Signs of the Times

Good morning, News Month! Interesting couple years in the news, as it always is. If you follow the world events much, you know that yesterday it was formally announced that there will be the summit between the much-anticipated summit between North Korea and the United States, between the presidents there. As you listen to the news and see the dramatic turn of events that has gone on between North Korea, Kim Jong-un, and his change of heart, if you will, over the last few months. A few months ago, we would have been thinking, what is God's will with North Korea? Will they send something? Will they follow through on their threats?

Will they be able to develop something? Will they be able to cripple the United States like they had hoped to do? And then it's been kind of miraculous, as you've seen the churn and attitude of Kim Jong-un and now the hope that's in the atmosphere of the newscasts and the world, I think, as this summit is going to occur. And it's something that no one really would have seen six months ago, maybe even three months ago. But it's there.

And there seems to be a change in the atmosphere of the news lately. And it tends to be positive.

At the same time, we live in a world where we consistently see school shootings and people are seeking the answers to that. And we see random violence just by people in malls and just for the sake of violence. So it's a kind of a mixed time that we live in. On one hand, things seem to be looking up. On another hand, we have the continuing violence and, of course, the ongoing corruption that just kind of marks our country and marks politics as it has a long time and maybe more noticeable now just because the media is so adept at covering everything that goes on. So some people would say, as we look at events and look at things in the world, you know, are we in the end times? Are we in the end times?

Is this what God is talking about? And maybe a few months ago they were asking that question more directly. Now they're wondering maybe what is happening. Why is there this peace that seems to be marking the air and the atmosphere today? So I want to talk today about three signs of the end time. Now, the Bible gives us many signs of the end time, but I just want to focus in on three of them today and draw attention to where we are here in 2018.

You know, I'm going to talk about one that's domestically driven, another one that's more of a worldview-type thing of what's going on, and the third one has more to do with us directly. But three signs of the times, there's many more, and maybe down the road we'll talk about some more of the signs of the times. But it's important for us to know the signs of the times and what the Bible says about them and what our attitude should be about them, because the Bible tells us that there will be the return of Jesus Christ, the time of the Great Tribulation, it's going to come as a snare on people, a trap, if you will, or a trap that they'll feel they've been, not a trap, but a surprise to them.

And it shouldn't be to us as we look and see what God has done. So let's first talk about the domestic situation. When we talk about the domestic situation here in America, we can talk about the economy. The economy, you know, just by chance yesterday, there was some news to go along with the Kim Jong-un thing about how strong the economy is. And for the 92nd straight month it was reported, there's been job growth in America, and pretty substantial job growth in June. It's a record, an all-time record, and it has been for several months, just didn't break the record yesterday. There's never been a sustained period of economic growth like we've been in right now. And so the unemployment rate has dropped to 3.8%. The only time, or the most recent time, that it was below 3.8% was back in 1969. So we live in a world and a country now that things seem to be going pretty well. When you look at the economic indicators, if you are looking at those things and you're living here, you have to say things are pretty good in America right now. You know, the average wage in America has gone up by a dollar an hour over the last year. That's been the largest in quite a while, and of course wages now are the highest they've ever been. The wage increase last month was $0.08, which is right online with the dollar an hour increase that we've been seeing. And some analysts say that with the low unemployment rate and the increasing number of jobs that are available, those rates are going to increase even more. You know, we were in Cincinnati a few weeks ago for the General Conference of Elders in the hotel we stayed at was commenting that they just weren't able to provide all the services that they normally do. We didn't really notice anything that much different than normal, but they were saying they just can't find people to work. And they've had to raise their rates $1, $2, and $3 an hour just to attract people to come and work there. And some analysts are saying is that what we're going to see in time of increasing wages because the job market has become that strong as people look for jobs and the economy has taken off in that way. So people would look at it and say, you know, it's a good time in America. Right now we're not, you know, people aren't scraping, we're not, you know, we don't we see things and numbers that maybe we couldn't have even imagined back two, three years ago. But they continue to look good. You know, we've got a stock market that historically was in the four to five thousand range, then moved up to eight to nine thousand, then the fourteen fifteen thousand. Now the norm seems to be twenty four and twenty five thousand.

