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Series Code: RAD
Program Code: RAD170003A
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00:01 What does the future hold?
00:02 Where can we find certainty in a world of uncertainty? 00:05 The book of Revelation provides hopeful answers for today, 00:09 tomorrow, and forever. 00:11 Join Mark Finley, author and world renowned speaker 00:14 on a journey into the future with 00:20 Welcome back again to Revelation's 00:23 Ancient Discoveries. 00:24 I'm glad you've joined us on this journey through the book 00:27 of Revelation to discover God's plan regarding the future. 00:31 Let's pray together as we enter into the study tonight. 00:35 Father in Heaven, thank You so much for the clear light that 00:40 You've given in the book of Revelation. 00:42 Thank You that Jesus is the center of the book of 00:45 Revelation, and that we can find hope, confidence, 00:48 and courage for the future. 00:49 In Christ's name, Amen. 00:51 Our topic during this presentation is 00:57 As I travel the world, one thing becomes increasingly 01:01 clear to me, and that is that multiple people are confused; 01:06 confused about the future. 01:08 They wonder what direction is this world headed? 01:12 Can I have any confidence in bringing up my 01:15 children in the future? 01:17 Will tragedy strike us? 01:19 So the common theme in many people's minds is bewilderment, 01:24 it's confusion, it's, what's really going on in our world? 01:33 And it gives us hope. 01:35 It gives us confidence as we face the days ahead. 01:38 From the first chapter of the book of Revelation, to the last 01:43 chapter of the book of Revelation, we find this 01:46 hopeful message of the return of our Lord. 01:48 Revelation 1:7 puts it this way: 02:05 Notice the first chapter of the book of Revelation beats 02:08 with this expectation. 02:10 It beats with this enthusiasm. 02:12 It beats with this excitement. 02:13 Jesus is coming again! 02:17 When you go to the last chapter of the book of Revelation, 02:20 that describes the new heaven, the new earth, once again you 02:25 have this clarity of the return of Christ to the world. 02:29 Revelation 22:20 says, 02:36 Notice the word. What's the word? 02:38 What is it? Surely, certainly, definitely. 02:48 So the book of Revelation ends with a prayer, 02:51 and the prayer is the prayer of all humanity. 02:54 The prayer is that prayer that's deep within all of our hearts. 02:57 We long for a better world. 02:59 We long for a world where there is no sickness, 03:01 or suffering, or sorrow. 03:03 We long for a world where there is no aging, 03:05 and feebleness, and death. 03:07 We long for a world where there is no war, 03:09 there is no heartache, there is no terrorism. 03:12 We long for that new world. 03:13 And so Revelation ends with this clear Bible passage: 03:29 But that leads us to a question. 03:33 How soon is soon? To understand the book of Revelation, 03:38 it's necessary to go back and understand both the prophecies 03:41 of the Old Testament, particularly the 03:43 prophecies of Daniel. 03:44 We've looked at that in our last presentation. 03:47 And also to understand Jesus' statements 03:50 about end time events. 03:52 In Matthew, the 24th chapter, Jesus Himself met with the 03:58 disciples on the Mount of Olives. 04:00 And there, as He sat on the Mount, overlooking the 04:03 Kidron Valley down to Jerusalem, He looked at the temple 04:07 and He said, Not one stone is going to be left upon the other. 04:11 The disciples, thinking that the destruction of the temple 04:15 was the coming of Christ in the end of the age, 04:19 said this to Jesus. Matthew 24:3. 04:26 They thought that an event as cataclysmic as the destruction 04:30 of the temple must certainly be the end of the world. 04:34 They thought that Jesus was speaking about His return. 04:38 So in a masterful presentation in Matthew 24, that helps to set 04:44 the stage for the book of Revelation, in that presentation 04:48 Jesus outlines the signs that would proceed the destruction 04:52 of Jerusalem, and the signs that would lead up 04:54 to His second coming. 05:03 Let's look at those signs in this presentation, 05:06 and ask yourself the question, Are these events, 05:09 the events that Christ talked about, are they being fulfilled? 05:13 Are they taking place in our world today? 05:16 In these signs of Jesus' return, He gives signs in different 05:21 areas, different categories of life. 05:24 He talks about 05:31 He discusses 05:35 He talks about upheavals of nature. 05:37 We're going to look at each of these areas 05:39 in this presentation. 05:40 He talks about 05:43 What would be taking place in society 05:45 just before His return. 05:47 Let's go first to the signs in the area of religion. 05:51 What specifically did Christ say would be taking place in 05:55 the religious community, or the larger Spiritual 05:58 community before His return? 06:00 He made this prediction: Jesus said just before His return 06:06 that there would be 06:09 that would explode upon the scene. 06:11 In other words, false Spiritual ideologies, 06:15 false Spiritual philosophies. 06:18 He put it this way in Matthew 24:24. 06:28 He goes on. He said they could even deceive the very elect. 