John Hagee's 10 Signs of the End #9 Earthquakes in Divers Places

I'm just about to get started on the Google Hangout and for some reason I hadn't logged in, but we are here now. I want to welcome those of you who are tuning in and those who will tune in to listen to a delayed broadcast, whether by the audio on Blog Talk Radio, Eschatology, All Things Fulfilled, or right here on the Google Hangout. We are always delighted to have the privilege and the opportunity to study with you another episode of the end time. And so we are looking at the ninth sign of John Hagee, which has to do with earthquakes in diverse places, because he has taught that there were ten road signs to the end, and we are just basically analyzing them, critiquing them, and dismantling them one by one, so that you will have the opportunity to see precisely what the Bible teaches. And I'm still having a problem with with audio microphones and all this hookup and everything that we're trying to get done here, but I think we finally got it. So my apologies to those of you who are on the audio broadcast. We were having issues with the video and with the audio, and so now I think we finally got everything the way that that we wanted, and so we can begin our study for today. One final thing I'd like to do, and that is go ahead and open up the other screen, so if there are those who are seeking to study, then you will be able to do that. So let's go ahead and see if we can get that screen open, get another link open for those of you who want to send us comments during the broadcast. And there are some of you that indicated an interest in having a conversation. Of course, I left some information for you. If you happen to be tuned in today, I do encourage you to go ahead and reach out. I'll be happy to talk with you and to have a discussion with you live, over the phone, on Facebook, or wherever we need to engage to help you gain a better understanding, excuse me, of these things. So don't hesitate to reach out if that's what your preference is. So let's see, how are we going to do this? We should have a try this screen right here. Okay, I think this one works a little bit better, and we'll get this going. So I'm going to adjust this, get this volume turned down, and I think we're up and rolling. Okay, so a little bit of apology. As you know, if you watch this broadcast anytime, you know that that happens occasionally, and seemingly every time I try to get all the steps done, I end up leaving out something inadvertently because I'm trying to run so many simultaneous broadcasts at the very same time. But that's all right. We're here, and we're ready to roll. Okay, so without taking any more time, what we're dealing with is earthquakes in diverse places. We're talking about the ninth sign that John Hagee has given for the end of all things, and he gave 10 road signs as a countdown to the end. So it's like you're riding along the highway of the last days, and then you get this road sign that says, okay, your end point is near. So you started off with 10, and then you count down from 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, etc. So we started off, and we are up to the ninth of those signs, and we're going to look at this question of earthquakes in diverse places. Now, you know, many people believe in these signs, and the sad part about it is we've had many people who are, and who become very often, extremely disappointed because these signs have not materialized. And although there are many people who believe that the end is imminent, you're just setting yourself up for disappointment, and grief, and frustration. The worst thing that could happen, and that has happened on many occasions, is you give up your faith because you haven't been able to really understand these things and apply them in the way the Bible says. And so when you find out that they're not happening according to the way men are telling you, whether they are prominent TV evangelists, whether they're your local pulpit ministers, whether you're reading them in a book, or wherever you're getting this information, if it does not turn out the way that you've been told it was going to turn out, you could be like many people have been in history, where they have sold their properties, they sold their cars, and lands, and everything, and went up into the mountains and the hills to wait on Christ to come, only to be frustrated, disappointed, and disillusioned because it did not occur. And this is potentially the issue today. As you know, before Harold Camping died, he was another one of those who predicted an imminent end. He had actually given two dates somewhere around May and October of the year 2012, I believe it was, could have been 2014, but I think it was 2012. I mean, you know, these guys predict these dates so often that you just can't keep up with all of them in your head. But at any rate, you can go back and look up Facebook, you can google it online and see that before he died, he had predicted these dates that the end of the world was going to occur. And yet, as we can see, nothing has occurred such as they have proclaimed. And as Deuteronomy tells you, if a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and the thing which he prophesied does not come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. He says you shall not be