 Welcome back everyone to BC 213, our second lecture today on the end times. We're looking at the signs of the end times. There's a question on the chat. How do we understand 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 3 in the light of what we are learning? It goes right in with the point that we were just discussing about the great deception that would take place, false spirituality. Paul did mention 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 3 that there will be a falling away. He said the falling away comes first, so there's going to be a lot of people and he wrote about that in 1 Timothy 4, 1 and 2. There's going to be a lot of people who will depart from the faith and he describes the condition of man. So it's in line with this sign, number 11, that we just spoke about the falling away coming first, people departing from the faith, giving into deception. Point number 12, the 12th sign. This is Gabriel, Angel Gabriel. He spoke to Daniel and Daniel 12 was 4. He said, Daniel, you keep the words of this book and he said, in the time of the end, many will run to and fro and knowledge will increase. Many will go to and fro. They'll be traveling a lot. Many will travel a lot and knowledge will increase. So both these signs are so apt or relevant to the times in which we live. We are living in a day and a time when people are going to and fro. Every day literally hundreds of thousands of people traveling. We are living in that time and knowledge is increasing. The amount of information that's being put out and the access to knowledge has exploded. On our device, we literally have huge amounts of information available. We can search, we have access to it. So we're living in a time where Daniel 12.4 is being fulfilled. It's happening. And of course there are some articles that you can read and these are a little old but you can look at a lot of information where it's constantly, constantly information is exploding. A few other sciences and we are familiar with and these are taken from Matthew 24 and Luke 21. There will be wars, national rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. Now it is true that wars and fighting has been going on through the centuries. It's not something new. So and in fact all the next few signs, they have been happening all along. But what we can expect to see is things happening in a much larger scale and in a larger number. More nations, more countries, fighting is happening. So there's unrest, there is fighting happening just about everywhere nation after nation. You will be hearing about that and which is going on and it's increasing. Similarly, number 14, fear, hate, terror, men's hearts failing them from fear. I mean there is going to be so much distress, there is going to be fear, hate, that people's heart are gripped by fear. What's happening? The hate, the violence, people are living in fear. And that's again increasing, increasing more and more. And so even in places where what once used to be very peaceful, now it is becoming a, be careful where you're going, what is happening. You never know, some bomb threat here and this, that and all. But these used to be peaceful places, peaceful cities. There's fear coming because of hate and terror that's happening. Similarly, there's weather conditions, there's great earthquakes, famines, pestilences. Again, these have always been happening but there will be an increase in these things happening more, more widely. Earthquakes, famines, pestilences, plagues, epidemics. Again, we are, we under-recognize that. So these are things that will happen. Jesus said these will be things happening. And the moral condition of man, number 17, the last one. Jesus said lawlessness will abound, lawlessness. People will not care about the law, lawlessness. I was just reading, I think Haiti or some country that is now taken over by some other country, I forget. Gangs are running the country. It's no longer government. Gangs, we are running the country, taken over. So lawlessness will abound. Love of many grow colds. People no more love, no more love, no more compassion. That's all gone. So as in the days of Noah, they were just eating and drinking and there's immorality and violence, these things. So even the moral condition of man becomes very bad. Sin was always there from Adam's time. But in this time, just before the end of the day, end of the age, this is going to reach its peak. So these are some of the signs that we keep looking at and we say, okay, whatever the Lord Jesus said, these things are being fulfilled. It's happening right before us. And then there are some of the bigger signs. I mean, major, major things about Israel, Jerusalem, the church, the alignment of the nations and other things, which are all telling us we are very close to the end. We are reaching the very end of things. So for us as believers, I think we should be students of scripture. That means we understand what the scriptures are telling us. At the same time, we should be informed. So read the news, be aware of what's happening globally so that you can look back and say, hey, the Bible said this. It is happening. But we're not alarmed. We're not preoccupied with that. Our main responsibility now is to take the gospel to the nations and to help bring the church to a place of maturity. So two things. On one side, you need the gospel to reach people. On the other side, the church has to be brought to a place of unity and strength and maturity to be a glorious church. That is our work. That's the work we have. That's why he has put us here. That's what we're working on. Why are you here? Well, two reasons, right? We have to reach the worlds. We have to reach the nations with the gospel. And then we have to strengthen the church to bring the church to a place where it is a glorious church because Jesus is coming back for that. While we are doing that, that's our work. We keep ourselves busy with that. And while we are doing that, we're also looking at the signs. This is what is happening. We can see that everything is aligning towards the coming of the Lord. And so we live in a state of readiness that with the Lord Jesus comes, he will be ready to be taken