Participants: Lonnie Melashenko
Series Code: 14SCM
Program Code: 14SCM000007S
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00:38 Welcome to 3ABN's 2014 Spring Camp Meeting.
00:43 And we've got a beautiful crowd here. 00:46 We're sorry that you couldn't join us if you're watching 00:48 from home or listening on the radio or on the Internet 00:51 but we are glad... We're sorry you couldn't be here in person. 00:57 That wasn't me, I promise. 01:01 We're sorry you couldn't be here in person, but 01:04 we are glad you're watching. 01:06 If you are having a wonderful time at Camp Meeting, 01:09 say praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! 01:13 We're having a great time here 01:15 and it has been a time of special anointing. 01:18 And I know that your cups are already overflowing 01:22 and they're going to even more so. 01:25 We are going to have in this hour a beautiful message 01:29 from Lonnie Melashenko. Pastor Melashenko... 01:33 You probably know him best as the voice, the speaker/director 01:37 of the Voice of Prophecy. 01:39 And he was with them for nearly 20 years 01:42 but he was speaker/director for 17 years. 01:45 And now he is currently serving as a revivalist 01:48 for the Columbia Union Conference. 01:51 His message today will be He Is Coming When You Least Expect It. 01:57 And before that I believe we have Pastor C.A. Murray 02:00 who's going to be singing again. 02:02 And somehow I got out here on this stage live 02:05 without knowing the title to your song, C.A. What is it? 02:09 Jesus Lifts Me. Jesus Lifts Me. 02:30 He lifts my burden 02:35 whenever I'm down; 02:40 He gives me joy 02:44 when I'm wearing a frown; 02:49 He is my hope 02:53 in the midst of despair 02:58 and He... He is my comfort 03:03 for He's always there. 03:13 So I sing 03:16 not because I feel like singing. 03:22 And I praise Him 03:26 though the end I may not see. 03:33 For whenever 03:35 I lift the name of Jesus 03:40 Jesus reaches down 03:45 and He lifts me. 03:56 He is the music 04:00 that makes my heart glad; 04:05 He whispers peace 04:10 whenever I am sad; 04:14 He is the sunshine 04:19 that brightens my day 04:23 and He... He is the lighthouse 04:28 to show me the way. 04:33 So I sing 04:37 not because I feel like singing. 04:43 And I praise Him 04:47 though the end I may not see. 04:53 For whenever 04:55 I lift the name of Jesus 05:00 Jesus reaches down 05:05 and He lifts me. 05:11 So I sing 05:14 not because I just like singing. 05:20 And I praise Him 05:24 though the end I may not see. 05:30 For whenever 05:32 I lift the name of Jesus 05:37 Jesus reaches down, 05:42 turns me around 05:45 and He plants my feet on higher ground... 05:51 He reaches down 05:56 and He 06:00 lifts me. 06:23 Hello, saints! Hello! Welcome sinners. 06:28 Amen. We're all here. 06:31 Would you take your Bibles and turn to the book of II Peter 06:34 chapter 1. 06:37 The flight of Apollo 12 was normal 06:43 for 36 seconds... and then it happened. 06:47 Lightning struck the spacecraft from a Florida thunderstorm 06:52 and immediately the master alarm sounded 06:54 and lights blazed all over the control panel. 06:58 Said Astronaut Dick Gordon: 07:01 "In all of our training we'd never seen so many alarm lights 07:04 as went on inside that spacecraft. 07:06 If they'd given us something like that in the simulators 07:08 we'd have said: 'What are you trying to do? 07:10 This is impossible! ' " 07:12 Well... they did the next best thing possible: nothing. 07:17 But once in orbit everything depended on 07:20 getting the inertial guidance system back into shape, 07:22 and that was Astronaut Dick Gordon's job. 07:25 George Vandeman describes this in his book 07:29 how Astronaut Gordon climbed down into the equipment bay 07:34 and he tried to sight some stars in order to re-align... 07:37 re-align the guidance platform. 07:40 But he couldn't see a single star. 07:43 Nothing! He actually wondered if the stars had gone out. 07:46 Somebody turned them off. 07:48 But then as his eyes adjusted he caught sight of the bottom 07:51 of the constellation Orion then Rigel then Sirius 07:57 and Apollo 12 was back in business. 08:02 Whoever you are, wherever you're watching right now, 08:04 we too, today, are on board a spacecraft 08:07 struck by lightning. 08:10 Scientists will tell you that we are hurtling through space 08:13 at exactly this moment 67,000 miles an hour 08:17 with our guidance system badly out of adjustment. 08:22 As we move through the critical 2014's and 2015's 08:25 every single alarm on the capsule is flashing. 08:29 In fact, the speed with which we're tobogganing downhill 08:32 into the apocalypse takes one's breath away. 08:35 Say the thinking men who know what's going on 08:38 in the world today... they're saying 08:42 "This could be our last chance. " 08:44 Anybody here from Canada? 08:46 What is Time Magazine in Canada? 08:50 Macleans. Maclean's Magazine in Canada says: "It's over! " 08:57 And after 2012 the flight on this planet is over. 09:03 Maclean's says we should have been done with by now. 09:06 Way back in 1503 the psychic Nostradamus 09:10 who claimed to be a prophet... he said 09:12 society would last until December 2012. 09:17 Well... we made it just beyond there. 09:20 The South American Mayan Indians for thousands of years 09:24 have predicted that the end of civilization would happen 09:27 on December 21, 2012. 09:30 How many of you have heard of Billy Graham? 09:32 James Dobson? Chuck Swindall? Charles Stanley? 09:36 Well that's the evangelical Christian network 09:39 called Family Radio. It's all over North America. 09:42 You remember just a couple years ago 09:44 Harold Camping on that network predicted that May 21, 2011 09:50 would be the end. Well I don't know about you 09:53 but I notice that headlines every single month - 09:56 in fact, like Fox News Network - they trumpet unprecedented 10:01 catastrophes inexplicable in nature. 10:04 Like for example, there's millions of fish 10:06 that have suddenly washed up on the shores of 10:08 the Chesapeake Bay... mysteriously. 10:11 Or thousand and thousands of birds falling dead from the 10:14 skies from Manitoba - where I'm going to be up there 10:17 in a couple of days for Camp Meeting - 10:19 over to Sweden clear to the Vatican. 