This sermon by Derek Prince Ministries emphasizes the importance of repentance in the world and the church, highlighting the consequences of lawlessness leading to lovelessness among Christians. It delves into the significance of enduring in faith to stay saved and the responsibility of the church to preach the gospel of the kingdom to all nations before the end comes. The sermon also discusses the prophetic signs related to the abomination of desolation and the urgency for believers to act swiftly when the time comes.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to Derek Prince Ministries, proclaiming the inspired word of God around the world. Derek Prince is an internationally recognized Bible teacher and author. Through books, audios, videos, and radio broadcasts, Derek seeks to reach the unreached and teach the untaught. In over 50 years of ministry, Derek has reached over 100 nations in more than 50 languages. And now, Derek Prince. And I have heard a lot of prophets promising everything except what's going to happen. And I have to say, if a man predicts something false, he's a false prophet. You can use nice language about him, but under the law of Moses, he would have been put to death. There'd be some fewer people today, if that law applied today. I said, I think in the interview this morning, and I believe John said the same. Any genuine prophet today, who does not, anyone who is a genuine prophet today, must emphasize the word repent. Repent, because the condition of the world and the condition of the church absolutely demand repentance. You can speak entertaining words. You can come up with nice prophecies about people's future. But if there's no call for repentance, I question whether that person is a true prophet. All right, verse 12. Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. Many who? Christians. And the Greek word is agape, it's the word for Christian love. It's not talking about the love of the world. The love of many Christians will grow cold under pressure of what? Lawlessness. I have a little saying, lawlessness breeds lovelessness. There's so much lawlessness in our culture today, that we tend to become hardened. We tend to say, well, we can't prevent it, what's the good, why should I be concerned? I'll just look after myself. I'll care for myself. That's lovelessness. Would you agree that America today is under a siege of lawlessness? Listen, Ruth and I stayed just a month or so ago, less than that, in a hotel of a well-known American hotel chain, in a major American city. And when we got to the hotel and came to our room, we found these ten commandments for travelers in America today. And let me say, the nation was not New York, it was not Miami, it was not Los Angeles. These are the ten commandments. I read these because I think they're sufficient indication of the atmosphere of lawlessness. Number one, verify who the person is before you open the door in your hotel room. If the person claims to be an employee, call the front desk to confirm if someone from their staff is supposed to have access to your room and for what purpose. Number two, use the main entrance to the hotel when returning to your room late in the evening. Look around and be observant before entering parking lots. Number three, whenever you are in your room, close the door securely and use all the locking devices provided. Number four, never display guest room keys in public or carelessly leave them on restaurant tables, at the swimming pool, or other places where someone can easily steal them. Number five, displaying large amounts of cash or expensive jewelry will draw unwanted attention to you and make you a target for burglars. Number six, as a precaution, don't invite strangers to your room. Number seven, place all valuables in the hotel safe deposit box. Number eight, do not leave valuables in your vehicle. Number nine, be sure to check that all sliding glass doors are windows and all connecting room doors are locked. Number ten, if you suspect any subversive activity is going on, please report your observations to the management. To me that is an eloquent commentary on the state of America today. And remember that was a respectable hotel, the name would be known to everybody here. That's sufficient to me to indicate that we're living in a condition of uncontrollable lawlessness. And you know why? Because there are too many bad people. Law only works, law enforcement officers can only enforce the law when most of the people are good. But when most of the people are lawbreakers, policemen cannot enforce the law. The problem is not with the police, it's with the people. It's lawlessness. All right, we're going on to verse 13. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. Now the Greek is more precise. It says he who has endures to the end shall be saved. So you're saved now, praise God for that, but if you want to stay saved, what do you have to do? Endure, that's right. And I tell people there's only one way to learn endurance. You know what that is? Enduring. That's why some of you are enduring, because God is preparing you for what lies ahead. Don't complain. It says count it all joy when you fall into various trials. Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. So if you want to be perfect and complete, you have to let endurance have its perfect work. And that is the key to survival. In Luke 21, Jesus said something along the same lines, in the course of the same discourse. In Luke 21, verse 19, he said, in your patience possess your souls. But that's not a very clear translation. I would say, by your endurance purchase your souls. In other words, the price of your soul's salvation is endurance. He who has endured to the end will be saved. You're saved now. To stay saved, you and I will have to endure. We have been clearly warned. Now what we've had so far in this discourse has been various signs, plural, of the end. But Jesus has not answered the question, what will be the sign of the end of the age? Now when we get to verse 14, we have the sign. This is very, very important. Jesus has asked a straight question, and he gave an absolutely straight answer. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. When will the end come? When this gospel of the kingdom has been preached in all the world, as a witness to all the nations. That's a very important statement, because it means that the real initiative in world history is not with the politicians, not with the military commanders, not with the scientists, but with the church. Because the church is the only group of people can bring about the closing sign of the age. The preaching of this gospel of the kingdom. And I'm so glad Jesus said this gospel of the kingdom. He didn't say some watered down humanistic version. But the same gospel that was preached by Jesus, preached by the apostles, is the gospel that must be preached in all the world, as a witness to all the nations. Now whose responsibility is that? Say it again. Ours. That's right. Now you're a witness against yourself, all right. See this places a tremendous responsibility upon us. Because if you consider all the tragedy, the suffering, the sickness, the hatred, the wars, the poverty, that mark the present age and are increasing steadily. If we do not do our job as quickly as we can, we are responsible for all that unnecessary additional suffering. I hope none of you will forget what I'm saying. I say it with the utmost passion of my soul. I think I can say honestly for Ruth and myself. This is the verse that motivates us. This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed, I prefer to say that, in all the world, as a witness to all the nations. And then the end will come. We take our responsibility seriously. The motto of our ministry, which is only one amongst hundreds, is reaching the unreached and teaching the untaught. If you look in Revelation chapter 7, you'll see how many people have got to be saved before the age can end. Revelation 7 verse 9 and following. John is describing something he saw in a vision. After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the land, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice saying, salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. Notice that multitude of people, all of whom had received salvation through faith in Jesus, the Lamb of God, came from all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues. In other words, before the age can close, there has to be at least one representative of every nation, people, tribe, and language on earth. And I believe the reason for this is that God the Father is jealous for His Son's glory. And because Jesus was willing to suffer for all humankind, God will not allow the age to close until there is at least one representative from every tribe, people, nation, and tongue who has received the salvation offered through Jesus, the Lamb of God. What are you living for? Are you living for an easy life? The most you can get out of life? A better job? Higher pay? A larger house? A larger car? Are you living for this purpose, that this gospel of the kingdom may be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all the nations? I believe when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, as we must, one of the questions He's going to ask each of us individually is this. What did you do to help the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to all nations? See, there is no one here who cannot do anything. All of us can do certain things. Jesus said the harvest truly is plentiful but the laborers are few. What's the next thing He said? Pray the Lord in the harvest. Everybody here can pray. And you are guilty if you do not pray. Most of us can give. If you view the whole world as it is today with its population of something over 5 billion, you may not think of that, but every one of us here is wealthy. You say why? Well, we have a bed to sleep on. We don't sleep on a mat or on the floor. Most of us have sheets on the bed. We can choose what we eat and basically we have enough to eat. In fact, the problem with some of us is we have too much. But there are millions and millions and millions of people on earth who don't have any of those privileges. And I've lived among some of them. What are you doing with your money? It's not my responsibility. Are you squandering it on selfish, self-indulgent, while millions are starving? Not merely starving physically, but starving spiritually for the bread of life. To me, this is one of the most searching verses in the Bible. This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the worlds, a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. I'm so glad that Jesus said it will be preached. Because it will be preached. If he said it will be preached, it will be preached. But the question