Over the last year and a half it's increased by thirty five percent and it seems to be staying there. You know, no rhyme, no reason to it other than there's a people feel good about America, feel good about the economy. And so they invest in the stock market. Of course, the the advance of 401ks and things like that and how to increase your retirement income has has a lot to do with that as people put their money in the stock market instead of some low rate investments that they could elsewhere. But we see a strong market. We see a strong market there. You know, we have a tax reform that was much debated that has gone into effect and we see an increasing job market. In April, the government had the highest tax collections they've ever had in history and they're saying that because of the strength and the confidence in the economy. So as we look at as we look at the time in America where we are right now, the economy looks strong. And when the economy looks strong, people can tend to relax and we see that. We see consumers spending up. We see everything going along pretty fine. And if we are here and we should be enjoying this time as well, as God has blessed us. But there is a danger when things are going that well. Let's go back to Genesis 49 because one of the signs of the end time is that there will be economic prosperity in the world. And as the United States goes, so goes the world. And around the world, we see the things are looking up and that the time and that indeed in America it seems and as America does well, the world does well. I should mention too the dollar. A few years ago, I think we talked about the dollar and how weak it had become. Now it's become strong and there's no challenge to it at all as being the world reserve currency. And if you remember from that sermon a few years ago, having that reserve currency designation provides a lawfully lot of benefits to us that we don't even know what would happen if the United States ever lost that. But today, just today, okay, that doesn't seem to be in danger. But it's acting in Genesis 49. And we can go all the way back to Genesis to see what God talks about the end times because from the foundation of the world, God knew what was going to happen. The plan was there and he knew what would happen near the end times. In Genesis 49 and verse 1, Jacob, we know him also as Israel, called his sons together.

And he said in verse 1, he said, gather together that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days. In the last days. Here at the beginning of the book of the Bible, it talks about what's going to happen in the end days or the last days of man's time on here on earth. We're not going to go through all the tribes of Israel here, but let's look at a couple of them that are notable in our world today. Verse 8 talks about Judah. We know who Judah is, the Jews. We know the little nation of Israel over there in the Middle East, you know, maybe more appropriately named Judah, but they're Judah. And of course, Jews are throughout the world. In verse 8 it says, Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise. May your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies.

And as we read through this, think about the country that we know is Israel today and how they have been in the world and where they are. The Middle East has been anti-Israel, yet Israel has held its own and they've been able to withstand some of the attacks that they've had there, and they are a force to be reckoned with in that area of the world. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's whelp. From the prey of my son you have gone up. He bows down. He lies down as a lion, and as a lion who shall rouse him. Who shall rouse him? You don't want to sleep. You don't want to rouse a lion.

The scepter, verse 10, shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his faith until Shiloh, that's the Messiah, comes. And to him shall be the obedience of the people.

So the kings will come from Judah, and when Christ returns, he'll take that throne and claim that throne that is still on earth today. Let's drop down to verse 22.

Joseph is the other one we'll look at. One chapter back in chapter 48, verse 16, when Jacob was blessing Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Asa, he said, let my name be on you. So when we read about Israel or Jacob later on, we know he's talking not about not about Judah, he's talking about Ephraim and Manasseh, or if you look at the context, all 12 tribes of Israel. But he's talking about Joseph and the sons here that he put his name on. Verse 22, Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well. His branches run over the wall. Picture is prosperity. He has a lot to be thankful for. There's a lot going on in there. This is a wealthy, wealthy nation that has descended from Joseph. The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him, and hated him. Well, you know, often when you're the king of the heap, people hate you. They're jealous of you. And we look in the world around us at where Joseph, we believe, is today. You know, it's there. Has never been a nation like America that has been more generous with its funds and foreign aid than America, and yet there are there are nations that just absolutely hate, just absolutely hate America and are looking to see how they can bring her down. The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him, and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty god of Jacob. Ah. Wasn't by his might, wasn't by his power, wasn't by his intelligence, it was by the mighty hand of God. And as long as Jacob, and as long as you and I remember, it's by God that we have the things that we have. It's by God that we live in the land we live, that we enjoy the things that we enjoy. Then, and young people, what you accomplish in life, it's by God's hands that you are blessed. Always remember that. Verse 25, by the god of your father who will help you, and by the almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb, you will be a profitable and a rich and a productive people. The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph and the crown of the head of him who's separate from his brothers. So we see at the last days, Joseph is going to be a prosperous, well-to-do, well-known nation or group of people around the world. God says it will be at the end time, not a poor person, not as slaves as they were during the time of Egypt, that they will be a prosperous and a force in the world. Back in Luke 17, back in Luke 17, Jesus Christ, as he was talking about the things to come that would occur before his return to earth, as Luke records it here in Luke 17, and verse 26, after he says, all these things are going to happen, leading up to the great tribulation, up to the time that will usher in the return of Jesus Christ to rescue a world that has gone astray and that would literally cease to exist if God didn't come in to rescue it. And verse 26, it says, As it was in the days of Noah, so it will also be in the days of the Son of Man.

They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Things were good during the time of Noah. Noah was all alone, he and his family, while they were building that ark, while Noah was preaching. There is a reckoning coming, there is a flood coming, and the world would just go about its own way and kind of ignore what was being said because times were good. They were eating, they were drinking, they weren't starving, they weren't looking for their next meal out, they weren't threatened, their existence wasn't threatened, at least to them physically, even though it was because they were not yielding or listening to God. And up until the day that Noah entered the ark, everything looked fine.

But then the ark closed, and the end came of that age suddenly. Verse 28, Likewise, as it was also in the days of Lot, they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built a vibrant society. Sodom and Gomorrah, it was a perverse society, it was an immoral society, it was so bad that God said, I'm not even going to keep this, it's going to rain fire and brimstone and eliminate this society from earth. Just as he said about Noah's day, now remember Noah's day, it was prosperous, as, but if you read back in Genesis 6, the land was filled with violence, filled with corruption, and it was a stench to God as he saw how people lived back then.

