Participants: Pr. John Carter
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR001301
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00:08 From Arcadia, California, The Carter Report presents
00:11 "The Living Word" around the world. 00:18 Theme text today is taken from the Book of Daniel 5:27. 00:25 Please take your Bibles. Daniel 5:27. 00:33 This book goes back about two and a half thousand years. 00:38 Jesus referred on occasion is to the Book of Daniel. 00:42 5:27, Dear hearts and gentle people. 00:50 Daniel 5:27, "Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales," 00:59 or it says in the KJV, "you've been weighed in the balances." 01:05 "And found wanting." 01:09 The topic today is "Your Appointment with God" 01:14 because everybody has an appointment with God, 01:18 whether we like it or not. 01:22 In this presentation we're going to talk about 01:25 Dr. Ben Carson and President Obama. 01:29 We're gonna mention also these bricks 01:36 and we're gonna talk about those a little bit. 01:38 We're gonna talk about Belshazzar's feast, 01:43 our appointment with the Creator and the awful surprise. 01:48 The true grace is never cheap. 01:51 Now please come to Daniel 5: 22 and onwards. 01:57 Daniel 5: 22 and onwards in the Holy Bible. 02:07 Daniel says to this young scoundrel, 02:09 he was about 35 years of age 02:12 and Daniel was well into his 80s. 02:15 "But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, 02:20 though you knew all this. 02:22 Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. 02:26 You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, 02:30 and you and your nobles, your wives 02:32 and your concubines drank wine from them. 02:35 You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, 02:42 wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. 02:47 But you did not honor the God who holds in His hand 02:51 your life and all your ways." 02:54 These are pretty strong words. 02:57 Verse 24 says, "Therefore he sent the hand 03:01 that wrote the inscription. 03:03 This is the inscription that was written: 03:06 Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin. 03:10 This is what these words mean: 03:12 Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign 03:16 and brought it to an end. 03:18 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. 03:22 Peres: Your kingdom is divided 03:26 and given to the Medes and the Persians." 03:30 I want you all to know this today, 03:33 and those watching on television, 03:36 I want these words to sink down into your souls, 03:39 so that you will never forget it. 03:42 There is a coming judgment day 03:46 and the clock of heaven is ticking. 03:50 Every one of us has a case at court. 03:55 Many of you folks were thrilled with Dr. Ben Carson 04:00 who like us is an Adventist Christian. 04:04 Dr. Ben Carson is an illustrious American, a patriot. 04:12 He's the director of pediatric neurosurgery 04:16 at John Hopkins hospital and the university. 04:22 Dr. Carson was born and raised in poverty. 04:27 His father was like so many fathers, 04:31 at least where Dr. Carson came from, 04:35 he knew he had a begat, 04:37 but he quickly forgot and he left his son. 04:44 But Ben Carson had an amazing mother 04:47 and she said you can be what you want to be 04:51 with God's help and never come home from school with a B. 04:56 If you come home from school with a B 04:59 you'll be facing the judgment day. 05:02 And so Dr. Ben Carson learned to study and he learned to work, 05:08 good American values. 05:12 He spoke at the national prayer breakfast 05:14 with President Obama listening. 05:18 He spoke about American values of which I'm proud. 05:24 He spoke about honesty, hard work. 05:30 And American values have got nothing to do, 05:36 my friend, with political correctness. 05:41 Now America prides itself 05:43 on being a land of freedom and freedom of speech. 05:48 That is somewhat of a myth. 05:51 Try going to many places today 05:54 and talking about certain subjects. 05:56 You're not allowed to. 05:58 On the campuses of the great American universities 06:03 you have thought police. 06:06 They're checking up to see what you're thinking. 06:10 And Ben Carson said to the President, 06:14 "I do not believe in political correctness." 06:19 He warned against corruption and moral decay in America. 06:28 He spoke about the Roman Empire 06:31 and he said America is going down the same road 06:36 as the Roman Empire. 06:41 Now what he said, of course, 06:43 in the ears of some was rank heresy 06:47 and certainly was not politically correct. 06:50 However, what Ben Carson said was the truth. 06:57 And then he was interviewed on the Fox Network. 07:04 They said to him--I'll talk more about Dr. Carson in a moment 07:10 but this is just a little preamble. 07:12 They said to him, "Do you think it's too late for America?" 07:17 He said, "It could very well be so." 07:21 He said, "I love America and I pray for America 07:25 and I believe in America, but America is walking 07:29 in the footsteps of the Roman Empire." 07:34 And I would say to you today, 07:35 America is being weighed in the balances, 07:41 the world and the church are facing the judgment day. 07:48 Now I've had the privilege of being over in Iraq, 07:53 of going to Iraq on many occasions. 07:57 I've been to the old city of Babylon 08:00 on many different occasions. 