10:22 In fact, 8,000 of these birds 10:24 fell from the skies with some mysterious strange blue markings 10:28 on their beaks, and scientists don't know what this is all 10:31 about. And we've had more than ever in our lifetime 10:35 tsunamis, tornadoes. I drove through them last night 10:38 to try to get here. Earthquakes. Every single month 10:42 some kind of major catastrophe. Even in Australia, which is a 10:45 godless nation, they're calling them of Biblical proportions. 10:50 And so the news pundits are asking the question 10:54 what's the cause for all of these happenings? 10:57 They're global warming. Is that what it is, Al Gore? 11:00 Could it be maybe we're getting colder weather 11:02 based on this last winter? 11:04 Or is it disease and toxins? 11:07 What is the outcome of this planet's perilous mission? 11:11 Is it going to be flaming nuclear holocaust? 11:14 When will the end come? 11:17 How can we know when that great stone in the image of 11:22 Daniel chapter 2 is going to strike this planet 11:25 demolishing and crushing every earthly empire? 11:30 Put on your seat belts. Can you do that? 11:34 Like Astronaut Dick Gordon in the next 35 minutes 11:38 let's together attempt to climb down into the equipment bay 11:43 and sight some stars in the night. 11:48 Some steady, dependable check- points: footprints in the sky 11:54 that point past our trembling spacecraft - 11:59 strong evidence right here - exactly where we are 12:05 and what the time is. 12:08 Because Paul tells me in I Thessalonians 5:1 12:11 "Lonnie, Lonnie... " 12:33 You see, brothers and sisters, 12:35 write this one down: He's coming when you least expect it 12:40 ONLY if you don't read the manual. 12:45 Only if you choose to ignore it. 12:48 Only if you choose to make that fatal mistaken miscalculation. 12:55 I spent most of my years in Hollywood, in Los Angeles. 13:00 Sodom by the bay. 13:02 A lot of weirdos in California. 13:06 Well, Hollywood's Alfred Hitchcock 13:09 with his ultimate master macabre 13:13 produced some terrifying dramas. 13:16 In fact, in college if I ever wanted to watch a late-night 13:20 chiller on late-night TV I'd be guaranteed I couldn't sleep. 13:25 I mean, that was the industry's benchmark for chiller thrillers 13:30 stalking horrific and horrified viewers. 13:33 And it was guaranteed you would not sleep without some shivers 13:37 or nightmares or looking over to see what was... 13:39 And often unfortunately those stories were too true. 13:43 Like the story of one rather wicked, two-faced 13:48 evil woman who repeatedly got away with murder. 13:52 I mean literally as Jesus would have defined it. 13:54 Not just wrongdoing... she actually was found guilty 14:00 of murder and she was sentenced to life imprisonment 14:05 even though she screamed at the judge in the courtroom 14:08 "I'll escape... I'll get out of any prison! " 14:11 And she shook her finger at him but she took that final 14:14 infamous ride in the bus down to the prison. 14:19 Well in this Hitchcock movie while she's enroute 14:22 the camera zooms in on this wily wretch. 14:26 Perfect exhibit A of our human dilemma 14:30 riding down to our final destination. 14:34 But as the bus nears the prison she notices something. 14:39 Just outside there's an old man. 14:44 He's in his striped suit... he's an inmate... 14:46 but he's outside the walls and he's covering a grave. 14:49 Wow! He's going to become part of her plan to escape. 14:55 And on the television there's a wicked smile 14:59 and then a nod. 15:02 He's going to be her key. 15:04 He obviously assisted in the burial of prisoners who died. 15:10 Well, if she got to know him... And the bus arrives. 15:16 Well as you go on with the story you find out this old man 15:20 actually builds the caskets 15:22 as well as placing them in the ground. 15:25 The old man's job including rolling those caskets 15:29 down an old pathway in an old cart 15:34 to the cemetery. And his job included 15:38 lowering those caskets into the ground and covering them 15:42 all alone. 15:45 Well as this story unfolds the old man is going blind. 15:49 He needs cataract surgery 15:51 but he's got no money... he's penniless. 15:55 Well as the story unfolds she gets acquainted with him 15:59 and she finds out he needs cataract surgery. And she says 16:01 to him one day: "Old man, it's going to worth your while 16:07 if you help me escape. " "Oh no, I can't do that! " 16:10 "Yes, if you help me escape I've got money out there. " 16:14 And she told him how much. 16:16 "And I can help you get that cataract... " 16:17 "No, I can't do that. " 16:19 "Oh yes you can. 16:21 I have all the money you need but it's outside. 16:23 If you hope to ever have that operation, 16:26 you're going to have to help me out. " 16:28 Well reluctantly as this story unfolds he finally agrees 16:31 and the plot thickens. And he tells her: "Well the next 16:34 time you hear toll at midnight signaling the death of an inmate 16:38 you just wait... wait until the prescribed time... 16:41 wait until midnight and then in the blackness of the darkness 16:47 slip down to the workroom there where I work 16:50 and you locate the casket. 16:52 You secretly slide yourself inside that casket. 16:57 You pull the top lid down tightly. 17:02 Early the next morning well the old man would roll the casket 17:05 down with the corpse inside too 17:08 for the burial. He'd drop the casket in the hole. 17:11 He'd cover it with dirt. But the next day the plan was 17:14 that he would sneak back. He'd take the dirt off, 17:18 he'd pry the top loose, 17:20 and he'd set her free... and they would both escape. 17:23 Perfect plan. 17:27 Late one night she's on her cot. 17:31 She hears the deep toll of the bell. 17:41 Someone has died! Oh, this is her moment! 17:45 Secretly she slides off the cot. 17:48 She makes her way down the eerie hallway 17:50 and finally looking into that dimly dark room... 17:53 and you can only imagine Alfred Hitchcock with all the 17:55 drama and the sounds... she sees the casket. 