Join us as we paint a vivid picture of potential global calamities and spiritual awakenings. With a focus on Jesus’ teachings about the last days, this episode challenges us to think deeply about our own preparedness and the signs that signal the culmination of the age. We explore the parables of readiness and responsibility, underlining the vital importance of staying vigilant in our spiritual journey, no matter the uncertainty of the hour.
The CEM Network is pleased to present Ronald L. Dart and Born to Win.
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The idea of the end of the world has a kind of morbid fascination for us, doesn’t it? We’re conditioned to think in terms of the beginning of things and the end of things, so it’s not a problem to think of the end of the world, and it’s really not so much a question of whether but of when. It’s not a happy topic. I suppose it’s kind of like a sore tooth. You have to keep exploring that thing to see if it still hurts or not. I can’t pass up those old disaster movies that have us colliding with an asteroid or a comet, and we’ve all got to face up to the temporary nature of things. There may not even be a world here next week or next month or next year, whenever it is that this thing is going to slam into the earth and destroy everything. I think some of the old ones even speculated that maybe something would hit us and split the earth completely in two, and no life would survive. Then along comes the Shoemaker-Levy comet. And people watch in real time as this thing slams into Jupiter one large chunk after another. And we are all reminded rather graphically that the disaster movies are not even a patch on the real thing. And that it really does happen. Scientists tell us that this thing has happened right here on Earth in the past, and they tell us it’s likely to happen again, and no, they tell us it’s certain to happen again sometime in the future. There have been, you know, some really huge meteor strikes in the past on the Earth, on planet Earth, right where we are. The one that caused that big meteor crater in Arizona is one of the smaller ones, believe it or not. There are some truly giant craters on the Earth that some of them are partially underwater and you don’t really see them and aren’t aware that they’re even there. Some people now believe that just such a collision accounts for the extinction of some species in the past and even to the onset of the Ice Age. Why the ice age? Well, because these giant meteors, or whatever they are, slamming into the earth, throw such enormous amounts of dust into the air, they blot out the sun. They bring on a kind of long winter. Remember all the conversation of nuclear winter, how that all the atomic bombs going off in a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union would create a nuclear winter, a long period of time in which the rays of the sun could not even reach the surface. It’s frightening, isn’t it, to even think about that? Well, we don’t have to do it. Nature has done it in the past, and scientists tell us it’s going to happen again. It’s only a matter of time. We got a real shakeup not long ago when someone thought an asteroid was going to pass, what was it, within 100,000 miles of the Earth in about 30 years? We’ve been reassured to know that that prediction was wrong, but it’s only a matter of time. And a new comet could show up any time. and give us a much closer look than any of us want. I’ve heard this kind of collision called an extinction event. The question is whether or not man will be made extinct, either by such a collision or by our own devices. Well, Jesus Christ spoke of such an event in what is called in the Bible the Olivet Prophecy. Jesus is with his disciples, and they have wandered around the temple, and the disciples have been oohing and aahing at all the huge stones and the marvelous buildings that were there. And Jesus says, I’ll tell you the truth, boys. The time is coming when there will not be left here one stone on top of another that will not be thrown down. Well, that shut them up for a while. But when they got to the Mount of Olives, they came to him and they said, Lord, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world? Actually, they didn’t ask about the end of the world. They asked about the end of the age. But for all intents and purposes, we’re talking about the same thing. Well, Jesus proceeded in this prophecy in Matthew 24 to give them a lot of the events that would take place down through history that they could expect to come. And he began then to transition into some things that would not be normal in the course of history. And finally, in Matthew 24, verse 21, he says, Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be again. Now, that’s a unique period in all of human history, and Jesus placed it in the future, ahead of where they were. And then he goes on to say, Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved alive. But for the elect’s sake, those days shall be shortened. Now, according to Jesus, we are going to come face to face with extinction, but something will save us. He went on to say, Then if any man shall say unto you, O look, here’s Christ, or look, there, there’s Christ, don’t believe it. for there shall arise false Christs. You can substitute the word Messiah here. It might help you a bit. He said, lo, they’re going to say, here’s a Messiah, or there’s a Messiah, or there will arise false Messiahs and false prophets, and they’ll show great signs and wonders, insomuch, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. You know, he basically is telling us that the time is coming out in the future when things are going to become so confusing that that we’ll even begin to doubt our sanity because of what’s taking place around us. Now, why would these people not be able to deceive the very elect? Well, the answer to that is relatively simple. It’s because they know the Bible. Look to the Bible to see what does the Bible say, what does Jesus say, and they know. Take this following verse in verse 25, for example. He says, Behold, I’ve told you before. Wherefore, if they shall say to you, Oh, look, he’s in the desert. Let’s