Jimmy Evans says ‘imperfect’ Christians will be raptured, calls evolution 'satanic'
Pastor Jimmy Evans, the founder of the multi-campus Trinity Fellowship Church in Texas, preached a guest sermon on the End Times at Ed Young’s Fellowship Church on Sunday. He touched on the rapture and issued strong words against the teaching of evolution.
Evans’ Feb. 27 sermon is titled “The Right Side of the Levee.” The author and spiritual leader, who co-founded the organization MarriageToday and led the television ministry program “The Overcoming Life,” told an audience that salvation is a gift from God for people who accept Jesus in their lives.
Accepting Christ, he said, is the only qualification that is needed to be saved when the period of tribulation begins on earth.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
“Jesus came to redeem us. When we were dead in our trespasses, He loved us. Isn’t that wonderful? Even when we were against Him, He was for us. And [the Bible] says: ‘By grace, you have been saved through faith,’” he said. “It’s a free gift. You can’t earn salvation.”
“We all have issues, and when Jesus comes, we’ll all be imperfect,” he added. “If you know Jesus, you’re going to get raptured. If you know Jesus, you’re going to Heaven,” the 67-year-old pastor said halfway through his sermon.
Earlier in his sermon, Evans said that Christians can’t fully understand the implications of what is happening in the world today and its relation to the End Times until they know “who [they] are in God.”
He warned against teachings on evolution, which he argues goes against what is written in the Bible.
“Evolution — this hideous satanic teaching — teaches us and our children that we came from an accident, we came from nowhere, we’re going nowhere, our lives are just meaningless [and] we’re just animals,” Evans explained.
“There was the goo, and then the zoo and then me and you. … And we’re teaching an entire generation those lies. I heard someone say one time, ‘It’s no surprise that children act like animals when they’re taught that’s all they are,’” Evans continued.
“You were made in the image of God, and you are God’s family. You came from God, He lives inside of you and you’re going to God,” he added.
Evans said that the first two chapters and the last two chapters of the Bible say that God created mankind in “His image to live with Him in paradise.”
“We’re going to live in the presence of God. ... We’re His eternal family. The only thing that God gets out of all the pain He’s been through,” Evans proclaimed.
“No one’s been through as much pain as God. The death of Jesus proves that. The only thing He gets is you, and He’s good with that. That’s how valuable you are to God,” he said.
The pastor said that Christians often struggle with the idea that God loves them despite their flaws.
“It’s hard to process because we know ourselves. We know of all the dumb things that we do,” he said. “Let me give you an example here. Toddlers, … they’re precious. They’re incredible. But when you get right down to it, they’re pretty disgusting little creatures.”
“[Toddlers] produce hideous odors. … Their hands are sticky and greasy, and they put them on you, and you know they’re ill-mannered and disobedient. And they jump up in your lap, and in spite of all of their issues, you just adore them. ... And the question is: how can you love someone like that?”
The reason why parents can love their toddlers is “because they’re yours,” Evans said.
“It’s not what’s on them; it’s what’s in them,” he said. “It’s not what they do; it’s who they are. Well, how can God love us so much in spite of our issues? It’s because we came from Him.”
Evans said that Psalm 139 describes how God created humans by “knitting them in their mother’s wombs.”
“You weren’t a blob. You were a child of God. You are a divine product of a divine process. You’re not an accident. You’re not an afterthought. You are the creation of almighty God,” he said. “God adores you more than any human parent has ever loved a child.”
He cited Matthew 7:11: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him.”
“God could have made us robots. We could have been programmed by God to worship Him and serve Him and love Him. But, there’s no value in the love of a robot,” Evans stated. “They have no choice. You don’t praise your washer because it washes. ... You don’t praise your vacuum because it sucks. They have to. There’s no value in that.”
During the final days, the earth will go through a seven-year tribulation period which will be “Hell on earth” and the “worst seven years in human history,” Evans said. Before the tribulation, he said those who know Jesus will be taken up in the clouds to be with Jesus.
He warned that there are about 8 billion people in the world today, but only 2 billion identify as Christians. However, he stressed that he thinks hundreds of millions of people will be saved during the tribulation.
“The rapture of the Church — when we disappear — it will be the greatest evangelistic event in the history of the world. And a lot of people will get saved,” Evans said.
“And most of them will get killed by the Antichrist or die in the judgments. Three-fourths of the earth’s population dies during the tribulation. And so, you say, ‘why would anyone reject Jesus?’” Evans asked.
He said Jesus answered the question in John 3: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. ... He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God.”
He said humans have a choice to make. Either “come into the light where morals and behaviors can be scrutinized by the King of Kings, or to stay in darkness.”
“The kingdom of Satan is a kingdom of rebellion, lawlessness and darkness, where men don’t want their behaviors scrutinized. They don’t want a higher authority,” he said.
“One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. ... But for some, it will be too late because they rejected Him and are going to Hell.”
As the sermon concluded, Evans said that Christians should not be afraid of the End Times but should be careful not to let Satan make them question their salvation.
“Don’t stop living your life. If you believe that Jesus is coming back soon, build a house, get a degree [and] get your education. Plan like Jesus isn’t coming back for 100 years, but live like He’s coming back today,” the preacher advised.
“The worst thing you can do is just get paralyzed and start [saying], ‘Jesus come,’ and just be worthless. We have a lot to do until Jesus comes. Live your life, pray for direction from God, and do what you believe God is telling you to do with life,” he added. “But, I’ll tell you this: Jesus is going to be on time. And the main thing is for us to be ready.”
