1 00:00:00,430 --> 00:00:02,690 Welcome to From the Pulpit in Classic Sermons. 2 00:00:03,030 --> 00:00:04,570 Each week we bring you a different message 3 00:00:04,570 --> 00:00:06,610 from some of history's greatest speakers in the 4 00:00:06,610 --> 00:00:07,250 Christian faith. 5 00:00:07,430 --> 00:00:09,430 And powerful sermons from modern preachers, too. 6 00:00:09,730 --> 00:00:11,490 This week we have Joel Rosenberg. 7 00:00:11,750 --> 00:00:13,470 With his message, Are We Living in the 8 00:00:13,470 --> 00:00:14,150 Last Days? 9 00:00:14,950 --> 00:00:15,730 Good morning. 10 00:00:15,990 --> 00:00:17,230 It's an honor to be with you this 11 00:00:17,230 --> 00:00:17,510 morning. 12 00:00:18,330 --> 00:00:19,970 I'm from the East Coast, so you've got 13 00:00:19,970 --> 00:00:22,190 to excuse my disbelief that there's anyone up 14 00:00:22,190 --> 00:00:25,150 in California this time of morning. 15 00:00:25,330 --> 00:00:27,850 But this is nice, and I appreciate you 16 00:00:27,850 --> 00:00:28,550 guys coming out. 17 00:00:28,550 --> 00:00:30,970 Thank you for what you do here at 18 00:00:30,970 --> 00:00:32,850 Calvary Chapel, and for the way you're reaching 19 00:00:32,850 --> 00:00:35,530 your community and the world for Christ. 20 00:00:36,630 --> 00:00:37,910 No time like the present. 21 00:00:38,670 --> 00:00:40,790 Our topic this morning is, Are We Living 22 00:00:40,790 --> 00:00:42,010 in the Last Days? 23 00:00:42,490 --> 00:00:44,010 And you just look at the world around 24 00:00:44,010 --> 00:00:45,690 you, and you have to ask that question. 25 00:00:47,170 --> 00:00:50,910 If you can't send your children to school 26 00:00:50,910 --> 00:00:54,950 safely in a one-room Amish schoolhouse, you 27 00:00:54,950 --> 00:00:56,410 start wondering what is going on in our 28 00:00:56,410 --> 00:00:56,750 country. 29 00:00:57,770 --> 00:01:00,910 You've got North Korea testing a nuclear weapon 30 00:01:00,910 --> 00:01:05,310 and ballistic missiles capable of reaching Los Angeles. 31 00:01:06,470 --> 00:01:10,650 You've got the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 32 00:01:10,770 --> 00:01:12,150 I want you to say that five times 33 00:01:12,150 --> 00:01:12,790 quickly with me. 34 00:01:13,310 --> 00:01:13,850 No, I'm just kidding. 35 00:01:13,930 --> 00:01:15,990 You can just say Ahmed Genocide, because that 36 00:01:15,990 --> 00:01:17,970 sort of captures the sense of where he's 37 00:01:17,970 --> 00:01:18,270 going. 38 00:01:18,270 --> 00:01:21,710 The president of Iran is telling people that 39 00:01:21,710 --> 00:01:24,030 he believes the end of the world is 40 00:01:24,030 --> 00:01:25,010 rapidly approaching. 41 00:01:25,310 --> 00:01:27,350 Last year when he was elected, he was 42 00:01:27,350 --> 00:01:29,850 telling people in Iran that he believed the 43 00:01:29,850 --> 00:01:31,370 end of the world was just two or 44 00:01:31,370 --> 00:01:32,290 three years away. 45 00:01:33,170 --> 00:01:35,190 And that the way to hasten the coming 46 00:01:35,190 --> 00:01:38,550 of the Islamic Messiah, known as the 12th 47 00:01:38,550 --> 00:01:41,230 Imam or the Mahdi, the way to hasten 48 00:01:41,230 --> 00:01:44,030 his arrival is to launch a global jihad, 49 00:01:44,030 --> 00:01:47,730 to annihilate Israel, the little Satan in his 50 00:01:47,730 --> 00:01:50,470 view, and the United States, whom he calls 51 00:01:50,470 --> 00:01:51,230 the great Satan. 52 00:01:53,550 --> 00:01:55,610 And, of course, you know Iran is feverishly 53 00:01:55,610 --> 00:01:58,830 trying to build, buy, or steal nuclear weapons, 54 00:01:58,890 --> 00:02:02,270 and is building military alliances with three nuclear 55 00:02:02,270 --> 00:02:05,650 powers, Russia, China, and North Korea. 56 00:02:06,970 --> 00:02:08,870 You've got the former Speaker of the House, 57 00:02:08,970 --> 00:02:11,310 Newt Gingrich, saying that he believes we are 58 00:02:11,310 --> 00:02:13,810 watching the early stages of World War III. 59 00:02:14,850 --> 00:02:18,290 You've got Senator John McCain, the Arizona senator 60 00:02:18,290 --> 00:02:22,530 widely touted as a possible presidential candidate, saying 61 00:02:22,530 --> 00:02:24,310 on Meet the Press a few months ago 62 00:02:24,310 --> 00:02:29,270 that if Iran gets nuclear weapons, he believes, 63 00:02:29,410 --> 00:02:32,590 quote, I think we could see Armageddon, unquote. 64 00:02:32,850 --> 00:02:34,730 Now, Senator McCain is known for a lot 65 00:02:34,730 --> 00:02:35,190 of things. 66 00:02:35,630 --> 00:02:37,610 He's known as a war hero. 67 00:02:37,970 --> 00:02:39,930 He's known for his straight talk. 68 00:02:39,930 --> 00:02:43,070 He's known as a Republican for getting conservatives 69 00:02:43,070 --> 00:02:44,430 all mad at him when he does deals 70 00:02:44,430 --> 00:02:46,130 with the Democrats and vice versa. 71 00:02:46,810 --> 00:02:48,910 He is not really known for citing the 72 00:02:48,910 --> 00:02:51,730 Book of Revelation on national television in terms 73 00:02:51,730 --> 00:02:53,530 of foreign policy crises in the Middle East. 74 00:02:54,090 --> 00:02:55,790 Yet that's the moment that we're in right 75 00:02:55,790 --> 00:02:59,090 now, and it's an intriguing moment. 76 00:02:59,230 --> 00:03:00,310 It's a dangerous moment. 77 00:03:00,410 --> 00:03:01,890 It's hard to imagine how we're going to 78 00:03:01,890 --> 00:03:04,830 keep the nuclear genie in the bottle in 79 00:03:04,830 --> 00:03:05,970 North Korea and Iran. 80 00:03:06,710 --> 00:03:09,650 And these two countries are talking about launching 81 00:03:09,650 --> 00:03:11,990 what would effectively be World War III. 82 00:03:13,290 --> 00:03:16,210 Now, I write novels, and I'm going to 83 00:03:16,210 --> 00:03:17,250 tell you a little bit about that this 84 00:03:17,250 --> 00:03:17,470 morning. 85 00:03:17,510 --> 00:03:18,390 I write political thrillers. 86 00:03:18,450 --> 00:03:19,950 I did have a career in politics for 87 00:03:19,950 --> 00:03:23,470 many years, but I kept helping my candidates 88 00:03:23,470 --> 00:03:23,870 lose. 89 00:03:24,110 --> 00:03:25,670 So I thought, maybe that's not really the 90 00:03:25,670 --> 00:03:26,310 career for me. 91 00:03:26,750 --> 00:03:28,730 Maybe I ought to shift and get out 92 00:03:28,730 --> 00:03:30,210 of that and just make things up for 93 00:03:30,210 --> 00:03:30,470 a living. 94 00:03:30,470 --> 00:03:32,750 And I began writing a series of political 95 00:03:32,750 --> 00:03:33,310 thrillers. 96 00:03:33,530 --> 00:03:36,710 As the pastor mentioned, The Last Jihad, The 97 00:03:36,710 --> 00:03:40,530 Last Days, The Ezekiel Option, The Copper Scroll. 98 00:03:41,030 --> 00:03:43,670 I've got a new nonfiction book out this 99 00:03:43,670 --> 00:03:46,970 week or this month called Epicenter, Why the 100 00:03:46,970 --> 00:03:49,750 Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change 101 00:03:49,750 --> 00:03:50,190 Your Future. 102 00:03:50,190 --> 00:03:51,430 And it talks about these issues. 103 00:03:51,710 --> 00:03:54,370 All of these thrillers take you inside these 104 00:03:54,370 --> 00:03:57,070 Middle Eastern adventures and what could happen. 105 00:03:57,070 --> 00:03:59,410 And they've had a strange way of coming 106 00:03:59,410 --> 00:04:00,490 true, each one of them. 107 00:04:00,550 --> 00:04:03,250 And now Epicenter takes us nonfictionally into this 108 00:04:03,250 --> 00:04:03,470 world. 109 00:04:03,550 --> 00:04:04,630 But this is the question. 110 00:04:04,890 --> 00:04:07,950 And since the middle of July, when I 111 00:04:07,950 --> 00:04:10,710 started this book tour for The Copper Scroll, 112 00:04:11,450 --> 00:04:14,490 I've been on over 200 radio and television 113 00:04:14,490 --> 00:04:15,209 programs. 114 00:04:15,670 --> 00:04:17,930 People interviewing me about what's going on in 115 00:04:17,930 --> 00:04:20,670 the Middle East and where is this leading. 116 00:04:20,670 --> 00:04:23,150 I was on CNN in August at the 117 00:04:23,150 --> 00:04:26,170 height of when Hezbollah was raining 4,000 118 00:04:26,170 --> 00:04:30,170 missiles and rockets down on the citizens of 119 00:04:30,170 --> 00:04:30,490 Israel. 120 00:04:31,170 --> 00:04:33,570 And the CNN anchor said, Joel, you know, 121 00:04:34,250 --> 00:04:36,630 based on all the horrible things we're seeing 122 00:04:36,630 --> 00:04:39,250 in the Middle East, are we living in 123 00:04:39,250 --> 00:04:40,110 the last days? 124 00:04:41,550 --> 00:04:42,730 I mean, you've written about this, Joel. 125 00:04:42,830 --> 00:04:44,410 You wrote a book called The Last Days. 126 00:04:44,570 --> 00:04:45,810 You speak on this widely. 