08:03 I've been into the banqueting hall 08:05 of what is left of it 08:07 of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. 08:11 Bricks like these are everywhere present 08:20 and on these bricks you can actually see 08:24 the ancient cuneiform, 08:27 the writing of the ancient Babylonians 08:30 and people like Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar. 08:36 Come now to Daniel 1:1. 08:38 People who are ignorant say 08:41 you cannot believe the Book of Daniel. 08:44 I said ignorant? Yes, they're ignorant of truth. 08:47 Daniel 1:1, "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim 08:53 king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon 08:59 came to Jerusalem and besieged it." 09:04 Look at me. 09:07 Many will tell you young people 09:11 that this is simply a fairy tale, 09:16 at the best, a pious fraud. 09:21 I want you to know today that Nebuchadnezzar 09:26 was a real person and so was Belshazzar. 09:32 I will never, never forget my visit to Babylon, my last visit. 09:38 As I climbed up the hill that was once 09:41 Nebuchadnezzar's summer palace 09:44 I stopped and I took out my Bible, 09:48 because I take it everywhere, 09:49 and I turned to the prophet Isaiah. 09:52 Please turn with me. 09:53 Isaiah 13: 19 and onwards, 09:57 Dear hearts and gentle people 09:59 Isaiah 13: 19 and onwards, 10:07 "Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians, 10:14 the Chaldeans pride, will be overthrown 10:18 by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. 10:21 She will never be inhabited 10:22 or lived in through all generations. 10:24 No Arab will pitch his tent there, 10:27 no shepherd will rest his flocks there. 10:30 But desert creatures will lie there, 10:32 jackals will fill her houses, there the owls will dwell, 10:36 and there the wild goats will leap about. 10:39 Hyenas will howl in her strongholds, 10:42 jackals in her luxurious palaces. 10:46 Her time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged." 10:49 When I was there, it may seem too hard to believe, 10:56 after reading these texts, as my television crew and I 11:01 climbed up the hill out came a little jackal 11:06 from one of the rooms in Nebuchadnezzar's palace. 11:09 I thought to myself the word of God is true 11:15 and you can believe in the prophecies. 11:21 We could have changed world history. 11:24 My crew was carrying a big television camera 11:28 and also a large tripod which could pass for a bazooka. 11:35 And as we climbed up the mound of the palace, all of a sudden, 11:41 in the sky above us-- this is absolutely true-- 11:45 there were gun ships, helicopter gun ships circling us. 11:51 The sky seemed to be filled with them. 11:53 We just went on and then a detachment of Iraqi soldiers 11:59 led by a captain came running up the hill 12:02 and he came to me and he said, 12:04 "What are doing? What are you doing?" 12:06 We said, "We're filming the ruins 12:10 of Nebuchadnezzar's palace." 12:11 He said, "This is a big incident." 12:15 I said, "Why?" 12:17 He said, "You see the road there?" 12:18 I said, "Yes." 12:19 "200 yards away, 200 meters away. Yes." 12:22 He said, "Did you see all those cars go down? 12:24 I said, "Yes." 12:26 He said, "That was Saddam Hussein." 12:29 He said, "How did you ever get here today?" 12:32 We told him we've been given permission 12:34 from the department of antiquities, 12:37 but we were within 200 yards of Saddam Hussein 12:42 with a bazooka as it appeared. 12:47 And when I have gone to Babylon 12:49 I have felt a sense of destiny and a sense of history. 12:58 One of the heroes of our story today is Belshazzar. 13:03 The Bible says that the last power on the throne of Babylon 13:09 was a young prophet whose name was Belshazzar. 13:16 For many, many years skeptics derided the Holy Scriptures 13:22 because every secular historian said no, not Belshazzar but who? 13:30 Nabonidus, Nabonidus. 13:34 It appeared as though the Bible was wrong. 13:38 And then this inscription that is on the screen 13:42 was actually found 13:44 and it told the story that Nabonidus had a son. 13:48 That is the cuneiform like we've got here today. 13:54 Nabonidus had a son and his name was Belshazzar. 13:59 And Nabonidus retired from being the king 14:01 and went up to the north of Arabia. 14:03 And he passed the kingdom into the hands of his son Belshazzar. 14:09 The skeptics were wrong and the Bible was right. 14:16 The Bible talks about Belshazzar and Belshazzar knew history. 14:23 He knew the story of Nebuchadnezzar, 14:26 one of his ancestors. 14:28 But Belshazzar chose the wide path of sin 14:32 instead of the narrow path of righteousness. 14:36 And the time came when he was summoned 14:39 to the judgment power of God. 14:41 He was weighed in the balances and found wanting. 14:45 It reminds one of the words of the hymn, 14:50 there's a line that is crossed by rejecting the Lord. 14:55 When the call of His spirit is lost, 15:00 as you travel along with the pleasure--from 15:05 have you counted the cost? 15:08 A person can go too far and Belshazzar went too far 15:15 and he was weighed in the balances and found wanting. 15:20 Now I want you to turn to the great Book of Daniel, Chapter 5, 15:26 the greatest of the prophets after our Lord. 15:29 Daniel Chapter 5 and we're going to read the entire chapter. 15:34 Daniel Chapter 5, we're going to start at verse 1 15:39 and Mr. and Mrs. Wexler are going to come, Donna and Blake. 