17:58 Then she goes over and she lifts the lid. 18:04 And yes, in the darkness she slips inside the box... 18:08 wiggling and squeezing in right beside the corpse. 18:12 Then she pulls the lid down and locks it. 18:19 Well within hours, sure enough, 18:22 she feels the wheels starting to roll 18:26 and she smiles. Oooh! The casket is out there 18:31 and then she can sense it must be being lowered 18:33 into that grave. And you actually on the TV 18:36 begin to hear the clumps of the dirt falling on the casket. 18:39 Before long she is sealed beneath the earth. 18:42 Oh, but she's still smiling! 18:45 Silence follows 18:47 but oh, she can hardly contain herself. 18:50 This is it! And time begins to drag. 18:53 The next day comes and passes 18:56 and now it's night. And time drags on without the old man. 19:03 By now her brow is a little bit worried. 19:05 And she lays there and she kind of breaks out into a cold sweat 19:09 and she wonders: "Where is he? 19:12 What could possibly have gone wrong? 19:15 Why didn't he show up? " 19:17 And finally in a moment of panic 19:20 she lights a match 19:22 and she glances at the corpse beside her. 19:27 You guessed it. 19:30 "It's the old man himself who's died! " 19:34 And slowly the Alfred Hitchcock movie as the movie ends 19:38 it lifts with the camera from the gravesite 19:41 and all you hear is a wailing cry of a woman 19:44 down there muffled who will never get out of the grave. 19:51 Now there would never be a more scary story 19:55 or awful climax to the story of the Bible 20:00 than to discover that our hopes in the second coming 20:03 return of Jesus was a hoax. 20:07 An Alfred Hitchcock horror. 20:11 That the final act in the drama was a big lie 20:16 and Christians have made a big miscalculation, a big mistake! 20:22 He didn't come! 20:24 We trusted in the one Man to deliver 20:28 but we were wrong, and we trusted in the wrong Man. 20:34 Question for you, church: is it possible? 20:39 Is the second coming just a fable as 90% of the 20:43 denominations and the seminaries of the country now teach? No! 20:48 Is it coming, really? For real? Yes! For sure? Yes! 20:53 Well is it possible that the 2nd coming is not really soon? 20:58 Hmmm? After all, scripture says 21:01 "Behold I come... " What? "quickly. " Well! 21:05 Talk to me, church. 21:07 Since the "old man" has obviously been delayed 21:11 what should Christians do in the interim? 21:15 As Dr. Francis Schaeffer says: "How should we then live? " 21:21 Well these are valid questions and they deserve some answers. 21:25 Dilemmas that we've got to explore here for the next few 21:27 minutes. Because the Bible warns: "Lonnie, watch out. 21:31 There is a way that seems right unto a man 21:36 but the end thereof are the ways of... " What? "death. " 21:39 Oh-oh... she thought she could escape death's jaws. 21:44 But the one person she placed her hope in 21:48 was himself the victim of the very thing she dreaded most. 21:52 So the big question is: is it possible to trust 21:55 the wrong person? I don't want to do that! 22:00 Well listen now to II Peter chapter 1. 22:02 I hope you have your Bibles open there. 22:05 And I'm going to read from The Clear Word 22:07 verses 16 to 19. 22:11 Peter says: "Lon... church... 3ABN audience... " 22:16 Peter's confessing now. 22:19 "We did not follow 22:23 cleverly-phrased fiction when we told you about 22:27 the power and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 22:29 We saw His majesty with our own eyes 22:32 right there on the mountain before our very eyes. 22:35 But you have something even more sure than our report. 22:41 You have... " What? 22:43 "the prophecies of the Old Testament 22:46 to which you do well... " In 2014, 2015... 22:49 "that you pay attention. Those prophecies are like a lamp 22:54 shining in the darkness 22:57 until the day of Christ's coming dawns 22:59 and He as the glorious Morning Star 23:02 fills your hearts. " Is that good news or what? Amen! 23:06 I don't know about you, but folks I want out of that casket. 23:10 Isn't that a relevant voice... passage? 23:14 You bet. "Listen up, " says Peter. 23:16 You and I want to make absolutely certain 23:18 that we don't make that kind of a mistaken miscalculation. 23:23 Question is: how? 23:26 Well it's right here... right in the Owner's manual, 23:29 in the Book. Because friends, unfortunately 23:33 there are a lot of fanatical extremes out there 23:36 about the second coming of Jesus Christ. 23:37 You can go to any Christian bookstore, you can see all kinds 23:40 of stuff... the second coming. 23:43 But as I read the pen of inspiration 23:46 those are going to get confused - even in the church. 23:48 Yes, among Christians and God's people 23:51 in the very last days right here especially down to the end. 23:54 Just like the first coming of Christ they kind of got it 23:58 misqueued, some Christians - maybe even some Adventists - 24:02 would drop right off the end straight into the pit 24:06 on this subject: fanatical extremes. 24:12 I will tell you personal experiences 24:14 but I won't tell you names or where this happened 24:15 'cause some of you might be from there 24:17 and you might know who I'm talking about. 24:18 Christ's coming? Yeah, He's coming soon. 24:21 Head for the hills... abandon ship! 24:24 I've had church members move off somewhere in Oregon 24:27 or Washington. I don't know where they were. 24:28 Don't pay your debts; don't worry about college; 24:31 don't worry about your career or ever getting married. 24:35 Don't sweat tomorrow any more; 24:37 just forget your responsibilities. 24:39 Quit your job; go up there and mooch off of others 24:42 waiting for the coming of Jesus. 24:45 I'm not fibbing. 24:47 Others, and I have friends who have set dates. 24:51 In my lifetime ministers have set dates. 24:54 "As it was in the days of Noah... " 24:56 120 years after 1844 when we got to 1964 25:02 all kinds of evangelists were setting dates. 25:05 It's going to be just like in the days of Noah. 25:07 I have folders bulging from all kinds of Adventist 25:11 prognosticators. I've got a Southern California... 25:14 Ah, I won't say too much... said too much. 25:16 A doctor. He writes in his journals 25:20 "Get out of Loma Linda. 