(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Alright, now keep your finger here, keep something in Matthew 24. We're going to start off actually in 1 Corinthians 15. We're going to spend the vast majority of the time tonight in Matthew chapter 24. But I want to start off with a point in 1 Corinthians chapter number 15. Now the main topic for tonight, obviously we're kicking off the prophecy week, end times events. It's going to be really exciting. This is the first night. And the main topic I want to focus on tonight is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Of course, that's going to happen in the future. And we're going to look at many of the events surrounding this main event of Jesus Christ coming back to earth. Because there's a lot of people, I mean, Christianity knows that Jesus Christ is coming back again. That is extremely basic. We know He's coming back to judge. The first time He came into this earth, He came as the Lamb. He came to bring salvation to the world. He came as a servant. He came in humility. But when He comes back again, He's going to come to judge. He's going to come and set up His kingdom. And He's going to come and rule and reign on this earth. And that's widely accepted across Christianity. But one thing that's not widely accepted is what I'm going to be teaching about tonight as far as when is Jesus coming back and how are we going to know it and what's going to happen with us prior to His coming back and during His coming back. We're going to see the events leading up to and surrounding when Jesus actually returns. And the first thing that I want to point out about the coming of Christ, we're going to see here in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. It's the resurrection, which is also known as the rapture. Now, you know, a lot of people, some people get upset. They'll say, oh, I can't believe you used the word rapture because it's not a Bible word. And look, I get it. It's not found. You look for the word rapture in the Bible, you're never going to find it. But you know what? The word Trinity also isn't in the Bible. But just because a word doesn't exist in the Bible doesn't make the meaning of the word any less true. So when we talk about the rapture, it's the catching up in the air when Jesus comes back. So if you have a problem with me using that word, I'm sorry if it offends you, but I'm going to keep using it just so you know what I'm talking about when we use that word. But that also is the same time, the same event that rapture is the resurrection. That's when people are going to be resurrected from the dead. Our bodies are going to be resurrected from the dead and we're going to receive new bodies in a moment and a twinkling of an eye. Our bodies are going to be changed and transformed. So those that are dead in Christ are going to rise first. And then us, which are alive and remain, are going to be caught up together with them in the clouds, in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord, the Bible says. So this is that same event. This is the rapture event. And I want to start off here in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Look at verse number 21. The Bible reads, For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming, then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. Now the reason why we're looking at this verse is because it's just to lay the foundation that the Bible talks about three resurrections. Christ the firstfruits. That's already happened. Christ rose again from the dead. Praise the Lord. I mean that's where our salvation lies in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But He's the firstfruit. So you know the firstfruit is just one little taste. It's a small sampling of what's to come. And because Christ rose again from the dead, we have hope and we have assurance that we are one day going to be resurrected from the dead. Our bodies are going to come back to life. And that is the resurrection that is afterward they that are Christ's at His coming. This is the same event. Look at those words. At His coming. It's going to be important as we start going through this. Because what's the main subject of the sermon tonight? It's the second coming of Jesus Christ. So here we see a reference to the coming of Jesus Christ. Afterward they that are Christ's. So believers in Christ at His coming are going to be resurrected and then cometh the end. And then he talks about totally at the end of the world, after the entire thousand reign of Christ on this earth, it says here when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God. It's talking about Jesus Christ delivering up the kingdom to God. Because when Jesus Christ comes on this earth and sets up His reigning on this earth, it's going to be for a thousand years and then He's going to give that reign back over to God the Father. And at that very end that's the last, the final resurrection of the dead where anyone who's ever lived and died from the time of His second coming all the way until the end, then that's that last resurrection that's going to take place in the final, you know, great white throne judgment and everything else that happens with that. Which is outside of the scope of tonight's sermon. But I want to point that out because some people try to reconcile verses in the Bible by saying, well maybe there's multiple raptures. Maybe there's, you know, certain people going up here, certain people going up there. The Bible talks about three resurrections. One's already happened with Jesus Christ. One is at the coming, at His coming. And then the last one is way at the end, way after the thousand years of Christ. So we're only looking for one rapture. Because the last one is way, way, way, way, way down the line at when, you know, way after Jesus Christ comes again. And that's why we're turning here because I want to point that out and it's also relevant to the coming of Jesus Christ. Now let's flip back over, if you would, to Matthew 24 because we're going to spend almost the rest of the time in this chapter tonight. I've got a lot, a lot of material to go through. So that's why, you know, take notes if you need to. There's a lot of content that we're going to go through tonight. But, so these phrases like at His coming, when you're doing your own Bible studying, and hopefully you'll notice some difference in the way that we're going through the Bible tonight because we're going to get everything in context. And ultimately what I'm going to be debunking for you tonight is this notion of a pre-tribulation rapture. Just to be upfront about it right from the beginning, you're