Participants: Kenneth Cox
Series Code: GMTB
Program Code: GMTB000007
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00:25 We welcome you to the
00:27 Kenneth Cox evangelistic meetings here in Thompsonville. 00:33 This is Give Me The Bible, a tremendous series 00:37 that Pastor Cox has been presenting. 00:40 This is the second month, and each month 00:44 we take five programs 00:47 that are taped here 00:49 and that come to you live 00:50 over Three Angels Broadcasting Network. 00:54 I'm Jim Gilley, and I'm just... it's a real pleasure 00:57 to be your host tonight and to welcome you to this series. 01:01 Pastor Cox is talking about the second coming of Christ, 01:05 and tonight his subject is 01:09 Signs of the End of Time. 01:13 Now that is an extremely important subject! 01:15 And if you have been looking at the news, if you have been 01:19 studying the financial conditions of the world, 01:21 surely you must realize 01:24 that there are some very clear signs 01:27 that Jesus Christ is coming again. 01:32 Pastor Cox has preached on every continent 01:36 all over this world, 01:37 and he's a man who understands God's Word. 01:40 He's a man who believes God's Word, and he is a man 01:44 who presents it in a clear understanding manner. 01:50 And so tonight, before Pastor Cox comes 01:53 Dona Klein is going to play for us on the organ 01:57 Make Me Willing. 04:31 Thank you Dona Klein. 04:34 Hope you enjoyed that. 04:36 Good evening to each of you. 04:38 Glad to welcome you back to Give Me The Bible. 04:42 Give Me The Bible. 04:44 That's what we all need to know: 04:47 what does God's Word have to say? 04:49 Give Me The Bible, 04:51 the blessed Bible. 04:52 This my only question be. 04:55 The signs of Christ's coming are now all around us, 04:59 what says the Bible to me? 05:03 That's what we want to look at, 05:04 and that's what we're looking at this week 05:06 is the second coming of Jesus Christ. 05:09 What does the scripture tell us about it? 05:12 That's what we're going to be studying and looking at 05:15 each night through this series 05:17 as we talk about the coming of Jesus Christ. 05:19 Tonight: Signs of the End of Time. 05:28 Those are the things that we want to know... 05:31 we want to make sure that we understand 05:34 and know what they are. 05:35 Tomorrow night we're talking about: 05:40 So that we're going to look at the immediate signs 05:44 that take place, that happen just before Jesus comes. 05:48 That's what we're going to be looking at: some signs 05:50 that the Bible tells us that are to take place 05:53 right before Christ comes. 05:55 What are you looking for in tonight's presentation? 05:59 What you're looking for in tonight's presentation 06:02 is God gives a name to the time 06:08 in which you and I are living. 06:10 And not only does He give that name but He also 06:13 tells us exactly when it starts, 06:16 what takes place. And so in the presentation tonight 06:20 you need to be looking for what the scripture says about 06:24 that particular time... what happens at that time 06:27 and if God's Word was fulfilled as God said it would be. 06:33 Now, last night we talked about the promises 06:36 and we found out how all the promises that God made 06:39 have been fulfilled just like God said they would. 06:43 Well He also says there's certain signs 06:46 that are to take place that marks a particular time. 06:50 And you need to watch for that tonight because it's very, 06:53 very important as we take a look at the signs concerning the time 06:59 of the end. So we hope you'll follow in the Bible as we 07:03 continue to study God's Word each evening. 07:05 We appreciate you being here. 07:07 Take time, folks, to spend in God's Word. 07:13 You know, take time every day 07:16 to spend time in God's Word. 07:19 And just open up your heart and let the Holy Spirit 07:24 speak to you and lead you and guide you 07:27 as you read God's Word, 07:29 and you'll find it makes a great, great difference 07:31 in your life. 07:33 We have called this series Give Me The Bible, 07:36 and the reason we call it that is because there's probably 07:41 nothing else that's more important than you understanding 07:47 God's Word and accepting the promises and what He said there. 