This transcript is taken from a Stand in the Gap Program originally aired on June 3, 2020. To listen to the program, please click HERE.
Sam Rohrer: Well, hello and welcome to this midweek edition of Stand In The Gap Today. I’m Sam Rohrer. And again, I’ll be joined today by Dr. Gary Dull. And today our special guest, Michael Snyder, has been with us before, but he’s the publisher of The Economic Collapse blog, The End of the American Dream. He’s authored several books, including The Beginning of the End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. Now, if you’re a God-fearing person and you’re listening to us right now, and you have a minimal, even a minimal knowledge of the Bible, you’re familiar with such phrases as the end days, the tribulation, the rapture, the Antichrist, and the second coming of Christ and other phrases.
Sam Rohrer: In fact, even the God-rejecting culture around us in which we live also knows of these concepts and even the anti-God media and the entertainment creators who give us our movies and so many things, they love to fixate on such words as apocalypse, the end of the world. And they talk about plagues and other things and weather events, and often describe them, as you know, as you look at them where they use the terms, biblical proportions and more, you know what I mean. But without doubt, we are in the midst of a broadly increasing interest in the supernatural, aliens, UFOs, the unseen world and the unfolding worldwide events of COVID-19 now and increasing lawlessness and rebellion that we’re seeing contribute, I believe to this sense. And to some extent, there’s always been a fascination with the end days, but seems to be more happening now than ever before, at least I believe that to be the case.
Sam Rohrer: Now is this broad interest purely coincidental, or are we in fact witnessing days prophesied by Christ himself and throughout scripture that we are in the end of days described by Jesus himself in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 as an example? If so, how should this reality, how should this be causing us to think and behave intentionally different?
Sam Rohrer: We’re going to talk about this critical and captivating area today here on Stand In The Gap Today. Our theme is this, the return of Christ and the end of days. What difference should it make? And we’re going to highlight obvious headline news that they scream end days. In segment two and three, we’re going to present greater details about obvious signs that we’re seeing as prophesied in scripture. And then we’re going to conclude by identifying the attitude and the actions that Christ said true Christians should manifest during these times along with the reward and the risk. And they’re both there and we’ll identify them at the end of the program. And with that, I want to welcome in right now, Michael Snyder calling in. And, Michael, thank you for being with us today.
Michael Snyder: Oh, Pastor Sam, it’s a joy to be back with you today. Joy to be on this show. And certainly, so many people right now are talking about Bible prophecy because it’s suddenly a very hot topic.
Sam Rohrer: I know that, Michael, and that’s why I’m glad to have you on. And so I wanted to do this emphasis on the program today because the reality of Bible prophecy, it is real. The application identifying of it is also real and some time needs, wisdom, and discernment to do that. And that’s what I’d like to do on the program. Michael, you regularly write about the end days and signs that we’re seeing that reflect what Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 24, for example, that would be evidences as we would call them, would refer to perhaps birth pains that would be leading up to the second coming of Christ.
Sam Rohrer: We know in Matthew 24:15, that Jesus actually answered the disciples when they requested a sign and they said, “Give us a sign,” that linked that to the undebatable event referred to as the abomination of desolation where the Antichrist actually stands up in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and proclaims himself to be God marking the middle of the great tribulation. So he said, “That is the sign when you see that.” We know that hasn’t happened yet. But leading up to that are evidences that the earth is getting ready for a big event with an intense tribulation to follow. So take a couple minutes here if you can, you’re following headlines, you’re writing things. Give as many examples as you can perhaps of current headline news and events that align with Christ’s description of things to watch for. And then we’ll go into more detail on these in the next two segments.
Michael Snyder: Yeah. Pastor Sam, right now here in 2020, to many people seems like the world is spiraling out of control. And all of a sudden there’s been a huge shift because when things were seemingly good and things were seemingly stable well over several years there, interest in Bible prophecy really dropped off here in the United States and all over the world. And I’m in contact with leaders of ministries, Bible prophecy ministries and they said, “Yeah, Michael, interest in our ministry has really fallen,” but that was before. But now here in 2020, all of a sudden we see so many things happening and all of a sudden there’s a huge resurgence in interest in Bible prophecy. All of a sudden people are talking about these things and are wondering, “Well, are these the times that the Bible talked about?” And of course, there’s all kinds of bizarre theories and people are throwing out all kinds of strange things on the internet.
