F4F | Brian Simmons Denies Jesus' Second Coming

Fighting for the Faith

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Welcome to another installment of Fighting for the Faith. My name is Chris Roseborough. I am your servant in Jesus Christ.

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This is the channel that compares what people are saying in the name of God to the Word of God. So let me ask you a weird question.

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Does Jesus' return depend upon you? Sit there and go, huh?

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Is the idea of the second coming of Jesus Christ, is that a man -made doctrine?

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Sit there and go, huh? No? Well, I'm, you know, you'll know what,

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I'm going somewhere here. And the place I'm going is we're gonna be listening to Brian Simmons, the guy who put together the

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Passion Translation of the Bible. He recently was preaching at New Horizon Church, and he claims that Jesus will come back when we bring him, and that the idea of the second coming is totally a man -made concept.

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It isn't even the Bible. Yeah, you know, I'm just not making this stuff up.

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I mean, that's the thing about deceivers. They go from bad to worse. So let's whirl up the desktop, and we're gonna be in several biblical texts as it relates to this, and see if we can make any sense of this at all.

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Here's the relevant portion. We'll start off. Here we go. So the kingdom expansion will remove our infatuation with a make -believe eschatology.

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All right, make -believe eschatology. What's the make -believe bit? I know when

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Jesus is coming back. You do? Nobody knows that.

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Okay. When we bring him. Man, this is blasphemous.

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So Jesus will come back when we bring him. Says no biblical text anywhere.

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We bring him back. No, we don't. And I'll show you from Scripture what he's saying is flat -out false.

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I mean, it's absolutely, what he's saying directly contradicts clear passages of Scripture. If the second coming, which...

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Notice he puts second coming in scare quotes. Now, here's the thing. If you were to do a

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Bible search for the phrase second coming, it won't come up. Just like if you do a search for the phrase

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Trinity, it won't come up. Second coming is a scribe.

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Jesus is teaching regarding his return. So it's called a second advent.

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It is called the second coming, things like this. But the thing is, is that he claims that we're the ones who bring

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Jesus back. Which is not in the Bible. Yeah. Okay. So the phrase second coming is not in the

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Bible for sure. But the idea behind it is we bring him back.

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If the second coming, which is not in the Bible, it's amazing how many eschatological dogmatic doctrines we've built around terms that are not even in the

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Bible. Rapture, millennium. Are you sure millennium is not in the

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Scripture? Because a millennium is a thousand years. So, I mean, if I were to just take a look at, you know, maybe like revelation,

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I don't know, maybe chapter 20 or something like that. Let me see if I can hunt this down. Let's see here.

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So revelation chapter 20, verse two, and he sees the dragon, that ancient serpent, who's the devil and Satan bound him for a thousand years.

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Yeah. So one way you can describe a thousand years, you can just shorten it to millennium. It's just saying, you know, coming back.

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Second coming. Yes. The phrase itself, second coming is not in Scripture and those two words stuck together, but that doesn't mean it's not taught in Scripture.

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So he says, we're the ones who bring Jesus back. Those words are not found in the

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Scripture. The concepts are, what are you going to do with revelation seven?

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It, okay. So let's do a little biblical work here. Shall we? Okay. We're going to start with first Thessalonians chapter four.

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First Thessalonians chapter four. Here's what Paul writes. We do not want you to be uninformed brothers about those who are asleep.

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So people who've died in Christ, they are described in Scripture as being asleep. That's a good way to describe them because to be absent with the body, from the bodies, be present with the

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Lord, but their, their corpses are sitting quietly, sleeping away, awaiting what?

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The resurrection when Jesus returns. So that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

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For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so through Jesus, God will bring with him,

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Jesus, those who have fallen asleep. Note that they they're brought back with Christ.

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That means they're with him presently. For we declare this to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the

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Lord, we will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself, and here's the grammar that's important.

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The Lord himself, why does it say himself? He's doing this. He's doing of his own power, his own volition, his own will.

