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By John Aggson Sr.

Please check out how all these Scriptures fit together so perfectly. Like pieces to a great end time puzzle, they go together to form an even greater overall picture:

The “raising of the dead” (verse 16) is known as the “resurrection,” and when the saints rise up into the air to meet the Lord, or are “caught up,” (verse 17) this is known as the “rapture.” According to this passage, both of these things happen together simultaneously as one big event. The words “caught up” come from the Latin word “raptio” from which we get our modern word “rapture.” Well this same “resurrection event” is spoken of in verse 5 of Revelation 20:4-6.

Notice the term “first resurrection” in verse 5? That means that this would have to be speaking of the same event we just read about in 1 Thessalonians 4; although giving a few more new details, and a bit more of the over all picture that is not mentioned in the first set of Scriptures. If the rapture and resurrection occur together simultaneously in 1Thessalonians 4:16 & 17, then they must also occur together simultaneously here in Revelation 20:4-6 at this resurrection. And since Revelation 20:5 says that this is the “first” resurrection, then there could not have been any other one before it, right? Otherwise it would not be the first. Notice also that it comes “after” these people were beheaded by the Antichrist, for refusing to take the mark of the Beast? (verse 4) That means that they were obviously still here during this coming horrendous time, and were not raptured out beforehand.

It also speaks here of a “judgement of the saints” occurring at this resurrection, in which they are rewarded for remaining faithful unto death, during the Antichrist’s persecution. (verse 4) It appears that they are raised from the dead in the rapture, and then judged and rewarded by the Lord accordingly. Well this very same “judgement event” is also spoken of in Revelation 11:15-18, as coming at the blowing of the 7th and last trumpet of the tribulation period. This, therefore, places the rapture & resurrection at the blowing of last trumpet also: (see verses 15 & 18 below)

As you can see, verse 15 plainly states that “the seventh angel sounded.” This is the blowing of the 7th and last trumpet of the tribulation period. As you can see by verse 18, it indicates that at this time the dead in Christ are “judged” and God gives his servants and prophets, small and great, their rewards for meritorious service. So this is quite obviously the same “judgement of the saints” we just read about in Revelation 20:4-6; which we’ve tied also now to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. So by linking these verses all together by the association of the same events involved in each one; we see that this event of the “rapture, resurrection, judgement, and rewarding of the saints” comes here at the blowing of the “last trumpet.” This is exactly what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15: 51 & 52 - Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

You will notice that there is also mention of a trumpet being blown in

1 Thessalonians 4: 16 & 17 above. There is also mention of a trumpet being blown at the second coming of the Lord in Matthew 24:31. As a matter of fact, these same three elements that are found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 & 17 above: 1) the coming of the Lord,

2) a trumpet being blown, and 3) the rapture, or “raising up of the Saints” to meet the Lord in the air, are also found in Matthew 24:29-31, as well, describing what is very obviously the same event: (Specifically, verses 30 & 31.)

Notice also from these passages, that this rapture or “gathering together” occurs immediately “after” the tribulation period, and not before? (verse 29) This is all very strong Scriptural evidence against a pre-tribulational rapture of any sort. In fact, it makes this all quite plain, in black & white! These verses cannot be taken any other way than to mean exactly what they are saying. Most of the verses in the pre-tribulational teaching, though, can be taken another way, and interpreted to mean that, instead of being raptured out prematurely, we are merely “kept” by the lord and protected right here on this earth until he returns to take us out. This is what Jesus said in John 17: 15, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” This event of the gathering together of the saints or rapture is even spoken of in the Psalms:

Psalms 50:3) Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: A fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him.. 4) He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. 5) “gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

Notice the “coming of the Lord,” (verse 3) and the “judgement” of the Saints, (verse 4) and the “gathering together” of the Saints to meet the Lord?” (verse 5) All are elements in other passages above that occur at this same time. Remember how

