Prophetic Perspective On Today’s World

I’d like to begin therefore, by reading from 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 16 and following. Peter is here speaking about the promise of the Lord’s return in glory, which really is the theme and climax of all remaining Biblical prophecies, and he warns us not to have a negligent attitude towards Biblical prophecies. And he speaks about a theme that was mentioned here already this morning, the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain and he says, ‘When that happened, we the apostles who were there, had a kind of preview of what Jesus will be like when He returns in glory. We are not simply telling you something we made up, but we’re telling you something of which we ourselves were eyewitnesses.’ This is what he says,

“For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we make known to you the power and coming [that word is parousia, it’s the special word in the New Testament for the return of the Lord in glory] the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. [That’s on the Mount of Transfiguration.]
For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’
And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him in the holy mountain.”

But he goes on to say that’s not the surest testimony of this theme. The surest testimony is the prophecy of the Bible. And he goes on to say,

“And so we have also the prophetic word, which is even more sure…”

It’s even more authoritative than the testimony of the apostles. That’s true in the matter of the resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15, when Paul expounds the truth of resurrection as first attestation he gives the prophecy of Scripture. Only a second attestation the accounts of eyewitnesses.

Always Scripture takes authority over any human statements.

“We also have the prophetic word which is even more sure, which you do well to heed to as a lamp that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;”

So Peter says, ‘You better give heed to the prophetic word of Scripture because it’s a lamp in a very dark place. It’s the only source of light in a very dark world that is getting darker.’ How many of you would agree? So don’t neglect the prophecies of Scripture. And he says,

“…until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;”

I don’t have time to teach on this in detail, but I believe the morning star rising in your hearts, is not the return of the Lord in glory. That’s something that happens in our hearts as a result of studying and meditating on prophecy that we have the absolute certain assurance in our hearts Jesus is come back. That’s the morning star. And I have to say, traveling as I do amongst thousands of Christians, I think most of them do not have the morning star in their hearts. They really don’t have the excited anticipation of the Lord’s return, because they’ve neglected prophecy.

Now let’s turn to some of the simple basic prophecies concerning the period in which we live, to be found in the New Testament. And the main starting point for all such prophecy is the word spoken by Jesus on the Mount of Olives after He predicted the destruction of the temple, and it’s recorded in three of the Gospels—Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. And each of them gives a slightly different perspective. To reach the whole picture you have to study the three accounts and put them together. For instance, one of the questions the disciples asked was what will be the sign of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem? That question is only answered specifically in Luke, but when it comes to the sign of your coming, your return, the most specific answer, not the only one but the most specific is in Matthew 24. And this prediction of the greatest of all the Hebrew prophets, and remember Jesus was the greatest, in a sense the last in a long line of Hebrew prophets. The one in whom all prophetic revelation is summed up, He gave us this discourse Himself.

It’s like the spine of a body. If the spine is out of place you cannot fit the body together. But if you put the spine in place, then you have something to which to fit the rest of the body. And this discourse of Jesus on the Mount of Olives is the spine of New Testament prophecy. When you’ve got that in place then you can fit other things into it. The book of Revelation will fit in, many things will fit in, but don’t go to the others first. Always begin with the predictions of Jesus. Now we’ll read verses 1 through 3 of Matthew 24.

“Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.
And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’”

That was a breath-taking statement for those disciples. For them the most sacred place that most represented their faith in the true God as that temple in Jerusalem. To hear that the temple was to be destroyed was a shock that they could hardly recover from. So later on some of them came to Jesus and asked Him more about this. Verse 3,

“Now as He sat on the Mount of Lives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sing of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’”

They really had three questions: first of all when will the temple be destroyed or when will Jerusalem be destroyed? Second what will be the sign of Your coming back in glory? And third what will be the sign of the end of the age?

Let me point out two lessons, first of all, from that incident which I believe are very relevant for us today. First of all, everything that man has built that was not in accord with the will and the purposes of God will be destroyed. God is not interested in preserving human edifices or human institutions. And if we focus on those and seek security in those, we are going to be disillusioned.