25:21 This is where the arsenals of God are going to fall. 25:24 And you will find that in the writings of Ellen White 25:26 in her apocryphal writings: 25:28 the back of the index to the writings of Ellen White. " 25:30 They're all there, but that's not what she wrote. 25:32 But he takes them as truth. Or in Huntington, West Virginia, 25:35 165 baptized are waiting the rapture now 25:40 and they're off in some culture... cult some place. 25:42 In the Los Angeles Times they've got so many articles... 25:45 One read this headline: Apocalyptic movement 25:48 stirs social crisis in South Korea. 25:52 People are selling their homes and quitting their jobs 25:55 and their school, abandoning their families 25:57 and even having abortions to prepare for October 28 26:01 because that's the day when 144,000 believers around 26:04 the world will be lifted up to heaven in the rapture. 26:08 You see, beloved, the devil loves people to go to extremes. 26:14 Get fanatical about this... insane. 26:17 He could come unexpectedly any moment. 26:21 Some set dates. Or of course then the other end of the 26:25 spectrum, the pendulum, is the other extreme: 26:29 ah, just be totally indifferent about it. 26:33 Theological ignorance: don't read too much. 26:36 It'll get you confused. 26:38 No reason at all to be on the alert. 26:41 I'm going to say this carefully; 26:43 I know I'm going to be criticized, 26:45 but an Adventist lay journal just came out 26:48 a couple of days ago - some of you get this - 26:52 and it says our evangelists and all of the preachers 26:55 got it wrong. Because it says all prophecies about the second 27:01 coming of Jesus are conditional. 27:04 Now we believe there are some conditional prophecies don't we? 27:07 But so many people seriously question whether there ever 27:10 will be a real second coming... many Adventists. 27:14 And that's a 21st century today pooh-pooh attitude. 27:17 "Well if and when your number finally comes up... " 27:22 "Well whatever. " Have you ever heard somebody say that? 27:24 "Whatever. " 27:26 But listen, it doesn't take a rocket scientist 27:29 to see that something is terribly wrong on this old 27:32 ball of mud. These are frighten- ing times in which we live. 27:37 They're exciting times! 27:39 They're thrilling times because all of us know 27:42 something is about to happen. 27:46 Even the pagan pundits out there in the news 27:49 on television, they're saying: "You know, we might need to 27:53 get... become more aware. 27:55 We need to dig into the Bible maybe and discover 27:58 how to live our lives just in case Christ's coming 28:01 could occur any moment. " Even secularists are saying that. 28:06 Los Angeles Times had an article here. 28:10 Dateline: Washington, D.C. 28:13 "The keepers of the doomsday clock... " 28:17 Now the Los Angeles Times is one of the most secular 28:20 newspapers in the country. I used to get the Times 28:23 and I enrolled it just because I wanted to see what the liberals 28:26 say. Here's what it said: 28:32 "The keepers of the doomsday clock want to move its hands 28:37 forward in Washington, D.C. to reflect what they call 28:40 worsening nuclear and climate threats to the world. 28:44 The symbolic clock created in 1947 and maintained by 28:47 the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 28:50 currently is set at seven minutes to midnight 28:52 with midnight marking global disaster. " 28:57 The secular world is saying this! 29:01 So we ask the question: "Well what is the Biblical evidence? " 29:07 Is there reliable prophecy that's not conditional? 29:12 Hmmm? Or maybe we need to first ask another question. 29:16 Did Jesus Christ come, church, the first time as revealed 29:20 in prophecy? Yes! You say: "Well that's a ridiculous question, 29:24 Lonnie, because we date our calendar B.C. - before Christ - 29:27 A.D. - anno domini, in the year of our Lord - 29:31 or BCE - before the common era 29:32 if you're a Jewish friend. I mean, the world knows! " 29:35 Well hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of prophecies 29:39 foretold Jesus would come the first time. 29:42 And you know them; we could go over them. 29:44 Thousands of years before Bethlehem hundreds of specific 29:47 details about every phase of His life prophesied 29:51 like His virgin birth. 29:54 And then Micah said He would be born in Bethlehem 29:58 even though that wasn't His home. Nazareth was where 30:01 He grew up. And specific prophesies saying that He would 30:04 be betrayed by how many pieces of silver? 30:08 Twenty-six? Thirty-four? 30:10 Thirty pieces of silver... 30. 30:12 And then that He would be mocked... 30:14 that He would be nailed to a cross. 30:16 That a spear would be thrust in His side instead of His legs 30:20 being broken on Calvary. 30:22 And it even prophesied that soldiers would cast dice 30:25 for His tunic. Hundreds of prophecies which all came true. 30:30 Not one of them was conditional... correct? 30:32 So my question is... listen carefully: 30:35 If all of these came true about Christ coming the first time, 30:40 wouldn't you think ten times as many prophecies 30:43 about His second coming would be trying to stress 30:45 definitely that He's coming again? Amen! 30:48 Can we count on prophecy for the second time around? Amen! 30:52 Well, what's the Biblical evidence? 30:54 May I suggest II Peter 1 again 30:56 verses 16-19 for starters. 30:59 Now Peter is very very wise here because he made some 31:02 boo-boo's too, and he says we need balance 31:07 about this whole second coming theme that we're talking about 31:10 this weekend. But he says this: 31:13 "If there is a second coming, 31:17 it's the only answer to this world's needs. " 31:21 Can I hear an amen? Amen! 31:24 In other words, the only escape from the prison casket of this 31:29 world of sin and pain and sickness and suffering and death 31:35 is Jesus' coming. 31:37 But of course many people... the liberals don't believe that. 31:42 So for a few minutes let's examine the evidence. 31:44 Stay with II Peter as we unpack chapter 3 31:47 and verse 3 and 4. 