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

3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Bank. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We're going to restart that on the first. On the first, yeah. We'll start on the second. Seventy-five, let's just do the first and the last, alright? First, last, seventy-five, twenty-one. I heard it too on the second. On the first, let's do the last. We'll do the first and the last. Go for it. On the second try, we'll sing it out with Jim Hall first. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. We'll be singing song number 75 on Jordan's Stormy Banks. It's an honor system. So if you wanna violate any of these rules to get a gift card or something like that, hopefully the Lord doesn't give you heartburn. But he very well may, okay? But so that's one rule. All chilies must be made from scratch. If you're going to enter a chili, you can still vote, but you cannot vote for your own chili, okay? So don't do that. Just find out whoever you think had the second best chili and just pretend that that's the first place chili. There will be sides and spice cider served as always by the church. So we'll have some beverages. We'll provide cheese, sour cream for the toppings. And if people wanna bring cornbread or anything else, they can do that. We'll have some chips as well. But that's really it for announcements. We'll just go ahead and sing one more song before we get into the preaching this morning. All right, if you could please open up your emails to song number 146. We'll be singing song number 146, a shelter in a time of storm. Again, that is song number 146. ["A Shelter in a Time of Storm"] Sing it out for us. ["A Shelter in a Time of Storm"] ["A Shelter in a Time of Storm"] ["A Shelter in a Time of Storm"] ["A Shelter in a Time of Storm"] ["A Shelter in a Time of Storm"] We'll be singing at this time, the offering plate will go around. As the offering plate goes around, follow him for the media will see these verses. Mark 13, and there's a mark down at the 13th. It's also a mark, chapter 13, beginning at verse one. And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said unto him, Master, see what matters, stones, and what buildings are built. And Jesus answered and said unto him, See as thou these great buildings. There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? When shall these things be? And what shall be the signs when all these things shall be fulfilled? And Jesus answering them began to say, Take thee, lest any man deceive me. For many shall come to my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled, for such things must lead to, but the end shall not be yet. For the nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be earthquakes and divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of solace, but take heed for yourself, for they shall deliver you up to councils and to synagogues, ye shall be people. Ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations, but when they shall leave you and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand, for ye shall speak. Neither do ye premeditate, but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye, for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Now the brothers shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son, and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to 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 saints shall be saved. For we shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by David the prophet, standing where it ought not. Let him that readeth understand, then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains, and let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein to take anything out of this house. Let him that is in the field not turn back again, but to take up his garment. But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in their days. And pray ye that your body be not in winter, for in those days shall be afflicted, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And accept that the Lord has shortened those days, no flesh shall be saved, but for the life saved, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the day. And then if any man shall say to you, lo, here is Christ, or lo, he is there, believe him not. For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders to the seduced, if it were possible even be elect. For take ye heed, behold, I have foretold you all command. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the sun of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Now learn the parable of the fig tree. When a branch is yet tender, put it forth your leaves, put it forth leaves, ye know that summer is near. So ye in light manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is not, even at the doors. Barely I say unto you that this generation shall not pass till all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. But at that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the son, but the father. Take heed, watch and pray, for ye know not when the time is. For the son of man is as a man taking a far journey. He left his house and gave the authority to his servants, which at every man's work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the master of the house comeeth, at evening, or at midnight, at the cockcrow, or in the morning. Less coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, watch. Brother Wally, you can pray for us. Lord, we thank you for allowing us to gather here this morning. Lord God, we ask you to bless pastor. We ask you to fill them with your spirit so that he may preach boldly, bless his mouth more, God, so that he may deliver your word unto us. And we ask you to bless our hearts and our ears so that we may receive your word gladly. And we ask you all this in Jesus' name, amen. Amen, so we've been going through the book of Mark for several months now, really. And we've been taking a little bit of a break the last couple of weeks. And if you remember, as we've been going through the book of Mark, we haven't been necessarily going through it chapter by chapter. We've been going kind of passage by passage, verse by verse sometimes. But this morning, I really just want to preach the whole chapter, because Mark 13 is really just one continuous theme about the return of Christ, the timing, the circumstances around that. And it's kind of hard to break this up over several weeks and not lose people. So we're just gonna go through the whole thing this morning, beginning there in verse one, where we start to read about the timing of Christ's return and the events surrounding it. He says in verse one, as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here. And Jesus answering, said to them, Seeth out these great buildings, there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. Of course, that was a prophecy that Christ gave and was fulfilled in 70 AD when the Romans came in and utterly destroyed Jerusalem and broke down all of those stones. It says in verse three, and he sat upon the Mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter, and as he sat upon the Mount of Olives and over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, tell us when these things shall be and what shall be the sign. And again, there's many parallel passages here, Matthew 24, in particular, where they ask the same question, but these little words are added, what shall be the sign of thy coming? So they're asking, hey, what's the sign of your return? That's what we wanna know about, right? What shall be the sign of thy coming when all these things shall be fulfilled? Now, it's kinda hard to go real deep on some of these topics in just one short sermon, but I do wanna at least help us understand the timing here of Christ's return, because there's a lot of false doctrine that's taught today about when Christ is going to return, at what point during the tribulation and the wrath, God is going to come back, the Lord Christ is gonna come back, and I believe that the Bible's very clear, that there's some very clear scriptures that teach us that it is after the tribulation and before God pours out his wrath. So we do not believe here in a pre-trib rapture. Now, look, you can believe in a pre-trib rapture and come to this church. This is a peripheral doctrine. This is not something that we break fellowship over, although I will say that there are a lot of pre-trib churches out there that would make it a source of contention and a source of separation. I don't see that in the scripture. As long as we're lining up on what salvation is and what the word of God is, and obviously some other important doctrines, we can have fellowship. We don't have to all believe exactly on the same thing on the topic of end times prophecy. But I do believe that the Bible is clear about this. And we're gonna take a little bit of time this morning to, again, just kind of compare what Christ is