going to be seeing this. But I want you, if you have this belief or if you've been taught this belief, to just, let's just go through the Bible tonight and see what it says and try to do it with an open mind and an honest heart and just get some learning straight from the Bible, straight from God. Because when I've tried to listen to people who support that claim that Christians are going to be raptured and Christ is going to come back but it's going to be like a secret type of a rapture, not every eye is going to see Him and that, you know, there's going to be no troubles or tribulations or anything for believers to go through. When I see people trying to support that, what they like to do is they'll take one verse here and one verse here and one verse here and a lot of their own just talking in the middle. We're going to go through, this is going to be a Bible study tonight, we're literally going to be going through Matthew 24 and just going through the verses and let's just see what it says in context because look down at verse number 3 and this is where my title, my sermon comes from, and as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, talking about Jesus Christ, the disciples came unto Him 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. They ask Him a very straightforward question. I mean, there's no doubting what they're asking Him. Say, look, the sign of Your coming, when You come back again, obviously He was with them right there, they're talking about future events because He says, and of the end of the world. What's going to happen? What are the signs? What should we be looking for for You to come back again? And then Jesus plainly answers them. So what we see here, because the rest of Matthew 24 is all Jesus talking, and He's directly answering the question that they want to know. It's all perfectly in context. So if we want to know, hey, what should we be looking for as the signs of Christ's coming, what better place to look than out of the mouth of Jesus Christ Himself when He would directly ask that question. I mean, literally, what shall be the sign of Thy coming? This is what we're going to look at tonight. And look at what He says in verse 4, because Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no man deceive you. The very, very first thing He says, watch out. Don't let anybody trick you. Don't let anyone deceive you. Because honestly, when it comes to future events, it's way easier to trick people. Obviously, things that happened in the past, it's a lot harder to trick people because it's already happened. It's been recorded. It's been documented. Things happen. But for things coming in the future, it's a lot easier to get these slicksters that come out and try to rip verses out of context and try to say, oh yeah, this is going to happen, this is going to happen, and stray people down the wrong path. But it's clear that Jesus wants His disciples to know the answer. You know, oftentimes people say, oh, Jesus is being kind of cryptic here. And you can look at verses and be like, yeah, it's kind of difficult. It's a dark saying. It's kind of hard to understand. But when He starts off saying, look, make sure no one tricks you about this, He's going to lay it out very plainly and clearly, as we're going to see as we keep reading through this chapter. It is very clear. There's a lot of deception surrounding the second coming of Jesus being taught today, and we need to take heed that we're not deceived. And before I get more into the deceptive teachings, let's just start looking through this chapter. Let's jump down to verse number six. He said, well, let's just read verse five. We already read verse four. Verse five, for many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. He's referring to false Christs that are going to arrive, right? Verse six, and ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Now, what do we hear today? When there's these wars going on, and it's being pumped up as, oh, man, there's a war in Syria, there's a war in Israel, there's a war over here. It's the end of the world. People have been saying that for all time. They say, look, there's going to be wars. Kingdom shall rise against kingdom, nation against nation. Look, for the past 2,000 years since Jesus spake these words, it's been happening. There's been wars. There's been rumors of wars. But we don't need to look at the wars as just saying this is the end of the world. Now, look, I believe there are a lot of things that are happening right now that are starting to culminate and line up with Scripture. But just the fact that there's wars and these, you know, I mean, when is there not a war in the Middle East? That's what I want to know. I'd be worried if there wasn't a war going on. Then I'd be like, wow, this is the end of the world. But there's always wars going on. You know, these things are happening. Jesus said, look, don't let this trouble you that there's war. You know, these things are going to happen. Don't start to get too scared and upset that the end of the world's coming because there's going to be wars, rumors of wars. Verse 7 says, for nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. So I do believe based on this phrase right here, all these are the beginning of sorrows is that the wars and the famines, it's going to ramp up. It's going to start being like the precursor, like a woman getting in her pangs and traveling and giving birth, right? All these little things start to happen and they're happening more and more and more. You start to see the world getting more chaotic and earthquakes and war. All this stuff is happening. He says this is just the beginning of sorrows though. This isn't even starting any tribulation yet. It's just getting started. It's just getting warmed up. Verse number 9, then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you. And you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another and many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. Now, this doesn't sound to me like a good time to be living in. And we still haven't even gotten to the second coming of Jesus Christ yet. And it's important to notice that. And also pay attention to the wording. Because everything that's being spoken here by Jesus Christ is happening chronologically. So if you notice between verse 8, which was these are the beginnings of sorrows, verse 9, he says then shall they deliver you up. Which means after the beginning of sorrows, after the wars and the rumors of wars and all these other things, then you're going to be delivered up and afflicted. And who's he talking about here? Christians. Amen. That's