31:51 Peter says: "3ABN audience... " 31:56 people looking in whoever you are out there, 31:58 from whatever denomination... He says: "Knowing this 32:01 first that there shall come... " When? 32:06 "in the last days... " right down here... 32:10 What would there come? Scoffers. "scoffers, walking after 32:13 their own lusts and saying: 'Where is the promise 32:17 of His coming? For since the fathers died 32:20 all things continue as they were since the beginning 32:23 of creation. ' " 32:25 Well there you have it right there: today's 21st century 32:28 scientific theory of uniformitarianism. 32:33 Some call it evolution. 32:35 You know that even our president believes that? 32:38 And our politicians are saying... in fact, I could name 32:41 the particular person... She's going to run maybe 32:43 for a presidential race. You'll know who it is. 32:47 "We're no longer a Christian nation... 32:49 we're a global village! " 32:52 And since time began there's been an uninterrupted flow 32:54 of events, so come weal or woe our status is quo. 32:59 Don't get nervous about end-time calamity howlers 33:02 like that 1844 bunch of fanatics with William Miller. 33:06 Wrong! says Peter. 33:09 Verses 5 and 6. These people forget about the flood. 33:15 They scoffed back in Noah's day too! 33:19 But did it come? Did it come? Yes. Yes. 33:23 We need to be ready because the great God of heaven 33:26 is going to step in again some day, only this time 33:28 verse 7 says: "But the heavens and the earth 33:30 which are now by the same word kept in store 33:34 reserved unto fire against the day of judgment 33:37 and perdition of ungodly men. " 33:40 By the way, I want you to notice something. 33:42 There's some good news tucked in there. 33:44 Sounds like fire and damnation... but it's not! 33:47 Notice that the good news is in verse 9. 33:49 It's very clear it is NOT God's desire 33:52 that anybody should perish. Amen! 33:55 That fire is reserved for who? 33:57 The devil. Yeah, don't say his name too loud. 34:01 And all of his hellish demons and evil angels. 34:03 The fire was prepared for the devil, 34:06 and this is precisely why God is waiting today 34:09 and why He's loitering... why He's delaying. 34:13 We don't really understand that, but He's so longsuffering. 34:17 He's so infinitely patient. 34:20 In verse 9 Peter tells us why God delays: 34:23 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise 34:26 as some men count slackness 34:29 but is longsuffering to usward 34:32 not willing that... " What? "any should perish 34:35 but that... " How many? All. 34:37 "all should come to repentance. " 34:38 Now that is crystal clear, isn't it? 34:40 Is there anything conditional about that? 34:43 No, it's specific. It's reliable information. 34:45 It's balanced. "Lonnie, in 2015 34:49 don't mistake your Lord's patience 34:53 in delay for permanent absence. " 34:58 And yet so many ignore the reality of Christ's soon 35:02 second coming. They're somehow confused by the delay. 35:07 And I can understand. 35:10 My dear parents just passed away. 35:15 My mother a couple years ago at the age of 89 35:18 and dad just died at 91. 35:22 While I was at Camp Meeting I heard the news 35:25 and five sons had to go for a funeral. 35:27 We hated to watch my dear parents growing old. 35:31 They were our heroes, and the closer we all came to their 35:34 death the more we realized that the second coming of Jesus 35:37 is the only thing to cling to. 35:40 It's the only hope to reunite our Melashenko family 35:43 singers again. 35:45 And when I finish here in just a couple of days 35:47 all of the five sons of the tribe of Joseph and Anne 35:50 are going up to Farley, Saskatchewan, Canada, 35:53 where we grew up - and their parents and grandparents - 35:56 that little Russian... We're going to bury their ashes 35:58 out there in the middle of a big field - 36:01 a wheat field. There's still a cemetery. 36:03 The church is long gone. 36:05 But we're going to stand around in a circle 36:06 and we're going to share some of the songs of the Blessed Hope 36:09 and sing some Russian songs that they sang. 36:11 That's the Blessed Hope 36:15 without which Paul says we would be "most miserable. " 36:19 Amen! Some of you here come to this Camp Meeting 36:23 with grieving hearts because you've recently experienced 36:26 death or tragedy 36:28 or an awful prognosis or a diagnosis... maybe cancer. 36:32 Murder. I know some people that are grieving deeply 36:36 with infant crib death. 36:38 Two of our dear friends this week. 36:41 And your home and your life suddenly just erupts and 36:44 as Ellen White says: "all hell seems to break loose. " 36:47 And the days go into a blur; they seem senseless, 36:50 dizzy, dark. 36:54 Like we're in a casket and things are out of control. 36:58 And life seems just absurd to even carry on. 37:01 But friend, listen: there's hope! 37:05 Deep in the heart of scripture God reminds us 37:08 "the end is not yet come. " 37:13 As my Italian friends say 37:16 "It ain't over until the fat lady sings. " 37:21 Because one of these days, friend, Jesus - when that little 37:24 dark cloud becomes brighter and brighter and gets closer 37:27 and closer - He's going to put all things back together again. 37:30 And one of these days it will all make sense. Amen! 37:33 He'll make sense of the crazy puzzles and enigmas of life 37:36 and the absurd abnormalities. 37:39 That's what the Bible calls The Blessed Hope! 37:43 When is that going to happen? 37:44 Well Paul tells us in II Thessalonians 4:16-18. 37:47 "Lon, it will happen when the Lord Himself shall 37:49 descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice 37:53 of the archangel, with the trump of God. 37:56 And the dead in Christ - your dad and mom - 38:00 will rise first right where you put them 38:03 and we shall be caught up together with them in the clouds 38:07 to meet the Lord in the air. 38:10 And so shall we ever be with the Lord. " 38:12 And then these wonderful words, 38:14 I'm going to read them in just a few days, 38:17 "Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. " 38:23 He's coming back - Amen! - just like He went. 38:27 He went literally, physically, visibly, 38:31 audibly, with clouds. 38:35 Well friends, these sacred scriptures describe 38:38 our destiny: that one of these days death bites the dust. 38:45 No more grim reaper. 