Set
For The
DEFENCE
Of The Gospel
By Pastor F. M.
Riley
April 22,
2020
“Some
indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also
of good will:
The one preach Christ of contention, not
sincerely, supposing to add afflication to my bonds.
But the other of love, knowing that I am
set for the DEFENCE of the gospel.”
Philippians 1:15-17.
Introduction
WARNING!
If the reader is thin skinned and easily offended,
you might as well
stop reading right here.
In this study I
will be answering false teachers, false prophets, and some
who have nothing
better to do than criticize, and I have no plans to “walk
softly through the
tulips.” So
proceed reading at your own
risk. EVERY
READER HAS BEEN WARNED!
We are living today in the last days;
quickly approaching the very end of this Dispensation of
Grace, and the end of
this
1
present
age. And
exactly as the Lord Jesus
warned His disciple, many “false prophets” and “false
teachers” have infiltrated
the churches and the ranks of Christianity.
Read Matthew 24:5, 24:11, and 24:24. But pay
special attention to Matthew
7:15-17, and 7:20.
,
“Beware of false prophets, which come to
you in sheep’s
clothing,
but inwardly they are
ravening wolves.
Ye
shall
know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes of
thorns,
or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good
fruit; but a corrupt
tree bringeth forth
evil fruit.”
“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall
know them.”
THE WORD OF GOD IS UNDER ATTACK
There are some
people in the secular
world, who rail against God, against His Word, and against
His people, and proudly
proclaim their atheism.
Such people
openly reveal their spiritual ignorance, thereby
making it easy
for God’s people to ignore or avoid them. At least they are
honest in openly proclaiming
their hatred for God and His Word.
But sadly, the same thing cannot be said
about the “false prophets” and “false teachers”
today, who have subtly
and secretly crept into the
churches and
the ranks of Christianity. They conceal their wicked
intentions “to steal, and
to kill, and to destroy,” John 10:10. Peter was inspired
of God to affirm this truth
as he wrote his epistle to true believers,
2
“But there were false prophets also
among the
people, even as there shall be
false teachers among you, who privily [secretly]
shall bring in
damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them,
and bring upon
themselves swift destruction..
And many shall follow their
pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth
shall be evil spoken of,”
2 Peter 2:1-2.
Folks,
we are here! We
have arrived! The
churches and ranks of “professing”
Christianity today, are filled with such wicked deceivers,
all of whom present
themselves as true believers, but their works
deny their claims,
Matthew 7:20.
THEIR FRUITS
BE WARNED!
Just because a reader comes into contact
with someone claiming to
be a Bible
believing “Christian,” does not mean that they
really are such.
The Lord Jesus explicitly said, “ye shall
know them by their fruits.” True
believers are not to “judge” other people’s claims of being
Christian believers,
for only the Lord knows the heart, Matthew 7:1-5. Yet every true
believer has a Scriptural
right, and even an obligation, to be a
“fruit inspector.” Are the “fruits”
consistent with the
claims?
Now read
Galatians 5:22-26, so you will know what “fruit” the Lord
wants to see in
His people.
True believers do not deny God’s
Word, or spend their time inventing theories to
replace what the Word
actually and literally says.
True
believers do not
rearrange the Word of God to make it say what
they want to believe. True
believers
do
3
not change
the meaning of what is actually and literally said in the
Scripture. True
believers do not try to explain
away the plain statements made in the inspired Word. True believers
do not “pick and
choose” what they want to believe, and ignore or deny what
they do not want to
believe. True
believers do not
lift Scriptures out of context, in order to justify a
teaching that is contrary
to the inspired Word. True
believers
do not ignore the tenses (past, present; future). True believers
do not ignore the time
period to which the
Scripture applie; before,
during, or after the Dispensation of Law, or during this
present Dispensation of Grace,
or in the ages to come following this
dispensation. True
believers
do not willfully ignore the grammatical construction of the
inspired
Scriptures.
I could list more errors which are
deliberately made by those who are “false teachers” and
“false prophets.” But I
have listed enough for any honest reader to understand the
truth I am presenting.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS WARNING
I am writing this study for TWO
specific reasons.
[1] Because
I and other true believers, who seriously
STUDY God’s Word and
seek to “rightly divide” it (2 Timothy 2:15) have
become the targets
of these “false teachers” and “false prophets.” They would
love to find some fault in what
we are proclaiming as Gospel truth, so they can discredit us
as being true “men
of God.” The
wicked spirit of the Pharisees
and Sadducees who tempted the Lord himself is not dead!
