In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes that our world is heading towards moral decay and darkness. He highlights the increasing prevalence of drug use, alcohol consumption, profanity, nudity in entertainment, adultery, and homosexuality as signs of this decline. However, amidst this darkness, the preacher believes that Jesus is the light of the world and that this is a crucial time to serve God and build a strong church. The sermon also mentions a prophecy from the Bible that states that those who truly know God will be strong and will do great exploits, but they will also face persecution and suffering.

New Year's Eve, and by the way, let's have a little poll this morning. So how many of you is New Year's Eve already here? Would you raise your hand please? New Year's Eve is here. How many of you is New Year's Eve is all day in New Year's Day? New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve day. How many of you, New Year's Eve is the day before New Year's. How many of you is it the night before New Year's, only the night? You see, it's so hard here to pastor and to preach. Ignorance prevails. And so, oh, by the way, I must tell you this. You folks that have not been here before, don't forget to buy some black-eyed peas today. How many of you know why? Sure, because the scriptures teach us that you get a dollar a year, or dollar during the year, for every black-eyed pea you eat on New Year's Day. That's found in the second chapter of Jude, along with falling from grace and post-Moneyism and other things, in the second of Jude. But New Year's Eve, and when I say New Year's Eve, I say it in the correct sense. It's all day, the day before New Year's. Amen. That's the first amen some of you folks have said all year. But it's always a day of nostalgia for me. It was on New Year's Eve, 28 years ago tonight, when the dear Lord called me to preach. Twenty-eight blessed, wonderful, exciting years. On New Year's Eve, 1949, I went, for the only time in my adult life, into a tavern. I said in my adult life, when I was a kid, I threw a paper out and had a tavern on my paper route. And I had to go in to collect, always collected merchandise rather than money. But I went to a tavern and sat beside my drunkard father at a bar, drug him out of the tavern, took him back to my church in East Texas, a little country church, and tried to win him to Christ. He promised me New Year's Day in 1950 that he'd be saved soon. But he did not live. It was on New Year's Eve when I pulled him out of the tavern. On New Year's Eve, 1954, God gave me an unusual enduement of power in one of the great days of my life. And I cannot come to the end of the year without almost shouting, God's been so good. When the plane landed yesterday afternoon, I'm sorry, yesterday morning, at O'Hare Field, we pulled up to the gate. I wept. Over 150,000 miles I've flown this year on jet airliners. And God has not as much as let me have an engine go out this year. He's kept me safe. I've preached three, over three and a half, nearly four sermons a day this year. Now, I mean, that's without a day off. That's without taking an entire day off any day of the year. And I'm well. It's not as strong as a bull, but as far as I know, I'm strong. And I've never been so happy in the Lord. God has been good to me personally. And I praise Him this morning. I want to speak today on one term, 1973. Daniel chapter 11 deals with the end time. It is talking about the time of the building up to the end time war. I will not belabor you with deep prophetic preaching. Two reasons. I'm not smart enough. And two, I'm not disposed to this morning. But those of us who know a little bit about Bible prophecy are aware of the fact that the end time war will start with Russia attacking Palestine. She will bring with her, in this end time battle, Turkey, eastern Germany, Iran, Egypt, Libya, and the old ancient Ethiopia. Now bear in mind that here's a little Palestine right here. Coming from the north, beginning this end time war will be Soviet Russia. And these allies attacking Israel. Now you say, Brother Hiles, why would Russia want to attack Israel? One reason. One main reason. One other too. They hate her, God. But one main reason. Wealth. Did you know it is said that there is more wealth in the bottom of the Dead Sea than there is in all of the United States of America put together? Potassium, bromide, magnesium, and other matters of wealth. Russia, wanting that wealth and also wanting the oil of the Middle East, marches in the end time battle, this last battle leading up to the coming of our Lord in glory. She marches on little Palestine. The United States, England, and the western nations decide to defend Palestine against Russia. And so the United States, England, and the western powers come and do battle in Palestine against Russia in defense of Israel. The western powers are winning the battle. And so reinforcement comes from the east. The Bible says that the Euphrates River will be dried. And across the dry Euphrates River, just as the Israelites marched across the dry lands of the Red Sea years ago, 3500 years ago, will come the armies of China, I think Japan, and the land of the sun rising. And they too will join forces with Russia, and Egypt, and Iran, and Libya, and eastern Germany, and Turkey against Israel, Palestine, and against the western powers. And the mightiest battle ever fought in this world's history will be fought in the Valley of Jezreel. The west versus Russia, China, the eastern powers, Egypt, and the Arabs. The Bible says that in that time there shall rise up a man. We call him, or the Bible calls him, the beast, or the man of sin, or the Antichrist. And this beast, this man of