06:33 Now books and magazines, and movies on the occult, 06:37 and false Spirituality are selling in the multi-millions. 06:42 Jesus said false Christ's and false prophets. 06:45 Jesus said deceptions in the area of Spirituality. 06:49 Here we see books, magazines, multiplied millions. 06:53 You may not be aware of the fact, but there are 06:59 in newspapers across the United States. 07:02 Many a person wakes up in the morning, they pick up the 07:05 newspaper, turn to astrology columns to try to discover 07:11 some pattern in the sky whether they're a Leo, 07:14 or whether they're a Sagittarius. 07:17 They look for their particular birth sign, and they have this 07:22 idea that the alignment of the stars is in some way 07:26 going to impact their life. 07:27 False Spirituality! 07:30 Many are turning to tarot cards. 07:32 They're turning to the occult arts and artists. 07:36 Some are turning to psychics. 07:40 Not long ago These Times magazine ran an article called, 07:45 The Supermarket Psychics Spin the Roulette Wheel Again, 07:49 and pointed out... The article took a look at all of the 07:53 psychic predictions in a given year. 07:55 These psychic predictions are made in January. 07:58 And they looked at the psychic predictions at the end of the 08:01 year, and saw how many of them were fulfilled. Quite amazing! 08:20 Now look, friend, I'm no prophet certainly, 08:24 but yet I think I could guess, by looking at world affairs, 08:29 maybe, just maybe, get 3% right. 08:32 97% of the psychics predictions were wrong. 08:36 You know, when you look at the Bible, over 800 predictions 08:42 that have been made very clear, some of them you have groupings 08:46 of predictions, but 800 different events predicted. 08:51 90% of them already fulfilled to 100% accuracy, 08:56 10% yet to be fulfilled. 08:59 So when you look at the predictions of the psychics, 09:02 and you look at the predictions of the Bible, 09:04 there just is no comparison. 09:06 The Bible is accurate when it predicts the rise and fall of 09:09 empires, when it predicts the rise and fall of kings, 09:14 when it talks, for example, about Jesus, and the predictions 09:18 of His birth outlined in advance in the Old Testament. 09:22 The psychics simply will let you down. 09:26 You know, there is an interesting 09:38 You say, What in the world? 09:40 Who? Who are those names? 09:42 They are supposed spiritual guides. 09:44 And, you know, you can call a certain number, 09:47 and I'm not going to put the 800 number on the screen tonight, 09:50 but it's an example of what's taking place in our world. 09:53 You see, if you turn away from the word of God, 09:56 you leave yourself Spiritually barren. 09:58 And when you leave yourself Spiritually barren, 10:01 you go drinking at another fountain besides the fountain 10:05 of life found in the word of God. 10:07 And so many people in Hollywood are turning to 10:10 these spirit guides. 10:11 And Laziris, can you believe this? 10:30 It's supposed to give you direction for the future. 10:31 Hearts are empty. Men and women's souls are barren. 10:37 They're looking for some certainty. 10:40 And Jesus, in His word gives us that certainty; 10:44 signs of the end, false Christ's, and false prophets. 10:48 According to the American Religious Identity Survey, 11:08 Can you believe that? 11:09 Paganism, Wiccan, is one of the ten largest 11:14 religions in America today. Continuing. 11:33 The interest in the occult, and spirituality through various 11:38 psychics is increasing day after day, week after week. 11:42 And you notice in the number of movies that have that occult 11:46 theme, or video games. 12:02 Cults are exploding! 12:03 Not only psychics, not only tarot cards, 12:07 not only spirit guides, but cult leaders are emerging. 12:31 Think of some of the cult leaders that have arisen, 12:34 not only in America, but around the world. 12:37 Time magazine features 12:43 in a gas sarin attack on a subway in Japan. 12:48 His followers believed that he was a messiah like figure. 12:54 Or think of Jim Jones. 12:56 A number of years ago, prominent minister in America who believed 13:03 that Christ was in him. 13:05 One of the reports indicated that Jim Jones was preaching 13:10 and he had a Bible in his hands. 13:12 And as people were opening their Bibles he became so angry 13:16 he said, Don't look at that book; look at me. 13:18 Then on a recording from Jonestown in the jungles of 13:24 Guyana, Jones said, I see Christ in me. 13:28 False Christ's, false prophets, led over 900 people to doom 13:34 in the jungles of Guyana. 13:36 Or you think of David Koresh who claimed that he indeed was 13:40 the Lamb of God, or had those qualities, 13:43 and the tragedy in Waco. 13:46 All around the world tonight, all around the world today, 13:50 we see the rise of false Christ's, false prophets, 13:54 false spirituality, exactly like Jesus Christ predicted. Africa 14:03 false Christ's, false prophets, claim to be the 14:08 Messiah like figures. 14:09 So what I'm describing to you is not taking place with some 14:13 wild-eyed fanatic here. 14:15 It seems to be pervading in the entire world; 14:19 the growing of the occult, growing of psychic phenomena, 14:22 growing of false Christ's, and false prophets. 