38:47 Yes, we are all... every one of us... 38:50 on Alfred Hitchcock's cart. 38:52 We're rolling down toward the end. 38:56 But the marvelous good news for us is 38:58 a change is coming. 39:01 President Obama: it's not YOUR new day. 39:04 It's God's new day that's coming. Amen! Not maybe. 39:08 Not if you vote right in your Congress or your Parliament. 39:12 Or if they figure it out, the politicians over there 39:14 in the G7 Conference or G8 when Putin gets it all together. 39:17 Not if the stock market suddenly sails off the charts. 39:21 No! Because Jesus Christ died and rose again: 39:26 that's the secret; that's the key that unlocks it. 39:31 He's coming again. And listen: 39:34 this change is guaranteed. It's sure; it is absolute; 39:39 it is certain. It's fact. It's not a conditional prophecy. 39:46 Not necessarily tonight but it's going to be quickly. 39:50 Soon. The signs of the times of Matthew 24 are increasing 39:54 with intensity and with frequency. 39:58 In fact, all of the big signs that Jesus foretold there - 40:02 He said "You watch for them" - they've already happened. 40:04 Did you know that? Every one of them. 40:06 He told about three giant footprints in the sky. 40:11 First thing to look there if you want to look in Matthew 40:13 chapter 24 verses 15-20: 40:16 "This is the first big sign. You watch for this and you will 40:18 know that I am coming back. It will be the destruction of 40:20 Jerusalem in 70 AD. " Which we know, of course, 40:24 and He puts a little sign post. 40:25 He sticks it in the sand there. 40:26 The disciples: "Wow! It's really going to happen? " "Yep. 40:28 You watch for that. When it happens 40:30 that's the first sign I'm coming back. " 40:32 Did it happen? Yes. Yes. 40:34 He sticks another signpost, number 2, in the sand 40:37 and He says: "Right after that will be an awful period of great 40:40 persecution. " Tribulation the Bible calls it. 40:44 "Soon after Jerusalem is destroyed 40:46 there'll be an awful period we call it in history 40:49 The Dark Ages. Look for it, " Jesus says, 40:52 "millions will die. 538 AD to 1798 AD. 40:57 They'll be burned at the stake. Some will be thrown to the 40:59 lions. They'll be boiled in oil. They'll be torched, 41:01 sawn asunder, thrown to the gladiators. " 41:04 Jesus said: "You look for it. But listen, " He said 41:06 to the disciples and He makes another little card 41:08 and sticks it in the sand, signpost number three, 41:11 "immediately after those days - 41:14 those terrible days, the Dark Ages - 41:16 three amazing things will happen in the heavens 41:20 in rapid succession like footprints in the sky. " 41:24 More amazing than the pope's overture this year 41:28 to the charismatic's in Texas you know, with Ken Copeland 41:30 saying "We're coming, we're coming. 41:31 We're not going to have the word Protestant any more. 41:33 We're all coming back to the church of Rome. " 41:35 Or this past month the pope was making overtures to the Jewish 41:39 world and the Muslim world. Jesus said: "That's nothing 41:42 compared to the three cosmic unmistakable omens you'll see 41:46 in the sky! You will see the sun go black. 41:50 Darkened. Well as soon as the Dark Ages were over 41:56 look for the darkening of the sun. " Did that happen? 41:59 Dark Ages ended about 1755 AD actually. 42:03 And any encyclopedia will tell you if you look under 42:06 the Dark Day that that took place on May 19, 1780. 42:13 Jesus said "immediately after the Dark Ages. " 42:16 Then He said next "the moon would turn to blood. " 42:22 It's no coincidence that very next night 42:24 the moon appeared as a clotter of blood 42:27 fulfilling Joel chapter 2 verse 31. 42:30 But Jesus puts another signpost in the ground there. 42:33 He says: "Immediately after this you will see the stars 42:36 fall from heaven. " Did it happen? 42:39 A lot of arguments about this in some of the Adventist journals 42:42 and so forth 'cause we've had many many major 42:45 meteoric showers. But scientific journals continue to relate 42:49 how suddenly just 53 years later on November 13, 1833, 42:53 the world experienced the greatest display of celestial 42:56 fireworks ever seen. But now watch closely with me. 43:01 Watch closely... I hope you have your seatbelts on. 43:03 The very next big event 43:07 would be what? Verse 31. 43:11 "And then, " Jesus says, "shall appear the sign of the Son of 43:16 Man in the heavens. Everyone... the whole world 43:20 will see Me coming in heaven with power and great glory. " 43:26 Folks, that is it. That's the end of human history. 43:29 Immediately after the Dark Ages 43:33 we today - right now, at this very moment - 43:35 are living between verse 29 and verse 30 43:39 of Matthew 24. 43:41 Listen, those were the last big signs: 43:45 the Dark Day, the moon turned to blood, the falling of the stars. 43:50 To this very moment it's been exactly 180 years 43:53 since that last big sign. 43:55 I want to tell you, friend, that the second coming of Jesus 43:58 is long overdue. 44:01 That's why He's coming when you least expect: 44:05 because there are no more big signs. 44:09 Oh yes, prophecy tosses in hundreds of others more. 44:11 We could talk about them, but I want to tell you this afternoon 44:14 He's overdue... He's waiting. 44:18 Could He be waiting for you? 44:21 Waiting for you to make up your mind? 44:23 Well, friend, He won't wait forever. 44:26 He promised the disciples, He promised us, 44:30 that His coming would be right after 1833 AD 44:34 when the stars fell. 44:35 And He IS coming... never doubt that for a moment. 44:38 All the signs that He forecasted have come true. 44:42 I don't know if you noticed this week The Weather Channel 44:44 has just said we are now in hurricane season. 44:50 Some of you might remember this. On September 21... 44:53 now remember the date... September 21, 1938, 44:57 a monstrous hurricane of enormous proportions 45:02 struck the East Coast. The famous author William Manchester 45:06 writing in his book The Glory and The Dream 45:09 he says, and I'm going to be quoting here: 45:12 "The great wall of brine struck the beach between 45:17 Babylon and Patchogue, New York, at 2:30 PM. 45:21 So mighty was the power of that first storm wave 45:24 that its impact registered on a seismograph in Sitka, Alaska, 45:29 while the spray carried northward at well over 45:32 100 miles an hour whitened windows in Montpelier, Vermont. 