right. People who are believers. He's literally speaking to his disciples. But it's not referring just to his disciples because they've long passed on. This is talking about believers. Disciples of Christ today. People who follow Christ. Believers of Christ. They are going to be delivered up and afflicted, he says, and they shall kill you. Now, I know that there are places in the world where people get killed for their faith. It happens. And it is happening today. But it's not happening yet in some massive scale that would suggest why he's bringing this up. I mean, there's always been heathen nations and, you know, like Islamic nations today that will put to death believers in Jesus Christ just for their faith. Or usually it's for converting to Christianity. It's not even just people who are already Christians. Usually people who used to be Muslim and have converted. But regardless, I'm not denying the fact that the persecution is out there for these people in the world. But it still hasn't gotten to this point yet to where Christians by and large are being delivered up and afflicted and being put to death and hated of all nations. All nations is going to include the United States. And look, it's getting pretty easy. The United States used to be a very Christian nation where people would endorse the name of Jesus Christ. I'm not saying that everybody, you know, that there's been a huge percentage of saved people here. But regardless, it's still a nation that has claimed the name of Christ and that would hold to biblical teachings and that, you know, Jesus Christ is a good thing to be a Christian. But that's changing very rapidly. Very rapidly to where Christians are being denigrated. And see, we're not there yet. But what we're seeing here in Matthew 24 is that it's going to come. You'll be hated of all nations for my name's sake, for the name of Jesus Christ. And then, verse 10, and then, so this is again, after that, after all this other persecution has happened, and then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. I mean, there's going to be people, families going turning on families, fathers turning against their children, children turning against their parents. Because of this divisive, you know, being a Christian is going to be very divisive. If it's not for you right now, it will be. If we are alive during this time, this is going to be something that's, you know, people are going to be hating each other, betraying each other. And it says, and many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. It's going to be a very troublesome time where a lot of false prophets are going to try to claim that they are getting words from God and they're going to deceive a lot of people. And then, verse 12 says, and because iniquity shall bound, the love of many shall wax cold. Let's keep reading here. Verse number 13, because again, all these things are happening, which some people might claim is, you know, that's tribulation. And is it? Yes, it is tribulation. But guess what? We haven't gotten into the coming of Jesus Christ yet, and he's going in order of all the things that are going to happen. Let's keep reading. Verse 13, and this is a verse that always gets yanked out of context by people who want to teach a workspace salvation, but he that shall endure until the end, the same shall be saved. I'm not going to get into that tonight, but it's talking about being saved physically, your body being spared or being saved from being put to death. If you endure until the end of this time, you're going to be saved from that. Verse 14, and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. So this is talking about, you know, the gospel of Jesus Christ is going to go everywhere, into all nations, the darkest corners of the world. It is going to go everywhere. And then shall the end come. Verse 15, when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth, let him understand. Now, this is a very pivotal event that happens when we're looking at end times prophecy. This is, you know, obviously recorded in the book of Daniel, in Daniel 9 and Daniel 10, and this is something that hopefully I'll be out of time to get back to tonight. I got a lot of material to go through, but this is when things start getting really bad. The abomination of desolation is set up in the temple proclaiming that he's God. And look, this is going to happen. We're only in verse 15. No mention of the coming of Jesus Christ yet. No mention of that rapture. It hasn't happened. So he's giving us, as the disciples asked, what are the signs? When the abomination of desolation stands in the holy place, this is a very serious sign. Let's keep reading and see what happens. He says in verse 16, 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. Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days. But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. So he's saying once that abomination of desolation is set up in the temple, it's time to get out of dodge. We need to flee into the mountains. Don't even go back into your house to get your stuff. You just need to go because it's going to get really bad. You thought things were bad. People have already been being put to death. There's already been these troubles and the persecution coming on Christians. He says once the abomination of desolation is standing in that temple, he says you need to just get out of there because it is going to get... He says it's going to be great tribulation. The world hasn't seen anything like that. It's never been like this before. It's going to be so bad, it's going to be like nothing you've ever seen. Nothing. Yes, exactly. There have been events in the past, like the inquisition, like other things that have happened where Christians have been persecuted and put to death. None of that compares to what's going to happen during the great tribulation. Notice this. Everything we've been reading up to this point has been chronological, as I mentioned. You might be scratching your head going, wait a minute. Why does it say great tribulation there? We haven't even come to Jesus Christ coming back yet. Well, the basic reading when we're looking at this is because we are going to go through tribulation. And it will be a great tribulation prior to the coming of Jesus Christ. I don't see how you could interpret this any other way or understand this passage any other way. We're going through this. We'll keep reading. Look at verse number 23. Then if any man shall say unto you lo here is Christ are there believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect. Behold I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you