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Hi, my name is Paul Wittenberger, director and producer of What in the World Are They Spraying?, The Great Culling, and my newest film, After the Tribulation. What you're about to watch is called The Book of Revelation. This project is so important. It features Pastor Steven Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church. It's a 22-hour long series that will cut through the lies and disinformation of the Pre-Trib Rapture and will expose Satan's plan of a global government in a new world order. By the end of this series, you'll have a clear understanding of the Book of Revelation. Verse by verse, chapter by chapter, you'll be able to explain to others and your family of exactly what's going to happen in the end of the world. So please go to KJVRevelation.com and order your copy today. Now, Revelation chapter 1, verse number 1, the Bible reads, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass, and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John. So right there in verse number 1, we get the purpose of the book, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. So who is this book primarily being written to? The saved or the unsaved? The saved, God's people. His servants, it's to show them the things which must shortly come to pass, and let's not forget, the book is called The Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is there to reveal things unto his servant. Not to obscure things, not to be difficult to understand, but to make things easy to understand and to reveal them openly. Go to the last verse of chapter number 1. The Bible reads in verse 20, the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks. Now many people will look at the book of Revelation and think that it's a very mysterious book, and a lot of Christians will even shy away from studying the book of Revelation. Many preachers don't want to preach on the book of Revelation because they say, oh wow, it's so hard to understand, it's so complicated, it's so mysterious, it's so difficult. But really, if you finish verse number 20, you'll see the greatness of the book of Revelation because it says, yes, the mystery of the seven stars, but look at the last part there. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. Is it a mystery anymore? No, because he just told us what it was. And the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. So the book of Revelation does not have to be a mystery, it doesn't have to be a difficult book. Sure, there are certain things in there that are a little bit tough to understand, but you know, most of the book of Revelation is pretty easy to understand as long as you're saved. A lot of people just can't understand the book of Revelation because they're not saved. And the Bible says, the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for their foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. But if you are saved, if you are a born again child of God, you should have no trouble understanding the basics of the book of Revelation. And I hope you'll stay with the whole series because we're going to go through this whole book, verse by verse, we're going to leave no stone unturned. And I think you'll realize that a lot of the reason why people are misunderstanding things in the book of Revelation is just because they have a preconceived idea that they're having trouble letting go of. But if you put away preconceived ideas and just let the Bible speak to you, let this book reveal unto us the things which must shortly come to pass, I don't think you'll have any trouble understanding it. So he says in verse 1, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants the things which must shortly come to pass. And he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John, who bear record of the word of God, so this book is the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand. So right there in verse 3, we see that if you're not reading this book, you're missing out on a blessing. You are lacking information that you may even need in a short time, because it is very possible that the events of the book of Revelation could take place in our lifetime. And you would much rather know these things, blessed is the one who does know these things going into the period of the end times, as opposed to the one who doesn't know anything about it, because they have not read the book of Revelation on their own, and they have not gone to a church that would preach unto them the book of Revelation, that they might hear these things preached from the pulpit. Look at verse 4, John, to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace be unto you and peace from him which is and which was and which is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne. So right here we see that the book is being addressed by John unto seven churches, which fits in perfectly with the fact that the book of Revelation is written unto God's people, unto his servants, unto the churches. See a lot of people look at Revelation as being a warning to the unsaved, and most people's belief is that we will not be here for most of the events in Revelation. I mean, you know, 90% of the book of Revelation, we're not even going to be here. Well then why would he write the whole book to show unto us the things which must surely come to pass? Now true, there are parts of the book of Revelation where God's pouring out his wrath where we're already God, but very much of the book of Revelation involves periods of time where we are on this earth and where we will face the things that are mentioned. And so the book is being written unto seven churches which are in Asia. Now these seven churches which are in Asia are listed a little bit further down in the passage in verse 11 where he talks about Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Let me emphasize to you that these were real, literal churches that existed at the time the book was written. Now these churches no longer exist today, but at the time these were Bible believing churches that were located in Asia, and when the Bible says Asia there it's referring to what we call today Asia Minor, which is the modern day country of Turkey. And when you look at the epistle written under the Thessalonians for example, Paul commands that the epistle under the Thessalonians would be read unto the church at Laodicea, and that the epistle that's written under Laodicea would be read under the church at Thessalonica. And of course we know that the church at Ephesus is a literal church because we have the whole book of Ephesians written under the church at Ephesus. And so these are literal congregations of believers and John is sending out the book of Revelation, the whole book, he's sending a copy to each of these seven churches. You say, why would he send out the book to seven different churches? Why write the book seven times? Why not just write it once