Things We Must Not Ignore: When Current Events and Prophecy Align
July 31, 2024
Host: Hon. Sam Rohrer
Guest: Dr. Carl Broggi
Note: This transcript is taken from a Stand in the Gap Today program aired on 7/31/24. To listen to the podcast, click HERE.
Disclaimer: While reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate transcription, the following is a representation of a mechanical transcription and as such, may not be a word for word transcript. Please listen to the audio version for any questions concerning the following dialogue.
Sam Rohrer: Hello and welcome to this Wednesday edition of Stand in the Gap Today and another bimonthly focus on Israel prophecy and the Middle East. Today’s recurring guest on this program is Dr. Carl Broggi. Well-known to all of you who are listening right now. He is the senior pastor at Community Bible Church in Beaufort, South Carolina, hosts his own radio Bible question and answer program entitled Search the Scriptures, which has a lot of information on it and you can find that if you’re interested@searchthescriptures.org. Now, if you were with me here on Monday, you heard my special guest, the Honorable Michele Bachmann, and I highlight a number of current issues dominating the news of the day, ranging from the blasphemous opening ceremony at the Olympics to the threat by Turkey’s President Erdogan to invade Israel. And we conclude that program with both of us praying for the peace of Jerusalem, which is what we are commanded to do.
Sam Rohrer: Now today, Dr. Broggi and I are going to touch on some of these same events but include some others and we’re going to seek to answer among other things questions that run through my head. And I think most of you probably who are listening and that is why and how all true believers must not only be alert to what’s happening around us, but also be very careful not to ignore what is happening and to be lulled into silence or even worse perhaps. And that’s complicity with the evil that’s about us in these eventful times in history. And we are certainly witnessing as we talked so many times seems the converging of current events and biblical prophecy put those together and things come into focus and that’s what we’re trying to do. So today from more of a theological and biblical perspective, we want to address these questions. The title I’ve chosen to frame our conversation today is this, things we must not ignore when Current Events and prophecy Align. And with that, just welcome in right now, Dr. Carl Broggi. Carl, thank you so much. You have a very, very busy schedule, your large church and so much going on. It’s always a blessing to have you here with us.
Carl Broggi: Well, it’s my privilege to be with you again, Sam. Look forward to our broadcast today.
Sam Rohrer: Carl, I want to get right into this. We don’t know, I have a lot to go over, but throughout Scripture I notice a great emphasis on the commands. In some cases the warnings to be watchful. So I just looked up the word watch 57 times that occurs in scripture. Most of the Old Testament refers to the time of a guard like watching in a city during his watch, but they were there to be watching obviously that’s why they called it that in the New Testament there are a lot of references, even Jesus, Matthew 25 15 watch therefore for neither the day or the hour when the Son of Man cometh other verses, watch and pray. Let us not sleep and slumber as others do, but let us watch and be sober. First Thessalonians five, six. So with all of that, we’re told to be alert to signs and to seasons. That’s why God’s given them and prophecy all of those things that we’ve talked about. It brings it together. That point is we need to be aware and that’s where I want to go. So in this light, would you answer however God would direct you to answer this in this first question that is this why the reason why must true believers be aware of what’s happening around us and why true believers must not ignore significant events that are going on around us and refuse to consider them in light of biblical prophecy?
Carl Broggi: Well, that’s a powerful question. I think of the passage you just referenced from one Thessalonians five where Paul tells the church there full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. And while they’re saying peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child and they’ll not sleep. But you brethren are not in darkness that the day would overtake you like a thief. And so he’s making a comparison between them while they are saying peace and safety, but you meaning God’s people should be very, very different. And there’s a couple different words in the Greek New Testament for sleep. There’s one that he used three times in chapter four, the believer whose body is asleep, not his soul or spirit of course, but then he uses a word sleep here for someone metaphorically or spiritually asleep.
Carl Broggi: They’re lethargic, they’re insensitive to truth. And Paul recognizes the potential trap that believers who are not alert to what God’s prophetic schedule is that they can fall into this. In fact, he says in verse five of that chapter, he says, don’t you remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things and I think that’s significant because Paul was there three sabbaths, so potentially four weeks. So he plants this church, he leads them to the Lord and over a four week period he’s speaking among other things about Bible prophecy. Why? So that they can understand the times. And so we’re not to be like unbelievers who get drunk at night, they sleep at night, we’re to be alert and sober. And so he uses these, the world thinks everything’s fine. God’s not going to judge me, God’s not going to send me to hell.