14:26 Heaven's Gate; this was rather fascinating with 14:29 Marshall Applewhite, with Heaven's Gate cult. 14:33 When his followers were discovered to have committed 14:38 suicide in a very wealthy, palatial estate outside 14:43 of San Diego, California. 14:45 When the police were notified, the police sent out a memo for 14:52 parents asking where they thought their children might be. 14:55 And more than 1500 phone calls immediately came in to the 15:01 police station thinking their children might be involved 15:04 in the Marshall Applewhite cult, because they knew their kids 15:07 were involved in cults. 15:09 Yet Jesus makes this amazing prediction about end times. 15:15 You know, talk about cults, some time ago I was speaking at the 15:21 About 18,000 people were coming out every night. 15:25 We had two sessions every evening. 15:27 And as I walked onto the stage for the opening night of the 15:30 meetings, I had preached in Moscow on numerous occasions, 15:33 and we had preached in Pahawny University, preached in the 15:37 Kremlin Auditorium, and hundreds, really thousands, 15:41 had come to Jesus Christ, and we had baptized hundreds of people. 15:44 Walked onto the stage, opening night in the Olympic Stadium, 15:48 and ladies got up out of the audience to bring me flowers. 15:51 I was taking the flowers. 15:53 Because they were so appreciative of coming to Jesus, 15:57 so appreciative of the Bible truths they had learned. 16:00 And I went down to get a bouquet of flowers, 16:02 and as I reached out I noticed the flowers were dead. 16:07 I should have known, because the lady who handed to me the 16:10 flowers grabbed the microphone out of my hand, 16:12 and she began shouting, Anti-Christ, Anti-Christ! 16:15 This man is the Anti-Christ! 16:16 Young men jumped up out of the audience. 16:19 They began running toward the stage. 16:22 Who was this woman? 16:26 Well, of course, that wasn't her birth name. 16:27 It was her assumed name. 16:29 One of the leading cult leaders in Russia. 16:31 She had 22,000 followers. 16:33 They were called the White Knights. 16:35 They believed that they were the good angels that were 16:39 cast out of heaven. Kind of strange. 16:42 The Bible says it was the evil angels cast out heaven, 16:45 but this is what they believed. 16:46 And that they had come to Earth to fight evil. 16:48 She called herself Mary, because she believed she was the mother 16:51 of the new Christ, who would establish a Davidic kingdom. 16:55 Well, when she made that cry, Attack! 16:57 These young men rushed the stage. 17:00 As they came, it was rather daunting as a speaker, 17:03 to see these young men running at you. 17:05 But here's the good news; we had led to Jesus Christ, 17:08 and baptized a number of former KGB agents, 17:13 a number of Russian soldiers. 17:15 But when they saw their old preacher getting attacked 17:18 on the stage, they hadn't forgotten their skills. 17:21 So they took care of these young people quite well. 17:24 For twelve nights in a row I was attacked on the stage. 17:27 But we finally took the stairs away from the 17:31 stage, and so forth. 17:33 But it really illustrates to me that this cult movement, 17:38 and these cult movements, are growing by leaps and 17:41 bounds around the world. 17:55 You take the Harry Potter series, selling multiplied 17:58 millions, but what's it about? 17:59 Wizards, the super natural, men and women, youth, 18:05 teenagers, turning away from the sacredness of the word 18:08 of God, turning away from the promises of God's book, 18:12 turning away from the clear prophetic messages, 18:15 turning to the occult; exactly what Jesus predicted. 18:20 Yet hearts that are unsatisfied. 18:23 It was quite surprising that a major television personality, 18:28 Oprah Winfrey, made this statement. 18:42 Very common television: spiritualistic themes, movies; 18:47 spiritualistic themes, books; spiritualistic themes, 18:51 men and women going worshipping at the 18:54 altars of the occult. 18:56 Take video games: Peter Lanz, a former member of the occult 19:01 Order of the Golden Dawn, the Golden Dawn is one of these 19:04 occult phenomena's. 19:06 And he said this, 19:18 Is there any question that we are living in the very 19:23 fulfillment of the prophecies that Christ has given; 19:27 false Christ's, false prophets? 19:29 If it were possible, Jesus said, they would deceive 19:32 the very, very elect. 19:34 Some movements are claiming the ability to work miracles. 19:40 Certainly the Bible teaches that miracles can be worked, 19:43 but not by an occult artist, but by men and women who have 19:47 strong faith in Christ, and lead men and women to 19:50 the truth of His word. 19:51 Can the Devil work miracles? 19:56 Commenting on the words of Christ. 20:00 What? What are they the spirits of? 20:02 What does Scripture say? 20:08 Some translations say miracles. 20:17 No, here's what the Bible predicts. 20:19 If you take the predictions of Jesus, you put them with the 20:21 predictions of Revelation. 20:22 And here's what it says: These false Christ's, 20:24 and false prophets will arise. 