Countdown 2 Eternity

Guest (Male): Welcome once again to Countdown to Eternity with Pastors James Kaddis and Tom Hughes. A weekly radio ministry from Calvary Chapel Signal Hill. Together, Tom and James examine current events and connect what's going on in our world to Bible prophecy.

James Kaddis: Hello, my dear brothers and sisters. I want to welcome you to a new episode of Countdown to Eternity. I'm with Pastor Tom Hughes and he's got a lot of stuff. You're waiting to fire me up.

Tom Hughes: I'm really troubled lately because I'm in the prophecy community quite a bit. I speak at a lot of different places, and here's what troubles me: it's the nonstop prediction of the rapture. So many people are looking at stuff and they're also distracted by crazy talk instead of things that matter. Do you want to know what's not happening? It is what Jesus said. He said, "Occupy until I come."

In 2nd Peter chapter 3, he says that God's desire is that none should perish, but all should come to repentance. Then he said, "Therefore, since you know all these things will be," referring to the prophecies that are going to be fulfilled, "what manner of person ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God?"

Yet, what I see people doing instead is wondering who the Antichrist is or saying, "I think I know who the Antichrist is. I think I figured out when the day of the rapture is." Everybody runs over here and runs over there and forgets about it. I look at this and I cannot help but think that Antichrist is not going to waste one single second to set up the beast system. The beast system has to be set up. The ten kings are going to be at the top of that thing. We are watching what is being prepared, and we've got to be about our Father's business. It troubles me with the nonsense that is being promoted as Bible prophecy when it is a major distraction to do what we are supposed to be doing until that moment when we are called home.

James Kaddis: It is extraordinary and frustrating. I just got a text earlier from someone who wanted to warn me about somebody who has more than 100,000 followers on YouTube and is already making rapture predictions. This guy does it every single year. But when he is wrong, he doesn't take responsibility for it. As a matter of fact, he spends a lot of time and energy making excuses for what he actually said was going to happen.

He justifies himself. One year I remember this guy actually going so far as to bring in a fellow con artist to basically convince everybody that there's nothing wrong with guessing a date because it just means your love for the rapture is so much more consistent. It is hogwash.

Tom Hughes: I'm hearing the same thing. It is probably somebody I know, isn't it?

James Kaddis: It's absolutely somebody you know. But I'm just going to leave that there. I look at this and it's really troubling and it is totally—am I allowed to say BS? I don't know if I'm allowed to, but it is. And I don't mean Bible study.

James Kaddis: It's terrible. The lies that continue to get communicated need to be called out. As the body of Christ, we have to hold these people accountable. I don't care if somebody is Calvary-affiliated or not affiliated. If somebody tells you that the rapture is going to take place in September and it doesn't, they are not a credible teacher.

Tom Hughes: I would say that there's a huge problem with that. I don't think we've done a program on this yet, but we need to talk about this for a minute because September is coming. That means Rosh Hashanah, Tabernacles, and Trumpets. This stuff bothers me because these are feasts. The Book of Deuteronomy is very clear. These are the feasts of God for His people Israel.

I've gotten so much heat over warning people about stopping listening to these date setters. They are wrong every single year. You eliminate the imminency of the rapture if you put it into a particular time. Then they call it "high watch time." Does that mean the rest of the year is "low watch time"? What about the imminency of the rapture?

Then they tie it in with the nation of Israel. You've hijacked it from Israel. You've hijacked it from the Jews. This does not work. It is so bothersome. Then people will say, "You're stealing my joy. You're stealing my happiness because I just want to think that the rapture is going to come."

If you are going to go have your kid go play on the freeway and you say, "You're stealing my joy by telling me that's a bad idea," it's the same thing. You're stealing my joy by telling me it's a bad idea to do methamphetamines because when I do meth, I feel better for a couple of days. And guess what? I'm losing weight. Doing meth is a really bad idea. Don't do it. You say, "Well, you're stealing my joy. Stop talking to me about that."

I'd rather go with that person over there. Don't go with them. Solomon warned about that stuff. Stop doing that stuff. Stop getting into pornography. All of a sudden you say, "That's a bad idea." All of a sudden you say, "Hey, stop doing this nonsensical thing about these false predictions of the rapture." They say you're stealing my joy and stealing my happiness. No, this is not biblical. It's wrong that you would even go down that path. Stop listening to these people. The reason these things keep growing is because they itch the ears. They've departed from the truth when you've gone down that path. It gets clicks, and people, like a drug, will go back to it again and again.

James Kaddis: 100%. The big problem with this is if you say, "Don't rob me of my joy," the reality of it is you really haven't dug deep to find out where real joy comes from.

Tom Hughes: It's usually packaged as the blessed hope that Titus wrote about. But wait a minute. What's that have to do with a rapture date prediction and stealing everything from Israel?