Michael Snyder: And there’s a lot of confusion, but Jesus didn’t want us to be confused. In fact, Jesus talked extensively about these times just prior to his return. And the Bible, in general, speak extensively about these times not so that we would be fearful, but God wanted us to have hope saying, “Yeah, there’s some birth pains that you’re going to have to go through. There’s going to be some difficult things,” but for us that are believers, it’s actually good news because we’re looking forward to our great hope. We’re looking forward to our true home. And that’s the perspective that God wants us to have, not a worldly perspective, but an internal perspective. So many of the things that Jesus talked about right now that we’re watching very, very closely, we’re going to talk about throughout this show, for example, wars and rumors of wars in particular the Middle East. We’re watching the Middle East.
Michael Snyder: And we’re going to talk about this, why we’re watching Israel, why we’re talking about the Middle East and why war could potentially erupt even as soon as this year. We’re also watching geophysical activity. We’re watching earthquakes. We’re watching volcanoes right now where we’re seeing a lot of unusual activity around the globe, a lot of increasing activity. And this is alarming a lot of people, but for those of us who study Bible prophecy, we were told by Jesus to expect earth changes, to expect major things as a sign of his return. And along with that, we’re also seeing crazy weather patterns of course, that the world says, “Oh, this is manmade global warming. And if we just change our behavior, things can go back to normal.” Well, no. Really, that’s not the case, I believe, but what we’re witnessing is that … We’re seeing bizarre cold, bizarre warm, bizarre storms and things of that nature and that’s something we can address as well.
Sam Rohrer: All right. And, Mike, I’m just going to cut away so hold up, that’s a completed your thought there. Ladies and gentlemen, stay with us. We’re talking today about the return of Christ and the end of days with this emphasis. What difference should it make in the way we think, and we act particularly as believers? A special guest, Michael Snyder, Gary Dull, and I will be back in just a moment.
Sam Rohrer: Welcome back to Stand In The Gap Today. Again, I’m Sam Rohrer accompanied by Gary Dull and our special guest today, Michael Snyder. Our theme is this, the return of Christ and the end of days with this emphasis. What difference should it make? In Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, those are three chapters that carry references to the same occurrence. Jesus prophesied to his disciples that the amazing architectural beauty of Herod’s temple, then standing in Jerusalem, would actually be destroyed stone by stone. That’s something that caught the disciple’s attention. And then they responded to him, “Well then when will this be?” And they said, “What shall be the sign of your coming, your second coming?” Because his first coming, obviously, he was already there. So we’re talking about his second coming. And then they said, “And the end of the world, as we know it,” this age effectively, the end of this age. When Jesus then responded by identifying the first great indicator, deception. He said right off, “Don’t let anyone deceive you.”
Sam Rohrer: He then identified some indicators of the end days, including people masquerading as truth even as Christ himself. He said, “You’ll hear of wars and rumors of wars,” but he said, “Don’t be troubled.” And that’s what our guest, Michael Snyder, said in the last segment. Christ didn’t give these things to us to alarm us, but just to the contrary, don’t be troubled. But then he said, “The end is not yet.” He said that nations would rise against nation kingdom against kingdom. He said there’d be famines, plagues, earthquakes in various places. And he said these would mark the time of the beginning of sorrows. So there’s a progression that he’s talking through this process. In reality, the prophecy had a near-term and a long-term application. The temple was destroyed in 70 AD but the second coming obviously has not yet happened. It’s yet to occur with these events and others occurring in frequency and intensity.
Sam Rohrer: So, Michael, let me start here with you. You recently wrote an article based off of this section. You entitled it Nine Signs Unfolding Right in Front of Our Eyes. Now you picked out nine. I think we could probably find more than nine and you weren’t being totally inclusive and that wasn’t your goal, but you picked out nine that we’re going to look at some of them here right now. How about if you could right now highlight all nine, just in quick fashion, go down through and highlight all that you picked out. Then I’d like you to go to the first one that you highlighted and why it’s so significant and so undeniable, so to speak, as we are seeing this sign unfold right in front of our eyes.
