 Hello, this is David Digger Hernandez and you're watching Spirit Church here on the Encounter TV Network. I'm going to finish up now my two-part message on the end times by looking at the words of Jesus. And in the words of Jesus we find that there is coming just before his return a great revival, the final harvest. But first, Stephen Moctezuma is here with me. He's going to lead you in some very anointed worship and then we're going to get right into this message here. It's Stephen Moctezuma. No turning, the cross before me, the world, the cross before me, the world behind, the cross before No turning back, no turning, though none, I still will fall, though none go with, I still will fall, though I still will fall, no turning, no turning, no turning back. So last week we ended on verse 9. Let's jump right into this. Matthew 24 verse 10. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. What's interesting to me here is that Jesus is talking about people turning away from him, meaning these people are believers. There is going to be a great falling away from the faith. First Timothy chapter 4 verse 1 says, Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith, they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. Now an entire lesson can be devoted to this portion of Scripture alone. And we are seeing it. I am seeing and so are you. Leaders of the Christian faith suddenly announcing, I no longer have faith. Why is that? Well, this is not something that just happened overnight. This is because deception is taking root in the hearts of many who proclaim to be followers of Christ. And the reality is this, it's going to get worse. You will be shocked at the many leaders. You will be shocked at the many denominations. You will be shocked at the many groups that turn away from biblical truth to embrace worldly culture, worldly ideas. And this is going to affect many. There will be a great falling away from the faith. Now I'm not a doomsday seer. I don't enjoy ministering on these things necessarily, but they're the truth. They're the reality. And so I need to prepare you. It's my duty as a minister of the word of God to teach all aspects of the word. Sometimes I teach on faith. Sometimes I teach on miracles. I primarily teach on the Holy Spirit. But this is what God has put on my heart to teach to you. This is something that you have to hear. It's preparation for these times. Now this great falling away from the faith happens because people aren't rooted in the word. They're not rooted in prayer. They're not rooted in the body of Christ. So this is a warning to you. If you're a believer who does not have a prayer life, who does not delve into the word of God daily, who is not a part of a community of strong believers that the scripture encourages us, commands us to be a part of, then you are at risk for falling for deception. I just read not too long ago this article about this church, mind you, a church that hired a psychic to serve on the pastoral team. There are deceptions everywhere and we need to be prepared. We must know the word. We will not know deception unless we know the word because the word is the light. And if we have the light, we can see in the dark places. We can see and expose all of the deception of the enemy. Verse 11 says, And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. So many will rise and I believe this is not only describing false religions, but this is also describing twisted versions of Christianity. Be careful, be very careful. Jesus must be the center. Verse 12 says, Sin will be rampant everywhere and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. So, sin is rampant. I want you to look at this world and consider the fact that sin is rampant. This is what Jesus is describing here. People are losing their minds. If I'm just being real with you, much of what is out there is pure lunacy. It is insanity in the strictest definition of the word. The world is losing its mind. It's calling good evil and evil good. It's backwards. So we as the church must be prepared. We must stand strong. We must stand on the word. Now look, we're not by any means in survivor mode. We're victorious. We're winning. The kingdom is advancing. The gospel is spreading. The church is growing. Revival is occurring. The Holy Spirit's power is touching lives all around the world. We're on the winning side. But that doesn't mean that it's not possible to be deceived. We must find our footing. This is not a message of defeat. This is not a message of retreat. This is a message of preparation so that you can guard your heart against the deception of the enemy. So there's going to be a falling away from the faith. There's going to be a rise in false prophetic voices. There's going to be a rise in sin. The world is going to become more perverse. And the Bible lists all of these signs. And as I mentioned in part one of this message, you'll hear of wars and rumors of wars. Kingdom will be divided against kingdom. There'll be famines and earthquakes and many parts of the world. So the Bible begins to describe all of these events that begin to happen. But then it says the end is not yet or the end is not coming at this point. Or in other translations, it words it differently. But the primary message is that all of those