Doomsday or Millennium Clock 2023

Brethren, today we have a PowerPoint presentation to go along with the sermon. So we'll wait for them to load it up. About a week ago, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists came out for the year 2023. They evaluated the past year up to January. They have ten Nobel Prize winners among these atomic scientists, many of them famous physicists and others. This is what they came out with. They had to move the Doomsday Clock 30 seconds further and it is now only one and a half minutes to midnight.

This is, according to them, because of the war in the Ukraine. It took place last year. It's going in its first year, becoming far more dangerous than anyone imagined. And let me tell you a little bit about the Doomsday Clock. It was actually started in 1947 by a group of scientists which were involved in the Manhattan Project. Among them was the leader Oppenheimer. They called him Oppie for short. And Albert Einstein was one of the theorists. He wasn't directly involved, but he had the physics formulas. E equals mc square and all of that. That was necessary discovery to be able to build the atomic bomb. Two of them were set off in 1945. A lot of these scientists, including Einstein and others, were very shocked. And they actually just wanted to have some of the Japanese heads go to an island and explode one of these and for them to then see what's going to happen to Japan. But the military and politics here and other places, they said, look, if we give them a heads up on it, they're going to prepare. They'll try to shoot down every plane that comes to bomb us. And so it was one of those things where they dropped those two bombs. But a lot of these scientists were not in accordance with it. In fact, when Einstein saw what happened with the two atomic bombs, basically killing about 50,000 people, the first one and even more the second time around, he said, if I would have known what they would have done with my theories, I would have become a shoemaker instead, instead of a physicist, because they were shocked. And so he and others set up this board of atomic scientists in 1947. So we're going to go forward here. I can get this right. Okay, so here they set up this clock and to gauge the closeness to a nuclear encounter between nations, which would be at 12 noon. And so in 1947, they set the clock up and it was 17 minutes to 12 o'clock. Nuclear Holocaust would be at 12 o'clock. Then it dropped down until 1953, when the US and later Russia, the Soviet Union at that time, developed a hydrogen bomb. And so, oh, I'm sorry, that dropped it down quite a number of minutes here, which was a big danger. And then afterwards in the 60s, they started talking and trying to avoid this thermonuclear encounter and collision. And so in the 60s, they actually got farther from 12 o'clock. And then in 1990, with the collapse of the Soviet Empire, they actually took it even further, 27 minutes before midnight. You know, the Cold War was basically over at that time. And then, though, Russia started arming again. China also arming. And so the clock got closer and closer to midnight. And then with this war in Ukraine, it went to a minute and a half before midnight, which is the closest it's ever been. So you can see the tendency that we have.

But what's happening in the Ukraine? Let's go to the next slide, because this baby's not working. Okay, let's see if I got her. Is that me? Okay, no, that's you. Okay. So this just came out yesterday in the Daily Mail. That's a British newspaper. And it's talking about all of the different tanks that are going to be sent to the Ukraine. That includes the German Panther tanks, the Abrams U.S. tanks. France is sending. England is sending. They say that eventually it'll be like 300 tanks in total that they're going to be sending to the Ukraine. Of course, Russia feels that you've crossed a red line here, and now they're all ganging up on Russia. That's the mentality of Vladimir Putin. But things are getting hotter instead of colder. Going to the next slide, you can see a little bit of the country of Ukraine. The light blue is what is controlled by the Ukrainians. And the red, deep red, is what the Russians have taken over with Crimean Peninsula at the bottom and then the Donetsk area all the way here on the eastern border. That's what the Russians have occupied. The big problem is that according to the generals, military experts, the Russians are planning for a big attack in the springtime because right now it's wintertime, so they're setting up their defenses and they're hoping to have a big push into Ukraine. And of course, that's why they want to get all the tanks, all of this, before springtime because it'd be too late. Something has to stop the Russian tanks. So that's what's happening in January. So it's this building up. The tensions are getting worse. But I have some good news, too. Next slide.