is, what are you and I going to do about it? Will we have to stand before God one day and say I'm sorry, but I really never took this verse seriously. I just went on living my life as if the age was going to go on forever. And all I had to do was look after number one and maybe number two. It's a desperately serious issue. I don't want to dwell on it. I would be unfair to you if I did not point out to you the seriousness of this issue. Well we're going to go on from Matthew 24, verse 15. Now we come to a very dramatic turn in this discourse. Because the emphasis in verse 14 has been the whole world and all nations. Verse 15, the focus turns to a tiny little strip of territory at the east end of the Mediterranean, wrongly called Palestine. Which means the land of the Philistines, in case you don't know it. It is not the land of the Philistines, it's the land of Israel. God has given it to Abraham and his descendants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and their descendants by an everlasting covenant forever. And they are going to possess it. But you and I need to discuss and consider what our attitude toward that situation is. I don't believe actually that there's any room for neutrality. I have lived amongst the Arab peoples. I have an adopted Arab daughter who is one of the most beautiful Christians I know anyway. But when it comes to the possession of that little strip of territory, it is totally and finally settled by the Word of God. And it'll end up in the hands of those to whom it's promised. But there's going to be a lot of agony and trouble before that happens. Do you ever pray for the Jewish people? I'm not Jewish. My wife is, I'm not. Before I was converted, I didn't care much about the Jews. I was a typical Gentile intellectual. I wouldn't have ever sided with Adolf Hitler, but I thought there's something strange about the Jews. Why is it that people don't really like them? When I got saved, God baptized me in the Holy Spirit before I knew that you had to wait six months for that. And He gave me gifts of the Holy Spirit before I knew you had to wait six more months for that. So I got them all in a package. And every time I spoke in tongues, I got the interpretation. Actually, after a while, it began to wear me down. So I said to the Lord, do I have to do this? He said, no, you're in the driver's seat, you do it when you decide. But for the first month or two, every time I spoke in tongues, I got the interpretation. And usually it was this, I am the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And I said to myself, so what? But after a while, it dawned upon me, He is the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And He made the most amazing statement in Genesis, I mean in Exodus chapter 3. He said, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is my name and this is my memorial forever. Isn't that astonishing, that Almighty God chose to be known as the God of three men, forever. We need to give heed to that. God says things He doesn't forget. We may forget, but He doesn't. Let me tell you something else. This is outside my outline, but it's inside what God wants me to say. John 4.23, Jesus said salvation is from the Jews. If you're not Jewish, like me, I want you to understand that you and I owe every spiritual blessing we've ever enjoyed to one people, the Jewish people. Without the Jews, there would be no patriarchs, no prophets, no apostles, no Bible and no Savior. So I think it's time we began to repay the debt. Unfortunately, the church for many centuries has done exactly the opposite. It has compounded the debt by centuries of prejudice, maligning and often open persecution. I don't know whether you've ever tried to talk to Jewish people about Jesus. But in many cases you'll find there's a kind of wall of reserve that comes up. You need to know why. Because in the eyes of intelligent Jewish people who know history, the number one enemy of the Jewish people is the Christian church. That may shock you, but it's true. And they can give you a great series of historical reasons why that's so. Well, we have to move on. Now, I'm pointing out that in verse 15 the focus changes. And Jesus says, therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, whoever reads, let him understand. We need to consider what's implied by that. First of all, let me just point out that in Romans 11, 25 and 26, Paul says, Hardness in part has happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. Then all Israel will be saved. So God has a program. At the present moment His program is to reap a vast harvest of Gentiles. But when that harvest is complete, then all Israel will be saved. Not all Israel that's in the world today, but the remnant whom God has chosen. And the fact that so many more Jews are now beginning to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, is one of the little signs that show us we're coming to a period of transition from one age to another. From the age of the Gentiles to the age when Israel will once again be the leading nation and the representative of God on earth amongst nations. So all this is contained in this one little passage that we've looked at. Now what is the abomination of desolation? Of course there are endless theories about that. I'm reminded of a friend of mine who said, how can I help it if I'm right? I believe it's something that indicates the manifestation of the