And of course Sodom and Gomorrah, it was a well-to-do place, it was a place of pleasure to live in.

We read not too long ago in Ezekiel 16, Sodom was a place where there was abundance of food, abundance of idleness, it was a good place to live, so good that when Lot and his wife were told by the angel, get out of here, God's going to destroy this place, they didn't pay attention, they didn't want to go, they wanted to stay, they had to actually be taken by the hand and driven out.

But up until the day that Lot left, everything seemed to be okay in Sodom and in Gomorrah, but when they left, everything fell apart and it no longer existed.

Verse 29, on the day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Yes, in the end times, one of the signs of the end times is that there will be prosperity on earth. There will be eating and drinking and making merry and marrying and giving in marriage. It will be good times, not disastrous times, not what we're in a period here of famine leading into this or starving and everything else, but a time, good times, if you will.

Let's go back to Daniel. Daniel 12. Daniel, the prophecies in Daniel have a lot to say about the end times. Daniel 12, the first three verses of Daniel 12. Speak of the time of the Great Tribulation, the time, times, and a half a time. That will be a time unlike any other in history.

Christ speaks about the same thing and he says there will be a time of great tribulation such as not been since the beginning of time, known or until that time, a horrific time coming upon the earth before the return of Jesus Christ. But in verse 4 of chapter 12 of Daniel, it says this, as Daniel is receiving these prophecies from God and verse 3 verses here, it says, you Daniel, shut up the words. Seal those words. Seal the book until the time of the end.

That's when these prophecies will come true. Until then, you won't know what they really mean. Seal the book until the time of the end. Many will run to and fro and knowledge shall increase.

People run to and fro a lot these days, don't they? More than any time in history. I don't think anyone walked here today, did they? Nope, we all drove cars. We all are able to get around from place to place, hours away, days away. People go overseas to the feast, you know, take airplanes. We're able to go around the world anywhere we want. We live in a time unlike any other time in history that travel and people moving around is unlike any time that you can compare any other time.

It's good times. You know, people don't do a lot of traveling when it's starvation time, when the economy is really slow, when there's a lot of danger and a lot of things that can befall you, you can watch tourism drop in times when there's an economic downturn or when there is some violence or war in an area or even like in Hawaii, you know, where the volcanoes are growing on and they've noticed a 50% decline in tourism just since the volcano has started over there. But people run to and fro today. That happens when times are good and knowledge will increase. And we know, I don't have to give you any statistics, you know how much knowledge has increased in the last several years with the advent of the internet and everything that's going on. It increases exponentially.

You know, we can, you know, not all the knowledge, of course, that is out there is good. And some of the knowledge that's out there and some of the things that mankind is getting himself into with our artificial intelligence and some of the things that, you know, some of the foundations get themselves into with some of the things that they have in the works are kind of harrowing when you read about them and kind of make you think about some of the examples in the Bible where God stopped in and said, no, that's not going to happen. No, that's not going to happen. And maybe we can talk about more of those at a later time. But a lot of knowledge, and we all benefit from that knowledge and the opportunity to be on the internet and research anything that we want and call out the good from the bad happens during good times. Doesn't happen during trying times. Happens at the time of the end. And so we find ourselves here, we find ourselves here at a time where there's economic prosperity. And I'm not saying anything that I say today. I'm not going to say that this is a time, you know, that this is a time that absolutely precedes the beginning of the Great Tribulation. It might be. But you know, as I've read things and I say, see things, and I've listened over the years, and you can read them anywhere online through many of the economic articles, no matter what happens to America, America always rebounds. You know, 2007, many people thought that would be the end then, but America always rebounds. And as some of the economic people point out, some of the pitfalls of our economy today, they say, but America always rebounds. Even if there is a setback, America always rebounds. And there may be a setback.

But you know, there is a time, according to the Bible, that America and the world won't rebound from their economic problem. There may be a time ahead of us that things disappear, because there are some things on the horizon, you know, that could cripple us immediately. You know, we got in use to a $24,000 and $25,000 stock market. If it just adjusted down to $17,000, where it was for the last few years before the last year and a half, that would be seen as a disaster. And there would be people who would lose, as you would hear on the news, trillions of dollars or billions of dollars in their 401ks, and it would be looked at as a crash if it just adjusted to where it was 18 months ago or two years ago. If it went beyond that and fell down to 12 or 10, can you imagine the uproar that would be and the problems that would be in the country if it just did those adjustments that some economists say are inevitable? Because you cannot justify the stock market based on the finances of the companies that trade on it just by those. A lot of it is speculation. A lot of it is the mood of the country. A lot of it is based on just how good people feel. And that has changed over the years, because decades ago it was all based on financial performance.

So there are those pitfalls there. Of course, we have other things that could cripple us immediately.

