Participants: Pr. Lyle Albrecht
Series Code: RIN
Program Code: RIN000001
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00:59 If you just now lean back and relax,
01:01 we shall begin our journey to the place called Megiddo. 01:04 We've left from Jerusalem aboard these buses. 01:10 You notice that they have air conditioners upon them. 01:12 With the air conditioners running full blast, 01:15 inside the bus it was a comfortable 91 degrees. 01:23 91 degrees, and this by the way, happened to be in July. 01:27 But when we stepped out the door it was like 01:29 stepping into a blast furnace, it was 122 degrees. 01:34 But you know what they said to us? 01:35 They said you'll hardly notice, it's a dry heat. 01:38 You ever heard that before? Yeah, you've heard that before. 01:41 Well I notice, there's much to see and so let's 01:43 get about it, shall we. 01:44 We're going to pause briefly at the sign board 01:47 that greets us here. 01:48 And it says Megiddo. 01:50 And I'm going to talk to you now for just a moment or two 01:53 about the name Armageddon. 01:55 It's mentioned only once in the Bible and that's from our 01:58 favorite book, The Revelation and the sixteenth chapter, 02:00 beginning down at about verse fifteen. 02:03 Armageddon, the Old Testament word is made by joining together 02:08 two Hebrew or Old Testament words. 02:11 The first of those words is "har". 02:15 That's the way we would say it and write it, "har". 02:18 The word "har" in the Old Testament language means, 02:20 "the hilltop" or "the high place. " 02:22 The second word is "mageddon". 02:26 "Mageddon" carries the idea of "the gathering," 02:32 "the place of assembly. " 02:35 You put the two together, har mageddon, 02:38 and transliterate, kind of say it quickly, 02:40 and you come up with the idea of the hilltop of the assembly 02:44 or the high place of the gathering. 02:47 Armageddon. 02:48 Now the sign at the top just mentions Megiddo. 02:52 And this, by the way for your interest sake, 02:54 is in the Plain of Esdraelon. 02:56 Some of you are going to go home and look in your maps, 02:58 your Bible maps. 02:59 And beneath the name Megiddo, it give us a scripture 03:03 from the Old Testament book of Judges. 03:05 It says, "Then fought the kings of Canaan 03:08 by the waters of Taanach in the valley of Megiddo. " 03:11 The sign goes on to tell us that this place has been fought over, 03:15 bitterly contested and fought over and battled in and around 03:20 for 5000 years. 03:21 It's been fought over by the Phoenicians. 03:24 It's been fought over by the Canaanites and by the Hyksos. 03:28 It's been fought over by the British under General Allenby 03:31 in modern time. 03:32 It's a place of one continuous battle. 03:34 And then the sign concludes with the scripture from 03:38 The Revelation, that we eluded to just a bit ago, chapter 16. 03:42 "He then gathered them together into a place called 03:46 in the Hebrew language, Armageddon. " 03:49 There's much here to see in terms of 03:52 geography and topography. 03:53 And so let's begin to have a look around, shall we. 03:56 We've turned around from the sign board 180 degrees 04:00 and we're looking at a range of mountains. 04:03 Now if we could see through that cut, 04:06 if there was an opening there or if we were up on top 04:08 of that mountain and looking to the west, we would be looking 04:11 at the blue waters of the Mediterranean sea. 04:14 Not too far from Haifa or Caesarea 04:17 if you look for it on your Bible map. 04:19 You'll see some folks standing up there, 04:21 right on the edge of the cliff they are. 04:23 These mountains are a part of the Carmel range. 04:27 And every time that I think of Mt. Carmel, 04:30 I'm reminded of the time that the old prophet Elijah had that 04:34 standoff with the false prophets of Baal, do you remember. 04:37 They said, "Our gods are the true gods. " 04:40 "Our gods" plural, and Elijah said, "No. " 04:42 "My God" singular, "is the true God. " 04:44 And the debate then ended in a little bit of a contest. 04:48 Elijah said, "We'll each build an altar. 04:51 And then we'll put up on our altar an offering, a sacrifice. 04:55 And the God, or gods in your case, that answers by consuming 05:00 the sacrifice, the offering with fire is the true God or gods. " 05:05 And so they built their little altars of stone. 05:09 And then Elijah said, "I shall be a gentleman, you go first. " 05:15 And they began to pray after placing their 05:16 offering atop their altar. 05:18 And nothing happened. 05:19 And they prayed more and longer, and nothing happened. 05:23 And after several minutes of their prayer, 05:26 Elijah began to tease them and tempt them a little bit. 05:29 He said, "Could it be that your gods are all asleep 05:32 and they can't hear you?" 05:35 And they began to scream and shout more loudly. 05:37 And then Elijah said, "Well, is it possible 05:40 that your gods are all out of town? 05:42 Maybe they're on a long vacation, they're out of town. " 05:45 And by now, these false prophets were doing some really 05:49 crazy things, cutting themselves and other really ugly things. 05:52 And so Elijah stopped it. 05:54 He said, "You've had your turn and your chance, now it's mine. 05:57 But before I pray, I want you to dig a ditch around my altar. " 06:01 And they did that. 06:02 Now he said, "Brings gallons and gallons of water 06:05 and fill that ditch. " 06:06 And they did that. 06:09 Then he began to pray and mid-sentence his prayer, 06:12 fire flashed down from God and not only consumed 06:16 the offering, but then burned the stones as if they were coal, 06:19 and lapped up the water like it had been gasoline. 06:22 And all of the happened right up on top of that mountain 06:26 where we should have been. 06:29 Alright? 06:30 Now, I'm probably going to do that again because 06:32 this is a new machine here. 06:35 And I'm an old man. How's that for ya, huh? 06:38 That makes a lot of sense, doesn't it. 06:40 Ok now, we've turned around 180 degrees again. 06:44 And we're having our first glimpse of the ruins of Megiddo. 06:49 Now Megiddo, ladies and gentlemen, is a tel. 06:52 And you may spell that one of two ways and be correct. 06:55 "Tel" or "tell". 06:58 Either way we spell it, it simply means; 07:00 a mound of ruins that are unrelated to the natural 07:03 geography and topography. 07:06 In other words, this hill is the result of people building a city 07:12 and then an enemy coming and knocking it down. 07:15 And that enemy building atop those ruins. 07:17 And then an enemy coming and knocking theirs down and 07:20 building atop their ruins. 07:21 Until it gets higher and higher and higher still. 07:25 You might be interested to note that there are 07:27 20 different elevations here. 07:29 20 different empires or peoples who built and lived here. 07:35 And in the year 1962-1963, the years '62-'63, 07:44 an archaeologist by the name of Dr. Yigael Yadin 07:48 began an archaeological dig here that lasted, as I mentioned, 07:51 for about two years. 