[Darris McNeely] Today we have had an alarm
go off and the world has been in the grip of a pandemic. It came suddenly, and no nation was prepared
for it. And so we asked ourselves, what does it mean
for now? What do we learn from this? In fact, what should we learn? I grew up in a small town that had a lot of
tornadoes and severe storms that would come through. We didn't have sirens that sounded through
the town. We relied on the radio or the television to
warn us. And my family always knew when the warning
was out. Our next-door neighbor, Dorothy, would come
running to our home because we had a basement to shelter in and she didn't. So when Dorothy, the neighbor, was pounding
on our door. We knew it was time to head for the basement
because a twister was in the neighborhood coming through. Now I never actually lived through a tornado
touchdown where I lived but my mother had. And my mother always took these warnings very
seriously. In fact my uncle and many other people during
that period of time would build underground tornado bunkers in their backyard. And building a shelter at that time was a
pretty good precaution if you didn't have a basement. Now today in my neighborhood we have sophisticated
weather sirens that go off when tornadoes are near. Today weather forecasting is much more sophisticated
than when I was younger and the alarms still sound. In fact a few years ago the alarms would go
off in my neighborhood constantly because they were set to detect tornadoes or storms
from a very large area. If the sun was shining in my neighborhood
and I saw no storm clouds, I didn't take notice. But several miles away there was danger. You didn't see the danger though. In time I was conditioned to not take notice. That's very dangerous. You see when an alarm sounds, it means something. Now let's talk about a bigger alarm, let's
talk about COVID-19. Today we have had an alarm go off and the
world has been in the grip of a pandemic. It came suddenly and no nation was prepared
for it. It had devastating impact. And so we asked ourselves, what does it mean
for now? What do we learn from this? In fact what should we learn? The real question is, what will we learn from
this event to be better prepared for the next time. And make no mistake, there will be a next
time. In the Bible God tells us that He does not
do big things without revealing it to His servants, the prophets. In the book of Amos 3 there is a very interesting
statement that God makes, the prophet makes for God. He says, "Surely the Lord God does nothing
unless He reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets." How does God do this? Well He does it in two ways. First, God places some of His servants into
the role of what He calls a watchman. And secondly, Jesus Christ, Christ was a prophet. And He gave us an outline of end time events
before his Second Coming. So let's look at these two. First, let's go back and let's look at the
watchman and what that means. In Ezekiel 33 we have this stirring dramatic
image of a man standing on a wall. And it's the prophet Ezekiel. It says, "The word of the Lord came to me,
'Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them when I bring the sword
upon a land, the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their
watchman. When he sees the sword coming upon the land,
if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet
and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on
his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but he
did not take warning. His blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming
and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes
any person from among them, he's taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require
at the watchman's hand.'" So in this dramatic passage we have three
elements. We have a watchman, we have a warning given
by the watchman through the sound of a trumpet. Now let's go back to the COVID-19 pandemic. Does this count as a threat? Without doubt. Did anyone see it coming, give warning, prepare? Well no, not really, not this specific one. Very little. When the world thought that there was prosperity,
security, and peace, suddenly, this COVID-19 panic came upon the nations. It was described by U.S. President Donald
Trump as a war. In terms of the economic impact, nothing like
it since the period of the 1930s to the 1940s, with the Great Depression and World War II
has happened. We've had a combined medical, economic and
psychological impact upon the nations. And so the question is, does the Bible give
us some guidance to understand this, and a path forward from here? Indeed it does. Really, it will help us to understand a need
to change and return to God. Here's what's happening now, God is taking
the measure of the nations of the world. God is involved in this recent pandemic. He is shaking the nations and He's trying
to wake up this world because that is His pattern. Look back at ancient Egypt, the story of the
Israelites in Egypt and their deliverance. The plagues that God sent to shake their foundation,
to shake their confidence in those elements that they worshiped - the Nile River, the
sun, frogs - all thinking that they were secure there. God attacked every one of those. God has revealed through Christ what we should
understand about this devastating pandemic. It's not just a message given long ago by
prophets; it's very relevant and up to date for now. And we need to know because there are more
storms coming. This recent pandemic and world crisis has
laid the foundations for future prophetic events that are coming. And your life and your spiritual well-being
depends on listening to, hearing and acting upon God's warning message that comes from
His word. The Bible shows us the way to a spiritual
security, a spiritual security that comes from understanding God and His purpose for
your life. A security that comes from understanding Bible
prophecy. Events like COVID-19 pandemic do not happen
