We’re so wanting to see the power of God demonstrated back in the church…  Turn to Thessalonians, and in Chapter 2 of Second Thessalonians, we want to look at this passage.  This is a passage that we’re familiar with concerning the coming of the Antichrist, the man of sin, and the rapture of the church, the catching away of the church, who is the restrainer of Antichrist at this hour.  Let’s remind ourselves: as bad, as perverted, as this world is right now, eye has not seen and ear has not heard how bad it’s going to get, as it pertains to the secular mind.  We see it and know it because we’re spiritually minded.  We can read the book of Revelation; we can see what’s going to take place in that seven-year period called The Great Tribulation.

We understand also that at that particular time, not only are men going to be under the wrath of God and that torment that’s coming upon them and a third of the water becoming poison, a third of the fish dying, and we begin to see the judgments and the wrath of God that’s coming as the trumpets and the seals manifest themselves.  But I like this one verse—one of the most tormenting things—the Bible says that men are going to look for the mountains to fall on them so that they don’t have to look at the face of God.  That’s true revelation.  You want to fear something?  Fear God!  Don’t fear man; fear God, the Bible says, who can destroy body and cast your soul into hell.

There’s not a fear of God in the world today.  They want to add Christianity to all the other world’s religions; they want to give an equality and a tolerance of all religions.  I was told by someone that works in the government, different parts of the government—some will allow you to have your Bible there and others in other departments won’t, etc., and there’s not to be allowed any proselytizing, etc., etc.  Go into all the world and make disciples.  If you’re forbidden to proselytize, you ought to ask if you belong there.  Be prayerful; let God speak.  But I would surely fear the face of God and not man.

We see, then, this narrative of the Antichrist, of the rapture of the church, and the fact that the church is holding, restraining the power of sin.  Just pause with me again and think for a moment: at that trumpet blast, Christians that are looking for Him and loving His appearing and believe in the rapture of the church, will be instantaneously changed, and these mortal bodies will take on immortality, hallelujah!  And corruption will take on incorruption.  Hallelujah!  And then we will see Him and we will be like Him, and we’re going to be taken out of the way.  Imagine what this world is going to be with the church gone.  No restraint.  No restraint.  We think the government’s out of control now.  Don’t worry about the government of the United States.  There will be satanic, demonic, antichrist chaos throughout the world, with no restraint until this man of sin rises up.  And through signs and lying wonders, he will solve the economic problems.

I will guarantee you that the stock market will crash.  Guarantee it, 100%.  It’s like the coming of Jesus; I can’t name the day or the hour, but there will be a worldwide economic collapse.  And the power will come to this man of sin, the Antichrist, who will become the world ruler, because of economics.  If they can solve our money problems, we’ll follow them anywhere.  Aren’t you glad we’re going to be gone?  And you won’t be wondering how your stock’s doing, because we’ve got treasures in heaven (hallelujah!) where thieves can’t break in and steal, and moths and rust can’t corrupt.

At that moment, the Scripture says, verse 9 of this second chapter, “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth…” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10) And that love of the truth is the only thing, it says, that can save them.  And because they reject the Bible—read it and do it; don’t try to interpret it; it says what it means, and it means what it says.  It’s that simple.

Our literal interpretation of the Bible is what keeps us safe.  Do you believe in the literal interpretation?  Yes, I do.  I believe the Bible is to be interpreted literally.  Now, in that literal interpretation, then, the parables are to be understood as a parable, and the truth of it, literal truth.  And the symbols and all of the different aspects of the Scriptures that would be symbolic, that would be parabolic, is truth and to be literally understood.  I’ll just give you one example.  The Lord says to pluck your eye out if it offends you.  Literally, understood, does not mean you pluck your eye out; it means you understand this analogy that you do whatever’s necessary to protect your eye gates that you would do whatever is necessary to separate from you those temptations, as the Scripture tells us to put a watch over our eyes; amen?  If you’re going to interpret the Scripture, don’t go around telling people to pluck their eyes out.  That’s not the literal interpretation of that.

We understand, then, that the Scriptures are to be understood literally.  That truth is a literal truth; it demands an action.  And those who are going to reject this in this last hour—the Scripture says, it’s for this cause that God will send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that they might all be damned—what a powerful statement—who believed not the truth but have pleasure in unrighteousness.