45:36 As the torrential 40-foot wave approached, some Long Islanders 45:41 jumped into their cars and raced inland. 45:43 No one knows precisely how many lost that race for their lives, 45:47 but the survivors later estimated they had to keep 45:51 the speedometer well over fifty miles per hour all of the way. " 45:55 Now for some reason, meteor- ologists who should have known, 46:00 they should have warned the public. 46:03 They seemed strangely blind to the impending disaster. 46:07 I mean, either they ignored their instruments 46:10 or they simply couldn't believe what they indicated. 46:13 And of course, if the forecasters were blind 46:16 the public was too. 46:18 I'm reading again from Manchester: 46:20 "Among the striking stories which later came to light 46:24 was the experience of a Long Islander 46:26 who had bought a barometer a few days earlier 46:30 in a New York store. It arrived in the morning post 46:34 September 21. At his annoyance 46:38 the needle pointed below 29 46:41 where the dial read hurricanes, tornadoes. 46:44 He shook it, banged it against the wall. 46:47 The needle wouldn't budge. 46:48 Indignant, he repacked it, drove to the post office, 46:52 and mailed it back. While he was gone his house blew away! " 47:04 I'm saying this with tears in my throat: 47:06 that's the way it is with us. 47:09 If we can't cope with the forecast, 47:12 we blame the barometer or we ignore it... 47:17 for many are throwing away the red books. 47:22 Friend, listen to me: only once ever in human history 47:27 was a world-wide storm warning ever issued. 47:31 God Himself told Noah: "Warn the world of a global flood. " 47:37 Now there were no barometers back in those days. 47:40 But human nature then was exactly what it is now 47:44 and people laughed at Noah. 47:46 Called him a fanatic. 47:48 "He's deranged. " In fact, Spirit of Prophecy says they 47:51 made his boat a tourist attraction. 47:55 Here we are now at the end of human history. 47:57 In 2015 at the final wind-up of human history once again Jesus 48:03 issues storm warnings of global peril more disastrous 48:07 than any natural disaster. 48:10 And at its center are whirling 2,500 barometric 48:15 low pressure alarm systems. 48:17 Evil winds that have been developing for centuries 48:21 measured not by a man-made barometer 48:24 but by God's own Word. 48:25 Revelation is God's barometer for today. Amen! 48:29 You don't have to be a meteorologist or a scientist 48:31 or a doctor or a theologian to read it. 48:34 My Bible tells me in Revelation chapter 7 verse 1 48:38 God has also commissioned four angels to hold back 48:42 the final winds of war and strife and self-destruction 48:46 from hurtling ourselves into World War 3 and eternal 48:49 oblivion. Angels! 48:52 Why? They're waiting for something. 48:57 What? Something to happen in your life and my life. 49:03 In mercy God is stalling for us. 49:08 Gives urgency to the words of the prophet in Amos 4 verse 12 49:13 "Lonnie, prepare to meet your God. " 49:16 How? Simple. You can do it now this very moment. 49:21 Accept Jesus as the master control. 49:25 Give control of your life to His loving capable hands 49:28 because time is running out, friends. 49:30 Just a narrow interval now between now and eternity. 49:33 Footprints in the sky. We can hear them, 49:38 we can see them, we can feel them, we can 49:40 smell a storm is coming. We must be ready to meet Him. Amen? 49:43 Amen! Dr. H.M.S. Richards 49:46 used to tell the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton. 49:49 Great explorer of the Antarctic. 49:51 And this is way before the days of radios or cell phones, 49:54 or airplanes and helicopters. Just brave intrepid men 49:58 who took out to the sea with courage. 50:00 Well, while on one of these dangerous expeditions 50:02 to the South Pole Shackleton had to turn back 50:06 from his men and leave some of his men on Elephant Island 50:09 amidst the snow and ice. 50:11 They were stranded desperately low on supplies, 50:13 in need of food. Their only hope was if Shackleton 50:17 personally went to get help from the nearest settlement 50:21 in the South Pacific. Wow! Could he? Would he? 50:24 It's an incredible thriller-chiller story. 50:27 But by heroic efforts Shackleton and five others 50:31 reached the island of Georgia. And then in the worst weather 50:34 possible they began an unbelievably perilous 50:38 trip over the snowy mountains. And he finally came to the 50:41 little settlement. And as soon as he had obtained the necessary 50:44 supplies he secured another ship and he turned around 50:47 and immediately started back for his men. 50:49 Now the weather was worse than before. 50:52 In fact, every time he tried to reach Elephant Island 50:54 he failed. Fog would come in; there were storms. 50:58 Ice packs would block the way 51:00 and it seemed like an Alfred Hitchcock doomsday macabre. 51:04 Finally one day the fog lifted 51:07 and there was a narrow narrow opening appeared through some 51:10 ice leading straight to the island. 51:12 And Shackleton saw a chance and he quickly ran his ship 51:15 straight through this channel. And he got his men on board 51:18 and they came back out just before the ice closed up 51:20 behind them... a daring rescue within just 30 minutes. 51:25 Well, when the excitement was over, Shackleton 51:27 asked one of his men who had stayed on Elephant Island 51:30 "How did it happen you were all packed and ready 51:33 for my coming? You were standing on the shore 51:35 ready to leave at a moment's notice. " 51:38 "Well sir, you said you'd come back for us 51:41 so we never gave up. 51:43 We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea became 51:45 partly free of ice we'd roll up our sleeping bags 51:48 and we'd pack all of our things and we'd say: 'Well maybe 51:50 Shackleton will come back today. ' 51:52 We were always ready for your coming. " 51:56 Always ready... any hour, any time. 52:02 Are you ready for Jesus to come? 52:05 If you are, His coming is not a dread... 