The Danger of Political Eschatology and Decisional Salvation

• The Last Days / Eschatology [00:04:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines the 'last days' as the period from Jesus' ascension to eternity, arguing that the church has shifted focus from preparing for Christ's return to trying to fix the world.
• Cultural Decay and Moral Confusion [00:08:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor lists specific cultural issues (gender confusion, homosexuality, transgenderism) as evidence that the world is on a 'collision course for catastrophe' and cannot be fixed by societal improvement.
• Preparation vs. Scare Tactics [00:13:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor clarifies that end-times teaching is intended to prepare believers in Christ for rescue, while noting that non-believers have reason to fear judgment.
• Deception and False Christianity [00:19:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that society is saturated with lies and that false Christianities (cults, feel-good religion) proliferate by denying the deity of Christ, urging believers to test spirits and rely on Scripture.
• International and Interracial Conflict [00:22:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > Citing Mark 13, the pastor connects current wars and racial tensions to biblical prophecy, criticizing modern social justice narratives for replacing character judgment with skin color judgment.
• Physical Signs in the Earth and Cosmos [00:25:52 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies climate change, food shortages, and natural disasters as 'birth pains' prophesied by Jesus, noting the disruption of the food supply chain.
• Persecution and Global Witness [00:27:32 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts American shelter with global Christian persecution, using statistics and a personal anecdote about an Egyptian immigrant to illustrate that the gospel is expanding exponentially as hatred increases.
• Persecution of Christians [00:29:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the sheltered experience of Western Christians with the severe persecution, lack of civil liberties, and death faced by Christians in Egypt and globally.
• Exponential Growth of the Gospel [00:30:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that despite global suffering, the gospel has experienced exponential expansion into unreached people groups over the last 100 years, fulfilling Jesus' prophecy.
• Fear and Mental Health [00:31:20 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor links high rates of sadness and hopelessness among youth to a lack of biblical hope, suggesting that fear ('the fear virus') physically and spiritually harms individuals.
• Eschatology and Israel [00:35:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies Israel as the key to understanding the 'last days,' using the fig tree parable to explain Israel's judgment, disappearance, and modern restoration as prophetic signs.
• Israel's Prophetic Restoration [00:41:58 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that Israel's re-establishment as a nation in 1948 is a direct fulfillment of Isaiah 11 and other prophecies, marking the 'second season' of the fig tree.
• Biblical Accuracy and End Times [00:48:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses Isaiah 66 and Ezekiel 36 to demonstrate the miraculous and prophetic nature of Israel's return, linking it to Jesus' teaching that these signs indicate His nearness.
• Israel as a Blessing to Nations [00:53:52 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that Israel's purpose is to be an 'invitation agent' to the Gentiles, fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant that all nations would be blessed through Abraham's lineage.
• Jewish Roots of Christianity [00:54:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor emphasizes that Jesus, the Bible, and the concept of salvation by grace are fundamentally Jewish, correcting the misconception that Christianity is separate from its Jewish roots.
• Jewish Roots of Christianity [00:54:57 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor establishes the Jewish identity of Jesus and the authors of the Bible to ground the theological context.
• The Church of Laodicea [00:55:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analysis of the last of the seven churches, highlighting their self-perceived wealth versus their actual spiritual poverty.
• Spiritual Readiness and Repentance [00:56:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > A call to abandon half-hearted Christianity and worldly distractions in preparation for Christ's return.
• Altar Call / Invitation [00:57:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > A direct appeal for the congregation to surrender their lives to Jesus and stop 'playing church'.

• Sermon Illustration [00:10:37 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a 10-hour family road trip analogy to illustrate that trying to 'improve' the world is like trying to make a ride to hell more comfortable by stopping at Denny's instead of McDonald's; the destination remains the same.
• Sermon Illustration [00:17:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references comedian Sebastian Maniscalco's bit about the shift in societal reaction to a knock on the door—from excitement and hospitality in the past to fear and hiding in the present, illustrating the current 'spirit of foreboding' in culture.
• Sermon Illustration [00:17:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts a comedy bit by Sebastian Maniscalco about how people's reactions to door knocks have changed from excitement to fear, using it as an analogy for the current cultural 'spirit of foreboding.'
• Sermon Illustration [00:29:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal story about an immigrant from Egypt who owned a pizza shop, converted to Christianity, and described the severe lack of civil liberties and rights for Christians in Egypt.
• Sermon Illustration [00:29:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the story of an immigrant from Egypt who became a Christian, highlighting the severe lack of rights and civil liberties Christians face in Egypt compared to the West.
• Sermon Illustration [00:36:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the biblical account of Jesus cursing the fig tree (Mark 11) as an analogy for the nation of Israel: having the appearance of fruit (leaves/temple) but lacking true fruit, leading to its withering (destruction in AD 70).
• Sermon Illustration [00:41:31 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the historical destruction of Jerusalem by Roman General Titus in AD 70, noting that 40 years after Jesus' death, the nation state of Israel was erased for 1,900 years until its restoration in 1948.
• Sermon Illustration [00:51:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts Mark Twain's 1867 description of the Holy Land as a 'desolate wasteland' and contrasts it with modern Tel Aviv, illustrating the miraculous transformation of the land.
• Sermon Illustration [00:52:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes a 'little land lottery' in Tel Aviv where children placed flags to determine land ownership, highlighting the humble beginnings of the Jewish return to the land.
• Sermon Illustration [00:55:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3, which thought it was wealthy and powerful but was actually 'pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,' to illustrate spiritual self-deception.
• Sermon Illustration [00:55:35 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the historical and biblical example of the Church of Laodicea, which believed it was wealthy, healthy, and powerful, but was told by Jesus it was actually pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

• Pastoral Charge [00:13:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > Write down the statement that the Bible teaches end-times for preparation, not fear.
• Pastoral Charge [00:11:48 ▶️ 📄]
  > Physically hold up their Bibles (or pretend to hold a real one if using a phone).
• Pastoral Charge [00:36:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > Young Christians (20-40) are physically instructed to lean in and mentally instructed to learn the eschatological content.
• Pastoral Charge [00:42:34 ▶️ 📄]
  > The congregation is instructed to write down the historical fact of Israel's restoration.
• Pastoral Charge [00:42:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > Write down the point that Israel is God's prophetic nation.
• Pastoral Charge [00:42:45 ▶️ 📄]
  > Write down the fact that Israel was restored to the land twice.
• Pastoral Charge [00:52:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > Read Ezekiel chapter 36.
• Pastoral Charge [00:57:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > Bow heads, close eyes, and verbally/spiritually say yes to Jesus.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:00] But don't think that decision to recognize Israel was an easy one.
[00:00:07] I had to make a compromise with the Arabs and divide Palestine.
