrine
that I believe probably one of the worst effects of it
is it's given us this mentality that
it doesn't really much matter what we do,
because no matter what, look,
either I'm going to die in peace as an old man,
or I'm just going to be going through life,
taking my vacations, investing in my 401K,
living the good life,
and one day I'm just going to disappear
before anything bad happens.
And see, this teaching being taught to thousands,
millions of people,
I believe has caused us to become very lazy
and very satisfied in our Christianity.
Because here's what the interesting thing,
if you go back to Matthew 24,
I just want you to see this.
Look at verse 14.
The Bible says, 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.
Notice, he says when the gospel of the kingdom
is preached in all the world,
he says, then shall the end come.
See, what we got to understand is this,
and I told you, I think I told you
Matthew 24 was the last reference.
I lied to you.
Go to Acts chapter 1 real quickly.
Acts chapter 1.
Acts chapter 1, I want you to see this.
Look at verse number 8.
When the Lord Jesus Christ ascended up to heaven,
Acts chapter 1, look at verse 8,
he gave us this very famous passage.
He says, but ye shall receive power
after that the Holy Ghost has come upon.
And ye shall be witnesses unto me
both in Judea and Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and in Samaria,
and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
And then you keep reading the text there,
and ye ascended up to heaven.
Literally, some of the last words
that the Lord Jesus Christ said
to the disciples and to all of us
before he ascended up to heaven,
he said, okay, here's the thing.
I'm going up to heaven,
but what I want you to do
is to reach the world with the gospel.
And I honestly believe that God is waiting
for us to reach the world with the gospel
so that the end can come.
But today, there are those who say,
well, we don't have to reach the world.
Well, it doesn't really matter.
I mean, we're just going to get raptured up.
It doesn't matter.
We're not going to go through anything.
And we've got lazy, and we've gotten fat and lazy,
and we just think, well, let someone else do it.
But here's what you've got to understand.
Okay, here's very interesting.
Acts 1a, he says, go preach the gospel.
The church in Jerusalem there for seven chapters
does a good job at reaching their community,
but doesn't do much about anywhere else.
And in Acts chapter number eight, verse one,
I want you to see this,
God sends persecution to force them to go preach.
And it's interesting.
Acts 1a, he says, go do it.
They refuse to do it.
Acts 8, one, he forces them to do it.
Look at verse one.
And Saul was consenting unto his death.
And at that time,
there was great persecution against the church,
which was at Jerusalem.
And they were all scattered abroad
throughout the regions of, notice,
Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
And devout man carried Stephen and he talks about that.
But here's what I want you to see.
He says, go preach.
They say, no.
He sends persecution and forces them to go.
And I honestly believe that the reason,
the important reason we must understand
that the tribulation comes before the rapture
is because God is sitting in heaven
and he's saying,
when are these guys going to get to work?
I told him a long time ago, go reach the world.
I told him a long time ago,
yes, reach Jerusalem,
but also reach Judea and also reach Samaria.
And by the way,
don't stop till you've got
unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
And he says, they're sitting around
and they're playing church
and they're checking out the little church.
Well, I read my Bible for the day
and I went to church on Sunday morning
and now I'm going to go do this
and I'm going to do that.
And he's saying, when are you going to get busy?
And I believe this is what he's saying.
I better send them to the tribulation.
Because if a job is ever going to get done,
he says, if they're ever going to do it,
it's going to be done when I force them.
See, here's what you're going to understand.
The pre-tribulation rapture wants to teach us
that we'll live in peace until the end.
And really, the post-tribulation rapture
teaches that if we would just get out there
and preach the gospel,
maybe, I mean, obviously we understand
that the tribulation is done.
We're not going to stop that.
But maybe we can withhold that coming in our generation
or in my children's generation.
If we could reach our communities,
and not only that, but reach the world
with the gospel of Jesus.
See, that's the point.
That's why Christ came.
He came to seek and to save that which was all.
And the reason he left you and I here
was to seek and to save that which was all.
The whole purpose in our lives, my friend,
is to preach the gospel.
And the post-tribulation rapture teaches,
no big deal.
Just live your life.
Just be happy.
You're going to go to heaven
and let other people deal with it.
Let me tell you something.
We need to deal with it.
We need to preach the gospel.
We need to get out there.
And we have to educate people and tell them,
look, there's persecution coming.
Go on your little vacation
and do all the things you got to do,
but you better strengthen your inner man.
You better get in your Bible.
You better start learning the Bible.
You better start walking with God and knowing God.
You better start reading the Bible
because there might be a day
when they take this Bible away from you.
And there might come a day
you know, today we're given complete freedom
to knock on someone's door,
to give them the gospel.
Today we're given complete freedom
to gather together,
to open the Bible,
to preach the word.
But there might come a day
when this assembly would be illegal.
When this Bible would be illegal.
When doing what we're doing right now
would be illegal.
And if we would have a heart for God
we would reach people
with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We would reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
You know the Bible is really clear on salvation.
It's not based on how good you are.
A lot of people think they're pretty good.
You know, and yeah they're going to get to heaven
because they're pretty good.
But the Bible says for all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God.
The Bible says as it is written
there is none righteous, no not one.
I'm not righteous, you're not righteous.
And if it were our goodness
that would get us into heaven
none of us would be going.
Because the Bible even says
in Revelation 21 8 it says
but the fearful and unbelieving
and the abominable and murderers
and sorcerers and whoremongers and idolaters
and listen to this
and all liars shall have their part
in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone
which is the second death.