52:10 it's a comfort. But if you're not ready 52:13 it is a dread like an Alfred Hitchcock terror movie. 52:17 The secret is being sure 52:19 you know the One who can get you out. 52:22 Who can deliver you and rescue you. 52:23 The King is coming... He's on His way! Amen! 52:28 His coming is sure. The question is: are you? 52:33 H.M.S. Richards, Jr. - Harold, as I knew him - 52:36 was only 61 when I joined the Voice of Prophecy in 1991 52:39 but he was already quite frail. 52:41 But we took Del Delker and the old Kings Heralds 52:43 down to Brazil for their 50th anniversary of 52:46 La Voz De La Profecia. 52:48 Jeanne and I went south with the Arautos do Rei; 52:51 Harold went north and took the Kings Heralds... 52:53 the old Kings Heralds that you remember: 52:55 John Thurber, Bob Edwards, 52:58 Jerry Dill, Wayne Hooper. 53:01 They plunged into the Amazon jungles where Harold 53:04 contracted typhoid fever twice. 53:06 He landed in a hospital twice; almost died both times. 53:09 And we eventually got him back at my side, and he preached 53:12 in crowded soccer stadiums in Salvador and Rio de Janeiro 53:15 with 65,000 people in attendance. 53:18 But Harold never got well. 53:20 When we finally got him back to Glendale, California, 53:22 he succumbed to a litany of near-fatal health problems. 53:25 He had a leaky heart valve; he had shingles; 53:27 half of his body was paralyzed. 53:29 He was in absolute terrible excruciating pain. 53:32 Then Parkinson's came in and kidney failure... 53:35 and amyloid deposits and protein on the kidneys 53:37 and even cancer. And finally complications 53:40 just too great to overcome came and he died of heart failure 53:43 April 11, 2000. He was only 70 years old. 53:47 But Harold had huge hands and a huge heart 53:49 and he had a huge love of preaching and giving altar calls 53:52 and a passion for Jesus. He spent more time in the hospital 53:56 now than he did in our broadcast studios. 53:58 The final two years he was just too weak 54:01 to get to the office and yet he had a dream. 54:04 And he said: "Lonnie, I want to preach. " 54:05 Then things began to shut down. 54:08 But a serendipitous moment came. 54:11 Happened at the Glendale Adventist Medical Center 54:13 for an anointing service that I had with Tony Anobile, 54:17 his pastor at that time, and Jeanne and I. 54:19 We went in, and when we finished Harold motioned for me to come 54:21 over. He could not speak with his vocal cords... 54:23 were half paralyzed. "Lon, come over here. 54:26 I want to tell you something: you're God's man. " 54:30 He was breathing very heavy but he spoke with determination. 54:34 "I personally pray for you. I chose you, Lon. " 54:38 We were both weeping now and I sensed that this might 54:41 be Harold's final statement. 54:43 But his eye was steady and his eyes riveted on me. 54:46 "Lon, if God raises me up I want to preach again. 54:48 Even got a sermon. You want to know the title? " 54:51 "Yeah, Harold, what is it? " 54:55 "He's On His Way. " 54:57 Not that He might be coming or prophecy says He's coming soon. 55:00 "He's On His Way. " 55:02 Now Harold was well read. He knew about the headlines 55:04 and he was an expert in astronomy and physics. 55:06 And the L.A. headlines of the Times had just stated 55:09 that on May 5, 2000, a half a dozen planets were 55:13 lining up in conjunction. And he said: "Astronomers can tell 55:16 that something is going to be big out there 55:18 of cosmic import. " And then he began his little sermon. 55:21 And he gave me a few sentences. 55:22 "Far out in space, light years behind the great nebula 55:26 and the Pleiades there's a great stirring 55:28 and a rush of excitement beyond human description. 55:31 You can hear the chariots rumble. 55:33 The thunder's rolling its kettle drums and the lightning 55:36 is shaking its fiery white lances. 55:38 Trumpets sound! He's on His way! 55:42 Down past unnumbered universes, 55:44 down through the corridor of Orion, 55:45 down down to a blue planet hanging out there 55:48 in space. Do you see it? That lonely one out there? 55:51 One that spat upon Him, crucified Him. 55:54 The one He couldn't forget. He's on His way! " 55:58 And Harold laid back with a twinkle and he heaved a sigh 56:01 and he said: "What do you think, Lon? " 56:03 Said: "Harold, I think it's your finest hour. " 56:06 Said: "I'm feeling sleepy now. " 56:08 I leaned in and I prayed: "Dear God, please 56:10 hold Your servant close. " 56:12 Then Jeanne and I slipped out of the E.R. room and went 56:14 into the hallway. We wept like babies. 56:17 Said the prophet: "At eventide it shall be light. " 56:22 'Cause there's always light and joy and life in the 56:25 dwellings of God's saints. Amen? 56:27 No matter how black or stormy. And Harold Richards believed 56:31 in the soon return of Jesus. Filled him with zest and love 56:34 to the point it defined him. He was passionate about 56:36 the second coming of Jesus. 56:38 The Jesus, who more than anything else, wishes He were 56:40 your friend, too. So for 70 years an evening star 56:45 pushed back the dark world of night with light and joy 56:48 and radiance. And you know, evening stars aren't always 56:51 with us, but we love it when they are. 56:53 For now, this evening star has set. 56:56 But soon he will rise with the Bright and Morning Star, 56:59 this time never to set. 57:01 This time to shine for eternity because He's on His way. 57:06 Amen! 57:08 Heavenly Father, Lord, the secret of escape 57:10 from this casket of our world isn't Hollywood-style macabre. 57:13 It's being sure we know the One who can get us out of the grave. 57:16 Help us get ready by getting to know you 57:19 one to one. Now we know even more calamitous events 57:23 are going to come: the plagues and the great earthquakes 57:25 where islands will disappear and fires and floods 57:27 and our coastal cities. Ellen White says they'll go 57:29 under water, but we need not fear. 57:31 These are exciting times, they're frightening times, 57:34 thrilling times. All of us know something is about to happen. |
Revised 2022-03-07