Participants: Pr Shawn Boonstra
Series Code: TAP
Program Code: TAP000004
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00:29 O they tell me of a home far beyond the skies
00:36 O they tell me of a home far away; 00:41 O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise, 00:47 O they tell me of an unclouded day. 00:57 O they tell me of a King in His beauty there 01:03 And they tell me that mine eyes shall behold 01:08 Where He sits on the throne that is whiter than snow 01:14 In the city that is made of gold. 01:20 O the land of cloudless day 01:25 O the land of an unclouded day 01:31 O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise 01:38 O they tell me of an unclouded day. 01:45 Unclouded day, unclouded Unclouded day, unclouded 01:51 Unclouded day, unclouded Unclouded day, unclouded 01:55 O they tell me that 01:57 He smiles on his children there 02:01 And His smile drives their sorrows away 02:07 And they tell me that no tears ever come again 02:13 In that lovely land of unclouded day 02:19 O the land of cloudless day 02:25 O the land of an unclouded day 02:32 O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise 02:38 O they tell me of an unclouded day. 02:45 O the land of cloudless day 02:50 O the land of an unclouded day 02:57 O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise 03:04 O they tell me, O they tell me of an unclouded day. 03:30 Sometimes commonly held beliefs are true. 03:34 Other times popular opinion is just 03:36 playing role. With thousands of ideas 03:39 and theories about the end of the earth, 03:41 many Christians bitterly disagree with each other 03:44 about the Appearing. But what does the Bible say? 03:48 Can we look to the past to find answers 03:51 for the future? Will history repeat itself? 04:04 And good evening everyone and welcome back 04:06 to the special presentation of the 04:08 Appearing with Pastor Shawn Boonstra of it is 04:09 Written Television. Tonight special topic 04:12 "When History repeats itself." And this is coming 04:15 right down to the core of the seminar. 04:17 You are gonna come away with some exciting 04:19 new ideas as you see Pastor Boonstra unfold 04:21 scripture tonight. And for all of you here in 04:23 our studio audience please welcome 04:25 tonight Pastor Shawn Boonstra. 04:35 Good evening again, welcome back tonight 04:38 number four of the Appearing. 04:40 Tonight's subject, "When History Repeats Itself." 04:44 Tonight we are gonna change gears just 04:46 a little bit and we are gonna start on packing 04:49 some Bible prophecy and some people are gonna 04:50 say well a lot of charts and diagrams and maths 04:53 and stuff tonight. Hang in there it's going to be 04:56 well worth your timing tonight. 04:58 Before we get into our subject though I know 05:00 that a lot people have been saying man 05:02 this is only five nights. You can't possibly cover 05:04 everything there is to know about Bible 05:07 prophecy in five nights and 05:08 you're absolutely right. Usually when I teach a 05:10 Bible prophecy I will go 26 or 30 nights, 05:13 and still you don't cover it all. Now some people 05:17 are saying well you know we're kind of being 05:19 teased a little bit if you only have five nights 05:21 and there are so much to study it's gonna be 05:24 over and that's it. And we still wanna study, 05:28 well the good news is wherever you are 05:29 you can keep studying. Wherever you are talk 05:33 to your local moderator, we can continue to study 05:35 Bible prophecy week after week and 05:38 there will be classes and study groups 05:40 wherever you are. And you can keep studying now 05:44 Tonight I just wanna emphasize one point, 05:47 every time that I teach Bible prophecy without 05:50 fail I've noticed that when Christians get into 05:53 a discussion with each other on this subject 05:55 sometimes they get a little hot under 05:58 the collar. For some reason Bible prophecy 06:01 gets our goat up more than just about 06:03 anything else and I'm guilty of it too. 06:05 I've got into hot debates you believe it or not, 06:07 I love to argue ask my wife, I love to argue. 06:11 And I'm actually pretty good at. 06:13 But, that's not what's it's about Jesus 06:15 didn't put things in the Bible for us to 06:16 argue about. And sometimes we get in this 06:19 habit of saying, well if you don't believe it 06:20 like I believe it; you're not a real Christian. 06:23 And if I don't believe it like you do 06:24 don't believe it you are still not a real Christian. 06:27 And people find about it. I heard about two 06:29 guys they were fighting like this over 06:31 Bible prophecy and they were sitting in some 06:33 cafe somewhere, looking at each other over 06:34 the table, one said that's it, 06:36 I'm convinced beyond the shun over doubt 06:38 because you don't see things my way you're not 06:40 a Christian as matter of fact, I know for sure 06:42 you are not a Christian I'll bet you couldn't 06:44 even recite the Ten Commandments if you tried. 06:47 I could too said the guy, 06:48 I can reside the Ten Commandments, 06:50 oh yeah he said I've got $20 says you can't. 06:53 Pull the $20 bill out put it on the table; 06:55 now I'm not advocating gambling over the Bible, 06:57 just hang in there. Put $20 on the table, 07:00 guy thought for a minute, he thought, 07:01 oh I got to come up with that, 07:02 now the Ten Commandments oh I know it. 07:05 Now I lay me down to sleep, 07:07 I pray the Lord my soul to keep. 07:10 The guy looking at him was wide eyed in amazement, 07:12 and he said wow, I didn't think you could do it, 07:14 here's your 20 bucks. Now, here's the point, 07:22 when it comes to Bible prophecy we've all got 07:24 some stuff that we don't know. 07:27 There are things that we know for sure 07:29 and there are things that we don't know. 07:31 And what's neat about a seminar like this is, 07:33 we are gathering all around North America, 07:35 I've talk to some people who are Christians 07:36 from all walks of life and believers from all walks 07:39 of life and Baptists and Pentecostals also 07:41 Catholic Christians and Adventist Christians 07:43 and Methodist Christians, all sorts, 07:45 and what's neat is when we sit together 07:46 and open God's word and let Him speak, 07:48 all of a sudden things become clear and we have 07:50 Christian harmony, it's a beautiful thing. 07:52 It's a beautiful thing. Now not everybody 07:55 has all the truth and not everybody has everything, 07:57 what we're gonna study here is what we know 08:00 for sure. Now sometimes, people will see things 08:03 at well I didn't always see it at that way 08:05 and I am not sure that's how I think about it. 08:07 Well that's fine. The only challenge I have for you, 08:10 the only request that I ask is everything that 08:12 said by any preacher, any speaker, any book, 08:15 anywhere it's just said you go home 08:17 and check it against the Bible. Let God speak 08:19 to it and you go with what the Bible says. 08:21 Is that fair? Yes it is! Yes the fairest thing 08:24 I know how to do. Tonight's subject, 08:26 "When History Repeats Itself!" Let's pray. 08:29 Father in heaven, tonight we are gonna 08:31 look at the Appearing in greater detail. 