[00:00:18] Well, good morning, Watershirt Second Service in the house. Good to see all of you. Are you ready for another good word of God this morning?
[00:00:46] Are you happy to be in the house of the Lord this morning?
[00:00:49] And are you ready to start a series called Last Days Today?
[00:00:53] I am. I'm ready to preach it. I hope you're ready to receive it.
[00:00:56] I want to welcome everybody that's watching online, everybody around the world.
[00:00:59] Let's just welcome them in. Say hello to them. God bless you guys. We're glad that you're here.
[00:01:04] And I want to tell you that I'm very happy for you guys in this church.
[00:01:08] I'm really excited about what the Lord is doing in this church.
[00:01:10] only according to the statistics, 5% of churches in America have come back to their pre-COVID pandemic levels in terms of in-person attendance. We measured our Easter attendance from the 2019 Easter attendance, and we were 16% higher last week than before COVID. We didn't just come
[00:01:34] back. We've grown. Praise God. And the Lord has blessed our church abundantly. And I want to say thank you to the serve team members who didn't just do last week, but they do this week and they
[00:01:44] do every week and they serve in kids and parking and cafe and ushering and greeting and doing all the hard work to make these services possible. If you're not a serve team member, join up because
[00:01:55] they need some help and they would love to have you join in and see God do life change through your efforts as well as theirs. But can we give a hand to our serve team and just thank God for
[00:02:05] them. They are so awesome. Now, first Tuesday is coming back. We take April off because of Easter, but it's back in two Tuesdays. So not this Tuesday, but two Tuesdays from now, 6 p.m. prayer,
[00:02:18] 7 p.m. worship. And I like to say this, come anytime after 6 p.m. You might not make it for six. That's okay. Just come anytime after 6 p.m. We are praying, calling on God. It is one of the
[00:02:26] most powerful moments of our month. We give the first Tuesday to our gods and say, Lord, move this month over our church. And every Tuesday night, first Tuesday, people's lives are dramatically changed. So I want to encourage you, mark it down now, put a little reminder in your phone,
[00:02:43] do whatever it takes to get here for first Tuesday, May 3rd. You don't want to miss it.
[00:02:47] Okay. Take out your notes. They look like this. And if you're online, you can get on watershirts.guide. And let me see if I have it open. And yep, there it is. And it looks like
[00:02:58] this. And you guys can click on today's message, and you will see that if you click on today's message, it looks like this. So in-house, fill in the blanks, follow along with us. Out of side of
[00:03:10] the building, you can click on watershirts.guide on your phone or on your computer. Or if you're in-house and you don't like paper, you can also do this. So that's the choices. Take out your Bibles. Let's get to Mark 13. Mark 13 is where we're going to go. And if you don't have a Bible
[00:03:27] open. Man, I'll tell you, this is the week to open your Bible. You got to open your Bible.
[00:03:32] The reason why is because you want to see what comes before, what comes after. We're also going to be talking about Mark 13 pretty exhaustively, and I'm not going to read the whole text today when we stand in just a few moments. But we want to examine our Bibles.
[00:03:45] If you've got a paper Bible, I highly encourage you marking it up, underlining it, highlighting it, beating that thing up, because a worn-out Bible is usually in the hands of someone whose life is not worn out. That was far more amenable than you just gave, but I'll let it slide.
[00:04:05] We're starting a series about the last days because we are in the last days. And I want you to know, here's part one. Well, no, before we mention the name, we have been in the last days
[00:04:17] for 2,000 years. Hebrews chapter one says, in these last days, God has chosen to speak to us through his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things. The last days began when Jesus ascended to the right-hand side of God. That inaugurated the final age of the earth and the heavens and
[00:04:40] the cosmos as we currently know it. The only age to come next is eternity. And the question must be asked, however, how long is this going to go on for? Because it seems like the world's falling
[00:04:58] apart. Everybody I watch, everybody I listen to, both on the right and the left politically, all say the same thing. It feels as if human civilization is coming apart at the seams.
[00:05:12] So here's the message title, part one of last days. The last days of the last days.
[00:05:18] because there's going to be a final generation there's going to be a final generation now in all honesty every generation has felt that they were the last generation every generation since jesus rose has felt like that surely was going to be as bad as it gets and surely if jesus is
[00:05:35] coming back he's coming back now and they've been wrong because he still hasn't come back but i want to talk to you about some things that have happened some things that have transpired some things that you got to know about what's going on in the world so that you understand that
[00:05:49] he's close he's close my grandfather's generation was obsessed with the last days my grandfather was a preacher for 30 years almost every other message was about jesus coming back and the church was consumed with this and they used to sing songs about it and write books about
[00:06:12] it, isn't it? They would talk about, I got a mansion just over the hilltop. Right? Or they'd sing, some glad morning when this life is o'er. That was hideous. And like hardly anybody's saying it. And this is the problem. Okay? Because there was, yeah, okay. You can stop now. I'm preaching.
[00:06:46] in my grandfather's generation there was this obsession for the life to come and i've been in this business for 25 years now almost 25 years as a pastor vocation almost 25 and i've seen the
[00:07:01] trajectory the arc of church focus and i saw what's been happening over the last 25 years and and and when i came into ministry when i came into this job okay i saw what it was i saw what
[00:07:15] it became, and now I see where it needs to go. And anybody who runs a business of any kind or you're in any kind of industry, you can see arcs of your industry. Where is the emphasis and where
[00:07:24] does it need to come back? Here's what I saw over the last 25 years, where we abandoned teaching about the end times and informing God's people of why we need to be ready. And hear me, this is
[00:07:37] what happened. Because I went to the church conferences and I listened to the big pastors talk about this. And then they started to reemphasize and say, you know what? The world doesn't like it this is what they would say the world lost people don't like it when we talk too
[00:07:52] much about the end times so let's talk more about improving this time this is from the mouth of pastors that's what they would say we need to improve this world because if you're too heavenly
[00:08:06] minded you're of no worth a good and so listen and so listen where in my grandfather's generation books were written about the life to come the end times the signs of the times and looking forward
[00:08:14] to Jesus' return. And songs were sung, some glad morning I'll fly away. And preachers were preaching about Jesus coming back again. That suddenly shifted. And for about two to three decades, it shifted to, no, no, let's have our best life now. Let's live for today. Let's make
[00:08:31] sure that we improve society. Let's get the right people in elected office, and then we'll fix things. And all that happened for the last 30 years of the church and pastors telling people to fix the world, what's happened? It's gotten worse. Now, I'm going to say some things that
[00:08:55] are going to offend some people, but you need to be offended sometimes to hear the truth.
