 Okay, good morning everyone. Welcome to BC 213, our class or course on the end times. Let's take a moment to pray and we'll get started. May I request somebody to please pray? Anyone can take the mic and pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we come before Your throne, our Lord Father. We thank You for this day. We thank You for this time, our Lord Father, Lord, as we go on our dive into our classes, our Lord Father. We ask for Your guidance, our Lord Father, help us to learn, our Lord Father, more about Your Word. Give us Your Holy Spirit as a guidance, our Lord Father. We just submit everything into Your hands, our Lord Father. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, so the plan for today is first we will do a quick review of the whole course. I'll just go from start to finish quickly and then we'll open up for questions. Any questions, any clarifications you have, you might want. So the main purpose of this course is to give us a good overview of the end times. Okay, so in your mind you're clear. If somebody asks you, can you tell me what the Bible says about the end times? Then starting from today, like from where we are now, as a church, till new heavens and new earth, you should be able to explain, like give them an outline, right? So these are the things, the main things that will happen, you explain to them very clearly. So if you're able to do that, and of course, if you're able to point to passages in the Bible that this is where it says, that's a good thing. In our third year, we will get into more of book study, right? We study Daniel, study Revelation, more like a book study, go verse by verse. So the purpose in this course is to get an overview and then also the signs of the times. So if somebody asks you, how close are we to the coming of the Lord? What are the signs that you can point to? Then you can mention. These are the important signs that we are seeing. These were mentioned in the Bible, prophesied in the Bible, and that's why we are saying that they're very close to the end. So we should be able to answer these two questions. Mainly, what is the outline? What is the overview? What are the signs? Point to chapter in verse. Now in that process, of course, we answered some other questions. Why do we say there's a pre-tribulation rapture of the church? Why do we say that seven years of tribulation is in the future and all those kinds of things. So let's just do a quick review of the notes and the content that we covered and we will close with that. So we began in the introduction. You can follow with me if you have the notes. Basically, telling us why is it important to study end times. We looked at several reasons that God has revealed this to us in His Word. God has revealed it so that we could live carefully, watchfully, honorably before God. And we can live with hope knowing there's a great future. We can also know that Christ is triumphant over everything. We will proclaim the gospel. We understand that's our final responsibility. And this message of prophecy is also to be preached. So people also need to hear about prophetic scriptures. Then we talked about our approach in studying the end times, literal, then figurative. We don't engage in sensationalism, trying to cause fear and excitement. Suddenly this news happened that, no, no, just stay with the Word of God. And also we understand that there are different positions. Different people have different interpretations or positions and we respect them. It's okay. You can have that. But we explain what our position is and why we take that position. So we gave this outline, this little chart here on page 10. And this is the outline that you should be able to explain to people. This is a sequence of events and you can turn to chapter and verse to explain that. And then we also said, when we are interpreting scripture, we interpreted it looking at both the Old and the New Testament, full Bible, used biblical typology, recognized different timeframes, a near and far fulfillment. And we also recognize that our understanding is not perfect. I'm not saying this is perfect. No, this is the best, what to say, the best that we can share. It's possible we may be wrong, but the best of our understanding our study in the scriptures, we are sharing this. And there are some things we don't subscribe to. Lesson number one, the Bible prophetic book, we said, the Bible, there are so many prophecies that have already been fulfilled. Some prophecies have been given thousands of years in advance and some prophecies are almost impossible to be fulfilled. But we can see that these prophecies have been fulfilled. Therefore, we can rely on what the Bible is saying about the time to come. So that's the conclusion we draw on. So we point to some prophecies that have been fulfilled, some which are really amazing in terms of their fulfillment. And even concerning the prophecies of Christ, which almost seemed impossible, but they have been fulfilled. So we pointed to these and then we said, look, we therefore can rely on Bible prophecy concerning the end times. Then we looked