127 00:04:46,130 --> 00:04:47,790 What are the signs we're supposed to be 128 00:04:47,790 --> 00:04:48,290 watching for? 129 00:04:48,330 --> 00:04:49,350 And do you think we're there? 130 00:04:49,350 --> 00:04:51,430 Now, remember, this is not, you know, this 131 00:04:51,430 --> 00:04:53,010 is not Pastor Chuck Smith asking me. 132 00:04:53,610 --> 00:04:55,090 This is not your pastor asking me. 133 00:04:55,150 --> 00:04:56,050 This is CNN. 134 00:04:57,010 --> 00:04:58,650 They're asking, are we living in the last 135 00:04:58,650 --> 00:04:58,930 days? 136 00:04:58,930 --> 00:04:59,810 And it's a good question. 137 00:04:59,930 --> 00:05:01,690 It's an important question, given all that we're 138 00:05:01,690 --> 00:05:01,950 seeing. 139 00:05:02,330 --> 00:05:03,490 And we're going to get into that this 140 00:05:03,490 --> 00:05:03,670 morning. 141 00:05:03,730 --> 00:05:05,590 We're going to start in Matthew chapter 24. 142 00:05:06,050 --> 00:05:06,930 So I want to turn there. 143 00:05:06,950 --> 00:05:08,090 And as we do, let me give you 144 00:05:08,090 --> 00:05:11,290 a little bit of background of how I 145 00:05:11,290 --> 00:05:12,770 got to this topic. 146 00:05:14,210 --> 00:05:15,770 I am an evangelical Christian. 147 00:05:15,770 --> 00:05:18,150 As the pastor mentioned, I'm from an Orthodox 148 00:05:18,150 --> 00:05:19,090 Jewish background. 149 00:05:19,290 --> 00:05:23,950 My Orthodox Jewish grandparents and great-grandparents actually 150 00:05:23,950 --> 00:05:27,970 escaped out of Russia around 1907 when the 151 00:05:27,970 --> 00:05:30,670 czar was killing thousands upon thousands of Jews. 152 00:05:31,170 --> 00:05:34,030 Basically, you had two options in anti-Semitic, 153 00:05:34,170 --> 00:05:36,870 fascist, czarist Russia in 1907. 154 00:05:37,330 --> 00:05:40,190 You could fiddle on the roof or you 155 00:05:40,190 --> 00:05:41,470 could consider trying to get out. 156 00:05:41,990 --> 00:05:43,830 And my family was like, hmm, let's try 157 00:05:43,830 --> 00:05:44,610 at least to get out. 158 00:05:44,610 --> 00:05:46,550 Now, obviously, many were unsuccessful. 159 00:05:46,770 --> 00:05:48,910 But God, by His grace, got our family 160 00:05:48,910 --> 00:05:49,310 out. 161 00:05:49,850 --> 00:05:51,530 In fact, they hid in a hay wagon 162 00:05:51,530 --> 00:05:53,210 that was crossing a border. 163 00:05:53,430 --> 00:05:56,770 And czarist soldiers plunged their swords into the 164 00:05:56,770 --> 00:05:58,550 hay to see if anyone was in there. 165 00:05:59,110 --> 00:06:01,030 By God's grace, no one was injured. 166 00:06:02,050 --> 00:06:03,270 None of the kids sneezed. 167 00:06:03,810 --> 00:06:05,270 None of the kids said, are we there 168 00:06:05,270 --> 00:06:05,530 yet? 169 00:06:06,330 --> 00:06:07,490 I got to go to the bathroom. 170 00:06:08,410 --> 00:06:09,430 They were able to get out. 171 00:06:09,430 --> 00:06:13,510 And having gotten out of fascist, anti-Semitic, 172 00:06:13,550 --> 00:06:15,910 czarist Russia, they didn't go, ooh, let's settle 173 00:06:15,910 --> 00:06:18,050 in Germany or Poland or Austria. 174 00:06:18,530 --> 00:06:20,410 They worked their way across the continent of 175 00:06:20,410 --> 00:06:20,590 Europe. 176 00:06:21,050 --> 00:06:22,910 They got to Ellis Island in New York. 177 00:06:23,170 --> 00:06:24,870 And like any good Jewish family, they set 178 00:06:24,870 --> 00:06:26,430 up shop in Brooklyn, which is where my 179 00:06:26,430 --> 00:06:27,310 father was raised. 180 00:06:28,070 --> 00:06:30,030 Now, by God's grace, he and my, and 181 00:06:30,030 --> 00:06:32,790 eventually the woman he married, came to know 182 00:06:32,790 --> 00:06:35,790 Jesus as the Messiah and helped lead me 183 00:06:35,790 --> 00:06:36,410 into the kingdom. 184 00:06:37,210 --> 00:06:39,090 And so that's my background. 185 00:06:39,090 --> 00:06:42,170 And then, as I mentioned, 11 years in 186 00:06:42,170 --> 00:06:44,690 politics, working for a number of U.S. 187 00:06:44,710 --> 00:06:48,390 and Israeli political leaders, including Steve Forbes, which 188 00:06:48,390 --> 00:06:49,490 was a wonderful time. 189 00:06:49,590 --> 00:06:52,450 I helped him lose two presidential campaigns. 190 00:06:53,010 --> 00:06:53,710 That was exciting. 191 00:06:54,210 --> 00:06:57,050 And then for former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 192 00:06:57,050 --> 00:07:00,170 Netanyahu, who, as you know, also lost a 193 00:07:00,170 --> 00:07:01,250 campaign not long ago. 194 00:07:01,430 --> 00:07:04,530 So I got into writing novels. 195 00:07:04,890 --> 00:07:06,050 I thought, you know, let's just make things 196 00:07:06,050 --> 00:07:06,270 up. 197 00:07:06,270 --> 00:07:09,770 And I'd never written fiction before, although when 198 00:07:09,770 --> 00:07:11,710 I was ghostwriting for Rush Limbaugh in the 199 00:07:11,710 --> 00:07:13,810 mid-'90s, some of my liberal friends said I 200 00:07:13,810 --> 00:07:15,470 was making things up and writing fiction, but 201 00:07:15,470 --> 00:07:16,390 that was different. 202 00:07:16,950 --> 00:07:19,550 So I decided I'm going to write thrillers. 203 00:07:20,210 --> 00:07:21,950 I'm going to write a series of thrillers 204 00:07:21,950 --> 00:07:23,330 that draw you in on an adventure. 205 00:07:23,730 --> 00:07:26,750 And hopefully, when you can't put the novel 206 00:07:26,750 --> 00:07:28,530 down, maybe three-quarters of the way into 207 00:07:28,530 --> 00:07:30,470 the book, I'm going to raise the spiritual 208 00:07:30,470 --> 00:07:32,090 temperature to the point that one of the 209 00:07:32,090 --> 00:07:34,250 characters shares the gospel with another. 210 00:07:34,250 --> 00:07:36,590 And I want to take people inside the 211 00:07:36,590 --> 00:07:37,590 events in the Middle East. 212 00:07:38,470 --> 00:07:39,950 And I want to take them on a 213 00:07:39,950 --> 00:07:42,410 series of events that could be leading us, 214 00:07:42,710 --> 00:07:45,130 that could cause the characters to wonder, are 215 00:07:45,130 --> 00:07:46,690 we living in the last days? 216 00:07:47,330 --> 00:07:49,610 So, okay, for my first novel, it was 217 00:07:49,610 --> 00:07:51,010 called The Last Jihad. 218 00:07:51,590 --> 00:07:54,610 The first page puts you inside the cockpit 219 00:07:54,610 --> 00:07:57,690 of a jet plane that's been hijacked by 220 00:07:57,690 --> 00:07:59,150 radical Islamic terrorists. 221 00:07:59,570 --> 00:08:01,890 It's coming in on a kamikaze attack mission 222 00:08:01,890 --> 00:08:03,250 into an American city. 223 00:08:03,250 --> 00:08:06,570 This is nine months before September 11th. 224 00:08:06,570 --> 00:08:09,010 I began writing it in January 2001. 225 00:08:10,250 --> 00:08:11,810 And as the story of The Last Jihad 226 00:08:11,810 --> 00:08:16,370 unfolds, the fictional American president gets into a 227 00:08:16,370 --> 00:08:20,950 global war against radical Islam, and then with 228 00:08:20,950 --> 00:08:24,350 a fictional war with Saddam Hussein over terrorism 229 00:08:24,350 --> 00:08:26,270 and weapons of mass destruction. 230 00:08:26,910 --> 00:08:30,510 I was literally finishing The Last Jihad on 231 00:08:30,510 --> 00:08:34,350 the morning of September 11th, 2001, in a 232 00:08:34,350 --> 00:08:36,010 townhouse that my wife and I and kids 233 00:08:36,010 --> 00:08:38,570 were living in at the time, just 15 234 00:08:38,570 --> 00:08:42,090 minutes away from Washington Dulles Airport, where at 235 00:08:42,090 --> 00:08:45,810 that moment, Flight 77 was being hijacked, turned 236 00:08:45,810 --> 00:08:48,990 around, flown over our house, and into the 237 00:08:48,990 --> 00:08:49,230 Pentagon. 238 00:08:50,230 --> 00:08:52,650 Now, we didn't ever expect that novel to 239 00:08:52,650 --> 00:08:53,190 be published. 240 00:08:53,190 --> 00:08:56,130 A whole series of events ensued in which 241 00:08:56,130 --> 00:08:58,690 eventually The Last Jihad was published a year 242 00:08:58,690 --> 00:08:59,010 later. 243 00:08:59,210 --> 00:09:01,150 And I had, you know, no one had 244 00:09:01,150 --> 00:09:01,730 ever heard of me. 245 00:09:02,130 --> 00:09:03,130 No one had ever heard of The Last 246 00:09:03,130 --> 00:09:03,430 Jihad. 247 00:09:04,070 --> 00:09:06,430 But suddenly, there was so much interest because 248 00:09:06,430 --> 00:09:08,510 this novel was essentially coming true. 249 00:09:09,290 --> 00:09:12,410 And I was interviewed on over 160 radio 250 00:09:12,410 --> 00:09:13,490 and television shows. 