1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,680 Worthy of Note 2 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:03,380 General Observations 3 00:00:03,380 --> 00:00:08,480 Hello everyone and welcome to another introductory episode of our podcast, 4 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:11,280 The Bible Prophecy Masterclass. 5 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:16,740 We have a few more thoughts and general considerations we thought would be worthy of note before delving 6 00:00:16,740 --> 00:00:20,020 into the first official episode of this study. 7 00:00:20,020 --> 00:00:24,940 It has been said of the devil that his greatest ruse is to make people believe that he does 8 00:00:24,940 --> 00:00:26,520 not exist. 9 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:33,480 An even bigger ruse among evangelical Christians is the belief that the USA, the greatest economic, 10 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:39,260 political and military power the world has ever seen, and a key ally in the existence 11 00:00:39,260 --> 00:00:44,880 and the preservation of the people of God at this hour, much like Egypt and the Babylonians 12 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:48,880 of old, has no place in Bible prophecy. 13 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:54,080 Adding to and further extending the devil's list of ruses and distortions of biblical 14 00:00:54,080 --> 00:01:02,440 truth, a certain pastor was interviewed on a Christian radio program, aired 10-Cole-18-2023, 15 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:06,480 and heard somewhere in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. 16 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:11,120 On that program, a caller wanted to know if we are living in the end times. 17 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:14,220 To that query, the pastor replied, no. 18 00:01:14,220 --> 00:01:19,360 That caller also went on to inquire as to whether there is any comparison between current 19 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:25,920 events of our day and those that are cited as markers of the end times in the Bible. 20 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:31,760 In so many words, the man wanted to know if historical events today in any way parallel 21 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,880 any of those prophesied in Bible prophecy. 22 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:41,000 Again, to this the guest preacher responded most emphatically, no, we are not living in 23 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:42,720 the end times. 24 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:49,160 Bible eschatology, he said furthermore, only begins with the last seven years of tribulation 25 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,760 as detailed in the Revelation. 26 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:57,920 There is nothing today that correlates to anything indicative of the end times, he concluded. 27 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:03,860 One can only guess, therefore, that this pulpeteer and alleged prophecy expert never heard of 28 00:02:03,860 --> 00:02:09,360 prophecy passages like Ezekiel 34.13. 29 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:14,360 37.31 One of God's many promises to gather Israelis 30 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:19,960 from among the nations where He has scattered them so as to reestablish them as a separate 31 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:21,760 nation of their own. 32 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:23,760 Ezekiel 38.1-23. 33 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:24,760 39.1-29. 34 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:25,760 Joel 3.4-17. 35 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:38,960 The Jews reemergence as a nation would be in a time of intense hostility and the constant 36 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:43,320 threat of invasion and annihilation from all nations. 37 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,800 Daniel 12.4-8.9. 38 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:52,160 The reemergence of Israel as a nation would be at a time when the potential for war-related 39 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:58,400 pain and suffering and the struggle to survive would be like nothing they could ever imagine, 40 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:04,700 all made possible by a proliferation of information and logistics, capabilities far beyond the 41 00:03:04,700 --> 00:03:07,360 imagination of the people of his time. 42 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,160 Zechariah 14.12-15. 43 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,520 Text Peter 3.8.12. 44 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,860 Israel's coming again as a nation would be at a time when the killing and destructive 45 00:03:17,860 --> 00:03:22,600 mechanisms of war have horrifying unheard of consequences. 46 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:26,040 A. Psalm 19.1-5. 47 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:29,840 Revelation 8.1-11. 48 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:35,160 Israel would exist again as a nation at a time when men, having studied thoroughly and 49 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:40,920 copiously documented the wonders of the night skies, will be fully apprised of its deadly 50 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,000 potential to wreak havoc on the earth. 51 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:50,820 When God the Almighty selected His prophets, sending them out as His hand-picked mouthpieces, 52 00:03:50,820 --> 00:03:56,120 to speak on His behalf, He did so with the understanding that they would be bearing messages 53 00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:02,960 that pointed to specific actual events for which the hearers then and are today to heed 54 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:05,680 so as to prepare themselves accordingly. 55 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:12,320 Thus, no prophet's message was ever a lecture aimed at preparing hearers for a talk about 56 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:14,920 prophecy per se. 57 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:20,540 Whether or not the receivers of their messages understood, and often neither they nor the 58 00:04:20,540 --> 00:04:27,200 bearers did, and that by God's design, God had a particular takeaway that He wanted to 59 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:33,160 impart tucked neatly inside the symbolic fabric of each message. 60 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:38,280 Knowing this, then, the objective of this masterclass is not so much a discussion about 61 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:45,520 Bible prophecy, which has already been done, profusely, as it is to unravel the mysteries, 62 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:52,160 the intricacies, etc., that God has in store for every student of His Word in these which 63 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:59,400 are indeed the end times, i.e., in view of this fact, and in strict accord with God's 64 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:04,880 will that all men should know, our goal is to answer questions that plague the minds 65 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:11,280 of all observers of our times, such as, where are we headed biblically speaking, in view 66 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:15,640 of the things happening around us, all over the world? 67 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:23,320 How close are we to Armageddon as of this day, 10-29-2023, considering the Russian invasion 68 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:28,640 of Ukraine and its threats to go nuclear if NATO or anyone else gets involved with boots 69 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:34,840 on the ground, the Hamas attack on Israel, China's threat to Taiwan, South Koreans' 70 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:38,760 worries over weapons trade between the North and the Russians? 71 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,840 Are we close to the return of Jesus Christ? 72 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:45,960 Will His coming be before, during, or after the apocalypse? 73 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,800 Is America mentioned anywhere in Bible prophecy? 74 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:51,720 If so, where? 75 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:56,840 How close are the Chinese to realization of their dream of destroying the United States 76 00:05:56,840 --> 00:06:03,380 in 100 years according to the commitment they made to themselves in 1949? 77 00:06:03,380 --> 00:06:09,220 Will the Chinese act in tandem with the Russians and or other nations, or will they attack 78 00:06:09,220 --> 00:06:11,880 the USA stand alone? 79 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:18,080 What might China's noose of debt, rooted in burdensome loans China knows its third-world 80 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:24,320 clients will never be able to repay, made even more burdensome by significant hikes 81 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:30,120 in interest rates when borrowers are late making repayments, and infrastructure upgrades 82 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:35,080 it knows they can't afford, tell us in terms of motivation and ambitions? 83 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:38,960 Well, that's a wrap for this edition of the podcast. 84 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:44,400 Please make plans to join us next time for episode number one of the Bible Prophecy Master 85 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:51,200 Class in which we will begin a thorough discussion of the 18th chapter of the book of the Revelation, 86 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:55,960 the objective being to settle at last the question of the place of the United States 87 00:06:55,960 --> 00:07:00,560 of America in God's plans for the end times. 88 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:18,120 Until then, please spread the word and may God richly bless you.