signs, they are bad things. But those aren't necessarily these signs that Christ is about to return. Here is what the Bible says. So let's look to the verse 14. But I want to preface it by saying that if you'll notice, Jesus has kind of been building this point. He's saying, look, there's going to be a rise in people who are claiming to be the Messiah. And then he says, but the end won't follow immediately. Don't panic. There'll be wars and rumors of wars. But don't panic. Then he says kingdom will rise against kingdom. Famines and earthquakes. He says, but all of this is only the first of birth pains with more to come. All the way down to verse 14 where he says, and the good news about the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world so that all nations will hear it. And then the end will come. Wow. This was a paradigm shift for me. I had to change my mentality. I had to change the way I looked at the end times. Before I had really studied this, I was of the impression that all of the bad things happen and then it ends. But no, Jesus is saying the gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth. And then the end comes. So we're on the winning side. This is actually a good sign. Wars and rumors of wars, not so good. Famines, earthquakes, not so good. Falling away from the faith, ramparts and not so good. Ah, but those aren't the signs of the end. The sign of the end, one of the main ones. One of the main ones is that the good news will be preached and then the end comes. In other words, there's a great revival that occurs before the return of Christ. This is a message of victory. This is a message of hope. This is a message about a light that is going into the darkest of places. Now in verse 15, we'll continue. I just want to finish out the chapter because it's important and I want to make one more point concerning the gospel in the end times. And I'll make that point toward the end of the chapter but let's go through the verses just so that you get the full context here. Verse 15 says the day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about. The sacrilegious object that causes desecration, standing in the holy place. Reader, pay attention. So this is talking about what scholars call the abomination of desolation. And for cross-reference on this you can look up Daniel chapter 9 verse 27. Now there's a great debate about what exactly this is describing. Some are very confident in what they believe this to be. I am willing to be convinced either way. But what I do know is that something is going to happen at the temple, the holy place. Something is going to happen there that desecrates that place. And that will be a sign of the end times as well. Verse 16 says then those in Judea must flee to the hills. A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. And pray that your flight will not be in the winter or on the Sabbath. For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. Wow. And it will never be so great again. Verse 22. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones. Now here's what's interesting to me. I don't believe that this is necessarily describing the tribulation itself. I could be wrong. I believe this has to be describing leading up to the tribulation because the Bible says, but it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones. This tells me that believers are present when this is happening. Now some believe that believers are present during the tribulation. Look, again, this is all debatable. But what we do know for sure is that a time like this is coming. Verse 23. Then if anyone tells you, look, here is the Messiah. Or there he is. Don't believe it. For false Messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones. Now we have to be very careful here because some people put this verse on my videos, my content. They'll say, oh, verse 24, false prophets will arise, they'll do great signs and wonders. I love the way my friend Pastor Vlad from Hungry Generation puts it. He made an observation about this verse that I think is very poignant and straight to the point. So it was a great truth he mentioned. He said Jesus here was not talking about miracles. He was talking about false miracles. He was talking about demonic miracles. So just because a ministry prays for the sick or a pastor believes in healing, that doesn't mean this verse is describing them. Again, this is specifically talking about the false prophets and the false Messiahs. Verse 25. See, I have warned you about this ahead of time. So if someone tells you, look, the Messiah is out in the desert. Don't bother to go and look. Or look, he is hiding here. Don't believe it. That's another deception that's happening. Look, Jesus is appearing here. Jesus is appearing there. Don't believe it. It's nonsense. And you'll see it in the fruit of these false preachers. Verse 27 says, Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened. The moon will give no light. The stars will fall from the sky and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens. And there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet. And they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world, from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. Now, I want to come down here for a second. Let's go down to