251 00:09:14,070 --> 00:09:17,650 And people would say, you know, how is 252 00:09:17,650 --> 00:09:20,030 it possible to write a novel that begins 253 00:09:20,030 --> 00:09:22,930 with a kamikaze attack against the United States 254 00:09:22,930 --> 00:09:24,370 and leads to a war with Iraq? 255 00:09:25,190 --> 00:09:26,350 How did you do that? 256 00:09:26,430 --> 00:09:27,810 What do you think is happening next? 257 00:09:27,990 --> 00:09:29,670 You know, look in your little crystal ball 258 00:09:29,670 --> 00:09:31,610 and see where we're going with this thing. 259 00:09:32,010 --> 00:09:34,030 And then we would walk these through and 260 00:09:34,030 --> 00:09:35,090 we would talk about these issues. 261 00:09:35,250 --> 00:09:37,370 And then they would say, now, your name 262 00:09:37,370 --> 00:09:38,290 is Rosenberg, right? 263 00:09:39,150 --> 00:09:39,710 I'd say, right. 264 00:09:40,450 --> 00:09:41,650 They'd say, that's Jewish, isn't it? 265 00:09:42,250 --> 00:09:42,610 Right. 266 00:09:43,270 --> 00:09:44,830 But you've got all these characters in your 267 00:09:44,830 --> 00:09:44,990 book. 268 00:09:45,070 --> 00:09:46,390 They're all talking about Jesus, aren't they? 269 00:09:47,210 --> 00:09:47,610 Right. 270 00:09:48,110 --> 00:09:48,750 What is that? 271 00:09:48,930 --> 00:09:49,890 What are you, born again? 272 00:09:50,350 --> 00:09:51,470 Are you an evangelical Christian? 273 00:09:51,650 --> 00:09:52,690 I said, well, yes, I am. 274 00:09:53,010 --> 00:09:53,890 Well, how is that possible? 275 00:09:54,210 --> 00:09:55,870 How can you be Jewish and believe in 276 00:09:55,870 --> 00:09:56,130 Jesus? 277 00:09:56,910 --> 00:09:58,170 So I said, well, actually, it is an 278 00:09:58,170 --> 00:09:58,750 interesting story. 279 00:09:58,830 --> 00:10:00,050 I mean, you probably don't have time for 280 00:10:00,050 --> 00:10:01,090 me to talk about it right now. 281 00:10:01,150 --> 00:10:01,610 Well, oh, no. 282 00:10:01,990 --> 00:10:03,430 It's one thing to have a novelist who 283 00:10:03,430 --> 00:10:06,010 writes novels that come true on our show. 284 00:10:06,070 --> 00:10:07,450 It's another thing to have some Jew who 285 00:10:07,450 --> 00:10:08,030 believes in Jesus. 286 00:10:08,110 --> 00:10:08,990 I never even heard of that. 287 00:10:09,110 --> 00:10:10,050 Why don't you tell us your story? 288 00:10:11,030 --> 00:10:12,870 And in less than 60 days, I was 289 00:10:12,870 --> 00:10:14,590 able to talk about my faith in Jesus 290 00:10:14,590 --> 00:10:16,570 Christ with over 20 million people. 291 00:10:17,250 --> 00:10:20,210 And this just set into motion a series 292 00:10:20,210 --> 00:10:20,690 of novels. 293 00:10:20,870 --> 00:10:22,430 And the publisher came to me and said, 294 00:10:22,570 --> 00:10:23,930 would you like to write another one? 295 00:10:23,990 --> 00:10:25,990 And I thought, OK, you know, beats working, 296 00:10:26,290 --> 00:10:26,530 right? 297 00:10:26,630 --> 00:10:27,550 What else am I going to do? 298 00:10:27,570 --> 00:10:29,550 Go help people lose more campaigns? 299 00:10:29,710 --> 00:10:29,990 OK. 300 00:10:30,810 --> 00:10:32,270 So that's when I wrote the book The 301 00:10:32,270 --> 00:10:33,110 Last Days. 302 00:10:33,290 --> 00:10:35,990 And that begins with the death of Yasser 303 00:10:35,990 --> 00:10:39,490 Arafat, an American president pushing for peace and 304 00:10:39,490 --> 00:10:41,290 democracy in the Middle East. 305 00:10:41,290 --> 00:10:44,710 And strangely enough, well, 13 months after the 306 00:10:44,710 --> 00:10:46,130 book came out, Arafat was dead. 307 00:10:46,650 --> 00:10:49,390 Two months after that, President Bush decided to 308 00:10:49,390 --> 00:10:51,730 make democracy in the Middle East the centerpiece 309 00:10:51,730 --> 00:10:53,330 of his second term agenda. 310 00:10:54,310 --> 00:10:56,030 And what's strange is still was the first 311 00:10:56,030 --> 00:10:58,550 pages of The Last Days puts you inside 312 00:10:58,550 --> 00:11:02,490 a U.S. diplomatic convoy heading into Gaza 313 00:11:02,490 --> 00:11:05,810 as part of the peace process when that 314 00:11:05,810 --> 00:11:07,870 convoy is suddenly blown up by a massive 315 00:11:07,870 --> 00:11:08,370 explosion. 316 00:11:09,170 --> 00:11:12,770 Six days before The Last Days hit bookstores, 317 00:11:13,050 --> 00:11:16,690 a U.S. diplomatic convoy heading into Gaza 318 00:11:16,690 --> 00:11:19,170 as part of the peace process was attacked 319 00:11:19,170 --> 00:11:19,970 by terrorists. 320 00:11:20,710 --> 00:11:22,330 This is when U.S. News & World 321 00:11:22,330 --> 00:11:24,950 Report did a story on me describing me 322 00:11:24,950 --> 00:11:26,430 as a modern Nostradamus. 323 00:11:26,930 --> 00:11:28,390 Now I'm having to go on all these 324 00:11:28,390 --> 00:11:30,330 radio and television shows saying, no, no, no, 325 00:11:30,370 --> 00:11:31,430 I'm not a Nostradamus. 326 00:11:31,690 --> 00:11:32,510 I'm not a psychic. 327 00:11:32,890 --> 00:11:34,210 I'm not a clairvoyant. 328 00:11:34,510 --> 00:11:35,950 I don't call Miss Cleo in the middle 329 00:11:35,950 --> 00:11:37,270 of the night to get my plot ideas, 330 00:11:37,310 --> 00:11:37,510 OK? 331 00:11:38,070 --> 00:11:40,710 I'm an evangelical Christian from an Orthodox Jewish 332 00:11:40,710 --> 00:11:41,410 background. 333 00:11:41,610 --> 00:11:43,610 I'm basing these novels on a series of... 334 00:11:43,610 --> 00:11:44,650 And they said, what did you say? 335 00:11:45,110 --> 00:11:46,430 I said, well, I'm basing these series on 336 00:11:46,430 --> 00:11:46,950 a very... 337 00:11:46,950 --> 00:11:47,870 No, no, no, no, before that. 338 00:11:47,970 --> 00:11:49,510 Did you just say you're Jewish and you 339 00:11:49,510 --> 00:11:50,030 believe in Jesus? 340 00:11:51,010 --> 00:11:51,830 I said, yes. 341 00:11:51,830 --> 00:11:53,490 And so I'm basing these novels on a 342 00:11:53,490 --> 00:11:54,170 series of events... 343 00:11:54,170 --> 00:11:56,150 No, no, no, no, I happen to be 344 00:11:56,150 --> 00:11:57,670 Jewish and believe in Jesus. 345 00:11:58,450 --> 00:11:59,670 I said, well, actually, it is an interesting 346 00:11:59,670 --> 00:12:00,150 story. 347 00:12:00,270 --> 00:12:02,150 And sure enough, they gave me a chance 348 00:12:02,150 --> 00:12:03,730 to talk about my faith in Christ with 349 00:12:03,730 --> 00:12:04,770 15 million people. 350 00:12:04,770 --> 00:12:07,790 So this has just set into motion these 351 00:12:07,790 --> 00:12:10,230 series of books that they're all based on 352 00:12:10,230 --> 00:12:10,970 Bible prophecy. 353 00:12:11,250 --> 00:12:13,090 And they're all based on the sense that 354 00:12:13,090 --> 00:12:16,710 while we are not going to know the 355 00:12:16,710 --> 00:12:19,010 date and time that Jesus comes back, there 356 00:12:19,010 --> 00:12:21,010 are clues, there are things to watch for 357 00:12:21,010 --> 00:12:23,050 that indicate that we may be getting a 358 00:12:23,050 --> 00:12:24,730 lot closer than most people realize. 359 00:12:25,430 --> 00:12:27,150 And so that's most recent. 360 00:12:27,310 --> 00:12:30,470 Now, this has happened so many times that 361 00:12:30,470 --> 00:12:32,470 now when I'm on CNN, they just say 362 00:12:32,470 --> 00:12:33,990 flat out, all right, let's just get right 363 00:12:33,990 --> 00:12:34,630 to the prophecies. 364 00:12:35,050 --> 00:12:35,650 What are they? 365 00:12:36,030 --> 00:12:36,910 And what should we look at? 366 00:12:37,190 --> 00:12:38,730 So let's talk about that today. 367 00:12:38,870 --> 00:12:40,050 Matthew chapter 24. 368 00:12:40,190 --> 00:12:42,550 You know, Jesus was asked this very question 369 00:12:42,550 --> 00:12:45,730 by his disciples at the beginning of Matthew 370 00:12:45,730 --> 00:12:46,150 24. 371 00:12:46,570 --> 00:12:47,910 They said to him, when are you coming 372 00:12:47,910 --> 00:12:48,370 back? 373 00:12:49,010 --> 00:12:50,450 And what are the signs that we should 374 00:12:50,450 --> 00:12:51,490 be looking for? 375 00:12:52,710 --> 00:12:54,790 What indicates the end of the age, the 376 00:12:54,790 --> 00:12:55,650 last days? 377 00:12:56,370 --> 00:12:58,570 Now, Jesus could have given a very Don 378 00:12:58,570 --> 00:12:59,650 Rumsfeld answer. 379 00:12:59,890 --> 00:13:00,690 No comment. 380 00:13:00,950 --> 00:13:01,690 Next question. 381 00:13:02,190 --> 00:13:03,090 But he didn't. 382 00:13:03,830 --> 00:13:05,930 He spent an entire chapter walking us through. 