Welcome to 3ABN's
2014 Spring Camp Meeting.
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And we've got a
beautiful crowd here.
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We're sorry that you couldn't
join us if you're watching
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from home or listening on
the radio or on the Internet
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but we are glad... We're sorry
you couldn't be here in person.
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That wasn't me, I promise.
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We're sorry you
couldn't be here in person, but
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we are glad you're watching.
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If you are having a
wonderful time at Camp Meeting,
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say praise the
Lord. Praise the Lord!
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We're having a great time here
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and it has been a
time of special anointing.
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And I know that your
cups are already overflowing
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and they're
going to even more so.
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We are going to have in
this hour a beautiful message
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from Lonnie
Melashenko. Pastor Melashenko...
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You probably know him best as
the voice, the speaker/director
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of the Voice of Prophecy.
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And he was with
them for nearly 20 years
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but he was
speaker/director for 17 years.
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And now he is currently
serving as a revivalist
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for the Columbia
Union Conference.
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His message today will be He Is
Coming When You Least Expect It.
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And before that I believe
we have Pastor C.A. Murray
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who's going to be singing again.
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And somehow I got out
here on this stage live
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without knowing the title
to your song, C.A. What is it?
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Jesus Lifts Me. Jesus Lifts Me.
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He lifts my burden
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whenever I'm down;
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He gives me joy
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when I'm wearing a frown;
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He is my hope
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in the midst of despair
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and He... He is my comfort
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for He's always there.
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So I sing
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not because I feel like singing.
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And I praise Him
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though the end I may not see.
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For whenever
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I lift the name of Jesus
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Jesus reaches down
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and He lifts me.
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He is the music
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that makes my heart glad;
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He whispers peace
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whenever I am sad;
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He is the sunshine
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that brightens my day
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and He... He is the lighthouse
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to show me the way.
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So I sing
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not because I feel like singing.
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And I praise Him
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though the end I may not see.
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For whenever
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I lift the name of Jesus
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Jesus reaches down
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and He lifts me.
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So I sing
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not because I just like singing.
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And I praise Him
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though the end I may not see.
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For whenever
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I lift the name of Jesus
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Jesus reaches down,
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turns me around
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and He plants my
feet on higher ground...
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He reaches down
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and He
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lifts me.
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Hello, saints!
Hello! Welcome sinners.
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Amen. We're all here.
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Would you take your Bibles
and turn to the book of II Peter
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chapter 1.
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The flight of
Apollo 12 was normal
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for 36 seconds...
and then it happened.
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Lightning struck the spacecraft
from a Florida thunderstorm
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and immediately the
master alarm sounded
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and lights blazed all
over the control panel.
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Said Astronaut Dick Gordon:
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"In all of our training we'd
never seen so many alarm lights
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as went on
inside that spacecraft.
00:07:04.12\00:07:05.99
If they'd given us something
like that in the simulators
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we'd have said:
'What are you trying to do?
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This is impossible! ' "
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Well... they did the next
best thing possible: nothing.
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But once in orbit
everything depended on
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getting the inertial
guidance system back into shape,
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and that was
Astronaut Dick Gordon's job.
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George Vandeman
describes this in his book
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how Astronaut Gordon climbed
down into the equipment bay
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and he tried to sight some
stars in order to re-align...
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re-align the guidance platform.
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But he couldn't
see a single star.
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Nothing! He actually wondered
if the stars had gone out.
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Somebody turned them off.
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But then as his eyes adjusted
he caught sight of the bottom
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of the constellation
Orion then Rigel then Sirius
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and Apollo 12
was back in business.
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Whoever you are, wherever
you're watching right now,
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we too, today, are
on board a spacecraft
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struck by lightning.
00:08:07.65\00:08:09.92
Scientists will tell you that
we are hurtling through space
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at exactly this
moment 67,000 miles an hour
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with our guidance
system badly out of adjustment.
00:08:17.39\00:08:21.00
As we move through the
critical 2014's and 2015's
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every single alarm on
the capsule is flashing.
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In fact, the speed with
which we're tobogganing downhill
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into the apocalypse
takes one's breath away.
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Say the thinking men
who know what's going on
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in the world
today... they're saying
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"This could be
our last chance. "
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Anybody here from Canada?
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What is Time Magazine in Canada?
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Macleans. Maclean's Magazine
in Canada says: "It's over! "
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And after 2012 the
flight on this planet is over.
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Maclean's says we should
have been done with by now.
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Way back in 1503
the psychic Nostradamus
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who claimed to be
a prophet... he said
00:09:10.55\00:09:12.71
society would last
until December 2012.
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Well... we made
it just beyond there.
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The South American Mayan
Indians for thousands of years
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have predicted that the end
of civilization would happen
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on December 21, 2012.
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How many of you have
heard of Billy Graham?
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James Dobson? Chuck
Swindall? Charles Stanley?
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Well that's the
evangelical Christian network
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called Family Radio.
It's all over North America.
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You remember just
a couple years ago
00:09:42.48\00:09:44.61
Harold Camping on that network
predicted that May 21, 2011
00:09:44.75\00:09:50.15
would be the end.
Well I don't know about you
00:09:50.19\00:09:53.62
but I notice that
headlines every single month -
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in fact, like Fox News Network
- they trumpet unprecedented
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catastrophes
inexplicable in nature.
00:10:01.13\00:10:03.77
Like for example,
there's millions of fish
00:10:04.00\00:10:06.67
that have suddenly
washed up on the shores of
00:10:06.80\00:10:08.60
the Chesapeake
Bay... mysteriously.
00:10:08.64\00:10:10.74
Or thousand and thousands
of birds falling dead from the
00:10:11.17\00:10:14.64
skies from Manitoba -
where I'm going to be up there
00:10:14.68\00:10:17.48
in a couple of
days for Camp Meeting -
00:10:17.51\00:10:19.28
over to Sweden
clear to the Vatican.
00:10:19.41\00:10:22.08
In fact, 8,000 of these birds
00:10:22.32\00:10:24.39
fell from the skies with some
mysterious strange blue markings
00:10:24.72\00:10:28.79
on their beaks, and scientists
don't know what this is all
00:10:28.82\00:10:31.96
about. And we've had
more than ever in our lifetime
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tsunamis, tornadoes. I
drove through them last night
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to try to get here.
Earthquakes. Every single month
00:10:38.30\00:10:42.17
some kind of major catastrophe.
Even in Australia, which is a
00:10:42.20\00:10:45.71
godless nation, they're calling
them of Biblical proportions.
00:10:45.74\00:10:49.71
And so the news
pundits are asking the question
00:10:50.15\00:10:52.91
what's the cause for
all of these happenings?
00:10:54.32\00:10:57.32
They're global warming.
Is that what it is, Al Gore?
00:10:57.35\00:11:00.29
Could it be maybe
we're getting colder weather
00:11:00.52\00:11:02.52
based on this last winter?
00:11:02.66\00:11:04.43
Or is it disease and toxins?
00:11:04.56\00:11:07.36
What is the outcome of
this planet's perilous mission?
00:11:07.50\00:11:11.53
Is it going to be
flaming nuclear holocaust?
00:11:11.77\00:11:14.37
When will the end come?
00:11:14.90\00:11:17.44
How can we know when that
great stone in the image of
00:11:17.97\00:11:22.41
Daniel chapter 2 is
going to strike this planet
00:11:22.54\00:11:25.75
demolishing and
crushing every earthly empire?
00:11:25.88\00:11:28.72
Put on your seat
belts. Can you do that?
00:11:30.69\00:11:33.82
Like Astronaut Dick
Gordon in the next 35 minutes
00:11:34.46\00:11:38.19
let's together attempt to climb
down into the equipment bay
00:11:38.43\00:11:43.00
and sight some
stars in the night.
00:11:43.33\00:11:47.84
Some steady, dependable check-
points: footprints in the sky
00:11:48.00\00:11:53.61
that point past our
trembling spacecraft -
00:11:54.04\00:11:56.95
strong evidence right
here - exactly where we are
00:11:59.68\00:12:05.69
and what the time is.
00:12:05.82\00:12:07.56
Because Paul tells me
in I Thessalonians 5:1
00:12:08.56\00:12:11.69
"Lonnie, Lonnie... "
00:12:11.73\00:12:13.76
You see, brothers and sisters,
00:12:33.01\00:12:34.78
write this one down: He's
coming when you least expect it
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ONLY if you
don't read the manual.
00:12:40.52\00:12:44.36
Only if you choose to ignore it.
00:12:45.06\00:12:48.00
Only if you choose to make that
fatal mistaken miscalculation.
00:12:48.23\00:12:54.00
I spent most of my years
in Hollywood, in Los Angeles.
00:12:55.44\00:12:58.87
Sodom by the bay.
00:13:00.68\00:13:02.54
A lot of weirdos in California.
00:13:02.98\00:13:05.18
Well,
Hollywood's Alfred Hitchcock
00:13:06.48\00:13:09.72
with his ultimate master macabre
00:13:09.95\00:13:13.22
produced some terrifying dramas.
00:13:13.39\00:13:15.99
In fact, in college if I ever
wanted to watch a late-night
00:13:16.42\00:13:20.83
chiller on late-night TV I'd
be guaranteed I couldn't sleep.
