Steve Webb  0:00  
Are the end times or last days something to fear?

Steve Webb  0:11  
One more time. Here we are. Again, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I'm your OG God casters. Steve Webb, welcome. Good to see you again. Thanks for sharing your day with me. This is the daily show where we're reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today we're going to complete the book of Daniel will read chapters seven through 12. Of course, I'll have some comments after the reading. The title of today's show is what time is it? If you'd like to come in on today's show, please do go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 226. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. I'd love to hear from you. Let's get started.

Steve Webb  0:53  
Daniel chapter seven. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel declared, I saw in my vision by night and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings. Then as I looked, the wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man and the mind of a man was given to it. And behold another beast, a second one like a bear. It was raised up on one side, it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, and it was told, Arise, devour much flesh. After this, I looked and behold another like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back, and the beast had foreheads and a dominion was given to it. After this I saw on the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth, it devoured and broken pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had 10 horns, I considered the horns and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things. As I looked, thrones were placed in the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire, a stream of fire issued and came out from before him. 1000 1000s served him and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him, the Court said in judgment, and the books were opened. I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season at a time. I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a Son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. I approached one of those who stood there, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. These four great beasts are the four kings who shall rise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever. Then I desire to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, which devoured in broken pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the 10 horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus, he said, As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth and trample it down and break it to pieces. As for the 10 horns, out of this kingdom, 10 king shall arise and another show arise after them, he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law, and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half the time. But the court shall sit in judgment and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. Here's the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me. And my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart. Daniel chapter eight. In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first and I saw in the vision, and when I saw I was in Susa, the Citadel which is in the province of Elam, and I saw in the vision, and I was at the you lie canal, I raised my eyes and saw and behold, a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last, I saw the RAM charging westward and northward and southward, no beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great. As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes, he came to the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him with his powerful rap. I saw him come close to the RAM, and he was enraged against him, and struck the ram and broke his two horns, and the Ram had no power to stand before him. But he cast him down to the ground and travelled upon him. And there was no one who could rescue the RAM from his power, then the goat became exceedingly great. But when he was strong, the great horn was broken. And instead of it, there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. Out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land. It grew great even to the host of heaven. And some of the hosts and some of the stars it through to the ground and traveled on them. It became great, even as great as the prints of the host. And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. And a host will be given over to it together with a regular burnt offering because of transgression, and it will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper. Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke for how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot. And he said to me, for 2300 evenings and mornings, then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state. When I Daniel had seen the vision, I sought to understand it, and behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the ULI and it called Gabriel make this man understand the vision. So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, understand, Oh, son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end, that when He had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand up. He said, Behold, I will make known to you what shall be the latter end of the indignation for it refers to the appointed time of the end. As for the RAM that you saw with two horns, these are the kings of media in Persia, and the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, for kingdom shall arise from his nation, but not with his power. And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of boldface, one who understands riddles shall arise, his power shall be great, but not by his own power, and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind, he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many, and he shall even rise up against the Prince of Princes, and he shall be broken But by no human hand, the vision of the evenings in the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision for it refers to many days from now. And I Daniel was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the Kings business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it. 

Steve Webb  10:20  
Daniel chapter nine. In the first year of Darius, the son of a has us by descent, a Mead, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans in the first year of his reign. I, Daniel, proceed in the books, the number of years that according to the Word of the Lord to Jeremiah, the prophet must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely 70 years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking Him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, Oh Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments. We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly, and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants, the prophets who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, oh, Lord belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away in all the lands to which you have driven them because of the treachery that they have committed against you. To us, oh, Lord belongs open shame to our kings, to our princes into our fathers because we have sinned against you, to the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness for we have rebelled against Him, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, by walking in His laws, which he set before us by His servants, the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law in turn, decide, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that were written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, had been poured out upon us because we have sinned against him. He has confirmed his words which He spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven, there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem, as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us. Yet we have not been treated the favor of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities in gaining insight, by your truth. Therefore, the Lord has kept ready the calamity, and has brought it upon us. For the Lord, our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. And now a Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly, oh Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city, Jerusalem, Your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. Now, therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his pleas for mercy. And for your own sake, oh, Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary which is desolate. Oh my god, incline your ear in here. Open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our please before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. Oh, Lord here, oh, Lord, forgive all Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not for your own sake, oh my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.