383 00:13:06,030 --> 00:13:08,750 Now, I would note that at the end 384 00:13:08,750 --> 00:13:12,970 of chapter 24, verse 36, Jesus says he's 385 00:13:12,970 --> 00:13:15,310 not going to tell us the day and 386 00:13:15,310 --> 00:13:15,710 the hour. 387 00:13:16,250 --> 00:13:18,490 Matthew 24, 36, he says, but of that 388 00:13:18,490 --> 00:13:21,590 day and hour, no one knows, not even 389 00:13:21,590 --> 00:13:23,390 the angels of heaven nor the son, but 390 00:13:23,390 --> 00:13:24,390 the father alone. 391 00:13:25,490 --> 00:13:27,290 For the coming of the son of man 392 00:13:27,290 --> 00:13:28,950 will be just like the days of Noah. 393 00:13:30,290 --> 00:13:31,470 Two thoughts about that. 394 00:13:31,510 --> 00:13:33,850 First of all, day and hour is a 395 00:13:33,850 --> 00:13:35,190 fairly narrow time frame. 396 00:13:35,490 --> 00:13:36,550 Jesus says, I'm not going to throw the 397 00:13:36,550 --> 00:13:38,250 game for you, but I'll let you know 398 00:13:38,250 --> 00:13:40,890 when the game's fairly close to beginning. 399 00:13:41,810 --> 00:13:43,130 You know, he does give us an entire 400 00:13:43,130 --> 00:13:43,770 list of things. 401 00:13:43,850 --> 00:13:44,470 We're going to look at that in a 402 00:13:44,470 --> 00:13:44,670 moment. 403 00:13:44,970 --> 00:13:47,530 I should also know that for Noah, the 404 00:13:47,530 --> 00:13:49,430 days of Noah, he knew what was coming. 405 00:13:50,070 --> 00:13:50,650 He knew what was coming. 406 00:13:50,750 --> 00:13:51,950 He didn't know exactly when, but he was 407 00:13:51,950 --> 00:13:52,790 preparing for it. 408 00:13:53,050 --> 00:13:54,570 He wasn't caught off guard. 409 00:13:54,570 --> 00:13:56,630 Yes, by the actual time when rain started 410 00:13:56,630 --> 00:13:58,770 falling for the first time in human history. 411 00:13:58,890 --> 00:14:01,170 Yes, that was, but not for the concept 412 00:14:01,170 --> 00:14:02,830 that it was coming or that he was 413 00:14:02,830 --> 00:14:05,250 getting ready for it, preparing for the salvation 414 00:14:05,250 --> 00:14:05,790 of his family. 415 00:14:06,670 --> 00:14:08,670 I should also note that I have four 416 00:14:08,670 --> 00:14:09,630 sons, my wife and I. 417 00:14:09,930 --> 00:14:12,270 We've got Caleb, Jacob, who is here with 418 00:14:12,270 --> 00:14:14,050 us today, and Jonah. 419 00:14:14,350 --> 00:14:15,190 Those are the first three. 420 00:14:15,290 --> 00:14:15,950 Then we have Noah. 421 00:14:16,650 --> 00:14:19,810 Now, the first are 12, 10, 8, and 422 00:14:19,810 --> 00:14:20,450 Noah is 2. 423 00:14:21,090 --> 00:14:23,250 And just to explain this, you know, Jesus 424 00:14:23,250 --> 00:14:24,650 said he's not coming back again until the 425 00:14:24,650 --> 00:14:25,210 days of Noah. 426 00:14:25,390 --> 00:14:26,730 So we thought, you know, if we're holding 427 00:14:26,730 --> 00:14:29,990 him back in any way, you know, but 428 00:14:29,990 --> 00:14:31,910 now he's, Noah's here and we're good to 429 00:14:31,910 --> 00:14:32,130 go. 430 00:14:32,310 --> 00:14:33,650 And Noah's even been to Israel already. 431 00:14:33,770 --> 00:14:35,190 And so we're, we're all set. 432 00:14:35,290 --> 00:14:36,690 So just know that we're living in the 433 00:14:36,690 --> 00:14:37,510 days of Noah now. 434 00:14:39,050 --> 00:14:40,990 Now, Jesus, when he walks us through this, 435 00:14:41,030 --> 00:14:42,470 he says, look, here's what you're going to 436 00:14:42,470 --> 00:14:43,170 be looking for. 437 00:14:43,890 --> 00:14:48,810 Wars, rumors of wars, revolutions, the rise of 438 00:14:48,810 --> 00:14:52,410 false religions, false messiahs, false prophets. 439 00:14:53,050 --> 00:14:57,030 He talks about earthquakes and famines and terrible 440 00:14:57,030 --> 00:14:59,510 diseases that are spreading across the earth. 441 00:14:59,690 --> 00:15:02,850 He talks about lawlessness increasing, the love of 442 00:15:02,850 --> 00:15:03,910 many growing cold. 443 00:15:04,250 --> 00:15:07,130 He talks about this gospel of the kingdom 444 00:15:07,130 --> 00:15:10,590 spreading to every people, tribe, and tongue and 445 00:15:10,590 --> 00:15:11,470 the face of the planet. 446 00:15:12,110 --> 00:15:14,870 He talks about the rebirth of the state 447 00:15:14,870 --> 00:15:15,310 of Israel. 448 00:15:15,850 --> 00:15:19,010 In fact, he says in verse 32, now 449 00:15:19,010 --> 00:15:21,430 learn the parable from the fig tree. 450 00:15:22,870 --> 00:15:25,390 When its branch has already become tender and 451 00:15:25,390 --> 00:15:28,170 it put forth its leaves, you know that 452 00:15:28,170 --> 00:15:29,110 summer is near. 453 00:15:29,990 --> 00:15:32,430 So too, when you see all these things, 454 00:15:32,710 --> 00:15:35,190 recognize that he is near right at the 455 00:15:35,190 --> 00:15:35,450 door. 456 00:15:36,070 --> 00:15:37,650 What is the parable of the fig tree? 457 00:15:37,650 --> 00:15:39,410 Well, I would encourage you in your, in 458 00:15:39,410 --> 00:15:41,890 your quiet times, your Bible studies this week 459 00:15:41,890 --> 00:15:45,430 to spend some time in Jeremiah chapter 24. 460 00:15:46,010 --> 00:15:48,010 This is where we learn of the parable 461 00:15:48,010 --> 00:15:48,650 of the fig tree. 462 00:15:49,810 --> 00:15:51,790 God sets down in front of the Hebrew 463 00:15:51,790 --> 00:15:54,530 prophet Jeremiah, two baskets of figs. 464 00:15:55,030 --> 00:15:58,250 One basket has good figs and he's, and 465 00:15:58,250 --> 00:15:58,790 God is clear. 466 00:15:58,890 --> 00:16:00,990 These represent the children of Israel, the Jewish 467 00:16:00,990 --> 00:16:03,730 people, the good ones that are following me. 468 00:16:04,210 --> 00:16:06,510 The second basket, these are bad figs. 469 00:16:06,510 --> 00:16:09,370 They represent the, also the children of Israel, 470 00:16:09,590 --> 00:16:11,590 also Jewish people, but these are people who 471 00:16:11,590 --> 00:16:12,650 are not following me. 472 00:16:13,930 --> 00:16:17,330 Ergo, both baskets are the Jewish people. 473 00:16:17,510 --> 00:16:18,950 They're the people, the children of Israel. 474 00:16:19,230 --> 00:16:20,790 Some are following, some aren't. 475 00:16:20,910 --> 00:16:22,950 They're both figs in the parable of the 476 00:16:22,950 --> 00:16:23,310 fig tree. 477 00:16:23,610 --> 00:16:26,230 And we see this throughout the Bible, Micah 478 00:16:26,230 --> 00:16:28,330 chapter 4, verses 1 through 4. 479 00:16:28,650 --> 00:16:31,270 Also, God says that in the last days, 480 00:16:31,470 --> 00:16:32,990 all the attention of the world will be 481 00:16:32,990 --> 00:16:34,090 focused back on Israel. 482 00:16:34,090 --> 00:16:36,450 And every child of Israel will be sitting 483 00:16:36,450 --> 00:16:37,610 under his fig tree. 484 00:16:38,430 --> 00:16:40,050 The parable of the fig tree, as Jesus 485 00:16:40,050 --> 00:16:42,430 is saying here, is when you see all 486 00:16:42,430 --> 00:16:45,350 these things, wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, persecution 487 00:16:45,350 --> 00:16:47,490 of the believers, the spread of the gospel, 488 00:16:47,970 --> 00:16:50,450 all these issues, and you see the rebirth 489 00:16:50,450 --> 00:16:53,310 of the state of Israel, now you know 490 00:16:53,310 --> 00:16:54,150 you're in the ballgame. 491 00:16:54,410 --> 00:16:56,910 Now you know it's getting close, as Jesus 492 00:16:56,910 --> 00:16:57,290 said. 493 00:16:57,450 --> 00:16:59,550 So too, when you see all these things, 494 00:17:00,050 --> 00:17:02,430 recognize that he is near, right at the 495 00:17:02,430 --> 00:17:02,650 door. 496 00:17:02,650 --> 00:17:04,109 And we have seen these things. 497 00:17:04,190 --> 00:17:07,569 And interestingly enough, the famous chapters where we 498 00:17:07,569 --> 00:17:11,410 read those prophecies, detailing that Israel will be 499 00:17:11,410 --> 00:17:14,510 reborn in the last days, and the Jews 500 00:17:14,510 --> 00:17:16,869 will return to the Holy Land after centuries 501 00:17:16,869 --> 00:17:20,069 of exile, and that the ancient ruins will 502 00:17:20,069 --> 00:17:24,990 be rebuilt, and the deserts will bloom, all 503 00:17:24,990 --> 00:17:28,970 these prophecies are detailed in Ezekiel, chapters 36 504 00:17:28,970 --> 00:17:30,110 and 37. 505 00:17:30,810 --> 00:17:32,030 And guess what? 506 00:17:32,790 --> 00:17:34,010 They've all come true in our lifetime. 507 00:17:34,570 --> 00:17:36,750 We have seen the rebirth of Israel in 508 00:17:36,750 --> 00:17:37,190 our lifetime. 509 00:17:37,550 --> 00:17:39,690 We have seen Jews pour back into the 510 00:17:39,690 --> 00:17:41,150 Holy Land after centuries of exile. 511 00:17:41,470 --> 00:17:43,930 We've seen the deserts bloom and the ancient 512 00:17:43,930 --> 00:17:44,930 ruins be rebuilt. 