afraid of him. It is a false prophecy, and he becomes, therefore, a false prophet. That is not my declaration, that is the declaration of the Bible. It tells you how to determine a false prophet. And if men are telling you that Jesus is about to return soon, which they have been doing for generations since the first century closed, then since nothing has ever occurred in any century past the first century that fulfills those prophecies, all of which were said they were soon to come at hand, imminent, etc., then you have to look at a long list of false prophets and false prophecies. And likewise, for those who are claiming the same today, you know, they have songs they sing in the hymn book, Jesus is coming soon. Well, that song is a lie if you're singing it from today's perspective, and yet people sing it and they believe that that's what's happening, and of course there's no sign of the return of the Lord in this day and time, which indicates that whoever wrote that song was a false prophet if he wrote it after the first century, which I know he did, and the song is sung as a false prophecy almost every Sunday, sometimes several times. We have Heavenly Skies, hope you don't mind me calling a name, but you've already posted it publicly, who says people should research earthquakes. These baby ones are nothing compared to the ones hundreds of years ago, one killed 200,000. We're going to talk a little bit about earthquakes, we may not get into all the detail of how many people they kill, etc., but we're going to talk about them as it relates to the prophecy. Now, as I was saying, the worst thing that can happen is people lose their faith, and if you don't think people will lose their faith over failed prophecy, they do. They have. Even prominent men, scholarly men, have lost their faith over their disillusionment about the fulfillment of prophecy because they didn't understand the fulfillment of prophecy. Men who were staunch Bible believers were seeking to understand it, but they could not reconcile the statements of the Lord that said these events were at hand and soon to come to pass with what they saw in their own natural world. And because they associated eschatology with the end of their physical world, and that had not occurred, they became disillusioned, claimed Jesus was a liar, that he was a false prophet, that the Apostles were liars, and then they abandoned the Bible all together. These were men who once defended the Scriptures. Some of them were Christians, some of them today are Muslim believers, some of them are Jewish believers, and other people, atheists, etc., all of which take aim at the Bible over this one prophetic theme, and that is the coming of the Lord, end of the world, etc., where they say it's a false prophecy. Now, we've demonstrated through this series most of Hagee's arguments are drawn from and dovetail into Matthew 24. That is the weakness of his position, that is the Achilles heel of Hagee's position, because he knows that he cannot escape using Matthew 24 to talk about these things. And the moment anyone goes to Matthew 24 to talk about a future, a yet future, meaning yet future to us today, return of the Lord, they are dead in the water. I mean, that's the end of their false prophecy, because Matthew will have none of it. And so, that becomes the undoing of John Hagee's predictions, as we will demonstrate momentarily. Now, he also offers this road sign to the future called the earthquakes in diverse places. So, we have to ask him, do these earthquakes create cracks in his ten road signs? And I'm going to affirm that they do, that by claiming earthquakes as a sign of the end, what he does instead of creating cracks in the earth, he creates cracks in his own interpretation of what he's trying to teach regarding the end. All right, so let's look at his statements. He says earthquakes are another sign of the last days. I agree with that. They were a sign, I won't say are, to be more specific, they were a sign of the last days, but if you understand the last days in the Bible, the last days are not current today, the last days are now past, and so the earthquakes that were a sign of the last days are those that were applicable to an event in the past, whereas John Hagee says that they are current earthquakes and are applicable to the times in which we live today. We totally reject that premise and will demonstrate why it is false. And so, to use them as a prediction of the end is apart from and separate from what the Bible teaches. Now, Christ did promise that along with the civil wars that we've talked about, the wars and rumors of wars, the famines and the pestilences which we showed were covenantal curses upon unbelieving Israel in the first century, that there would be earthquakes in various places, and the places that Jesus refers to belong to the ancient Roman Empire, to that part of the world and in that particular time of history. So what we have when we look in the Scriptures, and when we look in that particular area, are well-defined earthquake zones in these Bible lands. And this, of course, should be common knowledge to anyone who has studied the Bible along that line, and studied those Bible lands as far as earthquakes are concerned. If you read Zondervan's encyclopedia, they state that the great majority of the 100 intense earthquakes occur in well-defined zones, and these zones include Asia, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy. Another seismic belt corresponds with the ocean ridge system inclusive of the Jordan Rift Valley. Now, there is considerable evidence suggesting that the present Mediterranean Sea represents only a remnant of a large ocean that once existed between Eurasia and Africa. Not sure if that can be confirmed, that's something that they say. However, the high seismic activity of the region is related to the general northward movement of the African and Arabian plates, together with the relative motions of two rapidly moving plates which generally correspond with the region of Greece, the Aegean Sea, and western Turkey. Now, these regions, and those of eastern Turkey and Iran, are seismically active throughout. So, this area of the world is very active in earthquakes, and they have been so all during biblical times. The region of Mesopotamia, with which the beginnings of human activity in the ancient Near East is so closely associated, and the region of the Pauline Journeys, have been and are both subject to considerable earthquake activity. Some of it is very destructive. Now, let's look in, for example, the Bible, in Acts chapter 16, and just begin to notice some of the earthquake activity found in the Scriptures. When I say Acts chapter 16 and the verse is 26, the Bible says, I'll start reading in verse 25, but at midnight, and this is after Paul and Silas were imprisoned in the Philippian jail, it says, but at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's chains were loosed. So, you have a confirmation of what, you know, science records in terms of that particular area you know, geophysical science records in terms of that particular area. In the Bible era of area of the Roman Empire, etc., all of those lands that are associated and that are related to the area, was known for earthquakes. And we have one here recorded in the Bible, this is prior to 70 AD, and the Lord predicted that there would be earthquakes in diverse places leading up to the imminent return of Christ. Let's look at some other passages in the Bible. In the 68th chapter of the Psalms, or the 68th Psalm, let's look at that verse, let's say verse 8 in the 68th Psalm, which just kind of gives you an idea of the commonality and the familiarity of earthquakes in the area. Psalm 68 and 8 says, "...the earth shook, the heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God. Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel." So, back during the time of the Exodus, there was a quaking and shaking of the earth, during the time of the covenant given in Sinai. Then you have Isaiah 13 13, which is another passage relating to earthquakes common in the area, and this is associated with prophecy as well. Isaiah chapter 13, this is in connection with the destruction of Babylon by the Medes and Persians, but one of the statements that God makes, and this is a prophetic statement, it's the shaking of the nation, but it's based on these common earthquakes that were a part of that particular part of the world. "...therefore I will shake the heavens and the earth will move out of her place in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of his fierce anger." Now, that's not the literal earthquake, that is the earthquake of the shaking of a nation, but again, these concepts, the reason they spoke of these things was because there were, it was a common era or area for such earthquakes to occur and therefore to use the apocalyptic language, the symbolism, the imagery of earthquakes in shaking a nation down was common usage to them. It became a part of their vernacular. In Haggai chapter 2 and verse 6, again the association of earthquakes with the end of a covenant, the beginning of a covenant, the end of a temple, Haggai 2 and verse 6 is just another example of that, which shows you how common these earthquakes were to the area and how even the prophets incorporated the idea and the concept of earthquakes with the the fall of these nations and with the change of covenants, which is, you know, something that the Bible is very clear about. If you read the book of Hebrews, for example, chapter 12, you will see once again the Bible makes the the change of covenants from the old to the new, the Bible refers to it as a shaking of heaven and earth, the end of the old covenant as a shaking of heaven and earth. And so this is very common, but again, this language grew out of what was geophysically the situation in that part of the country. Haggai 2, 6, for thus it is a little while, thus says the Lord of hosts, once more it is a little while and I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and the dry land. Well that's not again, I want to make it clear, that's not the literal shaking of the physical world, because in the Hebrews 12 they said that earthquake was going on at the time Paul was writing the letter. He wasn't talking about the shaking of the physical world, he was talking about the shaking of the old covenant being removed out of its place, because God would shake it once more, and then the bringing in of the new covenant. My point on pointing these passages out that relate to these apocalyptic symbolical language, is that they are based on these geological faults in the biblical area, and so very important. And therefore, one of the chief, this is continuing on with Zunderman's Pictorial Bible Encyclopedia, they said certainly one of the chief geological characteristics of Palestine has been its proneness to earthquakes, and that can be found in volume 2, fourth edition, page 180, if you'd like to go and look it up. These faults are similar to the San Andreas fault of California, which explains why it has more earthquakes than in other parts of the country. Now we live on what you call the, what do you call it, I can't even think of it now, running down through the south, I mean the central part of the country, New Madrid Fault. Okay, and I've, you know, felt tremors and earthquakes during this time, and of course there was a great earthquake that even changed the course of the Mississippi River. So we live on a fault, and they claim that, you know, we are subject to an earthquake. The San Andreas Fault of California has lots of earthquakes, and so anyone, if you want to talk about earthquakes occurring in the U.S., you probably would be thinking either in California or the New Madrid Fault that runs down the central part of the country. So why? Because those are geological faults, and in the Roman Empire, as we mentioned before, there were these geological faults, and Palestine was another place for them. So something therefore has to be said of Jesus's ability to predict earthquakes within the region of the Roman Empire without the aid of seismographs available in modern science. And further, it demonstrates that the earthquakes of which he spoke are geographically located in the area of Jerusalem. They are associated with Jerusalem, the Temple, and the Roman army who came to destroy it, according to Matthew 24 and Luke chapter 21. So as we look at prophecy and history of earthquakes in the first century, John Bray writes in his book Matthew 24 fulfilled, earthquakes did occur at Crete, at Smyrna, at Miletus, at Chios, at Asmus, at Rome, at Apamea, which is the same regions, and Laodicea in the reign of Nero, which city was overthrown as were likewise Hierapolis and Colossae, and at Campania in the year 62 or 63 AD, and at Rome and Judea. These earthquakes did not prove the end was immediately to occur, because the Lord said when you hear these things the end is not yet, but they were precursors to the end that was about to come. And so, the end was imminent, but it was not yet at the time that they felt the earthquakes, is the point. And that's what the Lord says in Matthew 24 and verse 3, not excuse me, not verse 3, but around verse 6, if you look at the chapter. So let's just read it again in Matthew 24, and you will hear wars and rumors of wars, see that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Then he says, for nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. He was able to predict that because it was an area known for earthquakes. They were on geological faults and these were commonly known throughout the area, but the Lord was able to predict them leading up to the fall of Jerusalem. And of course, as John Bray had mentioned and others record, there were many of them occurring during that time. So biblical evidence confirms an earthquake at the time of Jesus' death on the cross, where the earthquake and the rocks were split. That's Matthew 27 and verse 51. So let's take a look at that very quickly. I know most of us are familiar with that because we probably hear it preached often. Then behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth quaked and the rocks were split. And so these events, these earthquakes were common during that time and in that particular area. Another quake in Matthew 28 and verse 2, it says now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake. Look at how soon these two earthquakes happened in the same area. They're on this geological fault, well known for earthquakes. During the ministry of Paul, we have already read about that one, when they were in Philippi, the foundations of the prison were shaken, the doors were opened, etc., because of an earthquake. So what can we make then of John Hagee's claim that earthquakes that we have today, that might fall along the New Madrid fault or the San Andreas fault, are signs of the end? Nothing in terms of what the Bible says. According to the words of Christ, the signs of the earthquakes related to prophecy of the end time belonged only to the times leading up to the overthrow of the temple. You must read Matthew 24 in context. And the question was, when will these things be? Referring to the overthrow of the temple that was in existence in the first century. And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age, the consummation of the age, the completion of the age? So sad that many King James only readers fail to do any further investigation on the word world in Matthew 24 3, and end up assuming, as a result of that lack of research, that he's talking about a geophysical world, when in fact it's speaking of the end of the Jewish age, and not the end of the physical universe, but the end of the Jewish age which occurred in connection with the temple. They knew the end of the temple was the end of the Jewish age. They knew that the temple was considered by them to be heaven and earth. Josephus spoke of it that way. They referred to the temple as heaven and earth, and when Haggai said in Haggai 2 6 that God was shaped not only the heavens but earth also, or vice versa, the earth but heaven also, they knew that was talking about the shaking up of the temple, the end of the temple. And so this idea of heaven and earth, and by the way ancient Near East temples were built on the concept of heaven and earth to start with, so they were incorporating a design that was to include or incorporate heaven and earth from the very design of ancient Near East temples. And the temple of God was based upon that same model and design from that perspective, and so this is what they were considering when they were talking about the end of heaven and earth, it is related to the Jewish temple. So the earthquakes, therefore, would have to be in relation to that event. And so Jesus' response of there will be earthquakes in diverse places is a reference to the events that were taking place in the first century. Now as we said, the end of the age is never associated with the end of time. There is no concept in the Bible about the end of time, there is only the time of the end. Daniel 12 and verse 4 and many other passages in Daniel seal these up for the time of the end, the vision is for the appointed time of the end, etc. Never does it say for the end of time. And those two concepts are very, very different one from the other. And so when an inspired prophet tells us that the end of the age had come upon them, let's notice in 1st Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 11, the Bible tells you that the end of the ages had come upon the first century generation. 1st Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 11. All these things happen under them as examples or types. And they were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come. So the Apostles said the end of the ages came in their generation, that means it cannot be in our generation, it had to be in the first century generation. The end of the ages have come upon us. The Bible even says Jesus died in the end of the age, Hebrews 9 and verse 26. Now it didn't say that He died at the very end of it, but within the period called the end of the age, because He came in the last days of the Jewish age or the age of Moses. He died in the last days of that age, but not at the very end of the age. And when Paul says the end of the ages have come upon us, he's talking to people in the first century generation. He's not talking to people in the 21st century generation and that's where people get their eschatology off track and they go off on a wild tangent of trying to find something in today's news media, CNN or some docudrama as John Hickey stated that he watched to get some of his 10 road signs, then they end up with no biblical foundation for what they're saying. And they end up with these wild and fanciful theories that cannot be supported in the scripture. And so the New Testament writers speak of the end of all things as having drawn near in their day. Peter said in first Peter chapter 4 and verse 7, but the end of all things is at hand. Now he's writing around 64 to 66 AD, as a matter of fact somewhere in that time for the first epistle and the second epistle somewhere between 67 and 68 AD and what he tells you in the second epistle is that it was a reminder of what he had already spoken of in the first epistle. So when he says the end of all things is at hand and then he talks about the judgment in second Peter, well actually in all three chapters but particularly in chapters two and three, he's telling you that it was at hand, the end of all things was at hand. It even said in the first epistle verse 17 that the time had come for the judgment to begin at the house of God. That's the temple and if it began first at us what shall or where shall the sinner and the ungodly appear? So there we have the New Testament writers telling you very clearly that all of those signs that Jesus had given were leading up to an event that was very near, shortly to come to pass, at hand in their lifetime and in their generation. First John 2 verse 18, you know people always claim nobody knows the day in the hour, well there were some people who knew and you might ask me well how did they know? Because the Bible says the Holy Spirit when He would come He would guide them into all truth and He would show them things to come. So while they may not have known at the time Jesus was on earth, they did get additional revelation to give them more precise information about when these things would occur, so much so that they could speak with confidence and say the following. First John 2 verses 18 and 19. Little children, it is the last hour and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming even now, many Antichrists have come by which we know. He didn't say we're guessing, he didn't say we're thinking, he didn't say it's probably the case, he says by which we know that it is the last time. Now do you believe the Bible is inspired? Do you believe that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly furnished to every good work? If you believe that, then how can you deny what the Apostle, an inspired Apostle wrote in saying, little children, it is the last hour. He tells you the Antichrist were already among them and then he says they went out from us. How can you go out from someone and you're not in among them? They went out from us but they were not of us. It's like oil and water, they didn't mix. Unbelievers, believers. The Bible says that. Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. They went out from us but they were not of us, for had they been of us they would have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest, that it might be revealed and made known that none of them were of us. And they're going out from them declared that they were not of them, they were denying that Jesus Christ had come into the flesh and thus manifest themselves as the Antichrist, signaling that it was the last hour. And John said they knew it. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ, he is the Antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Well they had many in Israel who were denying Jesus was the Christ. Now Paul said the same thing in Romans chapter 13 verse 11 and 12, he says and do this knowing the time that it is the hour to awake out of sleep. The night is far spent, the day has drawn near. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. But he also said for now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed. Well how can 2016 be nearer than when the Romans first accepted the gospel up to the time that Paul wrote that text around the late 50s to early 60s? Some dates are given as early as 57 AD but generally around 59 to 60 AD for the writing of the book of Romans. Now if the Romans who were present on the day of Pentecost, who heard the gospel and therefore began their salvation in the gospel on the day of Pentecost around AD 30 and it's now AD 60 which is 30 years, how can 2016 which is almost 2,000 years from where they started be closer to them than 70 AD? See they were expecting their salvation to come at the time the temple would be destroyed and thus he said for now, meaning at that very time is our salvation nearer than when we first believed. It can't be nearer in 2016 compared to when they had first believed and the time that Paul wrote. That's some really bad math if you're going to look at the text that way. And Paul said they were in the last hour and he told them to do this knowing the time. Even if you reject the fact that they knew the last hour, knew that it was the last hour, Jesus never said he did not know the generation in which those events would occur. And he told them, assuredly I say to you this generation will by no means pass till all these things take place and that included the earthquakes in various places as a sign of those events that were to occur in the first century generation. They saw that last days coming in or that last day coming in a little while and I'm going to talk about that day and hour on tomorrow to sum up this series on the 10 road signs of John Hagee that lead to nowhere, which he calls the signs of the final end. And so to lift the phenomena of earthquakes from the setting of prophecy in Matthew 24, the seismographic evidence of the places within the ancient Roman Empire and the documented Jordan Rift Valley which occasioned the apocalyptic genre of earthquake terminology in the Bible and in Bible prophecy, as it is divinely reported as fulfilled in the first century generation, to make a 21st century speculative application is thereby falsified. It is false, it is in no way associated with the eschatological teachings of the Bible and people who are using them are simply just trafficking and pushing fear onto people. I mean, who wouldn't be afraid of an earthquake and then you're telling them it's the sign of the end, unless you know what the truth is. So Hagee's conclusions are exegetically, topographically and chronologically out of step with the Scriptures. I agree with you, that's a very good point that Heavenly Sky has mentioned. It would be cruel for Christ to give them signs not related to them. He would be deceiving them to tell them these signs were going to happen in your generation and then they not relate to them at all. It always amazes me how people can read themselves into a text while at the same time read the people to whom the text was written out of the text. That makes no sense at all. That is a hermeneutical travesty, an exegetical just catastrophe in terms of understanding and interpreting Bible prophecy. So those people were undergoing the issues that Christ talked about in Matthew 24. They were to flee for their lives, etc., and He gave them what they needed to know in order to follow His directions to safety, which they did, and ultimately to their eternal salvation. Well, that's our broadcast for today. I want to thank you for tuning in. We appreciate you always being with us and please share the video with your friends, with your family, and to others who need to have a better understanding of the Word of God. I will be back on tomorrow, Lord willing. We're going to talk about the days of, I think what he calls it, days of deception, but primarily it will be that day and hour. I'm going to go into detail on the understanding of that day and hour in the context of Matthew 24 36 to show that it cannot be used to teach some unknown futuristic day and hour of a yet future return of Christ, but that it clearly and contextually refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Thanks a lot and I'll see you on tomorrow.