Discover Prophecy-3 How Near is the End by David Asscherick

[Music] [Music] [Music] I'd like to invite you to take your program out to take your study guide out I want to begin with a little bit of review last night we looked at this metal man in fact let's read our first paragraph there on your study guide it says here at the discover prophecy seminar we believe that Jesus is coming soon is there anyone else out there that shares that conviction that Jesus is coming soon I'm going to give you reason tonight why I believe that we asked the question how do we know that this is true and how soon is soon people have been saying for centuries people have been saying for decades that he's coming soon and that raises the question how soon is soon how can we be sure that the second coming really is imminent fortunately the Bible powerfully compellingly and clearly answers these very questions let's turn our attention to the Bible and see what it has to say about this important topic now let's do a little bit of review here just there a quick review of Daniel to a gray metal what should be in that blank everyone a great metal man of Daniel chapter 2 tells the story of the history of this planet the five elements of that image gold silver brass iron and clay represent the five major kingdoms that's exactly right you've got it from the time of Daniel to the setting up of God's kingdom Babylon was the head of gold meet at Persia were the chest and arms of silver Greece the belly and thighs of bronze Rome the long legs of iron but Rome was not conquered you remember it was divided just as God's Word said and so here Daniel in about a hundred and fifty words accurately foretells twenty five hundred years of Earth's history beginning in the time in which he lived Babylon moving through the whole sweep of history down to divided Rome today what we would call modern Europe today we live in those feet of iron and clay partly strong and partly wheat and the very next thing that happened you remember is that God would set up his own Kingdom God would set up what everyone his own Kingdom and it was represented by a what do you remember by a stone and where did it hit the image who remembers where did it hit the image hit the image in the feed and it smashed the gold the silver the bronze and the iron to bits and then it says that stone that struck the image grew and became a great does anyone remember a great mountain look at the bat the last part of that paragraph there the very last sentence second to the last sentence says the dream applied to the what who remembers the latter days the kingdom of God is at hand beloved as you take a look at that image that great timeline that moves us through the sweep of history from 600 years before the time of Jesus until now I want you to notice that there is nothing below the feet that's it as we said last night God said there would be Babylon and there was Babylon number 1 God said that there would be meat of Persia and there was me - Persia - God said that there would be Greece and there was Greece number 3 God said that there would be Rome and there was Roman number 4 God said that Rome would be divided and it was divided number 5 and God said that Rome would remain divided and it has remained divided despite the overtures of some of the so-called great men of history and it has remained divided to this day the very next thing to happen is that God will set up his own kingdom that's the next thing and so someone might ask legitimately and rightfully when will that happen and that is our message tonight we ask the question last night what would you wager if you were a gambling person what would you wager just think it through you don't have to be a religious person you don't have to be a theologian you don't have to be a super spiritual person just to think about this logically we discussed already that historians tell us about the past and news anchor people tell us about the present but God alone can tell us about the future can you say amen to that and God is sending us here a signal in the apocalyptic books of Daniel and revelation he's saying that it's getting nearer and nearer and nearer now you're gonna ask how much more time do we have the answer is I don't know but I'll show you tonight I don't think we have much time left I don't think we have much time left the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth the end of all things is it here is it near or is it near fear this is not just something that theologians and Bible scholars are dealing with not at all even popular media magazines like Newsweek and Time prophecy what the Bible says about the end of the world if you can see the writing here the end of the world apocalypse now will computers meltdown will society a guide to millennium madness it's not just popular culture that has an interest in the end of all things what's called apocalyptic studies notice this remarkable quotation from a man by the name of Bernard McGann from the University of Chicago Divinity School he says over the past 30 years more scholarship has been devoted to apocalypticism that's last day events than in the last 300 in other words from a from an academic point of view from a scholastic point of view there has been more research more study in the last day events in the last 30 years than in the foregoing the previous 300 years not only is there an increase in the common media in the in the mass media even scholars are interested in what is going on it's almost like there's something tangible something palpable in the air people have a sense that something is about to happen and I would say that has increased tenfold since 9/11 the the the post 9/11 world is a very different world than the pre 9/11 world and everything is in flux people are wondering what is going on and I want to tell you tonight and I believe this with all of my heart with all of my soul with every bit of my being that the Bible alone can give us real compelling and true answers about what is going on in the world today the politicians do not have the answer somebody say Amen they might have some of the answers and they'll do their best and hey listen fine fine fine but they do not have the ultimate answers the world religious leaders many of them do not have the answers god alone has the answers as to what's happening he's given them to us in his word and we can know them if we'll study and look at them the end of the world is it here near or mere fear you might be saying well that's religious talk David that's religious talk look at your study guide there the subheading says what do the experts say what do the experts say it is not only the Bible and Bible believers that insist we are living in strange and unusual times you say aw that's religious talk you wild-eyed religious fanatics have been saying these kinds of things a long time oh sure Jesus is coming oh sure the end of the world is coming we've heard it all before beloved let me tell you something I was not a Bible believer I had no interest in things religious I had no interest