1 Thessalonians 4:16 says that the Lord will “descend from heaven with a shout?” Perhaps Psalms 50:4 & 5 tell us what He will shout when He returns. (See this same event also in Daniel 7:9-14)

This same rapture term, “gathering together” is also used in 2 Thessalonians 2:1; and like Revelation 20:4-6, this chapter states very plainly and clearly that the Antichrist must come first before Jesus comes to gather us together unto Himself. This is in fact, and I hope you will see, the whole reason that this chapter was even written in the first place; to make this one point:

1) “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.” (From this introduction we can see that this chapter is going to deal with that particular coming of the Lord in which we are “gathered together unto Him.”) (That would be “the rapture.”)

2) “That ye be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” (Someone falsely wrote the Thessalonians and told them they had missed the rapture, and signed Paul’s name to the letter) (So now Paul tells them not to believe any such false reports, because before Jesus returns to “gather” us unto Himself, the Antichrist must come first and sit in the temple claiming to be God; causing a great falling away from the Christian faith:)

“That day,” according to verse 1, is the day of Christ’s coming and our subsequent gathering together unto Him, or rapture. And these verses make it very clear that, that day shall “not” come, until the Antichrist, or son of perdition comes “first.”

Notice also the clear warning here not to listen to men who might try to deceive us into thinking that this can happen some other way? Jesus said in Matthew 24:3-5 that in the end time, many would come in His name deceiving many; specifically concerning what would be the “sign of his coming,” and the “end of the world.” Is this happening today? Are there many today teaching that Jesus will come first and rapture us out, instead of the Antichrist coming first like this plainly says? Can this be taken any other way than to mean exactly what it is saying in plain black and white?

Many of today’s preachers and teachers are putting the Church to sleep with comfortable teachings, by telling them that they will be raptured out before all these coming troubles, instead of preparing God’s people to stand strong through these coming perilous times. This is exactly what happened to the Churches in China right before Mao Tse Tung came through and began slaughtering them by the thousands. The Chinese Church leaders that survived begged Corrie Ten Boom to warn the American churches not to make this same mistake. Her warnings have gone largely unheeded. Corrie Ten Boom said, “There are some among us teaching there will be no tribulation, that the Christians will be able to escape all this; these are the false teachers Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days.”

Corrie said to start memorizing important Bible verses and key passages, as the Lord leads; and that this is what she and her sister wished they had done more of, before they were arrested and placed in the Ravensbruk concentration camp in Germany during world war two. The Antichrist may try to stamp out the Bibles and destroy the Word of God, and the only Bible some of us may have in the days ahead is what we have memorized and hidden away in our hearts. Begin by memorizing key passages that the Holy Spirit makes stand out to you. Amos speaks of this coming event, and says that in the end time, there will be a famine for hearing the Words of the Lord; and that people will travel all over the world searching for the Word of the Lord, and shall not find it. (Amos 8: 11 & 12) This is something we should all take quite seriously and begin doing in earnest. On with our chapter…

5) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? (Paul had obviously, already told these folks before that the Antichrist must come first, yet they had forgotten or overlooked this upon receiving this demonic letter telling them they had missed the rapture. So Paul is chiding them, “Don’t you remember I told you the Antichrist must come first?” “You haven’t seen this happen yet have you?” “Have you seen him sitting in the temple claiming to be God?” “How could you have believed this false report?”)

6) And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in His time. (And now you know what has to happen first, before the Lord is revealed in His time…the Antichrist must come first!)

7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only He who now letteth will let, until He be taken out of the way.

Out of this entire chapter, verse 7 here is the only verse that is used in the pre-tribulational teaching! They blindly ignore the first 6 verses in this chapter which directly prove they are wrong, and teach that verse 7 means that the Holy Spirit is taken from the earth, and that therefore we must go with it in the rapture. That is one heck of a lot to read into this verse! This just says “until He be taken out of the way.” It doesn’t say to where. That could happen right here on this earth. This verse mentions nothing specific about a “catching up” or a rapture; and it could simply mean that the Holy Spirit steps aside and lets evil come forth to fulfill it’s end time role.