and send it out? Well go to the very end of Revelation to chapter 22 and I'll show you why I believe it was sent unto seven churches, one of the reasons that is. Part of the reason is that in chapters 2 and 3 he has a personalized message for each of the seven churches. But also if you look at chapter 22 verse 18, the Bible says, for I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city and from the things which are written in this book. So we have a very serious curse put upon anyone who would tamper with the contents of the book of Revelation. Anyone that would add to the words or take away from the words is doomed and damned and cursed in the last chapter. You see it was very important to God and very important to the Apostle John that this book arrive at the destination unaltered and intact. Now one of the ways that God could assure that the book would not be tampered with was by making seven copies. Because if you send out seven copies to seven different churches, let's say one of them gets intercepted and tampered with or someone changes something or adds something or takes away something, well you've still got six other copies and when we see six copies that match up and then one copy that's different, we'll be able to tell right away which one is the fraud, right? And so that's how we know, by the way, that the Bible that we have today in 2013 is the same as it was when it was originally written. Because believe me, there have been a lot of people out there who have attempted to corrupt the word of God and to change the word of God. There are people out there today who will say, well what you have today with the Bible is nothing like what they had back then because it's been copied so many times and it's been translated and you know, it's not anything like the originals. That's what they'll say. But here's the great thing about the Bible. When the Bible was originally written, it was always copied into many copies right away and it was always translated immediately into many different languages. And so to say that all of those copies have been changed would be ridiculous, okay? Like for example, let's say the newspaper came out today. You know, how many copies of the Arizona Republic were printed today? I don't know but I'm sure as many thousands of copies of that newspaper, right? Well what if I had a copy of that newspaper and ten years from now, because maybe something really big happened today and so I kept that newspaper. You know sometimes people will keep a newspaper that says, you know, Hitler invades Poland, you know, and they'll keep that as a memorial of a major event in human history or maybe the newspaper of the moon landing or the newspaper of, you know, John F. Kennedy being assassinated. People will save those newspapers. Well what if somebody saved that newspaper and many, many years later somebody said, hey, that newspaper has been changed. That newspaper is a fraud. That newspaper is nothing like the original newspaper. It would be very easy to tell whether it was a fraud or not because there are so many copies of that newspaper that were made and there were probably a lot of people who saved that newspaper because it was such a big monumental event and what we would do is we would go and look at other people's copies, wouldn't we? I mean isn't this just the logical thing you'd do? You'd go check other people's copies and make sure that they said the same thing as that copy and you'd say there's no way that all of these have been changed. They're held by different people in different parts of the city and they had no connection with each other and they're all saying the same thing, therefore it's accurate. Now if we found one that said something different than all the other copies of that newspaper that had been saved, we wouldn't assume that the majority was the fraud. We'd assume that that one had been altered. Well it's the same thing with the Bible. Although there have been people throughout history that have put out corrupted biblical texts, corrupted manuscripts, altered and changed things as God warned that people would do, we still can look at the majority text. We can still look at the vast majority of evidence, what's known as the textus receptus or the received texts of the original Greek and Hebrew. No we don't have the exact original manuscripts but we have copies of copies of copies of copies in all different parts of the world, in all different languages, dating back thousands of years or many hundreds of years and we can compare them and when we see that they're all saying the same thing, we're going to go with that majority received text, not with the outlier. And that is why we know that the Bible that we have today is the same as when it was originally written and of course we know and believe that the Bible is the word of God and that every word of God is pure today just as it was when it was written down. So that's one of the reasons why it was sent out to the seven churches. To assure us today that what we are reading in the book of Revelation is accurate today because it was right away copied into seven copies and I guarantee you that it was immediately copied into many other copies in many other languages right away. And so that's what we see in verse four. He's writing to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace be unto you and peace from him which is and which was and which is to come and from the seven spirits which are before his throne and from Jesus Christ. Now what is this about the seven spirits which are before his throne? Well look if you would at Revelation 3, 1. This is Jesus Christ speaking. Under the angel of the church in Sardis write, these things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. So the Bible has Jesus there saying that he has the seven spirits of God. Go back to Isaiah 11 and we'll see the seven spirits of God in Isaiah chapter number 11 in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ having those spirits. And the seven spirits of God are something that is mentioned throughout the book of Revelation But look if you would at Isaiah chapter 11 verse 1 and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. And I don't know if you're counting there but we have there basically seven spirits listed. Let's count them right now in verse two. The spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of might, the spirit of knowledge and the spirit of the fear of the Lord. So there we go. The seven spirits of God there listed in Isaiah chapter 11 about whom? In verse 1 it said that there would come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots and of course the branch is something that Jesus Christ has called. We know Jesus Christ came of the seed of David. David is the son of Jesse. That's what that's referring to. So back to Revelation chapter 1, the Bible says, and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and has made us kings and priests unto God and his father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen. How is anyone worthy to be saved? How is anyone worthy to inherit eternal life or to go to heaven? Many people will teach that it's by being a good person or by living a good life. The Bible says as it is written there is none righteous, no not one. Jesus said there is none that doeth good but one and that is God. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, the Bible says. But the reason that we are able to be accepted in the beloved, the reason that we're able to be joint heirs with Jesus Christ, the reason that we're able to inherit eternal life and be saved from all of the horrible plagues that are in the book of Revelation is that we have been washed from our sins in his own blood. It's the blood of Jesus Christ his son that cleanses us from all sin. And the Bible says that not only has he washed us from our sins in his own blood, but verse 6 says he had made us kings and priests unto God and his father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen. So we are kings and priests if we're washed in the blood, the Bible teaches. We are a chosen generation. We are a royal priesthood and I'll get to that later on in the book of Revelation in much more detail. But he says there that we're kings and priests unto God and his father. Now let me ask you something, are God and Jesus' father two different people? It's the same person, right? You got to be careful when you're studying the Bible, a lot of times the word and is referring to two different things and a lot of times the word and is referring to the same thing restated in a different way. And so when it says God and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ for example elsewhere in the New Testament, we're talking about the same person. Now at the end of verse 6 there's an amen. And amen is a word that is used in closing in the Bible. That's why a lot of times when we pray we close out our prayer by saying amen. Well out of the 27 books of the New Testament, I don't have it in my notes, but I believe that 24 of the 27 books end with the word amen. So when we see the word amen in verse 6, basically we've come to the end of the introduction of Revelation. Verses 1 through 6 are introductory and then he says amen. Then in verse 7 we get into the key verse of Revelation. This is the quintessential verse that basically tells us what the whole book's focus is. What is the book of Revelation about? And notice there's an amen before verse 7 and an amen after verse 7. I mean just that one statement stands alone between amens as the key verse of Revelation. Memorize this verse. This is the key verse. Behold he cometh with clouds and every eye shall see him and they also which pierced him and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him even so amen. So the key themes of the book of Revelation are all contained in that verse. First of all, the second coming of Jesus Christ is the major theme of the book of Revelation and also God's judgment upon the wicked is a major theme of the book of Revelation, is it not? I mean those are the two most important themes of the book of Revelation. The second coming of Jesus Christ and God's judgment upon the wicked. That's why it says all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Wailing is basically like crying out in sorrow and pain and anguish. Like for example when the Bible talks about hell, it says there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. You know you can just hear basically the screams and the yelling of the damned when you hear the term wailing. Now let's look at Acts chapter 1. I'm going to spend a little bit of time on verse 7 here because it is the key verse of the book of Revelation. Let me say this, understand Revelation 1.7 and you'll understand the book of Revelation. Fail to understand Revelation 1.7. You will fail to understand the book of Revelation. You might as well just quit now. If you can't get this verse right, you're going to go into the book of Revelation with a completely wrong view and so that's why we need to take some time and establish this. What does verse 7 teach? It says that Jesus Christ is coming with clouds and that every eye shall see him and they also which pierced him and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him even so amen. Now in Acts chapter 1, we're going to see part of why this is important. This is the ascension of Jesus Christ. Now what we call the first coming of Jesus Christ or the first advent of Jesus Christ is of course when he was born in Bethlehem's manger approximately 2,000 years ago. That was when Jesus Christ came unto this earth. He came unto his own and his own received him not but as many as received him. To them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. When Jesus came to this earth 2,000 years ago, he died on the cross, he was buried and three days later he rose again from the dead having conquered death and hell and Jesus Christ is assembled together with his apostles in Acts chapter 1 and he's about to ascend up to heaven where he's going to be seated at the right hand of the Father. Look what the Bible says in verse 9, and when he had spoken these things while they beheld, what does beheld mean? While they watched, while they looked on. It says while they beheld, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their what? Sight. So do you notice how God is emphasizing the fact that they were watching him and seeing him as he went up in a what? A cloud. So when he ascended up from this earth, he went up in a cloud, they beheld, he's in their sight, and then it says in verse 10, while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, make it very clear that they are very steadfastly watching him go up into the cloud. While they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, white clothing, which also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. There you go. There's the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will come in like manner as you've seen him go into heaven. Again, emphasizing that they saw him go. So what is the like manner? People are watching, people see him, and he goes up in a cloud, he's coming back in a cloud. They watched him go up, and every eye shall see him when he comes again, when he returns again. Now, go to Matthew chapter 24. Matthew chapter 24, because I want to show you other scriptures in the New Testament that deal with Jesus Christ coming in the clouds, coming with clouds as it said in Revelation 1.7. And again, very important that you understand this because the vast majority of Christians today have verse 7 wrong. That's why they have most of the book of Revelation wrong. But look if you would at Matthew 24, let me show you verse 21 first of all. The Bible says in verse 21, for then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be. So in verse 21, Jesus Christ makes reference