Father, we thank you, Lord, for that great song Jesus saves. And Father, I thank you, Lord, for saving my soul. And I rejoice in that, Father, and thank you for so many other people in this auditorium today have been saved by God's grace. And Lord, I hope the message excites them about the future. But Father, I pray that if someone's lost here today, that they would realize their need and would repent, turn to God, and have faith in Christ Jesus. And Lord, we realize that it's essential that we do your will. And Father, I pray you bless the preaching of your word. Help us, Father, to do the will of God for our lives. And we pray, Father, that you receive all the glory in this. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. In first Thessalonians chapter 4, the Bible tells us in verse 13 to verse 18, the Bible says, but I would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep. So God tells us that when saved people die, God says they're asleep. Now their soul and spirit go be with the Lord, but their bodies in the grave. and so he calls it sleep for the wicked God calls them death but God says concerning them which are asleep that you saw not even that others would have no hope so the world you know when someone dies there's just uncertainty about death but with the saved people this people I know From what the Bible says, and I'm sure to my heart, I know that I'll see again, because they were born again Christians. They were saved by God's grace. So God goes on and tells us in verse 14, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, which we do, even so them which also would sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and mean shall be unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Jesus himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. And those are great comforts. You know, we start talking about the Lord's return, and the Lord returns in two parts. The first one, we're going to meet Him in the air. The second one, He's coming and He's going to meet us down in Mount Olive. He's going to land on earth, and we'll talk about that in a little bit. Thank you. You may be seated. So we see the scripture has much to say about the last days of the seven year tribulation period, a thousand year reign of Christ, the great white throne judgment, and eternity. And we know from what the scriptures say that we're in the last days. I mean there's no doubt in my mind. We're living in the last days. And the book of Revelation is written chronologically. Let's go to Revelation, if you would. And we're told by religion, some religions, that the book of Revelation should not be read, because we'll never understand it. But notice what God says here in his word, chapter 1 and verse 3. God says, blessed is he that what? Readeth. And I know readers say, don't read that book. But God tells, blessed is he that readeth, and they that heareth the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein for the times at hand. So God goes against religion, but he tells us in the word, blessed So we find in chapter 1 to chapter 3, God is dealing with the present age. And these are letters written to churches. And that really is a focal point of God. He's interested in his churches. Now God wants to see the whole world come to Christ. He wants to see everyone believe right. but God works through his churches and then we find in chapter 4 and 5 notice chapter 4 verse 1, after this I looked and behold a door was open in heaven and the first voice that I heard was as it were a trumpet talking to me which said come up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter and immediately I was in the spirit and behold a throne was set in heaven and one sat on the throne. So this is a verse of scripture in chapter 4 verse 1 that speaks about the rapture, the taking away of the saints. And so in chapter 4 and 5 it speaks about eternity. Chapter 6 we find this is the beginning of tribulation. And I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, come and see. and I saw him behold a white horse and he that sat on him had a bow and a crown and was given unto him and he went forth conquering be conquered. So who's this speaking about preacher? It's speaking about the Antichrist. He comes on a white horse, he had a bow, but he didn't have any arrows. He's coming to make peace. Now, you have to trust me on this. I wish I had time to go into it for hours, but I don't. But when the Antichrist appears on the scene, God's people are out of here. And we're not gonna see the Antichrist, but you who are left behind, You'll see the Antichrist. You'll say, where is he right now? I believe he's in Europe. I believe he's working behind the scenes. I believe he's working, we'll talk about this a little bit, and I believe he's a very prominent person. I don't think it's important that we know who the Antichrist is. Well, I don't want to. Who cares? I'm out of here. Amen? And that's what you want. You want to be saved. You want to belong to the Lord. Now God's going to pour out 21 different judgments during the tribulation period. It starts right here in verse 1. He said, and I saw when the Lamb opened up one of the seals. So there's the seal judgments, there's the trumpet judgments, and the vial judgments. And so God is going to take us through the tribulation period, and you say, well, Preacher, I'd like to read about that. Go home and read about it. You can, and it's in the Word of God, and God tells us all about the tribulation period. But then we get to chapter 19, and we see here when Christ is going to mount up on horses, and the Bible says in the armies, in verse 14, which were in heaven, follow him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen and white and clean. and out of the mouth of sharp sword that he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and treadeth out the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture, on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the thousands that fly in the midst of heaven, come and gather yourselves together at the great supper of God." So the battle of Armageddon is going to be there. You see, what's going to happen at battle of Armageddon, the whole world army is going to come into place. And Jesus Christ is going to destroy them. And you say, well why? They're God-haters. They're against God. It's very clear when you read the book of Revelation. And then we find in chapter 20 where the Bible teaches a thousand year reign. He says in chapter 20 verse 2, and he laid hold on a dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan and bound him a thousand years. Isn't that great? There's not going to be any devil on earth. And then he goes on and says here in chapter 20 verse 3, he says, till a thousand years shall be fulfilled. He says at the end of chapter 4, and reign with Christ a thousand years. And then he says in verse 5, and the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. So God says a thousand years five times. And here's a proverb, I guess you could say, about studying the scriptures. When the plain sense makes common sense, seek no other sense, otherwise becomes nonsense. And that's why you have all these different beliefs in the world. Because people are just not willing to follow the Bible. And the Bible is the truth. And so God then tells us at the Millennium Kingdom there's a White Throne Judgment in chapter 20. And then chapter 21 and 22 is the Eternal State. So let's get going with the outline. We're going to see the times, the last days. And let's take our Bibles and go to Matthew 24, please. Matthew chapter 24. And we'll go back to our text in just a little bit. In Matthew 24, we find where the Bible speaks of last days before the return of Christ. In chapter 24, we see in verse 5, and many shall come in my name, and saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And then he says in verse 11, And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. You say, preacher, when is this going to happen? What do you mean when? It's happened. There's been a lot of false prophets in this world. And how do you know they're false prophets? Because of religion. They teach and preach a religion. And the Bible tells us that the religion is wrong, and religion is not of God. Religion is not of God. Rather, God is interested in a personal relationship with you and I. And so this is what happens. People have been drawn to religions. coerce people to join them, you know, by beheading them. There's been a lot of religions like that where they go out and say, you know, either you're going to serve our religion or you're going to die. And all of a sudden they decide, I think I'm going to become a whatever it may be. And then there are a lot of false teachers in the world. But God goes on and tells us here in verse 6 and 7 that a national and international conflict and bible says in verse 6 and you shall hear wars and rumors of wars see that you be not troubled or all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet for nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines and pestilence and earthquakes and die of its places now I want to tell you just to update you the last hundred years we've seen more earthquakes than we have before and you say well I think it's global warming I think you're wrong What it is, is God is preparing us for the last time, the last days. There was a great earthquake over in Turkey just recently and some other countries around it. So we see the increase of earthquakes. And then there's also, the Bible says, there's going to be famines and pestilence. in diverse places. And then God tells us there's going to be natural disasters. Notice the last part of verse 7. He tells us about famines, pestilence, earthquakes in divest places. In other words, you know, unusual places. And there's going to be religious persecution. Notice verse 9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and you shall be hate of all nations for my name's sake. And then many be offended, shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. Well, this is our country. Forget about the world. The whole world hates each other. You know, there's issues in different countries, different nationalities, but even our own country, people just hate each other. Well, it's all because of Trump. Oh, it's Biden. It's man's heart. Man's heart is full of hate. He said, I don't hate anyone. Well, think it through. I think you'll come up with some thoughts about, you know, hate towards people. And that's not right. It's wrong. So then we see abounding sin, notice verse 12, and because a nickel he shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Gospel preaching in verse 14, and this gospel of the kingdom, that's the death, burial, and resurrection, is preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, then shall the end come. Now, notice a few more verses here. Let's go to 2 Timothy chapter 3, please. 