The End Times

Hey, this is Mike Zwick from If Not For God Podcast, our show.

Stories of hopelessness turned into hope. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network.

Welcome to The Christian Perspective, where we look in God's Word in order to develop a Christian worldview in modern culture. I'm Chris Hughes, and I'm honored to have a very dear friend on our show today. You know, once in a while you run across someone who makes a great impact on your life, and today's guest is one of my heroes of the faith. He's written numerous books on one of my favorite topics, and that's end times prophecy. He travels and speaks all over the world, and this is amazing to me.

He has been to Israel more than 150 times, and I want to tell you, if you ever want to go to Israel, this is the man you want to go with because few people know more about Israel than he does. As I mentioned, Dr. Frazier has authored a number of books and video series, including Hell Is For Real, It Could Happen Tomorrow, Walking Where Jesus Walked, America at the Tipping Point, Signs of the Coming Christ, The Divine Appointment, The Glorious Appearing, The Arab-Israeli Conflict, The Miracle of Israel, and so much more. He's also a contributor to a Bible that I have in my library and I love to use. It's the LaHaye Prophecy Bible, and he also worked on the project of the Prophecy Encyclopedia. I met Dr. Frazier years ago when he was traveling with Tim LaHaye. I don't know if any of you read the books, the Left Behind series, and when those were real popular, Dr. Frazier was traveling with Tim LaHaye and Ed Henson, and that's where I met him at what was called the Left Behind Conference on Bible Prophecy down in Destin, Florida years ago.

But you know what? Since that time, we have become dear friends, and he's a fellow frontline soldier in the culture war. A while back, he wrote a book called Divorcing God, the Two Americas, and when I read that book, I knew that we had to find ways to partner together as we try to impact the culture for Jesus. I am so excited today to have a very dear friend, and as I said, he's a real hero of the faith for me.

He's on what I call my personal board of directors. He doesn't even know that, but I look at men and women in the world that I want to try to emulate and model my life after and watch what they do, and he has just had a tremendous impact to my life. Dr. Gary Frazier, thank you for being here today.

Hi, Chris. Thank you for those kind words. I appreciate our relationship and friendship so much through the years. You also have been a great champion for the word of God and the cause of Christ, so I appreciate you as much. Thank you. Well, thank you. So I'm so excited, and there's so many things that we could talk about today, and I'll try not to get on too many rabbit trails, but you know I'm really concerned, as I know you are, about our culture and what's going on today, and some people seem surprised with what's going on in the culture, but I know you look a lot at the past to look at how what's happened in the past is going to impact the future.

Can you tell us a little bit about that? Yeah, Chris, you know, I'm a student of history. I just absolutely love not only secular history, but I'm also very interested in biblical history as well, obviously, because I don't think you can understand one without understanding the other. And one of the things that I've come to realize through the years, not only as a former pastor but also conference speaker traveling around the country, as you mentioned earlier and so forth, is that strangely enough, the average person, and I do not mean this in a condescending way, please hear my heart on this, but the average person is so busy in living life on a daily basis that we fail to connect the dots with regard to what's happening around us. And unfortunately today you and I both understand that we, according to a recent survey released by my dear friend George Barna, only six percent of professing Christians possess what we would call a biblical worldview, and that is seeing the world not through the socio-economic lens, but seeing the world through the Word of God, and then acting accordingly. And sadly, because of that, we have to honestly say from an evaluation standpoint that we have probably the most biblically illiterate generation that has ever existed. To couple that, not just with a six percent biblical worldview, but for the first time to see and to read and to understand that now church membership in America has dropped below 50 percent, and in addition to that, the fastest growing group in religion, frankly, are the noners, and that is, they have no religion whatsoever.

They consider themselves, many of them consider themselves to be spiritual, but they don't really have a way of defining that. So the thing that strikes me so much is, you know Peter in writing 1 and 2 Peter, but specifically in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 12 and following, Peter writes, and he knows that he's getting ready to go to heaven, he knows he's going to die soon, and when he writes these words, they're so important for us today, Peter said, I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have, I think it's right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tip of this body, because he goes on to say that I'll make every effort to see that after my departure you'll always be able to remember these things. And what is it that Peter's really talking about? Well he goes on in that passage of 1 Peter to explain to us that we have something that is certain in our lives, that is sure to point us to truth, and that is the prophetic word of God, and he encourages and exhorts us to pay attention to the Scripture, and the fact is today most people don't, and they fail to realize what's happening around them, as I said a month ago. You know I was having a conversation just yesterday with a fellow who I play some golf with periodically, and he is actually a pitching coach for one of the professional teams and so forth, the baseball team that is, but he said, you know the fact is that I'm not so sure if the things that are happening, and this came to light because of the number of killings over the July 4th weekend, but he said, I'm not so sure that we don't just, that the things that are happening seem to be worse because we have more information or things may really be that bad.