go out and meet the Messiah. He’s in the desert. Don’t go out there. Behold, he’s in the secret chambers. The Messiah is over here in a secret chamber. Come over and meet the Messiah. Don’t go. There have been people around already who have claimed that the Messiah has come and that he’s biding his time and hiding out for a time. And there are people who believe him, even in the face of what Jesus himself said. How is it that the elect will not be deceived? Because they believe the book, which says don’t believe people when they tell you the Messiah is over here in secret chambers. He then continues to explain what he means. For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. You can’t hide it. For wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Now what on earth does that mean? Well, basically, he’s talking about vultures around a dead body. I think it’s a metaphor. It’s a rather coarse metaphor in a way, at least to us it is. But I think it was probably a proverbial saying at that time. He just tossed it in here so people would use it. But what he’s simply saying is, where I am, that’s where all of you are going to be gathered together. So it’s not going to be a question of somebody having to come and tell you where I am. You’re going to know where I am. And then he said this, Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven. The powers of the heavens shall also be shaken. Do you realize what he’s describing here? The book of Revelation says the time will come when it’s going to be like a fig tree that’s been shaken of a mighty wind and all the figs are plopping to the earth. Can you just imagine all kinds of little figs plopping down on the ground one after the other? He said the time is coming. when meteors will be striking the Earth in that kind of frequency? And what’s going to happen when we have not one, not two, but several meteors, large ones, hitting the Earth within a matter of, let’s say, hours of one another? Well, a great deal of dust and debris will be thrown into the air, and we will face not a nuclear winter, but an, what shall we call it, an asteroid winter? Here we are with our own version of Shoemaker-Levy. One strike after another. It gives you a little shiver to think about it, doesn’t it? It’s only in recent years that we’ve learned about these things from a scientific viewpoint, but Jesus said it would happen 2,000 years ago. So, looking ahead to the future, one can only wonder, how long will it be? When will it happen? The answer? We don’t know. He did say this, though. He said, then, when all this starts happening, then there shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and with great glory. So I gather the event that saves us from total disaster and the extinction of all flesh is the coming of Christ. We’ll talk more about that when I come back after these words.
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White House, Texas, 75791. Or call toll-free 1-888-BIBLE-44.
SPEAKER 03 :
There is a funny thing about this, though. You would sort of think that here we are facing extinction, and the Son of Man, Christ, comes riding out of the sky on a white horse to save us from ourselves, that we’d be glad to see Him. But this verse says, “…then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn.” when they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and with great glory. Now, exactly why that should be is not immediately clear, but I think we have to understand that man, sinful man, is going to be afraid, because he’s going to be afraid that Christ is coming in judgment. The good news is that Christ is coming back, and the bad news is he’s not the least bit happy with what we’ve been doing. But there is something that takes place at this moment that is of paramount importance. In verse 31 of Matthew 24, immediately after all this about the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, it says, He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, a big blast, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. This is the moment of the resurrection of the dead and the gathering of the saints. We know this basically, not only from this passage, but from what Paul had to say about this in his letter to the Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 13. In Thessalonians, in the city of Thessalonica, there had been an enormous amount of persecution on the church since Paul left, and a lot of people had died in that persecution. And he wrote back to comfort them, saying this, I don’t want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you sorrow not like other people who have no hope, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. In other words, you need to understand this, that yes, you have lost some loved ones and people that you care deeply about. But if we believe that Jesus died and rose again… then we’ve got to believe that these will rise as well. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, in other words, I have this from Jesus Christ, that we who are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord will not go before those who are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now I want you to comfort one another with these words. In other words, you need to understand that there’s going to come a time when there’s a great blast on the trumpet, the Son of Man, His sign appears in the heaven, and God gathers the elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. The dead come up first, then all the rest of us are gathered together with Him. This is one event, a gathering of saints, living or dead. Paul amplifies this a little in 1 Corinthians 15, which is the resurrection chapter. He says in verse 51, Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. When? At the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. and we shall be changed. Now, these two short passages connect with Jesus in his prophecy to tell us when is the resurrection and the gathering of the saints. It’s precisely at the return of Christ, when the powers of the heavens have been shaken, when there are meteors slamming into the earth in such numbers that they’re like figs falling off of a tree in a