James Kaddis: It's so true. It's very difficult for me to be able to quantify this as such. In my opinion, here is the thing that has to be understood: people are broken in their thought process when it comes to this. It is deeply bothersome. God has told us what He expects of us. He told us how to view the future. He told us to trust in Him. Mainly He tells us to occupy until He comes.

Every single time I call this a high watch season or every single time I spend a lot of time speculating deconstructively on when the rapture is going to happen, I am taking away from people the very thing that God wants to build inside of them. The idea here is that we anticipate the return of the Lord. Maranatha, of course. We are excited about the fact that the Lord could come back at any moment. The problem is that should be the motivator to live your life to the fullest. It should be the motivator to keep building until the Lord basically taps on your shoulder and says, "Let's go."

Pick up the wheelbarrow and start moving. Let's build. Stop fiddling around with, "I'm waiting for the rapture," because when people say they're waiting for the rapture, it becomes the excuse to basically say, "God, I don't care what You told me. I'm not going to do it." I've chosen to take the one talent that You gave me and bury it in the ground because I knew You reaped where You did not sow.

Tom Hughes: God even gave the picture. The master said, "You know darn well that I actually reap where I have not sown." In other words, that's a landowner who went out and paid a whole bunch of people to sow on his land and reap on his land. He didn't sow or reap on that land. The reality of it is he became the beneficiary of it because he bought back time.

James Kaddis: That's a thing I'm getting really sick and tired of people doing. By the way, they get mad at me when I start talking to them about these stock classes that I want people to get involved with or these opportunities to gain extra income so they can have the freedom to glorify God.

The reality of it is they get mad because they've been programmed with a demonic mindset that causes them to stay in a place of being a slave to whoever it is they continue to remain a slave in, and they have no freedom. You tell me I'm obsessed with money when in reality, as you're kicking and screaming "Maranatha, Jesus is coming back," you go to your slave master, who is your employer, and you give him 12 hours of your precious limited time so you can earn a small amount of money. Who loves money more? Do they love money more or do I love money more?

Think about that for a second. I'm sorry, but it's reality. The reality of it is we are running out of time. People who have been educated well in the things of God will go out of their way to take their money and buy the time back. Find ways to find freedom to preach the gospel. Find ways to be able to have the ability to go wherever God would call you to go in the moment, do whatever God has called you to do, and become the person that God has asked you to become—the one that He's made you to be. It's getting to the point where it's just ridiculous.

Tom Hughes: Paul writes to redeem the time for the days are evil. If Paul's writing that some 2,000 years ago, what do you make of this now about redeeming the time? At what point do we realize that we've been teaching Bible prophecy for 35 years or whatever it is? But it's gotten to the point where it's no more about redeeming the time. It's just about predictions that are false and all the other nonsensical things.

We are going to stand before the Lord. We're going to give an account. In Revelation chapter 19, we see that we are the bride at the marriage of the Lamb. The clothes that we wear are white linen, which is bright and clean and is the righteous acts of the saints. The very clothes we are wearing at that marriage of the Lamb are based on what we are doing for the Lord, not on false predictions we are believing or making. How are we going to stand before the Lord one day and say, "Well, I just stood there and year after year, that's all I cared about"? We've got to get off that.

Check this out. This is another warning from Jesus also. I love that parable about the talents. It's recognizing what you do with what God has given you.

James Kaddis: The context of the parable of the talents is end times. Jesus just finished telling them what would happen in the last days, and in Matthew 25, he basically says that what he has given us matters. The first application isn't financial. The first application of the parable of the talents actually is what relies on the interpretation, and that's this: "I was scared, Master. I actually buried the talent." God says, "Well, look, you knew who I was. You know what I'm all about. But now you choose to bury the talent? Well, you know what, you're damned to hell."

That's basically what he says. The whole interpretation of that passage is: "I've given you information about what's going to happen in the last days, and you better go out there and you better capitalize on that information for the kingdom." In other words, you better go out there and you better tell people about it and you better explain to people what's going on. The application as it relates to the finances is a beautiful picture. It's an amazing lesson that we can learn. We learn about buying back time. We learn about loving the people and using the money instead of loving the money and using the people. There are so many cool lessons that you can learn from the parable of the talents, but perhaps the most consequential one is to recognize that we don't have a lot of time left, which is why I'm so sick to my stomach over these crazy people who continue to predict that the rapture could happen on this specific day. The worst part about that is they take advantage of the hope that people have to see it happen on a specific day and exploit them instead of educating them.

Tom Hughes: Remember the guy back in 2011 or 2012? He kept predicting the rapture was going to happen on a specific day, and he kept telling people to send in their money because he needed this new whatever it was. Wait a minute. If you need it for the future, but you say the rapture's going to happen here and you're projecting down here where you're going to need this, it doesn't even make any sense. If you really believe this date, then why are you doing this nonsensical stuff? There's no logic to it.

In Luke chapter 12, Jesus says, "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them."