513 00:17:45,350 --> 00:17:47,930 Go to Israel with your pastoral team, go 514 00:17:47,930 --> 00:17:51,850 and see Jerusalem rebuilt, and Bethlehem, and Jericho, 515 00:17:52,250 --> 00:17:54,950 and Tiberias, and Nazareth. 516 00:17:55,010 --> 00:17:56,170 These cities have been rebuilt. 517 00:17:56,830 --> 00:17:58,070 You can see them for yourselves. 518 00:17:58,070 --> 00:18:00,010 It's extraordinary, and it's so easy for us 519 00:18:00,010 --> 00:18:00,550 to forget. 520 00:18:01,130 --> 00:18:02,290 When we turn on the news and we 521 00:18:02,290 --> 00:18:05,130 see a country attacking Israel, or like in 522 00:18:05,130 --> 00:18:06,750 the case of Akhmedijad, saying we're going to 523 00:18:06,750 --> 00:18:09,090 wipe Israel off the map, the fact that 524 00:18:09,090 --> 00:18:11,370 there is an Israel today is a huge, 525 00:18:11,770 --> 00:18:14,910 major Bible prophecy come true in our lifetime. 526 00:18:15,970 --> 00:18:18,050 What's interesting, though, is the two chapters that 527 00:18:18,050 --> 00:18:20,370 follow, Ezekiel 36 and 37. 528 00:18:20,690 --> 00:18:22,030 And turn with me there for a moment. 529 00:18:22,130 --> 00:18:23,970 We're going to really hunker down here in 530 00:18:23,970 --> 00:18:25,410 the time that we have. 531 00:18:25,410 --> 00:18:29,710 It gives you a flavor of this remarkable 532 00:18:29,710 --> 00:18:32,350 prophecy, what's known to Bible scholars as the 533 00:18:32,350 --> 00:18:34,570 war of Gog and Magog. 534 00:18:34,810 --> 00:18:37,630 And so, as you're turning there, let me 535 00:18:37,630 --> 00:18:40,410 say that my answer to the CNN correspondent, 536 00:18:41,130 --> 00:18:42,590 as well as to all the other reporters, 537 00:18:42,730 --> 00:18:45,070 and producers, and hosts that I've talked to 538 00:18:45,070 --> 00:18:46,870 is, yes, we are living in the last 539 00:18:46,870 --> 00:18:47,150 days. 540 00:18:47,450 --> 00:18:49,110 Look at the list that Jesus gave us, 541 00:18:49,850 --> 00:18:52,710 and you see that you can basically check 542 00:18:52,710 --> 00:18:54,110 off all these things. 543 00:18:54,630 --> 00:18:56,990 So I was on, some of you may 544 00:18:56,990 --> 00:18:58,990 know who Alan Combs is. 545 00:18:59,370 --> 00:19:01,430 He's the co-host of Hannity and Combs 546 00:19:01,430 --> 00:19:04,150 on the Fox network. 547 00:19:04,550 --> 00:19:08,630 And Alan is Jewish, and so am I. 548 00:19:08,890 --> 00:19:10,750 I'm a follower of Jesus, of course, and 549 00:19:10,750 --> 00:19:14,310 as you've heard, my politics have been, and 550 00:19:14,310 --> 00:19:16,510 they still are, but I tell people I've 551 00:19:16,510 --> 00:19:17,850 gone through political detox now. 552 00:19:17,910 --> 00:19:19,510 I'm not doing the partisan thing. 553 00:19:20,390 --> 00:19:21,430 But I am from, you know, I'm a 554 00:19:21,430 --> 00:19:22,090 conservative Republican. 555 00:19:22,090 --> 00:19:23,470 He's obviously a liberal Democrat. 556 00:19:23,670 --> 00:19:25,850 So he invites me on his radio show, 557 00:19:25,890 --> 00:19:27,310 separate from the TV show. 558 00:19:27,830 --> 00:19:28,850 And so he has me on, why? 559 00:19:28,950 --> 00:19:30,750 To mock me about this whole thing about 560 00:19:30,750 --> 00:19:31,430 the last days. 561 00:19:31,510 --> 00:19:32,510 Everyone was talking about it. 562 00:19:32,810 --> 00:19:35,150 Fox, CNN, MSNBC, we're all talking about it. 563 00:19:35,270 --> 00:19:36,210 And so he had me on, and he 564 00:19:36,210 --> 00:19:38,210 said, all right, Joel, when's Jesus coming back? 565 00:19:38,410 --> 00:19:39,710 I said, well, I can't tell you exactly, 566 00:19:39,830 --> 00:19:41,070 but let's look at the signs. 567 00:19:41,370 --> 00:19:41,950 He said, no, no, no, no, no. 568 00:19:42,070 --> 00:19:43,290 I want to know exactly. 569 00:19:43,430 --> 00:19:44,110 I want to know. 570 00:19:44,310 --> 00:19:44,630 You come on. 571 00:19:44,650 --> 00:19:45,450 You have an inkling. 572 00:19:45,690 --> 00:19:46,850 You're the modern Nostradamus. 573 00:19:46,970 --> 00:19:47,250 Come on. 574 00:19:47,290 --> 00:19:47,790 Give me a sense. 575 00:19:47,930 --> 00:19:48,670 Just give me a hint. 576 00:19:48,890 --> 00:19:50,090 I said, you know, I can't tell you. 577 00:19:50,090 --> 00:19:51,650 It might be a lot closer than you 578 00:19:51,650 --> 00:19:53,490 think, Alan, but I don't know for sure. 579 00:19:53,570 --> 00:19:54,550 Oh, come on. 580 00:19:54,750 --> 00:19:56,030 Should I buy green bananas? 581 00:19:56,190 --> 00:19:58,150 He said, should I go get my laundry 582 00:19:58,150 --> 00:19:58,890 from the cleaners? 583 00:19:58,970 --> 00:20:00,490 I mean, you know, how soon is it? 584 00:20:00,590 --> 00:20:02,950 I said, I can't tell you that with 585 00:20:02,950 --> 00:20:03,790 that level of precision. 586 00:20:04,050 --> 00:20:04,730 Oh, come on. 587 00:20:04,890 --> 00:20:05,350 He's pushing. 588 00:20:05,490 --> 00:20:05,730 Come on. 589 00:20:05,770 --> 00:20:06,750 Should I get those green bananas? 590 00:20:06,950 --> 00:20:08,310 I mean, what should I do, Joel? 591 00:20:08,390 --> 00:20:09,570 I said, Alan, you really want to know? 592 00:20:09,630 --> 00:20:09,770 Yeah. 593 00:20:09,850 --> 00:20:10,410 What should I do? 594 00:20:10,490 --> 00:20:11,750 I said, Alan, you need to come to 595 00:20:11,750 --> 00:20:13,450 know Jesus as the Messiah. 596 00:20:13,710 --> 00:20:14,750 That's what you need to do. 597 00:20:16,430 --> 00:20:18,390 Well, his reaction wasn't quite so similar. 598 00:20:18,390 --> 00:20:20,150 He kind of pulled back and he said, 599 00:20:20,250 --> 00:20:20,350 what? 600 00:20:20,970 --> 00:20:22,990 You're trying to convert me to Jesus on 601 00:20:22,990 --> 00:20:23,930 my own radio show? 602 00:20:24,450 --> 00:20:27,030 I said, I didn't ask you to come 603 00:20:27,030 --> 00:20:28,610 on here and try to convert me to 604 00:20:28,610 --> 00:20:28,950 Jesus. 605 00:20:29,070 --> 00:20:30,590 I said, you asked me, Alan. 606 00:20:30,830 --> 00:20:32,330 You said, how soon is he coming? 607 00:20:32,690 --> 00:20:33,430 What should I do? 608 00:20:33,550 --> 00:20:34,750 Should I buy green bananas? 609 00:20:34,890 --> 00:20:36,890 Should I get my dry cleaning today? 610 00:20:37,110 --> 00:20:38,150 Joel, what should I do? 611 00:20:38,190 --> 00:20:39,390 And I responded to you. 612 00:20:39,910 --> 00:20:41,390 You should know Jesus as the Messiah. 613 00:20:42,030 --> 00:20:43,070 He goes, all right, well, you did say 614 00:20:43,070 --> 00:20:43,290 that. 615 00:20:43,450 --> 00:20:45,970 So this is that tension, though. 616 00:20:45,970 --> 00:20:48,430 We don't know exactly, but we know we're 617 00:20:48,430 --> 00:20:49,790 a lot closer than ever before. 618 00:20:50,270 --> 00:20:52,170 And we also have to take what Jesus 619 00:20:52,170 --> 00:20:54,430 shared with us and put it into context 620 00:20:54,430 --> 00:20:56,810 of other scriptures to get a feel for 621 00:20:56,810 --> 00:20:57,870 what else is coming. 622 00:20:58,830 --> 00:20:59,630 Ezekiel 38. 623 00:21:00,190 --> 00:21:03,030 This is where God begins to describe a 624 00:21:03,030 --> 00:21:05,590 major apocalyptic Middle Eastern war. 625 00:21:06,030 --> 00:21:08,710 It precedes the War of Armageddon. 626 00:21:09,350 --> 00:21:11,110 But this is what's called the War of 627 00:21:11,110 --> 00:21:12,230 Gog and Magog. 628 00:21:12,330 --> 00:21:13,530 Let's take a look at a few key 629 00:21:13,530 --> 00:21:13,850 verses. 630 00:21:14,350 --> 00:21:15,930 And the word of the Lord came to 631 00:21:15,930 --> 00:21:18,550 me, saying, Son of man, set your face 632 00:21:18,550 --> 00:21:21,770 against Gog of the land of Magog, the 633 00:21:21,770 --> 00:21:24,770 prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal, and prophesy 634 00:21:24,770 --> 00:21:25,470 against him. 635 00:21:25,770 --> 00:21:27,630 And say, Thus says the Lord God. 636 00:21:28,230 --> 00:21:30,950 Behold, I'm against you, O Gog, prince of 637 00:21:30,950 --> 00:21:32,810 Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal. 638 00:21:32,910 --> 00:21:35,150 And you're like, all right, I'm lost already. 639 00:21:35,390 --> 00:21:36,150 Okay, I understand. 640 00:21:36,550 --> 00:21:37,570 Let's start with Gog. 641 00:21:37,710 --> 00:21:38,810 You're like, I'm a Gog already. 642 00:21:38,870 --> 00:21:39,890 I don't know what you're talking about. 643 00:21:40,530 --> 00:21:42,110 Okay, Gog is not a name. 644 00:21:42,110 --> 00:21:44,950 Gog is a title, like a pharaoh or 645 00:21:44,950 --> 00:21:45,550 a czar. 646 00:21:45,730 --> 00:21:46,410 It's a ruler. 