08:34 Tonight we are gonna do examine a subject 08:37 that brings hope to my heart, that actually 08:39 convicted me that Jesus is Lord. 08:42 And Father I ask tonight that you would bless 08:44 my words that tonigh everything would come 08:47 straight from the word of God, 08:48 that man's opinion could be put aside 08:51 and that tonight we would see Jesus 08:53 and hear His voice, for we ask it in 08:55 His precious name, Amen. Amen. 08:58 There was the brochure in my hand. 09:01 You should have seen it. I had been out 09:03 apartment hunting. I was 17 or 18 years old 09:06 and I had had it with living on campus. 09:08 It was noisy, it was dirty, it was an awful 09:11 place to live. I wanted a place of my own. 09:13 So I went apartment hunting, in the city 09:15 they had 0.3 percent vacancy, 09:17 I looked everywhere and the places I looked 09:20 at were dumps. They were awful. 09:21 I would rather live in a chicken coop than most 09:23 of the places I looked at, that fit my budget. 09:26 And then I saw it, the executive apartments, 09:29 you should have seen the brochure. 09:30 What a beautiful place? They were furnished 09:33 apartments with leather furniture 09:35 and it said that all the furnishings were there 09:37 and linens and the dishes and I opened it up 09:40 and it said, look there is a beautiful patio, 09:42 it had a picture of this beautiful sundeck with 09:45 all these beautiful girls who apparently sunbath 09:47 there all day long everyday. 09:49 And I said, this is it. I signed the lease 09:52 without looking at the apartment. 09:54 When I got there, there was no beautiful patio, 09:56 there were no beautiful girls, there was a big 09:59 landlord named Andy, who walked around 10:01 in his T-shirt all day long and he said 10:03 I am the patio. I went up into the apartment 10:05 and it was the dirtiest thing I've ever seen 10:07 in my life. There was hair in the carpet, 10:09 this long, everywhere. Everything was broken, 10:13 nothing worked and I went to the window 10:15 and I discovered outside my window that 10:17 there was some guy sleeping in the 10:19 dumpster outside. And for a moment I thought 10:22 that poor guy sleeping in the dumpster 10:24 and then I turned around and looked at my 10:26 apartment and I thought you know what? 10:29 At least he's not paying for it. I don't know. 10:35 If you have every looked at something 10:36 in realty and it doesn't fit the picture 10:39 you've always had in you head. It happens to me 10:41 all the time, happens when I go on vacation, 10:44 the brochure looks so nice and when you get 10:46 there it's nothing like you thought. 10:47 The buildings are in different places, 10:49 nothing is pristine as they said it was 10:52 going to be, it's never exactly like they said 10:55 it was going to be. Now, at our last meeting 10:58 we looked at what we do know for sure. 11:01 The Bible says and I believe by the way 11:03 that when Jesus comes we're still in for 11:05 a few surprises, there will be things 11:07 we had never thought of when it's actually 11:09 happening, we'll look at say, I never 11:11 thought of that, I didn't notice that 11:13 and I think when we get to heaven Jesus 11:14 will open the Bible and say well that 11:16 was always there, you should have seen 11:17 it and He will be right as always. 11:19 Now we saw five things the other night, 11:22 Jesus will come back literally. 11:24 It will really be him in his flesh and bones; 11:26 it will be Jesus coming back the way 11:28 He went up in the clouds, He comes back 11:30 in the clouds He literally comes back. 11:32 Then we saw that every eye was gonna 11:35 see Him. We saw that in Revelation 1 and verse 7. 11:38 Then we saw that every ear is going to hear Jesus, 11:41 and when Jesus comes there will be a 11:43 trumpet blast, there will be the shout of the 11:45 Archangel, there will be so much noise 11:47 it awakes the dead we saw. 11:48 Then we saw that it would be stunningly 11:50 glorious when Jesus comes He comes with 11:53 how many angels? All. He comes with all 11:56 the heavenly angels, billions of them. 11:58 And when He comes it will mark the end 12:01 of earth's history. Five things we know beyond 12:05 the shadow of a doubt, straight out of the 12:07 word of God. Now, I wanna ask a question tonight. 12:10 I think anytime that human beings have an idea 12:13 about prophecy. We need to go to the Bible 12:15 on a regular basis and check up on ourselves, 12:17 what do you think? Yes. Yeah I have to change 12:19 my mind every day. First of all in the morning 12:21 when my wife tells me that I was wrong 12:23 I changed my mind. Secondly when I open 12:25 my Bible in the morning I find out I've been 12:27 wrong about something, I've always had to 12:30 alter my perspective or tweak my 12:31 understanding a little bit. And so I wanna ask 12:35 the five things that we know for sure beyond 12:37 the shadow of a doubt how do they fit 12:39 with modern understanding of Bible prophecy? 12:42 Well there are so many scenarios, 12:44 there are thousands of scenarios of 12:46 Bible prophecy. I talked to a thousand people, 12:48 I'll get a thousands ideas but there is one 12:51 that seems to come to the surface more 12:53 often than not, that there is probably 12:55 the most popular scenario out there. 12:57 So, I wanna put it to the Bible test, 13:00 now this scenario says that there will be 13:02 a seven year burst of time just at the end 13:06 of earth's history. At the beginning of that 13:09 seven year period of time Jesus comes back 13:11 for all the believers and then seven years go by. 13:16 During those seven years the scenario 13:18 says the antichrist appears. 13:20 Now there's variations on it, but some say 13:22 that he will appear in Jerusalem that 13:24 he will permit the building of the temple, 13:26 some say the temple was already built 13:27 when Jesus came for the church. 13:29 And others say no, it happened after 13:32 but He makes a pact, this scenario says 13:34 with the nation of Israel and half way through 13:36 the seven years he breaks that pact, 13:38 an unbridled terror reigns all over the earth, 13:41 those who wanna be loyal to God face 13:43 tremendous persecution. Then Jesus has taken 13:47 the church away, He's come to the world, 13:48 snatched the church out of the world quickly, 13:51 quietly, secretly and then after seven years 13:54 He comes back with all the believers 13:56 and destroys the antichrist. 13:57 This is known as the two phase coming of Jesus, 14:01 two phases because Jesus first comes 14:04 for the church, then He comes back to 14:06 this earth and destroys the antichrist. 14:08 This is probably the most popular scenario 14:11 anywhere on planet earth. The question I have 14:13 for you tonight, is it Biblically accurate? 14:16 Should we put it to the test yes or no? 14:18 Yes. Are you sure you wanna put it to the 14:20 test yes or no? Yes. Okay buckle your seat belts, 14:23 here we go. Is it Biblically accurate? 14:25 On many fronts as I've examined this I find 14:28 a biblical match in this theory on many, 14:31 many fronts, here is why? 14:33 This theory teaches us that time is running out 14:35 more quickly than people think it is. 14:38 It could have Jesus to come in any moment 14:40 and to an extent I got to say amen to that, 14:43 because Jesus said in such an hour as you think 14:46 not I'm coming back. Some people say to me 14:49 preacher I don't think Jesus could come 14:51 in my lifetime. Well watch out Jesus said 14:53 in such an hour as you think not 14:55 He's gonna come. So it does teach us time 14:57 is running out more quickly then people think. 14:59 It also teaches that there is a massive deception 15:01 in the last days that leads people away from God. 15:04 I can say amen to that, because in Revelation 15:07 chapter 13 we read about it first beast power 15:09 and a second beast power that create this 15:13 world wide deception. The second beast the Bible 15:15 says even performs miracles to lead 15:18 people astray, and leads people to worship 15:20 the first beast as if He is God. So that's accurate, 15:23 there will be a last day massive deception. 15:26 Millions of says this theory will be surprised 15:29 by the return of Christ. And that is certainly true. 15:33 It says in the Bible as it was in the days of Noah 15:35 and it will be that way when Jesus comes again. 15:38 Those people didn't know anything until suddenly, 15:41 well they didn't know anything, no one preach 15:42 to them for 120 years, but they chose to ignore it. 15:45 And one day they found themselves standing 15:47 knee deep in water and they realized prophecy 15:50 never is wrong, but it came as a surprise 15:53 to them, Jesus said as it was in the days 15:56 of Noah it will be when Jesus comes 15:58 that's the truth. It also teaches us that 16:01 it pays to stand on the Bible and the Bible alone 16:04 for what we will believe? I got to say amen to that. 16:07 I want no other text book then the 16:08 word of God. I don't want man's opinion 16:11 it's lead me astray far too many times. 16:13 I don't want anymore books I got thousands 16:15 of them, give me one book, give me the 16:17 word of God. I got to know what the Bible says 16:19 because you know what it says in Revelation 13 16:22 that in the last days it is the beast powers 16:26 that bring fire down from the sky on the earth. 16:28 Now we saw the other night the story of Elijah 16:31 where God rained fire down on the earth, 16:33 the Bible says in the last days watch out 16:35 the fire falls in the wrong places don't be 16:38 persuaded by miracles be persuaded by what 16:41 the Bible says and the Bible only. 16:44 Then we can agree the time to decide 16:46 for Christ is now, not when the crisis hits. 16:50 Don't bank up thinking okay will if I see 16:52 Jesus come, I'm gonna have a quick conversion 16:54 to Jesus and I'm gonna change everything 16:56 as I see Him coming in the eastern 16:58 sky too late, too late at that point. 17:00 When Jesus comes all decisions are final 17:02 the book of Hebrew says that today is the day 17:07 of salvation that's all truth, 17:09 but I think about this theory 17:10 and I do have some questions, 17:13 would you like to hear the questions that I have? 17:15 Yes, I was gonna tell you what you wanted 17:17 to hear them or not. I have some questions. 17:20 You know Dr. Rowland Bingham was the editor 17:23 of the Evangelical Christian for years, 17:25 a Godly scholar and a great man. 17:28 And one night on a Saturday night 17:29 he was preparing a sermon for Sunday 17:31 morning when there was knock at his study door, 17:33 it was his dear wife. And she came into the 17:36 room and she said Rowly, I don't know that 17:38 she called him Rowly for sure, but Rowly, 17:40 I got this thing going on, I've got to teach Sunday 17:44 school tomorrow morning and our subject 17:46 is the second coming of Christ. 17:47 And I wanna teach the kids how Jesus will come 17:50 quietly for the church and I've been looking 17:52 for the passage that says so 17:54 and I'm wondering if you could tell me where it is. 17:56 Oh he said that's easy, go to First Thessalonians 17:59 chapter 4, so she did. And she read the passage 18:03 and it said this, we've seen this already. 18:05 For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven 18:08 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 18:11 and with the trumpet of God. 18:12 And the dead in Christ shall rise first. 18:15 Then we who are alive and remain shall be 18:17 caught up together with them in the clouds 18:18 to meet the Lord in the air. 18:20 And thus shall we always be with the Lord. 18:22 Well she thought, I got to go back 18:24 and see Rowly, so she went back into 18:26 Rowly's study. I hope his name was Rowly, 18:29 I hope that was his nick name. Rowly she said, 18:31 I just read First Thessalonians chapter 4 18:34 and that is the noisiest verse I've ever read 18:37 in all my life. I asked you for the verse 18:39 where Jesus comes quietly. 18:40 He says that's the one. That's the one that 18:43 teaches that Jesus comes quietly for everybody. 18:46 She said it's not there. He closed his study door 18:49 that night. He tells us this is what happened. 18:51 "In sheer desperation I took out my Bible. 18:53 God bless people who take out their Bible 18:56 to check to see what it says, and threw myself 18:58 helplessly on the Lord. The weeks that followed 19:01 that innocent query and the trouble into 19:03 which it landed me is a separate story. 19:06 If you hold, now pay attention carefully, 19:09 if you hold to the theory of a secret rapture 19:12 of the church, try out that simple question 19:15 on yourself." Now what question is that? 19:18 Where is it in the Bible? Great question. 19:23 There are five things we know about Christ return. 19:26 He will come literally, He will come visibly, 19:29 He will come audibly, He will come gloriously 19:33 with all the angels and it marks the end of 19:35 earth's history. I need to ask you an honest 19:37 question tonight as we look and don't jump 19:40 to any conclusions before you hear me out, 19:42 is that a fair observation? 19:44 Don't jump to any conclusions yet. 19:45 I might surprise everybody just yet. 19:48 But, as we look at those five things that 19:50 we know beyond the shadow of a doubt, 19:53 did any of it sound to you like Jesus was 19:55 coming quietly, yes or no? 19:57 No. It doesn't seem to say it, it doesn't sound 20:01 like a secret coming. I have some questions. 20:05 This theory teaches that Jesus comes first 20:08 quietly for the church and later He comes 20:10 back in glory. But, the Bible says every eye 20:13 sees Jesus when He comes, 20:15 now if every eye sees Jesus including 20:18 the wicked, how can his arrival be a secret? 20:23 The Bible says that the wicked sees the second 20:26 coming when Jesus comes for his church. 20:28 You got to approve that to me preacher, okay. 20:30 Take a look at what the Bible says. 20:32 Matthew 24 verse 30, pay attention carefully, 20:36 Jesus is speaking, "Then the sign of the Son 20:39 of Man will appear in heaven, 20:40 and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, 20:43 and they will see the Son of Man coming 20:45 on the clouds of heaven with power 20:47 and great glory." That says all the tribes 20:50 and it says that they mourn. 20:52 Now let me ask you a question, 20:54 do God's people mourn when they see 20:56 Jesus coming, yes or no? No. Absolutely not. 20:58 These are the people who did not prepare 21:00 for the appearing. Now somebody will say 21:02 but pastor that verse is talking about the 21:05 second phase, Jesus comes first for the church 21:09 and then He comes in glory in the second phase 21:11 and establishes a kingdom on earth. 21:13 This is where Jesus comes back on the second 21:16 part of that in the second phase. 21:18 I could accept it, except for one tiny little 21:22 problem the very next verse Jesus says 21:24 just the opposite in the very next verse speaking 21:28 about the same event where the wicked mourn 21:30 when they see Jesus coming He says, 21:32 And He will send His angels with a great sound 21:35 of a trumpet, and they will gather together 21:37 His elect from the four winds, 21:39 from one end of heaven to the other. 21:41 At the same moment that Jesus comes 21:44 for his church, the Bible says the wicked 21:47 see Him coming and they mourn, 21:50 in the very same passage just a couple 21:52 of verses later Jesus adds this detail. 21:55 For as in the days before the flood, 21:57 they were eating and drinking, marrying 22:00 and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah 22:03 entered into the ark, and did not know until 22:05 the flood came and took them all away, 22:08 so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." 22:13 Now Jesus said if you wanna know what the 22:15 second coming is really gonna be like, go back 22:18 to the great flood of Noah. 22:20 Now incidentally Noah preached the Bible says 22:22 about a 120 years telling everybody it's coming, 22:25 it's coming, it's coming and people laughed, 22:28 they stood there and they looked at Noah 22:29 and they said look at that big boat you're building 22:32 Noah that doesn't make any sense. 22:33 There was some indication the book of Genesis 22:35 that may have rained to that point that they 22:37 dew came up from the ground and 22:38 watered the earth. And they looked and said 22:40 why are you building that big boat there for 22:41 Captain Noah, there is never gonna be a flood, 22:44 you are off your rocker, look at that old Noah's 22:46 cheese finally slipped off the cracker, 22:50 and he preached, and he preached, 22:52 and he preached, and nobody believed it until 22:55 suddenly they were chest deep in water. 22:58 Now here's the point. The people who were 23:01 ready and the people who were not experience 23:04 that flood at the very same moment. 23:08 And Jesus says when I come again; 23:10 the wicked and the righteous will experience 23:13 that at the very same moment. 23:16 At the moment He sends His angels to gather 23:18 everybody and there is a great sound 23:20 of the trumpet the tribes look up and they 23:22 mourn everybody at the very same moment. 23:26 The Bible does not describe two phases 23:28 to the second coming, it only describes one, 23:31 2500 references to the second coming 23:34 in the Bible and I've gone through it, 23:35 I've looked at them that never ever describes 23:39 more than one coming. That's not the only 23:41 question I have though, first of all, 23:42 if every eye sees Him, including the wicked, 23:44 how can Jesus arrival be a secret? It doesn't add up. 23:47 The next question I had and by the way 23:50 I've always been a big proponent of the two 23:52 phase coming of Christ until I started asking 23:55 some questions. When does the antichrist appear? 23:59 This is an important question in 24:01 Bible prophecy, in this popular scenario 24:03 that's sweeping the nation by storm 24:05 at the moment, in this two phase coming, 24:07 Jesus comes, takes away the church there's a 24:10 seven year period of time then He comes back 24:13 and sets up His kingdom on earth 24:14 and destroys antichrist. This says the antichrist 24:18 appears after Jesus comes for His church, 24:21 is that clear? Everybody with me, 24:23 or is everybody asleep, are you with me? 24:24 Yes. Okay. Jesus comes for believers 24:28 and then the antichrist and then He comes back. 24:31 Our only one issue, one question I have 24:33 about that, it's found Second Thessalonians 2, 24:35 it says, Now, brethren, concerning the coming 24:38 of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering 24:41 together to Him. This is written to Christians 24:43 waiting for Jesus to come for the church. 24:45 "Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering 24:47 together to Him, we ask you not to be soon 24:50 shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit 24:53 or by word or by letter, as if from us, 24:56 as though the day of Christ had come." 24:58 Now this is the second letter Paul wrote 25:00 to Thessalonians. In the first letter he said 25:02 the Lord shall descend from heaven with 25:04 a shout with the voice of the archangel, 25:06 with the trumpet of God, the dead in Christ 25:07 shall rise first. The Thessalonians just 25:09 got all excited they said, wow it's gonna happen 25:11 tomorrow get ready. And Paul wrote back 25:13 to them and said hey don't be bothered 25:15 by that last letter, don't get too hasty, 25:17 don't jump the gun, something needs 25:19 to happen before Jesus comes for His church, 25:21 what is it? Let no one deceive you by any means. 25:26 As if somebody might try to confuse this issue, 25:30 that no one deceive you by any means; 25:32 for that day will not come unless the falling 25:36 away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, 25:40 the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts 25:42 himself above all that is called God 25:44 or that is worshiped, so that He sits as 25:46 God in the temple of God, showing himself that 25:50 He is God. Paul says don't get excited yet, 25:54 Jesus will come for His church but not until 25:58 after the antichrist appears and then a few 26:01 verses later he says when Jesus comes 26:04 for His church that's when He destroys 26:06 the antichrist. And then the lawless one in 26:08 Second Thessalonians 2 verse 8, "And then the 26:11 lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord 26:13 will consume with the breath of His mouth 26:15 and destroy with the brightness of His coming." 26:21 Jesus destroys the antichrist when He comes 26:24 for His church, how do you know that? 26:25 How do you know that pastor? 26:26 This is a very interesting word, this word coming 26:30 in the Greek language it's Parousia, 26:32 Parousia what is that word mean? 26:35 That is the word that is used when a King 26:37 makes a grand entrance into a room. 26:40 Kings typically don't sneak into rooms. 26:42 They wait until everybody is assembled 26:44 then everybody is irritated that it's taken 26:46 a little while and then they step out. 26:48 See it's the word would use for the Oscars 26:51 when they pull up in their limousines 26:52 and the stars will step out and make an 26:55 entrance, it's a big appearance, 26:57 it's a big entrance. Parousia when Jesus 27:00 makes His big Parousia His great big entrance 27:03 He will destroy the antichrist. 27:05 See and then Paul says, the Bible says, 27:08 that Jesus makes His Parousia 27:12 when He comes for His church. 27:14 Will there really be, by the way just as 27:17 I'm on that, First Thessalonians 4 verse 16 27:19 when Jesus says that He will come the word 27:22 there again as He gathers the church 27:24 and wakes the dead, His Parousia, 27:26 His big entrance, it's of that big entrance 27:29 that the antichrist is destroyed. 27:31 When does the antichrist appear? 27:33 The most popular theory says after the church 27:35 is gone, impossible according to the Bible. 27:38 When Jesus comes for His church He destroys 27:40 the antichrist. The third question I have is this. 27:44 Will there really be a second chance after 27:49 Jesus comes? After Jesus comes. 27:51 Here's the popular scenario. Jesus comes 27:54 for the believers, there are some left behind 27:56 that suffer through the reign of the antichrist, 27:59 some of them turn to Jesus and then 28:02 they're ready for Him when He comes again 28:04 in the second phase. If you think about this, 28:07 this is really saying that if you miss it the 28:09 first time you will get another chance, 28:11 the second time. Now this is a popular scenario, 28:15 I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid. 28:17 I got invited to this church they were great 28:19 Godly Christian people. And they had this film 28:22 that they showed us one Saturday night 28:23 and I have to admit it did me a world of good, 28:25 it scared the pants off of me. 28:28 And this guy wakes up in the morning, 28:30 he rolls over in bed and his wife is gone. 28:33 Her nightgown's still there, and her wedding 28:34 band's sill there, but she is gone. 28:36 And there was actually some bad acting 28:38 in there because he didn't say a word, 28:40 he just got out of bed. And he walks around for 28:43 a while wondering where everybody is 28:44 and then he gets in his car drives through 28:46 town there are cars in the ditch 28:47 and airplanes in the ground. 28:48 And half the town is missing he hears 28:50 on the radio. Then he finds a copy of the Bible 28:53 and he says hey everything God said was 28:55 happening, has happened and Jesus has come 28:58 and taken the church. So then in the movie 29:01 he joins a resistance force who resist 29:03 the antichrist he gives his heart to God 29:05 so that he is ready the next time. 29:07 This theory says, you get another chance 29:09 after Jesus comes for the church, 29:11 I wonder if it's true. Revelation 22:11, 29:15 "He who is unjust, Jesus said let him be 29:17 unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be 29:20 filthy still; he who is righteous, 29:22 let him be righteous still; he who is holy, 29:24 let him be holy still. And behold said Jesus, 29:29 I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, 29:33 to give to every one according to his work." 29:37 Jesus says in unequivocal terms when I come, 29:41 that's it, no more chances only two groups, 29:45 when I come and I get my church, 29:47 I will come in glory, I will destroy the 29:50 antichrist and that will be it, 29:53 every decision will have been made for all time. 29:55 The Bible does not teach a second chance 29:58 after Jesus comes for his church. 30:02 This is more accurate if you want a 30:04 biblical theory, a biblical scenario. 30:07 The antichrist appears at some undetermined point 30:10 at least as far as we see at this point, 30:12 the antichrist appears, there is an unknown 30:15 period of time then Jesus comes for His church 30:17 He destroys the antichrist and 30:20 all history comes to an end. 30:23 Let me share something with you tonight, 30:25 I know, I know that what we've been talking 30:28 about a two phase coming of Christ, 30:29 where Jesus comes secretly and quietly 30:32 for His church, and then comes again in glory 30:34 another part of the second coming is very popular. 30:37 I've read it in thousands of books, 30:39 the only book I haven't read it in yet 30:42 is the Bible itself. Now many Bible scholars 30:45 are coming to terms with this and 30:47 they're saying hey, I think we made a Boo-boo, 30:50 it's not anywhere in the Bible. 30:53 A lot of scholars are now changing their minds. 30:56 Charles Erdman, great Godly scholar I believe 30:59 worked with Zondervan, I could be mistaken 31:01 about that, a Godly man, a great scholar, 31:04 a fantastic Christian said this about the theory 31:07 of a secret quite coming of Jesus. 31:09 He said the doctrine seems to be founded upon 31:11 a false interpretation in the King James Version 31:15 of the opening verse of Second Thessalonians 2, 31:18 verse 1. That verse talks about a moment 31:20 when Jesus comes and gathers His church 31:22 to Himself. He looked at it and He said, 31:25 we've been thinking that, that is a quiet, 31:27 secret event but I just can't find it in the Bible, 31:30 he changed his mind. Henry Frost, 31:32 believed in this theory all his life just 31:34 like I did. And he's wrote, 31:36 this theory might be held as truth if there 31:38 were any scripture to confirm it, but it may 31:40 not be held in view of the fact that no 31:43 scripture even suggests such a process of events. 31:48 He is right, I've seen it in a little book that 31:50 I had in my library, that was dog eared 31:52 and well read but I haven't seen it in 31:56 God's word. I haven't seen it in the Bible. 31:58 I'm just asking tonight if you haven't understood 32:01 it this way just check it against the Bible, 32:03 don't believe what I say, don't believe what 32:05 any of these people say go home you stick 32:07 with what God says, out of the word of God 32:09 amen, amen. That's the only approach. 32:11 Harold Ockenga, another great scholar 32:13 man of God he said listen I've looked at it, 32:16 no amount of explaining can make 32:18 First Thessalonians chapter 4 a secret 32:20 rapture. He's right, every grave is open, 32:23 there is a fantastic trumpet blast, 32:25 there's the voice of the archangel, 32:27 that is not quiet and secret, that is the 32:29 greatest, nosiest, biggest event in the history 32:32 of the universe and the Bible says every eye 32:34 sees it, and every ear hears it. People are 32:37 changing their minds. So, the question is this, 32:39 if it really isn't found in the Bible, 32:41 if you can go cover to cover, you can look 32:43 at all 2500 references, you can put them all 32:46 together and study them and it's not there 32:50 then where did that theory come from? 32:53 Would you like to know where it came from? 32:54 Yes. I was gonna tell you anyway, 32:58 would you like to know where that theory 33:00 came from? Yes. Buckle your seat belts. 33:04 In the middle ages there was a big dispute 33:07 going on in the Christian church. 33:09 And this is the history that we all share as 33:12 Christians. We've got to look back folks as 33:14 Christians over the last 2000 years and lay claim 33:17 to all the mistakes and things we've done 33:18 as Christians over the last 2000 years. 33:20 We didn't fool God when we did bad things 33:23 we did bad things and He knew about it, 33:24 and we may as well admit to it in our history 33:26 when we did it. Now there was the reformation 33:29 and the Counter-Reformation. 33:30 And here's what happened, a lot of people 33:32 both on the Protestant side of the equation, 33:35 and the Catholic side of the equation and 33:36 by the way I just have to say some thing, 33:39 I believe with all my heart than an every Christian 33:42 church on the face of this planet God has 33:44 good Christians. I really believe that, 33:46 I also believe than every Christian church 33:48 on the face of this planet there are some real 33:50 stinkers, some people that I just have trouble 33:53 believing will be in heaven but you know 33:54 what I'll be a surprise to people too when 33:56 I get there. There was a big dispute, 33:59 and here was the dispute. People in the 34:00 middle ages were looking at the church 34:02 structure and they started to admit some things 34:04 both Catholic and Protestant scholars. 34:07 They said the church structure here in the 34:09 middle ages we've made some big mistakes. 34:11 The church is doing some things that the 34:13 Bible never spoke about. There is some 34:15 corruption in our church structure, 34:17 there are a lot of things going on and it divided 34:20 into several camps. Some people said we need 34:22 to address this, we need to talk about this 34:25 and they believed that the problems in church 34:27 administration were actually prophesied 34:29 in the Bible. But, another camp said well 34:32 that's kind of embarrassing why don't 34:34 we just cover up the mistakes and get 34:35 on with life. Human nature has a tough time 34:38 admitting mistakes don't they? You know one 34:40 of the hardest things in the world is to open 34:42 the Bible and see your picture in that, 34:44 that's a hardest thing. I lived in a dormitory 34:46 at the University of Victoria. 34:47 There was a guy there who used to draw 34:48 cartoons of everybody on campus; and they were 34:51 the funniest things I'd ever seen in all my life. 34:54 I mean if somebody was kind of annoying 34:56 he drew a picture of an annoying guy. 34:57 And if somebody was kind of messy, 34:59 he drew a picture of a messy guy, 35:01 and I thought these were really, 35:02 really funny cartoons and I came home 35:04 one day and he had this picture of this guy 35:06 with a big mouth that talk too much, 35:07 and I said that's really funny who is it? 35:09 He said it's you. I said right up to that point 35:12 you see, I thought he was a greatest artist 35:14 in the world, I was gravely mistaken. 35:17 Gravely mistaken. One of the toughest things 35:19 in the world is to see your own picture 35:20 in the pages of the Bible. And so some Christians 35:23 said hey Bible prophecy can't be talking about 35:25 us as Christians and mistakes that we're 35:28 making, it can't be talking about that all, 35:30 so why don't we come up with an alternate 35:32 theory? I don't think we have to do that folks. 35:34 I think when we open the Bible 35:36 and we see what God is saying clearly, 35:37 we ought to except just what God says 35:38 because He knows what's best, amen, amen. 35:40 He knows what's best. Here's what happened; 35:42 a couple of scholars said, let's come up with 35:44 an alternate theory for Bible prophecy. 35:46 One of them, his name was Alcazar 35:48 and he looked at all the prophecies of the Bible 35:49 and he said look, why don't we reinterpret 35:52 this and we'll move everything to the past 35:55 it's called preterism today. 35:57 He said everything in the book of Revelation 35:59 most of it anyway happened way back 36:01 in ancient history under the Emperor Nero, 36:03 and Nero was the antichrist, and it's all 36:06 long since past and the book of Revelation 36:08 doesn't apply to us at all anymore, 36:10 so it can't be talking about mistakes that 36:12 Christians are making today period. 36:15 Well that theory's still popular in some circles, 36:17 there are some new books in the market 36:18 just in the last few months that are 36:20 teaching it, but it was completely made up 36:22 in the middle ages to avoid dealing with the 36:24 issues that Christians were facing, 36:25 it was utterly and completely invented 36:28 and made up. Now this hasn't really taken off, 36:32 it's popular in some circles, but there was 36:34 another theory. There was another scholar 36:36 by the name of Ribera. And Ribera did just the 36:39 opposite, he said look all of this didn't happen 36:41 in the ancient past under Nero, all of this hasn't 36:44 happened yet, it happens at the very end of time 36:47 in the last seven year burst of history. 36:49 He said the church is gone, and then all of a 36:52 sudden Israel are the chosen people again 36:54 and then the antichrist comes. He made up 36:57 the theory so that we didn't have to deal 37:00 with the issues. That theory looked a little 37:03 bit like this. He looked at everything 37:06 and he said look, the Old Testament prophets, 37:08 which is this little guy down on the left hand 37:10 side of the chart, they couldn't see the 37:12 Christian church at all. All they could see 37:16 was up to the cross, the nation of Israel, 37:18 the Old Testament, up to the cross 37:20 they couldn't see the church at all. 37:22 And then the next thing that they saw was 37:24 after the church disappears with Jesus 37:26 and the nation of Israel or God's chosen 37:28 people again, there's a seven year period, 37:30 a tribulation with the antichrist and then 37:32 Jesus comes in glory. They could see this last 37:35 seven years, they could see everything up 37:37 to the cross but they couldn't see anything 37:39 in between, that's what Ribera said. 37:41 And the reason he said it was if they couldn't 37:43 see the church then nothing in Bible prophecy 37:47 applies to the mistakes that Christians are 37:49 making today. It was completely invented 37:53 so that we didn't have to deal with the issues 37:57 and it made a leap into every church over 37:59 the centuries that followed and today 38:01 it is the most popular theory in all of 38:04 Christianity but it is not found anywhere 38:07 in the word of God. Now you might be asking 38:10 a question. Well preacher okay so what, 38:12 does it matter, who cares? Just another 38:16 theory. Does it matter? I think it might. 38:19 I have a few questions. If they're teaching 38:22 there might be another chance after Jesus comes 38:25 what if there is not? Would it be dangerous 38:28 to teach people that there might be a second 38:30 chance? Would they be tempted to wait 38:32 and see and then change their minds 38:35 if the church disappears, it's a dangerous thing 38:37 to teach people and it's not fair, 38:39 if it's not true? And what if the whole 38:42 world is gearing up to expect the wrong thing? 38:44 Think about this very carefully. 38:46 The Bible talks about overwhelming delusions, 38:49 spiritual deceptions in the last day. 38:52 Is it possible we could be wrong, 38:54 think about this carefully, because when 38:56 Jesus came the first time most of his people 38:58 were wrong about it, they had the wrong 39:00 idea of why He was coming and that's why 39:03 most of them rejected Jesus. Now when Jesus 39:05 comes the second time nobody is gonna 39:07 reject Jesus it is final, that's the last 39:10 opportunity, but what if it's wrong, 39:12 what if the whole world is gearing up to expect 39:14 the wrong thing? Folks, here's what it boils 39:17 down to in the end, Jesus comes we read 39:20 the other night with the sword coming out 39:21 of His mouth and here's what I wanna challenge 39:24 you with tonight. The Bible says in the book 39:26 of Hebrews chapter 4, it's says in the book 39:28 of Ephesians that the sword is the word of God. 39:31 What is Jesus saying, when He comes back there 39:34 is only thing that matters, it's not what 39:36 this book said, or what that book said, 39:38 it's not what this preacher said, 39:39 or that preacher said, including the preacher 39:41 that's standing here tonight the only thing 39:43 that matters is what did the 39:46 word of God say. Jesus challenge, 39:50 Jesus challenge to you is to be ready. 39:53 There was a cute little girl her name was Sara, 39:55 she heard in class there was gonna be a contest 39:58 and teacher was gonna give a prize to the tidiest 40:00 desk in he class, oh boy she thought 40:03 I'm gonna win that prize. And all the kids 40:06 laughed and they said you can't win that prize, 40:08 you are the dirtiest pig in this class, 40:10 your desk is always a mess, 40:11 there's crumpled up paper shoved inside, 40:13 there's dirt smudges on top and there's always 40:16 stuff on the floor. You can't win the prize. 40:17 She said I can. Because the day before 40:20 the teacher judges I'm gonna clean my desk. 40:23 Well they said to her what if the teacher judges 40:25 you one day earlier? Well she said I clean 40:28 it up two days before. Well what if the teacher 40:30 comes around and looks three days before, 40:32 she said then I will clean up four days before 40:33 and finally out of exacerbation that 40:36 little girl said do you know what? 40:38 I'm just gonna keep it clean all the time. 40:42 Here's the message of Jesus to you. 40:44 The Bible says God gathers the whole world on 40:46 Armageddon the mountain of Megiddo, 40:49 they're faced with a challenge. 40:50 If the Lord be God follow him. 40:53 He's not telling people to wait and here is the 40:56 crux of the issue, He is telling people to 40:58 make things right with God right now, 41:01 keep it clean all the time. 41:05 Now it's time to get out to lesson number 4 as we 41:08 explore this subject just a little bit deeper 41:11 and we look at what God's word says. 42:08 And if you are still with us by satellite right 42:10 here in Southern California my good friend 42:12 Dan Houghton is going to come and lead us through 42:17 this lesson as my dear wife Jean hands the 42:20 lessons out and we get a chance to 42:21 just review what we've look at. 42:23 Thank you Pastor Shawn. 42:32 Well that was a quite a ride tonight wasn't it? 42:34 Yes. Some things in there that may have been 42:39 a little startling, maybe you hadn't 42:41 seen before, hadn't considered. 42:44 But, when history repeats itself, 42:48 it's time to take out lesson number four, 42:50 if you have that with you please take it out 42:51 and open it up. We have a few questions 42:53 that we want to go to in this lesson, 42:59 I find it fascinating as I heard pastor Shawn 43:01 talking about this just a moments ago that the 43:06 Jewish nation was expecting the first 43:10 coming of Christ weren't they not? 43:12 Weren't they eagerly anticipating? 43:13 Every young Jewish girl was hoping that she would 43:15 be able to be the mother of Messiah. 43:18 But yet they missed, the majority of 43:22 that nation, missed the coming of the 43:23 messiah why was that? They were expecting 43:26 the coming a little different way then what 43:29 He actually came. And as we start 43:31 out here in the introduction of your 43:33 lesson you see that's exactly what's been 43:35 talked about the Jewish people missed Jesus 43:38 first coming because they had an expectation that 43:41 was different. Confusing prophecies 43:43 of the first and second coming, 43:45 many in John the Baptist's day believed that the 43:48 Messiah would overthrow the Roman government 43:50 and establish a worldly kingdom. 43:52 Did they want that to happen? 43:54 They did. They believed it so that they actually 43:57 imposed that upon what was actually 43:59 going to happen. This mistake was not 44:01 limited to unbelievers, even some of Jesus' 44:04 most devoted followers made it. 44:07 People like, okay Matthew chapter 11 44:11 and verse 23. "Now when John had heard 44:14 in the prison the works of Christ, 44:16 he sent two of his disciples, 44:18 And said unto Him, Art thou He that 44:20 should come, or should we 44:22 look for another? "Now this is man that 44:25 had baptized Jesus. But he is asking 44:28 the question, he had that little question 44:29 that came in his mind. So, is it surprising 44:32 that there could be some misunderstanding or even 44:34 confusion down here in our day when we are 44:36 looking at the second coming of Christ? 44:39 Okay, this mistake was not limited 44:42 to unbelievers, even some of Jesus' 44:44 most devoted followers made it people like 44:47 John the Baptist, the forerunner of 44:49 Christ himself made this mistake while he was 44:51 in prison. So, if you are watching this 44:55 and you have believed, perhaps those of you 44:58 here in our studio audience if you have 45:00 believed that maybe there was a two part 45:01 coming of Christ. You know you just 45:05 like John the Baptist may have been mistaken, 45:06 so you're in good company, but the Bible has 45:09 revealed the truth as Shawn has unfolded 45:11 it tonight. Okay. The concept of the 45:14 two-phase coming of Christ finds its roots in 45:18 the 16th century movement known as the 45:23 Counter-Reformation. Counter-Reformation, 45:27 an attempt to put down the success of the 45:32 reformation that was going on back in the 45:34 15th and 16th century. Okay. 45:37 Number 3 in your lesson, okay, 45:39 One popular theory of end-time events has 45:43 Jesus returning for His church, 45:45 and then the antichrist appears. 45:49 When did the Apostle Paul expect the antichrist 45:53 to appear? Now we're gonna look 45:54 that text up it's in Second Thessalonians 45:57 chapter 2 verses 3 and 4. 45:59 Let no man what? Deceive, deceive you by 46:03 any means, for that day 46:05 shall not come, except there come 46:07 a falling away first, and that man of sin 46:11 be revealed, the son of perdition. 46:14 So, one popular theory of end time events has 46:16 His returning for His church and then the 46:18 antichrist appears, when did the Apostle Paul 46:21 expect the antichrist to appear? 46:24 Before Christ returns for his church not after, 46:28 before Christ returns for his church. 46:30 Now second part of that question right there 46:34 this is number 4. When would the antichrist 46:38 be destroyed? Remember what Pastor Shawn 46:41 said a few moments ago, let's read 46:42 it in scripture, Second Thessalonians 2 46:44 and verse 8, and then shall that 46:46 Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall 46:48 consume with the spirit of his mouth, 46:51 and shall destroy with the brightness of 46:54 his coming. So, when is the antichrist 46:58 to be destroyed? By the glory of Christ's return. 47:04 Isn't that clear from scripture? 47:05 Isn't that clear? Can you say amen? Amen. 47:10 Okay now we wanna go the original Greek word 47:14 for Christ's appearing that was used in Second 47:17 Thessalonians 2 in verse 8, Parousia. 47:21 I believe I pronounced that right. 47:22 I'm not the Greek scholar, but Parousia. 47:24 It refers to the grand entrance of a King, 47:28 a grand entrance a King makes when he makes 47:30 an appearance. His fist coming was quietly 47:34 as a babe in Bethlehem. We all know the story. 47:38 Some of those early Jewish scholars were seeing 47:41 through to the second coming and wanting to see 47:43 him and come as a King right away to free them 47:45 from Roman bondage but no He came as a babe 47:48 first but the second time He comes, 47:49 He comes with a great appearance, 47:53 Parousia He makes an entrance if you will. 47:57 Okay there's another place in 47:59 First Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 15, 48:01 that describes Christ coming for His church. 48:04 The same word Parousia, Parousia. Okay. 48:08 Now the question. If the antichrist is 48:12 destroyed at the Parousia and the church is 48:15 caught up to meet Jesus at the Parousia, 48:17 what does this tell us about the timing of 48:20 these two events? Okay. 48:23 They come at the same time, 48:25 same time okay. They are the same event 48:28 Christ returns for His church at the same time 48:32 that the antichrist is destroyed. 48:34 Now can understand why the antichrist might 48:38 want people to think something different than 48:42 what's gonna happen? Because this does 48:43 not spelled good news. Is that right? 48:47 That's the distraction of coming of Christ. 48:49 There is no second chance according to what we've 48:52 learned tonight. Now Second Corinthians 48:55 chapter 11 and verse 14, 48:57 what warning are we given? 48:59 Does the devil only work outside of 49:02 church circles? He does not, 49:06 he is very subtle. Second Corinthians 49:09 chapter 11 and verse 14. And no marvel; 49:13 for Satan himself is transformed into 49:16 an angel of light. Do you think that 49:20 Satan ever reads the Bible? 49:21 Do you think He is a scholar and knows 49:23 what it is? Do you think he is 49:25 attempting to defeat it? He sure is and he 49:28 is gonna use every method possible including 49:31 trying to deceive even the very elect. 49:35 Now what warning are we given? 49:37 Does the devil only work outside of the 49:39 church circles? No, he disguises himself, 49:41 you wanna right this down, he disguises himself 49:44 as an angel of light. 49:51 I hear those pens going on the paper that's good. 49:55 Okay, Is it possible that the devil would try 49:59 to pull off a large spiritual deception in 50:01 the last days? Do you think that's 50:04 very possible? Yes. You better it is. 50:07 How important then my friends, 50:09 is the truth about this? Do you think a lot of 50:15 people at the first coming of Jesus intentionally 50:18 missed His first coming? Lot of the common people 50:22 that were throughout Judea. 50:24 There were some of the leaders who may have 50:26 missed it intentionally, but a lot of the common 50:28 people were eagerly looking forward to it. 50:31 Some were deceived. In our day there are gonna 50:36 be people who are deceived only because they do 50:39 not know what is in this book. 50:41 And we have a privilege and those of you who 50:43 maybe joining us, who are joining us tonight 50:46 by satellite you have an opportunity tonight 50:50 to make a decision and a choice about which side 50:53 of this conflict, which side of this 50:54 issue you're going to be on. 50:58 Is it possible that he would try to pull off 50:59 a large spiritual deception? 51:01 Second Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 9, 51:04 even him, whose coming is 51:06 after the working of Satan, with all power and 51:09 signs and lying wonders. Now you know we tend 51:14 to get excited, we hear about a 51:16 miracle or some unusual occurrence especially 51:20 around spiritual things. But, can we trust, 51:24 can we trust signs and miraculous things 51:28 that are unusual to us. Not at all. 51:32 We have to regard the scriptures as the 51:35 ultimate authority. This is what we 51:38 have to make our, drive our stake on to 51:40 say yes I believe this not the books that you 51:43 are gonna find at the book store. 51:45 Not the ideas of some preacher as 51:47 Shawn was talking, and Pastor Shawn was 51:49 even saying check him out, He want you go into 51:52 the word of God and check him out to see if 51:54 what He has said is true. It's based upon what 51:57 the word of God says, so yes there 51:59 are going to be. Write this down 52:00 in your lesson. Is it possible that He 52:02 would try to pull off a large spiritual deception 52:05 in the last days? How important is 52:07 the truth? Okay, in the last days, 52:10 the devil will pull out all the stops. 52:12 I wrote down in mine that devil pulls out 52:14 all the stops. He is going to try 52:17 to deceive the whole world. 52:19 And the truths of the Bible will be 52:20 our only safeguard, our only defense, 52:23 knowing what's between the covers of this book. 52:29 In Revelation chapter 22 verses 11 and 12, 52:35 what possible reason could the devil want for 52:37 misleading people about the nature of 52:39 Christ's return? What would be his 52:41 motivation anyway, why would he be 52:43 wanting to do this? He that is unjust, 52:47 let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, 52:51 let him be filthy still. And he that 52:53 is righteous, let him be 52:54 righteous still, and he that is holy, 52:56 let him be holy still. 52:59 What possible reason could the devil want 53:01 for misleading people about the 53:02 nature of Christ's return? 53:04 If he can create a laid back attitude with regard 53:06 to spiritual matters, there's a lot of people 53:10 that will put off their decision with a 53:11 "let's wait and see" attitude. 53:14 They can keep us wondering, 53:16 they can keep us in that value of decision 53:17 well maybe it is, maybe it isn't. 53:20 And we haven't made that firm solid commitment 53:24 to God then we are in one of those groups that 53:27 maybe unjust or filthy instead of that once that 53:30 are true and loyal to God. Okay in the end, 53:37 what will be the only thing that matters on 53:39 this subject? When it's all 53:41 said and done when everything is laid 53:42 out on the table, all the issues that they 53:45 are clearly to be seen. What's the only thing 53:47 that matters? Matthew chapter 4 53:50 and verse 4, "Man does not live 53:53 by bread alone, but by every word that 53:55 proceeds from the mouth of God." 53:58 You know we are, there are every kind 54:01 of temptation that try to draw us off into 54:03 some other areas, other things that we 54:05 would think might be important but the holy 54:07 word of God, you know some times 54:08 I find myself not taking the time that I need 54:14 to with this book. And when I do I find it 54:18 to be so rewarding. These passages like 54:21 Pastor Shawn brought out tonight just reached 54:23 in and touched my heart. In the end, 54:24 the only thing that matters is that man does 54:27 not live by bread alone. Now what would you 54:29 like to base your information on? 54:32 When you are making a decision when it's 54:33 all laid out on the table, what do you wanna 54:35 make your decision? On God's word, 54:39 we want to have our foundation sure. 54:43 I'm struck today by the fact that so many 54:47 people Christians, good godly people 54:51 are expecting something that is not in this word. 54:55 That's why I'm so excited to be a part 54:56 of this seminar, the appearing because it 54:59 casts the light of truth on this topic. 55:04 And it's my hope and prayer that it makes a 55:07 real difference in our life and that each one of 55:09 you will choose to base your information 55:12 on God's word. Let's pray, 55:16 Holy Father in heaven we just pause thanking you 55:19 for revealing truth to us tonight through 55:23 your scriptures. I know that these 55:26 thoughts may challenge some of the closely held 55:29 ideas that some have, I pray that your 55:33 Holy Spirit will open each one of our minds to 55:37 reveal to us your voice speaking. 55:41 And Lord I pray that we will rest completely on 55:45 your holy word, in Jesus name I pray, amen, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17