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[0:00] And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?

[0:14] Matthew 24 tells us about signs of the coming of Christ. The signs of his coming. And we could see many challenging verses here that we can really see. Wow, that sounds like current events, doesn't it? Sounds like the current events in the newspaper.

[0:32] I know just on the way to church this morning, I was hearing Israel in the news again. It's like it's constantly there, isn't it? The hot spot. No wonder, because the Bible says it will be. The Bible says it will be. That place that the world will look to and will be a sign as a nation.

[0:50] And here we see lots of signs, brothers and sisters. We can take heart that these signs are current events. They're currently being seen around about us. As we see there, verse 3, what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?

[1:05] Verse 4, the Lord Jesus says, Take heed that no man deceive you, for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. We've seen that in the news lately too, haven't we?

[1:17] Various cultic leaders saying that they're prophesying the end of the world, or come and join our exclusive club and make sure you get there. But, friends, false movements is a sign. False movements is a sign of the end times. Our Lord warns of false teachers, of false prophets, false messiahs, of deceiving teachers, who will entice many into cults and dangerous false teachings, deceptions, false religions.

[1:44] And their followers are on the rise today. We see that. A plethora of different cults and religions and philosophies and views about all kinds of religious topics and things.

[1:57] As well as we see, as the Word says, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. I know on the way to church often you see them out in the sports fields. They'd rather be there than hearing the Word. Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. It's a sign of the times, isn't it?

[2:13] Revelation 17 tells us that the harlot of Babylon represents the worldwide corrupt religious movement of the end days of apostate Christianity linked together with Rome, arm in arm.

[2:27] Man-made unity is not what God desires, but a unity that's based on truth, on holiness, on truth, on salvation, on sound doctrine.

[2:37] And verse 24 in Matthew 24 says, For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

[2:52] Signs and wonders. That's another sign of the times, isn't it? Signs and wonders, so-called. Friends, we've got to be gauging everything by the Word of God.

[3:02] Is it God? Is it God? Is it God? That's what matters. Is it Bible? That's what counts. That's what makes it make sense or not. I know there's folk here have had exposure to false cults.

[3:14] All manner of dates have been set by all manner of different groups. And we know when such happens, they're false prophets. False Christs. And our Lord asks the question in Luke 18a, Shall he find faith on the earth?

[3:29] It's getting that bad, isn't it? Shall he find faith on the earth when he comes? It's such that there's so much theology and newfound stuff that's getting right away from the Word of God, where churches are based on solving people's needs, on meeting people's needs, so that people can live more comfortably, so you can have a successful, prosperous life.

[3:50] That's not the message in here. No, sir. That's not the message. God can bless you, but that's not the message. That's not the focus by any means. God didn't come.

[4:02] Christ didn't come so you can have a more comfortable life. All right? Sorry about that. So you can be more affluent. So you can be more, you know, a higher class or something than another.

[4:12] No, Christ didn't come for any of that. He didn't come for the righteous. He came for the sinners. Amen? He came to call the sinners. He says, I've come to those that are sick, that need a doctor.

[4:23] Amen? For those who realise, I've got the dread affliction of sin and I need his cure. The only one, the great physician who can heal that and cure that soul sickness.

[4:35] And yet today, few churches have a Bible-based faith, a Christ-centered faith, such that people can stand when the hard times come. Because, friends, it's telling us that it's going to get tougher and harder and hotter and it's going to heat up.

[4:52] That's what the world can face and expect. Verse 6. And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

[5:06] Wars. That's another sign, isn't it? You see, the wars that are escalating, it's been said that in this last 20th century just gone, that there's been a greatest escalation of wars that mankind has ever known, that history has ever known.

[5:21] And many are concerned today about this escalation of war and warfare, about this instability across the world, across the planet. And in the US today, they've elevated war today to include even unspecified enemies.

[5:36] They don't even know who the enemy is anymore. You know, this war, this global war on terror. It's like there's no particular enemy anymore, no particular nation that is directed against any particular specific country.