Second one basic point, this present age is coming to an appointed end. It is not going to go on forever. And if you’re living as though this age is going to go on forever, you’re living in a false picture. It’s not the truth.

Now the three questions: what will be the sign of the destruction of the temple—that’s answered in Luke 21. We don’t need to turn there,

“When you see Jerusalem surrounded with armies, know that the destruction thereof is near. Then get out quickly while you can.”

That was fulfilled in A.D. 70, the Roman armies advanced on Jerusalem, started to besiege it, and then for political reasons in Rome they temporarily lifted the siege. Those who believed in Jesus as the true prophet and Messiah took the opportunity to escape out of Jerusalem. They saved their lives. Then the Roman armies returned and besieged Jerusalem and did not raise the siege until they had totally destroyed the city and the temple. So that’s past history.

But that’s not the only question. The next question is what will be the sign of the end of the age? Now I have an opinion which I will not force on anybody, that the end of the age is not just one single moment, but it’s a final distinctive closing period in this age. And there are reasons to believe that that period will either be seven years or three and a half years.

And then the third aspect of the question aspect of the question is what will be the sign that You are coming back in glory? Let me point out to you first of all that the Scripture abounds with predictions that this age is going to close dramatically in a climax which will be marked by many things, but one of them will be destruction. And if you’re not anticipating that, you’re living out of touch with reality. We turn quickly to Romans the 9th chapter and we’ll read verses 27 and 28. I’ll point also as we read that the climax to the age always contains a reference to the Jewish people and to their return to their own land. Actually until the state of Israel was set up in 1948, the prophecies concerning the close of this age could not be fulfilled, because they all assumed the presence of the Jewish people again in their own land. Once the state of Israel was set up it was as if God had said, ‘Now I’ve set the stage. We can go ahead with the performance.’ And you’ll see that’s true here. Romans 9:27 and 28. I’m reading from the New King James, but I adapt it a little bit. You’ll find some of what I say is in line with other translations. There’s no one translation that says it all unfortunately.

“Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:”

‘Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the

“sea,”

A remnant will be saved. [Not the remnant, but a remnant will be

“saved.]”

For He [the Lord] will finish the work and cut it short in

“righteousness,”

Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.’

The emphasis there is on speed and finality. And here I like the NIV translation of that latter part which says,

“For the Lord will carry out His sentence on earth with speed and finality.”

We’re being warned. When it happens it’s going to go quickly and it’s going to be final. We could turn for a moment to Isaiah chapter 10 which is the passage that Paul quotes in Romans

chapter 9. In Isaiah chapter 10 verses 21 through 23. Again you see Israel is center stage.

“A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob,
To the Mighty God.”

I believe return there has two implications—one return to their land, but that’s not the end. The second is return to their God.

“For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea,
Yet a remnant of them will return;
The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
For the LORD God of hosts
Will make a determined end
In the midst of all the land.”

Let me focus on that phrase a determined end. Also again you note the word destruction. The determined end has in it an element of destruction. I think personally, that the destruction is going to be similar to that that took place when the first temple was destroyed. Everything built by man that is not in line with the purposes of God is going to be obliterated, it’s going to cease to exist. God is going to make a totally new start.

Now let’s go back to Matthew 24 and look at the events leading up to the end. And remember the final question was what will be the sign of Your coming? Jesus answered that, but He didn’t answer it immediately. First of all He gave a number of signs—plural, which are signs, plural, but not the sign. Finally He gave the sign and it’s important to see the distinction. All right beginning in Matthew 24 verse 4.

warning against deception. The greatest single danger that threatens us today is being deceived. And I’ll tell you a conclusion of my own. I believe there’s only thing in it that opens the door to deception and that is pride. I don’t believe Satan ever uses any other door to bring deception but pride. The moment we become proud and arrogant, we are exposed to deception. No matter how intellectual we may be, no matter how many Scriptures we can quote, that won’t make a difference. The only safe place is the place of humility.

