Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 696. Bible Study: Micah 7 (Resurrection, Return of Jesus/Yeshua, Wrath of God, Reign of Christ, End Times)

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696. Bible Study: Micah 7 (Resurrection, Return of Jesus/Yeshua, Wrath of God, Reign of Christ, End Times) · Faith by annm2705

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  I just realized that I forgot to go through the study Bibles,
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  questions and answers for chapter 6 of Micah.
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  So I will start that now and probably just go into Chapter 7
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  because that's the last chapter and then we will have completed
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  the book of Micah today. So I will go through questions
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  and answers from chapter 6. How could mountains judge the
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  Lord's complaint? Summoning witnesses was a
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  standard element of ancient treaties.
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  Micah personified the mountains and cast them in the role of
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  witnesses at a trial. Mountains assume a similar role.
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  In some ancient Near Eastern treaties.
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  Mountains seem unchanging and immovable, reliable and towering
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  above the world. If they were alive, they would
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  have seen and heard things from long ago and would have been
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  able to testify about ancient promises and covenants, and
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  would have been able to determine whether someone's
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  claims were true or false. God instructed Micah to appeal
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  to the mountains as witnesses in his divine lawsuit against his
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  disobedient people, adding drama and emotions to God's
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  accusations. So I brought you up out of
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  Egypt, Aaron and Miriam, For I brought you up out of Egypt, see
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  Exodus chapter 12, verses 40 through 42.
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  For I sent Moses to lead you, see Exodus 3, verse 10.
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  And for also Aaron and Miriam, see Exodus chapter 4, verse 27
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  and chapter 15, verse 20. So why did God recall these
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  events? God's people had accused Him of
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  mistreating them. God defended himself against
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  this charge by recalling how He had delivered them from slavery,
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  given them leaders, and protected them on their journey
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  to the Promised Land. History defended God's actions,
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  but also indicted the people for their lack of gratitude.
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  What? Let's see, why was Micah so
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  unsure of how to worship God? He wasn't unsure.
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  He knew that God requires pure, sincere worship.
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  Not worship through mere words of ritual, but worship through
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  one's lifestyle. With a bit of drama, Micah put
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  himself in the place of his listeners to ask these
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  rhetorical questions. Many thought God desired
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  sacrifice and ritual above all else.
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  Some even thought child sacrifice, my first born, the
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  fruit of my body, would gain the supernatural favor.
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  But Micah questions follow followed by his straightforward
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  declaration made it clear that neither the worship of false
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  gods nor empty rituals performed for the Lord made an impact on
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  God. Ethical living is what God
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  wants. Speaking practically, can a love
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  of mercy create a lack of accountability?
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  The love of mercy is not isolated from the other aspects
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  listed in chapter 6 verse 8, namely to act justly and to walk
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  humbly with our God. As these 3 character traits
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  mutually influence one another, they also counter the potential
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  abuse of 1 aspect in isolation from the others.
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  So we have justice, mercy, humility, and I have begun to
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  destroy you. That was referring to these
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  disasters echo the curses Moses said would come if the people
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  disobeyed. That's found.
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  The curses are found in Deuteronomy chapter 28, verses
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  38 through 42. And then it says, what does God
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  require of us? God wants his people to lead
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  lives that measure up to his moral and ethical standards.
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  Through Christ's death on the cross, not our good works.
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  God graciously saves us from the penalty of sin, but that's not
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  the end of the story. God saves us so that we might do
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  good deeds that exhibit His character.
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  He wants us to treat others fairly and compassionately.
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  He wants us to live humble, obedient lives.
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  Many of God's people in Micah's time failed to live up to God's
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  high standards. God had delivered the Israelites
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  from Egypt and established them as a nation.
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  He had called them to be a model society that would attract other
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  nations to Him. Instead, they had exploited the
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  the poor and selfishly pursued their own interest.
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  They had rebelled against God's authority and rejected His
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  prophets. Despite their crimes, many
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  Israelites actually thought their sacrifices and made them
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  pleasing to God. Micah attacked their faulty
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  thinking, saying that empty ritual means nothing to God.
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  God wants us to lead lives of genuine ethical and moral
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  integrity. What were the statutes of Omri?
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  Now I did kind of read more of that, but I didn't read the
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  question and answer from the study Bible.
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  So this is probably a reference to the perverted legal system
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  under Omri 1 of Israeli most wicked kings.
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  Short measures, dishonest scales, and false weights were
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  used by the rich and powerful to cheat the poor.
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  Unjust laws were yet another means used by unscrupulous men
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  to take advantage of others. What had Ahab done?
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  Besides worshipping idols, Ahab was greedy and cruel.
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  With the help of his wicked wife Jezebel, he cheated Naboth out
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  of Naboth's ancestral vineyard with bribes and trumped up
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  charges. Naboth was unjustly condemned
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  and executed for blasphemy and treason.
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  From the king on down, greed and dishonesty were commonplace in
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  both Israel and Judah. So now this brings us to Chapter
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  7, the last chapter of Micah. Dear Lord, please be with us as
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  we read through this so we can apply this to our life.
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  Let the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom, insight and revelation.
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  We ask for this in Jesus name. Chapter 7.
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  What misery is mine? I am like one who gathers summer
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  fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard.
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  There is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that
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  I crave. The faithful have been swept
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  from the land. Not one upright person remains.
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  When I had read this some time ago, I had written off to the
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  side, raptured question mark. Now, I don't think you know,
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  swept away. I don't really think that this
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  applies. But then again, maybe it does
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  because as you read on, it talks about the return of Jesus and
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  the Millennium reign and the wrath of God.
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  So it may refer to that. I'm not quite sure if it refers
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  to the resurrection of the gathering because it says the
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  faithful have been swept from the land.
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  No one upright remains. There is certainly the meaning
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  of no one is doing good anymore. And but I wonder if it's also a
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  prophecy of the future, like the timing of things.
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  Who knows, We'll find out in the end.
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  But everyone lies in wait to shed blood.
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  They hunt each other with Nets. Both hands are skilled in doing
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  evil. The ruler demands gifts.
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  The judge accepts bribes. The powerful dictate what they
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  desire. They all conspire together.
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  The best of them is like a Breer, The most upright, worse
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  than a thorn hedge. The day God visits you has come,
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  The day your Watchmen sound the alarm.
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  That's why I'm thinking this is like the return of Jesus.
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  It's a prophetic warning. It's insight to the future.
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  I do believe that people who have prepared themselves will be
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  taken out of the way prior to God's wrath.
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  And Jesus returns at the 6th seal in Revelation.
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  The description of what happens at that time is very is repeated
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  throughout lots of prophecies about the the sun turning dark
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  and the moon will not give its light and the stars fall from
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  the sky. And then there's this great
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  earthquake and it's the return of Jesus.
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  So all of that, and then the people see him and they realize
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  that the wrath is coming. The wrath of God is coming.
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  And it says that, you know, those who have prepared
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  themselves are not subject to God's wrath.
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  I do believe that people who have prepared themselves will
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  experience tribulation. How much of the tribulation, I
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  just don't know. But I know that we're not going
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  to be subject to God's wrath. So that's I know I'm getting a
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  little off the subject here, but it's just this is a prophet
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  talking to them and it the day God visits you has come.
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  I think about the return of Jesus.
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  The day your Watchmen sound the alarm.
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  That's when the Watchmen are like fall down on us mountains.
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  It talks about that in Revelation like cover us.
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  Do not let us be exposed to the wrath of God.
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  Now is the time of your confusion.
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  Do not trust a neighbor. Put no confidence in a friend,
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  even with the woman who lives in your embrace.