But back in Revelation, we see another time, another another indication here, that at the end of time it's going to be good times. In Revelation 3, in the middle of the chapter here, we have the Philadelphia church. And to the Philadelphia church, you know, God says, you've kept my name, you haven't denied my name, and because you have persevered to the end, I will keep you from the hour of trial that will come upon the whole world. So we know he's speaking of the end time here, and then you have the Laodicean church that is here at the end time that follows the Philadelphia era. And let's read in verse 17. And there's a very there's certainly a script, a spiritual aspect to the Laodicean church, but I want to look at it right now just physically and see what the attitude and the reality of the Laodicean church is. Because Laodicea, the city itself, was a very wealthy city. If you lived during that time, Laodicea would be one of the places you would want to live. Wealthy, a lot of advantages, a good place to be. Verse 17, because you say, I'm rich. I've become wealthy. I have need of nothing. Life is good. What more could I want? Oh, I could always want more, but I've got cars, I've got disposable income, I can go where I want, do what I want, I can buy what I want for the most part. I've even got credit.

Whoever earned credit until, you know, our age, life is good. I'm rich. I've become wealthy. I don't have in need of anything. And God cautions them, but you don't know that you're wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. But the conditions at the end of time, one of the signs of the time for us to be aware of, is that there will be economic prosperity.

Now, economic prosperity is good, okay? We can enjoy it, but it comes with a caution, because God certainly gave the ancient nation of Israel prosperity. When he took them to the land that he promised them, it was a land flowing with milk and honey. He said, I will pour out the blessings on you. And when God inspired Jacob to give that prophecy to the sons of Joseph, that you'll be a fruitful bough, you'll run over your walls with bounty. It wasn't a bad thing.

It wasn't a bad thing. God wants to give us blessings. He wants us to enjoy life.

But what we do with it, and our attitude with us, and what we can become prone to if we don't pay attention to it, can be very dangerous. Let's go back to Deuteronomy 8. Deuteronomy 8.

You know, when God says things in the Bible, and he may say things to ancient Israel, but he would say them to us as well. You know what happened to ancient Israel here in Deuteronomy 8?

Moses is reminding them as they're about to cross into the Promised Land. These are the things you need to remember. Remember God. Remember what he's done for you. Don't forsake him. Don't let him out of your life. Don't just neglect him. And God would say the same thing to us today. Let's read here verses 1 and 2 of Deuteronomy 8. Every command, Deuteronomy 8 verse 1, every commandment which I command you today, you must be careful, careful to observe.

You know you should underline. I should underline that word careful.

Be careful to observe. You know when we're careful to observe things? It means our mind is on it.

We are watching what we are doing. We're not just, you know, waltzing through life without paying attention to it and just thinking, oh, I'm okay. That's okay. I did this and I did that and God's okay with it. He says you be careful, careful to observe it. This is your life. This is your future.

This is what God has called you to. You be careful with what God has given you and you be careful of what you're doing in your life and you make sure that it complies with what God's will is.

You, every commandment which I command you today, you must be careful to observe that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land of which the eternal swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness to humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

And all of us can say the same thing. We've lived in times that were good. We've lived in some trying times, but even in the good times we've had things that have befallen us. We've had financial, personal financial trials. We've had health trials. We've had relationship trials. We've had other things that come about. And God allowed those things to happen. Why? To humble us, to test us, to see whether we would really be obeying him in the letter of the law as well as the spirit of the law. If our heart was really in line with him, that's why we go through these things. And that's what he wants to develop in us, a heart that is loyal to him and committed to him.

Same thing he wanted out of Israel. He looks at us today. Let's drop down to verse 10.

As Moses goes on and speaks to us, and as God speaks to Israel then, God speaks to us today, says, when you've eaten in her full, when you live in good times, and when you're in the time that you're in, these good times, then you shall bless the eternal your God for the good land which he has given you. Beware that you don't forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments, his judgments, and his statutes which I command you today. Beware. Beware. Because you know when things are good and things are going right and we're not having to worry about where our next meal is coming from and how we're going to write the check for the electric bill or what's happening with our jobs whether we're going to have one tomorrow or not, we can kind of forget.

We can kind of forget God and go through life and just think everything is okay. Verse 12, lest says, beware that you don't forget lest when you've eaten and are full and have built beautiful homes and dwell in them and when your herds and your flocks multiply and your silver and your gold are multiplied and all that you have is multiplied when your heart is lifted up and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage and he goes on to say who God who gave us all these things who led us through all these things beware that you forget him because you know what if you forget him you will lose it all just like the ancient nation of Israel did God gave them the promised land but they forgot God judith lost it all because they forgot God they weren't careful to follow him they weren't careful about what they were doing and God says there is a danger in good times because people can forget take things for granted begin to think more highly of themselves and they ought to think and bring upon themselves some serious serious consequences when that happens you know when I read those those verses it reminds me of a quote that I know you've heard you know several times in the past by Abraham Lincoln and he knew he knew what was there in Deuteronomy 8 and he knew that the land that that he was presiding over was a land that had been blessed by God here's what he said in 1863 as I read through this just think what would be like if some of our leaders today even one of them would just get up and say these same words again because we live in a land we live in a land land that has been greatly blessed but more and more we see God out of the picture and not even an afterthought in many cases just out of the picture Abraham Lincoln said he says we have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity we've grown in numbers wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown but we have forgotten God we have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us and we have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own intoxicated with unbroken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of God's redeeming and preserving grace too proud to pray to the God that made us it behooves us then to humble ourselves before the offended power to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness how he knew what he was talking about today we have forgotten it and we live in good times but good times without giving the proper respect and acknowledgement to God and good times among his people that we might forget God are bound to burst somewhere in the future let's go back to Isaiah 30.

