Signs of the Times - SOPS2302

Are you ready to experience the amazing love of God and his plan for your life? Are you curious about the fast fulfilling Bible prophecies? Amidst the rapidly changing world, secrets of prophecy is your gateway to unlocking these exciting realities. Join Pastor David Price on a journey of discovery that will not only transform your life, but will equip you with inner peace and an unshakable hope to face the future. It's my pleasure to welcome you all to secrets of prophecy and we are sharing tonight session number two. It's going to be absolutely awesome. The theme of our Bible study this evening in session two is we're going to look at signs of the times and that is a focus on last day events. Over many years I've presented many different Bible seminars on this topic and I want to tell you this lesson is the best of all of the ones that I've ever presented. It's very, very detailed, it's very up to date, and I know that we're going to have a wonderful time together. So what are we going to learn in session number two? Here are our discovery learning points. Number one, we're going to find out one skill that Jesus Christ said was essential for living at the end. Number two, we're going to ask, does anyone really know the date of the return of Jesus Christ? Question number three, we're going to list five of the biblical last day signs of the times and go into a great amount of depth. Number four, name the greatest danger we face in these end times. And then point number five that we're going to share together. What does Jesus Christ say we can do to be ready for the second coming? So here we are. Secrets of prophecy, signs of the times, and the most important thing we can do before we begin our lesson is to ask God for help. Gracious heavenly Father, we just pause a moment to ask you to guide, bless and direct us. Thank you so much for your word and how precious it is. May we be blessed with wisdom and understanding through the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ precious name. Amen. So I want to thank you so much for joining us for secret to prophecy session number two, signs of the times. If you're joining us online via YouTube, then you can download this lesson under the description bar and follow along that way. Let's get started. We're at the top of page two. One of the fastest growing interests sectors in today's society is actually astrology. Celebrities, politicians and millions of other people are looking to the stars to help them with their future. One of the clairvoyants to the stars is the psychic Nikki Astaria. Nikki appears on radio and television programmes throughout the United States and claims to have predicted the deaths of crocodile hunter Steve Irwin and actor Heath Ledger. Each year, Nikki looks to the stars to predict a range of events and trends, ranging from natural disasters to the styles of men's fashion. Mapping and reading. The heavens began back with the mystical religion of Babylon. Stars and planets were the gods and goddesses of nature, and therefore primary indicators of divine will. The ancients would read the omens in the sky and they would try and predict weather patterns, famines, wars and even the fate of kings and nations. So we must ask the question, is astrology an art or a science? And how accurate are its predictions? Is there really anything in it, or is it just a sham? Whatever your view may be of astrology, the revealed secrets of prophecy are both specific and amazingly accurate. In fact, the God who created the stars wrote the predictions, and it is he who also reveals them. The creator God bases his authenticity on the absolute accuracy of the prophecies of scripture. See Isaiah 46, nine and ten. So, in this study guide, we will uncover one of the most relevant prophecies for our time, the signs associated with the second coming of Jesus Christ. As background reading, it would have been helpful to read the whole chapter of Matthew 24. This chapter has the second coming of Jesus Christ as its central focus. So it's my pleasure to welcome you to secrets of prophecy session number two, signs of the times. Let's get straight into it and deep dive this Bible study. We go to question number one at the top of page three and question one. What did Jesus say was more important than being able to read the heavens? We go to Matthew 16 and verses two and three. Jesus said, when it is evening, it will be fair weather. Sorry, when it is evening, you will say, it will be fair weather, for the sky is red, and in the morning it will be foul weather. Today, for the sky is red and threatening. Let's just take a moment there to ask the question. Is the proverb still true? Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. Let's go to the scientific american and see what Jesus might have been referring to. So, usually, weather moves from the east to the west. In the mid latitudes, the prevailing winds are westerlies. This means storm systems generally move in from the west. When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically, good weather will follow. And in the diagram, you can see that the sun sets in the west. And as the rays go across to the east, they highlight on the red clouds. And the cloudy air is moving away. So a red sky at night can be a sailor's or a shepherd's delight. What about in the morning? Not so much. A red sunrise can mean that a high pressure system, good weather, has already passed, thus indicating that a storm system, low pressure, may be moving to the east. A morning sky that is a deep fiery red, can indicate that there is a high water content in the atmosphere. So rain could be on the way. That's from the scientific american. So if you look at the diagram, we have the sun rising from the east and the light philtres through the air to the red clouds. And of course, the weather comes