15:45 We're so glad that these dear folks 15:47 are members of this church. 15:52 You look very nice today. Thank you. 15:56 You look okay. Thank you. 16:02 Turn to the text, look at the text. 16:05 Daniel 5:1-7, "King Belshazzar gave a great banquet 16:12 for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. 16:16 While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, 16:19 he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets 16:22 that Nebuchadnezzar, his father, 16:24 had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, 16:27 so that the king and his nobles, 16:29 his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 16:34 So they brought in the gold goblets 16:36 that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, 16:40 and the king and his nobles, 16:42 his wives and his concubines drank from them. 16:45 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold 16:49 and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. 16:54 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared 16:58 and wrote on the plaster of the wall, 17:01 near the lamp stand in the royal palace. 17:04 The king watched the hand as it wrote. 17:07 His face turned pale and he was so frightened 17:10 that his knees knocked together and his legs gave away. 17:15 The king called out for the enchanters, 17:17 astrologers and diviners to be brought 17:20 and said to these wise men of Babylon, 17:23 'Whoever reads this writing and tells me 17:27 what it means will be clothed in purple 17:31 and have a gold chain placed around his neck, 17:34 and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.'" 17:39 Amen. 17:45 Daniel 5: 8-16, "Then all the kings's wise men came in, 17:51 but they could not read the writing 17:53 or tell the king what it meant. 17:55 So King Belshazzar became even more terrified 17:58 and his face grew more pale. 18:01 His nobles were baffled. 18:03 The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, 18:06 came into the banquet hall. 18:08 'O king, live forever!' she said. 18:11 'Don't be alarmed! Don't look so pale! 18:14 There is a man in your kingdom 18:15 who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. 18:19 In the time of your father he was found to have insight 18:22 and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. 18:26 King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, 18:29 your father, the king, 18:30 I say appointed him chief of the magicians, 18:33 enchanters, astrologers and diviners. 18:37 This man, Daniel, 18:39 whom the king called Belteshazzar, 18:41 was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, 18:45 and also the ability to interpret dreams, 18:48 explain riddles and solve difficult problems. 18:51 Call for Daniel, and he will tell you 18:54 what the writing means, 18:55 ' So Daniel was brought before the king, 18:58 and the king said to him, 'Are you Daniel, 19:01 one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah? 19:05 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you 19:08 and that you have insight, intelligence 19:10 and outstanding wisdom. 19:12 The wise men and enchanters were brought before me 19:15 to read this writing and tell me what it means, 19:18 but they could not explain it. 19:20 Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations 19:23 and to solve difficult problems. 19:25 If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, 19:28 you will be clothed in purple 19:30 and have a gold chain placed around your neck, 19:32 and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.'" 19:38 Thank you, Blake. Thank you, Donna. 19:42 Now we're going to have Mr. and Mrs. Sims, 19:48 also the members of this church, Caroline and Isaac. 19:55 You look very nice today. Thank you, Pastor Carter. 19:58 You look okay. Thank you. 19:59 Yeah. Okay. 20:02 Daniel 5:17-21, "Then Daniel answered the king, 20:08 'You may keep your gifts for yourself 20:10 and give your rewards to someone else. 20:12 Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king 20:15 and tell him what it means. 20:18 O King, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar 20:21 sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. 20:25 Because of the high position he gave him, 20:27 all the peoples and nations and men of every language 20:30 dreaded and feared him. 20:32 Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; 20:35 those he wanted to spare, he spared; 20:39 those he wanted to promote, he promoted; 20:41 and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. 20:44 But when his heart became arrogant 20:46 and hardened with pride, 20:47 he was deposed from his royal throne 20:49 and stripped of his glory. 20:51 He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal. 20:56 He lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle 20:59 and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, 21:02 until he acknowledged that the Most High God 21:04 is sovereign over the kingdoms of men 21:06 and sets over them anyone He wishes." 21:10 Thank you, Caroline. 21:13 I will be reading Daniel 5:22-28, 21:17 "But, you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, 21:22 though you knew all this. 21:24 Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. 21:29 You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, 21:32 and you and your nobles, 21:34 your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. 