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>>John Bradshaw:
This is It Is Written.
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I'm John Bradshaw.
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Thanks for joining me.
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Have you ever
seen "Where's Waldo"?
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One of those
"Where's Waldo" pictures?
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You know the one, the
guy with the funny hat,
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he's wearing a striped
shirt, he's in a crowd,
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and he's hidden there
somewhere in the picture,
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and your job is to find him.
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Now, the
interesting thing about Waldo
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is that he's
not actually hidden.
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That is, he's there.
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Once you find him,
you realize he was hidden
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right out in the open.
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Hard to find in the midst
of everything that's going on,
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but once you got
him, you got him,
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and after that, you
can't really miss him.
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Today, well, we're
not looking for Waldo,
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but we're looking for something
that's hidden in plain view.
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It's hidden
right out in the open.
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We're looking at a really
important story, or theme,
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in the Bible.
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It appears before all
the other Bible stories
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that we're familiar with today.
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We're continuing our series
"The Prequel of the Bible."
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Dig into this and you
gain really important insights.
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When you study the
prequel of the Bible,
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you find out what was
behind Satan's rebellion.
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You see that in
Revelation chapter 12,
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that there was war in heaven.
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But what kind of war?
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Well, really this
was a political contest.
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It was a battle of ideas.
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It was a battle of philosophies.
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You see, Satan was
charging that God was unfair.
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He attacked God, and in
an attempt to gain followers
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for himself, he
attacked the character of God.
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He said God was
fundamentally unfair.
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He said that God was not loving.
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He said God was keeping
back the best for Himself
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and depriving others of
what was rightfully theirs.
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¤[somber music]¤
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We found that
Satan offered a platform,
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an alternate way of
running the universe,
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an alternate organizing
principle, if you like.
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He rejected God's
system, which was based on love
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and universal giving, where the
objectives are lovingkindness
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and mutual benefit.
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Instead, what he proposed was
something based on selfishness
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and opportunistic taking,
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where power and domination
are the key, the objectives.
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He had a
surprising amount of success.
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The Word of God says
that he attracted one-third
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of the angels of
heaven to follow him.
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Ultimately, though,
they weren't successful.
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Revelation chapter 12 says
they were cast out of heaven.
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Here on the earth he
continued his war against God
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and overcame Adam and Eve,
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bringing them
under the curse of sin.
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At the same time, he
took something from them:
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He took from them the
dominion over the earth,
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which God had given them.
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This is why
Jesus referred to Satan
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as the ruler of this
earth in John 12 and verse 31.
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Once Satan usurped
control of the world,
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he set about putting into place
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his system for operating
the earth and all life on it.
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He twisted and
perverted creation,
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obscuring the amazing
earth that God had created.
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And he erased, to
the extent he could,
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the character of God as
seen in the original creation.
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He put in place a
world that is at all levels
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organized around the
principle of selfishness.
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And so here we are,
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living on earth as
Satan's system plays out.
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The thing is discerning
people are able to see
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more and more
clearly that the whole thing
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is a complete fiasco.
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That's because selfishness as
a system collapses in on itself.
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Not only is it
a horrible design;
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it's completely unsustainable.
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And since the world we live in
is organized around selfishness,
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we can expect to see the earth,
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all of its natural
systems and lifeforms,
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and every area of human endeavor
participate in this collapse.
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Satan might as well
have been building with sand
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because his system
was doomed from the start.
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And...there it goes, the natural
result of a flawed design.
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Now, think
about what's at stake.
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As Satan's design is doomed,
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then so, too, is everything else
that's based on selfishness.
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That part of our lives that
we spend fighting to get above
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other people or to exercise
control over other people,
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ultimately, it's wasted.
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The extraordinary
efforts we make to accumulate
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more and more
resources, in the end, wasted.
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The efforts we make
to glorify ourselves,
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in the final
analysis, it's all for nothing.
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And yet there are billions
who continue to be taken in
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by Satan's continuing campaign,
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billions who align
themselves with Satan
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and spend
massive amounts of energy
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competing within his organizing
principle of selfishness.