describing here and the events of Revelation, in particular, chapter number six. So if you wanna go over to Revelation six and keep something in Matthew chapter 13, I realize some of this will be review from a few weeks ago, a little bit here in the beginning, just because I did try to cover the first several verses in Mark 13 several weeks ago. However, it's been several weeks. I wanna briefly go over that again quickly and get into the rest of the chapter. And also the audio failed that Sunday as well. So it's not gonna hurt to get the whole chapter in. But again, you're going to Revelation six. Hopefully you have something there. But if you wanna go back to Mark chapter five, we'll get the description here of the events that Christ begins to give in response to that question. What shall be the sign of thy coming, as in Matthew 24, when all these things shall be fulfilled? And if you pay attention here, compare what Christ's answer to Revelation six, you'll see that there are parallels. And that gives us a sense of the timing. When we kind of compare what Christ is saying in Mark 13 and what's described in Revelation chapter six, we can start to get a sense of the timing of Christ's return that is our answer. It says there in Mark chapter 13 verse five, and Jesus answering them began to say, take heed lest any man deceive you. And again, I already preached on this real quick, but I'm gonna emphasize that again. Why are we taking the time to preach this this morning? Why is this an important doctrine? Because there's a lot of deception about end times prophecy. The devil wants people to be confused on this. He wants us to be not watching, not waiting, not expecting Christ's return. He wants us to have false assumptions about this so that he can work his will. Okay, and Christ, before he even begins to answer the question says, take heed that no man deceive you. And that should instantly put us on our toes and help us understand that there is a lot of deception, that there are people, there are men, there are teachers and preachers that want to deceive us on this particular topic. Okay, that's not an unrelated statement. Take heed that no man deceive you about something else completely unrelated from about what I'm about to say. Now he's saying, don't be deceived on this topic. Okay, and obviously if Christ doesn't want us to be deceived on this topic, he's going to give very clear teaching on the topic. He's gonna help us understand the events. And really when you boil it, I know end times prophecy can get very nuanced and there's a lot of depth that goes into it. But really just when you just take the words of Christ, it's actually a pretty simple answer. When is Christ coming? After the tribulation. Those are his words, not mine. That's what Jesus said, okay. He doesn't want us to be deceived. So he makes it pretty clear to us exactly when these events or exactly how things are gonna play out leading up to his return. He says again, Mark 13 verse five. He and Jesus answering began to say, take heed that no man deceive you for many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many. And we shall hear wars and rumors of wars, be he not troubled for such things must needs be, but the end shall not be yet, okay. Now that statement right there should really pop out at us today. Wars and rumors of wars. And I understand that that's been the case for a long time in recent history. But to me, I don't follow the news that closely, but what little bit I'm seeing, it seems like things are kind of escalating over the last year in very important parts of the world. Places like over in the Middle East, we've had ongoing war in Europe even. And there's even wars that we don't even know about, okay. Now obviously this is talking about the events leading right up to the return of Christ. There have always been wars and there will always be rumors of wars, but there's a particular time which is gonna be accentuated, it's gonna be more than the norm. Now if you're there in Revelation chapter six, let's start looking at the seals and again how they line up with what Christ is describing in Mark 13. Revelation chapter six, verse one, and I saw the Lamb opened one of the seals and I heard, and as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, come and see. And I saw and behold a white horse. And he that sat on him had a bow and a crown was given unto him and he went forth conquering and to conquer. Now this is a leaner, this is the anti-Christ and if you're someone who's going forth to conquer, conquering and to conquer, how do you do that? You do that through warfare. You do that through confrontation, okay. You do that through violence. So this lines up with the first thing that Christ gives us in that description of the events leading up to his return. Wars and rumors of wars. What's the first seal that's open? We see that a man and a white horse, the man on him is given a crown. He goes out with a bow and he goes out to do what? To conquering and to conquer. So this is where you get the wars and the rumors of wars. He's going to make war. In Mark chapter 13, again keep something in Revelation chapter six, in verse eight it says, for nation shall rise against nation and kingdoms against kingdom. So when this man's going forth to conquer, that's when these wars begin to increase. Revelation chapter six, verse three. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, come and see. And there went out another horse that was red and power was given at him that sat there on to take peace from the earth. So first we have wars and rumors of wars. That is lining up with the first seal, with the man and the white horse, the antichrist going out to conquering and to conquer. And then you have the second seal being opened and you see a red horse going out and him that sat there on has the power to what, take peace from the earth. So in Christ's description, we have the first seal, the wars and rumors of wars. And then we have the second seal being opened and you have conquering, excuse me, and you have nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Okay, so you can see how these two seals are kind of tied in with what Christ is describing in Mark chapter 13. Wars and rumors of wars, and then actually rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom. All out what we would call world war taking place. So far these are lining up in this order and it's important to pay attention to that. These aren't out of any particular, these are in a particular order. These aren't just given randomly, right? And I believe Christ is describing things in sequence for a reason. Because remember what the question is, what shall be the sign of thy coming? We wanna know when you're coming back. That's the answer that he's giving here. That's the question that he's answering. When is he coming back? And he's describing, well, this will happen and then this will happen and then this will happen and so on and so forth. Again, in Mark chapter 13, verse eight, first you have the nations rising up, the kingdoms against kingdom, and then you have in the latter half of the verse, and there shall be earthquakes in diverse places and there shall be famines and troubles. And troubles is kind of an all encompassing word, isn't it? But there shall be famines and troubles. This lines up again with the third seal that we see open in Revelation chapter six, verse five. And we had opened the third seal. I heard the third beast say, come and see and I beheld a little black horse and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, a measure of wheat for a penny and three measures of barley for a penny and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. So there's with this third seal being opened, there's what we have scarcity of goods on the earth, which lines up with what Christ described in verse eight as famines, right? That's description of the famine. When you're paying a penny for a loaf of bread. Now today in our modern economy, they man, a penny for a loaf of bread would be great, right? Especially with how well Bidenomics are working. Like we would love to pay that penny. Well, when you use the biblical equivalent of a penny, what you find out is that's actually a day's labor is basically what he's saying. When you compare scripture with scripture, he's saying you're gonna work all day for a loaf of bread. So that's a perfect description of famine. And then of course, it's famine and troubles. And continuing on to Revelation chapter number six, it says, I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts saying a measure of wheat for a penny and a measure of barleys for a penny and see that hurt not the oil and the wine. And we had opened the fourth seal. I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see. And I looked and behold a pale horse and his name that sat on him was death and hell followed after him and powers given unto him over the fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword and with hunger and with death and with the beast of the earth. So to me that really ties in well with what Christ described as famines and what troubles. Because when you have somebody that's going out that's killing and hell's following with them and he has the power to kill the fourth part of the earth and he kills with what? The sword, with hunger, with death and with the beast of the earth. I mean, you could just sum that all up as troubles, plural. Those are some serious troubles. So hopefully you're seeing how these things are lining up this morning with what Christ is describing and what John saw and was told in the book of Revelation, chapter 6. Let's move on here. And I kind of already covered that a couple of weeks ago. But let's move on into verse 7 here in Mark chapter 13. It says, when ye shall hear wars and rumors of wars, be not troubled. And again, I do want to kind of make the application this morning to not let these things bother you. A lot of times when you start preaching on this topic and start reminding people of the things that are yet to come, people can get a little nervous, people can get a little scared. And we want to make sure that people understand that Christ is not trying to scare us. He doesn't want us to be troubled. Obviously, if we are that generation that sees these things come to pass, it's not going to be easy. It's going to be hard. But there's also a reward for them that go through these things. There's rewards in heaven. And also, in the grand scheme of things, and I'm not trying to minimize it, it's just three and a half years. You know, and I get it, three and a half years can feel like a long time, okay? But in some ways, it's going to be exciting. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but it could be actually a very exciting time to be alive. And again, I'm not trying to minimize it, but Christ is the one that said, you know, be ye not troubled. This is something he reiterates throughout the chapter. Verse 8, for such things must need be, verse 7, but the end shall not be yet. Verse 8, for nation shall rise against nation and kingdom shall against kingdom, and there shall be earthquakes and diverse places, and there shall be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings and sorrows. Look, we can't do anything to stop it. We can't do anything to prevent it. And he goes on and says in verse 9, but take heed to yourselves, for they shall deliver you up to the councils and in the synagogues, and ye shall be beaten, and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And you know, we might want to, you know, shy away from this and say, man, I don't like the idea of persecution. I don't like the idea of all this warfare. I don't like the idea of all this famine and starvation. I don't like the idea of being drugged before councils, right, but let me remind you that to the apostles, these words in particular rang very true. We're probably, you know, we go through this not gonna be drugged into a synagogue, okay, but they were. Paul would go into synagogues, and he was pursued by the Jews of his day from city to city, and they were plotting against him, and they were always trying to work against him, and they were, you know, persecuting him a great deal. So let's not, you know, start feeling sorry for ourselves if we're the ones that maybe have to face some of these things, okay? And again, this lines up with that fifth seal, right? We see him going out and killing with the beast of the earth in verse eight, Revelation 6, nine, when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. So again, if you pay attention to what Christ is describing and you pay attention to the six, the seals, as they're laid out in Revelation 6, you can see how they just line up perfectly. And it's important to note that sequence between the two, okay, because that gives us the answer to the question which prompted all of this, what shall be the sign of thy coming, okay? Now, I wanna kinda take a minute here and pause in verse 10 because verse 10 is actually a very positive verse. It's something that we could take a lot of encouragement from, okay? Look, a lot of terrible things are happening leading up to the return of Christ. These seals are being opened, there's wars, there's rumors of wars, there's famine, there's troubles, there's death, there's persecution. All these terrible things are happening. But notice at the end of verse nine, all these things happen for a testimony against them, meaning the gospel is being preached, that there's a testimony of God's people being given. And verse 10 in particular really jumps out to me and it shows us that in the midst of the persecution, we still have purpose. There's purpose in persecution. And the gospel must first be published among all nations. And again, this is something that has to happen before the return of Christ. In the midst of all this tribulation that's taking place, all these horrible things, another thing that's going to take place, something that must come to pass before his returning is the preaching of the gospel, it's the publishing of the gospel among all nations. And that tells me that in the midst of these things, when we start to see these things come to pass, if we are that generation that lives through these things, that's not the time to head for the hills, that's not the time to run, that's not the time to bunker down and batten down the hatches and just try to hide from the Antichrist or something. You know, that's the time to be your boldest, that's the time to go out there and preach the gospel. That's the time to go out and get people saved. Let me tell you something. People are going to be receptive to the gospel when these things start to come to pass. And if you understand this doctrine, you understand what's taking place, and you have the answers out of the King James Bible out of God's word, there's going to be people that say, tell me what you know. I want some answers, because this is not like anything I've ever seen upon the earth. Yeah, we've seen some wars, I understand history. Yeah, we've seen some hard times, but this is like a time that's never come upon the face of the earth. What do you know? And I'm telling you, people are going to be receptive. And that should always be an encouragement. You know, whenever we see our country or our world headed in a direction that is not one we would prefer as Christians, when we see it going in an ungodly way or tough times coming upon it, the encouragement should be, well, maybe that will soften people's hearts towards the things of God. Maybe that'll cause people to maybe wake up a little bit and shake themselves and actually listen to what the Bible is saying. I love verse 10, that right in the middle of this, he's reminding us that the gospel will continue to be preached. You know, in the end times, those that do know their God shall do exploits, the Bible says, and shall teach many. Look at verse 11, but when they shall lead you and deliver you up, take no thought. Oh, it's gonna be great, we're gonna be preaching the gospel. Yeah, but there's also gonna be a lot of persecution. You go out and preach that gospel, you go out and declare Christ during this time, there's gonna be some people that don't like it. And they're gonna lead you and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what you shall speak, neither do premeditate, but whatsoever shall be given in that hour so that speak ye, for it is not ye that speaketh with the Holy Ghost. Now, a lot of this, you know, it's kind of dual fulfillment, meaning a lot of this was probably more applicable to the apostles when they're being drugged in the synagogues and they're just speaking the word of God boldly. But, you know, there is a dual application here for those that might live through these times. And look, there will be a generation that faces these things. There will be a generation that is going to see these things come to pass. Because, again, and I'll make it crystal clear here in a moment, at least briefly, that Christ is, that we do not believe that pre-trib rapture, meaning Christ is not coming at any moment. Because remember, what is the question? What shall be the sign of thy coming? These things must first come to pass. They line up with all the events of Revelation chapter six where the seals are being opened. These things have to happen first before Christ's return. And there will be persecution. That's what's so dangerous about this pre-trib rapture is you're setting people up for a very severe disappointment. You're setting people up to not watch, to not pray, to not be ready. You're just setting them up to just kind of blindly live their Christian life, not take it too seriously, because after all, before things get bad, we're just going to get snatched out of here. That's unbiblical. Christ said quite the opposite, that actually what's going to happen is these things shall come