Participants:
Series Code: CR
Program Code: CR002122S
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00:01 Earthquakes, pandemics, worldwide destruction,
00:04 and lawlessness, 00:05 these are the signs of the times. 00:08 Building an underground shelter in your backyard 00:11 won't protect you. 00:12 Life insurance, 00:14 earthquake insurance, and health insurance 00:16 won't cover you for what is to come, 00:19 but you can have the blessed assurance 00:22 of Christ Jesus. 00:23 Here is John Carter to tell us more 00:26 about the Return of the King. 00:36 What does AD mean? 00:41 Well, smart people get informed. 00:44 If you're informed, my friend, 00:46 you're prepared for what's coming. 00:49 AD, what does AD mean? 00:50 Well, of course, it means it's the Latin, 00:52 Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord. 00:56 Jesus Christ broke history in two. 00:59 He is the greatest person 01:01 in the history of the human race. 01:04 There's no doubt about this. 01:05 BC, of course, refers to Before Christ, 01:09 B, Before Christ, AD, Anno Domini, 01:12 we are living in the time of our Lord. 01:16 This is something even the communist 01:18 has to recognize. 01:20 Now, let me read you a text, Wayne, to answer your question. 01:23 I'm going to read 01:25 from Matthew 24:9-13. 01:30 Are you ready? 01:31 Here we go. 01:35 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, 01:40 and you will be hated by all nations 01:41 for My name's sake. 01:43 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, 01:46 and will hate one another. 01:48 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 01:54 And because lawlessness will abound, 01:58 the love of many will grow cold. 02:02 But he who endures to the end 02:05 shall be saved." 02:09 All of this happened 02:10 before Jerusalem was overthrown in 70 AD. 02:14 They were false prophets. 02:16 All of these signs that I just read here 02:18 from the very lips of Christ, 02:21 all of these signs came to pass 02:24 but everything that came to pass back there 02:27 is going to come to pass again in our day and our age, 02:32 and then we will see the return of the King. 02:35 Let me just illustrate, persecution, 02:39 Jesus said they're going to persecute you. 02:42 Of course, Christians were persecuted back there, 02:46 before Jerusalem was overthrown. 02:47 This is a historical fact. 02:50 Today, the most persecuted group of people 02:54 on the face of planet earth are the Christians. 02:59 You go to the Middle East, Christians are persecuted. 03:03 You go to Africa, Christians are persecuted. 03:08 And Billy Graham told us before his death, 03:11 that Christians in the United States of America 03:14 can expect to be persecuted by their own government. 03:18 Think about it. 03:20 Persecution. 03:22 Jesus said, "They're going to hate you 03:25 because of My name's sake. 03:29 I'm just dumbfounded by the hatred 03:31 that exists today in the world, 03:35 even including Australia, 03:37 and the United States of America. 03:40 You turn on the internet, you go on Facebook, 03:43 and there is so much hate. 03:46 And there are groups that are trying 03:48 to silence the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ 03:52 in the preaching of His Word. 03:56 We are in a culture of hate. 03:59 We're seeing great changes in our culture. 04:03 Jesus said there would be false prophets. 04:06 And back in the times before Jerusalem 04:08 was overthrown by the Romans in 70 AD, 04:12 there were false prophets 04:15 and there are false prophets today. 04:18 There are people who are religious charlatans 04:21 who are deceiving the masses. 04:23 And that is why 04:24 we need to follow the scriptures 04:26 and not the teachings of men, 04:28 but the teachings of Christ and keep His commandments. 04:33 Jesus said, "Lawlessness, 04:36 the love of most would grow cold 04:39 and there will be an attitude of lawlessness." 04:43 Everywhere we go today, 04:45 every time we turn on television, 04:47 we hear this new culture of lawlessness. 04:51 You've noticed it. 04:52 It's not popular for me to tell you these things. 04:54 I know this. 04:55 I know that some of you watching this telecast 04:57 may be offended. 04:59 I'm sorry to offend you, 05:00 but I'm not sorry to tell you the truth. 05:04 There's lawlessness today, 05:05 even marriage has been attacked. 05:09 Marriage, you read what Jesus said, Jesus said, 05:12 "In the beginning, God made them male and female." 