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

All right, we're here in Matthew chapter 10, the name of the sermon is Persecution During the End Times. Persecution During the End Times. Now last week we were talking about soul winning here at the beginning of Matthew 10, I want to just read four quick verses to show you that is the context and there's a segue made here in Matthew 10, all of a sudden it starts talking about the end times. So starting at verse number 11, and into whatsoever city or town you shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and thereby till you go to the fence, and when you come into a house saluted, and if the house be worthy let your peace come upon it, but if it be not worthy let your peace return to you, and whosoever shall not receive you nor hear your words when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. I don't think there's any question that this is referring to soul winning here in Matthew 10, that's the obvious context, but drop down to verse 22 and you're going to notice something very different than what we saw in verses 11 through 14. And it says in verse 22, and he shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. And this is a pretty famous phrase in the Bible, it actually appears three different times in the Bible, and it's like he that endureth the end shall be saved. For those of you that have studied the end times, you're thinking, that sounds like end times prophecy, doesn't it? And it is talking about end times prophecy, so there is a dramatic change made in Matthew 10. Let me just first prove that to you, go to Matthew 24, Matthew 24, Matthew chapter 24, and later on in the sermon I'm going to explain to you what that means, I'm just kind of giving the context to start off, then we'll talk about the meaning of enduring to the end shall be saved. But Matthew chapter 24 verse 13, Matthew 24 of course is the most famous end times passage probably in the entire Bible, as at the beginning of the chapter his disciples asked, what's the sign of thy coming and at the end of the age, and then all of a sudden he starts talking about all these things that are going to take place, and he says in verse 13, but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And what you see there is very similar wording to Matthew chapter 10, when it talks about enduring to the end to be saved, and once again, we'll talk about that later on the sermon because that's not talking about spiritually being saved from hell, but you see this is about the end times. Go to Mark 13, one other place the Bible mentions this, Mark 13, Mark 13 verse number 13, Mark 13 verse 13, and it says in Mark 13 verse 13 also the parallel passage to Matthew 24, this is also about the end times, verse 13, Mark 13 verse 13, and ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Is there any doubt that this is referencing the end times then? Because we see it appear two other times in the Bible very clearly about the end times. Now in Matthew 10, you can see from the wording leading up to this that this is about the end times, but it's not quite as clear as Matthew 24 and Mark 13, and what can take place is people misunderstand Matthew 10 because they don't realize this is about the end times. We have to realize when we cross reference end times in Matthew 24, end times in Mark 13, the same thing is true also in Matthew 10 as well. Now go back to Matthew 10, Matthew 10, but remember what we were talking about was going out solely. So that is the context here as we go back to Matthew 10 verse 14, he is sending them out solely at this point, and he says this in verse 14, and whosoever shall not receive you nor hear your words when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. What they're saying is, you know, we try to go out there and tell people how to go to heaven. But a lot of people are very receptive, a lot of people want to listen. There's a lot of people that do not want to listen to what we have to say. We try to talk to them, we try to explain, we ask them, do you know for sure if you're going to heaven? And a lot of people say, you know what, I'm not interested. I believe this, I'm not interested in what you have to say. We cannot do anything as a soul winner if somebody doesn't want to listen. If they don't want to listen to me, then they probably wouldn't have listened to Jesus or Paul the Apostle or anybody because there's some people that are receptive and some that are not. And I remember when I got saved, I was 18 years old and someone explained the gospel and I wanted to hear. I mean, if you're here today and you're saved, you obviously listen to how to go to heaven from someone. But did you know there's a lot of people out there that will just not listen and they don't care and they don't want to know how to go to heaven? There is nothing that we can do as soul winners if someone does not want to listen. So what is the Bible saying? Well, you try to go out there, you try to talk to people and if someone doesn't want to listen, you shake off the dust of your feet. You just move on to the next city or house and don't worry about it. Now, it's interesting what it says here in verse number 15 because it says, verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in a day of judgment than for that city. Now we see here it says in the day of judgment. So you see this segue to the end times, but it makes a statement it's more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, why does the Bible make this reference? Well, number one, when it's talking about people that you preach the gospel to, the Bible is showing you if somebody hears the gospel and they reject it, they're going to have to be punished for it. They're going to be held accountable. They had all the opportunities to hear the gospel and they rejected it. Look, we understand Jesus is the only way to heaven and nobody is without excuse before God, but if somebody grows up in a Muslim country and nobody ever comes to tell them about Jesus, it's like they are not going to be held as responsible as someone who grew up in a Christian home and heard the gospel and rejected the truth. Now it doesn't change the fact Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. So nobody's going to be without excuse. But here's the thing. If you have opportunities and you reject it, you're going to be held more accountable. Imagine somebody dies unsaved and they had plenty of times if somebody tried to talk to them. You're like, well, how did I know about Jesus? It's like somebody literally walked up to you and said, you