in things Christian 23 years old I had no interest in these things and God got my attention and I think I can say with a degree of objectivity that we are living in strange and unusual times the world appears to be coming apart at the seams do you tend to agree with that or disagree with that I want to show you tonight that it is not just so-called religious people that believe we are living in strange and unusual times in fact you'll notice that there in your study guide many recognized experts and authorities in various fields suggest that we are living in extraordinary and unique period of Earth's history many of these instrument individuals are not riding from a biblical or a so-called theological perspective they are simply riding from an observational and an evidentiary perspective they see that the evidence points in a fearful and unusual direction turn the page if you would I sighed for you this evening as as case in point number one a man by the name of Eugene Linden Eugene Linden is an award-winning journalist and several years ago he wrote a book entitled the future in plain sight the subtitle of the book was 9 clues to the coming instability 9 clues to the coming instability now when mr. Linden says the coming instability again he's not riding from a religious perspective he's not writing from a biblical perspective not at all when he uses that language the coming instability sometimes he calls it massive global instability that is secular codes speak for the end of the world as we know it 9 clues he says to the coming instability let me just share with you very quickly Eugene Linden's concerns notice none of them are biblical none of them our so-called religious reasons this is what he says we're not gonna spend time going into them but let's just look at a few of them he says the collapse of the global economy is a real potential the migration of the poor to the cities population explosion both urban and rural global warming we'll talk more about that in a little bit the economic disparity between the rich and the poor you say it with me the rich get richer and the poor get poorer he says it's reaching epidemic proportions he goes on the collapse of bio ecosystems number seven water and food shortages number eight infectious diseases he cites both a resurgence of old diseases and a resilience of modern diseases he says that the disease's are getting smarter and more resilient to antibiotics etc and number nine he cites radical fundamentalism and religions notice again dr. Linden here is not writing from a biblical perspective and he says we are living in strange unusual and extraordinary times I sighed for you now a man that is considered by many to be the single greatest scientific mind on the planet with the raising of hands how many of you are familiar with who this man is dr. Stephen Hawking okay good many of you would be he's authored the best-selling science book of all time it's a book entitled a brief history of time again he's considered by many to be the greatest scientific mind on the planet he's hailed as Einsteins successor you're looking at his picture there any thinking it doesn't look like he's very fit he's very well and that's exactly right he has a terrible disease Lou Gehrig's disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis he can't even speak as a matter of fact all he has is just a very small amount of movement in one of his fingers which he is able to use a very sophisticated computer and sort of craft sentences at cetera etcetera he does presentations he spoke recently at a group a convention of religious leaders and thought leaders and and academic leaders not religious leaders academic leaders and others and this is how he concluded dr. Stephen Hawking concluded his lecture there that was entitled is man and kind determined or free I want you to notice this now the language is a little obtuse and I apologize for that but you'll get the thrust of it right away dr. Stephen Hawking said this I fear that since the evolutionary process and of course he believes in the process of evolution we'll talk more about that maybe later in our seminar I fear that since the evolutionary process has worked through the dialectic of determinism and aggression our long-term survival and any hope for our one species is in question you see what he's saying he says I'm concerned I'm very concerned I mean the man holds the Sir Isaac Newton chair of mathematics at Cornell universe Cambridge University says I'm concerned notice what he says next however here's his solution however says dr. Hawking if we can keep from destroying each other for the next hundred years he said this six years ago sufficient technology will have been developed to distribute humanity to various watt planets and then no one tragedy or atrocity will eradicate us all at the same time you see what he's saying we are living in strange times we're living in unusual times he says I'm concerned for the long-term survival of our species however if we can just keep from destroying one another for 100 years technology will have been developed and you ma'am might go to Mars and you ma'am might go to another planet we can go to different planets and then no one tragedy or atrocity will eradicate us all at the same time am I the only person here tonight that thinks that that sounds just a little crazy now that is not out of disrespect to dr. Hawking he's a brilliant man he's he's a he's a wonderful man I hope that the man is converted and accepts the Lord Jesus as his personal Saviour the point is is that is a little strange I found this cover here from Time magazine I thought it was kind of cute they show a sort of astronaut looking man they're walking his Robo dog and it says in the future will we that's exactly what dr. Stephen Hawking is advocating he says hey look at this planet is waxing old like a garment this planet is groaning under the weight of all of these different things this worries him again not from a religious perspective not from a biblical perspective not from a theological perspective simply from a scientific or observational perspective let's turn our attention now to the Bible I cite these instances for you and will give a few more momentarily to show that this is not just wild-eyed so-called religious fanatics that believe we're living in strange and unusual times in fact I would say if you don't think we're living in strange and unusual times you're not paying attention I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said if you're not outraged you're not paying attention 1 out of every 25 verses in the New Testament is related to the what everyone to the second coming 1 out of every 25 verses it is the preeminent theme one of them of the New Testament let me give you five verses from the book of Revelation they're all right there in your study God and what I want you to notice is that all of these verses have something in common see if you can pick it out Revelation chapter 1 verse 7 John says behold he is coming with clouds and every eye will see him him