2 Timothy chapter 3. And notice what the Bible says there, and we pick only verse 1. Paul says, This know also that in the last days perilous times have come. These are troublesome times. And a lot of people throughout the world are experiencing trouble, perilous. Difficult times. Think about what the Bible says here, verse two, for men shall be lovers of their own selves. Narcissist, people just loving themselves, talking about themselves. And that really is, it was different back in the 50s and 60s as I was growing up then. But most people are just, all they do is care about themselves, is talk about themselves. What I find very boring, amen? Covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemous, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. And that's one of the signs is the disobedience towards parents without natural affection. You know, there are people that die in our streets and a guy gets shot and they just move on. It's like no big deal. They don't have natural affection. Truth breakers. false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despised of those that are good. You ever hear the phrase, oh you're a goody two-shoes? And? What's wrong being good? I think it's good to be good. right? Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, denying the power thereof, such turn away. So Paul says here to Timothy They're going to have a form of godliness. A form is something that you use for pouring cement, in some cases, for a foundation. And what they do, they build this form, and then they pour concrete into that form. But the idea, they have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof in such a way. So they put on a facade that they have a form of godliness, but they're not godly. They're false professors. They deny the power. You know, Jesus saved you, your life's going to be changed. And from such, Paul said, turn away from. And then we see back in, well I'll just quote it for you, Luke 21 verse 11, great earthquakes shall be in divers places, famines, pestilence, and fearful sights. And then notice we would in 2 Peter chapter 3, 2 Peter chapter 3, we pick up here in verse 2, 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 2, and watch this, that you may be mindful of the words which I have spoken before by the holy prophet and the commandment of us the apostles, the Lord and Savior. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lust and saying, where's the promise of his coming? And I'll tell you, I've heard many people in these last times say, where's God? Where's the promise? I don't think there is a God. I'm an agnostic. I don't know. But there is a God. And you're going to meet him one of these days in the very near future if you're not saved by God's grace. And so God says, and what do they do? They notice first that they shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lust. See, God knows our hearts. So people are going to deny that God is working these last days. But what are they doing? They're walking after their own lust. And so then he says in verse four, saying, where's the promise of the coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. But this they are willingly ignorant of, that by the word of God, that's what we base everything we believe on, the word of God. The heavens were of old, the earth standing out of water in the water. So we find here, The Bible speaks about the judgment of Noah's day, the ark, and the flood. It was a universal flood. Well, I heard it was only a local flood. Well, it was a universal flood. The Bible said the whole earth, and usually that means the whole earth. So again, it's the plain sense makes common sense seek the other sense, otherwise become nonsense. And so we find here some other things I want to challenge you on. First of all, there's a caste-less society being formed right now. And why is that? Well, it gives them an opportunity to track everything you do. We'll talk about the NSA in just a moment. I mean, they'll track everything you do. So China right now, Sweden, India, they're pretty much going to a cashless society. I'm not saying there isn't cash, but they're going pretty much to a cashless society. They want things paid by the credit card or the debit card. And again, we're being spied on. It was said, yesterday when I was researching this, they prefer the customer to pay with a credit card or a debit card. And the state, as they said, the next five years, cash will become obsolete, and maybe sooner than we think. Second of all, the Bible speaks about apostasy, and this speaks of a falling away. or the turning from truth. Go with me to 2 Timothy chapter 4, please. 2 Timothy chapter 4. There are people who once believed the Bible, they once lived by the Bible, or they said they did, but we find where they turn away from the truth. Now notice 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 2, Paul instructs Timothy to preach the word, be in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exalt with all longsuffering and doctrine. So God wants us to preach doctrine. That's essential. We've got to know what the Bible says so we can make an application to our lives. Verse 3, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. But after their own lust, this is the problem, people live by the flesh, they live by what they see, feel, smell, touch, and they don't live under control of the spirit. But after their own lust shall they heap themselves teachers having itching ears. And boy, there's a gob of teachers out there. So what do you mean by teachers? Well, a preacher is going to preach to you. You know, study the Word of God verse by verse. But a teacher, he's going to speak in such a way to tickle your ears. In other words, to get your attention to follow him. You know what we do around Long Island Baptists? We want people to follow Christ. That's the bottom line. We want people to live for Christ, love Christ, serve Christ, worship Christ. And so we find here, In chapter 3, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but their own lusts shall beheat themselves, teachers having itching ears. And they shall turn away their ears from what? The truth. The Bible says the truth will make you free. That's