behold he is in the desert go not forth. Behold he is in the secret chambers. Believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even to the west so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Again, there's a phrase the coming of the Son of Man. He's still giving more information about the coming is his second coming. His return to this earth. And he says the reason why you don't have to worry about you know if someone's saying oh yeah Christ is he's come back you know the the watchtower organization the seventh-day Adventists who believe that Jesus Christ has already returned multiple times to this earth but it's been secret and they oh well he only showed himself to a few people because like the seventh-day Adventists hey they were they were prophesying that Jesus Christ would come back in the 1800s and it didn't happen but in order to try to save face they say oh well yeah he did come back but only so you know certain people saw him and they keep changing the dates you know Harold Camping's done the same thing and the Jehovah's Witnesses have done the same thing and they say you know what he's only showed himself to the people in the watchtower organization no one else look that's a that is a lie and it's very very clearly proven from the bible because he says as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even in the west so shall the coming of the Son of Man be like every eye is going to see him you cannot deny the coming of the Son of Christ it's not going to be a secret thing it's not some silent event where no one else sees him look every eye is going to see him just as much as you can see lightning travel a lightning bolt that goes across the entire sky just unmistakable you can't miss that when Jesus Christ comes back there's going to be no missing that that's why I say look so a lot of people are going to be saying look Christ is back and you know the antichrist is going to be coming back and saying I'm the Christ so people are saying hey I think he's saying no no no no no you don't need to worry about missing Jesus Christ coming back because you're not going to miss it you don't have to worry about oh man you know I was I was on vacation I came back Jesus is here already really no that's not going to happen you know I could be locked in your office for a week working real hard and be like oh wow I miss no the events that surround Jesus Christ coming back he's saying you can't miss this there will be no question no doubt if you ever hear about Jesus Christ coming back and you're kind of like did he really come back that's not him because it's clearly saying look as the lightning come out so shall also the coming of the son of man be you will know that he's come back let's uh verse number 28 for wheresoever the carcass is there shall the there will eagles be gathered together 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 shake excuse me shaken let me look at all these things that happen the moon not giving her light the sun being darkened stars falling from heaven I mean this is a very chaotic very significant event you can't miss this the powers of the heaven shall be shaken and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven all of these events are going to happen and then the son of man comes back it says and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory look and it says all the tribes of the earth not just the saved people not just the believers not a seeker rapture only the believers are going to see him all the tribes of the earth are going to see Jesus Christ when he comes back in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other so here we see the angels gathering together the elect this sounds like the rapture to me angels scooping up and reaping the earth and it fits perfectly with Jesus Christ coming in the clouds now you know again hopefully you're not too confused right now because we just read where it says after the tribulation of those days and that immediately after the tribulation of those days is referring to all the events that he just covered everything else the people being put to death christians being put together the everything everything prior to these verses is referred to as a tribulation everything so you'll be saying well what about the preacher rapture though what about Jesus coming and then the seven years of tribulation well here's where it's really important to make sure that you have definitions of words just nailed down because one of the one of the key the primary reasons why a lot of people are deceived by a pre-tribulation rapture lies just in the definition of the word tribulation and understanding what that means and see it goes without saying in most people's minds because it's been hammered into their heads there's a seven year tribulation seven year tribulation seven year tribulation seven year tribulation the tribulation period is seven years with no thought going behind that do you know that you will never find in the bible seven year tribulation not going to find it now there is a future event where where events take place during a course of seven years that's true but nowhere is that whole entire time span in the bible referred to as the tribulation now we already saw in matthew 24 talking about the great tribulation and that was happening before jesus christ even came back so this notion of these seven years of the tribulation is just false i mean and i would i would challenge you if you say if you because you've might have heard that from you know as a little boy going to church you might have heard that your whole life because many people have especially if you've been going to baptist churches you might have heard this pre-tribulation pre-tribulation pre-tribulation rapture being taught for your entire life but we have to take what the bible says as our final authority and what's true and i will challenge you to find that seven year tribulation in the bible you won't find it but here's what we're going to do because i'm going to help you out with this of understanding the word tribulation i'm going to try to hurry through this i have every single reference to the word tribulation that is found in the new testament okay now if the pre-tribulation rapture was true if it's true that that saved believers are not going to be going through tribulation if that's a solid doctrine you might think that during one of the references to the word tribulation in the entire new testament we might see something hinting at that right if a believer is not going through a tribulation well i'm going to read these off for you don't have to follow them if you want to