Welcome everyone. This is Russ Scalzo Chronicles of the End Times. Thank you for being with me today. So much going on.
00:15
Most of the time, I like to teach a biblical lesson or something that is applicable to life in general, no matter when we listen to it, but it's really impossible to overlook what's happening right now and all the craziness going on with President Trump’s conviction and where our nation is going. What does the future hold? There are many who serve the Lord, who are faithful to the Lord, who have growing ministries, who are professing visions that they've had about America and how it's going to return and God's going to renew America. Others are talking about how close we are to the end and possibly a coming judgment. I have talked about both of those, and I believe in both. So you might think, well, wow, how could that possibly be? But we have to remember who we're dealing with here. You know we're dealing with the Almighty, the one whose abilities and intellect and wisdom and knowledge are beyond anything we can even begin to understand. Our knowledge is comparable to a grain of sand on the beaches of the world compared to God's knowledge, his creativity, and the vastness of who he is. So, I believe that God is the God of everything, including the ability to multitask, and that's an understatement for sure. I'm sure you agree with that. The Word of God tells us that he's named all the stars, that the hairs of our head are numbered, and that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without him knowing it. I think we're talking about an incredible being, the Almighty God. So, taking that into consideration, I think we have to open our minds wider and understand that God is able to do multiple things and does them all the time, and without his ability to do that, we wouldn't exist. I think it's very important that we define what that is. What do we believe God is doing? And I believe he's not so much interested in revitalizing and renewing America as a country as he is in reaching people who live in America or anywhere else around the world.
02:42
Here's something that is really cool: In Paris, over 12,000 people, both adults and adolescents, were baptized in France on Easter. Now, this was in the midst of what the church over there is calling a dechristianization of the populace, and this is in Catholic churches in France. You're listening to someone here who got saved through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the charismatic renewal of the Catholic church. So, I know it can be done and I know that many of these people are really sincere. God had touched them in some way. They needed to be baptized. They wanted to be baptized. Now, where they go from there, I don't know. They may end up in other fellowships, like I did, and grow in the Lord from there. But the point is that God is on the move, and he's not so interested in joining all the nations together. Jesus wants the people of every nation. Some of these people were Muslims who got baptized in France. Amazing. And then we turn to what happened here in the United States, in California, where on Pentecost Sunday, a bunch of churches got together and planned on having a baptism, and what happened was they ended up baptizing 12,000 as well, throughout the shore area in California on Pentecost Sunday. Wow. So, the one thing happened in France on Easter, and here God was moving upon people here in the US, in California particularly, and they both boast of approximately 12,000 being baptized over a period of a few days. God is calling people.
04:29
Although I have great respect for some of these men and women who follow the Lord, Jesus Christ, preach the gospel, and declare that they have visions of America coming back to the Lord and a sweep across the country, I think we need to take a look at everything because that's what God looks at. God just doesn't look at America, and I get worried when we're so United States-centered. We need to be looking everywhere, for the persecution that's going on of Christians throughout the world, to the hatred that's rising up, to the state of Israel and their situation. We know that the digital economy is just around the corner. Whether it happens now, two, three, or four years from now, it's all ready to go right in place. So, when we add all these things up, and we read the Word of God and study the Word of God, which is really so important, we need to have a good understanding of the last day's theology. If we don't, we get lost in the woods.
05:31
How could we think any other way? We want to see people saved. We want to see people come to their senses and realize they need a Savior and recognize the time of their visitation, understand where we are in the timeline of the coming of Jesus Christ. It's important. In 1 John 3, verses 2 and 3, John says, Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone that has this hope in them purifies themselves, even as he is pure. This hope of the coming of Jesus Christ, this hope of the future, keeps us pure. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from sin. But what the scripture is saying is it keeps us right, this thought that this could happen at any time, that we're going to be changed to be like Jesus. When we have this hope of his coming, it keeps us on a straight and narrow, it helps us. It helps us keep our way and stay in the word, and stay in fellowship with God.
