Hey guys!
Some of you asked me to make a video about the end times.
When is it going to happen?
How is it going to happen, and what is going to happen?
Well, first, we need to start at the beginning.
We need to look at the Bible prophecies so that you will know what the signs of the end times are.
Let's get to it.
Now, just very quick; if it's the first time here on my channel,
I'm Daniel and welcome to DLM Christian Lifestyle.
If you haven't subscribed yet,
then please consider it and also click the notification bell,
so you won't miss any of the next videos.
Now, first, you need to know that the Bible does not give us an exact date of the end times,
and it says that no one will know except God, the Father.
Jesus says in Matthew 24:36, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows,
not even the angels of heaven, but the Father only.”
So please don't listen to these false preachers who say,
‘Well, I just got a prophecy of the exact date and time.’ Don't believe it.
There are false prophets. No one will know, but what we will know is the signs.
So we can discern when the end times are coming close by looking at the signs.
Read Matthew 24:3 with me, “As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately,
saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray.
For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ’, and they will lead many astray.”
So, the first thing that Jesus says will happen is, that there will be many people who will claim to be Him.
The Christ, the Messiah and there's been a lot of them already.
Even though in the 19th century of Six, John Nichols, Arnold Potter, Jones Very,
Baha'u'llah, William W. Davies, Mirza Gulam Ahmad,
and then in the 20th century, these people who claim to be Jesus, or the reincarnation of Jesus,
or the Messiah grew to around 30.
And right now, we hear about it all over the world.
Like the cult leader who was arrested in Russia, the one in Brazil,
and even here in South Africa, a man claimed to be the black Jesus.
It's crazy!
What's even crazier is that people actually, some of them believe them and follow them.
Anyway, let's continue.
Verse 6, “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed,
for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”
You will hear of war and rumors of war. We humans are, our sinful nature, pride, lust, greed,
all of these things will always lead to war.
And according to the New York Times, out of the past 3 400 years,
we have only been at peace for 268 of them.
That's just eight percent of recorded history,
and at least 108 million people were killed in wars in the 20th century.
And an estimated 150 million to one billion died in wars throughout all human history.
Think about this. The first world war, the second world war, and then there are many wars,
that you don't even know about.
At the beginning of 2003, there were not just one or two wars but 30 wars going on around the world.
These included conflicts in Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, China, Colombia, the Congo, India,
Indonesia, Israel, Iraq, Liberia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Somalia, Sudan,
and Uganda.
And do you know that Christians, we are the most persecuted religion in the world?
More than 70 million Christians have been murdered because of their faith
since the time of Jesus and when I speak to some people today it shocks me,
that they believe that it doesn't happen today anymore.
That it's just something that happened in the past,
but it will actually shock some of you that there are many Christians who are still being murdered today.
11 Christians are killed for their faith in the top 50 countries ranked on the world watch list,
according to open doors.
And apart from this, apart from all the wars, take a look at the crime rate all over the world.
War is defined as an active conflict that has claimed more than a thousand lives,
and in my country, in South Africa, over 21 000 people were murdered in 2020
and it is getting worse, according to News 24.
It can be scary when you truly look at the world for what it is
but remember Jesus said "do not be alarmed".
He said in verse 6, “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.”
Now listen to this.
See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,
and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
Famines, most of us today already know about this.
The WFP already warned that 2020 would be a devastating year for many countries.
Ravaged by war and poverty with 135 million people facing crisis levels of hunger or worse,
and their updated projections doubled that number.
And now with Covid, the UN said the pandemic will cause global famines of Biblical proportions.
It's interesting that they said, Biblical proportions,
but we will see the effect of this pandemic in the time to come, but let's continue.
Famines and earthquakes, you know about all the earthquakes,
we hear about it all the time on the news.
Even back in 2014, NBC News said the annual number of great earthquakes nearly tripled
over the last decade.
Between 2004 and 2014, 18 earthquakes with magnitudes of 8.0 or more
rattled subduction zones around the globe.
And just the other day, we had an earthquake here in South Africa, which doesn't normally happen.
Let's continue.
And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
The beginning of the birth pains, of the end time, is getting closer, and closer, and you need to be ready.
Then Jesus says in verse 9, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death,
and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.”
Prosperity preaching teaches, that we as Christians will live in luxury.
We will have a lot of money, we'll have a nice life here on earth, but that's not what my Bible teaches.
It says that things will get worse for the world as we get closer to the end times,
especially for Christians that are persecuted.
Just look at history.
We've already talked about this.
Now Jesus says that we will be put to death and hated by the world for His name's sake.
There is a cost to follow Christ, but you know it's better to have nothing in this temporary world,
no possessions, but have Jesus than to have everything, but not Him, not Jesus.