what the truth does. It sets you free. First of all, when you know the truth, you'll come to Christ. A lot of people profess to know Jesus, but they don't know. It's the false gods, the false teachers, the false belief. The Bible speaks about that throughout the New Testament. And so we don't want that. We want the real belief. We want to do what God says to do. And so we find here that the Bible says they shall turn away the ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. There's a lot of fables. You know, the Bible teaches infant baptism is a fable. It's not true. It's not found in the Word of God. You say, well, how did it happen? Here's how it happens, beloved. Over a period of time, just like evolution. Millions and millions and millions of years ago. But over a period of time, people add to their belief system. The Roman Catholic Church started about 490 A.D. It wasn't the first church. And they decided, well, if adults can be baptized, what about a little baby? Well, he said, well, what about a little baby? If a baby were to die, some tragic thing, that child's in heaven. David said so. He said, I can't bring my son back, but I'm gonna go to be with him one day. So the idea that a child would go to purgatory, hell, there was no purgatory, but that's a fable. And there's a gazillion fables that are not found in the Word of God. They're lies. They're distortion of the truth. So we find the cast of the society, the Bible speaks about apostasy in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 3, that no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first. And then Israel, we see we must keep our eye on Israel. That nation, Israel, is God's timepiece. Now you think, we're here in our country concerned about the election, who's going to win, who's going to be defeated. Hey, God's not even concerned about our country as much as He's concerned about Israel. And that's God's timepiece. And it's not the USA, it's the nation of Israel. And there's a great resurgence of anti-Semitism in the world. I've talked to a lot of people of my life, and I'm against Jews. Why? Well, they're all greedy. Oh, let me see now. OK. And Americans aren't? Well, they're materialistic. And Americans aren't? What about Germans? What about the nation of Africa? What about South America? I mean, who's not greedy? It's in our hearts. It's a problem of our heart, our sin nature. Now, Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, is working at bringing peace between the Israel and Muslims. Now, there's been some peace treaties signed. Egypt, I think, Somalia. But he said there's five more countries coming to the peace table. I'm going to tell you right now, I believe them. Those things happen. And they all sign it, we're out of here. We're going to ratchet out of here. They're taking away the saints. And then the Bible tells us about chips. Let's go to Revelation chapter 13, please. Revelation chapter 13, and the scriptures teach that there's going to be a time in the near future when the world population will not be able to buy or sell without the mark of the beast. So I'm not saying I know what the mark of the beast is. They said it's going to be on the forehead or the face and the hand. It may be facial recognition. I don't know. But I will tell you this, watch here in chapter 13 verse 16. and he calls all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, and receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead. And that no man might buy or sell, say that he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. In verse 18, hearing his wisdom, let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast for the number of man, and his number is six hundred three score and six, six is six. So, but here's the thing, the tribulation period of seven years could begin at any time. Once a rapture, the taking away of saints takes place, the tribulation period kicks in. And there are many countries that are chipping their citizens right now. The former NSA technical director of 30 years, William Biney, you can find him on YouTube, said that the NSA had access to all phone numbers, all emails, and all texts. I'm telling you, that's anti-American. We should not have someone, our government spying on us. But they are governed to themselves. But it's worldwide. It's worldwide. So in India, they gave them cards, a credit card or a debit card. They're passing them out like it's free, but it's for the sake of control. This is not a conspiracy. These are facts. And so we find here that your phone calls are being listened to, all emails and all texts. Because they are, the NSA is spying on the world. Now who's behind all this? Antichrist. That's who's working behind the scenes. In Revelation 6 too. He's riding a white horse. He's gonna come and bring peace. He's gonna bring peace to Israel. Peace with the Muslim world. But he's doing it behind the scenes. And notice chapter 13, and we'll pick up in verse four, and watch this. and they worshiped the dragon which gave them power unto the beast and worshiped the beast saying who's like unto the beast who is able to make war with him let me tell you in chapter 19 the Lord Jesus Christ he's going to make war and defeat him cast him into a bottomless pit for a thousand years verse 5 and there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies why? The Antichrist is filled with the devil. There's a real devil. The power was given unto him to continue 42 months. That's three and a half years. That's the second part of the Tribulation period. And he opened his mouth and blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name, his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. So the Antichrist is going