have 10 minutes. I'm so busy. I mean, I'm in the middle of Mobile Legends, right? I got to finish this game. I don't want my rating to slip or whatever. I've never played Mobile Legends. I just know a lot of people are very busy playing Mobile Legends when you try to talk to them. It's like, well, you know what? That person is going to be held more accountable because they had the opportunity and somebody come up to them and they rejected it. Why does it make the comparison with Sodom and Gomorrah? Well, what it's doing is making a comparison between an area that was very guilty. Now go to Genesis 19. Let me show this to you. Genesis chapter 19. Let me turn there myself on my notes. Genesis chapter 19. And what you see here is some people are going to be held more accountable than others. When a person dies and they're saved, they immediately go to heaven and everybody in heaven is going to be in an equal stage. But then one day there's what's called the judgment seat of Christ where you get rewards based on the work you do. But when you first die and go to heaven, everybody's basically in an equal level of reward. But then one day God's going to give those rewards. The same is true for hell as well. When someone dies unsaved, they go to hell. They're equally in a position of torment, but one day there is the great white throne judgment and those that live more sinful lives, those that really rejected the truth, they will be held more accountable. And the Bible's actually saying that people that had a chance to hear the gospel and rejected it will be held more accountable than those in Sodom and Gomorrah. Why does the Bible say Sodom and Gomorrah? Well, Genesis chapter 19 verse 4. Actually, let me just start at verse number 1. Let me just give you the first 13 verses and look at the context. And there came two angels to Sodom and even and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn and I pray you into your servant's house and tarry all night and wash your feet and you shall rise up early and go on your ways. And they said, Nay, but we will abide in the street all night. So Lot tells them, come into my house, stay all night and leave early in the morning. Doesn't that seem kind of like an odd statement? It's like, leave before the sun is up. Like, why would you make that sort of statement? Yeah, because you know, at a hotel you get to check out, you know, by nine or ten or whatever, right? You know, it's like you got to leave before the sun comes up. That's kind of weird. But he says, stay here and make sure you don't leave the house all night. It's like, no, you cannot go outside to look at the moon. You make sure you stay in the house and then early go on your way. Well, the response of the angels is kind of humorous and it's a very odd thing to say as well. We're just going to sleep in the street all night. Of course, that's not normally what a person is going to do, but these are actual angels that came down from heaven, that they appear as men so people would look at them and think they're men. But he says, they say, we're just going to abide in the street all night. Now, why do they make that statement? And notice the reaction of Lot. And he pressed upon them greatly, meaning he's like, no, stay in my house. Get in my house now. He's like, do not stay in the street. Why is Lot so worried about being in the street? Because if I was in the middle of the street at night, you know what I'd be worried about? Some wild dog attacking me. Some wild animal attacking me. But he's worried about something else. Because notice what it says here. And they turned in on to him and entered into his house and he made them a feast and did bake unleavened bread and they did eat. But before they laid down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round both old and young, all the people from every quarter. So all of a sudden, all the men of the city, they surround this house, the men of Sodom. You have the term Sodomite. It's another name for homosexual. It's kind of an old fashioned way to say it in today's world. But that's where we get the term Sodomite from Sodom and Gomorrah. And it says that all the men of Sodom, these are homosexuals, they're surrounding the house, both old and young. So these are older men and then younger people, even young boys that have surrounded the house. And it says, and they called on the Lord and said unto them, where are the men which came into thee this night? Bring them out unto us that we may know them. Now when he's saying that we may know them, he's not saying, I want to shake your hand and get to know you. That's what they're saying by we may know them. The Bible's using a euphemism. It's being very discreet to talk about. Basically, they want to be physically involved intimately with these angels. And here's what it says in verse number six. And law went out of the door onto them and shut the door after him and said, I pray you, brethren, do not sow wickedly. He understands that they're not just saying hello. He says, do not sow wickedly. Behold, now I have two daughters which have not known man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you and do ye to them as is good in your eyes. Only unto these men do nothing, for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And what law actually says is, you know what, I'm going to offer my two daughters and you can do whatever you want with them tonight. Now that is bizarre as a father to just say, hey, you can do whatever you want with my daughter. I mean, I have one daughter and I cannot imagine just saying you can do whatever you want with my daughter. But he says, you know what, do nothing to these men. I'll just give you my two daughters. They have not known man. He's saying they are virgins and you can do whatever you want with them. Now, I don't personally believe his daughters are virgins when you read Genesis 19. Given what they do later on in the chapter, I really don't think that's true. And I don't think Locke thinks that's true either. He's just kind of saying whatever. But he says, just do what you want with our daughters. Here's what it says in verse nine. And they said, stand back. And they said again, this one fellow came into sojourn. Sojourn means to live temporarily and he will need to be a judge. Now we deal worse with thee than with them. And they press sore. And they press sore upon the man, even law, and came here to break the door. So they said, you know, we're going to break down the door. We're going to get to these men. And they said they're going to do worse to law than they were going to