05:16 But we are in such a lawless age today 05:19 that millions of people don't even believe in marriage 05:23 between a man and a woman 05:26 and millions of others believe 05:28 that a man can be a woman and a woman can be a man 05:31 and they can be somewhere in-between. 05:33 This is an age of lawlessness. 05:36 Our only safety, my friend, 05:38 is in the keeping of God's commandments 05:41 and in the keeping of the law of God. 05:44 By the grace of God, 05:46 I am taking my stand on the words of Christ. 05:49 Listen to this. 05:52 Violence, hatred, 05:54 mass killing, suicides, 05:59 we hear about it all the time. 06:01 In the schools today, in the state schools, 06:04 it's okay to teach our little kids 06:09 about critical race theory. 06:11 It's okay to teach about same-sex marriage, transgender, 06:15 etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. 06:19 But it's not okay to teach in the schools 06:22 the commandments of God, it's not wrong. 06:24 It's not okay to put up the Ten Commandments, 06:26 you can put up all the rest of this stuff, 06:31 but the Ten Commandments 06:32 have been abolished from the schools. 06:34 And we wonder why we have so many suicides, 06:37 and why we have so many violent incidents 06:40 around the world. 06:41 It is because we have rejected God. 06:45 Listen carefully. 06:47 The happiest people in this world are the people 06:51 who keep the commandments of God. 06:55 I'm telling you the truth. 06:57 The happiest people in this world are the people 07:00 who got their feet on the scriptures, 07:03 and who keep the commandments of God. 07:05 May these words, my friends, sink down 07:08 into the molecules of your mind. 07:10 And then Jesus said these words. 07:12 Here it is, Matthew 24:13, He said, 07:16 "But he who endures to the end shall be saved." 07:20 He who endures to the end shall be saved. 07:27 I've seen people who've endured to the end. 07:29 People have gone through dreadful persecution. 07:33 On one occasion, we traveled from Moscow to Vladivostok 07:36 in the Trans-Siberian Express. 07:39 We hired a railway car. 07:41 We took some of the Carter Report team. 07:44 At every stop, many, many stops 07:48 on this tremendous journey that took us eight days, 07:51 thousands of miles across Siberia 07:54 we were greeted by the survivors 07:57 of the communist holocaust. 08:00 They came out to meet us 08:01 2 o'clock in the morning, 08:03 4 o'clock in the morning, 08:04 2 o'clock in the afternoon. 08:06 We were up all day, 08:08 all night giving out Bibles, medicines, tapes, 08:12 preaching the Word of God in the middle of Siberia, 08:15 in the middle of winter, speaking to the survivors. 08:20 God has always had His survivors. 08:22 And in the end times God will have His people 08:25 who will endure the persecution 08:28 and the hatred. 08:31 And they will rejoice in the return of the King. 08:36 The King is coming. 08:41 Is there any good news among the signs? 08:48 Hey, Wayne, there's plenty of good news. 08:51 You and I just love good news. 08:54 We are people of good news. 08:56 You know what the word gospel means, 08:57 don't you? 08:59 The word gospel. 09:00 Jesus said, "The Gospel of the Kingdom." 09:02 Now, look, I'm gonna read it to you, 09:04 Matthew 24:14, Jesus said, 09:09 and this gospel... 09:11 Look at me, this gospel, this good news. 09:16 Now come back to the text. 09:18 "This gospel of the kingdom 09:19 will be preached in all the world 09:21 as a witness to all the nations and then the end shall come." 09:26 Hey, that's great news. 09:30 Nothing can stop the preaching of the gospel. 09:33 I've seen it with my own eyes, been to Russia. 09:36 I've had the privilege 09:38 of speaking to millions of atheists, 09:40 the communists. 09:41 I've seen the power of God in El Salvador, India. 09:47 I could go on and on, 09:48 the islands of the sea like Papua New Guinea. 09:51 Hundreds of thousands of people... 09:53 Hundreds of thousands... 09:54 Hundreds of thousands of people coming every night. 09:57 Why do they come? 09:59 What draws them with an irresistible force? 10:04 It's not bad news, my friend, it's the good news. 10:07 It's the good news that there's God in heaven. 10:10 And this God in heaven, He made you 10:12 and He loves you and you are important. 10:17 You can't stop the tide from coming in, can you? 10:22 Remember Winston Churchill's great speech. 