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Matthew Stuckey here and I wanted to make a quick video on three myths of the rapture. Three myths of the rapture. When it comes to topics in the Bible that there are so many different opinions and confusion about, I would say that the end times is probably number one. Many people, they read the book of Revelation and to them it's like reading, you know, Mandarin Chinese or some advanced calculus class or something like that. But I don't believe that's the way that God intended it because the book of Revelation starts off with the revelation of Jesus Christ, meaning that it's being revealed. You know, God does not intend it to be some dark and really confusing thing. He actually intends us to understand it and I think that if you understand these three myths I'm going to mention, I think it's going to really open up the book of Revelation to you like never before. So myth number one about the rapture is this, that the tribulation and the wrath are the exact same thing. That tribulation and wrath are the exact same thing. Many people think that the tribulation is this seven year time period and the wrath is seven years and that basically Christians will be raptured before the tribulation and before the wrath of God and they think that the tribulation and wrath are identical. That's actually not the case. In 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 9 the Bible reads, For God hath not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. So the Bible tells us, and this is just after he was talking about the rapture at the end of 1 Thessalonians 4 and even bleeding into 1 Thessalonians 5, he says that God hath not appointed us to wrath. And I agree with that statement and people would quote that statement and say, well see, there you go, pre-tribulational rapture. But what we believe is that the rapture is after the tribulation but before the wrath of God. It's a post-trib pre-wrath rapture. So here's the tribulation, here is the rapture, and then here is the wrath of God. And so the wrath of God is being poured out on unsaved people but Christians are the ones going through tribulation until that rapture actually takes place. And so they'll quote 1 Thessalonians 5-9 but yet the Bible talks about Christians going through persecution from the beginning, the book of Genesis, all the way to Revelation. And show me somebody in the Bible that did not go through tribulation. The Old Testament prophets went through tribulation and persecution. The Bible says, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So if the Bible says all of us that live godly will suffer persecution, why is it that there's a select group of people during the end times that just get to escape all of the persecution and tribulation? No, actually it's going to be at the peak of the persecution and tribulation that has ever existed. John 15 verse 20, the Bible reads, Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. So Jesus said that, you know what, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they persecuted me, which they did, they're going to persecute you. And so this idea that during the end times people are going to escape persecution goes against the whole concept or the whole context of the entire Bible and goes against what Jesus Christ was saying. The reality is that people that believe in a preacher of rapture, there's a few reasons why. You know, one is because they're confused, which I'm trying to help this confusion in this video. Another thing is that they don't want to go through persecution. And another thing is, you know what, they've never experienced that persecution. If you're actually serving God, you understand, Yea, all that will of godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. If you're serving God, you get persecuted and it's going to be no different during the end times. It's going to be at the peak of persecution. So throughout the Bible, I encourage you to look up the word tribulation. And the vast majority of the time, it's God's people going through persecution from the unsaved world that is persecuting us as believers. During the end times, tribulation and wrath, those are not the same things. Many times people are confused what our position is being post-trib and pre-wrath. Our position is that God's people go through tribulation. Then the Antichrist reveals himself midway through Daniel's 70th week. Then there's great tribulation, the rapture, and then God pours out his wrath right after the rapture. Why? Well, the tribulation and God's wrath are not the same thing. Myth number one, the tribulation and wrath are the same thing. That's not true. They're different. Myth number two is that the rapture is secret. That the rapture can happen just at, you know, just any time and nobody's going to be aware of what's taking place. So many people have this idea, and what the Preacher of Rapture teaches is that the rapture is secret and no one will have any idea that it's actually taking place. But the Bible does not teach that. Revelation 1 verse 7, it says, Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, 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 Bible says that when Jesus comes, every eye shall see him. So this idea that Jesus is going to rapture his people and nobody's going to know what happened, well, that's fiction. That's not what the Bible teaches. That's what the movie Left Behind teaches. That's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches every eye shall see him. And thinking about this logically, why would it make, what, how does that make sense that the rapture is going to take place and no one's going to be aware of it, and they're going to be sitting around saying, I don't know what happened. Like an episode of The Twilight Zone, where is everybody? That doesn't make any sense. I mean, everybody would be aware of what took place if all of a sudden a large portion of the public is just gone. It doesn't make any sense to sit here and say there's going to be this vanishing, and no one's going to know what happened, no one's going to understand what happened, and they're all going to be confused. No, the Bible says every eye shall see him. Later on in the book of Revelation, when it talks about this time period, people are aware. It says in Revelation 6 verse 12, And I beheld when it 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. Look, if the sun becomes black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon becomes his blood, everyone's going to be aware of what's taking place, okay? There's no area of the world, as it says in, I believe it's Psalm 19, where, you know, the sun does not rise and set, okay? People are aware of this. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll, when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. Now why are they hiding themselves if they don't understand what's taking place? And said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand? And see, you have to understand, the people that are enemies of God, they believe that they're on the right side, until you see the sun becoming black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon becoming his blood, and all of a sudden it's like, oh whoops, we were wrong. And they're fall, they try to be hidden, they hide, you know, they say to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us. Why? They're aware of what's taking place. And then you see in the next chapter in Revelation 7, there's a great multitude which no man can number, which is the rapture. The beginning of Revelation 8, you see God's wrath being poured out. So look, everyone's aware of it. It's not just those that are being raptured, those that are on earth are aware of what is taking place. Obviously this is going to be talked about a lot during the end times, and those that are God's people are going to be proclaiming the truth, and they're going to deny it, and they don't believe it. They think they're on the right side, until they find out that they're not. And look, this is something that everyone's going to know. Every eye shall see as Jesus returns. Myth number one, the tribulation and God's wrath are the same thing. They're not. The tribulation is God's people going through tribulation from the unsaved world. However, God's wrath is God pouring out his wrath upon the unsaved world after the rapture takes place. Myth number two, that the rapture is secret. The rapture is not secret. Every eye shall see him. Myth number three, the rapture is imminent, meaning it can happen at any moment. So when you teach a preacher of rapture, what those people believe is that the rapture can happen at any moment, and nothing has to take place. Is that what the Bible teaches? Second Thessalonians 2, verses 1 through 3. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him. So this is referring to the rapture. That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. So what Paul is saying is, I don't want you to be shaken in mind. It wasn't a letter. It wasn't, you know, our word, or the Word of God. It wasn't, you know, the Spirit that taught you this, that the day of Christ is at hand. At hand meaning it's about to take place. He's saying, you know, there was nothing that we wrote saying that the day of Christ is at hand. First Thessalonians 4 and First Thessalonians 5 didn't say that the day of Christ is at hand. Paul's saying, I don't want you to think that the day of Christ is at hand, because that cannot take place. You say, why? Well, verse 3 says, let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. The man of sin is referring to the Antichrist. And look, unless you're gonna stand up here and tell me exactly who is the Antichrist, and that he's revealed himself, the truth is, Jesus cannot come back. The Antichrist must reveal himself first. Now you might have a wild guess on who you think the Antichrist is, and it might be right, it might be wrong, but the bottom line is, the Antichrist hasn't revealed himself. The Antichrist hasn't stood in the temple and said, I am God in the flesh. That is not taking place. And so look, the Antichrist has not revealed himself. Now I personally believe that the Antichrist is not living yet. I do not believe that this event is taking place in the next 15-20 years, but whether it is or it isn't, and whether or not you guess correctly on who the Antichrist is, there's no question the Antichrist has not revealed himself. And look, Paul said, that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed. So the man of sin, the Antichrist, must reveal himself before the rapture could take place. And look, you have to realize, when the Antichrist comes, the Bible says he's gonna wear out the saints of the Most High in the Book of Daniel. Look, if all the Christians are raptured from the earth, who is the Antichrist persecuting? Who is he wearing out? There are no saints on earth. I mean, if all the Christians are raptured from the earth, who exactly is the Antichrist persecuting? It doesn't make any sense, because the 144,000 are sealed in Revelation chapter 7. And so if the rapture takes place and there's no Christians left on earth, who exactly is the Antichrist persecuting? Who exactly is he trying to deceive? It doesn't make any sense. See, the Antichrist is gonna come. The first three and a half years, there's gonna be persecution on saved people. When the Antichrist declares himself to be God, the abomination of desolation, then the persecution is gonna be the worst in the history of the world, and everybody is gonna hate the Bible-believing Christian. That is known as the Great Tribulation. And then, if those days were not shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened, because what's gonna take place is Jesus is gonna come back, he's gonna rapture those that are left alive, because many saved people are gonna die during the Great Tribulation. And he's gonna rapture those that are still alive, and the dead in Christ shall rise, then we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep, the Bible says. And so he is going to rapture his people, and then he's gonna pour out his wrath, and that is why what they said in Revelation 6 was, fall on us and hide us, right? They're afraid of the Lamb of God, because they're evil, wicked people, and it's like, oh man, we're on the wrong side, and God is going to pour out his wrath. People will often quote Matthew 24 where it says, but of that day and hour knoweth no man. Now that's in Matthew 24 verse 36, and many of the same people that say, you know, that quote that verse, of that day and hour knoweth no man, many of those same people will say that Matthew 24 is not the rapture, but then they're going to quote a verse from Matthew 24 to defend their view on the rapture. Now the reason why they don't want this to be the rapture in Matthew 24, is because it said in Matthew 24 verse 29, immediately after the tribulation of those days. And so we quote Matthew 24 verse 29 and say, well 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. Just like in Revelation 6. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect, the Bible says. And so the Bible talks about how he's going to gather together, you know, the same people there in Matthew chapter 24. And so this is clearly referring to the rapture. But people often quote Matthew 24 verse 36 and say, well of that day and hour knoweth no man. But here's the thing, I don't claim to know the day of the return of Jesus Christ. What I claim though, is it is after the tribulation. I claim it's not imminent. I claim there are things that have to take place. That doesn't mean that I'm telling you the exact day it's gonna take place. I'm not setting a day for the rapture saying, well on this day there's gonna be the rapture. I don't know the day, but I do know that certain things must take place first. And the context in Matthew 24 is after the tribulation. And look, when Peter was alive, he was told that he was gonna suffer a torturous death, you know, to glorify God. So was the rapture imminent during the time of Peter? Because Peter knew that he would be tortured to death. So he knew that Jesus couldn't come back at any moment until after he was dead. So look, the Bible never teaches an imminent rapture. It never teaches a secret rapture. And it never teaches that the tribulation and God's wrath are the same. And look, the purpose of this video is to help open up your eyes and your mind. Many people that are saved, probably most people that are saved, are very confused about the end times. I don't claim that everything about the end times is the simplest to understand, but the book of Revelation is actually nowhere near as complicated as people think. The timing of the rapture is actually pretty easy to understand when you read the Bible. So I encourage you to read the book of Revelation with an open mind, with these three myths in mind. And look, realize the first words of the book of Revelation, the revelation of Jesus Christ. It's being revealed. It's something you can understand. It's not meant to be a mystery as a saved person with the Spirit of God inside of you. No, God told us exactly what was going to take place, and as a saved person you can understand. What the Bible teaches is that there's tribulation for three and a half years, everything's being set up for the rise of the Antichrist, and things are going to be really crazy in the world. And then the Antichrist is going to reveal himself three and a half years in, and that's the proof beyond a shadow of a doubt as saved people. We know, okay, this is the abomination of desolation, there's the image that they're demanding everybody to worship, and then there's going to be great tribulation where if you do not take this mark, you are going to be persecuted by the political authorities that are underneath this power of this Antichrist. But, those days shall be shortened. The Bible says God will rapture his people, and once they are raptured, God is going to pour out his wrath on this unsaved world. Thank you, and God bless.