at the Gospel passages, Matthew 24, the parallel passage in Luke 21. We went through that passage because that's the passage where the Lord Jesus gives most amount of detail concerning the end times. So Matthew 24, if somebody asks you about what did Jesus teach about end times? Matthew 24, you should go there. Paddle, Luke 21, any one of those passages. And then you explain, what did Jesus say about the end times? You should be able to explain Matthew 24. It's broken in three parts. One, there is the signs before the Great Tribulation. Then there is the section that is about what happens during the Great Tribulation when the abomination of desolation whom Daniel spoke about comes. Then the third section is about how to live in view of the end times. So Matthew 24 is broken into three sections. So you explain it like that. And so we went through that. And some terms that are used about the end times, the last days, the latter days, and so on. And that each of these terms has to be understood in the context in which it is used. The same term could mean something different in different contexts. And so we've given all these scripture references on page 21. Lesson number two, page 23, we said, okay, let's understand a little bit about the geography. So our focus is on the Middle East, right? So you need to, it's okay, something about the Middle East, the two main rivers, Tigris and Euphrates and the River Nile down in Egypt. But this is where things started with the Garden of Eden was here. And Abraham was called out of the earth of the Caledys somewhere near modern day Iraq. And then he journeyed all the way over into the land of Canaan, which consists mostly of modern day Israel. So we went through that. We give a little mention. We just made a mention that Daniel had prophesied about several coming world empires. We will study these in detail next year. But we made a mention of these and how the role they play in Bible prophecy. We also made a mention of Islam. Islam is very important because most of the nations around Israel are Muslim nations. And that's the reason for the conflict today. The big reason why there is conflict. Islam and the Arabs and the Jews. So we mentioned that and if you look at the map and you can see so many nations all around that are Arab nations. We also made mention of the European Union because it overlays or overlaps with what was known as a former Roman Empire. So this is the Roman Empire as it extended in its largest extent. And you can see that European Union overlays or overlaps with many of these places. So that's important from Daniel's prophecy. This is part of the part of the European Union. And then we also made mention of Russia. Because Russia is indirectly the tribes in Russia mentioned there in Ezekiel 38 which we looked at. Persia, Ethiopia, Gomer, parts of Eastern Germany, Togerma, Turkey. So these nations are mentioned, the tribes of these nations are mentioned. And kings from the east, which we saw mentioned later on in Revelation. We are just thinking that kings from the east were the big superpowers from the east. After Russia, China, Russia and China. And there will be lots of other nations as well who get involved. Megiddo with the valley of Jezreel where the Battle of Armageddon will be fought. Page 30, we have a map of that. We see where it is located north of Israel towards the northern part of Israel. And how the lineup of nations, the movement of nations towards the valley of Jezreel or the Battle of Armageddon would happen. There's a little map there and just for us to keep these things in mind. Then he focused on Israel, just a little bit of the history of Israel. Again, you're not getting into all the details, but just some key things. First of all, the land was promised to Abraham and his descendants. So God promised that land. So that's why it becomes very important that region from the river Euphrates to the river Nile. So God promised that. I will give this land to you. He promises land. So Israel eventually came and settled in that land. And a lot of things happened when they had kings and they were conquered, but they were restored, they were dispersed. And then eventually Israel was formed as a nation in 1948. So that's very significant. A little bit of that understanding of history and the six day war that was fought in 1967 is also important because that's the time Israel recaptured Jerusalem and to understand that there have been a lot of efforts to bring peace. So in terms of history, the re-gathering of Israel was prophesied almost 2,500 years ago, which was all fulfilled. And we understand the conflict that's going on now with Israel and its neighbors, page 39, the Philistines, Palestinians, Gaza and West Bank. So those are the areas that we need to be familiar about the Palestinian territories, therefore, which is a lot of conflict. And the Temple Mount is important going back in time. That's where Abraham brought Isaac to be sacrificed. King David purchased it. King Solomon built the temple on it. It was rebuilt. Herod enlarged it. The temple was destroyed. And then the Arabs