from the west. So cloudy weather might be moving to the east, and that could be bad news for sailors, shepherds and anyone else. So Jesus is saying, when it's evening, you guys say, it'll be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning it'll be fair weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. Hypocrites. You say one thing and you do another. You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. Friends, that's the theme of our lesson in this amazing session. Are the signs of the times actually happening today, and are they relevant for the world in which we live? Let's go on. So the religious leaders in the days of Jesus could read the heavens, but significantly, not the prophetic signs of the scriptures. The Old Testament was full of prophecies relating to the coming of the Messiah and his suffering. And yet they totally misunderstood them. Here is Jesus Christ standing before the jewish leaders, the pharisees, the sadducees, the scribes. And yet they could not see the signs of the times. The direct fulfilment of the prophecies that pointed to Jesus Christ as their messiah. Friends, regarding the signs of Christ's first coming, some scholars have estimated that the Old Testament contains over 300 specific prophecies, sharing who the messiah is and what he will do. Now, I want to take a moment before we go into question number two and show you how accurate these prophecies actually are. We're going to draw on an ancient text. It was written by Peter W. Stoner and Robert C. Newman, and the book was called science speaks scientific proof of the accuracy of prophecy and the Bible. Let's move on. To page 100 107. Quoting the author, he said, the probability of just eight. How many? Eight of the Old Testament prophecies being fulfilled in one person is one in ten to the 17th power. That is one in 17 zeros. Well, that's something to think about, isn't it? Now, 18 zeros is a quintillion. So there's something that I learned this week. Let's go on. Peter Stoner wrote, imagine an area the size of Texas. Cover the area with ten to the power of 17 coins. They will cover it to a depth of 60 centimetres. Mark one coin and mix the whole mass. Blindfold someone and tell the person they must pick up the marked coin. What are the chances they'll pick up in one to the power of ten to the 17th? So, friends, this is fascinating. Professor Peter Stoner considers not eight but 48 of the messianic prophecies being fulfilled in one man. The chance of that is one in ten to the 157th power. That number is too big for the human mind to grasp. So if we look at skewers number, that's one to the power of ten to 130. And Scintillian is one times ten to the power of 303. This one in ten to the 157th is somewhere between what they call the skewers number at 130 and a centillion at 303. This really boggles the mind. So, to summarise, what are we saying about the Old Testament prophecies, about Jesus Christ for one man to fulfil 48 messianic prophecies? It's one chance in ten to the power of 157. 157 zeros. I'll let you pause this and count them. Peter Stoner says, any man who rejects Christ as the Son of God is rejecting a fact. Prove perhaps more absolutely than any other fact in the world. I thought that might be of interest to you. For people are not sure if the Old Testament messianic prophecies came true and to what degree they are reliable. And they absolutely are. We're in question two at the bottom of page three. What specific signs were the disciples of Christ most interested in? We go to Matthew 24 and verse three. The disciples said to Jesus, tell us when these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age. So there were two things that they put together. What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? The disciples correctly saw the second coming and the end of the world or age as virtually the same event. They asked Jesus to tell them what signs or signals would indicate when this event would be near? Question three. Does anyone know the exact date of Jesus coming? Let's go to Matthew 24 and verse 36. And we read, but of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my father, only friends. I want to just comment on that for a moment, because people have raised questions that if Jesus Christ is in heaven right now, wouldn't he know that he was come when he was coming back? I think it's a good question. So let's ask the question. What would be the point of Jesus Christ, who we know is in heaven right now, not knowing the date of his own second coming? Let's go to one of the commentaries. So, in Matthew 24 36, we just read, Jesus said, not even the angels know, but my father. Only textual evidence in mark 1332 favours adding the words nor the son. So how do we understand this? The angels don't know. The son doesn't know. Only the father knows. Let me quote. Commentators have generally understood this to mean that as a man on earth, Christ voluntarily limited his knowledge and power to the capabilities of human beings in order that his own perfect life might be an example of how we should live, and that his ministry might be a pattern we could follow, aided by the same divine guidance and help that were his. Now, I just want to stop and point out that Jesus did, on occasions, act like a prophet and divinely access information for the future. You remember in Matthew 24 he spoke about the abomination of desolation, referring to the roman armies, I think verse 15, coming and surrounding the city. And he said that that would happen in the future and that happened in AD 70. So, friends, Jesus could access divinely information from the future. But mostly he limited himself to acting like a man and identifying himself with us. Let me share with you some more. Over the years, a number of people have predicted an exact date for the coming of Jesus. However, notice what this commentator said. Everyone who predicted the end of the world had one thing in common. They were wrong. Jesus said that no one knows the date except for God. Predicting dates not only results in disappointment and discouragement, it also encourages people to actually ridicule the Bible. So let's have a look at some false date setters. This is from Harold Camping, who is an american preacher. He wrote, when September 6, 1994 arrives, no one else can become saved. The end has come. Well, friends, we know that that never happened. So he had another shot at it for May 21, 2011. And in my research, I heard that he spent $100 million advertising this around North America. So the posters he paid for went out, saved the date, the return of Christ. No one knew will you know? And he quoted Joel 115, alas, for the day, for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty, it shall come judgement day. He called it May 21, 2011. So there's Harold camping, the doomsday preacher. And of course when this failed, these prophecies failed, these predictions on the second coming failed, these mems went out. And you can see that people wrote him off as a crackpot. This cartoon on the left, even the guy saying the end is near says this guy's a crackpot because Harold had three cracks at it. He said the rapture would happen on September 6, 1994. He said it would happen on May 21, 2011. And then he said, well, seeing the rapture didn't happen, then the end of the world had to happen on October 21, 2011. Friends, we can't be too hard on Herald camping because many people have made predictions and claims for the second coming over many years. In fact, beginning back, this is Wikipedia in 500 ad, right down to 2021, was the last prediction that has been recorded here by Wikipedia. You know what? Just as the lesson said, predicting dates not only results in disappointment and discouragement, it also encourages people to ridicule the Bible. So you can see here the Freedom from Religion foundation ridiculing this time prophecy. We're still here, let's make the world better is what they said. Lets go to question number four. Can we know when the return of Jesus is near? We are going to Matthew 24 32 33 im sorry, excuse me. Jesus said, now learn this parable from the fig tree when its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves. You know that summer is near, so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near at the doors. Friends, the second coming is soon. Although Jesus warns us against predicting dates, he does tell us to investigate the prophecies and world events in order to see when his coming is near. Just as there were many prophecies regarding the first coming of Jesus, there are also clear prophecies relating to the second coming of Jesus. Question five, what illustration does Jesus use when describing these signs of Christ's return? Let's go to Matthew 24 eight, where Jesus said, all these are the beginning of sorrows. This isn't a fascinating metaphor. All these signs are just the beginning of sorrows. What did Jesus mean by that? After outlining a number of prophetic signs, Jesus said that they were the beginning of sorrows. The word sorrow comes from the greek word odin, which literally means the beginning of birth pains. Jesus used the illustration of childbirth as an example to describe the signs of his return. Just as birth contractions increase in frequency and intensity as the mother gets closer to the birth of her child, so it is the signs of Christ's return of the same, because they become more frequent and intense as we're near the end of time. So in question six, we want to ask, what are some of the signs associated with the very last days before Jesus returns? And so, as I said, this lesson is very thorough and we're going to look for signs in five main areas. Number one, the political world. Remember these? This is in the quiz. Number two, the physical world. Number three, the business world. Number four, the social world. And number five, even in the religious world. Let's start firstly with number one, or section a. What are the signs in the political world? And could war be one of them, and how does that relate to what we're going through right now? So our question number six is what are some of the signs associated with the very last days, last day events before Jesus Christ returns? Let's go to Matthew 24 six and seven, the words of Jesus. Jesus said, and you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. Friends, right now we are hearing about wars. The most prominent one that we're hearing about is Russia and Ukraine. But we're also hearing about rumours of wars because we're hearing about China and Taiwan. Jesus said, and you'll hear of wars and rumours of wars, for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. So Jesus pointed to international war as one of the signs of the last days. In the last century, we've had two world wars and an estimated average of over 30 wars on the planet every year. That's incredible, isn't it? According to the World Watch Institute, every hour the world is spending $100 million on soldiers, ammunitions and wars. In fact, the world spends nearly 80 times more money on the military than it would cost to provide basic water and sanitation for the world. See worldwatch.org dot. With at least nine nuclear capable countries and an estimated 27,000 nuclear bombs in stock, the words of Jesus Christ certainly ring true. So, friends, is war a sign of the end? Well, the 20th century has been the bloodiest of all. 180 million deaths in world war. 120 million deaths. And 30 nations involved in world war. 250 million died and 50 nations were involved. Friends, a sign of the last days is that there will be war and rumours of wars. Let's have a look in signs in the political world about another aspect, which is terrorism. Did Jesus predict that in Luke 21, 25 and 26 he said this and on the earth distress of nations. The nations will be stressed out. Men's hearts failing them for fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth. Friends, we know that people are stressed out. Nations are stressed out. There's a lot of fear. There's talk of economic collapse, pandemics, wars, etcetera. These are the days in which we live. Never before have we seen such tension, distress and fear among nations and people as we have today. A rapidly changing world in the increased threat of terrorism have resulted in people feeling unsafe at a time when world leaders are talking about peace and security, as in one, Thessalonians five three, we are feeling a loss of control in our own lives. There's increased heart attacks and stress that have resulted from the anxiety of everyday life. So we are joining together at the top of page seven and looking at signs in the physical world. What are these signs in the physical world? The second area of signs of the times, we're looking at earthquakes, famines and disease. We go to Matthew 24/7 what did Jesus say here? He said, and there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. So we know what famines are. Pestilences is just the old english word for epidemics. Epidemics are outbreaks locally. Recently we've been through a pandemic which is involving most of the world. So, friends, Jesus said, there'll be famines, there'll be epidemics and pandemics and earthquakes in various places. Does this sound familiar to our time? Up until the 19th century, there were just over 2000 recorded earthquakes. According to the United States Geological Survey programme. We now see 500,000 detected quakes each year. An increase in earthquakes and resulting tsunamis are another sign that Jesus is coming back soon. So I wanted to ask you if you think there's been any earthquakes in Australia, where we live? Most people would say, yeah, maybe one or two. The answer was, actually, we've had five earthquakes in the last three and a half years. This is from Wikipedia and shows earthquakes from the year 2020 to 2023. Where were they? Well, interestingly enough, three were in the great state of Victoria and three were in the great state of Western Australia. Friends, we are living in the time of earthquakes. And you can see there that after the dates, the Richter scale, the first one was 5.9, the next one 4.9, the next one 5.3, the next one 4.7 or 4.8. And the last one was four. Now these are not the big ones of eight and nine, but they certainly are happening and they are becoming more frequent, the note says. In terms of famines, the statistics are also alarming. The United States habitat programme reports that a billion people do not get enough food. 500 million are chronically malnourished. And then there is the global population, which was 250 million at the time of Jesus Christ. It took 1900 years to reach 2 billion, just 75 years to reach the next 2 billion, then just 25 years to reach the next 2 billion. This earth is populating at such a rate that we've just passed the mark for not having enough arable land to feed the planet even if we wanted to. Added to this, fresh water levels are diminishing at such a rate that experts are predicting that half the world will live in areas of critical water shortages within 20 years. That's from Jamal Saghir, director of energy and water with the World bank. There's another thing that we need to be concerned about, and that is pestilences are also a sign of the end. These pests are not just plant eating locusts or fruit flies. It includes disease. The National Geographic reports that 3000 people die each day from a mosquito bite and mostly their children from Africa. As we near the actual end of the world, there will be a whole new range of exotic diseases spread around the world through travel and refugees. One of the greatest concerns relates to the different strains of flu like bird flu and swine flu, which seem to be increasing in variety, frequency and severity. There appears to be a growing trend toward disease from what we eat, particularly through meat products. So let's take a moment to review. What are the five top killers that mostly come from what we eat? Let's go to the USA Centre for Disease Control, the CDC. They name the top five killer diseases as heart disease with deaths of 2400 a day. Number two, cancer, at 1500 cases a day. Number three, stroke, at 458 cases a day. Number four, lower respiratory tract infections and diseases at 340 a day. And number five, diabetes, at 195 per day. Friends, we are also fast running out of energy resources. Our coal, our oil and our gas. And climate change is occurring to such an extent that this issue is now seen as a greater threat to humanity than even terrorism. What is clear is that even nature around us is demonstrating the soon return of Jesus Christ. Let's go to heading number three, part c. Let's look at signs in the business world. Let's look at the role of capitalism and globalism. We're going to James. Chapter five, verses one to eight. James wrote, come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed, the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out. And the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury. Then he goes on and says to God's people back in New Testament times, you also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Friends. Jesus didn't come in there, Dave. But the coming of the Lord really takes place, doesn't it? Symbolically, really. At death. Friends, here we find rich men taking advantage of the low wages of the poor while they live in luxury. Isn't that happening today? Capitalism with little social conscience is a key aspect of the move towards a global economy. In these last days, the world's richest men are increasing their wealth by multiplication, not addition. The