being Jesus even they who pierced him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him even so amen that's revelation 1:7 notice the next verse revelation 3:11 behold I am coming what's that word everyone quickly hold fast what you have that no one may take your crown the Bible has promised those that put their faith in Jesus a crown of righteousness he says I'm coming quickly hold on so that no one else gets the crown that belongs rightfully to you revelation 22 verse 7 behold I'm coming what everyone quickly blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book that book of course being the book of Revelation verse 12 of the same chapter and behold I am coming say with me quickly and my reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work still one more verse 20 he who testifies to these things Jesus himself speaking says surely I am coming what quickly Amen even so come Lord Jesus five times I'm coming quickly I'm coming quickly I'm coming quickly what are these verses have in common there's a sense of urgency here God is saying it's not time to be lacks today's sickle it's not time to be lazy anymore you're saying wait a minute the book of Revelation was written two thousand years ago you're right but in the book of Revelation there is a key that lets us know when quickly is really quickly and notice that there in your study guide what do these verses have in common there's a sense of urgency and every one of them clearly the second coming is a prominent component of Revelation it is the capstone of the book the whole Bible and of God's plan of salvation but notice the next subheading how quick is quick how soon is soon and how close is close these are excellent questions these are the very kinds of questions that people ask today they might say something like this people have been saying for years that Jesus would return how do you know that he actually will is there anyone in here today who's ever heard something like that a variation of that you've tried to share with a family member tried to share with a friend and they said come on people have been saying that forever how do you really know raise your hands have you heard that before okay sure many of us have heard it before and it's sometimes said what kind of a snicker a snide sense of come on get over it notice this the key is in our next verse which is also in Revelation Revelation chapter 16 in verse 15 behold I am coming as a thief Jesus says blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments lest he walk naked and they see his shame now this is not speaking of literal nakedness if speaking of spiritual nakedness which is what happens when you've not put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that's not the main thing we want to look at right now though what I want you to see is that the operative word in this passage is that word right there that begins with the W watches what is that word everyone in fact you'd write that in right there it says what is the operative word in this passage and the word is watch the word watch means to look to see in fact if you remember those verses that we were just quoting from Revelation revelation 1 all the ones that are listed there many of them began with the word behold what does the word behold mean what does that mean beauty is in the eye of the beholder what does it mean to behold it means to look that's exactly right and and so you have this this reverberating bottom line here they're saying look look look look and then here he says blessed is he who looks now very interesting let me show you several other verses here in fact I think I've got them all for you Matthew 24:42 right there take this home and study it yourself Jesus speaking he says watch therefore for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming notice Jesus says watch next one first Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 4 & 6 the Apostle Paul notice what he says but you brethren writing to the church in Thessalonica are not in darkness so that this day should overtake you as a thief there's that language again many people have heard that language he comes as a thief he comes as a thief many people don't know what that means we'll talk about that in another seminar another presentation but notice this that day is the second coming notice verse 6 therefore let us not what everyone sleep as others do Paul knew that there would be people that would be asleep Paul knew that there would be people that would say oh yeah we've heard that all before no let us not therefore sleep as others do but let us watch watch and be sober that means be serious minded it doesn't mean you can't have a little fun nobody in this room likes to have fun more than David - Rick I guarantee you that you asked my wife she'll tell you that's the truth but we should be sober-minded about the times in which we're living can someone say amen to that he says he says watch John and revelation says watch Jesus and Matthew the Gospel of Matthew says watch here Paul is saying watch and Peter actually says the same thing here in 1st Peter chapter 4 and verse 7 but the end of all things is at hand he says therefore be serious there it is again and what's the next word watchful in your prayers John says watch Paul says watch Peter says watch Jesus says watch is there any question in anybody's mind tonight that the Bible is telling us to watch for something the question is for what that sound good say Oh keep your eye out I'll tell you keep your eye out keep your eye out but you're gonna say David what am i keeping my eye out for does that make sense everyone yes or no notice your study guide what do all of these verses have in common they all deal with the end of time each of those verses we just looked up deal with the end of time all of these verses tell us to watch but the question is for what the disciples questioned Jesus on one occasion about the end of the world open your Bibles with me to Matthew chapter 24 Matthew what chapter everyone first book of the New Testament you can find that if you're sitting next to someone who has difficulty finding it just help them out first book of the New Testament right between Malachi and mark matthew chapter 24 matthew chapter 24 we're being told to watch and the question is for what and here's the answer matthew chapter 24 beginning in verse 1 then Jesus went out and departed from the where everyone from the temple Jesus left the temple and his disciples came to show him the buildings of the temple they were trying to cheer him up the reason they were trying to cheer him up if you're reading the first three Verte or the last three verses of the chapter before it jesus has left the temple for the last time in fact he says in verse 37 o Jerusalem of the previous chapter o Jerusalem Jerusalem the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her how often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings but you were not willing never forget that God is a gentleman he will not force his way into your life he begs and he hopes