21:38 You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, 21:44 stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or understand. 21:50 You did not honor the God 21:52 who holds in His hand your life and all your ways. 21:56 Therefore He sent the hand that wrote the inscription. 22:00 This is the inscription that was written: 22:03 Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin. 22:07 This is what these words mean: 22:09 Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign 22:12 and brought it to an end. 22:15 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. 22:19 Peres: Your kingdom is divided 22:22 and given to the Medes and the Persians." 22:26 Thank you. Thank you. 22:28 Thank you. Thank you so much. 22:30 And we're just going to finish this chapter. 22:33 Let me read to you starting verse 29, 22:38 "Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple. 22:43 A gold chain was placed around his neck, 22:46 and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. 22:51 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, 22:54 was slain, and Darius, the Mede 22:56 took over the kingdom at the age of sixty-two." 23:01 It's really an amazing story, especially, 23:04 when you've been to that place. 23:08 Because of the desecration of sacred things, 23:12 the holy things of God, 23:14 he didn't care for the holy things of God. 23:16 This young waster had never learned the difference 23:20 between the secular and the profaned, 23:24 the secular and the holy, the profane and the righteous. 23:31 And when he was drinking wine in the holy vessels 23:34 from the Hebrew temple, there came this bloodless hand 23:39 and wrote over on the wall, Mene Mene Tekel Parsin. 23:44 You're weighed in the balances and found wanting. 23:46 And that night the blood of the king mingled 23:49 with the wine of the banquet hall. 23:52 The judgment was unexpected and inevitable. 23:57 I think I should read you a statement I've got here. 24:01 It's amazing. It's written by Dr. Heslop. 24:06 "There was a last night in the history of Belshazzar. 24:10 There is a last night to 24:11 everything and everyone on earth. 24:14 Most of us don't believe this. 24:16 A last feast, a last fight, a last dance, a last movie, 24:24 a last cigar, a last drink, a last cigarette, a last oath, 24:29 a last supper, a last night. 24:34 The Belshazzars of today, 24:35 we see them on television all the time, 24:39 may make their great feast, drink their expensive wines, 24:42 profane holy things and mock holy men. 24:47 But there is a last night for them all." 24:51 I would like to remind you today, my friend, 24:56 that from the ruins of Babylon, there comes a message 24:59 for your heart and mind, everyone of us, 25:03 it doesn't matter who you are, 25:05 everyone of us has an appointment not with the church, 25:11 but an appointment-- not with the President, 25:14 but an appointment with God. 25:16 Would you please notice Daniel 7:9,10 25:21 "As I looked"-- Daniel 7:9, 10, 25:23 "As I looked thrones were set in place, 25:24 and the Ancient of Days took his seat. 25:27 His clothing was as white as snow, 25:29 the hair of His head was white like wool. 25:31 His throne was flaming with fire, 25:33 its wheels were all ablaze. 25:36 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before Him. 25:40 Thousands upon thousands attended Him; 25:43 ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. 25:46 The court was seated, and the books were opened." 25:49 Look at me. 25:53 The Bible teaches that there is an infinite record 25:59 that is kept of every life. 26:03 This, of course, is not political correctness, 26:07 but every thought, every deed, every word. 26:11 Would you look at Revelation Chapter 20 26:13 and you and I have a case at court-- 26:16 Revelation 20-- just like Belshazzar. 26:19 Revelation 20: 11-15, "Then I saw a great white throne 26:28 and Him who was seated on it. 26:31 The earth and sky fled from His presence, 26:33 and there was no place for them. 26:35 And I saw the dead, great and small, 26:37 standing before the throne, and books were opened. 26:41 Another book was opened, which is the book of life. 26:44 The dead were judged according to what they had done 26:48 as recorded in the books." 26:49 So there's a record of your life and mine. 26:52 "The sea gave up the dead that were in it, 26:55 and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, 26:59 and each person was judged according to what he had done. 27:04 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. 27:07 The lake of fire is the second death. 27:10 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life 27:12 he was thrown into the lake of fire. 27:17 Sometime ago I was having a conversation 27:20 with Elder Velino Salazar, 27:22 who is the secretary of the Southern California conference. 27:26 He said these words to me, they made a profound impression. 27:33 He said the tape-recorder is running. 27:37 He said it is running in the conference office. 27:41 He didn't say this but I say, it's running in the White House, 27:45 it's running for you and it's running for me. 27:49 Every word, Jesus said, every word that man shall speak, 27:54 he shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 27:58 The Bible teaches there is a divine judgment. 28:04 And with Ben Carson, 28:05 that distinguished doctor and Christian, 28:10 I believe that God has a controversy 28:12 with the nations of the world 28:14 including the United States of America 28:17 and with those who reject His grace. 