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00:01 You know, there are many people today 00:03 who say that we’re not living in the time of the end. 00:06 They say: “The world is just the same as it’s always been. 00:10 There are no real changes that have taken place.” 00:13 But, of course, we know they’re deceiving themselves. 00:16 Never before have so many people around the globe 00:20 openly practiced and flaunted 00:24 sexual immorality, 00:26 not just among themselves 00:28 but they’re seeing that it’s brought into the homes 00:30 by means of Internet, television, and other means. 00:35 Never before has man had the power 00:38 to decimate entire populations 00:41 by dropping just one bomb 00:44 or by means of chemical warfare. 00:49 Never before has there been 00:51 such widespread lack of love 00:54 and of natural affection 00:57 that results in the death of children. 01:01 It’s interesting that some calculate 01:04 that over one billion abortions 01:09 have taken place since 1980. 01:14 That’s really something. 01:16 That’s just about the population of China 01:19 —if you can imagine. 01:21 And that is something that’s accepted; 01:24 it’s commonplace in our day. 01:27 So some people think, ‘Well, things haven’t changed.’ 01:30 But is that true? 01:32 No, quite to the contrary. 01:34 And something else that we’re fully aware of 01:36 is that people around the earth 01:38 are making a garbage dump out of the planet that we live on 01:42 —polluting the air, the seas, 01:46 the land. 01:48 And yet, some still insist that things haven’t changed. 01:52 Now, why is it? 01:53 Why do people have that attitude? 01:56 Well, part of it lies in what the Scriptures tell us, 01:59 what Paul wrote at 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4. 02:02 And there it says that Satan ‘blinds the minds of the unbelievers.’ 02:07 And the “unbelievers” are not just atheists. 02:09 The “unbelievers” are found throughout the churches of Christendom. 02:13 They don’t believe —really believe— 02:15 what the Bible has to say about prophecy, 02:18 about morality, 02:20 or that God is really going to clean up this planet 02:23 and that it’s going to be a wonderful new world 02:26 of peace and happiness. 02:28 And so to help people understand these things, 02:30 we go out and we preach. 02:32 We tell them about what Matthew 24 says 02:35 and Mark 13 and Luke 21 and 2 Timothy 3 02:39 —that we’re living in the time of the end. 02:41 But there is something we have to remember 02:43 if we get a little bit discouraged 02:45 when people don’t respond as we feel they should 02:48 to all of the evidence that we see and we appreciate. 02:53 The Bible indicates very clearly 02:56 that many people would not see the sign; 02:59 they would not accept what the Bible has to say. 03:03 And what’s most interesting about that 03:05 is that the people who ignore 03:08 and who deny the sign that we’re living in the time of the end 03:11 are part of the sign themselves 03:14 —what they do and the way they think. 03:17 Turn to Second Peter 03:23 —2 Peter chapter 3. 03:27 And we’ll read verses 3 and 4 and the first line in verse 5 03:32 —2 Peter 3:3, 4 and the first line in verse 5. 03:37 Peter wrote: “First of all know this, that in the last days,” 03:41 so this is something Peter is saying would happen during our time, 03:45 “ridiculers will come with their ridicule, 03:48 “proceeding according to their own desires 03:50 “and saying: ‘Where is this promised presence of his? 03:53 “‘Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, 03:56 “‘all things are continuing exactly 03:59 as they were from creation’s beginning.’” 04:02 And then the reason for it is given in the next line: 04:05 “For they deliberately ignore this fact.” 04:08 Well, here the fact was that they ignored the Flood of Noah’s day. 04:11 The fact for us today is that they ignore what the Bible clearly says 04:15 or what Jesus said would be the sign of the last days. 04:20 So they don’t realize it, but they’re part of the fulfillment. 04:23 What contributes to an unbelieving attitude? 04:27 Well, one of the things is what we could call gradualism. 04:31 The Watchtower of January 15, 2014, paragraph 30, 04:36 or page 30, paragraph 11 stated the following: 04:40 “It seems that the more familiar a situation is, 04:43 “the less people are inclined to pay attention to it. 04:46 “A steady decline in the morality 04:48 “of society in general may seem less shocking 04:51 “than a sudden, unexpected change 04:53 in the behavior of a close acquaintance.” 