do to those two angels. Now, what do they want to do to those two angels according to the words of their mouth? They want to force them, which is the Bible word for rape them. That's what they're saying. And they want to do worse. I mean, this is what the Bible says here in Genesis 19. This is the truth. And they say, we want to do worse. Now, the only thing I can imagine worse is not only raping, but also killing. And look, you know, unfortunately, there are a lot of unpleasant parts of the Bible because we live in a very unpleasant world. We live in a world where babies are getting aborted, they're getting murdered. We live in a day where children are getting defiled. We live in a day of sin and wickedness. That's the world we live in. The Bible warns us about this world. And look, I understand what I'm preaching is not considered popular in 2024. I understand we live in a country that by statistics is perhaps the most pro-LGBT country on the planet. Supposedly 11% of people. People watch Vice Pong eat on the TV all the time. They think he's hilarious. But this is what the word of God says. And I'll tell you what, there are only two stories. Two stories about the LGBT in the Bible. Two stories. And both times, what are they doing? They are trying to rape people. What is God trying to tell us? Because the Bible is timeless. Nothing changes. And I'll tell you what, it is a different world because now that I'm in my 40s, I think back to when I was a kid and it's like, you know what? The world was just completely different. Man, it is changing very rapidly and it's not changing for the better. It's getting worse and worse and worse and worse. And you know the Bible brings this up in Matthew 10 talking about soul winning to the end times. Because when we get to the end times, what do you think the world is going to be like? It's going to get worse and worse and worse and worse. That's reality. Here's what it says in verse number 10. And it's interesting when they say about Lot, he's going to be a judge. And don't you hear in today's world, man, don't judge me. Everybody's a sinner, just let me do whatever I want. Don't judge me. You have no right. Who are you, a holier than thou? Well here, newsflash, if the Bible says something, I'm not the judge by pointing out, thus saith the word of God. This is God's word and God's the one that makes the rules. God is the judge. And when there were judges in the Bible, in the book of Judges, there were judges that were holy men, godly men. And all they were doing was giving the judgment of the Bible. It's kind of like in a court case, usually the judge doesn't really do anything. It's like you've got the prosecution, you've got the defense or whatever, the jury, and then he's just kind of like, okay, this is the sentence. But it's kind of like, well based on this, you did this, this is the punishment. That's just the way that it works. God is the ultimate judge. And it says here in verse 10, but the men put forth their hand and pulled Lot into the house to them and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, hast thou here any besides, son-in-law, thy sons and thy daughters, and whatsoever the house of the city? Bring them out of this place, for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxing great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And the angels were actually sent to Sodom and Gomorrah to absolutely destroy it. You say, why? You say, why? Because it was filled full of the LGBT. That's the reason in Genesis chapter 19. Look, this is not my decision. This is God's decision. That's what God did in Genesis chapter 19. Now go back to Matthew 10. Matthew chapter 10. And by the way, just to help you understand that God doesn't change, there's a pretty famous historical event in the first century A.D. Who's ever heard of the town of Pompeii? Now Pompeii was an area that had been completely forgotten out of memory. Where it's basically this town that was very prominent under the Roman reign. And then all of a sudden it just somehow got destroyed out of nowhere. And nobody really knew why until recent archeological evidence basically digged it up. You know what they found? It was like the center of the LGBT in the world of the first century A.D. And what happened? God destroyed it. And look, the Bible says, I am the Lord, I change not. That is what God thinks about the LGBT. Matthew 10 verse 16. Matthew 10 verse 16, it says this, Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. He says, I'm going to send you out soul winning. And he says, I want you to be wise as a serpent. If you study serpents, serpents don't just attack every single thing that there is. Serpents attack very selectively when they can win a battle. They will often hide. If I would use the terminology, it attacks at the horse heels. They come from behind to attack. They don't just, you know, basically make it obvious. They come when you're not expecting it. And it says, and harmless as doves, you know, we go out soul winning, we're not on a kamikaze mission. Right? We're not doing that North Korean missions trip where we're just there to die. It's like that would kind of break the Matthew 10. Be wise as serpents. Right? I'm insulted that people actually thought I was serious about the North Korean missions trip. It's like, how robo do you think I am? Right? There is no way I would ever set foot in North Korea ever. Right? Unless the world changes quite a bit in the future. Matthew 10 verse 17. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils and they will scourge you in their synagogues. The Bible says beware of men. Why does it bring this up in verse 17? You know what he's saying? Because people that are in authority usually are not the godliest people. People that are in authority are usually not the most righteous people. People that are rulers are usually not the most righteous people that there are. There is not a single, say, person on the planet that can make any sort of argument that Joe Biden, the current president of the United States, is a godly person. I mean, he is an ungodly person by every metric you could possibly look at. The guy, and he wants to pretend to be very religious. And somebody asks him, what's your favorite, you know, chapter of the Bible? He's like, you know, or something like that. He's like, you know, it's from the Book of Palms. It's like, Psalms. The Book of Psalms. It's not like a palm tree. What are you talking about? The Book of Palms. It's just like, you have to do a facepalm when he says from the Book of Palms. It's like, no. Right? This is