06:37
My point is our eyes need to be set on the coming kingdom, not a kingdom here in this world, but the kingdom of the coming Christ. That should be our desire. We want to see people come and be set free. That's our mission. But in the midst of that mission, we're not trying to change the system. We're not trying to rule the world and take over the world. That's Jesus' job. We're designed to be a witness for Christ, and the scripture is clear. Many are called, but few are chosen.
07:09
I often think of Daniel, chapter 12, verse 10, said In the end time, many shall be purified and made white and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked will understand. But the wise will understand. And if we're reading the Word of God and we're fellowshipping with the Lord, then we have access to the wisdom of God. That's what we need to stay on target. There are so many voices today saying this and that and the other thing, but I believe we need to look as God sees things. He's looking at the whole world, and he's watching over his word to perform it. So, all these things are happening at the same time.
07:47
It can't be denied that the technology is there for the mark of the beast. It cannot be denied that Israel is a nation battling for their lives and that there are nations all around them that would like to destroy them, according to the prophecies in the word of God. We have to understand that the wicked are doing wickedly. Once we have a grasp on the whole picture. Evil is on the rise, but God is at work. He's at work revealing himself to people all over the world, and when we concentrate just on one facet of Bible prophecy or one chapter or two of the Word of God, we get lost. It's the entire Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation. It's one book, 66 books within a book. Some people can read a book in a day or two days. They're knocking out these different novels or whatever.
08:37
We need to read the Word of God. I realize that it's deep, and it takes understanding, and it takes us to a place where we need the Holy Spirit. But that's the beauty of it. The Bible, the Word of God, is a lamp unto our feet. It shows where we're going, and many times, it doesn't show us, doesn't put on the high beams, as you could say, so you could see far down the road. Many times, it does not do that. Often it gives you the light at your feet so you can see where you're going so you don't stumble.
09:06
America has led the world for a long time. We have brought a stable economy to the world. We have shed the blood of our sons and daughters, fathers and brothers, to set people free in wars all over the world. God has blessed America. He's used us in his hand to dispel evil. But times change, and kingdoms come and go. The only kingdom that's not going to come and go is the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and that's the kingdom that's on its way. My point is things are changing, and whether Donald Trump gets into office and brings some sanity back to our nation I hope that's the case, but whether that happens or not, it cannot change our vision. It must be the same, and I will say this, what the church in America doesn't need is greater prosperity.
09:59
We don't do well when we're comfortable. We don't do well when everything is praise the Lord and we go on living our lives any way we want. Unfortunately for the church, it does well in times of persecution. It drives us to our knees. People who have never fasted and prayed before begin to do so. People begin to rely on the Lord Jesus Christ because that's the only one they can trust. Think about it in your own life. I'm the same way. I do my best to stay on target to stay in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. But when the heat is on, I'm more tentative, more desperate for Jesus. Now, no one likes to live on the edge. We're not capable of living on the edge every single day, and I'm not saying that we should.
10:43
But I worry about the church of Jesus Christ here in America. I remember when the walls came down that separated Berlin and East and West Germany, many of the pastors in East Germany who were under persecution and their church was under persecution were worried when the walls came down. Were they thankful? Yes, they were, but they were concerned. They feared that their people would lose their grip and their closeness with God and the Holy Spirit. They feared that prosperity would overtake them, their hearts would grow cold, and they would forget about their close walk with Jesus Christ. That's what I fear for the American church. We all want a better life. We all want peace. There's nothing wrong with that. That should be the desire of our hearts. But we're talking about the church here, not specifically America and its financial prosperity. Do we really want the church to continue as it is? I don't believe Jesus does. I believe he has a plan to perfect his church, which is you and me. He has a plan to get us focused on him so that our eyes are fixed on Jesus and Jesus alone.