United Nations Development report indicates that the world's richest 500 people have more wealth than the combined income of the world's poorest 416 million inhabitants. Even in the United States, the richest 1% of the nation have more wealth than the bottom 95% of the nation. So the Bible predicts that just before Jesus returns, the financial systems of the world will collapse. Money will be hard to come by and the rich who've taken advantage of the poor will lose their great wealth. See revelation, chapter 18 and verse eleven, another aspect of signs in the business world. Let's have a look at the increase in knowledge and technology. This is fascinating. This is our day, isn't it? We go to Daniel, chapter twelve and verse four. Daniel was told, but you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end when many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase. You know, friends, knowledge is increasing. No sooner is a new computer, phone or sound system launched, it quickly becomes superseded by a new technology. At a Sony BMG conference in Rome, a report was presented indicating that a new technology is doubling every two years. There is more unique information developed each year than the previous 5000 years combined. And some have said a week's worth of news from the New York Times contains more information than the average person would come across in an entire lifetime. Living back in the 18th century. It's certainly true today, isn't it, that people are stressed out, they're rushing to and fro around the planet and knowledge has certainly increased. Let's go now to the top of page ten. Let's have a look at signs in the social world. Are we in the midst of a moral collapse, much like what happened at the end of the Roman Empire? Signs in the social world a moral collapse. Let's go to Matthew 24 37. It says, Jesus said, but as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the son of man be so? Friends, are we living in light? The days of Noah, it said, Jesus said, in Noah's time, they were marrying and giving in marriage. That shouldn't have been anything special. But today marriage is taken very, very lightly, isn't it? There's programmes on television where marriage is taken pretty much as a joke and it's ridicule. Jesus reminded us that things will be just like they were, as bad as they were in the days of Noah, that the world had to be wiped out by a flood. In Genesis six five, we're told more. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. So, friends, wickedness was rampant. The hearts of the people were evil continually. This is an omen of the last days. Jesus said that just before he returns, the earth will be in the same moral state as it was before the flood. At that time, the world had become so wicked that only eight people chose to follow God's instructions and be saved. The remainder, by their own choice, were actually destroyed. We're looking now at signs in the social world, a preoccupation with pleasure pudding. Pleasure. First we go to two, Timothy, three one five. Paul wrote to Timothy, the young preacher. But know this, Timothy, that in the last days, perilous or dangerous times will come, for men will be lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God. Friends, it's only in modern society that this could actually happen. In ancient times, people had to work, didn't they? And they had to work for a living, and they didn't have time for all of this. Pleasure. Sport and leisure are the great love of these last days. As we jam pack hotel pleasure resorts, sports stadiums, and spend endless hours in front of our home theatres, we can see a direct fulfilment of this signal for the last days. We're looking at part number four signs in the social world. We're looking at now. Disobedience. Disobedience in children. This is hard to believe, isn't it? Second Timothy, chapter three, verses one and two. What did Paul say to Timothy about this continuing on? He said, but know this, Timothy, that in the last day, perilous times will come. Perilous, dangerous, very concerning, threatening times will come for men will be all of these different characteristics. And then he speaks about there being disobedience to parents. Disobedience to parents. You know, friends, these days it's a real challenge to bring out children. Parents are actually losing hope in many places. Some actually want to give up. It's a crazy world where we now find children officially divorcing from their parents. Author and commentator Michael Medved claims the average american child will spend more time watching tv by the age of six and they'll spend time talking with their father in an entire lifetime. Centre of the American Experiment. The influence of film, television and music has had certainly a major impact on the family. We are looking at number four signs in the social world. Let's have a look now. Are there any relationship breakdowns? We go to Matthew 20 412. And Jesus said, and because lawlessness iniquity. Yeah, and because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. Friends, people today who might be having a heart attack in the street or in the gutter are not being picked up and cared for because people feel that they're having a drug episode. They might be stabbed. And so the love of many people is growing cold toward each other. We're told that marriages are falling apart at a staggering rate. People are still searching for love but say it's too difficult to find. Spouses have become partners and the breakdown of the family is a key sign of the last days. Let's go to number five. We're looking at signs in the religious world, the last category of last day event signs. We're looking at mockers and scoffers. What could this refer to? We go to second Peter, chapter three, verses three and four. Signs in the religious world, people ridiculing the second coming. Peter wrote, knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming friends? Scoffers is just another word for atheists. Wikipedia lists the four horsemen of the new atheism and you can see them there. Clockwise from the top left hand side, top left hand side, Richard Dawkins on the right top, Christopher Hitchens. Then underneath, Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris. Friends, these scoffers are the new atheists. And they absolutely hammer and ridicule God and Christians. There is a growing movement away from both religion and churches toward a broad based inner spirituality. In fact, although Jesus promised us he would return in John 14 one three. Many christians do not even take the second coming of Jesus Christ seriously. The Bible says this is actually a sign of the last days. We're looking at number five, or part e signs in the religious world. We're looking now at false miracles, false prophets and false christs. In Matthew 24 24, Jesus said this for false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. This is the new King James Version that we're using. I believe the King James version speaks about false christs and false prophets arising, showing great signs and wonders or miracles that would deceive is possible even God's very elect, his chosen ones. So even people who read the Bible are going to be deceived. This is very, very serious. Four times in Matthew 24, Jesus warns against religious deception. This miracle working religious deception is moving quickly through religious circles. It's a major sign of the last days. There are many scamsters in religion. Four times in Matthew 24, Jesus warns against it. There are numerous people today claiming to be Jesus Christ. One person is Jose Luis de Yasu Miranda. This man, who shows a 666 tattoo on his forearm, has a global media network and has appeared on CNN, CB's and Fox claiming to be the man Christ Jesus and claiming hundreds of churches and millions of followers. This should be no surprise. The Bible indicates that in the last days there will be false christs and false prophets and false miracles that will be used to unite the nations into a false religious system. If you're unsure of that, please look up revelation 13 1314 and revelation 16 and verse 14. We are looking at signs in the religious world. We're now going to look at whether there's a movement towards spirits and or spiritualism. We go to first Timothy, chapter four and verse one. Paul was warning Timothy about the social signs of the last days. He said, now the spirit, meaning the Holy Spirit, expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith. Speaking about christians here, they will give heed or they will listen to deceiving spirits and they will even believe the doctrines of demons. What could that actually refer to? Listening to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. Friends, it wasn't too many years ago when movies and television were subtle regarding the supernatural. Do you remember bewitched? Started off kind of cute and funny, didn't it? Now it is a key theme of many programmes. There's mediums, witches, devils and communication with the dead. And now this is all just seen as mainstream. This tv series Lucifer has now had six seasons and been very popular. We're looking at signs in the religious world and now we're looking at the decline of genuine Christianity. Paul wrote to Timothy and two, Timothy, three one five. But know this, that in the last days, Timothy, perilous, dangerous times will come for men will be lovers of themselves. They will have a form of godliness, but will be denying its power. King James says, denying the power thereof. What does this mean? Jesus said in the last days there'd be many people who would look like christians, yet they will not experience true spirituality. There are countless one day a week christians. They profess to be christians, but they do not experience the power of God in their lives. I love this statement from Mahatma Gandhi and this is what he said. He said, I like your Christmas. I do not like your christians. Your christians are so unlike your Christ. We are now going to look at the last sign of all the five and the last subset of signs in the religious world. And the good news is that the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ coming and dying to save sinners, this gospel will actually go to the whole world. Jesus said this himself in Matthew 20 414. Let's have a look at what he said. He said, and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in how many parts of the world? He was very specific. He said, it will be preached in all the world as a what? As a witness unto all the nations. And then the end will come. Come. Fascinating. Many of the signs of Christ's return are a reflection of a sad and evil world. But now, finally, we have some good news. There will be a unique message of hope spreading throughout the world in these last days. The gospel message found in revelation 14 612 can now be transmitted through satellite and Internet technology. Two of my favourite Internet channels are amazing discoveries. And one of the channels there on amazing discoveries is the amazing health channel. Friends, there is some fantastic, uplifting, positive news that has a christian base and we can access it. Jesus has promised that once this message, this gospel message has reached everyone in the world, then the end will come. We're at the top of page 14 and question number seven, what is the greatest danger associated with the soon coming of Jesus Christ? We're in Matthew 24 44. Therefore Jesus said, you will also. Therefore you also be ready. For the son of man referencing himself is coming at an hour. You do not expect. So, friends, this is fascinating because we are finding out that Jesus comes back, but the world, people in the world are not