"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged 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 of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

I grew up learning pre-tribulation rapture doctrine in church buildings, and I believed it for a number of years after I was saved because it was all I had ever known. Before I begin, I want readers to note that, in 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul directly rebuked what is known today as "pre-tribulation" (i.e. pre-trib) rapture doctrine:

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 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. 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; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
-2 Thessalonians 2:1-5

We will come back to these verses later in this teaching, but I wanted to quickly point this out because the controversy in church buildings about pre-trib is the most common reason that people search out this topic. However, as we are going to learn in this teaching, pre-trib does not exist. Also, mid-trib and post-trib do not exist. I know many will reject this before they have heard it, but for those of you who want to hear the matter first and then judge it, I appreciate you staying to read, and I will walk through the Scripture and explain it as thoroughly as I am able.

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
-Proverbs 18:13

Also, before I begin, I want to apologize to everyone who has been a long-time listener to my ministry, as I have taught this in partial error in the past. I have to be corrected sometimes, just as all of us Christians have to be corrected sometimes, and sadly, very few Christian teachers I have ever seen are willing to correct their errors; it's a lot of work, and I understand the reasons why they do not want to do it, but those who refuse correction forsake the ways of God.

Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
-Proverbs 15:10

I plead with Christians to take time to consider the matter from the Bible directly, not just believing the first thing you hear a pastor say because it sounds good on the outside; that includes me, meaning that you ought to read the Scripture carefully and check out what I am teaching you too.

The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
-Proverbs 15:28

I used to teach that the prophecy of the final days was not a top-priority doctrine, as many ministries make it out to be, simply because it does not change what our responsibilities are to the Lord Jesus Christ. Our job as Christians is almost always the same, no matter the time. Although I do somewhat still hold that same position today (namely because I believe there are a lot of Christians in America today who have little understanding of basic doctrine which is far more vital), I was given conviction to write on this topic because of the seriousness with which God takes the matter of prophets:

If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
-Deuteronomy 13:1-5

Of course, this was directed to Jewish government, but it occurred to me that the Lord God took this matter so seriously, He instructed Israel to criminally execute anyone who claimed to be of the Spirit of God, but falsely prophesied future events in His name. Therefore, we can conclude that God takes this matter seriously, which is the meaning of the third of the Ten Commandments, that a man should not take the name of God upon himself (e.g. today, one who calls himself a Christian) in vain:

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
-Exodus 20:7
(Read "Jesus Said There Are Many False Converts" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

A prophet can be someone who foretells future events, but does not have to foretell future events because that is only one definition of a prophet. A prophet is also someone who communicates the Word of God through Scripture, teaching the interpretations of it (1Co 14:1), which would make what I am doing now prophesying, and thus, if we look at the seriousness with which God views false prophets in Deuteronomy 13, it means that we should not listen to those who teach false prophesies because they are speaking of themselves, and not from the Holy Spirit of God.

This is why Jesus told us to beware the doctrine of religious leadership, because the doctrine they believe and teach is the primary determining factor for whether or not they are truly of God:

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees... Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
-Matthew 16:6-12

In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
-Luke 12:1

Please do not misunderstand; this is not to say that Christians will not err. I also err in my doctrine from time to time. However, Christians humble themselves and correct error because they love the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Pride" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Error does not make one a false preacher, but rather, error without repentance and correction makes one a false preacher, and if one false preacher and hypocrite is allowed to stay in the church, then the rest of the church will become false teachers and hypocrites because:

A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
-Galatians 5:9

Therefore, when we understand that those who teach pre-trib are prophesying, and that they are false teachers if they will not come to repentance (grief and godly sorrow) of their wrongdoing and be corrected, the situation becomes much more serious:

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
-Matthew 7:15

Notice that Jesus did not teach us that there would be a few prophets, some here and there in various oddball religious cults, who would attempt to deceive us, but rather, He taught that there would be MANY of them who would disguise themselves, that they may outwardly (to the untrained eye) appear to be Christians:

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
-Matthew 24:11

This is not to say that anyone who teaches pre-trib doctrine is not of God because certainly we can sometimes be deceived. I was deceived for many years on this topic, so I can understand. Nor should we say that all those who preach against pre-trib doctrine are automatically of Christ, for there are many I have seen who teach correct doctrine on the end days, but are false preachers; rather, we should not judge according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
-John 7:24

Therefore, I would ask all readers to do the same with me. Do not judge this teaching based on emotions or opinions, which is the spirit of fear, but judge this teaching based on the merits of the facts of Scripture in righteousness, comparing Scripture with Scripture, which comes from an objective and sound mind given by the gift of the Spirit of God.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
-2 Timothy 1:7

The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
-Proverbs 15:28

These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
-1 John 2:26-27

I did not want the introduction to this teaching to be too long, but I believe I needed to preface these things because, based on my experience in conversation with churchgoers, the primary reason people hold on so tightly to the pre-trib doctrine is because they respect the person of their pastor. Respecting persons means that one looks at the pastor, his office or station, and trusts in him implicitly because he is a pastor, rather than checking out the things he says and verifying the facts.
(Read "Respecting Persons Is Sin" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
-James 2:9

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
-Acts 17:11

The question I would ask to all born again Christians is this:

Have you ever studied this subject on your own?

Please do not misunderstand; if you have never considered this matter or studied it out, it is not a sin, and because many preachers turn this into a very complex issue, it is understandable why many are nervous to study it out for themselves. However, we must learn to trust in the Holy Spirit of God. On the other hand, if you have taught others to believe in pre-trib, and it is something you think is important, but you have not studied it on your own, that sounds like someone who is lazy and does not want to be bothered to put in the effort to prove the doctrine.
(Read "The Christian Work Ethic" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
-2 Timothy 2:15

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
-1 Thessalonians 5:21

For some Christians, I know this topic can seem to be intimidating because you believe it is too difficult for you, and a lot of that fear comes from pastors who have confused this matter so much as they have twisted the Scripture into something far more complex than it is. (2Pe 3:14-16) Also, some topics are more difficult than others, but with the help of the Holy Spirit of God opening your understanding, you may end up finding that this topic is more simple than you originally thought.

The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
-Psalm 119:130

As indicated in the title of this teaching, the word 'rapture' is commonly used today, and many people recognize it, but we should first define its meaning because it is not a word that is used in Scripture:

rapture (n): transport; ecstasy; violence of a pleasing passion; extreme joy or pleasure
(See 'rapture', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Sept 18, 2019, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

In context, the word 'rapture' is used to express the Lord Jesus Christ coming back to transport His elect (i.e. Christians) to heaven, which will be done swiftly or rapidly (i.e. from the Latin raptus or rapio), and will be a joyous occasion to those who look for His coming. As we will see later in Revelation, this will all happen before the wrath of God (i.e. the great and terrible Day of the Lord, which will be the end of the world) is poured out onto the children of disobedience and unbelievers of this world.

So when will Christ return, and are there any signs for us to know when the end of the world will come? Or if you are like me, you might be a bit overwhelmed, thinking:

Where in the Bible should I start?

In His great kindness, Jesus answered that for us because His disciples asked Him that very same question:

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
-Matthew 24:3
(See also Mark 13:3-4 & Luke 21:7)

We are going to walk through Matthew 24 and address the points Christ makes, but before we do that, I want to point out the fact that most churchgoers and pastors who defend pre-trib tell Christians to ignore Matthew 24. In other words, they want you to rip that chapter out of your Bible by making the argument the Matthew 24 is meant "just for the Jews."

There are two primary problems with that argument; the first being that this is the same quick one-liner excuse churchgoers make for ANY Scripture they disagree with or cannot explain. To give an example, I had a short discussion with a man where I quoted Matthew 7:21-23 (in which Jesus said that many people would call Him Lord and claim they served Him, but are cast into hell and the lake of fire), and the problem with these verses is that they contradict the traditional, lukewarm church building doctrine that he was accustomed to (i.e. he does not believe there is such a thing as a false convert), so instead of searching the Scriptures for answers, he justified himself by saying, "Jesus was talking about Jews asking to be let into the kingdom on merit of being Jewish."
(See seanocaster, quoted in "I don't think r/OpenChristianity is even 'Christian'," Reddit, retrieved Sept 12, 2019, [http://bit.ly/2lKuf2H]; Read "Why Millions of Believers on Jesus Are Going to Hell" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Of course, if you actually read Matthew 7, there is nothing that indicates that Jesus was only talking to the Jews. I even pointed out to this churchgoer that the commonly named "Golden Rule" (i.e. do unto others as you would have them do unto you), which is the fulfillment of the law and prophets in Christ, is in Matthew 7:

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
-Matthew 7:12

I asked the churchgoer if he believed that was just for the Jews, and in short, his response was "Yes." Furthermore, he said this was "preached in the context of Pharisaical Judaism," but he was completely ignorant that Matthew 7 is a continuation from Matthew 5, in which Jesus is preaching the "Sermon on the Mount" to the thousands of common believers who followed him to hear His doctrine, and thus, if what this churchgoer said was true, then not only does he refuse to apply Matthew 5-7 to his own life (which makes him a hypocrite), but he teaches Christians to ignore the doctrine of Christ! This is what happens when someone adopts church-ianity instead of Christianity, in that they love traditions and doctrines of men rather than the Word of God, and we see the same pattern for pre-tribbers with Matthew 24 because chapters 24 and 25 destroy pre-trib doctrine, which is why many pastors want you to ignore it.

The second problem is that the majority of Matthew 24 addresses Christians. There is a paragraph of Matthew 24 that specifically speaks to the Jews, and there is a good reason for that, which I will point out later once we get to those verses, but for now, let's begin to read what Christ taught us about the end of the world:

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
-Matthew 24:4

The first thing Jesus warns us is to be cautious about men who would look to deceive us on this matter. For example, when a false prophet (i.e. false preacher) tells you to disregard Matthew 24 so he can justify his false doctrines, we need to be cautious about simply taking someone's word for what they teach without verifying those things in Scripture.

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
-Matthew 24:5

There have been quite a number of people who have claimed to be Christ just over the past two centuries alone, and by this, I mean DIRECTLY claimed to be Christ Himself. I point this out because there are many other semi-direct claims, for example, like those of the Catholic Church in which their wicked popes are said to be the indirect seat of Christ; even the priests of the Catholic Church are called "vicar," which means they are claiming to be a replacement for Christ, and though this is an affront against against God, this is not what I mean by 'directly'. To demonstrate an example of a direct claim, the 19th century founder of the Bahai Faith (a middle-eastern religious cult), Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri (who went by the name "Bahaullah") claimed to be the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies, and millions of his followers today still believe this.
(Read "Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism" here at creationliberty.com for more details; See also Adib Taherzadeh, "The Covenant of Bahaullah," G. Ronald, 1992, ISBN: 9780853983446)

Other examples include Jim Jones, who became infamous for leading hundreds of people to drink poison and kill themselves by teaching them that he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, and Vernon Howell, more infamously known as David Koresh, who taught Adventists that he was the Son of God come back to earth, which eventually led to his death during the 1993 Waco Siege, where the United States ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) agents raided his religious cult's compound for breaking a number of federal laws. Even today, there are many people who claim to be Jesus Christ on earth, such as Oscar Ortega-Hernandez, who was arrested for firing rifle shots at the White House, Alan Miller, a former Jehovah's Witness along with Mary Luck who claims to be his "Mary Magdalene," and David Shayler, a former MI5 agent who now has YouTube videos in which he claims to be Jesus; these are a few of many names that could be mentioned just in the past few decades.
(See David Jackson and Donna Leger, "White House shooting suspect called Obama 'the anti-Christ'," USA Today, Nov 17, 2011, retrieved Sept 13, 2019, [http://bit.ly/2lSnXOg]; See also Divine Truth, "Welcome From Jesus & Mary," retrieved Sept 13, 2019, [divinetruth.com/sites/main/en/index.htm#welcome.htm]; See also Jane Fryer, "The MI5 Messiah: Why David Shayler believes he's the son of God," DailyMail, Aug 15, 2007, retrieved Sept 13, 2019, [https://dailym.ai/2mgEThX])

These examples are intended to demonstrate that what Christ said was true, and this is what He meant contextually when He warned us not to be deceived. We have no need to listen to such men; we can immediately dismiss and avoid them:

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
-Romans 16:17-18

Jesus continues to teach:

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
-Matthew 24:6

It would not take much effort beyond getting online and tuning into any major news source to see wars and rumors of wars today. I do not believe much evidence needs to be provided for anyone to easily find that information; in fact, there are so many examples that could be given, especially in Middle Eastern countries, I will not even bother to list them in this teaching. Jesus told us who are born again not to be disturbed or grieved by such things (as the world will be) because they must come to pass before the end.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
-Matthew 24:7

Again, these are things that are common today if we simply look up any major news source. I did an update to this teaching in September of 2019, and just a quick glance at the news showed that there was a major hurricane that did a lot of damage to the southeastern United States, and 4.0 earthquake in the southwestern region. There are countless examples of such things happening all over the world, almost every day.

Then Jesus said:

All these are the beginning of sorrows.
-Matthew 24:8

The "beginning of sorrows" is being described as a time period leading up to the final days. It should be noted that Jesus never said how long this time would be, nor to what frequency we would see or hear of these things, but that such things (e.g. false prophets claiming to be Christ, diseases, wars, famines, etc) would give us reason to conclude being within the beginning of sorrows.

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
-Matthew 24:9

It is not said how long the beginning of sorrows shall be, but after this time, those who preach and act in the name of Jesus Christ will be afflicted and killed, and if you remember earlier, I said I was going to point out the verses that prove Christ is speaking to Christians. Ask yourself: Are the Jews hated and killed in Christ's name? Of course not, because most Jews do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, which means He is not talking to the Jewish people, but rather, He is talking to those who are the disciples of Christ, whether Jew or Gentile.

Again, this is the problem with preachers who come up with the convenient excuse of "that was just for the Jews" because they do not study to understand. Sadly, there are many who prefer to rip Matthew 24 out of their Bibles, close their eyes, and hope for the best. Those who suffer tribulation for the sake of Jesus Christ are the born again Christians, who are the children of God, and we are promised that we will be afflicted (i.e. grieved and pained of body and mind), hated, and killed.

Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
-Hebrews 11:25

And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
-1 Peter 3:13-16

Some readers may be surprised to learn that somewhat famous Christian teachers, like Sam Gipp, Dave Hunt, and Geoffry Grider have taught people to ignore Matthew 24 because, as they say, "it's just for the Jews." Their material is flooded with pre-trib doctrine, and it's one of a number of reasons why I stopped studying the teachings of such men, nor will I endorse their materials any longer; I simply cannot trust a man who would deceive himself and others by telling them to ignore the Word of God so he can justify his pet doctrines.

Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
-Mark 7:13

To give an example, I had a man named Aaron write to me after I first published this teaching, and in his email to me, he said:
"Hello Chris, I'm writing in response to your Tribulation article... Matthew 24 IS directed at the Jews only because there were no Christians at this point (Christ had not died and rose again yet) - so how could he be talking to us?"

Of course, as I read Aaron's letter, it was obvious he had no intention of having a discussion with me, nor did he want answers to his questions; rather, he was just making accusations. I am willing to have a conversation with someone about doctrine, but they have to be willing to listen to me as well; I cannot participate in a one-sided conversation.

Aaron ignored the fact that Jesus was referring to those who served in His name, which the unbelieving Jews have no part in. Also, Aaron completely missed the gigantic fallacy of his argument: If what he said was true, that this was just for the Jews because there were no Christians yet, then he would have to throw out nearly all of the first four books of the New Testament (along with the beginning of Acts) and ignore Christ's doctrine in them because, at that time, there were no Christians. (Based on his letter, I know Aaron does not do that, which means he's a hypocrite and a deceiver who does not live the way he claims to believe.)

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
-Matthew 7:5

It should also be noted that many of these churchgoers and preachers also teach the false doctrine on storehouse tithing in their lust for money, preaching from Malachi 3, which is mind-blowing hypocrisy because Malachi 3 clearly states that it was directed towards "the sons of Levi" (Mal 3:3), "Judah and Jerusalem" (Mal 3:4), "the sons of Jacob" (Mal 3:6), and the nation of Israel specifically (Mal 3:9), and yet, they claim that these verses are for all Christians today, and that all are required to participate in tithe. Thus, when the Bible says it is specifically for the Jews, these deceptive preachers say that it is for all Christians so the preachers can make more money, but then when the Bible does NOT say it just for the Jews, they claim it IS just for the Jews so they can justify their fluffy-feeling pre-trib doctrine, proving that they are hypocrites and deceivers who are self-seeking, twisting the Word of God as they please, and they do so to their own destruction.
(Read "Tithe is Not a Christian Requirement" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest [i.e. twist and distort], as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
-2 Peter 3:14-16

The purpose of justifying pre-trib is to convince churchgoers that they will not be persecuted. It's a positive-sounding message that fills up the pews on a Sunday morning. Those who believe in pre-trib are following the traditions and doctrines of men, and not the Word of God:

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy [a way of thinking] and vain deceit [lies] , after the tradition of men, after the rudiments [first teachings] of the world, and not after Christ.
-Colossians 2:8

Jesus did not promise us many wonderful experiences while we live in this world:

persecute (v): to pursue in a manner to injure, vex, or afflict; to harass with unjust punishment or penalties for supposed offenses; to inflict pain from hatred or malignity
(See 'persecute', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Sept 13, 2019, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
-Matthew 5:10-12

Through that persecution, by the Holy Spirit of God, we will have joy and rejoicing, but many false teachers in church buildings today teach congregations to "love and enjoy life," despite the fact that Jesus said:

He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth [extreme dislike of] his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
-John 12:25

Those who love their lives are those who have not come to godly sorrow of their wrongdoing (2Co 7:9-10), to acknowledge their own wretched state (Rev 3:17), and the corruption and suffering of this world (Rom 8:22). They will be offended by those of us who teach the fullness of Christ's doctrine:

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
-Matthew 24:10

Though the world does persecute us, the majority of that persecution is going to come from within church buildings, from churchgoers and pastors who are false converts, which is why He said they would "betray one another." Even the phrase "wolf in sheep's clothing" means that, on the outside, they will appear to be sheep, disguising themselves to be of the church, which means they will rise up from among us. Just as it was in the days of the twelve disciples of Christ, in which those who were supposed to be the children of God ended up betraying Jesus, so we will see the same from those who claim to be of Christ, honoring Christ with their lips only, but their hearts are far from Him.

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
-Matthew 15:8

Most churchgoers today remain blissfully ignorant of the truth, namely that the majority of persecution in these days will come from those within religious institutions. Jesus gave a lot more details on this subject, and I cover His doctrine on that in another teaching called "Jesus Said There Are Many False Converts" here at creationliberty.com.

And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
-Mark 4:16-17

As persecution and affliction increase, it will be much easier to identify the false converts who immediately received the Word of God with joy, instead of receiving it in the tears of godly sorrow of their wrongdoing. That means they never came to repentance, and therefore, their faith is fake, just as their joy is fake, and Jesus said there would be many such people call Him "Lord," claiming to do wonderful works in His name, but they were not of God.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
-Matthew 7:21-23
(Read "Why Millions of Believers on Jesus Are Going to Hell" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

So Jesus is telling us that following the beginning of sorrows, or as the sorrows of that age increase, we will be persecuted and suffer. Jesus continues:

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
-Matthew 24:11

Not only those who foretell future events under false pretenses, but also, in the more general sense of a prophet (i.e. public instruction of Scripture), and many will follow their destructive ways as they make merchandise of the people. Even now, there are many pastors and elders of various religious sects who do such wicked things while claiming to be of Christ, and they speak evil of those who are born again in Christ, deceiving the people to prevent them from hearing the message of repentance and remission of sin. (Luke 24:44-47) of which there are many church building leaders even now who do these wicked things, speaking evil of those of us who bring the way of truth to the people.

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
-2 Peter 2:1-3

Continuing in Matthew 24:

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
-Matthew 24:12

Iniquity is wickedness (which is sin), and because of their sin, true love will fade away. Please do not misunderstand love in Scripture to be the warm, gooey feeling people get inside, because that is what is preached in modern new-age church buildings; rather, true love is a selfless sacrifice, and with the coldness I have seen in the world spread among those who are churchgoers and pastors, I can see much more coming in the future, knowing that it will only get worse.

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
-Matthew 24:13

Please do not misunderstand this verse either; this is not to say that our works save us, for we are saved by grace through faith in Christ (Eph 2:8-9), but rather, those who continue in God's Word are indeed Christ's disciples. (John 8:31) Those who continue in the suffering of persecution are the true servants of God, not that they worked their way into heaven, but because they had the Holy Spirit of God in them, and through the Holy Spirit of God, neither grief, sorrow, torture, or death could turn them away from their duties and obedience to Him.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
-Matthew 24:14

For those who would believe this is just for the Jews, it is not the gospel of the Jews that was going out into the world. This is referring to the Gospel of Christ, which Christians are to bring unto the whole world. (Mat 28:18-20)

Once the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been heard of all, the witness of the martyrs of Jesus have been seen by all nations, and fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then Jesus will come back and the end of the world will follow. However, pre-tribbers believe that Jesus will come back prior to the fullness of the Gentiles, taking all the Christians current to that point, then there will be this "tribulation period of time" where others will have a final chance to get saved (which is a denial of Christ's teaching that the fullness of the Gentiles is harvested once), and then Jesus supposedly comes back again for a third time to take up the rest of them, but if you look carefully, you will notice the Bible has nothing to say about a third coming of Jesus.

At this point, in the King James Bible, there is a paragraph marker, and for a good reason. Jesus then begins to describe what is called the abomination of desolation:

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
-Matthew 24:15

This is where we need to pause Matthew 24 for a bit to look into Daniel because Jesus has given us a lead we need to follow in our research. What is the abomination of desolation?

abomination (n): defilement, pollution, in a physical sense, or evil doctrines and practices, which are moral defilements, idols and idolatry
desolation (n): destruction or expulsion of inhabitants; ruin; waste; gloominess; sadness; destitution
(See 'abomination' & 'desolation', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Sept 17, 2019, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

Before we go into the specifics in the book of Daniel, it should be noted that, although Daniel was given prophecy of a number of future events (even those unto the end of the world), God pointed out something important we should understand as we go forward:

And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
-Daniel 12:8-10

The knowledge and understanding of what exactly is going to happen, and the meaning of those things in the book of Revelation (i.e. the book of the end), are sealed until the time in which those things begin to happen. Those who live before the times of the end, but claim to know the fullness of the end, are liars because until the day in which Christians are living in the time of the end, we will not fully understand the things that are written because God has locked our understanding, which cannot be opened without His approval; we may be able to grasp the general concepts, but we cannot know the fullness of the events yet.

In chapter 9, Daniel had come before God in repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow) of his sin and the sins of the Jews, and during that prayer, the angel Gabriel had come to him with a revelation of prophecy:

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
-Daniel 9:24-27

This is where things can get a little confusing for some folks because the weeks that are spoken of in such prophecies are increments of seven years for each week. Obviously, a period of seventy weeks in the literal sense would not be enough time for all these things to come to pass, and there are other Scriptures which indicate that each day represents a year, as God has indicated to the Jews in other Scriptures:

After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
-Numbers 14:34

For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days... And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
-Ezekiel 4:5-6

Through these examples, it is shown to us that, depending on the context, God uses days to represent years in prophecy. Thus, the 70 weeks of the prophecy is a span of 490 years, which gives us an indication that this specific portion of the prophecy is NOT referring to the great tribulation in the final days, and we have far passed the 490 year period, as I will demonstrate later from Matthew 24 and Luke 21.

There is a doctrine passed around most church buildings that there is a missing week or a "missing seven year period," which most people today are calling "The Great Tribulation," even though the Bible does not use any such phrase. (i.e. There is no period of time in the Bible called "The Great Tribulation.") As I stated at the beginning, I was taught this as a young Christian, and I believed it because I did not know any better.

The final week is said in Scripture to be a covenant, and it says "he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week" in Daniel 9:27, but this cannot be Jesus Christ because it says that "he shall cause the sacrifices and oblations to cease" in the midst of the final seven years, which is a contradiction. As soon as Christ died on the cross, shedding his cleansing blood, His sacrifice put away the temple sacrifices forever (Heb 10:11), which is not to say that people would not still attempt them, but that they were ceased according to the New Covenant in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thus, Christ does not offer the grace of salvation under His covenant for only a short time within seven years, but rather, he offers it to all who repent and believe before the end of the world.

Others have claimed that "he" is referring to the son of perdition (mentioned by Paul in 2 Thessalonians, which I quoted at the beginning of this teaching), but would require separating the final seven years from the timeline of the 490-year prophecy, which many preachers today do in error. There is no Biblical or logical reason to do this. God has never paused a prophetic timeline and then restarted it later, and furthermore, doing so would mean that a prophecy could never be conclusively proven. (It would also allow for false prophets to claim they were true prophets if their prophecies came true later than the timeline they originally foretold.)

Thus, Jesus is describing some other event in this paragraph of Matthew 24. At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus gave the context for what this is referring to:

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
-Matthew 24:1-2

The reason the disciples followed up by asking Christ about the end of the world was because if the Temple, which contained the Holy of Holies where the Holy Spirit would come down to be in the presence of the high priest, then it would stand to reason that the Temple would remain until the end of the world. That was the assumption made by the Jews because they knew the Temple would only be destroyed by God's will, and the end of the world would be the only reason for Him to allow such a thing to happen, but if the Temple was destroyed, and the world did not end, then their assumptions were wrong, and the disciples wanted to know what signs they should look for to know when the end of the world was approaching. As we will see, Matthew 24:15-22 is a prophecy that is specific to those in Judaea and Jerusalem because it is describing the destruction of Solomon's Temple, showing us that the destruction of the Temple is the abomination of desolation.

The 490-year prophecy began with the construction of restoration of the Temple for the sake of the coming Messiah. That construction was first decreed by Cyrus (Ezra 1:1-3), which did not actually begin with the decree (which is the mistake most preachers make), but rather, the Bible says the 490-year span of time would begin "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem," (Dan 9:24) meaning that this is the time the work of building the Temple would actually begin, which the king had decreed unto Nehemiah (Neh 2:6-8), and the work began in his day. (Neh 2:17-18)

Biblical Details About Why The 490-Years Began in 417 BC Many of the problems people have had with the 490-year timeline is the date when the construction of the temple actually began because it is presumed that construction began under Darius I (reigned 522-486 BC), but it makes more sense that the construction began soon (i.e. six years) after Darius II (reigned 423-404 BC) began his rule. Zerubbabel was one of the men prophesied by Zechariah to work on the reconstruction of the Temple. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. -Zechariah 4:8-9 The question is why this would be such a surprising prophecy, in which Zerubbabel finishing the construction of the Temple would cause them to "know" the Lord had sent Zechariah as a prophet? Similar to the prophecy of Sarah miraculously giving birth to a son in her great age (Gen 17:17), Zerubbabel was very old at the time, likely well over a hundred years old, and would not have normally been capable of such a task without the sustaining power of God. Jeshua and Zerubbabel, both of old age, constructed the Temple, and they were present with Jeddua, Jeshua's great-great-great-grandson. (Neh 12:10-11) Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites. -Ezra 3:9 Because of the ages and time frames, the synchronization of genealogy, and Daniel's prophecy of 490 years to the abomination of desolation, it was not possible that construction began before Darius II. As we will see, the 417 BC timing matches perfectly with the 70 weeks of Daniel.

The final week of the seventy-week prophecy of Daniel is today known to be the Roman assault against Jerusalem, which brought the destruction of the Temple during a war that took place from 66-73 A.D., lasting a span of 7 years. (Or one week by prophetic count.) This is yet another sign to the Jews that God has declared His Son to be the Savior of all mankind, and that the sacrifices of the Temple should cease, because God would never have allowed the Temple to be touched unless it was by His will, and God would have preferred that the Jews acknowledge the truth in repentance, ceasing the sacrifices and oblations willingly by faith, rather than having to cease it by force. As indicated in Daniel, in the midst of those seven years, the temple was made into a "desolation," and because the Roman armies brought banners of their false gods into the Holy of Holies, it was an "abomination of desolation."
(See Neil Faulkner, "Apocalypse: The Great Jewish Revolt Against Rome AD 66-73," Amberley Publishing Limited, 2011, p. 234-238, ISBN: 9781445612171)

Roman Emperor Nero, who orchestrated the siege of Jerusalem from 66-73, had also made treaties with various nations before invading Israel. This is why the Bible says "he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week," which Nero had done; for example, to make sure there was no one else to interfere in the capture of Jerusalem, Rome had entered into peaceful treaties with the Persians and the Armenians in 66 A.D.
(See Academie De Droit International De Le Ha, "Recueil Des Dours, Volume 113 (1964/III)," Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1968, p. 511, ISBN: 9789028615021)

Today, (i.e. so far, as of 2019 when I am updating this teaching), the effects of the abomination of desolation are still clearly seen. Not only is Solomon's Temple still desolate (i.e. there is not one stone of it left), but its location is inhabited by the abomination of a Muslim temple, in which they practice their pagan religion of Islam, and I will cover more on the Israeli plans to reconstruct the Temple later.
(Read "Islam: Religion of Terror" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Sadly, there are some people who have taken this prophecy fulfillment in 70 (or rather, 73) A.D. to mean that ALL the prophecies of Revelation were fulfilled by 70 A.D., or that the entirety of Matthew 24 was fulfilled in 70 A.D. This is false for many Biblical reasons we will see later. The prophecy of the abomination of desolation of the temple is an important note concerning the final days of tribulation in this world before the end, which is why Jesus paused from his end-of-the-world explanation to mention the destruction of the Temple, which was to happen a few decades after Christ had spoken the words written in Matthew 24.

Now let's return to Matthew 24, starting again from verse 15 to refresh our memories:

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
-Matthew 24:15-20

This is specifically directed to Israel because Jesus is referring to the destruction of the Temple by the Roman armies. As we can see, He directly addresses those in Judaea, telling them to flee and why they ought to pray that their "flight be not... on the sabbath day," since the Jews were only allowed a short traveling distance on the Sabbath in order to keep the commandments of not doing any work on that day.
(Read "Keeping the Sabbath is Not a Christian Requirement" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

With that understanding, it should give us a fresh perspective on the next two verses:

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
-Matthew 24:21-22

The greatest tribulation the world has ever seen took place during the Roman siege on Jerusalem. If people thought the Jewish Holocaust in Germany was bad, the Roman siege was worse. According to the historical research and testimonies I read, the Jews were being crucified in the streets, and the poor, the weak, and the orphans were slaughtered; much of this being done with extreme prejudice, meaning that the Jews were being killed for sport (i.e. for fun), with soldiers burning entire families alive for no reason at all, and by the time they got to the Temple itself, blood was flowing down the front steps like water.
(See Josephus, The Jewish War, Zondervan Publishing House, 1982, p. 421, [University of Michigan])

As we will see later, the time of the end is going to be horrible, but the tribulation of the Jews was the worst that this world will see, that is, within the context of the tribulation of men against men because these events will pale in comparison to the Day of the Wrath of God against men, and we will learn more about that later. This should have been evidence to the Jews that Christ is their Messiah, but most still refuse to believe. Swift judgment of God fell upon the Jews for their wicked deeds (Gal 6:7), except that there were some who were born again in Christ, and for their sakes, some of the Jewish inhabitants were spared, and those days of tribulation and persecution were shortened, which means that though most Jews had rejected God's Son, and executed Christ's disciples (Rom 12:19), God still spared some and limited the timeframe of their tribulation, showing His ever-wondrous mercy and kindness to them, despite their wicked deeds.

In the King James Bible, there is another paragraph marker here, and that is because Jesus is switching back to the end-of-the-world prophecy, but this portion of information was very important for us to understand the end days, as we will see later. After this, Jesus begins to give the signs for His coming, and to further prove this point, let's read look at Luke 21:

And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
-Luke 21:20-24

The Temple is to remain destroyed until the fulfillment of the Gentiles draws near, which means God will continue in His glorious patience for every last one of His children, and the Temple will not be rebuilt until we are close to a time in which all who can be saved have been saved. (Gen 18:23-32) This also correlates with the doctrine that the Temple is the body of each individual Christian (1Co 6:18-20), meaning that the Holy Spirit resides within us, and that there is no longer a need for a temple to be built by hands.

Once God has said that the times of the Gospel unto the Gentiles is fulfilled, then the signs of Jesus Christ's return will appear:

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
-Luke 21:25

When the greater and lesser lights of the world go out, there will be great fear, confusing, and anguish in all the nations around the world, but we Christians who have been given wisdom and understanding by the Holy Spirit of God will know what is happening. We will cover those signs in a moment, but for now, let's go back to Matthew 24:

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.
-Matthew 24:23-25

The great signs and wonders are things which will appear to be miracles from God, but they are the lying works of Satan. (2Th 2:9) This is not referring to the parlor tricks of new-age fake "faith" healers, but will be miraculous in the sense that, if we who are born again in Christ did not have the wisdom and understanding of God, we would also be deceived, but thanks to His great mercy on His children, it is not possible for us to be deceived by those lying wonders.

As we read earlier, there are many people now who claim to be Christ, and there are many false prophets, but the specific false prophets Jesus is referring to here are those who will come in the latter days before Christ's return. Though most people in this world will turn to these false prophets, because the Devil will lead them to believe it is the power of Christ, we who are of Christ will be persecuted for rebuking those lying wonders, not following after the signs and miracles; for it is a wicked generation that seeks after such signs (Mat 16:4), but the just live by faith in the Word of God. (Rom 1:17)
(Read "Revivalism: The Devil's Design" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
-Matthew 24:26

No matter what the people say about where Christ is, we should not believe it. There have been many people in various religious cults (e.g. Adventism, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc) who have claimed Christ has already returned to this world, but we who are the born again children of God do not believe them under any circumstance.
(Read "Corruptions of Christianity: Jehovah's Witnesses" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

This means that if someone claims to be Christ, or claims to know of Christ's location, pay them no attention because they are deceived and make effort to deceive others. (2Ti 3:13) I find it surprising how many conspriracy so-called "ministries" out there depart from laboring in the Word of God to do almost nothing but follow around false prophets, documenting their every word and action, when Jesus told us not to waste our time with them. (This is not to say that there is no merit to knowing of them, but to follow their every move with constant updates is nonsensical. Rom 16:19)

For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
-Matthew 24:27

We will immediately know when Jesus comes back, and not just we who are born again, but all mankind will know instantly. Therefore, there is no reason to chase around false prophets, but rather, we should continue working as Christ gave us instruction. (Mat 28:18-20)

For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
-Matthew 24:28

This is not referring to Christ because this is an analogy of the dead, which are those who are so corrupt in their hearts that God has given them up to their sin. (Psa 81:12) Those who are deceived and follow the world (i.e. the carnivorous eagles) will follow those false prophets, false teachers, and false Christs (i.e. the carcasses of the dead); therefore we should depart from them and remain faithful to the Word of God, even though we will suffer tribulation because of our dedication and sanctification unto the truth. (John 17:16-17)

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:
-Matthew 24:29

This is where things begin to get really interesting because there are a surprising number of churchgoers and preachers who believe this is speaking metaphorically, and not literally. The reason they believe it is a metaphor is because they believe that ALL of chapter 24 is speaking only of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., and I will demonstrate from the Scripture that is wrong; Christ was only referring to the 70 A.D. destruction of the Temple in that one paragraph because it was necessary to understand the details of the prophecy of the final days, and to fully answer His disciples' questions.

As a side note, I have had some people write me over the years to convince me of the fulfillment of prophecy in 66-73 AD before I believed it, but the reason I struggled to accept it from them was because, when they wrote me, they claimed that ALL of Matthew 24 had already been fulfilled. I knew for a fact that was error because of what I had studied for myself in God's Word, which is why I rejected the 70 A.D. prophecy at first, but it turns out they were partially correct; they just did not see the error on their part, and now we will look at some correlating Scripture to prove Jesus is speaking literally.

The sun, moon, and stars going dark is an event that is described in multiple books of the Bible, and has not yet happened at any time in history. That's why some people choose to claim it is a metaphor, so they don't have to follow the proper timeline listed out in Scripture, and can believe whatever false prophecy suits their personal tastes. This event is what is known in Scripture as the "day of the Lord," which is not to be taken as a 24-hour event, but as a period of time (e.g. as we would say a phrase "back in the day," so is the word 'day' used in a similar sense in this context of Scripture, as an extended period of time), an event that will take place, and includes the final signs before Christ's coming, the resurrection of the dead, the return of Christ to rapture His disciples, and the wrath of God poured out onto the world.

Here is the event described in Isaiah:

Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
-Isaiah 13:9-11

Certainly, there are many metaphors in Scripture; I have no argument against that, and I often teach on those metaphors. However, there are many literal passages of Scripture as well; the Bible is not a metaphorical book from cover to cover, and therefore, we need to discern the context and correlating Scripture to understand the difference between literal and metaphorical passages.

metaphor (n): a short similitude; a similitude reduced to a single word; or a word expressing similitude without the signs of comparison; thus, 'that man is a fox,' is a metaphor; but 'that man is like a fox,' is a similitude or comparison; in metaphor the similitude is contained in the name; a man is a fox, means, a man is as crafty as a fox; so we say a man bridles his anger, that is, restrains it as a bridle restrains a horse
(See 'metaphor', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Sept 20, 2019, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

In short, a metaphor gives a description that compares the person or situation to be like unto something else. For example:

And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
-Luke 13:32

Jesus gave a metaphorical reference to the Pharisee (i.e. the pastor) being a "fox," which is not to say that the man literally had the hair, tail, and ears of a fox, but rather, the man acted in a manner that reflected the characteristics of a fox in his nature, meaning that Christ was warning His disciples that the Pharisee (i.e. the religious leader) was crafty and sly in his deception. A fox is a carnivorous hunter that moves quietly to hunt his prey, for if his prey knows of the fox's presence and intentions, the prey would immediately run, and thus, it gives us a comparison to know what type of man the Pharisee was.
However, when Jesus said "I do cures to day," that is literal, not metaphorical, because there is nothing to compare it to; meaning that Christ is actually going out to heal the sick. Or, as Webster's dictionary said in the definition above, there is no similitude to draw information from, and therefore, we take Christ's meaning to be literal.

As we just read in Isaiah, the "day of the Lord" is not a comparison, but rather, it is an event that is given specific description. God will pour out His wrath and fierce anger, destroying sinners and making the land desolate. Most importantly to the subject of this teaching, the stars (and thereby the constellations they form) will stop shining, the moon will not give light because the sun will be darkened.

This is exactly how Jesus spoke in Matthew 24; there was no comparison or allusion to any other meaning. Jesus was referring to a particular event that will take place in the final days before His return at the end of the world, and before we continue reading Matthew 24, let's look at other correlating references to this event:

The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
-Joel 2:10

And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
-Joel 2:30-31

The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
-Joel 3:15

The sun, moon, and stars go dark before the day of the Lord begins, and again, there are no metaphorical references here because, as we will see later in Revelation, God will do all these things.

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.
-Mark 13:24-25

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
-Luke 21:25

And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
-Acts 2:19-20

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 as blood; 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.
-Revelation 6:12-13

That last line about the fig tree in Revelation 6:13 was a metaphor, but it was a metaphor which is describing the event of the sun, moon, and stars going dark. It is like when someone would shake a tree to have the fruit fall from it, that is how the stars will fall from the heavens in the day of the Lord, which provides more evidence to prove that the event itself is literal, and that event has not yet happened.

The sun, moon, and stars going dark is an event that is spoken of in the literal sense in no less than seven books of the Bible. We will go into more details on that later, but for now, let's go back to Matthew 24:

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:
-Matthew 24:29

This means that, although the tribulation that took place in 70 A.D. was the worst the world would ever see, there is another period of time in the latter days in which we Christians will also suffer a time of hard tribulation. Again, this is because the world will follow Satan's lying signs and wonders, but we few saints will reject them.

Once we see that time of hard tribulation come, we will keep looking for the signs of the sun, moon, and stars going dark. Once they go dark, the time is close at hand for the return of Christ:

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 from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
-Matthew 24:30-31

There are many preachers I have heard teach error in which they believe the "elect" is only referring to the Jews, but that is not true, and is easily proven to be a false claim if we look at correlating Scripture:

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
-Colossians 3:12

Paul is referring to Christians (including the Gentiles in the Colossian church) in this passage, and therefore, the "elect" are all those who are of the seed of faith, meaning that both Jews and Gentiles are referred to as the "elect of God" so long as they have come to repentance and faith in Christ. (See also Tts 1:1, 1Pe 1:2, & 2Jo 1:12-13)

With that understanding, we now know that Jesus has given us Christians some signs we can look for to know when He will return. The sun, moon, and stars will go dark, and there will be a great sound of a trumpet; these will be important as we continue to research into Scripture because they are markers for us to find correlating Scriptures with which we will be able to verify the exact order of events.

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye 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. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
-Matthew 24:32-35

Christ's words here are certain and eternal, and once again, we have a metaphor which describes what we ought to expect concerning these events. Christ even used the same fig tree metaphor in Matthew and Revelation, so we would know without a doubt that these two events are the same. The metaphor is meant to teach us that, just like knowing the change of a season, once we see certain signs (e.g. many will claim to be Christ, wars and rumors of wars, true love dissolving, etc), we know that we are approaching the end, and when we see the sun, moon, and stars going dark, we will know Jesus will be coming back very soon after that point. (i.e. That generation of mankind will see the end.)

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
-Matthew 24:36

There are two very important points we can learn from this verse; the first is that, though we can know the season in which Jesus is returning based on the signs He has provided, we cannot know the day or the hour. There are some churchgoers who object to my teaching on this subject because they do not understand what Jesus taught, namely that, although we cannot know the day or hour with any specific number, we can know the approximate season He will return by the signs, but we will not know the season until we are close to it, and we will never know a specific date until the day it happens.

The second point is to disprove and rebuke all those who make false prophecies about the end of the world, which happens just about every year nowadays. These false prophecies are coming from pre-tribbers, because they are taught to ignore the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24, and continue in their sin by trusting in lying preachers.

I have received some letters over the years from people who claim they have discovered a specific date/time for the return of Christ. Of course, because I believe what the Lord Jesus Christ has taught in Matthew 24, I have always ignored their claims and rebuked them for their false doctrine, and though some have been very coarse with me in their speech, I have never once received an apology letter from any one of them after their prophecy has been proven wrong. When I read their letters, it is clear that they have been turned away from the truth of Christ by a false teacher.

(This is not to say that I expect apologies from these people, but rather, I want to see the signs of repentance, that is, grief and godly sorrow of their wrongdoing, which would indicate that they have been converted unto Christ because without repentance, they are living according to a fake faith.)

For example, a man who went by the name "Uaz31" wrote me back in the spring of 2010 to tell me that the earth being roughly 6,000 years old (which is what the Bible teaches when the genealogy is added up), was wrong, and that a man named Harold Camping had been sent by God to fix this alleged error:
"Actually the man who came up with 6,000 year old creation was way off. Its amazing that nobody was corrected his work till now. Mr. Camping from Familyradio is where this info comes from. You can research the very careful work done on the timeline of history at familyradio.com. I suggest 'were almost there' 'adam when?' and 'time has an end' for detailed into. I think its 'Adam when?' that has the work done for creation. Its very well done and all from the Bible. The proofs that 2011 is indeed the last year are amazing and nothing like many of the claims made in past. We can know for a fact that May 21, 2011 is the rapture. There will be a world wide earthquake as mentioned in Revelation where the graves will be opened and bodies will litter the ground. Its going to be really bad for those who remain for the last 153 days."

This is one of the many reasons I no longer respond to letters from people with just a username; it simply wastes my time because one who would hide behind his computer screen is no better than a childish coward trying to slap-and-run. Based on what I read from the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24, I knew this was complete nonsense, and I told "Uaz31" that in my response to him, but not only did he not listen, he came back at me and warned me that the day would come "as a thief in the night for those who are not watching," which was his roundabout way of implying that I would suffer greatly and potentially end up in hell because I did not believe this false prophecy, and the reason he believed that I was going to hell for not believing the prophecy is because that is what "Mr. Camping from Familyradio" taught.

The reason the day comes as a thief in the night is because those who are unbelievers (along with false converts who do not take the Word of God seriously) will not be looking for these signs. They will not understand what is happening because they have not had their eyes opened by the Holy Spirit of God, but for those of us who are born again, it will not come to us a thief, but we will be ready for it because we understand the signs of the season.

We can thank God that there is no need to listen to such people who will only waste our time, but for the purpose of clarity, so I can rebuke his sin for all to see, let's briefly look at what happened with Harold Camping.

Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
-1 Timothy 5:20

The late Harold Camping was famous for his former role as a preacher on an American so-called "Christian" show (Open Forum with Harold Camping) hosted by his company, Family Stations Incorporated, or more commonly known as Family Radio. He predicted the return of Christ and the end of the world on May 21, 2011, and he was able to motivate so many of his followers, well over $100 million in advertising costs were spent to preach Camping's prophecy.

"The bulk of the $100 million, [Matt] Tuter [of Family Radio] insists, came from selling off property (their KFTL television station and a FM station), although there appear plenty of people who donated their life savings to the cause. Tuter, whose family first got involved with the Family Radio organization when he was a baby, was also sure to clarify that 'I remember when the organization was normal!' Apparently, this was before Harold Camping became a Doomsday prophet. Tuter adds that Camping 'has actually made at least 10 predictions for the end times, though only a couple were announced publicly.'"
-Caitlin Dickson, "Harold Camping Spent Around $100 Million on Rapture Ads," The Atlantic, May 24, 2011, retrieved Sept 24, 2019, [theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/05/harold-camping-spent-100-million-on-rapture-ads/351034]

And it's true: Camping attempted to predict the rapture many times prior to his 2011 prediction. For example, in his book 1994?, Camping predicted the end of the world to take place in September of 1994, later changing that to December 25, 1994, and with a bit of historical research, we can confirm that the rapture did not happen Christmas of 1994.
(Read "Christmas: The Rejection of Jesus" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Just to demonstrate how much money Camping's company was rolling in, even after the very expensive advertising campaign, Camping's company was still worth over $70 million. Camping's message was broadcast on more than 150 radio stations in the United States, and many more around the world, which means he had millions of listeners.
(See International Business Times, "Harold Camping's Family Radio Worth $72m," May 21, 2011, retrieved Sept 24, 2019, [ibtimes.com/harold-campings-family-radio-worth-72m-285245]; See also The Telegraph, "Judgement day: Who is Harold Camping?" May 20, 2011, retrieved Sept 24, 2019, [http://bit.ly/2mVNpDf])

Camping's listeners seemed to be extremely impressed with his predictions because he claimed to use science and math to supposedly "prove" his prediction. As a young man, Camping earned his Bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of California, and being lifted up in the pride of his heart, he believed his own intellect would lead him to the truth: "I looked at all the scientific data I could find, like carbon 14 dating or potassium argon dating." -Harold Camping, quoted by Associated Press, "Rapture movement predicts end of the world," July 30, 2015, retrieved Sept 24, 2019, [youtu.be/FUSCVxAzYnE?t=2m01s]

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
-Proverbs 16:18

If you want to understand how absurd Camping's statement really is, read "The Carbon Dating Game," which exposes the fallacies of Carbon Dating and why it is completely unreliable, and also concerning Potassium-Argon dating, read "Lies of Evolution: K-Ar Dating" here at creationliberty.com for more details. You may have noticed that Jesus did NOT say, "No man knoweth the day or hour, unless he discovereth the secrets of Carbon-14 and Potassium-Argon dating."

O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
-1 Timothy 6:20

How did Camping come up with May 21, 2011? The following bullet points are the process Camping used to calculate the date, and I understand this may be hard to believe, but you are welcome to go do the research for yourself because this is exactly what Harold Camping taught:

Camping claimed that 5 was the number of atonement, 10 was the number of completeness, and 17 was the number of heaven. How he came to that conclusion, I cannot say; I can only confirm that the Bible does not teach us such things, nor does the Bible teach us to use these numbers in mathematical equations to discover divine secrets (i.e. divination). If you calculate (5 x 10 x 17), it equals 850, and if you calculate 850 x 850, it equals 722,500. Christ was crucified April 1, 33 A.D., and 1,978 years later is April 1, 2011. Take 1,978 and multiply that by 365.2422, which is the number of days in a solar year, and that equals 722,449. If you subtract 722,449 from 722,500 you are left with a difference of 51. If you calculate 51 days from April 1, you get May 21, and 1978 years from 33 A.D. is 2011, and therefore, Camping concluded the end of the world would be on May 21, 2011.

This is not a joke; that's exactly how he came up with his prediction. As we read earlier from one of Camping's followers who had written me, Camping and his followers knew "for a fact that May 21, 2011 is the rapture." Camping said:
"Five times 10 times 17 is telling you a story. It's the story from the time Christ made payment for your sins until you're completely saved. I tell you, I just about fell off my chair when I realized that."
-Harold Camping, quoted by iPost, "Harold Camping's Calculation on the Doomsday - How Will You Challenge It?" The Christian Post, retrieved Sept 24, 2019, [ipost.christianpost.com/post/harold-campings-calculation-on-the-doomsday-how-will-you-challenge-it]

In fact, not only did Camping claim to know the date, but also exactly where the first catastrophic event would take place; specifically, Christmas Island. (You can tell that he was combining part of his 1994 prediction of the event taking place on Christmas, and instead claiming that it would all start on an island called "Christmas.") Christmas Island is part of the Republic of Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean, which is supposed to be the world's farthest forward time zone, which means they are the first to experience the new year on January 1st according to our modern calendar and atomic clock:
"As such, according to Camping's prophecy, an Earthquake would rip through the time zones in a wave as the local time hit 6 P.M. beginning with Christmas Island. However, Christmas Island as well as the rest of the New Zealand region experienced no such event."
-International Business Times, "Christmas Island: Harold Camping's Doomsday Truth Serum," May 23, 2011, retrieved Sept 24, 2019, [ibtimes.com/christmas-island-harold-campings-doomsday-truth-serum-285543]

Camping also claimed that these earthquakes would trigger giant tsunamis which would be a hundred times bigger than mega-tsunamis. That would make the waves about 10 kilometers tall, and he claimed they would sink most of the United States (and the rest of the world) under water, but of course, being blinded by his pride, Camping skipped over God's promise that He would never flood the world again to destroy all the people:

And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
-Genesis 9:15

Sadly, with their trust and hopes in Camping's lies, millions around the world expected the rapture to happen on May 21, 2011. Thousands of people put all their savings, some even investing all their retirement funds, into advertising for this rapture campaign, while others got into a lot of unbiblical credit card debt, leaving many families ruined, suffering, and heartbroken in the aftermath.

And it should be noted that most of Family Radio's (i.e. Harold Camping's) employees did not believe in his predictions:
"[Not] even all of his own employees are convinced that the world is ending on Saturday. In fact, many still plan on showing up at work on Monday. 'I don't believe in any of this stuff that's going on, and I plan on being here next week,' a receptionist at their Oakland headquarters told CNNMoney. A program producer in Illinois told us, 'We're going to continue doing what we're doing.'"
-Brock Keeling, "Family Radio Employees Don't Believe In Saturday's Rapture," SFiST, May 20, 2011, retrieved Sept 24, 2019, [sfist.com/2011/05/20/even_family_one_church_employees_do]

After May 21st, Camping did what nearly every other false prophet has done over the past two centuries, he pushed back his prediction six months, making his new prediction Oct 21, 2011. I document this same pattern across various religious cults in a teaching called "Corruptions of Christianity: Jehovah's Witnesses," in a chapter called "A Failed Prophet Is The Devil's Prophet." It was the sin (i.e. the pride) in Camping's heart that kept him from confessing the truth, and to keep from being held accountable for his false doctrine, he followed in the footsteps of many false prophets before him.

I remember watching a documentary on Camping, and I heard some clips from his Open Forum show a few days after his May 21st prophecy failed. One of the callers, a man who was very angry with Camping, said, "Now I don't have nothing. I was putting my hopes in you." What that man said is exactly the problem, and I say unto Christians: Stop putting your trust in men, and start trusting what the Lord Jesus Christ tells us.

Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
-Jeremiah 17:5

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
-2 Timothy 4:2-5

Two weeks after that, Camping had a stroke, and took a month off to heal. October 21st came and went, and on November 1, 2011, Camping resigned from his position at Family Radio. Two years later, he fell at his house and died.

Some news outlets published Camping's so-called "apology," and I put that word in quotations for a good reason because even though they were all reporting that he supposedly "repented," to date, I have not seen Camping's confession of his sin, namely his pride and his lies. There is only one thing he apologized for teaching, and that was telling people that anyone who did not believe his false prophecy were not Christians, but that is not repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow) of his sin.
(See Jennifer LeClaire, "Harold Camping Repents for Rapture Prophecies," Charisma News, Oct 31, 2011, retrieved Sept 25, 2019, [charismanews.com/us/32239-harold-camping-repents-for-rapture-prophecies])

Camping was trying to find coincidences in numbers because he believed that there was some secret code in the Bible by which he could bypass Christ's doctrine that "of that day and hour knoweth no man." In short, Camping rejected Christ and trusted in his own heart.

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
-Proverbs 28:26

Camping never had any godly sorrow of his sin, and it was easy to see just from his monotone, public-relations style of writing and speaking. If you read his so-called "apology" letter that he gave to the media, he says "we" most of the time instead of "I," attempting to draw his audience into being yoked together with him, and there is no hint of Camping confessing to any individual wrongdoing.

Here are some of the reports surrounding May 21, 2011:
"In Antioch on May 21, at the hour the rapture was to arrive, Victor Frasno reportedly tried to reach God across a lake, but could not swim, and drowned. On March 18 in Palmdale, Calif., Lyn Benedetto slit the throats of her two daughters, and then her own, the police said, to prevent them from suffering on the impending doomsday. All survived, and Ms. Benedetto is in jail awaiting trial."
-Scott James, "Seeking to Unplug the Voice of Doomsday," New York Times, July 1, 2011, retrieved Oct 22, 2019, [nytimes.com/2011/07/01/us/01bcjames.html]

I watched some clips from the media interview with Camping a few days after May 21, 2011, and a female reporter asked Camping if he believed he had any responsibility for what happened to these people. Certainly, someone with a contrite spirit would acknowledge his own guilt and be ashamed for what he had done, showing some sort of remorse that he had been a catalyst for these events, but Camping replied "No," that he was not responsible for any of what happened, and that only shows that he was unashamed of his false doctrine, demonstrating that there was no repentance in his heart.

Personally, I do not believe that Harold Camping was born again in Christ. Perhaps I'm wrong; that's a possibility. Maybe God gave him repentance on his death bed, but I can only judge the matter based on the evidence I have seen, and in Camping's words, I saw no hint of the humility of repentance; rather, I saw a lot of pride of heart, and God makes it very clear in Scripture that He will NOT give His grace to the proud of heart:

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
-James 4:6

The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
-Psalm 34:18

God gives grace to the contrite (i.e. those who are broken-hearted over their sin). He will not give His saving grace to the proud of heart, and to learn more about that, check out "Is Repentance Part of Salvation?" here at creationliberty.com.

In summary, no one will know the season of the end until the end is close because the signs of the end have to be seen before the end will occur. We have not seen very many of those signs yet, and so it is not time, and no one in this world knows how much time is left, no matter how many engineering degrees they hold. We could have another 50 years or another 500 years; no man knows yet.

Even now, with many sorrows coming to pass, with wars and commotions everywhere just about every day, we ought not to be afraid. Jesus said these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet near.

And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.
-Luke 21:8-9

Now, let's continue on with Matthew 24:

But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
-Matthew 24:37

This verse is often misused today, especially in the conspiracy so-called "ministries," (i.e. the word 'ministry' means "to serve," but they are not serving anyone but themselves) in which they try to say that giants (which they call "Nephilim") will roam the earth in the latter days. I used to believe and teach the same thing because I was deceived by teachers who do not understand this Scripture. They base their claims on Genesis 6 in the days of Noah:

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
-Genesis 6:1-2

The "sons of God" being referred to here is the line (or genealogy) of Seth (Luke 3:38), as opposed to the "daughters of men," which refers to the line of Cain. Just as the children of Abraham were not supposed to mix seed with the pagan nations (Deut 7:1-3), so too was the line of Seth not supposed to mix seed with the line of Cain. The line of Seth were those who began "to call upon the name of the Lord," (Gen 4:26) which is a crying out to God in repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing), whereas the line of Cain did evil in the sight of God.

It should also be noted that angels will not see women as "fair," because angels were not created to have physical attraction to women. The word 'fair' is talking about beauty in this context, and wanting to take a wife because of beauty is a function that was created only in mankind; angels of any sort, including fallen angels (i.e. devils) were not created with that same physical function in the flesh.

Furthermore, the Bible says they "took them wives," which means they were married. God would not have acknowledged their marriage in Scripture if they were angels because angels are not given commandment, option, nor desire to marry; that function was created specifically by God for mankind; therefore, the simple fact that they were acknowledged in Scripture as wives shows that these were men (from the line of Seth), not angels.
(Read "Marriage: What Christians Should Know" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
-Genesis 6:4

Many preachers today read this line about giants, and think this is referring to the children of the "sons of God," which is a phrase that can refer to both men and angels depending on the context, but in their ignorance (and opposed to a reasonable approach to Scripture), they choose to believe it was angels. They then connect the thought that if women had babies of angels, then the resulting children were giants, which is nothing more than conjecture (i.e. a guess without facts and evidence to back it up).

I would also like to point out where the Scripture says "after that," which means the Bible tells us that there were very large/tall people who lived on the earth, but then AFTER that point, the sons of God (i.e. the line of Seth) impregnated the daughters of men (i.e. the line of Cain from whom they took wives), and they became mighty men of renown, which means they were very strong, powerful, and famous. The phrase "after that" disconnects the two statements, but most preachers do not read this slowly and carefully enough to understand the difference.

Furthermore, if we just read the context of Matthew 24, Jesus explains what he means by "as the days of Noe were:"

For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
-Matthew 24:38-39

When the signs of the end begin to appear, those of us born again in Christ will be watching for what will happen, but those who are of the world will continue partying, having a good time, and planning out their futures together in marriage, being willingly ignorant that there will not be enough time left to have a future together. (i.e. If the end of the world would be in a few months or years, what point would there be in marrying a woman and buying a house together to plan a family?) This context is repeated in Luke 17:

And as it was in the days of Noe, 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 Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
-Luke 17:26-27

Though I have taught this many times, I have been unable to get through to hardly anyone on this topic because they will not hear, repeating over and over that "giants will be on the earth as it was in the days of Noah!" I am not saying that there will not be giants in the latter days; perhaps there will be, but that is NOT the context of these verses because, if it were, then why do we not ever hear these people say that "giants will be on the earth as it was in the days of Lot?"

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But 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 Son of man is revealed.
-Luke 17:28-30

The word 'likewise' means that it is like unto the previous example, meaning that right before they were destroyed, they acted as if nothing was wrong. They continued enjoying themselves and planning out their lives, but they were destroyed suddenly, and that is what is meant; as they ignored the warnings from God in the days of Noah and Lot, so they will ignore the warnings from God in the final days before Christ, but if the conspiracy websites use Lot for their example, it will not match up with their preconceived giant theories, and so they deceive their listeners by only giving them pieces of Scripture about Noah because it sounds more convincing.

Continuing in Matthew 24:

Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
-Matthew 24:40-44

Again, this is not speaking metaphorically in any sense; this is how things will happen in the day that Christ will return. We Christians will watch for the signs of the times, and once we see them occur, we will know the season when the end is close, but we will also continue to work as servants of Christ until that day, being ready and faithful, not following after the deception of false teachers, having no fellowship with their unfruitful works of darkness (Eph 5:11), who will be left behind to face the wrath of God, which we will learn about later in this teaching.

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
-Matthew 24:45-46

Even when the signs of the end come, we who are born again in Christ will continue our work to preach the truth of God's Word to the people, charitable works to the poor and needy, and the protection of the church. (i.e. Not a building, but the brethren in the body of Christ.) Though we will be persecuted for these things in the end, we will continue in the work until the return of our Master.

Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
-Matthew 24:47-51

Again, as we can clearly see from this passage, the Lord Jesus Christ will only come as a thief in the night for those who are not the servants of Christ. Because of their wickedness, they will be blinded to what is happening around them, and then Jesus will return on a day in which those wicked people will not be looking for Him.

The weeping and gnashing of teeth (i.e. the gritting of the teeth in furious rage, as one might see a wolf bare its teeth) is the reaction of those "unprofitable servants," who Jesus talks about in the next chapter (Mat 25:29-30), and they are the goats who Christ divides away from the sheep on the Day of Judgment. (Mat 25:31-46) Some will be wailing and crying, while others are in a furious rage, and they react in these various ways because they were rejected by Christ, and will spend an eternity in hell and the lake of fire.

The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
-Matthew 13:41-42

Please don't misunderstand, it is not that our works earn us a place in heaven or hell, but rather, the unrighteous do iniquity because they were never converted. They claimed with their mouths to serve the Lord Jesus Christ while on earth, attending church buildings every week, singing songs about Jesus, but their hearts were far from him. (i.e. They are false converts.)
(Read "Jesus Said There Are Many False Converts" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
-Matthew 15:8

This is why, when Jesus prophesied of the final days, He told us the parable of the ten virgins, which is the beginning of Matthew 25. Verse 51 was the end of Matthew 24, so let's continue on to the next chapter:

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
-Matthew 25:1-13

The virgins represent those in the church, and before the end, they have prepared and waited on the Lord. However, half of them departed (because they were not of Christ in the first place), and thus, even though there are few who find the way to eternal life (Mat 7:13-14), as the end approaches, we will see how few Christians there really are in this world, and that on the Day of Judgment, many will claim to know Jesus, but Jesus does not know them, and I quote this again as a warning for all who will read and understand:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
-Matthew 7:21-23
(Read "Why Millions of Believers on Jesus Are Going to Hell" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Earlier, we read passages from Joel 2 talking about the sun, moon, and stars going dark, and that this would happen before the great and the terrible day of the Lord." Let's refresh our memories, and then define what is meant by the 'day of the Lord.'

And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
-Joel 2:30-31

This is also repeated in Acts 2:

And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
-Acts 2:19-20

And if you recall in Matthew 24, Jesus gave an analogy of a fig tree concerning the timing of these events:

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
-Matthew 24:32-33

And again, it all comes together in Revelation:

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 as blood; 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.
-Revelation 6:12-13

In the analogy, the fig tree shows the signs of bearing fruit, and we can know the season is coming by those signs, but then God uses the same concept of the fig tree in the analogy to talk about the stars falling from heaven in the day of the Lord. This day of the Lord being talked about is sometimes called "the wrath of God" because it is a time period in which God will bring destruction and vengeance upon those wicked men and women who ignored and profaned God's Word (many of which will be churchgoers) while they persecuted the saints of God.

Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
-Isaiah 13:6-11

Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
-Zechariah 14:1-4

Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
-Amos 5:18-20

To say the least, the day of the Lord is terrifying, and as we look closer into Revelation, we are going to learn more details to show us how horrifying and terrible this time will be for those who would not be humbled to repentance. So far, the timeline Jesus has revealed to us is that there will be the beginning of sorrows (wars and commotions abound), the sun, moon, and stars go dark, the trumpet of the angels sounds, Jesus returns to take the elect with Him, and the day of the Lord begins, and although there is a bit more to this (as we will see later), for now, let's follow the lead of the seals of Revelation.

seal (n): that which effectually shuts, confines or secures; that which makes fast
(See 'seal', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Sept 25, 2019, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

Seals are things that hold something in, just as a lid on a jar is a seal. There are a number of these seals in Revelation, and though many of these things cannot be understood yet and will not be revealed until the end, let's take a closer look to glean any information that we can:

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
-Revelation 6:1-2

The beasts being talked about here are the beasts listed out in Revelation 4, which are servants of God. The beasts are revealing the actions of the four horsemen, which represent the actions of the four beasts, and these are seals that will loosed before the return of Christ. The first beast is the conquering of the people, bringing them into subjection to certain leadership.

And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
-Revelation 6:3-4

The second seal concerns the second beast, which takes peace from the earth, and causes the people to kill one another in war.

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
-Revelation 6:5-6

This third seal concerns the third beast, which will have control over food sales. A penny is described as a day's wage in Matthew 20:2, so the people will be working an entire day just for the food they need.

And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
-Revelation 6:7-8

The fourth seal concerns the fourth beast, and based on this description, it seems like this time will be far more destructive than the others, and it specifically concerns a power given over to 1/4 of the earth; presumably a kingdom.

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
-Revelation 6:9-11

The fifth seal is a bit more clear in its meaning for us because these are the Christians who will be tortured and murdered for their faith in Jesus Christ. Again, this does not line up with pre-trib doctrine because they believe that Jesus returns before any of this happens, but that is not what Scripture is teaching us.

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 as blood; 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.
-Revelation 6:12-13

So what we read here is that Christians will be once again fed to beasts, killed with the sword, and starved to death, and then, after those days, the sun, moon, and stars will go dark. Here is a list of the seals and their general descriptions: Summary:

Now let's go back and read a couple of verses out of Christ's doctrine in Matthew 24 to see how perfectly this aligns:

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: 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.
-Matthew 24:29-30

Now we can verify the following:
Just to help verify that this is the process of events that Scripture teaches, let's read the correlating verses in Mark 13:

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 from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
-Mark 13:24-27

In the final days, we will have tribulation in this world, in which we will suffer being executed for Christ's name, and AFTER that tribulation (not before), the sun, moon, and stars go dark, and then Jesus comes back after that point. These verses all teach the same thing, and Jesus continues:

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
-Mark 13:28-30

When the signs of the end come, that is, Christians are killed for Christ's sake, and the sun, moon, and stars go dark, then it is time for Jesus to return. Knowing this, it is hilariously ridiculous that anyone would claim to crack some secret code in the Bible to predict the day of rapture because Jesus has already told us that we don't need to know complex mathematical equations; just look for the signs.

It is even more hilarious and ridiculous that anyone would claim that Jesus was coming back BEFORE these signs would come to pass. (i.e. pre-trib doctrine) This is so simple in Scripture, the average twelve-year-old could read and understand this, but the reason so many pastors, elders, and churchgoers teach this wrong is also very simple:

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
-1 Corinthians 2:13-14

Please don't misunderstand; many Christians have been deceived by false teachers, especially when they were new Christians. Just because you may have believed in false prophecies at one time does not mean you are not saved, but the reason churchgoers can be shown these very basic facts in Scripture and still hang on to their false beliefs is because they hate correction, and those who hate correction forsake the ways of God.

Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
-Proverbs 15:10

We will look at the wrath of God in Revelation soon, but first, I want to address the history of pre-trib doctrine and demonstrate the deception behind it because it is such a wide-spread doctrine in church buildings across America. First of all, we have already read multiple passages in which Jesus taught the parable of the fig tree, which was to teach us that when we see the signs in nature, we know the times of the season.

Likewise, when we see the signs around us, we will know the season in which Christ will return. However, pre-trib doctrine teaches that you will not see any signs, and that you should be on constant anxiety alert because He could return at any moment with no warning.

Obviously, if you have read everything up to this point, it is not hard to see that pre-trib doctrine is foolish. The reason pre-trib is popular is because it is a fluffy, feel-good message that tells churchgoers, "You don't have to suffer or be persecuted; just come to the church building, pay your tithe, eat some snacks, and go home and watch TV," but, the Word of God says:

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
-2 Timothy 3:12-15

When I have heard pastors talk about pre-trib, they act as if this has been the doctrine of believers from the early days of the church in the book of Acts, but that could not be further from the truth. In fact, pre-trib only started seeing serious attention in the 19th century, but prior to that time, most Christians taught exactly what I am teaching here, being ready and willing to give our lives for Christ when He calls for us to do so.

The origin of pre-trib doctrine actually goes back to the 16th century, during the Reformation in Europe, when a large portion of people began to leave the Catholic Church; God having opened the eyes of the people concerning the heavy persecution against Christians by the Catholic clergy. The Lord God had mercy on the people of Europe and gave them His Word so they could read and understand it for themselves, and once they knew the truth of Christ's doctrine, they departed from the Catholic Church, knowing that her priests are the enemy of Christ, and that its Pope is the seat of antichrist.
(Read "Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

There is an organization in the Catholic Church called the "Jesuits," and they are somewhat like the CIA (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency) or MI5 (British Military Intelligence, Section 5) for the Catholic Church. It is a secretive organization whose purpose is espionage, which is the practice of spying and using information (or disinformation) to influence politics and military institutions, and the existence of the Jesuits alone should be enough to send up red flags in the minds of the people that there is serious danger in the Catholic Church.

The Jesuits have a very long oath, but I want to quote just one portion of it so readers can get an idea of what the Jesuits really are:
"You have been taught to insidiously plant the seeds of jealousy and hatred between communities, provinces, states that were at peace, and incite them to deeds of blood, involving them in war with each other, and to create revolutions and civil wars in countries that were independent and prosperous, cultivating the arts and the sciences and enjoying the blessings of peace. To take sides with the combatants and to act secretly with your brother Jesuit, who might be engaged on the other side, but openly opposed to that with which you might be connected, only that the Church might be the gainer in the end, in the conditions fixed in the treaties for peace and that the end justifies the means."
-Jesuit Oath of Induction, quoted by Edward Hendrie, The Anti-Gospel: The Perversion of Christ's Grace Gospel, Great Mountain Publishing, 2012, ISBN: 9780983262756; See also House Bill #1523, Eugene C. Bonniwell vs Thos. S. Butler, Feb 15, 1913, p. 3215-3216

Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
-Matthew 5:33-34

In case you may not have fully understood this portion of the Jesuit oath, they are swearing to do what the Bible calls "sowing discord among brethren," which means to break up churches, using false information to drive them apart:

These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
-Proverbs 6:16-19

At the end of the paragraph, they say, "the end justifies the means," which is a completely anti-Biblical doctrine. The end does NOT justify the means. For example, if you acquire food to give to the homeless, but you murder a man to get the food in the first place, God will judge that wicked man who murdered to obtain that which did not belong to him because God does not justify theft, lies, and murder, but in similar manner, the Catholic Church believes that the lies, theft, and murder of their espionage is justified because they have been "blessed" by a pope.

Furthermore, Jesuits swear the following:
"I do further declare, that I will help, assist, and advise all or any of his Holiness' agents in any place wherever I shall be, in Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, Ireland or America, or in any other Kingdom or territory I shall come to, and do my uttermost [highest degree of effort] to extirpate [root out and destroy] the heretical Protestants or Liberals' doctrines and to destroy all their pretended powers, legal or otherwise."
-Jesuit Oath of Induction, quoted by Edward Hendrie, The Anti-Gospel: The Perversion of Christ's Grace Gospel, Great Mountain Publishing, 2012, ISBN: 9780983262756; See also House Bill #1523, Eugene C. Bonniwell vs Thos. S. Butler, Feb 15, 1913, p. 3215-3216

As you can see, without standing on pretense, they openly declare war on born again Christians, their ministries (like this website for example), and on the church of Christ as a whole. This is not some long-ago, far-away oath; Jesuits still take this oath today, and they are still active in their efforts of espionage against the truth of Christ.

There is no way for us to tell how many Jesuits there are, nor to what extent they have infiltrated church buildings. However, it's not necessary for us to know, and I find it amazing how many websites and so-called "ministries" out there waste huge amounts of time trying to expose Jesuits because that's not what Jesus taught us to do.

Jesus taught His disciples that they should beware of false doctrines:

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees... Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
-Matthew 16:6-12

As we just read in Scripture earlier, the natural man (i.e. those who have not been born again in Christ) cannot receive the spiritual things of God, and therefore, though they may repeat some doctrines they have heard from sanctified preachers, and through that, they might teach some things right, in the end, their understanding is locked and they cannot see the truth of God's Word. This means that, when they teach, they will end up teaching false doctrines because they cannot understand them without the Holy Spirit, and that is where we Christians have an advantage because, having the Holy Spirit of God and studying as we are commanded, we can discern true doctrine from the false, and depart from the evil without ever knowing anything about the secret societies of which they might be involved.

If we just focus on the doctrine and philosophy (i.e. way of thinking) of Christ, and depart from those who teach false doctrine and philosophies, we do not have to figure out who is a Jesuit and who is not. That's why you don't see me wasting a lot of time trying to expose Jesuits in this ministry because I know that if we follow what Christ told us to do, and depart from those who teach false doctrine, we will automatically be sanctified from Jesuits because they cannot understand the truth of God's Word and will teach it in error.

However, for the purpose of demonstrating the corrupt origin of pre-trib doctrine, I'm going to point out some proven Jesuits from 16th and 18th centuries:

Francisco Ribera (1537-1591), was set on a mission to diffuse tensions against the Catholic Church during the Reformation of the 16th century, and he did so by writing a 500-page commentary on the book of Revelation, entitled: In Sacrum Beati Ioannis Apostoli, & Evangelistiae Apocalypsin Commentarij. In his book, Ribera attempted to change the interpretation of prophecy in Scripture so the timings would be altered, in hopes that it would divert negative attention away from the fact that the Catholic Pope's throne is that of an antichrist, which had become overtly apparent by and through the blood on the popes' hands in their persecution of Christians.

"He [Ribera] said that the Pope could not be the man of sin or the antichrist because all prophetic utterances are for the distant future."
-Frans Du Plessis, Revealing God's Intended Finish, eGenCo LLC, 2012, p. 80, ISBN: 9781936554232

Of course, the pope of that day was not the final antichrist, though many in that day believed he was. John taught us that there would be many antichrists before the final one, and the seat of the Catholic Pope's office is that of an antichrist:

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
-1 John 2:18

"Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) a Jesuit doctor of theology wrote... Genius attempts to distract from the Papacy, making it appear as if the book of Revelation had no connection to the middle Ages. Suddenly the seven-year doctrine looks as though it has used a bit of artistic license, and that TRUTH had to take a back seat."
-Lynda Durrett & Yisrael Avilla, The Little Horn's Big Lie!: The Ten Most Dangerous Doctrines Preached in the Church Today, self-published, 2010, ISBN: 9781453585849

This is why, as I have taught in my book Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism (free-to-read at creationliberty.com), Catholic priests and bishops do not want Catholics studying the Bible for themselves, and I have quoted them saying such things in my book; they want to brainwash the public into believing what the Catholic Church decrees, instead of giving liberty to the people, allowing them to read the Bible on their own. Reading the Bible for oneself leads people to leave the Catholic Church, and I have quoted priests saying this in my book. In short, Ribera attempted to establish a different timeline in Scripture, but at the time, his works were not that effective in the face of heavy Catholic persecution against Christians.

However, about 200 years later, another Jesuit, Manuel De Lacunza (1731-1801) expanded on Ribera's work in a document he wrote called La Venida del Mesas en Gloria y Magestad or The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty. If you look up the book, you will not find Lacunza's name as the author; the name on the book is "Rabbi" Juan Josafat Ben-Ezra, and this was a pen name to hide the fact that he was a Jesuit. He wanted to appear as a Jew converted to Christianity. Lacunza's book proposed a pre-trib rapture based on the lies in Ribera's commentaries, claiming that the interpretation of end-times (like Matthew 24) was just for the Jews. (Sound familiar?)

A few years after Lacunza died, a man named Edward Irving, who had a following called the "Irvingites," later started up the Catholic Apostolic (Irvingite) Church, and he translated Lacunza's Jesuit book into English in 1827, teaching it in place of Bible doctrine. Irving also included a 203-page preface to this document, adding in his own opinions about the rapture and the final days.

"In 1826, Edward Irving translated a work by Manuel Lacunza, a Spanish Jesuit, who wrote a book under the pseudonym of Juan Josafat Ben-Ezra, alledgedly a converted Jew: The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty. Lacunza interpreted the Book of Revelation as describing apocalyptic events which were imminent. Irving added a 203-page preface in which he gave his own prophetic speculation about the end of the world, predicting the apostasy of Christendom, the eventual restoration of the Jews, and the imminent [pre-trib, about to happen at any moment] return of Christ."
-Dan Cohn-Sherbok, Introduction to Zionism and Israel: From Ideology to History, A&C Black, 2012, p. 36, ISBN: 9781441160621M

Irving claimed that God had spoken to him and given him a vision to preach about this secret rapture of the saints. After teaching this doctrine for just a few years, a 15-year-old Catholic girl named Margaret MacDonald claimed she had a dream about the end times, and was called a prophetess among the charismatics in church she attended.

"This theory of a secret pre-tribulation rapture has been traced back to 1830 when a Scottish lass, Margaret MacDonald, is purported to have delivered it as a prophecy while she was in an ecstatic trance."
-Earl Wesley Morey, Our God Reigns, Xulon Press, 2003, p. 113, ISBN: 9781591603252

This is where pre-trib began to be labeled as "pre-tribulation rapture." This came from Catholic charismatics who took it from the lies of the Catholic Jesuit organization, and because few people are willing to read this far to understand the matter, I have been sent many emails filled with railing and false accusations for telling people that pre-trib came from the Catholic Church. (i.e. It's not that Catholics believe in pre-trib, but it's a lie that was planted by the Jesuit organization to support their pope.)

"The familiar story that surrounds the origin of pre-tribulation rapture is that it developed as a result of a charismatic utterance through the mouth of a prophetess in Irving's Catholic Apostolic Church of Scotland... the new doctrine had its nativity in Port of Glasgow Scotland and was the theological musing of a known invalid of that area named Margaret MacDonald... the MacDonald family were reputable people who were not known to be given over to flights of fancy but that a revival began in their home that was marked by charismatic manifestations specifically speaking in tongues."
-Bashiri Durham, A Comparative Look at Darbyian Dispensationalism, ProQuest, 2009, p. 31-32 ISBN: 9781109138504M

Of course, this brings up two more heresies; the first being revivalism, which was developed by a false preacher in the 19th century, and even though church buildings commonly teach that there will be a great revival, the Bible teaches the opposite, that there would be a great falling away. (We will cover more details on that later in this teaching, specifically from 2Th 2:3.) And secondly, the so-called "speaking in tongues" which refers to Satanic, charismatic gibberish that has nothing to do with the tongues that were spoken in Scripture, and that practice was also popularized in the 19th century.
(Read "Revivalism: The Devil's Design" & "Speaking in Tongues vs Charismatic Gibberish" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

"Understandably, today's evangelical proponents of a secret pretribulation rapture scream bloody murder every time someone traces this popular modern-day doctrine back to its origin. None of its present-day proponents want to give credit where credit is due, to Margaret Macdonald. Furthermore, almost all of them refuse to be associated with Port Glasgow, a town that was not only at the center of the charismatic revival in western Scotland in 1830, but also a hotbed for utterances in tongues on the revival's central theme; namely, Margaret Macdonald's new slant on the second coming of Jesus Christ."
-Don Walton, Piecing Together Bible Prophecy, WestBow Press, 2012, ISBN: 9781449743529

The people who followed these false religious practices and false religious doctrines are the ones who initially began spreading pre-trib. Pastors and churchgoers, as the author aptly said, "scream bloody murder" whenever we point this out, and that's because they are following the traditions of men instead of Christ, and when we expose their traditions as false, they have to go through the "traumatic" process of watching their man-made doctrines and traditions be crucified.

Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
-Mark 7:13

As I stated earlier, MacDonald, the young Catholic girl, was praised and revered as a prophetess among the Charismatics. It should be noted that she made many other prophetic predictions, none of which came true. (i.e. She was a false prophetess.)
(See Thomas C. Nixon, The Time in the End in the Book of Revelation, AuthorHose, 2002, p. 103, ISBN: 9781403340696)

"In the days of Margaret Macdonald, Edward Irving was a renowned Scottish preacher. One could say that he was the Billy Graham of his day, attracting large crowds with his exceptional oratory abilities. Having heard Irving preach on the second coming of Christ near Margaret's home in 1828, Margaret's family began a warm correspondence with the famous pastor of London's Caledonian Chapel at Hatton Garden. In the spring of 1830, when Margaret received her end-time vision,

revealing to her the never-seen-before secret rapture of the church, she sent a handwritten copy of her revelation to Edward Irving as well as to other leading clergymen of the day... The Morning Watch, published an article in September of 1830 that differentiated between the 'epiphany' of Christ, Christ's coming to secretly rapture the church, and the 'parousia' of Christ, Christ's coming to judge the world and inaugurate His millennial kingdom. While subsequent articles appeared in Irving's prophetic journal, some of which expanded upon Margaret Macdonald's initial end-time notions, this September 1830 article appears to the first time that the secret rapture of the church was taught publicly and in print... Following the defrocked minister's untimely death, the torch of this new doctrine was carried by his followers, who became known as 'Irvingites.'"
-Don Walton, Piecing Together Bible Prophecy (aka The Rubick's Cube of Bible Prophecy), WestBow Press, 2012, ISBN: 9781449743529

The Morning Watch was a publication that was run by Edward Irving, who was the leader of a religious faction called The Caledonian Chapel, who are more commonly known today as the Catholic Apostolic Church. These people are also credited with founding the modern cultic 'Pentecostal' teachings, which are responsible for introducing a wide variety of false doctrines and corrupt religious traditions.

John Nelson Darby, during his research into the charismatic churches, met with Edward Irving, and learned about pre-trib from him. Some researchers suspect that Darby had also met with MacDonald and learned of her false visions first hand, because some of his writings tend to indicate this, but no one knows for sure. Darby then carried this false doctrine across the Atlantic Ocean and shared it with Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (author of the infamous and corrupt Scofield Bible), who taught this 16th century Catholic Jesuit false prophecy from the pulpit and in his Bible notes, and then tens of thousands of preachers would begin teaching from Scofield's commentaries instead of God's Word, which is why pre-trib is so popular in the U.S. and England, and now across the world today.


Thus, we should not simply trust whatever we are told about Scripture, but we should study the matter for ourselves, and see if what we are being taught matches what is in the Bible, which is what the noble Berean Christians did:

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
-Acts 17:10-11

The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
-Proverbs 15:28

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
-2 Timothy 2:15

At the beginning of this teaching, I quoted from 2 Thessalonians 2, in which Paul had rebuked pre-trib doctrine. Now that we have more understanding, let's read those verses again and take a closer look:

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
-2 Thessalonians 2:1

To 'beseech' means to make an earnest request, and Paul is requesting that the Christians at Thessalonica to heed his teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, and the day in which we will be gathered together unto Him. This is in reference to that day in which "a great sound of a trumpet" will be heard, and Christ shall send out angels to "gather together his elect from the four winds." (Mat 24:30-31)

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.
-2 Thessalonians 2:2

The phrase "at hand" means that something is about to happen, or will be coming soon. Thus, Paul earnestly requested that Christians not be troubled in their spirits that Christ would be coming at any moment, and he emphasized that there would be no letter from the apostles of Christ which would indicate any such thing.

Paul is about to teach us the same thing I have been teaching:

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;
-2 Thessalonians 2:3

Paul says the same thing Jesus said, that we should be cautious that no man deceive us on this matter. (Mat 24:4) Paul taught them that the day of Christ's return would not come until there was a falling away and the son of perdition is revealed.

First, let's address the falling away, which many today have taken to mean people would "lose their salvation" by turning away from Christ, but that is not how the Lord Jesus Christ defined falling away. Falling away means that they were false converts, meaning that they had once acted the part of a Christian, but fell away because they had no root, and Christ spoke of this in the parable of the sower, specifically in the seed that falls among the stones (Mat 13:20-21):

They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
-Luke 8:13

The parable of the sower is a parable about comparing false converts versus true converts in Christ, and He warned us that there would be many false converts in the churches. In fact, Jesus taught that if you cannot understand the doctrine of false converts in this parable, then you will not be able to understand any of His parables because they all have a contextual foundational concerning false converts.

And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
-Mark 4:13

They did not fall away because they were of Christ and lost their salvation, but rather, they had NO root, which means they were never founded on good ground in the first place, which also means they were never saved in the first place; they were just playing church. I cover a lot more details on that topic in a teaching called "Jesus Said There Are Many False Converts," where you can learn about many more of Jesus's parables, but sadly, most church buildings do not understand this doctrine, and therefore, they do not teach it either.

Paul is explaining that, in the final days, one of the signs will be a lot of false converts being revealed, who will turn their ears away from the truth, and follow after the stories and unsound (i.e. weak and unreasonable) doctrines of men:

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
-2 Timothy 4:2-5

The other part of Paul's teaching to the Thessalonians was the sign of the son of perdition:

perdition (n): entire loss or ruin; utter destruction; the utter loss of the soul or of final happiness in a future state; future misery or eternal death
(See 'perdition', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Sept 27, 2019, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

As we read earlier from 1 John 2, there will be many antichrists appear before the end, but there will be a final antichrist, who Paul has called "the son of perdition." Jesus also mentioned the son of perdition in a very interesting context in John 17:

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
-John 17:9-12

Notice that the context of Christ's prayer is not to pray for the world as a whole, but specifically for those born again in Christ, that is, God's elect. This context never changes in this passage; Christ is not praying for the world, but for those of His church. However, Jesus says that none in the church is lost, meaning that those who have truly converted through repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing) and faith in Christ have guaranteed eternal life, but there is one who will not have it, and that is the son of perdition.

This would mean the son of perdition cannot be saved by any means (which would make it useless to pray for his salvation), but the context of this concerning born again Christians is very interesting because that means it is possible that the son of perdition may arise from within the church. Often, churchgoers and conspiratists are looking to world leaders, but will the final antichrist be raised up among those who are born again? After all, Jesus was talking about the children of God in this context. I don't know the answer, and I'm not sure that any of us will know until the end comes, but it's something we should consider, giving us yet another important reason that the church should remain vigilant to sanctify ourselves from leaven.

Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
-1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
-1 Peter 5:8

Paul continues to describe the son of perdition:

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
-2 Thessalonians 2:4

The problem with this verse is that Solomon's Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, so that leaves us with an obvious question: How can the son of perdition sit in the Temple of God and claim he is God if there is no Temple? Logically, the Temple would have to be reconstructed for this to happen, and some readers may be surprised to learn that there are currently some Israelites who are making political efforts to get the Temple rebuilt as soon as possible.

In the spring of 2019, Moshe Feiglin, running for Israeli office, publically declared what the Jews had only whispered until now:
"The head of the far-right quasi-libertarian Zehut party said Wednesday that he wants to rebuild the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem immediately. 'I don't want to build a (Third) Temple in one or two years, I want to build it now,' Moshe Feiglin said at a Maariv/Jerusalem Post conference in Tel Aviv, referring to the site that currently houses the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque and where both Jewish Temples stood in the past."
-The Times of Israel, "Zehut's Feiglin says he wants to build Third Temple right away," Apr 3, 2019, retrieved Sept 27, 2019, [timesofisrael.com/zehuts-feiglin-says-he-wants-to-build-third-temple-right-away]

According to news reports, violent protests have broken out over this matter because, currently, Muslim structures stand in the place of the two sites that need to be utilized to rebuild Solomon's Temple. The first site was the location that was destroyed by the Babylonian army in the days of Jeremiah, and the second site is the expanded location that was destroyed by the Roman army in 70 AD. Since the Bible tells us that the son of perdition is going to sit in the Temple and claim himself to be God, showing lying signs and wonders, this means it's only a matter of time before the Temple is rebuilt, which would make it one of the signs we need to look for concerning the end days.
(NOTE: It might also be that very son of perdition who assists in helping the Jews to reconstruct Solomon's Temple in the first place, persuading the Muslims to follow him also as their Islamic "Messiah" as well.)

The plans for the reconstruction of Solomon's Temple are getting closer every year:
"All of this means, talk of rebuilding the temple is no longer considered a fringe idea. 'Today there's a lobby in the Knesset [kah-nehs-eht - Israeli parliament] of how many members of Knesset that are constantly speaking about Jewish rights to pray on the Temple Mount,' Richman [International Department at The Temple Institute] continued. 'There are members of Knesset that actually talk about the rebuilding the Holy Temple. Do you realize that 20 years ago these people wouldn't have been given a moment on prime time television to say these things. They would have been laughed out. One of those Knesset members is Rabbi Yehuda Glick. 'So a few years ago this was considered fringe—zealots, lunatics, peculiar. Today it's mainstream. Ten years ago, there was not a single member of Knesset who ascended the Temple Mount,' Glick told CBN News. 'Today we have 20 Knesset members who are interested in ascending Temple Mount, praying on Temple Mount and are part of the redemption of the Temple Mount and bringing the Temple Mount back into the center of the next step in the redemption process.'"
-Chris Mitchell, "'The Temple Mount Is in Our Hands!' Hope Reborn for the Third Temple," Christian Broadcasting Network, May 30, 2017, [www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2017/may/six-day-war-victory-rekindled-hope-for-the-third-temple]

Please do not jump to conclusions; this process could take a long time. I have heard many rumors over the past couple of decades, but nothing has come to pass yet. I may not see any of this happen in my lifetime. There are many who see these things and say that the end is right around the corner, and there are those who make such claims with each passing generation, but none of us know how long it will be; I am only pointing this out to my brethren in Christ that they might know that the Jews are making plans, and to keep one ear open as we go about our work.

It should also be noted that the Temple's reconstruction will not automatically mean the son of perdition will immediately walk in and claim himself to be God. There are so many churchgoers out there who think they need to be the one who predicts the time of the end, but no man knows the day or hour. It could be centuries before we see the son of perdition. Again, do not jump to conclusions; calm down, be reasonable and patient, keep doing the good works of Christ, and wait for the signs.

Paul goes on to remind Thessalonica that he had taught them these things:

Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
-2 Thessalonians 2:5-12

When Paul said "now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time," he is telling us that we now know the signs we need to look for before the end comes and Christ returns because Paul taught these signs to the church. The son of perdition "showing himself that he is God" is not to say that he is God, but rather, that most people will believe the lie (i.e. his claim to be God) because he will work "lying signs and wonders," which will seemingly be miracles, but those who have the Spirit of God in them will not be deceived.

Since we are on the subject of the letters to the Thessalonians, we should look in the fourth chapter of the first book, where we find that Paul has written about this subject again:

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 shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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.
-1 Thessalonians 4:14-18

Thessalonica is a Greek city, and therefore, no one would be foolish enough to say that 1 Thessalonians 4 is "just for the Jews" because this is obviously describing those "dead in Christ," which are the born again Christians, whether Jew or Gentile. Notice that when Christ returns, He will come down with the sound of a trumpet (i.e. "the trump of God"), and if we go back to Matthew 24, we find this same description:

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 from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
-Matthew 24:30-31

When churchgoers follow false preachers and ignore Matthew 24, they miss the obvious connection. This trumpet before Christ's return is also preached to the church in Corinth:

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
-1 Corinthians 15:51-57

The tribulation of Christians, the son of perdition, the sun, moon, and stars going dark, and the trumpet sounding; these are all markers that we can find in correlating Scripture to show us descriptions of the same event. These are the things we must look for before Christ's return, and He will NOT return before these things come to pass; He will only return AFTER these signs. (i.e. There is no pre-tribulation rapture.)

Though these signs will be obvious to born again Christians who have studied, the signs will not be as clear to those who are just churchgoers or unbelievers. They are blinded by their pride and tradition. As we Christians will suffer, they will claim that they have achieved the world peace they have sought after for so long, which is a false peace, and when that happens, destruction will come.

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For 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. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
-1 Thessalonians 5:2-4

Christ comes as a thief in the night for those who are not of Christ because they will not see it. It will be as if they did not know a thief was targeting their home, but as I pointed out earlier, for us Christians, that day will not overtake us a thief, for we know the signs, and because we know them, we are commanded by Christ to watch for them, which correlates to (once again) Matthew 24:

Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
-Matthew 24:42-44

Again, we cannot know the day or hour, but we can know the general season in which He will come, but to the pre-tribbers, I would ask: How can we be ready for His coming if we do not know the season in which he will come? The pre-trib preachers teach that Christ could come back at any moment at any time, and that no one can know any season in which it will happen, but such a belief does not match Christ's doctrine because the only way that day would not overtake them as a thief is if they lived their lives in a daily state of sleepless anxiety because they do not believe there will be signs before His coming.

Of course, I know that pre-tribbers do not live their lives in sleepless anxiety, and most would laugh at such a thought, but that only demonstrates what lazy hypocrites they are because they do not live the way they claim to believe. If they truly followed Christ, then they should be on high alert at all times, every day, never knowing when He will appear. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for His mercy on us, in which He gave us clear understanding of what we should watch for, and that we do not have to live in constant pre-trib anxiety, thinking that He will appear at any moment.

After the sixth seal is opened, those who are the children of God are described as having come out of heavy tribulation, and arriving together with the Lord:

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to 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. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
-Revelation 7:13-17

As we read earlier in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the dead in Christ shall rise first. The great trumpet will sound, and all those who are of Christ will be taken into the glory of Christ to be with Him; everyone else will be left on this earth in peace for the span of thirty minutes before a punishment far worse than death will rain down on them.

This is what is sometimes called "pre-wrath" rapture, which means the saints will be raptured out before the wrath of God. All those who have not come to repentance and faith in Christ (including many churchgoers, who will end up persecuting the saints of God) will suffer through the opening of the seventh seal, which is more terrifying than anyone could possibly imagine:

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
-Revelation 8:1-5

A span of thirty minutes passes, and most of the people will be ignorant of what is coming next. After Christ's grand appearance and then disappearance with those raised from the dead, there would be mass confusion for this half hour, but there will not be much time for them to make sense of what is happening. God will bring vengeance upon the world that is based on the prayers of the saints, through all their suffering and tears of grief, and it is paid back to the world with unimaginable fury.

It begins with voices, perhaps even the very prayers of the saints, along with thunder, lightning and earthquakes all at once. Then a series of seven trumpets will be brought forth to be sounded one at a time to mark stretches of time in which the wicked will suffer many various punishments:

And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
-Revelation 8:6-7

Hail is balls of ice that fall like rain, which is a somewhat common occurence in temperate climates, but this hail will be mixed with blood. The blood hail will also be on fire, and will fall over the entire earth, burning all the grass, leaving the land barren, and burning up a third of the trees across the world.

And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
-Revelation 8:8-9

What I could only describe as a giant meteor of fire will land in the ocean, a third of the ocean will become blood, a third of the sea creatures will die, and a third of the ships will be destroyed. I have no idea exactly what will happen because I can only speculate, but my theory is that many people will likely try to avoid the dangers of the hail fire by going out into the ocean, since there will likely be huge forest fires and field fires all over the earth, and I believe that could be a reason why the ships are mentioned in this passage.

And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
-Revelation 8:10-11

At this point, many people will be dehydrated and starving, and a star falls and lands into a third of the rivers and lakes, which have safe drinking water. Wormwood is a type of bitter plant that is typically used for upset stomach, but whatever wormwood is coming from this star is deadly because it will kill those who drink it; perhaps not instantly because it could be terribly long and painful death, which is what might keep some from drinking it to escape their suffering.

And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
-Revelation 8:12

After the sign of the sun, moon, and stars going dark, it must be that they are reverted back to normal after Christ comes and takes the saints of God to heaven with Him. The impression I get from this is that a third of the lights are taken away, and that it will remain this way for the rest of the Day of the Lord, but there is no indication of how much time passes before the next trumpet.

And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
-Revelation 8:13

If you thought things were bad so far, the inhabitants of the earth will wish that they could go back to the first four trumpets once they experience what's coming next:

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
-Revelation 9:1-6

Another star falls and cracks open the earth to the core, bringing up a huge amount of smoke, so much that it blocks out the sun, and out of that smoke come hordes of locusts as dangerous as scorpions. Enough time has passed that some of the green grass has grown back (giving us a little more idea of a timeline), but these locusts are instructed not to touch the plants, as they would normally do. For the span of five months, these poisonous locusts will attack all the people of the world, except the 144,000 of the twelve tribes of Israel that God preserved with his seal (Rev 7:2-8), and they will suffer as if they are dying from a scorpion sting, but cannot die; wishing for death, but death will not come.

But that's not all; the locusts are much worse than this:

And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
-Revelation 9:7-11

The shape of locusts are prepared specifically for battle, wearing gold crowns, having the faces of men, the hair of a woman, and teeth like a lion. They wear armor for battle, their wings will sound like chariots and horsemen in combat, with tails like scorpions, stinging the people relentlessly for five months straight.

There are more punishments that come after this point, but this should be plenty of information for the purpose this teaching. Some might speak in ignorance, not believing that such a day will come, but the Word of God is settled forever, and those who are not with Christ will suffer these things:

For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
-Psalm 119:89

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
-Matthew 24:35

Others may believe in the day of the Lord and wish for it, seeking revenge on those who have wronged them. Grief and suffering (i.e. woe) will come upon those who would desire for such a thing:

Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.
-Amos 5:18

Matthew 24 and 25 is the preaching of Christ unto us about the end days, and I thought it fitting to end this teaching with the end of Matthew 25. Jesus tells us what will happen in the end, during judgment, after the day of the Lord has come to a close:

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
-Matthew 25:31-32

You will notice that Jesus did NOT gather everyone into a one-world bundle. That is the false doctrine of the ecumenicists and universalists, and even few churchgoers understand that Jesus came to bring that division:

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
-Luke 12:51
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Sanctification" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

The sheep are those who were born again in Christ, but the goats are churchgoers, which are those who only claimed to be born again in Christ with their mouths, but they were false converts:

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
-Matthew 25:33-40

For those born again in Christ (i.e. the sheep), you can see their great humility. They never thought their works were worthy enough to be thought of as doing them unto Christ Himself. The foundation of repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of sin) is seen in their hearts by their humility before Christ, but as for the goats, we see the opposite:

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
-Matthew 25:33-40

The churchgoers, who claimed they had done all these things for the Lord Jesus Christ, were turned away because they had never come to the humility of repentance, which means that they rejected the grief and godly sorrow that God gives to men. (2Ti 2:25, 2Co 7:9-10) They were prideful in themselves, and rejected the Gospel of Christ, following after church building pastors, and would not hear the truth; God makes it very clear in His Word that He will NOT give His grace to the proud of heart:

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
-James 4:6

If this teaching on the end times and rapture of Christians has helped you in your own studies, give all praise to the Lord Jesus Christ, not to me. If it has helped you, I hope you will share this teaching with others, that they might know Christ's doctrine and the signs of the end, that they may be vigilant against Satan's deception.

If the end of Matthew 25 has left you concerned and trembling in fear, be of good cheer because it is good to be fearful of God's Word:

For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
-Isaiah 66:2

If you want to learn more about why Jesus turned away so many churchgoers, that is, so many who claimed to believe on Jesus, I would highly recommend reading another book I wrote called Why Millions of Believers on Jesus Are Going to Hell. It's free-to-read here at creationliberty.com, and it will give a lot more details and correlating verses to explain the matter. For those of you who would read and understand, I pray that the Lord God would make all of you prosperous and healthy in your endeavors to honor His Word in all that you say and do, and though Christ has told us few will find the way to eternal life (Mat 7:13-14) I hope to see as many of you as possible in Christ's kingdom at the end of our tribulation.

Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
-Acts 14:22

🔍