28:20 Dr. Ben Carson and I would share a similar theology. 28:25 He believes in the judgment. 28:28 He spoke about it in the presence 28:31 of the President of the United States. 28:34 And it was providential that the President heard it. 28:38 He spoke about the Roman Empire 28:40 and compared it to the United States of America. 28:44 He spoke about the Roman Empire and used these words, 28:47 "in tolerance, persecution, 28:52 fiscal irresponsibility, death, wars," 28:58 always wars, "handouts for the masses, 29:03 violence, infanticide," 29:06 the killing of babies, "circuses for the mobs," 29:10 like our television, "cruelty, immortality, 29:16 sexual perversions and the worship of idols." 29:21 And then Dr. Carson said the words 29:25 "America is morally corrupt and judgment is coming." 29:35 People can dismiss him. They can say what would he know. 29:41 Well, he happens to know the word of God. 29:46 I want you to know 29:49 that God has a controversy with the nations. 29:52 Would you come over here to Revelation 8:8? 29:55 This is a part of the seven trumpets that I understand. 30:00 I didn't always understand the seven trumpets, I do now. 30:03 Revelation 8: 8, it says-- 30:09 don't have time to give a exposition of these verses 30:13 but let me do what I can do. 30:15 "The second angel sounded his trumpet, 30:18 and something like a huge mountain, 30:20 all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. 30:23 A third of the sea turned into blood, 30:26 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, 30:28 and a third of the ships were destroyed." 30:31 If you understand this prophecy with the correct exegesis, 30:36 it is talking here about the great nation of Rome 30:43 that had an opportunity to hear the gospel of Christ. 30:46 But because Rome rejected the gospel, 30:51 the greatest nation, the greatest Empire 30:55 was taken by God 30:57 and like a great mountain was thrown into the ocean. 31:02 The Bible tells me that God has a controversy with the nations. 31:07 Whenever individuals or nations, listen, reject the scriptures, 31:15 the gospel, the truths of the Holy Bible, 31:19 judgment, eventually and always, comes. 31:26 I've been to the ruins I believe of Sodom and Gomorrah. 31:35 I've had the privilege-- 31:36 I went there with Beverly many, many, many years ago 31:40 to a place at the south eastern corner of the Dead Sea. 31:46 And there we let the ashes fall through our fingers 31:52 as we picked out the pieces of human bone 31:56 that went back to the days of Abraham. 31:59 There was a Sodom and Sodom was destroyed. 32:03 Look at Jude, verses 5 and onwards. 32:07 Jude, verses 5 and onwards in the Holy Bible. 32:14 "Though you already know all this, 32:16 I want to remind you that the Lord 32:18 delivered His people out of Egypt, 32:20 but later destroyed those who did not believe. 32:24 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority 32:27 but abandoned their own home- these He has kept in darkness, 32:32 bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the last Day. 32:36 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah"-- 32:41 now if some people today were writing the Bible, 32:45 they would have left out this text. 32:47 "In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah 32:51 and the surrounding towns gave themselves up 32:54 to sexual immorality and perversion. 33:00 They serve as an example of those 33:03 who suffer the punishment of eternal fire." 33:10 Dr. Ben Carson, God bless him, 33:13 referred to the sexual perversions 33:17 that are now accepted in America. 33:24 Listen to this, 33:27 if a nation has had great light as America has had, 33:34 if a nation like America has had the Holy Scriptures 33:41 that glorifies and condones 33:44 and practices the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, 33:52 she will be destroyed in exactly the same way. 33:57 Judgment is coming for America 34:01 and judgment is coming for the world. 34:05 You know of Jerusalem. 34:08 Would you come over here to Luke 21? 34:11 It's strange that we think 34:12 somehow we are going to be excused. 34:16 Luke 21:20 and onwards 34:21 "When you see Jerusalem," Jesus said, 34:24 "being surrounded by armies, 34:26 you will know that its desolation is near. 34:28 Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, 34:32 let those in the city get out, 34:34 and let those in the country not enter the city. 34:37 For this is the time of punishment 34:39 in fulfillment of all that has been written. 34:43 How dreadful it will be in those days 34:46 for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 34:49 There will be great distress in the land 34:51 and wrath against this people. 34:55 They will fall by the sword 34:57 and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. 35:01 Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles 35:04 until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." 35:09 Listen to me. 35:13 Babylon was destroyed. 35:18 Then God brought the gospel 35:24 to His own people, the Jews 35:29 and when they rejected the gospel of Christ, 35:33 the Bible tells me, Jerusalem was totally destroyed. 35:41 God has a righteous character 35:48 and God is a righteous judge. 35:53 Most of us in this church have heard of Ellen White. 