“The in verse 5, Jesus said,
‘For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”

You always need to bear in mind that the word Christ corresponds to the Hebrew word Messiah. Many will come saying I am the Messiah. Now the Jewish encyclopedia records more than forty false Messiahs who followed Jesus. So that has been historically fulfilled.

“‘And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. [Then He says,] ‘For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.”

And Luke adds pestilences. So there are three particular things: famines, pestilences and earthquakes. And of course pestilences naturally follow famine, because when people are undernourished they are exposed to disease enmasse. Then He says,

“‘All these are the beginning of sorrows, birth pangs or labor pains.”

Now just last month, I think, there was a conference held in Jerusalem of Bible teachers who came together from various nations and parts of the earth, to consider what God is saying to the church in the light of His word. I wasn’t present although I was invited, but there’s a little summation that has been sent to me by one person who was present. It’s very brief and it refers particularly to this passage. I think I’ll read it to you. And it also refers to events which have been happening in recent days. And it was written before those events.

“In punishing the nations, God would use natural and unnatural means which could vary from nation to nation. God may use famine, disease, economic troubles, internal commotions and war. God would use the unrighteous to punish the righteous. This is the Old Testament pattern. When Israel got out of line God brought evil nations, the Chaldeans, the Syrians, etc against her. The evil aggressors we always themselves, eventually destroyed. The message to the church is gird up your loins. In other words get ready. Pray and seek righteousness and don’t be surprised at the things coming upon the earth. We seem to be in the period spoken of by the law and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars, see that you are not troubled for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. [Now the word sorrows which is old English from the King James, doesn’t give you the right understanding. Birth pangs is all right, labor pains is more. All these are the beginning of labor pains.]”

If you look carefully there you’ll see something that is not the beginning of labor pains, in verse 6, wars and rumors of wars is not the beginning of labor pains. They will happen, but that doesn’t indicate that the birth pangs have begun. Then Jesus says, verse 7,

“‘Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, famine, pestilences and earthquakes.
‘These are the beginning of the birth pangs [or the labor pains.]’”

What are they? Nation rising against nation, famines, pestilences and earthquakes. There’s some interesting things about the twentieth century. We’ve had to coin a lot of new words we never needed before—like holocaust. We never needed that before. It’s progressive twentieth century. It took us to invent holocaust. Genocide, we never that before. Terrorism—that wasn’t the word that was used before. There are certain a number of very specific characteristics of this age which have never occurred in any previous age. World-War—we never used that before the twentieth century. I personally am inclined to believe that the two great World Wars are part of the fulfillment of Matthew 24:7 nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom…

I believe also there’s another possible meaning. I don’t want to go into it, but the Greek can mean there will be great civil wars within nations. Nation rising against nation is a nation rising against itself. And I see all the makings of that around the world. People are becoming more intense, more bitter, more angry in their convictions, less willing to settle it by anything by anything but force, and I see this is going to break out in nation after nation in tremendous bitter internal civil conflict. And I do not see that the United States need necessarily be excepted. If you examine this nation in the last twenty years, peoples’ attitudes have become so bitter, so hostile, so difficult to reconcile. Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 3,

“In the last days men will have a number of characteristics and one of them is implacable.”

There is no way you can placate them. There is no way you can achieve reconciliation with them. I think that’s one of the factors that’s going to bring about what Jesus is talking about here. But then, let me focus on verse 8,

“All these are the beginning of birth pangs or labor pains.”

Now, what does He tell us? He’s telling us a birth is going to take place. If you don’t see that you’re not in line with God. What is going to be born? The kingdom of God on earth. A totally new order on earth is going to be born. And how do we know it’s ready to be born? When we see the labor pains.

