Some say that these are not judgments of God. There's this huge argument that took
place right after Hurricane Katrina hit. Some say that's not God's judgment
because we're living in an age of grace. Others say this is God's judgment. But I
believe that personally that God used these disasters as warnings or a time
of chastening for the United States so that we can come back to repentance as
in 2 Chronicles 7 I believe says, if my people who are called by my name will
humble themselves, seek my face and pray, and turn from their wicked ways, then I
will hear from heaven, come and forgive their sins and heal their land. You see
there needs to be a time of repentance and this is the time when we are so
close to the Second Coming of Christ where it's a time of testing for
Christians. It's a time of purifying for the believer and it is a time of warning
for the unbeliever that they see these things happening, that they will come to
repentance and come to Christ as their Savior because time is short and the
prophecy shows you the urgency of the hour and the times that we are living in.
He gives us these clues to know that it is near so that we act with urgency. As
scripture says in 1 John, it says, and we know that when we see him, we know
that we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is and every man who has
this hope purifies himself as he is pure. So I believe this is a time of
purification for the church because the time is short and God will use this time
as a tremendous time of opportunity for reaching lost souls. So are we living in
this time period that the Bible says will happen just before Christ's return?
Now in coming back to Luke 17 where Jesus said it will be as in the days of
Noah and as in the days of Lot. So we have to set the stage of this moral stage
of humanity. Jesus said in these last days there would be and because men's
hearts will grow cold lawlessness will abound or crime will abound and in
2nd Timothy chapter 3 of evil men and seducer shall wax worse and worse. So
all of this stage of fornication, adultery, the pornography that's in the
world today, all of the crime and drugs, this is the stage where it's being set.
Now all of the signs there would be not only sociological signs but
technological signs, geopolitical signs, weather signs and all of these different
signs would take place to tell you that we are living in these last days. So is
there enough evidence? Now when Christ came the first time there were
prophecies that related to his first coming that said that this is the signs
who the Messiah would be and so the people could recognize the first coming
of Christ. Wouldn't it be that God wanted us to recognize Christ's second
coming and that's why he gave us all of these prophetic scriptures to recognize
that it is near and how we can then live or prepare ourselves for Christ's return.
Now the earthquakes at the crucifixion, there was a big earthquake, there was a
big earthquake at the resurrection, there was a big earthquake when Paul and
Silas were in prison. Now who caused that earthquake? It had to be God, right?
After the rapture at midpoint, that is coming again, the scriptures tell us
that there would be great earthquakes in Ezekiel 38, Pastor JD always shares
Ezekiel 38. Possibly that Ezekiel 38 will be before the rapture or after the
rapture at the beginning of the tribulation but in the end of Ezekiel 38
it describes a great earthquake. At the second coming when Christ comes and
hits the Mount of Olives with his feet, there'll be a great earthquake with the
Mount of Olives was split from east and west. Who's causing the earthquake? As
Jesus described in Luke 21, Mark 13 and Matthew 24, there'll be earthquakes in
loose gospels, there's great earthquakes in various places. Who's causing the
earthquakes? It has to be God as a time of warning, a time of chastening for this
generation. Right now the United States is in serious, serious trouble, not only
financially but the state of this moral decay. In the truth project, that speaker,
I can't remember his name off hand, but he said America is in deep, deep trouble.
And as JD shared with you a lot of times, America is absent from Bible
prophecy. I don't want to sound like I'm unpatriotic, I was born here in Hawaii,
and my parents were born here in Hawaii, and I love this country. But we have to
be realistic about the state of America's moral situation. And we have chosen a
leader where a lot of Christians have voted for this leader who believes that
evolution is compatible with Christianity. He supports this abortion and
this homosexual agenda. I believe personally that this whole financial
crisis will get worse. I spoke at the study last week saying how much worse
it's going to get possibly next year. And but I think it's again, it's the time
and opportunity of evangelism. So in Matthew 24, we're going to examine some
of the evidences. This week, I'll focus more on New Testament prophecies
regarding to the Second Coming of Christ. Next week, I'm going to share more on the
Old Testament prophecies. And then on Thursday night, I'm going to share of how
we should then live some of the false religions, the false teachings, the cults,
the apostasy that's happening today. As they said in the last days in Second
Thessalonians chapter 2 that the apostasy will come. What is apostasy? Well, some
scholars say they think it's called the rapture. I and other scholars say the
apostasy is a falling away from the faith. And believe it or not, I read this one
study. It came from a Baptist survey that said that 88% of Christian young
people ages 16 to age 26, I believe, 88% are falling away from Christ. And it
astounded me. But when I looked at a lot of my, I have two daughters. One is 23,
the other is 26. But from their teenage years to now, a lot of them have fallen
away from the Lord. They no longer go to church. Some are living in sin. Others
are, some are pastor's daughters that have fallen away. And it's a real sad
state. But, and that's why I believe that prophecy is so important because we have
that more sure word of prophecy that we do well to take heed. And I think that if
we understand the times that we are living in, we should live more in earnest
expectation of the Lord in close obedience and abiding in Christ so much
more than at any other time in history. Because Satan is coming against the body
of believers and he's attacking the body. And believe it or not, every time I
give a message on prophecy, something, something goes wrong. And a lot of times
it's the technology or whatever, but it never fails in third world countries
like in China and Indonesia, where there's a lot of persecution. The people
that are beaten and tortured and thrown into prison, believe it or not, are the
are the pastors who teach on Bible prophecy because it gives their
congregation a hope. And those pastors who do not preach on the second coming of
Christ, they don't bother them. The churches are not torched. But it's those
pastors that really preach the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation and
give them the hope of his second coming. Those are the ones who really get
persecuted. And so are we or are we not living in these last days? In Matthew 24,
if you can turn with me there to Matthew 24.