write down the references feel free to do so i'm going to try to blow through this real quickly matthew 13 21 the first time in a new testament the word tribulation is used yet hath he not root in himself but doeth for a while for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word by and by he is offended this is this is the parable of the sower and the seed where he's saying look there's there's certain people that they're going to believe they're going to receive the word they're going to get saved but after a little while they're going to be offended because when tribulation comes to them because of the word of god they're going to be offended okay so there's a use of tribulation talking about for the bible for believing the bible matthew 24 21 of course we already read this for then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world at this time no nor ever shall be a warning given to the disciples of jesus christ about tribulation to come because they believe in jesus verse uh matthew 24 verse 29 immediately after the tribulation of those days again i'm not going to expound on that any further mark 13 verse 24 this is a parallel passage to matthew 24 mark 13 the same exact sermon on the mount here being taught to his serb to his disciples just another account it says but in those days after that tribulation the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light same context about tribulation referring to more believers john 16 verse 33 these things have i spoke i have spoken unto you that in me you might have peace in the world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer i have overcome the world hey this is taught in many churches that say hey look be faithful be glad in christ because no matter what hard times are going through jesus christ has overcome the world this is tribulation being told to believers say hey look you're gonna have tribulation act 14 22 confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of god entering into the kingdom of god that sounds like the time of the rapture when we enter into the kingdom of god he says we must through much tribulation enter in the kingdom of god romans 2 verse 9 tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil of the jew first and also the gentile this is the first verse that we've come to that is not explicitly clearly talking about believers in jesus christ so far now it could very easily refer to believers but this is just saying tribulation anguish upon every soul of man that do with evil believers can do evil just as much as non-believers okay romans 5 3 and not only so but we glory in tribulations also knowing that tribulation worketh patience talking to believers saying hey we glory in tribulation tribulation worketh patience romans 8 35 who shall separate us from the love of god who's us believers shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword romans 12 12 rejoicing in hope patient in tribulation continuing instant in prayer again referring to believers being patient in tribulation second corinthians 1 4 who comforteth us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of god again believers second corinthians 7 4 great is my boldness of speech toward you great is my glorying of you i am filled with comfort i am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation first ecelonians 3 4 for verily when we were with you we told you before that we should suffer tribulation even as it came to pass and you know he's saying you know this shouldn't surprise you we already warned you that we're going to go through tribulation and it happened of course it's going to happen because it happens to believers when you stand on the word of god you will face tribulation second thessalonians chapter 1 6 seeing it is a righteous thing with god to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you so here we see people who trouble believer receiving tribulation from god okay the second reference that is not explicitly just you know referring to believers in all these verses so far and we're almost done revelation chapter 1 verse 9 i john who also am your brother and companion in tribulation companion tribulation john the apostle john going through tribulation revelation 2 9 i know thy works and tribulation and poverty and he's referring to a church here he's talking to a church revelation 2 9 revelation 2 10 fear none of those things which shall which thou shalt suffer behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison that you may be tried and you shall have tribulation 10 days be thou faithful in the death and i will give thee a crown of life he's admonishing them hey you are going to have tribulation by the devil he's going to attack you again to the same church revelation 2 10 revelation 2 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 now you can argue whether or not this is talking about believers or not i'm not even going to argue that point tonight because the point i'm making i think is getting very clear the last mention revelation 7 14 and i said unto him sir thou knowest and he said to me these are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb revelation 7 14 is talking about the multitude of people in heaven that have been raptured up that went through great tribulation saints that went through great tribulation maybe it's time to rethink the doctrine that christians will not be going through a tribulation all throughout the new testament were admonished and warned and told hey look you are going to suffer tribulation if you're going to go through our times you're going to be attacked for what you believe and just to think that the way thing has been all throughout history the prophets of god and the old testament being put to death god sending his people and them being you know ridiculed and mocked and stoned and and rejected is all of a sudden we're gonna it's gonna change and we're not going to go through any tribulation just at the end times it doesn't make sense it doesn't follow with the rest of the bible but this is why this doctrine is so important because we need to understand that hard times are coming ahead whether it's in our lifetime or not we don't know but we have to just assume that this will happen in our lifetime we don't know for sure but we need to be ready as if it will happen in our lifetime we need to be ready and solid and strong because when the persecution comes it's going to come pretty bad and you need to be founded and grounded in god's word in order to stand firm you need to be standing solidly on the rock of jesus christ and on the rock of his word so that nothing will offend you and you'll