[5:49] It's been generalised to include just about anybody that disagrees with the ruling power. That's the kind of war on terror that we're facing today. This faceless, nameless enemy that's out there.

[6:01] And as such, it almost guarantees a perpetual war. A war that is continual. It's never going to be an end to it. The war on terror. And friends, wars.

[6:13] Wars. And rumours of wars. And we've become numb to it, haven't we? The news that you're barraged with, that you're bombarded with, of atrocities, of torture, of mass rape, of murder, of the horrible savagery of mankind on this planet today.

[6:29] And, you know, you can see it on the internet, uncensored. You know, the vileness, the corruptness, the depth of depravity that man has sunk to in our world today.

[6:40] The savagery of mankind unrestrained by God. And we've multiplied our inventions of cruelty, such that there's, you know, all kinds of awful things in our world today.

[6:51] Wars. And rumours of wars. Verse 7. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places.

[7:05] Famines, pestilences, earthquakes. Signs of his coming. Signs of the Lord's soon return. Over 4 million will die this year from starvation.

[7:16] Famines. Famines. And we've seen increasing droughts even in our land and across the planet. In fact, it's beyond just droughts. Children are more likely to be starving today because of man's inhumanity to man.

[7:32] War, embargoes, government corruption, and economic oppression. That's why there's famines. Famines. While children die of hunger, in Western nations, millions of tonnes of food are burnt to keep prices high.

[7:47] Famines are largely a result of man's corruption and greed and unwillingness to care for others. Famines. It's a sign. Pestilences are a sign. We're seeing today new diseases.

[7:58] Relatively new diseases. Relatively new diseases. Like the plague that we call AIDS. Contagious diseases like SARS.

[8:10] We've seen the return of old diseases like whooping cough. The real threat of pandemic is evident. You know, the health department, which I work in, they prepare for a pandemic.

[8:27] It's not if it comes, it's when. Even our local health authorities have got plans in place to deal with it when the pandemic comes.

[8:38] When this global pandemic, this global contagion spreads, there's no remedy for. The government authorities of our nation are making preparation for that.

[8:54] And we've seen that it's real, that it's possible. As we've seen, you know, who remembers like when the first accounts came through of the swine flu? You know, it was over some remote place in wherever it was that it started.

[9:07] Or, you know, it seemed to first come to light. And before we knew it, it was in Australia. It was in our very city. Disease spreads very quickly on planet Earth today.

[9:22] In the modern world today. And over 100 different kinds of cancer now kill over 5 million people every year.

[9:35] Pestilences. Pestilences. The world recession resulting in poverty and homelessness has devastated the healthcare systems of some countries. So that diseases once banished by modern science are making an alarming comeback.

[9:48] It's real. It's happening today. It's happening now. Epidemics of typhoid, of diphtheria and even the Black Death have afflicted areas of India and the former Soviet Union.

[10:01] You know, Ebola, that's another one. There's a flesh-eating disease. There's things about, on planet Earth today, that modern science doesn't have the answer for. There's deadly new strains of malaria.

[10:13] Tuberculosis and cholera are becoming resistant to all-known antibiotics and are killing millions of people. You know, in our lucky country, we're not seeing it so much here, are we?

[10:24] But it is happening in other lands, in other places. Even the common bacteria that causes pneumonia, children's ear infections and many other everyday diseases are evolving into untreatable strains of these diseases that medicine cannot treat.

[10:42] In this chilling post-antibiotic era, even the simplest infections could turn into fatal diseases. And the Lord Jesus said this would be so.

[10:54] He said pestilences, plagues. These diseases would be a mark, a sign of the end of the time of His return. And epidemics like AIDS are becoming widespread as we enter the final era of mankind on this planet.