by and large true that people that are powerful people are not usually godly. And you can go back way in history. King Henry VIII. Does anybody think that was a godly person? They killed like three wives or something like that and divorced the others and all these things. Nobody would say they're godly people. Nobody would say most leaders of this world are godly people. Most are ungodly. Most are wicked people. Especially in today's world. And if wicked people rule the world, guess who makes the rules of the world? Wicked people. Now, it doesn't change God's Word. But here's my point. Because wicked people are leading countries. Because no country says, you know what? Our law book is Leviticus. Did that ever happen in 2024? Does anybody really follow the Bible as their guide posted the rules? Because, you know, man has a lot of opinions of various different things. But the question is, what does the Bible say? I mean, the Bible is the one that has the death penalty on murder in a multitude of sins. And yet in today's world, most countries don't have a death penalty. They're using man's wisdom and man's logic to justify their actions. Whereas the Bible is very clear about what the rules are. It says in Matthew 10, verse 18, And ye should be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought, how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. Now, it's kind of apropos that he mentions this to them. Because they literally went through a lot of political persecution. I mean, they literally were getting arrested. History tells us that most of the apostles were killed. And I believe that to be the case. They had major persecution primarily from the Jews. And then the Romans added that persecution toward the late first century A.D. And so they literally went through these things. They got delivered up. And then basically, I mean, you know, Acts is famous for Peter's there. And it's like, we ought to obey God rather than men. It's like, we don't care what the laws of this country are. We're going to do what God says. They literally went through this. Now, in 2024, are we going through this persecution? I mean, we're not going through major persecution. I mean, nobody's worried about today that they're going to go so many later today. And they're going to get arrested. Or they're going to be killed. That's not going to happen to anybody here in 2024 in the Philippines. Now, in other countries, yeah, that could be the case. Not here, though, in the Philippines. Right? We don't really have a lot of persecution to preach the truth here in the Philippines in 2024. But I'll tell you this. During the end times, all over the world, there's going to be this persecution. And we're going to see that here because this is what the Bible is segwaying to here. Verse 21. And the brothers shall deliver up the brother to death and the father to the child. And the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. Now, verse 21 is a pretty shocking verse because it talks about brothers killing brothers. And that's kind of believable because Esau wants to kill Jacob. Cain kills Abel. And there's stories in the Bible. I mean, Joseph gets sold into slavery. I mean, I don't have a brother. I only have a sister. But there's that sibling rivalry, I would imagine, especially between brothers where they're kind of fighting it out and everything. But with Cain, it kind of makes sense because Cain was a reprimand. The Bible said he had a chance and he rejected it because he was envious because Abel was righteous and he was not. And then he was a reprobate, so it makes sense. Well, why does it mention this in terms of the end times? You have to understand that if your brother takes the mark of the beast and you do not take the mark of the beast, I don't care how close you are to your brother, he will rise up against you to have him be put to death. Now, brother to brother is obviously wicked and it is hard for me to understand because I can't imagine doing that to my sister. Although, I don't know, brother to sister maybe is a little bit different than brother to brother. But children to parents and parents to children, that is pretty shocking, right? I've heard of murder cases where like a child will kill their mom or their dad or a parent will do that to their child. And you're thinking, what kind of a reprobate are you? What a wicked thing to actually do to your parents or to your kids. But if your child takes the mark of the beast and you're a Christian, that is what's going to happen. If your parent takes the mark of the beast. Because look, you know, on a life level, there's probably a lot of us in this room where basically because of what you believe, you don't have the same closeness to some of your family anymore. Now, I don't have this situation with my sister, with my parents, but I could certainly see this with cousins that just completely believe different things. Completely pro-LGBT, pro-liberal, pro-abortion and all of these things. We just don't have a lot of common. I mean, as kids we did because we just play and have fun and play video games. But not now. And yeah, you could see where they would turn you in because they have a different religion, right? Now, I definitely believe this is possible to take place in today's world primarily if someone takes on a different religion. Like let's say, for example, you grew up in a Muslim home and then you convert to Christianity. Yeah, your parents might have you put to death. You grow up in a Hindu home and you convert to Christianity. Yeah, your parents might have you put to death. In fact, that happens all of the time. So yeah, with a different religion, you could certainly see this where a child would rise up against their parents to have them put to death or a parent to their child. You think of communist countries like communist Russia and China. All kinds of stories from the past where basically a person was threatened and to save their own life, they would turn in a family member. And that's the sort of persecution but to a whole another level that will take place during the end times where basically you either get on board with this one world religion or you are enemy number one. That's just the way that it's going to be. Where basically if they take on a different religion, they will want to have you put to death. Because honestly this verse is really hard to comprehend how this is possible. Because I cannot imagine with my parents or my kids ever having that sort of enmity with them to want them put to death. But if it's during the end times and they take on a different