be able to to glorify god by not getting afraid by not backing down by being able to stand boldly and preach his word even in the face of bad times see when you're told that oh yeah there's going to be bad times to come but don't worry you're not going to go through any of that you're not going to be ready for it but we're given warning after warning after warning and jesus christ explicitly told me that wasn't very good news for the disciples to be here and all these things are going to be happening you'll be put to death they'll be throwing you in prison you have all the stuff happening but that's what's going to happen before the coming of the son of man we need to be ready and we need to watch that's why he even says in matthew 24 to watch watch you therefore and matthew uh mark 13 is the same third uh yeah mark 13 is the same thing watch we need to watch now invariably people who have gone through this the whole pre-tribulation indoctrination will object here and they're going to say well god's not appointed us to wrath right it's a common argument and i've heard this a lot and i'll say amen you're right god has not appointed us to wrath but again understanding and having the definitions of our words is extremely important we just went through that whole litany of of tribulation to understand the word tribulation and who it refers to because it's referring to it's tribulation is hard times it's persecutions it's afflictions that happens to believers i mean what what what would you say then about people who have been martyred for christ are you going to say that's god pouring out his wrath on them of course not it's persecution it's tribulation and that's what christians go through we're not appointed to god's wrath but the tribulation is not synonymous with wrath in this in this seriously this is this is a big stumbling block for people who fall in this because they say there's a seven-year period it's the tribulation and it's the wrath of god and they just kind of mix it all together and just say this is it here you go and and there's no discernment on on what the words actually mean but let's go to that reference first thessalonians chapter 5 we're done with matthew 24 now let's go to first thessalonians chapter 5 just like with everything we need to get this in context context is everything because you you know if you're not thinking and someone just throws that out say well for god hath not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by our lord jesus christ see you're talking about us going through all these hard times and stuff but god's not appointed us to that so jesus christ must you know we must be taken out before all those things happen the problem is in matthew 24 none of those events that jesus christ was clearly saying these are going to be the signs of my coming ever mentioned the word wrath not once did it say the word wrath but it said the word tribulation twice first thessalonians 5 9 is is where that verse is quoted for god hath not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by our lord jesus christ amen but let's get that in context and see what he's talking about let's flip back just to chapter four at the end of the chapter chapter 4 verse 13 because we want to make sure we're getting everything in context and like i said before a lot of people who teach the pre-trip rapture they just jump around just just grabbing one verse here grabbing one verse there and then trying to to use their own assertions in order to make them match and line up in the bible but let's let's do it we're doing a bible study we're going to read the context of these verses verse 13 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 again another admonition you know jesus didn't want them to be deceived he's saying here i don't want you to be ignorant you need to know this you need to understand this 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 him for this we say unto you by the word of the lord that we which are alive and remain unto the the coming of the lord remember we've seen this the the whole point of the sermon is the signs of the coming of of jesus christ the coming of the lord shall not prevent them which are asleep for the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of god and the dead in christ shall rise first then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the lord wherefore comfort one another with these words i don't know anyone who's going to say this is not referring to the rapture it's being caught up together that's what the word even means rapture it's a catching up right we're being caught up together with the lord and we see the same phrase there that we saw in matthew 24 the coming of the lord and now look if you have any doubts as as to whether matthew 24 and first thessalonians chapter 4 are talking about the same event well let's look at some of the other things that were mentioned stay right there in first thessalonians 4 i'm going to read for you again from matthew 24 verse 30 and 31 because here we see look down your bibles at verse number 16 what does it say the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of god right those three things a shout voice of an angel and a trump matthew 24 verse 30 says and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he shall send his angels so the voice of the archangel here he's coming with angels with a great sound of a trumpet and with the sound of a trump referring to the same exact things are happening here it's the same event what's happening in matthew 24 being described there is the same thing that's being described in first thessalonians chapter 4 this is the rapture you can put these these these events are the same thing they're one and the same they have the same things happening but let's keep reading here now i read through the end of chapter 4 let's keep reading into chapter 5 because you know when these these epistles were written they didn't have the chapter delineations and stuff it was all just one big letter i mean in paragraphs and stuff but it was still one continuous thing so the thought doesn't end at chapter 4 he continues on into chapter 5 we just saw in chapter 4 at the end there he's talking about the rapture talking about being caught up together verse number one of chapter 5 but of the times and the seasons brethren you have no need that i write unto you you don't need to you don't need for me to write unto you about the times and seasons of these things look what it says in verse 2 for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the lord so cometh as a thief in the night now this is outside of the scope of the