Carl Broggi: And yet they’re impaired like a drunken man and they’re asleep like a man who’s deep in sleep and he really doesn’t know what’s going on and that’s not God’s plan for his people. Another passage that comes to mind is in Luke 16 where he addresses the Pharisees and Sadducees and he says, when it’s evening you say it’ll be fair weather for the sky is red. When it’s morning there’ll be a storm today for the sky is red and threatening. Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky but cannot discern the signs of the time? And of course that was in reference to his first coming. They missed it. They could discern signs in the physical realm but not in the spiritual realm as revealed in God’s word. And that exact same issue is going to replicate people at the end of the age. And that’s what we’re seeing.
Sam Rohrer: And Karl, let me just ask before we depart here, the idea that we are to be alert and see the world will also be observing plenty of things that are happening. I mean we know that our neighbors around us are seeing the same things happening, but the interpretation is what is so significantly different. Is that part of why the Lord tells us to be very, very careful about deception in these days? Because so many people are going to have their own opinion and be telling people what they think rather than what God thinks.
Carl Broggi: I mean absolutely. Just look at the transgender movement where they say a man can become a woman. There’s eight point what? 3 billion people on the earth and every person who’s been born was born of a woman, never of a man. And yet here we have embraced a delusion to say that what God plainly says in his word is wrong and that we should reinterpret it. And that’s the spirit of the last days that we’re living in and we need to be alert and sober.
Sam Rohrer: Alright ladies and gentlemen, hopefully that just gives an idea as we begin the program today, we’ve entitled things we must not ignore when current events and prophecy align. That’s why we talk so much about headline news here in light of a biblical worldview because only when we overlay what we see through the lens of scripture, does it make any sense? The world is seeing the same things but coming to a totally opposite conclusion which will lead people to hell. If we know the Lord, we want to look through things so that we can lead people to the Lord in salvation, stay with us. We’ll be right back. On Monday’s program, when I had the honor Michele Bachmann with me, I started this same segment, segment two referring to a portion of the prophecy in Psalm chapter two or talks about the leaders of the world lifting their fist in arrogance to the God of heaven and they take counsel against God and God’s anointed.
Sam Rohrer: And I shared in there that I think that some interpret that what that means anointed differently. And Carl, you can add into it if you want here, but I’ve cited that as what do we know is God’s anointed? Well obviously it’s Jesus Christ, God’s anointed redeemer, but Israel’s also referred to as God’s anointed chosen people and so are Christians. And so I put them all together because in reality ladies and gentlemen, those who lift their fist against the God of heaven are lifting their fist against God’s plan of redemption. And what does that include? Well, it’s obviously Jesus Christ, the son of God. It is Israel, the Jewish people and Jerusalem. We’ve talked about that much as the heart of prophecy, but it’s also Christian people, the church, the bride of Christ. These are all chosen of God different purposes in different times, but they’re all together and these leaders of the world gather themselves and the arrogance and seem to go after all of them.
Sam Rohrer: Well Carl, I want to ask you here about this because there’s an aspect as I’m looking at what’s unfolding not just right now, but increasingly it appears that God is moving the nations of the world around you and I have talked about that on the program. Daniel in the book of Daniel talks about how God lays out the nations of the world and that’s what he explains. But the Lord also says that he raises up nations and he puts them down and he raises up leaders within nations and puts them down. I think that sometimes we have a tendency to overlook that sovereign part, that act of God. It has a much bigger picture than what we are seeing, but yet as we’re looking at what’s happening here, we’ve seen some major things happen. United Nations gathering, they’re getting increasingly more anti-Israel, Turkey, Erdogan just talked about invading Israel, that boiling pot.
Sam Rohrer: Right now they’re aligning. I just want to ask you here, as you look at nations, the rise and fall, the alignment of nations individuals rise and fall, particularly in these latter years as we approach the time of Daniel 70th week tribulation, which appears it’s at hand, close at hand. Why is it important to watch how God is moving the nations around, like chess players on the board and people when they come and they go, why is that such an important part to keep in perspective as we are witnessing the kinds of things we’re seeing today?