prepared for this. They're shocked. They don't expect it. Even if we know that Jesus is coming soon, we need to be ready as if he were coming today. Peter says that Jesus will come as a thief in the night. Two, Peter, 310. Are you expecting a thief tonight? We lock our doors and windows each night because we know a thief could come. Yet when it happens, it gives us a great shock and we are surprised. We cannot afford to delay our preparation for the coming of Jesus. We need to be ready now. When? Now. Right now. Because death can arrive at any time. Can it? In these last days. Question eight. Our final question in session two. How can we be ready for Jesus to come? Jesus gives us the answer in revelation, chapter three and verse 20. Behold, he says, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with me. You know, friends, we need to hear and we need to listen and we need to open the door. Firstly, we need to be listening to actually hear the knock from Jesus asking if he can enter into our lives. Secondly, we need to open the door and ask jesus to come in. Have you accepted Jesus as your personal saviour and have you asked him to become an important part of your life? So we're asking you tonight, do you hear the voice of the saviour and do you hear him knocking? This is a lovely painting that hangs in St Paul's Cathedral in London, and I've actually been fortunate enough to see it myself. A little boy was in there with his father, and as they stood there looking at the painting, the little boy said, dad, why don't the people open the door? And his father was off and away somewhere in his mind. Before he could think even of an answer or even hear what his son said, his son said, oh, daddy, I know they must be out the back and they can't hear him. You know, one of my favourite writers wrote that many christians have so much junk piled up at the door of their hearts that when Jesus knocks, they can't get the door open because they've made other things in their lives more important than him. There's three points we'd like you to remember from tonight's Bible study. No one knows exactly when Jesus Christ will return. Secondly, the signs indicate Jesus is coming back very soon. And number three, to be ready for Jesus, we need to prepare for that coming right now. We're good at knowing the signs of the times, I think many of us very good, but not so good at the preparation for it. So why do you think the second coming is an important subject. I'm not sure what your answer might be, but my answer would be, I think the second coming of Jesus keeps me focused on putting him first in my life. Number two, what do you need to do specifically in your life today to ensure that you're ready for Jesus to come? And are there any barriers that still need to be removed? If you have some barriers, then all you have to do is go to God in prayer and just say, lord, there's things in my life I can't give up. I know I can't. I don't want to give them up. But if you want me to give them up, then you will help me to give them up, because I can't do it myself. Friends, there is power available and God is willing to help you. Relational question number three. What do you think will be the first thing you say to Jesus when he returns? I think somebody once said, what took you so long? Well, maybe that's true, but if Jesus had come already, then maybe some of us wouldn't have been born. So I think that's a great blessing. Finally. Is it your desire to prepare now to be ready for the second coming of Jesus? If so, would you like to ask Jesus to be your personal saviour and trust him to guide and direct your life? I'm hoping that you'll answer yes, because that, I believe, is a satisfying way to move forward and have peace and love and joy in your life. What did we learn in our Bible study tonight? Our discovery point. Number one was name one skill Jesus Christ said was essential for living at the end. And the answer is that we need to be able to read the signs of the future. The Jews were unable. They could read the Skype, but they didn't realise the Messiah had arrived and was standing in front of them. Number two, does anyone really know the date of the return of Jesus Christ? And the answer is obviously not. No. No one knows the day or the hour. Some people have actually said that maybe we might know the year, and maybe that's a possibility, because I think things are going to get a lot worse very, very soon. Number three, list five of the biblical last day signs of the times. Well, we went through them exhaustively tonight. We looked at political signs, we looked at physical signs, we looked at business signs, we looked at social signs, and we looked at the religious signs. Number four, name the greatest danger we face in these end times. Jesus said the greatest danger would be that we wouldn't be ready, that he would appear at a time that we would expect it not like a thief in the night. We need to be really ready and prepared. Number five, what does Jesus Christ say we can do to be actually ready for the second coming? He told us in revelation 320, we need to listen and hear him knocking and open the door of our heart. And we can do that as simply as just saying in a prayer, even in our mind to God. If you're there, help me to believe in you and come into my life and change my heart and help me to accept Jesus Christ as my lord and saviour. God bless you if you've made that decision tonight to follow the masterful one, the Lord Jesus Christ. So, friends, we're building a wall of biblical truth in this secrets of prophecy seminar series. In session number one, our opening session, last time we looked at who will control the world. And we found out in Daniel chapter two that Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar that God's kingdom destroys all earthly kingdoms. It strikes the image on its feet. In session