I've lied before.
Everybody's lied before.
So we've all sinned
and we've done stuff worse than lying let's face it.
We all deserve help.
But the Bible says
but God commanded his love toward us
in that while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us.
And so Jesus Christ because he loves us
came to this earth.
The Bible says he was God manifest in the flesh.
God basically took on human form.
He lived a sinless life.
He did not commit any sin
and of course they beat him and spit on him
and nailed him to the cross.
The Bible says that when he was on that cross
he himself bare our sins in his own body on the tree.
So every sin you've ever done
every sin I've ever done
it was as if Jesus had done it.
He was being punished for our sins.
And then of course they took his body
when he died they took his body
and buried it in the tomb.
And his soul went down to hell
for three days and three nights.
Acts 2 31.
Three days later he rose again from the dead.
He showed unto the disciples the holes in his hands.
And the Bible's really clear
that Jesus did die for everybody.
It says that he died not for our sins only
but also for the sins of the whole world.
But there's something that we must do to be saved.
The Bible says, it has that question in Acts 16
what must I do to be saved?
And they said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved in thy house.
And that's it.
He didn't say join a church and you'll be saved.
Get baptized and you'll be saved.
Live a good life and you'll be saved.
Repent of all your sins and you'll be saved.
No, he said believe.
And even the most famous verse in the whole Bible
that's written on the bottom,
I mean the reference is written on the bottom of the cup
at In-N-Out Burger.
I mean it's so famous.
Everybody's heard of it.
John 3 16.
For God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son
that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have everlasting life.
And everlasting means everlasting.
It means forever.
And Jesus said I give unto them eternal life
and they shall never perish.
Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
The Bible says in John 6 47,
verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
So if you believe on Jesus Christ,
the Bible says you have everlasting life.
You're going to live forever.
You can't lose your salvation.
It's eternal.
It's everlasting.
Once you're saved, once you believe on him,
you're saved forever
and no matter what you can never lose your salvation.
Even if I were to go out and commit some awful sin,
God will punish me for it on this earth.
If I went out and killed somebody today,
you know, God's going to make sure I get punished.
I'm going to prison or far worse or the death penalty.
Whatever this earth punishes me
and God's going to make sure I get punished even more,
but I'm not going to hell.
There's nothing I could do to go to hell because I'm saved
and if I went to hell, God lied
because he promised that whoever believeth in him
has everlasting life
and he said whosoever liveth and believeth in me
shall never die.
That's why there are a lot of examples of people in the Bible
who did some really bad stuff,
yet they made it to heaven.
How?
Because they were so good?
No, it's because they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Their sins are forgiven.
Other people who may have lived a better life
in the world's eyes
or maybe even really they lived a better life,
they don't believe in Christ.
They're going to have to go to hell to be punished for their sins.
And let me just close on this one thought,
one thing that I wanted to be sure and bring up today
is that there was a question that was asked to Jesus
by one of his disciples
and that question was this.
Are there few that be saved?
That's a good question, right?
I mean, are most people saved
or is it few that are saved?
Now, who here thinks that most people are going to heaven?
Most people in this world are going to heaven.
Yeah, guess what the answer was.
He said in Matthew 7, for example,
he said,
Enter ye in at the straight gate.
He said,
Because wide is the gate and broad is the way
that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat,
because straight is the gate and narrow is the way
which leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find it.
And then he went on to say this.
He said,
Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name,
and in thy name have cast out devils,
and in thy name done many wonderful works.
And then while I profess unto them,
I never knew you.
Depart from me ye that work iniquity.
And so you see there are people out there
First of all, the majority of this world
doesn't even claim to believe in Jesus.
Thankfully, the majority of this classroom
claims to believe in Jesus.
But the majority of the world does not
claim to believe in Jesus.
But God warned that even amongst those
who claim to believe in Jesus,
even amongst those that call him Lord,
many will be saying to him,
We did all these wonderful works.
Why aren't we saved?
He's going to say,
Depart from me, I never knew you.
That's because salvation is not by works.
And if you're trusting your own works to save you,
if you think you're going to heaven
because you've been baptized,
or if you think you,
Well, I think you have to live a good life.
I think you have to keep the commandments to be saved.
I think you have to go to church.
I think you got to, you know,
turn from your sins.
You know, if you're trusting in your works,
Jesus is going to say to you one day,
Depart from me, I never knew you.
You have to have all your faith in what he did.
You have to put your faith in what Jesus did on the cross
when he died for you.
He's buried and rose again.
That's your ticket into heaven.
If you're trusting all the things,
Oh, I'm going to heaven because I'm such a good Christian
and I do all these wonderful things.
He's going to say, Depart from me.
And notice what he said,
Depart from me, I never knew you.
Not I used to know you.
Because once he knows you,
remember I mentioned this earlier,
it's everlasting, it's eternal.
Once he knows you, you're saved forever.
But he's going to say,
Depart from me, I never knew you.
Because if you go to hell,
it's because he never knew you.
Because once he knows you, he knows you.
It's just like my children will always be my children.
When you're born again, when you're his child,
you'll always be his child.
You may be the black sheep of the family.
You may be somebody who gets disciplined by God
heavily on this earth.
You can screw up your life down here,
but you can't screw that up.
You're saved.
It's a done deal.
And so that's the main thing that I wanted to present to you
about the end times.
And we do have just a few minutes
for questions about either salvation or about the end times.
Thank you.