04:55 And then it says: “Nevertheless, 04:57 this gradual decay of morality is dangerous.” 05:01 And isn’t it true that most of us were raised 05:05 in an environment that was not so good? 05:08 There were immoral things taking place around us, wars, crime. 05:13 And so people get to the point where they accept it as normal. 05:16 And as it escalates, 05:18 it really doesn’t impress on them that ‘No! 05:22 ‘Times have changed. 05:23 They’re becoming far worse than ever before.’ 05:27 Gradual decay of morality is dangerous. 05:31 It makes me think of an illustration 05:34 about how to boil a frog. 05:37 If you heat up a pot 05:40 and you have the water boiling and drop a frog into it, 05:43 what’s going to happen? 05:45 He’s out of there; he’s not going to stay. 05:47 That frog isn’t stupid. 05:48 He hits the water, and it’s terribly hot, and out he jumps. 05:52 But if you fill the pot with cool water, 05:55 drop the frog in, 05:57 and then gradually (little by little) you heat it up 06:01 until it gets to the boiling point, 06:03 he’s cooked! 06:05 And that’s what’s happening in the world today. 06:08 The gradualism is not perceived by people in the world, 06:13 but they’re being cooked. 06:15 It’s getting hot. 06:17 And so we know that wicked men 06:19 are going to continue to increase 06:21 —impostors, scoffing at the truth. 06:25 World conditions are escalating; they’re getting worse constantly. 06:29 But they’re going to have to deal with the Creator and his judgment. 06:33 And there are three Psalms I’d like to just mention briefly 06:37 that I find very interesting that tie in nicely 06:39 with the wickedness of the world and what Jehovah will do. 06:43 Psalm 10:4: 06:45 “In his haughtiness, the wicked man makes no investigation; 06:50 “all his thoughts are: 06:52 ‘There is no God.’” 06:55 Psalm 12:8: 06:57 “The wicked walk around unrestrained 07:00 because the sons of men promote depravity.” 07:03 That could’ve been this morning’s headlines 07:06 in The New York Times. 07:08 And the last, Psalm 92:7: 07:11 “When the wicked sprout like weeds 07:13 “and all the wrongdoers flourish, 07:16 it is that they may be annihilated forever.” 07:20 And to that we say: 07:22 “Amen. So be it!”
00:01 You know, there are many people today 00:03 who say that we’re not living in the time of the end. 00:06 They say: “The world is just the same as it’s always been. 00:10 There are no real changes that have taken place.” 00:13 But, of course, we know they’re deceiving themselves. 00:16 Never before have so many people around the globe 00:20 openly practiced and flaunted 00:24 sexual immorality, 00:26 not just among themselves 00:28 but they’re seeing that it’s brought into the homes 00:30 by means of Internet, television, and other means. 00:35 Never before has man had the power 00:38 to decimate entire populations 00:41 by dropping just one bomb 00:44 or by means of chemical warfare. 00:49 Never before has there been 00:51 such widespread lack of love 00:54 and of natural affection 00:57 that results in the death of children. 01:01 It’s interesting that some calculate 01:04 that over one billion abortions 01:09 have taken place since 1980. 01:14 That’s really something. 01:16 That’s just about the population of China 01:19 —if you can imagine. 01:21 And that is something that’s accepted; 01:24 it’s commonplace in our day. 01:27 So some people think, ‘Well, things haven’t changed.’ 01:30 But is that true? 01:32 No, quite to the contrary. 01:34 And something else that we’re fully aware of 01:36 is that people around the earth 01:38 are making a garbage dump out of the planet that we live on 01:42 —polluting the air, the seas, 01:46 the land. 01:48 And yet, some still insist that things haven’t changed. 01:52 Now, why is it? 01:53 Why do people have that attitude? 01:56 Well, part of it lies in what the Scriptures tell us, 01:59 what Paul wrote at 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4. 02:02 And there it says that Satan ‘blinds the minds of the unbelievers.’ 02:07 And the “unbelievers” are not just atheists. 02:09 The “unbelievers” are found throughout the churches of Christendom. 02:13 They don’t believe —really believe— 02:15 what the Bible has to say about prophecy, 02:18 about morality, 02:20 or that God is really going to clean up this planet 02:23 and that it’s going to be a wonderful new world 02:26 of peace and happiness. 02:28 And so to help people understand these things, 02:30 we go out and we preach. 