to the great tribulation, which is something that's going to be covered in the book of Revelation. It's something that we've probably all heard of. But look at verse 29. The Bible reads in verse 1, immediately after the tribulation, of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Now right there in verse 29, the Bible tells of events that will take place after the great tribulation, and these are very major events, wouldn't you say? The sun being darkened, the moon not giving her light, and the stars falling from heaven. Not only are these major cataclysmic events, but they are events that show up in Old Testament scripture over and over again. Book of Isaiah, book of Joel, over and over again you'll see reference made to sun and moon being darkened, and it's always associated with the day of the Lord. The Bible talks about the day of the Lord being a time when the sun and moon are darkened, and it also mentions the stars falling here in verse 29. Look at verse 30, and then shall appear the sign of the sun of man in heaven. So we see a chronology of events here. First is the great tribulation. Immediately after the tribulation, the sun and moon and stars are darkened, and then we see after that, notice the word and then in verse 30, we see the sun of man appearing in heaven. Okay, now who is the sun of man? Well, 89 times in the New Testament Jesus Christ called himself the sun of man. And so the Bible says basically that Jesus will come in heaven. It says, then shall the sign of the sun of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. Now does that remind you of the wailing? Wailing and mourning are synonymous. Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the sun of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Now doesn't this match up exactly with Revelation 1.7? They're going to see the sun of man coming in the clouds. It's in the clouds, they're going to see him, they're going to be wailing, they're going to be mourning. I mean, it's identical. And it says, 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. Now who are the elect? Well if you study the New Testament, just look up every time the word elect is used, and over and over again the word elect always is referring to those that are saved, every time. I mean the Bible says in Romans 8 in the famous passage, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. If God be for us, who can be against us? Look if you're justified, if you're saved, you're the elect. He says, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither bond nor free. He says, put on therefore as the elect of God. You know, bowels and mercies and so forth. So over and over again, you look up the word elect and it's very clearly always referring to the saved, whether they be Jew or Gentile, whether they be bond or free. Some will try to say the elect is referring to the nation of Israel. You know the entire New Testament is filled with references to the elect. Just look them up. They're all referring to the saved, not the nation of Israel. They're always referring to believers. So he says here that Jesus Christ, after the tribulation and after the sun and moon are darkened there, is going to come in the clouds, a trumpet's going to sound, and he's going to gather up the saved. Okay? Have you got that? Go to Mark 13, Mark chapter 13, and in Mark chapter 13 we find a parallel passage that teaches the same thing as Matthew 24. Look at verse 24 of Mark 13. It says, but in those days after that tribulation the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the stars of heaven shall fall and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken and then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory and then shall he send his angels and shall gather together his elect or the saved, as we saw, from the four winds from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Now learn a parable of the fig tree and on and on he talks about the fig tree. Go to Luke 21. Luke 21 is another parallel passage with these two. Luke chapter number 21. Now I don't think that there's any disagreement amongst anyone that's looking at this that Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Revelation 1-7 are all talking about the same event, right? Because we've got Jesus coming in the clouds, we've got the people weeping and wailing because of Him, the tribes of the earth that is. Look at Luke 21. The Bible says in verse 25, and there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars. Sound familiar? And upon the earth, distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring. Let me ask you this. Is distress, and in verse 26, men's hearts failing them for fear in line with the wailing and the mourning that we saw in the other passages? Absolutely. Men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. So they're not afraid of what has already happened. They're afraid of what's about to happen. And it says, and then, verse 27, shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory, and when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. So notice in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, he said the elect are gathered from one end of heaven to the other, from the uttermost part of the earth to the most part of heaven. Here, instead of saying the elect are gathered, he says your redemption draweth nigh. You lift up and lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. So the elect being gathered is our redemption. Is that not what the Bible says? Our redemption is equivalent to the elect being gathered. Okay? You got that? Now if you would, flip over to 1 Thessalonians chapter number 4. Again, no question in people's minds that Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 are all referring to the same quintessential event as Revelation 1-7, which is the second coming of Jesus Christ. But here's where false doctrine comes in. There are those out there that believe in what's called a pre-tribulational rapture. They believe that the rapture takes place before the tribulation. And when I say rapture, rapture is not a word that's used in the Bible, but it is a biblical concept. When people say the rapture, what they're referring to is when we are caught up together to be with Christ in the clouds, when we're gathered together to be with Jesus Christ in the clouds, that is known as the rapture, because the rapture means the catching away or the catching up. That is where that term comes from. And so I'm going to use the term rapture, even though it's not a term that the Bible specifically uses, just to make myself understood so that people will know what I'm talking about. Okay, but let's look at the Bible's terminology for this event. First Thessalonians chapter 4 is the key rapture passage. And no one will disagree that 1 Thessalonians 4 is dealing with the rapture. Here's where the disagreement comes in. The people who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture will try to separate this coming in the clouds from the coming in the clouds that we saw in Revelation 1.7, Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. And they'll try to say, well this is a different event that happens before the tribulation. You know, don't confuse it. And here's what they say, this is not the second coming of Christ. I mean, those who believe in a pre-trib rapture will point at 1 Thessalonians 4 and say, this is not the second coming of Christ. They'll say the pre-tribulation rapture and the second coming of Christ are two different things. Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Revelation 1-7, Acts 1, yes, those are all talking about the second coming of Christ. But they say 1 Thessalonians 4 is a separate event, it's a pre-tribulation rapture. Let's read it and I'll let you be the judge for yourself if this passage is teaching a separate event that takes place before the tribulation. Read the Bible for yourself, verse 13. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, what was that? We which are alive and remain unto what? The coming of the Lord. Let me just back up and read that again. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord. Now is it just me or is this event that we're reading about in 1 Thessalonians 4 called the coming of the Lord? Is there any question about that? Okay. But yet people will insist on saying, this is not the second coming. You know, and these theologians and these scholars will tell you, we must differentiate between the rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4 and the second coming of Christ. But wait a minute, what is this called? The coming, right? So if it's not the second coming, tell me which coming is it. Is it the first coming? Are they saying that Jesus Christ never came the first time? Well that's blasphemy. Because the Bible says anybody who does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is a deceiver and an anti-Christ. So look, don't try and tell me Jesus did not come the first time. Yes He did come the first time, that makes this the second coming of Jesus Christ. I mean unless you want to say it's the third coming, but that's not what they're saying. They just don't want to count this. They're just like, let's just forget about that whole coming thing. This is a pre-trib rapture because we said so. But it says right there it's the coming of the Lord. So either this is coming 1.5 or this is the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ because it says it's the coming of the Lord. Let's keep reading. It says, we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord. And look, don't let, I'm not going to let anybody wiggle out of this one. No, no, no, is it the second coming or not? And you say, well it doesn't matter, you're just playing word games. This is not a game. Do I look like I'm playing a game right now? This is the second coming of Jesus Christ and it's very important that we establish that when the Bible talks about Jesus Christ coming again, that's what it's talking about. And don't try to wiggle out of it, well that's not what we meant. I know what you meant. You meant that this is not counting as the coming of Christ, but I'm going to go with what the Bible says. So he says here, that we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep, meaning we're not going to come before them which are asleep. So let me ask you this, is the rapture going to take place before the dead in Christ rise? No. That's why he says, for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord, wherefore comfort one another with these words. Now why does he say to comfort one another with these words? The comfort is that you're going to see your loved ones again. Because earlier in the passage he said in verse 13, I would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not even as others who have no hope. The purpose of him writing this is that people had lost loved ones and they're sorrowful. Of course everyone who loses a loved one is sorrowful. But he's giving them hope saying, you don't have to mourn like those who have no hope because we know that if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with them. He's saying you're going to be reunited with your loved one once again, therefore comfort one another with these words. What's the comfort? Being reunited. That's why this is a great passage at funerals where we can comfort one another with these words and I've seen it often used at funerals. So what do we see in this passage? Do we see Christ coming in the clouds? Well we know he's coming because it used the word the coming of the Lord in verse 15. It says in verse 17, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up, and remember the caught up is where the word rapture comes from, caught up together with them in the clouds. So do we have Christ coming? Yes. Do we have the clouds? Yes. Do we have the trumpet? Yes. Did we have a trumpet in Matthew 24? Yes. Same thing. Okay, so here's my question. What's different about this event? Let me ask you this. This read for you 1 Thessalonians 4, 13-18. Did it mention anything about this being before the tribulation? Did it mention anything about the timing of this event? No, it mentioned nothing. Now look at chapter 5 verse 1, but of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. Yeah, I noticed because he didn't give us the timing in chapter 4. He said of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. So why does he not have to tell us the timing of the rapture in verse 4? Because we already know that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. So why does knowing that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night, why does that make us not have to know the timing of the rapture? Because here's the thing, the timing of the day of the Lord is the same as the timing of the rapture, obviously. Because that's the only way this makes sense to say, well you don't need me to tell you about the timing of these events because we already know that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. Because we already know basically the timing of the day of the Lord, that means we already know the timing of the rapture because the timing of the rapture and the timing of the day of the Lord are the same timing. They both come as a thief in the night. And then it says, when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape. So when we look at this passage, what do we see? We basically see the same exact elements that we saw in all the other passages about the second coming of Christ. We saw that basically Jesus coming in the clouds, a trumpet sounding. We saw the gathering of the elect or us being caught up together with him in the air. And then the only thing that you might look at this and say, well the one thing that's missing is the sun and moon being darkened. Yeah but he says in chapter 5 verse 2, the day of the Lord, in reference to what he just talked about in 1 Thessalonians 4. He says, you already know the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. Okay, what is the day of the Lord always characterized by every time it's mentioned? Sun and moon being darkened. So there's your sun and moon darkened in this passage. See how this passage matches exactly? Have we seen anything yet that said it was before the tribulation? No. And you say, okay, where's the weeping and wailing? Okay, verse 3, for when they shall say peace and safety, then what? Sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape. There you go. And then it says this, but ye brethren, don't worry cause you're going to be gone long before this happens. You're going to be gone way before in the pre-trib rapture. Is that what it says in verse 4? No. It says, but ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. Now does that say that that day is not going to overtake you at all? You're not even going to be there. This day ain't even going to happen to you. No. He says you're not in darkness that the day should overtake you as a thief. The day will overtake you, but not as a thief. Why not? Because it says we are all the children of the light and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Verse 6, therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. He's saying, wake up, be awake, be alert, be watching, and if you're watching, this day will not overtake you as a thief. It will not take you unawares. It will not take you by surprise. Will you be there? Yes. You will be there, but it will not surprise you because when you see these things begin to come to pass, he said, then look up. Lift up your heads for your redemption, draweth nigh, you will see this coming. Now flip back quickly to Matthew 24 and we'll move on to something else. But before we do, let me just, while you're turning to Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians 2, 1 says, now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him. So again, in 2 Thessalonians 2, 1, the coming of Jesus Christ is associated with our gathering together unto him. You say, well Pastor Anderson, it said the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto him. That's two different things. Oh, sort of like God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, right? Two different people, right? Didn't we cover that earlier in the sermon? Sort of like looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Two different things or two of the same? Very easy to tell. But in Matthew 24, right after the subject of after the tribulation, Christ coming in the clouds, the trumpet sounding, the elect being gathered, he gives the parable of the fig tree. He says, learn the parable of the fig tree, verse 32, when his branches yet tender and put forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, see, he's saying, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near even at the doors, verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Meaning that when you see them begin to come to pass, that generation that sees the beginning of this is not going to pass until it's finished. He says, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Now look, what day? He says of that day. If I said to you that day, wouldn't your next question be, well which day? It has to be something that I talked about previously or it wouldn't make any sense to say that day. He said, but of that day and hour knoweth no man. What day are we talking about? The day that we just talked about when the sun and moon are darkened and Jesus Christ will come in the clouds and gather the elect. Now here's what's funny. People will take the verse of that day and hour knoweth no man and say that means Jesus can come at any moment because no man knoweth the day or the hour. But then when you take them to Matthew 24, 29 where it says it's happening after the tribulation, they'll say, oh that's not about the rapture because that's after the tribulation. That can't be about the rapture because we know that the rapture is before the tribulation. Okay, and then you say, well how do you know Jesus can come back at any moment? And they'll say, well because no man knoweth the day or the hour. And you're like, well where does the Bible say that? Oh right here in Matthew 24, 36. Wait a minute, I thought Matthew 24 is not about the rapture. Oh no, verse 36 is about the rapture. Well what about verse 29? Oh that's not about the rapture. I mean, see how the logic falls apart, it makes no sense. Is this passage about the rapture or not? See how you can just find somebody that can pick and choose a verse and rip it out of context and say, and it sounds believable, hey the Bible says that no man knoweth the day or the hour of Jesus Christ's coming, it could happen tonight, amen, amen, amen. But here he said it's after the tribulation. Now look, doesn't it make sense to say we don't know the day or the hour but we know it's after the tribulation? I mean look, I know that the rapture or the coming of Christ in the clouds happens after the tribulation. I know that because that's what the Bible says. But do I know the day or the hour? Could I tell you the date? Could I tell you the year? I mean this could happen 100 years from now, this could happen 5 years from now, I have no idea when this is going to happen. But I do know one thing, it's after the tribulation because that's what Jesus said. Now go to Revelation 6 quickly and then we'll finish up in Revelation chapter 1. And I'm spending a lot of time on the coming of Christ in the clouds because, like I said, Revelation 1.7 is the key verse and if you're going to be mixed up about the subject matter of Revelation 1.7, you're going to be mixed up for the rest of the book. You're not going to understand the rest of the book. And you know what, that's why so many people don't understand the book of Revelation. Because this pre-trib rapture, this false doctrine, has so confused people that they look at the book of Revelation, they try to make it fit, it doesn't fit, they're trying to jam that square peg into the round hole, they throw up their hands and say, oh man, that's a complicated book, I can't figure it out. Throw that out and you will be able to understand this book. Look at Revelation 6 where the sun and moon are darkened and it says in verse number 12, and I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal and lo there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became his blood and the stars of heaven fell onto the earth even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she's shaken of a mighty wind. And you know, I'll go over this in great detail once we get to these chapters, once we get to chapter 6, but let me just point out to you that this is the sun and moon being darkened and this is the stars falling in Revelation 6. This is the only time in the book of Revelation where you'll find sun and moon darkened and stars falling. The only time. So obviously this is the event that we read about in Matthew 24. This is the event we read about in Mark 13 of sun, moon, and stars being darkened and stars actually falling. So that shows that with the opening of the sixth seal, that is what the Bible refers to as after the tribulation. That means everything before the sixth seal is the tribulation. That means everything that comes after the sun and moon darkened is not the tribulation. That is God pouring out his wrath. And God pouring out his wrath is very different than the tribulation. The tribulation does not go the entire seven years of the events that are, you know, the main events of Revelation cover a period of seven years, often called Daniel's 70th week. The tribulation does not cover that whole period. The tribulation only covers a little more than half of that period. Then the sun and moon are darkened, Christ comes in the clouds, then he pours out his wrath in the remaining period. And you know, you've got to just stay with the series. I'm going to prove everything from the book of Revelation beyond a shadow of a doubt. If you stay with the series, there will be no doubt in your mind that this is the way things play out because the Bible is very clear. We're going to compare scripture with scripture, we're going to leave no stone unturned, and so on and so forth. You know, and you say, Matthew 24 is talking to the Jews, we're going to cover all that. I mean, I'm going to put that to bed. And so back to Revelation chapter 1, let's go to the next verse, after the key verse, verse 7, the Bible reads, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Now let me point out, who is it that is saying, I am the Alpha and Omega, I'm the beginning and the end, I'm the Almighty? Who's talking here? Well, jump down, if you would, to verse number 17, it says, and when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead, and he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not, I am the first and the last, I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, amen, and have the keys of hell and of death. Who's talking there? Is that God the Father, or is that the Son, God the Son speaking? That's the Son, because wasn't it the Son who was dead and is now alive forevermore? Look, the Son died and was buried and rose again, and it is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who says, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. So look, Jesus Christ is being called here the Almighty. He's also being called the first and the last, and the beginning and the ending. The Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He's basically saying A to Z, I'm the beginning, I'm the end. Now look, I've talked to a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses when I'm out knocking doors, and they don't believe that Jesus Christ is God. They say, well, he's the Son of God, and they say he's a God. Go to Isaiah 9-6. In their version, they have a false Bible version called the New World Translation. In this false, corrupted Bible version, they have changed the Bible, where in John 1-1 it says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. It says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. They changed that to where it says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God. Well, let me tell you something, there is only one God. So this whole thing of saying that Jesus is a God is teaching multiple gods. It's a false doctrine. Well, I often take Jehovah's Witnesses to Isaiah 9-6, because their Bible makes a lot of corruptions, but it does not change Isaiah 9-6. So I like to take them to Isaiah 9-6, where it says, for unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called, wonderful, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. And I show them right there, Jesus Christ, the Son, is called the mighty God. Go back to Revelation 1, and they say, well, you know, they look at it for a minute, and they just don't want to accept the truth. Their heart resists the Holy Ghost, speaking through his Word. And they say, well, Jesus is the mighty God, but he's not the almighty God. As if there's a difference. There is only one God, my friend. But they try to make a distinction. But what does Jesus call himself at the end of Revelation 1-8? The almighty. Jesus Christ speaking says that he is the almighty. It says in verse number 9, I John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. So according to verse 9 there, John is their companion in tribulation. Now, what is tribulation? Isn't tribulation a pretty important word when we're dealing with end times Bible prophecy? People talk a lot about the tribulation, the great tribulation. We saw it in Matthew 24. And remember the false doctrine that I'm dealing with tonight is the false doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture. And people say, God will not allow his people to go through the tribulation. They'll be raptured before the tribulation because God will not pour out his wrath on his own people. That's what they'll say. Is that consistent with what we see in verse 9? The first time tribulation is used in the book of Revelation is to talk about a saved child of God who's serving God going through tribulation. Now flip over quickly to Matthew 13. I'm going to show you the first time the word tribulation is ever used in the New Testament. Matthew chapter number 13, this is Jesus Christ speaking. And I often find that if there's a word in the Bible and you want to know the definition of it, usually if you go to the first time that word's used, God helps to define that word. And so look at the first time the New Testament uses the word tribulation. This is the parable of the sower. And the Bible is talking about different people who hear the word of God. God says in verse 20, but he that received the seed into stony places, the same as he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it. Yet hath he not rooted himself, but endureth for a while, for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he's offended. So what is causing tribulation in the life of this particular believer? It's persecution because of the word of God, okay? So look, what about John in Revelation 1.7? He said, I'm your companion in tribulation, and then he mentions that he's in the isle of Patmos for what? For the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. He is being punished by being imprisoned on the isle of Patmos because of serving God, and he's saying, that is my tribulation that I'm going through. Look, look up every time the word tribulation is used in the New Testament. 90% of the time it's God's people going through tribulation, because tribulation is usually referring to persecution or affliction, and most of the time it happens because of the word. The Bible says, yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Let me ask you this, is tribulation in Revelation 1.9 referring to the wrath of God being poured out upon John? So this idea that, well tribulation, that's God's wrath, that is just what they say it is, but is that really biblical? Does tribulation have to be God's wrath? Tribulation just means trouble, affliction, persecution. Now look, tribulation could be referring in other places to God afflicting someone, but nine times out of ten it's man afflicting someone when the word tribulation is used. And here we see that John is our companion in tribulation. Now he says, I John, who also am your brother, who is he talking to when he says your brother? Is he not talking to the reader, blessed is he that readeth? And who is the reader? Remember the book is to show unto his servants things which must surely come to pass. You know what that tells me? That tells me that if you are a servant of Jesus Christ, you're going through tribulation. And people think that they can serve Jesus Christ and live for God and do great things for God and not be persecuted. They're wrong because the Bible says, yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. It doesn't say most. Make it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing had happened unto you, because let me tell you something, every servant of God is going to go through tribulation in their life. That's what it means to be a servant of God. You will be persecuted. You will suffer. You will be afflicted. But be thou faithful unto death and he'll give you a crown of life. We'll get to that in the next chapter. But he says here that John is our companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. Verse 10, I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet. So did he hear a trumpet? No. But he heard a voice like a trumpet. What does that mean? Well, in Isaiah 58 one, the Bible says, cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet. And what he's saying there, when he says a voice like a trumpet, he's saying a very loud voice because trumpets are very loud. So a voice like a trumpet is a very loud voice and the voice said, I am Alpha and Omega, verse 11, the first and the last and what thou seest write in a book and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia, unto Ephesus and unto Smyrna and unto Pergamos and unto Thyatira and unto Sardis and unto Philadelphia and unto Laodicea and I turned to see the voice that spake with me and being turned I saw seven golden candlesticks and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the son of man. Who's the son of man? Jesus. He's in the midst of the candlesticks. What did verse 20 say the candlesticks are? The seven churches at the end of verse 20. He's clothed with a garment down to the foot and gird about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool as white as snow and his eyes were as a flame of fire. What a fearful sight. White hair, white skin, flaming fire eyes. It says in verse number 15, his feet like unto fine brass as if they burned in a furnace and his voice as the sound of many waters. I mean when he speaks, it sounds like the rushing of the waves crashing in and it says he had in his right hand seven stars. What are the seven stars? The angels of the seven churches. We'll get to that in chapters 2 and 3 and it says, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. What's that sword that's coming out of his mouth? The Bible says for the word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents that are referring to the word of God there with that two-edged sword and it says his countenance or his face was as the sun shineth in strength. His brightness is so bright, it's like looking into the sun and you know if you try to look into the sun, first of all kids, don't do it. You're going to go blind, okay? Don't try this at home but you know if you look into the sun, you can't and if you do, it'll blind you and so he's saying that looking upon him was like looking into the sun and it says when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. You can see why. He collapsed and he laid his right hand upon me saying unto me, fear not, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore, referring to the death, burial, and resurrection. Amen and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou has seen and the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Now in verse 19 there we see an outline of the book of Revelation where he tells him right the things which thou has seen. Basically that's everything that he's seen up to this point, right? Everything that he saw up to this point in chapter one and he already wrote it down for us and then he says the things which are, that's present day events and then he says the things which shall be hereafter. Well look at chapter four quickly and in chapter four verse one it says after this I looked and behold a door was opened in heaven and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me which said come up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. So the Bible's real clear that the hereafter phase begins in Revelation 4.1. So the things that are hereafter are shown in Revelation 4.1. The things that he's already seen is everything up to that point in chapter one. That means that chapters two and three are the things which are meaning present day events which makes sense because chapters two and three are letters to seven churches talking about the trials and the struggles that they were going through at that time presently. Now many people will mistakenly teach that chapters two and three are about future events. Now although there are things in chapter two and three that symbolize future events, no question about that. He does make reference to his second coming, he makes reference to things that can be tied in with future events symbolically, but the primary application is that they are the things that are. This is not giving us an outline of the different church ages and I'll deal with that more in chapters two and three, but what he's giving us is messages to things that were happening at that time, messages to the churches at that time. And so all that to say this, the book of Revelation can be easily understood if you're saved, and if you get rid of false doctrine and preconceived ideas, stay with us through the rest of the series here. Because if you'll listen to all of these, you will know the book of Revelation very well if you get through all 22 sermons. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word and we thank you so much for the power of your word. Thank you for revealing these things unto us and not hiding them from us. Thank you for making it so clear and explaining it to us. Help us to be diligent and to study your word, and in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thank you so much for watching part one of the book of Revelation. Please support us today and go to KJVrevelation.com and order your copy today.