up to meet the Lord in the air. So let's take some time for questions and some discussion. Go ahead. Faster. This is a general question like the many pastors and preachers depends upon the seasons that had happened. There are any situations like something global issues or like tsunamis or some political reasons. So there are many preachers have been preaching depending upon these things that Lord is coming. So this is the sign. This is the sign. And there is no particular proof for that. Just by observing something happening, they're preaching what is coming from this is the sign. Like because of that, there are so many confusions happening and the people who are speaking against us about Christians and preachers. Can we do that in our, when we are preaching like, like do we have to take it as important things? I understand what you're saying. And I will just share my approach. So one of the things that I would also encourage all of us is not to be alarming. Like, you know, don't, oh, something happened. Then immediately one, oh, Jesus is coming tomorrow. Like, you know, like that. Yeah, you know, like maybe some volcano erupted. Maybe there was earthquake, maybe there's a fighting happening. Or, you know, for example, last October, when there was this fighting that broke out between the Palestinians and Israel. So many people are preaching sermons on Israel and thing. I purposely never did anything. Just kept quiet. Why? Because I don't want to be an alarmist, right? So these battles, these things are happening all the time. Right? It's always happening. You know, so there have been so many incidents between the Palestinians and Israel. It's not like this is the first time they're fighting. It's always happened. Yeah, maybe on a scale like this, it hasn't happened before or in recent times. But these things are happening. So we don't want to be alarmists. That means take advantage of some situation and, you know, build up the emotion of people. No. Preach the truth. Paul said preach the truth in season and out of season. That means we'll talk about the end times when something happens and even when nothing happens. Because the word of God still reads the same. Right? So our approach should be, you know, my approach is don't unnecessarily take advantage of the situation. Yes, people will have questions. You address the questions, but at least in a very calm way. Don't, you know, create a lot of emotion and hype. And just because something happened, we do want people are having questions and we do want to address the questions, but don't do it in an alarming way. Don't, you know, create hype and emotion and all those things. Otherwise, just for example, we talk about the end times, but even we talk about the end times, even nothing seems to be happening. This is what the scripture says. Right? So that's a better approach because then we're not building something based on the emotions of people, but rather saying, telling people, look at the truths, look at the word of God in season, out of season. This is what the Bible says. So that's our approach. And sometimes intentionally, I don't say anything. Is it okay? You know, we don't want to build on the hype. Just because of using the situation. Because like in normal sermons also, there are people who are using the situations, what are happening? Listen, there is a video I just went through. Like this, someone is married. So he told like in a video, my life is not like a rose petals. I've also gone through so many struggles. So there is one pastor who was telling, see the richest man of Asia is also gone through a situation because there is no Jesus in his life. Because there is no? No Jesus in his life. So there are pastors who are preaching like this today. So we should not better not to use the situation. Yeah, I would avoid. Just because of some people's experience. Yeah. I would avoid that. Instead we just preach the words. Yeah. Any other questions? Friends, you have a question? Go ahead. First of all, we are seeing about the age scale chapter 7 and chapter 37 sorry. Chapter 37 and 38. And like how we can be sure like it is for now, but not for them in the Old Testament. Because even if we see in the during this time, even people were scattered. Right. So how we can take it like even this applies now. Yeah. So after 38 we are seeing nations were coming. My it can be for that time also. Right. So how we can be sure like we can take it now also. Yeah. So there is what we say a near term fulfillment. So there's a like many of these prophecy there will be a dual fulfillment. There's a near term and then there's a long term. Now the reason we say is equal 38 37 37 we know. Okay. The nation is was regathered. The reason we say is equal 38 is in the future. Two reasons. One at least two or three times in chapter 38. He says in the latter days. So he's using a phrase which of course we cannot give a day and time, but it's speaking of in the latter times in the later days. God will do this. That's one thing. The second thing is that this itself has not been fulfilled of even in the past because he mentions dog in my God mentions Turkey. He mentions Ethiopia, Libya and some other tribes. These will come and attack Israel. Right. So we know the Babylon, I mean, we know the Assyrians came. We know the Babylonians came. We know later on Israel was displaced by the Arabs or the Ottoman Turks. They're all from Iran or from the neighboring place. But he talks about from the far north. He talks about Rosh Meshach Tubal. He talks about Ethiopia and Libya joining them and Persia joining them. So that in itself we haven't seen yet. So two reasons is okay. We know there is a near-term fulfillment. Israel was dispersed from its land and they have been gathered. We know that. So there's a near-term. But there are some elements in Ezekiel 38 which are yet in the future because he says in the latter times and this is what's going to happen. So that's why it's okay. This is going to happen. Then we also say, okay, let us see what happens in the book of Revelation. So even in the book of Revelation, God says the river Euphrates will dry up so that the armies from the east will begin to come