Now you might say, ‘Brother Prince, you’re giving a very gloomy picture.’ Believe me I haven’t finished yet. But you see, how would you think about a young man married to a beautiful wife, and she’s pregnant and the contractions begin. She say, ‘Oh, I can’t stand this. Doctor, do something. Stop this. I don’t want to go through this.’ How about if the woman says, ‘Doctor, don’t let me go through this.’ The doctor would say, ‘You idiots, you want a baby don’t you?’

There’s no other way. Babies don’t come any other way. You don’t come down to breakfast one morning and find a baby on the table. Now let me ask you this question. Do you want to see the kingdom of God established on earth? That’s the question. All right. It will only come one way—by birth. If you’re not prepared to go through with the labor pains, just withdraw somewhere if there’s anywhere to withdraw to and I don’t believe there is. I know there were people at one time that were retiring into caves in Montana with groceries and things like that. My comment always was, if you can escape the anti-christ in a cave in Montana with your canned groceries, he’s not nearly as smart as the Bible indicates he will be. That’s not the way out. There is no way out. There’s only one way it’s through. If you can once grasp this fact that a birth is going to take place, it’s going to change your whole focus and emphasis and attitude. People are praying for peace. That’s a wonderful prayer, but it’s like praying for a baby not being prepared to have the birth pangs. It’s not going to happen that way. Peace is coming, but it’s coming God’s way. God has got the program. We’re looking at it. God is telling us. This is the way the birth pangs are going to come.

We all know, I believe, too that when the birth pangs start, they tend to become more frequent and more intense the nearer you get to the birth. That’s how it’s going to be on earth. Things are not going to get easier. The tension is not going to relax. The pressures are not going to decrease. They’re going to increase. That’s either bad news or good news according to your viewpoint. If all you want to do is live secure and undisturbed on this earth, that’s bad news. But it’s true even so. But if you’re looking for the kingdom of God what is it? It’s good news. Okay now let’s look at the rest of the birth pangs, which follow, and I want you to notice the word then which occurs I think four times in these verses. It’s the emphatic word. Verse 9:

“‘Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
Who’s you? We. Let’s say it this way,
‘Then they will deliver us up to tribulation and kill us, and we shall be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.”

Are you prepared to read it that way? Have you got that promise in your Promise Box? Listen, I want to challenge you. Are you prepared to say that with me? If you’re not prepared, don’t say it, but as far as I’m concerned there’s no way out. I mean, the birth is going to take place, these are the labor pains.

“‘Then they will deliver us up to tribulation and kill us, and we shall be hated by all nations for His name’s sake.”

Praise the Lord. Now I’m not insincere when I say praise the Lord. I mean it. Okay let’s go on with the birth pangs. Verse 10

“‘And then [notice the then] many will be offended, and betray one another, and will hate one another,”

And there’s not question that’s referring to professing Christians. Many will give up their faith because of the persecution. They’ll turn against one another, they’ll save their own lives by betraying their brothers.

Wherever you find a cult, there is a false prophet. The multiplication of cults indicates the multiplication of false prophets. Verse 12,

The correct translation which you will find in the NIV is the love of most will grow cold. Would you agree that lawlessness is abounding in a way that we have never known it abound since we’ve been alive on this earth. And I think since there’s been a nation on the face of the earth. Verse 13,

“‘But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

Now that’s not a totally correct translation. What it says is he who has endured to the end will be save. You’re only saved when you get to the end in this sense. You understand? It’s interesting, but if you just make a note in the NASB it translates this verse, He who endures to the end will be saved, but in Mark 13:13 it says He who has endured to the end will be saved.

“The words are the same so it’s an inconsistency in the translation. But the correct translation is, He who has endured to the end will be saved.”

You are not saved until you get to the end. All right. That’s the birth pangs. Now we come to the answer to the question. What will be the sign? These are signs—birth pangs. Now we come to the sign in verse 14.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world at a witness to all the nations, and [notice the next then] and then the end will come.”