Jesus says in Mark 8:34, “If anyone would come after Me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life
for My sake and the gospels will save it.”
Now, listen very carefully to the next part,
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”
You don't know when you will die. It can be tomorrow, can be next week,
can be next month, can be in years, but you will die, and so will I.
And you know you won't take anything with you. Everything that you've gained in this world,
all the possessions, you won't take anything with you to the next life,
but the decisions you made in this life will determine where you will go when you die.
Verse 37 says, “For what can a man give in return for his soul?
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father
with the Holy angels.”
You need to make sure that you are living your life for Jesus Christ and not your own selfish desires,
because time is running out.
Let's continue.
Verse 10, “And then many will fall away and betray one another
and many false prophets will arise and lead many astray”
We already know that this is happening today.
Many Christians are just fighting each other with certain doctrines and small things.
Just fighting each other,
and don't realize that our fight is not against each other but against Satan and his demons.
And many are led astray by false prophets, teachers.
Why?
Because people don't know the Bible.
They don't know the truth, and if they don't know the truth,
how will they be able to discern a false prophet, a false teacher, if they don't know Scripture?
And then there are even some preachers who teach lies because they don't know Scripture themselves.
You should not believe every Christian or teacher, or prophet, or whatever they call themselves.
Don't believe just anyone,
but test what they are saying with Scripture to see if it is the truth so that you won't be easily misled.
Verse 12, “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”
I don't even have to talk about this because you know it just as good as I do,
you see it on the news every day, all the lawlessness,
the corruption, all the governments all over the world.
It's sick, we are sick, our sinful nature in us is sick, and the cure was, is, and will always be Jesus.
Just look at the lawlessness in America.
People are growing more selfish and cold,
and that is also why marriages these days don't even work because it's not about the other person,
or trying to lift them up, or to see what they need and to meet their needs, to have empathy.
It's all about me, me, me, me, but as a Christian,
we are different because we have God's Spirit in us, and God is love.
Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,
but in humility count others more significant than yourself.”
Did you hear that?
Let me read it again "But in humility count others more significant than yourself
let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."
Do you do it?
If not, you got some changes to make in your life.
Back to Matthew 24:12, “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
We have to endure all these hardships, all the pain, and suffering,
that we will endure in this life, we need to endure it.
We need to continue to run the race until the end because the reward at the end
is far greater than any suffering or hardships that you may experience in this temporary world.
Verse 14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world
as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
As disciples of Christ, we need to share the gospel to everyone, to the whole world in love and truth.
And if you are a real disciple, a reborn Christian, then you will share the gospel with other people,
because remember you love God and you love other people.
And if you truly love other people, then you don't want them to end up in hell,
you want them to be saved.
So, of course, you are going to share the gospel in truth and in love.
There are too many passive Christians who don't do anything.
Sometimes we focus too much on this temporary world,
and we don't focus on God and think about the things that are above the eternal things.
Jesus says in Matthew 6:19, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth or rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal,
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
How do you lay up for yourself treasures in heaven?
You do it by following God's will.
God has a plan for your life, and you continually walk with Him through the Spirit.
Act in the Spirit. Everything that you do, you do for God in the Spirit.
Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”
All right, so let's just recap here.
The signs of the end times are; 1. False Christ,
2. Wars and rumors of wars, 3. Famines, 4.Earthquakes, 5. Tribulations, 6. False prophets,
7. The gospel proclaimed to the whole world, and then there will be a 8. Great tribulation.
Verse 21 says, “For then there will be great tribulation.
such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no and never will be.
And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved.
but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short."
You see, we humans, with our sinful nature, we are already destroying the world.
And we will destroy ourselves with it if God does not stop us,
and after the tribulation, Jesus will come.
Verse 29 says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the son of man,
and then all 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.
and He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call,
and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Wow, imagine what that would be like.
I can't wait for it to happen, but we don't know when the exact time and date is.
So don't believe false prophets who say that they know. Don't believe them.
In verse 36 Jesus says, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows,
not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
For as in those days before the flood they were eating drinking marrying, and giving in marriage,
until the day when Noah entered the ark,
and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away.
So will be the coming of the Son of Man.
And verse 44 says, “Therefore you also must be ready,
for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."
Are you ready? Be honest with yourself.
Are you ready?
And don't just think about the end times, because you might die before then.
There are 150 000 people who die every single day and one of these days you and I will die.
Time is running out.
It's one thing you cannot control, time.
And if you're not ready to meet God, then get ready with Him.
Do it today, don't wait until tomorrow.
Tomorrow might be too late,
and if you are ready then take a look at what you will experience in the life after this one.
Check out this video here and I’ll see you there.
And remember, God loves you, and I love you too.
Bye!