[00:09:00] Today, we have school systems, entire school systems, indoctrinating children into gender confusion and hiding it from parents. And it's disgusting. And we have old corporations who are on board with this. And then we have this new range of issues that are celebrated in our culture,
[00:09:19] homosexuality, transgenderism, all of these, these alternative, they call them alternative lifestyles. Now they're trying to make them the normal lifestyle. And they're teaching your kids endlessly about this through media and universities and school systems. And all of this confusion is
[00:09:33] being propagated upon this age, and the crazy has gotten even crazier than it was when we started saying to people that we need to fix this world. And here's the problem. You need to understand
[00:09:43] this. This world is on a collision course for catastrophe, and there's no stopping it.
[00:09:51] There's no fixing this world. Are you hearing me? There's only waiting for Jesus to come and coming out of this world and not being of this world, but knowing who we are. We are not
[00:10:06] the people of this world. We are not liberals. We are not conservatives. We are not Democrats.
[00:10:11] We are not Republicans. We are not Americans. We are people of the most high God. We are citizens of heaven and we eagerly await the return of Jesus Christ. That's who we are. And that's what
[00:10:24] we got to get back to being. And that's what we got to start preaching again, because we have falling asleep on the job. That's what this series is about. To wake us up and stir our
[00:10:37] hearts and to remind us. There's no fixing this. It's a, it's a, anybody ever go for a 10 hour drive on vacation with your family? How many know, no matter how positive you are, when you pull out
[00:10:52] of the driveway, you are on a collision course. You, you can try to improve the conditions. You You can try to stop frequently for pee and you can try to eat at the right restaurant.
[00:11:07] But all you're doing is making the ride to hell more comfortable.
[00:11:11] And when preachers get so tied up and trying to improve people's lives in this age, that's exactly the same thing that they're doing.
[00:11:23] They're just taking it to Denny's instead of McDonald's.
[00:11:27] And we don't want to be in the business of sending people to hell with a full stomach.
[00:11:37] I mean, this is what Jesus wanted us to be aware of because he talked about it a lot right before he left.
[00:11:48] Take your Bibles for a second and just hold them.
[00:11:50] If you've got an iPhone Bible, sin and pretend it's a real Bible.
[00:11:57] I want you to hold it up because I want you to understand something about this book.
[00:11:59] It is 30% prophetic.
[00:12:03] 30% of this book tells you what's to come.
[00:12:06] Half of that 30% has already been fulfilled.
[00:12:12] Jesus came, Jesus died, Jesus rose.
[00:12:14] that's the first half of that 30%. The other half of that 30% is yet to come. My friends, 15% of this book is telling us what to expect in the future. 15%. Now, to me, it just seems
[00:12:35] obvious that God wants us prepared, aware, and not caught off guard. If there's one thing the last two years showed me is that the church of Jesus needs to wake up. We acted just like the
[00:12:54] world. Some of us freaked out, did every little thing they told us to do to try to stay safe, stay safe, stay safe. And all the science has come out, and now all the truth is starting to come
[00:13:10] out. All of it, all the stuff that I was telling you a year and a half ago is now coming true, is now being proved true. The masks didn't work. The social distancing was the number they made
[00:13:21] up. And I won't go with it to the next thing. I'll just, because it's still out there and some of you will never come back if I say it because you're triggered. But I saw the church, I saw the church
[00:13:39] act just like the world. And I said, wait a second, wait a second. You understand that we're all going to die. There is no safe. We need to be ready for the next life. Here's what I want you to write
[00:13:56] down first thing. The Bible does not teach us about the end to scare us, but to prepare us.
[00:14:02] You got to write that down. It does not teach us about the end to scare us, because you got, if you're in Christ, and let me make sure you hear me say that, if you're in Jesus,
[00:14:09] and by that I mean you believe that Jesus is the Lord of lords and king of kings, you believe he died for your sins, you believe he rose again on the third day, and you believe he's coming back
[00:14:16] again. If that's you, you got nothing to worry about. He's got you. You see, the Bible tells me that God had an ark prepared for Noah. God tells me that God took Abraham and he sent him into Sodom
[00:14:32] to rescue. He took the angels and sent them into Sodom to rescue Lot out of that wicked city before he destroyed the city. And just like God rescued Noah and just like God rescued Lot, God's going
[00:14:43] to rescue you when the wrath of God's final judgment comes upon this earth. You got nothing to worry about. However, if you are not a Christian, sucks to be you. And you have my permission and the Bible's permission and Jesus's permission to freak because you ain't seen
[00:15:11] nothing yet. This is just birth pains. Anybody ever see a pregnancy and birth? And for about, you know, 16 hours or eight hours or four hours, depending on how lucky the woman is, It's a lot of, okay, that's not it, okay.
[00:15:31] Oh, that's not it either.
[00:15:35] But then there's finally that last, that's where we're headed.
[00:15:46] You husbands remember, that was when she was strangling you at the same time.
[00:15:50] Anyway, let's stand together and read God's Word.
[00:15:55] Here's what it says in Mark chapter 13, 28, and we will talk about the rest of Mark 13 as we go.
[00:15:58] Verse 28, it says this, from the fig tree, learn its lesson.
[00:16:04] Let me say that again.
[00:16:05] From the fig tree, this is Jesus talking.
[00:16:07] He said, from the fig tree, learn its lesson.
[00:16:14] As soon as its branches become tender and put out its leaves, you know that summer is near.
[00:16:19] So also when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near at the very door.
[00:16:28] Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
[00:16:35] This is God's word.
[00:16:36] Let's pray.
[00:16:37] Father, I ask in the name of Jesus that the Holy Spirit leads these next few moments and leads my mouth and my words, and that he opens all of our hearts and all of our eyes and
[00:16:45] all of our ears.
[00:16:46] Help us to hear your word and help us to see Jesus.
[00:16:50] In his name we pray.
[00:16:51] And everybody said?
[00:16:52] Amen.
[00:16:53] God bless you.
[00:16:54] Have a seat.
[00:16:56] Yeah, the world is nuts.
[00:16:58] The world is crazy.
[00:16:59] There is a foreboding over this culture.
[00:17:02] There is a spirit of foreboding because I think that we can hear the knock of Jesus on the door.
[00:17:09] Now, there's a fantastic comedian.
[00:17:11] I don't, you know, he swears, so just full disclosure, but his name is Sebastian Maniscalco, and he does this bit about what do you do when someone knocks on your door.
[00:17:19] And it's a hilarious bit because back in the old days, he says, 30 years ago, when someone would knock on the door of your house, everybody would be like, who could that be?
[00:17:32] And there was excitement and genuine interest of who's knocking on the door?
[00:17:36] And they would get everything ready in the kitchen, and you would have an Entenmann's pastry ready only for guests with Sanka coffee on the table.