The doomsday clock will not end with the destruction of the entire world, but Christ will intervene to save the earth. Let's read Matthew 24. Matthew 24, verse 29 through 31. And again, you're not going to hear many churches talking about the truth in the Bible, prophecy, and what God says is going to happen. Matthew 24, verse 29. It says, immediately after the tribulation of those days that's still ahead, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Well, that has to do with Satan's rebellion going up in heaven. And there's going to be a lot of warfare, spiritual warfare, while there will be here on the earth that period called the Great Tribulation. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. That's the brightness, because he's coming and he will look like the brightness of the sun. It's not going to be this little child born in Bethlehem, you know, type of a manger area, a little stable, probably the bottom of the first floor of a house there. No, he's coming in glory and majesty this time. And then all the tribes of the earth, that's all the nations will mourn. Isn't that sad? Don't you think they should rejoice? Ah, but see, they don't want God to take over the earth. They don't want Christ to rule and get rid of all ambition and all exploitation and warfare and power politics and greed and all of these things. You see, these are people, they want to have their own lifestyles, because when Christ comes, it's over for all of these lifestyles. It's over for all of these politicians and all of these powerful corporations and others. And so, of course, they will mourn. And of course, all the people, can you imagine being in India, being a Hindu or a Buddhist or an atheist, and all of a sudden, I've made the mistake. He really was real. He is coming. And of course, they don't want that. They want to still have their own religious deceit going on.

And it says, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. So it's something visible. All people will be able to see it. And he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his elect, the saints, from the four winds, in other words, from the four directions of the earth, from one end of heaven to the other. So it's going to be, of course, they're talking about the first heaven. That's the atmosphere. And so all of these people are going to gather together because Christ is not going to be by himself. He wants his elect, the saints, to be there as he takes over the earth. And what does man have in comparison? What is man teaching? The next slide.

Oh yes, a little caricature. It says, I miss stress because it would be pretty boring to be up there. And basically having an extended retirement vacation. Everything is supposed to be provided for you. And so after a while, that gets pretty boring. And so traditional Christianity, they don't have any idea about what kind of activities they're going to be or anything else.

They just think, well, you're just going to be there. And in the Catholic Church, they talk about the beatific vision, which is, according to the dictionary definition, it's the eternal contemplation of God's face. So you just stare at God for an eternity. I think that's even worse because there's no activity.

It just is staring, contemplating. So God has something much better. And the Muslims, they feel that the men who fight for Islam and are faithful when they die, well, they have this paradise with all of these beautiful virgin girls. And it doesn't talk about what women are going to be doing or the wives. Are the wives going to be happy? The husband has, they talk about 72, but actually that's not quite accurate, but at least it does talk about in the Quran that all of these beautiful women are just going to be there for you.

Well, that's going to get boring, too. Even if they don't admit it, there has to be something better. And the Bible has something much better, and that's our hope. And as we see the difficulties and the darkness of the present world, there's something so much more wonderful that God has prepared. Let's go to the next slide. Let's go to Revelation chapter 20. And we should never get tired of praying for thy kingdom to come.

In Revelation 20, 1 through 4, after Christ has established, he's come down, as it mentions in Revelation 19. Once he has gotten rid of all the evil of this battle that the beast and the false prophet has set up.

Verse 21 of 19, it says, and the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with her flesh. That's the end of that. And then Christ is able to establish his kingdom. And what is it? The first thing, well, he's then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having a key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.

But after these things he must be released for a little while. In verse 4, after he gets rid of Satan and his demons and everything, they're all put in this pit and they're not going to bother anyone for a thousand years. So Christ is ready to establish his government. Verse 4, And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them, authority was given to them, to rule, to govern under Christ.

So it's not going to be this boring, it's going to be full of activity to beautify the earth, to educate the people in God's ways, and prepare for that coming great resurrection that is after the thousand years. So here's a time of excitement, of being under Christ. I had a privilege, I've had very fine bosses through the years. There's one in particular that I still remember so fondly. I was only able to work with him for three years because he had this cancer that took him too early. That was Denny Luker. But I worked for him for three years, and thankfully he was so kind, so enthusiastic, so loving, and trustful.

He trusted people until you gave him a reason not to trust him. So we cared for keeping that trust up. But those were marvelous times. When he was the president, I was named by the council over the Latin American areas. So Denny and I would be working together. And how much greater and better to work under Jesus Christ? You can imagine the privilege that one day, if we're faithful to the end, that's what we are going to receive. Notice what it continues to say. Then I saw the souls, which means those that were resurrected, that are living now, the souls of those who had been beheaded—notice, I mean, they had to die the first death—for their witness to Jesus and for the Word of God.

So they were faithful to the end, who had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. So, reigning with Christ, what a privilege! Who deserves something like that? I felt those three years that I worked under Denny Luker were—well, I mean, we went through trials and difficulties in carrying out things, but boy, he had your back. And you were just so enthusiastic to do things because of the love and concern he had for everybody.

You know well. How many knew Denny Luker here and knew him well? Isn't that the way he was with everybody? That's right. Roy's nodding and others. So it wasn't something just me. I just had the privilege of getting it later in life. And so, just think about the best person you've ever known and maybe worked for. And this is a hundred times better to work under Jesus Christ.