647 00:21:46,550 --> 00:21:47,150 He's a prince. 648 00:21:47,330 --> 00:21:50,230 He's a political leader of a certain territory. 649 00:21:50,650 --> 00:21:52,230 The territory is Magog. 650 00:21:52,410 --> 00:21:54,130 You're like, right, I still don't, you know, 651 00:21:54,270 --> 00:21:55,110 yeah, that's not helping me. 652 00:21:55,370 --> 00:21:55,590 Okay. 653 00:21:56,050 --> 00:22:00,470 The ancient historian Josephus, Aphraeus Josephus, writing in 654 00:22:00,470 --> 00:22:03,570 the first century, he describes that this people 655 00:22:03,570 --> 00:22:06,590 group of Magog are the people whom the 656 00:22:06,590 --> 00:22:08,570 Greeks at the time called the Scythians. 657 00:22:08,570 --> 00:22:11,110 Now, if you do the research, and I 658 00:22:11,110 --> 00:22:13,150 detail all this in this new book, Epicenter, 659 00:22:13,290 --> 00:22:15,110 to kind of walk you through this. 660 00:22:15,190 --> 00:22:18,690 But the short version is the Scythian people 661 00:22:18,690 --> 00:22:19,690 are the Magogites. 662 00:22:19,790 --> 00:22:21,910 And the Scythian peoples, as you kind of 663 00:22:21,910 --> 00:22:24,110 do this historical detective work and figure this 664 00:22:24,110 --> 00:22:27,050 out, is they're the people that settled north 665 00:22:27,050 --> 00:22:29,370 of the Black Sea in what we now 666 00:22:29,370 --> 00:22:31,810 call Russia and the former Soviet Union. 667 00:22:32,570 --> 00:22:34,290 And as you go through these scriptures, you'll 668 00:22:34,290 --> 00:22:37,910 find that Magog is described, and this coalition 669 00:22:37,910 --> 00:22:39,910 is coming from the uttermost parts of the 670 00:22:39,910 --> 00:22:42,150 north, the furthermost parts of the north. 671 00:22:42,930 --> 00:22:44,010 The scriptures are clear. 672 00:22:44,130 --> 00:22:45,250 And if you, if I had a map 673 00:22:45,250 --> 00:22:46,230 and I pulled it down and I said, 674 00:22:46,490 --> 00:22:49,550 here's Israel, go due north and find what's 675 00:22:49,550 --> 00:22:51,850 the country to the uttermost parts of the 676 00:22:51,850 --> 00:22:53,830 north before you hit, you know, the North 677 00:22:53,830 --> 00:22:55,150 Pole, Russia. 678 00:22:56,130 --> 00:22:58,890 Now, what's interesting is the first country that's 679 00:22:58,890 --> 00:23:01,430 identified as an ally of Russia is in 680 00:23:01,430 --> 00:23:02,050 verse 5. 681 00:23:02,730 --> 00:23:04,290 The first country, Persia. 682 00:23:04,850 --> 00:23:06,750 Now, Persia is an easy one to identify 683 00:23:06,750 --> 00:23:10,770 because until 1935, that was the official legal 684 00:23:10,770 --> 00:23:11,850 name of Iran. 685 00:23:12,610 --> 00:23:14,690 So, according to the scriptures, we're looking for 686 00:23:14,690 --> 00:23:18,430 a Russian-Iranian military alliance to begin to 687 00:23:18,430 --> 00:23:18,690 form. 688 00:23:18,890 --> 00:23:19,750 With who else? 689 00:23:20,090 --> 00:23:21,870 Well, some of your Bibles will say Ethiopia. 690 00:23:22,550 --> 00:23:23,850 Others will say Kush. 691 00:23:23,850 --> 00:23:26,190 This is the upper Nile region. 692 00:23:26,590 --> 00:23:29,430 And so it's definitely Ethiopia, but it's also 693 00:23:29,430 --> 00:23:30,650 the country of Sudan. 694 00:23:31,630 --> 00:23:34,950 Interestingly enough, Sudan is a radical Muslim country 695 00:23:34,950 --> 00:23:37,910 with very close strategic ties to Iran. 696 00:23:38,390 --> 00:23:40,970 There's a genocide that has been underway in 697 00:23:40,970 --> 00:23:43,130 Sudan in recent years in which the Muslims 698 00:23:43,130 --> 00:23:46,010 are killing Christians by the millions. 699 00:23:46,390 --> 00:23:49,250 Over 2 million people have died in Sudan 700 00:23:49,250 --> 00:23:50,690 through this genocide. 701 00:23:50,690 --> 00:23:53,230 Muslims have died as well, but this is 702 00:23:53,230 --> 00:23:55,610 a horrifying situation, and it's all tied between 703 00:23:55,610 --> 00:23:59,670 the radical Muslim ties between Iran and Sudan. 704 00:23:59,870 --> 00:24:02,470 Interesting, particularly in light of these passages. 705 00:24:02,950 --> 00:24:04,010 The next country is Put. 706 00:24:04,490 --> 00:24:05,610 Where do we put Put? 707 00:24:06,270 --> 00:24:09,270 Well, Josephus, writing in the first century, said 708 00:24:09,270 --> 00:24:12,930 that Put is ancient Libyos, what we would 709 00:24:12,930 --> 00:24:14,030 now call Libya. 710 00:24:14,650 --> 00:24:17,350 Now, ancient Libya was a larger territory than 711 00:24:17,350 --> 00:24:18,510 what we now call Libya. 712 00:24:18,510 --> 00:24:22,090 So we're probably also talking about Algeria, maybe 713 00:24:22,090 --> 00:24:22,730 Tunisia. 714 00:24:23,470 --> 00:24:26,250 Now, this is interesting because who was in 715 00:24:26,250 --> 00:24:28,790 Algeria, for example, in the early part of 716 00:24:28,790 --> 00:24:29,610 2006? 717 00:24:30,190 --> 00:24:32,530 Well, that would be Russian President Vladimir Putin, 718 00:24:32,930 --> 00:24:36,070 who signed a $7.5 billion arms deal 719 00:24:36,070 --> 00:24:40,970 with Algeria, the largest arms deal that has 720 00:24:40,970 --> 00:24:43,250 been signed by Moscow since the collapse of 721 00:24:43,250 --> 00:24:43,970 the Soviet Union. 722 00:24:45,050 --> 00:24:49,070 Earlier this summer, Putin sent the deputy speaker 723 00:24:49,070 --> 00:24:51,270 of the Russian parliament to Libya. 724 00:24:51,570 --> 00:24:51,890 Why? 725 00:24:52,190 --> 00:24:56,310 To start discussions on a new arms deal, 726 00:24:56,470 --> 00:24:59,610 a new strategic pact between Moscow and Libya 727 00:24:59,610 --> 00:25:01,710 for the first time since the collapse of 728 00:25:01,710 --> 00:25:02,450 the Soviet Union. 729 00:25:03,310 --> 00:25:04,990 The next country is Gomer. 730 00:25:05,590 --> 00:25:07,670 Now, I have to tell my children, Gomer 731 00:25:07,670 --> 00:25:10,010 is not where Gomer Pyle is from, okay? 732 00:25:10,010 --> 00:25:12,950 We do our historic detective work and we 733 00:25:12,950 --> 00:25:15,590 find out that Gomer is modern-day Turkey. 734 00:25:16,110 --> 00:25:18,690 And now, some Bible scholars believe that the 735 00:25:18,690 --> 00:25:23,110 Gomerites also spread northward, perhaps into Germany and 736 00:25:23,110 --> 00:25:23,490 Austria. 737 00:25:23,650 --> 00:25:25,650 There's some disagreement about that, but there's a 738 00:25:25,650 --> 00:25:28,430 consensus that Gomer itself is the country of 739 00:25:28,430 --> 00:25:29,370 Turkey. 740 00:25:29,370 --> 00:25:32,690 Beth Togarmah, this is the Turkic-speaking peoples 741 00:25:32,690 --> 00:25:38,450 that spread out across Turkey to Armenia, Turkmenistan, 742 00:25:38,730 --> 00:25:41,610 and all the stands of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, 743 00:25:41,910 --> 00:25:43,390 Uzbekistan, Tajikistan. 744 00:25:44,290 --> 00:25:47,530 And so what you're watching here is Russia 745 00:25:47,530 --> 00:25:50,210 with a group of Muslim countries that are 746 00:25:50,210 --> 00:25:52,190 going to attack Israel in the last days. 747 00:25:52,190 --> 00:25:55,370 Verse 8, after many days you will be 748 00:25:55,370 --> 00:25:57,370 summoned, in the latter years you will come 749 00:25:57,370 --> 00:25:59,010 into the land that is restored from the 750 00:25:59,010 --> 00:26:02,010 sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many 751 00:26:02,010 --> 00:26:04,470 nations to the mountains of Israel, which had 752 00:26:04,470 --> 00:26:05,590 been a continual waste. 753 00:26:06,090 --> 00:26:07,750 And verse 9, you will go up, you 754 00:26:07,750 --> 00:26:09,470 will come like a storm, you will be 755 00:26:09,470 --> 00:26:12,610 like a cloud covering the land, you and 756 00:26:12,610 --> 00:26:15,050 all your troops and the many peoples with 757 00:26:15,050 --> 00:26:15,230 you. 758 00:26:15,230 --> 00:26:18,150 Now, the mountains of Israel that this coalition 759 00:26:18,150 --> 00:26:20,970 has converged against, the mountains of Israel are 760 00:26:20,970 --> 00:26:23,090 to the north of Israel, along the border 761 00:26:23,090 --> 00:26:26,050 of Lebanon and Syria and northern Jordan. 762 00:26:26,530 --> 00:26:29,070 Now, we don't know for sure if this 763 00:26:29,070 --> 00:26:31,070 war of Gog and Magog will mean that 764 00:26:31,070 --> 00:26:34,090 Lebanon and Syria and possibly Jordan will be 765 00:26:34,090 --> 00:26:38,090 active participants in the war against Israel, but 766 00:26:38,090 --> 00:26:40,410 we know that these other forces will be 767 00:26:40,410 --> 00:26:42,650 coming through those territories. 