[00:17:46] And you would all gather around the door as you open. Dad would open the door and everyone would say, oh, and let's sit down and let's talk. And he said, this is so much better than I'm doing it,
[00:17:56] but it's hilarious. He goes, what happens now in today's generation? You hear a knock on the door and he's like, everybody get down. Don't kind of funny how life imitates art because I feel it in
[00:18:19] the Spirit, and I think that this world feels it. I think that our news correspondents feel it. I think that our society completely feels it. We're all waiting for the other shoe to drop.
[00:18:31] I mean, it only took a couple of months to go from build back better to there will be food shortages. And it's like we go from one politician to another, from one party to another, thinking
[00:18:42] that someone, some human could fix it. And all we're doing is sinner exchange. One sinner for another sinner. One failed leader for another failed leader. And the church must not be like that. We've got to remember Jesus told us to expect the collision course. The collision course.
[00:19:03] What to expect when Jesus comes? Write this down. Number one, great deception and false Christs.
[00:19:09] Great deception and false Christs. Deception means you've been lied to.
[00:19:18] Have we been lied to? Every day. There used to be news sources that were trusted. There used to be universities that had integrity. There used to be political leaders and societal leaders who you could look to and say, yes. But almost, I think, every institution of society is absolutely
[00:19:47] corrupted and saturated with lies. Lies from the top to the bottom. I get more people asking me, pastor, I'm confused. Who do I listen to than ever before in my ministry? And the answer is
[00:20:04] Jesus. The answer is the Scriptures. Because the Bible says, let God be true and every man a liar.
[00:20:14] So there's great deception. This is what Mark says in Mark 13, what Jesus says. He says, see to it that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name saying, I am he.
[00:20:23] So deception, lies, and then false Christianities. False Christianities are abounding today.
[00:20:31] And you've got to have discernment. The Bible says in 1 John, don't believe every spirit.
[00:20:37] Don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God.
[00:20:42] How do I do that? You get yourself under a Bible preaching, gospel preaching church with elders, and they lead you in the truth so that you can tell the truth from a lie. There are false
[00:20:55] Christianities. There's be good Christianity. That's all God wants you to be good. There's the feel-good Christianity. There's the health, wealth, and prosperity cross Christianity. These are all false Christianities, and they proliferate across television and the internet, and you need to be
[00:21:08] aware of these things. And they're full of garbage and lies and deceptions. I read somewhere that since 1945, since the end of World War II, over 800 cults have been started in the West. Over 800
[00:21:20] cults have been started. You go back before World War II, way back in the 1800s, when Joseph Smith wrote his book, which led to the Jehovah's Witness movement. And then there's the Mormon movement.
[00:21:29] and movements that deny. And this is how you tell it all apart. This is the easiest telltale sign of any cult is that they take Jesus down from his deity. They eliminate the pre-incarnate deity of Jesus. Jesus never was created. He was eternally God in eternity past.
[00:21:48] He's eternally God in eternity future. He became a man, and he's back in heaven with God right now as a man, but he was never created. He is eternally God the Son. Every false cult and
[00:21:59] every false religion takes the deity of Christ down and says that Jesus became a God. And the reason why they want to believe that Jesus became a God is so that you and I can become gods too.
[00:22:10] That's the heart of false Christianities. You got to be aware of these things. We can't become gods. We never will become gods. We'll become like the angels, the Bible says. So false Christ and deception. Number two, international and interracial conflict. International conflict
[00:22:27] we see every day, especially now with the war in Ukraine. I did a video in response to World War III. I put it all on my social media channels, Tim Hatch Live, across all the social media
[00:22:37] channels. I always try to put these videos out to see if they'll ever take. That one took off like a rocket ship. It's got more views than any of my other videos because everybody freaked out.
[00:22:46] World War III, end of the world, was trending on social media because Putin invaded Ukraine.
[00:22:51] And Jesus said, you got to expect this. He says, when you hear, listen to this, verse 7, when you hear, hear of wars and rumors of wars.
[00:23:01] By the way, if you got your paper notes, circle rumors because the word rumors there in Greek could be translated news.
[00:23:08] Every other place in the New Testament where that word is translated is translated news.
[00:23:12] News, you will hear of wars and news of wars.
[00:23:14] And by the way, I just want to say something.
[00:23:16] You're going to take this politically, but it's not meant to be political at all.
[00:23:18] I don't trust a thing they're saying about this Ukraine conflict.
[00:23:22] Not a thing.
[00:23:24] There's dirtiness.
[00:23:26] Anyway, I'll move fast.
[00:23:28] Jesus said, this must take place.
[00:23:31] the end is not yet. And then he says, for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. It looks like Jesus is repeating himself, but he's not. The word nation in Greek is ethnos.
[00:23:45] Ethnos. Circle nation if you got your notes out. Ethnos. We get the word ethnicity from that Greek word. What he's saying is an ethnicity will rise up against ethnicity and kingdom against kingdom.
[00:23:59] The last two years proved that we will never, ever, on this side of Jesus coming back, achieve racial harmony. But we won't. Whatever happened to Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech saying, I look forward to a day in which my children are judged not by the color of their
[00:24:17] skin, but by the content of their character. And all this social justice nonsense has flipped that script on top of its head. And now the most important thing they teach our kids in universities across this country is the most important thing about you is the color of your skin
[00:24:30] and all and it's fair game on white people everybody else has to be coddled and cajoled of his fair game on white people that's not called reverse racism that's called racism and that's just as evil as any other kind of judging other people on the color of their skin
[00:24:49] and i got i got no i got no problem with working for justice i got no problem from working for justice but i'm going to tell you something it's the church's job not to work for justice but to
[00:25:01] work for righteousness, the righteousness that Jesus Christ gives us that makes us right with God. Because until we're right with God, we can never be right with each other. Ethnicity against ethnicity. I've read about Columbia University having separate graduations for black students
[00:25:20] and then a separate graduation for Asian students and a separate graduation for Hispanic students.
[00:25:27] And now if you say the wrong pronoun to people, people freak out. We live in a world where we weep over misgendering someone and celebrate killing the unborn. That's jacked up.
[00:25:44] Number, I'll move forward. Number three, physical signs in the earth and the cosmos.
[00:25:52] Physical signs in the earth and the cosmos. So climate change is a thing, and it's going to be a thing until Jesus comes again. The reason why I know is because Jesus told us to look for signs
[00:26:03] in the heavens. And we all know that the earth and the moon and the rotation of the movement of the earth and the moon and all the relation to the other planets and solar system that all
[00:26:11] starting to get jacked up and we can see it. I am a big believer in climate change. I'm just not a big believer in our government spending $3 trillion that we don't have to save the country
[00:26:22] from one degree Celsius higher temperatures in a hundred years. Not a big fan of that. I don't think that's the way to spend it. You could think that's a good spending of money. I disagree.