To read all this into this one short verse, while blindly ignoring the first 6 verses before it, which state things totally contrary to this view in plain black and white, that cannot be taken any other way than to mean just exactly what they are saying, is in my opinion, very dangerous. Yet this very view sums up the belief system of the vast majority of God’s Church today.

Some of these doctrines being taught in the modern American Church are rather like buying a car. If you don’t look too closely, or pay very close attention to detail, you will buy the first thing that comes along and think you got a good deal; till it quickly falls apart! The car dealers will polish it all up and make even a junk heap look good, and if you don’t look too closely, you just might buy it. If you go over these verses and read them quickly, not paying much attention to detail, you will easily be deceived by some of the modern teaching on them!

If you examine the pre-tribulational position on this subject closely, you will see that in order to believe this teaching, you would have to go back to verse 3 and change it to read: “that day -shall- come first before the man of sin sits in the temple claiming to be God;” instead of how it presently reads, “that day -shall not- come.” You would have to directly alter it so that it reads exactly the opposite of what it presently says.

You would think that folks would see that by doing this, they set themselves up as “deceivers” according to the first part of this verse. This verse should scare these people! It should make them really examine what they are teaching closely and carefully. Folks, it is not a light thing to alter the Scriptures in this way, yet that is exactly what many; even most, are doing. It really appears that these folks are unknowingly fulfilling Jesus prophecy in Matthew 24:3-5, by deceiving people concerning the “sign of His coming,” and “the end of the world.” That is exactly what they are doing by telling them it’s going to happen some other way than what He said in plain black and white! The signs of His Coming are clearly laid out by Him, and these people are teaching us that we will not even be here to witness these very same “signs” He said to look for.

(see all of Matthew 24.)

Some teach that perhaps the coming of the Lord spoken of here is the “day of the Lord,” as it is referred to in other areas of Scripture; and that perhaps it is a 7 year period, instead of something that just happens in an instant on one certain day. Perhaps He comes and raptures us out at the beginning of this period, and then the Antichrist comes and rules for 7 more years, after we are raptured out, and then Jesus returns once again at the end of this 7 year period? The key word in this belief is “perhaps.” That makes it a theory, yet it is taught and accepted as fact. But even if you take this view; according to verse 3, the Antichrist would still have to come first before the very first day of this 7 year period; or once again, you would have to alter verse 3 to read, “that day -shall- come before the Antichrist sits in the temple claiming to be God;” rather than as it presently reads, “that day -shall not- come.”

Does this seem like a small thing to be harping on to you? Not worth arguing about or even discussing? Well God turns the wheels of His great Omnipotence on just such very small things. Because of the loss of a nail in his hoof, a rider’s horse can lose a shoe, stumble, fall, and kill the rider! This one small oversight by the Church may well cause this very thing to happen to it in the end. Why is it that most people can never see the blindness and sin in their own generation? Why can we look back to the past and see the sins of others in the Bible down through time, but do not even suspect that today, we are guilty of similar things as the Pharisees of old? Why can we not see the blindness and callousness in our own hearts?

Many folks have gotten fed up over arguing: over this subject, and say that they refuse to even discuss it anymore. I have seen brethren almost come to blows and scream and yell at each other over this topic. The devil gets really angry when it is brought up, because it is exposing one of his greatest deceits that he is foisting upon God’s unsuspecting church in the end time. It is certainly wrong to get angry over anything and get mad at each other, but it is not wrong to discuss such a serious and important matter as this. Satan just loves that feint; that cop out! He knows that then every one will be afraid to bring the subject up after that for fear of starting a hullabulloo, and will just not talk about it. Then folks go on teaching their perverted and distorted view to the flock of God’s Church. He is so clever. First of all, it is not a light thing, and will have very dramatic negative effects on God’s Church when things do not transpire as folks have been taught they will!