Steve Webb  14:06  
While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my god, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first came to me in Swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand speaking with me and saying, oh, Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision 70 weeks or decreed about your people and your holy city to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and profit, and to anoint a most Holy Place, no therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for 62 weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the 62 weeks and anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end, there shall be war. desolations are decreed, and he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week, he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering and on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate until the decreed end is poured out on the Desolator.

Steve Webb  15:51  
 Daniel chapter 10. In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a word was revealed to Daniel who was named belta. Shahzad, and the Word was true, and it was a great conflict, and he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days, I Daniel was mourning for three weeks, I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all for the full three weeks. On the 24th day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of a great river, that is the Tigris, I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen with a belt of fine gold from youth as around his waist. His body was like barrel, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs, like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words, like the sound of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the vision for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of his words. And as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground. And behold, a hand touched me and sent me trembling on my hands and knees. And he said to me, oh, Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand up right for now I have been sent to you. And when He had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, fear not Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words, the prince of the kingdom of Persia with stood me 21 days. But Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what has to happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision is for the days yet to come. When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was mute, and behold, one in the likeness of the children of man touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke, I said to him who stood before me, Oh, my Lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me and I retain no strength. How can my lord servant talk with my Lord, for now, no strength remains in me and no breath is left in me. Again, one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said, Oh, man, greatly loved fear not peace, be with you, be strong and of good courage. And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, Let my Lord speak for you have strengthened me. Then he said, Do you know why I have come to you, but now I will return to fight against the Prince of Persia. And when I go out, Behold, the prince of Greece will come. But I will tell you what is inscribed in the Book of Truth. There is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince. 

Steve Webb  19:03  
Daniel, chapter 11. And as for me, in the first year of Darius, the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him, and now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. Then a mighty king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion and do as He wills and as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, or his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these. Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule and his authority shall be a great authority. After some years they shall make an alliance and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up and her attendance he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times, and from a branch from her roots, one shall arise in his place, he shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail, he shall also carry off to Egypt, they are gods with their metal images in their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years, he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but shall return to his own land, his son shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. Then the king of the south move with rage shall come out and fight against the king of the north, and he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down 10s of 1000s, but he shall not prevail. For the king of the north shall again raised a multitude greater than the first, and after some years he shall come on with a great army and with abundant supplies. In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. Then the king of the north shall common throw up siege works and make a well fortified city, and the forces of the south shall not stand or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. But he who comes against him shall do as He wills, and none shall stand before him, and he shall stand in the glorious land with destruction in his hand, he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them, he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him, then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found, then shall arise in his place, one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle, in his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom Royal Majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken even the prince of the covenant. And from the time that an alliance is made with him, he shall act deceitfully and he shall become strong with a small people. Without warning, he shall come into the richest parts of the province, and he shall do what neither his father's nor his father's father's have done, scattering among them plunder spoil in goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time, and he shall stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand for plots shall be devised against him. Even those who eat his food shall break him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil, they shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail. For the end is yet to be at the time appointed, and he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant, and he shall work his will and return to his own land. At the time appointed, he shall return in come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before for ships of kingdom shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw and shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the Holy Covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant, forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering, and they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame by captivity and plunder. When they stumble, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join themselves to them with flattery, and some of the wives shall stumble so that they may be refined, purified and made white until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time. And the King shall do as He wills he will exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished for what is decreed shall be done. He shall pay no attention to the gods of his father's or to the one beloved by women, he shall not pay attention to any other God, for he shall magnify himself above all, he shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these, a god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign God. Those who acknowledge Him He shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many, and shall divide the land for a price. At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships, and he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through, he shall come into the glorious land, and 10s of 1000s shall fall but the shall be delivered out of his hand, Edom and Moab in the main part of the Ammonites, he shall stretch out his hand against the country's, and the land of Egypt shall not escape, he shall become ruler of the treasuries of gold and of silver and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the KU shites shall follow in his train, but news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain, yet he shall come to his end with none to help him. 

Steve Webb  26:41  
Daniel chapter 12. At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people, and bear shall come a time of trouble such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time, your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book, in many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end, many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase. Then I Daniel looked, and behold, two others stood one on this bank of the stream, and one on that Bank of the stream. And someone said to the man, clothed and linen, who was above the waters of the stream, how long shall it be till the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it would be for a time, times and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end, all these things would be finished. I heard but I did not understand. Then I said, Oh, my Lord, what shall be the outcome of these things? He said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white, and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand. But those who are wise shall understand. And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1290 days, Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1335 days, but go your way till the end, and you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.