[00:26:32] Anyway, there's signs to come in the cosmos and in the earth.
[00:26:36] Jesus said in Mark 13, 8, he says there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines.
[00:26:44] Oh, we're talking about food shortages.
[00:26:46] We're talking about food shortages in 2022.
[00:26:51] Prices of common goods, your grocery bills have skyrocketed.
[00:26:57] There's droughts in the West, floods in the East.
[00:27:02] The food supply, food chain is getting disrupted, mangled, just jacked up.
[00:27:08] What?
[00:27:09] Jesus said this would be happening.
[00:27:11] But then he says, these are the beginning of birth pains.
[00:27:15] This is the, ooh.
[00:27:19] Okay, that wasn't it.
[00:27:20] There's going to be a final one.
[00:27:23] There's going to be a final, all these things you're seeing.
[00:27:25] Again, preview of coming attractions.
[00:27:30] Number four, international hatred.
[00:27:32] and international witness for Christ.
[00:27:36] This is kind of ironic because both end at the same time.
[00:27:41] In other words, Jesus said, nations are going to hate you.
[00:27:45] And the gospel is going to the nations.
[00:27:46] Look what he says in verse 9.
[00:27:49] Be on your guard.
[00:27:49] They will deliver you over to councils.
[00:27:51] You will be beaten in synagogues.
[00:27:52] Matthew 24 says, all nations shall hate you because of me.
[00:27:55] All nations shall hate you because of me.
[00:27:58] If you go to work with non-Christians and they don't like your Christianity, can I just give you some comfort today? You're doing it right. They're supposed to hate you.
[00:28:12] Now, you don't hate back. You love back. You don't repay evil for evil. You repay evil with blessing. But Jesus says you're going to get hated. You're going to stand before governors, kings. You're going to bear witness before them. And then verse 10, I love this. And the gospel
[00:28:25] must first be preached to all nations. By the way, over the last 100 years, you look up the charts, the research statistics. I've done it. Christian persecution from 0 AD, you know, a blip at 300
[00:28:39] when Nero, I'm sorry, right before Constantine, Julian the Apostate, blip in 300. And then if you look, it goes like this, steady incline, and then you get to the 1900s, and Christian persecution stats go like this. Christianity is the most persecuted people group on the face of
[00:28:54] the earth. They are. The missions boards that I have researched and found statistics on say that more Christians have died for the faith in the last 100 years than in all the previous centuries of Christianity combined. Now, we don't get that as Americans because we're Americans.
[00:29:16] All you need to do is go to Africa, where I've been to Uganda, and Kenya, and you see how the Muslims treat Christians. You see how these nations treat Christians as not second-class, third-class citizens. And we had a guy here, he had a pizza shop right over here across the street,
[00:29:35] and I used to go there and get peace and I'd invite him to church. He came to church. He came to Christ. He brought his wife. They came to Christ. The whole family came to Christ. He moved
[00:29:42] away. But he was an immigrant from Egypt. And he used to say to me, man, you guys don't realize how they treat Christians over in Egypt. If you're a Christian in Egypt, you have no rights. You have
[00:29:51] no civil liberties. You cannot open up a business. You cannot have any kind of position in government or any kind of position in university. They are absolutely second, third class citizens.
[00:30:01] And you're deprived of all your civil liberties. That's the rest of the world, friend.
[00:30:07] That's the rest of the world.
[00:30:09] We are in an incubator.
[00:30:10] We are sheltered in this country from all this hate against our fellow brothers and sisters.
[00:30:18] And they're suffering, and they're dying, and more of them have died in the last 100 years than all 1,900 years before that.
[00:30:24] And yet, the same is true about the gospel.
[00:30:27] The gospel has gone further.
[00:30:29] Same graph, like from 0 AD through to 1,900.
[00:30:33] It just shoots up the number of nations that have been reached for Christ over the last 100 years.
[00:30:41] Exponential expansion of the gospel into unreached people groups across the world.
[00:30:48] And the gospel has gone into places never before has it gone into.
[00:30:52] It's been an amazing last 120 or so years.
[00:30:55] And at the same time there's bad, there's also much good.
[00:30:58] And the celebration is that what Jesus said would happen is exactly happening.
[00:31:02] The gospel is going to the nations.
[00:31:04] number five this one's a dark one death and misery what to expect before jesus comes back death and misery death and misery the cdc just put out a study of our high school students the cdc
[00:31:20] just put out a study of our high school students 44 of american high school students believe that they are persistently sad and hopeless 44 persistently sad and hopeless maybe not teaching the Bible in public schools was a bad idea. Maybe trying just to improve their life here and not
[00:31:43] tell them about a life yet to come was a bad idea. Jesus says this in Luke 21. We're going to skip over there because Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21 are pretty much the same thing. They're the
[00:31:57] same speech interpreted different ways. So Luke 21 says this, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. Man, if that does not describe today, I don't know what does. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Now, I'm a pastor, so a lot of people say you work
[00:32:16] one day a week. No, I spend all week studying the text and making sure that it's accurate so that when I get up here, I'm telling you what it says and not what I want it to say. So that's what I
[00:32:27] do. And on top of the other things that I do on my YouTube channel, which I'm sure many of you love and appreciate. Thank you very much. Like and subscribe. But nonetheless, what I got to do is I
[00:32:37] got to make sure what's the Greeks say, because the Bible wasn't written in English. It was written in Greek, Hebrew, and a little bit of Aramaic. And the most reputable, listen to this, the most
[00:32:44] reputable commentary, the most reputable translation commentary that is available to all Bible scholars is very high tech. It's very hard to understand. It's just, you know, but it's huge. It's 77 volumes written about the Bible. It's thousands upon thousands, tens of thousands upon tens of
[00:33:00] thousands of pages. Like they'll take one phrase and they'll have 70 pages on one phrase in the Bible. It's called the Ale Yanker Bible Commentary. The Ale Yanker Bible Commentary. I go to it not
[00:33:10] that often because it's very hard to understand. But here's how the Yale Anchor Commentary, the most reputable translation commentary on the market, translates Luke 21, 26. Look at this.
[00:33:22] people will stop breathing out of fear and foreboding. What's COVID? You know, you understand that the last three major plagues that have swept across the world have all attacked the respiratory system. The Russian influenza virus that was in 1889, the Spanish flu that was in 1918 and
[00:33:49] coronavirus. And they all stopped people from breathing. And I've always said, not always said, but I've said over the last two years that the real virus is the fear virus, that we get so scared. And I think a lot of people, I'm just going to tell you,
[00:34:04] the body affects the mind and the mind affects the spirit and the spirit affects the mind and the spirit affects the body and how you think. Sometimes that's how you live. And I think that
[00:34:12] when people don't have any hope of the next life and they have no joy and they have no belief in God and healing and miracles, I believe that they just have to think it and they start to die.
