Post-trib Moments 51-60

By Pastor Steven L Anderson

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December 10, 2012

Post-Tribulation Moment #51 the Day of the Lord

Today I want to talk about the day of the Lord. Now, "the day of the Lord" is a very important concept in scripture, and I would STRONGLY encourage anyone who cares at all about Bible prophecy to look up every single the time the term "day of the Lord" is used in the Bible. I'm just going to read you one example, but you really need to look up all of the occurrences of the day of the Lord in both Old and New Testament. Let me read you one in verse 20 of Acts chapter 2. The Bible reads "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Now, when you're studying the day of the Lord, you'll notice that over and over again, the thing that is emphasised in both Old and New Testaments, is the sun and moon being darkened. Those are the main signs in heaven that have to do with the day of the Lord. You say "what is the day of the Lord?" Well, if you study it throughout the Old Testament, it's very clearly the day when God pours out His wrath upon this earth. The day of the Lord is a day of clouds, and of thick darkness, it's a day of wrath, it's a day of punishment, it's a day of judgment upon the earth. It's a day when God is going to pour out His wrath in a way that He has never done before. I mean it's going to be a great and dreadful day of the Lord, the Bible says. And it's always associated with the sun and moon being darkened.

You say "what does this have to do with the rapture?" Well, the Bible calls the day that the rapture takes place, in 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 2, the Bible calls it "the day of the Lord". Very clearly, He says in 1st Thessalonians 5:1, "But of the times and the seasons brethren"- referring to the rapture that he just mentioned in chapter 4, "But of the times and the seasons brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." So, He connects the timing of the day of the Lord, with the timing of the rapture. You say "why is that?" Well, because they both happen on the same day. Now when the Bible uses the term "day of the Lord", it's usually emphasising the wrath that's going to be poured out on the wicked, on the sinful. But, the Bible is REAL clear in Luke 17, that the day that God pours out His wrath is the same day of the rapture. See, God's going to remove us from this earth, right before he pours out His wrath. Just as the same day, Lot went out of Sodom, He rained fire and brimstone, and the same day that Noah entered into the ark, the flood came. God will remove us from this earth and then 30 minutes later, He will pour out His wrath in the form of fire and brimstone from heaven.

And so the day of the Lord, the day of God's wrath, is the exact same day of the rapture. That's why in Revelation 6 when the sun and moon are darkened, the Bible says "the great day of His wrath IS come"- present tense, it's just now arriving- "the day of His great wrath IS come". And in Mathew 24, it says that when the sun and moon are darkened, that's when Christ comes in the clouds, and we are gathered up to be with him, when the trumpet sounds. And so the day of the Lord is extremely significant, as you study it through scripture, you'll see, it's always tied in with the sun and moon being darkened, Jesus told us the rapture would happen after the sun and moon are darkened, and he calls the rapture in 1st Thessalonians 4, he calls it "the day of the Lord", in 1st Thessalonians 5:2.



Post-Tribulation Moment #52 Enoch

Today I want to talk a little about Enoch. Enoch was a man mentioned in the Old Testament who lived before the flood, and I've often heard those who believe in a pre-trib rapture say that he is proof that the rapture comes before the tribulation. Let me read you what the scripture says about Enoch. The Bible reads in Genesis chapter 5, verse 23, "And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." And if we go to the New Testament to Hebrew chapter 11, the Bible says "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and was not found because God had translated him, for before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God." And so Enoch was a person who did not die, God actually just took him, and he was translated that he should not see death.

And many have pointed to this as a foreshadowing of the rapture. And I say amen to that, because that is similar to the rapture, that those of us who are alive and remain will be translated, will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. But what they've tried to do is say that this proves a PRE-TRIB rapture. And in fact I just heard a pre-tribulation rapture preacher say that "Enoch PROVES that the rapture is before the tribulation, because Enoch was caught up right before the flood came", and he said "that represents believers being removed from this world before the tribulation, whereas Noah went through the flood, and that pictures the tribulation saints, who will go through the tribulation." But here's the problem with that logic. Enoch's life is nowhere near the flood in history. In fact, Enoch was translated 669 YEARS before the flood

So this idea that Enoch was somehow removed from this world to spare him the judgment of the flood, and to spare him having to go through the flood is RIDICULOUS, because he would have been dead before the flood ever came! I mean he lived 365 years, and then there were still 669 years, so even if he had lived as long as the longest man who EVER lived in the Bible, he still would have died of natural causes long before the flood. So to say that Enoch pictures a pre-trib rapture "because he was caught up right before the flood", that just shows that someone has not studied the genealogies there, and done the math to realise that Enoch did not live in the time of the flood, and he lived LONG, long before the flood, 669 years before the flood, his life ended. And so Enoch is a good picture of the rapture, but doesn't prove anything about a pre-tribulational rapture.