[11:11] And one of the reasons for the spread of pestilences, as I say, is something else that the Word of God tells us is a sign of the end times. In the book of Daniel, chapter 12, verse 4, it says, In part, many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

[11:28] It's the time of the end. It says, even to the time of the end, many shall run to and fro. We're seeing that today, aren't we? Many people running to and fro. This huge increase in knowledge and travel.

[11:41] It was just a few, it seems like decades ago, really, that there wasn't this kind of speed of travel. It was there. Just, you know, just a hundred years or so.

[11:53] Now people drive and fly at enormous speeds. And you can get a jet to fly around the world in 24 hours. You can fly right around the globe.

[12:04] In a spacecraft, it'll take you 80 minutes. Maybe less now. This is old information. This is reality, isn't it? Many shall run to and fro. And people today, they're travelling more than they've ever travelled before.

[12:16] There's over 200 million people travelling outside their own countries every year. It's from out the world. It's amazing, isn't it? And Daniel said, they'll run to and fro.

[12:27] Knowledge shall be increased. In Daniel 12.4, it's been said that there's a doubling of human knowledge every eight years today. Every eight years, there's a doubling. As we know, the internet is a great wealth of information, of library, of records, of knowledge, of words.

[12:47] And it's increasing every eight years. It's doubling. You know, knowledge is increasing within this generation, almost beyond our imagination. We can't conceive of it.

[12:59] It's been said that 80% of scientists who have ever lived are alive today. 80% of scientists who have ever lived are alive today.

[13:10] Every minute, they add 2,000 pages to man's scientific knowledge. And the scientific material they produce every 24 hours would take one person five years to read.

[13:22] You know, no wonder you're feeling tired. You're trying to read all those books you keep taking home. You know, you can't keep up with it, can you? We can't keep up with all the books that have been made. There's about half a million new books published every year.

[13:34] You just can't keep up with it, can you? When Apollo 13 was lost in space, the computers worked. In an hour and a half, they worked out how to bring it back to the planet. And it was reported that it would take a scientist with pencil and paper over a million years to figure out how to do it.

[13:51] You've got supercomputers now that can give us knowledge and information and work things out so quickly. It's staggering, isn't it? Knowledge has increased. And yet it's been said that even in developed countries, we've got all this knowledge, we've got all this technology, we've got all this information.

[14:08] In this information age that we live, that in these advanced economies such as the US, with the expensive educational systems that we've got, that are turning out the most confused, ignorant and violent children they've ever produced.

[14:23] It's not the answer, is it? It's not the answer, knowledge isn't the answer. Pestilences. Pestilences, famines, earthquakes.

[14:34] Another sign is earthquakes. In March 27, 1964, Alaska was devastated by a massive earthquake. 8.4 on the Richter scale. Amazingly, in the 30 years since, there's been as many earthquakes, major earthquakes, as in the entire 2,000 years of world history previously.

[14:55] Massive amount of earthquake increase. Seismic activity. It's a sign of the end. It says that the earth is going to reel to and fro like a drunken man. And the towers and the cities are going to fall.

[15:10] January 17, 1994, an earthquake struck Los Angeles. 6.6 on the Richter scale. $30 billion worth of damage. Seismologists say the big one is yet to hit.

[15:24] The big one is still yet to come. And in California, if that was to hit, it could be 50 times more powerful. In January 17, 1995, over 5,000 people were killed.

[15:35] 26,000 injured in the Great Hansen quake of Japan. The infrastructure has destroyed. 300,000 people were made homeless. Japanese scientists predict that a much stronger quake, an ape on the Richter scale, is going to hit Tokyo in the near future.

[15:55] They're expecting it. It's not going to be a surprise for them. And when either of those, the California quake or the Tokyo quake hits, imagine the death toll. Imagine the devastation and the impact on the world economy too.

[16:09] Because there's a flow and effect. Earthquakes is a sign of the end times. Verse 8, our Lord says, all these are the beginning of sorrows. Now, it's been quite morbid so far, but it's going to get better.