mighty wind. At that moment in time when we face extinction, Christ comes on the scene and saves us from ourselves. And that is the moment when the saints are caught up into the air, when the dead come back to life again, and they’re all gathered together to be with Christ. Now learn a parable of the fig tree, Jesus continued. When his branch is yet tender and puts forth leaves, you know summer’s on the way. Yeah, right. You see the little green, tender branches coming out. Boy, summer’s coming. So likewise, you, when you see all these things, know that it’s near, even at the doors. What’s he talking about? Well, throughout this 24th chapter, he’s been talking about one thing after another that’s a sign of the imminent return of Christ. And he says, whenever you begin to see these things, you need to understand that summer is on the way, that Christ is on the way, that what you’re looking for is coming. And then he says, Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things are fulfilled. He means by that the generation that sees these events begin to leaf out. That’s the generation that will see them all fulfilled. Everything will happen, he says, in a generation. It will not be something that’s drug on for a very long period of time. Heaven and earth shall pass away, said Jesus, but my words will not pass away. Then he goes on to make a point that I don’t know how this got lost. I don’t know where it got lost in people’s minds. And I don’t understand how so many people who know the Bible so well feel free to ignore it. What did he say? In verse 36, But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Now, I would say this verse is a strong contender for the most ignored passage in the Bible among people who ought to know better. How many people down through generations have tried to set dates for the return of Christ only to be disappointed by them? Jesus said, you know, it’s going to be like the days of Noah. That’s the way it’s going to be when the Son of Man comes back. Because in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark. And they didn’t know until the flood came and took them all away. That’s the way it’s going to be when I come back. You might bear in mind, though, that Noah knew what was coming. It’s just that the world didn’t. He said, Then shall be two in the field, one taken, the other left. Two women grinding at the meal, one taken, and the other left. Watch, because you don’t know in what hour your Lord does come. Then he gives us this warning. He said, know this, that if the good man of the house had known and watched the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have permitted his house to be broken up. Therefore, and here’s the instruction that he gave to his disciples and us who are his disciples 2,000 years later, be you also ready for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man comes. Oh, I see. then anyone who sets dates for the return of Christ has to be wrong. Think about it. With all the people out there who are willing to set dates about the return of Christ, it may pose a real problem for God to prove everyone wrong. I’m confident he can find a way, but with so many prognosticators, where are the notches that you can slide it in? Who then, he says, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord has made ruler over his household to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he comes, shall find so doing. I’ll tell you the truth. He’ll make him ruler over all his goods. In other words, the task given to Jesus’ disciples is to get on with the job at hand. Whatever it is that God has given you, whatever responsibility he’s given you, whatever job to do, just be found doing it when Christ comes back, and you’ll be just fine. What’s the alternative? He says, if that evil servant shall say in his heart, oh, my Lord delays his coming. Who knows when Christ is coming back? Maybe it’ll be this generation, but probably not. It may be 100 years. It may be 200 years away. If he says that and then begins to smite his fellow servants to eat and drink with the drunken, the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he’s not looking for him and an hour he’s not aware of. and cut him asunder, and appoint him as portion with the hypocrites, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. What an expression. Weeping and gnashing of teeth seems to be the repeated expression for a person who is so distressed and distraught and what he has lost by his stupidity. The message of all this passage is not that hard to understand. It is that, well, yeah, there are going to be a lot of signs and wonders and portents leading up to the return of Christ, but you’re still not going to know when it is. You’re not going to be able to predict it. It’s going to happen at a time when you’re really not expecting it, and consequently, you’d better be ready all the time. It’s not for you to know when Christ is returning. You do your duty. Now, a lot of superficial students of this prophecy lose interest about this point because this is where Christ stops talking about events leading up to the return and all the things that you can kind of calculate and go chasing around the Bible looking for other things that you can work out your chronology and try to determine when Christ is coming back. There’s nothing to help you with that after this point. But the Olivet Prophecy continues through the entire 25th chapter as well as the 24th chapter of Matthew, and it’s entirely relevant to what he’s been talking about here. Stop worrying about when I’m coming back and start thinking about what you are going to be doing while you wait. I want to show you some things you might not have thought about in the 25th chapter of Matthew.
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And I’ll do that as soon as I come back. For a free copy of this radio program that you can share with friends and others, write or call this week only. And request the program titled, The Words of Jesus, number 39. Write to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560, White House, Texas 75791. or call toll-free 1-888-BIBLE-44 and tell us the call letters of this radio station.