07:51 And so we hope that it will bless you. 07:53 And Walter Arties... 07:55 we're so happy to have Walter with us... 07:57 is going to sing for us a beautiful song. 08:00 I hope you'll enjoy it: Give Me The Bible. 08:20 Give me the Bible, 08:27 star of gladness gleaming, 08:34 To cheer the wanderer 08:40 lone and tempest tossed. 08:47 No storm can hide 08:52 that peaceful radiance 08:57 beaming, 09:01 Since Jesus came 09:06 to seek 09:09 and save 09:10 the lost. 09:15 Give me the Bible - 09:22 holy message 09:25 shining, 09:30 Thy light shall guide me 09:36 in the narrow way. 09:42 Precept 09:45 and promise, 09:50 law and love 09:52 combining, 09:58 'Till night shall vanish 10:04 in eternal day. 10:12 Give me the Bible - 10:19 when my heart is 10:22 broken, 10:26 When sin and grief 10:30 have filled my soul 10:36 with fear; 10:40 Give me the 10:43 precious words 10:48 by Jesus spoken, 10:53 Hold up faith's lamp 10:58 to show 11:01 my Savior near. 11:08 Give me the Bible - 11:14 holy message 11:17 shining, 11:21 Thy light shall guide 11:26 me in the narrow 11:31 way. 11:34 Precept and 11:38 promise, 11:42 law and love 11:44 combining, 11:49 'Till night shall 11:52 vanish 11:58 in eternal 12:04 day. 12:15 Amen. 12:29 Gracious Father, this evening we come to You. 12:35 First, Lord, wanting to open our hearts 12:39 inviting the Holy Spirit to be present. 12:42 Asking, Lord, that as we look at Your Word 12:47 You will give us understanding. 12:50 May we see clearly 12:54 where we are, what's taking place. 12:59 May our hearts be soft, 13:03 pliable, that You may lead us 13:08 direct us. And that we each one 13:11 might keep ourselves surrendered to You. 13:15 For this we pray in Christ's name, Amen. 13:24 If I'd had the privilege of living in the days of Jesus 13:31 and had the privilege of being one of His disciples, 13:35 I would have had 13:37 some of the same questions 13:39 that they had. 13:41 I probably, like they, would have believed, 13:44 which they did, 13:45 that He was the Messiah. 13:47 They not only believed that He was the Messiah, 13:50 they believed He was going to set up His kingdom. 13:53 And they wanted to know when this was going to happen, 13:57 when these things were going to take place. 13:59 And I would have wanted to have known those things too. 14:02 So it says that they went to see Jesus 14:05 and asked Him those questions. 14:08 I'd like for you to read them with me here. 14:10 This is what it has to say: 14:22 They said: "We want to know when these things 14:25 are going to happen. These things that You've talked about, 14:27 when are these things going to take place? " 14:38 They said: "When are these things all going to happen? 14:42 When are they going to take place? " 14:44 Now Christ understood and knew 14:47 that in those disciples' minds 14:51 they couldn't comprehend 14:55 anything being beyond the destruction of Jerusalem. 14:59 To them the destruction of Jerusalem 15:01 would have been the end of the world. 15:03 And so Christ tries to pick it up 15:07 and help them understand. 15:09 And He's told them that when Jerusalem is surrounded 15:15 that they were to flee. 15:18 And He told them that there would be just a time. 15:21 And just as Christ had told them 15:24 the Roman general came up and surrounded Jerusalem. 15:29 And then for no particular reason 15:32 withdrew his troops. 15:36 And when he did, Jesus had told them 15:40 this is what they were to do. 15:59 He said when that happens, flee. 16:02 Get out of there. Leave Jerusalem. 16:05 And that's exactly what the Christians did. 16:08 Because Christ told them this will be a very, very 16:12 difficult time. But... 16:24 He told them: "Do this. Get out of there. Flee. " 16:29 Why that's exactly what happened. 16:32 And the Roman government, the Roman power, 16:36 came down, overthrew Jerusalem, 16:39 and burned the city. 16:42 Rome ruled. 16:45 Jesus told them something they were to look for. 16:49 That they were to be... watch for after that. 16:52 And this is what He said to them: 17:09 He said: "After the destruction of Jerusalem 17:11 the next thing there's going to be is great tribulation. " 17:16 And Rome turned her fury 17:20 and her power upon the Christians. 