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  Guard the words of your lips, for a son dishonors his father.
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  A daughter rises up against her mother.
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  Jesus said this was going to happen and it's found in Luke
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  chapter 12, verse 53, a daughter-in-law against her
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  mother-in-law. A man's enemies are the members
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  of his own household. So isn't that I want to read
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  that also because that's, let's see Luke, I want to find that in
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  the Bible and read you that part.
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  Luke 12, verse 53. So it says they will be divided,
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  father against son and son against father, mother against
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  daughter, daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law
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  against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against
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  mother-in-law. So this is talking about there's
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  not going to be peace, but there will be division.
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  So this chapter, this is really interesting because in this
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  chapter there's 12 of Luke, there's warnings and
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  encouragement that this is Jesus.
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  There's a parable of a rich fool.
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  Again, Micah was just talking about the rich and he was.
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  So he talks about that. Jesus does.
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  And then he tells to his disciples, don't worry.
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  He says don't worry about it. And he tells them to keep watch,
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  to keep watch for this. And he says that there's not
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  going to be peace, but there's going to be division.
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  And then he talks about interpreting the times.
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  So he gives us, you know, insight into the end time.
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  So there's kind of like a mirror of Micah talked about like Jesus
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  is talking about it in Luke chapter 12.
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  So I'm not sure if I should read that whole chapter.
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  I'll save that to the end. Maybe I'll read that chapter.
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  But I'll continue on with Micah. But As for me, I watch.
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  Remember, God says, Jesus says to watch.
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  I watch and hope for the Lord. I wait for God, my Savior.
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  Well, who is the Savior? Jesus, right?
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  My God will hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemy.
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  Though I have fallen, I will rise.
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  Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.
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  Because I have sinned against Him, I will bear the Lord's
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  wrath, not the tribulation. Well, I mean for believers, but
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  those who because of sin against Him, I will bear the Lord's
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  wrath. Those who have not turn to God
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  until He pleads my case and upholds my 'cause He will bring
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  me out into the light, I will see His righteousness.
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  Then my enemy will see it, and will be covered with shame.
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  She who said to me, Where is the Lord your God?
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  You know, like people will. You know, people say that today,
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  don't they? You know, like it's been 2000
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  years, Jesus hasn't returned. You know, that's you hear that
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  Matthew 24 and 25 talks about the end times.
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  Maybe I'll read that part too. My eyes will see her downfall
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  even now. She will be trampled under foot
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  like mirror in the streets. The day for rebuilding your
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  walls will come. The day for extending your
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  boundaries. Okay, this is the end times.
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  This is when Jesus returns. Jesus is going to extend the
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  boundaries because God is faithful.
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  God promised the Israelites certain boundaries of land which
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  are in conflict right now, and they're talking about giving
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  Israel less land right now as a part of the negotiation process.
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  We'll see what happens if Jerusalem gets divided up in
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  this two state solution thing. We'll see if that happens
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  because that's, you know, maybe that's the path to this fake
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  piece that is talked about in the Bible that there's, you
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  know, their division, not not peace is going to be coming when
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  that happens because it will happen because the Bible says
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  it. The Bible in Revelation says
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  that for 42 months that's going to occur.
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  So anyway, this is, you know, this is talking about end times.
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  In that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities
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  of Egypt and even from Egypt to the Euphrates and from sea to
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  sea and from mountain to mountain.
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  You can read more about that in Revelation chapter 21.
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  The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants as
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  the result of their deeds. So again, we bring on the
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  consequences, Our sin brings on the consequences.
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  This is by the law. It's kind of a continuation of
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  what I talked about in during the Micah chapter 6 reading.
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  But Isaiah will talk about this again, and Isaiah is going to be
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  our next book, and it talks about the earth becoming
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  desolate because of its inhabitants.
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  Now I've noticed in the Bible that the inhabitants are the
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  ones that I believe the inhabitants don't really.
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  It's not everybody here on earth, but the inhabitants are
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  the people who have not yet turned to God.
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  OK, shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your
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  inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile
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  pasturelands. Let them feed in Vishon and
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  Gilead, as in days long ago, as in the days when you came out of
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  Egypt. I will show them my wonders.
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  Now here again, this is God's restoration, his restorative
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  process. He is going to show wonders.
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  This will come about in the future.
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  When Jesus returns, the earth will be restored.
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  First it will be destroyed, then it will be restored and Jesus
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  will reign as king for 1000 years.
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  Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power.
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  So when has this happened before that all the nations are going
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  to see this and they're going to be deprived of all their power.
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  That's going to be at the second coming when Jesus returns.
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  That's that's when that happens. They will put their hands over
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  their mouths and and their ears will become death.
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  They will lick the dust like a snake like creatures that crawl
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  on the ground. They will come trembling out of
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  their dens. They will turn in fear to the
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  Lord our God and will be afraid of you who is a God like you who
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  pardons. Now here starts talking about
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  how God is so loving, who is a God like you who pardons sin and
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  forgives the transgressions of the remnant of his inheritance.
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  You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy.
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  So God shows mercy. He doesn't.
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  He doesn't stay angry forever. He gives forgiveness.
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  He is merciful. He is.
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  You will again have compassion on us.
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  You will tread our sins under foot.
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  So God hates sins, but he loves the people and hurl our
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  iniquities into the depths of the sea.
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  You will be faithful to Jacob and show love to Abraham as you
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  pledged on oath to our ancestors in the days long ago.
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  So that's the future God is going to restore.
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  Jesus is going to reign from Jerusalem and the Israelites
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  will be back in the land and the Israelites will multiply even
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  more. They will have their boundaries
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  stretched out to what God had promised.
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  God is a God of his word. He will accomplish these things.
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  He's given clues and it really does from the clues that he's
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  given and from the ancient beliefs of the, the ones who
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  followed there, there is a, there is a time frame.
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  I mean, there's, and there's symbolism in God's ultimate
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  plan, but our calendars have messed up and nobody knows what
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  day it is because there's so many calendars and there's been
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  so many influences it in it. We all kind of get the concept
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  of it. There's 6000 years for man and
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  then the 7th year, the seven, the last thousand years is when
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  Jesus is going to reign. We are approaching that end of
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  the 6000 year mark right now. And there because of all the
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  different, it's probably from the evil who wants to destroy
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  humans and not let people know where we are in time.
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  There are some calendars out there.
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  OK, so if you look at this is really interesting, if you look
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  at what the Essenes, they were a religious sect who believed
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  about the Messiah. They believed, you know, the
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  word of God and they, they actually had a calendar and
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  according to their calendar, which was found in the Dead Sea
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  Scrolls, we are at the year 5950.
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  So the year 6000 is 50 years away from now.
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  So that's probably our maximum amount of time here on earth.
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  Apparently some people who have been studying the Dead Sea
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  Scrolls and the ancient Essenes beliefs, they've looked in the
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  Bible and found that the the prophecies that were in there
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  and the dates that they had on the calendars actually lined up.
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  According to historical records like these are accurate.
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  So you know, not everybody believes the Dead Sea Scroll is
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  accurate, but you know these I don't know that's the one that I
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  believe right now is is probably the most accurate.
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  It probably could be off a few years, but who knows.
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  And that's another thing why we we can't really know the date
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  when Jesus will return, but we know that it's getting close.
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  So the Essenes from their calendar, they would believe
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  that in the next 50 years Jesus is going to return.
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  Now Gregorian calendar, we are in 2025.
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  Who knows? That is just not even, I don't
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  even know where we, I guess we started from the arrival of
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  Jesus, but that's off like several years because of people
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  who modified the calendars. So I guess we're basically
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  counting from from when Jesus arrived the first time.