[00:34:22] And when COVID comes in and starts to constrict their breath, they give up. I just believe that.
[00:34:28] I do. And I've seen it happen. And I've seen testimonies of that. So all these things, I'm just trying to tell you, this is why the Bible gives 15% of the time to understanding what to look for when Jesus is coming back. So that we're not scared, we're prepared.
[00:34:50] And Jesus says in Luke 21, when you see all these things, lift up your heads, for your redemption draws nigh.
[00:34:58] He's around the corner.
[00:35:00] He is knocking on the door.
[00:35:04] And these are not scary times.
[00:35:06] These are exciting times.
[00:35:08] But here's the question I want to answer today.
[00:35:10] Are we in the last days of the last days?
[00:35:12] Because Jesus said those are birth pains, but the end is still to come.
[00:35:14] So the question now has to be, are we in the last days of the last days, Pastor?
[00:35:18] And my answer is going to shock you.
[00:35:19] It's not going to be what you expect, and it's not a yes or no.
[00:35:22] Here's the answer.
[00:35:22] Are you ready?
[00:35:23] Look to Israel.
[00:35:27] If you want to know what's going on in the world, look at Israel.
[00:35:31] Now, I understand that there's a whole branch of Christianity, and they all vote the same way, and they will tell you everything I'm saying is not true.
[00:35:40] But I'm just telling you what the Bible and history has shown us.
[00:35:45] And I believe that the future of humanity and the future of Jesus' return has been mapped out in the people of the nation state of Israel.
[00:35:56] So this is my real message.
[00:35:58] Let's get to it.
[00:35:58] Number one, Israel is God's last day sign.
[00:36:01] Israel, the nation. Now, can I ask all the 20 to 30 year old to 40 year old Christians, please lean in here because there's no preachers on YouTube telling you this stuff. So please, this is good. You need to learn this stuff. I know some of you came and you said, man,
[00:36:20] I wish you would just talk about like, you know, anxiety, depression, how we can get over that right now. That's for another Sunday. This is good stuff. You got to listen though. So Jesus said, you want to know what the last line is? The end of Mark 13, here's what he says. What he said,
[00:36:33] from the fig tree. Verse 28, from the fig tree, from the fig tree, learn its lesson. The fig tree's got something to teach you. What's the fig tree? Well, I believe, and Mark tells us this in
[00:36:45] Mark chapter 11, that the fig tree is a picture of the nation state of Israel. There's, in the Old Testament, Bible refers to Israel, the spiritual Israel, as an olive tree, but the nation state of
[00:37:00] Israel as a fig tree. And in Mark chapter 11, this little crazy little thing goes down with Jesus and a fig tree. Crazy little event. Hard to understand. That's what I'm here for. Verse 12, it says this
[00:37:12] in Mark 11. On the following day, this is as Jesus is coming into Jerusalem from Bethany where he raised Lazarus from the dead. So this is last week. He's walking into the city. This might be
[00:37:22] Monday or so. He's walking into the city, and it says, on the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry, and seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, that's important, he went to
[00:37:33] see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, and then this little notation by Mark, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, may no one ever eat
[00:37:44] fruit from you again. And his disciples heard it. And then a little while later, they come back and they see the fig tree has been withered in 24 hours. Withered down to its root. Now, everybody
[00:37:56] read that on the surface, you say, that does not seem very fair, Jesus. Because Mark tells us it wasn't the season for figs. Okay. Again, this is why you need a teacher. This is why Jesus gives
[00:38:11] teachers to the church. We research, we understand. You got to know a little bit about botany in the ancient Middle East and even in the Middle East today. The fig tree is a very unique tree because
[00:38:20] it doesn't have one season for figs. It has two. It's got a springtime fig and it's got a fall fig. And as long as there's leaves, there should be one of the two. And the springtime fig is like
[00:38:33] an early Macintosh. You can eat it, but it's nasty. It'll feed you. It'll nourish you, but it's bitter.
[00:38:42] And in Israel, they call it the poor man's fig because poor people would usually rely on those figs because they didn't have enough money to harvest their own figs and wait. So they would go and they would get the trees early and they would get their fruit and fill that way. Jesus
[00:38:53] goes after one of those. He reaches his hand into the tree that's full of leaves. It had the sign that it should have had fruit, but it didn't have any fruit. And the scripture says that Jesus did
[00:39:08] this on the way into Jerusalem. And then he curses the fig tree, and it withers. And the fig tree is a picture of the nation state of Israel. Because when Jesus comes into Jerusalem, read the early
[00:39:21] part of Mark 13. That's why I said have your Bible open, because in Mark 13, verse 1, it talks about this, that the disciples were walking into Jerusalem with Jesus, and they were looking at the
[00:39:30] temple, and they were looking at all the buildings of Jerusalem. They said, Lord, look at these gorgeous ornate buildings. Herod the Great had built it and ordained it with jewels and gold and all these precious ornaments, and it was beautiful, and it glimmered like on the top of
[00:39:45] a mountain from miles away, and it was a sight to be seen. And Jesus says, not one stone will be left on top of another. This is the last warning Israel gets, and then it loses its nation state.
[00:40:00] Jesus goes through Passion Week He teaches in that temple He cleanses the temple Teaches in that temple They conspire They partner with Judas They hand him over to the Romans He's put on a cross
[00:40:10] And he raises three days later When Jesus died on the cross His blood was the final sacrifice for sins Thus annulling Thus ending Any need for any animal sacrifice For anybody's sin forever However, the temple and the nation state of Israel on that time was no longer necessary
[00:40:35] because Jesus' blood is the once-for-all sacrifice for sins, past, present, and future.
[00:40:43] And if you're in Christ, God has washed away all of your sins.
[00:40:49] Now we don't need to bring a sheep to church.
[00:40:52] Hallelujah.
[00:40:53] It's over.
[00:40:55] When Jesus cursed that fig tree, he was saying to the nation of Israel, you got all the appearance of fruit, but you've got no fruit.
[00:41:08] And his death brought judgment upon Israel.
[00:41:12] They handed him over to the Romans, and 40 years later, Jesus died in 8033 or thereabout, and 40 years later, 40 years later, that's how patient God was with Israel, The Roman general Titus marched in with the Roman armies in AD 70, besieged the city,
[00:41:31] starved out its citizens, and destroyed everything. And in AD 70, Israel, the nation state, was gone.
[00:41:43] And for 1900 years, Israel was gone. The Jews were still there, but Israel was gone.
[00:41:52] Jesus said, learn the lesson of the fig tree. But remember what I said about fig trees?