Post-Tribulation Moment #53 Noah and Lot

Last time we talked about Enoch, and how he does not prove a pre-tribulation rapture because his life was separated from the events of the flood by 669 years. But, if we go to Luke 17, we see that Noah on the other hand was a picture of the rapture. And let me read it for you, it says in Luke 17:26, "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 Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 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."

So God gives us two examples there, of Old Testament stories that mirror the events of the second coming of Christ. First of all he says Noah, the SAME DAY that he entered into the ark, the flood came and destroyed them all. So, Noah was removed from danger the SAME day the flood came. And Lot was removed from the city, the same day that God rained fire and brimstone. Now, those two judgments, both involved something raining from heaven. In Noah's day it was water that rained from heaven, in Lot's day it was fire and brimstone that rained from heaven. Now, God has promised that he would never destroy this world using a flood again, but he will rain fire and brimstone on the day that Jesus Christ is revealed, right after we have been removed from this earth, THE SAME DAY, fire and brimstone will rain... All you have to do is read Revelation 6 through 8, and compare it to Mathew 24, Mark 13, it's very easy to see that.

Now another thing that's interesting about the story with Lot, is that if you remember, Lot told to leave Sodom, but he delayed a little bit, so what ended up actually happening is that God's two angels actually physically laid hands on Lot, and grabbed him, and removed him from the city. And the angels grabbed Lot and his wife, and his two daughters, and they removed them out of the city. Well that's exactly what will happen at the rapture as well, because in Mathew 24 the Bible says that after the tribulation of those days, that God "will send forth his angels, and they shall gather together His elect". And so we will actually be taken out of this world at the rapture, not via disappearing, and we're gone. No. The Bible says that actually the angels will come, and gather us, just as Lot was pulled out of Sodom, by these two angels, that's how it will be in the day that the Son of Man is revealed. So Luke 17 is a very critical passage that shows us that the SAME DAY we are removed, the SAME DAY Noah was removed from danger, the same day Lot was removed from Sodom, God will rain fire and brimstone. Therefore, people will not be asking "where is everybody?" Therefore, it's nothing like these popular films "left behind" etc, try to make it out. The day of WRATH, is the same day that we are removed, because we are removed just prior to God's wrath being poured out.



Post-Tribulation Moment #54 The Word Elect in the NT

Now in order to ignore the clear teaching of Jesus Christ in Mathew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 about the timing of when the rapture will take place, those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture have to twist the meaning of the word "elect". Because of course, the Bible talks about in those passages, a trumpet sounding, Jesus Christ coming in the clouds and gathering together the elect from the uttermost part of earth, to the uttermost part of heaven. And in order to say "well, that's not the rapture", they have to come up with a different definition for the word "elect". Because if you look up every single time the word "elect" is used in the New Testament, it is always referring to believers. And sometimes it is even SPECIFICALLY referring to believers that are gentiles. Let me give you some great examples, of how the word "elect" is used. In Colossians chapter 3, verse 11, the Bible reads "Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering".

So, there Paul is speaking to the Colossians who are gentiles, and telling them to put on AS THE ELECT OF GOD, this, that and the other. And so he is calling the Colossians "the elect". But not only that, he said in the verse before, that there is neither Greek nor Jew in Jesus Christ, there is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision. Put on THEREFORE, as the elect of God, this and that... Now, whenever you see a "therefore", in the Bible- I heard one person say that "when you see a therefore, you need to see WHAT it's THERE FOR." And whenever you see a "therefore", it's referring you to something else that's already been said. So he starts out by saying in verse number 11, "there is neither Greek nor Jew, there is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision in Christ, so THEREFORE YOU COLOSSIANS can put on these things AS THE ELECT OF GOD." Another great example is in Romans 11:7 where the Bible says "what then? Israel has not obtained that which he seeketh for, but the election HATH obtained it, and the rest were blinded." Well, if Israel and the elect were the same thing, that wouldn't make any sense, because he says that "Israel has NOT obtained it, the election HAS obtained it".