4
[2]
My second reason for writing this study is because I
really want to
expose the fallacy in the theories and teachings of these
HYPOCRITES, Matthew
23:13-15. I
want God’s people to have
the TRUTH of the Word.
I suggest that
our readers carefully read
the entire 23rd
chapter of Matthew.
For years now, I have been writing out the
great truths of God’s Word, and have sent my studies out to
God’s people, and
to lost seeking souls.
Yes, I do “love
the appearing” of my Lord and Savior, 2 Timothy
4:8; Titus 2:11-15. Therefore,
I spend a lot of time STUDYING
the prophecies of God’’s Word, and writing on prophetic
subjects. I have
no apology to make to any reader for doing so.
It was
the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself who said that when He comes the “faithful
and wise servant” will
be giving meat (spiritual food) to “His
household…..in due season,”
Matthew 24:45-46. Dear
readers, I
want to be a “faithful
and wise” servant
for my Lord.
Notice “in due season.” Folks, we
are living at the end of the
age. All the
“signs” the Lord told us to
“watch” for have either appeared,
or are appearing RIGHT NOW as I write.
Therefore, this IS NOT the “season”
to be giving God’s people the milk of the Word.
This is the “season” when true preachers of
the Word, ought to be
preparing God’s people for their face to face meeting with
the Lord, and
exhorting them to live righteously in the midst of this
present wicked and evil
world. Such
preaching requires serious
study of Bible prophecy, emphasizing the “blessed hope,” and
keeping one’s
5
self separated
from the sins of
the flesh and this evil
world.
This, by the grace
of God, is what I am doing,
seeking to feed God’s sheep with meat “in due
season.” Obviously,
some of these “false teachers” and
“false prophets” sure don’t like what I am doing, especially
when I expose
their corruptions of God’s Word. So be
it! They have
my permission to pout
about it, , stay mad, or seek the Lord’s forgiveness and
salvation .
FALLICIES,
CORRUPTIONS, AND
DENIALS
What wicked seed are these “false
teachers” and “false prophets” sowing in the churches and
the ranks of Christianity?
I’m so
glad you asked!
In the past three weeks of this present
month, I have
received
emails and articles claiming…….
·
There is
no such
thing as a rapture, because the word “rapture” is not found
in the Bible.
* Likewise
no
tribulation period.
*
No seven year tribulation.
*
Only a 1,260 day tribulation.
* If
a
rapture, it occurs in Rev. 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, or 14, and
only
lasts 3 ½ years.
·
The rapture is
a
mid-tribulation event.
·
The rapture is
a post-tribulation
event.
·
The Lord only
returns
at the end of the tribulation.
*
Scripture for believers being taken off the earth?
* Scripture
for a pre-tribulation rapture?
I could go on and on listing the dumb theories
which are
6
being sown
among God’s people by “false prophets” and “false teachers.” And for what
reason is such vile seed being
sown? To spread
confusion in the
churches, and to keep lost people from turning to Christ for
salvation. Such
wickedness is not the work of
God!
God is not the author of confusion,
1 Cor. 14:33. Christ
died in
order that lost souls might be saved. Those
who seek to prevent the salvation of the lost, by sowing the
seeds of confusion
in the churches, and in the ranks of Christianity, are
nothing less than “the
messengers of Satan.” Rest assured that these “messengers of
Satan” will receive due reward
for their labors, Revelation 20:15. It
does make a difference what one believes
about God’s inspired
Word.
FALSE CLAIMS AND BIBLE TRUTH
Now I want to deal with the dumb theories
and claims of these “false prophets” and “false teachers.” by answering their
claims with inspired
Scripture. An answer to one claim will sometimes reveal the
truth about other
false claims being made.
Read on…….
CLAIM…..“There
is no such thing as a rapture, because
the word “rapture” is never found anywhere in the
Scriptures.”
ANSWER…..What an idiotic statement! There are hundreds
or even thousands of items
we use every day, which are not found in the Scriptures. Idiocy!
Does the word, “computer” occur in the Scriptures? Yet you used one
to send me your email denying
the rapture. How
about the words, television,
7
telephone,
refrigerator, air conditioner, lawn mower, tractor, and so
on and on…..
And
let’s
sure not forget the automobile.
I
suspect that those who base their denial of a rapture, on
such a dumb theory,
all own or ride around in an automobile.