Carl Broggi: Well, it would be very easy to become despondent if our trust is in presidents and prime ministers because they’re forever changing and in the compromise that they display isn’t being minimized, it is increasing and there’s an ever growing hatred against the body of Christ. But when we step back and say, well, God’s over the nations of the world, in fact he writes about the nations of the world, then we can see that his plan is actually unfolding, that he’s not an up in heaven ringing his hands. As Cory Tenboom used to often say, there’s never an emergency meeting of the Holy Trinity. God is sovereign and he knows what he’s about. So for instance, you mentioned Iran. These are nations that are specifically named in the prophet Ezekiel in the 38th and 39th chapter. It’s kind of interesting. Chuck Misler was in Israel about 40 years ago, and at that time, Iran formerly known as Persia in 1939, they changed their name from Persia to Iran.
Carl Broggi: He said, well, they’re actually going to oppose you someday. What do you mean they’re one of our greatest allies in the Middle East? Oh no, the Scripture says they’re going to oppose you. I don’t understand it, but that’s what it says. And it was a short throw later that they began to oppose Israel and they wanted to know what else does our Bible say? And so when you have a perspective on Bible prophecy, so like in Ezekiel 38, assuming you just apply the Bible at its face value and more and more that’s not happening, people literally interpret the prophecies for the first coming but not for the second coming. And so they spiritualize these prophecies. But chapter 38 has never happened before than Ezekiel 47 has happened when a river will flow from the Temple Mount and the dead Sea where there’s no life will actually have fish in it and men will dry their nets alongside of it.
Carl Broggi: And so a literal hermeneutic is essential. Of course if there’s a figure of speech, we recognize that. And so Ezekiel, he mentions a number of nations. He mentions Russia, he mentions Turkey, he mentions Iran, he mentions Sudan and Libya and Isaiah adds and other nations, but there’s this coalition of nations. And so you think about Russia, when Schofield released his study Bible in 1909, they said, Mr. Schofield, you wrote here in the notes that Russia’s going to oppose Israel. They’re a Christian nation. How is that possible and how are they going to oppose Israel because Israel doesn’t exist as a nation? He said, well, I know that’s what scripture says. I don’t know how will happen. Of course communism comes, they’re no longer a Christian nation. Turkey and Iran oppose Israel. They’re joint partners and I think we’re seeing a setup for it even in this conflict that’s happening.
Carl Broggi: Iran is feeding Hezbollah with weaponry. And there may come a time when I think it’ll be very interesting, Sam, to see if Iran responds to the recent attack in the last couple of days from Israel. If they don’t, I think it will say, Hey, we’re just going to sit back because we’re not strong enough at this point to overthrow Israel. But if you see them join arms with Russia and Turkey, and of course there’s that famous picture on three occasions where those three president slash prime ministers are linking arms, Iran, Turkey and Russia, they’re partners and those are the three major nations that Ezekiel mentions that are going to go against Israel at the end of time. And of course God will supernaturally defeat them. I say all this is that when we understand prophecy, it helps us to put our minds at rest. It helps us to see that there is a God in heaven and just as he had a thousand point batting average for the first coming prophecies, he’ll do the same for the second coming prophecies. Now obviously the rapture is imminent. It could happen today. The second coming is a prophetically driven event. But as we see God setting the stage for the second coming, we know the rapture is that much closer and we should be alert and we should be careful to guard our hearts, to watch over them with all diligence that we’re not sucked up into the moral apathy and the spiritual lethargy of the day in which we live.
Sam Rohrer: Carl, the last segment, we’re going to talk a little bit about how we apply this, but I want to ask this just as kind of my mind at this point. When Christians pray, sometimes I don’t know how to pray and oftentimes when I pray I’ll say, Lord, I don’t know how to pray about this and so I just have to say, Lord, your will be done. But as believers are looking at these days, this kind of thing that’s unfolding now in the Middle East that could go to a World War III at the moment, and of course we hear that, I’m not just saying that. I mean it’s being said all over some cases by those who would just like to create fear in people, but as God’s people we should not be driven to fear, but we know that it will happen at some point. How do you pray when you pray for this kind of thing, Lord, bring it about may you complete these events, we know they’re going to happen or I’m just kind of curious, how does Carl pray in a case like this?