17:24 They fled. 17:27 And then the scripture begins to pick up and talk about 17:31 something that was going to take place. 17:34 And I want you to follow now because I'm going to go through 17:37 several prophecies with you 17:39 just quickly to show you how the scripture talks about 17:42 these things that were going to happen. 17:44 Notice what is has to say about this time 17:46 of tribulation because He said: 17:49 After the destruction of Jerusalem, 17:51 after the Christians fled, 17:53 then after that time there would be great tribulation. 17:58 That's what He told them would happen. 17:59 So watch as it talks about it here: 18:06 Now this is in Daniel. 18:08 It's talking about the fourth beast. 18:10 He wished to know the truth about the fourth beast. 18:20 Now this fourth beast was terrible, exceedingly dreadful. 18:24 This in scripture is pictured as pagan Rome. 18:29 This was pagan Rome... 18:32 that fourth beast. 18:34 Now it goes on and says here: 18:48 So this particular fourth beast which was pagan Rome 18:52 he said he wanted to know the truth about it. 18:55 And then he said after that there would be ten horns 18:58 that would rise... 18:59 that would come up. 19:01 And then it says he wanted to know the truth 19:04 about those ten horns, and particularly the little one 19:09 that came up before which three of those horns fell. 19:14 And then he goes on and talks about those ten horns 19:17 that came up and says: 19:24 Now let me tell you what's happening here. 19:29 The... empires, folks, are very much like people. 19:33 Like men they rise and they fall. 19:37 And as you read history, you'll find empire after empire 19:41 comes up then it drops off and another one comes on 19:45 the scene of action. Rome is falling into this same place. 19:49 Rome has risen and she is now on a decline. 19:53 And the decline that she's on is because there have been 19:59 Germanic tribes, these ten Germanic tribes 20:03 have moved in on the Roman empire 20:06 and they're breaking it up. 20:08 There's a Roman emperor at this time by the name of Justinian. 20:14 And Justinian is fighting the Goths, the Germanic tribes, 20:18 trying to hold them back. 20:20 He has a general by the name of Belisarius, 20:25 and Belisarius is fighting these Goths 20:30 which are made up of tribes like the Anglo-Saxons, 20:33 the Franks, the Huruli, the Vandals, the Ostrogoths 20:35 and all these different Germanic tribes... they're fighting them. 20:40 The Goths have backed Justinian's army 20:46 clear to the walls of the city of Rome. 20:50 It looks like they're going to wipe out Justinian's army. 20:55 Justinian's general, Belisarius, has sent a note 21:00 to Justinian saying "Do something for us. " 21:06 Inside the city of Rome, there is the Bishop of Rome. 21:11 The Bishop of Rome's name is Sylvester. 21:15 Sylvester is a godly man. 21:18 He loves the Lord, he serves the people. 21:21 He tries to do that which is right, 21:23 but he has refused to have any part to do with the war 21:28 between the Goths and Justinian. 21:31 So any time Justinian's army got close to the city of Rome 21:36 Sylvester had the gates shut; would not let them in. 21:41 If the Goths got close to the city of Rome, 21:44 he closed the gates; would not let them in. 21:46 Refused to have part of it. 21:48 So they backed Justinian's army clear to the walls of Rome 21:52 and he's shut the gates; won't let them in. 21:56 Justinian went to his wife, queen, 22:01 who is a Christian. 22:02 She also happens to be a very close friend of the Bishop. 22:06 And he pled with her to do something to save his army. 22:12 To talk to the Bishop, try to get him to raise the gates 22:15 of the city of Rome. And out of respect to her... 22:19 She went to the Bishop, talked to him, and out of respect 22:22 to her he raised the gates 22:25 and let Justinian's army inside the city, 22:29 closed the gates, and kept the Goths out. 22:33 But Belisarius and Justinian 22:39 had already agreed that if they got inside the city of Rome 22:45 they would banish the Bishop. 22:48 Now there's a reason for this. 22:50 Justinian sees his kingdom falling apart. 22:55 He wants to do what he can to pull it together 22:58 and he feels that if he can not control it just politically 23:02 but if he could control it 23:05 from a religious standpoint, 23:07 he'd be able to hold it together. 