Chronicles of the End Times
Occasionally, people say, are we really in the last days? How do we know? Does it matter one way or another? We will try to answer these questions and many others in this study. But the most important question may be, how can we reach others with hope in these changing times? One part of prophecy is often emphasized over another, causing us to lose perspective and miss the blessing and beauty of prophecy in scripture. I have taken the information in this study from many authors and teachers who have their lives studying God's word. I have added some insight that the Holy Spirit taught me. With God's help, I have endeavored to keep the whole counsel of the word of God in full view to give us an accurate picture of Christ and His great love for a lost world. I pray that this will challenge you and cause you to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, as it has me preparing it. Let's begin!
Chronicles of the End Times
Healing Salve for a Bleeding World
As tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan escalate following a deadly terrorist attack in Kashmir, we're witnessing just one symptom of a world where peace is rapidly vanishing. Both nations possess approximately 350 nuclear weapons between them, making this conflict potentially catastrophic not just regionally but globally.
The recent India-Pakistan hostilities reveal complex international dynamics – India receives oil from Russia while getting weapons from the US and Israel, and Pakistan relies on Chinese military hardware. This creates a web of competing interests that could either restrain or exacerbate the situation. Meanwhile, conflicts are multiplying worldwide, hatred is intensifying, and the spiritual implications are profound.
Satan operates as the "king of division," deliberately keeping wounds open rather than allowing healing. We see this pattern in conflicts abroad and in our own societies, where prejudices and historical grievances are continuously reopened instead of treated with the balm of reconciliation. The rise of anti-Semitism and political hatred reflects this spiritual reality. While Revelation's four horsemen represent future tribulation, their shadows can be seen in today's global turmoil.
The suffering of Christians in Africa deserves particular attention. Nigeria leads the world in Christians killed for their faith, with over 16 million believers across Africa driven from homes by violence. In northern Nigerian states under Sharia law, Christians face systematic discrimination, while converts from Islam often must flee to avoid being killed.
As darkness increases, our witness must shine brighter. Rather than retreating or focusing primarily on our own freedoms, we're called to be salt and light – agents of reconciliation in a divided world. This means embodying Christ's character so compellingly that others are drawn to Him through our witness. The greatest testimony we can offer is to stand for Jesus when everything around us is falling apart.
How are you responding to a world in crisis? Are you part of the problem or part of the healing? Join us next week for a special podcast with three author friends as we discuss current events, writing, and publishing from a biblical perspective. Support the channel if you value this message – together we can make a difference while we await our King's return.
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00:00
Welcome everyone. This is Russ Scalzo. Chronicles of the End Times. Thank you for being with me today.
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00:17
Today we're going to be looking at the world and the wars that surround us, and I'm sure many of you are aware of the new outbreak between India and Pakistan. There's a lot to this. India and Pakistan have been at war off and on since 1947-48. A hundred years ago, the areas that now comprise Pakistan were part of British India. The region that would become Pakistan was part of the vast colonial empire, so when British India was broken down, they created the country of Pakistan. That happened in 1947, and since then they've been at war with each other off and on. What makes this different is that India is estimated to have around 180 nuclear weapons, while Pakistan is estimated to have around 170. Both countries have been developing nuclear arsenals since the late 1990s.
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01:16
If you haven't been following the news, the recent escalation between India and Pakistan was triggered by a deadly terrorist attack in India-administered Kashmir on April 22nd, where 26 people were killed. That video went viral. There's a video of a man riding on a zip line, and he doesn't realize that below him people are being killed, shot and they're falling on the ground dead. Really awful scene. But that is what kicked off this new war, which could develop into something that will affect the entire world We'll have to see. Missiles and drones are being sent across the border by Pakistan and India. A lot of innocent people are being killed. The tensions are rising daily. There's a lot behind all this. India gets 40% of its oil from Russia. India gets weaponry from the United States and Israel. Pakistan gets a lot of their military hardware from China. So, there's a real conflict here. Neither China nor Russia wants to see this develop into a world war because they have a lot at stake. China has invested a lot into Pakistan and India is a great customer for Russia, who now needs all the money they can get their hands on. So, we'll see how that plays out.
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02:36
For those who have read my series Hidden Thrones, in book eight I have a nuclear exchange happen between India and Pakistan that I wrote some years ago. So, what does this mean to us and the rest of the world? The world is exploding in so many areas. War is breaking out all over the world, hatred is building up, and that is a tool of Satan. Those of us who understand the workings of the spiritual world know that he is a sower of discontent, of hatred, of envy, strife. He is the king of division. He loves to divide. Therefore, he can conquer. He never wants a situation to be healed. He wants to continue to open the wound. And we have that here in this country, where people will not let go of prejudice, they will not let go of terrible things that have transpired in the past. They want to open that wound over and over again so it cannot heal. But just like a physical wound, it needs to be taken care of Anointment, a bandage needs to be put on it to protect it from infection. And the devil loves to keep that wound open and pour more infection into it. And that's what we have here in this country.