sin, this Antichrist, shall be the leader, not of Russia, but of the western powers. He's from our side. He shall lead the western powers to victory over Russia, China. The philosophy of communism may someday conquer this world, but Russia never will. The philosophy of communism may someday conquer this world, but Red China never will. In the end time battle, it is the west and not the east that comes out victorious. This dictator, this combination of Hitler, Mussolini, Kaiser Wilhelm, Napoleon, Nero, Titus, all wrapped up in one satanic package, will defeat Russia, defeat China, defeat Egypt, defeat eastern Germany, and will raise himself up as king of all the world. This will be the fifth time since Daniel's prophecy that the entire world has been under one great empire. Babylon, Medes and Persians, Greece and Alexander the Great, Rome, and there's been no world empire since the Roman Empire fell in the first century, or the early centuries after Christ. Now, this Antichrist will rule. He will ascend to a little mount in Palestine called Mount Megiddo. From that word we get the word Armageddon. And he will stand on that mount as king of all of the earth. He will view toward the south and notice that he's conquered Egypt, all of Africa, Ethiopia. He will view toward the east and realize that he's conquered China, Japan, India. He'll view toward the north and realize that he's conquered Russia, Poland, East Germany, Turkey. He'll view toward the west and find that he's already the leader of Europe, England, United States. He is king of all the world. But there's one place he forgets to look, and that's upward. For about that time, Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the one who promised that he would rule and reign from the throne of David, the seed of David, the lion of the tribe of Judah, shall be in heaven with us. We will have been there for seven years with him after having been raptured. And he shall come back to the earth and with the spirit of his mouth and the brightness of his coming, without the shooting of one gun, the dropping of one bomb, or the fighting of one battle. Jesus shall defeat the Antichrist in what we call the battle of Armageddon. And Jesus shall become the king of all the earth, shall reign in a kingdom of righteousness for one thousand wonderful years on this earth. Now the days leading up to that are the days of the Antichrist rising to power. I cannot prove this. I do not know if this be true. But I believe the Antichrist is alive today. I believe that somewhere in this world there's a young man who is being groomed to become this world dictator. I believe this man is a Negro man, not because I hate the Negroes. I believe he's a son of Nimrod, who is a son of Ham. I believe this young man that's going to rule the world someday will be thirty-three years of age, or thirty years of age, when he comes to his power. I believe he'll become, in the last three and a half years of the tribulation period, I believe he'll become the Satan, or the devil incarnate. And I believe for three and a half years he, as Satan in flesh, will be as ruthless as Christ was, God in the flesh, for his three and a half years. Now in the days before the coming of this Antichrist, in the days while he's being groomed, the days in which we're living now, I think, the Bible speaks about persecution. The Bible speaks about Christian suffering for Christ. And it gives some prophecy about the God's people. Now in the eleventh chapter of Daniel, we have this time described, this awful time, the time before the rapture, the time before the Antichrist is revealed, when the world is getting worse, and night is getting darker, and black is getting blacker, and wrong is getting wronger, and sin is getting more sinful, Satan is running more rampant, and lewdness and vulgarity, and all that's holy, and all that's good, and all that's righteous, is scorned, mocked by the evil one. We're in that day. Now, look at the prophecy, and I think I'll just read it to you. If you have your Bible open now, okay. But now in verse 32, we're talking about this awful time. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall be corrupt for flatteries. But the people that do know their God shall be strong. Now, this age, it will be characterized, this end time age, this awful age, I think we're living in it, will be characterized first by people who do know their God. I like what it says here. It doesn't say, by people who know their God, that's strong enough, I know God. But it underlines it. It says, by people who do know their God. Ladies and gentlemen, listen to me. This morning, the 16-year-old girl is just as old as the 50-year-old man, I think. I believe the coming of our Lord is so near that the 15-year-old boy has no more years than the 45-year-old man. There's a double reason why folks ought to be saved in this generation. There are two reasons. Of course, there's the reason because of death. It's always prevalent, always present. Every man ought to be saved because he knows not when his hour is going to come. But in case someone would say, I'm only 12 years of age. I'm a young man. I'm only 20. I'm a young lady. I just got married. I'm just 25. I have 45 more years, so my 3 score and 10 are finished. I have 50 more years, so my 3 score and 10 have consummated. I have plenty of time. Our Lord says in the end time, you better do know that you're saved. You do know. Our Lord says no and underlines it by saying, do know. Why? Because if Jesus comes today, the 16-year-old will have no more time to get ready than the 60-year-old. Do know. I say this every year on New Year's, the Sunday before New Year's. Every year I say this. I love my people. You know I