number two that we've just covered right now, we've asked, what are the signs of the times? And so, friends, people have said to me, look, there's always been earthquakes and wars and pestilences and all this kind of thing. What makes you think that Jesus is coming now? These things have always been. I think that's a good and an intelligent question. So what I want to put before you is I think that we're now living at the, the x time is the time where all of these things come together. And so we're getting all of these signs coming together. And Jesus said, when you see all these things, know that my coming is near. It's even at the doors. So we learn tonight, what are the signs of the times? When all the signs of the times come together, then will come the SCC. That's my abbreviation for the second coming of Christ or the second coming of Jesus Christ, which leads us to our next session. How will the world end? What are we going to learn in our next session? Number one, we're going to learn how we can be certain that Jesus Christ will return to this earth. Very, very important. Question number two. We're going to learn how will Jesus return at the end of the world. I think that's important, that we know exactly how and that we can be certain. Many people are asking, will Jesus Christ's return be like a secret rapture or some silent event? That question has to be asked and answered absolutely. And number four, will there be any deceptions regarding the second coming of Jesus Christ. There certainly will. We need to be on guard. And number five, will every christian believer be saved at the second coming of Christ? That's a good question, isn't it? So, secrets of prophecy, how will the world end? That will be our session number three, next time we meet. Well, let's have a little bit of fun. Let's do our quiz. Some of you have the quiz envelopes you printed out in the email and you're probably ready to go. Or you can just jot the answers down at the bottom of the back page of the lesson guide. These are multiple guests, so multiple choice, I mean, so it should be easy to remember the answers, which are based on our Bible study that we've shared with you. In session number two, question one. Can we know the exact time of Jesus return? If the answer's a, write down one. A, everybody knows. B nobody knows. C a few very spiritual people know. Your answer would come from the text that Jesus gave us. Can we know the exact time of Christ's return? Everyone knows. Nobody knows. A few very spiritual people know. Lock in your answer. Question number two. Just before Jesus returns, what can we expect? No change at all. B a decrease in crime. C. Wars, famines, disease, and earthquakes. Just before Jesus returns, what can we expect? A no change at all. B a decrease in crime. C. Wars, famines, disease, and earthquakes. Lock in your answer. That's question number two. Question number three. Name one sign of our society's decay. A a preoccupation with pleasure. I'd call it an obsession. B more people will be attending church. Or c children will be obeying their parents more often. Hmm. That's a hard one, isn't it? Name one sign of our society's decay. A, B. Or C. Lock it in. Question four, which of these signs is not a religious sign? It's not actually a religious sign. A. World leaders talking about peace and safety or peace and security. Balance deception via false miracles, false prophets, and false christs. C the gospel being preached in all the world via modern technology. Which of these signs is not a religious sign? Lock it in. That's question four. And our final question. Quiz. Question number five. Why did Jesus give us so many signs? A he likes people to be scared. B he likes to confuse people. Or c he wanted us to be ready. Lock in your answer to question number five. Let's go to our answers. Number one. Can we know the exact time of Christ's return? And our answer was b nobody knows. Number two, just before Jesus returns, what can we expect? The answer was c. Wars, earthquakes, etcetera. Number three, name one sign of our society's decay. The answer was a. And that is there was pleasure seeking over all other things. Number four, which one of these signs was not a religious sign? The answer was a. And it was a political sign. It wasn't a religious sign for a is the answer. And five, why did Jesus give us so many signs? The answer was c. He certainly wanted us to be ready. So thank you so much for those of you who wanted to do the quiz, and you can submit those to us if you would like. Let us pray. Gracious heavenly father, we come before you with praise and thanksgiving for this amazing Bible study on signs of the second coming. Father, we can see that we're in that x time. We can see that Jesus must be very soon about to appear. We see great things taking place in the world. The loss of individual freedom, famine, earthquakes, all sorts of problems, economic collapse, moral decay. But in all of that, we see the gospel going to the world through modern technology as it is right now. We thank you for all of the opportunities you give us to be ready for the second coming, and we want to make use of those. I pray a blessing on all who hear these words and who will decide to follow Jesus, the wonderful saviour and redeemer of this world. And I ask this prayer in Jesus precious name. Let all the people who agree say amen. I'd like to thank you so much for joining us for secrets of prophecy. Our second session here was actually signs of the times. And thank you so much for being with us. Look forward to to seeing you next time for session number three. How will the world end? I'll say thank you and goodbye for now. Secrets of Prophecy with Pastor David Price has been brought to you by 3ABN Australia radio. For more resource in this series you can visit the YouTube page trueblue SDA all one word that's trueblue SDA.