Antichrist. Twenty years ago I thought the Antichrist was something pretty remote. In fact I almost laughed at people who were occupied with it. Today for me the Antichrist is something very close at hand. What's the holy place? To my way of thinking there is no question about that. It's the temple area in Jerusalem. Let me show you two scriptures. First Kings chapter 9 verse 3. The Lord is speaking to Solomon after he'd completed the building of his temple on that particular area. The Lord said to him, I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you've made before me. I have sanctified this house which you have built to put my name there forever and my eyes and my heart will be there perpetually. So God says, I've put my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there perpetually. Doesn't matter who occupies it. God has never withdrawn that statement. And then in Psalm 132 verses 13 and 14 the psalmist says, for the Lord has chosen Zion. That's this area. He has desired it for his habitation or his dwelling place. This is my resting place forever. Here I will dwell for I have desired it. So God has sanctified that place. No matter how much men may desecrate it. And I'm fully aware that a Muslim temple stands there at this time. God has chosen that place and ultimately it will be used for God's purposes. But it is the holy place. So Jesus says when you see the abomination of desolation, which is some indication that the Antichrist has moved in and taken over. Then he said you have to act quickly. I want to point out to you also in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 3 and 4 concerning the Antichrist. That Paul says, speaking about the coming of the Lord. Let no one deceive you by any means for that day will not come unless the falling away come first. And the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition. That's the Antichrist. The man of lawlessness, the son of perdition. Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped. So that he sits in the temple of God showing himself that he is God. I believe that is part of what's included in Matthew 24, 15. I believe it's very close at hand. I'm not a person who speculates, but it is an established fact that there are sections of the Jewish people who are busy preparing for the restoration of a Jewish temple. They are conducting elaborate courses on how to conduct the sacrifices, how to weave and make the vestments that the priests have to wear. They're very serious about it. I don't say how or when it will happen. Now it has also been discovered by archaeologists, some Jewish archaeologists, that the Holy of Holies occupied a space not where the mosque of Omar is, but north of it. So it is conceivable that the Antichrist, who is going to be a master of politics, could wangle a deal between the Jews and the Arabs by which the Arabs would retain the mosque of Omar and the Jews would be permitted to build their temple just north on the true site of the Holy of Holies. I'm not saying it will happen that way, but it could. At any rate, when the Antichrist is manifested in that area, then Jesus says, act and act quickly. Now this is dramatic. Verse 16 and following, Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. What some people call the West Bank, God calls Judea and Samaria. Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. That's dramatic. It speaks about a flight so rapid that there's no time to stop and take anything. You're away, I'm sure, that in that part of the world many of the houses have flat roofs and there are side staircases on the outside of the house leading up to the roof. So Jesus says, if you're on the roof and this happens, come down the staircase and don't go back into the house. You don't have time. Take off, run as fast as you can. Let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. Here's a man out in the field, he's just in working garments, he doesn't have a jacket on. And this thing, whatever it is, happens. Jesus says, take off, don't go back home to get your clothes. It's too late. And then he says, woe to those who are pregnant and to those with nursing babies in those days. That's obvious. If it's going to be a very hasty flight, pregnant women and women with nursing babies will be at a disadvantage. And pray that your flight may not be in winter on the Sabbath. I spoke about that in our last session. I pointed out that biblical prophecy sets parameters for prayer. You cannot pray intelligently or effectively outside those parameters. Jesus said, you're going to have to flee. Don't waste time praying that you won't have to flee. But pray within the parameter that you may not have to flee in the winter, for obvious reasons, or on the Sabbath. As I pointed out, that assumes the establishment of a Jewish state, because until the Jewish state was established, it wouldn't have made any difference whether they fled on Sabbath or on some other day. So that verse tells us a lot when we understand its implications. And then Jesus says in verse 21, For then, and notice this is the fifth then if you've been following, and if you have the New King James, there's one then they put in which isn't in the text. So you'll end up with the wrong number. The actual number in this chapter is nine and in the next chapter is nine. And this is number five. Then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time. No, nor ever shall be.