and he calls and he pleads but God will not force can someone say Amen Jesus is Iowa I want to do bring you under my wings as a hen gathers her chicks but you were not willing notice verse 38 see your house is left to you desolate verse 39 for I say to you you will see me no more till you say blessed is he who in the name of the Lord and he walked out of the temple that was the last time that Jesus the Messiah the very one to whom the temple pointed would ever set foot in those precincts he walks out his heart was burdened his heart was sad he went up on a mountain called the Mount of Olives and the disciples could tell there was something wrong Jesus had begun his public ministry you might remember the story he went in and he threw all the money changers out remember that story and he said take these things out of here see if you can repeat it with me you have made my father's house a den of thieves so at the beginning of Jesus ministry he said my father's house but here at the end he says your house is left to you desolate three and a half years earlier it was my father's house at the end of his ministry it's your house why because the Jewish nation had consistently rejected the evidences of Jesus Messiahship he says hey listen what more can I do you won't see me again until you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord he goes up he sits on the Mount of Olives the disciples come in verse 1 we've already read it to try and cheer him up oh Jesus look at how beautiful the temple is oh Jesus look at how the Sun glistens off of its glorious marble walls but Jesus would not be comforted look at verse 2 Jesus said do you not see all these things assuredly I say unto you not one stone will be left here if on another that will not be what thrown down the very thing that the disciples were trying to cheer Jesus with Jesus says do you see it all it's going to be destroyed in fact it'll be so destroyed so utterly decimated that there won't even be one stone upon another that is the temple destroyed Jerusalem destroyed and in the minds of the disciples they're thinking what the destruction of the temple the destruction of Jerusalem surely he's talking about the end of the age what the Greeks called the eschaton oh that must mean the end of all things notice verse 3 now as he sat upon the Mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately saying tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the wood everyone the end of the world or the end of the age the disciples thought they were asking one question they thought they were asking one question when will all of these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age but that's really two questions and what Jesus does is he parallels the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 under the roman emperor titus and the end of the world and that's really what matthew chapter 24 is is this marvelous answer in which jesus takes these two events and interweaves them in a marvelous tapestry and let's look at our study guide here consider matthew chapter 24 were on the bottom of the second page in matthew chapter 24 Jesus deals with the issue of the end of the worlds in this chapter Jesus masterfully the word is parallels the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD with the destruction of the world at the end of the age in this parallel Jesus employs two revealing and helpful analogies for understanding the last days and the end of the world let's look at these two analogies the first one is actually found in verse 8 the first one is found in verse 8 Matthew chapter 24 and verse 8 now I'm reading this morning or this evening rather from the New King James Version it says all these are the beginning of Sorrows all these are the beginning of Sorrows how many of you have a translation that says the same thing there in Matthew chapter 24 verse 8 all these are the beginning of Sorrows who has something that says who has a translation that says something different than that what does your say birth pangs that's exactly right that's what the Greek word is just as the RSV says here all of this is the beginning of birth pangs in other words contractions ladies that's the Greek word that Jesus is here employing it's probably speaking in Aramaic of course but but here Jesus says all of this you say all of what we'll get there in just a moment he uses the analogy of contractions we'll come back to that he employs a second analogy as you turn the page there you can write this down look in Matthew chapter 24 and verse 32 Matthew 24 and verse 32 Matthew chapter 24 what verse everyone 32 Jesus says now learn this parable a parable is a story that illustrates a larger spiritual significance now learn this parable from the what everyone the fig tree that's interesting Jesus is going to teach us a story here from a tree a lesson from a tree when it's branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves you know that summer is what everyone near now notice verse 33 he makes the application so also when you see all these things know that it it in the context is the second coming know that it is near even at the doors jesus employs two analogies here the two analogies are this number one labor pains and number two a budding fig tree those of us here in Michigan know what Jesus is talking about now we don't have many fig trees but we have lots of other kind of trees and we have winters here I grew up in South Dakota and I know something about winters and we know when spring is just around the corner or I should say at least we think we know when spring is just around the corner I've heard it said if you don't like the weather in Michigan wait five minutes right where I come from in South Dakota we have two seasons we have winter and road construction it seems like you have the same right here in Michigan as well we know that something is about ready to happen when when the leaves begin to appear and the branch gets tender Jesus says pay attention uses these two analogies labor pains and a budding fig tree these analogies have three things in common three things in common number one they are both visible they are both what everyone visible write that down in your study guide there number two they are both progressive that is they start here and they move toward here and as they move they increase in frequency and in intensity they're progressive and number three they are climactic the budding fig tree announces summer the labor pains of a woman's contractions announced a child they all end at something and event you say now what is that what are these things that were supposed to watch for Peter says watch John says watch Jesus says watch Paul says watch watch watch we haven't even talked about what we're watching for but we know we should be watching for something he gives two parables the fig tree and the labor pains these are visible progressive and climactic he say well well what is it go back to Matthew chapter 24 the disciples have asked Jesus the question verse 3 when will all of this happen what will