00:13:20.86\00:13:25.53
I mean, that was the industry's
benchmark for chiller thrillers
00:13:25.97\00:13:30.47
stalking horrific
and horrified viewers.
00:13:30.61\00:13:33.64
And it was guaranteed you would
not sleep without some shivers
00:13:33.88\00:13:37.05
or nightmares or
looking over to see what was...
00:13:37.08\00:13:39.41
And often unfortunately
those stories were too true.
00:13:39.65\00:13:42.32
Like the story of one
rather wicked, two-faced
00:13:43.28\00:13:48.42
evil woman who
repeatedly got away with murder.
00:13:48.56\00:13:52.23
I mean literally as
Jesus would have defined it.
00:13:52.26\00:13:54.46
Not just wrongdoing...
she actually was found guilty
00:13:54.60\00:13:59.90
of murder and she was
sentenced to life imprisonment
00:14:00.27\00:14:04.77
even though she screamed
at the judge in the courtroom
00:14:05.01\00:14:07.88
"I'll escape... I'll
get out of any prison! "
00:14:08.21\00:14:11.35
And she shook her finger
at him but she took that final
00:14:11.38\00:14:13.98
infamous ride in the
bus down to the prison.
00:14:14.32\00:14:18.39
Well in this Hitchcock
movie while she's enroute
00:14:19.19\00:14:22.62
the camera zooms in
on this wily wretch.
00:14:22.86\00:14:26.56
Perfect exhibit A
of our human dilemma
00:14:26.70\00:14:30.00
riding down to
our final destination.
00:14:30.23\00:14:34.17
But as the bus nears the
prison she notices something.
00:14:34.70\00:14:39.14
Just outside there's an old man.
00:14:39.57\00:14:44.11
He's in his striped
suit... he's an inmate...
00:14:44.25\00:14:46.75
but he's outside the
walls and he's covering a grave.
00:14:46.88\00:14:49.48
Wow! He's going to become
part of her plan to escape.
00:14:49.82\00:14:54.49
And on the television
there's a wicked smile
00:14:55.46\00:14:58.86
and then a nod.
00:14:59.19\00:15:01.16
He's going to be her key.
00:15:02.36\00:15:04.27
He obviously assisted in the
burial of prisoners who died.
00:15:04.43\00:15:09.97
Well, if she got to know
him... And the bus arrives.
00:15:10.31\00:15:15.88
Well as you go on with the
story you find out this old man
00:15:16.78\00:15:20.02
actually builds the caskets
00:15:20.15\00:15:22.72
as well as placing
them in the ground.
00:15:22.85\00:15:25.02
The old man's job
including rolling those caskets
00:15:25.25\00:15:29.39
down an old
pathway in an old cart
00:15:29.62\00:15:34.46
to the cemetery.
And his job included
00:15:34.66\00:15:37.90
lowering those caskets into
the ground and covering them
00:15:38.03\00:15:42.37
all alone.
00:15:42.64\00:15:45.34
Well as this story unfolds
the old man is going blind.
00:15:45.57\00:15:49.28
He needs cataract surgery
00:15:49.61\00:15:51.38
but he's got no
money... he's penniless.
00:15:51.81\00:15:54.78
Well as the story unfolds
she gets acquainted with him
00:15:55.75\00:15:58.85
and she finds out he needs
cataract surgery. And she says
00:15:59.29\00:16:01.86
to him one day: "Old man,
it's going to worth your while
00:16:01.89\00:16:06.80
if you help me escape. "
"Oh no, I can't do that! "
00:16:07.13\00:16:10.47
"Yes, if you help me escape
I've got money out there. "
00:16:10.60\00:16:14.37
And she told him how much.
00:16:14.70\00:16:16.37
"And I can help you
get that cataract... "
00:16:16.40\00:16:17.87
"No, I can't do that. "
00:16:17.91\00:16:19.51
"Oh yes you can.
00:16:19.74\00:16:21.28
I have all the money
you need but it's outside.
00:16:21.51\00:16:23.68
If you hope to ever
have that operation,
00:16:23.81\00:16:25.95
you're going to
have to help me out. "
00:16:26.18\00:16:28.05
Well reluctantly as this
story unfolds he finally agrees
00:16:28.28\00:16:31.39
and the plot thickens. And
he tells her: "Well the next
00:16:31.75\00:16:34.59
time you hear toll at midnight
signaling the death of an inmate
00:16:34.62\00:16:38.66
you just wait... wait
until the prescribed time...
00:16:38.89\00:16:41.66
wait until midnight and then
in the blackness of the darkness
00:16:41.80\00:16:47.34
slip down to the
workroom there where I work
00:16:47.47\00:16:50.34
and you locate the casket.
00:16:50.47\00:16:52.04
You secretly slide
yourself inside that casket.
00:16:52.37\00:16:56.61
You pull the top
lid down tightly.
00:16:57.51\00:17:01.75
Early the next morning well the
old man would roll the casket
00:17:02.02\00:17:05.15
down with the corpse inside too
00:17:05.39\00:17:08.49
for the burial. He'd
drop the casket in the hole.
00:17:08.62\00:17:11.36
He'd cover it with dirt.
But the next day the plan was
00:17:11.49\00:17:14.73
that he would sneak
back. He'd take the dirt off,
00:17:14.76\00:17:18.27
he'd pry the top loose,
00:17:18.50\00:17:20.10
and he'd set her free...
and they would both escape.
00:17:20.24\00:17:22.94
Perfect plan.
00:17:23.17\00:17:25.17
Late one night she's on her cot.
00:17:27.38\00:17:30.78
She hears the
deep toll of the bell.
00:17:31.11\00:17:35.22
Someone has died!
Oh, this is her moment!
00:17:41.26\00:17:44.43
Secretly she slides off the cot.
00:17:45.23\00:17:47.96
She makes her way
down the eerie hallway
00:17:48.10\00:17:50.70
and finally looking
into that dimly dark room...
00:17:50.73\00:17:53.57
and you can only imagine
Alfred Hitchcock with all the
00:17:53.60\00:17:55.47
drama and the
sounds... she sees the casket.
00:17:55.50\00:17:58.04
Then she goes over
and she lifts the lid.
00:17:58.47\00:18:02.84
And yes, in the darkness
she slips inside the box...
00:18:04.31\00:18:08.12
wiggling and squeezing
in right beside the corpse.
00:18:08.25\00:18:11.19
Then she pulls the
lid down and locks it.
00:18:12.59\00:18:17.99
Well within hours, sure enough,
00:18:19.13\00:18:21.80
she feels the
wheels starting to roll
00:18:22.13\00:18:25.90
and she smiles. Oooh!
The casket is out there
00:18:26.23\00:18:31.01
and then she can sense
it must be being lowered
00:18:31.14\00:18:33.58
into that grave. And
you actually on the TV
00:18:33.71\00:18:36.58
begin to hear the clumps of
the dirt falling on the casket.
00:18:36.61\00:18:39.55
Before long she is
sealed beneath the earth.
00:18:39.88\00:18:42.48
Oh, but she's still smiling!
00:18:42.72\00:18:44.79
Silence follows
00:18:45.12\00:18:47.46
but oh, she can
hardly contain herself.
00:18:47.59\00:18:49.86
This is it! And
time begins to drag.
00:18:50.09\00:18:52.96
The next day comes and passes
00:18:53.33\00:18:56.63
and now it's night. And time
drags on without the old man.
00:18:56.97\00:19:03.00
By now her brow is
a little bit worried.
00:19:03.17\00:19:05.17
And she lays there and she kind
of breaks out into a cold sweat
00:19:05.41\00:19:09.44
and she wonders: "Where is he?
00:19:09.58\00:19:12.31
What could
possibly have gone wrong?
00:19:12.75\00:19:15.15
Why didn't he show up? "
00:19:15.48\00:19:17.65
And finally in a moment of panic
00:19:17.89\00:19:19.92
she lights a match
00:19:20.16\00:19:22.79
and she glances at
the corpse beside her.
00:19:22.92\00:19:25.79
You guessed it.
00:19:27.96\00:19:29.96
"It's the old man
himself who's died! "
00:19:30.40\00:19:34.10
And slowly the Alfred Hitchcock
movie as the movie ends
00:19:34.54\00:19:38.41
it lifts with the
camera from the gravesite
00:19:38.54\00:19:41.18
and all you hear is a
wailing cry of a woman
00:19:41.21\00:19:44.51
down there muffled who
will never get out of the grave.
00:19:44.65\00:19:48.02
Now there would
never be a more scary story
00:19:51.25\00:19:55.62
or awful climax to
the story of the Bible
00:19:55.96\00:19:59.59
than to discover that our
hopes in the second coming
00:20:00.03\00:20:03.80
return of Jesus was a hoax.
00:20:03.83\00:20:07.50
An Alfred Hitchcock horror.
00:20:07.74\00:20:10.87
That the final act in
the drama was a big lie
00:20:11.31\00:20:16.21
and Christians have made a big
miscalculation, a big mistake!
00:20:16.44\00:20:22.12
He didn't come!
00:20:22.35\00:20:24.65
We trusted in the
one Man to deliver
00:20:24.99\00:20:28.86
but we were wrong, and
we trusted in the wrong Man.
00:20:28.99\00:20:33.23
Question for you,
church: is it possible?