Most folks teaching this pre-trib view, are doing it in ignorance; just parroting what they have been taught since they got saved, without having ever taken the time to study it all out carefully, and prayerfully. The Lord is very merciful, and understanding, and patient. He is trying to get folks to see the light on this, but it is very difficult. As the branch bends, so grows the tree; and once a person is grounded deeply in this false belief system, it seems to be very hard to convince them otherwise, or to even get them to look at the facts surrounding all this, and read Scriptures like the ones in this study.

Most will stubbornly cling to this false view, until it becomes apparent that it is wrong, and then they will say, “Oh why didn’t we see this plain and simple truth laid out in the Scriptures?” “Why couldn’t we see what Jesus warned so clearly of concerning all this?” Suddenly the blinders will be ripped off and they will clearly see; but too late to alter the effects of what it will cause on the Body. Those who are strong in the Lord will survive, but sadly, it will not go so good for those who follow afar off; who will begin to question their faith, and the Lord, and to become very confused. Many may just give up.

This is something that should be brought out into the open and discussed, almost above all else, after Salvation and other basics of the Faith. People say that it is just causing division. The truth always causes division among those who resent hearing it! Jesus’ Words caused division. Paul’s words caused division, and Paul argued with the Pharisees and contended and disputed with them for three years in the Book of Acts, before getting fed up with them and telling them he’d had it with them and was now going to the Gentiles. So it is not wrong to contend for the truth. When Satan has successfully deceived a group of people and you come along preaching the truth, there are going to be fire works! The devil hates being exposed and his work ruined. People get mad! We should not argue in anger, but discuss important topics like this with love and patience and prayer. This should not be swept under the rug. Let’s go on…

8)And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9) Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

As you can see by verse 8, the Antichrist is destroyed by the brightness of this same “Coming of the Lord;” in which He gathers us together unto Himself, according to verse 1. So if this is the case, then how can the Antichrist rule or reign for another 3 ½ or 7 years as is taught by so many, today, in the Christian world?

Perhaps it’s time to prayerfully rethink all of these teachings, and put aside devotion to a particular Church’s beliefs out of blind obedience alone, and start studying the Scriptures deeply and praying for God’s guidance, and preaching the truth! He who has ears to hear, let him hear! If the Church doesn’t get straightened out on this, this one false teaching could wreak more havoc on God’s church than any of the calamities that have befallen it before down through time. It may even help facilitate the great falling away from the Christian Faith spoken of here.

Many Christians may even support the Antichrist when he comes, thinking that he couldn’t possibly be the Antichrist or they would have been raptured out already. He’s not coming with “horns and hoofs and a pitchfork.” He will appear as “as an angel of light.” He will appear to be a very righteous and Godly man; a great man of peace, who may champion the cause of Israel in the world courts, demanding that they be given the right to rebuild their temple; which he plans to sit in and rule from, and that they should be given the right to re-start their animal sacrifices once again.

Folks will think he’s the greatest man of peace and friend of Israel to ever come along. He’s going to fool nearly everyone. Don’t you be deceived! Read these Scriptures again and pray over them, asking the Lord if these things are really the truth. Satan is setting the entire church system up for the greatest sucker punch he’s ever given them; knocking their faith out by total surprise and shock, when things do not turn out the way folks have been taught. He’s lulled almost the entire church to sleep. Wake up and see what’s coming! He just loves this method of catching folks off guard by total surprise, and causing the greatest amount of fear possible in an instant. It causes such great confusion, and he is the author of confusion. He wants to totally knock out the church in one punch!

Like a great commanding general who studies out his war strategies long in advance, Satan sat back and looked over this end time scenario centuries ago. He knew he would have to put the Church to sleep to be able to catch them by surprise in this fashion. He began to enter the Church with false “sleepy” doctrines.