07:53 And he discovered at the 9th level the Egyptian civilization. 07:58 Now I'm going to try to use the pointer here 08:00 and show you about where that would be. 08:02 If there are 20 levels, the 9th perhaps, would be somewhere 08:04 right around in there. 08:06 And that was at the time of the Egyptians King Thutmose III. 08:12 King Thutmose III, was here 1500 years before the birth of Jesus. 08:18 Now that tells us then that long before the birth of Jesus, 08:21 this was an old, old battle ground. 08:24 Now, we're going to go inside the museum 08:28 and spend a few moments. 08:29 And then we shall walk outside and climb to the top 08:32 of that mountain and see there the ancient ruins 08:35 that date back hundreds, yes, thousands of years now. 08:39 Here's an artist mock-up of what the top of this fort looked like 08:43 at the times of Kings David and Solomon which would take us back 08:47 a thousand years before the birth of Jesus. 08:51 King David kept in a perimeter around the city of Jerusalem 08:55 these cities that would not permit an enemy to 08:58 sneak up on the capital city Jerusalem. 09:00 And this happened to be one of them. 09:02 He kept here 500 soldiers and at least 150 horses 09:08 and some chariots of war and all of that sort of thing. 09:11 Now, you're going to notice over here on the right hand side 09:15 of the screen a road, there it is. 09:17 We're going to walk up that same road in reality 09:20 in just a few moments. 09:21 This road would go up at an angle of about 18 degrees 09:25 and then when it neared the top, you went through an arch. 09:29 When you got into that first alcove, that first archway, 09:33 then you had to take a hard left hand turn to go 09:37 and gain entrance inside the fort. 09:39 And all the way around, there were the defenders 09:42 with their weapons of war trying to prevent 09:45 any such thing from happening. 09:47 Now, with that we're ready to look again. 09:50 There's the top of the road and we'll be walking up that in 09:52 just a little bit. 09:54 During the time of the archaeological dig, 09:57 large amounts of gems, jewels, coins, carved ivory, 10:03 were discovered. 10:04 Which proved then that whomever was in charge of this 10:08 piece of real estate would become very, very wealthy. 10:11 Now I'm going to tell you what this is and then why 10:14 it's been fought over and how folks became wealthy. 10:16 This is a coin, but it's more than that. 10:19 It is a signet ring. 10:21 King Jeroboam of Israel had a servant. 10:25 Actually, he was more like a Vice President 10:27 and his name was Shema. 10:30 When King Jeroboam would make a statement, when he would 10:33 make a proclamation, Shema would write it down 10:37 on a parchment or some such thing, and then fold that, 10:41 drip hot wax onto the fold, and then press this ring 10:45 into the hot wax. 10:47 And as soon as the ring was pressed into the wax, 10:50 this became binding, it became law. 10:52 This was the kings signature, if you please. 10:56 The Seal of Shema. 10:58 And you'll notice on there, by the way, what animal? 11:00 A lion. 11:02 Do you remember what Revelation 5:5 says about Jesus? 11:05 He is the lion of which tribe? 11:07 Exactly so, the lion of the tribe of Judah. 11:11 The Seal of Shema. 11:12 Now, what about the carved gems and jewels and the ivory 11:17 and that sort of thing? 11:21 This place, ladies and gentlemen, 11:23 for a long time before the time of Jesus, and for a good while 11:26 after, was a cross road of the world. 11:29 In other words, if a camel caravan was coming from the 11:34 south out of Egypt, out of the Cairo area, 11:37 and going north up into the area of Syria, Damascus, 11:41 or maybe turning then a little bit to the left, to the west, 11:45 and going into the area of Beirut Lebanon, 11:47 it would go right through here. 11:49 If on the other hand, a ship had off loaded treasures 11:54 onto a camel caravan over around Haifa or Caesarea 11:58 and these treasures were headed for the capital city 12:01 of the world for some 600-700 years, 12:05 and that being what we're going to talk about tonight, 12:08 out of the headquarter of the world 12:12 the place called Iraq today, that camel caravan 12:16 loaded with all those treasures would go right through here. 12:18 That means then, that whomever was in charge of this fort and 12:22 it's armies could stop the camel caravans and tell them, 12:26 "You're going to pay this much more 12:28 before you take another step. " 12:29 And the folks would either pay up or turn back. 12:31 And so that's why often times, the place was fought over 12:35 during those hundreds and hundreds of years. 12:38 Now, during the excavations, they discovered these stones 12:43 that, put together, made an altar. 12:47 This altar is unique in that it has four horns 12:50 on the four corners. 12:52 That tells us that this place was not only a place of defense, 12:56 but it was also, at one time at least, a city of refuge. 13:00 A city of refuge was for this purpose. 13:03 If a man was to take another man's life by accident, 13:08 not by premeditation, but by accident, 13:12 if the perpetrator could leave the scene of the accident 13:16 and get to one of the cities of refuge and touch 13:19 one of the horns of the altar, then that man's life would 13:21 be spared and the members of the deceased family 13:26 could not harm him. 13:27 It was not so much unlike playing hide-n-seek. 13:31 And when you touch home base then you're free. 13:34 City of refuge. 13:35 Now we've stepped outside the museum and we're greeted 13:38 by a sign that speaks to us in three separate languages, all 13:42 giving the same warning, "There are dangerous places here. 13:44 Please watch your children. " 13:47 So I'm going to encourage all of you parents to have a good hand 13:49 on the kids from this point on, alright. 13:52 Now we're walking up that very same road that was here 13:55 at the time of David and Solomon and continues to be here. 13:59 It may have been here for hundreds of years prior. 14:01 That I'm not sure of. 14:03 We're following a guide who is a professor of antiquities 14:08 at the Jerusalem University. 14:11 And he knew these folks like they'd been his 14:13 next door neighbors. 14:15 I mean, the folks who'd lived here and conquered here 14:17 hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years ago. 14:20 We would climb a ways and then stop in our climbing. 14:23 We old fat folks would catch our breath 14:26 and Jacob would describe to us. 14:28 "Look at the small round stones," he might say. 14:31 Those are from the Hyksos era. 14:33 And then he might point out to the larger rectangular stones 14:38 and say to us, "This is from the Egyptian era. " 14:41 And then when we got near the top he said to us, 14:44 "These, the large stones, are from the time 14:47 of Kings David and Solomon. " 14:49 There he is. His name is Jacob. 14:51 And what you folks can't see, I'm going to tell you. 14:53 Right behind that arm that hangs at his side, 14:58 there is a holstered 45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. 15:02 And now I remind you once more, this man is a doctor, 15:06 he's a professor at the Hebrew University. 15:09 But he has that pistol at his side every day and every hour 15:13 of every day, and at his bedside every night. 15:17 For you see ladies and gentlemen, 15:18 Israel is an armed camp. 15:21 And nearly every person that is able, 15:24 every person that has fair health, 15:27 has such a military issued armament. 15:31 In some cases it's the Uzi, with the best machine gun, 15:35 they say, in all the world today. 15:36 And so, he would get on our tour bus every morning 15:40 and give this little speech. 15:42 It was like this, "If the sirens go off today, 15:46 I shall have to leave you wherever we are. " 15:49 Now you probably will remember that back during the 15:52 first Gulf war, '90s, the sirens would go off 15:55 because the Scud missiles were coming in around Jerusalem. 15:58 You remember that now, don't you? 15:59 Alright. 16:01 The whole of the nation of Israel is intersected 16:06 and intertwined with these sirens. 16:10 And they go off simultaneously to give a warning 16:13 that there's an attack, a military attack. 16:16 And that's the only time they go off. 16:18 Not unlike over in Kansas where they have sirens 16:20 that warn of the tornados and that sort of thing. 16:23 And so, Jacob would say to us every morning as we boarded 16:26 the bus, "If the sirens go off, I still have to leave you. " 16:30 And then he would go on to explain, "If there's a military 16:33 conveyance, if there's a jeep or something nearby, 16:35 I stall go with them. " 16:37 But he said, "If there is no such military conveyance 16:41 and there happens by a tourist with an automobile, 16:44 or someone who lives here, I will take my gun and 16:47 demand they get out and I will take their vehicle. " 16:50 And he said, "In case there is not one of those, 16:53 I will make you folks get off of the bus 16:55 and I will take this bus and I'll be out on the battle field 16:58 in a few minutes. " 16:59 Now folks, that isn't the most encouraging way 17:01 to start your day. 17:02 I can tell you this much, that when you begin your day with 17:06 a warning like that, you don't need any coffee to wake up. 17:09 Yes sir. 17:10 And so that's a little bit about the background of Jacob. 17:13 Our Lord Jesus said, "When you this area surrounded by armies, 17:17 know the end is near. " 17:18 And we're going to talk a little bit more about the dangers 17:21 of this area during our lecture. 17:23 Now we're at the top of the hill where you had to make that 17:25 really hard left hand turn before you could 17:29 gain the summit. 17:30 And we've done that now. 17:31 I want you, over near the center of the picture, to notice 17:34 those pillars that stand. 17:36 Those are the remains of the horse barn, 17:40 the stanchions for the war horses. 17:42 That's where they were kept. 17:43 And nearby, we're going to see the feeding trough 17:47 carved out of the native stone here. 17:48 And that would be filled with grain and there the 17:50 horses would eat. 17:52 Now where would they get the grain? 17:54 Well, we're going now to the granary. 17:56 It's a hole in the ground about 30 feet in diameter 17:59 and 20 feet deep. 18:00 And it was filled with grain and it has this serpentine ladder, 18:05 goes all the way around, you see, and it winds around 18:08 until you come up at the ground level up above. 18:11 And whomever was in charge of KP would come here with buckets 18:16 and fill them up and take them over to feed the horses 18:19 And then take it over to the mess hall 18:21 and make grits, I suppose. 18:24 You folks like grits? 18:26 Oh, I've spent enough time in the South. 18:28 I've come to love grits, yeah. 18:31 Alright, so we wonder then, who are the neighbors 18:35 and what's all around here? 18:37 We have walked to the extreme south end of these ruins 18:41 and we're looking to the south and then 18:44 just a touch to the east. 18:46 And as we do that, we're looking over into King Hussein's Jordan. 18:51 Now on the other side is a rock. 18:54 And during the Gulf wars, the Scud missiles came from 18:57 Iraq and over in that area and crossed King Hussein's Jordan. 19:01 And it's been a very tough situation for the Hussein family 19:05 because they've always been friendly to the West, 19:07 very friendly to the United States. 19:10 And Queen Noor who still lives out in among Jordon, 19:14 the capital city, though her son by adoption is now the king 19:18 because her husband died, you remember, of cancer 19:20 a few years ago, alright. 19:22 She was an American girl. 19:24 She was born and raised in New York City. 19:26 And so they've always been friendly toward the West. 19:28 And that's put them in a really unfriendly situation 19:31 with many of their Arab neighbors. 19:33 And so now we turn away and walk in the opposite direction, 19:36 we walk to the north. 19:38 And when we look due north now, we're looking into the 19:41 Beqaa Valley of Syria. 19:43 And some of you remember when a few years, Terry Anderson 19:46 and Terry Waite were held prisoner and captive up there. 19:49 Alright, it was right up there in the Beqaa Valley. 19:52 And then, if we turn and look a little bit over toward the left, 19:55 a little bit further toward the west now, 19:57 we'd be looking into the area of Beirut Lebanon. 20:00 And hardly a day goes by, ladies and gentlemen, 20:03 except there's a skirmish between the Israeli army 20:07 and the Hezbollah, or some such other group, 20:10 there in southern Lebanon. 20:12 And it's such a tragedy, but I'm afraid it's going to continue 20:15 until Jesus comes. 20:16 Alright, we noted they had a great granary 20:21 where they could hold a years supply of food. 20:23 But what about water? 20:26 It's a fair ways to the nearest source, 20:27 which is the Jordan river. 20:29 You couldn't just, at leisure, open the gates and go out. 20:33 For your enemy is outside waiting for just that event. 20:38 A thousand years before the birth of Jesus, 20:40 during the time of the reign of King Ahab, 20:43 they began to dig a shaft at an angle of about 35 degrees. 20:47 They dug down and down and down, 20:50 and down at about 180-200 feet, they hit an underground river. 20:54 I've often wondered how they found it. 20:57 Maybe God gave someone a vision. 20:59 Or maybe there was someone that used one of those 21:01 willow switches like an old neighbor of ours 21:02 in Idaho once used. 21:04 Yeah, water diviner or some such thing as that. 21:06 I don't know. 21:07 I do know however, it's fascinating 21:09 and we want to go down in there. 21:11 The sign says that it's going to mean that we go down 183 steps. 21:14 And then when we climb back up, we'll go through another exit, 21:18 through another shaft, and we'll be out where 21:20 the buses are parked. 21:21 We only have to climb back up about 80 feet, 21:24 and we old folks will appreciate that. 21:26 Now where the shaft goes underground, there is a 21:30 concrete lid over the whole thing. 21:32 We step down inside and walk down about 20 or 25 steps, 21:37 and now the temperatures have changed 21:40 from 120+ degrees to about 68 degrees. 21:44 I wanted to just stay there. 21:48 We paused and became quiet and you could hear the water running 21:52 the long steps down beneath. 21:55 And after a bit, we moved on down. 21:59 We were able to lean over and drink out of that 22:02 cold underground stream. 22:05 Out there they call it a river, here we call it a creek. 22:09 But over in Idaho, it'd be a "crick" of course. 22:13 I thought, how smug a soldier of David might feel. 22:17 He down here dipping up gallons of fresh water 22:20 and his enemies are walking right over head 22:23 just waiting for them to come out so they can get them. 22:27 Most remarkable. 22:29 We see the soldiers with their military weapons 22:32 gathered all around this area and we're reminded once more 22:35 of the warning of Jesus. 22:36 "When you see this happen, then know My coming is very near. " 22:41 I want to thank you for traveling with me tonight. 22:45 I recently heard this story of the ice fisherman 22:49 who upon the ice had erected his tent. 22:53 He made his little fire in a bucket. 22:56 And drilled a hole and was putting through his line 22:59 and his hook and his worm. 23:01 When he heard a voice, "There are no fish there. " 23:06 And so he moved his tent and moved his fire. 23:10 He was drilling the second hole when he heard again a voice 23:13 that said, "There are no fish there. " 23:17 And so he moved his tent again. 23:20 He moved his bucket and began to drill the third hole 23:23 when once more he heard the voice that fairly shouted, 23:26 "There are no fish there. " 23:29 And the fisherman looked up and asked, 23:32 "Are you God?" 23:35 And the voice came back, "No sir, I'm the manager 23:38 of the ice skating rink. " 23:41 God has chosen to speak other than audibly. 23:46 I want you folks, if you will please, to open your Bible's 23:49 with me to our first scripture. 23:50 It's in 2 Peter chapter 1. 23:52 2 Peter chapter 1, we're going to see how God has chosen 23:56 to speak and then we're going to enlarge upon 23:58 that from night to night. 23:59 I'm going to begin to read at the 19th verse, 24:01 and then I stall read at verse 21 as well. 24:04 I encourage you, by the way, to bring your Bibles each evening. 24:08 If you don't have one, we'll give you one. 24:09 I want you to have your Bibles, 24:11 I want you to be able to read it. 24:12 I don't want anyone to go home and say, "I heard Lyle say. " 24:15 I want you to be able to go home and say, "I saw in my Bible. " 24:19 But one verse from the scripture is of greater value than 24:22 anything I shall every speak in a lifetime. 24:25 And so we're ready to read then 2 Peter 1:18-19, 21. 24:36 "And this voice which came from heaven we heard, 24:42 when we were with Him in the holy mountain. 24:45 We have, therefore, a more sure word of prophecy, 24:48 whereunto we do well to take heed like a light 24:51 that shines in the dark place, until the day dawn 24:55 and the daystar rise in our hearts. " 24:57 Then verse 21, "For prophecy came not in days of old 25:01 by the will of man, but rather holy men of God spake as... " 25:05 Now you help me, what does it conclude with? 25:07 How does it finish there? 25:08 "they spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit of God. " 25:12 And so our Bibles then, are a collection of God speaking 25:15 to His prophets and they're writing it down 25:17 and saving it for posterity. 25:19 This is not a collection of sacred myth. 25:21 This is indeed, the Word of God, a sure word of prophecy. 25:26 With that for background, I want you and I to turn together 25:30 to the last book in the Bible, The Revelation, 25:32 to which we eluded during our travels together. 25:35 And we're going to read one of the last chapters. 25:38 And some of the last verses in that last, the 16th chapter. 25:42 Revelation is the book for those who live in the very last days. 25:46 Just before the last missionary goes over the last hill, 25:49 it's a book for you and for me. 25:51 And so we're going to read together from chapter 16 25:54 beginning at the 13th verse. 25:57 Here, John in this vision says, "I saw three unclean spirits 26:00 like frogs; one came out of the mouth of the dragon, 26:03 one came out of the mouth of the beast, 26:04 and one came from the mouth of the false prophet. " 26:07 And then he goes on to say, "For these are the spirits of... " 26:11 Is this the Holy Spirit at work? 26:13 No, these are demon spirits. 26:15 ...these are the spirits of devils, they're working miracles 26:18 and they go forth to the kings of the earth 26:20 and the whole world to gather them to the great battle 26:23 of God Almighty. " 26:24 And then he says in verse 15, "Look, I come as a thief. 26:30 Blessed is he that hears and keeps the words of this book, 26:34 less he be found naked and they see his shame. " 26:37 And then we come to our special verse for this evening, 26:40 this the 19th, I'm sorry, the 14th verse. 26:45 The 16th, I'll get there after a while. 26:48 The 16th verse, "And they gathered them together 26:50 into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon. " 26:55 Armageddon. 26:56 Since I've been around church folks, I've known 26:58 that the last great battle was to be sparked 27:01 in that place called Armageddon. 27:02 But for a long, long while, I had no information about 27:05 why and how, and what's behind it all. 27:09 I just couldn't quite figure it out. 27:11 I have a far better understanding tonight, 27:13 and I'm going to try my best to share that 27:15 understanding with you. 27:16 Now tonight, we're going to be talking about the peoples of the 27:19 Middle East in general. 27:21 And I need to make a statement at the very outset. 27:24 Lyle holds no prejudice toward any people of any race 27:28 or any country on any portion of the planet 27:32 on the face of God's earth. 27:34 If I know my own heart, and I believe I do, 27:36 I hold no malice, no prejudice to any race, to any people, 27:40 to any faith, to any religion. 27:42 I have been on record for the past 37 years as saying that 27:47 I believe God has His children in all denominations, 27:50 in all Christian faiths. 27:52 I will go beyond that again tonight to say to you 27:55 that I have always believed that God has His precious children 27:59 in the faith of Islam, and in the faith of Buddhism, 28:03 and Shintoism and Confucianism. 28:05 God has His dear people in all religions and in all countries 28:10 all around the world. 28:11 And so I hold no animus toward any people, 28:14 toward no faith whatsoever. 28:17 God has many, many wonderful children who are adherence 28:21 to the belief of Islam. 28:24 Now, I need to say this to you. 28:27 I was first introduced to the peoples of Iran when a teenager, 28:33 an older friend of mine, married a girl from Iran. 28:39 She was beautiful beyond my description here tonight, 28:42 and she was sweet, and so also was her family. 28:45 And it was way back then that I learned that peoples 28:48 with an Islamic background can be wonderful, lovely, sweet, 28:52 kind, generous people. 28:55 We're going to go beyond that tonight to discover 28:58 that in all faiths, in all religions, there are extremist. 29:03 Maybe you've known one in your church. 29:04 There happen to be a few around. 29:06 There are extremists in all faiths. 29:08 And that's what we're going to be eluding to 29:10 when we talk together about the problem 29:12 out in the Bible land tonight. 29:14 And having, by the way, used that phrase "the Bible land", 29:17 I want to enlarge our horizons and our minds borders 29:21 this evening. 29:22 We think about the Holy Land, and our minds go 29:24 to Palestine, to Jerusalem. 29:26 And that's right, people that's good. 29:28 But I want to enlarge your thinking tonight. 29:32 I want to just share with you a little bit of background 29:34 information about the place that we call Iraq. 29:38 And I think that we should really refer to it as well 29:41 as the Bible lands. 29:42 Are you ready? 29:43 Here's some facts regarding Iraq. 29:46 We believe that the garden of Eden was placed in Iraq. 29:48 Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, we believe to be 29:51 the cradle of civilization. 29:53 We believe that it was in Iraq that Noah built his Ark. 29:55 We know that it was in Iraq that the Tower of Babel was built. 29:58 Abraham was from Ur of the Chaldees 30:00 which is in southern Iraq. 30:02 Isaac's wife, Rebekah, was born in Nahor, which is Iraq. 30:05 Jacob met his wife, Rachel, in Iraq. 30:09 Jonah preached Nineveh which is in Iraq. 30:11 Assyria, which is in Iraq, was conquered by the 30:14 ten tribes of Israel. 30:15 Amos cried out in Iraq. 30:17 Babylon, which is in Iraq, was destroyed, 30:19 rather went over and destroyed Jerusalem. 30:21 Daniel was thrown into the lion's den in Iraq. 30:25 The three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace where in Iraq. 30:29 Belshazzar, the kind of Babylon, saw the writing upon the wall. 30:32 That was in Iraq. 30:33 Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, carried the Jews 30:36 captive into Iraq. 30:39 Ezekiel went and preached in Iraq. 30:41 The wise men were from Iraq. 30:43 Peter preached over in Iraq. 30:45 The "empire of man", as it's called in The Revelation, 30:48 is also spiritually called Babylon, a city in Iraq. 30:54 We could go on and on, but let that, for now at least, suffice. 30:58 The Bible land, the Middle East. 31:00 Perhaps we need to enlarge our horizons. 31:03 Now, I'm going to read to you a statement that I find 31:09 more than troubling. 31:13 Again, not to be unkind or to be judgmental, 31:15 but to have our eyes opened to what's going on around us. 31:19 The present President of the nation of Iran recently said, 31:23 and I'm quoting, "My mission is to prepare the world for the 31:28 end times by paving the way for the arrival 31:31 of the prophet Imam Mahdi. " 31:37 Ladies and gentlemen, it's no news to you 31:39 that since 9/11 of the year '01, the world has changed. 31:45 And a lot of our freedoms, we've had taken away from us 31:49 so that we can be protected, so that we can have more safety, 31:52 so that we can sleep better at night. 31:54 We have lost many of our freedoms. 31:57 I believe that the prophetic clock struck a different hour 32:00 on a different age when those trade center buildings 32:03 came crashing down. 32:05 And we here in the United States, in Washington DC, 32:07 in New York City, lost over 3000 fellow Americans. 32:10 The world changed. 32:12 And we're going to see that as we continue to read. 32:15 And so this man, President of Iran said, "My mission then 32:20 is to prepare the way of the end times. " 32:22 Now I'm going to enlarge upon that. 32:23 He mentioned that it's his job to prepare for the arrival 32:27 of the prophet Imam Mahdi. 32:30 And you folks may want to take some notes and write this down. 32:33 That is spelled "Mahdi". Mahdi. 32:38 The Koran, you all know, was written by Muhammad. 32:42 Muhammad, the originator of the Faith of Islam, 32:44 lived between 570-632. 32:49 The Sunni Muslims believe that the Koran is, 32:52 indeed, the word of God. 32:53 And to the larger degree, the Shiite Muslims agree with them 32:57 in that area. 32:58 Now, I'm going to share with you briefly a little bit of 33:01 end time Islamic prophecy. 33:04 It comes in three major phases and has involved in it 33:08 three major players. 33:09 Number 1, Dajjal. 33:11 Dajjal, in the Islamic faith, is the name for the antichrist. 33:17 Or perhaps better in their understanding, 33:19 the anti-Muhammad. 33:21 Dajjal, they believe, is likely to be a Jew. 33:24 He going to come in the last days, he's going to do miracles. 33:27 He's going to perform signs and wonders. 33:29 He's going to heal the sick, he's going to raise the dead. 33:32 And he's going to claim, finally, to be Allah. 33:36 Now let me talk to you again about Mahdi. 33:44 Centuries back, the prophets of Islam were 33:49 being hunted down and murdered. 33:53 One by one by one, hunted down and murdered. 33:57 There was a boy, not yet a teenager 34:02 who was next in line to be one such prophet. 34:08 His name was Mahdi. 34:10 He was five years of age when they came looking for him. 34:13 His parents and others secreted him down inside a well. 34:18 Now this, I remind you again ladies and gentlemen, 34:20 has been hundreds and hundreds of years in the past. 34:25 941, the teaching in Islam is that Mahdi is 34:32 to return in the last days. 34:33 He's to reign here upon the earth. 34:35 He is to return only after the death of a great 34:39 and famous Muslim leader. 34:41 And when he returns, all the Jews will be killed 34:44 and all of the others in the world, including folks in 34:46 the United States, are going to become converts to Islam. 34:50 I'm going to read you a little reference from a book 34:53 written by a man with a great background in the Middle East. 34:57 His name is Syed Ayubah. 35:00 His book entitled "The Antichrist" refers to 35:05 all that I have just shared with you in the above. 35:08 He says that it is the belief of the present President of Iran, 35:14 that he is the one appointed by Allah and inspired by Muhammad 35:20 to bring on the chaos that is necessary before Mahdi returns. 35:27 It's his job to hasten the end time and to bring on, 35:30 as his says Christians might call it, the great tribulation. 35:34 That is his mission, that is his objective. 35:37 That, he says, is his job. 35:40 From Fox News the night before last, 35:44 this little bit of information that you probably are aware of. 35:46 Fox News said two nights ago that Iran now has 35:50 a nuclear weapon mounted atop a warhead of medium range. 35:55 A warhead with an ability to strike any place in Israel. 36:04 Iran, for a long while, has been struggling to become 36:07 a world superpower, a nuclear power. 36:09 And many believe they are already there. 36:11 And some others believe they're months, or perhaps at best, 36:15 two or three years away from that. 36:18 Now I'm going to share with you again, a quotation. 36:20 This one is from a fellow by the name of Osama bin Laden. 36:24 Does that ring any bells in your head? 36:25 Here's what he recently said, it came out of tape and we know 36:28 that it's his voice. 36:29 He said, "Acquiring nuclear weapons is a religious duty. 36:35 We have finally acquired these weapons. 36:38 Therefore then, I thank Allah for these weapons. " 36:44 Nuclear Jihad. 36:46 A nuclear weapon that will bring an end to civilization. 36:50 A civilization that does not believe like, or agree with, 36:53 this faith of Islam. 36:56 Now I'm going to quote once more. 36:58 This from the present President out in Iran. 37:02 And he said this, "You ask, is it possible to see a world 37:07 without the United States of America and without the Jews?" 37:11 "Yes," he said. 37:12 "Israel much be wiped from the face of the map. " 37:17 Have you heard about the recent increase in 37:19 the price of gasoline? 37:20 Yeah, that's not news to us, is it? 37:22 The pain is becoming almost unbearable for we in the 37:25 middle class and the lower folks 37:27 who have to drive to work every single day. 37:29 Well, there is a man who set about to try 37:31 to do something about it. 37:32 He's a Vietnamese Vet. 37:34 He's the founder of Federal Express. 37:37 His name is Frederick Smith. 37:39 And I want to read you just one statement that he shared with 37:43 Newsweek Magazine in just the last week. 37:46 "It should not be forgotten that the proximate climate 37:50 of World War II was when the United States placed an 37:54 oil embargo against Japan. 37:56 We were then an oil exporting nation. 37:58 World War II was largely won over in Europe 38:02 by the United States control of the supply of fuel to Germany. " 38:07 And then he goes on to make the case that most of our oil comes 38:11 from the Middle East, from largely Iran. 38:15 Now, very briefly only, I want to talk to you about 38:20 the connection with Russia. 38:25 It won't come as a surprise to you folks to know that 38:28 the warmness and the friendship that we thought we had 38:32 with the former Soviet block is cooling off. 38:38 And some say to a frightening degree. 38:42 The present President of Russia has taken giant steps backward 38:47 from where the nation was 10 years ago. 38:52 In an article from the US News and World Report magazine, 38:57 from and editorial by the way, Morton Zuckerman, 39:02 article entitled, "Moscow's Soul Man", he said, 39:06 "Of greatest concern is Russia's president's 39:10 attitude toward Iran. 39:12 He's resumed armed sales to them. 39:14 He's providing support for their billion dollar nuclear plant. 39:18 He's continuing to oppose any sanctions that the rest 39:23 of the world would try to enforce upon Iran. 39:25 He's helping them greatly in their march toward 39:28 nuclear enrichment, and to sell Tehran high quality arms 39:32 including ground-to-air missiles. 39:36 Interesting, interesting. 39:43 The origin of the problem in the Middle East, 39:44 you folks are well aware, began with the home of Abraham, 39:48 hundreds and hundreds of years ago. 39:52 Abraham and his wife Sarah had so longed for a little baby boy. 39:56 Waited and watched and watched and waited, and no son came. 39:59 And then one night, God spoke to him in terms of covenant 40:03 or contract or promise. 40:04 He said, "Abraham, if you'll continue to witness for Me 40:07 in this way that you've been doing, I one day, will 40:10 bless you with a baby boy, and through that baby boy, 40:12 I will bless the entirety of the rest of the world. " 40:15 And from that point on, Abraham watched and waited with eager 40:18 anticipation for a pregnancy between himself 40:21 and his wife, Sarah. 40:22 Years passed and there was no baby. 40:26 And then Sarah passed the age of child bearing. 40:29 And one evening, Abraham comes to the front door of the tent. 40:32 And he's met there by Sarah, and she sees his long face 40:36 and knows surely his hurting heart. 40:38 And so she makes to him a suggestion. 40:40 She says, "Abraham dear, it's fine with me if you take our 40:43 housekeeper, Hagar. 40:45 You marry her, and perhaps to you and Hagar 40:47 a little child will be born and God will fulfill His promise. " 40:51 So Abraham took the advice of his wife Sarah. 40:55 And he called in the housekeeper, Hagar. 40:58 And asked her to marry him and she said, "alright". 41:01 And she moved into one of the bedrooms. 41:03 And there along, to this relationship, there was born 41:05 a little baby boy whom they named Ishmael. 41:10 Ishmael was not the child of promise, 41:12 he was a child of human devising. 41:14 he was a child of works. 41:15 Years and years go by, and then wonder of wonders, 41:19 there is another pregnancy. 41:20 This time between Abraham and Sarah. 41:22 And by the way, ladies, Sarah is now 90 years of age. 41:25 Imagine that. 41:26 Ninety years old and a baby's coming. 41:29 We got to get a nursery together. 41:31 And Abraham is beyond 100. 41:33 And when the baby boy was born, when the baby was born, 41:37 they named him Isaac. 41:40 Isaac was the child of promise. 41:42 Isaac was the child of faith and not human devisings. 41:47 But here now is a problem. 41:48 We have two ladies, they're both married to the same man. 41:51 Each of them has a little boy that she believes 41:53 is the child of promise. 41:55 We have all the elements of an explosion, 41:57 and one day it happens. 41:59 Abraham, again, comes to the front door of the tent and again 42:01 he's met by his first wife, Sarah. 42:03 Her attitude is very different now. 42:05 She says, "Listen dear, I've had it up to here. 42:08 You tell her to get out of my house, 42:11 out of my kitchen, out of my bedroom. 42:13 And tell her to take that brat of hers with her. " 42:15 Exactly, and again Abraham does as Sarah says. 42:20 He goes to his second wife Hagar, 42:22 and his first son Ishmael. 42:24 He puts money in their hand and sends them from his home. 42:28 And they leave with bitterness and resentment 42:30 that continues to this very day. 42:32 For from Abraham to Hagar and Ishmael, have come 42:36 all of the Palestinians, all of their Arabic neighbors. 42:41 And from Abraham, through Isaac and Sarah, Sarah and Isaac, 42:47 have come the people we now call the Jews or Israel. 42:52 They're first cousins. 42:54 They ought to be the best friends. 42:55 It's family, but it's a family feud. 42:59 Not unlike the McCoy's and their family, huh? 43:04 Not unlike it at all, except now it has turned nuclear. 43:10 The Arabs are related, in curious ways, 43:16 to the Iraqi's and the Iranian's. 43:19 The large degree of their relationship happens to be 43:22 with their faith, and with their language as well. 43:28 They're united in their religion. 43:29 They are united, to a large degree, in their faith. 43:33 We think about the problems over in Iran and Iraq, 43:36 and then we think, well we have a lot of friends in the area. 43:38 You know, we have over in the United Arab Emirates 43:41 some friends, and in Saudi Arabia we have friends. 43:45 And yet, our seeming friends over there are doing nothing. 43:49 They're saying really nothing at all about the Islamic extremist 43:55 who are destroying our people and knocking down our buildings. 43:57 They say nothing. 43:59 And those who are on the inside say there is little doubt but 44:02 that they are financing the terrorism throughout the world. 44:06 They're behind it with their petro dollars. 44:11 Curious day that we've come to. 44:13 Now, in the mind of the extremist, in Iran and Iraq 44:19 and over in Lebanon and elsewhere, Syria, 44:22 Israel must be, must be wiped off the map. 44:27 Not just silenced, not just harmed to some degree, 44:32 but totally and completely wiped off the map. 44:34 I'm going to again read you now from a news magazine. 44:39 Here it is, here's the headline, "Muslim leaders warn the Pope 44:43 that the survival of the world is at stake. " 44:47 Muslim leaders, extremists in Islam. 44:50 And I'll give you just a sentence or two. 44:53 "The survival of the world is at stake if Muslims and Christians 44:56 do not quickly make peace with one another. 44:59 Leaders of the Muslim world warned the Pope 45:02 and all of its Christian friends today. " 45:06 And then it goes on to say, "Disgracing, echoes the 45:09 New Testament passage that, 'He who is not 45:11 with Me is against Me. '" 45:15 Warning the world, warning the church. 45:18 Speaking to the world and the church through the Pope. 45:24 Now I want to just transition again a bit and share with you 45:28 something that I refer to as the Hitler connection. 45:34 The name "Iran" is a fairly new name. 45:39 The nation is hundreds and hundreds 45:40 and hundreds of years old, as we've said a bit ago, 45:42 we believe, in that part of the world, civilization was born. 45:46 But the name "Iran" is a new name. 45:50 Until 1939, I'm sorry 1935, until 1935, the name was Persia. 46:00 And that's the way it's referred to again and again and again 46:02 in the Bible. 46:03 It was changed in 1935 by the Shah of Iran, Shah Pahlavi. 46:11 The name "Iran" is related directly and exactly 46:16 to the word "Aryan". 46:19 Iran - Aryan. 46:23 Now there are three understandings of that word 46:25 and there are two spellings of the same word. 46:30 The first and primary understanding to the folks 46:32 out in that part of the world, would relate to their language. 46:37 Aryan, the language. 46:40 That which is common to indo-Iran, indo-Iraq. 46:44 Aryan language. 46:47 The second meaning. 46:48 A little bit different and a little bit different spelling, 46:52 relates back to a man by the name of Arius 46:55 who lived in the 4th century and promoted throughout 47:01 Christianity, which was in its infancy, 47:03 that Jesus Christ was not eternal God. 47:05 But rather, He was a created being. 47:08 Less, perhaps, even than an angel. 47:10 And that became known as Arianism as well. 47:15 So there's the language idea of Aryanism. 47:18 And there is the idea that Jesus Christ is not eternal God, 47:23 that He may have been sort of a prophet, 47:25 but hardly more than that. 47:27 And then there's a third meaning. 47:30 And for those of us who live in the Pacific Northwest, 47:32 this one, perhaps, is more familiar to us. 47:37 Aryanism. 47:40 Does that ring any bells from over around Hayden Lake, Idaho 47:44 and certain places in Arkansas, Missouri? 47:49 The Aryan hangouts, the skinheads. 47:52 At the bottom line, those Aryans are Jew haters. 47:56 And they too, are determined to get rid of anything 48:00 that is Jewish. 48:01 So, I find this interesting connection that I call 48:05 the Hitler connection. 48:06 And we've been hearing from the news commentators 48:09 a great deal lately about Muslim fascism. 48:12 Fascism, of course you know, demands a dictatorship 48:15 and total control of a population. 48:17 And all of these things are related. 48:21 Peggy and I were in Phoenix where a few days ago 48:26 the Super Bowl took place. 48:28 Maybe some of you were there. 48:30 Maybe if you were like me, you couldn't afford to be there. 48:33 Or more like me, you'd rather go walking and pick oranges. 48:38 I've never really cared for spectator sports. 48:40 If you love football, you'll have to forgive me. 48:43 I'd like to go fishing with you, alright. 48:49 There was intense security all around the Super Bowl. 48:52 In fact, all around the city of Phoenix. 48:55 We, Peg and I, were camped, and I use that in quotation marks, 49:00 about three miles from where the Super Bowl was played 49:04 at the great Phoenix University coliseum. 49:08 The police presence was everywhere, 49:10 I mean, they must have brought in the police forces 49:12 of the whole of the state and the surrounding areas 49:15 and everybody that was able to carry a badge 49:17 must have been deputized. 49:19 I mean, they were everywhere. 49:21 And we could see the Goodyear blimp clearly from 49:23 where our RV was parked. 49:26 And they said that inside, the security was doubly intense. 49:31 Not only just those metal detectors that you have 49:33 to walk through and the taking off of your shoes, 49:35 but all other kinds of security. 49:37 To the point that some folks were frightened. 49:39 Perhaps not with bad reason. 49:42 For it was discovered a week later that there was a man 49:45 who was headed for the inside. 49:47 They caught him just before he got inside. 49:50 And he was going there to do, what was called, 49:53 extreme violence. 49:55 A dirty bomb. 49:58 Not a nuclear explosion that destroys a whole city. 50:02 But a dirty bomb the size of a refrigerator could destroy 50:06 the largest portion of New York City. 50:09 All of Manhattan, to be precise. 50:11 "If that should happen," goes the commentator, 50:15 "Wall Street would instantly shut down. " 50:17 You know, of course, what that would do to the financial world. 