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  That's what where that calendar comes from.
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  And that is you have to figure out like what was prior to that,
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  like how many years existed before Jesus arrived.
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  So our Gregorian calendar of 2025 doesn't really tell us a
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  whole lot. Then we have the the Jewish
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  dates they follow and we are in the year 5785.
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  So that gives you a few 100 years that into the future
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  before we get to the 6000 mark. And there's a lot of people in
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  that believe in Judaism, that believe that the Messiah will be
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  coming soon. There's, you know, more so than
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  in prior years. It seems like there's a belief
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  in that. And, and it's still early, you
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  know, like the according to their calendar, there's a few
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  100 years until we get to the 6000 mark.
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  So as you can see that there are lots of projections, estimations
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  and guesses about where we are in this timeline.
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  But I think for the most part, people who study the Bible, we
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  do believe that we are given, mankind is given 6000 years for
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  this time period and that it is approaching the end.
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  It is approaching when Jesus will return and become the ruler
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  over the entire earth, 1000 years.
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  And so people are like looking forward to that and, and God
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  does and want us to be watchful in every in every generation to
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  do that. So I will go over the questions
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  and answers for this Chapter 7 and then determine if I'm going
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  to read Luke and Revelation also.
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  So, Chapter 7. What kind of summer fruit could
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  a person gather? Summer fruit was rare.
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  They included figs and grapes, which ripened late after the
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  regular harvest was over. Occasionally someone walking
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  through the trees or vineyards could find such fruit.
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  Micah used this image as a picture of his search for any
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  godly people who might yet remain faithful to the Lord.
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  He was disappointed to not find to find not one upright person.
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  All he found were breeders and thorns, a generation of violent,
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  dishonest and greedy men. What was special about early
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  figs? In ancient Israel there were two
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  fig crops each year. The early figs ripened in June
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  and were considered a delicacy. The second crop ripened in
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  August or September and was dried and stored for the winter.
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  So that's always interesting when you think about harvest and
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  you think about the symbolism of literal events and future
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  prophetic meanings, just to keep that in mind.
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  That's another thing about when the fig tree drops its leaves,
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  you know, about the season. So I think these things do tell
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  us something about the the season of the return, but it's
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  not going to give us what year. What is the day your Watchmen
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  sound the alarm? The coming day of judgment.
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  Some think the Watchmen represent the prophets who
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  warned of judgment if if the people did not repent.
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  Others think they refer to the guards on the city's walls, they
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  would be the first to spot the Assyrian invaders on the day of
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  judgment. Well, I believe both of those
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  are true because if you when you study Scripture, you find out
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  that literal events had symbolic significance.
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  Significance and symbolic prophetic significance often.
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  So what did Micah expect from God in spite of coming
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  judgement, Micah anticipated a day when God would vindicate the
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  righteous and restore Israel. He expected the reborn nation to
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  be a righteous. 1 Characterized by justice, Micah essentially
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  spoke on behalf of the few righteous people who remained,
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  those who were trusting in God no matter how bleak the
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  circumstance. How did Micah fall?
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  Michael was playing the role of Jerusalem, which in turn
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  represented the entire nation of Israel.
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  It was Jerusalem, not Micah, that faced destruction.
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  It would be defeated and its citizens carried away into
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  exile. Still, in spite of the impending
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  judgement, Micah offered hope God would eventually lift
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  Jerusalem up. He would bring light into dark
• 26:17
  times until he pleads my case. Earlier God had brought charges
• 26:23
  against Israel in the future, the Lord would plead Judah's
• 26:27
  case like a defense attorney. So that's kind of interesting
• 26:31
  too because that's where Jesus is the mediator.
• 26:34
  He is the one that that becomes the the mediator basically of
• 26:40
  the the trial, that of judgement with God the Father.
• 26:45
  Why would God plead on behalf of the one He had charged?
• 26:49
  Though His people may be unfaithful, God never is.
• 26:53
  Because of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God
• 26:57
  remained committed to His people.
• 26:59
  Though for a time He disciplined His people for their sins, He
• 27:04
  also promised that He would vindicate them before the
• 27:08
  hostile nations that had taken advantage of their weakness.
• 27:12
  Why would it be desirable to feed in Bashan and Gilead?
• 27:16
  This area, which was located east of the Jordan River, was
• 27:20
  well known for its grazing lands and fine cattle.
• 27:23
  Micah asked God to provide for Israel's needs as he had done in
• 27:27
  the earlier times. He compared God to a shepherd
• 27:30
  and exiled Israel to a flock of sheep.
• 27:33
  Micah asked God to lead His sheep to bountiful feeding
• 27:36
  grounds of Bashan and Gilead. How did Micah view God?
• 27:42
  Micah saw not only God's judgement but also his mercy.
• 27:46
  He prophesied that God would eventually restore Israel even
• 27:49
  though judgement would come first and that still remains for
• 27:52
  us as well. Micah praised God for his
• 27:55
  compassion and willingness to forgive.
• 27:57
  He saw how great, how God's great mercy and faithfulness set
• 28:03
  him apart from the other so-called gods of the
• 28:06
  surrounding nations. Who is a God like you?
• 28:09
  Micah asked. Perhaps a deliberate pun on
• 28:11
  Micah's name. Which means, who is like the
• 28:14
  Lord? How would God trample Israel's
• 28:18
  sin under foot? Through forgiveness, a divine
• 28:22
  act in spite of sin. Forgiveness does not mean that
• 28:26
  our sin is inconsequential, nor does it mean that our sin is
• 28:31
  ignored. Rather, it means that
• 28:34
  restoration of our relationship with God is possible because of
• 28:39
  God's grace. The guilty are pronounced
• 28:42
  innocent because the innocent one, Jesus Christ, took the
• 28:47
  guilt on himself. When we are restored to God, it
• 28:52
  is as if God has tread our sins under foot.
• 28:57
  What was this oath that God had pledged years before?
• 29:01
  God had promised to make Abraham and Sarah a great nation whose
• 29:05
  faithfulness would bless all the nations of the world.
• 29:09
  That oath is renewed here. Though Israel had difficulty
• 29:13
  keeping her promises, God remained true to His covenant,
• 29:18
  and He will remain faithful to all believers.
• 29:21
  For all believers are ultimately included in this promise and we
• 29:27
  can find and that if we go to Romans chapter 4 verse 16
• 29:32
  through 17, Galatians chapter 3 verses 7 through 9 and 26
• 29:40
  through 29, and Hebrews Chapter 11 verse 12.
• 29:45
  So that concludes the Chapter 7 of Micah.
• 29:51
  I am going to continue now with Luke chapter 12 that we
• 29:56
  referenced and also probably Matthew 24 and 25, which I may
• 30:00
  just read, and maybe Revelation 21.
• 30:03
  So if you don't want to go into all of that, I know this podcast
• 30:06
  will get long, but if you're interested, you can stick around
• 30:08
  for this. So this is warnings and
• 30:11
  encouragements from Luke chapter 12.
• 30:14
  Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered so that
• 30:17
  they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak
• 30:20
  first to his disciples, saying, Be on guard against the yeast of
• 30:24
  the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
• 30:27
  There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden
• 30:30
  that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark
• 30:33
  will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in
• 30:36
  the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
• 30:40
  I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the
• 30:43
  body and after that can do no more.
• 30:45
  But I will show you whom you should fear.
• 30:48
  Fear Him. Who after your body has been
• 30:51
  killed, has authority to throw you into hell?