Some have traced this pre-tribulational teaching back to around 1830 when a young Scottish girl named Margaret MacDonald received a prophecy which began to lead others this way in their thinking. Immediately influenced were John Darby of the Plymouth Brethren, and Edward Irving of the Church of the Irvingites. Then C.I. Scofield, author of the Scofield Bible, picked it up really gave it clout and credence, especially in America where it swept the religious world like wildfire; including even Moody Bible Institute and Dallas Theological Seminary! Undoubtedly, this is a fulfilling of the prophecy that “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and their ears shall be turned from the truth to hearing fables.” (2 Tim 4: 3 & 4)

Author and researcher Dave MacPherson went back and studied the sermons of these two men, Irving and Darby, and found that up until the time of Margaret’s prophecy, they both preached what the Church had believed for the first 1800 years; what we now call “post-tribulation” rapture. Then suddenly they both began to preach this new “altered” view, and to vie with each other over who was the first to come out with it.

Now it has become such a part of standard Church dogma, that if you speak against it, people think you are a false prophet coming along speaking against the Lord and the Bible.

What people grow up hearing for many years over and over is what they usually believe very strongly in, and it forms a stronghold in their mind; which in this case is a strong hold of Satan, even though they don’t know it. When you come along preaching the truth on this, many folks think you are teaching some new doctrine, which is against the old teaching that has been around since the beginning. Most are totally unaware that the post-trib view is what the Church believed first for nearly 1800 years. This pre-trib teaching is the “Johnny-come-lately;” a mere 170 - 200 years old!

Other researchers have traced this pre-trib teaching to a Jesuit priest named Father Immanuel Lacunza, who wrote similar things in 1790. Who ever came out with it, it is part of Satan’s long term strategy to get the Church right where he wants us so he can wreak the most havoc and cause the greatest amount of confusion and damage possible when his man, the “beast,” or Antichrist, comes to power. From what I’ve read of church history, no one believed or taught any doctrine like this from the time of the early church fathers clear up to the time of the reform era fathers like Luther. They all believed that we would go through the tribulation just like Jesus said, and be “gathered together” unto Him at the end; although there are a host of churchy, pre-trib teachers and apologists right now, trying very hard to trace it clear back to the early church. I think they are making it all up as the go along, because from all I’ve studied, I’ve seen it nowhere. They are trying to fit a modern belief into a past where it never existed.

The “reform era fathers,” like Luther, believed in post-trib rapture; they just had the lengths of time for end time events off. Because, before in the Book of Ezekiel, God had told the prophet to lie on his side for “so many days” and that the nation of Israel would suffer for an equal time in “years,” these reform era fathers all thought that the 1,260 days of tribulation that were coming were also according to this same “day / year” principle.

1,260 days were to be considered 1,260 years that the church would be in tribulation under the wicked Pope’s of Rome. This is what they all thought, and that the Pope’s were the Antichrist. But none of them, that I know of, believed that we would be raptured out before the tribulation. One would think that since the first 69 weeks of Daniel’s “70 weeks” prophecy of the end, (Daniel 9: 24-27) were not according to the day / year principle; that therefore the last and final week would not be either; but would be actual days and years in real time, just as the first 69. But sadly this was not the case; another of Satan’s tricks! They thought He meant a day for a year during this era in church history.

One by one, all their theories on the year Jesus would return turned out to be wrong; the final one being the most dramatic, in the fall of 1844; where William Miller’s followers (the Adventists) all got up on their housetops dressed in white sheets awaiting the Lord’s return on a specific day Miller thought he got by calculating this time period from one Pope whom Miller considered to be the most wicked. Well it obviously came and went and the movement fell into disorder, and out of it came the 7th Day Adventists and the Church of God 7th Day. Then, the pre-tribulational view came on the scene in the mainstream Church world, and over the course of the next 100 or so years, swept the religious world like wild fire. Like I said, now everybody thinks it is the old standard believed by everyone since the very beginning, and they don’t realize that it is a relative newcomer in the Bible eschatology, or end time Bible prophecy field.