So those are obviously two different things. He said specifically to the Thessalonians... And of course the book of 1st Thessalonians is a great book on Bible prophecy and about the rapture and the tribulation... He says to them "knowing brethren beloved YOUR ELECTION of God." So he says that the Thessalonians are elect, he says that the Colossians are elect, Romans 8 is very clear that those who've been justified by the blood of Jesus Christ are elect... "Elect" means "the saved". So if we then go back to Mathew 24, with our proper definition, we see that Jesus Christ is coming in the clouds, a trumpet is sounding, and he's gathering the saved! Same thing in Mark 13, same thing in Luke 21. How do you ignore that? How do you explain that away? You can't, unless you change the meaning of the word "elect". And that's why I would encourage you to look up every single time the word "elect" is used in the New Testament, it's very consistent, the elect are believers, the elect are the saved, whether they be Jew or Gentile, read Colossians 3:11-12.



Post-Tribulation Moment #55 the Synagogue of Satan

Today I want to talk about what the Bible calls "the synagogue of Satan". It's mentioned twice, once in Revelation 2 and once in Revelation 3. Let me start out in verse 9 of chapter 2. The Bible reads " I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." So right there we can see that this group, known as the synagogue of Satan, they say that they are Jews, but they're not, they're lying. Not only that, but he says that they are blasphemers, they blaspheme. Well, let's read Revelation 3:9, to get the other mention. The Bible reads "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee." So the next thing that we can learn about the synagogue of Satan is that whoever they are, they do not believe that God loved the Philadelphians, the church at Philadelphia.

They had it in their mind that God did not love them. And God said "I am going to MAKE them of the synagogue of Satan"- and who are they? The ones who say they are Jews and are not but do lie- He says "I'm going to make them come and to worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved thee." Now, who is the synagogue of Satan? Well, it really isn't that complicated. The Bible says in Romans chapter 2, I think here is the clearest verse to help you understand who the synagogue of Satan is, the Bible says in Romans 2:28 "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." So right there, those who are OUTWARDLY a Jew, those who are a Jew on the outside, He says, "he's NOT a Jew! He is a Jew which is one inwardly." That's why Paul told the Philippians, he said "WE ARE THE CIRCUMCISION, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."

And so what religion in this world even uses synagogues? Only one religion uses a synagogue, and that is JUDAISM. And so when we look at those who call themselves "Jews" today, those who go to a synagogue, those who believe in the religion of Judaism, they say that they are Jews, but according to the Bible they are not Jews, because they do not rejoice in Christ Jesus, they are not a Jew inwardly, they are outwardly a Jew, but God said he is NOT a Jew which is one outwardly! And there are many other scriptures that we could turn to, that would drive in that exact same point. But let me say this... Do the Jews think that God loves them more than he loves other Groups like, say, the Philadelphians? Absolutely. They believe that just by virtue of the fact the they descend from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that somehow God loves them more, that somehow they are the special chosen ones, that that makes them the elect. No, you're only the elect if you're in Christ, as I covered in the last video.

And so the synagogue of Satan is none other but the Jews, who are claiming to be God's people, and how many times do we see it in the Bible, where John the Baptist said "think not to say within yourselves we have Abraham to our father. For I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." And even Jesus Christ looked at the Jews who said "Abraham's our father", he said "Abraham is not your father, you're of your father THE DEVIL." And so we see very clearly who the synagogue of Satan is. You say "why do you bring this up in a post- trib moment?" Because the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine relies VERY HEAVILY on the fact that the "Jews" are God's chosen people. Well, the Bible says that the so-called "Jews" of our day, are not even Jews if they don't believe in Christ. It doesn't matter if they're one outwardly, they're not one inwardly. He said "they're the synagogue of Satan". That Jewish Synagogue, in your town, the Bible says it's a synagogue of Satan.

The Bible says "who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, which denieth the Father and the Son." You say "oh, Pastor Anderson, you're a racist, you're anti-Semitic!" No, I'm teaching that all races are EQUAL here. That is not racism. Those who are Zionists, those who believe in Judaism, and those who believe in this thing that "the Jews are God's chosen people today", THEY are the racists. Because they are saying that the "Jews" are better than the Gentiles. I don't believe that for one second. I don't believe the Jews are worse than the Gentiles, I believe that the religion is wicked and of Satan... But the people themselves, if they believe on Jesus Christ are just as saved as I am, they're just as good as I am. So it's not a racial thing, it's a religious thing. I'm against the religion of Judaism, it's an antichrist religion, and frankly it's the synagogue of Satan.



Post-Tribulation Moment #56 A Wife Beater

Today I want to talk about a cute thing that I've heard a few times from those who believe in a pre-trib rapture. They don't really have any scripture to back up their doctrine, so they have to come up with these cute little arguments, and cute little logical reasons why it has to be a pre-trib rapture. And one that I've been hearing recently, is this thing of "hey, Jesus is not a wife beater, amen?! He's not going to beat up on his bride before the wedding", because of course we know that the wedding takes place in Revelation 19, at the end of the 7 years. And they say "well, is he beating up the bride? He's not a wife beater, amen?". But here's the thing though. First of all, they're confusing the tribulation with God's wrath. You know the tribulation is not the wrath of God. And that's REALLY EASY to prove, because in Mathew 24, the Bible says "Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light".

So the Bible talks about the sun and moon being darkened and the stars falling AFTER the tribulation. Well, in Revelation chapter 6, when the sun and moon are darkened, they are crying out for the rocks and mountains to fall on them, saying "the great day of His wrath IS COME"- meaning right now- "and who shall be able to stand? So according to Revelation 6, the day of wrath does not come until after the sun and moon are darkened. And according to Mathew 24, the sun and moon aren't darkened until after the tribulation. So how can they be the same thing if they're on two different sides of the sun and moon being darkened? No, the tribulation takes place, THEN the sun and moon are darkened, THEN God begins to pour out His wrath. That's why at the beginning of Revelation 7 he makes it clear that he has not yet harmed any trees, or the sea. Those things are all harmed when he begins to pour out his wrath, turn water into blood etc. That's all after the tribulation. So that's the mistake that they're making.

But even their premise, that "Jesus is not a wife beater, Amen?" Makes absolutely no sense, when you realise that believers are also pictured as the children of God. Not only will we collectively one day be in this group, the bride of Christ- which by the way, the bride of Christ does not exist on this earth at this time... The wedding has not yet taken place and will not take place for many years to come, all the way in Revelation 19 is when that wedding is going to take place. But we are also often referred to as "the children of God". And the Bible says this in Hebrews chapter 12. It says "for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and SCOURGETH every son whom he receiveth." So let me ask you this. Does Jesus beat his children? The Bible commands fathers in the Old Testament in the book of Proverbs... He says "withhold not correction from the child, for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shall deliver his soul from hell." Now obviously when He says "beat", he's not talking about "beat up", He's obviously referring to spanking. He's obviously referring to using the rod, and applying it in a loving, corrective way, spanking the child's bottom.

And look, I believe in spanking my children. And let me tell you something... God will spank his children. The Bible is clear in Hebrews 12, that "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth EVERY son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." So does God beat His children? ABSOLUTELY he does. And so to say "well, we can't go through the tribulation because Jesus is not a wife beater!" (is stupid). First of all, God's not doing the beating in the tribulation. God's not pouring out His wrath until after we're gone, AFTER the tribulation. It's going to be the devil and mankind that's persecuting the believers during the tribulation. But even if God did beat us, I know in my life God's beaten me before! Why? Because I'm His son, he has disciplined me before, He will discipline me again.

So this statement that "Jesus is not a wifebeater", is probably THE MOST FOOLISH THING, I've ever heard out of the mouth of these that believe in a pre-trib rapture, because it's foolish on so many levels. First of all it confuses the tribulation with God pouring out His wrath. And secondly it assumes that God does not beat His children, when God for sure beats His children, according to Proverbs, and according to Hebrew chapter 12. But these are the type of straws that those who believe in a pre-trib rapture have to grasp at, because they don't have any clear scripture to support their doctrine.



Post-Tribulation Moment #57 The Day of Christ

Today I want to talk about the day of Christ. Let's figure out today exactly what the Bible means when it says "the day of Christ". I would encourage you to look up every time in the New Testament that that term is used. But let's look at two key passages right now. First of all, 2nd Thessalonians 2, in regard to the end times. The Bible reads "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."

So right there we see that the day of Christ is NOT at hand, he said "don't let ANYONE deceive you into believing that the day of Christ is at hand. That day shall not come, except x, y and z come first", and he lists off the things that have to happen first. Which proves that the day of Christ is NOT imminent, it can NOT happen at any moment. Now, people wonder what does "the day of Christ" mean. Well, if we get the context of verse 1, the Bible says "now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him." That would indicate that the day of Christ is the rapture. Because in 1st Thessalonians 4, it says "and we which are alive and remain unto THE COMING of the Lord. And it talks about the fact that we will be caught up together with him in the clouds. So, at the rapture, Jesus Christ comes in the clouds, and we are gathered together together unto him. So that would indicate that that's what the day of Christ is. That would show that the rapture cannot happen at any moment, and that the rapture has to take place AFTER the falling away, or apostasy takes place. And AFTER the man of sin is revealed by declaring himself to be God in the temple of God.

But let's prove further that the day of Christ really is the day that the rapture will take place. If we go back to Philippians 1, this is a famous verse that you've probably heard before... In verse 6 the Bible reads "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." So, ask yourself this question... When will God's work in our life be done? When will this good work that he has begun in us, that he is going to perform until the day of Christ, when will that end? Well if you think about it, The Bible teaches that at the rapture, we are going to be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. And the Bible says that "this corruptible will put on incorruption, this mortal will put on immortality." If you read Romans 7 and 8, Paul is talking about the fact that our flesh causes us to sin, and he is looking forward to that great day in Romans 8, when our body will be redeemed- talking about the resurrection, or the rapture, where our body will be changed. And instead of having a righteous spirit and a sinful flesh- which is what we have right now, and that's why the flesh and the spirit war against one another- at the rapture our flesh will be changed, our flesh will be redeemed. OUR FLESH will be saved, and then we will be altogether redeemed, body, soul, spirit. We will be sinless. That's why when we get to heaven we'll never sin again.

Now we sin on this earth as believers, don't we? We are in the flesh, and when we walk in the flesh, we will fulfill the lusts of the flesh. We endeavor to walk in the spirit, so that we don't fulfill the lusts of the flesh. BUT, at that first resurrection, at the rapture, when our body and our flesh is redeemed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is, and from then on we will never sin again. We will be perfect, and blameless, and spotless before him. Praise God for that. And so, the sanctification, the work of sanctification that God is doing in our lives, He will perform until the day of Jesus Christ. Why? Because it's not necessary from the day of Jesus Christ and forward because we are already in His image at that point. We are already conformed to the image of the Son of God. We are already without fault before the throne of God. We are already completely regenerated in body, soul and spirit at that point.

So this use of "the day of the Christ" in Philippians 1:6, makes PERFECT sense, and matches up perfectly with what we saw in 2nd Thessalonians 2, that the day of Christ is the "coming of Christ", and our gathering together unto him. That is what takes place on the day of Christ. Now, I've talked about it in the past, "the day of the Lord". You say "is the day of the Lord different than the day of Christ?" Well, let me say this, they both take place on the same day. Read 1st Thessalonians 4 and then continue reading to chapter 5 verse 2. But when the Bible talks about the day of the Lord, He is usually emphasising the NEGATIVE aspects, which are not toward us, but are toward the unsaved. The wrath, and judgement that's poured out, right after we are raptured. And when He uses the term "day of Christ", it's a positive mention about the fact that we are looking for when Jesus comes. See when Jesus comes, we are going to be rejoicing, we are going to be thrilled, it's going to be the happiest moment of our lives when we see Jesus Christ coming in the clouds and we're caught up together to be with him. The unsaved however... They will face that day as a HORRIBLE day, a day of darkness and wrath and gloominess and punishment and judgement upon them. So it really just depends on which side of this thing you're on. Whether you look at it as the day of Christ, or the day of the Lord. But it's the same day. And it's the day of the rapture. It's the day of Christ's coming in the clouds with the trumpet.



Post-Tribulation Moment #58 The Gates of Hell

Now a verse that those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture will sometimes use is Mathew 16:18, to prove their doctrine. Let me read that for you. The Bible reads "And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." And they point to that and they say "well the Bible says that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church". And then they say "well, if you look at Revelation chapter 13, the Bible says that the antichrist will make war with the saints and will overcome them." Referring to the fact that he is going to kill them, he is going to defeat them physically, obviously not spiritually, but physically he is going to have them beheaded, he is going to take over the world... Christians aren't going to stop him from doing that is what that's referring to. The same thing is stated in Daniel chapter 7, about the antichrist making war against the saints and prevailing against them. And so they say "well if these saints were the church, then that would be violating Mathew 16, because the Bible says the gates of hell shall NOT prevail against the church. And here we have the antichrist prevailing against, or overcoming the saints in this war, where he physically kills them."

Well, there are a few things wrong with that. First of all, the Bible reads in Mathew 16, if you actually read the context, and don't just take that one verse, but read BOTH verses... The Bible says in verse 18 "And I say unto thee that thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." So in verse number 18 he talks about "the gates of hell", and then in the next verse, verse 19, he talks about "the keys of the kingdom of heaven". Well, what are gates? What are the gates of hell? Obviously a gate is an entrance point, okay? That's the way that you get in. And so "the gates of hell", would be the entrance point of hell. And what would be "the keys of the kingdom of heaven"? Well, that's the key to open the door that gets you into heaven. So what we're talking about here, is the entrance to hell, and the entrance to heaven, if you read both verses, verses 18 and 19.

Now what those who believe in a pre-trib rapture have mistakenly done, is that they have equated "the gates of hell", with the antichrist, or they've equated "the gates of hell", with Satan. Here's what they need to understand... God is the one who created hell, not Satan. In fact, Satan has never even been to hell. Satan is not down in hell, ruling and reigning like Porky Pig in the Loony Tunes, where Porky Pig the tail and the pitchfork, and he's laughing, and he's ruling and reigning in hell. You know Satan has never even been to hell, and when Satan does go to hell, he is going to be tormented there, okay? And so when the Bible says "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it", he's not saying that the devil is not going to prevail against it. What he is referring to there, is the fact that people will go to heaven, and they're not going to go to hell. Because the church has a responsibility to get people out of hell, and to get people into heaven. We as believers, and we as a church, hold the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

And that's why the Bible says whatsoever we shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever we shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. We have the ability to determine whether people go to heaven or hell. Because if we don't give them the gospel, if we don't preach them the gospel, they're going to go to hell. And if we go out and bring them the gospel, in many cases they will go to heaven. But not only that, but the Bible says in Romans chapter 8- because they're saying "well, these can't be church saints" and of course... I don't even believe in the universal church anyway, but this is their argument, when they talk about "the church", they're talking about a universal church of all believers, which I don't even believe in. But, they're basically saying that "the church CAN'T be what he's talking about there when he says "the saints", because the devil is prevailing against them there and killing them."But look what the Bible says in Romans 8:35. The Bible says "Who shall seperate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, FOR THY SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL THE DAY LONG, we are accounted as SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER. Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." So the Bible says there that IN tribulation, IN peril of the sword, IN famine and persecution and nakedness... He said "we're killed all the day long! But in all these things we're more than conquerors." So are the gates of hell prevailing against us? No. Just because the antichrist physically prevails against us, and overcomes us with the sword, and cuts off our head... We don't fear them that kill the body! That doesn't scare us, that doesn't mean we're not conquerors. We're more than conquerors, IN tribulation! Even when we are killed all the day long, the Bible says IN all these things, we are more than conquerors.

The gates of hell will not prevail against us, because we do not fear them that kill the body, we fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. And thanks be to God we will never see hell because we have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, we have been redeemed, we have been saved, we have been delivered from that. And so this idea that somehow the devil making war against believers and killing them, that somehow that contradicts the gates of hell not prevailing against the church, is really ridiculous, because we're conquerors, even if we are killed. Stephen was killed in Acts 7, he was a conqueror! He was a glorious martyr for the cause of Christ. And so the gates of hell did not prevail against Stephen. Stephen walked into heaven, and that's what that verse is really talking about. That's why he contrasts the contrasts "the gates of hell" with "the keys of the kingdom of heaven". And so we need to not make the mistake of equating Satan with hell. Or equating the antichrist with hell. Two completely different things. Satan will be tormented in hell. He does not rule hell, he does not have the key of hell. You know who holds the key to the gates of hell? The Lord Jesus Christ said "I have the keys of hell and of death", in Revelation chapter 1. And so he holds the keys to heaven, and he holds the keys to hell, and he has given us the keys of the kingdom of heaven that we might allow as many people as possible to go through that door, by going out and preaching the gospel to every creature, and shining the glorious light of the gospel of Christ.



Post-Tribulation Moment #59 Isaiah 26

Today I want to talk about Isaiah 26:19-21. The Bible reads "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." So many will point to this and say "this is a pre-tribulation rapture right here." Well, I do believe it's talking about the rapture, that's clear. It's about a resurrection from the dead, and it's about God's people entering into the chambers and shutting the door, to be hidden, as it were for a little moment, until God's indignation be passed. Because He is going to come to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. So this is a great picture of the fact that we are removed from this earth before God begins to pour out His wrath.

The first resurrection, and the rapture take place BEFORE God begins to pour out His wrath on this earth. I believe that. But that is not pre-tribulational. Because again, this is where people have made the mistake of equating tribulation with God's wrath. I encourage you, PLEASE, look up all 22 times that the New Testament uses the word "tribulation". You'll find references to persecution, you'll find references to affliction, you will not find that the word "tribulation" is referring to God pouring out His wrath on this earth. It's just not the definition of what the word "tribulation" means. And so the mistake that they're making here is equating God pouring out His wrath on this earth, with the tribulation. God's wrath is not poured out until after the sun and moon are darkened, according to revelation 6. And the sun and moon are not darkened until AFTER the tribulation, according to Mathew 24. And so this verse does NOT prove a pre-tribulational rapture, it does prove a pre-wrath rapture- which is what I believe in, a post-tribulational, pre-wrath rapture.



Post-Tribulation Moment #60 The Secret Rapture

Second Thessalonians chapter 1 is a passage that really just demolishes this idea of a "secret rapture". Those who believe in the pre-trib rapture, believe that he will secretly come in the clouds, no-one will see him, he will not be revealed to this earth, he will not come in power and great glory- as it says in Mathew 24- but that he will just secretly come in the clouds, no-one will hear the trumpet except us... We will disappear, everyone will be wondering "where is everybody?" No-one will know what happened, and so on and so forth. Because they ignore all the verses that say "he cometh with clouds, every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him, even so, amen." -Revelation 1:7. But listen to what 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1 says, beginning in verse 7. "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels".

So when is God going to give us REST from our troubles and tribulations? He says, "And to you who are troubled REST WITH US, WHEN THE LORD JESUS SHALL BE REVEALED from heaven with his mighty angels". So when do we get our rest from troubles? He said "when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels", and then he keeps on going. "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day." So right there we see that the same day that we get rest from our troubles, it is the same day that he comes in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God. The same day that he is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, that's the same day that we receive REST, and it's the same day that he will be glorified in His saints, and admired in all them that believe.

So you see, the day when the rapture takes place is the same day that God begins to pour out His wrath. He removes us from this earth, right before he pours out his wrath. So, nobody is going to be asking "where is everyone?" Because they're going to see him revealed from heaven, and there's going to be fire and brimstone raining upon them. They're probably going to be more worried about the fact that fire and brimstone is raining upon them, and then shortly thereafter, with the first trumpet, the Bible tells us that all green grass will be burned up on the whole earth. I mean the whole earth is going to be scorched with fire and brimstone. One third part of the trees will be burnt up, ALL green grass will be burnt up, FIRE and brimstone raining from heaven... is that what the "Left Behind" movie showed you, about the day when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to give us rest? About the day when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to be admired in all them that believe? Is that what the "Left Behind" movie showed you, when it says in Luke 17 that the same day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone, and that's how it's going to be in the day when the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed. Read Luke 17, compare it to 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1. The secret rapture is a hoax.