What is the sign of the end? The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom in all the world to all nations. In other words, Brothers and Sisters, if you are believers the initiative is with us. It’s not going to be the actions of dictators, or politicians, or scientists, or military commanders that will actually precipitate the end. It’s going to be the action of God’s church because we are the body of Christ in the earth and God never bypasses His body to get His job done. See that gives us both a tremendous significance and a tremendous responsibility. God is relying on us to do what’s necessary to precipitate the end.

Now we’ll go on. We’re gong on to verse 15—we’ll read 15 through 22. The next thing, and I believe myself this is the end. Not the final cutoff point, but the period of the end. It’s a period of great tribulation, tremendous distress. Beginning in verse 15,

“‘Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place’ (whoever reads, let him understand),”

Now this is a reference to a prophecy in Daniel we cannot take time to refer to, but the holy place unquestionably must refer to Jerusalem.

“‘then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”

Notice not the focus is where—in Israel, that’s right. So we’re talking about Judea which is basically, not totally, the area of the state of Israel today.

“Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.”

You understand the houses in that part of the world have flat roofs, so you come down on an outside staircase. You don’t even go inside the front door to get something out of your house. So urgent is the need to escape.

“‘Let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
‘But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
‘And pray that your flight may not be in the winter or on the Sabbath.’”

That’s a remarkable prayer, isn’t it? ‘Lord, we know we’re going to have to flee, but please don’t let it be on the Sabbath or in the winter.’ God sort of gives you certain margins that you can pray in. Why would it matter if the flight was on the Sabbath? There is no public transportation on the Sabbath. And a large group of people suddenly exiting from the city would be very conspicuous. See how totally it assumes the reestablishment of the Jewish state. This couldn’t be fulfilled without that. Then we go on,

“For then [notice the next then] there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

There’s going to be a period of such intense pressure, agony and suffering, that it’s without parallel in the history of the human race and never will be paralleled again. And if you consider what happened in Europe during the Holocaust and consider that something is coming that will excel that, that’s something to ponder on. Verse 22,

“And unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but for the sake of the elect [or the chosen ones] those days will be cut short.”

So whatever the period is, let’s say it’s seven years, in order to preserve a remnant God will cut off the end of the period. The word is used in secular Greek of cutting off a dog’s tail. You know, or many times you cut off a dog’s tail, and that’s the meaning of the word. Just the last little end is going to be cut off. So that’s the picture.

Now Jesus then goes on to warn His disciples. ‘If anybody tells you at that time that I’ve come, and I’m out in the desert or in some secret place, don’t believe them.’ You know that’s the teaching of the Jehovah’s Witnesses that Jesus has come and is on the twentieth floor of a building somewhere in New York City. They don’t tell you that when they come to your homes, but when you are initiated that’s what they tell you. So don’t get initiated.

“Now we going on to the climax. Verse 29,
‘Immediately after the tribulation of those days…”

Notice there’s not going to be any large gap of time between the tribulation and what Jesus is speaking about now. There have been those who’ve interpreted the tribulation as the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. That is ridiculous. Nineteen centuries have elapsed. That’s not immediately after.

“‘Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, [or from the sky.]”

Let me point out that if the word heaven is in the singular, you could perhaps translate it sky. If it’s heavens it means the whole total heavens. I think the NASB translates sky.

“…the stars will fall from the sky and powers of the heavens [now it’s plural— that’s beyond the sky—that’s the super-powers up there.] will be shaken.”

There are many different predictions in the Bible about the sun ceasing to give its light, the moon being turned to blood, the stars falling. You’ll find them in Joel and Isaiah, in Revelation more than once. I think it’s reasonable to say that’s only going to happen once. It’s difficult to see how that could be repeated. So every time you see a prediction of this you know it’s referring to the same period. That makes it much easier to understand. Revelation doesn’t say that’s going to happen several times. It views the same event from several different perspectives, one after the other. Verse 30,

“‘Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

That’s the climax. There is no other climax. Brothers and Sisters, we’ve got a lot to do but we can’t take the place of Jesus when He comes back. He’s going to do things no one else can do.