Steve Webb  28:51  
You know, it's an interesting fact that throughout history, the focus of the church has not always been what it is today. In the first few 100 years after Jesus left the church with a great commission, the church focused on the doctrine of Scripture, which makes sense, right? In the early years, the church had to define what was and what was not divinely inspired scripture. And then through the centuries, the focus shifted to the doctrine of the Trinity, to the doctrine of who and what Jesus is to the doctrine of who and what man is to the doctrine of salvation to the doctrine of the Church. And it really wasn't until the last couple of 100 years that the church spent much time studying the doctrine of the end days. Yes, it's true for most of our history, the biblical books of prophecy have been looked at as being impossible to understand. Some of the prophets who wrote them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit even said that they didn't understand everything they wrote. But that's because it was not time yet to understand them. As we read these books today, we can begin to see glimpses that do make sense. In Our reading today, we read Daniel chapter seven through 12 Obviously, it's going to be impossible for me to talk about all the possible interpretations or applications to the days in which we're living on the show. Entire books have been and probably are being written even as I speak about how the book of Daniel applies to today. What I'm going to do in the short time we have today is look at a couple of verses from today's reading. First, let's take a look at Daniel eight, verse 26, someone who looked like a man spoke to Daniel about future events. And at the end, he said, the vision of the evenings in the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now. What do you suppose he meant when he told Daniel to seal up the vision? Many people believe that he meant that no one would be able to understand the vision until the end times, seal up the vision for it refers to many days from now. He said, Well, I disagree. I think he meant safeguard the vision, put it someplace safe, because it'll be needed later. It's kind of like this. My wife, a lovely lady Liana and I had a will written for us several years ago. We hope that it won't be needed for many more years.

Steve Webb  31:11  
Do you think we keep it on the kitchen table or the coffee table in the living room? No, we've locked it up. We've sealed it up in our safe. It's an important documents, and we've put it in a place of safekeeping. This, I think is what the one speaking to Daniel meant, write the message down and keep it safe for the day that it's needed. And as we read this book, it really seems like we're in the in times, doesn't it? There are so many things prophesied here that sounds just like we're reading it from today's papers, like I said, in reading about just the general condition of life in the in time sounds like it today to, for example, in chapter 12 of the universe for the ones speaking to Daniel says, Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase. In the past some thought that the running to and fro reference means missionaries going throughout the world preaching the gospel. Others have thought that it means that many would search the Scriptures trying to discern the meaning of the words. Personally, I disagree with those interpretations. And I'll tell you why in just a moment. Now, the second half of that verse was and all knowledge will increase. It was thought that this referred to the fact that as we enter the end times, we'll understand the prophetic Scriptures more clearly. I think that's partly right. But I think there's more. Now we can't fault the notions that people had in the past about the scriptures, but how could they possibly know what it would be like to live in our age, we can hop on an airplane and fly from one coast of the US to the other in a matter of hours. And the US military has aircraft that can do it in about an hour's time. It's common for some business people to fly around the world multiple times a week. The point is mobility for virtually everyone in developed countries is a fact of life. That could be the running to and fro Daniel wrote about, but it also just might refer to the fact that our lives have become so extremely hectic. These days, many of us are on the go constantly, we have virtually no leisure time. And even when we are technically on vacation, quote unquote, we have our electronic devices with us. Many of us are never disconnected from the internet. Can we even imagine going back to a world where we're not constantly connected. Which brings up the second point from this verse, and knowledge will increase. Scholars of old could not anticipate the internet. When I was a boy, I had to go to the library. If I wanted to know something that was not in the book that was at my house. Today, all I have to do is get online and type in a search. Or I could just speak to my phone. Okay, Google, or Siri or Alexa, who won the 2016 World Series?