11:51
And we have to admit, the church has gone pretty far from that. We've embraced a lot of things. We accepted a lot of things we should not have accepted. Our prayer life has gone cold. Our fervor for God, our zeal for God, has been taken down. We've kind of worked Jesus into our lifestyle. We're no longer following, but we're more like leading. Now I know this is not everywhere, but we have to be honest with ourselves. We see what's happening in the Christian church today, and I don't think God wants to bless that and take it to the next level. He can't do it. I believe he wants to realign us and not everyone is going to come.
12:28
We know that there's a church rising up who are going to follow the Antichrist. It's the Church of Babylon. It's the woman riding on the beast, and you've heard prophecies about that, you've heard teachings about that, you've heard my podcasts on it. It exists. It's not something that's coming. It's here. He cares about our needs. He says so, but He's more concerned about our spiritual welfare. With everything we've talked about in place, with every prophecy nearly fulfilled on the brink of being completed, and the return of Jesus Christ at the door bringing a world at peace where cancers and other diseases are dispelled and cast out and healed, that's the world we should be looking for. Let's set our hearts on the kingdom that's coming, the kingdom that the criminal on the cross yearned for when he asked Jesus before he died to remember him when Jesus came into His kingdom. And Jesus' answer was this day you will be with me in paradise.
13:28
Let me finish with this, and I know this whole thing is very controversial. Politics is not my favorite thing to get into, but as Christians, we need to look at what our options are, and folks, there aren't many. I need to answer to God for the decisions that I make, whether someone is elected president or not elected president, that's in God's hands. But I will have to answer for what I do, and as someone who follows Jesus Christ and believes in the word and love of God, I can't side with 73 million abortions. I can't line up with Title IX allowing transgender men to compete with women in sports. It's insane. I can't allow my grandchildren to grow up being indoctrinated by the far left in a godless society where God doesn't matter, where we have become gods and God is not a creator, if he does exist, He makes all kinds of mistakes with our children. I can't embrace that doctrine. I will not and cannot embrace the doctrine of hate which so evident in people. It's beyond hated. It's rage, out of control, rage. These are the things that the enemy wants to bring into our lives, but we need to stand tall.
14:47
You know, God used all kinds of people, and it doesn't mean that they're righteous, it doesn't mean that they're wonderful and pure. He used Nebuchadnezzar. Read the book of Daniel. He used Cyrus. He called Cyrus his anointed. Cyrus was a pretty wicked king If you look through history. He had some good points, but thousands and thousands died at his hand. You could go on and on so many stories in the Bible where God used people who were pretty messed up. So, it's not strange to me that God might choose somebody like Donald Trump, not because he's righteous, not because he's a wonderful, pure person, or never did anything wrong.
15:26
Because the options are few, whether this country continues on the leftist agenda after November or whether it breaks free for a little while and battles. I can't control that. But I can control what I do. I can control where I stand, and I know someday I'll stand before the Lord and give an account for my decisions, not for my sin, for that's forgiven, but for the stewardship that I've been given, whether it be my wife, my children, my grandchildren, my friends, my church, my country or the Christian community. Every person in this world has the opportunity to stand wherever they want to stand. That's a God-given privilege. And if we want to stand against what the Word of God says and regard it as foolishness, that's our choice. But if we decide to say you know what, I'm going to stand here because it's the closest thing to the Word of God that I can find.
16:21
The Church of Jesus Christ hasn't really faced persecution here in the United States like what is about to come. But in the midst of it, God is going to move powerfully. We're going to see things we've never seen before, and God is going to be glorified. Our allegiance is to Jesus Christ and him alone. He alone is perfect. He alone is righteous. Our righteousness is his filthy rags. It's the blood of Jesus Christ that makes us whole. It makes us different from anybody else and we should never forget that, and I pray that the church, including myself, will seek God as never before. We'll take time to fast and pray and seek God. When we do that, God will answer, and some of the problems that affect us and haunt us will melt away. This is Russ Scalzo for Chronicles of the End Times. God bless, keep looking up. The King is coming.