be the sign of the end of the age and Jesus says in verse 4 the very first words out of his mouth take heed that no one why in other words be careful that no one deceives you in fact he says that three times in this one chapter be careful that no one deceives you that no one deceives you that no one deceives you friends the only thing that you can be guaranteed to to keep that will keep you from being deceived is knowing the Bible for yourself can someone say amen to that I could stand up here and say something wrong in fact I'll tell you this if I ever do say something that's wrong don't come back you don't have to come back if what I say doesn't come from the Bible don't come back what I like to tell Christians is this you should know your Bible well enough to know when a minister misquote sit are you with me and you pay attention to me sometimes all purposefully misquote it just to see if you're paying attention so that's not what it says you let you hang in there Jesus gave these signs said be careful that you're not deceived and he gives us here 10 signs not all of them come from matthew chapter 24 but most of them do 10 signs of the times again I just want to underscore that these are not just religious people that say these things these are not just so-called religious spiritual people that think that we are living in strange and unusual times people like Eugene Linden people like dr. Stephen Hawking say wow we're living in strange and unusual times Jesus says I'll show you what it's going to be like Jesus gives 10 signs of the times notice there in verse 5 for many will come in my name saying I am the Christ and will deceive many notice it says that many will come in my name and will deceive what everyone many people will come and say I'm the Christ the very first sign that Jesus gives signs in the religious world he says there will be a proliferation of false Christ's and false prophets do we see that in our day and age today sure I've just just quickly off the top of my mind here selected a few of them for you Jim Jones that's going to be a familiar name to you jose-luis they have Sushma Rhonda anybody know who this guy is you're going to in just a moment Sun Myung Moon David Koresh Marshall Applewhite he's the one that's in the background of the picture they're the man who led 39 people to kill themselves they're in San Clemente California so that they could go ride around in a spaceship behind the comet hale-bopp how many of you remember that one right Jesus says there will be a state of general religious confusion just before I return and isn't that the case let's just talk for a moment as a case in point just to show you how naive and how gullible people can be now I don't want to pick on anyone no no that is not my purpose I'm a friendly person I love people I love to spend time with people but but let's just look at how gullible people can be take for example number two there this jose-luis the hisui summer and i was introduced to this fella about six months ago when someone sent me a a clip on the internet a show that he had done on NBC's Today Show this guy claims to be Jesus I was on his website just today I thought you might like to take a look at it there's his official English website not going to tell you the name of it why should we give this guy any more credit than he then he deserves no credit whatsoever but if you can see in the in the upper right hand corner here it says the man Christ Jesus dr. Jose Luis the his sous Miranda is coming to the United States of America the king of kings and Lord of lords has arrived in America this is the official release from his website this is a direct quote from his website mr. Miranda's website with over 30 countries already reached more than 350 educational centers his own television and radio satellite channels 300 plus TV and radio programs and entourage of 300 plus faithful pastors and a Ministry of millions of followers growing in numbers every day the nations are shaking as the man Christ Jesus is leading the biggest reform the world has ever seen this is from his official website the man has an estimated 5 to 10 million followers who genuinely believe that he is Jesus Christ do you think this guy's just whistling Dixie you say aah David that's gonna big deal there's a guy down my street that thinks he's Jesus Christ yeah but has the guy down your street appeared on CNN has the guy down your street appeared on CBS national news Fox News live NBC's Today Show and dozens of local and Latino networks do a little Google search on this guy this guy claims to be Jesus he watched the interviews with him there on Anderson Cooper Anderson Cooper says to him straight out are you Jesus he says I'm Jesus and I'm greater than Jesus and then they cut away to his followers and they're all rejoicing and dancing around holding up signs that say the Son of Man is here the Son of Man is here now they love it we don't want to make fun of anybody in fact we want to pray but the point is this the guy is a 60 year old ex heroin addict who spent time in prison and you have hundreds of thousands potentially millions of people that say oh Jesus is here how could they possibly believe such a ridiculous thing they're not studying their Bibles jesus said that's what it would be like just before we returned other examples could be given notice the next sign that Jesus gives verse 6 and you will hear of wars and of rumors of wars see that you are not troubled for all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet do we live in a time where there are wars and rumors of wars yes or no a theistic philosopher Frederick Nietzsche said the 20th century will be the bloodiest ever and he was right more people were killed in war in the last century than in the previous 20 centuries combined beloved we have incomprehensibly deadly weapons wars continue today unabated the post 9-11 world of the so-called war on terror is a strange new that we're just exploring and frankly it's terrifying they don't call it terrorism for nothing despite promises of peace there is no end in sight Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars it reminds me of a story a man by the name of Richard J Gatling drew this patent drawing and submitted it to the United States Patent Office May 19 1865 and and this was a gun that that you could you know the-the-the you've probably seen the Old West movies and you turn a crank like this and it was basically the first machine gun and he was showing his patent to several arms manufacturers and guns manufacturers in his day and and they did an unveiling and the people were walking around this this gun and they were all looking at it and and one of the the arms the gun manufacturers looked at mr. Gatling and said but mr. Gatling won't this weapon make war all the more terrible I mean the loss of life will be so easy now I mean people can just be mowed down in a moment in a second I mean mr. Gatling the won't this weapon make war more terrible than mr. Gatling is the story goes look that man right in the eye and he