Michael Snyder: Yeah. Pastor Sam, and this first one’s going to actually require a little bit of explanation because when we’re talking about wars and rumors of wars, well, over in Israel, Israel just had a third election. Most people know that, and it was once again, inconclusive. So they had to come to an agreement between Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and the Blue and White Chairman, Benny Gantz. And as part of that agreement, part of that agreement said that Netanyahu who’s taking the first turn as prime minister, according to the agreement, that he can begin the process of annexing portions of Judea and Samaria. Right now, most of the world considers that to be Palestinian territory, but he can begin that process as early as July 1st. In fact, Netanyahu just came out publicly and said, according to that agreement, he plans to move forward on July 1st and begin annexing portions of Judea and Samaria.
Michael Snyder: And the reason why Netanyahu is in such a rush is because he wants to get this done before the U.S. election in November because Donald Trump, the Trump administration, is prepared to support this annexation process. But if Joe Biden wins in November, Biden has said he’s completely against it. He doesn’t want any part of it. And so Benjamin Netanyahu sees a window of opportunity for just a few months to get this done, to make sure it gets done because he doesn’t know if Trump is going to win again in November or not. So Israel is, looks like they are going to move forward with this process. Of course, on the other side, you’ve got the Palestinians and their allies, which are saying, “No way.” They’re saying, “This will mean war.” You’ve got Hamas in the south, which has been constantly launching rockets in Israel. They’re already super upset and this is about to push them over the edge.
Michael Snyder: You’ve got Hezbollah in the north with over 150,000 missiles currently pointed at Israel and war was ready to erupt in the north there even before there was any talk of annexation. Then you’ve got the Palestinian authority, of course in the West Bank and Mahmoud Abbas is saying, “Hey, he’s already pulled out of all previous agreements with the United States and Israel.” And he said, “I’m just about ready to completely dissolve the Palestinian authority if this takes place.” And then you’ve got the King of Jordan, King Abdula, saying this could mean war. Others, Arab leaders, in that region saying this can mean war. And, Pastor Sam, this really could mean war. And of course, many of us that study Bible prophecy have been anticipating a major war in the Middle East. And it looks like a could happen because this is crossing a red line for the Palestinians, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is absolutely determined to move forward with this.
Gary Dull: All right. And of course in your article, Michael, you go on and list some other indications or some signs, I guess we should say, that’s of course the term that we’re using. Of course, I think it’s important for our listeners to understand that Matthew 24 and 25 is yet to come and will come after the rapture. But when we start seeing things like that that’s listed there taking place today, that’s a pretty good indication to us that we’re getting very, very close to the rapture. But you talk about wars, you talk about earthquakes. In fact, that is the second sign that you indicate in your article. Why are the wars that we are seeing taking place today or could take place soon, as well as the earthquakes and famines and turmoil and other things that are taking place in the world today, why is that so significant as it relates to the second coming of Jesus Christ, maybe even more significant than previous Wars and earthquakes and so forth over the last century?
Michael Snyder: Yeah. And you know Jesus gave us a scenario to watch for. And so we should expect all these things to happen at the same time. And at the same time, at a time when people say, “Well, there’s been these things happen at various times all throughout human history.” But really the end time scenario that the Bible paints couldn’t happen until Israel became a nation, that happened 1948. So Israel took control of Jerusalem 1967. So only since that time are we in that end time scenario and now we’re starting to see these signs erupt all at the same time, the birth pains increasing and increasing, increasingly in frequency and intensity. And you talked about earthquakes. Jesus said, there’d be earthquakes in diverse places. And we’re seeing larger earthquakes four or five, six magnitude erupt very, very frequently all around the globe.
Michael Snyder: And in particular, we’re watching the ring of fire where the vast majority of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic activity happens on a ring that roughly encircles, the Pacific Ocean. Of course, the west coast of the United States is along that ring of fire. And we have seen, for example, we just saw a magnitude 4.7 earthquake just not too long ago strike off the California coast, but there’ve been of course, there’s all kinds of smaller earthquakes. In fact, in just the last seven days, I just looked this up on the Caltech earthquake map. In California and Nevada in just the last seven days, there have been 2,862 earthquakes just in those two states in just the last seven days, a much higher level than normal because I watch this thing on a regular basis. So we’re very, very concerned. We’re very, very watching this closely.
Michael Snyder: And then with volcanoes, I just looked up the latest number from Volcano Discovery, 25 volcanoes around the globe erupting right now. And that includes Mount Popocatepetl down in Mexico, which is just south of the United States. And many Americans don’t realize that’s actually one of the most dangerous volcanoes on the entire globe because it’s not too far from Mexico City. There’s about more than 20 million people that live in the region. And Mount Popocatepetl, scientists tell us one day will explode with a catastrophic eruption. And then they tell us in the ancient past, it’s actually sent tsunamis of hot mud in the times of the Aztecs. Tsunamis of hot mud completely buried entire Aztec cities with superheated mud killing just tremendous amounts of people. And there’s the potential that someday there’s going to be another catastrophic eruption of that volcano and it’ll happen again. So we’re watching these things and we’re concerned because we don’t want to see natural disasters but they’re also indications. They’re the signs that Jesus warned about to watch for in these last days.
Sam Rohrer: Michael, we’re just about done. Gary and I are going back and forth with each other here, offline as we’re talking, because he’s out in western Pennsylvania, and I’m in the eastern part of the state. Apply this as well. We’re talking about signs here. Now ultimately, these are things that are really pointing toward the Jews who are going to be there when Christ comes back to Jerusalem and sets up his kingdom. But we as Christians as looking at this, this is for our application as well, is it not?
Michael Snyder: Oh, it most definitely is because as believers, Jesus wanted us to watch. He said watch because otherwise our focus gets on other things. And then when our focus is on other things, we’re focused on are, so many believers today are focused on their careers, building up wealth on their plans, on their programs, on the things they have planned for their lives. But Jesus won. And then all of a sudden these things come along and they’re disrupting people’s plans and people are looking around and saying, “My plans are being disrupted. I’m fearful. I don’t understand what’s going on because they’re not watching.” But we were instructed to watch so we would not be afraid, so we’d understand what we’re going on so that we can plan our lives, get our lines in plan with God’s plans in these last days.
Sam Rohrer: Indeed. Indeed. All right, Michael, ladies and gentlemen, we’re at our midpoint here. Now we’ll be back in just a moment and we’ll continue with looking at some of the other signs that are there that point to the second coming. But again, remember all of these are going to be preceded by the rapture which means we are close.
Sam Rohrer: Well, welcome back to Stand In The Gap Today. We’re at the midpoint here. Our theme is this, the return of Christ and the end of days. Now, what difference does it make? And that’s the emphasis that we’re trying to make here today. Our special guest is Michael Snyder. He’s the publisher of The Economic Collapse blog, does a lot of writing there, written several books including Get Prepared Now, Living a Life That Really Matters, and others. We’re looking at a oft quoted passage of scripture, Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21 refer to a time when Christ is telling to his disciples that there will come events at the end of the age that leads right up to the tribulation to the time before Christ comes back, physically second coming and sets up worship in the temple there in Jerusalem. Before that occurs, there’ll be other events that will happen that will lead up to that.
Sam Rohrer: Now, depending upon how one views what we talk about as the end times, I personally believe that Christ will rapture out of the church those of us alive now. He will take us out. And then these events that we’re talking about here will even double up. They will increase in extraordinary intensity, but we’re seeing these things happen now. And if they are, then should that not draw all of our attention as believers to the way we live and think and act in terms of knowing that the return of Christ via rapture will be at the door literally if these other things are taking place?
Sam Rohrer: And certainly even in talking to Orthodox Jewish people who have not yet accepted Yeshua as Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, they are also very much aware of these things that we’re talking about. And as God prepares their heart, because ultimately we know at one point the entire nation of Israel will acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah and all this is building up to that. Well, Jesus not only identified such things as wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes and by association, the connected activities of volcanoes and so forth but he also talked about famines and plagues in addition to great deception and all of these things would be increasing. And as our guest, Michael Snyder, said the real thing of significance is that once you see Israel back in the land, 1948 and Jerusalem back as the Capitol in 1967, it really puts all of what we’re talking about into a timeframe and into a perspective that doesn’t apply to any other time in history.