35:58 Ellen White back in the early 1900s said, 36:04 San Francisco, she said, 36:08 San Francisco and Oakland, she said, 36:13 are becoming as Sodom and Gomorrah. 36:18 And she said the Lord will visit them in wrath. 36:24 A little while after this, these cities were destroyed, 36:31 I want the young people to hear this today. 36:34 I'm not here to please you. I want you to know this. 36:39 I don't care what the politically correct people 36:42 say to me. They don't count. 36:45 I don't care what the people 36:48 who run the television industry think. 36:51 To me, they don't count. 36:53 I'm not interested in them 36:56 and how they glorify themselves and give themselves prizes. 37:04 God is a righteous God. Amen. 37:08 And when people commit the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, 37:14 they will be destroyed. 37:18 And if America turns away 37:21 from the Biblical truth of marriage, 37:26 her doom is certain. 37:33 Don't think that God will spare us. 37:39 There was the American Civil War which was a judgment of God 37:45 upon the United States of America 37:49 because of slavery. 37:54 And because of slavery the nation became drenched 37:58 with the blood of hundreds of thousands of young Americans. 38:06 You must all realize that the clock is ticking. 38:12 Thomas Jefferson, 38:14 one of the great founders of America, he said, 38:18 "I fear for my country when I know that God is just 38:24 and justice cannot sleep forever." 38:27 The clock is ticking, tick, tick, tick, tick. 38:32 Whatever Washington says 38:34 it can't stop the ticking of the clock. 38:40 The papacy today is in a lot of trouble. 38:42 The Pope has resigned, 38:44 first Pope to do so in 600 years. 38:48 The papacy today is embroiled in lawsuits. 38:53 And it is now common knowledge 38:55 as revealed by the former Jesuit, 38:58 the great Malachi Martin, 39:02 that there has been demonism in the halls of the Vatican, 39:07 homosexual activity in the Vatican. 39:13 The clock is ticking 39:18 and this, what we're seeing today, 39:20 is a judgment upon the Vatican. 39:25 When I was in Damascus years ago I was sitting at a table 39:28 and I heard some people who spoke a bit like me 39:31 and I discovered 39:32 it was the Australian Ambassador to Iraq. 39:37 And they were in Syria at the time 39:40 and we were planning to go into Iraq. 39:44 He said to me you need to be very careful 39:47 because they pick up foreigners and they torture them, 39:52 throw water over them and they torture them with electricity. 39:58 We went into Iraq and while I was there 40:01 I was placed under house arrest. 40:04 I've had some great experiences, I really have. 40:07 Because inadvertently we took pictures 40:09 of Saddam Hussein's palaces. 40:13 Just that and I was locked up for a little bit, 40:16 but God preserved me. 40:17 But this was a man who carried out 40:21 abominable crimes against humanity. 40:25 But for him the clock was ticking, 40:28 tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. 40:31 You are weighed in the balances and found wanting. 40:34 So shall it be with every dictator and every ruler 40:40 who leads his people into sin. 40:43 He doesn't look so good there, does he? 40:45 Found in the spider hole, 40:48 the man who called himself the new Nebuchadnezzar. 40:52 He called himself that. 40:56 The Moving Finger writes and, having writ, Moves on 41:03 nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back 41:07 to cancel half a line of it. 41:10 Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it. 41:15 So if every person watching the telecast, 41:18 you may like it what I am saying, you may not like it. 41:21 It makes no difference to me, 41:26 but every one of us is judgment bound 41:30 and so are the nations. 41:34 America is judgment bound 41:37 and so is the world and so is the church. 41:44 There's only one thing that can wash out a word of it 41:48 and that is the blood of Christ. 41:51 Our only hope is the blood of Christ. 41:53 As sinners, judgment bound, 41:57 we need to break with the world. 41:59 You know what will be good if everyone of us did? 42:01 We went on a diet of television. 42:07 We've esteemed from the garbage 42:12 for a week or two. 42:14 Now I've been in here for the last week 42:17 and then I had a bug. 42:19 I didn't watch any television at all. 42:22 I didn't watch CNN. 42:23 I didn't watch anything and my brain is cleaner. 42:29 I want to tell you folks something, 42:30 you don't even get the facts when you watch television, 42:34 you get propaganda. 42:39 And that's why today most people hardly know 42:41 what it is to read a book. They can't think. 42:46 This is Satan's deception 42:49 and the judgment will come and take them all away. 42:53 Judgment is coming for America, 42:55 for the world, for you and for me 42:57 in this life and in the world to come. 43:00 Look at Hebrews 9. Hebrews 9:27, 28. 43:05 "Just as man is destined to die once, 43:07 and after that to face judgment." 43:12 And look at Acts 17:30, 31. 43:16 So do I believe in the judgment, 43:18 Oh, yes, I do. Yes, I do. 43:23 Acts 17, do I believe in political correctness? 43:26 No, I don't. 43:29 Acts 17:30, 31, 43:33 "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, 43:35 but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. 43:39 For He has set a day when He will judge the world 43:43 with justice by the man He has appointed. 