do. You know that I live, preach and pray and cry and beg and hope and try to exhort and help. I love you. You're my people. There's a tie that binds the hearts of God's people to their pastor and the pastor to God's people that only heaven can really understand. I love you. You're my people. God forbid, many of you would walk inside these doors, enjoy these songs and hear my preaching day after day, week after week, year after year and not really know that you're born again. I cringe. I cringe with horror when I stop to think that somebody may sing in my choir year after year, make beautiful music for the Lord and unto God, who's not really born again. The last day of 1973, choir, do know that you're saved. I cringe that someone could sit on our deacon board meeting after meeting. God bless these good men, greatest group of deacons in this world, all the 100 men that formed the deacon board of this great church. But I cringe when I stop to think that somebody could sit in that chapel week after week and month after month on meetings as we direct the church and lead in God's affairs and not know that he's born again. May I say to every child in this room, may I say to every teenager in this house, may I say to every adult who sits in these pews this morning, in these last days, these days before the coming of our Lord, these days before the rapture of His own, these days before we rise to meet Him in the air and shout while passing through the air, farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer, in these days, in all days, do know that you're saved. I ask you, are you born again? I ask you this morning, are you saved? I ask you this morning, examine your own soul. Make sure, be diligent to make your calling and election sure. Are you saved, teenagers? Are you saved, choir? Are you saved, men and women? Are you saved? This is the day, this is the time, just before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do know, and that's what it says here, it says a time to do know. But this must be a bad time to serve God. If it's the time when the Antichrist is coming, if it's the time of persecution, heartache, sorrow, sadness, martyrdom, suffering, it must be an awful time to serve God. Quite to the contrary, quite to the contrary. Look at verse 32 again, please. And such as do wickedly, and this is talking about the end time, against the covenant. Shall he corrupt by flatteries? But the people that do know their God, blessed be God. I know Him this morning, I do know Him. Look what it says. Shall be strong and do exploits. Are you listening to me? Shall be strong and do exploits. My Bible teaches me that in the darkest hour this world has ever known, God's people can do greater things, more powerful things, and have more mighty works than they've ever done before. 1973, I believe, is the greatest year since the tomb was empty in Jerusalem to serve our God. I don't believe in these, agree with these doomsday predictors that you can't do it today. I don't believe in these gloom spreaders that this is the day when it's hard to serve God. I believe the greatest churches this world has ever seen, and the greatest work this world has ever seen, and the greatest work for God that's ever been done is being done today. The darker grows the night, the brighter grows the light, and glows the light. These are days for great exploits. I challenge you, I call you members of First Baptist Church to bear arms this year. These are days before our Lord returns to great exploits for God. All across this nation, all across this nation, God, the greatest work for God that's ever been done in this nation's history, and I think since the Jerusalem church, is being carried out. What a day. You know why? You say, our world's going to the devil. It is going to the devil. But the more young people who take narcotics, and the more people who drink liquor, and the more people who profane God's name, and the more nudity in our plays, and the more vulgar Hollywood gets, and the more rampant adultery and homosexuality becomes, the more broken hearts you have. More people who come to the end of the rope, and they need somebody to help them. And out of the darkness of 1973, there comes the light of the world, who is Jesus. And the light has never shined as brightly as it shines this morning. What a day to serve God. What a day to live. What a day to build a great church. What a day to go soul winning. In this end time, this last day, the awful days, the Bible says, God's people, those who do know, shall do great exploits all across this nation. My, my, my. Great works for God are being done. I was standing, I was in a city in the southwest, preaching this year. I preached one morning, and then that afternoon we had a great crowd of preachers who came to ask questions. And as they do so often, they stand me up behind the pulpit, and they ask me a bunch of questions, and I'm supposed to know all the answers. And since I do, I answer them. And so I was standing behind the pulpit, and so one denominational, Baptist denominational leader got up, of a great Baptist denomination. Now, I'm an independent Baptist. That means I can't get along with anybody. But I preach for many groups, and this denominational leader got up, and he said, he said, he looked like the denominational secretary. I mean, he had the usual watermelon that's been swallowed whole and placed under his coat. He, and I don't know why it is, but you're supposed to pull your coat down like that, and like that. He said, Dr. Hiles, do you ever get lonely? And I said, what do you mean? What he said, not being in the mainstream of Baptist, the Baptist river, not belonging to the great Baptist denomination, do you ever get