20:26 People will turn from the living word of God, then the world 20:30 will be descending into chaos, into famine, into bloodshed, 20:34 into terrorism, into war. 20:36 As that takes place false religious movements will take 20:41 place claiming miracles, and the kings of the earth will 20:45 look to those miracle workers, church and state will unite. 20:49 This will lead to earth's final battle between good and 20:51 evil, called Armageddon. 20:53 The stage is being set for that exactly like we see 20:57 it in Scripture. So 21:04 Beware of religious teachers who superimpose their own 21:08 opinions rather than the word of God. 21:11 The word of God is their only safeguard. 21:14 I love that old poem, What says the Bible, 21:17 the blessed Bible to me? 21:18 The teachings of men may often mislead me, but this my only 21:24 question be, what says the Bible, the precious Bible to me? 21:29 Jesus gives us signs of His soon return, signs in the religious 21:32 world, we see they're being fulfilled. 21:34 What about signs in the political world? 21:36 What would be happening in the world of government? 21:40 Well, first Jesus says there would be war and rumors of war. 21:44 Somebody says, Haven't we always had war down 21:47 through the centuries? 21:49 Indeed, we have, but notice our text. 21:51 It doesn't say there would be a war, not a single war. 21:59 Notice it's in the plural. 22:01 Notice it's multiple. 22:02 Jesus goes on to say, kingdom would rise against kingdom, 22:07 and nation would rise against nation. 22:10 So here you have this growing amount of war. 22:14 We've had wars down through the centuries, but may I remind 22:18 you that in the 20th Century we had the I and II World War. 22:24 The only World Wars in history. 22:33 He didn't say there'd be a war. 22:34 He said kingdom would rise against kingdom, famine's would 22:37 take place, yes, but there would be wars and rumors of wars. 22:43 In other words, these nations would enter into world war. 23:10 Think of the 21st Century. 23:12 Wars haven't stopped. 23:33 And we go on, and on, and on. 23:34 Right now tension in this world. 23:38 You look at the nations of the world: tension with Iran, 23:41 tension with North Korea. 23:42 What is on the horizon? 23:44 Jesus predicted there would be wars and rumors of wars. 23:48 Now in addition to wars, Christ said they would be arming 23:51 for war, but they would be talking about peace, 23:55 fragile peace agreements. 23:57 In Scripture, 1 Thessalonians 5:3, When they say... 24:03 What is it? When they say what? 24:12 So here's the picture that Jesus gives. 24:15 Nations rising against nation, wars and rumors of war, 24:19 but then Jesus says, that they'll be talking about peace. 24:24 He inspires the apostle Paul to write it down. 24:28 They'll say, Peace and safety. 24:29 Now another word for safety is security. 24:31 So they'll be saying peace and security, all the time 24:35 while they're arming for war. 24:36 Now think about the 20th Century for example. 24:39 You think about the 24:46 Supposedly a League of Nations united to solve 24:50 the problem of war. 24:51 But right on the heels of that we enter into the II World War. 24:57 And then the United Nations, established 1945, try to have 25:02 the war, the II World War to end all wars. 25:05 UN is established, but again after that, conflict and war 25:10 all around the world. 25:11 Now things have been becoming more serious. 25:14 If you look at the book of Revelation, for example, 25:17 it helps you to understand that Jesus talks about the 25:23 See, some people say, Well, you've always had war, 25:26 so why is that significant? 25:27 I've already pointed out that it's because it's on a global 25:30 international scale. 25:32 But here's a prophecy that could only be fulfilled 25:35 in this generation. 25:37 It's a prophecy based on the book of Revelation, 25:40 the 11th chapter, and the 18th verse. 25:42 The Bible says this: 25:50 So when's that? the time of the dead, 25:52 that they should be judged? 25:53 Well, when Jesus comes, of course, shortly before that 25:56 you've got the judgment, Christ comes, and the righteous 25:59 dead are resurrected, the righteous living caught up to 26:01 meet Him in the sky. 26:03 So, notice, this is end time. 26:04 Again, back to the text. 26:25 So Jesus is going to come at a time when the human race 26:29 has the capacity to destroy itself. 26:32 Christ is going to come at a time when the human race has 26:35 the nuclear arsenal that could destroy all of 26:39 life on Planet Earth. 26:41 Never before in history has that reality been true. 26:45 If you look down through the ages, men and women had 26:49 implements of war that could destroy thousands 26:53 in an individual battle. 26:55 But they could not destroy the entire human race. 26:59 We see today that with nuclear weaponry the entire human race 27:04 could be destroyed. 27:06 When the atomic bomb was exploded there in Hiroshima 27:10 and Nagasaki in 1945, William Ripley, of Believe It Or Not, 27:16 fame said this: He said, I'm standing on the place where the 27:21 end of the world began. 27:24 Charles Urey, nuclear scientist, said, 27:27 I write this to frighten you. 27:29 All scientists I know are frightened men; 27:31 frightened for their lives, and frightened for your life. 27:35 Today the designated nuclear weapons states are: 27:52 What would happen if there was an international conflagration, 27:57 and an international war with nuclear weapons being used? 28:01 It could destroy life on Planet Earth. 