43:47 He has given proof of this to all men 43:50 by raising Him from the dead." 43:52 Now come back to the Book of Isaiah. 43:54 There is a judgment. 43:56 You say this doesn't sound good. 43:58 Well, if you are not good, 44:00 of course, it doesn't sound good. 44:02 But if you're right with God 44:04 then you need not fear the judgment. 44:07 Isaiah 14:26, 27, 44:12 "This is the plan determined for the whole world. 44:17 This is the hand stretched out over all the nations." 44:21 The hand stretched out over the White House. 44:24 There's a hand stretched out over Los Angeles. 44:27 There's a hand stretched out over you. 44:32 "For the Lord Almighty has purposed, 44:33 and who can thwart Him? 44:36 His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" 44:39 Nobody. 44:42 Remember the words, God is just 44:45 and justice cannot sleep forever. 44:48 I wish that you and I sometime 44:51 would do some serious Bible study. 44:54 Study the seven trumpets. 44:56 The first judgment against the earth is the land of Israel. 45:02 There'll never be peace in Israel 45:04 until the coming of Christ. 45:07 How can you have peace when you crucify the Messiah? 45:11 After Israel, it is Rome. That's the second trumpet. 45:14 The third trumpet is the Medieval church. 45:18 The fourth trumpet 45:19 is the judgment of God upon atheism, secularism. 45:25 The fifth trumpet, the coming of the demons. 45:27 The sixth trumpet, the total role of demons over the earth. 45:31 Read it sometime. 45:33 Get a good commentary, which I could recommend. 45:36 Look at Revelation 11. 45:38 Now, Alan, you come up now and you're gonna read this text. 45:42 This is the seventh trumpet 45:45 which is the judgment of God upon the nations. 45:51 Now I know that most of you folks here, 45:54 all you think about is making a living. 45:57 You need to start to think about making a dying. 46:01 Come over here, Alan, 46:02 and you're gonna read Revelation 11:15-19. 46:09 This is Alan De Leon. 46:11 Glad to have you here, Alan. Thank you. 46:14 "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, 46:16 and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: 46:19 'The kingdom of the world has become 46:20 the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, 46:23 and He will reign forever and ever.' 46:25 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated 46:27 on their thrones before God, 46:29 fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: 46:31 'We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty, 46:34 the One who is and who was, 46:36 because You have taken Your great power 46:38 and have begun to reign. 46:40 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come. 46:43 The time has come for judging the dead 46:45 and for rewarding Your servants, 46:46 the prophets and Your saints 46:48 and those who reverence Your name, 46:50 both small and great-- 46:52 and for destroying those who destroy the earth.' 46:55 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, 46:57 and within His temple was seen the ark of His covenant. 47:01 And there came flashes of lightning, 47:03 rumblings, peals of thunder, 47:05 an earthquake and a great hailstorm." 47:08 Thank you, Alan. 47:10 That's a picture of the final judgment. 47:13 What shall we do, 47:15 my beloved friends, who live in the most 47:18 superficial society on the face of the earth? 47:22 The hardest place to be a Christian is not Moscow. 47:27 It's not Johannesburg. 47:30 It is America 47:35 because of so much superficiality 47:40 and political correctness. 47:42 What shall we do? 47:44 That is what Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar. 47:48 And Nebuchadnezzar was a forerunner of Belshazzar. 47:52 Not his immediate father, but one of his ancestors. 47:57 They were a number of kings 47:59 between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. 48:02 But father in the Bible simply means ancestor. 48:06 Daniel is that certain-- yes, absolutely. 48:09 Daniel 4:27, 28. 48:12 Notice what God said to Nebuchadnezzar. 48:16 Daniel 4:27, 28. 48:22 You got it? Daniel 4:27, 28, 48:27 "Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice." 48:30 This is when he was talking 48:31 to Nebuchadnezzar, not Belshazzar. 48:34 "Renounce your sins by doing what is right, 48:37 and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. 48:42 It may be that then your prosperity will continue." 48:46 But when you come down to Belshazzar, 48:50 so many years later, there is no word of hope for Belshazzar. 48:56 You know why? He'd had his day. 48:59 He had his opportunity. 49:02 And God doesn't just pass out opportunities forever. 49:07 God said to Nebuchadnezzar, 49:09 who was wise enough to accept the counsel, repent. 49:14 Break off your sins, show mercy to the poor 49:18 and I would add read the scriptures and obey them. 49:24 Read the scriptures and obey them. 49:26 Come over here to Matthew 7 to the words of Jesus. 49:31 Matthew 7, Matthew Chapter 7, look at verse 24. 49:38 We're not going to read it at all. 49:42 Matthew 7:24 49:44 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine," 49:48 like, loving your enemies, like going the second mile, 49:54 "everyone who hears these words of Mine 49:56 and puts them into practice 49:57 is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 50:00 The rains came down, the streams rose, 50:02 and the winds blew and beat against that house, 50:05 yet it did not fall, 50:06 because it had its foundation on the rock. 50:10 But everyone who hears these words of Mine 50:13 and does not put them into practice 50:15 is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 50:20 The rain came down, the streams rose, 50:22 and the winds blew and beat against that house, 50:26 and it fell with a great crash." 