10:25 He gave this tremendous speech 10:27 when Britain was facing the Nazis, 10:30 and people wanted to quit. 10:33 You know what Churchill said? 10:35 He said, "You can't stop the tide." 10:38 He read a poem. 10:39 He said, "You can't stop 10:41 the tide from coming in." 10:45 There is power, the power of God in the tide. 10:50 I want you to know, 10:52 you can't stop the tide from coming in. 10:55 You may think we're beaten. 10:57 Never, never, never, Christ is never beaten. 11:01 The tide is coming in and Christ will return. 11:09 What is meant 11:10 by the abomination of desolation 11:13 from Matthew 24? 11:20 Well, Wayne, you're throwing me 11:21 some curly ones today, aren't you? 11:24 I'm gonna read it to you. 11:26 Gonna read you this passage out of Matthew 24. 11:28 And remember, 11:30 everything that happened back there 11:31 on a local scale is going to happen 11:34 on a worldwide scale. 11:36 And just as Jerusalem was overthrown, 11:38 the end came for the Jewish race, 11:41 as a nation, as a theocracy. 11:43 So the end is going to come for this world, 11:47 and Christ is going to return. 11:50 Now, I'm going to read it to you. 11:53 Matthew 24:15-21, 11:56 "Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, 11:59 spoken to by Daniel the prophet, 12:01 standing in the holy place, 12:03 whoever reads, let him understand, 12:06 then at those who are in Judea fee 12:08 of the mountains. 12:09 Let him who is on the housetop not go down 12:12 to take anything out of his house. 12:15 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 12:21 But woe to those who are pregnant 12:23 and to those who are nursing babies 12:25 in those days! 12:26 And pray that your flight 12:28 may not be in the winter or on the Sabbath. 12:31 For then there will be great tribulation, 12:35 such as has not been since the beginning 12:38 of the world until this time, 12:40 no, nor ever shall be." 12:44 Let me give you a little bit of history. 12:49 This has been fulfilled, it's happened. 12:52 It happened before Jerusalem was overthrown. 12:56 The abomination of desolation stood in the holy place. 13:01 They were the armies of the Romans. 13:04 The Roman armies were a type, 13:06 listen, of the last 13:09 great Antichrist. 13:15 Jesus spoke about a tremendous tribulation 13:18 that would come. 13:20 That tribulation came back 13:23 before Jerusalem was overthrown. 13:27 That tribulation was a type of the last great tribulation 13:32 before Christ returns. 13:36 This is the Word of God. 13:40 What happened back there is going to be repeated. 13:45 It will come to pass. 13:47 It is written. 13:52 Is it possible to work out the day 13:56 and hour of Christ's return? 14:03 Well, a lot of people have tried to. 14:07 The history of the Christian Church 14:09 tells us always been folks 14:11 who have been very confident 14:13 and felt they can work out the time of Christ's return. 14:18 You can't do it. 14:20 It's forbidden in the Scriptures. 14:23 Here's a text. 14:25 Matthew 24:34-36, 14:29 "Assuredly, I say to you, 14:30 this generation will by no means pass away 14:33 till all these things take place. 14:36 Heaven and earth will pass away, 14:38 but My words will by no means pass away." 14:41 Now, here it is. 14:42 Listen carefully. 14:43 "But of the day and hour no one knows, 14:46 not even the angels of heaven, 14:48 but my Father only." 14:51 Jesus said this. 14:52 And this is very important when I'm going to tell you. 14:55 Jesus said there would be certain signs, 14:58 just as they were signs 14:59 before the overthrow of the city of Jerusalem. 15:02 Jesus said in the last days, in our days, 15:05 there would be certain signs. 15:07 And He said, when we saw those signs, 15:10 we would know that we were living 15:12 in the last era. 15:13 But he said you can't tell the exact day or the hour. 15:18 Jesus said that's something, no, no, 15:21 something you shouldn't even try 15:23 and be... 15:24 You shouldn't be trying even to work this out, 15:26 even though there have been hosts of people 15:28 who tried to do this. 15:31 But let me tell you this. 15:32 Now listen carefully to this. 15:35 Are you listening to me? 15:39 The coming of the King, 15:41 the coming of Christ 15:43 is no farther removed from you 15:47 than your own personal death, 15:51 because when you and I die, 15:54 we are going to fall asleep, and we will be unconscious, 15:59 and the next thing we will know 16:01 will be the return of Christ. 16:06 I had a dear friend, she was working away 16:09 in the kitchen preparing her husband lunch, 16:13 all of a sudden she had a stroke, 16:14 she was gone. 16:17 She didn't have time even to say, Lord, 16:19 she was gone. 16:23 That to her was the return of Christ 16:29 because she fell asleep, 16:31 unconscious and the next thing 16:35 she would know would be the coming of Christ. 16:42 Will Christ's return be a secret? 16:49 Well, let me read you this text. 16:52 Many people believe that the coming of Christ 16:54 is going to be a secret thing. 16:56 I find it hard to believe that idea 16:58 and believe this text in the Bible, 17:00 but I leave it to you to judge. 17:02 You be the judge. 17:03 Matthew 24:23-27, "Then if anyone says to you, 17:09 'Look, here is the Christ! 17:10 or 'There!' do not believe it. 17:12 For false christs and false prophets will rise 17:15 and show great signs 17:16 or wonders to deceive if possible, 17:18 even the elect. 17:20 See, I've told you beforehand. 17:22 Therefore, if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert! 17:26 Or do not go out, or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' 17:30 do not believe it. 17:32 For as the lightning comes 17:33 from the east and flashes to the west, 17:35 so also will be the coming 17:38 of the Son of Man." 17:42 The coming of Christ is not going to be a secret thing. 17:47 So people say to you, hey, He's going to come in secret. 17:51 You say, "No, that's not what Jesus said." 17:54 Jesus said, "As the lightning flashes 17:57 from the east to the west, 17:59 so also will be the coming of the Son of Man." 18:05 The coming of Christ is going to be audible. 18:08 We are going to hear Him when He comes. 18:10 It is going to be visible. 18:12 The Bible says in the Book of Revelation Chapter 1, 18:15 I think it's verse 7, it says, 18:18 "Every eye is going to see Him 18:20 as He comes in power and great glory." 18:24 It is going to be spectacular 18:26 because when He comes, 18:29 He's actually going to raise the dead. 18:34 My friend, it's going to be the greatest event 18:38 in the history of the universe, 18:40 the return of the King. 18:45 Are all of these events described in the Bible? 18:52 Yes, Jesus wrote these things down, 18:55 or rather He had His disciples write these things down 19:00 and they are recorded for our information 19:02 and our edification. 19:05 I'm reading to you from Matthew 24:29-31. 19:10 "Immediately after the tribulation 19:11 of those days, the sun will be darkened, 19:14 and the moon will not give its light, 19:16 the stars will fall from heaven, 19:18 and the powers of the heaven will be shaken. 19:21 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 19:24 then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, 19:28 and they will see the Son of Man 19:29 coming on the clouds of heaven 19:31 with power and great glory. 19:34 And He will send His angels 19:35 with a great sound of a trumpet, 19:37 and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, 19:42 from one end of heaven to the other." 19:46 Wow. 19:48 There are going to be tremendous celestial events. 19:52 The Bible tells us the elect are going to see these things. 19:56 The angels are going to come in great power and great glory. 20:02 The dead are going to be brought up out of their tombs. 20:06 The living saints are going to be translated, 20:09 that means they're going to be filled 20:13 with new life and power 20:15 and eternity. 20:19 The earth is going to be reeling like a drunken man. 20:23 The earth is going to be breaking up, 20:25 the mountains are going to be moved out of their places, 20:28 we're told in the scriptures. 20:29 Hey, it's amazing. 20:33 The greatest event in the history of the world 20:36 is coming, my friend. 20:39 Jesus said, "When you see the things, 20:41 know that My coming is near, 20:44 even at the doors." 20:49 Is the destruction of Jerusalem 20:51 in 70 AD connected to the return of Jesus? 20:59 Because one foreshadows the other, 21:04 what happened to Jerusalem in 70 AD, 21:07 what happened to the world on a worldwide scale? 21:13 Before Jerusalem was destroyed by General Titus in 70 AD, 21:17 before the temple was absolutely razed 21:20 to the ground, there were certain signs. 21:23 There were the wars, the famines, pestilences, 21:27 the preaching of the gospel, and so forth. 21:30 Now Jesus said, "These things are going to be repeated 21:34 with growing intensity on a worldwide scale." 21:38 We can see this happening today 21:41 and what happened back there 21:43 is a historical reality. 21:46 This is not a fairy tale, my friend, 21:48 not making this stuff up. 21:50 This is not a fairy tale. 21:52 Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD 21:55 according to the prophecies in the Bible, 21:57 according to the prophecies of Jesus, 21:59 and according to the prophecies of Daniel, 22:02 Daniel Chapter 9. 22:05 And in the same way, 22:09 Christ is going to return. 22:12 The return of Christ is an absolute certainty. 22:16 Christ is coming, you can believe it. 22:19 This is the Word of God, my friend. 22:25 How can we prepare for these events? 22:32 Wayne, you ask the question, what should we do? 22:36 In view of all these things, what are we going to do? 22:38 We see the signs being fulfilled, 22:40 what should we do? 22:42 It's a great question because truth is not something 22:46 we put up on a pedestal and look at it, 22:49 and we walk past it every morning, 22:51 and we give it a little polish. 22:54 No, that's not what truth is. 22:55 Truth is a reality that comes inside the temple, 23:00 the soul temple. 23:03 It is a transforming thing. 23:06 Now, I want you to notice what Jesus said. 23:09 Matthew 24:33-42, 23:14 "So you also, when you see all these things, 23:17 know that it is near at the doors! 23:20 Assuredly, I say to you, 23:21 this generation will by no means pass away 23:24 till all these things take place. 23:26 Heaven and earth will pass away, 23:28 but My words will by no means pass away." 23:31 Let me comment on this. 23:34 Jesus said, 23:37 "There's going to be a final generation." 23:39 There was a final generation 23:40 that saw the overthrow of Jerusalem. 23:42 There's going to be a final generation 23:44 that is going to see all of the signs fulfilled, 23:47 and see Christ return. 23:50 Now I come back to the text. 23:53 "But of that day and hour no one knows, 23:54 not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 23:58 But as the days of Noah were, 24:00 so also will be the coming of the Son of Man. 24:03 For as in the days before the flood, 24:05 they were eating and drinking, 24:06 marrying and giving in marriage, 24:09 until the day that Noah entered the ark, 24:12 and did not know until the flood came 24:14 and took them all away, 24:16 so also will be the coming of the Son of Man. 24:19 Then two men will be in the field: 24:21 one will be taken and the other left. 24:23 Two women will be grinding at the mill: 24:26 one will be taken and the other left. 24:28 Watch therefore, for you do not know 24:31 what hour your Lord is coming." 24:35 It speaks for itself. 24:38 You know what our greatest need is? 24:41 Our greatest need is to know Christ. 24:45 Our greatest need is to take Christ 24:48 into our hearts into our homes 24:52 and to take His law into our hearts. 24:56 The happiest people are the people 24:57 who follow Christ and keep His commandments. 25:02 Listen, my friend, 25:05 listen. 25:08 Can you hear the rumbling? 25:11 Listen, 25:14 can you hear the rumbling wheels of the chariot? 25:20 Listen... 25:24 The King is coming. 25:28 Prepare, my friend, 25:32 for the return of the King... 25:38 In the name of the Father, 25:39 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 25:44 Amen. 25:49 Many people no matter what their age 25:52 still have their first teddy bear. 25:55 It's hard to let them go. 25:57 Their stitches might be loose, the stuffing flat, 26:01 one ear a little lopsided, 26:03 but they were always there for us. 26:06 Imagine giving a child their very first teddy bear, 26:10 especially when they are sick and lonely. 26:13 They will always remember 26:15 that someone they didn't even know 26:17 cared enough to bring them a new friend 26:19 when they needed it most. 26:21 Will you help the Carter Report bring cheer to these children? 26:26 You can mail a bear or send a donation 26:28 and we will buy the bears for you. 26:31 Please send your bears or donation 26:33 to the address on the screen. 26:37 For COVID protection, 26:38 please send the bears in their original packaging. 26:41 Thank you for your kindness and giving cheer 26:44 and comfort to children in need. 26:51 The Carter Report has a new weekly updated message 26:54 for you from Pastor Carter. 26:57 This update is not available 26:59 on your 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Revised 2021-12-02