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03:53
We don't just not like certain people, we hate those people. You see it in social media all the time. It's terrible what people say about other human beings and whether we want to believe it or not. And some might say it's judgment. Oh, you're judging people. Well, Jesus told us to judge a tree by its fruit, so there's nothing wrong with that. It's important for us to be able to discern what's going on. And right now, with anti-Semitism skyrocketing Even in this country, the political hate that goes on is just astronomical. We have lost our way. We are so about ourselves, so self-centered. We look around at the rest of the world. It's falling apart. What are we doing me included, in our prayer life and how we live to be that healing salve that people need over these open wounds of hate?
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04:48
In Revelation, chapter 6, it talks about the four horsemen. Now I believe that is still something that is prophetic, that is to come, but we can apply it to where we are right now, because these are tools of the enemy. So, let's take a look at that real quick. It talks about the seals in chapter 6. John says I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder Come. I looked and there before me was a white horse. Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown. And he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. And when he opened the second seal, I heard a second living creature say Come. Then another horse came out, fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword, and when the lamb opened the third seal, I heard a third living creature say Come. I looked and there before me was a black horse. Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice coming from the four living creatures saying A quart of wheat for a day's wages, three quarts of barley for a day's wages. Do not damage the oil and the wine. When the lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard a voice of the fourth living creature say Come. I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. His rider was named Death and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by the sword, famine, plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.
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06:29
Now, this is a prophetic scripture that I believe is not yet fulfilled. But why do I bring it up? Because here we can see the fruit of the enemy. Now the Lamb opens these seals, and we have to understand what all these seals are. These seals are on a scroll and that scroll represents the title deed to the earth and he's slowly but surely opening these seals throughout the book of Revelation because he is going to redeem the entire world. He's going to take it back because it belongs to him. He owns the deed to the world and everything in it. What we're going to concentrate on right now is the fruit of this. Mankind has been plagued with different conquerors, those who wanted to rule over the earth, and, of course, in the final fulfillment of this, this writer represents the Antichrist.
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07:21
What we're seeing now throughout the world is peace being taken from the earth. People are willing to die for all the wrong things. They are willing to put themselves on the line so they can have sexual freedom that the Bible calls sin. They're willing to shout and spew out all kinds of things that they know nothing about, because it's a lot easier just to open your mouth and say whatever than it is to research something or to pray about something before you do it. What we're seeing is the prelude to the tribulation period. We don't know how long God's going to give us before this curtain falls, but I do know this If the Church of Jesus Christ around the world is more concerned about themselves and making sure they have all the so-called freedoms that they feel they deserve and they're willing to interpret the Bible differently in order to have those freedoms and neglect the holiness that God has called us to. If that's what we're busy doing, arguing with each other, yelling at each other over social media, while the rest of the world is in desperate straits for peace, because peace is being taken from the earth and Jesus Christ is the King of peace. He is peace and he has given us the spirit of reconciliation. We're supposed to be reconciling people one to another, not dividing them.
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08:51
Africa is also at war, and how many Christians are currently being killed and pushed out of their homes? More believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria than any other place in the world. These militants also destroy homes, churches and livelihoods. More than 16.2 million Christians in Africa, including high numbers from Nigeria, have been driven from their homes by violence and conflict. Millions now live-in displacement camps. This is real stuff. You can read about it. Christians living in northern Nigerian states under Sharia law can also face discrimination and oppression as second-class citizens. Converts from Islam often experience rejection from their own families and pressure to renounce their new faith. They often have to flee their homes for fear of being killed. These are all statistics that you can find that are reliable statistics.
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09:49
The world is bigger than you and I. God has called us to be salt and light. I think we need to all look in the mirror and examine ourselves and say are we salt and light or am I part of the problem? Do I care more about my rights to do this and to do that than I care about what's going on in other people's lives? Because you're not going to be able to reach anybody just by preaching at them. You have to be like Jesus and when that happens, people will be drawn to you, because they're drawn to Jesus, not you and me. And this is the greatest time for our witness to shine. Because the world is so dark, the world is so backwards. Children are being brought up to believe all kinds of ridiculous things. They're shaping their future lives by it.
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10:38
If we're going to stand up for anybody today, it's time to stand up for Jesus. It's time to open the Bible, read it, get lined up, because we need God's touch, we need God's spirit, we need God's blessing. I love the word of God. I love Bible prophecy. All those who listen to me know that, and I know many of you do, but I don't think we should be looking for the rapture right now. We can't have an attitude that we want to bail out on a world that needs us desperately. What God does he's going to do In the meantime, we need to occupy until he comes? That's what he told us to do, and not get caught up in all the foolishness that's going on today. And if you're going to lay your life down, lay it down for Jesus, because no one else is worthy.
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11:23
Love you all. Thanks again for all your support. If you haven't had opportunity to support the channel, please do. It makes a great deal of difference. And next week, don't forget, I'm going to have a special podcast with three author friends of mine, who I know you will enjoy. We're going to talk about a lot of different things to do with what's going on in the world today and also about writing and publishing books. So, god bless, this is Russ Scalzo for Chronicles of the End Times. Keep looking up. The King is coming.
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