Isaiah 30 who which paints a picture if you will of what happens when people can see kind of the writing on the wall and see what's going on there but they just sort of ignore it and ignore what's being said and just go on with life and then it all of a sudden catches up with them Isaiah 30 and verse 1.

Whoa! To the rebellious children, says the Lord, whoa to the rebellious children those who won't listen to me those who want to do things their own way those who resist me and you know that's part of all of our natural tendency to be to rebel against God. Romans 8.7 tells us that we're naturally enemies with God that's the spirit that Satan has can breathe into our minds but with his Holy Spirit we are reconciled to God and we have to overcome this rebellious nature and think that oh no we don't have to do it the way God says it's good enough if we do it our way we'll define our own way it's close to what God wants and close is good enough it's not good enough.

Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord, who take counsel but not of me they've got problems they seek help but they don't come to me they don't do it my way they go somewhere else and see what their help is. Woe to the people who take counsel but not of me and who devise plans they got plans but not of my spirit they don't go and see what I say in the bible they go out and they find their own answers they don't pay attention to what I might say or what my spirit might lead them into they do their own thing that they may add sin to sin they walk to go down to Egypt and we know Egypt is a metaphor for the world they walk to go down to Egypt they go to the world that's where they look when they have problems they need counsel when they need direction they don't come to me God says they look to the world that's who they're looking to they have a problem financially they look to the world they have a problem health flies they look to the world they may call on me but they don't really they have a family problem they look to the world they don't look to God they don't go back to his word and say we're going to start doing things the way he said as it clearly says in the Bible we'll devise our own plans we'll come up with our own answers we'll go to Egypt we'll go to the world who walk down to Egypt and they haven't asked my advice they don't see what I'm saying to do they go and see what advice they can get from the world they go to strengthen themselves and the strength of Pharaoh the government I'll look to Pharaoh he's got the answers look he's got the richest nation on earth he's got all the answers the strongest military all the economy that's there I'll go there and I'll strengthen myself in Pharaoh and the trust in the shadow of Egypt I may know the truth but I kind of trust in the world it's just too strong it's just too too strong to ignore therefore God says the strength of Pharaoh will be your shame if that's where your real strength is is that's what you're looking to God will reveal it and trust in the shadow of Egypt shall be your humiliation if that's where your trust is if that's where your heart is and I don't I hope no one in this in this room would say that's where my trust is but we can deceive ourselves because you know God looks at our heart God looks and sees what when we have things where do we go what do we do trust in the shadow of Egypt will be your your humiliation let's drop down to verse eight now go write it on before them on a tablet and note it on a scroll that it may be for a time to come forever and ever that this is a rebellious people lying children children who will not hear the law of the Lord or maybe hear it but don't hear all of it just what they want to hear just do what they want to do just apply the parts they want to apply and assume God's okay if we do part of it he didn't part call us to be just part of Christians to give us to give him part of our heart but over time to give us all to give him all our hearts and minds that this is a rebellious people lying children children who will not hear the law of the eternal who say to the seers don't see to the prophets don't prophesy to us write things speak to us smooth things prophesy deceits we don't want to hear the truth we want to hear we're okay that's all we want to hear from you yes we're doing okay we will be we will be what God what we hope God will bring us to get out of the way turn aside from the path cause the holy one of Israel to cease from before us and in this land today we all know that more and more in the land we live and lands around the world God becomes more and more distant God not someone that who is on anyone's a lot of people's even minds not even on the radar most of the time just get God out of the picture and we see that happening around us therefore thus says the holy one of Israel because you despise this word and because you trust in oppression and perversity and rely on them therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach ready to fall a bulge in a high wall whose breaking comes suddenly in an instant he shall break it like the breaking of the potter's vessel which is broken in pieces he shall not spare it's there the bulging we had a we looked at that wall as a plumbing over here and we could see the wall budging on bulging and every week we would see that and think oh we just got comfortable with it oh it's okay it's never going to break but sooner or later it's going to break if this attitude of any of this attitude is in us and certainly it is in the country around us sooner or later sooner or later it will burst sooner or later it will cease to exist and the end will come suddenly the end will come suddenly so when we look at our economic system today we can say it looks pretty good if we look at all the numbers it looks like this is a pretty good time to be alive and in america and we should enjoy it but we should beware but we should beware to not allow the good times to lead us down the path where we would forget god relax ourselves take stock in the world and think that god may be delaying the things that are about that that he says will come about it may happen some people say it'll happen very quickly others say years from now oh no one knows except god at the end of this economic prosperity it may go on for years there may be a downturn another economic um rising again we don't know but eventually it will break and the question is do we want to be on the wrong side of faith and faith in god when it does break so beware beware in economic good times when people say everything is good this is the best time to be alive don't forget god don't forget to be careful with how you live your lives well that's one thing we can look at a sign of the end time would be there's economic prosperity and good times on earth another time we can look at from the world view geopolitically it seems like it's a time where things are improving i mentioned the north korea situation