That was a tragic day for much of the church in 1844, when Miller was proved wrong, but not nearly as tragic as what’s coming when the lie of pre-tribulational rapture comes to full fruit and has it’s full effect on the Lord’s Church. As I said before, many may support the Antichrist thinking he’s a good man, and not suspecting him at all because they have been taught they will be raptured out first before he comes. They will say, “This surely couldn’t be the Antichrist, or we would be gone to heaven with Jesus already.” Then many will have their faith destroyed when he takes off the “halo” and puts on the “horns!” The entire church will be in disarray, and many who have been taught that the good Christians will be raptured out, and the bad ones left behind, may give up in total discouragement.

There may be many suicides, and many in great depression, disillusionment, and discouragement. To think that you’ve failed the Lord, and that He’s left you behind to suffer? So many people are going to be hurt by this unscriptural teaching. The church will rock and reel under the fiery darts of the one who will “speak great words against the Most High,” and “wear out the Saints of the Most High;” and who will “make war with the Saints” and actually “prevail” or win against them. And when the guillotines begin to fall, and people begin to lose their heads for refusing to deny their faith in Jesus Christ; many may begin to jump off the boat like scared men fleeing a sinking ship!

Instead of a pre-tribulational rapture, many may be yanked out of their beds in the middle of the night, by complete surprise; by jackbooted storm troopers, brandishing sub-machine guns, and dressed in black S.W.A.T. gear; and hauled off to prison camps; some of which have already been set up all over America, according to certain reports. From what I’ve heard, they were originally designed to house American gun-owners, and patriots who refuse to go along with a new world order takeover. When questioned about these camps during his Presidency, Bill Clinton said that they were “work camps for first time offenders.” But this same program in the hands of a future Administration, may be used to lock up even other Christian dissidents who, although peaceful and non-violent; do not “believe” the way they are supposed to. (ie: folks who dare to expose America and Israel’s sins!)

Jesus spoke of this terrible end time persecution that would occur in every nation of the world, against His followers, near the time of His return in Matthew 24:9 & 10 “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My Names sake.” 10) “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” Notice that this great end time persecution the Lord speaks of here, comes before the rapture of verses 29-31? Great persecution comes first! Daniel the Prophet also spoke of this same event over and over; of a great persecution of god’s saints in the end time tribulation period, under the terrifying reign of the Antichrist:

Daniel 8:23-25 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, and king of fierce countenance and understanding dark sentences shall stand up. 24) and his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. Wake up America! you are the “mighty and the holy people!” the American churches are going to feel the main brunt of this persecution, along with the tiny nation of Israel! It’s not just the Jews, folks, who are going to suffer during this time as many also falsely teach today!

Jesus said in Matthew 24:15, to pay special attention to the “abomination of desolation” being placed in the temple, and to flee at this time to places of refuge: Matthew 24: 15 - 21) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: 17) Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house, 18) Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19) And woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20) But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21) for then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Again, there is no mention of a rapture before this time anywhere in Matthew 24. It comes later in verses 29-31. If you follow pre-tribulaional teaching, it truly must be a secret rapture! It’s so secret, that it’s not even mentioned in the scriptures! Ha! People should be truly leary of such a teaching. There should certainly be a lot more hard evidence for it if it were true; but there is not. All the hard evidence falls on the side of post-tribulational rapture. Apparently, according to verses 15 & 21 above, this placing of the abomination of desolation heralds the beginning of the great tribulation period. let’s go to Daniel and read what happens at this time, as the Lord suggested above:

The “indignation” spoken of here is God’s indignation against the nation of Israel for trying to take their kingdom back in the flesh, without going through the proper doorway of Jesus Christ His Son, (as per John 10) and winning the world through His love; instead of considering themselves better than everyone else (God is no respecter of persons) and mowing them down with machine guns, bombs and bullets, to take back what they consider rightfully theirs, but is not, since the Lord drove them out 2,000 years ago. And also because they are willing to accept “one who comes in his own name” to get this great advantage and blessing, instead of having accepted Him who came in the name of His Father; Jesus Christ! This indignation of God is also against the duped American church system for aiding and abbetting them in this great end time fiasco!