“Then He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect [or His chosen ones] from the four winds, [from the four corners of the earth] from one end of the sky to the other.”

That’s referred to in Isaiah 27. The elect are the ones God has chosen. God will preserve them through all this agony and turmoil. You see, ultimately the decision of what happens is based on God’s choice, not on ours. This is a point of view that is totally unfamiliar to the average Christian today. But Paul says it’s not the one who wills, or of the one who runs, but of God who chooses. You know why you’re saved? Not because you chose, but because God chose. If you think it depended on your choice you’re totally mistaken. You had to respond, but the original choice was God’s. Jesus said to His apostles, ‘You didn’t choose Me. I chose you.’

See this is going to require a total reorientation of the thinking of most Christians. We’ve got God in the place where He’s a kind of vassal, a butler. When we need Him we call for Him. He’s no butler, nor is He a dispensing machine. He’s sovereign. The Scripture says,

“Of His own will He begat us with the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creation.”

The baby never tells the father, ‘Beget me.’ He arrives because the father begot him, that’s why. Whose choice was it? Whose choice was it that you were born of your parents? Yours? Or your parents? Your parents. Unless we can adjust our thinking in line with God, we’re going to be unprepared and ill equipped for what lies ahead.

Now I want to speak as I close, on the appropriate response from us. I do believe what I’ve said is almost, well let’s say if you really believe the Bible means what it says, it’s hardly possible to dispute what I’ve said. It is so clear, so specific. It doesn’t leave any room for doubt. Jesus didn’t intend to leave any room for doubt or for double interpretation.

So we’re confronted with these facts. We’re also confronted with the world situation which already bears many of the marks of the signs of the end of the age. Not all of them but many of them. I don’t have time this morning to go into the details of that.

How should we respond? I want to suggest three things that we should do. Let’s turn to Luke 21 which is the parallel passage to Matthew 24. Luke 21 and verse 28, and you have to bear in mind in essence Jesus is saying the same in Luke 21 as He said in Matthew 24. It’s in a different order, there are different emphases, but essentially it’s the same. Luke 21:28,

“‘Now when these things begin to happen…”

These things are the labor pains. These labor pains, what are you to do? Look for a place to hide. Pray for God to change His mind. What?

You see, this separates the men from the boys. Your response to what I’m telling you determines whether you’re really looking for the Lord’s return or not, because if you are you’ll get excited and happy, and if you’re not you’ll be fearful. So just let the word of God a little inner analysis on your attitude. The Bible says we should be eagerly awaiting His return. He’s coming back for those who are waiting for Him. Maybe you need to be awakened. Maybe you’re not awakened. Maybe you’re expecting this age to go on forever, maybe you’ve settled down in this present world system. It is not the home of any true Christian. Here we have no continuing city. We look for the one which is to come. You see, this is where the people are going to be sorted out. If you’re not excited about the coming of the Lord I want to suggest to you that by the time a lot of things have happened, you’ll be longing for His coming. God has His way of changing your attitudes. As long as you’ve got a nice easy job and you go to the office from 8 till 4, and you have a car and nice home and you put a little in the offering from time to time, and you say a few prayers. Why should you be excited about His coming? But when some of these things start to happen, you’ll suddenly be able to realize, ‘God, we need Jesus, and we need Him quickly.’

I thank God that God has made it real to me. I need Jesus anyhow. No matter how this world treats me—well or ill, it’s not my home. This is not my resting place. I don’t have any final hopes here. My hope is the return of the blessed Lord in glory. The day star has risen in my heart, but it didn’t rise until I looked into the prophecies of the Bible. And I’ll tell you something else. I can preach it, but I can only believe it if I live in the word of God. If I get too occupied with other sources of information, the reality of the Lord’s return becomes very dim. I can still give a scent of the doctrine, but it’s not the day star in my heart.

All right. So what’s our first response? I’ve written down here recognize and rejoice. Recognize the beginning of the birth pangs, and say ‘Praise God the baby’s on the way!!!’ All right?