said no this weapon will make war impossible what he was saying is this people will see the futility of war I mean it will be so easy to kill that people see how foolish it really is how wrong was mr. Gatling when today we have single weapons single bombs that can annihilate tens of thousands of people in a moment August 9th 1945 seventy three thousand eight hundred eighty four people killed when a bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days earlier sixty thousand were killed when a bomb was dropped on Hiroshima so wrong was mr. Gatlin the Gatlin gun didn't make war more impossible it made it more terrible and today we have weapons of mass destruction and weapons of war that could destroy the planet multiplied hundreds of times over we live in an age where war is on proliferation not on the decrease is this true yes or no absolutely true jesus said it would be just like that before he returned but Jesus went on there are still more signs you're still in Matthew chapter 24 verse 7 for nation will rise against nation and Kingdom against Kingdom and there will be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in various places famines the United Nations tells us that one-sixth of the earth is experiencing famine right here today the most conservative estimates are that somewhere between 50 and 90,000 people starve to death every single day many countries are not blessed like the United States of America and are not exporting countries in fact many countries produce not enough food to feed their own population and if it wasn't for countries like the United States many countries would just literally wither up suffering goes beyond these mere numbers here living in Sterling Heights or wherever we live it's these just look like numbers on a screen but these are real people that are really dying of starvation can you think of a worse way to die rapidly decreasing agricultural lands and world population is becoming unsustainable jesus said that the last days would be marked by famines he said there would be pestilences you say what's a pestilence a pestilence is not your kid brother or your kids sister a pestilence is a noxious illness do we live in an age of illnesses and diseases today sure AIDS epidemic in many developing countries SARS I mean some of these diseases you never heard of before ten years ago SARS bird flu Ebola virus the West Nile virus so-called mad cow disease Eugen Linden already showed us that there's a resurgence and a resilience of many more diseases in fact you just do a little google search on flu epidemic and there are many world health professionals that are very concerned that if there was a flu outbreak it could literally kill millions of people lifestyle related diseases are still the number one cause of death jesus said there would be earthquakes the number of known earthquakes and of deadly earthquakes has dramatically increased in 100 years or so now I want you to notice what I say there I choose my language very carefully I didn't say the actual number of earthquakes is increase that's debatable you go on the USGS web the United States Geological Survey and they seem to suggest that the number has not actually increased but I'll tell you what has increased number one we are more sophisticated now with our seismological devices and so we know that more are happening and so there's the appearance of more but number two because people are moving toward more urban centers when earthquakes do take place instead of one or two or 5,000 dying you have earthquakes where tens of thousands of people die like the tsunami that just happened December 26 2004 in which 300,000 people lost their live in one of the greatest natural disasters in all human experience and it happened because of an earthquake Jesus said there would be earthquakes they would be deadly they would be prominent the first five signs of the times the last five destructive weather patterns Jesus said in Luke chapter 21 in verse 25 in verse 26 these words and there will be signs in the Sun and the moon and stars and on the earth distress of nations and perplexity because the roaring of the sea and the waves weren't we just talking about the tsunami people fainting with fear look at this verse 26 phenomenal people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world for the powers of the heavens will be shaken what he's saying is the world is going to look like it's falling apart at the seams the world is going to look like it's going to hell in a handbasket and people are going to be basically fainting and freaking out because they don't know what's happening is that the world we live in yes or no that is the world we live in and if people would just take a moment to stop and really look around they'd see that things are not business as usual it's not status quo any longer but we have distractions that keep us occupied so we're not paying attention to really how things are going I'll talk about that more in just a moment here are just a few I collect these things there's just a few magazine covers that I scanned in I don't know if you can read the writing here but Discover Magazine is hardly a theological journal and here it says what in the world is wrong with our weather they're asking that from an evidentiary basis not a religious basis the one their Life magazine the year of the killer weather why has nature gone mad and do I have to tell you anything about hurricanes here was the first time in the history of recorded hurricanes where the the meteorologist had to go all the way through the the 23 or whatever it is 22 letters picked out and they had to start with Alpha Beta Gamma etcetera we know about it don't we there is an environmental connection and there is an increasing number of scientists and world leaders who are saying yeah I'll tell you why the weather is getting worse it's not just because we're going through a cycle just people say all you know these media meteorological and climatological these things go in cycles and some people are saying yeah but we're accelerating the cycle by adding to it now listen I'm not a scientist but but the world is not that big beloved I know that because my home is in Wyoming and my wife's family lives in California and every year we drive from Michigan to California that doesn't take us that long to do it really we can do it about three days and we're if you look at a map you can see you're going from here to here if if the whole earth was if it was possible to go around the circumference of the earth you just drive around it's not that big of a planet I can get in an airplane and be in Johannesburg South Africa in 15 hours you take all of us and millions more and you put them in cars and those cars start running SUVs and every other kind of thing it just makes sense to me that this would start to have a deleterious effect on a fragile environment I don't think that's a political statement I think it's common sense many are saying that we're living in strange and unusual times when it comes to our environment there's a DVD