Verse 6 says, Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power. You'll never die again. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. So that's what God says is in the future. Even at these dark times—and there's a doomsday clock that mankind has. And it's some of the smartest and brightest men that are analyzing the world. And warning where we are headed. Like some lemmings. Those lemmings are the little squirrels. And they all run right off a cliff, right? Because they all follow each other. And so we're just headed that way. And don't realize that the way of this world eventually leads to a Niagara Falls. You're just gonna fall right off if that's the case.

And as there is a doomsday clock that man has, that Satan is trying to work things, he wants to destroy mankind, God has another clock. It's not the doomsday clock. It's the millennial clock. The clock about the millennium that is going to come. And that started with Adam and Eve. And it's been ticking. And it's still—it's how close are we to that midnight? So God has a better clock and a better way. Man has no idea what awaits it. And something much better than they imagined. So once the saints begin, God is going to be with all of them. Talk about Christ. God the Father is still going to be over everybody up in the third heaven. But for this thousand years, Christ is going to rule. And what is the next thing? Well, Christ is going to set up his headquarters. We see here an artistic depiction of the New Jerusalem during the millennium where Christ will reign. Let's go to some scriptures because many times we don't go into these scriptures very much. In Ezekiel, the last part of the book of Ezekiel, it describes the construction of this new headquarters in the area of Jerusalem that now has been made into a great plateau, kind of a big platform. And notice Ezekiel 43, Ezekiel 43 verses 5 through 7.

We have new people that haven't really come across a lot of these things, so it's good to rehearse it from time to time. In Ezekiel 43 verse 5.

Through 7, it says, The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. So Christ is coming. Then I heard him speaking to me from the temple while a man stood beside me. And he said to me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the souls of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile my holy name. They ignore their kings by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. Now there's scripture. Ezekiel 44 verse 20 through 24.

It says, They shall neither, talking about the priests that are going to be there, which are the sons of Sadok, which are in verse 15, it says, the priests, the Levites, the sons of Sadok, who kept charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me. These maintain the principles and the laws of God when others did not. They shall come near me to minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God. So here are are these descendants of the and the sons of Sadok. And then it goes on to say in verse 20, how are they dressed? It says, They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed. So that's a biblical principle. God wants us to not look like some type of Neanderthal there or whatever they are, just wild and woolly. No, he says we are to show God's character by the way we look on the outside. There's plenty of variety. There's all kinds of styles that you can have, but this is a principle that's also brought out in the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 11. You can read that later. It says verse 23, And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. So we still got clean food and unclean foods in the millennium because Christ is there now. This is what he says he's going to establish. In controversy, they shall stand as judges and judge it according to my judgments. Now, the saints are going to be over these priests and Levites, so they're going to supervise and be educating them. But here we're talking about physical Israel and all of these nations that survived that are going to come year after year to this area of Israel to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, as this tells us in Zechariah 14. It says, They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed meetings, talking about feasts, and they shall hallow my Sabbaths. So, Sabbath is still going to be kept when Christ comes back. Now, what are the dimensions here? How can we have so many people that are going to come and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles? Let's see the next slide. Here we have the dimensions mentioned from Ezekiel 40 through 48. You can read that. And actually, it's a very large swath that comes across the red on the map there. That's the whole territory of the headquarters. Basically, it's almost like 10 miles by 6 miles, just the area of the Jerusalem Temple and everything else. So that's a lot of territory when you think 10 by 7 or so miles square. That's enormous. And then you have the areas on either side, the east and the west, where it's going to be King David, resurrected, who will supervise, because there's going to be a lot of housing, plus the rest of the areas of Israel, where people will be housed. That's a lot of territory. And the saints are going to be over a lot of this supervising, teaching people God's ways. Notice in Isaiah 30.

Isaiah 30. Let's go there real quickly. It tells us here about those that are going to teach righteousness.

See, what is that scripture? Anybody have it there? Isaiah 30 talks about that I didn't write it down. It talks about teaching them the way. 21. Okay, thank you. Yeah, it says, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, this is the way.

Walk in it whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left. You will also defile the covering of your images of silver. So there's not going to be any idols around. Verse 20, it says, and though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity, there's going to be a tough time before Christ comes and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore. But your eyes shall see your teachers. And so God's saints can appear because they're going to be supervising. It takes a thousand years of education to beautify the earth, to get everything going in the right way. And that's part of the responsibility that the saints have. So this whole area is going to be key. And by the way, eventually, all of the gentile nations that are around, they're going to come. They're going to be baptized. They're going to become spiritual Israelites because all of the earth is just going to multiply, just like they're all going to be one olive tree. The gentiles and the Israelites, they're all eventually going to be descendants of Abraham, if not physically, spiritually, like we are today. Notice what it tells us in Galatians chapter 3.