• 30:54
  Yes, I tell you, fear Him. Are not 5 sparrows sold for 2
• 31:00
  pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten
• 31:03
  by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your
• 31:07
  head are all numbered. Don't be afraid, you are worth
• 31:12
  more than many sparrows. I tell you, whoever publicly
• 31:16
  acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also
• 31:21
  acknowledge before the angels of God.
• 31:25
  But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before
• 31:30
  the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word
• 31:33
  against the Son of Man will be forgiven.
• 31:36
  But anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not
• 31:41
  be forgiven. I always found that interesting
• 31:44
  that, you know, if you speak a word against Jesus, you'll be
• 31:46
  forgiven. But anyone who blasphemes the
• 31:49
  Holy Spirit, that's the one sin that's not, that's the Spirit of
• 31:51
  God. So that's a rejection of God.
• 31:54
  That's why that will not be forgiven if you blasphemy the
• 31:57
  Holy Spirit. But if you say, well, Jesus, I
• 32:01
  mean, because there's going to be people or there are people
• 32:03
  who don't believe Jesus is the Son of God and don't believe
• 32:07
  that Jesus did all this, but the people, the Jewish people
• 32:11
  basically. And they will, when God opens
• 32:16
  their eyes and they realize when Jesus actually returns, then
• 32:21
  they will see that he is who he said he was.
• 32:27
  And so that's why I think that this, this says it.
• 32:30
  And anyone who speaks Jesus spoke this and everyone who
• 32:33
  speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven.
• 32:36
  So they will ask for forgiveness.
• 32:37
  They'll be forgiven, but they just can't blasphemy against the
• 32:41
  Holy Spirit or mock the Holy Spirit.
• 32:43
  Or, you know, blasphemy is probably a word we should look
• 32:45
  up to see what exactly that means.
• 32:49
  So when you are brought before synagogues, rulers and
• 32:52
  authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves
• 32:55
  or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at
• 32:59
  that time what you should say. Then Jesus tells a parable of a
• 33:03
  rich fool. Now in Micah we were talking
• 33:05
  about how the rich were dishonest and doing all these
• 33:07
  things. So it's kind of applies to Micah
• 33:09
  as well. OK, someone in the crowd said to
• 33:12
  him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.
• 33:16
  Jesus replied, man, who appointed me a judge or an
• 33:21
  arbitrator between you. Then he said to them, watch out,
• 33:26
  be on guard against all kinds of greed.
• 33:30
  Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.
• 33:35
  And he told them this parable. The ground of a certain rich man
• 33:39
  yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, what
• 33:43
  should I do? I have no place to store my
• 33:45
  crops. Then he said, this is what I'll
• 33:47
  do. I'll tear down my barns and
• 33:50
  build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.
• 33:54
  And I'll say to myself, You have put me up grain laid up for
• 33:58
  years. Take life easy, Eat, drink and
• 34:02
  be merry. But God said to him, You fool,
• 34:07
  this very night, your life will be demanded from you.
• 34:10
  Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?
• 34:14
  This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for
• 34:18
  themselves but is not rich toward God.
• 34:23
  So our stuff, our possessions are really ultimately given to
• 34:26
  us by God, either through the skills that he gave us to
• 34:30
  acquire those things. And the question is, what are we
• 34:33
  doing with the resources that God ultimately gave us?
• 34:38
  Are we storing them up for ourselves?
• 34:39
  Are we being selfish with it? Because naked we came into this
• 34:43
  world and naked we leave. That's what Scripture says.
• 34:46
  So the stuff we're accumulating is not going with us anywhere.
• 34:51
  It's a resource and should be used for God or for others.
• 34:56
  I mean, that's what God wants us to do.
• 34:58
  So, and we never know when our time is going to be up.
• 35:01
  When God calls us to eternity, do not worry.
• 35:08
  So then Jesus said to his disciples, Therefore I tell you,
• 35:11
  do not worry about your life. What you will eat are about your
• 35:14
  body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and
• 35:18
  the body more than clothes. Consider the Ravens.
• 35:21
  They do not sow are reap. They have no storeroom or barn,
• 35:26
  yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable are
• 35:30
  you are than birds? Who of you can add a single hour
• 35:34
  to your life? Since you cannot do this very
• 35:37
  little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
• 35:40
  Consider how the wildflowers grow.
• 35:43
  They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon
• 35:48
  in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
• 35:52
  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here
• 35:56
  today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more
• 35:59
  will He clothe you, you of little faith?
• 36:03
  And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink.
• 36:07
  Do not worry about it, for the Pagan world runs after all such
• 36:12
  things, and your Father knows that you need them.
• 36:16
  But seek His Kingdom, and these things will be given to you as
• 36:21
  well. Do not be afraid, little flock,
• 36:25
  for your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom.
• 36:30
  Sell your possessions and give to the poor.
• 36:33
  Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out a
• 36:35
  treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes
• 36:40
  near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is,
• 36:46
  there your heart will also be. Now he talks about watchfulness.
• 36:51
  Be dressed and ready for service and keep your lamps burning.
• 36:55
  Like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding
• 37:02
  banquet so that when he comes and knocks, they can immediately
• 37:07
  open the door for him. This has a lot of symbolism of
• 37:10
  Jesus returning, and it's interesting.
• 37:12
  This is like your servants waiting for their master.
• 37:14
  So we're the service of Jesus to return from a wedding banquet.
• 37:19
  That's interesting. From a wedding banquet.
• 37:21
  It's not before the wedding banquet.
• 37:23
  It's from a wedding banquet so that when he comes and knocks,
• 37:28
  they can immediately open the door for him.
• 37:31
  It will be good for those servants whose master finds them
• 37:35
  watching when he comes. Truly, I tell you, He will dress
• 37:39
  himself to serve, will have them recline at the table, and will
• 37:43
  come out and wait on them. It will be good for those
• 37:47
  servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the
• 37:54
  middle of the night or toward Daybreak.
• 37:57
  So again, this is about the return of Jesus.
• 38:00
  But understand this, the owner of the house, had he known at
• 38:03
  what hour the thief was coming, he would have not let his house
• 38:06
  be broken into if the owner of the house.
• 38:09
  So you also must be ready because the Son of Man will come
• 38:15
  at an hour when you do not expect him.
• 38:18
  So it's going to be a surprise to all of us when Jesus
• 38:21
  eventually returns. Peter asks, Lord, are you
• 38:25
  telling this people to us or to everyone?
• 38:29
  The Lord answered. Who then is the faithful and
• 38:32
  wise manager whom the Master puts in charge of his servants
• 38:36
  to give them their food allowance at the proper time?
• 38:40
  Like Jesus talks about the bread of life, These are people, the
• 38:43
  servants giving their food allowance.
• 38:45
  This is not about food necessarily.
• 38:48
  It's about giving them the bread of life.
• 38:53
  The word about Jesus, about how to receive eternal life and what
• 38:58
  needs to be done. These are servants of God.
• 39:01
  It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so.
• 39:04
  When he returns, Truly, I tell you, he will put him in charge
• 39:08
  of all his possessions. But suppose the service, the
• 39:11
  servant says to himself, My master's taking a long time in
• 39:15
  coming. And then he begins to beat the
• 39:18
  other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and
• 39:22
  get drunk. So he, he's like, oh, he's, it's
• 39:26
  been too long. It's like it's been 2000 years.