Second response, complete our task. Matthew 24:14, that’s the number one priority of the church of Jesus Christ on earth today. Matthew 24:14. Years back the year that Jesika was born, I’d better not tell you what year that was, but it was quite a while ago, when I was in Kenya, the land of her birth. I was in charge of a teacher training college for African teachers, and I had a little Morris Station Wagon Traveler which I was very proud of. And I drove it into the local town which was Kisumu, which was seven miles from the mission station, and I took it into the garage to have it checked and had a lot of things needed to be done to it. And I had a list of things that I needed to do in the town while my car was being checked. But as I walked out of the garage the Lord said to me inaudibly, ‘Not only does your car need service, you need service too.’ I thought, ‘Lord, that’s true. I certainly need a lot of oiling and greasing.’

So I gave up my whole program and walked about maybe three quarters of a mile to the shore of Lake Victoria Nianza (sp) which is the second largest inland lake in the world, and a very beautiful place. And I sat down on the shore in an atmosphere of tremendous tranquility and I pulled out my pocket New Testament and I was going to read something, but the New Testament fell open to Matthew 24:14, and it was like there were no other words on the page. And it was like the words were written in the sky and reflected in the waters of the lake.

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.”

And God said quietly to me, ‘This is priority number one for My people.’ And I was in educational work at the time and I knew I had a commitment I had to fulfill, but I said to the Lord, I said, ‘Lord, if what I am doing is not fully in line with Your priorities, I want you to adjust it. But I want to bring my life into line with Your priorities.’ Actually I prayed that nearly thirty years ago. And today I can say to the glory of God, my life is in line with His priorities. It took God more than twenty to get me lined up. So you can pray a prayer that it may take quite a while for God to answer, but today Matthew 24:14 is the thing I live by. I breath it, I think it, I pray it, and it’s the whole thrust of my ministry. And I want to say to the glory of God, God is enabling us in Derek Prince Ministries to fulfill this, to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to all nations. Many of you know it’s already in all three Chinese dialects, reaching more than one billion Chinese people. It’s in Spanish, reaching the whole of Central and South America. Very shortly, God helping us, it will be in Russian. That’s my motivation—‘This gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all nations.’ That’s why we went to Pakistan last year. And really all we did for nine days was proclaim the gospel of the kingdom in that fanatically Moslem land.

All right. What’s our task? It’s to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to all nations, and we don’t have long. The time is urgent. There’s a picture in Revelation chapter 6, I didn’t intend to turn there but it comes clearly to my mind of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. You’re familiar with that. The first was a white horse. White speaks of victory. He went forth conquering unto conquer. He was followed by a red horse and the rider carried a big sword. And red speaks of bloodshed and civil war. The third had a pair of scales in his hand and the whole picture is one of scarcity and rationing of all basic commodities. The fourth was a ghostly pale horse and the rider on him was called Death. And one fourth of earth’s inhabitants perished by famine, by war, by hunger, by death, by disease. The next, the fifth picture is the martyrs under the altar crying out to God, ‘How long, God, before you avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth.’ The sixth is the climax, the sun the moon failing, the stars falling, and all the people of earth crying out, ‘Listen, hide us from the wrath of Him who sits on the throne, and from the face of the Lamb.’

I don’t know if you’ve ever considered what an anomaly it is that a Lamb should display wrath. Brothers and Sisters, when the Lamb gets angry, look out. He is so patient, so loving, so kind, but there’s coming a day when His patience will be exalted. And those people cry, ‘Let the mountains and the hills fall on us, but don’t let us have to face God.’

Now going back to the first four horsemen, numbers two, three and four are evil terrible times that are coming on the earth. But I believe number one, the white horse is the gospel. And I believe the gospel has to go ahead of all the evil that’s coming on the earth. I believe we have to reach people with the gospel before all of these terrible things come upon the earth. If we don’t do it we have failed God and we’ve failed man.

You see what I’m saying? First the harvest of mercy, then the harvest of judgment. That’s why we can’t just sit back and say, ‘Well, there’s plenty of time. Things aren’t so bad as people say.’ Things aren’t so bad because God is giving us an opportunity to get ahead of the rider on the red horse, and the black horse, and the ghostly pale horse.

Our task is urgent. There is no time to lose. The final application I want to give, turn to two passages in John, first of all chapter 9 and verse 4, John 9 verse 4, the words of Jesus and then John 12 verse 35. The thought is the same. Jesus says in John 9:4,

“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”

I believe that. I believe there’s a night coming when we will not be able to work. It will be too late to say then, ‘Lord, I’ll go out with the gospel.’ You can’t do it when night comes. And John 12:35,

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.’”

I believe that’s true. I believe we have the light just a little longer. We just have time to get the job done. We just have not time to waste, no time to spare, no time for self-indulgence, no time for emptiness and foolishness, but just enough time to get the job done. I believe this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world because Jesus said it would. The question, Brothers and Sisters, is what are we going to do about it, what are you going to do about it. I know what I’m going to do. I’ve made my mind up. I’m going to do everything I can to fulfill that command.

Listen, even if you didn’t believe the prophetic insight I’ve given you, there’s just a simple command from the Lord, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’ That has never been withdrawn. It’s still as much in force today as when Jesus first spoke it. You know what we’re guilty of? Shall I tell you in one word? Disobedience. May God grant us to repent. God has been visiting us, these early morning prayer meetings, in a wonderful way. He’s

given us repentance of many areas, but I believe this is an area that really we haven’t faced up— our failure to be committed to bring in the gospel of the kingdom to all nations. You say, ‘I’ll wait until it gets a little easier.’ It’s not going to get any easier. If you go back to Matthew 24:9 through 13, you’ll find Jesus said, ‘You’ll be hated of all nations. Many will fall away.’ There will be many false prophets. And in that context He says, ‘This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world.’ God isn’t going to make it easy, but He’s going to make it possible.

What is your decision? Where are you going to be found? How will you respond? I don’t want to make this easy. I’ve almost come to the point where I don’t make appeals because it’s so easy to put your hand up and say it and forget it twenty-four hours later. I think I’m going to pray for you. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to pray for you a prayer that will make you very uncomfortable, and then we’re going to close and I’ll leave between you and the Holy Spirit. There is no cop-out. Just coming forward to a church and praying a few minutes is not going to solve your problems. Most of you’ve got to change your lifestyle radically and put Jesus in the center and seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

I’ll ask the Brothers on the platform to come and stand with me as I pray this prayer. Amen. Perhaps it would be good if you were in an attitude of prayer. You don’t have to bow your head and close your eyes, but if you could be in an attitude of prayer.

‘God, I thank you this morning that by Your grace you’ve given me liberty to proclaim what I believe with all my heart. I believe, Lord, this morning I’ve told Your people the truth the way it is, the way You’ve said it is, and the way it will be. And, Lord, I just pray for everybody here, each individual person, that You will now confront each one by Your Holy Spirit with the truth and the power and the relevance of this message, and that You’ll help each one here to make any

decision that’s needed, any adjustment that’s needed. Lord, how much we, as Your people, need to change our ways, to change our lifestyle, to change our priorities. Help us, Lord. I pray for all of us, help us, Lord, not to simply choose the way we want to go or the things we want to do. But help us Lord to line up with your priorities at this critical hour. Lord, I pray that we may not fail You. Jesus, I pray that we may cause you unspeakable grief by totally setting aside what You’ve told us, Lord. Oh, God, the message was earlier, hear what God says. And I pray, Lord, I pray that You’ll open the ears of Your people to hear and to obey. Do a might work in all of us, Lord, wherever we need to be changed, change us, Lord. We don’t know the many areas in which we need to change, but we ask you to change us in every one of those areas, and bring out lives into line with Your word and Your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.’

“Now if you say ‘Amen’ you’re going to be changed.”