to pass first, and they're not pretty. And then he shall return. Now verse 12 is another one that really jumps out. It says in verse 12 that during this time when the gospel's being preached, when all of these things are beginning to take place, it says in verse 12, the brothers shall betray the brother to death. People are going to turn on each other. There's going to be people that are actually going to turn in their Christian brother. I don't believe it's talking about a brother turning in a brother. I'm talking, you know, in a Christ. I believe what it's referring to is familial relations. People's own families will turn on them. Oh, you're a Christian? Oh, you believe that you're one of these guys going around telling us this is the end time? You're telling us that Christ is going to come? That this guy that's leading us and trying to bring priests to this world of war is the anti-Christ? Hey, we got one here. We got one. Take them away, haul them off. That's the kind of thing that's going to happen. And that, you know, some people might think that sounds far-fetched, but you know, go read your history. Go read about the gulags. Go read about, you know, all the socialism and the, you know, the Soviet Union and all that, and all the things that they did back in the, the millions of people that were killed, that had people turn up, people and citizens, brothers, families, just turning on each other and turning them into the state. This is not far-fetched. This is something that has taken place in, you know, at least in one fashion. And it's just saying that when Christ, before Christ returned, it's going to happen again. And it's not going to be over, you know, your political stance. It's going to be on whether or not you perfect, if you're one of these people that's professing Christ. If you're not somebody who's going to bow down and worship the anti-Christ, they're going to have you hauled off. And you know, we already see some of this starting to, you know, the birth pangs, as the Bible mentions, says of this type of thing taking place already, because you already have people betraying other Christians, even family members, the father, the son, and the children shall rise up against the parents. Let me tell you something, when children rise up against the parents, you're living in a wicked world. You're living in a world that's completely backwards. You're living in a world where things are upside down when children are rising up against parents and judging them, and shall cause them to be put to death. And he's saying it's going to be so bad that their own children will rise up against you and say, this is one of those Christians, this is one of those people that's preaching the gospel, put him to death. The Bible says that in the last days, the love of many shall grow cold. Now this kind of ties in again with Revelation chapter six, verse nine, when I saw, when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw unto the altar of the souls of them that were slain for what? For the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. So you can see how this just lines up. Now let's move along here in Mark chapter 13. Hopefully everyone sees that, the sequence of events there and how they tie in relationships with what Christ is describing in Mark 13. In Mark 13, verse 13, he says, and he shall be hated of all men for my sake, but he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. Now there's some false doctrine that's taught about this. People try to teach a works-based salvation. You gotta endure to the end. You gotta be sinless. One, this is talking specifically in the context of the end times. The people that are actually going through these events that are being described here. It's a very particular group of people. And two, the way in which the word saved is being used there is not referencing to our spiritual salvation. It's not talking about believing on Christ or being saved from hell. But people will pull verses like this out of the Bible to teach false doctrine and say, oh, you gotta endure to the end. Who's ever heard that? You gotta live a perfect life. Yeah, you gotta believe on Christ. But then you gotta make sure you gotta keep believing until the very end. Well, he that believeth not is not condemned because he hath not believed, past tense. You believe once and you're born again. When we believe, as it says in John 1.12, to them gave you power to become the sons of God, even to them that believed, not are believing. To them that believed on his name. You believe, you become the son of God. It's like and unto the new birth or unto a physical birth. It's called the new birth because a birth is a one-time event, happens once. Once you're born again, you're in God's family. Nothing can ever change that. It's just a matter of whether or not you wanna be blessed or chastened on your way to heaven after that. So people like to lift this verse out of context and say, oh, you gotta endure to the end. You gotta live a sinless life until the end. Well, good luck with that. Good luck with living a sinless life. Hey, good luck laying your head down on the pillow tonight without committing sin. Good luck getting up tomorrow and going 24 hours without sinning. It's ridiculous. Sometimes you wonder how people can even, with a straight face, tell you this. I had people just look you right in the eye. I don't sin anymore. Well, you know, lying's a sin. And I think I just heard a sin come out of your mouth because you just lied. The Bible says the thought of foolishness is sin, let alone speaking that foolish thought, oh, I don't sin anymore. People say that, it's just like, I don't believe you, buddy. So this idea of being enduring to the end, you shall be saved, it's talking about your physical salvation. And go to 1 John 5, 1 John 5. Keep something in Mark 13. You know, the Bible uses this word saved in terms of the body being saved. You'll see this throughout scripture. Matthew 14 30, when Peter stepped out onto the ocean, right? During that storm, stepped out of the boat. When he said to, when Jesus came on the water, he said, if it be thee, bid me come thee on the water. And he said, come. Peter, in that great act of faith, stepped out and starts walking toward Jesus. But then it says, when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and began to sink. And he cried, Lord, save me. Now, what do you think he meant by that? When he's drowning in the water and he's crying out to the Lord, Jesus Christ, save me. Do you think he's saying, preach the gospel to me? You know, Jesus didn't walk over and open up a Bible and say, well, first of all, you gotta understand that you're a sinner and that the wages of sin is death. You know, he didn't start preaching the gospel. The Bible says he reached out, pulled him up and said, you know, O thou of little faith, right? He's talking about, he's saying, save me, don't let me drown, don't let me die physically. Again, 1 Timothy chapter number two, talking about, you know, women in childbirth, notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. Oh, you ladies wanna go to heaven? You gotta have children, right? I mean, that's, if you wanna lift this verse out of context in Mark 13, you gotta endure to the end to be saved. Well, let's lift, let's apply that to 1 Timothy 2. She shall be saved in childbearing. Well, saved means, you know, not going to hell. You know, if you don't wanna go to hell, ladies, then you have to bear children. That's not what it's saying, right? It's saying, now it's saying she shall be saved in childbearing, meaning when she goes through that, she's gonna be shown mercy, she's gonna make it her way through it, she's gonna pass through the jaws of death, essentially, and come out the other side, if they continue in the faith and charity and holiness with sobriety, okay? That's a promise in the word of God to ladies, and a pretty big one. Look at, I'll just read another one, John chapter 12. This is Jesus, now is my soul troubled? And what shall I say? Father, save me. And this is leading up to his crucifixion, and the days and weeks before his crucifixion, before he's gonna go into the garden. He's saying, Father, save me. Is Jesus asking for his spiritual salvation? Is he lost? Of course not, that's ridiculous. He's saying, you know, spare me, save me, but for this cause came I unto this hour. And you know, that's a whole nother topic right there. The humanity and the divinity of Christ that even he struggled with, to some degree, the will of God for him, okay? Not that he wasn't going to perform it, but that in his flesh, you know, the Bible says that he was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin. You know, he went through his own trial and his own temptations. And this was, you know, obviously facing the crucifixion and spending three days and three nights in hell was something that in his humanity, that was a great source of, you know, angst for him, to put