• 39:28
  Jesus hasn't returned. I mean, that's the kind of
• 39:30
  thought. And then other servants, they're
• 39:32
  like, OK, I'm just going to do things for myself and then I'm
• 39:36
  going to beat up on the other servants, people who are doing
• 39:38
  God's will. So interesting words in in this
• 39:43
  parable that Jesus is told the servant, the master of the
• 39:47
  servant will come on a day when he's does not expect him again
• 39:51
  tells us we're not going to know and at an hour he is not aware
• 39:55
  of he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the
• 39:59
  unbelievers. The servant who knows the
• 40:02
  masters will and does not get ready, or does not do what the
• 40:08
  master wants, will be beaten with many blows.
• 40:12
  So we need to know God's will. We need to get ready.
• 40:16
  That's what Jesus is saying. You need to be ready.
• 40:19
  Can't take your faith lightly, need to be ready for this when
• 40:25
  Jesus returns. But the one who does not know
• 40:28
  and does thing deserving will be beaten with a few blows.
• 40:32
  From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded, and
• 40:37
  from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more
• 40:41
  will be asked, not peace but division.
• 40:45
  Again, Micah talked about this. I have come to bring fire on the
• 40:48
  earth, and how I wish it were already kindled, but I have a
• 40:53
  baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it
• 41:00
  is completed. This was before Jesus died on
• 41:03
  the cross, when he was sharing this with everybody.
• 41:06
  Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth?
• 41:08
  No, I tell you. But division.
• 41:12
  From now on there will be 5 in one family divided up, divided
• 41:16
  against each other, three against two and two against
• 41:19
  three. They will be divided, father
• 41:21
  against son and son against father, mother against daughter
• 41:24
  and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against
• 41:26
  daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against
• 41:28
  mother-in-law. Interpreting the times, he said
• 41:31
  to the crowd, when you see a cloud rising in the West,
• 41:36
  immediately you say it's going to rain and it does.
• 41:40
  Isn't that interesting? Like I had recently heard this
• 41:45
  about how scientific meteorology actually was learned through the
• 41:52
  Bible in the early days because the the Airstream flow was
• 41:58
  recognized through biblical words.
• 42:00
  Like when you see a cloud rising in the West, I mean, how often
• 42:03
  do I see that? You know, if we know that jet
• 42:06
  stream patterns, that it comes from a certain direction, we
• 42:09
  know eventually it's going to rain based on what we observe.
• 42:13
  And so he's saying this to the crowd, when you see a cloud
• 42:16
  rising in the rest immediate in the West, immediately say it's
• 42:19
  going to rain and it does. And when the South wind blows,
• 42:23
  you say it's going to be hot. And it is like you can see these
• 42:28
  things. Hypocrites.
• 42:30
  You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky.
• 42:33
  How is it that you don't know how to interpret the present
• 42:36
  time? Why don't you judge for
• 42:39
  yourselves what is right? Are you going with your
• 42:43
  adversary to the magistrate? Try hard to be reconciled on the
• 42:48
  way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the
• 42:54
  judge turn you over to the officer and the officer throw
• 42:57
  you in person. I tell you, you will not not get
• 43:01
  out until you have paid the last penny.
• 43:05
  This is kind of like a word of warning.
• 43:06
  Like he's, he's basically saying, and I didn't catch this
• 43:10
  before, but just now I did. He's basically saying, you know,
• 43:14
  are you going with your adversary?
• 43:16
  Think about like Satan is the accuser to the judge to the
• 43:20
  magistrate, magistrate to the judge or Jesus or God the
• 43:23
  Father. Try hard to be reconciled on the
• 43:27
  way, like before we get to Judgement Day.
• 43:31
  Get reconciled on the way, or your adversary or Satan may drag
• 43:37
  you off to the judge and the judge turn you over to the
• 43:40
  officer and the officer throw you in prison.
• 43:42
  Hades, Hell, that's could be what happened if you don't do it
• 43:46
  before you get there. So I never got that
• 43:49
  interpretation in the past, but just now as I was reading it,
• 43:53
  that interpretation came to me. So that's really interesting.
• 43:57
  I want to also read you some signs of the times because we're
• 44:00
  on that subject and I know this is getting long, but it's
• 44:03
  worthwhile considering what we see in the world today.
• 44:07
  So I'm going to read Matthew 24 and Matthew 25 because these are
• 44:13
  also important for us to be cognizant of the times that we
• 44:18
  are living in. So this is the destruction of
• 44:21
  the temple and the signs of the end times.
• 44:23
  So Jesus, this is Jesus left the temple and he was walking away
• 44:28
  when his disciples came up to him to call to his attention.
• 44:31
  It's buildings. This is Matthew chapter 24.
• 44:35
  Do you see all these things? He asked.
• 44:36
  Truly, I tell you, not one stone will be left on another.
• 44:40
  Everyone will be thrown down. As Jesus was sitting on the
• 44:43
  Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately.
• 44:47
  Tell us, I said, when will all this happen?
• 44:51
  And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of
• 44:56
  the age? So the Essenes had this calendar
• 45:01
  that had this different ages. There was the creation age, the
• 45:05
  age of the Torah, of the law, and then the what people call
• 45:10
  the Church age. It was, you know, during the
• 45:12
  rain after not the rain, when Jesus died on the cross and when
• 45:16
  we became Christians, when he sacrificed for us, that there
• 45:19
  were these blocks of time. It was 2000 years, 2000 years
• 45:23
  and 2000 years creation, 2000 years to 2000 years for the law
• 45:27
  2000 years for the time of the the church that the completion
• 45:31
  of the church and those total 6000 years.
• 45:34
  So again, that's age we're in what people that study this call
• 45:40
  the church age. So going back to Scripture,
• 45:43
  Jesus answered, watch out that no one deceives you for many
• 45:47
  will come in my name claiming I am the Messiah and will deceive
• 45:51
  many. That's something that we're
• 45:53
  looking for, not looking forward to, but is prophesied to come in
• 45:57
  the future. There's going to be someone who
• 45:59
  claims to be God that's going to be standing on the holy ground
• 46:03
  in Jerusalem. So that is the person that
• 46:06
  people call the Antichrist. And so there's many people who
• 46:09
  are going to come along the way. There have been people who have
• 46:12
  claimed to be Jesus or you know, strange stuff like that, but
• 46:16
  there's going to be one who is going to deceive many.
• 46:20
  OK, so that we have not seen that ultimate person yet, but be
• 46:26
  watchful for this. This is what the prior Luke
• 46:30
  chapter 12 said. Be watchful for many will come
• 46:33
  in my name claiming I am Messiah and will deceive many.
• 46:36
  You don't want to be deceived. You will hear of wars and rumors
• 46:40
  of wars, but see to it that you're not alarmed.
• 46:43
  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
• 46:47
  So this isn't the end yet. Nation will rise against nation
• 46:50
  and Kingdom against Kingdom. There will be famines and
• 46:53
  earthquakes in various places. Earthquakes have been on the
• 46:56
  rise. There's a chart that actually
• 47:00
  got stopped being published because it was causing alarm to
• 47:03
  people because the increase in intensity and frequency of
• 47:07
  earthquakes has been on the rise.
• 47:11
  And So what Jesus says all these are the beginning of birth
• 47:17
  pains. So that's probably where we are
• 47:20
  right now. Perhaps then you will be handed
• 47:23
  over to be prosecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by
• 47:27
  all nations because of me. At that time, many will turn
• 47:31
  away from the faith and betray and hate each other.
• 47:35
  So this is this great apostasy, this disbelief that happened,
• 47:39
  and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people
• 47:44
  because of the increase of wickedness.
• 47:48
  The love of most will grow cold. I feel like we're experiencing
• 47:53
  that right now. Like the, you know, there is
• 47:56
  this like, I don't know, maybe it's it's turning around a
• 47:59
  little bit now, but we were certainly getting into, you see
• 48:03
  a lot of wickedness and love, lacking of love.