and how that's improved tremendously over the last couple months the world is anticipating this june 12 summit what will come out of it no one knows but i anticipate that maybe and i'm not saying anything for sure but out of this summit you know maybe there will come some accord between north korea and america that will put the world at ease and the days of of threats and the days of nuclear nuclear testing and that will be over for a while we know they won't be over permanently because the bible says that in the end there will be a nuclear proliferation or some such thing that would destroy the whole earth if christ didn't step in to save the world from itself so we know the peace won't be lasting but there could come a time when you know very shortly that we would say and when people have time of peace you can kind of relax and you can kind of take a breath if you will you know at the same time we see the north korea thing we recently had the united states pull out of the iran nuclear deal and some people are in consternation over that and some nations think it's the wrong thing i have no idea what will come of that i have a sneaking suspicion though if it was going to be my opinion and this is only my opinion but something good is going to come out of that that perhaps just perhaps out of that we will see some agreement with iran that will put the world at ease and that maybe maybe just maybe it'll be even more time to say peace and safety peace and safety look what's happened all these things that were such problems seem to be resolved you know a few years ago we talked about isis and isis looked like the thing that was forming in the middle east that could be a threat to all the world recently we hear that isis physically has been contained for the most part haven't been contained internet wise but certainly you know there are terrorist attacks that still occur and that certainly isn't anything out of the picture but we hear that isis is under control in the middle east we have prisoners being released from benazeala prisoners being released from north kara north korea which would indicate some goodwill in the world and there's a hope there's a hope that is there you know in the world around us today that the tide may be turning and we look at a we're looking at a world that's going to be more peaceful and more more easy to live in israel itself the little nation of israel turned 70 in may 70 years ago they became a nation fulfilling some prophecy that would have to be there at the end of time for the jews to be around jerusalem and they've been there for 70 years now 70 has a notable notable meaning in the bible if you look back through some of it there's a little there's a little verse back there in uh daniel let's go back to daniel 9 i guess we're gonna israel we'll go forward to daniel 9 daniel 9 in verse 27 there's a prophecy that could be taken a couple ways and if you look at our ucg bible reading program it'll talk about those two ways that you can interpret this prophecy we don't say which one is the actual interpretation of it could be one could be the other could be both sometimes god puts things in the bible that have two different ways of of being fulfilled in verse 27 and it's referring back to verse 26 who was talking about the messiah and he'll be cut off after 62 weeks and it talks about in verse 26 the prince the people of the prince who is to come who we often believe is the king of the north or a prince that is to come we don't know exactly who it is but it appears to be the king of the north and there's two people that are mentioned here in verse 27 it says then he and there's one way to look back and say well then he would indicate that it's the messiah himself then he shall be then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week so some say that jesus christ would have a covenant with the people for one week and then he was cut off in the middle of that week three and a half years into his ministry he was crucified he died and some would say he'll fulfill the rest he'll finish the rest of the three and a half years with his people during the time of the great tribulation that would be one interpretation of it the other interpretation of it is that he then he could refer to the people of the prince this prince this human that's there then he will confirm a covenant with many for one week that in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering and on the wing of abomination shall be one who makes desolate even till the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate so some say what will happen is at the end of time there will be a peace treaty that's there there will be with the with the king of rome or the whatever the roman um princes that does this or some prince that will accord a priest treaty and so the world will say peace and safety peace and safety everything is good around jerusalem and that somehow in the middle of the week that peace treaty will end suddenly and the sacrifices that have begun over there will end and that the abomination of desolation that jesus christ talks about in matthew 24 will be set up and suddenly when the world thinks it's in the midst of peace it will end now we would say we don't know for sure exactly what the interpretation of that verse is one or the other maybe both but we know what the time of the end when there's peace and there's safety it's going to be broken broken let's go to first thessalonians 5 first thessalonians 5 as paul talks about this addressing it to us first thessalonians 5 verse 1 5 1 but concerning the times and the seasons brethren you have no need that i should write to you for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the lord so comes as a thief in the night when the end times come it's going to become unexpectedly to the world around us maybe unexpectedly to us even though we are aware that it could come at any time for when they say peace and safety then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman and they shall not escape when they say peace and safety sudden destruction comes so when we live in a time where maybe peace and safety peace and safety is to cry if that is the thing and underscore if if that's the thing that you were to hear in the weeks and months ahead peace and safety peace and safety no one's saying that that will be what chapter five verse three is talking about here but we don't know that it isn't beware of the signs of the times of the end times and don't get lulled into a sense of security that the world might have you know jesus christ if we return back to luke 21 you can mark luke 21 20 down in your uh down in your uh verses there talks about a time when there will be armies surrounding jerusalem you know recently we've had the united states declare jerusalem to be the capital we moved our embassy over there and that's created a lot of tension in the world around us and maybe as we look down the road we can