50:19 We control the financial world. 50:21 If Wall Street goes down, the economies of the world shut down 50:24 immediately and automatically. 50:26 And all of the money in your bank accounts, and all of 50:28 your electronic checking, and all of that sort of thing 50:30 comes to an end. 50:32 And it's be very unlikely that you'd even be able to pass 50:34 a $100 bill if you go to the bank or to the Wal-Mart store. 50:38 And yes, by the way, I love the Super Wal-Mart. 50:43 You may catch me there. 50:44 Nothing proud about Lyle, it's a wonderful place. 50:48 Senator Richard Lugar, who is the head of the 50:51 Foreign Relations Department in the United States 50:54 said, and I'm quoting now, "The possibility of a nuclear threat 51:03 that could end civilization of the United States 51:06 within 10 years is right now at 70%. 51:11 That, ladies and gentlemen, gives me cause to pause. 51:13 Jesus must come again. 51:18 No oil, no defense. 51:21 The airplanes can't fly. 51:23 The tanks can't run. 51:25 Tehran, Tehran Iran has 1500 missiles that are capable 51:31 to be dropped over in Israel. 51:34 And they're arming them now, as we speak, with nuclear warheads. 51:38 We're not, tonight, only going to just talk about the problems 51:42 of extremists over in Islam. 51:45 We're going to talk about some causes. 51:47 And I'm going to take your Christian minds back 51:49 a few hundred centuries to the crusades. 51:51 Does that ring any bells in your minds? 51:53 Alright, the folks who are causing the problems out there 51:56 are saying that, "One of the reasons we're so angry, 51:59 one of the reasons we're finally striking out is because 52:02 you Christians destroyed so many hundreds and hundreds, yes, 52:05 and thousands of the early believers of Islam. " 52:09 The Christian crusades. 52:12 And it's time, they say, for revenge. 52:17 Military bases. 52:19 Military bases built by the United States in Iraq 52:25 are right on the border with Iran. 52:29 Those who are running for a public office 52:31 at the highest level are saying, "You put me in 52:34 and I'll bring an end to the war. 52:36 I'll have the troops home within just a few weeks, 52:40 or months at most, and the war will be over. " 52:43 Ladies and gentlemen, the war will not be over. 52:49 We're building one of the largest military bases 52:50 the world knows right on the Iran/Iraq border. 52:53 And I've got news for you, ladies and gentlemen, 52:55 we are there to stay. 52:58 We're not putting in temporary installations, 52:59 these are not mobile homes that someone is setting up somewhere. 53:02 We are there to stay. 53:05 We're not about to come home at the early moment 53:11 or in the near future. 53:13 We are there to stay. 53:15 I want you to open your Bibles with me please, if you will, 53:18 to Luke chapter 21. 53:21 Luke chapter 21 finds our Lord Jesus answering a question 53:25 of His disciples. 53:27 They've said to Him, "Lord, tell us, tell us about 53:30 the end of the world and what it's going to be like 53:32 just before you come back. " 53:34 Jesus sets His disciples down on the Mount of Olives. 53:39 They sit with their backs to the uphill side and when you do that 53:42 you're looking right at the Temple square. 53:46 And the disciples have said, "Lord, isn't it beautiful? 53:48 Isn't it wonderful?" And Jesus said, "Yes it is. " 53:53 "But one day, the temple is going to be knocked down 53:57 until not one stone is left on another. " 53:59 By the way, we're going to talk about that on another evening. 54:02 And the disciples said, "Lord, tell us more about that. " 54:04 And so Jesus did, he said, 54:05 "The Jews are going to fall by the edge of the sword. 54:08 They're going to be led captive into all nations. 54:10 And Jerusalem shall be walked upon by Gentiles 54:13 until the time of Gentiles is over. " 54:15 Now ladies and gentlemen, in June of 1967 when the Jews went 54:20 inside the city of Jerusalem and took back East side, 54:23 West side, the Wailing Wall, and the whole place, 54:27 this passage, from my mind at least, 54:28 took on a brand new meaning. 54:30 Jesus, from the Holy Land, is waving all the red flags 54:33 and He's saying, "Get ready, I'm coming back. 54:35 I'm soon to be back, you better get ready. " 54:39 It was on deck of the battleship Missouri, that General MacArthur 54:46 signed with the Japanese, the treaty that brought 54:50 an end to World War II. 54:52 And after it was signed, he made a very brief speech. 54:56 One sentence of which said this, "We've had our last chance, 55:02 and Armageddon is at our door. " 55:10 Someone says, "Well Lyle, you're kind of a pessimist. 55:13 Seems like you're just kind of a doomsayer. " 55:16 Well I may be, my dears, a little bit pessimistic about 55:19 tomorrow, but say, I'm the greatest optimist you've ever 55:22 found about the day after when Jesus comes. 55:24 I've been asked again and again lately, "Lyle, aren't you afraid 55:27 to read and study the book of Revelation?" 55:29 And I say to them, "No I'm not afraid. " 55:31 Quite the reverse from that. It thrills me. 55:33 I've read the last page, I know how the story ends. 55:36 Jesus is coming again. 55:38 And better things are in store. 55:41 I read, not long ago, about a dear little Christian lady 55:44 who'd made her last will and testament. 55:46 And advised her children of her last wishes. 55:49 And parceled out her favorite things to them. 55:52 And then she called in her pastor. 55:54 and she said to him, "Pastor, I want my funeral 55:59 to be a little different. " 56:00 She said, "I've gone to so many funerals of so many friends 56:04 and I see them with their hands folded over their chests. 56:08 I want not to be like that, Pastor. 56:11 I want, in my left hand, to be holding my Bible. 56:14 And in my right hand, I want to be holding a fork. " 56:20 And the Pastor said, "Well, I can understand your Bible, but 56:22 in your right hand, you want to hold a fork?" 56:25 "Yes Pastor, Yes. " 56:27 She said, "You know, I don't want to miss any of the 56:30 fellowship lunches that we have at church. 56:32 They're always so good. 56:33 And at the end of the fellowship lunches, they're the best. 56:37 Those that come by to pick up the dishes say to me, 56:40 'Hang onto your fork. ' 56:43 And then I know something better is coming. 56:46 I know that the dessert is coming. 56:48 And so I want to hang onto my fork. " 56:51 And I want to say to all of you folks tonight, 56:54 better days are coming. 56:57 One day soon, war is going to be ended. 57:00 Forever ended. 57:03 There shall be wars and rumors of wars, until the end. 57:06 "And then," Jesus says, "sin shall not arise a second time. " 57:10 Something better is coming. 57:13 So this preacher will say to you, and all of you, 57:20 "Hang onto your fork. " 57:26 Thank you, Lord, for the clarity of Your word. |
Revised 2014-12-17