23:09 And so he banished Sylvester and he put his own puppet 23:15 in by the name of Virgilius 23:19 and he placed him on the seat of the Bishop of Rome. 23:24 This is what it says in history: 23:37 Now all of a sudden you find something beginning to rise. 23:42 You've had pagan Rome up unto this point, 23:44 and all of a sudden out of this comes papal Rome 23:48 because history says: 23:57 Now you see, Justinian never had in his mind that... 24:02 that this man wouldn't do anything but be 24:06 what he told him to be. 24:08 But history tells us something else happened. 24:11 History says the Bishop of Rome seized the scepter 24:16 and stepped to the seat of Caesar. 24:19 Exactly what happened. 24:21 That took place in 538... Now I'm doing this 24:26 to help you pin down something, 24:28 so watch as we go on here. 24:31 538. That's when he ascended the papal chair... 538 AD. 24:37 And he, speaking of this little horn, now follow carefully: 24:57 So it says this little horn, or this power, 25:00 is going to do what? 25:02 It's going to persecute the saints of the Most High. 25:08 What is that called? That's called tribulation, right? 25:13 Yeah. In other words, it says 25:15 he's going to give them a hard time. 25:17 This will be a time of tribulation 25:19 for a time, time... or time, times, and a half a time. 25:25 Now follow me. The scripture doesn't just touch it here, 25:28 It does it over and over and over again. 25:31 Watch this... 25:32 This is in Revelation the 11th chapter verse 3, 25:36 and it says: 25:48 Now let me ask you a question. 25:50 What does sackcloth represent? 25:54 Huh? 25:55 Well it represents hard times? 25:57 It represents tribulation. 25:59 It says that this was going to be given to them. 26:02 For 1,260 days 26:05 there would be a time of tribulation. 26:08 Hard time, that's what it's talking about. 26:10 Let's look at another one: 26:14 And by the way, in Bible prophecy when it talks about a 26:17 woman it's really referring to the church. 26:20 And it says: 26:33 This woman fled into the wilderness, and she's fleeing 26:37 for what reason? 26:39 To escape tribulation. 26:42 To get out of tribulation, that's what she's fleeing for. 26:46 So it's talking here again about this period of time 26:49 that she's going to flee. 26:51 Watch, 26:54 Revelation 13 verse 5: 27:05 So here it talks about this power 27:08 that it was going to persecute the saints 27:11 for forty-two months. 27:14 Now you find as you are studying 27:16 the Bible uses three different terms for time. 27:22 Simply He talks about time, times, and a half a time; 27:27 He talks about 42 months; 27:30 and He talks about 1,260 days. 27:33 Now God has given us a simple little rule 27:37 that works that helps us put all this together, 27:40 and you find that in Ezekiel the fourth chapter 27:43 and verse 6. And it says: 27:50 That's a principle in understanding time 27:54 in Bible prophecy. 27:56 OK, watch: 27:58 We'll go back to what we had there... 28:04 Now in the Biblical reckoning of time, 28:06 time represents one year. 28:10 Times represents two years, 28:13 and a half a time represents a half a year. 28:16 OK, in Biblical reckoning of time, 28:19 there is 360 days in a Biblical year. 28:23 If you need scripture for that, then all you've got to do is 28:27 go read the flood story, and He'll tell you very clear 28:30 that there's 360 days in a Biblical year. 28:33 So if time represents one year, 28:36 that gives us 360. 28:38 Times would represent 2 years. 28:41 That gives us 720. 28:44 And a half a time represents a half a year 28:48 which would give us 180. 28:50 And if I add all those up, that gives me 1,260. 28:54 OK? Also it says it would persecute them for 42 months. 29:00 And in Biblical reckoning of time, there is 30 days 29:04 in a Biblical month. 29:06 So if I've got 42 and I multiply that 29:10 times 30, gives me 1,260. 29:16 So all three of those references we read tonight 29:20 refer to 1,260 years 29:23 that there would be great, great tribulation. 29:27 That's what it said. All right. 29:29 1798 Napoleon... 29:34 Napoleon wants to rule Europe, 29:37 but Napoleon knows that he cannot rule Europe unless he 29:41 breaks the back of the papal power. 