against Israel. Again, we see in Daniel chapter 12, actually chapter 11, I think. Let me just point out to you. We will study this next year. Yeah. In Daniel 11, he talks about, I'm looking at basically verses 40 to 45. When he talks about the king of the south, the king of the north coming against him and he will enter the glorious lands. Verse 44, news from the east and the north will trouble him. So this hymn that's being referred to is talking about the king and we will read the context. Look at it. It's talking about this king, this man who will speak blasphemies against God and when we compare it with earlier chapters of Daniel, Daniel 7, 8, and 9, we know that it is this antichrist who speaks blasphemies against God. And so he says here in verse 44, Daniel 11, 44, news from the east and the north will trouble him. So it goes along with Ezekiel 38, it goes along with Revelation 16. So we put it all together and say, okay, yeah. So there are certain prophecies, parts of Daniel 11, which is yet to be fulfilled and it goes with what we read in other passages of scripture. Yes, go ahead. Pastor, the whole world knows that the Israel belonged to Jews and there are archeological evidences also. Then why they want to divide the land? Everybody want to divide the land of the Jews but the truth is that this was theirs before. The world knows about it. Then why is that so again because God intended that? So the question, why do people want to divide up the land of Israel? So we go back in time. So we know that God promised Abraham, said, from the river Euphrates till the river Nile in the south, from the Mediterranean Sea to the river Jordan, that whole land I'm giving to you and your descendants. So God spoke, that is what Abraham believed he came. But when they came, they had to dispossess or displace the tribes who were already living there. And again, we can't prove this, but some people say that the Palestinians were the Philistines who were living there. So remember when King David came and Saul, I mean, not before even Saul, I mean, Saul was there and they had to fight against these Philistines, many tribes. Philistines is one of the tribes. So they came, they dispossessed, I mean, they conquered those other tribes like Jericho or all those and they had to conquer, meaning there were people living there, they had to fight and conquer and they dispossessed the land. So God promised them the land, but the Palestinians are there. Some people trace them back to the Philistines. So they also say we were here, right? So and they are there right now, the Palestinians are there. So they also are looking for a land or a place for them to live. Where will they go? So the whole question is how are we going to resolve this? Peacefully, the only solution that people can propose is, okay, you let them stay peacefully, you stay on your side, you let them stay on their side. Right, so that's the conflict going on. Any question from those online? Okay, another question on chat, in Matthew, referring to the days of Noah, it is talking of total disregard for the things of God and totally involved with themselves. Is this talking about the world in general or the church as well? So that we would take to refer to the world, right? So Noah's time, Noah feared God. So there was him and his family who feared God. But the people around, they mocked him, they laughed at him and they were living in total disregard of anything that Noah was saying. So when Jesus said, as in the days of Noah, is referring to the way the world would be, that they would be just living like that as in the days of Noah. This also is in line with what Paul wrote in 2 Timothy chapter 3, where he describes the condition of people in the latter times. Like he says, they will be without, let me just look at that. 2 Timothy 3, he says, verses 1 to 9, he says, in the last days, perilous times will come and men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money and so on and so forth, basically describing the condition of people in the last days, the people in the world. So that would be whom Jesus is referring to as in the days of Noah. For the church, the warning is, people will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. There will be a falling of it. So that's what we will see in the church, people falling away in the world as in the days of Noah. Any other questions? So we're going to stop here for today. Next week, I'm just going to do a full revision. I will start from the beginning, go through everything. So we may take one class or maybe two classes, full revision. So again, we'll be open to asking any questions. And then after that, I'll just give you one final exam. That's it. One exam will have three parts, as usual. One exam, which I'll put up after the next week's class, which will cover the whole thing. As usual, it's an open book exam, open Bible exam. But it's like a review. It'll start from beginning to end. Just check everything. Basically, be clear in your understanding of the end times and the sequence of events. So next week is going to be full revision. So please come prepared to ask any questions about the end times and what we have covered in this course. What we will do next here in the third year course is we will go into detail of Daniel and Rebellious. We'll read verse by verse. We'll explain everything. But that connected to what we learned in this course will give us a clear picture of the end times. We'll be very clear both. This is an overview course. That one is verse by verse. We will look at Daniel and Rebellious and other scripture passages. But next week, any questions, come prepared so we can take those questions. It is going to be, I think, will be our last lectures. After that will be on final exam. Let's close in prayer. Anyone can close in prayer, please. And we will dismiss. Father God, we thank you. We thank you and bless you for this time. You have given us a lot. Lord, help us to be very watchful and help us to cling more to Jesus and your word, Lord, in these last days. Father, we thank you and we bless you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, everyone. Enjoy the rest of your day. God bless. Bye.