768 00:26:42,650 --> 00:26:44,650 And of course, as we look at what's 769 00:26:44,650 --> 00:26:46,850 happened just over the last few months, if 770 00:26:46,850 --> 00:26:49,630 this war were to happen in our lifetime, 771 00:26:49,750 --> 00:26:51,790 it's not unfathomable. 772 00:26:51,890 --> 00:26:57,310 So imagine Lebanon and Syria primarily being active 773 00:26:57,310 --> 00:26:59,690 participants in this war to destroy Israel. 774 00:27:00,710 --> 00:27:03,090 Now, let me say for a moment, and 775 00:27:03,090 --> 00:27:06,510 just be clear, I can't tell you that 776 00:27:06,510 --> 00:27:09,690 this set of prophecies, which, by the way, 777 00:27:09,730 --> 00:27:13,350 in verse 16, Ezekiel says this will all 778 00:27:13,350 --> 00:27:15,270 happen in the last days. 779 00:27:15,430 --> 00:27:16,730 We don't know if it's going to happen 780 00:27:16,730 --> 00:27:19,050 before the rapture or after, but we know 781 00:27:19,050 --> 00:27:21,630 it happens after Ezekiel 36 and 37, the 782 00:27:21,630 --> 00:27:22,390 rebirth of Israel. 783 00:27:22,390 --> 00:27:24,730 And I can't tell you if these things 784 00:27:24,730 --> 00:27:27,350 are about to happen right now or even 785 00:27:27,350 --> 00:27:28,810 are going to happen in our lifetime. 786 00:27:29,750 --> 00:27:30,530 But it's interesting. 787 00:27:30,990 --> 00:27:32,750 The trajectory of events are fascinating. 788 00:27:33,410 --> 00:27:35,430 You may be interested to know that Russia 789 00:27:35,430 --> 00:27:38,910 has just sent military troops into Lebanon to 790 00:27:38,910 --> 00:27:42,090 assist with this UN peacekeeping force that's supposed 791 00:27:42,090 --> 00:27:43,050 to protect Israel. 792 00:27:43,490 --> 00:27:45,070 But let me say that Russia has not 793 00:27:45,070 --> 00:27:48,210 had boots on the ground in Lebanon in 794 00:27:48,210 --> 00:27:50,170 over 220 years. 795 00:27:50,170 --> 00:27:51,270 Now they do. 796 00:27:52,250 --> 00:27:54,650 Turkey just sent over 1,000 troops, military 797 00:27:54,650 --> 00:27:56,990 troops, into Lebanon to be part of the 798 00:27:56,990 --> 00:27:57,470 peacekeepers. 799 00:27:58,590 --> 00:28:01,870 The Turks have not had military troops in 800 00:28:01,870 --> 00:28:04,370 Lebanon since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire 801 00:28:04,370 --> 00:28:07,450 almost 100 years ago, but now they do. 802 00:28:07,890 --> 00:28:10,190 Now, again, we don't know for sure exactly 803 00:28:10,190 --> 00:28:10,650 what's going to happen. 804 00:28:10,770 --> 00:28:12,510 God could kick the can of this prophecy 805 00:28:12,510 --> 00:28:14,650 up the road for decades if he wanted 806 00:28:14,650 --> 00:28:16,590 to, but what if he doesn't? 807 00:28:16,590 --> 00:28:19,310 We're beginning to watch Russia and Iran form 808 00:28:19,310 --> 00:28:21,930 a military alliance for the first time in 809 00:28:21,930 --> 00:28:24,310 2,500 years since the prophecy was written. 810 00:28:24,990 --> 00:28:27,190 Russia never had an alliance with them, but 811 00:28:27,190 --> 00:28:29,910 in December they signed a $1 billion arms 812 00:28:29,910 --> 00:28:31,330 deal with Iran. 813 00:28:32,130 --> 00:28:34,810 Russia is building nuclear facilities in Iran. 814 00:28:35,250 --> 00:28:37,510 Russia has trained over 1,000 nuclear scientists. 815 00:28:37,750 --> 00:28:38,490 They're in Iran. 816 00:28:39,910 --> 00:28:43,070 Russia's running political interference for Iran at the 817 00:28:43,070 --> 00:28:44,990 United Nations to prevent them from being stopped 818 00:28:44,990 --> 00:28:45,970 from getting nuclear weapons. 819 00:28:45,970 --> 00:28:47,250 This is the moment we're in. 820 00:28:47,530 --> 00:28:49,350 Now what's interesting is you, and I would 821 00:28:49,350 --> 00:28:51,590 encourage you to spend time studying these scriptures. 822 00:28:51,750 --> 00:28:53,230 What you'll find as you go through this 823 00:28:53,230 --> 00:28:54,830 is nobody comes to Israel's aid. 824 00:28:55,130 --> 00:28:57,590 Not the UN, not the EU, not the 825 00:28:57,590 --> 00:28:58,010 United States. 826 00:28:58,190 --> 00:29:01,210 Israel is all alone in this war except 827 00:29:01,210 --> 00:29:01,590 one. 828 00:29:01,910 --> 00:29:04,490 One comes to Israel's aid, and that is 829 00:29:04,490 --> 00:29:05,250 the God of Israel. 830 00:29:05,870 --> 00:29:10,050 A supernatural description of events unfolds in verse 831 00:29:10,050 --> 00:29:11,810 18, and when you read that and spend 832 00:29:11,810 --> 00:29:14,310 some time studying it for yourself, you're going 833 00:29:14,310 --> 00:29:16,670 to see fire falling from heaven, a massive 834 00:29:16,670 --> 00:29:20,290 earthquake, diseases spreading through the troops of Russia 835 00:29:20,290 --> 00:29:21,950 and her allies. 836 00:29:22,630 --> 00:29:25,610 And in chapter 39, we find out it 837 00:29:25,610 --> 00:29:28,330 takes seven months to bury all the bodies 838 00:29:28,330 --> 00:29:32,230 as God completely obliterates all the enemies of 839 00:29:32,230 --> 00:29:33,690 Israel in a single day. 840 00:29:35,050 --> 00:29:36,090 This is going to be the day of 841 00:29:36,090 --> 00:29:39,410 the greatest horror, greatest tragedy in human history. 842 00:29:39,410 --> 00:29:42,230 Not since Charlton Heston stared down Newell Brenner 843 00:29:42,230 --> 00:29:44,210 in the Ten Commandments have we seen fire 844 00:29:44,210 --> 00:29:46,710 falling from heaven and plagues attacking the enemies 845 00:29:46,710 --> 00:29:47,150 of Israel. 846 00:29:48,050 --> 00:29:50,250 The Bible says this is going to happen, 847 00:29:50,510 --> 00:29:52,950 and it could happen in our lifetime, but 848 00:29:52,950 --> 00:29:53,650 that's not all. 849 00:29:54,750 --> 00:29:56,310 As you go through this, you're going to 850 00:29:56,310 --> 00:30:00,850 find that God says very clearly, chapter 39, 851 00:30:01,010 --> 00:30:04,350 verse 21, And I will set my glory 852 00:30:04,350 --> 00:30:08,090 among the nations, and all the nations will 853 00:30:08,090 --> 00:30:10,490 see my judgment which I have executed, and 854 00:30:10,490 --> 00:30:12,030 my hand which I have laid upon them. 855 00:30:12,410 --> 00:30:14,210 Later, he talks about pouring out the spirit 856 00:30:14,210 --> 00:30:15,830 on the people of Israel in the Middle 857 00:30:15,830 --> 00:30:16,090 East. 858 00:30:16,570 --> 00:30:18,070 I believe this is not only going to 859 00:30:18,070 --> 00:30:20,810 be the day of greatest judgment in human 860 00:30:20,810 --> 00:30:23,110 history, a day of great sorrow and tragedy, 861 00:30:23,370 --> 00:30:25,030 I also believe that we are going to 862 00:30:25,030 --> 00:30:27,410 see the greatest spiritual awakening come out of 863 00:30:27,410 --> 00:30:27,570 this. 864 00:30:27,570 --> 00:30:30,510 As the whole world sees on global satellite 865 00:30:30,510 --> 00:30:34,770 television, I suspect, the hand of God defend 866 00:30:34,770 --> 00:30:35,330 his people. 867 00:30:35,650 --> 00:30:37,250 And when he pours out his spirit and 868 00:30:37,250 --> 00:30:39,650 people see God's glory, I believe millions of 869 00:30:39,650 --> 00:30:40,770 people are going to come to Christ. 870 00:30:41,330 --> 00:30:43,410 Millions and millions of people around the world, 871 00:30:43,630 --> 00:30:45,450 perhaps tens of millions or more. 872 00:30:45,970 --> 00:30:48,290 We don't know for sure, we do know 873 00:30:48,290 --> 00:30:49,670 for sure not everyone's going to come to 874 00:30:49,670 --> 00:30:50,030 Christ. 875 00:30:50,390 --> 00:30:52,430 Judas spent three years with Jesus, didn't make 876 00:30:52,430 --> 00:30:52,810 a dent. 877 00:30:53,730 --> 00:30:56,130 But many will see God's glory, and the 878 00:30:56,130 --> 00:30:57,410 Holy Spirit will be poured out on them, 879 00:30:57,650 --> 00:30:58,790 and their lives will be changed. 880 00:30:59,510 --> 00:31:02,470 And as we close this morning, this is 881 00:31:02,470 --> 00:31:04,250 just scratching the surface, I realize this. 882 00:31:04,630 --> 00:31:05,550 And I'm just trying to give you a 883 00:31:05,550 --> 00:31:07,210 sense of how to put a little bit 884 00:31:07,210 --> 00:31:08,350 of what's going on in the world into 885 00:31:08,350 --> 00:31:09,090 some context. 886 00:31:09,430 --> 00:31:11,290 Again, as I said, my new book, Epicenter, 887 00:31:11,670 --> 00:31:13,510 walks us through in detail. 888 00:31:13,510 --> 00:31:15,390 And a novel that I wrote called The 889 00:31:15,390 --> 00:31:18,190 Ezekiel Option takes this fictionally and says, what 890 00:31:18,190 --> 00:31:19,830 would it look like if these things were 891 00:31:19,830 --> 00:31:20,250 to happen? 