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The Lord himself, he will descend from heaven. Listen to the, to the details.

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With a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.

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All right. That's describing the day of judgment, the day that Jesus returns.

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You could describe it as the second coming for it is right.

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All right. There's only, there's only two comings of Christ. There's not three. So, and so he will descend from heaven with a cry of command, the voice of the archangel, the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

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Then we who are alive, who are left, we will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the

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Lord in the air. And so, we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words.

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So, here we got the, you know, the section called the day of the Lord. Now, concerning the times and the seasons. Brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.

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You yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord, whose day is it? It's the

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Lord's day. Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night while people are saying there is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman and they will not escape.

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But you're not in the darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you. So, note here, this day doesn't surprise

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Christians. Why? Because we've been told ahead of time what to look for. Note Paul doesn't say these words.

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This day won't surprise you because you're the ones who bring Jesus back. Okay? That's not what he says.

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You are not in the darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief, for you are all children of the light and children of the day.

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We are not of the night nor of the darkness. So, let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.

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For those who sleep, sleep at night. Those who get drunk are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and for the helmet of hope, the helmet, the hope of salvation.

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For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with him.

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Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing.

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So, the Lord himself will descend. Now, let's take a look at what

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Christ says in this regard from Matthew 24. This is the Olivet Discourse. So, Jesus left the temple, was going away, and his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.

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But he answered them, you see these, do you not? Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

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Now the disciples here are thinking, well, if that's the case, it's the end of the world because where's the forgiveness of sins?

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The temple, right? But the temple is a type and shadow of Christ. So, as Jesus sat on the

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Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, well, tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming?

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The church doesn't need signs of Christ's coming if we're the ones who bring Jesus back from heaven, okay?

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So, note the disciples, tell us what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age.

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Now, note here, they've kind of muddled a few things, all right? They want to know when will be the temple be destroyed and what will be the sign of Jesus's coming in the end of the age.

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They kind of just, you know, kind of put it all together in one big thing. So, Jesus doesn't tease it out.

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So, he uses the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, you know, kind of his type and shadow pointing to his return and glory to judge the living and the dead.

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So, Jesus answers, all right, see that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name saying,

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I am the Christ, I am the Messiah, and they will lead many astray. So, first thing, end times full of deception, right?

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False Christ, false prophets, right? You'll hear of wars and rumors of war, see that you're not alarmed, this must take place, the end is not yet.

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Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

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All these are the beginning of birth pains. They will deliver you up to tribulation, they will put you to death.

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You will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. Yay, sign me up.

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Okay, you've already been signed up for this. And then many will fall away, and they will betray one another, they will hate one another.

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Oh, wait, a big falling away? Yeah, Paul talks about that in 2 Thessalonians 2. Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray, and because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

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But the one who endures to the end will be saved. So, and this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

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Doesn't say anything about us yanking Jesus out of the sky, nope. So, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken by the prophet

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Daniel standing in the holy place, let the reader understand, let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.

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And alas for women who are pregnant, for those who are nursing infants in those days, pray that your flight may not be in the winter or on a

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Sabbath, for then there will be great tribulation. Such has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

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And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

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So, then if anyone says to you, look, here's the Christ, or they say, there he is, don't believe it.

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For false Christ and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

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See, I've told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, look, he's in the wilderness, don't go. If they say to you, look, he's in the inner room, don't believe it.

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For as the lightning comes from the East and shines as far as the West, so will be the coming of the son of man.

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Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. All right? So, immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened.

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The moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven. The powers of the heavens will be shaken.

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Then will appear in heaven the sign of the son of man. And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

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And he will send out his angels. Notice it, he will send out his angels. Who's in charge of this coming?

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Jesus is, right? He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call. They will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heaven to the other.

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So, from the fig tree, learn its lesson. As soon as its branches become tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

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Okay? Note here, Jesus is, pay attention, when you see these things taking place, you know that it's near.