built on top of it around 685 to 631. So that's where things stand today. But it has become a cause for a lot of problems. What's important is that for the last almost 30 years, Israel has been ready to rebuild a temple. They've been ready. So they've been making their efforts to be ready. So we just have to watch and see how things will happen. And also make mention about the Jewish settlements, where Israel is building on the land that they have. But the Palestinians claim as their own. And so this is, again, giving rise to conflict. So what the Bible does foretell about the future of Israel, which we also saw was Jerusalem will be a troubled spot. There will be a peace treaty for seven years, which will be broken in the middle of the seven years. There will be the tribulation happening. The second half of the tribulation is a great tribulation. There's a battle of Armageddon coming. And during the millennium Israel would be the center of worship. Jerusalem would be the center of worship. These are things the Bible foretells. So lesson number four, page 53, we did a full overview of the events. And along that we answered several questions. So we did an overview of things. And so we said the rapture of the church. Why do we say the fact that the word rapture comes from the Latin translation of the Bible? And so it is there, but in Latin. And how exactly this rapture will take place? What will happen? What will believers do seven years in heaven? What are some of the things we know? We listed them out and we said, we gave reasons why we believe in a pre-tribulation rapture of the church. So we looked at some scripture about the departure must happen before the man of sin is revealed, the promise to the church in Thessalonians, the promise to the church in Philadelphia, the church in Revelation, the typology used in Matthew 24, the chronology of the book of Revelation. We take it as it is and we see the sequence of events. Daniel's 70th week, refers to Israel, not the church. So it's just taken out of the way. And then we answered some questions in relation to the rapture of the church. So after that, we went into the book of Revelation and we just gave a chronological overview of the book of Revelation. So we started from chapter 1, Revelation 1 to 22, just looking at the sequence of things. We see that after church worshiping in heaven, the Antichrist being revealed, Revelation 6, peace treaty, temple, the seven seals beginning to open, 144,000 Jews, Revelation 7, the tribulation martyrs, Revelation 8, there is a lot of prayer happening from the earth. Then the seven trumpets, Revelation 9, people are still hard-hearted. Revelation 10 is a parenthetical chapter where John is told to eat this book. And then the next half of the tribulation, three and a half years when the Antichrist breaks peace treaty. So Revelation 11 to 19 is the second half of the tribulation. So keep that in mind. So that also must be very clear. Revelation 11 verse 1 is the middle of the tribulation. Then from there on in the second half. So the midpoint of the tribulation, we see about two witnesses and we suggested who those two witnesses could be. Revelation 12, the woman, the man-child and the dragon. Revelation 13, the rule of the Antichrist, Revelation, the beast, the false prophet and the dragon. Then Revelation 13 also talks about the global financial system and the mark of the beast. There's another parenthetical chapter in Revelation 14 where there are angels making the announcements. Revelation 15 and 16 continues with the seven bowls of judgment. Revelation 17 is a world religious system that collapses. Revelation 18, the global financial system collapses. That leads into the battle of Armageddon when Jerusalem is surrounded by armies coming in from all over the world. The way it'll happen is Russia will invade Israel from the north. They will be pushed back and then there will be all the kings of the east marching in. The nations gathering in for the final conflict which is the battle of Armageddon. You see the second coming of Christ, Revelation 19. With that everything is ended. Tribulation saints are raised and then there is the millennium which is the thousand year reign of Jesus. Satan is bound for a thousand years. We see a little bit about the life in the millennium, how it will be. The millennium temple worship will happen in the millennium temple. At the end of the millennium there is the great white throne judgment and then everything is renovated by fire and there are new heavens and a new earth, Revelation 21 and 22. That's a quick overview of things. The last part, chapter 5, what are some of the signs of the times? We went through some of these signs and I quickly mentioned them. Israel being formed as a nation. One generation will see these things. Jerusalem will become an epicenter of conflict which we are seeing happen in our day and time. The Temple Mount we look and see are they ready to rebuild because the temple has to be rebuilt. A ten nation alignment where ten leaders will then platform the Antichrist. They will help bring him to power. The