• 48:07
  But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
• 48:12
  And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole
• 48:16
  world as a testimony to all nations.
• 48:19
  And then the end will come. So the gospel of the Kingdom is
• 48:26
  is being preached everywhere. People will hear it at the end
• 48:30
  in Revelation, it says that an Angel, whether that's a
• 48:33
  messenger or what, but before the final destruction, everyone
• 48:38
  will have an opportunity to hear the word of God.
• 48:41
  In fact, it says like before the mark of the beast comes out, the
• 48:45
  Angel or the messenger goes out and tells everybody about the
• 48:49
  word of God. So people are warned ahead of
• 48:51
  time they're not going to accidentally take the mark of
• 48:54
  the beast. OK, so when you see standing in
• 48:58
  the holy place, the abomination that causes desolation spoken of
• 49:04
  through the prophet Daniel, let the reader understand.
• 49:08
  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
• 49:12
  Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the
• 49:16
  house. Let no one in the field go back
• 49:18
  to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those
• 49:21
  days for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
• 49:23
  Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the
• 49:28
  Sabbath, for then there will be great distress, unequalled from
• 49:35
  the beginning of the world until now, and never to be equaled
• 49:40
  again. That has not happened yet.
• 49:43
  So we see this order of things. There is going to be an
• 49:47
  abomination that causes desolation spoken out through
• 49:50
  the prophet Daniel. And when you see standing in the
• 49:57
  holy place, so this is like the prophet Daniel talks about
• 50:02
  several different things. This is someone I believe, who's
• 50:05
  going to be claiming to be God in the holy place.
• 50:08
  That's what it says. It doesn't say it's in a temple.
• 50:10
  It says in the holy place. So that is like on the Temple
• 50:15
  Mount. That's where this is going to
• 50:16
  occur. So somewhere on the Temple
• 50:18
  Mount, somebody is going to be standing in there.
• 50:21
  You might when we get to the prophet Daniel, that'll be a
• 50:24
  good book to read and we'll, you know, talk about that.
• 50:28
  Then it says, you know, there's going to be this great distress
• 50:30
  and just this flea when you see this.
• 50:32
  So somehow we are all going to see this.
• 50:35
  If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive.
• 50:41
  But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.
• 50:46
  So when we talked about getting to the 6000 year mark, sounds
• 50:51
  like God's going to shorten that time frame.
• 50:54
  It's not going to fulfill all the way to the 6000, but we'll
• 50:57
  see what happens. We'll know in hindsight.
• 50:59
  We won't really know in advance. And that time if anyone says to
• 51:03
  you, look, here's the Messiah or there he is, do not believe it.
• 51:07
  OK, so Jesus isn't returning yet.
• 51:11
  This is somebody fake. And then they start saying,
• 51:14
  well, he's here or he's there. Don't believe it, for false
• 51:18
  messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs
• 51:22
  and wonders to deceive if possible, even the elect.
• 51:26
  So it sounds like there's going to be these miracles and these
• 51:28
  supernatural things that happen could be the enemy, but there's
• 51:32
  in false prophets. So these people are probably
• 51:35
  inspired by evil and are able to do some things through the power
• 51:39
  of evil. See, I have told you ahead of
• 51:42
  time. So if anyone tells you there he
• 51:44
  is out in the wilderness, do not go out there or here He is in
• 51:47
  the inner room. Do not believe it.
• 51:50
  For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the
• 51:55
  West, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
• 51:59
  So Jesus is going to come in the clouds like lightning.
• 52:03
  People are going to see him. Remember, they're going to like,
• 52:05
  say, fall on us and all that kind of stuff.
• 52:08
  Wherever there is a carcass, let the there, the vultures will
• 52:11
  gather. Now listen to this immediately
• 52:15
  after the distress of those days so that we're this is where, you
• 52:21
  know, we're going to see the Antichrist.
• 52:23
  I mean, a lot of people think they're going to be raptured
• 52:25
  beforehand, but this is the scripture that, to me, proves
• 52:29
  that wrong. Immediately after the distress
• 52:32
  of those days. Remember, these are the distress
• 52:35
  that's unequaled from the beginning of the world until
• 52:37
  now, and never to be equaled again.
• 52:39
  Immediately after that happens, the sun will be darkened, the
• 52:44
  moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the
• 52:48
  sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
• 52:52
  Then will appear the Son of Man in heaven, and then all the
• 52:59
  people of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man
• 53:04
  coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
• 53:11
  And he will send his agents with a loud trumpet call, and they
• 53:18
  will gather His elect from the four winds, from one hand end of
• 53:25
  the heavens to the other. Now learn this lesson from the
• 53:32
  fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender
• 53:37
  and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
• 53:40
  Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near
• 53:45
  right at the door. Truly, I tell you, this
• 53:48
  generation who sees all these things will certainly not pass
• 53:52
  away until all these things have happened.
• 53:57
  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass
• 54:01
  away. This is like assuring us this is
• 54:05
  going to happen. Heaven and earth will pass away.
• 54:09
  So don't put too much stock in heaven and earth because there's
• 54:13
  a new Kingdom from God that will be coming down at some point,
• 54:16
  and Jesus's words will never pass away.
• 54:19
  This is going to hold true the day and the hour, unknown, but
• 54:23
  about that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in
• 54:27
  heaven, nor the Son, but the Father.
• 54:31
  So only God the Father knows about that day or hour.
• 54:37
  We might know the season, we might even know the year,
• 54:40
  because Scripture specifically says that day or hour.
• 54:45
  No one knows. No one's going to get it down to
• 54:47
  the day or the hour. Only the Father knows.
• 54:53
  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of
• 54:57
  the Son of Man. Here it describes what that was
• 55:00
  like in the days of Noah. For in the days before the
• 55:03
  flood, those were the days of Noah.
• 55:05
  People were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage
• 55:09
  up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
• 55:13
  They knew nothing about what would happen until the flood
• 55:19
  came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the
• 55:24
  coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in a field, one
• 55:29
  will be taken and the other left.
• 55:31
  So this is the gathering. That's why when he comes, that's
• 55:34
  when the gathering happens. He's coming on the clouds.
• 55:37
  We see the Antichrist, we see the person claiming to be God on
• 55:41
  the Temple Mount. There's an abomination, an image
• 55:43
  of some sort, some kind of idolatry that's set up in on the
• 55:47
  Temple Mount. And this is the sequence of
• 55:50
  events. And then you know, He sends out
• 55:53
  his angels. Two women will be grinding with
• 55:55
  the hand, with the hand mill. One will be taken and the other
• 55:58
  will be left. Therefore keep watch, because
• 56:01
  you do not know on what day, on what day your Lord will come.
• 56:06
  But understand this, if the owner of the house had known
• 56:09
  what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch
• 56:12
  and would have not let his house be broken into.
• 56:15
  So you must also be ready, because the Son of Man will come
• 56:20
  at an hour when you do not expect him.
• 56:23
  Who then is the faithful and wives servant?
• 56:26
  Who? The master is put in charge of
• 56:27
  the servants in his household, to give them their food at the
• 56:30
  proper time. It will be good for that servant
• 56:33
  whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
• 56:36
  Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his
• 56:38
  possessions. But suppose that servant is
• 56:41
  wicked, and says to himself, My master is staying away a long
• 56:45
  time, and then he begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat
• 56:49
  and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will
• 56:52
  come on a day when he does not expect him at in an hour he is
• 56:56
  not aware. He will cut him to pieces and
• 56:58
  assign him a place with the hypocrites.