28:05 In fact a team of scientists at Rutgers, the State University of 28:09 New Jersey, and the University of Colorado at Boulder, 28:13 and UCLA said this: 28:32 This is not some wild-eyed fanatic preaching. 28:37 It is rather a group, a consortium, of scientists. 28:43 And these scientists are making all the difference in the world, 28:49 as they're talking to men and women, pointing out that 28:52 there's incredible fear in our world. 28:55 They are making this amazing difference. You know, 29:01 What if terrorists got the uranium? 29:03 What if terrorists cold go nuclear? 29:04 What, indeed, would happen if that ever, indeed, took place? 29:20 Men's hearts, women's hearts terrorized, 29:24 failing them for what? for fear. 29:27 When you think about nuclear weaponry, when you think about 29:30 nuclear war, men and women's hearts indeed are shaking. 29:35 Thank God there's an answer. 29:37 These signs need not frighten us. 29:39 These signs need not trouble us. 29:42 These signs need not grip us with fear, because we know 29:46 that they're sign posts that Jesus is coming. 29:49 In fact Jesus talks about His return as the blessed hope. 29:53 There is hope on the way. 29:55 This old earth is groaning with pain; longing to be delivered. 30:00 And soon Jesus will come. 30:08 But yet this is a sign of the coming of Christ. 30:12 Signs in the area of religion, signs in the area of politics, 30:15 signs in the area of nuclear war. 30:18 What are these signs telling us? 30:21 They're telling us that Christ is on the way. 30:23 They're telling us that one day Jesus will stream down the 30:26 corridor of the sky in glory. 30:28 They're telling us that we're on the verge of the eternal 30:31 world; that Jesus Christ is soon to come. Let's look at 30:36 What would take place? 30:38 Now mark this carefully. 30:40 No one sign indicates that Jesus is going to come soon. 30:45 No one sign reveals that Christ is here at the doors. 30:51 Now the Bible doesn't tell us the day or the hour of Christ's 30:53 coming, but when you see all of the signs taking place 30:56 all the time, you know that Jesus' coming is near. 31:00 Jesus talks about famine. He says in 31:11 There'll be famines. 31:13 We've always had famines in somewhat of an isolated way. 31:17 We've always had famines in somewhat of a limited capacity. 31:21 But before the end of time there would be worldwide hunger, 31:25 children and adults starving to death, becoming 31:30 very, very commonplace. 31:32 The United Nations reported that there's a food shortage 31:35 in 38 different countries in the world today. 31:40 1/6th of the population of the world is malnourished, 31:46 in fact, 10,000 people every day, 3.5 million a year. 31:51 It's staggering. We can often sit in our Western homes not 31:56 sensing the starvation around the world. 31:58 We sit gorging ourself with gourmet foods when the world 32:03 is... many children are dying of starvation. 32:06 This is a sign. How much longer will Jesus delay? 32:10 Every starving child, every momma that's thin, 32:14 and run out of her breast milk to feed the child, every hungry 32:19 man cries out, Oh, Jesus, come quickly to our world! 32:31 Around the world we see the signs Jesus 32:34 Christ is to come soon. 32:36 The Bible says there'll be famines and pestilences. 32:39 What is a pestilence? 32:41 A pestilence is a strange disease that affects either 32:44 crops or human beings. 32:47 Here's what Jesus says, 32:55 Pestilences. It's kind of a big word, strange word, 32:58 and an unfamiliar word to some. 33:00 Pestilences; we get the word pesticides from it. 33:12 The World Health Organization, 2016, talks about how these 33:17 pestilences are affecting all humanity. And it says: 33:44 One billion cases of diseases that were unknown centuries ago. 33:54 A group of scientists got together, they issued what 33:57 they called a Warning to Humanity. 34:12 What were they talking about? 34:14 They were talking about the pestilences in our world. 34:16 They were talking about the pollution of the waterways, 34:20 the pollution of the atmosphere. 34:22 They were talking about human manmade 34:26 disasters that are occurring. 34:28 Jesus said false Christ's and false 34:31 prophets, psychic phenomena. 34:34 We see that taking place all around us. 34:36 Jesus said wars and rumors of wars, international conflict. 34:40 We see that taking place. 34:41 Jesus said peace movements, peace and security, 34:45 peace treaties being signed. 34:47 And I should say this: as Christians we applaud 34:50 the best efforts for peace. 34:52 We are people of peace. 34:54 Jesus is the Prince of Peace. 34:56 But yet we recognize that the human solutions for peace 35:00 will never accomplish their ultimate goal, because of the 35:04 degenerate, corruptive nature of human beings' hearts 35:07 until Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace comes. 35:10 But Jesus goes on, He says, there'll be famines. 35:14 We see worldwide hunger. 35:15 He says there'll be pestilences, pollution of the environment. 