Sam Rohrer: But Michael, before we move to Jesus’ warning of plagues and famines and you share what’s happening in that regard around the world, I want you to comment on a strange event, it’s a natural event, but I want to see your comment on it because I’ve seen it with the weather experts and other scientists commenting on some changes in our sun. Some very strange events that effectively they’re saying the sun is dark. Obviously the sun is light. We can see that, but the solar flare activity which is a normal occurrence on the sun, affects us here weather-wise and so forth has all but disappeared. And some are saying that this is contributing to a rapid shift in the Earth’s magnetic field, magnetic north. It’s also affecting the increase in earthquakes and volcanic activity. Share with us what you know. And is this more than coincidence?
Michael Snyder: Yeah. Right now we’re seeing the sun behave very, very strangely where solar activity, the number of sunspots on the sun has, it’s really, really dried up in terms of it’s gotten super, super quiet in terms of the number of sunspots. In fact, most days there’s no sunspots at all. And so it’s really about in terms of in modern history, in terms of looking at the sun, it’s about the quietest we’ve ever seen. And so many people are concerned, “Hey, has the sun entered a new period?” Because throughout history, there have been these periods of time when the sun has gotten extraordinarily quiet for a period of time.
Michael Snyder: For example, the Maunder Minimum during the Middle Ages was a period of time when the sun got very, very quiet and what happened is we saw global temperatures actually go down. We saw bizarre weather patterns and it created a time of famine around the globe. And a lot of people died. If you go back and study the Maunder Minimum in particular, a lot of people died across Europe, all over the world, as crops couldn’t be grown normally. Summers were colder than usual, winters were colder, global weather patterns shifted, and it has other consequences as well. People studied, as you mentioned, where the sun gets really quiet, that seems to be correlated with an increase in earthquake and volcanic activity.
Michael Snyder: And so people are saying, “Well, if we’re entering a new period of time,” and Jesus warns, he said, “Hey, there’ll be signs in the sun, moon and stars.” And so we should be looking at, is there something unusual happening with the sun and moon and stars and so forth? So that’s one of the things, Pastor Sam, that we’re watching, we’re concerned about because so many other things right now are happening, which are affecting the global food supply as well.
Gary Dull: You know, Michael, it’s interesting when you read down through that 24th chapter of Matthew, there are some very specific elements mentioned. For instance, in the seventh verse, it talks about the fact that there will be famines and pestilences and so forth. When you turn to the parallel passage over in Luke 21, it talks about the fact that there’s going to be commotions and that’s Luke 21:9, which indicates … Look at the commotion that’s going on in the world today around us. And all of that indicates, once again, how close we are getting to the rapture, I believe. But Jesus talks about the plagues and the famines and how they would increase. And even secular institutions today, like the World Health Organization are talking about the fact that famines are going to be coming in the next year or so. What information can you share about what’s happening now in this area, as it relates to plagues and famines, as that ties into the signs that the Lord Jesus Christ is giving there in Matthew 24?
Michael Snyder: Yeah. You know, a lot of Americans don’t even realize that famines are happening right now around the world. We’ve already seen, are seeing food riots in Africa. Now food riots have erupted in South America in the capital of Chile, Santiago, major food riots because of a lack of food. And the United Nations, I’ve got the link right on my website. If you go to the official United Nations website, and right now there is an article that uses the word biblical to describe the famines that are emerging right now. In fact, the head of the UN World Food Program, David Beasley, he’s publicly warning that we’re heading into “the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II” and he publicly warned that we could soon see 300,000 people starve to death every single day because … An what we’re seeing right now is a multi pronged threat.
Michael Snyder: And we talked about some of this on previous programs. We’ve talked about the armies of locust, the size of major cities, which can travel up to 90 miles a day. And when they descend on a farm, they can eat everything there in as little as 30 seconds. They’ve been hitting Africa, parts of Africa across the middle East into Asia. India is having a huge problem with them now. We’ve talked about African swine fever, which has already killed half the pigs in China and approximately one-fourth of all the pigs in the entire world, tremendous plague that’s been going on, but news of that has been drowned out by the coronavirus where we’ve seen this plague, this pestilence sweep all over the world and where it’s already killed more than a hundred thousand Americans.
Michael Snyder: But even more than that, it’s caused such fear and disruptive to global supply chains and global food distribution, even here in the United States where we’re seeing so many meat processing plants shut down, farmers don’t have anyone to sell to. And so they’re having to get rid of the animals they’ve produced and scale back operations. And all these things are contributing to just a tightening global food supplies, where we’ve already seen crops fail in Australia and other places around the world. All these things are combining to create this perfect storm for global food supplies and where we’re seeing already in some poor countries, a lack of food. And I believe it’s only going to get worse.
Sam Rohrer: And of course, Michael, what you’ve mentioned and we’ve talked about it before, if we compare to birth pains, I mean because there’s always been famines. There have always been pestilences. But the point that you’re making, what we’re saying is that coming on the heels of what we trump the rebirth of Israel, 1948 in Jerusalem and the emphasis on the Middle East. Now, all of those things, taking these things into account does make them different. And you did cite. And can you confirm from your research, for instance, earthquakes, as an example, are there in fact more of them now than we have had? Is the intensity of them now more than we had? Speak to some of that as we conclude this segment.
Michael Snyder: Yes. Pastor Sam, the number of earthquakes is increasing, although the experts, a lot of the government experts are saying, “Yeah, it may seem like they’re increasing, but this is normal. Don’t be alarmed.” They’re trying to keep everyone calm, but really in an editorial in the Seattle Times, the other day really, really spoke to me because it said, “Hey, yeah, America has seen pandemics in the past, just like we’re seeing now.” And America has seen economic problems in the past. We had the great depression and now more than 40 million Americans have lost their jobs here in 2020 alone. And they said, “Yeah, America’s seen times of civil unrest, like we’ve seen in recent days before,” but he said, “we never seen all these things together at the same time.” And so they were saying, “Hey, we should mourn for what’s happening to this country.” And this is a secular newspaper. This is not a Bible prophecy website. These are secular people saying, “We’ve never seen all these things happen at the same time. Why is this happening?” Of course, they don’t have the answer.
Sam Rohrer: There again happening at the same time and increasingly in this timeframe. That’s what makes it significant. When we come back, we’re going to conclude with this concept of now, what difference does all of this make? The risk and the reward, how should we respond?
Sam Rohrer: Well, as we conclude our program today, this theme that we’re talking about, if you’re listening and you are at all concerned or interested in prophecy, what the Bible says about the days in which we’re living and are they more significant perhaps than the days that were faced by our grandparents or past generations as an example. That interest is high, it really is. There are some websites that there are hundreds of thousands of people and they are consumed with following things that are in this area. Sadly though, I think when it comes to the supernatural and it’s appropriate that we talk about it because we recognize that some of the greatest battles taking place in our country right now are in the area of the unseen, the spiritual wickedness in high places. There is a lot in that area and we don’t recognize, and we should, that it’s a big deal.
Sam Rohrer: There’s lots going on in that area where God himself is waging war with the devil and his minions and it’s taking place. And we see some of the results on the ground, but there’s far more to it than that. When it comes to the supernatural and the prophetic and the events that are bigger than any man, bigger than any nation, the devil will seek to try and use these events to distract, to confuse, or even just consume like an addiction for some people, just all they do is want to know more and more, but not necessarily know more about God or faith in Jesus Christ. That’s the devil wants to keep distraction. That’s part of why Jesus gives us the warnings that he does so that we can be alert. One of my concerns about the obvious increasing evidence of Jesus’ words to his disciples is even that many who fear God are often caught up more in the sensational and the headline nature of events and speculations surrounding them.
Sam Rohrer: Then the very purpose for which Jesus told his disciples, these things were to occur. And that is that we understand these things so that we can interpret and apply and speak forth the truth for the sake of the gospel more clearly. So, Michael, let me go here. After Jesus shared these signs with his disciples, he shared the parable of the fig tree. We refer to that, that’s the rebirth of Israel, as we would say, Matthew, 24:34. He says, “Truly when you see all these things,” it’s comprehensive, not one of these things, but all of these things, “you know that Christ is near at the very gate. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away,” literally die, move off the scene, “until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will not.”
Sam Rohrer: Then in Matthew 24:42 and 44 Christ gave two commands of which I want to ask you to comment. He said, “First, in light of all these things, watch therefore for you don’t know when the Lord will come.” And then verse 44, he said, “Therefore, be ready for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man cometh.” Now, obviously we know this has application to the second coming, but I think it has an application to the rapture as well. Share briefly, if you could, the meaning and the application to this today and what it should mean to us to watch and be ready in light of these things.