• 57:00
  So there's a warning right now against hypocrites.
• 57:04
  Don't call yourself a Christian and then not live like a
• 57:08
  Christian because it says that when Jesus returns, he's going
• 57:12
  to cut that person to pieces and assign him a place with the
• 57:16
  hypocrites. The hypocrites where there will
• 57:19
  be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
• 57:22
  Hypocrites are going to be in hell.
• 57:24
  Pretty scary about how sincere we need to be in our faith.
• 57:29
  Now the parable of 10 virgins. This again talks about being
• 57:34
  ready, so it's very important. I'm just going to read Matthew
• 57:40
  25 because this is so important for us.
• 57:43
  The parable of the 10 virgins. At that time the Kingdom of
• 57:46
  heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went
• 57:50
  out to meet the bridegroom. So the bridegroom is Jesus and
• 57:55
  the parable, they took their lamps.
• 57:57
  They, they have them filled with oil.
• 57:59
  We'll find out the oil. I believe it's the Holy Spirit.
• 58:03
  They were anointed by God, anointed with the Holy Spirit.
• 58:06
  So at that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins,
• 58:10
  people who are prepared, who took their lamps and went out to
• 58:13
  meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and
• 58:15
  five were wise. What's the wise?
• 58:19
  The remember, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
• 58:23
  So five of them had the fear of God.
• 58:26
  Five of them were foolish. The foolish ones took their
• 58:29
  lamps, but they did not take any oil with them.
• 58:32
  Well, if oil is the anointing of the Holy Spirit, they left, you
• 58:36
  know, they don't have the Holy Spirit.
• 58:37
  They're preparing. They're like the hypocrites.
• 58:39
  They, they look like they're prepared, but they're not.
• 58:42
  They don't have any oil. They don't have the anointing of
• 58:44
  the Holy Spirit. The wise ones, however, took oil
• 58:47
  in jars along with their lamps. They are prepared.
• 58:51
  The bridegroom was a long time in coming.
• 58:53
  Jesus is a long time, you know, since he said he was coming,
• 58:56
  He's been a long time. And they all became drowsy and
• 59:00
  fell asleep. We're all kind of like in that
• 59:03
  same thing, you know, It's been a long time.
• 59:05
  At midnight the cry rang out. Here's the bridegroom come out
• 59:09
  to meet him. Then all the virgins woke up.
• 59:12
  All those people who got themselves ready, they woke up
• 59:15
  and they trimmed their lamps. The foolish one said to the
• 59:17
  wise, give us some of your oil, our lamps are going out.
• 59:21
  No, they replied, there meant not be enough for both of us.
• 59:24
  And and you instead go to those who sell oil and buy some for
• 59:31
  yourselves. So these are like the ones
• 59:34
  probably like the false prophets, you know, they're
• 59:36
  getting their, you know, they think they're saved, but they're
• 59:38
  not because they don't have the fear of God and they're, you
• 59:42
  know, getting oil from who sell the oil.
• 59:45
  You know who sell this stuff, you know, like you're not
• 59:47
  prepared. That's the way I take that.
• 59:51
  But while they were on their way to buy oil, the bridegroom
• 59:54
  arrived. The virgins who were ready went
• 59:56
  in with him to the wedding banquet and the door was shut.
• 1:00:00
  Later the others came. Lord, Lord, they said, open door
• 1:00:02
  for us. But he replied, truly I tell
• 1:00:06
  you, I don't know you. Therefore, keep watch because
• 1:00:10
  you do not know the the day or the hour.
• 1:00:13
  Now there's a parable about the bags of gold.
• 1:00:15
  Now this is Jesus saying all this stuff to his disciples,
• 1:00:18
  giving them pictures of things to think about in their mind so
• 1:00:21
  that they are prepared. Parable of the bags of gold
• 1:00:24
  again. It will be like a man going on a
• 1:00:27
  journey who is called his servants and entrusted his
• 1:00:30
  wealth to them. So Jesus goes on a journey.
• 1:00:33
  He has servants, his disciples, he's entrusted them with his
• 1:00:36
  wealth, the knowledge of the Kingdom of God.
• 1:00:40
  To 1 he gave 5 bags of gold, to another 2 bags and to another
• 1:00:45
  one bag each according to his ability.
• 1:00:49
  So God will give us things according to the the ability
• 1:00:51
  that he's given us. Then he went on his journey.
• 1:00:55
  The man who had received 5 bags of gold went at once and put his
• 1:00:59
  money to work and gained 5 bags more.
• 1:01:03
  So he's got, he's got the gold, he's got the wealth, he has the
• 1:01:07
  knowledge of the Kingdom of God, and he goes out to put it to
• 1:01:11
  work to bring others into the Kingdom and get, get more
• 1:01:15
  people, get more, achieve more. So also the one with bags of
• 1:01:22
  gold gained 2 more knowledge of the wisdom of of God's Kingdom.
• 1:01:28
  But the man who received one bag went off, dug a hole in the
• 1:01:31
  ground, and hid his master's money.
• 1:01:34
  After a long time, the master of the servants returned and
• 1:01:37
  settled accounts with them. The man who had received 5 bags
• 1:01:40
  of gold brought brought the other five.
• 1:01:42
  Master, he said, you entrusted me with five bags of gold, see,
• 1:01:45
  I've gained five more. His master replied, Well done,
• 1:01:49
  good and faithful servant, you have been faithful with a few
• 1:01:51
  things. I will put you in charge of many
• 1:01:53
  things. Come and share your master's
• 1:01:55
  happiness. The man with two bags of gold
• 1:01:58
  came. Master, he said, you entrusted
• 1:01:59
  me with two bags of gold. See, I've gained 2 more, his
• 1:02:03
  master replied. Well done, good and faithful
• 1:02:05
  servant, you have been faithful with a few things.
• 1:02:07
  I will put you in charge of many things.
• 1:02:09
  Come and share your master's happiness.
• 1:02:12
  Then the mass. Then the man who had received
• 1:02:14
  one bag of gold came. Master, he said, I knew that you
• 1:02:17
  were a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown, and
• 1:02:21
  gathering where you have not scattered seed.
• 1:02:23
  So I was afraid, and I went out and I hid your gold in the
• 1:02:28
  ground. See, here's what belongs to you,
• 1:02:31
  his master replied. You wicked lazy servant.
• 1:02:36
  So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where
• 1:02:41
  I have not scattered seed? Well then you should have put my
• 1:02:45
  money on deposit with the bankers so that when I returned
• 1:02:49
  I would have received it back with interest.
• 1:02:53
  See, he's saying like you could have done something that would
• 1:02:55
  have generated a little bit, but you did nothing with what you
• 1:02:59
  were given. So that's what we have to
• 1:03:00
  remember too. Like what has God-given to us
• 1:03:03
  and how are we using it for His Kingdom?
• 1:03:07
  So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has
• 1:03:12
  10 bags forever has will be given more and they will have an
• 1:03:18
  abundance. Whoever does not have even what
• 1:03:21
  they have will be taken from them.
• 1:03:23
  And throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness where
• 1:03:30
  there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
• 1:03:32
  So if we're not doing anything to bring others into the Kingdom
• 1:03:35
  of God, we are not workers, we are not giving bread, our food
• 1:03:39
  to people who need to know about the Kingdom of God.
• 1:03:42
  So this is an inspiration to all of us that we need to figure out
• 1:03:46
  who can we enlighten with the knowledge of the Kingdom of God
• 1:03:51
  so that they can be in the Kingdom of God.