religion, you could certainly see something like that actually taking place. Verse number 22. And of course the context of this, and actually go to Mark 13 now. Mark 13. But the context of this is clearly during the end times. That's what we're seeing in Matthew 10. That's why I started with enduring on to the end so you can see the context is about the end times and the Bible mentions this. By the way, this is why you ought to feel closer to your spiritual family than your physical family. Best case scenario with your physical family is they are your physical family for like 80 years or whatever. Right? Your time on earth. And I'm not saying don't be close to your parents. It's like obviously my parents live in the US. But I Skype my mom three times a week. I talk to her especially now after the passing of my dad. I talk to my mom quite a bit now. You know, so I'm not saying you shouldn't be close to your family because obviously there's bonds and a connection and a love there. But the reality is that oftentimes they take on different religions. They believe different things and you know, there might be some dividing points. It's just the way it is. I'm not and you've got to make those decisions for yourself because not everybody is in the same situation. I don't want to make those decisions for you. I don't believe you should necessarily just abandon your unsafe family. That's not what I would do. But sometimes there is a separation that is just kind of necessary because you're just kind of going different directions. But here's the thing. You're bond with your spiritual brothers and your sisters in Christ. That is an eternal bond. Right? When you read the Song of Solomon, you'll notice how he refers to his wife. He says, my sister, my spouse. Now people get confused. Why does he say sister? It's like, look, I'm allowed to make fun of West Virginia since I grew up in West Virginia. The hillbilly redneck state of the U.S. Why? Where they marry their first cousin and everything. It's like it's not saying, hey, he married his sister. It's saying that's his sister in Christ. And above your romantic relationship is the fact that she is your sister in Christ. And that is an eternal relationship. It's an eternal relationship. And so in our marriages, we ought to look at first the fact they're saved. I mean, hopefully, right? They're saved and then they're your romantic partner for this life. Your wife for this life. Or your husband for this life if you're a woman. But above that, they're your brother or your sister in Christ. And that is a bond that's forever. And when it comes to your brothers and your sisters in Christ, especially those that you go to church with, that you're around, we go soul winning, we talk about life together, you're going to end up forming a closer and stronger bond than your physical family. It's just the way that it is. And you know this to be the case. That's just what takes place. Ideally, you can have both. That's great if you have your parents that also believe the same things. That's great if your brother or your sister physically also believes the same things. Because I'm sure if your brother or sister physically believes the same things as you spiritually, you're going to form even a closer bond than you will with your other spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ. Because you have those connections, those stories and all of those things. But unfortunately, that is not always the case. Mark 13 verse 12. Now the brothers shall betray the brother to death and the father of the son. And the children shall rise up against their parents and shall constantly be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. So we can see that that verse we just read is in the context of the end times. There's no question about that. And it makes sense because if they take the mark of the beast, they're going to have completely different beliefs than you. They're not going to want to be close to you. You're going to be scared of them. They're going to try to get you put to death. They're going to try to kill you. That's just the way that it is. Now go to Matthew 24. We're going to look at Matthew 24 for a while, then we're going to go to Matthew 10. Because the passage is about the end times. That's almost sort of introduction to show you this. The passage in Matthew 10 is about the end times. It's just not quite as clear that it's about the end times as Matthew 24 and Mark 13. But we can see those parallel verses, those parallel passages. Matthew 24 verse 9. I want to show you the context of the statement, he that shall endure unto the end. Matthew 24 verse 9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. What is the context of Matthew 24 verse 9? Is this about heaven and hell, spiritual death, or is it about physical death? It's about physical death. It's saying they shall kill you. Physical death. That is the context of Matthew 24 verse 9. And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. Betraying somebody to be put to death. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. And notice this, but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. When it says he that endure unto the end, the same shall be saved, is it saying spiritually saved or physically saved? Physically saved. That's the context of the passage. It talks about being killed. It talks about being delivered up, being afflicted. We're talking about physical torment, physical destruction, physical death. So when he's saying he that shall endure unto the end, what it's saying is if you endure unto the end, you're going to be physically saved. So you say, well, what is that referring to? What it's referring to, and you're going to see that as we go through Matthew 24, is this. That if you physically last through the great tribulation, you'll be saved from death via the rapture taking place. See, a lot of people have this idea, well, the rapture can take place at any time before the end of the sermon, before we even say the prayer. Nobody knows the day or the hour. And what they do not realize is Matthew 24 is very clear that actually first the persecution is going to come. And look, you know, I don't have time to just fully go into this. I can second Thessalonians 2 and all those places. The Bible is very clear, though, that the Antichrist will be revealed first. And nobody knows who the Antichrist is. Nobody knows. Now, every time somebody ends up becoming a new president, half the country thinks that's the Antichrist. I can tell you this in America, it's like George Bush becomes the president, I think