35:19 All of these signs are taking place; not one, not two, 35:22 but all of these signs taking place at the same 35:26 time around the world. 35:27 Jesus says there'll be famines, there'll be pestilences, 35:30 and there will be earthquakes. Notice... 35:40 There's a whole lot of shaking going on. You know... 35:54 But somebody says, Wait a minute, it's just that we have 35:57 more measurable devices today. 35:59 We can measure them a lot better. Not so. 36:02 The earthquakes that are taking place, and the magnitude that 36:06 they're taking place, don't need some device that 36:10 measures a mild earthquake. 36:12 We are talking about significant earthquakes that are 36:14 pretty easily visible. 36:27 See Jesus is talking about natural disasters. 36:30 It seems that this whole earth is longing, it's convulsing, 36:34 getting ready for the coming of Jesus Christ. 36:44 Great earthquakes, the Bible says, not minor earthquakes. 36:51 Now notice what else. 36:53 There'll be, what does it say? 36:55 Notice it on the screen. 37:04 Tornados, hurricanes, natural disasters that are 37:10 unprecedented in our day. 37:14 We see a rapid increase in these natural disasters. 37:19 This is no accident. 37:22 What is God saying to us? 37:23 He's saying it's time. 37:25 It's time; it's time to get ready for My return. 37:30 It's time to open your heart. 37:32 It's a time to make a full commitment to Jesus Christ. 37:36 It is indeed time. When you look at these natural disasters, 37:40 you know what else they say? 37:42 There is no security in anything earthly. 37:44 You can spend your whole life to buy a home, 37:49 and have it washed away quickly. 37:52 You can spend your whole life training for a particular job. 37:56 You can have your dream house, and your dream job, 37:58 and it can be gone instantly. 38:00 There is no security in our wealth, no security in 38:05 material possessions. 38:06 There is one that is secure. 38:09 Remember that parable that Jesus told: build your house, 38:13 that is your life, on the solid rock of Christ. 38:16 A commitment to Christ gives you security in the trials, 38:21 in the difficulties of life. 38:23 You know, these natural disasters are signs. 38:26 They are really signs of the return of our Lord. 38:29 Think of the natural disasters in America recently. 38:32 There's Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria. 38:35 You look at the Hurricane Harvey, you see Houston, Texas, 38:40 a third of it under water. 38:43 You see Florida devastated, Southern 38:45 Florida by the flooding. 38:47 You see Puerto Rico, power out, lights out. 38:51 You see the island of Dominica, and Barbuda trying to 38:56 recover from the tremendous hurricanes that 38:59 devastated those islands. 39:01 Natural disasters are all around us. 39:03 But the Bible says 39:08 In other words, social values will be falling apart. 39:12 Things that we used to once be able to count on, 39:15 things like morality, things like sexual purity, things like 39:21 honesty, things like integrity. 39:24 These things will be, in many areas, many venues, 39:30 they will be a thing of the past. 39:33 There would be moral decay in our society. 39:36 The moral values that we find in Scripture, God leading one 39:42 man, and one woman in the sacred state of matrimony. 39:47 Today marriage is under attack. 39:50 Divorce is rampant. 39:52 Men with men, women with women; 39:54 the moral decay is prolific in our society. 39:58 Notice what the Bible says: 40:19 Notice two things about the text: first, they were unaware. 40:23 They were living on the knife edge of that flood, living on 40:26 the verge of destruction of this planet by water. 40:29 But they went on eating and drinking, marrying and 40:32 giving in marriage. 40:33 So the first emphasis in the text was that life seemed 40:37 to be going on as normal. 40:38 People felt that Noah was a crazy man. 40:41 Next they're eating and drinking. 40:42 What's wrong with that? 40:44 Nothing, if you eat and drink the right things. 40:45 The eating and drinking: gluttony. 40:49 Drinking alcohol is prolific. 40:52 Marrying and giving in marriage, not only marrying, but divorce 40:55 becomes commonplace. 40:58 You see, in the Bible this description of the social 41:01 condition of our time, people trying to find some kind of 41:05 peace and tranquility, some kind of relief from the stress 41:08 of their lives, and drowning themselves in alcohol, 41:11 only to destroy their brain, and destroy their bodies. 41:12 Like it was in the days of Noah, we find today our society 41:18 on the verge of moral decay. 41:22 is commonplace in our society. 41:24 More children are being raised in one parent homes, 41:28 absent of a father. 41:29 Drug culture is prolific, rampant in America today. 41:33 Crime in many of our inner cities is out of control. 41:38 Many children are constantly being bombarded with 41:42 the arguments of their parents. 41:44 And they are living in homes that have gone through the 41:47 trauma, the tragedy, the heartache of divorce. 41:50 Yet Jesus has a solution. 41:53 Christ says, Come to Me and find hope, find security 41:59 find new life, find a rekindled love in your marriage, 42:04 find new joy, and new purpose, new meaning in living. 