00:20:34.76\00:20:38.53
Is the second coming
just a fable as 90% of the
00:20:39.43\00:20:43.41
denominations and the seminaries
of the country now teach? No!
00:20:43.44\00:20:48.34
Is it coming, really?
For real? Yes! For sure? Yes!
00:20:48.38\00:20:52.75
Well is it possible that the
2nd coming is not really soon?
00:20:53.08\00:20:57.62
Hmmm? After all, scripture says
00:20:58.82\00:21:01.52
"Behold I come... "
What? "quickly. " Well!
00:21:01.76\00:21:05.03
Talk to me, church.
00:21:05.46\00:21:07.10
Since the "old man"
has obviously been delayed
00:21:07.23\00:21:11.40
what should
Christians do in the interim?
00:21:11.93\00:21:14.84
As Dr. Francis Schaeffer says:
"How should we then live? "
00:21:15.20\00:21:20.11
Well these are valid questions
and they deserve some answers.
00:21:21.01\00:21:24.81
Dilemmas that we've got to
explore here for the next few
00:21:25.25\00:21:27.78
minutes. Because the
Bible warns: "Lonnie, watch out.
00:21:27.82\00:21:31.45
There is a way that
seems right unto a man
00:21:31.59\00:21:36.39
but the end thereof are the
ways of... " What? "death. "
00:21:36.62\00:21:39.76
Oh-oh... she thought she
could escape death's jaws.
00:21:39.79\00:21:44.47
But the one person
she placed her hope in
00:21:44.80\00:21:47.84
was himself the victim of
the very thing she dreaded most.
00:21:48.07\00:21:52.07
So the big question
is: is it possible to trust
00:21:52.31\00:21:55.81
the wrong person? I
don't want to do that!
00:21:55.94\00:21:59.75
Well listen now to
II Peter chapter 1.
00:22:00.08\00:22:02.65
I hope you have
your Bibles open there.
00:22:02.68\00:22:04.29
And I'm going to
read from The Clear Word
00:22:05.05\00:22:07.39
verses 16 to 19.
00:22:07.62\00:22:10.19
Peter says: "Lon...
church... 3ABN audience... "
00:22:11.49\00:22:16.50
Peter's confessing now.
00:22:16.73\00:22:18.97
"We did not follow
00:22:19.30\00:22:23.27
cleverly-phrased
fiction when we told you about
00:22:23.51\00:22:27.38
the power and the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:22:27.41\00:22:29.31
We saw His
majesty with our own eyes
00:22:29.64\00:22:31.98
right there on the
mountain before our very eyes.
00:22:32.11\00:22:34.85
But you have something
even more sure than our report.
00:22:35.18\00:22:40.62
You have... " What?
00:22:41.06\00:22:42.89
"the prophecies
of the Old Testament
00:22:43.22\00:22:46.70
to which you do
well... " In 2014, 2015...
00:22:46.93\00:22:49.70
"that you pay attention.
Those prophecies are like a lamp
00:22:49.83\00:22:53.94
shining in the darkness
00:22:54.17\00:22:56.87
until the day of
Christ's coming dawns
00:22:57.11\00:22:59.27
and He as the
glorious Morning Star
00:22:59.51\00:23:02.11
fills your hearts. " Is
that good news or what? Amen!
00:23:02.24\00:23:05.98
I don't know about you, but
folks I want out of that casket.
00:23:06.15\00:23:09.58
Isn't that a
relevant voice... passage?
00:23:10.29\00:23:13.89
You bet. "Listen
up, " says Peter.
00:23:14.12\00:23:15.89
You and I want to
make absolutely certain
00:23:16.12\00:23:18.13
that we don't make that kind
of a mistaken miscalculation.
00:23:18.46\00:23:22.60
Question is: how?
00:23:23.67\00:23:25.77
Well it's right here...
right in the Owner's manual,
00:23:26.10\00:23:29.74
in the Book. Because
friends, unfortunately
00:23:29.87\00:23:33.17
there are a lot of
fanatical extremes out there
00:23:33.51\00:23:36.14
about the second
coming of Jesus Christ.
00:23:36.18\00:23:37.71
You can go to any Christian
bookstore, you can see all kinds
00:23:37.75\00:23:40.15
of stuff... the second coming.
00:23:40.18\00:23:43.65
But as I read the
pen of inspiration
00:23:43.99\00:23:46.25
those are going to get
confused - even in the church.
00:23:46.39\00:23:48.82
Yes, among
Christians and God's people
00:23:48.86\00:23:51.39
in the very last days right
here especially down to the end.
00:23:51.53\00:23:54.63
Just like the first coming
of Christ they kind of got it
00:23:54.86\00:23:57.97
misqueued, some Christians
- maybe even some Adventists -
00:23:58.00\00:24:02.90
would drop right off the
end straight into the pit
00:24:02.94\00:24:06.04
on this subject:
fanatical extremes.
00:24:06.37\00:24:11.11
I will tell you
personal experiences
00:24:12.41\00:24:14.15
but I won't tell you
names or where this happened
00:24:14.18\00:24:15.68
'cause some of you
might be from there
00:24:15.72\00:24:16.99
and you might know
who I'm talking about.
00:24:17.02\00:24:18.65
Christ's coming?
Yeah, He's coming soon.
00:24:18.99\00:24:21.39
Head for the
hills... abandon ship!
00:24:21.52\00:24:23.86
I've had church members
move off somewhere in Oregon
00:24:24.09\00:24:27.23
or Washington. I
don't know where they were.
00:24:27.23\00:24:28.56
Don't pay your debts;
don't worry about college;
00:24:28.90\00:24:31.17
don't worry about your
career or ever getting married.
00:24:31.30\00:24:34.50
Don't sweat tomorrow any more;
00:24:35.30\00:24:37.07
just forget your
responsibilities.
00:24:37.31\00:24:39.17
Quit your job; go up
there and mooch off of others
00:24:39.31\00:24:42.14
waiting for the coming of Jesus.
00:24:42.38\00:24:44.45
I'm not fibbing.
00:24:45.58\00:24:47.28
Others, and I have
friends who have set dates.
00:24:47.72\00:24:51.39
In my lifetime
ministers have set dates.
00:24:51.52\00:24:54.06
"As it was in
the days of Noah... "
00:24:54.49\00:24:56.59
120 years after
1844 when we got to 1964
00:24:56.93\00:25:02.80
all kinds of
evangelists were setting dates.
00:25:02.83\00:25:04.87
It's going to be just
like in the days of Noah.
00:25:05.00\00:25:06.67
I have folders bulging
from all kinds of Adventist
00:25:07.90\00:25:11.44
prognosticators. I've
got a Southern California...
00:25:11.57\00:25:14.18
Ah, I won't say too
much... said too much.
00:25:14.31\00:25:16.64
A doctor. He
writes in his journals
00:25:16.78\00:25:20.02
"Get out of Loma Linda.
00:25:20.05\00:25:21.38
This is where the arsenals
of God are going to fall.
00:25:21.52\00:25:24.15
And you will find that in
the writings of Ellen White
00:25:24.29\00:25:26.29
in her apocryphal writings:
00:25:26.32\00:25:28.39
the back of the index to
the writings of Ellen White. "
00:25:28.52\00:25:30.86
They're all there, but
that's not what she wrote.
00:25:30.89\00:25:32.63
But he takes them as truth.
Or in Huntington, West Virginia,
00:25:32.86\00:25:35.86
165 baptized are
waiting the rapture now
00:25:35.90\00:25:39.97
and they're off in some
culture... cult some place.
00:25:40.00\00:25:42.30
In the Los Angeles Times
they've got so many articles...
00:25:42.54\00:25:45.24
One read this
headline: Apocalyptic movement
00:25:45.37\00:25:48.71
stirs social
crisis in South Korea.
00:25:48.84\00:25:51.85
People are selling their
homes and quitting their jobs
00:25:52.38\00:25:55.08
and their school,
abandoning their families
00:25:55.12\00:25:57.29
and even having abortions
to prepare for October 28
00:25:57.42\00:26:00.99
because that's the day
when 144,000 believers around
00:26:01.12\00:26:04.16
the world will be lifted
up to heaven in the rapture.
00:26:04.19\00:26:07.23
You see, beloved, the devil
loves people to go to extremes.
00:26:08.66\00:26:12.93
Get fanatical
about this... insane.
00:26:14.00\00:26:17.51
He could come
unexpectedly any moment.
00:26:17.84\00:26:20.48
Some set dates. Or of
course then the other end of the
00:26:21.48\00:26:25.58
spectrum, the
pendulum, is the other extreme:
00:26:25.71\00:26:28.92
ah, just be totally
indifferent about it.
00:26:29.25\00:26:33.02
Theological
ignorance: don't read too much.
00:26:33.56\00:26:36.56
It'll get you confused.
00:26:36.69\00:26:38.33
No reason at all
to be on the alert.
00:26:38.56\00:26:40.40
I'm going to say this carefully;
00:26:41.53\00:26:43.03
I know I'm going
to be criticized,
00:26:43.06\00:26:44.57
but an Adventist lay
journal just came out
00:26:45.40\00:26:48.80
a couple of days ago
- some of you get this -
00:26:48.94\00:26:51.87
and it says our evangelists
and all of the preachers
00:26:52.31\00:26:55.61
got it wrong. Because it says
all prophecies about the second
00:26:55.94\00:27:01.02
coming of Jesus are conditional.
00:27:01.05\00:27:03.79
Now we believe there are some
conditional prophecies don't we?
00:27:04.12\00:27:06.45
But so many people seriously
question whether there ever
00:27:07.76\00:27:10.69
will be a real second
coming... many Adventists.
00:27:10.73\00:27:13.96
And that's a 21st century
today pooh-pooh attitude.
00:27:14.10\00:27:17.37
"Well if and when your
number finally comes up... "
00:27:17.50\00:27:22.24
"Well whatever. " Have you
ever heard somebody say that?
00:27:22.37\00:27:24.67
"Whatever. "
00:27:24.91\00:27:26.47
But listen, it doesn't
take a rocket scientist
00:27:26.61\00:27:28.98
to see that something is
terribly wrong on this old
00:27:29.31\00:27:32.55
ball of mud. These are frighten-
ing times in which we live.
00:27:32.58\00:27:36.25
They're exciting times!
00:27:37.32\00:27:39.35
They're thrilling
times because all of us know
00:27:39.59\00:27:42.29
something is about to happen.
00:27:42.42\00:27:45.86
Even the pagan
pundits out there in the news
00:27:46.76\00:27:49.90
on television, they're saying:
"You know, we might need to
00:27:49.93\00:27:53.64
get... become more aware.
00:27:53.67\00:27:55.27
We need to dig into the
Bible maybe and discover
00:27:55.80\00:27:58.61
how to live our lives
just in case Christ's coming
00:27:58.74\00:28:01.01
could occur any moment. " Even
secularists are saying that.
00:28:01.14\00:28:06.35
Los Angeles Times
had an article here.
00:28:06.78\00:28:10.22
Dateline: Washington, D.C.
00:28:10.59\00:28:13.66
"The keepers of
the doomsday clock... "
00:28:13.99\00:28:17.36
Now the Los Angeles Times
is one of the most secular
00:28:17.39\00:28:20.43
newspapers in the
country. I used to get the Times
00:28:20.46\00:28:23.33
and I enrolled it just because I
wanted to see what the liberals
00:28:23.47\00:28:26.53
say. Here's what it said:
00:28:26.77\00:28:29.10
"The keepers of the doomsday
clock want to move its hands
00:28:32.81\00:28:37.65
forward in Washington,
D.C. to reflect what they call
00:28:37.78\00:28:40.58
worsening nuclear and
climate threats to the world.
00:28:40.72\00:28:43.92
The symbolic clock created
in 1947 and maintained by
00:28:44.25\00:28:47.69
the Bulletin of
the Atomic Scientists
00:28:47.72\00:28:49.79
currently is set at
seven minutes to midnight
00:28:50.03\00:28:52.49
with midnight
marking global disaster. "
00:28:52.73\00:28:56.80
The secular
world is saying this!
00:28:57.33\00:29:00.70
So we ask the question: "Well
what is the Biblical evidence? "
00:29:01.67\00:29:07.28
Is there reliable
prophecy that's not conditional?
00:29:07.71\00:29:12.08
Hmmm? Or maybe we need to
first ask another question.
00:29:12.51\00:29:16.02
Did Jesus Christ come, church,
the first time as revealed
00:29:16.95\00:29:20.59
in prophecy? Yes! You say: "Well
that's a ridiculous question,
00:29:20.62\00:29:23.99
Lonnie, because we date our
calendar B.C. - before Christ -
00:29:24.03\00:29:27.40
A.D. - anno domini,
in the year of our Lord -
00:29:27.56\00:29:31.00
or BCE - before the common era
00:29:31.03\00:29:32.57
if you're a Jewish friend.
I mean, the world knows! "
00:29:32.60\00:29:35.07
Well hundreds and hundreds
and hundreds of prophecies
00:29:35.40\00:29:39.34
foretold Jesus
would come the first time.
00:29:39.67\00:29:41.98
And you know them;
we could go over them.
00:29:42.21\00:29:43.71
Thousands of years before
Bethlehem hundreds of specific
00:29:44.15\00:29:47.52
details about every
phase of His life prophesied
00:29:47.65\00:29:51.09
like His virgin birth.
00:29:51.22\00:29:53.36
And then Micah said He
would be born in Bethlehem
00:29:54.66\00:29:58.23
even though that wasn't
His home. Nazareth was where
00:29:58.36\00:30:01.13
He grew up. And specific
prophesies saying that He would
00:30:01.16\00:30:04.37
be betrayed by how
many pieces of silver?
00:30:04.40\00:30:07.87
Twenty-six? Thirty-four?
00:30:08.00\00:30:10.27
Thirty pieces of silver... 30.
00:30:10.61\00:30:12.64
And then that He
would be mocked...
00:30:12.87\00:30:14.41
that He would be
nailed to a cross.
00:30:14.64\00:30:16.54
That a spear would be thrust
in His side instead of His legs
00:30:16.68\00:30:20.18
being broken on Calvary.
00:30:20.22\00:30:21.78
And it even prophesied
that soldiers would cast dice
00:30:22.02\00:30:25.39
for His tunic. Hundreds of
prophecies which all came true.
00:30:25.52\00:30:29.89
Not one of them was
conditional... correct?
00:30:30.03\00:30:32.19
So my question
is... listen carefully:
00:30:32.63\00:30:35.40
If all of these came true about
Christ coming the first time,
00:30:35.83\00:30:39.67
wouldn't you think ten
times as many prophecies
00:30:40.10\00:30:43.24
about His second coming
would be trying to stress
00:30:43.27\00:30:45.31
definitely that
He's coming again? Amen!
00:30:45.44\00:30:48.41
Can we count on prophecy for
the second time around? Amen!
00:30:48.44\00:30:51.98
Well, what's the
Biblical evidence?
00:30:52.11\00:30:54.02
May I suggest II Peter 1 again
00:30:54.15\00:30:56.28
verses 16-19 for starters.
00:30:56.42\00:30:58.69
Now Peter is very very
wise here because he made some
00:30:59.72\00:31:02.46
boo-boo's too, and
he says we need balance
00:31:02.49\00:31:07.60
about this whole second coming
theme that we're talking about
00:31:07.83\00:31:10.33
this weekend. But he says this:
00:31:10.37\00:31:12.93
"If there is a second coming,
00:31:13.90\00:31:16.97
it's the only answer
to this world's needs. "
00:31:17.94\00:31:21.48
Can I hear an amen? Amen!
00:31:21.81\00:31:24.05
In other words, the only escape
from the prison casket of this
00:31:24.28\00:31:29.28
world of sin and pain and
sickness and suffering and death
00:31:29.32\00:31:33.49
is Jesus' coming.
00:31:35.09\00:31:37.33
But of course many people...
the liberals don't believe that.
00:31:37.76\00:31:41.76
So for a few minutes
let's examine the evidence.
00:31:42.13\00:31:44.53
Stay with II Peter
as we unpack chapter 3
00:31:44.67\00:31:47.37
and verse 3 and 4.
00:31:47.60\00:31:50.74
Peter says: "3ABN audience... "
00:31:51.17\00:31:55.88
people looking in
whoever you are out there,
00:31:56.01\00:31:57.98
from whatever denomination...
He says: "Knowing this
00:31:58.11\00:32:01.28
first that there
shall come... " When?
00:32:01.42\00:32:05.85
"in the last
days... " right down here...
00:32:06.09\00:32:10.16
What would there come? Scoffers.
"scoffers, walking after
00:32:10.29\00:32:13.56
their own lusts and
saying: 'Where is the promise
00:32:13.60\00:32:17.23
of His coming? For
since the fathers died
00:32:17.27\00:32:20.47
all things continue as
they were since the beginning
00:32:20.60\00:32:23.87
of creation. ' "
00:32:23.91\00:32:25.44
Well there you have it right
there: today's 21st century
00:32:25.77\00:32:28.68
scientific theory
of uniformitarianism.
00:32:28.91\00:32:32.31
Some call it evolution.
00:32:33.78\00:32:35.32
You know that even our
president believes that?
00:32:35.65\00:32:38.49
And our politicians are
saying... in fact, I could name
00:32:38.52\00:32:41.62
the particular person...
She's going to run maybe
00:32:41.66\00:32:43.93
for a presidential
race. You'll know who it is.
00:32:43.96\00:32:45.99
"We're no longer a
Christian nation...
00:32:47.20\00:32:49.16
we're a global village! "
00:32:49.50\00:32:51.70
And since time began there's
been an uninterrupted flow
00:32:52.13\00:32:54.87
of events, so come weal
or woe our status is quo.
00:32:54.90\00:32:59.17
Don't get nervous about
end-time calamity howlers
00:32:59.31\00:33:02.81
like that 1844 bunch of
fanatics with William Miller.
00:33:02.84\00:33:06.48
Wrong! says Peter.
00:33:06.82\00:33:09.62
Verses 5 and 6. These
people forget about the flood.
00:33:09.65\00:33:14.12
They scoffed back
in Noah's day too!
00:33:15.19\00:33:18.43
But did it come?
Did it come? Yes. Yes.
00:33:19.39\00:33:23.67
We need to be ready
because the great God of heaven
00:33:23.93\00:33:25.97
is going to step in
again some day, only this time
00:33:26.00\00:33:28.20
verse 7 says: "But
the heavens and the earth
00:33:28.34\00:33:30.77
which are now by the
same word kept in store
00:33:30.81\00:33:33.98
reserved unto fire
against the day of judgment
00:33:34.11\00:33:37.11
and perdition of ungodly men. "
00:33:37.15\00:33:39.81
By the way, I want
you to notice something.
00:33:40.75\00:33:42.65
There's some good
news tucked in there.
00:33:42.88\00:33:44.49
Sounds like fire and
damnation... but it's not!
00:33:44.62\00:33:47.19
Notice that the
good news is in verse 9.
00:33:47.32\00:33:49.19
It's very clear it
is NOT God's desire
00:33:49.42\00:33:52.26
that anybody
should perish. Amen!
00:33:52.39\00:33:54.73
That fire is reserved for who?
00:33:55.06\00:33:57.50
The devil. Yeah,
don't say his name too loud.
00:33:57.63\00:34:00.40
And all of his hellish
demons and evil angels.
00:34:01.27\00:34:03.71
The fire was
prepared for the devil,
00:34:03.94\00:34:05.87
and this is precisely
why God is waiting today
00:34:06.21\00:34:09.28
and why He's
loitering... why He's delaying.
00:34:09.61\00:34:13.58
We don't really understand
that, but He's so longsuffering.
00:34:13.95\00:34:17.39
He's so infinitely patient.
00:34:17.62\00:34:19.95
In verse 9 Peter
tells us why God delays:
00:34:20.29\00:34:23.02
"The Lord is not
slack concerning His promise
00:34:23.26\00:34:26.76
as some men count slackness
00:34:26.90\00:34:29.06
but is longsuffering to usward
00:34:29.30\00:34:31.87
not willing that... "
What? "any should perish
00:34:32.00\00:34:34.90
but that... " How many? All.
00:34:35.04\00:34:36.97
"all should
come to repentance. "
00:34:37.01\00:34:38.57
Now that is
crystal clear, isn't it?
00:34:38.71\00:34:40.68
Is there anything
conditional about that?
00:34:40.91\00:34:42.71
No, it's specific.
It's reliable information.
00:34:43.04\00:34:45.51
It's balanced. "Lonnie, in 2015
00:34:45.75\00:34:49.62
don't mistake
your Lord's patience
00:34:49.85\00:34:52.72
in delay for
permanent absence. "
00:34:53.09\00:34:57.43
And yet so many ignore
the reality of Christ's soon
00:34:58.16\00:35:02.66
second coming. They're
somehow confused by the delay.
00:35:02.80\00:35:07.17
And I can understand.
00:35:07.20\00:35:08.44
My dear parents
just passed away.
00:35:10.31\00:35:14.98
My mother a couple
years ago at the age of 89
00:35:15.68\00:35:18.71
and dad just died at 91.
00:35:18.75\00:35:22.18
While I was at Camp
Meeting I heard the news
00:35:22.98\00:35:25.29
and five sons had
to go for a funeral.
00:35:25.42\00:35:27.19
We hated to watch my
dear parents growing old.
00:35:27.52\00:35:31.76
They were our heroes, and
the closer we all came to their
00:35:31.89\00:35:34.93
death the more we realized
that the second coming of Jesus
00:35:34.93\00:35:37.53
is the only thing to cling to.
00:35:37.57\00:35:40.24
It's the only hope to
reunite our Melashenko family
00:35:40.50\00:35:43.61
singers again.
00:35:43.74\00:35:45.54
And when I finish here
in just a couple of days
00:35:45.77\00:35:47.68
all of the five sons of
the tribe of Joseph and Anne
00:35:47.81\00:35:50.28
are going up to
Farley, Saskatchewan, Canada,
00:35:50.41\00:35:53.31
where we grew up - and
their parents and grandparents -
00:35:53.45\00:35:56.18
that little Russian...
We're going to bury their ashes
00:35:56.32\00:35:58.45
out there in the
middle of a big field -
00:35:58.69\00:36:01.09
a wheat field.
There's still a cemetery.
00:36:01.12\00:36:03.29
The church is long gone.
00:36:03.46\00:36:04.86
But we're going to
stand around in a circle
00:36:05.09\00:36:06.93
and we're going to share some
of the songs of the Blessed Hope
00:36:06.96\00:36:09.36
and sing some
Russian songs that they sang.
00:36:09.50\00:36:11.53
That's the Blessed Hope
00:36:11.87\00:36:14.20
without which Paul says we
would be "most miserable. "
00:36:15.37\00:36:19.67
Amen! Some of you here
come to this Camp Meeting
00:36:19.91\00:36:23.18
with grieving hearts because
you've recently experienced
00:36:23.41\00:36:25.98
death or tragedy
00:36:26.01\00:36:28.28
or an awful prognosis or
a diagnosis... maybe cancer.
00:36:28.42\00:36:32.15
Murder. I know some
people that are grieving deeply
00:36:32.39\00:36:36.36
with infant crib death.
00:36:36.49\00:36:38.56
Two of our dear
friends this week.
00:36:38.69\00:36:41.26
And your home and your
life suddenly just erupts and
00:36:41.73\00:36:44.00
as Ellen White says: "all
hell seems to break loose. "
00:36:44.13\00:36:47.10
And the days go into a
blur; they seem senseless,
00:36:47.44\00:36:50.44
dizzy, dark.
00:36:50.67\00:36:53.94
Like we're in a casket
and things are out of control.
00:36:54.18\00:36:57.68
And life seems just
absurd to even carry on.
00:36:58.05\00:37:01.38
But friend,
listen: there's hope!
00:37:01.62\00:37:05.05
Deep in the heart of
scripture God reminds us
00:37:05.82\00:37:08.52
"the end is not yet come. "
00:37:08.66\00:37:12.39
As my Italian friends say
00:37:13.36\00:37:16.20
"It ain't over until
the fat lady sings. "
00:37:16.23\00:37:18.77
Because one of these days,
friend, Jesus - when that little
00:37:21.07\00:37:24.37
dark cloud becomes brighter
and brighter and gets closer
00:37:24.41\00:37:27.41
and closer - He's going to put
all things back together again.
00:37:27.44\00:37:30.55
And one of these days it
will all make sense. Amen!
00:37:30.68\00:37:33.35
He'll make sense of the crazy
puzzles and enigmas of life
00:37:33.38\00:37:36.35
and the absurd abnormalities.
00:37:36.48\00:37:39.65
That's what the Bible
calls The Blessed Hope!
00:37:39.79\00:37:42.79
When is that going to happen?
00:37:43.22\00:37:44.49
Well Paul tells us in
II Thessalonians 4:16-18.
00:37:44.63\00:37:47.40
"Lon, it will happen
when the Lord Himself shall
00:37:47.50\00:37:49.86
descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice
00:37:49.90\00:37:53.67
of the archangel,
with the trump of God.
00:37:53.70\00:37:56.27
And the dead in
Christ - your dad and mom -
00:37:56.60\00:37:59.81
will rise first
right where you put them
00:38:00.04\00:38:03.61
and we shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds
00:38:03.85\00:38:07.68
to meet the Lord in the air.
00:38:07.82\00:38:09.82
And so shall we
ever be with the Lord. "
00:38:10.05\00:38:12.79
And then these wonderful words,
00:38:12.92\00:38:14.79
I'm going to read
them in just a few days,
00:38:14.92\00:38:17.13
"Wherefore, comfort one
another with these words. "
00:38:17.36\00:38:23.13
He's coming back -
Amen! - just like He went.
00:38:23.37\00:38:27.10
He went literally,
physically, visibly,
00:38:27.37\00:38:31.04
audibly, with clouds.
00:38:31.17\00:38:35.18
Well friends, these
sacred scriptures describe
00:38:35.61\00:38:38.71
our destiny: that one of
these days death bites the dust.
00:38:38.95\00:38:44.49
No more grim reaper.
00:38:45.15\00:38:47.36
Yes, we are
all... every one of us...
00:38:47.59\00:38:50.49
on Alfred Hitchcock's cart.
00:38:50.63\00:38:52.63
We're rolling
down toward the end.
00:38:52.76\00:38:55.76
But the marvelous
good news for us is
00:38:56.10\00:38:58.60
a change is coming.
00:38:58.73\00:39:00.74
President Obama:
it's not YOUR new day.
00:39:01.20\00:39:04.41
It's God's new day
that's coming. Amen! Not maybe.
00:39:04.64\00:39:08.28
Not if you vote right in your
Congress or your Parliament.
00:39:08.44\00:39:11.78
Or if they figure it out,
the politicians over there
00:39:12.01\00:39:14.42
in the G7 Conference or G8
when Putin gets it all together.
00:39:14.45\00:39:17.25
Not if the stock market
suddenly sails off the charts.
00:39:17.49\00:39:20.86
No! Because Jesus
Christ died and rose again:
00:39:21.09\00:39:26.66
that's the secret;
that's the key that unlocks it.
00:39:26.80\00:39:31.57
He's coming again. And listen:
00:39:31.73\00:39:34.07
this change is guaranteed.
It's sure; it is absolute;
00:39:34.24\00:39:39.84
it is certain. It's fact.
It's not a conditional prophecy.
00:39:39.97\00:39:45.91
Not necessarily tonight
but it's going to be quickly.