lonely? Being a splinter or a tributary. And I said, well, sir, the largest church in Florida is an independent Baptist church. The largest church in Georgia is an independent Baptist church. The largest church in South Carolina is an independent Baptist church. The largest church in North Carolina, sir, is an independent Baptist church. The largest church in Tennessee is an independent Baptist church. The largest church in Virginia is an independent Baptist church. The largest church in Maryland is an independent Baptist church. largest church in Pennsylvania is an independent Baptist Church largest church in Maine is an independent Baptist Church largest church in Ohio is an independent Baptist Church largest church in Michigan is an independent Baptist Church largest church in Indiana is an independent Baptist Church largest church in Illinois is an independent Baptist Church largest church in Kansas is an independent Baptist Church largest church in Missouri is an independent Baptist Church largest church in Iowa is an independent Baptist Church Largest church in Colorado is an independent Baptist church. Largest church in California is an independent Baptist church. Largest church in New Mexico is an independent Baptist church. Largest church in Arizona is an independent Baptist church. I said, Sir, do you ever get lonely? He said, What do you mean? I said, Not being in the main river of Baptist work. I said, May I tell you, my brother, Bible-believing, independent, soul-winning, sin-fighting, hell-hating, Christ-honoring Baptist churches are flourishing as they've never flourished before. Why? Because the darker glows the night, the brighter glows the light. May I say to you, I believe that 1973 ought to be, according to Scripture, a day of great exploits and strength and victory for First Baptist Church of Hammond. A time to know is also a time to serve. There's something else. It's a time of great soul-winning. Look at verse 33. In this terrible time, and they that understand among the people shall instruct many. That's what it's talking about, soul-winning. They that understand among the people shall instruct many. Why do you say we're the highest? It's hard to do soul-winning today. You don't know that. You haven't tried it. Young girls over here, listen to me while I'm preaching. Listen to me while I'm preaching. Look at me. Girl in the glasses, you look at me while I'm preaching. The darkness of this age, the nudity, the Playboy magazine philosophy, the hippie kind of communism and the Jesus freak kind of Christianity only makes the hearts of men hungry for the King of kings and Lord of lords. There's a hunger, a thirst for reality. That reality is found in being transformed by the power of the new birth. So what you do, walk out in the street and walk down the street, knock on a door, ask them if they know Jesus. You won't go two blocks down any street in this town before you'll find some little woman with some bronze shoes on the mantle. I decided one day I was out soul-winning and had no prospect cards. And I decided just to practice what I just preached. I was out on 178th Street, South Hammond. I drove down the street and just said, OK, I'm going to start at this house right here and just see what I can find. First house, I knocked on the door. No one answered. I heard a noise around the backyard. I went around the backyard. The lady was pulling, getting groceries out of her car, taking them in the back door. And I said, how do you do? I'm Pastor Hiles from First Baptist Church. She said, yes, but I'm busy. That's only an exterior wall that they put up. And I said, could I help you carry the groceries in? I can do it very well by myself, thank you. And I said, well, how many children do you have? And that did it. She dropped the sack out of her arm and she said, I had one. And I said, what happened? She said, last week she died suddenly. I don't know what it was. And I said, little lady, wouldn't you love to see her again? Well, she said, I could never see her again. She's gone. I said, she is gone. But not only can you see her again, but you can see her forever and ever and ever and ever and ever in a land where little girls don't die, in a land where little. And she took me in the house and already there were some little shoes up on a shelf. And I told her how she could see that girl again. And she received Christ by faith and was born again. Oh, you listen to me, behind the hard exterior of this generation, there are broken hearts for the tens of thousands. I get on airplanes a lot. I told you about the time I was down in Tampa, Florida, not long ago, sitting in the airport. I walked in and a lady came up to wait on me at the restaurant. I had to lay over there. And I said, she said, may I help you? I said, yes, ma'am. She said, you want to order from a menu? I said, yes, ma'am. She said, are you ready to give your order? I said, yes, ma'am. She said, would you like something to drink? And I said, I'd like some hot tea. Yes, ma'am. And she took the menu, threw it down on the table. And she said, yes, ma'am. Don't you know any other words than yes, ma'am? And I said, yes, ma'am. She took my order. She stormed out of that place. She came back, and she took my food. And she took it about two feet from the table and tossed it over. It slid, and English peas fell all over me. And she turned and stormed off. Now, I wanted to take an ice pick and stick it in her eyeball. But there's a reason why she acted that way. She came over, and she took my ticket. And she took it backwards and handed it like this and put it on the table. Stormed off. You know, like a lady. Stormed off. My bill was $1.67. I got a $5 bill and put it on the table for a tip. I