Carl Broggi: Yeah, so I’m reminded that Jesus said work while you may because the day is coming when no one can labor. And so what we should be doing like never before is sharing the gospel. We should be looking for opportunities. On Monday I was kind of hung over from a busy day of ministry and Mondays I’m often tired and I was walking down to the pier in our neighborhood and I said, Lord, I don’t feel like talking to this guy, but if you want me to, I will. And I said hello to him and I saw him do this cast with his net. It was incredible and we talked about it. And anyway, I said, do you go to church anyway? He said, yes, I’m a Jehovah’s Witness. He was about 65 years of age and God gave me the opportunity to share the gospel. We should be praying like Paul does in Colossians four for opportunities and for open doors.
Carl Broggi: And when it comes that God might make it clear. But what is sad is because of the sweep of reformed millennial theology across our country, there are Christians who are trying to bring the kingdom in. The kingdom will come literally physically when Jesus comes back. That’s what the early church fathers believed in a pre-millennial return of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so if we think we’re going to try to bring in the kingdom, then we’re going to work on social reform and other things. When in reality a society is reformed, when people are converted and they hear about Jesus and there are a new creature and everything changes. And so I was at a conference last month at a DF Alliance defending freedom and they only invited about 50 pastors to come and I felt blessed to come and I reminded the brother who’s over the whole thing. I said, if this happened 40 years ago, you would be exhorting the participants here not to overwhelm the hotel staff with tracks and stuff. I said, that doesn’t happen. So what you guys are doing largely is you’re reacting and rightly so and you’re doing a phenomenal job, but the solution is to share the gospel. And that’s what’s lost in our day, the average Christian, the average church doesn’t even have a visitation program or some kind of outreach to win lost people. That’s why America is sinking and we’re going down fast.
Sam Rohrer: And ladies and gentlemen, as we go into the middle break here right now, I just offered this up here. I asked that question to Carl because I think that thing thrilled, I know you do as well. My admonition as a covered a couple of weeks ago was let’s observe what is taking place and let it draw our hearts in confidence to Christ his return, God’s unfolding plan and be more active in what we are doing and sharing of the gospel, not putting hope and faith in somebody to make America something again. We’ll back in just a moment. Well, if you’re just joining us today, we’re midway in the program entitled today, things we Must Not Ignore When Current Events and Prophecy Align. Special Guests today again is recurring guest generally once a month with me on our prophecy Israel and Middle East focused Dr. Carl Broggi, senior pastor of Community Bible Church in Beaufort, South Carolina, and he’s got a website, search the scriptures.org with a lot of q and a and good information on there.
Sam Rohrer: Carl. In the last segment, we want the direction of God’s superintendent and aligning the nation’s national alliances, the attitude of the nation’s, Psalm chapter two, where they have collectively focused their attention on pulling down the God of heaven and then persecuting Christians and going after Israel. These things we see, just one question on that before we go into things that scripture tells us about that we can observe to watch for relative to the people themselves, but that is this question, when one looks at where we are, where the nations are at this point in time, the alignment you talked about some of them, the Turkey, the Iran and the Russia coming together and not that long ago they weren’t that way. And so people said, I can’t believe it, but the Bible says it, when you look at these things, when any believer it looks at the alignment of the nations right now, the attitude of the nations towards God, towards God’s law, towards God’s people, Israel, Christians, that kind of thing, I mean honestly, objectively is there any other conclusion one can come to than that the aligning that we are seeing is anything other than a fulfillment or prophecy?
Sam Rohrer: And does it give specific relationship in timing to what God says will be the next kingdom that will arise?
Carl Broggi: Absolutely. Because again, the kingpin is Israel. Just as God used that nation to bring the first coming, he will use the Jewish nation to bring the second coming. The fact that they were regathered and Moses, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah tells us that happens at the end of time Now they were never scattered in the Old Testament days to the ends of the earth, and yet the Old Testament prophets wrote of that and then a regathering, and then Jesus specifies that the scattering in Luke’s gospel will happen in conjunction with the destruction of the temple. And so we have now seen them not only scattered, but now God has regathered them and there’s a growing hatred towards Israel’s Zechariah 12 three, I’ll make them a burden to the nations. And Israel is now front and center. And so when we see this, we know we’re in the final timeframe of human history. No one knows the day or the hour. Do we have a year or 10 years or 30 years? I tell people, suppose we have 30 years, what are you going to do next week? You’re going to get up, you’re going to go to work, you’re going to feed your family, you’re going to share the gospel, you’re going to be engaged in your church, but we’re in the final timeframe and unless someone embraces that, the church has replaced Israel, their blindness to what is happening. But it is so crystal clear.
Carl Broggi: Okay, so there’s a convergence of signs that are happening, but go
Sam Rohrer: Ahead. Alright. No, no, go ahead and finish that thought first. The
Carl Broggi: Converging of signs. No. So when you see, yeah, there’s a converging of signs, not just like Noah’s Day and LA Day and Apostasy and Israel and it’s happening all at once. And this is really unique, which implies in my mind that we’re very close. Only God knows that day or the hour, but we’re very close and we need to be alert.
Sam Rohrer: Okay, let’s go here now in the balance of this segment to this other part because it’s the condition of the people, the description of the culture, the hearts of people like you were talking and you and I think before the program began actually that when God raises up nations, he does that because there’s civil authority, God works through the nations, it’s part of his institutions. Romans 13, he’s ranked them, he’s put ’em in order, he works his will through them, but the people, individuals have to make a decision what they’re going to do with Christ. And there are evidences and prophecies in scripture that give us an indication of the attitude of the people, the culture of the people, the desires of the people that will accompany these nations and alliance as we’re talking about right here. And to me, one of the things that points to that is that in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus talks about as in the days of Noah referring to something that people were going about your business and they had no idea what was going on. They got caught by surprise. When you look at the culture and what we see with happening of the embracing of gross immorality as an example, what things come to your mind that you can see and point to that’s happening around us that align with what the Lord said would happen and be descriptive of the days in which we live?
Carl Broggi: Well, when Jesus said, and just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will happen in the days of the son of man referring of course to his return to the earth, when you go back and you study the days of Noah, there are days of apostasy, there are days of anarchy and there are days of apathy. There are days of apostasy both in the angelic realm where angels left their natural state and they cohabitated with women which may explain the severity of the world flood that came and there was apostasy in the part of the people to even do that, to engage in that. And of course the scripture says the spirit explicitly says that in the latter times some will fall away from the faith and this is what we call apostasy. And so apostasy is not just the rise of atheism or agnosticism or some other ism, though they can create fertile ground in which to germinate when apostasy is happening.
Carl Broggi: But it’s a technical term. It means to fall away, to fall away from what to fall away from the Christian faith. People who outwardly say they are Christian but inwardly have never been born again. And so for instance, take transgenderism that perversion, what denominations embrace it? Presbyterian church, USA, disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ, evangelical Lutheran Church, Episcopal church, most recently the Methodist church and I could go on with the list, they have departed from the plain teaching of scripture, from the faith, the faith is articulate there referring of course to that body of truth we call the Bible. Then there would be days of anarchy where Noah says, or God records of Noah that wickedness in the earth was great and the intent of man’s heart was habitually evil. Now people have evil thoughts today when the church is removed, which is a restraining influence against evil, it will be like we’ve never seen before.
Carl Broggi: But again, we’re seeing these philosophies and causes being molded and shaped by the worldview because men are rejecting the truth. And then there’ll be days of apathy because God said, my spirit’s not going to strive with men forever, I’ll give ’em 120 years. God basically says all they have is another 120 years and then their time is up. And so for 120 years, God was pleading, he was striving with men to get right. In fact, Peter tells us in the New Testament something we don’t know in the Old Testament two, Peter two, I think it’s verse five, that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. So all along while he’s building that arc, he’s warning men. And what happened? People yawned in his face and on the day of the great flood, it was just Noah, Mrs. Noah, their three sons and their three wives, eight persons and all.
Carl Broggi: And it’s interesting too that in the parallel text that you quote in Luke 17, he goes on to say Jesus, and it was the same as happened in the days of lot. They were eating, drinking, buying, selling so forth, but they ignored the warning. And lot’s days were not simply days of gross immorality. They were days of gross perversion, homosexuality. And again, we just witnessed at the Olympics beyond belief, utter blasphemy that was being heralded. People knew that was going to happen. What they didn’t know was maybe the reaction the world would have, but they knew what the program was and now they’re backing off. Well, we don’t want to upset people, but this is the perverted culture in that we live in. And if people don’t see that, they’re going to be blind to what’s happening. So we have to guard our hearts again, watch over your hearts with all diligence.
Carl Broggi: …Bad company corrupts good morals. What’s the context of that verse doctrine when Paul says, I’ll have you to be wise to the things that are good and innocent to the things that are evil. What’s the context doctrine? In other words, when we let people indoctrinate us, whether it’s social media, the internet, or some apostate preacher who doesn’t believe what the Bible plainly says, we are going to be corrupted and that’s the day we live in. And that’s why it’s important if someone in a crummy church, they leave immediately and they get to a church that believes in biblical infallibility and that every word of the scripture is true and that we guard our minds and the things we watch on television because the evil isn’t being diminished, it’s growing and multiplying.
Sam Rohrer: Carl, I’m going to combine two things here in about the last minute, the Olympics as an example. We’ve talked about that a little bit here. I mean I did on Monday, but here it is, this organization where it’s sports is God basic global, but it’s all the nation’s represented and they come out and they promote this immorality. Then you have the United Nations themselves, the civil organization, all the countries of the world, our own nation. This administration is formally encouraging and promoting that which is immoral, which God hates, but it’s a reflection of the people. It seems like there’s almost these two things coming together, government pushing it and the people embracing it. Is that significant to you?
Carl Broggi: Right? It is. It’s a picture of Romans one and homosexual, excuse me. Heterosexual immorality always leads to an embrace of homosexual perversion. So if someone is living immorally in the heterosexual realm, they can’t help but accept homosexual perversion. And the final step in that whole journey is God gives the nation a world over to a depraved mind and we’re witnessing it right before our
Sam Rohrer: Eyes, ladies and gentlemen, things we must not ignore when current events and prophecy align. That’s our theme. It’s what we’re talking about. Just picked out a couple of areas, national leaders, people themselves. When we come back, we want to conclude with kind of contrasting, alright, when we are alert and respond, benefits, consequences when we don’t. Alright Carl, let’s take and if we can wrap this up, thank you so much for spending the time here today and let looking at this, but let’s bring this consideration of looking at the events of the, the necessity for doing so. At the beginning we talked a bit about the why we must not ignore that which is happening. We looked at this pillar of these only two legs, the leg of how God arranges nations and nations leaders and his plan and how we should be noting what he is doing because only he can do it.
Sam Rohrer: And then the mood of the people, the attitude, we didn’t actually talk about too much, but the attitude of lawlessness and then immorality and then actually where we’re seeing governments of the world for some time promote. I mean here in our own government, the United States has been using our money for a long, long time pushing other countries of the world linking US aid as an example to countries putting abortion, killing babies and immorality, homosexuality and transgender stuff into their constitutions. It’s been a problem for a long time. So it hasn’t just happened. Then we see ladies and gentlemen what happened at the Olympics where now the world is watching and they see this both combination of blasphemy, idolatry with the head of the bowl, bale setting on the stage and then the white horse and the pale horse with the riders on them symbolizing what could say comes right off the pages of revelation.
Sam Rohrer: All those things were done. So it’s not accidental, but when we see these things, alright, we should take note. Let’s go here first. Go some warnings first and then conclude with the consequences of not taking note and we’ll conclude with the benefits and what we should be doing by taking note. But one verse that I read in putting together the program here, revelation three, three in Christ’s consideration of the churches, the seven churches in three. Three it says is remember therefore how you have to church of Sardis talking to how you have received and heard and hold fast and repent. If therefore you do not watch, I will come. Suddenly I come on you as a thief and you shall not know what our I will come upon thee. Now that is a warning. You may have some other warnings that you’d want to mention, but in that case, Christ is warning the church and he says, I’m going to come upon you. What is the warning? What should those listening to me right now? What is the warning? Why should we not ignore the things that we’ve talked about when we see them happening around us?
Carl Broggi: Well, with Sardis, they thought they were an impregnable city. They only had one side of the city that they had to guard. They had high steep cliffs. And in the sixth century before Christ, they were conquered like a thief in the night. And so it becomes an expression of people who are not ready and Jesus warned concerning his second coming, but it certainly applies to the rapture. Be on the alert for you. Do not know which day your Lord is coming. Be sure of this. If the head of the house had known at what time of the night that thief was coming, he would’ve been on the alert and his home would not have been broken into for this reason. You also must be ready for the coming of the son of man will happen in an hour when you don’t think. And so being alert makes us spiritually ready.
Carl Broggi: It increases our faith and our hope. Without being ready we can become despondent. We look around and it seems like the world is falling apart and it seems like the church is coming unglued, but it’s not. Everything is proceeding according to schedule just as God says. And so a knowledge of prophecy allows us to relax our conscience and trust that God is in control again. It also gives us encouragement in hard times because hard times are upon us and they’re only going to grow against the church because there’s an increased hatred. One of the things that may go into law, well it’s actually it’s Title ix. They made some clarifications as to what it applies to. And namely they had Christian institutions and colleges. If they don’t support the L-G-B-T-Q-I-A lifestyle, they’ll not receive any federal funds. I was talking to one president of a Christian school a few weeks ago. He said, this will bankrupt us. We’ll be closed within a year. And this is a kind of growing hatred that is unfolding in our world. But again, if we’re not in tune to what’s happening, we won’t be able to rest and we’ll be despondent. So go ahead.
Sam Rohrer: Okay, can I ask you this? In that revelation three passage, I mean agree with me and disagree if it’s not the case you were talking about, there are many that are in the church, those denominations that you mentioned that have gone into heresy, they’ve walked away, they would consider themselves Christians. 74% of those in America say they’re Christians, but we know they’re not. George Barlow’s surveys would say that probably five or 6% is part of the warning part of that church who thinks they are believers but are not. Is that part of that warning? And then as you’re saying, for the remnant, for those who are really truly born, again we note, but our response is different. There’s actually two groups of people. Are they not that should be taking note of these things?
Carl Broggi: Well, certainly he’s addressing the church. And so I think there is an assumption that these are believers, but there’s a warning in that if they don’t wake up, then their church can have, as he describes with one of the seven churches, their candlestick removed. When Jude writes he was going to write a book maybe like Romans to contend earnestly for the faith. And then he said, but God led me to write something else. He said, because certain persons have crept in on notice that were long beforehand marked out for destruction. And so when Paul warns the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, he warns them of dangers from without, but also dangers from within. And so if a church is not alert, not grounded in scripture, if they embrace the foolishness of the secret sensitive movement instead of teaching sound doctrine, that’s where false teachers are able to come in, lead people astray. And so you end up then having a mixed multitude in a short time later. There’s no testimony at all. And so some of these mainline denominations I mentioned, they’re not even churches. They call themselves a church, but they’re not by definition, biblically speaking, a true
Sam Rohrer: Church. Okay, a minute and a half left here, those who are listening true believers, eyes open, ears open, the things that we have said, they say yes, I can see. Alright, what response should they have? What is the benefit of being alert and watchful for the true believer right now?
Carl Broggi: Well, Paul speaks of five crowns that the believer will receive and the crowns won’t be for us to glory in ourselves. We’ll take our crowns like the 24 elders and we’ll lay them at Christ’s feet tonight. I’m teaching on that and I’ll look at the crown. Given the crown of righteousness that’s given for those who love his appearing. And so we’re called to love the appearing of Christ. Why? Because there’s a connection in scripture with a love for his appearing in righteous living. Virtually every passage in the New Testament that speaks of the return of Christ has a connective thought in terms of how we should live in light of that. And so there’s great reward in heaven. We don’t just live for the here and now. We live for eternity. We’re aliens and strangers. We’re passing through. Our real home is in heaven and we need to keep that perspective and God will even award his people. We’re not talking about with salvation, but the judgment of the just where God gives rewards to his people, he’ll award his people, those who love his appearing and that’s something that we’re commanded to do and we should focus on. Otherwise, we’ll just get caught up in the world system.
Sam Rohrer: Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we’re at the end of the program. Dr. Carl Broggi, thank you so much for being with me. Isn’t it a wonderful thing, ladies and gentlemen, to look at what is happening and not be as others that have no hope? We have a lot of hope, true believer. So how we leave, make sure our vertical relationship with the Lord is right. We’re walking no unconfessed sin, doing that which is right boldly then proclaiming the gospel to those around us and waiting and looking for the return of Christ. We’re already to do that. And frankly, there’s award, there’s a crown. As Carl just said, all of us should be having to have that one. Thank you so much for being with God bless you all. God willing. We’ll see you back here tomorrow.
Recent Comments