Both the American church system and the modern nation of so-called “Israel” are going to be purged, and purified, and made white here to get them straightened out on this issue. When they finally realise all this; under the Antichrist’s relentless attacks and his actual winning against them and subduing and destroying them, and they repent (as per Zechariah 12) then the Lord will come and fight against those nations that have come against them, and will return in all His glory to fight for His people and deliver them from their strong oppressor! (as per Zechariah 14)

This is another great lie that has entered the corrupt and compromised American church system, that the Lord is going to expose before all, before the great day of His coming! Jesus said in John chapters 8 & 10, to the Pharisees, that they were not going to be saved and blessed by God merely because they were flesh sons of Abraham, and that they had to go through Him, the “door” to get into the kingdom. Now, 2,000 years later, this same bunch, with this same mindset have returned to foist this same belief on the followers of Christ, and most have warmly received it with open arms, no questions asked, and would support them to the death fighting to get their land back for them; thinking that they are “doing God service!” But don’t worry, God is going to straighten everyone out on this before the Lord returns. It will be made very plain.

As both America and Israel rock and reel under the Antichrist’s future attacks, coming terrorist attacks, natural disasters like famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and weather related disasters; many will turn hard to the Lord and begin questioning, “why is all this coming upon us?” And the Lord will begin to show them the reasons for these things. But many of the new, coming, end time prophets and saints, who will show people this, and expose these things, will be killed in great anger, just like Jesus, His followers, and all the prophets of old were; by these same people, or possibly, even by misguided, infuriated, fundamentalist-evangelicals with their .30-30’s in the back of their pick-up windows; thinking that they are doing God service! (See John 16:1 & 2)

The majority of American churches have become spiritually blind, and deceived on almost everything that they believe! The only thing most have right is the foundation of receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. From there on it goes downhill quite rapidly, and even most of them are confused on that, and get folks “saved” going in one door, and then “unsaved” going out the other! Folks leave totally confused about their salvation and deluded on most every other teaching.

From “riches and prosperity” to “pre-tribulational rapture,” and “false holiness” or more properly, “self righteousness” (the sin of the Pharisees) they compass land and sea to make one convert and when they have found him they make him two-fold more the “child of hell,” as Jesus said, than they are themselves! Most churches are turning their people into modern “Pharisees” instead of loving followers of Christ, like the early disciples were. And then they are built on the false foundation of these other modern “comfortable teachings” that put them totally to sleep, concerning the terribly serious, and sometimes horrifying, end time events that are coming; and make them into self-righteous judges of today’s wicked sinners, and publicans, and harlots; who condemn folks to hell with their tongues, instead of loving them into the kingdom. God bless you if your church is not doing this, and is trying to do it right the way Jesus intended. This message is not to all here. There are a few that are really trying to do it right and follow the Lord.

Most Churches are being taught that they are the “Church of Philadelphia” spoken of in the Book of Revelation; and that they are going to be “kept from that hour,” (the great tribulation) by being raptured out beforehand. But if you will read on in your Bible to the very next church in that chapter, you will find a little more accurate description of todays modern church systemn as a whole; the church of Laodicea:

Revelation 3: 14-20 “And unto the Angel of the Church of the Laodiceians write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15) I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16) So then because thou art lukewarm, I will spew thee out of my mouth. 17) Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing: (The modern “riches and prosperity doctrine of many?”) and knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Spiritual blindness! When you try to show some folks about pre-trib rapture, or riches and prosperity, or any of these other false teachings; or teachings that have been taken to the extreme and not balanced with other Scriptures; such as modern “Cadillac Christianity,” they just cannot seem to see it no matter how hard or long you try to patiently explain it and show Scriptures! They read over and over them and just cannot seem to see what they are saying, they have been so programmed. It’s quite discouraging, but that is exactly what this verse is addressing here.