knew she must have a broken heart. I walked up and paid the bill. She came up and said, hey, mister, said you left a $5 bill on the table. You forgot your money. And I said, don't they usually tip in Tampa? She said, is that a tip? I said, well, of course. She said, you left me $5 after I've been so ugly to you. I said, lady, you're not ugly. You've got a broken heart. There's something behind that hard face I know that's full of sadness and sorrow. And she began to weep. She took me outside where they had the coats hanging. She told me an awfully sad story. How that she had to make a living for some of the little children. And how that her heart was broken, and she had nothing for which to live. And she said, mister, that's why I did it. And I told her about Jesus Christ, and she was sweetly saved. Oh, and the night shines, the blackest. And the darkness is the darkest. That's when Jesus can shine the most. And those that know Him and do know Him can do the greatest exploits for God and win folks to Christ. But that isn't all. Look at verse 35. And some of them of understanding, that's us, shall fall to try them and to purge and to make them white even to the time of the end because it is yet for a time appointed in this last time before the coming of our Lord. How's it going to be? It's going to be a time of great suffering. It's going to be a time of great works for God. It's going to be a time of great soul winning. But it's also going to be a time of great persecution. Listen to me now and I'll close. Our Lord's going to come soon. I hope our church stands true. Listen to me now. Listen to me. Nobody has ever heard me stand up here and say that I wanted our church to be the largest Sunday school in the world. Don't misunderstand me. I'm glad this last year we were. Oh, but that's way down the list on what I want us to be. I want from the smallest child in our church who's born again to the strongest deacon in our church to the pastor to the staff. I want us to be solid, sold out, separated, dedicated, and if need be, suffering Christians for Jesus Christ. I want us to stand the test. I'll never forget, Dr. Billings, when World War II went out to close with this, World War II was over. I had not gone overseas. I was in the infantry and joined the paratroopers. I got my wings and they asked me if I'd become training cadre. I know you ex-GIs know what cadre means. That's those that train the boys who come up and are trained in the boot camps and so forth. And I became a cadre, training cadre. And I never went overseas in the war. My buddies did. Oh, many of my buddies who went through boot camp with me were slaughtered in Iwo Jima. I could call their names. Many of my buddies in the Belgian Bulge, some of you folks remember that term, in the Belgian Bulge, my outfit went over. I was the only one from my outfit that stayed. They chose me to train others. And my outfit went over. And but for the mercy of God, I could have been killed in the Belgian Bulge. Most of my buddies were. Many were wounded. I went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The war was over. I was in for about a year after the war was over. My buddies came back. Many of them came back to join our outfit again. I recall one of my buddies came back to be discharged. His leg was cut off right below the knee. We were sitting around the barracks one day in Fort Bragg. He was sitting there with his leg cut off. Another one of my buddies with whom I trained said, I've got a plate up here in my head. Another one said I got shrapnel in my leg that'll be there the rest of my life. Another one said I had to have plastic surgery because I was wounded. We sat around the barracks that day. We trained together. We jumped out of airplanes together. And those boys had gone over and they came back. And I found myself wishing that I'd gone. I didn't have an amputated leg. I didn't have a shrapnel in my leg. I never thought. And I recall that night we were talking. And I thought about the day when our Lord comes. Peter will stand up and say I was crucified upside down. And Paul will say I gave my life for Jesus. Stripes, imprisonments. Great Christians will stand and show what they've done for God. I want to stand. If needs be to suffer must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease while others fight to win the prize and sail through bloody seas. No, I must fight if I would gain, increase my courage, Lord. I'll bear the toil and do the pain supported by thy word. Listen to me. Jesus is coming. King is coming. Jesus is coming. The King is coming. Know that you're saved. Know that you're born again. If you are saved, do great work for God. Great exploits for God. And encourage yourself and get ready for the suffering the day that those doors open. The ushers say, Pastor, Pastor, they've come with guns. They walk in the door and line up around holding guns, line up around this group. Somebody walks up here and says, Are you the pastor? I say, Yes, sir. He says, You're going to close the doors of this church. You'll never preach again. I'll say, I'm sorry, but I will preach again, too. I'll keep on preaching. They say, If you preach in the name of Jesus Christ, you will give your life for it. I'd like to join the John Husses and the Martin Luthers and Savonarolas. I'd like to pastor a church of people who will stand no matter what the price, who will not yield no matter what the suffering. 1973 may hold suffering. It may be that we'll have 10,000 in Sunday school in 1973, or it may be that we'll be pruned down to a thousand who will stand in the face of persecution. But whatever it is, dear people of God, know that you're saved. And do great exports for God and stand the test.