it lightly. Look at 1 John 5, verse four. For whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world. Some people will say, oh, you gotta endure to the end. You gotta overcome, right? The Bible says, though, that when we are born of God, we've already overcome the world. Whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. You know, our faith is what has already helped us to overcome the world. So in Mark 13, when he's saying, if you endure to the end, meaning if you make it through the wars and warmest of wars, if you make it through all the earthquakes and pestilence and famine and persecution, if you make it, if you endure through all that, you shall be saved. How will you be saved? Because you'll lift up your heads for the coming of the Lord, draught nigh. You will see Christ come. Now to me, to be alive in that moment, it would be worth it. I'm not gonna sit here and say that that's something I want to happen, okay? I mean, believe me, I have no problem just living a long life and seeing my grandchildren and dying, having served God with my life in a good old age and being gathered unto my people, right? But man, if we go through this, if we actually see this, you know, the hope and the motivation that we have, the hope that will keep us going and motivate us to preach the gospel is the knowledge that if we make it through, we will see Christ return, literally, and he will come as, you know, as lightning shineth from one part of heaven even unto the other. And that's gonna be an amazing moment. Whoever gets to see that, whoever gets to make it, I think it's gonna be a very rare group of people. It's gonna be a very small group of people. But man, to be among that number, what a privilege to actually, to not essentially taste death. There's gonna be a whole generation of people that they endure to the end. They'll never even experience death because the dead in Christ shall rise first and then we which are alive in his coming shall be gathered together with them. And we shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. I mean, to not even go through death, not to experience the pain, the fear, all the things that come with dying, just to be able to be caught up and instantly have that new body. What an amazing group of people. What a great experience. So again, we should not let these things trouble us when we read about these things and understand these things. And let me tell you something, that's why so many people love the pre-trib rapture. Because they can just ignore all that. They can say, oh, I don't have to worry about persecution. I don't have to worry about famine. I don't have to worry about the rise of the Antichrist. I don't have to worry about wars and rumors of wars. I don't have to worry about nation rising against nation and kingdom because I'm gonna be taken out of here before any of that happens. And they're just being set up for a huge disappointment, amongst other things. But that doesn't mean that just because we believe what the Bible says when it comes to this doctrine that we're just living like, oh man, at any moment it's gonna kick off now and it's gonna be so hard. That should not be our attitude. Jesus said in John 14, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. He said, don't let your heart be troubled. He said, peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Now we should not be afraid about seeing these things come to pass if we live to see them. If anything, it should cause us to dig into our Bibles and to be a vessel fit and meet for the master's use. We should let the word of Christ dwell richly in us with all wisdom. We should seek to grow its stature and we should seek to grow in grace and we should seek to grow in our knowledge and understanding of the word of God and to be somebody that God can use in these end times, to do those exploits that he talks about. To be that generation that helps preach the gospel and publish it abroad among all nations and maybe even be that generation that God miraculously preserves and that we endure to the end and we see the coming of Christ. I mean, that's something to achieve. That's something to hope for. It's something to strive for. Not to sit around and be troubled. And look, a lot of Christians, they believe what I'm preaching this morning about end times prophecy. They understand what the Bible says about it. They've got it right. But then they let their hearts be troubled and what they end up doing is they end up building the bunker. Well, I'm just gonna make it all the way to the end. I'm gonna be one of those people that endures to the end. Well, you're not gonna endure if you're not one of these people that's publishing the gospel. And let me tell you something. In order to do that, you gotta go where the people are. You can't go live out in the sticks with your bullets and your beans and your batteries and just hope to make it to the end. The Antichrist will find you there. Or people that, we're not gonna take up physical arms. People say, well, I'm gonna start stocking up. I'm gonna get all these guns and stuff and I'm gonna take on the Antichrist and his hordes. It's like, have you seen what modern warfare is like? They don't even have to step foot on your property. It's like, well, I've got my AR, whatever. Look, I'm all for that stuff. This is Arizona, come on. It's fun, but you know what? It's a peashooter compared to anything that they're gonna have. I mean, go look at these rail guns and stuff they have on these Navy ships. I mean, they just drop bombs on people from, you don't even have to be on the same continent sometimes. Like, what are you really gonna do? You're not gonna do anything. You know, what we should be doing is saying, the only arms I'm gonna take up is the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, which divided asunder the joints and marrow and the soul and spirit is discerning the thoughts and tense of the heart. This is the weapon I'm gonna be taking up in the end times. That's the mission I'm gonna be on. Show me where the people are. Let me go publish the gospel abroad. Let me do my part to preach the gospel among all nations. And you know what? If I get hauled off and I get beheaded or whatever, oh well, I guess I'll just go to heaven a little bit quicker. I guess I'll just end up in God's glory that much faster. What's the big deal? You know, and at least I'll have some people there with me. At least I'll have a throng in heaven, hopefully. Who knows how powerfully we could be used if we stepped out in faith during these times and not let our heart be troubled, but believe that by our faith we've already overcome the world and have the peace of God and preach the word of God. I mean, God might do miracles. I mean, think about Elijah when Israel was being judged, when that southern kingdom was being judged, when Judah was being judged. Everyone, it didn't rain for three years. Look, it stops raining for three years. You live in Tucson, no, I'm just kidding. But it rains, right? But if it doesn't rain for three years, everything dries up, there's famine. And yet God's man, the person who's out there just boldly proclaimed the gospel, calling out the prophets of Baal, preaching against the sins of the nation, God miraculously provides for him twice during that time. Once at the brook Cherith where he sends the ravens and later with the widow woman. He performs miracles to take care of those that, what, remain faithful to him even in the midst of persecution. So that's what we should endeavor to do as God's people. We understand these truths about the timing of Christ. Don't let it turn into this thing where it's like, you're gonna be Rambo or something in the end times. You know, you're gonna be some super survivalist who's just gonna, you know, whatever. Go preach the gospel. You say, well, I don't know if I can do it. Well, you better start now. Now is the time to start. You know, start sharpening the sword now. Start learning how to use the word of God skillfully now. Have your senses exercised by reason of use now. So when these things begin to come to pass, you say, well, I'm ready to go, Lord. I've already stocked up on scripture. I've already stocked up on prayer. I've already been walking by faith. I've already experienced some persecution because all they that live in God, all they that live in Christ, Jesus, shall suffer persecution. I've already had a taste of it. Let's get some more. Let's do some more. Let's accomplish something great for God with the short time that we have. If we live through those three and a half years, man, they're gonna go like that. If we're living for God. Be a long three and a half years when you're sitting in your basement, in your bunker somewhere, eating out of a tin can. And he said, you know, John 16, these things that I've spoken unto you that you might have peace. In the world, ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. First John 4 four, he said, ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Look, the devil can range, he can fight, he can do all these things, he can bring these things come to pass. I don't care how big and powerful and mighty he might come across, he might seem during those times or even now, greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. And that's why we can be bold during these times. We can stand on the rock of the word of God. I gotta move along, we're gonna move on to the rise of the Antichrist. And again, this helps us get a sense of the timing, okay? Mark 13, 14, but when ye shall see the abomination spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing at where he ought not, let him that readeth understand, then let them in Judea flee into the mountains. Now, this is something that takes place in the midst of Daniel's 70th week, okay? And I don't, again, this is a very deep and complicated topic that would probably take one, if not more sermons to fully explain. But basically, in Daniel chapter number nine, you have the prophecy of the 70 weeks and what's known as Daniel's 70th week is that seven year timeframe in which you have the tribulation, God's wrath, and the return of Christ, it's all in there, it's all encompassed in those seven year period. Pre-trib, post-trib, everyone agrees when it comes to end times prophecy, what Christ is referring to in Mark 13 is the, what's known as Daniel's 70th week, that's what he's referring to. And he says in Mark 13 that when ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing where it ought not, then let him that which is in Judea flee into the mountains. So again, he's giving us a point of reference. And if we were to read in Daniel 9, 27, you don't have to go there, it says of the antichrist that he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, right, the seven years, going forth to conquer, conquering and to conquer, right? He's got the commission by the world, he's confirmed the covenant, and in the midst of the week, so what's half of seven? Three and a half, right? So that's that three and a half year period called the tribulation. That's what we just got done describing in Mark 13 and comparing it with the seals in Revelation chapter six, is that first three and a half years. Then you have in the midst of the week, the antichrist going in and committing the abomination of desolation where he goes and sacrifices standing where he ought not and making himself as God, right, where he declares himself to be God. Now go to 2 Thessalonians chapter number two, okay? And again, I understand it's a very, I just, I wouldn't even call it scratch the surface on that topic, okay? But again, I'm just trying, the point I'm just trying to make tonight, or this morning rather, is to give us these point of references and we can see how these things begin to line up in Mark chapter 13. So you have all of the seals being, in Revelation six, they line up with the secret events as Christ describes them in Mark 13 and then when you get to verse 14, he describes the abomination of desolation after those preceding events, okay, after the five seals are opened. Then in the midst of that week, during the midst of that seven year period, you have the abomination of desolation. That's when the antichrist is actually gonna proclaim himself to be God. There's a lot of other events surrounding that. But look at second Thessalonians chapter two, verse one. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. What's Paul talking about here? The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, which would be the first or second coming. It'd be the second coming, right? There's only two comings of Christ. There's the first one, that happened, and then he went to heaven, right? He ascended and he sat at the right hand of the throne of God and now he's gonna return. That's what we're waiting on, is the return of Christ. That's what he's talking about here, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the second coming, and by our gathering together unto him, which is describing what? The rapture, right? That's what a word that people commonly use to be caught up together. It's not a Bible word, but it describes those events, right? It's a description of that particular event, our gathering together unto him. When are we gathered together with him? At his coming, right? Which is the second coming. Because people, I'm telling you, you have to, it's a whole, you know, yarn of knots that you have to unravel for some of these people, but they start to teach very strange things to try to make this work. There's actually a secret coming of Christ that you don't see, that's when the rapture takes place, and then there's a second coming. It's like, well, that would be a third coming, okay? There's only two, that happens twice. So the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto him are events that happened back to back, right? He comes, we're gathered together with him in the clouds. So he doesn't want us to be about this event, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse two, 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. He's saying, listen, you Thessalonians, don't let anyone fool you, let no man deceive you, as he says in verse three. Don't let yourself be shaken, don't be troubled by word, by something you're being told, or by letter, as from us, people are writing forgeries in Paul's name, teaching false doctrine, or be troubled. Don't be troubled by these things that, what? That the day of Christ is at hand. He's saying it's not at hand. Isn't exactly what's being taught today, though? In a lot of churches, oh, the day of Christ is at hand, it could happen any moment. Jesus Christ can return before the service even ends, and you better get saved. And look, it's a great fear tactic to get people to come down an aisle and pray a prayer and get saved, and if that works and people get saved, I guess it's worth it, but at the end of the day, it's not true. It's just not true. Christ could come at any moment. Actually, no, the day of Christ is not at hand. These things must first come to pass. Tell us, Lord, what shall be the sign of thy coming? Well, you're gonna have wars and rumors of wars. You're gonna have famines. You're gonna have pestilence. You're gonna have earthquakes and diverse places. Compare his description in Mark 13 to all the events of Revelation chapter six. All these seals have to be opened up before the Christ returns after the opening of the sixth seal, which we'll see here in a minute. So he's saying, let no man deceive you, verse three of 1 Thessalonians two, by any means, for that day shall not come. What day shall not come? The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The second coming, that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, right, an apostasy where brothers betraying brother, you know, where their children are delivering up the parents and the man of sin be revealed. We understand who the Antichrist is. That's why I don't, and again, I don't believe you can identify the Antichrist today. And people try to do this all the time. It's Prince Harry, you know, I'll print that one. It's the Queen of England, you know, it's whatever, you know, they always point out, it's this guy, it's Elon Musk. I mean, there's probably, I bet you there's a half dozen, if not more people that have, right now, that are identified as the Antichrist. But the Bible says that that man shall not be, that the man of sin shall not be revealed except there come a falling away first. I don't even know that we're gonna necessarily know who the Antichrist is for the first three and a half years. I don't think, me personally, and people, we can argue this, we can talk about it, but I don't believe you're gonna know he's the Antichrist until you see him stand in the place where he ought not, the abomination of desolation. That's when you'll be able to say for sure that's the Antichrist, because he's doing exactly what the Antichrist is said that he would do, okay? Now, you could make the case, well, if he's this great world leader, and people are giving all this power unto him, you know, I could see that too, okay? But my point is, my point is, is that you see, you understand who the Antichrist is first before Christ comes, right? Where do you get that? Well, we just read it. Let no man deceive you by any means. That day shall not come, what day? The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, that's the day we're coming, and are gathering together unto him. Talking about the second coming, that's that day. That shall not come except there come a falling way first, and that the man of sin be revealed. The man of sin, that's another name for it, the Antichrist. The son of perdition, 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. I believe that has to happen first, that's what the Bible says, before Christ comes. And I believe verse four kinda makes my case that we're