10 Signs of the Final End, The Two Witnesses, John Hagee

Our broadcast was already underway before I got the hangout started, so I do apologize for that. But we're talking about John Hagee's ten road signs to the final end, and are we the terminal generation? This is part six of that study, and we're going to be looking at the two witnesses in the book of Revelation. Just talking about that a little briefly today, not going into a lot of detail because we have some other issues that are pending, and so we need to get to that right away. So we're going to just have somewhat of an abbreviated discussion today. But at any rate, as I was saying, there are so many people out there who have gone about and predicted that they have knowledge of the end, and they tell you that it's coming soon, that it's about to happen, here are the signs, etc. And then later, after they have done that so many times, some of them finally wise up and say, well, I guess we don't know anything about the time. I guess we don't have any information that can help anyone regarding the time. I don't know why my screen kind of yellowed out there a little bit. Not sure what caused that, but I guess we have to rock and roll with it the way it is. And our lighting hasn't changed unless something happened to the sunlight outside through the blinds. But nevertheless, this is what people have done. And I remember since I've been teaching on eschatology, where various organizations were predicting the date and time of the Lord's coming. If you've kept up with men like Hal Lindsey and Edgar Wisnott, and Harold Camping, and many others in some of these organizations, whether it's Jehovah's Witnesses, Seven-Day Adventists, etc., they all predicted dates. They all knew the time of His coming in time past, Mormons, etc., but now nobody knows. And so, what happened to them that they can't predict the date anymore, when they were so sure of it before? And I would assure you that the reasons they can't predict it is the same reason that John Hagee can't predict it. And yet, he continues to present that as a paradigm to people every single year. So, we're going to talk about the sixth sign that he gives, and he says that the sixth sign are the two Witnesses in the book of Revelation. So, from that, he's reasoning that these two Witnesses indicate that we're in the imminent time frame for the Messiah to appear, that the coming of the Lord is going to occur very soon because of the two Witnesses. Now, yesterday, I believe it was, we talked about the times of the Gentiles, which also came from Revelation chapter 11, and in that discussion, I pointed out that the times of the Gentiles were for a time of 1,260 days, or the 42 months. We showed you the equivalent of that time frame. So, 42 months, 1,260 days, three and a half days, when you look at it in the standpoint of a day being a year, or the time times and a half time, and so, three and a half years, a day equaling a year in the scenario. And so, 42 months, 1,260 days, three and a half years, and all of that time equal the time that Rome was treading down Jerusalem until that time ended, until Jerusalem was completely destroyed. So, for the three and a half years of the Jewish war is what that time frame related to. And we showed you also, at the same time, that the church had gone in the wilderness, if you please, to be protected of God for that same period of time. So, there were two simultaneous actions going on. The church was being protected because it had been sealed, as we pointed out in Revelation chapter 7, 1 through 4, and also in Revelation 11 in verse 1, but then that which was outside the church, outside the covenant of God, the realm of God, was the court, and those servants who had not been sealed in their foreheads, and so they were marked off for destruction. And so, there was a simultaneous or concurrent action going on at the same time during that 1,260 days. Now, I know people who take the historical method of interpretation, they have used the 1,260 days as a day-for-year theory, and that's what gets them into trying to look at the entire history of mankind from the first century, or even maybe from the time of Daniel, but I know at least from the time of the first century all the way up to today. But see, that time frame doesn't work if you're going to use it that way, because 1,260 days would have been over a long time ago, and that just doesn't work for their paradigm of the time of the Gentiles, it doesn't work for what they would call the treading down of Jerusalem, so none of that works. The only one that's going to work is the one the Lord gave when he told us very clearly that the 70 weeks of Daniel were until the end of the war that desolations were determined. So, that's when everything was fulfilled in that 70th week of Daniel, which he places at the end of the war, the Jewish war, the war of Rome against Jerusalem, and everything fits perfectly within that time frame, and we don't have to speculate about it, and we don't have to worry whether or not it is some time in our future, because the Bible clearly shows that it has already occurred. And again, I understand that people are not very favorable to this view, but the sad part about it is more people are learning it every day, more people are beginning to understand it, and more people are accepting it every single day. And yes, we have our detractors, we have our trolls, we have our people who want to ridicule and talk about it, but didn't they do that to Christ and the apostles and the prophets? Well, of course they did, and they're going to do it anytime you teach the truth, so you may as well be prepared for it and just go on. So, here's John, and I want you to note something as we talk about these two witnesses, but here's John Hagee's point of view in claiming that we are living in the last days of a generation that is about to see the coming of Christ, or Christ's return to the earth, and he's going to set up camp in Jerusalem of Palestine. Now, you know, when we talked about going into the land, etc., and we showed you very clearly, they were not supposed to be in the land until Messiah led them into the land, so they go there in advance of the Messiah, without His leadership, and then say that they're waiting on Him to come so they can set up camp. See, that's messed up, ladies and gentlemen. Those of you who are dispensational premillennialists, I think you should be ashamed of that teaching, but nevertheless, I know how die-hard it is for some, and so you're going to persist in it, but you have to admit, because you're still waiting on Christ to come, and I know you've got two or three comings involved in there, because you're waiting on a rapture, and then you wait on a final coming after that, which, you know, the Bible says nothing about in terms of how the end time works out. There is but one coming, and that is the one that is in apposition to is going away, and you're not going to find any intermediate coming that fulfills the prophecy that is mentioned in the scriptures. But at any rate, the claim that we're living in the last days of a generation that is about to see the return of Christ, and how long has He been preaching that? How long will He continue to preach that, as long as people continue to have a stomach for listening to something that they can't prove by the Bible? Now, those who strongly disagree probably will stop listening today. We have people who do that occasionally, but if you're still here, maybe it means that you at least want to know why we make the claim that John Hagee's teaching on the end time is certainly not according to the scriptures. And he calls his sixth sign, international instant communication. All right, international instant communication. In his book, Beginning of the End, on page 95, he says that his father's generation could not have explained how the whole world could have seen or can see the two witnesses of Revelation 11 3 and also verses 7 through 10 in the streets of the city of Jerusalem. And I mean, you have to think about that a little bit, of how you're going to see, you know, just imagine right now, what can you see over in Jerusalem? Then how are you going to see the two witnesses, especially if they're going to literalize them in the way that they do? But let's read verse three. The Bible says, and I will give power to my two witnesses and they will prophesy 1,260 days clove in Cyclops. Now, have you noted those of you who are paying attention to what I said earlier about these time frames, the 42 months that Jerusalem is being trodden down by the Gentiles, the 1,260 days that the woman or the church, the true Israel, the remnant is led into the wilderness to be fed and protected by God, which takes you back to Israel being fed by God during the wilderness wanderings. So you kind of see the allusion to the Exodus there, but the witnesses prophesy for the same period of time. The Bible says, and I will give power to my two witnesses and they will prophesy 1,260 days clove in Cyclops. Now, some people are going to get extremely caught up in trying to find out who or what these two witnesses are. And I can appreciate that level of curiosity. People have been trying to figure this out for a long, long time. But if you were in a court of law and you were accused of committing a crime, say, for example, if you could demonstrate that you were not at the crime scene at the time the crime took place, if you could prove that you could prove your innocence. On the other hand, if the prosecutor could prove and could pinpoint you at the scene of the crime during the time the crime took place, then there is a stronger probability that you would be guilty of committing the crime. Now, he's got to prove more than that. But if he can place you at the scene of the crime at the time that it occurred, then you have a serious problem in trying to prove your innocence in that case. Now, I'm only saying, regardless of who the two witnesses are, if we can prove that they were in that place at that time, then that's really all that is sufficient for us to know in terms of their activity. In debunking what John Hagee claims about them as far as there being a sign of an imminent coming of the Lord today, if they were prophesying during the 1260 days, which is the 42 months, the three and a half years that Jerusalem was being trodden down in the first century, which is according to verse 42, I mean, excuse me, according to verse two, and that this corresponds to the time that the woman who is being protected of God during that same time frame, because they have fled the city, then it would demonstrate that the two witnesses came in the first century prior to the coming of the Lord in connection with the destruction of Jerusalem. And that would rule out the two witnesses being used as a sign for the last days or a last days period that is in existence today. See, it just totally wipes that out. It devastates the argument that he's making, and it doesn't take rocket science to figure that out. Just sit down and read, slow down a little bit. I have to tell people to slow down a lot when they read the Bible, especially when I'm teaching them live in a Bible class setting. Maybe when I'm teaching on the air, I go fast. I have people tell me I kind of go a little bit fast. But if I'm in a class where I'm trying to get people to reason back and forth with me, I'm going to be very deliberate and I'm going to slow down with them and make sure they read. Because I've noticed over 30 plus years of teaching the Bible, a lot of people read too fast and they read over things that they should pay attention to. And so I will give power to my two witnesses and they will prophesy 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth. So when are they prophesying? All right, when are they prophesying? Excuse me, one second. Hey sister, can you call me back? So, every time you do that, you lose your thought. You lose that consistency, whatever that momentum that was going on at the time. So I have to regroup in my head a little bit. But at any rate, so what we have here, and I was talking about slowing down when you read, but again, we were talking about they will prophesy 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth. So they are prophesying during the same time that Jerusalem is being trodden down. That is the fundamental key to understanding the role of the two witnesses. If that is the case, and that's the same time the church had been led into the wilderness to be fed of God and preserved and protected from the destruction that was coming against the unbelievers, the reprobates. So the remnant was being protected during this time, and God was prophesying with his two witnesses during the same time. Now, what does he say about them? He says, these are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. So we know they have enemies. We go on and he says that if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. They have power to shut heaven so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy, which alludes to Elijah, right? But it's not saying this was literally Elijah, and some people have taken that position as well. But certainly there is an allusion there to the Old Testament prophet, since they prophesied. And then he says, and they have power over waters to turn them to blood. So now you have Moses who stretched out his rod over the river of Egypt, over the Nile River, and turned it to blood and to strike the earth with plagues as often as they desire. So there is some relationship between Moses and Elijah and these two prophets. Now they could refer to the witness of the law and the prophets. That's reasonable to me because the law and the prophets were witnessing when Jerusalem was being destroyed. There's a scripture that I can't think of. I can think of what's in it, but I can't think of where it is at the moment. Let's see. Let me see if I can come up with that scripture. There it is, Romans 3 and verse 21. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed being witnessed by the law and the prophets. So if these two witnesses are representative of the law and the prophets by the allusion to Moses who stretched out his rod over the Nile to turn it to blood and Elijah who shut up the heavens that it might not rain, then you could take that position. I would have no problem with that position. I think it's one that makes sense to me. But even if that's incorrect and I'm not trying to push that on anyone, it doesn't do any violence to the text. We do have a scripture that says, but now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed being witnessed by the law and the prophets. So the law and the prophets did witness in the last days. But here he's saying that this would take place during the 1,260 days, the 42 months, the time times and a half time, the three and a half years, if you please, which was the final part of the week and the end of the 70th week. And it was the time of the treading down of Jerusalem, the protection of the church that corresponded with the time of the two witnesses. Well, that's a first century event, ladies and gentlemen, that is a first century event. If it harmonizes with the time, see, we have proven that the two witnesses were at the scene of the first century. That means they couldn't have been at the scene of a crime that happens in 2016. So we exonerate them from this false claim that John Hagee is making with them. He's accusing them of being at the scene of an end time prophecy, a false prophecy in the year 2016. And he wrote that book some years earlier. Let's see. I don't know if I dated the book. When did he write that book? I think I might've alluded to it earlier and I'm not going to get up and get it. I see it sitting on one shelf, but that's what I'm saying. He's got a crime scene down here in 2016, but we have proven that the two witnesses are not present at this crime scene. They could not have been present at this crime scene. They were present in the first century. So we exonerate them from committing this crime of claiming that Christ is about to come. And that is a crime, spiritually speaking. It's a false teaching. It is error. So in verse 7, the Bible says, when they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them and kill them. And it's very interesting as well, when you read about the beast and I'd have to really focus in on Revelation to cover all of that. But just look at what happens with the beast in Revelation 13, 5, and just look at how all these times correlate with one another. And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue 42 months. And then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name, his tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven. So even he was only given 42 months, 42 months for him to beat up on Jerusalem, 42 months for the church to go into the wilderness and be protected by God, 42 months for the two witnesses to prophesy, 42 months for the times of the Gentiles cannot possibly be put into our day and time. Let's see, we got a comment here I just noticed popped up on the screen. Is there a link between the two witnesses in Revelation 11 and Zechariah 4.3? Well let's take a look, because I can't remember Zechariah 4.3 off the top of my head, and let's go back there and look. But I do believe that I recall something to that effect. Zechariah chapter 4 and the verse is 3. All right, the Bible says two olive trees are by it. Let's get the whole context, let's read a little bit further back and see. Now the angel of the Lord, this is verse 1, who talked with me came back and wakened me as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, what do you see? So I said, I am looking and there is a lampstand of solid gold with the bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other at its left. So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me saying, what are these my Lord? Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, do you not know what these are? And I said, no my Lord. So he answered and said, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain, before Zerubbabel, you shall become a plain and he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of grace. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying, the hand of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple, et cetera. Okay. Verse 11, let's go down there. Then I answered and said to him, what are these two olive trees at the right of the lamp stand and at its left? And I further answered and said to him, what are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains? Then he answered me and said, do you not know what these are? And I said, no, my Lord. So he said, these are the two anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth. Well, yes, that's definitely an allusion to it. I have forgotten it in terms of what I was focusing on for today, but that's definitely the source in terms of prophetic source from which Revelation 11 is taken and on the two witnesses and the correlation between the lamp stands, the oil, et cetera. So that is precisely what's being spoken of there. It doesn't tell us in the text in Zechariah, doesn't give us the detail that we have in Revelation in terms of Moses and Elijah, but it does indicate an oil in terms of the word of God always indicated the light of God's word from that perspective. So I think we're safe on that prophecy by looking at it from that perspective. So I wouldn't have any problem with that, but here's the thing about Zechariah. See, this is where the basic and fundamental part of fulfillment of prophecy comes in. If Zechariah is Old Testament prophecy, this is a simple, simple argument. If Zechariah is Old Testament prophecy and Jesus makes the statement in Matthew 5, 17, and 18, think not that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For sure do I say to you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle will in no wise pass from the law till all is fulfilled. And then when you read Matthew 11, 13, that says the law prophesied, all the prophets and the law prophesied. So you have prophecy in what we would technically call the law as well as the prophets. And thus, and Moses of course is a prophet and I know everybody understands that, but the Lord said not one jot or tittle would pass till all of it were fulfilled. And then we get to Luke 21 that says, and it says till heaven and earth pass. And of course, you know, we've got heaven and earth passing in the first century in connection with the destruction of Jerusalem. Matthew 24, 29, also verse 35, you got the world passing away in first Corinthians seven, verse 26 and 31, first John two five, no, first John two 17, the world passes away. And then you have first Peter four seven, the end of all things is at hand. You have a revelation 20, you have Hebrews 12 and in Hebrews 12, it says the heaven and earth was already being shaken at the time the epistle was written. So heaven and earth was passing away. And the Lord said, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot and one tittle will in no wise pass from the law till all is fulfilled. So if that is the case and Zechariah is the prophecy from which revelation 11, three through seven or three through eight is taken, then there you have it. It had to be fulfilled. And that's why Luke says, these are the days of vengeance in Luke 21, 20 through 22, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. How are you doing, good to see you today. And so that is the simplicity of the argument and we're just showing how everything falls into place when you look at it. Now, let's go on to further identify the timeframe being the first century as opposed to the 21st century. And let me just see, a lot of this, I'm just kind of going from my head, but I probably have, I just wanted to see if I even had that. At any rate, let's just go on. And because I told you, this one was going to be short today. And if I keep going, I will make it long and I don't want to do that. It doesn't take all day to make the point. So let's now let's look in verse eight. So verse seven, when they finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them and kill them. Well, this is not a literal bottomless pit and it's not some literal animal. And therefore these two witnesses are not literal people in terms of it being some individual or individuals, but they represent something just like all of these symbols in the book of Revelation represent something. But here's the point. He says they will kill them and their dead bodies will lie, notice where they will lie, in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Now I've made several references to Jerusalem being called Sodom, Isaiah one, Jeremiah, is it 23 or 26? It might be 26. And Galatians four, it's called Egypt. Here in Revelation 11, Ezekiel 16 for sure called Sodom spiritually speaking because of their sins, because they went after other gods. We have no king but Caesar in demonstrating their idolatry. When they had the son of God right in front of them, they said away with this man, his blood be on us and our children, give us Barabbas. So they preferred a murderer. And so Egypt, a term for bondage and the Bible clearly shows that those who were under Torah were under bondage. Read Galatians four where the, in the allegory, Galatians four verses 21 through 31, where you have a contrast between the Jerusalem that now is and the Jerusalem that was above that was yet to come. And that, by the way, for those of you who are looking for additional evidence that the book of Revelation was written before 70 AD, well there you have it. The mother who was above the Jerusalem, which was above, is a reference to the book of Revelation. That's what Paul was drawing on in that text and he does the same thing in Hebrews chapter 12, when he talks about the New Jerusalem. And we showed you that correlation with Revelation 14 and the remnant and the Feast of Tabernacles that's indicated in Hebrews chapter 12 22 and 23 with Revelation 7 and also Revelation 14 with 144,000. But the point is the most descriptive phrase so that if you do get caught up with trying to figure out who does he refer to when he says which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, the Bible makes it very clear where also our Lord was crucified. Now I don't know what kind of mental gymnastics people want to put themselves through to try to make the place where Jesus was crucified America, literal Babylon, literal Rome, etc, etc. And they just go on and on with all these places, but the Bible is very clear. When Herod told Christ to get out of his country, Jesus said, you go tell that fox. I do cures today and tomorrow and the third day I will be perfected for it cannot be that a prophet perished outside of Jerusalem. When Paul sought authority, he sought it from the chief priests and the elders for the authority to put men and women in prison and to persecute them. It all came down from the religious center of Judaism, which was in Jerusalem. And that's why Jesus said in Matthew 23 that he was going to send to them wise men, scribes and some of them they will kill in their synagogues and persecute from city to city and scourge rather in their synagogues and persecute from city to city. Some they would kill and crucify. He says that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barakiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. He says, assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who stones the prophets or killed the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often would I have gathered you together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Behold, your house is left to you desolate. And it is from that conversation that they go immediately into the discussion in Matthew 24 to further talk about in detail the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurs within that generation. And that places the events of the three witnesses clearly in a historical setting in connection with Jerusalem that was being trodden down. If it's the time, if it's the place, if it's the prophecy from Zechariah, et cetera, and all the details simply match up. The preponderance of evidence points to a past fulfillment and not to a future one. And that is the crux of the matter. So if we're going to use the two witnesses as a sign, the sign points to the end in the first century. And isn't that precisely what is revealed in the first verse of the book of Revelation? The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants things which must shortly come to pass. You can't make 2016 or the 21st century in any manner, or even the 20th century, shortly come to pass according to this text. And he sent and signified it. That means he signified it by his angel to his servant, John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time has drawn near. He says it here, he says it in the middle of the book, and he says it at the end of the book. Do not seal this book, the prophecy of the sayings of this book for the time has drawn near. And so the Lord said he was coming quickly and the time had come for those things to shortly be done. That knocks out the sixth sign of John Hagee's countdown to an imminent end for people today. There is no such thing as a coming of the Lord in terms of the eschatological coming or the end time coming as taught in scripture for people today. Now, does the Lord come to people today? Of course, he does. John 14 and verse 23 demonstrates that fact in terms of when we enter into a relationship with him, that is our abiding with the Lord. That is his taking up residence with the individual, but that's a part of being in his corporate body, which is the church or the body of Christ, the true Israel of God. Well, that's it for today. I will be back on tomorrow. Let's see, Lord willing, and I think we're going to talk about, let's see, what is tomorrow? Days of of deception, I think. Okay. So that's the sign of the false prophets, et cetera. So we're going to talk about them tomorrow and Lord willing, and that will be our message for tomorrow. So I don't see any further questions before we leave. If you've got a question or comment, go ahead and post it now because I'm going to check out of here real quick in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, I'm going to be gone. So let me know if you have any questions, otherwise we're going to be out. And thank you, Brother Robert, for submitting Zechariah 4. I've just forgotten about the text, but that's definitely one that, from which the prophecy is taken in Revelation 11. All right. So with that, thank you very much for being here and we look forward to seeing you on tomorrow with another, it'll be lesson number seven. Leave us some comments in the, you know, in the video. And if you have any further questions, let us know. Great job. Could you briefly touch? Okay. Ezekiel. Yes. Tony asked me to do this the other day and I didn't get around to it. I didn't have a, didn't find, you know, every time I was looking for an appropriate time to bring it back in, I, you know, just didn't. And so it got away, but Ezekiel chapter 12, let's look at verse 21 before we go. All right. That is all right. 12 and 21. All right. Now this is what people who claim that the Bible and the word at hand doesn't mean at hand. And when God says near, he doesn't mean near. And when he says shortly, he doesn't mean shortly, or he talks in God's terms and not man's term. And we will hear all kinds of crazy things regarding this, but here's what the Bible says in Ezekiel 12 and verse 31. And this was in regard to the oncoming destruction of Jerusalem in the time of Ezekiel back during those days with the Chaldeans coming against them. And so the Bible says in the word of the Lord came to be saying, son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says the days are prolonged and every vision fails. Tell them, therefore, thus says the Lord God, I will lay this proverb to rest. God says, I'm going to put an end to it and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel, but say to them, the days are at hand. What was Israel saying? No, the days are not at hand. Everything is going to continue just as it was. The temple is not going to be destroyed. We're not in any danger. Let us just go on doing as we're doing and nothing's going to happen to us. He says, tell them, therefore, thus says the Lord God, I will lay this proverb to rest and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel, but say to them, the days are at hand and the fulfillment of every vision for no more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. So when God tells you something is at hand and then you turn around and say it's not at hand, that is a false divination. It's a false vision. It's a false prophecy for I am the Lord. I speak and the word which I speak will come to pass. It will no more be postponed for in your days. Notice he tells them in your days. Oh, rebellious house, I will say the word and will perform it, says the Lord God, and perform it. Again, the word of the Lord came to me saying, son of man, look, the house of Israel is saying the vision that he sees is for many days from now. And he prophesies of times far off. Therefore say to them, thus says the Lord God, none of my words will be postponed anymore, but the word which I speak will be done, says the Lord God. And he brought destruction upon them in their days, in their time, when he brought the Chaldeans against them to destroy Jerusalem. So Ezekiel prophesied of events that were soon to come and those events took place just as he said. And when the book of Revelation prophesied of things that were shortly to come to pass, they came to pass just as the Lord said. And for people to claim that those days are prolonged, they're still ongoing to this day, is to teach false divination, to teach false prophecy, to teach those things that the Bible is not taught. And in so doing, you're calling God a liar. You're denying the inspiration of scripture. And you're also jeopardizing the faith of those who want to take God at his word, because many people have left the faith or refuse to come. And I'm not talking about anyone, many very scholarly people, because they can't figure that out. They think the Lord lied or they think he was mistaken. They don't trust the scriptures anymore for that reason. And they will tell you that's the reason they don't believe is because Jesus promised to come in the first century, but he failed to do it. No, he didn't fail. He did it. But we have to use the scriptures to understand how he came, in what manner he came, and the time in which he came. And he manifested that coming through the event called the destruction of Jerusalem. So it's very simple. If the Temple fell, Jesus came. And that's the same way he manifested his presence in the Old Testament. When you see, when this thing happens, then you will know that I am the Lord. As a matter of fact, I think somewhere he says that. Let's go to Ezekiel 7 and let's see. Yes, that's exactly what I want. Now watch in Ezekiel 7 verse 1. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying, and you son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel. An end, the end has come upon the four corners of the land. Now the end has come upon you, and I will send my anger against you. I will judge you according to your ways, and I will repay you for all your abominations. My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will repay your ways, and your abominations will be in your midst. Now watch. Then shall you know that I am the Lord. So apparently, if we do not trust what God says about when he's going to do something, that means we don't believe in him. We are not accepting his word as divine and his word as authoritative. And he did that for the people in Egypt. When he brought the plagues, he would always tell them, when I do this, then you will know that I am the Lord. He was trying to get Pharaoh in Egypt to realize there is one true living God. All these gods, these flies and cattle and frogs and things that you are worshiping and your river and the sun and all that stuff, all the stuff that you're worshiping is not God. There is one true and living God. And so when I bring destruction upon these, then you will know that I am the Lord. And that's the same thing he told Israel, because they had become rebellious and unbelieving in their hearts. They no longer believed in God and his word. And so he says, when I do this, then you will know that I am the Lord. And that's how he reveals himself through a natural event that we can see because he is a God that we cannot see. And I will leave it at that. But he goes on and he just tells him that. Thus says the Lord God, a disaster, a singular disaster. Behold, it has come and end has come. The end has come. It has dawned for you. Behold, it has come. Look at that language. It has dawned for you. That's the same language. That's the same kind of language used in Romans 13, 11 and 12. The night is far spent. The day has dawned. Doom has come to you who dwell in the land. The time has come. A day of trouble is near. But what was Israel saying? Oh, it's not near. He says, I'm going to put that proverb to rest several times in the book. Verse 10, the day, behold, the day, behold, it has come. Doom, doom has gone out. The rod has blossomed. Pride has budded. Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain. None of their multitude, none of them, nor shall there be wailing for them. The time has come. The day draws near. So he's telling them that. And then what were they doing? They're walking around saying, oh, no, it's not coming. It's postponed. It's delayed. He says, I will put that proverb to rest. So when we read the at-hand statements in the Bible, we have to take them at face value and say that it was talking about the coming of the Lord was at hand in that day and at that time, not in today's time, because that would mean it was not at hand in their day and we're trying to prolong the day. So it doesn't work. You're quite welcome. And with that, I am out. And everyone have a great afternoon. Peace until tomorrow. And I should say rather peace forever. Thank you.