verse 40. So it's talking about the fact that Jesus is going to return. It's going to be as a lightning flash. It's just going to come quick and he's going to return. Now, verse 40 says, Two women will be grinding flour at the mill. One will be taking the other left. So you two must keep watch for you don't know what day your Lord is coming. In verses 38-39, the Matthew chapter 24 describes that the people will be continuing with life, like in the days of Noah. They were having parties and festivities and weddings and just living life. And they had no idea that a flood was coming to wipe them off the face of the earth. And in the days of Noah, they were continuing with everyday living, carelessly, happily, not a thought in their mind about the judgment of God when suddenly the rain began to fall. And they didn't know until it was too late that the judgment of God had visited the earth. So it will be in our days. Weddings will continue. People will make their plans. I have a birthday party to go to this week. Then in three months, a wedding. Eight months from now, my child will be born. So on and so forth. I'm graduating. I'm starting a business. I'm making plans. I'm living life when suddenly the Son of God will appear. It will be suddenly. This is why we must be prepared. We have to be ready for him. Verse 45, how are we prepared? A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. So what is it that God requires of us? What is it that God wants from you and I? As believers, what are we to be doing? Well, we're to be winning the lost. We're to be telling the world. We're to be declaring the truth. We're to be calling men to repentance. When Jesus returns, I want him to find me living obediently. When Jesus returns, when my Lord, my master, my God, my king, when he returns, I want him to find me faithful. I want him to be pleased with me. I don't want him to be angry. I want him to tell me, well done, good and faithful servant. So what are we to be doing? And these times we must be preaching the gospel. Now is not the time to say, oh, the world is getting dark. It is what it is. The Bible prophesied it. Jesus said it. So it has to happen. No, this gospel shall be preached to the ends of the earth. And then the end will come. We must be busy for the return of the Lord. Not passive, not just standing in a corner somewhere, terrified of what's happening in the world and waiting for him to come and pick us up. No, we must be engaged. We must be about our Father's business. Jesus said something interesting. And I'll read this one last portion in verse 34 and 35. There's a little bit of a controversy. There's a little off topic, but because it's in the chapter, I need to cover it. It's absolutely something I must address. Verse 34 and 35 say, I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. Some people have trouble with this verse. They said, I thought Jesus said that this generation won't pass away before all these things happen. But those people that Jesus was talking to have passed away and those things have not happened. Well, two explanations for this, very simple. One is that word there, generation, actually can mean race. So this race, the Jewish people. And in fact, there is some indication that this might be what he's saying because he referenced the fig tree, which is a prophetic symbol for the nation of Israel. So when Jesus says this generation shall not pass from the scene, he's saying this people, this group, this race of people shall not pass from the scene. Another explanation, which is much more simple, is the fact that I, and this is the one I believe, said this generation will not pass. What generation? The generation that experiences all these signs, not the generation he was addressing right then and there, not the people standing in front of him. And in fact, the Greek seems to imply this. There's some debate about this, I understand. But these are the two explanations that can be given for this. Now, the reason I say this to you is, number one, because I know you're going to read that chapter and I don't want you to be left with what you think is a contradiction. Number two, it's important to realize that Jesus here is saying that this generation that sees these signs is not going to pass from the scene. It very well may be that you and I are the ones who see the return of the Lord. Keep that in mind and live your life in light of the return of Jesus. Live knowing that he can return at any moment. Be busy, be preaching. We have a job to do, revival is coming and the gospel shall be preached to the ends of the earth. Well, that is it for the lesson. I want to pray with you now. I want to pray that God would give you a boldness to share this gospel. But the gospel might advance and we might see souls saved by the millions. Father, in the name of Jesus, buy your Holy Spirit and do that one in watching with power from on high and give them that boldness. Give them that utterance. Give them the words to speak. Put a fire in them, Lord. Set a fire in their heart that they might declare your word. Give us strength to stand in these times, Lord. Help us not to compromise your truth. Help us not to shrink back in fear. Help us not to waver in our belief of your word. But help us, Lord, to continue on to victory