[16:20] Trust me. Verse 8, all these are the beginning of sorrows. Fear and sorrow is a sign of the end times. Sorrows. Sorrows. In Luke 21, 26, it says, the Lord says, men's hearts failing them for fear.

[16:35] And for looking for those things which are coming on the earth. For the powers of the heaven shall be shaken. That's Luke 21, 26. Fear and sorrow. It's a sign of the end times. Look at the world today.

[16:46] Look at the state of modern man today. People living on pills. Pills to sleep. Pills to keep awake. Pills to give them energy. Many turn to the bottle for peace of mind.

[17:03] Men's hearts failing them for fear. They turn to the bottle for peace of mind and wake up with a hangover afterwards. Heart failure and cancer. The two most common diseases today.

[17:17] And often the cause is worry. Men's hearts failing them for fear. And the word says, the end times, it's going to be pharmaceuticals. The word sorceries in Revelation 9, 21, it means pharmaceuticals or drugs.

[17:31] You know, a sorcery. It's going to be a sign of the end times. There's people who are dependent on these things. Now, there is sometimes need to. But, brothers and sisters, it's a sign, isn't it?

[17:43] It's a sign of these things. And verse 9, then shall they deliver you up. It's talking about you and me. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you. And shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

[17:55] Persecution. Persecution is a sign of the end times. It's a sign of his coming. Persecution. We've read of Israel. We know it's happening. Brothers and sisters in other countries and other lands where they don't have a public church service.

[18:10] Because they'll be killed. This isn't theory. This is fact. This is reality. This is not make-believe. We're seeing an increasing persecution of God's people today on the planet in different nations and lands.

[18:24] We know some of them come from other nations have seen it firsthand. It's a reality. Christians are being hated by those who reject God's authority and who will not trust in the power of God but the power of their intellect.

[18:38] Three and a half thousand people die every day because of their faith in Christ. That's what I'm reading here. Three and a half thousand people die every day because of their defence of the Christian faith.

[18:52] These are our brothers and our sisters bleeding and dying, tortured, tormented, harassed and afflicted because they love Jesus like we do.

[19:03] This is a sign of the end. And verse 10. Many shall be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. Many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because of the iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

[19:20] The governments of our day are increasingly Christless and Christ-rejecting. We're seeing that. It's a reality as we see the forces of evil take over and take sway and make policy and procedure and decision making.

[19:37] We're seeing that all about us. In all tiers of government we're seeing the enemy at work. And the new world order is a term that's popular today.

[19:48] You hear it out of the mouth of presidents and prime ministers across the globe. The uniting of superpowers across the planet to secure global peace, so they think, safety and security, one world government.

[20:00] That's the answer, they think. Global governments, globalisation, world control, world domination, world courts, world police, world military, media control, energy control, global police state.

[20:15] And you hear these conspiracy theorists and you've got to measure that and determine that and judge that. But I think there's truth in it.

[20:26] There's truth in it because there's forces at work that are anti-Christ. As the word says that there will emerge this one world power, this one world government. We're seeing those steps towards it, I believe, in what's going on in current events.

[20:40] Persecution, it's a sign. It's a sign when godless power takes power, the godly will suffer. And we're seeing that all about us in other nations particularly, but increasingly around about.

[20:55] Lawlessness and evil is another sign. It says because iniquity shall abound. Sin shall abound. It's going to be abounding the sinfulness of man. And as faith declines, we're seeing that ever-increasing moral decline and an ever-weakening faith.

[21:11] Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3, he says that perilous times, perilous times, perilous times will come in the last days. Men should be lovers of their own selves.

[21:22] Read it there in 2 Timothy 3, the characteristics. It sounds like, well, that's current events. 2 Timothy 3, 1-4. 4. Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

[21:37] Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof from such turn away. Love has grown cold. Love has grown cold on this planet. In a world with runaway crime, children being abused and murdered by their own parents sometimes.

[21:50] Children killing children. Murder trials is public entertainment. That's what the media will give to us, will feed to you. As you sit there, glazed, as you're pressing that button, staring at that screen, getting it in, feeding it into your mind.