892 00:31:20,690 --> 00:31:22,290 But I want to close with this point 893 00:31:22,290 --> 00:31:22,790 this morning. 894 00:31:23,290 --> 00:31:25,170 The answer is, the question is, so what? 895 00:31:25,790 --> 00:31:27,450 So what if these events are coming? 896 00:31:27,550 --> 00:31:28,670 So what if we're living in the last 897 00:31:28,670 --> 00:31:28,850 days? 898 00:31:29,050 --> 00:31:30,070 What does this mean to me? 899 00:31:30,890 --> 00:31:33,650 And I would encourage you, those of you 900 00:31:33,650 --> 00:31:35,270 that are here this morning and are followers 901 00:31:35,270 --> 00:31:38,450 of Jesus Christ, you look at all the 902 00:31:38,450 --> 00:31:39,590 things that are going on in our world, 903 00:31:39,590 --> 00:31:41,050 you look at all these signs that are 904 00:31:41,050 --> 00:31:42,910 being fulfilled in the Scripture that suggest that 905 00:31:42,910 --> 00:31:43,950 we are in the last days. 906 00:31:44,950 --> 00:31:48,710 If you're planning any major sins, can I 907 00:31:48,710 --> 00:31:52,450 encourage you to sort of postpone those or 908 00:31:52,450 --> 00:31:54,130 maybe cancel those outright? 909 00:31:54,750 --> 00:31:56,770 This is not a good time to be 910 00:31:56,770 --> 00:31:57,670 goofing around. 911 00:31:58,190 --> 00:32:00,070 This is not a good time to be 912 00:32:00,070 --> 00:32:02,110 far from the will of God. 913 00:32:02,290 --> 00:32:04,430 Not when you know all these events are 914 00:32:04,430 --> 00:32:05,950 converging at this moment. 915 00:32:06,210 --> 00:32:07,630 Some of them we don't know yet, but 916 00:32:07,630 --> 00:32:08,770 some of them we know for sure. 917 00:32:09,710 --> 00:32:11,610 Which means Jesus could come at any moment. 918 00:32:12,550 --> 00:32:14,930 Nothing else has to happen prophetically before Jesus 919 00:32:14,930 --> 00:32:16,490 takes us away in the rapture. 920 00:32:17,010 --> 00:32:18,270 The war of God and mad God could 921 00:32:18,270 --> 00:32:19,230 happen after the rapture. 922 00:32:19,490 --> 00:32:20,590 And the question I have for you this 923 00:32:20,590 --> 00:32:21,850 morning is a question I ask for myself. 924 00:32:22,770 --> 00:32:24,730 When I see Jesus face to face one 925 00:32:24,730 --> 00:32:27,730 day, do I want to be ashamed of 926 00:32:27,730 --> 00:32:28,250 what I'm doing? 927 00:32:30,090 --> 00:32:32,270 The way I live, the way I work, 928 00:32:32,450 --> 00:32:33,650 the way I treat my family, the way 929 00:32:33,650 --> 00:32:34,370 I treat my friends. 930 00:32:35,070 --> 00:32:36,930 As well, do I want to stand before 931 00:32:36,930 --> 00:32:38,390 Jesus one day and have him say, Joel, 932 00:32:38,530 --> 00:32:40,270 I'm really glad the whole thing with the 933 00:32:40,270 --> 00:32:41,130 novels worked out. 934 00:32:41,690 --> 00:32:43,190 But what about the Great Commission? 935 00:32:43,430 --> 00:32:44,970 How come you weren't sharing the gospel with 936 00:32:44,970 --> 00:32:46,370 every single person that moved? 937 00:32:46,530 --> 00:32:48,070 How come you didn't take the gospel around 938 00:32:48,070 --> 00:32:48,450 America? 939 00:32:48,630 --> 00:32:49,850 How come you didn't take the gospel to 940 00:32:49,850 --> 00:32:50,930 the nations of the epicenter? 941 00:32:52,410 --> 00:32:54,370 What part of the Great Commission go you 942 00:32:54,370 --> 00:32:56,510 there for and make disciples of all nations? 943 00:32:56,750 --> 00:32:58,330 What part of that did you not understand, 944 00:32:58,510 --> 00:32:58,690 son? 945 00:32:59,470 --> 00:33:00,570 I mean, was it in Greek? 946 00:33:00,570 --> 00:33:01,430 All right. 947 00:33:01,490 --> 00:33:02,530 Well, actually, it was in Greek. 948 00:33:02,590 --> 00:33:04,430 But, you know, you had all those translations. 949 00:33:05,830 --> 00:33:07,510 I don't want to be ashamed when Jesus 950 00:33:07,510 --> 00:33:08,010 sees me. 951 00:33:08,670 --> 00:33:09,770 And I don't think you do either. 952 00:33:10,430 --> 00:33:12,630 And this compels us to ask ourselves, how 953 00:33:12,630 --> 00:33:13,130 are we living? 954 00:33:13,410 --> 00:33:14,830 How can we get on the right track 955 00:33:14,830 --> 00:33:15,290 with the Lord? 956 00:33:15,530 --> 00:33:17,410 Ask him to forgive our sins and move 957 00:33:17,410 --> 00:33:20,330 on and start getting engaged in a holy 958 00:33:20,330 --> 00:33:20,810 life. 959 00:33:21,110 --> 00:33:22,670 In a life of reaching our neighbors and 960 00:33:22,670 --> 00:33:23,790 reaching the epicenter. 961 00:33:24,130 --> 00:33:25,430 The nations that are going to face the 962 00:33:25,430 --> 00:33:26,450 judgment at some point. 963 00:33:26,930 --> 00:33:28,150 How are we going to reach these nations 964 00:33:28,150 --> 00:33:28,650 for Jesus? 965 00:33:29,730 --> 00:33:31,070 And if you're here this morning and you've 966 00:33:31,070 --> 00:33:33,470 never made that decision to receive Jesus Christ 967 00:33:33,470 --> 00:33:33,790 today. 968 00:33:34,070 --> 00:33:35,090 You're in a good church. 969 00:33:35,210 --> 00:33:37,030 And there's a pastoral staff that wants to 970 00:33:37,030 --> 00:33:38,210 walk you through that decision. 971 00:33:38,590 --> 00:33:39,930 I'd be happy to chat with you myself 972 00:33:39,930 --> 00:33:40,770 outside. 973 00:33:41,210 --> 00:33:43,150 Let us explain to you how to make 974 00:33:43,150 --> 00:33:43,710 that decision. 975 00:33:44,050 --> 00:33:45,650 How to receive Christ as your Savior. 976 00:33:46,170 --> 00:33:47,650 I don't want you to stand before me 977 00:33:47,650 --> 00:33:52,510 one day before judgment and say, I didn't 978 00:33:52,510 --> 00:33:53,370 know what I was supposed to do. 979 00:33:54,270 --> 00:33:56,030 Walk out there, talk to me or one 980 00:33:56,030 --> 00:33:57,250 of the pastors, one of the elders, one 981 00:33:57,250 --> 00:33:57,690 of the staff. 982 00:33:57,690 --> 00:33:59,470 Let us walk you through and just share 983 00:33:59,470 --> 00:34:01,770 with you how to make a decision to 984 00:34:01,770 --> 00:34:03,190 receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. 985 00:34:04,190 --> 00:34:06,150 We don't know how much more time we 986 00:34:06,150 --> 00:34:06,450 have. 987 00:34:06,750 --> 00:34:07,810 But I can tell you without a shadow 988 00:34:07,810 --> 00:34:09,409 of a doubt, we are living in the 989 00:34:09,409 --> 00:34:10,010 last days. 990 00:34:10,290 --> 00:34:11,030 And it means something. 991 00:34:11,909 --> 00:34:12,850 It means something. 992 00:34:13,650 --> 00:34:14,989 It means we need to live a holy 993 00:34:14,989 --> 00:34:17,330 life and a life with the assurance that 994 00:34:17,330 --> 00:34:18,030 we are going to heaven. 995 00:34:19,370 --> 00:34:20,850 That we will not be left behind. 996 00:34:21,330 --> 00:34:23,150 That we will not be spending eternity in 997 00:34:23,150 --> 00:34:23,330 hell. 998 00:34:24,030 --> 00:34:24,889 This is the moment. 999 00:34:25,290 --> 00:34:27,130 As God is telling us, I don't want 1000 00:34:27,130 --> 00:34:27,929 you to be surprised. 1001 00:34:28,310 --> 00:34:29,489 I'm not going to throw the game. 1002 00:34:29,570 --> 00:34:30,210 I'm not going to give you the day 1003 00:34:30,210 --> 00:34:30,610 or the hour. 1004 00:34:32,010 --> 00:34:33,389 But you see these signs. 1005 00:34:34,290 --> 00:34:35,270 How are you going to live? 1006 00:34:35,790 --> 00:34:36,370 Let us pray. 1007 00:34:37,429 --> 00:34:38,770 Lord, we thank you for this time. 1008 00:34:40,130 --> 00:34:42,050 We praise you and lift up your name 1009 00:34:42,050 --> 00:34:42,510 this morning. 1010 00:34:43,090 --> 00:34:44,350 This is just a little bit of a 1011 00:34:44,350 --> 00:34:47,350 survey, a brief taste of some of these 1012 00:34:47,350 --> 00:34:48,870 verses and what they mean and how they 1013 00:34:48,870 --> 00:34:49,670 impact our lives. 1014 00:34:49,730 --> 00:34:51,290 But I pray you would be stirring in 1015 00:34:51,290 --> 00:34:52,909 the hearts of every person here this morning. 1016 00:34:52,909 --> 00:34:55,050 Working with Andrew Longman TV. 1017 00:34:55,630 --> 00:34:57,290 You've been listening to From the Pulpit in 1018 00:34:57,290 --> 00:34:58,370 Classic Sermons series. 1019 00:34:58,890 --> 00:35:01,170 This week you heard Joel Rosenberg with his 1020 00:35:01,170 --> 00:35:03,190 message, Are We Living in the Last Days? 1021 00:35:03,710 --> 00:35:05,530 Tune in next week to hear Bill McLeod 1022 00:35:05,530 --> 00:35:07,550 talk about the return of God's glory. 1023 00:35:07,810 --> 00:35:09,710 On From the Pulpit in Classic Sermons.