42:07 When we see these signs what thoughts come to our mind? 42:12 Not thoughts of fear, but thoughts of hope. 42:16 We sense that our Lord is soon to come. 42:20 The Bible talks about 42:23 as it was in the days of Noah. 42:25 What was it like in Noah's day? 42:34 What two words do you see in the text? 42:36 What are they? That's right. 42:37 The earth was what? corrupt. 42:39 That is moral decay. 42:41 And the earth was filled with violence. 42:42 We live in a violent society. 42:45 We live in a crime riddled society. 42:59 If God does not resurrect Sodom and Gomorrah 43:03 and apologize to them, He, indeed, is going to have to 43:10 keep from destroying this world. 43:13 Because the sins of our world are worse than 43:16 Sodom and Gomorrah. 43:17 The sins of our world are coming up before God in judgment. 43:22 The handwriting is on the wall. 43:24 Soon Jesus Christ is indeed going to come. Here is the 43:42 Talk about a corrupt, violent world! 43:48 The figures are absolutely staggering. 43:51 Now you add to that the 43:56 of our world. America particularly has borrowed, 44:00 and borrowed, and borrowed, till the debt is in the 44:03 multiplied trillions of dollars, you know, 44:05 16 trillion, 17 trillion. 44:06 Some economists predict that it will go to 20 trillion. 44:10 How can we continue to live on this slender thread 44:15 of economic uncertainty? 44:17 James 5:1-3 predicts something about the 44:22 economy in the last days. 44:46 What does the text say? 44:47 It's saying there'll be a rapid, sudden economic collapse. 44:53 Now if you add to that 45:03 So the Bible predicts that there will be a sudden, rapid, 45:07 economic collapse just before the coming 45:12 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 45:13 We see the table being set for that in the 45:18 rising debt of nations: in America the 45:21 rising debt of states, and you think of Europe, 45:24 and the accumulated debt in countries that are 45:27 declaring bankruptcy. 45:28 We see these prophecies being fulfilled all around us. 45:34 We see all around us earthquake, famine, fire, flood. 45:38 We see all around us war and violence. 45:41 We see these signs being fulfilled right before our eyes. 45:46 You take the Bible, and you compare the Bible to what's 45:50 taking place in the newspaper today. 45:52 And you begin to look at the newspaper in one hand, 45:55 the Bible in another hand. 45:57 And you see the prediction: false Christ's, false prophets. 46:00 That, indeed, is being fulfilled. 46:03 Rise in psychic phenomena fulfilled, rise in the occult 46:07 fulfilled, movies, books, filled with these themes fulfilled. 46:11 You see wars, and rumors of wars, international conflict, 46:15 read it in the newspaper, fulfilled. 46:18 You see cries of peace, but no peace. 46:20 Read it in the Bible, read it in the newspaper. 46:22 Peace treaties barely dry when another conflict breaks out. 46:26 Famines, pestilences, earthquakes, all around us 46:31 these signs are being fulfilled. 46:33 Sexual immorality constantly being fulfilled. 46:37 Not a distinction in marriage between the sexes. 46:42 When you look at homes that are falling apart in divorce. 46:46 You see violence filling our land. 46:48 You see economic uncertainty right around the corner. 46:52 Indeed, these prophecies are dramatically being fulfilled 46:57 before our very eyes. 46:59 But there's one final prediction, one amazing 47:03 prediction that will take place before the coming of Jesus. 47:07 And one of the reasons that I personally believe that 47:11 we are on the verge of eternity, and Christ is coming soon is 47:14 because of this: Jesus predicts that before His return the 47:21 It will go rapidly through radio. 47:24 It will go rapidly through television. 47:26 It will go rapidly through Internet. 47:28 It will go rapidly through the printed page. 47:30 It will go rapidly through believers who are 47:32 witnessing of Jesus Christ. 47:34 Here's what the Bible says: 47:47 We see that prophecy of Jesus Christ, 47:51 this final prophecy being fulfilled all around the world. 48:00 In other words a heavenly messenger with a message 48:04 to go to the ends of the earth, flying in the middle of heaven. 48:06 The angel does not float, he flies. 48:09 Flying indicates rapidity. 48:20 The gospel will leap across geographical boundaries. 48:24 The gospel will penetrate into the darkest, 48:28 remotest jungle areas. 48:29 The gospel will go into the great cities of our world. 48:33 The gospel will touch hearts all around the world. 48:37 Countries closed will be opened. 48:39 Totalitarian regimes will crumble. 48:43 And we will see powerfully, the gospel going. 48:46 I know that to be true. 48:48 Soon after the fall of Communism we had the opportunity to go 48:53 to the former Soviet Union. 48:54 I stood on the platform there in the Kremlin and opened the 48:59 word of God to over 13,000 people, 6,500 in the first 49:04 session, 6,500 in the second session that night, 49:08 and we saw the moving of the Holy Spirit 49:10 travel around the world. 49:12 Come with me and watch what God is doing. 49:15 Come to Asia and hear as we preach the word of God. 49:20 Thousands and thousands came to Christ. 49:23 The gospel is going around the world. 