This is the way you get rid of racism. People only knew. In Galatians chapter 3, verse 26, it says, For you are all sons of God, that's children of God, that's men and women, through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. It says here there's neither Jew nor Greek. Boy, that's a revolutionary concept. The Jews wouldn't have liked that. Here, the Greeks were the pagans. They were the Gentiles. And he's saying, no, once you're baptized, you are part of spiritual Israel.

And then he said neither male nor female. So, boy, that was revolutionary. Men thought they had a special calling and special category, and the women were inferior, not spiritually. And spiritually, they are equal before the eyes of God. And he says, for you are all one in Christ Jesus, and if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed.

Another thing that would have shocked the Jews of his day, to say that. And heirs according to the promise, heirs according to the promises of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. So, we're all included. So, we're going to be supervising this, and the whole earth is going to be supervised by God's saints, the servants of the Most High. That's what God is looking forward to.

In the next slide, talking about the coming kingdom, Isaiah chapter 9. We're coming to that age when there's just going to be so much affliction and violence. You saw what happened here, what was it, less than a week ago, or all this mass killing over there in Monterey Park and other parts. It just seems like the newspaper carries murders every day, terrible massacres of people. In Isaiah 6, 9, in Isaiah chapter 9, in verse 1, it says, nevertheless, the gloom and doom will not be upon her who is distressed, talking about Israel, as when at first he lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed by her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan and Galilee of the Gentiles.

Talking about the coming of Christ. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. Verse 6, for unto us a child is born, talking about Christ, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder and his name, and it has all of these different names. Verse 7, of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.

There won't be another government after Christ's forever. Upon the throne of David, here's again the descendant and importance of that throne, and over his kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice. We covered that last week about what God is. He's love, he's also just, and he is righteous. From that time forward, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Not human beings, but God himself will carry down. And then chapter 11 talks again, looking at these pictures of that new Jerusalem. You see people gathering, and the lion and the lamb dwelling peacefully together, and then a family in a idyllic setting, where there are no more wards nor fear.

Verse 11, chapter 11, verse 1, it says, There shall come forth a rod, which means a descendant, from the stem of Jesse, who was the father of David, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Talking about, again, Christ. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

So he knows very well how to teach this, but he's going to do it through his saints. They all have to learn how to do that. The Spirit of wisdom, godly wisdom, godly balance in a person's life, understanding, understanding deeper than just the superficial things, getting to know what human nature is and how to overcome it, how to help others overcome their problems. The Spirit of counsel and might know how to deal with a person. Counseling the empathy and love instead of the harshness.

And the Spirit of knowledge, so full knowledge of the biblical principles and of the fear of the Lord, of deep respect for God and his ways. His delight is in the fear of the Lord and he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes nor decide by the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth.

That's when he's coming to destroy the beast and the false prophet and their armies and the rest in the world. And with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his loins, something firm, and the faithfulness, the belt of his waist. And then the change in the world conditions. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb. The leopard shall lie down with a young goat.

The calf and the young lion and the fatling together. And a little child shall lead them. There won't be any harm. When you go to a zoo, you better keep your arms away from the lion's den.

We've had some accidents that have happened. Some kids think that these are cuddly animals and they've had part of their arms tore off. It's not the time. But then a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze. Their young ones shall lie down together. All of these animals that are mortal enemies today. The lion shall eat straw like an ox. It's going to be a vegetarian, a herbivore. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole. And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. Nothing's going to happen because there's no more poisonous serpents. They're going to be just as tender and cuddly as any puppy. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. That's going to be one of the great jobs educating people. Everybody's going to know the way of God. And you're going to see how delightful, how wonderful, how joyful without that human nature getting in the way. And so, what does God's government consist of? Who are those saints? Let's go to the next slide.