• 1:03:53
  It is, as you can see here, it is something that Jesus calls us
• 1:03:57
  to do to get others ready for the Kingdom of God, to share the
• 1:04:03
  Kingdom of God with others. And there is going to be an
• 1:04:06
  accountability that come when Jesus returns.
• 1:04:09
  He's going to look at what we've done with what he's given us.
• 1:04:13
  Continues on about the sheep and the goats.
• 1:04:15
  Now the sheep are the followers of Jesus and the goats are the
• 1:04:18
  ones who reject Jesus. I mean, the goat is often, you
• 1:04:22
  know, very symbolic of evil and satanic things, which is always
• 1:04:27
  too interesting. So when the Son of Man comes in
• 1:04:32
  his glory, this is when he returns, and all the angels with
• 1:04:36
  him, He will sit on his glorious throne.
• 1:04:38
  So he's on his throne in the clouds.
• 1:04:40
  That's what it talks about. When he returns, all the nations
• 1:04:44
  will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one
• 1:04:48
  from another. As a shepherd separates the
• 1:04:50
  sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his
• 1:04:53
  right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those
• 1:04:59
  on his right, Come, you who are blessed, my Father, by my
• 1:05:04
  father, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you
• 1:05:08
  since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave
• 1:05:13
  me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me
• 1:05:16
  something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited
• 1:05:19
  me in. So this could be literal things,
• 1:05:22
  but it's also symbolic things like Jesus is the bread of life.
• 1:05:26
  He is hungry. People need to know about Jesus
• 1:05:28
  and you gave him something to eat.
• 1:05:30
  So even if we don't bring somebody to faith just to give
• 1:05:33
  them knowledge of Jesus, I was thirsty the water of life and
• 1:05:38
  you gave me something to drink. So Jesus, that's the the water
• 1:05:41
  of life that flows from the that's eternity.
• 1:05:44
  Like, give somebody eternity. I was a stranger and you invited
• 1:05:49
  me in. Somebody who doesn't know God,
• 1:05:51
  but you bring them in and you give them information about the
• 1:05:55
  Kingdom of God. You don't force it on anybody,
• 1:05:57
  but you let them know, open their eyes so that they can do
• 1:06:00
  what they need to do. I needed clothes and you clothed
• 1:06:04
  me. I was sick and you looked after
• 1:06:06
  me. I was in person and you came to
• 1:06:08
  visit me. Well, clothes, a lot of times
• 1:06:12
  clothes are talk like dirty clothes are changed into white
• 1:06:15
  clothes, they are cleaned. So when somebody needs to know,
• 1:06:20
  you know about and it can be a literal thing too about
• 1:06:23
  compassion and mercy on others. But I think it's much more of a
• 1:06:27
  symbolic thing than it is a literal thing because clothing
• 1:06:32
  is only like in this world. Like don't worry about your
• 1:06:35
  clothes. Didn't Jesus just say that not
• 1:06:37
  too long ago? Like God will provide all that.
• 1:06:39
  I needed clothes and you clothed me.
• 1:06:42
  So maybe it's about being righteous.
• 1:06:45
  Like I needed the new garment, the white garment, because I had
• 1:06:49
  dirty clothes and you gave that to me.
• 1:06:52
  I was sick and you looked after me.
• 1:06:55
  So people are sick from sin. Sin does that and you looked
• 1:07:01
  after me. So you tended to somebody who
• 1:07:04
  who needed that through the Holy Spirit.
• 1:07:08
  I was in prison. So we are in slavery when we are
• 1:07:12
  living sinful lives and you came to visit me like you tried.
• 1:07:17
  Doesn't mean like you got somebody out of prison, but you
• 1:07:19
  at least tempted to let them know about the freedom that is
• 1:07:23
  in Christ. Then the righteous will answer
• 1:07:27
  him. Lord, when?
• 1:07:28
  When, when did we see you hungry and feed you are thirsty and
• 1:07:31
  give you something to drink? When did we see you as a
• 1:07:33
  stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you?
• 1:07:37
  When did you we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?
• 1:07:42
  The king will reply. Truly, I tell you, whatever you
• 1:07:45
  did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of
• 1:07:50
  mine, you did for me. And then he will say to those on
• 1:07:54
  on his left, depart from me, you who are cursed.
• 1:07:58
  That's the goats into the eternal fire prepared for the
• 1:08:03
  devil and his angels. So here's fallen angels right
• 1:08:08
  here. Like some people say that only
• 1:08:10
  angels are good. That's not true.
• 1:08:12
  Matthew 25, verse 41 tells us the eternal fire prepared for
• 1:08:17
  the devil, Satan and his angels and the goats.
• 1:08:22
  Look at all the stuff, the goat symbolism in the world today.
• 1:08:27
  Like beware of the goat stuff because there's often like very
• 1:08:33
  satanic and we see that in music, We see that in movies.
• 1:08:38
  Just pay attention to this stuff because it's it.
• 1:08:43
  There's some truth in the symbolism, OK, For I was hungry
• 1:08:47
  and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me
• 1:08:49
  nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not
• 1:08:52
  invite me in. I needed clothe.
• 1:08:55
  You did not clothe me. I was sick and in prison and you
• 1:08:57
  did not look after me. So there is this is really
• 1:09:02
  interesting because as I'm reading this and as I was saying
• 1:09:05
  this, my computer that I'm reading this from started to
• 1:09:14
  kind of react like it's it's not letting me get to the bottom of
• 1:09:19
  the text here. And it's just like interesting
• 1:09:21
  timing when I started talking about the devil and the place
• 1:09:26
  that's prepared for him. And, and my, I seriously, I
• 1:09:32
  mean, this is, this is literally happening right now.
• 1:09:35
  So I'm going to try a different way of getting to the end of
• 1:09:39
  this because I got through Matthew 25, verse 43.
• 1:09:44
  So let's see where we get to the end of what I was not able to
• 1:09:48
  get to. It's about the sheep and the
• 1:09:50
  goats. And we're getting close to the
• 1:09:52
  very end. So there's only a few more
• 1:09:54
  verses Matthew 2544. They also will answer, Lord,
• 1:10:00
  when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger needing
• 1:10:04
  clothes or sick in prison and did not help you?
• 1:10:08
  He will reply truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one
• 1:10:14
  of the least of these, you did not do for me.
• 1:10:17
  Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the
• 1:10:23
  righteous to eternal life. So this is telling us what is
• 1:10:29
  going to happen with all of us there.
• 1:10:31
  We are either a sheep or a goat in this case.
• 1:10:35
  And so this is really important information.
• 1:10:41
  I'm already at an hour and 10 minutes, so I am going to stop
• 1:10:45
  this podcast now. I think we all have the the gist
• 1:10:50
  of what we need to be watchful for and pay attention.
• 1:10:53
  So do that and come back again, sign up for this podcast.
• 1:10:59
  I mean subscribe to this podcast so that you get these chapter by
• 1:11:05
  chapter readings from the Bible and hopefully change your life
• 1:11:09
  and change others lives. So as we can see here, God wants
• 1:11:12
  us to help other people find the Kingdom of God, find out that
• 1:11:19
  there is something waiting for all of us in God's Kingdom, and
• 1:11:24
  protect other people when they know the truth that's found in
• 1:11:28
  the Word of God. There is protection in that.
• 1:11:32
  And learn about Jesus and what He's done to make it possible
• 1:11:36
  for us to be in God's Kingdom. God's Kingdom is awaiting his
• 1:11:41
  children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus.
• 1:11:44
  So share this with others and do what you can with what God has
• 1:11:50
  given you to help other people also make it into God's Kingdom.