29:44 So on February 15, 1798, he sent his general, Berthier, 29:49 into Rome. 30:00 1798. So let's see what happens here. 30:04 that's when the papal power came into being. 30:10 It's going to rule for 1,260 years... 30:13 which would take me to 1798. 30:19 This period of time, folks, is known in scripture 30:23 as the time of tribulation... 30:26 also referred to in history as the Dark Ages. 30:31 It's a terrible time. 30:32 The Bible says there'll never be another time like it 30:36 in which the people were greatly persecuted. 30:39 The people were treated horribly 30:40 during that 1,260 years. It was a time of tribulation. 30:46 Now listen carefully because it says: 30:58 Now this vision refers to the time of the end. 31:01 You understand the difference tonight between the time 31:03 of the end and the end of time? 31:06 Hmmm? You understand the difference 31:08 between the time of the end and the end of time? 31:10 Well, when I was a boy 31:13 the month of September my father would go to town 31:19 and he would buy a turkey. 31:21 And he would bring this turkey home, 31:23 and put this turkey in a large cage and he would 31:28 give me instructions about taking care of that turkey. 31:32 Make sure it was watered and it was fed and it was cared for. 31:36 When my father brought that turkey home 31:38 and put it in that cage, folks, 31:40 that began the time of the end. 31:44 Are you understanding? 31:46 But when Thanksgiving Day rolled around, 31:49 that was the end of time. 31:52 OK. So He said: "Shut it up, seal it, 31:56 unto the time of the end. " 31:59 That's what He's talking about. 32:01 Now, 1798. 32:03 That's when Berthier took the papal power into... 32:08 brought it into captivity: 1798. 32:11 So when we take a look at this 32:14 watch what the scripture says, folks. 32:17 Very important because Christ said 32:20 after the disciples were to flee Jerusalem... 32:23 said there would be a great time of tribulation. 32:26 Now listen. Immediately after the what? 32:30 Immediately after the tribulation of those days. 32:35 In other words, immediately after this 1,260 years 32:40 something's going to happen: 32:51 He told them listen, 32:52 immediately after the tribulation of those days, 32:55 this is what is going to happen. 32:58 Oh, 25... 30 years before 1798 33:04 the time of tribulation had pretty much come to an end. 33:08 Through the preaching of Luther and Knox and Zwingli 33:12 and Calvin, and all the reformers and what had taken 33:15 place, persecution - hard times - had pretty much dropped 33:20 and stopped probably 30 years before 1798. 33:26 So what happens? Watch what takes place. 33:30 Folks, listen. Said certain things are going to happen. 33:34 I told you last night in Revelation 33:38 the sixth chapter it talks about the seals. 33:41 And I told you the sixth seal had already happened. 33:45 Listen to what it says here about the sixth seal: 34:09 Now, interesting that the scripture lines it up. 34:15 He said that there would be tribulation. 34:19 Said after the tribulation 34:22 there would be a great earthquake. 34:25 After the earthquake, says the sun would be darkened. 34:30 And He said after the sun being darkened 34:33 the moon would turn the color of blood 34:37 and after that it says the stars would fall from heaven. 34:42 All that was to take place 34:46 it says: 1798. 34:50 OK. Let's see what happened. 34:54 Lisbon earthquake: 1755. 35:01 Lisbon earthquake: 1755. 35:05 Tribulation had just ceased. 35:08 And it says there would be a great earthquake. 35:12 And the scripture put it in that order, folks. 35:14 Said the first thing would be a great earthquake, 35:16 and this is what happened: 36:02 Listen to this: 36:25 You know, just exactly marking 36:28 the end of the time of tribulation 36:32 and the beginning, folks, of the time of the end. 36:37 In other words, you and I are living 36:40 in the time of the end. 36:44 That's what the scripture says. 36:46 And I sometimes wonder... 36:49 What was it? Two years ago now? 36:53 At which we had a tsunami? 37:00 That in a matter of a few minutes 37:02 not 60,000 people perished... 37:06 a quarter of a million perished. 