he's the Antichrist. And then it's like, you know, Barack Obama, no, this is certainly the Antichrist. And then it's like Donald Trump is... And then it's funny, with Donald Trump, people say he's either the Antichrist or he's sort of like a modern-day Messiah. It's like, well, the Bible says at the last Trump, it's like it's not referring... It's not a capital T, it's not somebody's name. It's referring to a trumpet, okay? It's not saying, well, it says at the last Trump, so Donald Trump becomes the president and then Jesus is going to come back. It's like, no, it's like... You need to be very careful with your interpretation of scripture, okay? But whenever there's a new president, Joe Biden, he's the Antichrist. And I'm not sure maybe the same thing here. People, when Bong Bong Marcus is the president, well, he's the Antichrist, right? Or, you know, whomever's going to come, that's what people say. Well, the Bible says the Antichrist is going to be revealed. And what that means is it's not a question mark, maybe this person's the Antichrist. Because what the Antichrist is going to do is in the temple of God in Jerusalem, he's going to declare himself to be God. Now, look, if a certain recently arrested person from Davao makes a trip to Jerusalem and proclaims himself to be God, well, then maybe we'll have a conversation to talk about. But until that happens, I don't know of anyone that stood in the temple of God in Jerusalem and declared himself to be God. This is why people, as they're talking about rebuilding the temple, that's why a lot of Christians are like, hey, that's a big warning sign that the end times could be right around the corner. Now, that doesn't mean the end times will be right around the corner, but that must take place before the Antichrist can declare himself to be God. And so, yes, if the temple is rebuilt, it's a big sign that we're getting closer to the end times, right? But the Bible says certain things must take place first. And here's what it says in Matthew 24 about these things. Matthew 24, verse 14. Matthew 24, verse 14. And by the way, the same shall be said, this is not taking place yet. The rapture is not taking place yet. And it says in verse 14, In this gospel the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall be income. When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, who so readeth let him understand. Well, those of us that have read, we understand this is talking about in the temple God declaring himself to be God. Has that taken place? No, it has not taken place. So, no, Jesus cannot come back now because the Bible says the Antichrist will come first. And that has not taken place. And the Antichrist will come and then will be great tribulation. And then we see the rapture. Because the Bible says during this great tribulation, if the days were not shortened, everybody would die. Everybody would be killed. Because, you know, what's going to take place is they're going to be trying to kill everyone who doesn't take the mark of the beast. Now, logic would say they're going to start in the big cities. So, if you live in Pompanga, if you live right around this area, this is probably the center where they'll set up the mark of the beast in this area of the world. If you go to Pompanga, it's probably going to be right over there near the Catholic Church or whatever. It's going to be right around this area, right? That certainly would be the case because this is kind of the area where there's the market and everything. There's people going around. And so, if you live near this area, they're probably going to… I mean, because we have people that go house to house in our subdivision, have you been vaccinated? Now, this is where there's an advantage to being an American because they're really afraid. It's funny because I'll see them and I'll see them, they talk to each other. And it's like, I know they want to talk to me and they're kind of like, who has to do this? And I just am like, no, we don't vaccinate your kids. It's like, there's your answer. But it's like, they're checking, did you get the vaccine for COVID? It's like, which one? The first or the 90th that they came out with? It's like, I didn't get any of them, right? But the thing about this, if they're going to go door to door to make sure you've been vaccinated, they would also go door to door. Can we see the mark on your hand? Right? Can we see the mark on your head? Because it's not that hard to fake an official vaccine, okay? That's all I'm going to say. But here's what I will say. It's like, faking the mark of the beast, you cannot just put a tattoo on your… Oh, it's like, oh, okay. It's like, and then it comes off as a sticker. That's not going to work. They're going to have a way to scan and make sure, okay, you've taken it or you haven't. And you will not be able to buy or sell without it. And of course, we see full runners of this to show how strict the government can be. Because look, I don't believe in the government just taking control of the people. I don't think that's right. But you're going to see that during the end times when the government has more and more and more control. You are seeing that in today's world where the government takes more and more control and they make the decisions for the people. They don't give us free will to decide what we want. See, that's not the way that God operates. Because God has rules and God has certain things. He says, do this, don't do this. But then we have free will what we do. When the government is like, no, you're going to do this or else. And it's certainly going to be like that during the end times. But the Bible says in verse 16, because we saw the abomination of desolation where you're going to set up the mark of the beast and then no man can buy or sell without this mark. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Now the reason why it says in Judea is because of the fact the main place of this taking place is in Jerusalem. That is literally where this is going to take place. I would imagine that they will use modern technology and projectors or whatever to just make it look like the antichrist is literally in your town and you've got to go there to do whatever the steps are. Because with modern technology they can fake. I mean, if anyone's seen those videos in Japan, it's kind of scary because they literally look real. Like the cat they have up there was like, whoa, it looks legitimate. And with modern technology and AI increasing, it's like they could easily fake this stuff. Because if you were to look at this a thousand years ago, it wouldn't make any sense. The TV doesn't exist, phones don't exist. It's like, well, how are they going to force me to take the mark of the beast if I don't live in Jerusalem? But isn't it easy to see they can just project that in today's world. They can just show it on a big screen or whatever and just set it up in a big area. And you must come down and get your mark and sign this or you cannot buy itself. That's pretty easy to understand. Now if you were to live in a big city, this is what's going to take place. If you live toward the countryside, that's probably the last area they're going to go. So basically the first people that are going to be killed are those that are in the main center area, the main city. Those on the outskirts, you can probably get away and they won't even worry about it. Because they've got bigger fish to fry. But if the period lasted more than 75 days, you can't just live off the land for that long. And eventually they're going to go to your town and your area and they're going to make sure you have the mark. Well what the Bible says is if you're in Judea, flee to the mountains. Now the purpose of fleeing is not to just flee so you don't die. The purpose of fleeing is to escape the area where they're going to kill you so you can still preach the gospel to those that are not saved. Because there will be those that do not take the mark of the beast. And they can still get saved. But they're not saved. And so basically avoid the area where they're going to kill you and preach the gospel in an area where they will not kill you. It's not a matter of running for fear, it's a matter of just being wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove, which was the context. It says here, let him which is on the housetop not come down and take anything out of his house, neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. So basically if all of a sudden this abomination of desolation takes place, imagine there's a fire in your house. And you're like well first let me get out the video game system and this and this. You spend 20 more minutes in your house while the fire is just, it's like get out of there. And if the mark of the beast takes place, you don't have to worry about having your retirement money saved up. It's like well I got to make sure I have my bank statement so I don't lose my money. They're not going to give you that money. It's like they will take control of your money. It's like just get out of there. Because you need to get out there as quick as possible because then you're outside of the zone where they're going to kill you. Right? It's kind of like if there's like a major typhoon. Obviously if you're right on the water, you're liable to die. But you also don't want to be near the water. You want to get out of there. When Mount Pinatubo exploded, it's like just get out. Right? Otherwise you're going to be killed. And it says in one of them that are with child and then they get stuck in those days. So if you are pregnant or you have a young child that you're breastfeeding, it's going to be hard to travel obviously. That's why it's saying that. 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. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. We're not talking about spiritual salvation. We're talking about physical salvation. But for the elect's sake, which are saved people, those days shall be shortened. Now drop down to verse 29 for the sake of time. Drop down to verse 29. Immediately after, this is the context. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her life and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with 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. Gathering together the elect is talking about getting all saved people all over the world and gathering them together. And then the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet them in the air. So he gathers together his elect. Now when is this gathering taking place? After the tribulation? Isn't that what it says in verse 29? I mean because I thought there was a movie called Left Behind where they say well the rapture can take place at any moment. What's funny about that movie and they've been... Why do they make sequels to bad movies? I don't understand that. Because they made the movie I remember with Kirk Cameron like 25 years ago or whatever and it's like the cheapest animation ever. But it's funny because I remember in the movie it's like... And yes I did see the movie but I'm not recommending it. But I remember in the movie like 40% of the plane was gone. It's like every other seat somebody's gone. It's like in what world are 40% of people saved? Because the Bible says now is the way we've seen it from the light and few there be that find it. I mean there's only one dirty world that even claims to be a Christian. And then within that one third of people that claim to be a Christian there's only a small percentage that are actually saved. Because all of us before we got saved what do we believe? A work salvation. Right. I was 18 years old believing in a work salvation. I grew up in a home, a home school kid. Never drank, never smoked. I mean I didn't live that sort of life. I wasn't even allowed to listen to bad music. But I would have gone straight to hell with everybody else. You say why? Because of the fact I never believed on Christ. I didn't know how to go to heaven. And this is most people. But they'll say well the rapture can take place at any moment. But the Bible is very clear it's after the tribulation. That tribulation is not taking place yet. Because the tribulation starts when we see the mark of the beast and the abomination of desolation which is not taking place yet. Now a lot of people think well you know I don't know pastor I get what you're saying. But I read the book of Revelation. I don't understand it. It's confusing. Nobody understands it. Well explain to me then why the book is called Revelation. And it starts with the revelation, the first words. Revelation means it's revealed. So the book is not meant to be some confusing thing you don't understand. It's like no I'm just going to reveal to you this is what's going to take place during the end time. So it's actually pretty clear. There are some things that are hard to understand but it's actually just revealed. Verse 36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man. Of what day? The return of Christ mentioned in verses 29 through 31. But of that day and hour knoweth no man. Know not the angels of heaven but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and knew not. And so the flood