And so we have Father Abraham. Abraham gazing at the stars is called in the Bible the Father of the faith. Let's go to Romans 4 16. Romans 4 16. It says, therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham who is the Father of us all. So he's the kind of the Father of the faith. He was the first who really received that position. And as Abraham gazed up in the night sky and saw all of these around 5,000 stars that you can see with your naked eye. And God said, your descendants and your people and all of these blessings, they're going to inherit with you that coming kingdom. So along with Jacob, Isaac and Jacob, helping him, he will be under Christ. He is the one who learned what faith was really all about. There have been many others, but he did it for the longest time dedicated to God, was willing to sacrifice his only son. And so he was tested to the nth degree. Then, the next slide, we have David, who faithfully pastored Israel, will be over the 12 tribes of Israel. Let's go to Ezekiel 37 verse 24. When David is resurrected, he already has a position of government when Christ returns. Ezekiel 37 verse 24.

It says, David, my servant shall be king over them. Now, Ezekiel lived almost 500 years. Or at least 400 years after David. So David was long centuries in the grave, but he was talking about the resurrection. David's going to be part of that first resurrection. He said, David, my servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall also walk in my judgments and observe my statutes and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob, my servant, where your fathers dwelt, and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children forever. And my servant David shall be their prince forever. So David's going to have a very important position under Abraham, being in charge of the 12 tribes of Israel. And then, next slide, we have the 12 apostles, the ones who were faithful. This is after Judas was replaced, and Christ's 12 apostles will each rule a tribe of Israel. Let's look at Matthew 19.

Matthew 19 verse 28. So Jesus said to them, Assuredly I say to you that in the regeneration, which is the word for rebirth, palangenesis in palangenosia in the Greek, which means another birth, what we call here the second birth, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. So there's each one will be in charge. They have their positions already.

And then, let's look in the next slide with a parable of the pounds. In Luke chapter 19, starting in verse 11, Luke chapter 19 and verse 11, his disciples heard certain things. He said, now, as they heard these things, he spoke another parable because he was near Jerusalem and because they thought that kingdom of God would appear immediately. They thought the Messiah is here. He's going to set up the kingdom at this moment. And so he explained to them that was in the case. Verse 12, therefore, he said, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. Talking about himself, he was going to have to go up to heaven and then come back. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, which is a certain amount of silver. In this case, it was about three months of wages, the equivalent of three months' wages for a laborer at that time. That's an enormous amount of money. And he said to them, do business till I come. But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, we will not have this man to reign over us. And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. So he expected them to work hard to develop. And what is it that we receive? We don't receive money from God. We receive his Holy Spirit with gifts and all kinds of responsibilities of being faithful to him and multiplying that Holy Spirit from the time we were baptized to the time of the end of our lives or when Jesus Christ comes, whatever is first.

And then came the first saying, Master, your mina has earned ten minas. You see the man there, he had ten now pouches full of silver. From one he had multiplied it ten times.

And he said to him, well done, good servant, because you are faithful in a very little. Have authority over ten cities. Now that's talking about in the kingdom. God is going to distribute cities to educate those people. And of course, there will be priests and Levites that will be physical at that time, that will be guided. But he is engaging and he is evaluating what we do with the Holy Spirit he has given us. And the second came saying, Master, your mina has earned five minas. Likewise, he said to him, you also be over five cities. Not as many because this is all about spiritual maturity, of learning to manage things in your own life. So you can help others manage theirs. And then another came saying, Master, here is your mina. You see what had happened. He went and he buried it. He says, I have, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. Didn't even leave it in a carefully placed box or something. He just wrapped it up, went and buried it. Just the worst thing he could do, the thing is, of course, gonna rot in there and also, it doesn't produce anything extra.

And so he said, for I feared you because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow. The person was basically inactive. He didn't develop anything. And he said to him, Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I am an austere or here it means someone that is responsible and that expects returns, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. That's the time I gave you. I gave you a wonderful opportunity to grow in responsibility. Why then did you not put my money in the bank? That at my coming I might have collected it with interest? And he said to those who stood by, take the mina from him and give it to him who has 10 minas. And of course, they didn't understand that, but he said, answered to everyone who has, talking about development, will be given and from him who does not have even what he has will be taken away from him. And so we see God is calling people to his kingdom, preparing us in church, in our homes, and what we do. So let's go to the final slide. So according to man, it's 90 seconds to midnight. The doomsday clock is ticking, but we have a millennium clock that's ticking for God's kingdom to come. And boy, does God he's so anticipating in Jesus Christ getting rid of the evil and violence that we see in this world. So remember, we have a millennium clock to comfort us in the meantime. Let's go to the last scripture in Luke chapter 12, 31 and 32. Luke chapter 12 verse 31 and 32.

Christ said, but seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Put your focus on that coming kingdom of preparing for it. Do not fear, little flock, tiny little percentage of mankind that God has called those firstfruits. He says, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Nobody deserves it, but what a wonderful privilege it is to be part of God's church.