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Jesus predicted the
collapse of Satan's system,
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and He gave us a very detailed
account of what will happen
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here on earth.
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In fact, a detailed account
of what's actually happening
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right now.
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But before we look at
that prophecy in detail,
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let's stand back and
look at the big picture,
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starting with creation itself.
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To understand how
things are unraveling,
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let's look at how
they were put together.
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Let's look together at what
happened in Genesis chapter 1.
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¤[piano music]¤
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In creating the earth,
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God was very
intentional, very methodic.
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He first created two
massive and interlinked systems:
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our atmosphere
and our hydrosphere.
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With the atmosphere, He
created the many layers of gases
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that extend out 60
miles or so into space
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and protect the earth.
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Our atmosphere
is amazingly complex
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and constantly in motion.
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With our hydrosphere,
God created all the water
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on the surface of the earth:
our oceans, lakes, rivers.
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These two systems, the
atmosphere and hydrosphere,
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are sister
systems, joined at the hip,
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and constantly
engaged in exchanges,
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exchanges of heat,
chemicals, and energy.
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These two systems
really function together
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more as a whole
than as separate systems.
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Next, God created dry
land, our soil system,
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which is the basis for our
food production the world over.
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And then He created
plants to live in the soil.
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He then populated each
of the systems He created--
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birds and fish for our
atmosphere and hydrosphere
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and then land animals.
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He also created microorganisms
to live in the soil
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and, well, just
about everywhere else.
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There are untold
billions of microorganisms
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in just a handful of soil,
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and they're an irreplaceable
part of healthy soil
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that grows food.
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Finally, God created people,
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and when He
reviewed what He created
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and how the intermeshed
systems functioned as one,
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incredibly complicated
but elegantly balanced,
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He was
well-pleased with His work.
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Genesis 1:31 says that God
judged it to be "very good."
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In other words, it was perfect,
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and it worked
exactly the way He designed,
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reflecting His
character of love so deeply
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that lovingkindness was
the organizing principle.
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The plants, the
animals, the people--
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they all coexisted happily,
and they gave to each other;
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they benefited each
other with every interaction.
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It was a system based on giving,
and no one gave more than God.
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But if you look at the
systems that God created,
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in perfect balance, you see
that every single one of them
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is in significant
and accelerating decline.
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And why is that?
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One simple reason:
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It's because Satan's
system based on selfishness
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is a catastrophic failure.
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Take, for instance,
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the massive, majestic,
and beautiful ocean system.
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Well, how bad is that?
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Every day it dies a little
more, and it's not coming back.
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The loss of life webs,
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the general health of
our oceans is staggering.
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We have the logs of sea captains
from hundreds of years ago
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describing an ocean
that's now foreign to us.
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They wrote of an
ocean teeming with life.
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It was a resource
thought to be inexhaustible.
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But today the seas
that once seemed endless
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are staggeringly polluted and
increasingly depleted of fish.
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Massive fishing boats
chase the remaining fish
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to the ends of the earth and
to the utter depths of the sea.
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And now scientists say that it's
not very many years from now
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the oceans will
essentially be devoid
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of commercial fishing stocks--
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completely fished out.
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That's a huge problem
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because about one billion
people get most of their food
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from the sea, and those
people are even now being forced
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to compete for land-based food,
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and that's a terrible thing
because our natural systems
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that support food production are
also in accelerating decline.
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And you don't have to be any
kind of radical environmentalist
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to see it.
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It's just the way it is.
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Isaiah wrote that the earth
would "wax old like a garment."
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Isaiah 51:6.
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And today we're seeing
the fulfillment of that.
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I'll have more in just a moment.
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¤[music]¤
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>>Announcer: As we
look around the world,
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it appears this planet is
spinning wildly out of control.
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The world now is a far cry
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from the world of
even just a few years ago,
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leaving many people
wondering if there's hope.
00:10:22.55\00:10:25.19
Our free offer today is
"Hope for a Planet in Crisis."