Michael Snyder: Yeah. Jesus instructed us to watch, which means our focus needs to be on these things on what God is saying for several purposes. Number one, you already alluded to, the Bible says that God tells us the end from the beginning. And one of the most powerful evidences for the Christian faith is prophecy fulfilled prophecy, Bible prophecy. And the fact that these things are being specifically fulfilled in our generation is a tool that we can use to point others to Jesus Christ and to bring in the last days’ harvest because we only have a limited amount of time, especially as the return of Jesus draws near. That’s the only amount of time we have to win souls because after we’re in heaven, we can’t win souls anymore. So right now we have a limited period of time to win souls. And this is a great tool for winning souls.
Michael Snyder: Secondly, if our focus is on the Bible and scriptures, we’ll have hope. People sometimes write to me and they say, “Michael, why are you focused on negative news? Why are you writing about negative things?” Because they’re interpreting all these things as negative, but if our perspective is a heavenly perspective, then we interpret them as Jesus is coming back soon. We have hope and we should have a sense of urgency and therefore, but people who aren’t focused on what Jesus is saying, well, they’re saying the world is going crazy. And right now even we’re seeing the suicide rate in America is at an all time high, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, pornography use during this pandemic has gone up dramatically, according to the numbers, which I’ve documented on my website because people have the wrong perspective.
Michael Snyder: Thirdly, we need to prepare physically for what’s ahead for hard times because the economic problems, the civil unrest, all these things are only going to get worse. And a lot of people were caught when this pandemic came, they were caught without toilet paper, without proper food, without the things they would need to get through this. And so when worst things come, what are people going to do? So there is an element of physical preparation, common sense preparation, storing up food, basic supplies, things that you will need during emergencies to help you get through what’s coming. But then most of all is spiritual preparation.
Sam Rohrer: Okay, I’m going to hold you right there. I’m going to have to hold you right there, Michael, just because I got to get Gary in here. Gary, because it says here, watch be ready. Michael is talking about it. But then Matthew 24:45-46 talks about something else. There’s a risk and a reward there as well. Build that out to the extent that you can before we close out the program.
Gary Dull: Well, certainly that Matthew 24 passage, again, is speaking to the Jewish nation and they were to be watching and they are to be watching and ready for the coming of the Lord. The risk is that the Lord will come and they won’t be ready. The reward is that he will come and they will be ready. If they’re not ready, well, they will go into separation from God. If they are ready, they’ll go to be with Him. But let’s bring this even back to where we are today before the days of the rapture. In I Thessalonians 5, Paul says, “Therefore, let us not sleep as do others, let us watch and be sober.” What are we today as believers to be watching for? Well, Titus chapter 2:13 says, “Look for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our savior Jesus Christ.” The blessed hope is the rapture. The glorious appearing will take place at the end of the tribulation when Christ comes again. But here’s the point, as believers we are to be focused on the rapture. It could happen at any moment.
Gary Dull: Let’s be looking for that blessed hope. When that happens, as believers, we’ll go to be with the Lord. Now, for those who don’t know the Lord, they will go into that great tribulation period, a time of trouble such as the world has never ever seen before. And if they would continue to reject Christ, we know that there will be Jews and Gentiles saved in the tribulation, God’s wrath upon the earth. But those who go into the tribulation, if they were to die without trusting Christ as Savior, they will go into the eternal lake of fire separated from God as it’s described in Revelation 20:11-15. So for believers, let’s be watching for the rapture. It could happen today. If you don’t know Christ as Savior, please call upon the name of the Lord and be ready. The reward is to see Christ. The risk is to not be ready and spend eternity separated from Christ.
Sam Rohrer: And ladies and gentlemen, we’re about at the end of the program. And that would be, Pete, what Gary has just said and what Michael has said. All of these things that we’ve gone over today are here for our learning, our admonition. We are to be alert and awake, not be deceived by all the commotion that we see around us. But when we see these things intensifying in these days when Israel is back in the land and all of these things that we talk about regularly in the program, that should improve our motivation for service, our confidence to stand on the word of God. And as we say on this program to stand in the gap for truth, because that alone brings hope to a world that is increasingly without. Now that’s good news. And that’s what it’s all about. That’s what I hope happens with you today as part of this program. Go pick it up on our website, listen to it again, forward it to your friends so that hopefully it will help them to be encouraged in their life as well. We’ll see you back here tomorrow, now 23 hours from now.
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