18) I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; In one place in the Gospels, Jesus said that we get riches in heaven when we give of the money and blessings we have on this earth. We get riches there, by giving here; of our time, our love, our material blessings, and our all.

Instead of the Gospel being perverted to mean that it’s “okay” to seek to be rich and have lots of money, prestige, and power; as the modern, mainly Dallas based televangelists teach; we are not to seek these things; but to give our lives as a living sacrifice, and to give our all for Jesus in every way we can. We are to seek to give of ourselves, not to get. …and to anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. Once again, to pray hard against the spiritual blindness of the teachings of the vast majority of today’s modern churches, and inability to see messages such as this one that are preaching the unpopular truth!

Getting back to the subject of the rapture; one thing that might be causing confusion over this issue is this: the pre-trib view confuses two separate time periods in the Book of Revelation as being one and the same; the “tribulation” and the “wrath.” They are not the same event. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says that, “we are not appointed to God’s wrath, but to obtain salvation;” so therefore pre-tribbers assume that we are not here on this earth for almost the entire Book of Revelation. Folks, that is a lot of paper for God to waste! There are a lot of very intricately detailed prophecies in there to just be discarded if the main body of the church isn’t even going to be around to read or study them.

In the Book of Revelation the “tribulation period” is heralded by the blowing of 7 trumpets, and as shown before here, we are raptured out at the last one. (Revelation chapters 8-11) This is then followed by the “wrath period,” which is heralded by the pouring out of 7 vials, after we are gone. (revelation chapter 16) Therefore, we are not here for that event, but in heaven with the Lord at the marriage supper of the lamb. So “we are not appointed unto wrath.” Most churches are taught that “the wrath” covers the entire book of revelation. As you can see if you will look up Revelation and read this, this simply is not true.

The “tribulation” is the time period in which the Antichrist will mainly try to stamp out true Christianity, as well as any other religions that refuse to accept him. The “wrath” is the time period which directly follows the tribulation, in which the lord returns to rescue His people from the Antichrist’s wicked and cruel clutches in the rapture, and then pours out His wrath on him and his followers after we are gone, and safely with Him in heaven.

During the tribulation, 1/3rd of everything is destroyed by the Lord’s “selective judgments,” while we are protected miraculously by the Lord right here on the earth. (1/3rd of the sky is darkened, 1/3rd of the oceans turn blood red, etc…) This is a bit like how the U.S. uses smart bombs so as not to hit the innocent civilians in warfare. I’m sure the Lord’s a lot more accurate though. An example of the Lord doing this in the Old Testament is found during the plagues in Egypt of old, as the judgments of the Lord fell only on the Egyptians, and not on the Hebrews who lived right next door to them. During the wrath period, everything is targeted by the Lord. (ie: the whole sky is darkened, all the oceans turn blood red, etc…) Revelation chapters 8-11, and 16 explain this in detail.

It is my earnest prayer that people will begin to wake up and see all these things that are coming, and to prepare accordingly. This study is not written to make people mad, create fear, or to cause division. Please don’t take anything that is said here in that way. It is written to sober folks up! Please pray hard about this message, and ask the Lord if it’s the truth. Ask Him to remove any spiritual blindness from former teachings that might be hindering, and not allowing you to see these things, if you are having trouble understanding them. Please don’t let these things come upon you unawares!

Please begin an active Bible Memory Program, and begin to prayerfully study the Bible as never before. Pray and learn to hear the “voice of the Lord” in your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13, 33:3, John 16:13,14) These are three things that we will all need to be accomplished in to go through what lies ahead victoriously. We are indeed going to enter shortly into “times that will try men’s souls!” Let’s prepare now by getting as close to Jesus as we can, and by preparing in every way we can, as we are led by His Spirit. Thank you for your time.

-John R. Aggson Sr.

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