not gonna know who the Antichrist is until he does that, before he opposes and exalteth himself against all that is called God. So again, the rise of the Antichrist, when does that take place? Because again, 2 Thessalonians 2 is a description, verse four, when he sits in the temple showing himself that he is God, he's making himself out to be God. That's the abomination of desolation described in Daniel chapter nine, which is in the midst of the week. Not in the beginning of the week, in the midst of the seven years. Three and a half years in, that's when you have the rise of the Antichrist, that has to happen three and a half years in before Christ can come. That day shall not come except to come a falling way first and the man of sin, the son of perdition, be what? Revealed. That's the abomination of desolation, that's three and a half years in, that's the midst of Daniel's 70th week. The Bible's really clear on this. You know, I know in times prophecy can get really complicated and go a lot deeper, but just this basic understanding of the timing of Christ's return, him just answering that question that they asked, what shall be the sign of thy coming, is not that hard to understand. You just compare a little bit of scripture and it becomes very clear, okay? Revelation chapter six, look at verse 12. So we've already looked at the first five seals being opened, right, which correspond with all the events leading up to Christ's return, as he described. That day shall not come, right? You know, these things must first come to pass. When are you gonna come? What's the sign of thy coming? Well, here's what has to happen first. He gives us a description, it lines up with the first five seals, and then you get to the sixth seal in Revelation chapter six, verse 12. And I beheld when he opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, and the stars fell from heaven unto earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind, okay? Now, let me, if you didn't notice, those are some pretty big events, right? When the sun becomes black, that's not something you're gonna miss. That's not something that they have to text you. Hey, did you see this news story? Did you hear about the sun being turned, you're gonna, everyone's gonna see that, okay? And the moon became as blood. And I know there's, you know, Hagee, and those other guys that are out there, is that his name, John Hagee? That false prophet? You know, they love to jump on the blood moons. It's like, yeah, there's the blood, there's the, the moon's turned to blood, but there's also the sun being darkened as well, right? Because we have those things called blood moons. I don't believe that's what's being described here, but maybe. I don't personally, either way, the sun has to become black first. Because again, the sixth seal opens, there's a great earthquake. In a time when there's been many diverse earthquakes, there's gonna be this one particular earthquake that's called a great earthquake. The sun's blackened, the moon becomes as blood, the stars fall from heaven, people can have different interpretations about what that means. Maybe the stars are just blacked out, like they fell from heaven, they disappeared, or maybe he's literally talking about asteroids, meteors being rained down upon the face of the earth, I don't know. I think it's just they black out. And the heaven departed as a scroll but has rolled together, and every mountain and island, or moon and other places, the heaven's being rolled back like a scroll. And I don't even know what exactly that means. Are we gonna look into the dimension where heaven is? Are we gonna be able to see that? Instead of looking out into space, we see where God is? I mean, it gets pretty interesting when you start to think about what that might mean. And every mountain and island were moved out of their places, so that's a pretty big event. The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man hid themselves in the dens, and the rocks, and the mountains. Denver, right, isn't that where they all have their emergency government facilities and they're buried in the Rockies somewhere? I mean, you can see how that plays out. And I'm sure that's not the only place like that on the earth, where there's these bunkers that the governments have built deep inside the earth. And they're gonna go and hide themselves. And said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb. And again, I think that's why, when it talks about the scroll, that the heavens being rolled back as a scroll, that we actually kind of might be able to see heaven a little bit or something, or there's some kind of manifestation of God's glory. Because they could see it, and they're running from the mountains, and they're saying, hide us from the face of the lamb, right? And from the, excuse me, from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb. It's pretty interesting. Now, if the heavens are being rolled back as a scroll, and Christ is appearing, that would be what? The wrath of the second coming. For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? When does the wrath begin? When Christ returns. It doesn't, the wrath does not begin, and then three and a half years later, Christ returns. You have the tribulation happen, and then you have the wrath. Because this is another thing that people misunderstand. They conflate tribulation and wrath. They think it means the same thing. It doesn't. Tribulation and wrath are two different things. Everything that we just read leading up to the return of Christ is what would be called the tribulation, and then, of course, that small time period called the great tribulation. And then after Christ returned, everything that happens after this, after the seventh seal, well, the seventh seal's pretty much the end, then you have the vials and the bowls being pulled out. That's actually God's wrath. We're not here for that. Because, you know, that's what some preachers will say. Oh, you're saying God's a wife-beater. You're saying God's beating up on the bride this whole time she's on earth. No, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that, as Paul said, that we through much tribulation must enter through the kingdom of God. You know, I don't know if, last I checked, the Bible talks about us experiencing tribulation here and now. Any of us that have lived for Christ for any length of time have suffered for Christ's sake to some degree or another. We've gone through tribulation already. But in Revelation 6, it says, they shall see the Son of Man coming in crowds of great glory. Now, if you go back to Mark, let me make sure I got the right passage here, Mark chapter 13, look at verse 23. He says, the Lord said, he says, but take heed, behold, I foretold you all things, but in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light. So when are the moon, what does the moon darken, and when does the sun darken and the moon not give her light? After the tribulation of those days. So that's Christ calling those events the tribulation. That's him saying those things are gonna be there. Look, someone has to be here preaching the gospel among all nations during that time. Someone has to be, that's the believer, that's the Christian, that's, you know, if they wanna call it that, the bride of Christ, which is another topic we could discuss, but if they wanna take that interpretation, that's what the bride of Christ is, the believer on earth, then Christ himself is saying that they will be here preaching the gospel among all nations. If we're already gone, who's betraying us unto another? Who's giving up the Christians? Who's being hauled off before kings and before councils and into synagogues? I mean, who's doing that? There's gotta be somebody here doing it. You know who it is? It's the people that are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord. Those people that go through that first three and a half years that experience the tribulation, the opening of those seals, okay? And again, crystal clear verse. Verse 24, after that tribulation, verse 24, then they shall see the Son of Man coming. When are you gonna see the Son of Man coming? After the tribulation. And yet people choke on this. It's like, well, I've got crystal, that's a crystal clear verse. It could not be any plainer, and it's out of Jesus' own mouth. This isn't Scorby's, you know, or not Scorby. He didn't write notes, he just read the Bible. This isn't Darby and what's the other guy? Schofield, this isn't Schofield's notes I'm reading, folks. Teaching some, you know, gap theory, teaching some false doctrine. You know, this is the words of Christ. After that tribulation, then shall they see the coming, the sign of the coming of man. Excuse me, they shall see the Son of Man coming. So the second coming, from what I'm reading in the Bible, is very clearly a post-trib pre-wrath event. It happens after the tribulation of those days, and it precedes the wrath of God being poured