see oh jerusalem is going to be we've always known it's been since the time we've been alive a place where there's banned battles and a place that's been a place of conflict even more so down the road now that this is now that this has been taking place that when you know that there'll be a time when there will be there will be armies surrounding jerusalem and what christ says when you see that those in judea flee flee may come suddenly one day everything would seem okay but then one day armies may be there back in hosea and hosea five hosea five pick it up in verse three god inspires the prophet hosea to write this he says i know ephraim we know ephraim right he's one of jacob's one of joseph's sons i know ephraim and israel is not hidden from me remember what we read in genesis 48 who israel is israel is not hidden from me for now oh ephraim you commit harlotry you're willing to lay down with anyone you're willing to make amends and alliances with anyone israel is defiled no longer the pure people that they should be they don't direct their deeds for turning to their god that's not what's in their heart and mind to see how they direct their mind to turn to god just the opposite in a in most cases for the spirit of harlotry is in their midst and they don't know god the pride of israel testifies to his face therefore israel and ephraim stumble in their iniquity judah stumbles with them three nations israel ephraim and judah with their flocks and herds they'll go to seek the eternal but they won't find him he's withdrawn himself from them they have dealt treacherously with the eternal they've forgotten him they've forgotten who he is and what he's given to them and they've gotten too lax and too lazy and too full of themselves to call on him they have dealt treacherously with the lord for they have begotten pagan children they no longer teach their children the way of god they allow them to grow up in the way of the heath and in the way of the pagan they allow them to to dabble in the things of the nations around that god says don't don't even look at those things don't even touch those things and yet that's what their children have become and then at verse seven it says now a new moon shall devour them and their heritage and that's an interesting verse let me just read to you without comment you know what the barnes commentary says on this and i don't take everything that i read in in the commentaries to mean anything but this one you know i've heard over the years and i've seen over the years and it commonly means you know within a new moon new moons are 30 days apart israel juda and ephraim fall very quickly one around each other a new moon shall devour them here's how barnes explains that he says the word now denotes the nearness and suddenness of god's judgments the term month their rapidity a month is not only a brief time but it's almost visibly passing away the moon which measures it is never at one's day waxing until it is full then waning until it disappears night by night bears witness to the month's decay the iniquity was full the harvest was ripe now suddenly rapidly completely the end should come one month should devour them with their portions and it talks and he goes on he talks about how these three nations have forsaken god and it says all that they had all that they possessed enjoyed trusted in all at once shall in that short space suddenly and certainly to come devour deprive and bereave them of none of them shall remain with them or profit them in the day of wrath it's very interesting very humbling and harrowing when you read what it is and especially when you see in the bible and it talks about suddenly suddenly economic good times peace and safety and then suddenly things turn around so when you hear peace and safety peace and safety enjoy it but don't let it lull you into a sense of complacency back at first thessalonians if we turn there talk about the third thing that's a sign of the end of the times or the sign of the end times we read the first first war verses of first thessalonians five five let's begin with verse four first thessalonians five four paul in the previous verse is that when you hear peace and safety sudden destruction comes verse four but you brethren speaking to the called of god speaking to you and me you brethren are not in darkness so that this day should overtake you as a thief you are sons of light and sons of the day we are not of the night nor of darkness therefore let us not sleep as others do but let us watch and be sober another sign of the end time is that god's people will be asleep they will be asleep they will not have heeded what god said during those good times stay awake stay alert keep your eyes open stay close to me carefully observe what i have told you to do don't carelessly keep my law carefully keep my way of life matthew 25 we don't need to turn there matthew 25 the first few verses are the 10 virgins it says all 10 virgins all of those they slept they slumbered half of them were so sound asleep that they didn't even recognize when the bride room was coming they just slept right through it well when they finally woke up it was like too late the other half they at least had kept their lamps a little trimmed with oil and so they were ready to go in but they were still asleep they were still not exactly the zealous christians that god would want them to be but at least they were trying and at least they were complying and they were trans letting god transform they were being led by the holy spirit they were changing when god showed them that they needed to change they were doing what god told them to do they were carefully doing it every part of it and as it came to their they weren't making excuses and thinking god's okay with it as long as i do this god's okay that is a wrong complacent attitude that's falling asleep in good times that's falling asleep exactly what we shouldn't be doing god says let's go back to luke luke 21 jesus christ in that ole event prophecy talks about that very attitude luke 21 let's pick it up in verse 28 luke 21 verse 28 when these things begin to happen when you see some of these things when you see these end time events that could be or maybe not because again i don't want to hear anyone saying that mr shaby said this is the end time jesus christ will come at the end of this i don't know only god knows but i am going to stay awake and i'm going to ask you to stay awake and stay alert and not get lulled asleep when these things begin to happen look up and lift up your heads because your redemption draws near then he spoke to them apparently says look at the fig tree and all the trees when they're already budding you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near so you also when you see these things happening know that the kingdom of god is near assuredly i say to you this generation will by no means pass till all things take place heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away