Steve Webb  33:51  
What was the score? What's the specific gravity of water? What's the atomic number of LED, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1954? What is tomorrow's weather forecast? You get the idea, you can find almost anything that man has learned within seconds. That capability did not even exist until about 15. short years ago, when the first iPhone was introduced. Knowledge has increased and it continues to increase geometrically. I think we can check that off of the list of the things that we need to look for before the end times. Are we in the End Times? Maybe. Jesus said that only the Father knows the exact time But Scripture gives us many, many things to look for, or the in times or last days something to fear? Well, if you don't know Jesus as your savior, you might want to worry. verses one and two of Daniel 12 Say, and there shall be a time of trouble such as there never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time, your people shall be delivered. Everyone whose name shall be found written in the book, and many of those who sleep In the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Well, what side are you on? The one who will have everlasting life or shame and everlasting contempt. If you're not sure that you'll have everlasting life you can be. All you need to do is accept Jesus into your life right now. To accept Jesus into your life means that you put your trust in Him, it means that you accept His free gift of salvation. What does that mean? Well, the Bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And it says the wages of sin is death. But the Bible also tells us that God is not willing that any should perish. He's made a way to have your sins forgiven. He sent Jesus to this earth, Jesus, His only begotten Son, the Son of God, to live a sinless life, and he was sacrificed on the cross for my sins and for yours. And then on the third day, he rose to life again, proving that He is God. And he has the ability to forgive our sins. If you believe that, and if you accept that gift that he gives to you that free gift of salvation, you can absolutely know that you'll have everlasting life. If you believe that, and if you want that for yourself, all you have to do is pray this prayer, pray with me. Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, and I'm sorry, I turned for my sins now. And I asked you to forgive me of my sins. I pray that you'll come into my life, and that you'll be my Lord, and my savior helped me to be the person you created me to be. Thank you for forgiving me. Amen. Well, if you prayed that prayer, and you meant it, congratulations, you're now a believer in Christ. you're a Christian, you're a new creation. The Bible says that when we believe in Him, we become new creatures, old things have passed away. All things are new. I'd like to help you get started in this new life. And I've got a Bible that I'd like to send you. It's called the new believers Bible. And it's a New Testament, and it's got hundreds of notes in there written just for brand new believers. I'd like to send it to you at no charge, all you have to do is send me an email Steve at Lifespring media.com. Tell me you prayed that prayer, tell me your mailing address, and we'll send it off to you again, no charge and I'm not going to take your email address and send it to anybody sell it to anybody or anything like that. Your email addresses safe with me. I just want you to have this Bible to get the very best start you can. I'd love to hear your comments on what I've said today. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 226. Scroll to the bottom of the page and let me know your thoughts are reading tomorrow was John five and six. Here's your cue to boost boost.

Steve Webb  37:51  
Boostagram. Got a boostagram from Sean of San Pedro this morning and he sent 1160 sats, and said No wonder people love proverbs so much. These are amazing. It's awesome that this ancient wisdom is still so applicable today. Well, Sean, you know what the writer of Ecclesiastes said he said there's nothing new under the sun. People really are no different today than they were when Solomon wrote the Proverbs. I'm so glad that God preserved them for us. Thanks for the boostagram Sean.

Steve Webb  38:34  
On this date in church history, April 15 1452. Today is the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian Renaissance artist, scientist and inventor. Of course, among his more memorable paintings are the Last Supper, which he did in 1498 and the Mona Lisa, which he did in 1503. And on this date in church history, April 15 1729, Johann Sebastian Bach conducted the first and only performance during his lifetime of the passion, according to St. Matthew, at a Good Friday Vespers service at the St. Thomas Lutheran Church of Leipzig, Germany, the St. Matthew Passion, which of course Bach composed, has been called by some the supreme cultural achievement of all Western civilization. 

Steve Webb  39:30  
Let's pray our Heavenly Father as we read the book of Daniel and see what appears to be signs that we are near the end of days, Lord, give us a burden to share the good news with those who don't know Jesus. Give us opportunities, Lord, to share with the people around us. Give us the courage to speak in the words to say, prepare the hearts of those you do bring to us that they would listen and truly hear. We know Lord that you don't want any to perish and if no one tells them How will they here? Help us to fulfill the Great Commission? Lord, I ask this in Jesus name, amen. Do you have a prayer request that you want to share with the family? Is God doing something great in your life? Let us know about it. Go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com and fill out that form there

Steve Webb  40:25  
I'd love it if you'd go by Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 226. And let me know what you thought about today's show. If you'd like you can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com And please support the show at Lifespring media.com/support. Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thanks for inviting me to be with you today. My name is Steve Webb. Now let's get to work. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai