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Sorry, just let me find my place there. And I need my special book, Things to Come by J. Dwight Pentecost. Okay, so on to the sermon. I'm concluding this series on the pre-tribulation rapture deception concluded. Okay, pre-tribulation rapture deception concluded is a title for the sermon this afternoon. As you guys have been knowing, I've been going through the essential arguments for the pre-tribulation rapture. And I didn't think it's going to take me three sermons. I thought I was going to get it done in one until I started to put it together. So forgive me, but I'm actually happy that I've done that. If you're wondering, you know, was it really worth the time going through these points? I believe so. Because if you're facing somebody that believes in the pre-trib rapture, these are the arguments that they're going to bring forward. These are the things they're going to bring. And at least now you're ready to, you're much more ready now to give an answer for those arguments that come, that people bring for the pre-tribulation rapture. The other benefit behind this is once we move on from this and I get to preach on the end times, I don't have to constantly be going back and saying, well, you probably heard it like this, but it's like that. A lot of that has already been done through these three sermons. So we're up to argument number 16. Argument number 16 in this book. And let me just find my place here. Argument number 16. And I guess my hope is once I'm done with this series that you'll never think about going to a pre-trib rapture position. And you just think, man, are you serious? Is this all they can bring? You know, we're in the verses clearly saying this. So I'm hoping, you know, you guys just remain to that post-tribulation pre-raft position and that you're getting yourself ready. Should we be the last generation to face this time? That you personally will be ready. You've spent the time studying. You know what the events are speaking of and you've gotten yourself right with God. You know, it's important for us to have a close relationship a close relationship with the Lord God whenever we're going through any trials, whether it's last end times tribulation or just everyday tribulation, you know, persecution that comes away. You're going to be a lot more, you benefit a lot more if you've been closer to the Lord, walking with the Lord, okay? So point number 16, argument number 16 is the relation of the church to governments. Now listen, Brevin, we've only got a few, I think about 12 points left. I'm going to speed through these very quickly, but I kind of feel like these last points, we're just scraping the bottom of the barrel. I mean, it's just, you'll think, man, are you serious? Is this really an argument for the pre-treat rapture? So the relation of the church to the governments. Okay, so this is what J. Dwight Pentecost says. He says, in the New Testament, the church is instructed to pray for governmental authorities. That's true, right? Romans 13 verse one says, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God, the powers that be are ordained of God, whoso therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. So it's true that God has put government in our lives. This is a God-ordained institution. Yes, it's corrupt. Many institutions that God has planned for this earth have become corrupt because of the wickedness of man. So it's true, yeah, we are commanded to pray for the authorities. And then it says, the church is further instructed to be in subjection to such powers. And we saw that. As I read there in Romans 13, we're called to be subject to the government authorities. But I read the passage to you for a reason, because the Bible started by saying, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. The higher powers, that's important. Anyway, let's go to the argument here. The argument is, according to Revelation 13 four, it's a book of Revelation about the end times, the government during the 70th week is controlled by Satan. Amen. I would agree with that, right? The government, the Antichrist government is controlled by Satan in those last days. And then it says this, the church could not subject herself to such a government. Amen. I agree that the church shouldn't subject itself under a government that's under the control of Satan. I fully acknowledge, I fully agree with that. So that's the argument for the preacher rapture. Why? Because they're saying today we're commanded to be subject under the government, but in the tribulation, how can we be subject under the Antichrist? Therefore we must be enraptured before the Antichrist came to be. That's the argument, reverend. Okay. But the Bible told us that we're to be subject unto the higher powers. Is this author seriously wanting me to believe that the government's today and not under the power of the devil? Of course the governments today are corrupt. So many governments are corrupt. What about the laws they're passing? I don't need to see the devil. I don't need to see a throne of the devil in Canberra. All I have to see are the laws they're passing. All I have to see is the heart of our government officials turned against the Lord, bringing laws that are contrary to the Bible, and then you know they are under the influence of the devil. But we're still commanded to be subject under those powers as long as we're subject under the higher power. You know what that means? That means we do what the government asks of us until it's contrary to the word of God. Until it's contrary. If the government's asking you to sin, if the government says, hey church, stop preaching the Bible. If it says, hey church, stop going and preaching the gospel. We say no to that governing authority. We say no, I'm going to be subject to the higher power. I'm going to be subject under the power of God that created this institution to begin with. So what's different in the tribulation there? It's the same thing. If the government becomes, and it's going to become corrupt, then we're not under that authority. We obey God first. We rather obey God than man. We obey God before we obey the government. We obey God before we obey our employers. We obey God before we obey our parents. And you obey God before you obey the pastor of a church. That's not arguing for a pre-trib rapture. Well, I mean, does this author seriously think that whatever the government asks us to do as Christian, we just do it? I mean, that's what he's saying. Now in the New Testament age, we're just to be subjects. So if the government says stop preaching the Bible, stop preaching the gospel. So are you saying that we need to be subject to that? Hey, that's a weak Christianity. That's not a Christianity filled with the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost has given us power to make sure that we're constantly in obedience to the Lord God. So it's ridiculous. Even, I'll just read to you Ephesians 6 12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world. And then it says where they're kind of located. It says against spiritual wickedness in high places. You know, the devil's got control in the high places, in the places of authority. Yes, in the places of the government. You know, when the United States goes and goes into these nations and takes down, you know, the different Middle Eastern countries for their oil, you know who's directing them? The devil. It's coming from the devil. Okay, it's wickedness in high places that are seeking to govern nations that are outside of their borders, outside of their control. So, I mean, that's not an argument for the preacher, it's nonsense. You can see now we're just scraping the bottom of the barrel, right? The next one, point number 17, is the silence concerning the tribulation in the epistles. So the author says, the writers of the epistles had no knowledge that the church would endure the 70th week, for they certainly would have given help and guidance to meet the most severe persecution men have ever known. Is that a Bible verse? Surely, let's say, if the authors of the epistles knew we were going to go through the 70th week, surely they would have contained somewhere in there what we need to do. Well, the reason they didn't tell us specifically what to do during the 70th week is because it's no different to what we're meant to be doing today. Okay, we're still meant to be going to church. We're still meant to be preaching the gospel. We're still meant to be reading our Bibles. All right, we're still meant to be providing for our families, whatever it is. You know, it's the same thing. It's just we're doing it in a more difficult time in the 70th week. But are you sure the epistles don't say anything about us going through that period? You know, I'll just rattle these off to you. Romans 5 free. It says, and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. That's tribulation today. That's tribulation in the future. It worketh patience. We are to glory when we have that opportunity to go through tribulations. Romans 8 35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, shall distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake, we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Listen, you know what's happening to certain believers that will take place during the tribulation? They are going to be slaughtered for the name of Christ. We see that play out in the end times. And look, it's been, we're getting instruction here in the book of Romans. It is in the epistles. There are people in those days that were losing their life for Christ. You may have to lose your life for Christ one day. You never know. And of course, in the tribulation period, people are giving up their lives for the name of Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Romans 12 12, rejoicing in hope, patience in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. In fact, brethren, the Bible constantly reaffirms that we will go through tribulation. 2 Corinthians 1 3, blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comforts, who comfort of us in all our tribulation. All our tribulation, not just tribulation until the seventh of week. And that's, you don't glory there anymore. He's not going to comfort you anymore. No, he's going to comfort us in all tribulation, the Bible says. That we may be able to comfort them, which are in any trouble by the comfort where we've, we ourselves are comforted of God. God's going to comfort us in tribulation so we can comfort our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord during difficult times. And if you guys, while I'm writing off these passages to you, can you please go to 2 Thessalonians? 2 Thessalonians, while I'm reading this to you. 2 Corinthians 7, 4 says, great is my boldness of speech toward you. Great is my glory in of you. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. Are we going to go through end times tribulation? Yes, if for that final generation. What difference does it make, brethren? We ought to glory in it. We ought to be find the comfort of God during that time if we find ourselves in that time. There's no difference. It's the same thing. It's just the worst tribulation ever known to man. That's the difference, okay? Revelation 1, 9. This is from John. Of course, the book of Revelation is a book about the end times primarily. It says, I John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ who was in the isle that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. And so, brethren, you know, let me just read another portion of the book to you here. It says, yeah, again, it just says there, the writers of the epistles had no knowledge that the church would endure the 70th week for they certainly would have given help and guidance. So this author is saying that the writers of the epistles never spoke about this time for us. Now, just think about that for a moment. Just, let's say that's true. Let's say the argument is true. That the author has never said that we would go through that seven-year period. Is that still, is that an argument for the pre-trib rapture? Is he arguing from something that is written in the word of God or is he making an argument from silence? It's an argument from silence, okay? That is a, that's a logical fallacy. Building something, anybody can build anything on silence. I mean, I've never told you everything in this world, but you can say, well, I believe Pastor Kevin believes, I don't know, that a rhinoceros can turn into a giraffe. Because I never said that, silence. Yeah, but because you never said it, it could be true, right? I mean, an argument for silence is so stupid, you can say anything. You can make up anything from silence. This is why when we build our doctrine, when we teach the word of God, we teach it on things that are clearly spelt out, things that are clearly written. I say this over and over and over and over again, because I don't want you to forget. It's important. There are too many Christians that would rather base doctrines on things the Bible doesn't say than what it clearly says. But you guys are in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. Is what this author is saying true anyway? 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 6. Look at this. 2 Thessalonians 1, 6. Seen is a, it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you. So let's stop there for a moment. That God will recompense. God will take revenge on the people that take, that cause you to go into trouble, that cause you tribulation. God will recompense tribulation upon them. God will take revenge upon them. Let's keep going. Verse number 7. And to you who are troubled, rest with us. Look at this. When, when are we resting? When are we going to rest? When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. What does that sound like to you? The second coming of Christ. Is it not? It wouldn't this already cover now that seven year period? Of course. What is this tribulation in regards to then? That final seven year period. If we're talking about Christ being revealed with his holy angels, how is he going to take revenge on the tribulation that comes on believers? Verse number 8. In flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. When he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe. Because our testimony among you was believed in that day. What is that about? The seven year period, right? That's about the tribulation period. The time of wrath. This is about the second coming of Christ and Paul is telling the Thessalonian church, don't worry about the tribulation. They will cause you. Okay, so the Thessalonian church should experience it. Well, yeah, it's a teaching for the other churches. It's a teaching for the future churches. It's a teaching for the churches that will go through that time when they go through tribulation. Don't worry about it. God will take revenge. That God will come and destroy those wicked people. Hey, that is about the second coming of Christ. That is about the seven year period. Is what this author is saying correct? That the rise of epistles never spoke about it? Of course they did. Of course they did, okay? Very clearly there, those that cause you tribulation, God will take care of that. Take vengeance upon them when he returns. Let's go to their point number 18 that they've got here. The message of the two witnesses. Now we know about the two witnesses. You read about them in Revelation chapter 11. You know, many people believe that's Moses and Elijah. And this is what the author says. The message of the two witnesses. It says here, the message committed to the church is the message of grace. The church has no other message. That's it, brethren. That's all I should be preaching to you guys. Every Sunday, every service, the grace of God, the grace of God, every service, the grace of God. Would you like that? That's the only message that's for us, all right? Apparently, okay? The church has no other message. The fact that the message announced is one of judgment. Are we not to judge? Repentance? Are we not to repent? And preparation in view of the coming of the king. Are we not to prepare for the coming of Christ? These will sound like things that the church ought to know about. But then it says the preparation in view of the coming of the king indicates that the church must no longer be present for no such message is committed to her. Brethren, I'm sorry for wasting your time. I'm sorry for preaching about judgment and repentance and about the coming of the Lord because I realize now it wasn't even for you in the first place. Now I realize it's just for the Jews. So yeah, it is a pre-trib rapture. RJ probably doesn't know my sarcasm. You guys know me well enough, okay? I'm being sarcastic. I mean, that's an argument for the pre-trib rapture. Come on. You know, you guys, please go to 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy chapter 6. 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 13. Are we not to prepare for the coming of the king? You know what they say? Because Jesus is coming to establish his kingdom and that kingdom, that's just for Israel. That's just for the Jews. Are we not to prepare for that as well? 1 Timothy 6 13. The Bible says, I give thee charge in the sight of God who quickeneth all things and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession, that thou keep this commandment without spots, unrebukeable. Look at this. Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in his times he was shown, who is the blessed and only Pontentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords. What are we waiting for? For the coming of the Lord? Yes. For the coming of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. How can you say he's only the King of the Jews and not the King of us? This is written to Timothy who's a pastor of a local church. A pastor who's ordained in other pastors of other churches. Of course this is a message for us. Do you see the deception, brethren? Do you see the deception of the preacher rapture? You say, how could they possibly believe in a preacher rapture? This is why. Because they trust men like J. Dwight Pentecost. They trust these people. They trust everything that's written here and they don't go. Just let me check in. As soon as they go to the Bible and check it out, well, hold on. The Bible says here that I'm waiting for the King. It's not just for the Jews. I mean, this is basic. Like I said, bottom of the barrel now, all right? Just I guess the authors hoping that we read the first ones got convinced and we're not reading the rest of it. I don't know, right? I mean, it's just ridiculous. Point number 19. Point number 19. The destiny of the church. The destiny of the church. Now, I kind of mentioned this to you in the sermon this morning, but let me just read what the author says. So what is our destiny, brethren? This is here. No one will deny the destiny of the church is a heavenly destiny. No problem with that. I have no problem. But then it says this. If the church is on the earth during the 70th week, the body of Christ would be dismembered and the unity destroyed. Such dismemberment is impossible. Say, what is that about? Let me explain it to you because they believe those that get saved in the 70th week, they don't have these heavenly promises that they're going to go into that kingdom on the earth and basically it's for the Jews, as I said, and the Jews are to live on the earth forever and the church or the believers of the New Testament period is to live in heaven. So we're separated forever and the argument there is, well, if the church is going through the tribulation period, well, you know, the others, how is it again? Oh, they're going to go and they're going to live on the earth. And how can part of the church be on this earth and part of the church be in heaven? So it's dismembered. Like it's lost an arm or something. It's lost its head. Is this convincing to you, Reverend, about the preacher rapture? You're going, why are you preaching on this? Let me just finish the book. I mean, we're almost done. We're almost done, right? Even I'm getting frustrated reading these arguments, but it's just so, so dumb. And if I can just read to you, go to 2 Peter. Go to 2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3. Is that right? That as a church, we're only looking for heavenly things and for the Jews, they're just looking for earthly things. Are we not also looking for earthly things or in what sense? Let's have a look at this. 2 Peter 3.13. 2 Peter 3.13. The Bible reads, nevertheless, we, according to his promise, what are we looking for? Look for new, look for new heavens. Oh no. And a new earth. That's what we're looking for. A new heavens and a new earth. Wherein dwelleth righteousness, wherefore beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless. What does the Bible teach us? Yes, we are looking for the new heaven, but we're also looking to the new earth because it's one and the same. Okay. It's one. There is no separation. There is no division. There is no dismemberment as was mentioned by this author. Hey, I'm looking for both. Give me the new heaven. Give me the new earth. I want them both. God promises it to me. That's what I'm looking forward to. This author says, no, no, you should just be looking for heaven, not just for, not for the earth. All right. The next thing they've got here, the next point is the message to Laodicea. Please go to Revelation chapter 1. The message to Laodicea. Now, I'm going to have to explain this as I read it to you. The message of Laodicea. Now remember the book of Revelation was written to seven churches and one of those churches was the Laodicean church. Remember that? The last church that's mentioned. It says here according to the author, this church represents the final form of the professing church, which is rejected by the Lord and vomited out of his mouth because of the unreality of its profession. What this author is saying is that the church of Laodicea is actually not a true church. It's not really a church that belongs to God. All right. It's a professing church, but they don't actually, there's no reality of that profession. They're not really saved. Okay. That's what he, his argument is. Now, okay. So say, well, what does that do to preach a rapture? Okay. So the church that's mentioned before is the church of Philadelphia. Now let me just read to you what he says about the church in Philadelphia. He says, the only alternative is to see that the true church terminates with the Philadelphia church, which is removed from the earth according to the promise of revelation 310 before the tribulation begins. What's revelation 310? That's, you know, I will keep thee from the hour of temptation. I've already talked about it before. Okay. So the argument is because the Philadelphia church was promised to be kept from that hour of temptation. That's the final true church. Okay. And that church will be raptured. Now you say, I'll explain that. And then all we left is with the lay of the sea and church, which is not even a true church. It's not made up of believers. In other words, non-believers will go through the tribulation, but true believers will be raptured before the tribulation. That's the argument. And the argument is built on the idea, the dispensational idea that the seven churches in the book of revelation represents a period of time. Okay. And the idea there is that the Philadelphia church represents a period, and it's in the book. I just lost the page. It represents a period of about 1500s to about the 1900s. Okay. And what the author thinks that is, he thinks that's the Protestant reformation period. You know, when the Protestants protested against the Roman Catholic church, they came out, they gave lip service to salvation by grace through faith. All right. Now, I'm sure there were some safe people in that mix, but most of them still were unsaved. Okay. Because they were still stuck in a lot of the old ways of the Roman Catholic church, you know, misunderstanding what faith is. So they say that is the true church. But then in the 1900s, this is basically the lay of the seeing church. The lay of the seeing church represents a period from about the 1900s till today. And they think about, you know, the Pentecostal movement. They think about this liberalism that's come through the churches that that represents us today. And therefore, it's that type of church. It's a, it's a, what's the word? It's a non-professing, truly un-Christian church that goes through those end times because the Philadelphia church was already promised that it will be, you know, it'll be taken from the hour of temptation. That's the argument. Okay. Now, this is very easy to debunk. Okay. Revelation 1 verse 4. Revelation 1 verse 4. Because was the lay of the seeing church really an unsaved church? Do I believe the offer or does the Bible tell me otherwise? Now, I've already said this to you before. If the Bible calls it a church, it's a church. It's saved. It's a congregation. It's made up of saved believers. You know, that congregation. But anyway, let's go to the book of Revelation. Revelation 1 verse 4. Revelation 1 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 John is right into the seven churches and one of those churches is the church in lay of the seer. Verse number 5. And from Jesus Christ who is a faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth. Look at this. And to him that loved us. Who's us? John and the seven churches. John and the church in lay of the seer. John is saying, Jesus loves us. Look at this. And washed us from our sins in his own blood. Is that church saved? Is it washed from his sins? From their sins? Yes. By the blood of Christ. Verse number 6. And have made us kings and priests unto God and his father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Wait. Was the lay of the seer church a bit of a slack church? Yeah, it was. It probably wouldn't be a church I'd be happy much in if I was sitting there, right? But is it a church that's made up of saved, born again believers? Yes. Is it a church made up of people that are kings and priests of the New Testament? Yes, it was. An argument for the pre-true rapture that's a false church going into that period? Nonsense. According to Jesus, he has washed them with his own blood. Okay. And this author wants me to believe that they're not washed in the blood of Christ. Arguments for the pre-true rapture. Say, why do you get angry about it? Because I feel like it's just constantly denying Christ. Just constantly denying his blood. Just constantly denying what is clearly written for us in the word of God. And I'm the rebellious one. So I've been told. The next point. Point number 20. Oh, point number 21. The times of the Gentiles. The times of the Gentiles. Now, to be honest, I'm just going to skip over this one. Okay. Because it's not actually an argument for the pre-trib rapture. It's more an argument against the mid-trib rapture. So certain people believe that right in the middle when the Antichrist gets revealed, that's when we get raptured. Okay. We don't believe. We don't hold that position here. And so apparently, the argument they've got here, I read through it. I read it like four or five times trying to make sense of it. There is no argument for a pre-trib rapture. It's more of an argument against the mid-trib. So the idea is, by the process of elimination, you should become pre-trib. So I'll just skip over that one. It's not really important. The next one, point number 22, is the waiting remnant at the second advent. The waiting remnant of the second advent. This is another one that I'm going to just skip over because again, it's not an argument for the pre-trib rapture. It's an argument against the traditional post-trib rapture position. Those that believe the church will go there for the entire seven-year period and be raptured at the end of the seven-year period. Again, we don't believe that. And again, he's not trying to make an argument for the pre-trib. Again, it's more a process of elimination. We've eliminated mid-trib. Can't work. We've eliminated post-trib, the traditional one. That doesn't work. Therefore, you should be pre-trib. That's kind of the thoughts of the author. So it's kind of pointless. The next one is point number 23 and point number 23 is the sealed 144,000 from Israel. The sealed 144. Please go to Revelation 7. 144,000 from Israel. So this was what brother RJ read for us through the chapter there. We saw the 12,000 from every tribe of the nation of Israel. And so what the author says here is the fact that God is again dealing with Israel on this national relationship indicates that the church must no longer be on the earth. That's it. So because God is dealing with some Jews, 144,000 Israelites, that means the church can't be there. That's it. Amen. Oh, don't amen that. Revelation 7-9. Look at this. This is straight after the 144,000 I mentioned. Straight after. Revelation 7-9. After this I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number of all nations. Just the Jews. Now look, all nations include Israelites. You know what that tells me? That means there are Israelites on the earth right now that are saved. There is always a remnant. There's always a remnant in every nation, in all nations there's a remnant of believers. Okay? Which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. Does that sound like just God's dealing with the Jews right now? Man, that sounds like he's dealing with everybody. Let's drop down to verse number 13. And one of the elders answered saying unto me, what are these which are arrayed in white robes and whence came they? Where they come from? And I said unto him, so they'll know us. And he said unto me, these are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. God's program has not changed in that tribulation period. He's still saving people all across this world and he's saving them by washing their robes in the blood of the lamb. Still, of all nations, not just 144,000, I'm glad they're there. They apparently seem to be witnesses of Christ. Praise God for their ministry. But they're all getting saved. Everybody that's there rejecting the anti-Christ, rejecting the mark of the beast. Those people are the ones that are going to be most open to hearing the gospel and they're going to be people all across the world trusting Christ that come out of the great tribulation. If the author just read a few more verses in Revelation 7, he wouldn't have made such a stupid argument. Let me keep going. Point number 24. The chronology of the book of Revelation. I was going to skip over this but I think it's an interesting point because again, there's no real argument for the pre-trib here. It's more a argument against the mid-trib position but this is what the author says. According to the instructions given John in Revelation 10, 11, chapters 12 to 19 survey the 70th week a second time. You know what the author is saying? He's saying from Revelation 1 to Revelation 11, we go through that end time period one time and then from 12 to 19 or basically to the end of Revelation, we're going through that end time period one more time. Hey, that's what I believe. Hey, this author agrees with me. All right. Hey, I'll give him this one. You can have this point because I agree with you but it's not an argument for a pre-trib rapture. And then it says, he writes, this chronology makes a mid-tribulation view of the rapture impossible. Maybe, I don't know. I guess so. I'll agree with him just for the sake of agreeing with him. Awesome. But I thought it was funny to mention because I've never met and I'm speaking about the rapture to a lot of pre-tribbers. I've never met anybody that believes Revelation 12 starts all over again. I mean anybody that I talk to that thinks Revelation 12 starts and gives a second survey are always believing some type of post-trib rapture. Always. So I just thought it was funny that this author would say that but the pre-trib believers that I know don't believe that. In other words, the arguments are not consistent. Okay, they're not consistent arguments. So anyway, let's skip over that one. Next one is the great object of satanic attack. The great object of satanic attack. Let's go to Revelation chapter 12 now. Revelation chapter 12. So what is the object of satanic attack during the end times? It says here, you go to Revelation 12. According to Revelation 12, says the author, the object of satanic attack during the tribulation period is the woman who produced the child. So you know that vision of the woman. She gives birth to a man child who has that rod. Oh, how's it go again? Ah, you know what I'm talking about. And then it says here, so who's the woman? Who's the woman? The author says, the one from whom Christ came can only be Israel. So according to the author, the woman represents Israel. He doesn't give us a verse to say that. He just, that's what he believes, right? The reason Satan turns against Israel can only be explained by the absence of the church from that scene. So the only reason the devil could possibly be going after the nation, the earthly nation of Israel is because the church is not there anymore. Really? Because Israel in the Middle East is pretty satanic. It looks like Satan's already got his claws in that nation, all right, with the abortions, with the homosexuality, okay, with the centralized banking systems that they got going on there, with the usury that they charge every nation. And that seems like a satanic place. Hey, we've taken over land that belongs to the Palestinians. They have lived there for generations and generations, and they just come in and take over that land. Hey, that sounds pretty evil to me. That sounds pretty wicked to me. That sounds pretty satanic, and the earth is still here. I mean, the church is still here. The church is still here. So if it's still here, Satan's already attacking Israel, or using Israel, or whatever it is that it's doing with Israel. What kind of argument is that? Is the woman in Revelation 12 really Israel? Does the Bible tell us that? No. Now, was Jesus born? From a Jewish woman? Did he come from the tribe of Judah? Absolutely he did. But what about a better argument, right? If you guys say in Revelation 12, what about a better argument? And you know, when I first heard about this, Israel as a woman, I was searching the Bible constantly, literally page after page, trying to see when God calls Israel a woman. Because it didn't make sense to me. Israel is Jacob, right? That's his name. Jacob, a man. It's a masculine name. Jacob, Israel. It's not a woman's name. Genesis 32, 28 says, and he said, thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, look at this, for as a prince, thou has power with God and with men, and has prevailed. That's what Israel means. A prince that has prevailed with God and man. Hey, a prince sounds like a man to me. God didn't call him princess, Jacob. No, he's a prince, right? And then when God speaks about Israel coming out of the land of Egypt, in Hosea 11 one, he says when Israel was a child, then I loved him and called my son out of Egypt. Israel is a him, Israel is a son. It's got a masculine form. And the reason that's there is because that's then a prophecy of Christ that Israel will be a type of Christ that would come out of Egypt. And of course, Christ is the son of God. Could you imagine Jesus Christ being pictured by a woman coming out of Egypt? No, he's pictured in the masculine form. You know, God is a man. Just some other passages that very quickly, Isaiah 11 16 says, and there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people which shall be left from Assyria like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. I'm going Israel, she, woman, Israel, every page, where is this? Where is this? Where is this? Oh, Revelation 12, now it's a woman. Really? No, Israel is a man. Okay, and there's a few times the Bible does refer to some of the cities like Jerusalem as a woman, as a picture of a woman, some of the cities, right? But the nation itself, always a masculine form, always. Okay, so why would God just change the rules now in Revelation 12? Look at Revelation 12 verse one. What's a better argument for this? Revelation 12 one, and there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and upon her head a crown of 12 stars. Now personally, I don't have a problem someone says those 12 stars represent the 12 tribes of Israel. If you remember Joseph had a dream and he had dreamed of those 12 stars and they were like these brothers, right? I don't have a problem those stars represent that, but I think if we think about what this woman represents, she's under heaven, she's, what else? She's clothed by the sun. Sorry, lost my spot there. Clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet. Hey, this kind of looks like the world. This kind of seems like the earth where the earth is clothed by the sun and the moon is under her feet, right? And the 12 stars, we have those 12 constellations that people often refer to, might be a reference to that. I'm just throwing that out there. You know, could this represent the entire world instead? I think that's a better teaching. I'll tell you why, because I believe this woman is actually the final representation of the promise that was told to Eve when Adam and Eve sinned. And you know when Adam gave the name to Eve, it says here in Genesis 3 20 and Adam called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living. That means everybody that populates this earth, you and I, our mother is Eve, all the way back to Eve. So could this woman be the end of the promises made to Eve in the book of Revelation? I believe so, that this woman represents all living, every man, woman and child that lives on this earth. Why do I believe that? Look at Revelation 12 verse 9. Revelation chapter 12 verse 9. It says in the great dragon was cast out. Now the Bible makes a special point to point out that this dragon is that old serpent called the devil and Satan which deceived the whole world. He was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him. Well, you know what? After Eve eats of that tree of knowledge of good and evil, who was she tempted by? That old serpent, right? She was tempted by that serpent. The Bible says in Genesis 3 one, Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, have God said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Look at Revelation 12 seven now. Revelation chapter 12 verse 17, sorry, 17. Revelation 12 17. And the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnants of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Hey, that's not Israel. That's not Jews. That's not Judaism. They do not have the testimony of Jesus Christ. They do not believe in Jesus Christ. How can it be Israel? But you see that the dragon makes war against the remnant of the seed? That word is so important in the Bible. Who's the seed? Jesus Christ, right? And yes, he made promises unto Abraham and to his seed who is Christ. But a promise was made before Abraham to Eve about her seed, right? And it's in Genesis 3 14. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field upon thy belly shalt thou go and thus shall thou eat all the days of thy life. Look at this. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed. What's the serpent persecuting? The seed of the woman. What did Jesus prophesy? What did God prophesy? That that's going to happen, right? The serpent versus her seed. It shall bruise thy head and thou shall bruise his heel. Speaking to the serpent. And that sounds like the promises there. That prophecy is coming to fruition there in Revelation 12. That Eve, the mother of all living, represents the woman. That that seed of the woman, of course, is Christ. And all those that are in Christ make up that seed, right? If he are Christ, then are you Abraham's seed and is according to the promise. And the dragon, the old serpent, is persecuting the seed, persecuting those that have the name of Christ. The Jews do not believe on Jesus Christ, okay? I think that's a much better argument, okay? And that starts with Genesis. It closes off perfectly then Revelation, okay? So that's my personal belief. But they want you to believe the church is not there. They want you to believe that New Testament believes are not there. You know, ridiculous arguments. All right, point number 26. The apostasy of the period. Point number 26. The apostasy of the period. All right, so this is the argument. Since the church is not mentioned as also having kept herself from this system that's an apostate church system, it must be concluded that the church is not there. An argument from silence, again. Okay, a logical fallacy. An argument from silence. So, I mean, there's apostasy in the world today, isn't there? Isn't there heresy in the world today? Isn't there apostasy in so-called church today? But are there still not yet true believers in the world today? If that's the case today, then why would it be any different in the tribulation? Why does the New Testament church have to not be there? And it's just dumb. It's really, really dumb. All right, next argument. I don't have much to harp on about that. The promises to the true church. The promises to the true church. Point number 27. And I've already covered this. I'm just going to speed through this very quickly. But the promises are here. Point, there's two points that the author makes. Number one, Revelation 3, 10. I will keep thee from the hour of temptation. I mean, that's just their go-to verse, right? You know, we're promised to be kept from that hour. Really? I thought it was seven years of temptation. Really? I thought it was great tribulation. That's not an argument for the pre-trib rapture. I already covered that two sermons ago on this series, so I'm not going to cover it again. But the next promise to the true church is 1 Thessalonians 5, 9. And you guys know the passage. It says, God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. So because New Testament believers are promised not to be appointed to wrath, we must be gone before the wrath. Amen. Post-trib, pre-wrath rapture. Hey, I agree with the author this time. But the problem with him, he confuses the tribulation with the wrath of God. He thinks it's all the wrath of God. Therefore, he thinks we must be gone before that seven-year period. So that's argument 27. And you'll be happy to know, I'm up to the last argument, number 28, the agreement of typology. Now, please go to Luke 17, the agreement of typology. Now, for those men that were part of a men's leadership class, I can't remember exactly where I taught it, but I taught you guys, when you're building a doctrine, don't start with parables or typology. Make sure you start on the black and white scriptures. Then you allow typology and parables to illustrate the truth of those doctrines. There's a lot of false doctrines that are just built on a parable or just built on typology. And typology is the most important thing. And typology, that is actually not even confirmed in the scripture, just typology that people run with and make up ideas, okay? So, and this author, this is his final point. This is final point number 28. But he says, while argument from analogy or typology is a weak argument in itself, I'm done. It's a weak argument in of itself. That's how I should end it. It is. Would you really make this an argument for the preacher rapture then, if it's a weak argument? It is a weak argument, but let's keep going. He goes, perhaps the clearest illustration that's of the preacher rapture is that of Lot, okay? In 2 Peter 2, 6 and 9, Lot is called a righteous man. This divine commentary will shed light on Genesis 19, 22, where the angel sought to hasten the departure of Lot with the words, haste the, escape thither, for I cannot do anything till they'll become hither. So it says, Lot is a great typology of the preacher rapture, that the angels came, they took Lot out of Sodom before God reigned fire and brimstone and destroyed that wicked city. See, the preacher rapture, before God pulls down his wrath on this earth, right? And I agree, before he pulls down, the wrath will be gone, but they mean the tribulation period, right? I say, this is a great typology. Well, I can use the same typology, okay? But let's go to what Jesus says about this story. Luke 17, verse 28. Luke 17, verse 28. Let's see if this typology or analogy is better suited to a pre-trib rapture or to a post-trib pre-rap rapture, okay? Luke 17, 28. Jesus says, Likewise also, as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sowed, they planted, they builded. But in the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Lord of man is, sorry, when the Son of man is revealed. So Jesus agrees. Hey, this is a good typology. This is a good analogy of Lot coming out of Sodom when he appears, all right? So this author's in the right ballpark. Yeah, Lot can be used about the end times, right? But here's the thing that you need to notice there. What did it say in verse number 30? So when Lot was taken out of Sodom, it says, Even thus shall it be, sorry, sorry, verse number 29. But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven. The same day. That's what Jesus is pointing to, okay? Now the pre-tribulation rapture believes is this. The day you get raptured, nothing really happens to the earth. In fact, the pre-trib rapture believers tend to have this idea that the first three and a half years, it's all kind of peaceful. But no, the analogy, the typology, is that in the same day, God will rain down destruction on those people. Hey, this lines up with the post-trib pre-rap rapture that will be taken, and the Bible tells us in the book of Revelation, half an hour later, the angels start sounding those seven trumpets, and the Bible calls those trumpets the wrath of God. The same day, half an hour later after the rapture, God starts to rain his wrath and destruction upon the earth. Hey, this lines up better with a post-trib pre-rap, does it not, than a pre-trib? Because it's not happening on the same day according to the pre-trib believers, all right? That's one argument. Let's back up to verse number 26 in the same story. Luke 17 26. And as it was in the days of Noah, or Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Okay? So just to backtrack a little bit about Jesus, tell him about the story of Lot, he also speaks about Noah, doesn't he? Now please go to Matthew 24. Matthew 24. I want to show you this because the teaching that we've just read in Luke 17 is a parallel teaching to Matthew 24. Matthew 24 is not for the church. Matthew 24 is for the Jews. Or it's a parallel teaching. Matthew 24 verse number 37. Matthew 24 verse 37. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be, for as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, married and given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Luke 17. When Jesus talks about Lot, about the coming of the Son of Man, it's tied into Matthew 24. It's the same teaching. And this author already told us that Matthew 24 is not for us. You see how when it suits their arguments, they go to it, but when you want to use it, oh no, it's not for you, for the church. If you just went to Matthew 24, and he knows this, don't think he's ignorant, he knows that Luke 17 is the same as Matthew 24, the same teaching, because then all he has to do is go back to verse number 29 in the same chapter, Matthew 24, 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give a light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken. Immediately after the tribulation, the Bible says. Post-tribulation. Hey, I'm just using the same teaching he used, but you know, he'll tell me I'm wrong. He's using the same teaching. Verse number 30. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and he shall send his angels. Hey, like the angels were sent to Lot to take him out of Sodom, right? 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. Post-tribulation. The angels are going to come and take us away at the rapture before half an hour later, it rains down. Destruction, judgment, wrath upon the world. Post-trib, pre-wrath, okay? Reverend, those are the essential arguments for the pre-trib rapture. If you've misunderstood my sermons and now you're a pre-trib believer, I'm sorry, I'll have to teach it again to you, okay? So I don't want to have to revisit all those arguments again. You know, I'm thankful I've gone through them. Those are all the arguments, 26 or so arguments, and you can see how ridiculous they are, okay? And not built on any black and white scriptures, just built on just rubbish, honestly. And so contradictive within himself. So as we continue this series, I'm glad now I can just get straight into what the end times holds without having to go back and debunk these arguments. Okay, let's pray.