37:11 I wonder if you and I 37:13 ought not to be thinking 37:15 real serious 37:17 about where we are in the stream of time. 37:21 But He said there would be an earthquake, 37:23 and He said after the earthquake it says the day would go dark. 37:28 The sun would not give its light. 37:35 Don't know if you've ever read about it? 37:38 No real good reason for that to happen, 37:42 but at 10 o'clock in the morning 37:45 the day just went dark. 37:48 Listen as it describes what it's like. 39:08 Just 10 o'clock in the morning 39:11 it went dark. 39:15 Why? Oh, I've heard and I've read some of the reasoning that 39:21 people give today. But I can tell you right now 39:24 there was never a day like that in which it just went dark. 39:30 Not only did it go dark that day, 39:33 but just exactly as the scripture had said 39:37 when the moon came up that night 39:40 the color of blood. I'll read to you about it. 39:43 It was interesting to me 39:46 that when John F. Kennedy 39:49 was running for president of the United States, 39:54 as he went across the country giving his speech, 39:57 many many times he closed his speech with these words. 40:04 I want you to listen to it, it's most interesting 40:06 because it's talking about this dark day. 40:57 Amen. Then stay about my business. 41:00 Work. If the Lord's coming, I'd just as soon be found here. 41:04 But dear friends, what I'm trying to get across to you 41:06 is the scripture said clearly... 41:09 It said: "After the days of those tribulations, 41:12 there would be a great earthquake. " 41:15 And then it said: "After that then the day would go dark. " 41:19 The scripture's not only telling you what's going to happen, 41:24 it's telling you the order that it took place in. 41:27 And it said: "After the day has gone dark, 41:30 the moon will be the color of blood. " 41:33 Listen: 41:54 Just exactly as God said it would be it took place. 42:01 And then it said: "The earthquake, 42:05 the day would go dark, 42:08 the moon would be the color of blood, " 42:10 and then the scripture says 42:12 "the stars would fall from heaven. " 42:23 Never been a day like that, folks, 42:25 in which the stars fell from heaven. 42:29 Listen to this: 42:52 Now can you just imagine? 42:54 Walking out here tonight and walk out there 42:59 and every way that you turned... 43:01 east, west, north, south... 43:05 every way you turn, stars were falling as thick as rain. 43:10 What would you think? 43:13 I'll tell you what they thought back then. 43:15 You can read accounts where men... grown men... 43:17 fell on the ground and started crying 43:19 because they thought the day of judgment was there. 43:23 That God was coming. 43:25 It was a horrible time 43:28 because they... nothing like it had been before. 43:31 Listen as it continues to describe it. 43:48 And I... I pick up these... where people today 43:52 try to give some explanation for that. 43:54 Let me tell you something, dear friend: 43:56 they weren't there. 43:58 You read the account of the people that were there 44:01 and boy, I can tell you right now, 44:02 there hadn't been anything like that. 44:05 You and I got out here and we see a few falling stars 44:09 but we never have seen it when it fell as thick as rain 44:13 in every way that you wanted to look. 44:43 Thus exactly as the scripture said 44:46 the stars fell from heaven. 44:50 These are signs, folks, that God gave 44:54 to tell you and I 44:57 that we're down to a period... 45:00 a period called the time of the end. 45:06 That's the time in which you and I are living today 45:09 that began 1798. 45:13 And since that time, we have been living 45:17 in the time of the end. 45:20 That's what the scripture tells us. 45:22 And therefore you're not living 45:25 like people have all down through the past ages. 45:30 You're living in a special period of time... 45:33 the time of the end. 45:34 The time when all of this 45:36 is going to come to a climax 45:38 and Jesus Christ 45:39 is going to come back. 45:41 That's the time that you're living in, 45:44 and you and I need to understand that. 45:46 The scripture is very, very clear about making that point 45:50 so that we understand where we are. 46:03 He said: "Daniel, shut up the words. 46:05 Seal the book until the time of the end. " 46:07 You and I are living in the time of the end... 46:13 the time when Christ will come back. 46:18 Are you ready? 46:20 That's what you and I have to ask ourselves. 46:22 Are you ready for Christ to come back? 46:26 Are you prepared for His coming? 46:28 We need to be. We need to be watching, 46:32 waiting, looking for the coming of Jesus Christ. 46:35 We're right down at the end of time. 46:40 I want you to watch this: 46:51 Did it happen? 46:54 Exactly. That tribulation came down 46:58 to the end. There all of a sudden, the sun was darkened. 47:15 Telling us exactly what's going to happen. 47:18 All that took place after 1798. 47:23 Now I want you to look at something very carefully. 47:26 That's Matthew 24 verse 29. 47:31 OK? Look at verse 30. 47:35 That's the very next verse. 47:37 This is Christ's own words, folks. 47:39 Listen to verse 30: 47:54 Do you follow what I'm trying to tell you? 47:57 There is no... there's nothing... 48:01 Christ didn't give anything in between those two verses. 48:05 You follow me? 48:08 In other words, He's saying this is the things that's going 48:11 to happen and after that the next thing 48:14 will be the coming of Jesus Christ. 48:17 He didn't say there's going to be a lot of other things. 48:20 He said the next thing would be the coming of Christ. 48:23 So you and I need to understand 48:26 that the next thing we're going to look for 48:29 will be the coming of Jesus Christ. 48:31 That we have to be looking, waiting, watching 48:36 for the coming of the Lord. 48:37 What I mustn't permit to happen, folks, 48:41 is I mustn't permit myself not to be ready. 48:46 I've got to be ready for the coming of the Lord. 48:52 If... If I miss it, 48:56 I'm in trouble. 49:00 Gordon and Dona and myself... 49:04 we were invited to speak at a convention up in Sacramento. 49:10 And uh, we had been holding meetings one right after another 49:15 hadn't had any time off. 49:17 And I told them, I said: "Let's fly up to Seattle 49:23 and take the Clipper across over to Victoria 49:28 and take a couple days and go out to the Butchart Gardens... 49:32 and see the gardens there and just take a couple days off. 49:35 And so we decided we would do that. 49:40 Gordon is kind of a train buff, and so we decided we would do 49:44 that then we would come back, 49:46 spend a day sightseeing in Seattle, 49:49 and then we would catch the train back to Sacramento 49:53 and be there in time for our appointment. 49:56 That was our intentions. 49:58 And so we flew over to Seattle. 50:02 Got the Clipper; went over to Victoria. 50:05 Went out and looked at the Butchart Gardens, 50:08 and had a nice time there. 50:10 Took the Clipper back and got us a hotel there in Seattle. 50:16 And the next morning when we got up, well... 50:20 we went down and had breakfast and I told Gordon and Dona... 50:25 I said: "I really would just like to go back up to my room 50:29 and just have a little time just for reading and meditation 50:35 and prayer. " And I said: "When I'm through, 50:38 well I'll let you know and we'll go out sightseeing. " 50:42 So I did. I went back up to the room and read and so forth. 50:45 When I finished I had everything packed up and I went down 50:49 and knocked on their room and told them I was ready to go. 50:52 And I said to them, I said: 50:54 "You know, I don't want to lug this suitcase around all day. " 50:57 I said: "I just really don't want to lug it around. " 51:00 I said: "Do you think they would let us check it in early 51:03 at the train station? " 51:04 And they said: "Maybe so. " 51:06 So I called up the train 51:09 and told them we had an appointment or we had to 51:15 catch the train that night... 51:16 at 9:45 pm we were to catch the train. 51:20 And I said: "We're here. I don't want to lug my luggage 51:24 around all day. " I said: "Can I check it in early? " 51:26 And they said: "Sure. " 51:28 And he said: "Mr. Cox, what's the number of your train? " 51:31 And I told him the number of the train. 51:34 Catch it at 9:45 pm... told him all that. 51:36 And it got real quiet on the other end, 51:40 and he said: "Mr. Cox, your train doesn't leave tonight 51:45 at 9:45 pm. It leaves this morning at 9:45 am. 51:50 That was 9:40 am. 51:53 You know? I'm trying to get across to you 51:58 about not being prepared... not being ready. 52:02 To get caught unawares. 