for your kingdom is advancing and we thank you that we can be a part of it. In the name of Jesus, we pray. And I want you to say it because you believe it with all your heart. Say amen. Well, I want to welcome now the new members of Spirit Church. There you are up on the screen. We love you and we are praying for you. I always say that because I always mean it to be like information on how you can join the Spirit family. Now over 10,000 members strong. It's absolutely free. Go to DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash Spirit Church. When you sign up, you're going to get an email from me every single week with a brand new teaching, a worship cover from Stephen Mockezuma and the best part, you can reply to that email for prayer support from our ministry staff. Now to your comments. And these comments come from Stephen Mockezuma's beautiful cover of the worship song, Breathe. If you haven't checked it out, be sure to go and look at Stephen Mockezuma's worship playlist here on the EncounterTV network. A wonderful collection of some of the most anointed songs I've ever heard. And you go and you listen to them. And if you listen to the playlist all the way through, as long as YouTube doesn't put ads on it. Sometimes we have to, not because we put them on, but because the creators of the songs do. But for the most part, the songs just kind of flow real nicely together so it won't disrupt your prayer or study time. Go and check out Stephen's playlist and while you're at it, subscribe to the channel on YouTube.com slash EncounterTV. Click the notification bell when you do so that you can receive notice of when we're putting out videos. And I'm going to now read your comments from Stephen's worship cover of Breathe. But if you'd like me to potentially read your comments from this week's video next week, then be sure to leave a comment in the comment section now. Here are the comments from Breathe. The first commenter writes, Praise God, you have such a beautiful, beautiful voice. Julie White writes, Beautiful song of worship unto our holy living God. His presence is here and my tears are falling. Olucci Ozone writes, I love this song. I am lost without you, Jesus. And the final commenter says, I love your voice. I'm always listening to all the songs on the worship playlist. Much love from Australia. Well, all the way from Australia, this content really does go all around the world. And it's about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can do whatever he wants with this channel. In fact, we say, this is the Holy Spirit's channel. He can do with it whatever he wishes. Now, let me be honest with you. I want to be real with you. I want to tell you something. So please hear me. The ministry is expanding very fast. And it's expanding faster than even I believed for. God is taking this ministry to new heights, new levels, and very rapidly. Like it's happening quick. Those of you who watch from the outside, you can see it. You can see it in the content. You can see it at the events. It's happening. And so here's what we need. We need people like you to stand with us together and say, you know what, Brother David? You know what, Brother Stephen? You guys aren't alone. We want to stand with you. We need financial support. Now, we don't sell the gospel. The content is free. The events are free. What we do is the biblical way, which is we take up free will offerings from the people of God. So I'm asking you watching this. Not somebody else. I'm asking you. God is speaking to you in your heart. I'm asking you to become a partner with our ministry for $30 a month or more. If you do $30 a month or more, I will send you a copy of either Carriers of the Glory Encountering the Holy Spirit in every book of the Bible or 25 truths about demons and spiritual warfare. I'll sign it. I'll send it to you. It'll be my gift to you just to say thank you for coming up to being my monthly supporter. Now, if you can't do that, maybe you can do a smaller amount monthly. That's totally fine too. In fact, it's needed. Don't say all what I'm doing is so small so I'm not going to do it. Or I can only do 10 a month. I can only do five a month. So they don't need me. No, if a hundred of you do 10 a month, it's an extra $1,000 a month that we can put into the gospel. So do it by all means. Remember, the power is in togetherness. All of us together, all the people watching, all the people a part of this staff, myself, Stephen, you and me and all of us together are making an impact in the world. You can also give a one-time gift on our ministry website. To partner with us or to give a one-time gift, go to davidhernanisministries.com slash donate. We've actually added two giving options. We've added an option to where you can give stock donations. Many of you have requested that, especially those of you in business. And we added Apple Pay. You can actually give a donation within like 30 seconds. If you go there now, davidhernanisministries.com slash donate. Give a gift today and we sure will appreciate it to help us continue to do what we do in advancing the Kingdom. Well, that is it for this edition of Spirit Church here on the EncounterTV Network. Until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God. We'll see you in the next video. Thank you.