verse 34 take heed take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing drunkenness and the cares of this life i know that's so easy to do isn't it the cares of this life the projects that we get involved in the things that can consume our time we can forget god for days and days and days and keep ourselves busy in a time where things are good and we're not we're not forced to our knees because of the things that could befall us and the life that god could have have put us into take heed to yourselves that when that you don't become weighed down with carousing drunkenness and the cares of this life and that day come on you unexpectedly for it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the year whole earth watch watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the son of man you know for 100 years as noah built that arc as he preached and as he watched the world around him eating and drinking and carousing and partying and whatever and then telling him oh no noah they how many hundreds of years are you going to build that arc that rain's never going to come and yet he kept doing it he kept carefully obeying god he kept carefully doing the things and building the arc that god told him would be his way of escape and when the time came and the time came god protected him christ said you be ready you be ready you keep building your temple through all those times you keep building what god wants you to do and build it on it's the strong foundation that is jesus christ the law and the prophets and the bible and with the commitments and the heart and the desire that you put into it and the character that god will build you build in you as you follow and as you let the holy spirit lead you and guide you you know as i said in second peter three you know people will say really are you still talking about the coming of christ they've been talking about that for years i've heard that church talking about that for 70 80 years now is it ever going to happen your answer should be yes we don't know when but it will it could happen in our lifetime it could happen quickly it could happen years from now it's whenever god decides but it's upon us to be ready because we don't know and whoa whoa to those who are those five virgins who who allow themselves to be thoroughly put to sleep and think it can happen it can happen i'm okay i'm good enough to have that spiritual latency and attitude that we read back in revelation three let's go back there one more time revelation three this time read the words from a spiritual aspect and not from a physical aspect revelation three verse 17 because you say i'm rich i've got it all i'm already saved god god knows me god's okay with what i'm doing i don't have to worry about anything i become wealthy i have need of nothing i'm there and god says and you don't know you're not paying attention you're not watching you're not taking heed that you're wretched poor miserable blind and naked you've got things to do you got to wake up you got to get ready for what god has said you got to examine yourself not through your eyes but through god's eyes and he says i counsel you remember it said people don't look to god for counsel they counsel themselves look to others and say you're good enough it's good enough you don't have to worry about that i counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich and white garments that you may be clothed that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed and anoint your eyes with eyesab that you may see wake up open up watch yourself now you know jesus christ said don't let that day catch you unaware don't you be asleep that you're not counted worthy to escape few chapters forward in revelation seven because those five virgins who let their lamps go out and who weren't ready they were sweeping a gnashing of teeth as you heard in a sermon out here a few weeks ago and over in revelation seven and verse nine we see a group of people that have come through a great tribulation the time of the end the three and a half years before jesus christ returns when the great economy of the world the great military might of the world has disappeared and a new beast power arises to fill the void that was left behind in the collapse of today's current powers that captures the fascination of the earth and that continues the prosperity of the world once here in revelation seven verse nine it says after these things john writes as he's in a vision after these things i looked and behold a great multitude which no one could number of all nations tribes peoples and tongues standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed with white robes with palm branches in their hands a great multitude of people not just the five virgins of of of the chosen people who should have known better who should have stayed awake who may have to have their robes washed in a very very trying time to have them white but many others who will hear the word during that time perhaps through the two witnesses perhaps who woke up and realized what i left behind before i should have paid attention to who have to prove to god and have to have their robes washed white in a terrible terrible terrible time that is coming upon the earth and these people this great multitude clothed in white robes cry out with a loud voice saying salvation belongs to our god who sits on the throne and to the lamb all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures and fell on their faces before the throne and worship god saying amen blessing and glory and wisdom thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our god forever and ever i wanted the elders answered and saying to me who are these arrayed in white robes and where did they come from how did they get clothed in white and i said to him sir you know so he said to me these are the ones who came out of the great tribulation that washed their robes and made them white and the blood of the lamb and they stand before the throne of god day and night serving him they're not part of the bride of christ if they had that opportunity and they fell asleep they forfeited that opportunity if they didn't wash their robes white and stay awake and keep alert during the time the good times that would precede the time of the great tribulation that preserves the time of jesus christ but they fell so thoroughly asleep that they just forgot god and they got all they got all enamored with the things of the world and thought good times are here and you know what everyone's telling us this is going to go on forever and ever and ever and they forgot suddenly the wall is bursting the wall is bulging it can burst well god would have us and he would say you beware you beware of the signs of the times you watch you watch you make sure that you take hay to yourself you be aware of the times that you live in and you make sure that you are ready for the time that jesus christ will return again