52:04 By the way, we made that train only by the grace of God. 52:08 But let me tell you, dear friend, 52:10 you and I need to be ready for the coming of Jesus Christ. 52:14 Nothing should deter us from being prepared. 52:18 I want to ask you tonight: are you ready for Jesus to come? 52:24 Why do you wait, my brother? 52:31 Promises of God 52:35 all are true. 52:41 Jesus gave His life 52:44 on Calvary's mountain 52:51 and soon He will come again 52:57 for you. 53:03 The Lord is coming, 53:07 are you ready? 53:15 The Lord is coming, 53:19 are you ready? 53:26 Would your heart be right 53:31 if He came 53:36 tonight? 53:40 The Lord is coming, 53:46 are you ready? 54:00 Let us pray. 54:01 Father in Heaven, thank you. 54:06 Thank you for the signs that tell us where we are 54:10 in the stream of time. 54:12 That Jesus is coming back, 54:15 that time is running out. 54:18 Oh Lord, help us... 54:22 Help us not to be so caught up in the things of this world 54:27 that we miss it. May our eyes be opened. 54:32 May our hearts be surrendered. 54:35 May we be willing to follow the Lord and walk with Him 54:39 in all that we do. 54:41 Lord, we know that Your Word is sure, 54:47 that it doesn't fail. 54:49 May each of us plan to be ready when Jesus comes. 54:55 For this we ask in Your name, Amen. 54:59 Tonight we've talked about the time in which we are living: 55:04 the time of the end. 55:06 Our next presentation, folks, is going to deal with 55:10 present-day signs that are 55:12 taking place today. 55:13 The signs of the return of 55:16 Christ... that's what we're talking about. 55:18 And so we hope that you will follow as we look at 55:21 some signs that are happening today that tell us where we are 55:25 and what the scripture has to say about it. 55:27 They're very, very important signs... 55:30 signs that you and I recognize very clearly. 55:34 We don't have any trouble knowing where we are, 55:38 what's happening, what's taking place. 55:40 So we hope that each of you will be here. 55:42 Those of you who are watching by television 55:45 or listening by the radio 55:46 be sure and be with us tomorrow evening. 55:49 Goodnight. God bless each one of you. 55:53 More than 2,000 years have passed 55:56 since Jesus promised to return. 55:58 And through the centuries, the hearts of His faithful ones 56:02 have clung to those precious words. 56:04 But His promise has not yet been fulfilled. 56:07 The Life giver's voice has not yet called the sleeping saints 56:11 from their graves. 56:12 Each day many more Christians fall asleep in Jesus 56:17 clinging to the Blessed Hope 56:19 and believing that the next thing they'll see 56:21 is their Savior coming as He promised 56:24 in the clouds of glory. 56:26 But my friends, there are so many who do not have 56:31 this Blessed Hope. And many of them would 56:34 if they just had the opportunity to hear about Jesus. 56:39 That is why we are producing these programs. 56:42 We want to tell them about God's amazing love. 56:46 About our Savior, Jesus Christ. 56:48 About His second coming. 56:50 We want to give each one of them that Blessed Hope. 56:53 Think of it. Even now all of heaven's astir 56:57 preparing for that great day. 56:59 The Lord is waiting for us 57:01 to join Him in spreading the good news. 57:03 Praise God! The time of waiting is almost over. 57:07 Light is gleaming upon the clouds above the mountaintops. 57:11 Soon there will be a revealing of His glory. 57:14 The Son of Righteousness is about to shine forth. 57:17 NOW is the time to prepare for the coming of the Lord. 57:21 Readiness to meet Him cannot be attained 57:24 in a moment's time. 57:26 Each member of our ministry team has focused on doing all we can 57:31 to spread the good news, 57:32 but we cannot do it alone. 57:34 We need your help. 57:36 Each of us must prepare, watch, and wait. 57:39 But we also must work earnestly 57:42 for the salvation of souls. 57:44 Please consider what you can do 57:46 for those who still don't know about Jesus. 57:49 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:51 you may send your tax-deductible gifts to: 58:05 Thank you for helping us to bring the Blessed Hope 58:08 to millions all around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17