00:10:25.22\00:10:29.19
To receive this free guide,
00:10:29.22\00:10:30.63
call 800-253-3000
00:10:30.66\00:10:34.50
or go online at iiwoffer.com.
00:10:34.56\00:10:38.23
Get "Hope for a
Planet in Crisis."
00:10:38.27\00:10:41.87
¤[soft piano music]¤
00:10:43.27\00:10:47.81
>>Man 1: What does the
Bible say about astrology?
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>>Man 2: Why do bad
things happen to good people?
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>>Girl: What color is Jesus?
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>>John Bradshaw: If
you have a question,
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we'd love to find an answer
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for you from the Bible.
00:11:08.43\00:11:09.93
Line Upon Line
00:11:09.96\00:11:10.77
from It Is Written TV.
00:11:10.80\00:11:12.80
>>John Bradshaw: Thanks for
joining me on It Is Written.
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I'm John Bradshaw.
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Like our oceans, our fresh
water system around the world
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is crashing.
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Most major population
centers around the world
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rely on
aquifers for their water,
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and many of these aquifers,
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which basically are underground
lakes that take centuries
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to fill up, are
heading towards depletion.
00:11:33.86\00:11:37.16
Even worse, a significant
amount of global food production
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is irrigated with
water from aquifers
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that are being depleted,
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such as the Ogallala
aquifer in the United States.
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The Ogallala helps feed
the world with the crops
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it irrigates, and it's
just one of many major aquifers
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around the world
that are depleting.
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Should these
aquifers completely run dry,
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the impact on our
global food production system
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will be profound.
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And at the same time that
our aquifers are depleting,
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our weather
patterns are becoming
00:12:09.46\00:12:10.96
not just less and less reliable
but actually more hostile
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to people and crops.
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Our jet stream,
part of our atmosphere,
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is slowing and destabilizing
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as a result of our
crashing cryosphere--
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or in other words, because of
massive ice loss in the Arctic.
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What that means is that
weather systems are becoming
00:12:30.68\00:12:33.31
more intense and
moving more slowly,
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meaning they last longer.
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Now we get more pounding
rain instead of nurturing rain.
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We get heat waves
that are literally killers
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in some parts of the world,
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causing such extreme
heat that plants and humans
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can't survive.
00:12:49.73\00:12:51.33
And we get prolonged droughts
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and dangerous
waves of polar air.
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Add it all together
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and the climate is
becoming more hostile.
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The industrial revolution--
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and our industrial agriculture
system, in particular--
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has allowed the world to have
a spectacular population boom.
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The population has exploded
over the past 250 years.
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And the same
industrial agriculture system
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that feeds the world requires
massive amounts of water
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and a stable environment.
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So imagine if the
aquifers were to run dry.
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How would we feed the almost
8 billion people on the planet?
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Global food prices would spike,
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and the 3 billion
people or so who now live
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on less than $2.50 a day would
not be able to afford food.
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Does it sound like
a future nightmare?
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Actually, with all the
pressure on agriculture,
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food prices are
already under pressure.
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Even if you have not noticed,
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they've spiked three
times in the last 15 years,
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with dire results for
half the population on earth.
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If you look at a 50-year chart
of global food price movements,
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you'll see that
prices fluctuated.
00:14:05.31\00:14:08.01
But between 2007 and
2012, they pretty much exploded.
00:14:08.04\00:14:14.05
Now take a look at this chart
00:14:14.08\00:14:15.35
from the New England Complex
Systems Institute in Boston.
00:14:15.38\00:14:19.32
They took part of the
food price spike from the chart
00:14:19.35\00:14:22.72
we were just looking
at and put on that chart
00:14:22.76\00:14:26.03
all of the uprisings,
riots, government overthrows,
00:14:26.06\00:14:30.13
and significant
conflicts in the period.
00:14:30.17\00:14:33.20
What they found is
that civil unrest exploded
00:14:33.23\00:14:37.34
when food prices spiked.