50:30 He's talking about people who simply listen. 50:36 Cheap grace, listen to it. 50:40 I would suggest to you today 50:43 that the religion of America is cheap grace. 50:51 Cheap grace says believe in God 50:52 and do whatever your heart desires. 50:56 As P.S. Morgan said to one of the great preachers 51:00 in this country, he said, 51:02 I don't like people talking about sin. 51:05 I don't believe in this stuff about sin. 51:08 He said to the pastor at Saddleback 51:10 who is a man of God. 51:12 He said I don't like this stuff about sin. 51:14 Well, P.S. Morgan, we don't care whether you like it or not. 51:18 You see we are interested in going to heaven. 51:22 Cheap grace, believe in God 51:24 and do whatever your heart desires. 51:26 You are free to love sexually anyone. 51:34 You are your own law. God wants you wealthy. 51:38 Millions are deceived by this foolishness 51:43 and they sit in great churches and none of them has a Bible. 51:48 They're being brainwashed. 51:55 They're being brainwashed, totally brainwashed. 52:03 And the clock is ticking. 52:06 The religion of Babylon is cheap artificial grace. 52:11 But remember, no cross, no crown. 52:17 We need to trust in Christ as a penitent for salvation 52:21 and start to take our religion seriously 52:25 like most of us don't. 52:30 I had a man who sang this for me once in a campaign, 52:34 Pastor Cook in Australia. 52:37 "I dream that the great judgment morning had dawned 52:40 and the trumpet had blown. 52:43 I dream that the nations had gathered to judgment 52:45 before the white throne." 52:47 It'd give you goose bumps when you hear him sing this. 52:50 "From the throne came a bright shining angel 52:53 and he stood on the land and the sea 52:56 and he swore with his hand raised to heaven. 53:00 The time was no longer to be." 53:02 You see, we don't believe this anymore. 53:05 We just watch television. 53:06 That's where we get it from, our religion. 53:09 We look at stuff and we see 53:13 men with men, women with women 53:15 and after a while we say, well, it must be all right. 53:19 And the clock is ticking. 53:22 Do you think God is going to apologize 53:25 to Sodom and Gomorrah? 53:30 "And, oh, what a weeping and wailing 53:31 as the lost were told of their fate. 53:34 They cried for the rocks and the mountains they prayed 53:37 but their prayer was too late. 53:41 The rich man was there 53:42 but his money had melted and vanished away. 53:45 A pauper he stood on the judgment, 53:47 his debts were too heavy to pay. 53:50 The great man was there but his greatness, 53:52 when death came, was left far behind. 53:54 The angel that opened the record, 53:56 not a trace of his greatness could find. 54:01 The widow was there with the orphans. 54:03 God heard and remembered their cries. 54:06 No sorrow in heaven forever. 54:08 God wiped all the tears from their eyes. 54:11 The gambler was there and the drunkard 54:14 and the man who had sold them the drink. 54:19 But the people who gave him the license, 54:21 together in hell they did sink. 54:26 The moral man came to the judgment," 54:29 that's the church person. 54:31 "But his self righteous rags would not do. 54:34 The men who had crucified Jesus 54:37 had passed off as moral men too. 54:42 The soul that had put off salvation 54:45 Not tonight, I'll get saved by and by, 54:52 No time now to think of religion. 54:59 At last, they had found time to die. 55:05 Hear the word of the Lord. 55:07 He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Amen. 55:16 The Carter Report is a self supporting ministry 55:20 with a global mission. 55:21 We believe that the most important thing 55:23 that we can do in this tremendous hour 55:26 is to tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ 55:29 because Jesus said, 55:31 "I am the way, the truth and the life." 55:34 We do not believe that this is business as usual. 55:38 We believe that we are living in the closing hours, 55:41 in the history of this world. 55:43 Bless your heart, friend. 55:44 Look at the signs that are being fulfilled almost every day. 55:48 The signs of the times are shouting at us, 55:51 and they're saying, "Jesus is coming soon." 55:55 I want you to be my partner in global mission. 55:58 I want you to be my partner 56:00 in helping to tell the world about the coming of Jesus. 56:04 I want you to be my partner in the preaching 56:07 of the distinctive truths of the Three Angels' messages. 56:12 Please check us out at the new Carter Report website, 56:17 cartereport.org. 56:19 We have a special section whereby you can ask questions 56:23 and I will give you the answers 56:25 from the living word of the living God, 56:29 that is, the cartereport.org. 56:34 My friend, we want you to join us in the mission 56:38 to preach the gospel in China, in India, 56:42 in Australia, in Africa, 56:44 in the United States of America, 56:46 wherever people are lost and wherever people need 56:50 to hear the good news that Jesus saves. 56:55 Please check us out, 56:56 the new Carter Report website, cartereport.org. 57:01 I want to hear from you today. |
Revised 2014-12-17