out. Which makes sense, because people, you know, a lot of pre-tribbles will say, well, say what the Bible says, and it does say this, 1 Thessalonians 5, 9. For God hath not appointed us unto wrath, but obtained salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Exactly, amen, I agree with you. God has not appointed us to wrath. I haven't been talking about God's wrath all morning. All the events I just described to you are called tribulation. That's called the great tribulation. That's not God's wrath. Because think about it, who's making these things come to pass? Man. Yeah, you know, the seals are being opened, and God's permitting these things to take place, but this is not God sticking his finger in it. This isn't him making these things come to pass. He's allowing the Antichrist to go do all these things. That's the wrath of man that is bringing tribulation upon the believer. When God, then the Son of Man comes, and then we are gathered together, then we see him, and as it says there, we are the angels sent forth, and gather us out of all corners of the earth, then we're caught up together with him in the clouds, and so shall we ever be with the Lord, and then God begins to pour out his wrath. I mean, it's a silly argument to say, well, you know, we're not appointed unto wrath. I agree, but the Bible talks about us going through tribulation, not only in the end times, but even just in this life. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ and shall tribulation? No, because we're not appointed unto wrath. No, we are appointed unto tribulation, and you know what, the good news is, tribulation shall not separate us from the love of Christ. Look, if we go through it, don't be afraid. God's overcome the world. God still loves us. Nothing's gonna separate us from God's love. You know, they wanna set up some gallows and start beheading all the Christians. You know, I'm like cut in line, because I'm like, well, I know nothing's gonna separate me from the love of Christ. You know, let's get the starvation over with. You know, maybe I'll just jump ahead, and I'll cut in line, pun intended. Say off with my head. Because I'll go from here to there. You know, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord for the believer. Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation. Oh, oh, but we're not gonna face in tribulation. The wise Paul telling us to rejoice in hope and to be patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. Second Corinthians chapter one, verse four. God comforteth us in what? All our tribulation. But we're not appointed unto wrath. I'm not talking about wrath. I'm talking about tribulation this morning. First Thessalonians chapter three, verse four. For verily when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation even as it came to pass, as you know. I mean, you talk about a guy who suffered tribulation, talk to the apostle Paul. Paul and Barnabas had preached, and they exhorted the disciples to continue in faith that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. So again, you know, the Bible's real clear that it's after the tribulation. Then shall you see the Son of Man coming. We believe that the second coming is a post-trib pre-wrath rapture. That we are not just gonna be shuttled out of here at a moment's notice. That it could happen at any moment. Nope, Christ is very clear. These things must first come to pass. The end is not yet. What shall be the sign of thy coming? Well, we just read it. And what is it? What are the things that come before his coming? Tribulation. And then, yes, obviously, after we're caught up together, the six seals open, the sun and moon are darkened, all these things begin to come to pass, and then God begins to pour out his wrath upon the earth. Okay, the Bible's very clear of that. But let me just end the way Christ ended this morning in this passage in Mark 13, verse 33. Again, because he's not trying to scare people. And I get it, it is scary to think about in our flesh. No one's signing up for tribulation. But you know what? The Christian life, whether we face the end times or not, it promises you tribulation. You will go through tribulation. And look, even if you're not saved, even if you're not living for God, just life alone is suffering. The difference is, as a Christian, there's at least purpose behind our suffering. It has meaning. We're not nihilists or something. There's no point to any of this. And just grappling with the meaning of life, and if there's any point in even continuing on in the face of all the suffering that is just inherent in life. For the Christian, even if the tribulation gets so bad that we're being persecuted for our faith even unto death, we say, well, there's a purpose. There's meaning, it's worth it all. And again, we're not trying to scare people. Christ isn't trying to scare people. He says in verse 33 of Mark 13, take heed, watch, and pray, for you not know not when the time is, not his coming, but when these things shall be come to pass. For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work and commanded the porter to watch. You know, yet Christ is gone on a long journey. He's in heaven. He's gonna come back one day. In the meantime, we have a job to do. We have work. We've been appointed to work. Watch ye therefore, for you know not when the master of the health cometh at even or at midnight or at the cock-horning or the morning, lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, watch, right? So he's saying, look, when these things become to pass, don't slumber, don't sleep, because it's going to come. You need to be working. We need to be working now. We need to be working through the tribulation. We need to work and work and work and work. We need to be working through the tribulation. We need to work and watch and pray and be steadfast right up until we see the whites of his eyes and hear that voice. You know, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 says this in verse 16, now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, which if you remember, 2 Thessalonians 2 is dealing with the second coming of Christ. So we just read it. He says, our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God, even our Father, which hath loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation through grace, comfort your hearts, establish you in every good word and work. You know, Paul's ending in 2 Thessalonians 2, which deals with this topic and Jesus' words in Mark 13 are kind of similar, aren't they? They both end saying, hey, get to work. Don't watch, work. Every man is appointed to his work. And he's saying, you be established. Paul says, comfort your hearts. Don't be afraid. Don't be worried, be encouraged this morning and work. Look, obviously there's some tough stuff that's gonna come leading up to the coming of Christ, but let's not forget, we're still talking about the coming of Christ, the blessed hope. Christ in us, the hope of glory. We're talking about heaven. We're talking about the millennial reign. We're talking about a thousand years ruling and reigning with Christ. That's not some Baptist fairytale, folks. That's Bible. That's what we're leading into. Some three and a half year tribulation, if that's what I gotta face, so be it. If I gotta live my four, three score and 10, he's suffering for Christ to whatever degree he deems I must, so be it. Let me take comfort in the fact that one day I'll be with Christ and let me get to work and serve him. Let's go ahead and close in a word of prayer. Dear Lord, again, thank you for the great encouragement that we have that, Lord, you've not abandoned us. Lord, and you haven't left this world to itself, Lord, that one day you will return to this earth and all of us, every single person, will know the power of God. And, Lord, we look forward to your return. Lord, I pray help us to be established in every good work until that day. We ask in Christ's name, amen. All right, we'll go ahead and sing one more song before we're dismissed. Thank you. ["O Come All Ye Faithful"] The eyes of you will only come out, and I shall wake my mother. I can feel her deep breath in me. Will word her, will Jesus come forward? Will Jesus come forward? Will Jesus come forward after all? Will Jesus, our God, let go that he brings the peace to all? May Jesus, our God, his rest, will be with us forever. Will word her, will Jesus come forward? Will Jesus, our God, will word him? Will Jesus come forward? Will Jesus, our God, let go that he brings the peace to all? May Jesus, our God, let go that he brings the peace to all? Will Jesus, our God, his rest, will be with us forever? Will word, will Jesus come forward? Will Jesus, our God, will word him? Will Jesus, our God, let go that he brings the peace to all? Will Jesus, our God, let go that he brings the peace to all? Will Jesus, our God, let go that he brings the peace to all? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .