Thank You for Your blessings, Lord. And thank You for keeping our hearts and our minds always focused on You, Lord. And keep on keeping us that way, Lord. And we ask for Your, just for Your guidance on us, Lord. And Father, we pray for You. We pray for You. We ask for Your hands of protection upon our whole church, Lord. We lift this time up to You in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen and Amen. Good morning and welcome. You can be seated. Don't you wish your pastor would end like that sooner? Those of you joining us online, I want to welcome you as well. I do, before we get started though, have a prayer plea for Johnny Baginski. He's the younger brother of Xavier, who many of you know, along with his wife, Ashley, are part of our church, Ohana, with their keiki. Johnny is Xavier's younger brother. He is 26 years old, good friends with my oldest son. But he needs a miracle. They found multitudes of tumors spread throughout his body, including his brain. And it doesn't look good, unless God intervenes and does a miracle as only He can. I would like to just ask you to pray. Just pray for Johnny as the Lord puts His name on your heart. These are dear friends of ours, Savior and Johnny's mom, Michelle. Good friends of my wife, both Kailua girls and Close to the family, John, the father, died of pancreatic cancer. And then Xavier's other brother died a few years back. And now here's Michelle facing the real possibility of losing her second of three sons. So would you join me in a word of prayer? Father in Heaven, it's times like this that we are so thankful that we can come to You and pray to You. And that's what we're going to do right now for Johnny. Clearly in the natural, they've given him no hope of surviving this. But we also know You, O Lord, in the realm of the supernatural are the great physician, and You can heal him completely and totally of this. That's what we want to ask for. By faith, or faith be as small as a mustard seed size, we bring that to You. and ask of You for a miracle. Specifically, we want to ask that when the oncologist comes back into that hospital room, that he would say something along the lines of, what tumor? Are you sure you got the right scans? Because This patient has no tumors and no cancer. You could do that. Would you? It's not can you, we know you can. It's will you. It's not our will, but your will be done. But God, would You just do that for this precious family that's been through so much over the years? Please, please God. And thank You again, God, that we can come to You. And I just would ask all of you again, please, as the Lord puts John on your heart, would you just pray for a miracle. Pray for Michelle, his mom. Pray for our brother Xavier. And pray for a miracle in Jesus' name. Amen. So give me a moment to gather myself. So we have two services. The first of which is our Bible Prophecy Update that we do weekly. And then second service, as you know, is our verse by verse teaching through the Bible. We're currently in the Book of Revelation, and that will be, by the way, live streamed at 11 15 a.m. Hawaii time. Our text today is going to be chapter three verses seven through 13 in the much awaited letter to the church in Philadelphia in a sermon that I've titled Questions to Ask in Extreme Opposition. And what we're going to do is look at five questions concerning how oftentimes God allows opposition into our lives in order to accomplish that which He could not otherwise accomplish absent that adversity and opposition. So again, that will be second service live streamed at 11 15 a.m. Hawaii time. And those of you that are watching by way of YouTube and Facebook, We would really encourage you, don't wait, do it now. Go to the website there, you will find the uncensored and uninterrupted entirety of today's update as only the first part of the live stream is going to be streamed on those platforms. All right, I probably need to begin with an explanation as to why I chose such a snarky title. of You'll Never Steal My Pre-Tribulation Rapture Hope. One of the reasons that I chose this title is because of our current study of the seven letters to the seven churches in Revelation chapters two and three. and more specifically in my preparation for today's teaching of the letter to the church in Philadelphia, something just jumped out in this unique letter to this church, the sixth of seven churches, one of only two churches for which there is no rebuke, only commendation, Smyrna was the other one, Philadelphia the second one. But what came out of this letter, and I've read it before, I've taught it so many times before, I know it well. However, God just opened up the eyes of my understanding to one particular portion of the letter, where Jesus promises to keep them, and by extension us, out of the seven year tribulation. And that's what I want to talk with you about today, and perhaps more pertinent to the application for us today, I want to also talk to you about why Jesus would make this promise. Not just that Jesus would make this stunning promise, right? Controversial in many ways, promise concerning the pre-tribulation rapture. So first, why? Would He make such a promise to this particular church? As we mentioned in previous weeks, you cannot take the letter that was written to the Church of Smyrna and send it to Laodicea. It doesn't work. And vice versa, you cannot take the letter to the Church of Thyatira and send it to Philadelphia. It doesn't work. And not only that, but all seven of these letters are in a precision order, perfect order. because God is perfect. You cannot, you cannot alter the arrangement, the order of these specific seven churches, starting with the first church, Ephesus, who left, not lost their first love. You see this progression leading up to and reaching this crescendo with the last church, which Lord willing is next week, the Church of Laodicea. I'm not looking forward to that one. I am looking forward to this one though. Now, before the collective rolling of the eyes at yet another pre-tribulation rapture update and teaching, may I just humbly ask that you hear me out on this. I know many voice concerns that It seems that all I want to talk about these days is the pre-tribulation rapture. That's because all I want to talk about these days is the pre-tribulation rapture. No, for real. You know, after Tamayo's celebration of life last week, I was just sort of inquiring of the Lord about all of that. And now all of this, and you could probably, if we went around the room, share about all of what you're going through in your lives. It's getting pretty crazy, isn't it? And I just wonder if it's because we are so close to the pre tribulation rapture that God is allowing things at unprecedented levels to happen because of how short the time is. You know how we are. Maybe I should just speak for myself, but I'm always trying to make sense out of everything. Do any of you suffer from that plague? Because, you know, there's something innate within our nature that wants to try to reconcile the irreconcilable, you know, to try to make sense of the infinite in the realm of the finite. And you cannot, because more often than not, God's ways don't make any sense at all. And so we inquire of the Lord and we ask of the Lord, why? And I'm learning. I wish I was there, but I'm not quite there yet. I'm learning not to ask why anymore, but to ask what. And it's not because God won't tell us why. It's because God knows that if He tried to tell us why, we would only have more why questions, because we cannot comprehend the infinite. And also I think another reason is more importantly that the righteous shall live by faith, not by sight. In other words, if we knew why, then it would require no faith, because we would already see it. So this is God's way of saying, you know what, you're just going to have to trust Me. You're just going to have to put your faith in Me. I know you don't know what I'm doing, but I know what I'm doing. Yeah, but God, no, no, Don't ask why, ask what. Instead of asking, why God are you allowing this? Instead ask this, what God are you wanting to show me because of this? It just changes the entire complexion of that trial that you're in. Well, again, if you're willing to hear me out, what you're going to see is that this letter contains specific details that have the propensity to be a tremendous encouragement to all of us, especially those who are just barely holding on. And I think all of us could use encouragement. Would you agree? While we will go more in depth into this letter, second service, I'd like to draw your attention to three key verses, which we're going to borrow again from second service text this week. We're going to start with the second part of verse eight in Revelation three, where Jesus now is, through John, writing to this church and says to them, I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name. Now, this begs the question of why Jesus is encouraging this particular church in this way, by commending them, not rebuking them, by the way, commending them for their little strength. keeping His Word and not denying His name. Well, in order to answer this question, we're going to have to get a better understanding of two words and their meaning in the original language of the Greek New Testament. Hang in there with me again. First, this word for little in the original language is the Greek word mikros from where we get micro, or if you prefer, microscopic. And second, the word for strength is dunamis, where we get, or dynamis, where we get dynamite or dynamic. It's the English word translated power. So to our question of why would Jesus commend them for their little strength? merely microscopic in its size and power? Answer, because they were beat down. They were battle weary. They were barely holding on. Why else would Jesus say hold on if it weren't because they were just barely holding on? Why were they barely holding on? Why were they so beat down and bus up for the locals? And barely holding on in the face of what would seem to be formidable opposition and extreme adversity, because it had over a prolonged period of time taken its toll on them. Let me give you an illustration by way of an example. Let's just say that somebody, you're standing there, right? And somebody just comes up next to me. I'll even brace myself on the pulpit. And they come up to me and they just start leaning in the opposite direction on me. Now, at first, you know, I, you know, being the man's man that I am, you know, I'm going to be able to withstand it. stand against it. But you do that for a prolonged period of time, there's going to come a time where you're going to just know the effects of that, because you can only take so much before it takes its toll on you. And it's not long before you become weary up against this opposition. Well, this is what was happening to this church. And not only did it come from the Roman Empire, so too did it come from the Jews initially, especially those claiming to be Jews. And if this weren't bad enough, it's very likely that other Christians in other churches were coming against them in their opposition to them. Here's how I get there. I want you to think this through with me. The text seems to imply that other churches were denying His name and not keeping to the preaching of His Word. You have to understand that, yes, there were seven churches selected specifically by Jesus to have John write to. But there were hundreds of churches at the time in that region. Why these seven churches? because of what they represent. So it would stand to reason that these other churches were in opposition to the church that was in Philadelphia, putting pressure on them in opposition against them to cave into that which they themselves were doing. What were they doing? They had long ago stopped preaching the word. They had long ago caved into the pressure of not just not preaching the Word, but in effect denying His name. And what Jesus is doing is He's encouraging them and commending them and just wanting to strengthen them to just keep on, man, keep on keeping on, keep holding on. I know the pressure is crushing. I know it's taxing a heavy toll on you, and it has reduced you in size and strength. They had suffered so much opposition and adversity that they had been reduced to a little church with little strength. But God, You know, sometimes God can only use the little to do big things. He can't use the big to do. Sometimes the smaller tools can reach places that the bigger ones cannot. And this is exactly what we're going to see more so second service with this church where God is going to use, because that's what He does. He chooses and uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise and the weak, little strength to shame the strong so that only He gets the glory. Here's a little church, insignificant, And they've not acquiesced heretofore to the pressure from all of the opposition, Jews, the Roman Empire, and if that weren't bad enough, their brethren in the churches across town that were sending them emails. You still believe in the pre tribulation rapture? Sorry, I took that maybe too far. I didn't need to. But are you beginning to see some parallels here between the Philadelphia church then and the last days church now? I mean, one need look no further than to the condition of today's last days church to see that there are but few Philadelphia churches left. and the ones that are stand alone. And they do so in their unwavering commitment to God's Word and God's name. Conversely, there are numerous and voluminous churches that have long ago And I think it's due in some measure to the pastor. And I put it on the pastor as a pastor because of the pressure in these last days to lose confidence in the Word of God. And that's why they opt for the synthetic at the expense of the authentic. We talked about this, I think last week, where when the Holy Spirit isn't there, you've got to fill that void. You've got to come up with something to keep the people's attention. I thank God that's not on me. That's the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gets our attention and keeps our attention. I hope this doesn't I mean my title's snarky. I guess I might as well be snarky when I'm saying this. But you don't have to look too far. If you at any point ever become disenchanted sitting under the teaching of God's Word at this, His church, I just want you to know that you've got plenty churches to pick from. If the systematic expositional teaching book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse, teaching of God's Word is not your cup of tea. That's an old metaphor. I need to probably update that one. And again, I know this might sound snarky, but you know, good news. You've got a plethora of churches to pick from who will maybe, maybe 20 minutes. I have to warn you, though, they won't teach the Bible. They'll only talk about the Bible, or at best refer to the Bible. I mean, they might. I mean, it would be shocking. They might actually read the text in the Bible. But then, I don't know why, because they're going to go off and talk about everything but what they just read in the Bible. Not the Church of Philadelphia. I want to again just kind of pose a thought for you to think through with me and to see if you agree with me on this. Doesn't what we've seen so far, we're only, we've only just begun. Does this not go against everything that's taught from today's pulpit in today's church? I mean, is this not exactly what Paul wrote to Timothy concerning the last days? Such that many are even now exactly as Paul wrote well nigh 2000 years ago. They're flocking in large numbers, gathering false teachers, all too happy to tell them what their ears are itching to hear. What is it exactly that their ears are itching to hear? My life will be great again. This is the result of no longer, I'm going to use this word, tolerating sound doctrine. Some of your translations render it, they won't put up with, they will have no time for. They'll be in, talk about intolerance. They will be intolerant of sound doctrine and the teaching of God's Word, and they will not go to a church that preaches sound doctrine. Instead, they're going to find a church and a teacher who will tell them what their ears are itching to hear. And there's nothing new under the sun. This was happening in that day concerning the Church of Philadelphia. All these other churches were diametrically opposed to the Church of Philadelphia, who still kept preaching the Word. Now we're going to turn a corner because not only does this explain why they haven't kept to God's Word, it also explains why it is that Jesus would remind them, and again by extension us. In fact, I'll just use us instead of them, because this is a letter to us. You know that, right? Jesus writes it to remind us of the promise to us that He will keep us out of the seven year tribulation that is coming upon the whole world. This is very detailed. Enter these two additional verses from today's text in Revelation three, starting with the second part of verse 10. I'll talk more about that second service. And verse 11, listen to what he says. He says, after that, I will also, listen, keep you from, that's the Greek word meaning out of, the hour of trial, translated also tribulation, same word in the Greek, that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. And then if that's not speaking about the seven year tribulation, then why would Jesus in verse 11 say, I am coming soon? And then He says, hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I have a crown. Yeah. Well, I didn't know that. Yeah, but we're going to talk about the crown in a moment. But you're telling me to hold on to it because someone's trying to take it. Yeah. Someone's trying to take your crown and steal your hope. What's your hope? The blessed hope. hang in there with me again. There's three details in these two verses that all of us can be encouraged and edified by. Again, especially those who are just beat down, man, and battle weary. First notice that Jesus has, John, encouraged them with this word also. It's seemingly at first read insignificant, but It's actually very significant because Jesus is promising, I'll do that, but I'll also do this. Do what? Oh, I will also keep you from, out of, which is again the Greek preposition meaning out of. It's the Greek word ek, out of. the seven year tribulation, not through. He doesn't say I will keep you through the seven year tribulation. What's the purpose of that? No, I'll keep you out of the seven year tribulation. And again, how do we know it's the seven year tribulation? Because it's the time of God's judgment coming upon the entire world. It can be speaking of nothing other than the seven year tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble, also known as Daniel's 70th week. Second, notice in verse 11, I love this. We've talked about this. Jesus has John right that he is coming soon. Some of your translations render it quickly. It's the Greek word tacos, not tacos, tacos. You know what it means? It's the, it's a measurement word where we get in our English language, the word for tachometer. It's a measurement of revolutions per minute or RPMs. And notice Interesting, the time is already set, minutes. It's not that that's measured. It's the revolutions per minute. The time is already set, preset, if you will. So what's Jesus saying? He's again, His purpose is to encourage this battle weary boss up church that's been faced with this incredible opposition and adversity, coming at them from all sides, specific to, they're holding on to the Word of God, the truth of God's Word, the blessed hope. And this is why Jesus would say, listen, hang on, because I know things are revving up. tacos. But that's just an indication of how close the time is to when I come to take you out of this world. It's important to understand that it's not just prophetic events that will be revving up prior to the pre tribulation rapture. opposition will also be revving up against the pre tribulation rapture. Are you with me? This is what jumped out of this letter. It seems the opposition specific to Philadelphia again had to do with them keeping, I mean, they were just hanging on by their fingernails to their blessed hope. God's Word, God's promise. of His soon return in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church. Otherwise again, I ask this sincerely, not rhetorically. Why in the world would Jesus talk about the pre-tribulation rapture in the context of this letter, if this wasn't about the pre-tribulation rapture? In other words, that's what they were holding onto for dear life. against all this opposition, because nobody else was. In fact, they were probably the recipients in Philadelphia of much mocking and ridiculing, as Peter said, would also be a sign of the time of the end. It would also explain why Jesus would commend them and encourage them in their weariness, having faced all the opposition against them and all the pressure on them to cave in, if you only knew And I don't say this to seek pity, but I will always seek prayer. Do you know the pressure on pastors today? It is the likes of which we've never seen before and are likely to never see again. The pressure, you know, as a kid we called it peer pressure. Well, how about when you grow up and You're a pastor. It's called pastor pressure, pressure from pastors. To cave in, tone it down, soften it up. I can't. I tried, but believe you, and I've confessed this, and God knows my heart. I've had a lot of Jeremiah chapter 20 moments with God. You know, Jeremiah 20, when he tries to resign, he tenders his resignation to God, says that's what I've done. I'm not, I'm not preaching or prophesying anymore. Nobody's listening. There's a threats on my life, a contract, a hit that's been put on my life. And he tries to quit. And basically the problem is that slaves can't quit. And then Jeremiah comes to the realization. He basically comes to his senses and says, you know what, even if I tried, I know this fire burning inside of me would never let me stop or quit. I have to. I think about the Apostle Paul. He says the love of Christ constrains me, compels me, propels me. You know, sometimes God ruins you for Him. This is Jesus in His love for us, including a reminder to us to just keep holding on to the blessed hope in us. And don't let anyone steal your crown from us. Again, this is why I chose the title I did. Here's the thing, and I hope this doesn't come off wrong. Not only will no one ever steal my pre-tribulation rapture hope, their attempts to do so are actually backfiring. You know how? I have a sanctified, strengthened resolve now, and I'm holding on tighter now And I'm yelling louder now too, as if that's possible. Why? Because, think about this, the ever growing opposition is just more validation and authentication that the sound doctrine of the pre tribulation rapture is true. I mean, it's the genuine and the true that is counterfeited and attack, right? And that's why you don't see a counterfeit $70 bill. What's the point? The counterfeit authenticates and validates the genuine. Why do you think there's so the growing, and I mean this is almost an understatement, the growing attack on the sound doctrine, the genuine pre tribulation rapture. Why do you think that is? Because it's the genuine, it's sound, it's true. So of course there's going to be all of these attacks and counterfeits to confuse and accuse. Kind of getting ahead of myself. This brings up another question, which is why this and why now? More specifically, why does this rise to the level of importance at this time in human history? Answer, because there has never before been a time when the sound doctrine of the pre tribulation rapture has been so vehemently opposed and viciously attacked. So intense are these attacks that many a Christian is beginning to doubt, deny and not keep or tolerate this sound doctrine. You know what's sad? The enemy who Jesus said comes to steal, kill and destroy has been met with a large measure of success specific to the targeting of the pre tribulation rapture. Why? Why that? Why is that the bullseye? Because we're in the last days. And because if he comes to steal, kill and destroy, what's he going to steal? Your car? He has no need for your car. Your ID, your credit cards? No, no, that's not what he comes to steal. or kill. He comes to steal your hope and kill your joy and destroy your faith. It's evidenced by the lie that, have you heard this one? We're already in a tribulation. It already started like, oh wow, I didn't get the memo on that one. You know, I should have got an email. I thought I was going to hear a trumpet. I don't know. I missed it. What happened? No, there's no pre-tribulation rapture. We're already in the tribulation, which is why there's no pre-tribulation rapture. Because if there was a pre-tribulation rapture, we would not be in the tribulation. I hope that worked. It's from the enemy so as to deceive those to believe that if this is so, then there's no pre-trib rapture, if we're already in the tribulation. And if this weren't bad enough, many cause confusion and create doubt about what will happen, listen, if the pre-tribulation rapture doesn't happen. Have you been, well intentioned, I'm sure. I don't mean to cast dispersions or be derogatory towards well meaning Christians who do not believe in the sound doctrine of the pre tribulation rapture. And maybe on occasion they'll take you to task on this. And this, and it sounds like this. What are you going to do when it doesn't happen? You want to know what I, I don't think you want to know what I say. I've gotten more gracious over the years, but my response is, what are you going to do, not if it doesn't happen, but what are you going to do when, when it happens? Does that mean? Tough. It's the truth. And you know, it's heartbreaking because Christians who are ill prepared with no working knowledge of God's Word become easy prey for the devil, who is given a blank check to fill in the amount of confusion as the author of confusion. I ask, is it any wonder that many Christians are losing their hope and faltering in their faith in the sound doctrine of the preacher of rapture? Oh, how many emails we get coming into the office. I'm so thankful for our amazing staff that sifts through them all. I used to believe in the pre-tribulation rapture. Oh, I feel so sorry for you. Even worse, it gets better. This has a happy ending. Okay. But even worse, it's also evidenced by the false accusation from the accuser of the brethren that because we get excited about the rapture, we're setting dates for the rapture. This one really gets to me. Well, we get excited and then we get falsely accused of being date setters. To that, may I just lovingly but firmly say, that's okay. However, you'll never, ever, ever steal my pre-tribulation rapture hope, ever. Did I say ever? Ever. You can accuse me falsely. You can oppose me viciously. But all you're doing is making me hold on even tighter and yell even louder and shout it from the rooftops. Okay, why do I say this with such strength? Because my Jesus, my Savior, my King, my everything told me to hold on tight to that blessed hope, so no one takes it from Me. Come on, go ahead, try to take it from Me. Let's talk about this crown, can't we? I mean, it's very specific. Hold on tight to it. It's not much longer. I'm coming quickly. Things are revved up. Don't let anyone take your crown. What crown? Oh, I'm so glad you asked. Second Timothy chapter four verse eight. Listen to this. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also, there's that word again, to all who have loved His appearing, not coming, appearing. He doesn't come to the earth. He appears in the sky and catches up to meet Him in the air. That's the rapture. That's the pre tribulation rapture. And we have that same crown of righteousness. This, by the way, is the same crown that Jesus is referring to in His letter to the church in Philadelphia. Okay, here's where I'm going with this, and more importantly, why I'm going where I'm going with this. Last week we received an email from Pam Whitaker, who is an online member from Ohio, with a link to a video that was published on Wednesday, in which Tucker Carlson interviews singer songwriter John Rich. I'd never heard of this guy before. Before I quote from the transcript, let me just quickly share what she wrote in regards to this interview. SMH, shaking my head. More heresy, false prophets. Pray people aren't deceived, Pastor JD. I sent your message on the pre-trip rapture to Tucker Carlson. Hope he watches. So sad to see this, but not surprised. We love you Pastor JD from Ohio, and I like the way she did that. It's an inside, you had to be there one. You are our favorite pastor. Can't wait to meet you in the air. Praying for you and the fam. Love the Whitakers. If you don't mind, I'll share some excerpts from the interview Because if anything, this should serve as a much needed reminder of how close we are to the pre-tribulation rapture, as evidenced by videos like this that try to steal our hope of the pre-tribulation rapture. And it's only going to get worse the closer we get, by the way. One more thing, early this morning, I checked yesterday, this video already had about 1.7 million, million views after being posted just four days ago on Wednesday. We'll start with Carlson's first question, which Rich took off with and ran with. Carlson asks, you said a minute ago that history will end, time will end, Jesus will return. You don't know when? rich. Right. It says we don't know exactly when. The Bible says we can't. The Bible says no man knows the time nor the hour when Jesus will return. And that's correct. Nobody knows. 200 years ago, basically in 1830, a very wealthy, very charismatic preacher named John Darby came up with this doctrine that's now referred to as the secret rapture or the pre tribulation rapture. And that message took off. I mean, why wouldn't it? I mean, who doesn't want to hear that we'll all be out of here before anything bad happens? That's a great message. That'll pack the pews right there. And it allowed them to say, for all we know, the rapture could happen before this church service ends. right now, so you better move. And I guess to that end, it had a great effect. A lot of people, a lot of people got saved over that. No. Oh my, people got saved. A few decades after that, a guy named C.I. Schofield, who basically was a student of John Darby, adopted that part of the doctrine, and he incorporated that I don't like the way he words this, incorporated that into the Bible. No, he did not. The Scofield Bible adopted that entire John Darby philosophy that Christians will not be here when the bad stuff starts to happen. And most Christians still believe that. That is wrong on every level. How much bad stuff has already happened pre rapture? This is what I think they refer to as a straw man argument. You set up a straw man and you take it down. This has never been any part, for sure on my part, in proclaiming and teaching the sound doctrine of the pre tribulation rapture. Never at any time have I ever taught that we will escape bad stuff. Are you kidding me? In fact, I've done many a teaching with titles like Pre-Rapture Persecution, Pre-Rapture Persecution. Rich goes on to then falsely say that the word rapture is nowhere in the Bible. How original. And he even says this. This one, this caught me by surprise. The word antichrist is nowhere in the Bible. I don't think he's read the Bible. Carlson then says, just to be clear, what you're saying is the Schofield Bible theology is deceptive. You see what's happening here? Schofield Schmofield. What are you talking about? Because you see what the enemy does with that is he twists that. So now you can take and remove the name Schofield. And what you're saying is the Bible is deceptive. Right? Like I need my blood pressure to keep going up higher. Well, here's Rich's response. This is Rich, no pun intended. I'm saying that the same way the media, listen to this, The same way the media takes a factual situation and twists it and gives you a version of it, which we're force fed every single day. That same exact tactic was used in 1830 by Darby. And guess who he was connected to, by the way? Who? Thou Rothschilds. No. He was connected to the Rothschilds family back in the day that he did the same exact tactic and twisted that. It worked because it took off. And I mean, there were churches popping up everywhere right after. Oh my, churches were planted and popping up and people were getting saved. Hmm. That's what teaching sound doctrine does, by the way. John Rich then goes on to say something I would venture to say most of us have heard and still continue to hear virtually every day. What I'm speaking of is how they tout and taunt us with the utter shock that we as pre-trib Christians will find ourselves faced with when we have to take the mark of the beast. Listen to this quote from Rich. So why is it dangerous right now that Christians have this idea that they're going to be out of here before any of the things that are prophesied happen? He changes, he changed that, by the way. Why is that dangerous? He asks. It's dangerous because when the mark of the beast shows up and when the son of perdition shows up, who is referred to as the Antichrist, when those things happen and they're still here, They'll say, well, that can't be the mark of the beast. That can't be the Antichrist because I'm still here and the rapture hasn't happened. That's not the mark of the beast because I'm still here. So go ahead, sign me up. Think about the level of danger with that. Well, Mr. Rich, my Bible says, and it's not a Scofield Bible, by the way, that the church won't be here for that, so there will be no danger of that. And furthermore, Mr. Rich, my Bible also says that anyone who does take the mark of the beast is damned and doomed for all eternity. So Mr. Rich, If your argument and attack against the pre-tribulation rapture were true, then all these Christians will lose their salvation in the tribulation and spend eternity in hell. Did you catch that? Revelation 13, I would encourage you to revisit that chapter in its entirety, especially towards the end when you get to the the prophecy about the mark of the beast. Listen, you're not going to just like, oh, I didn't know. If I'd have known, I wouldn't have taken the thing. No. This is an act of worship. Think Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the image that Nebuchadnezzar created, a type of the image of the beast, that they were to bow and worship at the sound of six instruments, this 60 cubits by six cubits image, 666. And they were to bow down, and they were the only ones in a sea of people that didn't. They refused, all in caps. I'm going to talk about that in a second. What's your point, Pastor? My point is that nobody is going to accidentally or inadvertently or unwittingly or unknowingly take the mark of the beast. I don't know. Come on. No, it's going to be a deliberate act of worship, declaring allegiance to the beast, the image of the beast, and the accepting of the mark of the beast. And oh, by the way, we will not be here for that, and praise God for that. Mr. Rich, I'm having an argument with the guy because, you know, this is not in keeping with God's Word, which in turn denies His name, by the way, which is His nature. The name is the nature, not to mention His promise of our blessed hope. Shame on you, sir. Shame on you. There's one last thing on this that I think I'd be grossly remiss were I not to also quote. I do so with the hope that it will explain, not excuse, explain why it is. This is the why now. Please, I really need for you, because the enemy does not want you to hear this part. I don't say that to be sensational. I'm just, I don't know how else to say it. This, this turns the lights on. This is like one of those epiphanies where you go, oh, that's why. Because if you're anything like me, and I suspect some of you are, you're asking yourself questions like, why would somebody like this say something like that? There's a reason, you know. What's the impetus for it? What's the fuel? What fuels this? It's that they're still holding not onto the blessed hope, but they're holding out hope for this world. That's the why. And what I'm about to quote is only for those who have ears to hear. I'm almost tempted to have all of us bow our heads and close our eyes so you can, online it's easy. You just click me off. But For those of you here, you've kind of stuck, but here goes. There are those who will do anything and stop at nothing to discredit the sound doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture because they still have treasures laid up here on earth. And where your treasure is, Jesus said, there will your heart be also. You ready? This is a quote now from Mr. Ridge. You just watched God turn Donald Trump's head, literally a split second before the bullet whizzed by. We all just watched it. I mean, think about God making His presence known I mean, on the biggest possible story you ever could. And the whole world just saw it. So now you've got people going, okay, I believe it. I believe it. Because how do you deny that? Interesting choice of words. You have not denied My name. You know, Jesus said, um, I've come to you in My name, and you've rejected Me. But there is coming another who will come in His own name, and you'll accept Him. Did you, you know, this is one of those reading between the lines kind of things. He just called the alleged attempted assassination of Donald Trump, a miracle from the mighty hand of God saving his life. And not only that, but the whole world saw it. And now they're believers. In who? In what? Are you mad at me yet? Okay, well, this might do it. This is the last time I'm going to argue with Mr. Rich. Mr. Rich, I don't preach Trump and him shot. I preach Christ and Him crucified. I believe it, hold on to it, and will never deny it. Now, why did I end with this last quote from Rich? Because It speaks to the matter at hand as it relates to why for some there cannot be a pre-tribulation rapture. Think this through with me. No wonder the pre-tribulation rapture messes up everything for them. Because if there's a pre-tribulation rapture and our hope is in the soon return of the Lord for His church before the seven year tribulation, well then What am I trying to make great again? Great again for? What? Wait. No, it can't happen yet because we haven't taken dominion over the earth yet. We have a seven mountain mandate, man. We've got to take control of every arena in the world before Jesus can come back. New Apostolic Reformation, N A R N R. Kingdom Now Theology, Dominion Theology. They're all roommates. They're living together in sin. Am I making sense? The pre tribulation rapture is absolutely unacceptable. It ruins all of our plans. What's your plan? To make our lives great again. In this world, here on this earth, because that's where my treasure is, and that's where my heart is also. So you're talking to me about, hey, we're out of here. And I've got a lot of investments in this whole plan to get behind this candidate who God miraculously saved. There's that bullet whizzed by. Listen, I better bring it in. I'll get into more trouble than I'm probably already in. It disrupts, it dismantles, it destroys. Talk about destroying. It steals, kills and destroys their whole agenda. What does? The pre tribulation rapture. Give me this. Let me have this one real quick. We're almost done. Can you imagine here you've invested all of this time and energy and money into the cause, whatever it be, you fill in the blank. Get your man in office and we're going to make America great again. We're going to save America. Now, I need to say this parenthetically for those that think, well, he's pro Biden. Which Biden? Is that even a human? No, I'm genuinely asking you that. Are you so naive as to believe that this was not just staged? These are two wings on the same phoenix rising from the ashes of chaos to bring order. Are you so naive as to believe that Trump It's all a show was not part of getting Biden in and having this, whoever or whatever that thing is, get on camera and you're going, okay, we got Trump over here and we got Biden over here, and now they're trying to kill him. I mean, please, I implore you, don't be so naive. We're going to end the live stream. We should be closing right about now, but we're going to end the live stream because I want to, I won't take long, but I want to expound on this. So let's end the live stream. This is a reminder. Why? Because we forget. The communion table that we celebrate the first Thursday of every month, it's chiefly to do so in remembrance of what Jesus did. Why is it a commemoration and celebration? Because we remember, like a memorial, memory, memorial, commemorate. As often as you do this, do this in remembrance of Me. Why? Because you forget. Can I just remind you of something? Well, I'm going to. This Donald Trump that everyone, especially professing Christians, sadly are hoping in and supportive of is the same Donald Trump that executed, I use that word deliberately, Operation Warp Speed. This is not just an ironic contradiction. It's a demonic deception. And I say this this way because the very mark of the beast that Rich taunts pre-tribulation rapture believers with will very soon, not now, but will very soon come by way of a so-called vaccine. How ironic and demonic is that? Can I just remind you of some quotes, verbatim quotes from one Donald J. Trump? Listen carefully. These are verbatim quotes. Donald Trump, I guess in a certain way I'm the father of the vaccine because I was the one that pushed it. To get it done in less than nine months was a miracle. I recommend taking the vaccines. I did it. It's good. Take the vaccines. I hope everyone remembers when they're getting the COVID-19 vaccine that if I wasn't president, you wouldn't be getting that beautiful shot for five years at best. And probably wouldn't be getting it at all. I hope everyone remembers. Oh, I do remember. And I will never forget. Now, real quick, Again, I'm almost done. I appreciate your patience, but I am keenly aware of those who see all of this as being old news. Come on, Pastor JD, can you please move on? No. The pandemic is over, Pastor. Didn't you get the memo? No, it's not. Because If it were, then why is there still an ever increasing threat to those who all in caps refuse vaccination? What's on the screen, maybe the guys can put it back up for those online. It's a screenshot of a 28 page downloadable PDF file from the CDC. We'll provide a link to it. And it comes from another online member, Les Lins, who writes, Aloha, we greatly appreciate all that Calvary County does for God's kingdom. This link brings you to CDC questionnaire, which is to be used by people that interview those called responding to an interview request. Our household cell phone number was called, and the friendly caller, who was somewhat evasive with seemingly scripted answers, was told four times in the same call that I, we would not partake in the CDC survey on vaccinations, and we would not explain why. She finally politely hung up. So she says, blessing, be lessings, less lens. Anyway, you'll notice I've circled two questions on two pages, the first of which asks, quote, how likely are you to get the RSV vaccine when you are eligible? Would you say you would be definitely get the vaccine, probably get the vaccine, probably not get the vaccine, definitely not get the vaccine, or are not sure? And the options are definitely get a vaccine, probably get a vaccine, probably not get a vaccine, definitely not get a vaccine, not sure, don't know. And last but certainly not least, refused. Sounds a little bit like Revelation 13, those who refuse. The second one is on page 13 where they ask very pointedly, get this, Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional recommended that you get a COVID-19 vaccine since September 14, 2023? Did you receive a recommendation from a doctor, nurse, or other health professional before you got your most recent dose? The choices on this question are yes, no, don't know, refused. You know what they mean by refuse? Refuse to answer the question. Flag! We got it refused. Send it up the chain. We'll mark, pun intended, those. Please know that I selected only two of what I counted to be over 75 of these questions. I read through this thing. It was not enjoyable. Now, some of you might be asking, okay, Pastor G, come on, when was this published? When did this, you know, commence? 90 days ago. So now I ask you, if the pandemic is over, what's this for? What's this for? Come on, come on. Here's the bottom line. The evidence is irrefutable that we are on the cusp of the pre tribulation rapture, which explains why everything is just off the charts crazy right now. I mean, It's not just the increasing vitriol against those who hold on to the sound doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture. I confess this. I'm going to confess it again. Not that I'm bearing a guilty conscience. Maybe I am if I'm confessing it again. But one time I'm preparing a prophecy update and I got to, you know, because all I talk about is the pre-tribulation rapture. And I just, I just put rapture You know, I just, you know, just because I wanted to fit it all, you know, justified on one line, you know, because it's just, I know they have clinical terms for this. But and then, and then the Holy Spirit just said, wait, wait, wait, wait. I think you missed something. Where's the pre tribulation? And He got me. Here's why. Subconsciously, I was cowering and faltering and caving to the pressure. Because when you just say rapture, okay, we're good. But as soon as you say pre tribulation rapture, whoa, I did that too good. Sorry about that. Am I right? Are you experiencing this? Try posting something pronounced about the pre-tribulation rapture on social media and watch how many friends you lose like that. And then the vile comments and replies that are going to ensue. You know what that tells you and tells me? We're so close. Because if we weren't that close, then it wouldn't be this bad. Lastly, I, like the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonian Church, as your pastor, if I am your pastor, which I would be most privileged to be called, can I just exhort you implore you, encourage you to encourage one another with these words. Did you know that the pre-tribulation rapture is in the Gospel, but it's been taken out very subtly The first time we hear the gospel is not in First Corinthians chapter 15, the first four verses. It's in First Thessalonians, where the Apostle Paul, in the context of the pre-tribulation rapture, says that the first time, his first letter, and the first time we hear the gospel in the epistles, it's Jesus died, He was buried, He rose again on the third day, and He's coming back to take us out of the world one day. That's the gospel, the good news. Don't leave the pre-tribulation rapture out. Don't take it out. Don't try to take that from me. And think about it. If the Gospel were Jesus died, He was buried, He rose again from the dead. Have a nice afternoon. Bye. Wait, He's not coming back? You know, the first time we see the rapture mentioned is in the Gospels, from the Savior Himself, John 14. People don't even I don't know, is it blindness? What is it? When Jesus says, behold, I go to prepare a place for you. If it were not so, I would not have told you that in my father's house are many mansions, dwelling places. And I have to go there and prepare this bridal chamber. And then I'm going to come back for you so that you are where I am. That's a groom talking to his bride. That's a bridegroom telling his bride, we're going to get married and I'm going to go build us a nice, I mean nice bridal chamber. And I'm going to come back as a thief in the night and take you out of here to that place I prepared for you. That's the pre-tribulation rapture in the Gospel of John, man. Good news. The gospel of salvation, including the pre tribulation rapture, the ABCs of salvation, just real quick again, I appreciate your patience. It starts with acknowledging that you've sinned. Romans 3 10, there is no one righteous, no one good, not even one. You might be a good person. You'll never be good enough. There was only one that was good and perfect, and His name was Jesus. And Romans 3 23 tells us why none of us are good, is because all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Now, once we acknowledge our guilt, enter our plea of guilty, if you will, then we have to now be sentenced, because the Wages of sin is death, the death sentence. That's the bad news. But here's the good news. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. So good news. You've been sentenced to death. Bad news. Good news. I'll die for you instead of you. And you're free to go. That's what the word gospel means. Good news. Your debt has been paid. You're free to go. And whom the Son has set free is free indeed. The B is just for very central, just for belief. It's actually even simpler than ABC. It's as simple as B. Believe in your heart. And it's not just, well, I believe in God. No, no, no, no. believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead, Romans 10 9. It's putting your trust in, believing in Jesus Christ as Lord, who paid in full for your sins. And then out of the abundance of the heart is what comes out of the mouth. What's in your heart comes out of your mouth. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And this is the C. If I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, then what is going to come out of the abundance of my heart? Jesus Christ is Lord. Romans 10 9 says, If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. And The simplicity of the Gospel, Romans 10, 13. I mean, I'm so glad 42 years ago that it was as simple as Romans 10, 13 says, because I wouldn't have been saved if it wasn't. All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. That's it. the simplicity of the God. I implore you, you might be here in this church or watching online. If you're still online, wow, praise the Lord for hanging in there with us. But there's a reason. If you've never put your trust in Jesus, believing in your heart, I don't know how else to say this, but to plead with you. Today is the day of salvation. I'm telling you, I've been teaching Bible prophecy. I've been a student of Bible prophecy for decades. I hope that doesn't come off wrong. I only say that to say this. When I get up here on a Sunday morning, as is my privilege to, and do these prophecy updates, I preach my heart out, broken bread poured out wine, as I've shared with you in the past, because I don't know if this will be the last. That's how soon I truly believe with all of my heart it is, when that trumpet sounds. We're so out of here. Don't let anybody steal that hope from you. If they try, you let me know. No, no, that's not the Godfather, that's Father God, just so we're clear. Okay, in lieu of today's but God testimony, I made the decision, and this is after seeking the Lord, to share with you a very informative email we received from yet another online member, Rachel Newman, who writes, Hi JD, While people are armchair assessing the purported Trump assassination, I can't help but think that everyone is getting it completely wrong. This leads back to Pharmaceia, Revelation 18, 23. For those of us who have really looked into Trump, we know he is a 33rd degree Freemason warlock. Maga, M-A-G-A is the highest level in Satanism. You may find it interesting with his Freemason hand signals, inverted pyramid, as well as the Trump Tower being a literal shrine to Baal. I believe this assassination attempt was actually a satanic ritual, particularly if you realize Satan always copies what God does. It was a consecration of some sort So, of course, Trump, the self-proclaimed father of the mRNA vaccine brought to the entire world, would choose a partner in crime, J.D. Vance. I wish those were not his initials. J.D. Vance helps fund and operate DNA altering therapy. Do your own research on this. Truly, we are in the days of deception. Watching the political theater of the RNC has been awful. Between them praying to a pagan God with Christians bowing in prayer, and now them showing up with bandages on their right ear, I am beyond appalled. I know you've woken up many to Trump and many more on the poison jabs, but please continue. The church is asleep, but worse, completely deceived by this satanic world we live in. Hopefully this is an info useful to you. Love all you do, JD. I'm hoping to meet you in the air very soon. Lana Natha, Rachel Newman. By the way, real quick, David, come on up. Why don't you stand up. This email that I just read to you, it's abbreviated, edited. I received no less than four just like them, some of which were expounded with more information than I wanted to know, already knew. Let everything be established in the presence of two immoral witnesses. It's like that Turkish proverb, when one man calls you a donkey, pay no attention. When two men call you a donkey, get a saddle. You should see my saddle collection. It's very impressive, I'll have you know. This is encouraging because it gives me hope that there are those out there that have eyes to see and ears to hear, and know the truth, and are not deceived in these last days. The number one sign of the nearness, the closeness of the pre-tribulation rapture of the church is in a word, deception, deception. Father, thank You. This was again tough stuff today, but so be it, Lord. We live in a world that is most unforgiving of it not being tough stuff. Lord, it's getting wild. The deception is just off the charts. And Lord, I'm thankful that You do promise us, chiefly Israel, that if it were possible, even the elect would be deceived. And that if He didn't shorten the days that no human flesh and blood would survive, no human being would survive what's coming. So thank You, Lord, for that grace. But more so, Lord, we thank You for that hope that we have, that we as Your bride will be taken up, caught up in the twinkling of an eye. If it's going to get worse before the trumpet sounds, so be it, because we still have that hope. So Lord, thank You. For anyone, Lord, that's never made the most important decision of their life, please, in my hearing, will You move so mightily and unmistakably upon their hearts that they would open their hearts to You, so that today would be the day of their salvation. And lastly, Lord, for the battle weary Encourage, strengthen, and Maranatha. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. In Jesus' name, Amen.