possibility of a global currency system and identification system, both these are possible today very easily. How Russia, China, Iran and Turkey are all aligning themselves. We are seeing that and how they are all kind of working together. Number 7, peace talks and the plan to divide the land that seems to be the only way forward. Everybody is proposing that that will be the reason for the final conflict. The church coming to maturity, which is a wonderful sign because Jesus is coming back for a glorious church. The Gospel reaching all the nations. We are very close. Bring the Gospel to all peoples. We are also seeing increased persecution. There is deception and false spirituality. There is explosion of travel and knowledge. That's happening in our day and time. The other conditions like the global political condition, fear, hate, despair, earthquakes and other weather conditions, plagues and epidemics and the moral condition of man. All of these things are indicators of where we are. All these things, the last few things we said have been happening but they are escalating. They are getting worse in our day and time. Okay? So we've done quick review. Now please ask questions. Any questions? So let me ask you a question. Suppose somebody says, well, you know about Antichrist sitting in the temple. That is not a literal temple. It's a spiritual temple. And maybe that spiritual temple is the church. And so he comes and he troubles the church because church is the temple of God. And maybe there's some religious leader, Antichrist. How will you respond to that? So they're saying temple is not a literal temple. Second, temple could be the church and could be some very big religious leader, maybe a spiritual leader. He takes control and he becomes head of the church and he tells people to worship him and all that. What will we respond? Suppose that kind of teaching you here or interpretation. How will you respond to that? Seems convincing, no? Anybody online? Welcome to respond. So first point. They're saying temple is not a literal temple but a spiritual temple. So think of scriptures. They tell us that the temple is a literal temple, a physical temple. So 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, what Jesus also said, Daniel chapter 24 and also Revelation chapter 11 verse 1. So when Jesus said in Matthew 24, he said, when you see the abomination of desolation and he didn't say about the church, let me just turn to the exact verse, verse 15, therefore when you see, sorry, Matthew 24, 15, therefore when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place. So he's not referring to, he didn't say standing in the church or standing in the holy place. The context is very understandable. He's referring to a physical temple. Then you look at even what Paul wrote, 2 Thessalonians 2, and then we'll also look at Revelation 11-1. So if you look at what Paul wrote, 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 4. He's talking about the man of sin. 2 Thessalonians 2-4, he says, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worship, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. So where is he? He's sitting like God in the temple of God. So it's a physical temple. He's sitting, he didn't say he will sit in the church or sit in the temple of God. So it's a physical temple. Of course, we can also look at Daniel. Daniel is very clear. Daniel says the offerings will, they will begin to resume offerings day and morning and evening. So in Daniel's prophet is very clear that there is a physical temple, they are making sacrifices morning and evening, and then he will stop those sacrifices. So he's not talking about something spiritual, it's very clear. The morning and evening they're offering sacrifices that will be happening, and then this man will stop it. And then also Revelation 11, he clearly states they are going to be, so it says Revelation 11 1 onwards, the angels saying rise and measure the temple of God, the altar and those who worship there. So what you're going to measure? Measure the church. This is literal. Measure the temple and the altar, very clearly saying there is the altar, that is the place where sacrifices are being made. So Revelation 111, very clear. There is a physical temple, there's an altar, you measure it. So we can actually point to four different passages, which are saying that there has to be a physical temple, not a spiritual, this is a literal temple. And then for the second part we say, look, nowhere does it mention church, it is the temple, the holy place, the altar, talking about physical sacrifices. So it's not the church, it's the actual temple, Jewish temple. So just because the church is the temple of God, we can't replace it here, it's talking very clear. And also we can say, in Daniel 7, when Gabriel spoke to Daniel, sorry, Daniel 9, when Gabriel spoke to Daniel, he said, and he gave him that 490 years that we looked at, Daniel 9, 24 to 27, he gave that 490 year period, he clearly told them that this is concerning your people, your holy city, your people and your holy city, Daniel 9, 24. That