Perhaps they shouldn’t, because applying this dumb theory
means
that automobiles don’t really exist. The
word “automobile” is never found anywhere in the Scriptures.
Since something
supposedly does not exist, because the word describing it is
not found in the
Scriptures, perhaps people should be very careful getting
into their automobiles.
Your car, truck, motor home, or bus may just
disappear while you are driving it right down the road, and
you could get
dumped out on the highway going
60 or 70 MPH. That
would be a bone
jarring experience for you, since automobiles don’t really
exist. Why not?
Because the
word “automobile”
never occurs in the Bible.
Sic! Ignorance
gone to seed!
Folks,
it
is clearly stated in 1 Thess. 4:13-18 that the dead
in Christ will be
raised, and that we believers living in Christ, will be “caught
up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…” The Greek
word which was translated as “caught
up” is the word, “harpazo.” One
of the meanings of this Greek word is “to rapture to one’s
self.” Read John 14:1-3.
Check
out the meaning of the Word
for yourself in a Concordance or Greek Lexicon.
Such
research is called BIBLE
STUDY. Hello!
8
When the Lord comes in the air, I am going
to be “raptured” up to meet Him, and so will every reader
who is a true
believer.
The
rapture is a Scripturally documented truth, and I have noi
apology to make to
any reader for teaching it. .
PERIOD!
CLAIM…..There
is no tribulation period.
Life will go on just like it has for
thousands of years.
ANSWER…..The Lord Jesus Christ Himself clearly
spoke of a time in human history when there “shall be
great tribulation such
as was not since the beginning of the world to this time,
no, nor
ever shall be. And
except those days
should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but
for the elect’s sake
those days shall be shortened,” Matthew 24:21-22.
This statement was made by the Lord Jesus
Christ Himself. To
deny the statement
means that the Lord either lied, or the reader does not
really believe
the Bible is the inspired Word of God, 2 Timothy 3:16. Which is it?
The pure, sinless, Son of God said it,
and I believe it. CASE
CLOSED!
CLAIM…..There is no seven year
Tribulation. The
tribulation will only last
for 1260 days (3 1/2 years).
ANSWER…..This claim is based on “willing
ignorance,” not on serious Bible study.
A seven year tribulation period is set
forth in God’s Word over and over again in Bible types and
shadows. Read Colossians
2:16-17 and Hebrews
10:1.
9
In Daniel
9:27 the future
anti-christ is prophesied to make a covenant with the nation
and people of
Israel for “one week.”
This is a
week of years. The
last time I checked,
there were seven days in a week; not 3 ½ days. So a
week of years would
obviously contain seven years.
Since the
weeks in this prophecy represent years,
then this covenant will obviously be made with Israel for a
seven year
period. This
will be the seven years
of the “great tribulation” prophesied by the Lord
Jesus Himself in Matthew
24:21-22, and also in the entire Book of
Revelation.
Why don’t some
of these super smart, super spiritual,
know-it-all, so called “prophecy
teachers”
even pay attention to what they read in God’s Word?
For
instance,
there is no Jewish Temple in existence today, but there will
be one. So
when will it be built?
It will
be erected during the first half
of the seven year tribulation. Carefully
read the account of the ministry of God’s “two
witnesses” in Rev. 11.
In this account, John is explicitly told
to “Rise, and measure the temple of God…,” Rev. 11:1. John will be
one of God’s “two
witnesses” who will preach the gospel during the
first half of the seven
year tribulation. It
is clearly stated
that the ministry of the “two
witnesses” will be 1,260 days, Rev. 11:3. Notice that
the “two witnesses” will
be given special protection during the 1,260
days of their ministry,
Rev. 11:5.
But
when they have finished their
ministry, not one day sooner, the beast brought
10
up out
of the bottomless pit, will be able to kill the “two
witnesses,” Rev. 11:7.
After being killed, their dead bodies will
lay in a street
in Jerusalem for three and
a half days. Then the
Spirit of life
from God will enter their bodies and they will stand upon
their feet, visibly
alive, and then they will ascend up to heaven, Rev.
11:8-12.
After
killing the “two witnesses” the
“beast” is not mentioned again until chapter 13. Then in 13:5 the
Scripture explicitly
state that “the beast” is given
power to “continue 42 months.”
Folks,
42 months calculates out to be
3 ½ years of 360 days to the year, or a total of 1,260 days. It is glaringly
obvious that this is speaking
of the last half of the tribulation period.
Now I may not be the brightest bulb in
the lamp, but I did learn to add, subtract, and multiply,
when I was in grade
school, now
some 80 years ago. It
should be obvious to every reader that
1,260 days for the ministry of God’s “two witnesses” PLUS
the
1,260 days the “beast” is
allowed to continue his reign over the earth, equals 2,520
days. This
figure is a total of SEVEN YEARS for
the entire tribulation period, with 30 days to each
month and 360 days to
each year. Hello!
The tribulation period IS NOT just
3 ½ years in length as some of these “false prophets” and
“false teachers” are proclaiming. I take God’s Word
as literal truth for what
it actually says. That way, I don’t have
to regret it later.
The tribulation period will be SEVEN YEARS
in length. God’s
11
Word
says so! I
believe it. PERIOD!
CLAIM…..There is no pre-tribulation
rapture. Believers
will have to go
through part (or all) of
the
tribulation, just like other people in order to be
purified.
ANSWER…..Hogwash!
This is one of the dumbest and most “willingly
ignorant” statements these “false prophets” and “false
teachers” make as they
claim to expound the inspired prophecies of God’s Word.
Plus, it is a direct insult to the Lord Jesus Christ,
in view of the
sacrifice He made for all who will believe on Him as their
Savior and
Lord.
Did Christ die on Calvary’s old rugged
cross to pay for ALL the sins of fallen mankind, or
did He not? Read
the answer for yourself in, Hebrews
2:9. Christ
became the sacrifice for
the sins of every descendant of Adam.
Every person who has ever lived, those living today,
and those who will
live in the future.
However, the sacrifice of Christ is only
effective in those who are willing to accept it, believing
that Christ paid for
THEIR sins, and who will then receive Him as their own
personal Savior. Read
John 3:16-18, 5:24, and Acts
16:30-31.
When
a repentant sinner receives
Christ as their own personal Savior, they are then “born
again” spiritually,
having no sin at all upon their soul any longer. Perfectly
“purified” and “justified” by the
precious blood of the Lord Jesus.
This is why the Apostle Paul was inspired
to clearly state, “There is therefore now no condemnation
to them
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit,”
12
Romans
8:1.
In
this Scripture the Greek word
translated as “condemnation,” literally means “judgment.” Check it out for
yourself. True
believers have no judgment
to face, for our sins have been paid for and covered by the
precious blood of
Christ We have
no judgment to
face.
Yet over and over again in the prophecies
of God’s Word, the tribulation is clearly stated to be a
time of judgment
upon all of Christ rejecting mankind LEFT BEHIND on the
earth following the
resurrection and rapture of all true believers. Now it ought to be
obvious to our readers,
that since there is no judgement for true
believers to
face, and the tribulation is a time of judgment, then we
believers are
obviously going to be removed from the earth BEFORE the
tribulation
begins. Very
clearly there will be A
PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE for those who have been saved
by placing their
faith in Christ. Read
Ephesians 2:8-10.
CLAIM…..The
rapture is prophesied to
occur in Revelation 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, ad nauseam!
ANSWER……”God
is not the author of
confusion,” 1 Cor. 14:33, and 2 Timothy 2:15 is
still in the
Bible.
The rapture will occur at the end of the
church age, exactly where it is placed in Revelation
4:1-2, which
immediately follows Revelation 3:22.
It is
the “false prophets” and “false
teachers” who are
13
confused,
to the extent they cannot even agree on the timing of the
rapture though it is
clearly revealed in Rev. 4:1-2. The
reason they cannot agree is because spiritual truth is only
revealed to those
who have been saved by the grace of God, and are indwelt by
the Spirit of God, 1
Corinthians 2:13-14; John 16:13. No
“false prophet” or “false teacher” qualifies.
If those reading this study are true
believers, then stop paying attention to the false
theories and false
claims of the “false prophets” and “false teachers,”
and begin seriously
and prayerfully STUDYING God’s Word for yourself.
CONCLUSION
I could write much more refuting the false
teachings of these sorry rascals who have infiltrated the
churches and ranks of
Christianity under false pretenses.
I will gladly attempt to answer questions
on Biblical subjects sent to me by readers in good will. Those who send me
emails and letters railing against
me for exposing their false theories
and outright lies, I will no longer bother answering, but I
will delete their
emails and file their letters in my trash can.
May God grant His grace to every reader is
my prayer.
<<<<<<<
O
>>>>>>>
Pastor
F. M. Riley
francismriley34@gmail.com
<<<<<<<
O
>>>>>>>