02:32 We tell them about what Matthew 24 says 02:35 and Mark 13 and Luke 21 and 2 Timothy 3 02:39 —that we’re living in the time of the end. 02:41 But there is something we have to remember 02:43 if we get a little bit discouraged 02:45 when people don’t respond as we feel they should 02:48 to all of the evidence that we see and we appreciate. 02:53 The Bible indicates very clearly 02:56 that many people would not see the sign; 02:59 they would not accept what the Bible has to say. 03:03 And what’s most interesting about that 03:05 is that the people who ignore 03:08 and who deny the sign that we’re living in the time of the end 03:11 are part of the sign themselves 03:14 —what they do and the way they think. 03:17 Turn to Second Peter 03:23 —2 Peter chapter 3. 03:27 And we’ll read verses 3 and 4 and the first line in verse 5 03:32 —2 Peter 3:3, 4 and the first line in verse 5. 03:37 Peter wrote: “First of all know this, that in the last days,” 03:41 so this is something Peter is saying would happen during our time, 03:45 “ridiculers will come with their ridicule, 03:48 “proceeding according to their own desires 03:50 “and saying: ‘Where is this promised presence of his? 03:53 “‘Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, 03:56 “‘all things are continuing exactly 03:59 as they were from creation’s beginning.’” 04:02 And then the reason for it is given in the next line: 04:05 “For they deliberately ignore this fact.” 04:08 Well, here the fact was that they ignored the Flood of Noah’s day. 04:11 The fact for us today is that they ignore what the Bible clearly says 04:15 or what Jesus said would be the sign of the last days. 04:20 So they don’t realize it, but they’re part of the fulfillment. 04:23 What contributes to an unbelieving attitude? 04:27 Well, one of the things is what we could call gradualism. 04:31 The Watchtower of January 15, 2014, paragraph 30, 04:36 or page 30, paragraph 11 stated the following: 04:40 “It seems that the more familiar a situation is, 04:43 “the less people are inclined to pay attention to it. 04:46 “A steady decline in the morality 04:48 “of society in general may seem less shocking 04:51 “than a sudden, unexpected change 04:53 in the behavior of a close acquaintance.” 04:55 And then it says: “Nevertheless, 04:57 this gradual decay of morality is dangerous.” 05:01 And isn’t it true that most of us were raised 05:05 in an environment that was not so good? 05:08 There were immoral things taking place around us, wars, crime. 05:13 And so people get to the point where they accept it as normal. 05:16 And as it escalates, 05:18 it really doesn’t impress on them that ‘No! 05:22 ‘Times have changed. 05:23 They’re becoming far worse than ever before.’ 05:27 Gradual decay of morality is dangerous. 05:31 It makes me think of an illustration 05:34 about how to boil a frog. 05:37 If you heat up a pot 05:40 and you have the water boiling and drop a frog into it, 05:43 what’s going to happen? 05:45 He’s out of there; he’s not going to stay. 05:47 That frog isn’t stupid. 05:48 He hits the water, and it’s terribly hot, and out he jumps. 05:52 But if you fill the pot with cool water, 05:55 drop the frog in, 05:57 and then gradually (little by little) you heat it up 06:01 until it gets to the boiling point, 06:03 he’s cooked! 06:05 And that’s what’s happening in the world today. 06:08 The gradualism is not perceived by people in the world, 06:13 but they’re being cooked. 06:15 It’s getting hot. 06:17 And so we know that wicked men 06:19 are going to continue to increase 06:21 —impostors, scoffing at the truth. 06:25 World conditions are escalating; they’re getting worse constantly. 06:29 But they’re going to have to deal with the Creator and his judgment. 06:33 And there are three Psalms I’d like to just mention briefly 06:37 that I find very interesting that tie in nicely 06:39 with the wickedness of the world and what Jehovah will do. 06:43 Psalm 10:4: 06:45 “In his haughtiness, the wicked man makes no investigation; 06:50 “all his thoughts are: 06:52 ‘There is no God.’” 06:55 Psalm 12:8: 06:57 “The wicked walk around unrestrained 07:00 because the sons of men promote depravity.” 07:03 That could’ve been this morning’s headlines 07:06 in The New York Times. 07:08 And the last, Psalm 92:7: 07:11 “When the wicked sprout like weeds 07:13 “and all the wrongdoers flourish, 07:16 it is that they may be annihilated forever.” 07:20 And to that we say: 07:22 “Amen. So be it!”