came and took them all away so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. There's a lot of applications here. I don't have time to get into them. Basically the world's going to get extremely wicked and just like the world was destroyed with the flood because of how wicked it is. During the end times the world is going to get incredibly wicked. Look every single one of us could say the world was a better place when we were kids in terms of righteousness. There used to be a time where you could just leave your car running with the keys in the ignition. And then just go inside and then all of a sudden you come out. No problem. I remember many years ago I was maybe 20 years old. I was helping out a Baptist church in Utah and this person actually did that. He was from Arkansas which I guess is different. And he had the church in a church parking lot. He had his car in a church parking lot. He left the keys on. He went inside for like five minutes. He gets back out. The car's gone. It was stolen in a church parking lot within five minutes. And I kid you not because the police found it later that day. And you know what was playing was Christian Mexican music. Christian hit Spanish music in Spanish. And it's just like whoever stole the car put in like a Christian Hispanic CD. It's just like is that your way of getting forgiveness? So imagine it's like you steal somebody's car and then it's like our God is in Austin. What? So you can't make this stuff up. That's how you know I'm not faking it. I can't even make something up so ridiculous. And they stole a car or a truck I should say in a church parking lot. And then they had like a Christian CD playing. It's like what in the world? But my point is this. You know the world used to be a safer place because people tell me stories when they were younger. They don't lock the doors at night. No big deal right. I make sure that we double lock our doors at home. Because I just do not trust the world. I wish I could live in a world where I could just trust everything's going to be okay. That's just not the world in 2024. The world's getting worse and worse. The Bible says that is the way it's going to be. Go back to Matthew 10. We'll close up. Matthew 10. Matthew 10. Matthew 10 verse 22. Matthew 10 verse 22. And you should be hated of all men for my name's sake but he that shall endure unto the end. But he that endureth to the end shall be saved. So is that saying you have to endure to the end and live a good life and go to church every week until you die to be saved from hell? No. It's saying if you endure through the tribulation you are going to be raptured. Now this might not take place in our lifetime. I actually don't think it is going to take place in our lifetime. But I could be wrong. But if you live during that time if you endure through the great tribulation you're going to be raptured. You will not physically die. When a person gets raptured they don't get killed right before they go to heaven. They're not killed. They just go to heaven right now. Then it says this. But when they persecute you in this city flee unto another. For verily I say unto you you shall not have gone over the cities of Israel until the son of man be come. Now the direct context is fleeing from the epicenter Jerusalem. But the same would be true if you live here. If the mark of the beast is set up right there. And remember I used to live like a five minute walk from here right? On Miranda Street. It's like if the mark of the beast is like within a viewing distance of where I live. It's like get out of there so I can preach the gospel in areas. Because what are you going to do those last 75 days? Just preach the gospel. There's no need to save up. And look you're not going to be timing going into work. It's like alright I'm just checking in for work. It's like no they're going to kill you. You're just going to be running for your life and just trusting in God to feed you miraculously. Which he's going to the Bible says. But of course don't be foolish and just say it's the same reason why we go soul winning. We're not going to go soul winning in extremely dangerous areas when there's plenty of safe areas to go to. Right I remember when I first moved here I thought it'd be cool to do a soul winning marathon in Tondo in Manila. And as I looked more into Tondo I was just like well if we do this we're not going to bring the kids. We're not going to bring the ladies. It's like you know what we're just not going to do it. Because there's areas that are more accepted we can go. Right? Just using wisdom. Why is the serpent harmless enough? And it says the disciple is not above his master nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master and the servant as his lord. If they've called the master of the house Beelzebub how much more shall they call them of his household? So here's the thing about this. They called Jesus the devil basically. They called him Beelzebub or Baal which is the devil. Well they're going to do the same thing with us. Look if you're serving God wicked people are not going to say nice things about you. This is common sense. They're not going to say anything nice. It is what it is. Right? Because you've got to realize in the context when someone is a wicked person a child of the devil they take the mark of the beast. They're not going to speak well of you. And it just is what it is. And the reality is if you serve God in this life there will be people that do not agree with you. And you could get persecuted for the cause of Christ. In fact what the Bible says, yea and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Mark it down. It's going to happen. I am thankful to live in a location where we can freely serve God with very little persecution. There's very little persecution. I'm not worried. It's like we hop on a jeepney to go soul winning and then they find out oh wait you're going soul winning. And then they stop the jeepney and just like throw us out. It doesn't take place. We can freely go soul winning anywhere and you know we don't really have to worry about it. You know it's very safe here. Of course if we live another 20, 30, 40, 50 years who knows. We don't know. So take advantage of the freedom we do have here in the Philippines while we have it. Let's go to the word of prayer. Your heavenly father thank you for allowing us to be here today. And thank you for just rewarding this topic and help us to apply this to our lives. Help us understand the end times and every passage in the Bible God. And we just pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.