means, whatever he said here, this 490 years, it's about your people and your holy city. Not about the church, your people and your holy city, Jerusalem. And in that context, he says in verse 27, Daniel 9, 27, he will confirm a candle with many for one week, in the middle of the week he will bring an end to sacrifice and offering. So he's going to stop the sacrifice, he's going to stop the offering. Whom is he talking about? Reference to your people and your holy city, not the church. So this offering, the sacrifice that he's going to bring an end to, very clearly mentioned, it's about Israel, not the church. So we can respond to those kinds of teachings or those kinds of ideas with scripture and say, look this is what the scripture says. That's why, suppose somebody says, when a believer dies, spirit, soul and body go to Heaven. So why? Because that moment itself, they are resurrected, they go to Heaven. Because Jesus already said, because I live, you will live. So when a believer dies, that moment itself, spirit, soul and body, he goes to Heaven. His body, he gets a resurrected body and he goes to Heaven. What will you say? So rapture is happening. Every time a believer dies, he's resurrected, he goes to Heaven. How you will refute that or respond to that? Every time, like when a believer dies, suppose, I'm just saying, okay, I'm not saying this is true, but I'm saying, suppose you hear some teaching. When a believer dies, now, because Jesus Christ already died and rose again and went to Heaven. So from that time on, whenever believer dies, immediately he goes to Heaven, spirit, soul and body, he gets a new body and he goes to Heaven. What chapter and verse, how will you respond? Here's the mic, please. When a believer dies, his soul will go, like his spirit, will go to Heaven, but he will not receive a glorified body. Because in Philippians chapter 3, Paul writes about we getting a glorified body. And also in John 14, Jesus tells that he will come and he will take us where he is. So we can use these two scriptures to tell that when a believer dies, he will not go to Heaven with his body and soul, but only his spirit will go to him. Okay, so give me some convincing chapter and verse that says, well, he's going to receive his resurrected body afterwards. Yeah, I see in Philippians 321, that's correct. Yeah, which you refer to that when Christ appears, then, you know, you're going to receive that. But what else? Some very convincing chapter and verse. Very important passage. Exactly. First, the Sonians 4, 13 to 18. Very important passage. It's saying when Christ comes, right, when he comes, then we will receive, you know, we will all be raised and we will receive glorified bodies. Very, very important passage. First, the Sonians 4, 13 to 18. Similarly, there is parallel passage, 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15, I think it's for T8 to 50 to 58. 1 Corinthians 15, 50 to 58. Again, it's parallel to 1 Thessalonians 4. Paul is describing what will happen, right? So that's very important. These passages very clearly say when Jesus returns, then we are going to receive glorified bodies. It's not when, as soon as we die, as soon as we die, our bodies will decay, but our spirit and soul go to be with Jesus. But when the Lord returns, we call it a secret coming. That's when 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 to 18 and 1 Corinthians 15, 50 to 58 take place, right? We receive glorified bodies, okay? So, suppose somebody says, I'm just saying example. Don't say I said it. I'm just saying example. Actually, Putin is the Antichrist. He's already on the earth. How will you respond? Or they could mention another leader. I'm just giving sign. So and so is the Antichrist. Some leader, maybe president of this country or that country, whatever, or some big religious leader. This man is the Antichrist. How will you respond to it? They could pick any name, right? And say, so and so is the Antichrist. Yeah, correct. So the Antichrist, the man of sin, will not be revealed until the church is taken out of the way. 2 Thessalonians 2. I also must say, good, right? It's very clear that he will not be made known until the church is taken out of the way. So don't try to guess this person, that person. Don't waste your time. If you will not know, you will not be revealed until the church is taken out of the way. Okay, that's our response. So if someone says the church is going from bad to worse, church is going from bad to worse, church is becoming even worse. So many denominations, so many things are happening, so many confusions. It is becoming worse. And with the end times, the church will become even more worse. What will you say? Yeah, so for Jesus to come, he's coming for a glorious church. He's coming for a mature church, a church that you know, like Ephesians 4, Ephesians 5, a church that is mature, that is growing up in all things to be like him, a church that is a glorious church. He's coming back for that kind of a church. So the church is not going worse. The church is getting more glorious. The reason he has put Apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers in the church is to mature the church, to make it more like Jesus. Yes, we may have different labels. We may have different expressions, how service may be conducted, those things, that's not the important thing. The important thing is, we all believe the same thing about the Son of God. We're coming to the unity of the faith, of the knowledge of the Son of God. How you sing, how you, which language you sing, what clothes you wear, that doesn't matter. We must come into the unity of the faith in the knowledge of the Son of God. That is the important. That is what God is worth. Bring us to that place. Making us all become more and more like Jesus. That is what he's working. So it doesn't matter whether you sit and sing or stand and sing, kneel and sing. Who cares what your expression is, which language, what style of music. Those things don't matter. Let me give you some name, some denomination. It doesn't matter. He's bringing us to the unity of the faith, the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man to be like Jesus. He's coming back for a glorious church. So there may be problems. There may be differences, all that. But the church is not getting worse. It's getting more glorious. So look at that. See what God is doing in the church. Okay. Yeah. So nowadays a lot of people are talking about artificial intelligence. What Bible sign is this artificial intelligence fulfilling? Correct. Daniel 12 verse 4. People will travel to and fro and knowledge will increase. So what artificial intelligence is doing is just like an explosion of knowledge. It is making more information available to us. There was internet, but this is taking many levels higher. You can ask any question. I'll give you an answer within seconds. So knowledge is available to everybody. You ask any question. You get to answer very quickly. So even artificial intelligence is being available to people. It's a fulfillment of Daniel. Chapter 12 verse 4. Gabriel told Daniel in the latter days, people will travel to and fro and knowledge will increase. See, it's happening. Never before, never before such so much knowledge available to people just by so easy. You don't even have to go to library. Just ask question. You'll get the answer. Knowledge is increased so much. It's the sign of any time professing. Yeah. Good. Any other question? I'm asking you all questions. Last question. Online students, any questions? So like regarding like anti-crime, you will create a one world like that. My question is like this. Any connection between bit currency like Bitcoin, crypto currency, anything like that. In the world, this is the trend. There is like more value, but it's a one coin, one currency. Any connection in that? I wouldn't answer like 100%, but I say it is possible. The reason I'm saying it's not 100% is because this whole crypto currency is like sometimes up, sometimes down. So many crashes have happened. So many fraud and cheating has happened. So that's why people are very, on one hand people are excited, one hand people are very scared. But cryptocurrency Bitcoin is like an unregulated market, meaning it's outside this current banking system. Our banking system is very regulated. Governments are controlling, governments are monitoring. This whole cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, which is completely digital, it is unregulated. Nobody is able to control. Nobody is able to monitor. On one hand, yeah, it gives access to things to anybody. Anyone can set up an account, start involving in it. But there's been a lot of ups and downs. So we have to wait and see. It could emerge into something or it might go away and something else might come. We don't know, but you just sort of wait and see where this goes. So that's why I say it's possible. They're not sure. Okay, so we'll close with this. Now, what is left is your assessment, one assessment. I will put it up. I'll work on it, I think by next week. And I'll send one email and you can do your assessment. You'll get your marks on that. And with that, the course is closed. So we have finished early, but make use of your time. Maybe just review the notes and study it. Okay, let's close. So there will be no more classes. Only left thing left is your assessment. When I put it up, I'll send an email. Most likely I'll plan to do it by next Tuesday. So then you'll have plenty of time to slowly do it for your course. Let's close. Somebody can pray and close, please. Father, we thank you for this day, for this time, Lord. Once again, we come to your presence, Lord. That's what we have discussed about all things, Father. Father, teach us deeply about your words, Lord Jesus. So we could apply and we could learn about 10 times more and more, Lord Jesus. Thank you for teaching us so far so far. Thank you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, thank you, everyone, for being part of the course. Join us next semester, next year, third year. We'll do a course on Daniel and Revelation. We'll get into a book study of Daniel and Revelation. Okay, thank you. God bless. Bye.