without God knowing and allowing it to occur. You know we ask ourselves, why do events like
this happen? Why does a loving God allow something so destructive? Well the short answer is this. We live in a world of God's design and that
includes free will and choice for mankind. God does control history, according to His
plan, but He allows mankind the freedom to choose between good and evil, between truth
and error, and there are consequences for each choice. So we need to ask, what does this mean and
how should we live? We're going to look at what Jesus said about
watching and heeding warning signs of coming danger upon the world. Jesus Christ was a prophet, and that is a
little understood part of his role for those who believe in Him. Christ gave us a roadmap to understand Bible
prophecy. Is there a watchman today sounding a message
of warning? Is there a player trumpet being sounded that
is an alarm to wake up? And who is that watchman? Well stay with us. And we'll come back and answer those questions
in a moment. Because at a time like this people want to
understand what the Bible says. This program we are offering our free study
guide, which is really a primer on Bible prophecy, "You Can Understand Bible Prophecy." Our study guide here is an integral part of
the Bible story and showing what prophecy does. God's inspired revelation to mankind. Through prophecy God reveals Himself, His
plan for humanity, and why we are here. So you can get your free copy of the study
guide, "You Can Understand Bible Prophecy," by going online to beyondtoday.tv or you can
call the number on your screen. And you can call, but listen carefully to
the rest of this program. We want to understand and ask now what is
it that Christ told us about this idea of watching? Again remember Christ was the greatest of
the prophets. And this dimension of His mission among mankind
is woefully neglected and misunderstood by those who claim today to speak in His name. The reality is Jesus lives today. He is the Lamb of God, poised as the returning
King of kings. He's given us a clear roadmap to understand
today's world and what this recent crisis means. Never has it been more important than now,
for you and for me to understand what Jesus taught about this present age of mankind. While He was with his disciples on the Mount
of Olives some came privately and asked Him, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things
will be fulfilled?" Jesus's answer began with warnings about spiritual
deception, wars, earthquakes, and troubles, which include famine, and pestilence. He said, "Take heed that no one deceives you,
for many shall come in my name saying, 'I am he,' and will deceive many." So Christ warns us today, do not be deceived
spiritually. So test yourself. Does your image of Jesus see Him as the returning
King, poised, waiting to appear in judgment? Anything less is a false Christ. He went on to say, "When you hear of wars
and rumors of wars, do not be troubled for such things must happen. But the end is not yet for nation will rise
against nation and kingdom against kingdom." And He went on to talk about famines and,
yes, pestilence or what we use today are the term we call a pandemic. All of these troubles, war, spiritual deception,
famine, and pestilence, they've all been a part of the human experience, and they are
certainly with us today. But in verse eight of this passage it ends
with Christ saying, "These are the beginnings of sorrows." Now your Bible will have a marginal reference
that says, "That these are like birth pains." They are a sign to understand that a new age
is about to begin. A disciple of Jesus reads these words and
applies them to their day. They mean something to each generation of
those listening and following the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus then goes on to say, "But watch out
for yourselves." And He lists persecutions and testimony that
they would have had to deal with then. And even today, betrayal from those closest
and a hatred would be experienced for His namesake. Christ counsels endurance and the promise
that He would be with them through the power of the Holy Spirit, they would not be alone. The next few verses then goes on to give more
details of the events that are surrounding His coming. A key marker is in verse 14 that speaks to
an event that is yet to occur. He said, "When you see the abomination of
desolation spoken up by Daniel, the prophet, standing where it ought not, then let those
who are in Judea flee to the mountains." Christ is speaking of a specific historical
event that occurred during the second century BC when there was a pagan idol set up in the
Jerusalem temple, and swine's flesh offered as a sacrifice on that altar. His disciples knew precisely what He spoke
about. That event has not happened since Christ gave
His prophecy. And Christ said it would happen and we do
not yet see it happening in our world now under the present political configuration
in Jerusalem. So we conclude that as Jesus said, "The end
is not yet." Now if you want to understand more about this
abomination of desolation, we have a whole chapter in our booklet here that does talk
about that, and it explains it quite well. But we are to watch and understand our times. And as we read Christ's statements about spiritual
deception, war, and other troubles, we see His emphasis on showing us today, you and
I, how to understand these events in the long historical and prophetic context. We look back over 2,000 years since this prophecy
was given and we can see easily how these events have occurred in waves through the
centuries. And Jesus said, "Unless the Lord had shortened
those days, no flesh would be saved." Now that statement could only happen now,
in our day with the invention of nuclear weapons. "Take heed," He says, "See, I have told you
all these things beforehand." This is all very encouraging. Mankind's not going to destroy himself, nor