00:39:46.88\00:39:50.72
Soon. The signs of the times
of Matthew 24 are increasing
00:39:50.95\00:39:54.62
with intensity
and with frequency.
00:39:54.66\00:39:57.89
In fact, all of the big signs
that Jesus foretold there -
00:39:58.13\00:40:02.00
He said "You watch for them"
- they've already happened.
00:40:02.23\00:40:04.40
Did you know
that? Every one of them.
00:40:04.53\00:40:06.47
He told about three
giant footprints in the sky.
00:40:06.90\00:40:10.97
First thing to look there
if you want to look in Matthew
00:40:11.31\00:40:13.68
chapter 24 verses 15-20:
00:40:13.71\00:40:16.14
"This is the first big sign.
You watch for this and you will
00:40:16.28\00:40:18.45
know that I am coming back.
It will be the destruction of
00:40:18.48\00:40:20.85
Jerusalem in 70 AD. "
Which we know, of course,
00:40:20.88\00:40:23.99
and He puts a little sign post.
00:40:24.02\00:40:25.09
He sticks it in the sand there.
00:40:25.12\00:40:26.29
The disciples: "Wow! It's
really going to happen? " "Yep.
00:40:26.32\00:40:28.56
You watch for
that. When it happens
00:40:28.69\00:40:30.09
that's the first
sign I'm coming back. "
00:40:30.13\00:40:31.59
Did it happen? Yes. Yes.
00:40:32.53\00:40:34.83
He sticks another
signpost, number 2, in the sand
00:40:34.93\00:40:37.37
and He says: "Right after that
will be an awful period of great
00:40:37.60\00:40:40.80
persecution. "
Tribulation the Bible calls it.
00:40:40.94\00:40:44.27
"Soon after
Jerusalem is destroyed
00:40:44.51\00:40:46.31
there'll be an awful
period we call it in history
00:40:46.54\00:40:49.48
The Dark Ages. Look
for it, " Jesus says,
00:40:49.61\00:40:52.65
"millions will
die. 538 AD to 1798 AD.
00:40:52.78\00:40:57.22
They'll be burned at the stake.
Some will be thrown to the
00:40:57.35\00:40:59.15
lions. They'll be boiled
in oil. They'll be torched,
00:40:59.19\00:41:01.56
sawn asunder,
thrown to the gladiators. "
00:41:01.89\00:41:04.46
Jesus said: "You look
for it. But listen, " He said
00:41:04.59\00:41:06.73
to the disciples and He
makes another little card
00:41:06.76\00:41:08.40
and sticks it in the
sand, signpost number three,
00:41:08.43\00:41:11.47
"immediately after those days -
00:41:11.70\00:41:14.30
those terrible
days, the Dark Ages -
00:41:14.44\00:41:16.50
three amazing things
will happen in the heavens
00:41:16.64\00:41:20.44
in rapid succession
like footprints in the sky. "
00:41:20.48\00:41:24.08
More amazing than the
pope's overture this year
00:41:24.11\00:41:27.95
to the charismatic's in Texas
you know, with Ken Copeland
00:41:28.08\00:41:30.65
saying "We're
coming, we're coming.
00:41:30.79\00:41:31.92
We're not going to have
the word Protestant any more.
00:41:31.95\00:41:33.79
We're all coming back
to the church of Rome. "
00:41:33.82\00:41:35.62
Or this past month the pope was
making overtures to the Jewish
00:41:35.96\00:41:39.03
world and the Muslim world.
Jesus said: "That's nothing
00:41:39.06\00:41:42.66
compared to the three cosmic
unmistakable omens you'll see
00:41:42.80\00:41:46.30
in the sky! You will
see the sun go black.
00:41:46.33\00:41:50.04
Darkened. Well as soon
as the Dark Ages were over
00:41:50.37\00:41:54.51
look for the darkening of
the sun. " Did that happen?
00:41:56.11\00:41:58.85
Dark Ages ended
about 1755 AD actually.
00:41:59.61\00:42:03.62
And any encyclopedia will
tell you if you look under
00:42:03.85\00:42:06.89
the Dark Day that that
took place on May 19, 1780.
00:42:06.92\00:42:12.33
Jesus said "immediately
after the Dark Ages. "
00:42:13.13\00:42:16.13
Then He said next "the
moon would turn to blood. "
00:42:16.46\00:42:21.77
It's no coincidence
that very next night
00:42:22.00\00:42:24.34
the moon appeared
as a clotter of blood
00:42:24.57\00:42:27.51
fulfilling Joel
chapter 2 verse 31.
00:42:27.64\00:42:29.71
But Jesus puts another
signpost in the ground there.
00:42:30.45\00:42:32.91
He says: "Immediately after
this you will see the stars
00:42:33.25\00:42:36.58
fall from
heaven. " Did it happen?
00:42:36.72\00:42:39.29
A lot of arguments about this in
some of the Adventist journals
00:42:39.62\00:42:42.56
and so forth 'cause
we've had many many major
00:42:42.59\00:42:45.49
meteoric showers. But scientific
journals continue to relate
00:42:45.53\00:42:48.90
how suddenly just 53 years
later on November 13, 1833,
00:42:49.03\00:42:53.57
the world experienced the
greatest display of celestial
00:42:53.70\00:42:56.81
fireworks ever seen. But
now watch closely with me.
00:42:56.84\00:43:00.88
Watch closely... I hope
you have your seatbelts on.
00:43:01.01\00:43:03.38
The very next big event
00:43:03.71\00:43:07.85
would be what? Verse 31.
00:43:07.98\00:43:10.39
"And then, " Jesus says, "shall
appear the sign of the Son of
00:43:11.55\00:43:16.79
Man in the heavens.
Everyone... the whole world
00:43:16.83\00:43:20.86
will see Me coming in heaven
with power and great glory. "
00:43:20.96\00:43:25.17
Folks, that is it.
That's the end of human history.
00:43:26.13\00:43:29.50
Immediately after the Dark Ages
00:43:29.74\00:43:32.87
we today - right
now, at this very moment -
00:43:33.01\00:43:35.64
are living between
verse 29 and verse 30
00:43:35.78\00:43:39.21
of Matthew 24.
00:43:39.45\00:43:40.55
Listen, those were
the last big signs:
00:43:41.55\00:43:44.79
the Dark Day, the moon turned to
blood, the falling of the stars.
00:43:45.02\00:43:49.96
To this very moment
it's been exactly 180 years
00:43:50.43\00:43:53.56
since that last big sign.
00:43:53.83\00:43:55.50
I want to tell you, friend,
that the second coming of Jesus
00:43:55.93\00:43:58.40
is long overdue.
00:43:58.53\00:44:01.20
That's why He's
coming when you least expect:
00:44:01.44\00:44:04.91
because there are
no more big signs.
00:44:05.34\00:44:08.64
Oh yes, prophecy tosses
in hundreds of others more.
00:44:09.08\00:44:11.78
We could talk about them, but I
want to tell you this afternoon
00:44:11.81\00:44:14.35
He's overdue... He's waiting.
00:44:14.48\00:44:17.29
Could He be waiting for you?
00:44:18.22\00:44:20.52
Waiting for you
to make up your mind?
00:44:21.42\00:44:23.79
Well, friend, He
won't wait forever.
00:44:23.96\00:44:26.16
He promised the
disciples, He promised us,
00:44:26.49\00:44:30.37
that His coming would
be right after 1833 AD
00:44:30.60\00:44:34.14
when the stars fell.
00:44:34.27\00:44:35.67
And He IS coming...
never doubt that for a moment.
00:44:35.80\00:44:37.84
All the signs that He
forecasted have come true.
00:44:38.27\00:44:41.21
I don't know if you noticed
this week The Weather Channel
00:44:42.18\00:44:44.85
has just said we are
now in hurricane season.
00:44:44.88\00:44:48.12
Some of you might remember
this. On September 21...
00:44:50.12\00:44:53.46
now remember the
date... September 21, 1938,
00:44:53.49\00:44:56.89
a monstrous hurricane
of enormous proportions
00:44:57.93\00:45:02.00
struck the East Coast. The
famous author William Manchester
00:45:02.13\00:45:06.20
writing in his book
The Glory and The Dream
00:45:06.33\00:45:09.20
he says, and I'm
going to be quoting here:
00:45:09.54\00:45:11.81
"The great wall of
brine struck the beach between
00:45:12.97\00:45:17.65
Babylon and
Patchogue, New York, at 2:30 PM.
00:45:17.68\00:45:21.12
So mighty was the power
of that first storm wave
00:45:21.55\00:45:24.65
that its impact registered on
a seismograph in Sitka, Alaska,
00:45:24.79\00:45:28.89
while the spray
carried northward at well over
00:45:29.22\00:45:32.29
100 miles an hour whitened
windows in Montpelier, Vermont.
00:45:32.33\00:45:35.86
As the torrential 40-foot wave
approached, some Long Islanders
00:45:36.50\00:45:41.00
jumped into their
cars and raced inland.
00:45:41.04\00:45:43.34
No one knows precisely how many
lost that race for their lives,
00:45:43.57\00:45:47.61
but the survivors later
estimated they had to keep
00:45:47.74\00:45:51.28
the speedometer well over fifty
miles per hour all of the way. "
00:45:51.31\00:45:54.62
Now for some reason, meteor-
ologists who should have known,
00:45:55.88\00:46:00.19
they should have
warned the public.