And I said, well it's a combination of both. Not only is the world growing darker day by day, moment by moment, but we also have, because of technology, we have more access to information in real time than we've ever had before. Now the reason I wanted to bring that up is to say to our listeners today that I'm going to make a very bold statement here, and this statement is this. We are the terminal generation. We are the generation that is standing on the very threshold of the coming of Jesus Christ, first for his bride, the Church, and then at least seven years later in the second coming of Christ when he comes physically and visibly to the earth. Now why am I so absolutely adamant and positive that we're the terminal generation?

Well let me, I'm glad that someone out there is asking that question because I want to answer it. Okay, so here's the key. In Matthew 24 Jesus gives his most extensive teaching about the last days, and in verse 32 he gives us a parable teaching that happens to be about a fig tree. And many people have just said, well this is unimportant because it's about a tree, but they've missed the point. It's not about just the tree, it is about a particular type of tree called the fig tree, which was often referred to in Scripture, and Jesus had a way, in fact God the Father had a way, of always referring to the nation of Israel and the Jewish people by either his vine, for example Hosea 9 verse 10 or Joel chapter 1 verse 7, he refers to Israel as his vine, and then also his fig tree. Those are the two metaphors that Jesus used most often to describe the Jewish people and the Jewish nation. And in Matthew 24 he says that there will be a final generation that will see the rebirth of the fig tree. Now first of all, for all intents and purposes, we don't have time to deal with this extensively obviously in this short segment, but in Matthew 24 Jesus is teaching us that the fig tree, i.e. slash Israel, again metaphor for Israel, is that Israel is going to die.

When did that happen? Well they died first of all in 70 AD when the temple was destroyed, so to speak, and the Jews were scattered into all the nations of the world. But Jesus also prophesied, as did Moses all the way over in Deuteronomy chapter 26, and Isaiah 66 prophesies the same thing, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, all of these ancient prophets said one day, even though they knew Israel would be scattered, God would regather them to their land, and that would be the rebirth of the fig tree, or the fig tree would come to life once again and show signs of life with the leaves on it and the twigs that would come out, etc., and that would mark the beginning of the end, that is, of the terminal generation, the beginning of the terminal generation. So Dr. Frazier, can I ask you a question about that?

Absolutely, go. So two parts. One, can you tell our listeners what do you think the definition, you know, how long of a period of time is a generation? And then I know there's controversy a little bit around that verse, so did it happen when Israel became a nation that the fig tree bloomed?

Did it bloom in the 60s when Jerusalem became under Israeli control, or do we have to wait until the temple mount is actually under control? So how long is a generation, and which one of those things do you think triggers or has come to fruition of the prophecy? Okay, let me be clear about what Jesus said. He said, this generation shall not pass away, okay? So I want to be clear that we understand, first of all, he's not saying a definitive time, day, or hour, because we know when the verse is following, chapter 24 verse 36, that no one knows the day nor the hour.

However, the Pharisees and Sadducees were chastised in Matthew chapter 16, because they failed to recognize the time or the season in which they lived. Now, so how long is a generation? Number one, we go back to the book of beginnings, and in Genesis chapter 15, we're told that a generation is a hundred years. It's cast in the context, the historical narrative, of the children of Israel being 400 years, or four generations in Egypt, all right? So a generation in the Old Testament is 100 years. Fast forward, we have people now taking the word genea, going to a Greek lexicon, and looking up that word, and it will say, typically speaking, a time period of 35 to 40 years. Now that particular definition, which I would not agree with, happens to be the driving force behind the book that was written, 88 Reasons Why Jesus Was Coming in 88, based on the premise of the Jews becoming a nation in 48, a generation of 40, hence 1988, and obviously that was wrong. But I'm going to stick to my guns that a generation is clearly taught in the first book of the Bible as 100 years, even though the psalmist tells us that we have 70 years, 80 years, perhaps, blah blah blah. That said, I want to just say, so I'm going to stay with a generation of 100 years. I'm also going to answer your second part of the question, in that I am thoroughly convinced that the time clock began ticking on May 14, 1948.