the earth, in a nuclear conflagration, God will intervene before that happens. Now how can you understand the signs of our
time, signs like these, these big events like a pandemic, potential nuclear war, large cultural
changes that we deal with? Well you need to understand how Bible prophecy,
indeed, all the Bible describes our current world and the future events that are leading
to Christ's coming. That's what it means to watch exactly what
Christ said, to be warned, and to heed a warning, like the tornado drill that goes off in our
neighborhoods, to listen, to know something is happening. You see a watchman does not tell you when
something is going to happen in an empty prediction. He tells you what the big things. Most importantly, a watchman tells you how
to prepare spiritually. It means to change your life. It means prepare to meet your God. Christ was a prophet and He looked down into
our time and He predicted what conditions would be like today. That's why it's so critical to see this dimension
of your Savior and King. Bible prophecy comes from Jesus Christ. And Christ said there would be a watchman. Is there one today? "Beyond Today," what you're watching, watch
your reading in our magazine, "Beyond Today" is like a watchman. And obedience to Christ demands we understand
that this message from His word is a wake-up call, the events that we're living through. Christ is taking the measure today of the
United States, Canada, Australia, Russia, China, India, and the nations. The nations have been startled by this pandemic,
the foundations of our modern world economy have been rocked. The foundations of a much different world
are being poured right now. We're in the beginning of a new world scene. And I think the prophetic stage is being set
for the bigger prophetic events foretold by Christ and what we've just read. Out of this time will rise a world that will
astound everyone. Do not look for everything to collapse, it's
not going to happen, but the world will not be the same. And you are hearing the sound of a watchman. During this crisis, I've been teaching a class
on the book of Revelation. I've had my students say to me while we were
going through some of the prophecies, "Wow, we're living the book of Revelation right
now during this pandemic." And I said that's exactly right. We need to understand what we're being taught. Do you? Do you want to understand more? Well now's the time to set yourself to understand
Bible prophecy. It's not as hard as you might think. Our free study guide that we're offering for
today's program, "You Can Understand Bible Prophecy," will be very helpful. You know we ask sometimes in one of our chapters
here is does history prove the accuracy of the Bible, and of prophecy? Well the answer is right here, we discussed
it. We shall discuss that and much more. So call the number on your screen, order your
free copy, or go online to beyondtoday.tv. This is a guide to help you understand the
basics of Bible prophecy. You'll want to use this to help understand
today's world for yourself and for your family. Now the alarms that are sounding and the trumpet
that is blowing, give us something very important to understand. Let's look at what Christ said, "But take
heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares
of this life. And that day come on, unexpectedly. For it shall come as a snare on all those
who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch, therefore," he said, "And pray always
that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of Man." You know this is the cover of our January
- February 2020 issue of "Beyond Today" magazine. It had the headline, "The 2020s Are Here. Are You Ready?" Well it turns out, we were not ready for what
happened. We have to be honest about that here on "Beyond
Today." We did not see COVID-19 coming. But we have been warning for decades such
events would come. We have long been urging our readers to read
their Bibles and understand what the prophecies say about the fragility of our world and our
uncertain times. "Beyond Today" takes very seriously what Christ
said in the passage that I've just read to you. And we at "Beyond Today" understand the what
of prophecy and future events. We don't know the when. Only God knows the when. But we can tell you how to prepare spiritually
and to be ready for whatever is coming next. Here's something else. We understand how we can be weighed down with
what Christ said were the cares of life. You see our lives are pretty busy, they're
hectic, they're full of details, much of which can divert our attention away from the state
of spiritual alert that is needed to stay on top of the times as Jesus warned. Frankly a disciple of Jesus Christ must live
his life at what I like to call a spiritual DEFCON level 3 or above. That's not always easy, it's not easy to maintain
that alertness for a long period of time. I'm at an age where people begin to think
about slowing down with work and retiring. I have grandchildren who I want to spend more
time with, and I want to watch them grow up during their teen years and their events. And I know that many of you have the same
with your family and you have plans for a future. We're caught up in so many details that consume
our interests, our passions, and the days of our life. There's nothing evil or out of place with
those desires so long as we keep them tempered by the tension of the knowledge and the understanding
of Bible prophecy. That's the challenge. Bible Prophecy gives the framework to discern
today's world, and to understand the general contours of the events that are shaping our
landscape. Done properly, we can prepare and take certain
steps to be prepared spiritually and even physically for what happens. I've lived long enough and I've been a student
of Bible prophecy to know that there are times when prophecies kind of on idle. All right it's kind of slow. Not much is happening but then there are times
prophecy speeds up. Now, I think we're in a period when prophetic