[00:41:58] they got two seasons they got two seasons so here's number two write this down number two is israel is god's prophetic nation israel's god's prophetic nation so i said hold up the bible 30 percent of it is prophetic every word of this bible is written by a jew every word some people
[00:42:18] say it wasn't luca gentile no no that's conjecture that's assumption that's not true every word of this book was written by a Jew. So if 30% of it is prophetic, 30% of what they wrote down was
[00:42:34] telling us to be watchful of the future. Now, what you have to understand, this is a fact, I want you to write it down. Israel was restored to the land of Israel as a nation, not once,
[00:42:45] but twice. This is a historical fact. And you, out of the last 2,000 years of Christian history, you are living on the other side of what 1900 years did not see that that the land is nation
[00:43:06] of israel is back in the land some of you don't even know this you got to know this i'm saying young people 20 to 30 year olds please lean in here because in 1948 on the heels of hitler's
[00:43:19] attempted annihilation of the jews and the allied forces winning world war ii in 1948 sympathy from the nations, went out to the Jewish people, and they were already, some of you need to know this,
[00:43:31] already in the process of migrating back to the promised land before World War II. In fact, they were doing it before World War I. And there's a whole bunch of Jews in the land of Israel.
[00:43:40] And in May 14th of 1948, the state of Israel declares independence as a sovereign nation in 1948. And 11 minutes after that moment, our president, Harry S. Truman, acknowledged in writing the nation statehood of Israel against the advice of his entire cabinet. Sometimes you need a
[00:44:04] president who ignores everybody and does what he knows is right. And you wonder why America is blessed? That's why. Because the promise that God made to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12, what did he say? He said, those that bless you, I'm going to bless. And those that curse you, I'm going to
[00:44:30] curse. Every empire that tried to rule and dominate the Jews is on the ash bin of history. Babylon, Persia, Media, Greece, Rome, the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire, gone from their pinnacle of international leadership. Do you understand? There's a common denominator. How are you treating
[00:45:02] Abraham's children? Now, the question is, did the Bible predict this? What happened?
[00:45:12] And the answer is yes. Isaiah chapter 11. Isaiah chapter 11. It says this.
[00:45:18] It says, in that day, the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples of him shall the what? Nations inquire and his resting place shall be glorious. Who is he talking about
[00:45:33] here? He's talking about the son of Jesse. Who is the son of Jesse? David. But who is the true son of David? Jesus. That's why Matthew's gospel opens up with the genealogy of Jesus Christ that traces
[00:45:46] right back to David and then right back to Abraham. Jesus is the root of Jesse. And it says it right there in verse 10. He will stand as a signal for the peoples. The cross stands as a signal across
[00:45:57] all the nations. And of him shall the nations inquire. By the way, you are doing that verse right now. If you are a Gentile and you are learning about Jesus, you are doing Isaiah 11,
[00:46:12] 10 right now as we speak. We are asking and inquiring what Jesus is all about. That's what we're doing right now. And we're not Jews. And his resting place shall be glorious. The Bible says
[00:46:23] that when Jesus rose, he spent 40 days with the disciples telling them about the end times. And then he was ascended to the right-hand side of God the Father. And Hebrews chapter 1 says, after making purification for sins, he sat down at the right-hand side of God the Father. He rested
[00:46:38] in a glorious place. I say all that to say this, that Isaiah 11, 10 is saying, in that day. What day? The day of the church. The last 2,000 years. In that day, this will all happen. The nations
[00:46:50] will come. The nation. Not the Jews, but the nations will come. And then verse 11. In that day.
[00:46:55] What day? The age of the church. Listen to this. This is so powerful. The Lord will extend His hand yet a what? Second time. Yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of His people
[00:47:10] from Assyria, Egypt, Pathos, Cush, Elam. These are all ancient names for modern-day Turkey, Russia, Syria, and Lebanon, all those other areas. And what you have to understand is that Israel lost the land in 586 BC. That's in our Bibles. They were dragged off to the land of Babylon, and then
[00:47:35] they were restored 70 years later through guys like Ezra and Nehemiah. That's why these books are in your Bible, and Esther, by the way. And they came back 70 years later, and they reclaimed the land. That was the first time. Isaiah says, after the root of Jesse takes root, and then he
[00:47:51] grows up, and then the nations come and acquire him, that the Lord is going to extend his hand a second time and bring His people back into the land. Do you understand that 1948 was written
[00:48:02] in Isaiah chapter 11, 800 years before Jesus ever walked on the face of the earth? This is crazy stuff. Isaiah chapter 66. Look at how it says it's going to go down. Before she was in labor.
[00:48:16] Whatever the Old Testament refers to, she is referring to the land, the land of Israel. Before she was in labor, she gave birth. This is how it's going to go down when Israel gets the land back
[00:48:25] the second time. Before she was in labor, she gave birth. Before her pain came upon her, she delivered a son who has heard of such a thing, who has seen such things.
[00:48:33] In other words, this is crazy.
[00:48:34] Where have you ever seen this happen?
[00:48:35] And then the next question.
[00:48:37] Shall a land be born in a day?
[00:48:42] Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?
[00:48:46] And the answer is yes.
[00:48:47] For as soon as Zion, that's Israel, as soon as Zion was in labor, she brought forth her children.
[00:48:54] Now, that's kind of a crazy birth.
[00:48:57] Labor starts, pfft, kid.
[00:48:58] What it's referring to It's referring to May 14th, 1948 When the state of Israel established independence And the nation state And our president signed off on it 11 minutes later And ever since then, the nation of Israel has stood
[00:49:17] They were immediately fought against the next day By Egypt and the coastal land And they fought the Six-Day War in 1967 But they have been there ever since And our news organizations do a heck of a job
[00:49:29] on your minds, because every time there's conflict in the Middle East, they blame the Jews when they're the most peace-loving people on the entire planet. And you need to watch out for this nonsense. You need to watch out and know the truth. This nation was born in a day, and they
[00:49:46] regained the land, and it was a prophetic miracle. Here's where they came from, by the way. Jeremiah 16, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, as the Lord lives,
[00:49:56] who brought the people up out of the land of Egypt, but rather it'll say, as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel out of the north country.
[00:50:03] Somebody say north country.
[00:50:04] The north country, and out of all the countries where he had driven them, I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.
[00:50:10] If you look at a map and you put your finger on Israel and you go to the north, you go to two places.
[00:50:14] You go to Europe and you go to Russia.
[00:50:17] And in the 1900s, the Jews were living largely in Europe and in Russia.
[00:50:21] And from 1890-ish and forward, they started to migrate back to the land.
[00:50:26] It was called a Zionist movement.
[00:50:28] And it was finally culminated in May 14, 1948, when they became a state, a nation state again.