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Why do we need signs like this? Because we're not the ones calling Jesus out of heaven. This is determined by the father already.

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All right? So, also, when you see these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

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Truly, I say to you, this generation, the generation that sees these signs, will not pass away until all these things take place.

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Heaven and earth will pass away. My words will not pass away. Now, concerning that day and hour, no one knows.

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Not even the angels of heaven, nor the son, but the father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the son of man.

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For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when

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Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the son of man.

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Who's doing the coming? Jesus is. We're not doing the yanking, okay? All right?

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That's not how that works. We're not doing the yanking. He's doing the coming. That's why it's called the second coming, right?

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And then two men will be in the field. One will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill.

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One will be taken, the other left. Therefore, stay awake. You don't know on what day your

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Lord is coming. But know this, if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

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Therefore, you also must be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

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You see, if Christians are the ones who bring Jesus and his return is dependent on us, we would be expecting him.

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Note that, right? So then, who is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time?

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Blessed is that servant whom his master will find doing so when he comes. When he comes, right?

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The whole point here, right? You see the point? So, truly, I say to you, he will set him over all of his possessions.

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But if that wicked servant says to himself, well, my master's delayed and begins beating his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on that day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites.

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In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Yeah. So, wow.

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You know, scripture seems to talk about this, the second coming of Christ. It doesn't use the word, the phrase second coming, but it describes it quite well in glorious detail.

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And we are told to pay attention, to stay awake, don't let this catch us unawares.

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But Brian Simmons seems to think we're going to be the ones yanking Jesus out of heaven. Next text, 2

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Thessalonians, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, since Christ has already come once, right?

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That's his first advent. He's coming again, hence the term second coming.

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It's just a phrase to describe what these biblical texts are describing. Now, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you brothers not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed either by a spirit or a spoken word or a letter seeming to be from us to the effect of the day of the

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Lord has already come. Let no one deceive you in any way for that day will not come unless the apostasia, that's the

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Greek word, rebellion, unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself against every so -called

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God or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be

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God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things and you know what's now so that he may be revealed in his time for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.

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Only he who now restrains it will do so until he's out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the

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Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming, not our yanking, right?

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The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.

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Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false.

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You know, like this nonsense in the Passion Translation and this nonsense by Brian Simmons, right?

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In order that they all may be condemned who do not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

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So, yeah, I'm just kind of sitting there going, well, that's odd, you know?

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These things that Brian Simmons is saying just don't comport with scripture. It's because he's a deceiver.

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He's a false prophet and a false teacher. And his translation, the Passion Translation, avoid it like it is the bubonic plague of translations because it is.

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All right, now let's back this up just a little bit so you can hear this again because wow, this is quite fascinating.

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The coming which is not in the Bible. Just a little farther. Here we go. If the second coming which is not in the

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Bible. It's amazing how many eschatological dogmatic doctrines we've built around terms that are not even in the

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Bible. The terms are descriptions of what the Bible says and Jesus' second coming, his return, and the end of the age is clearly taught in scripture.

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I just read out several of the texts. Rapture, millennium, second coming.

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Those words are not found in the scripture. What are you going to do with Revelation 7?

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What am I going to do with it? How about we read it? That sounds like a good thing to do with it, right?

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So, Revelation 7, let's see what he's talking about. So, after this, I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number.

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Book of Revelation is a tough book to crack, but here the apostle John is getting a beatific vision, if you would, of those gathered around the throne of Christ from every tribe, nation, language, people.

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I looked and behold, a great multitude, no one could number from every nation, all tribes and peoples, languages, standing before the throne and before the lamb, clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice, salvation belongs to our

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God who sits on the throne and to the lamb. And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne, and they worshiped

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God saying, amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our

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God forever and ever. Amen. Then one of the elders addressed me saying, who are these clothed in white robes and where have they come?