00:46:00.42\00:46:03.16
They seemed strangely
blind to the impending disaster.
00:46:03.49\00:46:07.30
I mean, either they
ignored their instruments
00:46:07.76\00:46:10.00
or they simply couldn't
believe what they indicated.
00:46:10.23\00:46:13.00
And of course, if the
forecasters were blind
00:46:13.44\00:46:16.04
the public was too.
00:46:16.17\00:46:18.11
I'm reading
again from Manchester:
00:46:18.44\00:46:20.68
"Among the striking stories
which later came to light
00:46:20.91\00:46:23.85
was the
experience of a Long Islander
00:46:24.18\00:46:26.72
who had bought a
barometer a few days earlier
00:46:26.75\00:46:30.59
in a New York store. It
arrived in the morning post
00:46:30.72\00:46:33.92
September 21. At his annoyance
00:46:34.06\00:46:37.89
the needle pointed below 29
00:46:38.03\00:46:40.80
where the dial read
hurricanes, tornadoes.
00:46:41.00\00:46:44.00
He shook it, banged
it against the wall.
00:46:44.33\00:46:46.97
The needle wouldn't budge.
00:46:47.20\00:46:48.47
Indignant, he repacked
it, drove to the post office,
00:46:48.70\00:46:52.31
and mailed it back. While he
was gone his house blew away! "
00:46:52.44\00:46:57.11
I'm saying this
with tears in my throat:
00:47:04.39\00:47:06.86
that's the way it is with us.
00:47:06.99\00:47:09.32
If we can't cope
with the forecast,
00:47:09.56\00:47:12.19
we blame the
barometer or we ignore it...
00:47:12.33\00:47:16.97
for many are
throwing away the red books.
00:47:17.57\00:47:20.77
Friend, listen to me:
only once ever in human history
00:47:22.57\00:47:27.68
was a world-wide
storm warning ever issued.
00:47:27.91\00:47:31.55
God Himself told Noah: "Warn
the world of a global flood. "
00:47:31.98\00:47:36.85
Now there were no
barometers back in those days.
00:47:37.55\00:47:40.52
But human nature then
was exactly what it is now
00:47:40.86\00:47:44.09
and people laughed at Noah.
00:47:44.33\00:47:46.46
Called him a fanatic.
00:47:46.70\00:47:48.33
"He's deranged. " In fact,
Spirit of Prophecy says they
00:47:48.46\00:47:51.17
made his boat a
tourist attraction.
00:47:51.30\00:47:53.54
Here we are now at
the end of human history.
00:47:55.00\00:47:57.07
In 2015 at the final wind-up of
human history once again Jesus
00:47:57.51\00:48:03.18
issues storm warnings of
global peril more disastrous
00:48:03.31\00:48:07.95
than any natural disaster.
00:48:07.98\00:48:09.92
And at its center are
whirling 2,500 barometric
00:48:10.25\00:48:15.39
low pressure alarm systems.
00:48:15.42\00:48:17.46
Evil winds that have
been developing for centuries
00:48:17.59\00:48:20.66
measured not by a
man-made barometer
00:48:21.00\00:48:23.93
but by God's own Word.
00:48:24.07\00:48:25.53
Revelation is God's
barometer for today. Amen!
00:48:25.70\00:48:29.10
You don't have to be a
meteorologist or a scientist
00:48:29.27\00:48:31.61
or a doctor or a
theologian to read it.
00:48:31.64\00:48:34.51
My Bible tells me in
Revelation chapter 7 verse 1
00:48:34.84\00:48:38.15
God has also commissioned
four angels to hold back
00:48:38.31\00:48:42.28
the final winds of war and
strife and self-destruction
00:48:42.62\00:48:46.45
from hurtling ourselves
into World War 3 and eternal
00:48:46.59\00:48:49.42
oblivion. Angels!
00:48:49.46\00:48:52.09
Why? They're
waiting for something.
00:48:52.33\00:48:55.66
What? Something to
happen in your life and my life.
00:48:57.47\00:49:02.57
In mercy God is stalling for us.
00:49:03.00\00:49:08.81
Gives urgency to the words of
the prophet in Amos 4 verse 12
00:49:08.94\00:49:13.52
"Lonnie, prepare
to meet your God. "
00:49:13.85\00:49:16.65
How? Simple. You can do
it now this very moment.
00:49:16.89\00:49:21.39
Accept Jesus as
the master control.
00:49:21.92\00:49:24.96
Give control of your life
to His loving capable hands
00:49:25.36\00:49:28.56
because time is
running out, friends.
00:49:28.80\00:49:30.57
Just a narrow interval
now between now and eternity.
00:49:30.80\00:49:33.54
Footprints in the
sky. We can hear them,
00:49:33.67\00:49:38.01
we can see them, we
can feel them, we can
00:49:38.14\00:49:40.04
smell a storm is coming. We
must be ready to meet Him. Amen?
00:49:40.18\00:49:43.85
Amen! Dr. H.M.S. Richards
00:49:43.98\00:49:46.15
used to tell the story
of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
00:49:46.28\00:49:49.58
Great explorer of the Antarctic.
00:49:49.82\00:49:51.69
And this is way before the
days of radios or cell phones,
00:49:51.72\00:49:54.79
or airplanes and helicopters.
Just brave intrepid men
00:49:54.92\00:49:58.13
who took out to
the sea with courage.
00:49:58.26\00:50:00.00
Well, while on one of
these dangerous expeditions
00:50:00.23\00:50:02.60
to the South Pole
Shackleton had to turn back
00:50:02.63\00:50:06.17
from his men and leave some
of his men on Elephant Island
00:50:06.30\00:50:09.10
amidst the snow and ice.
00:50:09.34\00:50:11.57
They were stranded
desperately low on supplies,
00:50:11.81\00:50:13.94
in need of food. Their
only hope was if Shackleton
00:50:13.98\00:50:17.55
personally went to get
help from the nearest settlement
00:50:17.68\00:50:21.48
in the South Pacific.
Wow! Could he? Would he?
00:50:21.62\00:50:24.59
It's an incredible
thriller-chiller story.
00:50:24.92\00:50:27.19
But by heroic efforts
Shackleton and five others
00:50:27.52\00:50:30.89
reached the island of Georgia.
And then in the worst weather
00:50:31.03\00:50:34.50
possible they began
an unbelievably perilous
00:50:34.56\00:50:37.87
trip over the snowy mountains.
And he finally came to the
00:50:38.20\00:50:41.24
little settlement. And as soon
as he had obtained the necessary
00:50:41.27\00:50:44.24
supplies he secured another
ship and he turned around
00:50:44.27\00:50:47.14
and immediately
started back for his men.
00:50:47.28\00:50:49.24
Now the weather
was worse than before.
00:50:49.58\00:50:51.58
In fact, every time he
tried to reach Elephant Island
00:50:52.01\00:50:54.82
he failed. Fog would
come in; there were storms.
00:50:54.95\00:50:57.99
Ice packs would block the way
00:50:58.02\00:51:00.09
and it seemed like an Alfred
Hitchcock doomsday macabre.
00:51:00.22\00:51:04.19
Finally one day the fog lifted
00:51:04.73\00:51:07.40
and there was a narrow narrow
opening appeared through some
00:51:07.60\00:51:10.43
ice leading
straight to the island.
00:51:10.47\00:51:12.30
And Shackleton saw a chance
and he quickly ran his ship
00:51:12.43\00:51:15.80
straight through this channel.
And he got his men on board
00:51:15.84\00:51:18.27
and they came back out
just before the ice closed up
00:51:18.41\00:51:20.68
behind them... a daring
rescue within just 30 minutes.
00:51:20.71\00:51:24.11
Well, when the
excitement was over, Shackleton
00:51:25.25\00:51:27.78
asked one of his men who
had stayed on Elephant Island
00:51:27.92\00:51:30.12
"How did it happen you
were all packed and ready
00:51:30.55\00:51:33.02
for my coming? You
were standing on the shore
00:51:33.05\00:51:35.69
ready to leave at
a moment's notice. "
00:51:35.92\00:51:37.43
"Well sir, you said
you'd come back for us
00:51:38.63\00:51:40.96
so we never gave up.
00:51:41.30\00:51:43.60
We never gave up hope.
Whenever the sea became
00:51:43.73\00:51:45.60
partly free of ice we'd
roll up our sleeping bags
00:51:45.63\00:51:48.37
and we'd pack all of our
things and we'd say: 'Well maybe
00:51:48.60\00:51:50.54
Shackleton will
come back today. '
00:51:50.57\00:51:52.47
We were always
ready for your coming. "
00:51:52.71\00:51:56.14
Always ready...
any hour, any time.
00:51:56.28\00:52:01.72
Are you ready for Jesus to come?
00:52:02.18\00:52:04.49
If you are, His
coming is not a dread...
00:52:05.62\00:52:10.76
it's a comfort.
But if you're not ready
00:52:10.99\00:52:13.40
it is a dread like an
Alfred Hitchcock terror movie.
00:52:13.53\00:52:17.13
The secret is being sure
00:52:17.57\00:52:19.40
you know the One
who can get you out.
00:52:19.43\00:52:21.97
Who can deliver
you and rescue you.
00:52:22.20\00:52:23.84
The King is coming...
He's on His way! Amen!
00:52:23.97\00:52:27.91
His coming is sure.
The question is: are you?
00:52:28.08\00:52:31.61
H.M.S. Richards, Jr. -
Harold, as I knew him -
00:52:33.55\00:52:36.02
was only 61 when I joined
the Voice of Prophecy in 1991
00:52:36.05\00:52:39.19
but he was already quite frail.
00:52:39.32\00:52:41.19
But we took Del Delker
and the old Kings Heralds
00:52:41.42\00:52:43.66
down to Brazil for
their 50th anniversary of
00:52:43.69\00:52:46.19
La Voz De La Profecia.
00:52:46.23\00:52:47.86
Jeanne and I went south
with the Arautos do Rei;
00:52:48.10\00:52:51.03
Harold went north and
took the Kings Heralds...
00:52:51.17\00:52:53.37
the old Kings
Heralds that you remember:
00:52:53.50\00:52:55.30
John Thurber, Bob Edwards,
00:52:55.64\00:52:58.71
Jerry Dill, Wayne Hooper.
00:52:58.94\00:53:01.58
They plunged into the
Amazon jungles where Harold
00:53:01.81\00:53:04.08
contracted typhoid fever twice.
00:53:04.11\00:53:06.38
He landed in a hospital
twice; almost died both times.
00:53:06.82\00:53:09.68
And we eventually got him
back at my side, and he preached
00:53:09.72\00:53:12.52
in crowded soccer stadiums
in Salvador and Rio de Janeiro
00:53:12.55\00:53:15.46
with 65,000
people in attendance.
00:53:15.49\00:53:18.13
But Harold never got well.
00:53:18.46\00:53:20.23
When we finally got him
back to Glendale, California,
00:53:20.46\00:53:22.63
he succumbed to a litany
of near-fatal health problems.
00:53:22.76\00:53:25.53
He had a leaky heart
valve; he had shingles;
00:53:25.77\00:53:27.80
half of his body was paralyzed.
00:53:27.84\00:53:29.37
He was in absolute
terrible excruciating pain.
00:53:29.50\00:53:32.37
Then Parkinson's came
in and kidney failure...
00:53:32.71\00:53:35.51
and amyloid deposits
and protein on the kidneys
00:53:35.64\00:53:37.65
and even cancer. And
finally complications
00:53:37.68\00:53:40.25
just too great to overcome came
and he died of heart failure
00:53:40.28\00:53:43.65
April 11, 2000. He
was only 70 years old.
00:53:43.89\00:53:47.12
But Harold had huge
hands and a huge heart
00:53:47.56\00:53:49.82
and he had a huge love of
preaching and giving altar calls
00:53:49.96\00:53:52.86
and a passion for Jesus. He
spent more time in the hospital
00:53:52.89\00:53:56.03
now than he did in
our broadcast studios.
00:53:56.16\00:53:57.97
The final two years
he was just too weak
00:53:58.00\00:54:00.80
to get to the office
and yet he had a dream.
00:54:01.94\00:54:03.94
And he said:
"Lonnie, I want to preach. "
00:54:04.07\00:54:05.54
Then things began to shut down.
00:54:05.77\00:54:07.71
But a serendipitous moment came.
00:54:08.74\00:54:11.38
Happened at the Glendale
Adventist Medical Center
00:54:11.61\00:54:13.72
for an anointing service
that I had with Tony Anobile,
00:54:13.85\00:54:17.22
his pastor at that
time, and Jeanne and I.
00:54:17.35\00:54:19.29
We went in, and when we finished
Harold motioned for me to come
00:54:19.32\00:54:21.82
over. He could not
speak with his vocal cords...
00:54:21.86\00:54:23.59
were half paralyzed.
"Lon, come over here.
00:54:23.63\00:54:26.83
I want to tell you
something: you're God's man. "
00:54:26.86\00:54:29.66
He was breathing very heavy
but he spoke with determination.
00:54:30.73\00:54:34.00
"I personally pray for
you. I chose you, Lon. "
00:54:34.24\00:54:37.64
We were both weeping now
and I sensed that this might
00:54:38.07\00:54:41.81
be Harold's final statement.
00:54:41.84\00:54:43.58
But his eye was steady
and his eyes riveted on me.
00:54:43.71\00:54:46.08
"Lon, if God raises me
up I want to preach again.
00:54:46.21\00:54:48.45
Even got a sermon. You
want to know the title? "
00:54:48.62\00:54:51.79
"Yeah, Harold, what is it? "
00:54:51.95\00:54:53.86
"He's On His Way. "
00:54:55.19\00:54:57.06
Not that He might be coming or
prophecy says He's coming soon.
00:54:57.49\00:55:00.43
"He's On His Way. "
00:55:00.56\00:55:02.03
Now Harold was well read.
He knew about the headlines
00:55:02.36\00:55:04.43
and he was an expert
in astronomy and physics.
00:55:04.57\00:55:06.37
And the L.A. headlines
of the Times had just stated
00:55:06.80\00:55:09.67
that on May 5, 2000, a
half a dozen planets were
00:55:09.80\00:55:13.94
lining up in conjunction. And
he said: "Astronomers can tell
00:55:13.98\00:55:16.48
that something is
going to be big out there
00:55:16.51\00:55:18.55
of cosmic import. " And
then he began his little sermon.
00:55:18.68\00:55:20.88
And he gave me a few sentences.
00:55:21.12\00:55:22.72
"Far out in space, light
years behind the great nebula
00:55:22.95\00:55:26.25
and the Pleiades
there's a great stirring
00:55:26.29\00:55:28.26
and a rush of excitement
beyond human description.
00:55:28.49\00:55:31.59
You can hear
the chariots rumble.
00:55:31.83\00:55:33.66
The thunder's rolling its
kettle drums and the lightning
00:55:33.90\00:55:36.33
is shaking its
fiery white lances.
00:55:36.36\00:55:38.57
Trumpets sound! He's on His way!
00:55:38.80\00:55:41.84
Down past unnumbered universes,
00:55:42.07\00:55:44.17
down through the
corridor of Orion,
00:55:44.41\00:55:45.84
down down to a blue
planet hanging out there
00:55:45.97\00:55:48.81
in space. Do you see it?
That lonely one out there?
00:55:48.98\00:55:51.65
One that spat upon
Him, crucified Him.
00:55:51.78\00:55:54.52
The one He couldn't
forget. He's on His way! "
00:55:54.75\00:55:58.29
And Harold laid back with a
twinkle and he heaved a sigh
00:55:58.75\00:56:01.59
and he said: "What
do you think, Lon? "
00:56:01.62\00:56:02.99
Said: "Harold, I think
it's your finest hour. "
00:56:03.02\00:56:05.86
Said: "I'm feeling sleepy now. "
00:56:06.09\00:56:08.66
I leaned in and I
prayed: "Dear God, please
00:56:08.80\00:56:10.33
hold Your servant close. "
00:56:10.47\00:56:12.23
Then Jeanne and I slipped
out of the E.R. room and went
00:56:12.37\00:56:14.37
into the hallway.
We wept like babies.
00:56:14.40\00:56:17.34
Said the prophet: "At
eventide it shall be light. "
00:56:17.77\00:56:22.74
'Cause there's always
light and joy and life in the
00:56:22.88\00:56:25.68
dwellings of God's saints. Amen?
00:56:25.71\00:56:27.45
No matter how black or stormy.
And Harold Richards believed
00:56:27.78\00:56:31.22
in the soon return of Jesus.
Filled him with zest and love
00:56:31.25\00:56:34.36
to the point it defined
him. He was passionate about
00:56:34.49\00:56:36.83
the second coming of Jesus.
00:56:36.86\00:56:37.89
The Jesus, who more than
anything else, wishes He were
00:56:38.03\00:56:40.76
your friend, too. So
for 70 years an evening star
00:56:40.80\00:56:45.37
pushed back the dark world
of night with light and joy
00:56:45.50\00:56:48.47
and radiance. And you know,
evening stars aren't always
00:56:48.50\00:56:51.01
with us, but we
love it when they are.
00:56:51.04\00:56:52.87
For now, this
evening star has set.
00:56:53.21\00:56:55.98
But soon he will rise with
the Bright and Morning Star,
00:56:56.31\00:56:59.11
this time never to set.
00:56:59.28\00:57:00.82
This time to shine for eternity
because He's on His way.
00:57:01.05\00:57:06.12
Amen!
00:57:06.35\00:57:08.02
Heavenly Father,
Lord, the secret of escape
00:57:08.16\00:57:09.89
from this casket of our world
isn't Hollywood-style macabre.
00:57:10.03\00:57:13.16
It's being sure we know the One
who can get us out of the grave.
00:57:13.29\00:57:16.33
Help us get ready
by getting to know you
00:57:16.56\00:57:19.17
one to one. Now we know
even more calamitous events
00:57:19.60\00:57:23.27
are going to come: the plagues
and the great earthquakes
00:57:23.30\00:57:25.24
where islands will
disappear and fires and floods
00:57:25.27\00:57:27.54
and our coastal cities.
Ellen White says they'll go
00:57:27.68\00:57:29.91
under water, but
we need not fear.
00:57:29.94\00:57:31.71
These are exciting times,
they're frightening times,
00:57:31.85\00:57:34.78
thrilling times. All of us know
something is about to happen.
00:57:34.92\00:57:38.59