sermon but i just want to point out here it's referring to the day of the lord so just keep that in mind for future bible studies in reference to what we just read about the rapture okay um and that's another whole another there's so much to cover in this in this topic it's way way way too much to cover in one sermon so i'm trying to stay focused here but i just want to point that out but let's keep reading here in verse number three he says but i mean verse number two again the preacher is going to take you here all day he's going to say see look the day the lord comes to the thief in the night so you're not going to know who knows and they'll take this one verse out of context but let's keep reading and this is what it's always important to do is to keep reading see what the whole chapter says and especially if you don't really like have this stuff really well down in your mind and these references and you're not as good at just knowing like where all the scripture is in the bible anytime someone brings something to you and you start to quit and be like wait i don't know if that sounds right always say well let's just look at let me just read the whole chapter let me just read it in context because almost every single time you do that you'll automatically spot oh yeah well what you're saying what your what your your conclusion is is invalid because in context it's saying something different so let's see this in context so verse two for yourselves know perfectly that the day of lord so cometh as a thief in the night for when they shall say peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape but ye brethren verse number four are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief you're saying look that's not going over to jesus christ yeah he is going to come as a thief in the night to those that are asleep to those that aren't watching to those who are in darkness yes he's going to come as a thief in the night to them they have no idea that because the people in the last days are going to be mockers they'll be saying where is the sign of his coming and of the end of the world where is all this stuff going to happen they might say it's been two thousand years already come on he's not coming back that's the attitude that the unbeliever is going to have and they mock the bible they mock god's word so yeah when he actually comes back they're going to be like whoa wasn't expecting that but the believer the people who read their bible who studies what the what his word says it's not going to overtake us as a thief it's not going to be a shock or a surprise that jesus christ is coming back we're going to see all the signs that jesus christ himself told us about but ye brethren are not in darkness that they should overtake you as a thief ye are all the children of light and the children of the day we are not of the night nor of darkness therefore let us not sleep as do others but let us watch and be sober it's a serious thing we need to be watching for this we need to be watching for the event it's something we need to be paying attention to not because oh man he's just going to come and take us out of here like why would you even really have to watch if he's just going to come and take you out before anything bad happens what are you watching for literally what are you watching for you're not going to be seeing any of the signs if you think that all of this stuff is going to happen before before you know after you've already been taken out of the world there's nothing to watch for if you believe that we're just going to be raptured out of here before anything bad happens but no that's not true because we've already seen in matthew 24 here and he's saying you know we need to watch um verse 7 for they that sleep sleep in the night and they'd be drunken or drunken in the night but let us who are of the day be sober putting on the breastplate of faith and love and for an helmet the hope of salvation for god hath not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by lord jesus christ that's that verse in context the tribulation is going to come but when he does come and take us out when he does come as a thief in the night he is removing us from the wrath the persecution and tribulation yes we're going to go through that but the wrath no because after that happens after jesus christ comes back he's going to be one pouring out the wrath that's when you start to see in the book of revel all the all the scary stuff in the book of revelation the water's being turned to blood and all these plagues and and and people living in darkness and these the weird you know uh insects that come out they're like locusts and they're stinging people they have tails like a scorpion tail and you know and they're and they're just they're just i mean really biblical plague wrath of god stuff being poured out that is the stuff that happens after jesus christ comes back but prior to jesus christ coming back is all is tribulation so the stand that i take we call ourselves we are post tribulation believers as far as when the rapture happens because by definition the word tribulation is just trouble and trials and hardship which all believers go through anyways that's what matthew 24 refers to it as after the tribulation of those days that's when we get taken up and then god pours out his wrath so it's it's prior to god's wrath being poured out is when we're removed now second thessalonians chapter two we're going to close with this second thessalonians chapter two if you want a real quick place to turn to we went through a lot of detail matthew 24 but if you're talking to someone who's who's been deceived by the pre-tribulation rapture second thessalonians chapter two is my favorite place to go i was actually just out a few days ago and and was trying to promote the prophecy week and i was saying hey man you know come to this event you're gonna learn a lot you're gonna love it because he was interested he was saved and he was interested in end time stuff and he didn't really have a real hard uh doctrine on what he believed he didn't he didn't come out with it i was asking you know he's like yeah and he seemed pretty open so i was like hey check this out because he's saying you know some people are saying we're going to be you know raptured out but see with a lot of people that i know the pre-tribulation rapture never really is settled too well in their hearts because it's just so confusing because you read the bible but you're taught something different and you're just thinking like well how did and then you just start to think well i can't understand prophecy because i don't see how this all lines up well it's not that you can't understand prophecy or you can't understand the bible set you do understand the bible and you've been taught something wrong and and that's what's screwing up how you interpret how you understand the bible and so many people just think man i can't even understand this stuff it just seems so far out there when it's actually really simple and if we would just lose the man-made doctrines and let the bible teach us what it says then we would be much better off second thessalonians chapter two though again very very clear about the signs what are the signs of thy coming and and you know and of the end of the world second thessalonians chapter two look at verse number one now we beseech you brethren there's that phrase again by the coming of our lord jesus christ we're looking at all these places that's about the coming of our lord jesus christ and by our gathering together unto him right the coming of jesus christ and the rapture us going to him verse two that you should that you 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 at hand means like it's gonna it's gonna happen just at any moment it's right now it's gonna happen it could happen today it could happen tonight he said don't be troubled don't let people trouble you with that don't let them make you think that that this is going to happen that this is just at hand he says not even by letter as from us as if some you know as if it looks like it's coming from us he's saying i don't want that to trouble you even if it if they claim to be the apostle paul writing unto you saying hey look the day of christ is at hand don't let don't don't be shaken in mind verse number three let no man deceive you that's exactly what jesus christ said look i don't want you to be deceived by this because many people are deceiving about this and you talk about admonitions about not being deceived in the bible you find it more about the end time stuff than about anything else i don't want you to be deceived by it look don't be deceived he's hammering at home don't let no man deceive you by any means for that day what day the coming of our lord jesus christ that day shall not come except there come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition now people might look at this and be like oh yeah the falling away it's it's happened now it's happening now okay sure but don't forget the next part in that man of sin be revealed this is the abomination of desolation spoken of by daniel the prophet that we saw in matthew 24 do you see how it lines up perfectly i mean there there is no contradiction in these scriptures it all matches 100 the man of sin the son of perdition has to be exposed first we have to know that this is him it says in verse four who opposeth and exalteth 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 ye not that when i was yet with you i told you these things we don't need to be troubled as that jesus christ could come back at any moment because what has to happen first is the man of sin has to be revealed and when you see somebody sitting in the temple of god and he's proclaiming himself to be god or to be the second coming of christ now we know we're ready for jesus christ to come back because these things have to happen first everything we read in matthew 24 prior to after the tribulation of those days all of that stuff has to happen first and here we see in second thessalonians 2 i mean this is so clear i don't see how you could even twist this to mean anything other than what it very clearly says all of these things have to have and he's referring directly to the coming of our lord jesus christ and our gathering together unto him i mean how much clearer can you be but this is see if we really want to understand end times prophecy it's not that difficult but it takes a little bit of work it takes a little bit of effort because you have to actually read the bible you have to go through these verses don't let someone spoon feed you a verse here and a verse there go through everything go through all the chapters that talk about this and really say study the whole book of revelation i mean the revelation is talking about end times events it's it's it's revealed from jesus christ unto us he wants us to know he doesn't want it to be you know god's not the author of confusion he's not deceptive he's not trying to make things real difficult for us so that we can't understand what's going to happen on the contrary saying look i don't want you to be deceived i don't want you to be let's try to make this as clear as possible hey there's an entire book of the bible it's called the revelation i'm revealing all this information unto you so you could understand it it shouldn't be that difficult to understand any more than any other scriptures of the bible and when we start looking at them side by side and we take note of the wording and the events the coming of the lord jesus christ the coming of christ the coming of christ and we put all those together and say hey look the same things are happening here it's referring to the same exact event that's why i started off showing you that there's one coming of jesus christ until the very end then where the final resurrection there's not multiple like all of these references first essalonians chapter 4 matthew troy these aren't different comings of christ it's all the same event it's all one and it all fits together perfectly in this view let's bow our heads have a word of prayer dear heavenly father lord we thank you so much for the clear teachings out of the bible god i pray to you please just help us to to open up the eyes of those that have been deceived lord that that have been tricked and have been duped into the the lie of the pre-tribulation rapture god i pray to you please help us to do good help us to to be able to open up their eyes to the scripture i pray you would open up their eyes in scripture lord but that you'd use us as your instruments to teach and to show the the the clear teachings of your word and that you'd humble hearts and soften hearts to be able to accept that yes they've been taught wrong lord i'm sure everyone in this room has been taught wrong about some things in their life because nobody's perfect and no teacher is perfect dear god but i pray that you would please help us to yield to your word as the final authority and not what some teacher has taught us in the past necessarily even even a good teacher even even a very um sincere teacher dear lord can be wrong help us just to rely on your clear teachings of the bible and that you'd bless us and help us to get this message out in jesus name we pray amen