00:14:37.37\00:14:40.41
When food
prices double or triple
00:14:40.44\00:14:42.28
over a short period of time,
00:14:42.31\00:14:43.65
those who can no longer survive
sometimes resort to violence.
00:14:43.68\00:14:47.72
So with the destabilization
of the natural world,
00:14:47.75\00:14:50.65
you'd expect to see more
and more food price spikes
00:14:50.69\00:14:53.86
and more and more violence.
00:14:53.89\00:14:56.22
Now, if you haven't
noticed food price spikes,
00:14:56.26\00:14:58.53
it's probably because you
live in a developed country
00:14:58.56\00:15:01.73
where food is highly processed.
00:15:01.76\00:15:03.77
In your $4 box of
corn flakes, for example,
00:15:03.80\00:15:06.70
the raw corn and sugar in
there costs only a few cents.
00:15:06.74\00:15:10.84
So food prices triple, and all
of a sudden you're paying $4.30
00:15:10.87\00:15:15.78
for your box of corn flakes--
you'll hardly even notice.
00:15:15.81\00:15:19.41
But if you're trying to live
on $2.00 or $2.50 or less a day,
00:15:19.45\00:15:24.42
and you're barely making it,
00:15:24.45\00:15:25.92
and then the cost of your
corn and your sugar triples,
00:15:25.95\00:15:29.22
well, you've got no
other option but to be hungry.
00:15:29.26\00:15:32.06
¤[somber music]¤
00:15:32.09\00:15:33.06
What we're seeing is a world
00:15:33.09\00:15:34.46
where the systems that
support life and human society
00:15:34.46\00:15:37.40
are in accelerating decay.
00:15:37.43\00:15:40.00
So what we can reasonably expect
is mounting resource pressure,
00:15:40.04\00:15:44.44
food shortages, water shortages,
00:15:44.47\00:15:47.34
as well as increasingly hostile
weather, killer heat waves,
00:15:47.38\00:15:51.21
floods, extended
droughts, and at the same time,
00:15:51.25\00:15:54.68
we can expect to see
wave after wave of conflict,
00:15:54.72\00:15:58.32
with the fault lines most likely
being between people groups
00:15:58.35\00:16:01.52
who already
don't like each other
00:16:01.56\00:16:03.83
and between those who have
resources and those who don't.
00:16:03.86\00:16:07.20
And of course, with
food shortages and conflicts
00:16:07.23\00:16:10.23
always comes dramatically
increased hunger and disease.
00:16:10.27\00:16:14.10
Now, let's compare
what's coming upon the world
00:16:18.57\00:16:20.51
with what the Bible clearly says
will happen in the final days
00:16:20.54\00:16:24.45
of earth's history.
00:16:24.48\00:16:25.81
Romans 8, verse 22 says
that all of creation is groaning
00:16:25.85\00:16:29.98
because of sin--
Satan's rebellion--
00:16:30.02\00:16:33.12
and will be liberated
from its decay by God.
00:16:33.15\00:16:36.59
Isaiah 51, verse 6 says,
00:16:36.62\00:16:38.73
"The earth will
grow old like a garment."
00:16:38.76\00:16:42.30
The picture of earth in
earth's last days is clear.
00:16:42.33\00:16:46.00
What started out as
whole and strong and perfect
00:16:46.03\00:16:50.34
has become weak, torn,
frayed, and full of holes.
00:16:50.37\00:16:57.05
But for the most detailed look
at what's coming on the earth,
00:16:57.08\00:17:00.95
let's turn to the description
00:17:00.98\00:17:02.15
that Jesus Himself
gave His disciples.
00:17:02.18\00:17:05.22
The account of what He said is
included in Matthew chapter 24.
00:17:05.25\00:17:09.59
The setting is
really interesting.
00:17:09.62\00:17:11.86
It's just before
Jesus was captured,
00:17:11.89\00:17:13.96
put on trial, and crucified.
00:17:14.00\00:17:16.26
So He's down to the last
few hours with His disciples,
00:17:16.30\00:17:19.70
and He knows it.
00:17:19.73\00:17:21.10
He meets with them privately,
and they ask Him a question.
00:17:21.14\00:17:23.67
They say, "What will be
the sign of Your coming,
00:17:23.71\00:17:26.31
and of the end of the age?"
00:17:26.34\00:17:28.81
Jesus gives them an
incredibly detailed answer.
00:17:28.84\00:17:32.11
We're going to focus on
three verses of that answer,
00:17:32.15\00:17:35.02
Matthew chapter
24, verses 6, 7, and 8:
00:17:35.05\00:17:39.99
"And you will hear of
wars and rumors of wars.
00:17:40.02\00:17:43.16
See that you are not troubled;
00:17:43.19\00:17:44.93
for all these things must come
to pass, but the end is not yet.
00:17:44.96\00:17:50.47
For nation will
rise against nation,
00:17:50.50\00:17:52.50
and kingdom against kingdom.
00:17:52.53\00:17:54.57
And there will be
famines, pestilences,
00:17:54.60\00:17:56.91
and earthquakes
in various places.
00:17:56.94\00:17:59.74
All these are the
beginning of sorrows."
00:17:59.77\00:18:03.75
Back with more in just a moment.
00:18:03.78\00:18:05.88
¤[music]¤
00:18:05.91\00:18:10.99
>>Announcer: As we
look around the world,
00:18:14.86\00:18:16.56
it appears this planet is
spinning wildly out of control.
00:18:16.59\00:18:20.43
The world now is a far cry
00:18:20.46\00:18:22.43
from the world of
even just a few years ago,
00:18:22.46\00:18:24.80
leaving many people
wondering if there's hope.
00:18:24.83\00:18:27.37
Our free offer today is
"Hope for a Planet in Crisis."
00:18:27.40\00:18:31.44
To receive this free guide,
00:18:31.47\00:18:32.91
call 800-253-3000
00:18:32.94\00:18:36.71
or go online at iiwoffer.com.
00:18:36.75\00:18:40.65
Get "Hope for a
Planet in Crisis."
00:18:40.68\00:18:43.18
[fire crackling,
crickets chirping]
00:18:45.85\00:18:47.86
[coyote barking]
00:18:47.89\00:18:50.26
¤[ominous music]¤
00:18:50.29\00:18:55.40
[insects chirping]
00:18:55.43\00:18:57.87
[camera rattling]
00:18:57.90\00:19:00.57
[wind blowing, insects
buzzing, feet crunching grass]
00:19:00.60\00:19:03.81
[indistinct voices]
00:19:03.84\00:19:05.64
[wind blowing]
00:19:05.67\00:19:09.98
[insects buzzing at night]
00:19:10.01\00:19:11.88
¤[music]¤
00:19:11.91\00:19:19.09
[dramatic sounds,
heart thumping, creaking]
00:19:19.12\00:19:29.40
¤[dramatic music]¤
00:19:29.43\00:19:31.10
[crowd cheering]
00:19:31.13\00:19:37.44
¤[soft music]¤
00:19:40.51\00:19:46.95
>>John Bradshaw: July 1969.
00:19:54.99\00:19:57.59
And the world watched on
00:19:57.63\00:19:59.79
as American
astronaut Neil Armstrong
00:19:59.83\00:20:02.76
took "one small step for a man
and one giant leap for mankind."
00:20:02.80\00:20:08.34
[record scratching sound]
00:20:08.37\00:20:09.34
Or did he?
00:20:09.37\00:20:10.71
Don't miss "Moon Landing,"
00:20:10.74\00:20:13.14
part 4 of It Is Written's series
00:20:13.17\00:20:15.64
"Conspiracy, More
Than Just a Theory."
00:20:15.68\00:20:19.15
Travel to Titusville, Florida,
and the Kennedy Space Center
00:20:19.18\00:20:22.82
and meet
astronaut Dr. Don Thomas,
00:20:22.85\00:20:25.25
a veteran of four
space shuttle missions.