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What follows in Matthew 25 are three allegories, and they are all part of the answer to the original question. The original question was, when are these things going to be regarding the destruction of the temple, and what’s going to be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Well, Jesus gave them a lot in that 24th chapter of Matthew, but he wasn’t through. There’s more. Three allegories. The first one. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins that took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them are wise. Five of them were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. The wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. I’m sure this was a very familiar analogy to people of the time of preparation. You have lamps. Lamps have to have oil in them. And it’s okay to have a lamp that’s there and working well, but what if you’re there just a little bit too long and your oil runs out while you’re in the dark? That’s all real simple. But the wise had some vessels alongside that had spare oil in them. 5 and 5. Well, while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept, wise and foolish. The message is, hey, you can’t be awake all the time. You are going to have to sleep. But what about that sleep? Do you have to be ready while you’re asleep? Well, at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes, go out to meet him. And all these virgins arose, and they all trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said, Oh, give us some of your oil, would you please? Our lamps have gone out. And the wise answered and said, I’m sorry, there’s not enough for us and for you. You’d better run to them that buy and sell and buy for yourselves. And when they went to buy, the bridegroom came and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut. Afterward also came the other virgin saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. And he answered and said, I say unto you the truth, I’ll tell you the truth. I don’t know you. Now, there are a lot of interpretations that can be offered about the symbolism of this allegory, but there is absolutely no doubt about its conclusion. It’s in verse 13. Therefore, watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man comes. You’ve got to prepare and to plan your life so that you are ready all the time. You can’t let down. Oh, sure, you’re going to sleep. But isn’t it interesting? There is preparation that is made before you sleep so that you are ready even while you are asleep. The next allegory is also interesting. The kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling into a far country who called his servants and delivered to them his goods. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one. He gave these things to these men according to their ability. He thought one man could handle five. He thought another man could handle two. There was a third guy he thought, I’d better not give him more than one. I think it’s all they can handle. He that had received the five talents went and traded with them and made five other talents. He doubled his master’s money. And he that had received two, well, he did the same. He doubled it, got two more. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth and hid his Lord’s money. After a long time, the Lord of those servants comes and reckons with them. And he that had received five talents came and brought the other five talents, saying, You delivered to me, Lord, five talents, and look, I have gained beside them five talents more. And his Lord said, Well, you have done very well. You have been faithful over a few things. I’m going to make you responsible for many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. gave him exactly the same thing to the guy who had two. He had doubled his money as well. He gave him the same type of statement at the end of it. But then the guy who had received one came and said this, Lord, I knew you that you were a hard man. You reap where you haven’t even sown, and you gather where you have not strode. And I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the earth. And lo, there you have what is yours. Now, that sounds reasonable enough. I didn’t lose anything. I’m giving you back what you gave to me. But his Lord answered and said, You wicked and slothful servant. You knew all these things. You want to have put my money to the exchangers. Then I could have at least received my own with interest. Then what happens is fascinating. He says, Take the talent away from him. Give it to him that has ten talents. For to everyone that has shall be given, he shall have abundance. But from him that has not shall be taken away even what he has. Now, you know, that doesn’t seem fair, does it? I mean, after all, he’s got ten talents. Why in the world would you take money away from the poor guy and give it to the wealthy guy? Oh, that’s a bad way to look at this. If you really want to understand this, consider that a man who has a lot of money puts some of his money with one financial advisor, some of his money with a second financial advisor, and some of it with a third. Money has value, and there is a time value of money. Money is worth more today than it will be tomorrow. We all in these days of inflation understand that. Well, if you have one guy who doubles your money over a period of time and another investment counselor who does nothing with your money over that same period of time, what are you going to do? You’re going to take it away from the one who was not productive, and you’re going to give it to the guy who was making money for you. That’s the lesson of this parable. You better not play it safe. You better get out there and be taking chances if you have to for God. What did the man lose, and what would he have lost if he had taken the chance? Well, as it is, Jesus said, cast you, the unprofitable servant, into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He couldn’t have been in any worse position if he had risked it all and lost it all. This man was a loser. There’s yet a third allegory that’s put with this, and they are all given to us to underline this question about what are the signs of your coming into the end of the world. Answer, it’s not for you to know. You’d better get on with your job. Until next time.
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This is Ronald Dart. The Born to Win radio program with Ronald L. Dart is sponsored by Christian Educational Ministries and made possible by donations from listeners like you. If you can help, please send your donation to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560, White House, Texas 75791. You may call us at 1-888-BIBLE44 and visit us online at borntowin.net.
SPEAKER 01 :
Christian Educational Ministries is happy to announce a new full-color Born to Win monthly newsletter with articles and free offers from Ronald L. Dart. Call us today at 1-888-BIBLE44 to sign up or visit us at borntowin.net.