[22:05] It's conditioning. It's brainwashing. This is the reality. This is what is happening, brothers and sisters, today. Be discerning. Be careful what you're getting fed, what you're reading, what you're hearing, what you're seeing on the screens.

[22:18] Sometimes it's a very much doctored version of the truth. We know that is reality today. Because why? Because iniquity shall abound. It'll become commonplace such that it won't be called sin anymore.

[22:30] It'll be called choices. It'll be called lifestyle. It'll be called diversity. The word of God calls it abomination. Abomination. Abomination. Iniquity.

[22:41] Sin. Sodomy. Whatever it is, the word of God calls it for what it is. Brothers and sisters, we need to be guarded and careful and aware of it. Iniquity shall abound. Increase violence.

[22:52] Crime. Disrespect. Perversion. Divorce. Drug addiction. It's commonplace such that this is the world we live in. The world as we know it.

[23:03] Isn't it? Verse 13. But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And here's some good news now. Verse 14. The gospel shall be preached.

[23:13] The gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. And then shall the end come. Gospel preaching. All those horrible signs, but there's a good one here.

[23:25] Amen. There's a good sign. Gospel preaching is a sign of the end times. I know there's some folk who want to go open air witnessing. Gospel preaching. Amen.

[23:35] You know, you see them sometimes in the media and about wearing placards. You know, the end is nigh. Maybe that's what we need to do.

[23:45] You know, maybe we need to be scorned and mocked and be there delivering the message no matter what the response might be. It won't be the seeker sensitive one, but it'll be God's message to this planet.

[23:58] Repent. The end is nigh. We need to be about that. And the gospel is being preached today such that over 4 billion people have been preached to. Christian churches now exist in all 251 countries of the world.

[24:12] Although, as I say, some are kind of underground. They can't be public because of the nature of the nation they're in. Every year about 4 billion gospel tracts are distributed around the globe.

[24:23] Over 120 million Bibles. The gospel is being preached. Amen. It is being preached around the globe. The entire Bible now has been translated into some 20,062 different languages.

[24:36] It's available to about 98% of the world's population in their language. The gospel is preached over 2,000 Christian radio and TV stations and across many secular stations too.

[24:49] Of course, we need to be guarded. It's not always the solid gospel. But the word is getting out. The message is being spread. Christ is being preached. And never in the entire course of history has the gospel been preached as widely and as massively as it has been spread than it is right now.

[25:07] Every nation has the message, has heard the gospel. And the Lord Jesus prophesied that this would be a sign of the end of the age.

[25:19] So, if the Lord Jesus is right and if the Bible is true, we are now living in the end of the world. The end of the world.

[25:30] The time of the end. In verse 32 of Matthew 24, it talks about the fig tree. It's a sign of Israel, the nation, putting forth its branches. He says, When you see these things, know that the time is near, even at the doors.

[25:48] It's like he's just about to open the door. He's just about to. He's standing on the threshold, just turning the handle, opening that door. The time of the end. This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.

[26:01] And we know that Israel has only been a nation since 1948. It took its place there among the nations again for the first time in nearly 2,000 years. It's a sign of the end.

[26:11] And the Lord Jesus says that that generation that is born, when these things happen, you could interpret it to understand that to mean that this generation will be alive at the time of his coming.

[26:26] Now, there's various views. I'm not saying that so that if someone watches this tape in 100 years' time, they're still around. But, no, Brolin says that we can't put a name, a date or a time on it.

[26:38] But the Lord Jesus says this is a sign of fig tree putting forth its branches. It's the nation of Israel. And he says that these things will be a sign. Then he goes on, verse 37, in the area there.

[26:49] He talks about as it was in the days of Noah. And the flood came and it took them all away. So shall be the coming of the Son of Man. And what was it like in Noah's day?

[27:02] In Lot's day? Noah was taken. Lot was taken. Noah was taken before the flood struck. Lot was taken before the fire fell on Sodom and Gomorrah.

[27:14] And it's as it was in the days of Noah. And elsewhere it says as it was in the days of Lot. So we know that as God's people, he will protect us. He will rescue us.

[27:25] And the word says that the voice will hear the voice. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. And then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.

[27:39] And we know that there's a wonderful promise to you, to me. Our Lord Jesus says, In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.

[27:50] I go to prepare a place for you. That where I am, there you may be also. He's gone to heaven and he's coming back from heaven. He says, I'm going to come back. And I'm going to take you to myself.

[28:02] And he says that we that are alive and remain shall be caught up together to meet him in the air. So first he's coming in the air, then we'll see that the judgment poured out as it was on the flood, as it was at Sodom and Gomorrah.

[28:20] And then he'll come to the earth with his saints. So, friends, there's a great encouragement we can have that as it was in the days of Noah, as it was in the days of Lot.

[28:31] But you've got to be on the ark. Amen? You've got to be on the ark. And the ark speaks to us of Christ. Now, these signs that I've been speaking, I've been speaking really urging all of you here today, all of us, to be aware of the signs.

[28:50] The signs. You know, as our Lord says elsewhere, as it is colloquially used today, as the saying goes, Red sky at night is a shepherd's delight.

[29:04] Red sky in the morning is a shepherd's warning. And our Lord used that, in effect, in saying, you know the signs. You know the signs in the sky when you know it's going to be a fair weather or not, the day coming.

[29:18] And our Lord says, can't you see the signs? Can't you see the signs? Can't you see the signs today? Brother, sister, he is coming soon. He is at the door. So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be, as it was in the days of Noah.

[29:35] How was it in the days of Noah? In Genesis 6, 5 and then Genesis 6, 11. It speaks of the day of Noah. God saw the great wickedness of man.

[29:47] Every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually. The earth also was corrupt before God. And the earth was filled with violence.

[29:59] It was a mark of the end. Violence is a mark of the end too. A sign of the times. Don't you see violence today? Don't you see violence today? I know a brother was cheering me about violent video games.

[30:11] It's like, you know, it's got to be the most bloodthirsty and brutal and savage today. And it goes beyond the video games. In the US, we're seeing people shot and killed.

[30:24] In the UK lately, a teenager shoots his father because he wants to enjoy watching someone bleed to death. You know, they're taking it from the video screen into reality.

[30:35] You know, kids killing kids. Kidnapping and brutally murdering them. This is today's world, brothers and sisters. The horror that is commonplace as it was in the days of Noah.

[30:46] When the earth was filled with violence. Genesis 6.11. And behavioural scientists are saying one of the main culprits is TV.

[30:57] By the time the average American child is 15 years old, he'll have witnessed the violent destruction of more than 35,000 human beings on television.

[31:09] As well as 200,000 brutal acts of violence. And we know it's commonplace, isn't it? You know, the latest movies. He'd be hard-pressed to find one.

[31:20] They didn't blaspheme his name. They didn't blaspheme the name. Or at least use God as an expletive. As a curse word. His very name.

[31:32] As well as our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. His name is dragged into the gutter, into the muck and mire. As a filthy, dirty swear word. And this is the modern movies.

[31:43] The modern entertainment so-called. Even in children's cartoons. Children's cartoons. And you might think, well, he's going really over the top now. You know, I can't watch The Simpsons anymore. You know, brothers and sisters.

[31:54] It's vile. It's corrupt. It's rotten. It stinks. It's garbage. Don't feed your mind with that swill. With that muck. Don't even think of it.

[32:05] And we're seeing worse than them. Children's cartoons filled with all kinds of sickening things. And violent movies. They're grossing millions of dollars today to feed the world's voracious appetite.

[32:16] For violence. For muck. And immorality. Many rock videos today promoting violence and immorality. Between the 7th and 12th grades.

[32:27] So in high school, the average American teenager will listen to and watch. 11,000 hours of rock music. 11,000 hours. That's got to have an impact, doesn't it?

[32:39] Drip, drip, drip in that brain. In that grey matter. You know. And something's going to affect those brain cells that are left up there.

[32:49] And more than twice the time they'll spend in class. No wonder there's an impact. There's an influence. There's an effect. You can't deny that there's an effect for what you feed your brain with.

[33:01] And the fruit of all this is violent crime is escalating among young people today by about 10,000%. The stats show. And in the US alone, every 25 seconds there's a violent crime.

[33:15] I know we're just hearing this morning of our friends in Elizabeth East. There's been a violent crime just down the road from here.

[33:26] Some neighbours of folk who attend here today. It's happening on our doorsteps. Our next door neighbours. Violent crime. And no wonder it's a sign of the end.

[33:37] A sign of the times. Every nine seconds a home is burglarised in the US. A woman is raped every six minutes. Every 25 minutes someone is murdered. This is current events.

[33:50] Violence still abound. Friends, it's reality. Rising violence in the world today. Bible prophecy says it's an undeniable sign. This senseless violence and cruelty. War itself is going to be abolished.

[34:02] Cruelty will be abolished. Our Lord is going to come where the lion will lie down with the lamb. And friends, yet there is these signs. And we need to wake up. Wake up. Wake up today.

[34:14] Wake up. Watch. Watch. Our Lord talks about people watching and people not watching. You know, the ten virgins. Some were watchful.

[34:25] Some were not. Some were aware. Some were waiting. Some were ready. Some were prepared. Some were not. What about you? Are you prepared? Are you saved? Are you saved? Are you saved?

[34:36] That's critical. You can come to church morning, noon and night and never be saved. Trust him. Trust him. Trust him. For all of your soul.

[34:47] For your life. For time and eternity. For your salvation. His blood is the only cleansing agent that can take the muck and mire of your sin and mine. Only his blood.

[34:58] Only faith in Christ can save your soul. Friends, trust him today. Trust him now. Don't leave it another day. There's many movements astray from the word of God.

[35:10] The word says in 1 Timothy 4. Now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith. Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.

[35:21] 1 Timothy 4.1 There's a poisoning going on. Across the airwaves. Across Christendom. Across churchdom today. There's an infecting. A falling away from truth.

[35:34] There's ungodly heresies becoming so widespread. That's the norm now. That's the norm now. Such that people think that's God now. That's Christianity now.

[35:45] Because that's the popular way. Friends, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Be discerning. There's false teaching. And we can not be immune to that too.

[35:56] We need to be searching the scriptures. Every one of you and I need to be searching God's word. Seeking his face. Seeking the truth. We're seeing today there's over 200,000 practicing witches in the US alone.

[36:12] Doctrines of demons. Doctrines of devils. Millions dabble today in all forms of the occult. And Christians are stupid too. I know Christians who refer to the horoscope.

[36:26] God forbid. It's of the enemy. It's of the dark side. It's of the evil one. Don't have a bar of it. Don't touch the unclean thing. Psychic phenomena. Spiritism.

[36:37] Demonology. Black magic. Occult book sales are going through the roof in their popularity. Many rock videos now are an open worship of Satan and hell.

[36:50] You see that in the symbolism, in the hidden messages in these things. As people are being swept along. And many youth are being seduced into drugs and suicide.

[37:03] And seducing spirits are at work today. Be aware of that. It's seductive. Seductive. Now, look up the word seduction.

[37:16] Seducing. It sounds, wow, this is great. Seducing spirits. You've got to be careful of that. It might sound like, wow, this is going to give me a high, a buzz. This sounds like a good thing.

[37:27] It sounds quite attractive. Seduction is quite attractive. But it's of the enemy. And the Bible talks about seducing spirits. And there's a book out called The Seduction of Christianity.

[37:38] It's happening today in Christendom. And friends, just to close, think of it now. We've seen, I've given you many signs. The word says, Matthew 24, these are just some.

[37:49] There's many other scriptures we could quote. We've seen the rise. We've seen these things. I'll just quickly refer. The false movements, the deceptions, the wars, the rumors of wars, the earthquakes, the fear.

[38:01] Men's hearts failing them for fear. The time of sorrow, of lawlessness, as the iniquity shall abound, evil shall abound. Thank God the gospel will be preached as the missionaries are going out there, as we should be going out there, as Israel is a nation now.

[38:15] We've seen the signs as we see. Israel is in the news all the time because the enemy doesn't want that nation. Even though they're going to constantly attack, they're still standing.

[38:26] And yet they still need Christ, as we know, who they've rejected still. And violence is a sign of the end. And we're seeing really, it's all leading up to Revelation 13.3.

[38:37] The whole world is going to worship the beast. The whole world. It's going to be that seduction. It's going to be so widespread. You know, you could compare it to some recently elected politicians in the USA.

[38:52] Wow, this is the Messiah who's come. Obama, he's going to save the world. And when he gets in power, you start to see some other things that are going on that he's really standing for.

[39:03] And it's like that. The whole world is going to accept a single government. They're going to worship the beast. They're going to be so seduced and sucked in that they're going to buy this line.

[39:15] And we're seeing climate change as all kinds of other reasons, given the decline of the US dollar, as why this is the one solution for planet Earth.

[39:25] If we had a one world government, if we had a one world currency, then, you know, have a one world leader, have a beast. He's going to save everybody and sort the world's problems out.

[39:36] But, friends, the Bible says there will be a false Christ, an anti-Christ, a stand-alongside Christ who's going to look like a mirror of the real thing, as it were, a false messiah.

[39:48] As we know, the Muslims are expecting the Marty, their messiah. And we see that the Jews are still expecting their messiah. They don't realise they missed it, friends, today.

[40:01] They're going to get sucked in as this new world leader comes, this new messiah, as it were, will come. He's not the Christ. He's the false Christ. And yet we know the second coming of Christ, for believers today, take heart this morning, it's prophesied 300 times, he's coming soon, he's coming, Christ is coming.

[40:20] And mention at least 1,845 times the coming of Christ. Christ, get your house in order. Get your house in order.

[40:33] Watch. Watch ye. For in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. Now, we can get caught on the hop. Now, if you ever...

[40:46] I slept in a bit longer than I should have this morning. Right? And I was running a bit late. And I nearly missed some things. And, you know, we can get caught on the hop.

[40:58] Wouldn't it be a shame if you missed it? Or, as a Christian, you know, you get raptured, but you're doing something you should have been doing at the time.

[41:09] Or, you weren't doing something you should have been doing at the time. Amen? Think about it. Amen? Watch ye. Be ready.

[41:20] For in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. And he's coming soon. The signs are clear. If you see a sign on the road that says stop, you better stop.

[41:33] Amen? Let's pray. Lord, we thank you today for the wonderful promise of your coming. That we know it's soon. We see the signs, Lord.

[41:44] We know we can take heart. We know that our hearts won't fail us for fear, but our hearts will rejoice in that hope, that blessed, that joyful, certain hope, that sure hope of your coming.

[41:55] And we know, Lord, that for us that believe it's a joyful hope, it's a glad hope. And we thank you, Lord, for it. We thank you that we can be found watching, working, waiting, prepared.

[42:08] Prepare our hearts, Lord, if there are any here that know you not, that they'll cry out, Lord, have mercy on my soul. Forgive me. Save me, Lord. I trust no longer myself, but I trust in you entirely for my salvation of soul, for my life in heaven, for that blood shed, for my washing of sin, for my home in heaven.

[42:27] Lord, I claim that salvation by faith in your name. Lord, that we might live it. We that believe that we might live it. That we might be watchful and working, expectant, Lord, and living in the light of it.

[42:43]  That we won't be caught on the hop, Lord. We'll be caught ready. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.