00:20:25.29\00:20:28.82
Open the Bible and find out
what you can really believe.
00:20:28.86\00:20:33.06
How can you know
the Bible can be trusted
00:20:33.09\00:20:35.00
in today's modern world?
00:20:35.03\00:20:37.17
Increase your faith
00:20:37.20\00:20:38.43
and grow in your
understanding of God's Word.
00:20:38.47\00:20:41.67
"Moon Landing,"
00:20:42.00\00:20:43.57
part of the series "Conspiracy,
More Than Just a Theory."
00:20:43.61\00:20:48.58
Don't miss "Moon Landing"
00:20:48.61\00:20:50.88
on It Is Written TV.
00:20:50.91\00:20:53.65
>>John Bradshaw:
Thanks for joining me today
00:20:55.52\00:20:57.15
on It Is Written.
00:20:57.19\00:20:58.82
The Bible verses we're
looking at suggest to us
00:20:58.85\00:21:01.12
that we are coming
towards a time of real trouble
00:21:01.16\00:21:03.36
for the earth.
00:21:03.39\00:21:04.63
Matthew 24, verse 6 says,
00:21:04.66\00:21:06.23
"You will hear of
wars and rumors of wars."
00:21:06.26\00:21:08.93
Now, given the
context of the passage,
00:21:08.96\00:21:11.77
it's telling us
that in earth's last days
00:21:11.80\00:21:13.74
we'll see actual open fighting,
a lot of regrettable situations
00:21:13.77\00:21:18.11
where there will
be very real conflict.
00:21:18.14\00:21:21.58
Next we read, "See
that you are not troubled;
00:21:21.61\00:21:24.81
for all these
things must come to pass,
00:21:24.85\00:21:27.78
but the end is not yet."
00:21:27.82\00:21:30.75
Now, this is really important.
00:21:30.79\00:21:32.69
Remember, in this war
between Christ and Satan,
00:21:32.72\00:21:36.62
not only is the character of God
00:21:36.66\00:21:39.03
pitted against the
character of Satan,
00:21:39.06\00:21:41.70
but God's system
of lovingkindness
00:21:41.73\00:21:44.43
is pitted against
Satan's system of selfishness.
00:21:44.47\00:21:48.34
And typical of any politician,
00:21:50.74\00:21:53.44
Satan will try and spin
any event into an affirmation
00:21:53.48\00:21:57.45
of his way and into
a condemnation of God.
00:21:57.48\00:22:01.32
The whole miserable campaign
ends when Satan's system
00:22:01.35\00:22:04.55
is in obvious failure,
00:22:04.59\00:22:06.32
and he's run out of
excuses and accusations.
00:22:06.35\00:22:09.36
Until then, "These
things must come to pass."
00:22:09.39\00:22:12.59
We have to live
through the decline and failure
00:22:12.63\00:22:14.96
of Satan's system.
00:22:15.00\00:22:16.63
For how else could it
be proven to be false?
00:22:16.67\00:22:19.57
How else could the
charges against God's character
00:22:19.60\00:22:22.57
also be proven false?
00:22:22.60\00:22:24.57
Now, this is an
important concept,
00:22:24.61\00:22:25.91
so let me say those words again:
00:22:25.94\00:22:28.11
"See that you are not troubled;
00:22:28.14\00:22:29.71
for all these
things must come to pass,
00:22:29.74\00:22:32.45
but the end is not yet."
00:22:32.48\00:22:35.02
Now, the next verse is verse 7.
00:22:35.05\00:22:36.72
It starts out like this:
00:22:36.75\00:22:38.42
"Nation will
rise against nation,
00:22:38.45\00:22:40.29
and kingdom against kingdom."
00:22:40.32\00:22:42.42
So we're going to see
dramatically more conflict.
00:22:42.46\00:22:45.39
In regard to
nation against nation,
00:22:45.43\00:22:47.03
that means
conflict between states,
00:22:47.10\00:22:49.13
which are entities that
have borders and a flag.