to go into the temple in Jerusalem and when he gets in there, He's been for the first three and a half years. He's making peace. There's no one like the Antichrist. When he gets into the temple of God, he's going to speak blasphemies and he's going to say, I'm God. Bow and worship me. And the people do. The people bow and worship him. But this whole thing, when you think about what's going on behind the scenes. We're being spied. The whole time period. of the seven years would be a dictatorship of the Antichrist. A man who believed in, who I believe is on the scene in Europe, he's planning to rule and reign on the planet, and he will have it, he will be taking the control of all communications. Why? Because they're profiling you. They want to know who you're talking to, what are you saying, how are you saying, they put you in categories. is so anti-american, it's anti-Christ. So we see when the Bible teaches the times of the last days. And second of all, let's go back to our text please, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, and we see again the times of the taken away of the saints. So there's no such thing as a rapture of the church. Church is not raptured, it's the saints. Because not all saints are in a local assembly. And so the Bible tells us here, in verse 13, I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you saw or not, even as others would have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this I say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. So the dead in Christ, their body is going to be reunited with their soul and spirit, which is in heaven. And the Lord shall descend himself, shall ascend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, and dead in Christ shall rise first. And then verse 17, then we which are alive remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. So let me just say this, first of all, they're taking away the saints will be sudden. And the word for rapture is a lat words means caught up, snatched away, to be seized by force. So it's not gonna be like a rapture, you know, I'm just taking my time going up, and it's a thief. The thief breaks in, gets what he has to get, and gets. He's going in there privately. He's going there hopefully not seen by anyone, and Jesus won't be seen. He's going to meet us in the air. And the Bible tells us that not only is he going to rapture in the twinkle of an eye, So I think it's 1 20th of a second. So people aren't going to see, oh, where are they going? We're seized by force. Notice if you would, in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, 1 Corinthians 15, we see how the Bible describes this in chapter 15, and notice if you would verse 53, for this corruptible must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality. Let me back up and say in verse 51, that's what I want to get to. Verse 50, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trump shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. So there's going to be a rapture, we're going to be seized by force. We'll be taken out of this world. The Bible says that in verse 54, so when this corruptible must have put on incorruption, this mortal must have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. So he goes on and tells us our bodies are going to be changed. And we'll see that this afternoon as we study in chapter 7 of Romans. So God tells us that our bodies will be changed. The mortal shall put on immortality. We're going to be perfect. We're going to have a changed body. Why? In our body right now, where our soul is saved, our spirit's been made alive, but our body's still here, and it's corruptible. That's where sin abides, in our body. But when the rapture takes place, we're going to be changed. Praise the Lord. So, we see here that When the Lord Jesus Christ returns to meet us in the air, we will be living our lives as we usually do. The next moment we'll be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Second of all, be selective. In verse 15, the Bible tells us, back in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians And if you've not been born again by the word of God, you need to be. And many believe that they're going to, but their lives do not align with the word. They have no clue about being risen to a new life. And that salvation is a supernatural birth. Now those Matthew chapter seven, if you would, Matthew chapter seven, and notice if you would verse 21 Matthew 7 verse 21 watch what this is the final judgment the great white throne judgment we saw in Revelation chapter 20 and God tells us here not everyone that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he that doeth the will of my father was in heaven so if you have a life that is professing to be saved but you don't live according to the word of God and there's a real problem with that God tells us here, not only sayeth, O Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of God, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Verse 22, now watch this. Many will say to me that day, Lord, Lord, having not prophesied in thy name, in other words, preach in my name, and have cast, in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works. You say, preacher, what's wrong with that? I mean, boy, that's great. But notice what they didn't say. Many were saying to me that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied thy name? In thy name I've cast out devil, and I named him many wonderful works. Not one of them said, but Lord, I repented. Lord, I placed my faith in Christ. They're talking about what they do. And that's what religion is. It's what they do. the sign gifts, and the experiences. And that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches we have to return to God from our idols to serve the living true God. We have to place our faith in Christ Jesus. Jesus died for my sins according to the scriptures, buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures. That's what it is. It's all about the Bible. and that people are just missing the boat on this. And then he says in verse 23, and then when I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work in iqury. It's going to be a tragic time at the judgment seat. The Bible says the angels are going to be bound, these people, hand and foot, and they'll be cast into the lake of fire. You say, you really believe that? All my heart I believe it. All my heart. That's why our church is involved in trying to read people the gospel. I want people to know, I want people to understand, I want people to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. So it's a selective. In Galatians 4 verse 9 the Bible says, but now, after you have known God, or rather, are known of God. The question is, do you know God? Does He know you? it will be serious. Let's go back to 2 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 10. And the Bible says in verse 10 for even when we were with you this we command you that if any would not work neither should he eat. Did I say that right? We say this in our church, this is a timeout moment. I'm looking for that to make sure I have the right text. Oh, chapter 2, that's what it is. Chapter 2, verse 10. Alright, here we go. Thanks for the timeout. Verse 10, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, and them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. So, it's not that you didn't know, but you wouldn't receive it. That's how simple salvation is. You've got to receive. And then verse 11, and for this cause God shall send them strong delusions. So the raptures are going to take place and the people are going to believe a lie. Maybe a CNN reporter. What happened today was that, who knows what they're going to say, but we're going to believe a lie. We're going to fall into a lock, stock, and barrel. Verse 12, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth. but had pleasure and righteousness. You see, when God saves us, He changes our heart, our devotion now to Christ, and not ourselves. It's to Christ, not our religion. Verse 13, We are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. How? through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. So God wants all men to be saved. But you've got to understand what God does. He sanctifies us with his spirit and belief of the truth. So if you don't believe the Bible, you're done with. There's no hope unless you repent. And then Paul goes on and tells us in Acts chapter three, I'm sorry, Luke said that in Acts chapter 3 verse 19, I want you to see this. And God tells us here, in Acts chapter 3 verse 19, Peter's preaching, Luke wrote this, he said, repent ye therefore, be converted that your sins may be blotted out. So God tells us we've got to repent, we've got to turn. Turn from our false way, our false belief, our false trust. We've got to turn to God from our idols. And he said, repent, and then when you repent, you'll be converted. And that your sin will be blotted out. And that's the whole goal. We want our sins blotted out. God is gracious enough to us that he's willing to forgive us for all our sins. So I really haven't done anything wrong. You've committed millions of sins. Everyone has. Think about what God commands us. Thou shalt not know the gods before me. We've all had other gods before the Lord God. No idols. Now that was in the Roman Catholic belief, but they said, they took the 10th commandment and they split. But God tells them don't make any graven image, don't bow down to them. And in Catholicism, Islam, all these places they bow, Buddha, Hinduism, they're all bowing. And then we find the third commandment, not to take the Lord thy God's name in vain. Now who hasn't committed that one? By saying, oh my God. Taking Jesus Christ as some kind of a curse word, or when you get hurt, or you get shocked, you say this. The fourth commandment is to keep the Sabbath day, keep it holy. The fifth commandment is to honor thy father and mother. Now, did you ever argue with your parents? Did you ever fight with them? Well, you dishonored them. The sixth commandment, thou shalt not kill. He said, I never killed anyone, preacher. Here's what Jesus said in the New Testament. He said, if you have anger in your heart, you're a murderer. How do people kill? They've got to be angry or something. God said, don't commit adultery. Well, I never committed adultery. Well, have you lusted after another woman in your heart? Have you lusted after another man in your heart? He said, well, it's only, you know, hey, lust is lust. She has said in the New Testament, if you look upon a woman in lust, you've committed adultery in your heart. Then God says, thou shalt not steal. I use this illustration when we were kids, we went to Bohax. Remember Bohax? I don't remember my date myself very well. Thank you, Keith. Well, my father would go around, bless his heart, And he would take bra candy. They would leave it out in big boxes. He'd just take it and put it in a plaster bag, weigh it. Well, he'd go around and taste test it. Well, look, I'd probably do the same thing. I might excuse myself. But that was stealing. He was taking money from a company that had these candies for sale, and he was taking it. He said, oh, it's not a big deal, preacher. Hey, it's a big deal. God looks at it as a big deal. Then he tells us, don't lie about your neighbor. I know this is true, but you hear about, we have gossip columns, we have, you know, newspapers, we