events are accelerating and it's time to pay attention. We have read where Jesus told His disciples,
"Watch and pray always." The theme of watching is taken from the book
of Ezekiel where God placed that prophet as a watchman to Israel. Again, the prophet's say, "The word of the
Lord came to me saying, 'Son of man, speak to the children of your people and say to
them, when I bring the sword upon the land and the people of the land take a man from
their territory, and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land,
if he blows the trumpet and warns the people then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet,
and does not take warning and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his
own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet but did
not take warning. His blood shall be upon himself. He who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming
and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned and the sword comes and takes
away the person, he's taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's
hand.'" The message of warning was to the people to
prepare for a time of siege and all that that might mean including famine and pestilence. They were to take precautions to meet the
trial, to stand, endure and prevail. Christ uses this term to take heed, which
is the same as to watch, as a warning to us to be aware, to be alert, discern the times
of our life and understand where we are in God's purpose for this world. A disciple will want to understand the signs,
spiritual deception, war, calamities, and live a sober, holy, and godly life. When you know there is a time of coming trouble
and ultimate judgment on the world, you really begin to live differently. You know God's real, you know that His words
a short guide to life and you take steps to live in alignment with the truth of the Bible. That's what a true disciple will do. He will also pray to God in a way that creates
a relationship, a spiritual connection of love and trust. Love is that core faith that allows us to
manage our emotional health during a time of stress, like this current pandemic. Many of us do face uncertainty in jobs and
health and the large picture of what's happening to our country and the world. It's unnerving, it's frightening and it could
cause us to come unglued emotionally, I know. I see it in some of the strongest people I
know. Worry, fear, it's at their door. Don't let yourself be overwhelmed. You can understand what all this means, when
we see nations and cities locked down under quarantine. We're seeing something that for us we've never
experienced. Our world has been shocked and startled, a
wake-up call has been given. And through the Bible Jesus gives us the basis
to understand what this global crisis means. And as you talk to God on your knees in prayer,
He and the Father will give you comfort and understanding rooted in spiritual truth. This is the key to this moment. We want the world, our world, your world to
return to the way we remember it was in 2019. And in many ways, it's going to be a different
world, we’ll be a long time recovering. In many ways, it will be different. Life will go on but some things will change. This world will not be the same. How will your world be different? For a disciple of Jesus Christ we cannot go
back to normal. A disciple of Jesus Christ must dig deep into
what the Master taught. Could God be measuring your life now? This is a moment of crisis that can bring
clarity to your life now. Use it wisely. Do not let yourself be caught unaware at the
next crisis. Christ said, "Watch, therefore, and pray always
that you would be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and
to stand before the Son of Man." With that warning the alarm has gone off,
the trumpet has sounded. Take it seriously, and pray to be accounted
worthy by God. Our free study guide we're offering on this
program is, "You Can Understand Bible Prophecy." It's the best guide I think we can offer you
to begin your study of Bible prophecy. So call the number on your screen right now,
start digging into the prophecies of The Word of God. Go online to beyondtoday.tv and get your free
copy of this critically important study guide to help you understand where we are in the
flow of Bible prophecy. Seize this moment to turn your life around
and seek the true God. Turn from evil, injustice, turn from your
life, forsake the gods of this world's culture offered up as counterfeits and begin on your
knees to seek the living God and His Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The God who sent the prophets to Israel, the
Jesus who died for your sins and lives today as your Lord and Master, your King, and your
God who says, "I do not take pleasure in your suffering from fear, uncertainty of this world. Find hope and comfort in Me, The Way, and
the Truth." [Narrator] Please call for the booklet offered
on today's program, "You Can Understand Bible Prophecy." Prophecy is God's inspired revelation to mankind. God shows us who He is and how He has an amazing
plan for all people, it shouldn't be a mystery. This free study aid will help you see the
true magnitude of prophecy as it places the past, present, future into clear perspective. Order now, call toll free 1-888-886-8632 or
write to the address shown on your screen. This study aid will help you better understand
what's ahead for our world and God's awesome purpose for your life. When you order this free study aid, we'll
also send you a complimentary one-year subscription to our "Beyond Today" magazine. The "Beyond Today" magazine brings you understanding
of today's world and hope for the future. Six times a year you'll read about current
world events in light of Bible prophecy, as well as practical knowledge to improve your
marriage and family. Call today to receive your free booklet, "You
Can Understand Bible Prophecy," and your free one-year subscription to "Beyond Today" magazine. 1-888-886-8632 or go online to beyondtoday.tv.