Why? Israel became a nation again, doing what no other nation in the history of the world had ever done, and by the way, you kind of catapulted me into my next segment to say that the thing that makes our days and our time different, the reason that I can be so adamant about the fact that we're the terminal generation, is because of the existence of Israel back in their land. You know, Isaiah 66, verse 8 says, can a nation be born in a day, yet no slinner was zined and travailed, and he brought forth her child. So in a single day, Israel did not exist, okay?

They had been scattered into all the world. They had started, as recent as 1898, to slowly start moving back into the land after the first Zionist conference took place over in Basel, Switzerland. But the process was slow, and it took the Holocaust of World War II to cause the nations of the world to rise up and stand in agreement with God, and so on. At 4 p.m. on May 14, 1948, the nation that did not exist became a living reality again, not just in a historical sense, but the fulfillment of prophecy after prophecy. For example, Ezekiel 36, verse 24, for I will take you out of all the nations and all the countries and bring you back and put you in your land. Now, the reason I'm going to stick with 1948 is because Israel was already in existence in June of 1967, the reference you made to the Six-Day War, that some people would say, well, because they didn't possess all of the land, that is, from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, that, you know, this was a beginning. But keep in mind, Israel has never, and let me be emphatic, they have never occupied all of the land that God has given to them, as recorded in the covenant that God made with Abraham in Genesis, chapter 15. So therefore, as far as I'm concerned, the starting date is the fact that Israel did not exist. Now, in one day, they've came to existence.

1948's the beginning. Fast forward to some of you already doing the math in your head. You're saying that, wait a minute, are you saying then that 2047, you know, is when Jesus is going to come?

And that's why I wanted to make the point. It is not that that generation comes to an end, it is at some point in that generation, Jesus said, this generation shall not pass away. So at some point, Chris, on this timeline between 1947 and 2000, I mean 1948 and 2047, we're going to have these events take place.

You know, I'm not a date setter, I don't know the day, don't know the hour, but I do recognize that because Israel is in the land, several things must take place. And we get some information on that in Matthew 24, but let me throw with just a couple of things, because time is going to get away from us here. So let me just say this to our listeners very quickly. Number one, we know that in these last days there is going to come a one-world government. Daniel 2 teaches us this, coupled with Daniel chapter 7, the book of Revelation 13, chapter 13, but let me just say quickly that we have for the first time the technological ability to see the literal fulfillment of so much of what the prophecies of the book of the Revelation highlight for us.

It really does, you know, and when you... Well, think about this. I have an article on my desk that came out yesterday from presidentialwire.com talking about the work that is being done at the Pentecost. The Pentagon. They're working on a microchip that detects COVID and other infections. Well, we already are familiar with microchip technology.

We know that it's being done in several countries in the world, especially in Sweden, Switzerland, and so forth. But the point is, we know as we move toward a one-world government that technology will allow government to control our lives in so many different aspects. You don't believe that.

You're naive. I'm talking about, in general, any person that doesn't believe that is naive to what is happening around them. But having said that, one of the things that we know is that we're going to have not only a one-world government, but a one-world ruler. Now, you can't have, and this is a really important point for those who are listening, you cannot have a one-world government and have a superpower in the world that is a democracy. Therefore, we have to look at where we're going, that is, as a nation and as a people, and that is the nation of America. And I wrote in my book, It Could Happen Tomorrow, Future Events Will Check the World, about the death of America. I don't want to talk about it, but it is a reality.

It is coming. And by the way, we're seeing that take place all around us for those of us who are paying attention. For example, as you probably are aware, 48% of all dollar bills that have ever been printed since America became a nation in 1776 have been printed under the Biden administration.

The printing presses have not slowed at all. So what do we see happening? Inflation is coming very quickly, gas is up 56%, food's up 2.5%, building materials are up over 50%. Can you imagine what's happened with lumber today and so forth and so on? And I remember the Carter years, when get this, Chris, my mother virtually lived off of the interest on her CDs, because they were paying between 12 and 14%. My grandparents did too.

15%. Yeah, your grandparents. And so we're old enough to see remember these things.

I also remember the long gas line that we had during that same time period. But here's the thing. Most of our younger generation today does not have a frame of reference of where we have come from. Therefore, they have no grasp of where we are going.

That's right. America, as you and I know, it is going away. And it's happening. As Jesus said, in Matthew 24, he said, all of these things would be like the birth pain closer to the time is coming.

The two words that are important are frequency and intensity. We have seen changes take place within unbelievable frequency and intensity in mind in your lifetime, that is screaming to us that Jesus is coming. And I will tell you, one of the most relevant illustrations that I can come up with is what I saw happen. And you continue to see what has happened during this whole COVID thing.

Because this showed us just how quickly Americans will fall in line, believe what they're told in the media, and get in lockstep, which included the stripping of so many of our individual freedoms, our God-given rights from us, contained in our Constitution by people who are hungry for power, and they're still trying to exert that power, and will continue until finally, this whole situation comes to a head. Right. Dr. Fraser, we're at a tipping point. Well, you know, you're talking about connecting the dots, and most pastors never preach on Bible prophecy, so people don't see what's here. We've only got about four minutes left. Can you tell us real quickly, we're going to have to have you back, because this is fascinating, and we're just getting into the meat of this. People wonder, you know, how did our country change so much in the past year?

And you're telling us, this is not a surprise. God told us it would happen in the generation of when Israel came back. This has got to happen in order for Jesus' return to come. So real quickly, in about three and a half minutes, where is America headed, and what can we as Christians do about it?

Well, I think, first of all, we know that America is headed to destruction. Unfortunately, I have many of my friends who say, well, I believe there's going to be a great revival in America, and we're going to turn back to God, and so forth. Chris, my soul and spirit would long for that, but I see no evidence of that whatsoever, and I certainly don't see anything in Scripture.

God can do anything at any time, obviously, but I will tell you, there is a point at which, it's Romans chapter 1 tells us, that God gives them up. And I think America has passed that tipping point. I think that we've gone so far in our rebellion against God that we're now moving, and we're not going to incur the judgment of God one day. We're already under the judgment of God. When I look at our culture across the board, it is staggering. And so our job now is to remember that this is not our home.

We're just passing through. We have dual citizenship. First of all, as believers, because of my faith and trust in Christ, and the repentance of my sin, I have a home in heaven one day for all of eternity.

But I'm also an American citizen, and I do love our country. And so my job, and your job, and all faithful believers' jobs, is first of all to pray, and to ask for God's grace and mercy, number one. Because every day that God gives us is another opportunity for us to share our faith to the end that someone else might come to know Christ. Sunday, a week ago, I had the opportunity of a young man—this was strange, it happened on a Sunday—but he came very early on a Sunday morning to look at a project that we were working on, and he gave me a great opportunity to talk to him about his relationship with Christ.

And what's amazing is, people are open if we have the courage, you know, to lovingly show an interest and care about them and their spiritual lives, and we ought to. But the second thing is, we have to fight in every arena, whether it be taking a stand against critical race theory, which is purely racist, the indoctrination of our children, taking a stand against the open perversion that is being widely accepted in our culture—i.e., homosexuality, lesbianism, transgenderism—all of these things are satanic. Let me be clear about that. This is Satan's desire to destroy. Remember, he came to lie, to kill, and to destroy, and he wants to destroy every single person he can.

And these are avenues that are being used, and I never realized that I would see a day in my lifetime where we would not only openly accept, but openly promote, gross perversion as being normal. That's where we are today. So our position needs to be, we, every one of us who named the name of Jesus, are called to be evangelists in these last days to continue to talk about, not just about Jesus coming, but Jesus becoming personal in our individual lives, that people might know him as their Lord and Savior, and that they might know that, because only he can give you a life worth living. And because the time is short, we need to be about the Father's business.

That's right. That's a great place to end it, Dr. Frazier. And you've talked about connecting dots, you've shown us what's coming, and Jesus is coming very soon. And we need to tell everybody we know how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and if we don't have one ourselves, we need to do that today. So I want to thank you for being here. You know, Chris, the great news is, it's not a Baptist Methodist Catholic Presbyterian thing, it's a God thing.

Jesus loves us and proved it on the cross. He sure did. So folks, if you're listening, Dr. Gary Frazier has so much great information. Two of his many books, let me encourage you to go on Amazon today and look at two in particular. The first is called It Can Happen Tomorrow, Future Events.

That's It Can Happen Tomorrow. And the second one is Divorcing God, the Two Americas. You won't be able to put the book down, Divorcing God.

You'll want to sit up all night and read it. Also, you can visit him at his website at garyfrazier.com. He travels across the country. He'd love to come share with your church what we can do to impact the culture for Jesus Christ. Dr. Frazier, thank you so much for being here. Chris, I look forward to our next time together. Thank you. Listeners, thank you for joining me today.

I'm Chris Hughes. This is The Christian Perspective. Thank you for listening. I hope that you will subscribe and like our podcast, and please share it with your friends on social media. Now let's go change the culture for Jesus.

Thank you for listening. The Christian Perspective with Chris Hughes. Learn more about impacting the culture for Jesus. Visit christianperspective.us. This is the Truth Network.