have TV programs, gossip, people saying, oh, it's gossip, lying about their neighbor. And then God tells in the Ten Commandments, that's not covered. So you think about that, I broke all Ten Commandments. So have you. And we're going to give account for that. But if you've been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, if you had all your sins forgiven because you repented and God converted your heart, I wouldn't worry about a bit. All these sins are gone. All they're gone. So we find here that it's serious. It's also sure. Our Lord is returning to meet us chilled in the air. And then seven years later Christ would turn the earth to the Mount of Olives, and will fight the battle of Armageddon, and then rule the world for a thousand years. See this is going to happen? Absolutely. God cannot obey his word. And then we find that, last of all, the time of rejoicing forevermore. Let's go back to our text, please. First Thessalonians chapter four, and we pick up here at verse 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we be with the Lord. So our world has a little rejoicing in it. People have issues with one another. Doesn't matter where you go, there are issues. So there's fighting and fussing over people's pigmentation, not what kind of person they are, but rather what color they are. And this is all over the world, all over the world. There's issues within Asia. There's issues with South Korea and North Korea. There's issues in America. There's issues among Hispanic. Oh, I've heard them say, oh, they're not Puerto Rican. Oh, they're not mixing. Oh, they're not, you know. Hey, we're all the same people. We all bleed red blood. And we divide over such foolishness. They want to know what country you're from, or where's your family born, or one day soon the taking away of the saints will take place and they'll be rejoiced in the Lord. That's what we need to be doing. So we will meet our loved ones and people we know. First Thessalonians chapter four, verse 15 to 18. We'll see those who've gone ahead, those who have passed on from this life to heaven. And then we'll meet the Lord. And those first Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 17, so shall we ever be with the Lord. I'm saying this with all sincerity. If the Lord took me, if I just died or the rapture took place, I'm not going to be concerned about earth. Well, I like to see, you know, I want to see Jesus. That's what the Bible says. We're going to meet them, and so shall we be with the Lord. As much as it's exciting to meet people that we know and love, it'd be thrilling to see them all again. One day we're going to meet the Lord. And when we meet the Lord, who came to earth as the eternal Son of God, who lived without sin, He was perfect. He could not sin. He went to the cross and died for our sins. And not only for my sins, but He died a substitutionary death on the cross, dying for our sins. The just for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous, the holy for the unholy. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, for He, God, hath made Him to be sin for us. who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteous of God in Him. 1 Peter 1, verse 20, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world was manifested in the last times, here's what the Bible says, for you. For you. In 1 Peter 3, verse 18, for Christ also has once suffered for our sins. the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. That was the whole point of Christ coming to earth, living his life, dying on the cross, a terrible death, but he was buried and resurrected the third day. And why did he do that? Then he might bring us to God. Then he might bring you and I to God. Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. So let me close and let me ask you this. If you died right now, people have died in church, they just fell right over. They had a massive heart attack that their life was done with. If you died right now, where would you go? You got to answer that question in your heart. Where would you go? I remember a preacher telling me one time, he was preaching in a place called Temple Baptist, which was in Detroit, and a woman just killed over and died while he was preaching. So if you died right now, where would you go? What do you base that on? Do you know? This is very important. The Bible says you can know, K-N-O-W. Not believe, not hope, but you can know. that your sins are gone, that you're going to heaven one day. And if you cannot answer that question, preach, I know. I know that you need to be born again. You need to be saved. You need to have your sins forgiven. You need to be converted. We have people throughout the auditorium that take a Bible and show you from God's Word how to know this. And if that's your desire, I'm going to ask you to step out in just a moment and come and we'll meet down front with someone and take off to a private room and deal a man with a man, a woman with a woman. But don't leave here without Christ. You say, how close are we? I don't know. We believe in the imminent return of Christ. It can happen any time. And we're in a season of it. This is happening right before our eyes. I love it. I think it's great. Because the Bible's true. But don't be so foolish to say, I'm going to put it off. Not today, not tonight, not this week, next month, next meeting, whatever it may be. Don't do that. Because you may not be here. You may die in a car accident, a crash. There's all sorts of ways of dying. but also you may miss the taking away of the saints. And when that happens, it's too late. So you want to come. While you hear his voice, harden up your heart. Let's stand on our feet please, heads about, eyes closed.