00:22:49.16\00:22:52.07
When it says
kingdom against kingdom,
00:22:52.10\00:22:54.74
it refers to groups
of affiliated people
00:22:54.77\00:22:56.84
who don't have
borders and a flag.
00:22:56.87\00:22:59.21
So this could mean,
say, Turks against the Kurds,
00:22:59.24\00:23:02.24
Hutus against
Tutsis, Arabs against Jews.
00:23:02.28\00:23:04.88
And, of course, you can get
00:23:04.91\00:23:06.45
tremendously
complicated situations going
00:23:06.48\00:23:08.58
where you have both
kinds of conflicts at once.
00:23:08.62\00:23:11.69
States against states and people
groups against people groups.
00:23:11.72\00:23:16.36
The rest of verse 7 says,
"And there [will] be famines,
00:23:16.39\00:23:19.66
...pestilences, and
earthquakes, in divers [areas]."
00:23:19.69\00:23:23.06
The famine part is clear enough.
00:23:23.10\00:23:25.47
"Pestilences" refers to disease.
00:23:25.50\00:23:27.80
That can mean dramatic incidence
of diseases that we know
00:23:27.84\00:23:31.21
or the resurgence of diseases
that we thought we had beaten
00:23:31.24\00:23:35.38
or the spread of
diseases which are new to us.
00:23:35.41\00:23:39.15
And, of course, we're
clearly told we will see
00:23:39.18\00:23:41.18
more and more
earthquakes, which are something
00:23:41.22\00:23:43.85
that appears to be happening
right now in real time.
00:23:43.89\00:23:47.52
The last verse we're
looking at, verse 8, says,
00:23:48.52\00:23:51.23
"All these are the
beginning of sorrows."
00:23:51.26\00:23:54.00
The word there used
means "birth pains,"
00:23:54.00\00:23:57.00
which means
that, like birth pains,
00:23:57.03\00:23:58.93
it isn't just a one-off
earthquake that means too much,
00:23:58.97\00:24:01.84
but it's that these things
are becoming more frequent
00:24:01.87\00:24:04.64
and more intense the closer
we get to the return of Jesus.
00:24:04.67\00:24:08.91
When we study the state
of the earth as it is now
00:24:08.94\00:24:11.65
and in the near future,
00:24:11.68\00:24:13.38
and we compare that to
what the Bible says will happen
00:24:13.42\00:24:15.65
during the last
days of the earth,
00:24:15.68\00:24:17.69
there are some
inescapable conclusions.
00:24:17.72\00:24:20.42
First, the two descriptions
are essentially the same.
00:24:20.46\00:24:24.39
What the Bible calls
the "last days of the earth"
00:24:24.43\00:24:27.60
have already begun.
00:24:27.60\00:24:28.90
We're living in the end times,
00:24:28.93\00:24:31.57
and we conclude that Satan's
system is an utter catastrophe.
00:24:31.60\00:24:36.10
Which makes it all the more
amazing that he's still running
00:24:36.14\00:24:38.61
his campaign and still fooling
massive amounts of people.
00:24:38.64\00:24:43.31
The natural result of
Satan's system is death,
00:24:44.31\00:24:48.32
disease, suffering,
injustice, and strife.
00:24:48.35\00:24:53.92
But there's a way
out of this nightmare
00:24:53.96\00:24:55.72
Satan's rebellion has caused.
00:24:55.76\00:24:57.79
If we turn our backs on Satan,
if we leave his rebellion,
00:24:57.83\00:25:02.36
and if we accept
the gift of salvation
00:25:02.40\00:25:04.30
that Jesus has provided us,
00:25:04.33\00:25:06.87
then we have a future
ahead of us that's amazing.
00:25:06.90\00:25:09.97
If ever there was a time
to pause and open our hearts
00:25:10.01\00:25:13.41
to Christ, it's now.
00:25:13.44\00:25:15.64
And the thing is, He's
just waiting to come in.