49:25 Men and women are accepting the living Christ. 49:28 Or come with me to the amazing continent of Africa 49:31 and see more than 20,000 baptized on a single day. 49:36 It's Pentecost all over again! 49:38 God is on the move! 49:40 The Holy Spirit is working! 49:42 Doors once closed are being miraculously 49:45 opened to the gospel. 49:46 God is doing something, whether it's in the remotest 49:49 jungle areas where God is giving primitive tribes dreams. 49:53 Missionaries come and the tribe leaders say to them, 49:57 We saw you coming in our dream. 50:00 Around the world God is moving. 50:03 Whether it's Asia, whether it's China, where we were recently 50:06 and preached the living word of God, 50:08 and saw hundreds come to Christ; whether it is Africa, 50:13 Inter America, South America. 50:15 Recently I was Argentina and saw 16,000 people at our 50:19 meetings, with 1600 making decisions 50:21 to accept Jesus Christ. 50:23 Something unusual is happening around the world. 50:26 God is on the move. 50:28 But you say to me, I sense, Pastor, that these signs are 50:33 being fulfilled all around us. 50:35 I sense that we're living on the knife edge of eternity. 50:39 I sense, yes, false Christ's and false prophets. 50:43 That's being fulfilled. 50:44 Wars and rumors of wars, peace movements, 50:48 famines and earthquakes, and floods and pestilences. 50:52 I see that, Pastor. 50:54 Crime and violence on every hand, disintegration of the 50:58 family unit, economic uncertainty, the gospel going 51:04 to the ends of the earth. 51:05 But I want to know one thing; I want to know how can I be 51:10 ready for the coming of Jesus? 51:12 Without Him, without Him, there's no way that 51:20 you and I can be saved. 51:21 But with Him there's no way that we can be lost. 51:27 In Jesus, and by Jesus, and through Jesus, 51:33 and because of Jesus, we need not fear. 51:37 Listen as Tim sings, Without Him. 51:40 Without Him I could do nothing. 51:49 Without Him I surely fail. 51:58 Without Him I would be dying, like a ship without a sail. 52:15 Without Him I would be dying. 52:24 Without Him I'd be enslaved. 52:33 Without Him life would be worthless, but with Jesus, 52:44 Thank God, I'm saved. 52:52 Jesus, Oh Jesus, Do you know Him today? 53:05 Please don't turn Him away. 53:10 Oh Jesus, my Jesus, without Him how lost I would be. 53:32 Without Him how lost I would be. 53:44 You and I need not be without Him. 53:56 Did you notice the words to the song, Without Him, 54:01 I would be enslaved. 54:03 Without Jesus Christ all of us live in the bondage 54:08 of sin and are enslaved. 54:11 If we're going to be ready for the coming of Christ, 54:15 to live in His kingdom tomorrow, His kingdom must reign 54:22 in our hearts right now. 54:25 Would you like to open your heart to this Christ? 54:30 Maybe there is something in your life that's keeping you 54:35 from being ready for His return. 54:37 Maybe, just maybe, you've never fully accepted Him before. 54:44 This is your night. 54:46 This, for you, is decision night. 54:49 God did not lead you to this telecast by accident. 54:54 In the divine providence of God He brought you to this station 55:01 this night to make an eternal decision 55:05 for Christ for all eternity. 55:07 You say, But how do I make that decision? 55:10 It is a simple act of the will. 55:13 It is simply saying, Jesus, I am Yours. 55:16 Jesus, I accept You. 55:18 Jesus, I want You to come into my life. 55:21 Jesus, I give You my life tonight. 55:24 Would you like to make that decision right now as I pray? 55:27 Father in Heaven, right now hundreds, thousands of people, 55:35 are opening their hearts to You. 55:38 Many are accepting You for the first time. 55:42 Come, Lord, hold them in Your arms, whisper in their ears, 55:48 give them hope and encouragement. 55:51 Help them to know that You are the living Christ. 55:53 Help them to know that You can forgive their sins. 55:56 Help them to know that there's peace in Christ. 55:59 Help them to know that we need not be enslaved. 56:02 We need not be shackled with the habits of life. 56:05 May the power of the living God come down right now and touch 56:09 somebody for Your kingdom. 56:11 And Father, Thank You that we need not fear. 56:16 Thank You that the signs of the times need not trouble us. 56:20 That they are signs of hope that our Jesus is soon to come. 56:24 And may our hearts be filled with that hope. 56:27 In Jesus' name, Amen. 56:30 Thank you for joining us for Revelation's 56:35 Ancient Discoveries. 56:37 We're setting the background in this series, so you're not 56:40 going to want to miss one of these programs. 56:43 Each program is like a link in a connected chain that links 56:48 to the next program. 56:50 Every presentation shares another one of the Biblical 56:56 prophecies from the book of Revelation. 57:00 Remember Revelation's central theme is Jesus, 57:05 and Jesus is coming again. 57:09 From the first chapter of the book of Revelation. 57:11 to the last chapter of the book of Revelation. 57:14 I look forward to seeing you on the next presentation of 57:19 Revelation's Ancient Discoveries. 57:23 Be sure to mark your calendar and join us then. 57:25 Good night, and God bless you. |
Revised 2018-03-01