[00:50:34] Remember I told you, Jesus said, Mark 13, 28, from the fig tree, learn its lesson.
[00:50:39] The fig tree has two seasons.
[00:50:43] Their first season was cursed and removed because Jesus replaced the sacrifices and offerings of the temple.
[00:50:49] But their second season has started.
[00:50:55] And Jesus says, as soon as this branch has become tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.
[00:51:04] This is what we're supposed to look for.
[00:51:05] I've been to Israel I want to bring some of you to Israel as soon as they stop all these vaccination mandates we'll get there and the first place they'll bring you is to Independence Hall
[00:51:17] where they signed off on the nation state of Israel and then they'll show you pictures and these pictures are powerful I'm going to show you two of them right now when the Jews started to move back into the land of Israel
[00:51:25] in the late 1800s and early 1900s the entire place was a desert it was a desert Mark Twain an American writer traveled overseas in 1867 one of the places that he stopped off was the Holy Land. He wanted to see what was so special
[00:51:42] about this land. And he wrote a book. It's called Innocence Abroad. And he describes the Holy Land.
[00:51:46] And he calls it a desolate wasteland. And no one in their right mind would live there.
[00:51:53] And the Jews started to migrate back in the late 1800s. And they'll tell you this. They had a little land lottery when they landed up in Tel Aviv. A little land lottery. And they let the
[00:52:02] little kids take the little flags and run out. And wherever the kid put the flag, that's where that family owned land. And you say, wow, that's kind of an unfair way. You didn't see the land.
[00:52:10] Let me just show you this picture. Look at this picture of the land pre-1900. It's a desert.
[00:52:18] No one's getting sad about that land. So you understand why they had, you understand now why they had no problem getting the land back. No one wanted it. Ezekiel chapter 36, you can read it yourself. It says that the land, this is powerful, this is powerful. The land will produce
[00:52:40] fruit from my people, my people. 100 years later, Tel Aviv looks like this. Now it's a prized piece of property. Now everybody wants their hands in on this because it's a prophetic nation.
[00:53:03] It's its second season. And remember, I told you that that second season, the fruit was nice and juicy and plump. That's what that is. This is all written 2,600 years ago. It's profound how accurate the Bible is. The old preacher said it like this, the Bible is more accurate than
[00:53:29] tomorrow's newspaper. Amen, somebody. Jesus said, when you see all these things take place, know that he is near. He is at the very door. And this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Last point, number three, Israel is God's invitation agent. They're God's
[00:53:52] invitation agent to you. And I'm talking to you. I mean everybody in here who's not a Jew.
[00:54:03] You understand that the purpose of Israel was to bless the nations. That was also part of the Abrahamic covenant. He says, I'm going to make you a blessing to the nations. And all nations of the
[00:54:11] earth shall be blessed through you. How are we blessed through Abraham? Okay, let me just say something. This is going to sound a little bit funny to all our Catholic friends, all of our Catholics. And I know you Catholics that watch me on television because you're too scared to come.
[00:54:26] I know you. This is going to sound odd, but it's true. Jesus was not Catholic. Now listen to this next line. Jesus is Jewish. Everything we have, we owe to the Jews. Every word of this book,
[00:54:57] every word of this book was penned by a Jew. We understand salvation by grace through faith because of a Jew named Paul.
[00:55:09] And if you're not a Jew, you're only accepted through the true Jew, Jesus Christ, who shed his blood for you.
[00:55:19] And there's a book at the end of this Bible.
[00:55:21] It's called Revelation, and it talks about all the end.
[00:55:23] And we like to talk about it. We like to look at it.
[00:55:24] We like to think, okay, who's the dictator beast and who's the 666 and how we understand all that.
[00:55:27] And before it gets to that, Jesus writes seven letters to his church, seven letters to his churches scattered across Asia Minor.
[00:55:33] The last church is named Laodicea.
[00:55:35] They were the church, listen to this, They thought they were wealthy.
[00:55:38] They thought they were healthy.
[00:55:40] They thought they were powerful.
[00:55:41] They thought they were rich.
[00:55:42] And Jesus says, let me tell you about your real condition.
[00:55:45] You're pitiful, you're poor, you're blind, and you're naked.
[00:55:50] And then he says this, Revelation 3, 19.
[00:55:52] Those whom I love, I reprove and I discipline.
[00:55:57] Now, this is the last letter to the last of the seven churches right before Revelation starts talking about all the things that are going to happen, all hell breaking loose.
[00:56:04] And the last thing that Jesus says to the church right before all the end times, Revelation to Revelation, after four and onward, he says this, Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
[00:56:16] And if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him and he with me.
[00:56:24] Ladies and gentlemen, this is not the time to have half-hearted Christianity a part of your life.
[00:56:29] This is not the time to get mixed up with this world and its politics and its divisiveness.
[00:56:33] This is not the time to be half-hearted about coming to church and worship Jesus.
[00:56:37] This is not the time to be ashamed.
[00:56:38] This is not the time to be afraid.
[00:56:40] This is not the time to get intimidated or intrepidated about what's going on in this world.
[00:56:44] This is a time to get serious about Jesus, to put your heart in his hands, and to trust him with the rest of your life, and to serve him when everything is high to view because he's coming back.
[00:56:56] And he said, blessed is the one whom I find working when I return.
[00:57:00] I want Jesus to find Waters Church working.
[00:57:03] I want Jesus to find Waters Church alive.
[00:57:05] I want Jesus to find you ready with your head lifted up and looking forward to your redemption coming from Jesus Christ. I want you to stand with me across this room because some of you,
[00:57:16] listen to me, some of you, you need to get your life right with Jesus today. You need to stop playing church. You need to stop acting like you got all day. You need to stop acting like the
[00:57:27] world owes you something. And you need to surrender your life to Jesus and understand that you're a sinner who needs a savior. And he came for you 2000 years ago. And today he's knocking at the
[00:57:38] door right now. And he wants to wake you up and get you ready. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes for me? Because this is the moment to say yes to Jesus for you. This is the moment to
[00:57:51] be ready for his return. This is the moment to have an assurance in your heart that he's with you. But you got to say yes to him. The Bible says, if you believe in your heart, God raised
[00:58:00] Jesus from the dead. And if you confess with your mouth that he is Lord, you shall be saved. So I want to lead you in a prayer to confess Jesus as Lord, right where you are. If that's you, would
[00:58:07] you repeat after me? If you know you need Jesus, repeat after me. Say it quietly, but say it from your mouth. Repeat. Say, Heavenly Father, Heavenly Father, today I surrender my life to you. Forgive
[00:58:21] me of my sins. I know Jesus died for me, and I believe he rose again on the third day, and I give you my life. I surrender my life into your hands. Jesus is my Lord in Jesus name.