that was just recently released this is not an endorsement of this DVD it was a full-length movie motion picture that went in theaters I didn't see it this is their website it's called An Inconvenient Truth anybody seen this absolutely amazing I mean it is amazing it's just you can go to their their website their climate crisis net and basically they're saying hey listen we're living in strange and unusual times the man Eugene Lyndon that we cited earlier his book the future in plain sight he just released a book this year 2006 entitled the winds have changed can you read the subtitle their climate weather and the destruction of civilizations Eugene Lenin is not the only one saying these kinds of things a very well-respected and conservative English scientist by the name of dr. James Lovelock loved llyich has written a book called the revenge of Gaia Earth's climate crisis and the fate of humanity noticed this from the opening introduction of his book he says we are now approaching one of these tipping points and our future is like that of the passengers on a small pleasure boat sailing quietly above the Niagara Falls not knowing that the engines are about to fail now in case you're sitting this thing oh well you know these are just those crazy liberal scientists these are those liberal scientists that don't like George Bush they publish these things to get him out of office listen listen listen this is not a political statement it's not a what everyone I could care less right now about politics I want to talk about God's Word but I'll tell you that this man right here do you know who this man is that's Tony Blair that's exactly right this man is anything but a liberal scientist in fact in his own country he gets all kinds of trouble because they say George Bush has got him in his back pocket he's not the kind of person that would want to say something to upset his relationship with the United States of America but look at the date there 10:30 1:06 that's 102 weeks ago are not even two weeks ago about a week ago he did an appeal to world leaders at a science conference and this is what mr. Blair said again not some radical renegade Liberal scientist this is Tony Blair our ally and the war on terror conservative he said what is not in doubt is that the scientific evidence of global warming is now overwhelming now notice what he says the consequences for our planet are literally disastrous if you've ever heard this man speak he's not a wild-eyed fanatic I mean not even close he's a very sober minded very articulate very intelligent person he says this disaster is not set to happen in some science fiction future many years ahead but in our lifetime unless we act now says Mr Blair these consequences disastrous as they are will be irreversible now okay let's just say you disagree with them that's your prerogative to disagree with him the point is this even non-religious people say we're living in unusual times is that clear yes or no that's the point increasing violence do I need to say anything about this do we live in an increasingly violent society nothing needs to be said here of it whether it's the television or rap music or videogames lord have mercy look at these video games that people are playing today I mean it's so real I love it when they get these experts on these television programs my parents used to live in just outside of Columbine Colorado in fact they lived in Columbine when that terrible tragedy took place there and those two boys went in and killed what was at 11 or 12 of their classmates and then they have these experts on CNN and c-span and other places and they'd say now now we'd like to ask you dr. so-and-so so-and-so you know we noticed that these boys are listening to violent music and they're playing violent video games and they're watching violent television programs do you think that it might be possible that there is some causal explanation that maybe it's possible perhaps the the things that they're exposing themselves to these media things are causing them to do this well you know we're not sure and I'm thinking ah the whole world is gone insane we don't need to say anything about an increasingly violent Society Jesus said the the love of many would wax cold and that the thoughts of men would be only on evil continually at the end of time pleasure driven Society number eight is that the society that we live in today oh lord have mercy Jesus says at the end of time the pornography business will be booming Jesus says at the end of time everybody's going to be interested in sports Jesus says at the end of time television is going to be huge at the end of time media cinema houses are going to be huge pleasure pleasure pleasure why is pleasure so much on our minds I'll take exactly why it's on our minds because we lurk we're looking for distractions to keep our minds out of what is really happening in the world today there's actually a psychological phenomenon here called compartmentalization it's when when basically just imagine with me that you think you're going on vacation to Orlando he's all yeah you got the whole family loaded up in the SUV whoohoo going Orlando and you think you're on your way to Orlando right you're all happy oh this is gonna be great Orlando can't wait to get on that meet you you pass the sign and the sign says Akron Akron Ohio you think huh that's alright we're on our way to Orlando whoo turn up mmm-hmm driving on your way and he passed another sign that says Columbus I never mind that sign anyway we're on our way to Orlando just turn up the meat that's that's the experience that many are having but there are signs and indicators that the world is falling apart at the seams but we just turn it up turn up the pleasure so we don't have to think about what's really happening in the world today are you following me everyone yes or no it's a psychological phenomenon called compartmentalization because we don't like to think about these things and yet Jesus is saying watch and Paul is saying watch and Peter's saying watch and John is saying watch and we're saying yeah we will watch must-see TV second Timothy chapter 3 notice what Paul said but know this that in the last days what days everyone the last days perilous times will come for men will be lovers of themselves lovers of money boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents any parent want to say amen to that Amen unthankful unholy unloving unforgiving slanderers without self-control brutal I mean I just think of those images of some of those terrorists literally hacking the heads off of a man right on television knowing that their families are going to see it I mean brutal brutal despisers of good traitors headstrong haughty lovers of what everyone pleasure rather than lovers of God you've got it loss of family values number nine divorce rate is over fifty percent in the United States I had the honor but the the terribly sad honor last year of burying my grandfather he was like a father to me I never had the privilege of meeting my biological father and so my grandfather was like my dad I had the privilege last year of performing his funeral I wish he was still with me he died at the age of 92 years old and if he would have lived for more months he and my grandmother who's still alive would have been married for 70 years beloved that is the exception today and not the rule divorce rate over 50% in the United States gay marriage and the homosexual agenda I mean beloved I don't want to say much about this because God loves homosexual people can someone say amen to that but he does not love homosexuality see that's the thing God loves the sinner but he hates the sin we're the opposite we love the sin and hate the sinner but we love it when I was in high school and I want to be very candid here but but but let me just the worst thing that you could have been called was gay when I was in high school I mean you get beat up just for somebody suggesting that and now it's a happy hour everybody's gay now gay and proud gay and loud listen beloved there's an agenda going on here violent pleasure driven society a godless media I mean listen beloved these statistics are mind-blowing 46 million abortions per year globally 1.3 7 million per year in the United States in 1996 absentee parents and detached children family values literally eroding right before our very eyes look at this statistic it will just blow your minds Michael and Diane medve droughts their book saving childhood The Wall Street Journal review of this book said that if this isn't an important book I don't know what an important book looks like this is from page 19 the average American child will spend more time watching TV by the age of 5 than they will spend talking to their father in their lifetime that is the society that you live in that is the society that your children are growing up in in 1940 Reader's Digest took a a poll of the top seven disciplinary problems in schools who look at these wouldn't you teach any teachers here today once you love to have these talking out of turn whoo that was one that I struggled with chewing gum in class making noise running in the hallway that was another one that I struggled with cutting in line never struggled with that when I get beat up if I did that number six dress code infractions I mean you say to our young people today dress code they say a what code they don't even know what that is a dress code littering whoo those are some real problems they took the same survey in the year 2000 top seven problems for educators drug abuse alcohol abuse making that shouldn't be making noise pregnancy suicide rape and assault have times change yes or no times have changed in gospel to all the world good for you Matthew chapter 24 Matthew chapter 24 but notice the greatest sign of all Matthew chapter 24 phenomenal jesus says and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness verse 14 and then the end will come the greatest sign is that while the world is going down like this God says that his kingdom will be building up that the gospel will go to all the world to give everyone a chance to be saved the gospel is going to all the world the end is it here near or mere fear the answer of the Bible is that it's very near you say well how near the answer is I don't know but I do know this in a world of uncertainty Bible prophecy provides us with certainty now you might be saying well there's always been earthquakes and there's always been famines and there's always been pestilence and there's always been those things but remember what were the two illustrations as we close the two illustrations the two analogies that Jesus used were were labor pains and a budding fig tree think about contractions I don't know them experientially but I've been with my wife two times through this process and they start far apart and they're not very intense and then they get closer and closer and closer and as they get closer they get more intense closer and more intense closer and more intense it's not that some new sign would come on but that the same old signs would be at pitch fever pitch at maximum volume very close together very intense and that is the world that you live in beloved but the good news is is that the end of this world is the beginning of the world to come this is not bad news I mean it's bad news in a sense but for the believer this is all good news because this world is not my home mom just a passing through you heard that song my treasures are laid up somewhere along the blue beloved God has a home for you Jesus said let not your heart be troubled you believe in God believe also in me John chapter 14 in my father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am you may be also if you're a believer this world is not your home it's all about priorities isn't it it's all about priorities beloved my my studied conviction is that we are living in the very toes of this image and one of the things that we're gonna do one of the several things that we're gonna do here in this Bible prophecy seminar is to set a sense of urgency to show you this is how it's going to end according to the Bible not according to one man's ideas or one man's opinion but according to what the Bible says this is how it's all gonna wrap up and so you can get ready and stay ready can you say Amen I don't know about you but I want to be ready raise your hand if you with me if you want to be read you want to say this world is not my home let's pray together father in heaven this world is not our home we say that by faith this world is passing away and it's not just religious people that are saying it father the evidence is in very few of us in this room are hardcore scientists and climatologists and astrophysicists but father we have eyes to see the world looks like it's going crazy Lord we turn on the television and we know that life is not supposed to be like this we know that something is wrong those of us who have young children are deadly afraid of raising our kids up in this world how do we even teach them what's right and wrong father give us a grace father I want to pray for every person here pray that you'll be with their homes with their families and father help them to be making decisions in their daily lives that indicate that their real priorities are not in this world it doesn't mean that we can't have a little fun every now and then of course you said that you've come that our life might be full of joy and that we might have life and have it more abundantly but father help us as Peter said and as Paul said to be sober and to be serious about the times in which we are living father thank you for bringing us here tonight bring us back safely tomorrow night and bind our hearts together with your heart we ask in Jesus name let everyone say Amen [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: hopemedia

Views: 55,668

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Keywords: David Asscherick, Hope Media Ministry, hopevideo hopemedia, end of the world

Id: _Y7h7evsH34

Length: 59min 23sec (3563 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 31 2011