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And I said to him, sir, you know, and he said, these are those, the ones coming out of the great tribulation.

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They have washed their robes, made them white in the blood of the lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God and they serve him day and night in his temple.

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And he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore.

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The sun shall not strike them nor any scorching heat for the lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd and he will guide them to springs of living water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

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See book of revelation for cross references on this. And then the lamb, when the lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about an hour.

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Well, I just read all of seven. Huh? That's weird. I didn't see.

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Well, let me back up. I better, I bet I missed part of it. Let's take a look here at the earlier part. See if this is the part where we yank

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Jesus out of heaven. So after this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind might blow on the earth or sea against any tree.

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Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun with the seal of the living God. And he caught out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the earth saying, do not harm the earth of the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our

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God and on their foreheads. And I heard the number of those sealed 144 ,000 from every tribe of the sons of Israel, 12 ,000 from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, they were sealed.

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And after this, I looked and behold, a great multitude that no one can number. Yeah, you know, that that's all of Revelation seven.

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Then we've, we did it a little out of order, but still nothing here that is, you know, that denies

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Jesus's second coming or denies what's taught in Revelation 20 regarding the thousand years.

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Wow. This is a, this is really bad. Let me back this up. Rapture, millennium, second coming.

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Those words are not found in the scripture. What are you going to do with Revelation seven?

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Yeah, we just read it. I didn't see anything there that contradicts the second coming of Christ as described in 1

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Thessalonians 4, Matthew 24, or 2 Thessalonians 2. Judgment is held back.

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He's not, you see. Yeah, you are really, judgment is held back. It just basically says hold back the wind while we sealed 144 ,000.

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What are you talking about? Well, what about the tsunamis and what about the earthquakes? Those are not judgments, my friend.

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Those are birth pangs. Okay. Yeah. Revelation 20, sorry, Matthew 24.

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Sure. But that doesn't deny the second coming of Christ. This is the birth. This is a labor pains of a creation groaning for you to get unveiled.

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What? For me to get unveiled?

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Okay. That is a misappropriation of Romans 8. Let me, let me explain here. All right.

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So, we've got to go to Romans chapter 8. Watch this text carefully. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

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For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

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And we continue. For the creation was subjected to futility, okay?

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Not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope. So that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

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For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in pains of childbirth until now.

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Not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the spirit, we groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

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What's that referring to? The resurrection. The thing that Jesus talked about in Matthew 24.

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For in this hope we were saved. Now, hope that is seen is not hope for he who hopes, for who hopes for what he sees.

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But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. All right? So, he's taking

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Romans 8 here, you know, the creation is, you know, waits for the revealing of the sons of God and he totally evacuates it of its actual biblical meaning.

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When are the sons of God revealed? When Jesus returns in glory and we're all raised from the dead.

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That's what this is referring to. Wow, this is bad. You to be the son and daughter of God because creation itself is groaning, travailing in labor pains until sons are manifest, until the unveiling, apocalypsis is the

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Greek word, the unveiling of sons and daughters. And if you just read the rest of the context, it's referring to the resurrection of the dead when

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Jesus returns. So, kingdom is how much of Jesus is pouring out of your life.

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What does that even mean? What's the cash value of that statement? If the second coming depended upon you, how close are we?

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Oh man, talk about tying up heavy burdens on people. The second coming doesn't depend on me.

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It doesn't depend on you either. What is this nonsense? By the way, this is the same eschatology

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I heard when I was in the latter rain. All right, you know, I was told that the bride of Christ has to make herself pure before Jesus will come back.

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This is the same nonsense. And here's the thing. This eschatology he's spewing is based upon a twisting of scripture while ignoring the actual clear passages that talk of Jesus's return and the end of the era.

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I think you get the point. So, hopefully you found this helpful. If so, all the information on how you can share the video is down below.

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And until next time, may God richly bless you in the grace and mercy won by Jesus Christ and his vicarious death on the cross for all of your sins.