00:25:15.68\00:25:19.08
Given where we are in history,
00:25:19.11\00:25:20.98
given that we've actually
entered "the last days,"
00:25:21.02\00:25:24.95
we should be asking some truly
critical questions, such as,
00:25:24.99\00:25:29.52
"What should I be doing?"
00:25:29.56\00:25:31.13
and "How does
Satan's system end?"
00:25:31.16\00:25:33.23
and "What happens after that?"
00:25:33.26\00:25:35.86
Now, we'll
answer those questions
00:25:35.90\00:25:37.20
next time we're together.
00:25:37.23\00:25:39.27
The greatest
question we could wrestle with
00:25:39.30\00:25:41.04
is the question of
where we stand with God.
00:25:41.07\00:25:44.37
How are things
between you and God?
00:25:44.41\00:25:46.98
Have you accepted
Jesus as your Lord and Savior
00:25:47.01\00:25:50.51
Now, that's a question
that we can answer now.
00:25:50.55\00:25:54.18
>>John: Thank you for
remembering that It Is Written
00:25:56.18\00:25:58.15
exists because of the kindness
of people just like you.
00:25:58.19\00:26:01.66
To support this international
life-changing ministry,
00:26:01.69\00:26:04.93
please call us
now at 800-253-3000.
00:26:04.96\00:26:09.13
You can send your
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00:26:09.16\00:26:10.60
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00:26:10.63\00:26:12.10
or you can visit us
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00:26:12.13\00:26:15.97
Thank you for your prayers
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00:26:16.00\00:26:18.77
Our number
again is 800-253-3000,
00:26:18.81\00:26:23.01
or you can visit us
online at itiswritten.com.
00:26:23.04\00:26:26.05
>>John Bradshaw:
Let's pray together,
00:26:27.45\00:26:28.92
and let's answer that question
that we asked just a moment ago.
00:26:28.95\00:26:33.49
Our Father in heaven, we
thank You today for Jesus.
00:26:33.52\00:26:36.32
We thank You that
things can always be good
00:26:36.36\00:26:38.83
between us and You.
00:26:38.86\00:26:41.30
We thank You that
Your heart is toward us.
00:26:41.33\00:26:43.67
We look around a world that's
just going down, down, down.
00:26:43.70\00:26:47.27
Things seem to be
spinning out of control.
00:26:47.30\00:26:50.64
But we know this is a time to be
hopeful, if our hope is in You.
00:26:50.67\00:26:54.11
Friend, is your hope
in the God of heaven?
00:26:54.14\00:26:56.64
Does the God of
heaven have your heart?
00:26:56.68\00:26:58.98
Have you chosen
Jesus as your Lord,
00:26:59.01\00:27:02.52
as your Savior?
00:27:02.55\00:27:04.15
If you do, open your
heart to God now, would you?
00:27:04.19\00:27:06.22
Lord, our hearts are open;
00:27:06.25\00:27:08.52
our arms are
stretched out towards You.
00:27:08.56\00:27:11.09
Take hold of our hand,
keep us, and never let us go.
00:27:11.13\00:27:14.10
We know that these are
some of the very final days
00:27:14.13\00:27:17.53
of earth's history.
00:27:17.57\00:27:19.40
And we thank You that
Jesus is coming back soon.
00:27:19.43\00:27:22.20
As we've offered You our hearts,
we know that we shall be ready,
00:27:22.24\00:27:25.81
not by works of righteousness
which we have done,
00:27:25.84\00:27:28.81
but because in
Your mercy You save us.
00:27:28.84\00:27:31.85
Now, keep us, we
pray, now and eternally,
00:27:31.88\00:27:35.12
in Jesus' name.
00:27:35.15\00:27:37.22
Amen.
00:27:37.25\00:27:38.59
Thank you so
much for joining me.
00:27:38.62\00:27:39.95
I'm looking forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:27:39.99\00:27:42.16
Until then, remember:
00:27:42.19\00:27:44.06
"It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:27:44.09\00:27:48.80
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:27:48.83\00:27:53.30
¤[theme music]¤
00:27:53.34\00:27:59.34