There's a blessing for those who are watching. However, you can't miss the rest of this because people will stop there and say, "I'm just watching. I'm not doing anything, therefore there's a blessing." Hold on a minute, everybody. "And if the master should come in the second watch, or not until the third watch, and find them so doing, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect."

The "be ready" is what you are doing in occupying, redeeming the time, being about your Father's business. It's all of these different dynamics, making sure at the wedding that the clothes you are wearing are based on the righteous acts of the saints. People get hung up on just watching, therefore there's a reward. No, Jesus says watch and be ready. How do we make ourselves ready?

In 2nd Peter chapter 3, it says, "Therefore, since you know all of these things will be, will happen, as in the prophecies are going to be fulfilled, therefore what manner of person ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God?" Also, Jesus says, "What if your master doesn't come until the second watch?" You're watching. "Or if he doesn't come until the third watch," which is the darkest time from midnight to 3:00 in the morning.

In other words, all these people going, "I'm watching, I'm watching," no, you hung in there when the persecution started. You hung in there. You kept watching because you didn't believe the false predictions. You were looking to your Master, not for a date. You were hanging in there even when it started to get difficult from midnight to 3:00 in the morning, the third watch. Blessed are you if you are still watching and you are making yourself ready even when the difficult days come because the rapture didn't come when you were first told. You weren't concerned about that. You were just concerned about your Lord and Savior and meeting Him and being pleasing to Him. That's what's going on there.

James Kaddis: It is so true. It is so difficult to be able to articulate this to people who are being brainwashed. It breaks my heart because it's those who are brainwashed that my heart goes out to more. It is these liars that continue to communicate what is exactly the opposite of God's heart in all of this. It skews every wonderful opportunity that God has given people to live life here on this earth to the fullest. It's a tool that the enemy continues to use to rip people off. Here is something that I think is just so deeply consequential and major.

Think this through for just a moment. Look at what happened in the garden. God gave Adam and Eve everything. They were the richest people in the world at the moment, and the enemy went in and caused Adam and Eve to focus on the one thing they didn't have. Their focus on the one thing that they didn't have kept them from fulfilling the commands that God had given them. He gave them five commands: be fruitful, multiply, replenish, subdue, and have dominion over. They did none of that the very moment they rejected the premise that what they had was enough, and they were robbed of what God had set aside for them.

I think the enemy is doing the same thing when it comes to this discussion of the rapture. The rapture is a part of our glorious future. It's a part of every exceptional and wonderful thing that God has for us. It's beautiful. It's great. But we spend so much time focusing on literally what we don't have in the current moment that we know we're getting, that we completely ignore everything that we do have. We throw away the opportunities that God has given us in this life. I'm sorry if I sound a little bit of a soapbox preacher, but I mean this. This is real. It bothers me.

Tom Hughes: It's terrible. We have to remember our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the timing is His. I got saved in 1988. I remember thinking I was getting raptured in 1988 because somebody said the rapture's coming in 1988. Praise God that I kept reading my Bible and realized that's a bad direction to go thinking that you're going to be caught up in the date setting. That was almost 40 years ago. We still see things develop, so we pay attention. We're supposed to be watching. Jesus tells us to watch repeatedly. There's a blessing for those who do, but you don't get caught up in the signs. You get caught up in the One that the signs point to. The signs point to the Lord Jesus Christ and His coming again. Our hope is in Him.

Can I bring up another sign? Turkey, as many of you have heard already, Erdogan issues a genocide arrest warrant for Netanyahu. As we progress towards this hatred of Jews and hatred of all things Israel, we know that Israel is the epicenter. It is not a surprise that as we get closer and closer to whenever that day is, the persecution against Jews is only increasing. Therefore, I need to be more ready. It ought to cause me to be more gospel-minded and more ministry-minded to say that I need to get the gospel to more people, not just to hunker down and say, "Call me home. I'm not going to share the truth." This ought to motivate us.

James Kaddis: God has put us in an extraordinary time. We live in absolutely amazing days. We can tell what's happening because we are watching. We're supposed to be watching, clearly, but it's watching and doing, not just watching. A lot of times we just stop. Let me liken it to this. Let's say you and I both live in California. We're going to do a road trip. We're going to Miami. It's going to be a long trip, but we're going to Miami. We're going to take two separate cars, but we're doing a caravan. We're going there because we have some friends down there who are on fire for the Lord and they've also got some really good Cuban food in downtown Miami. We're really excited about this. When we first leave, we're going to see zero signs for Miami. Zero. We're going to get halfway there and we're still going to see zero signs. The closer we get to Florida, the more likely we're going to see signs. When we get closer and closer to Miami, we're going to start seeing signs. 150 miles, 100 miles, whatever it is. Then we know our exit. We know this restaurant is in downtown Miami. We're going to be going, "All right, it's going to be great. We're about ready to see everybody." When we get closer to the exit, it says "Exit ten miles, seven miles, five miles." All of a sudden we see a big billboard and it has the sign of the restaurant we're going to. We say, "Hey bro, let's pull over and park under the billboard. That's such an exciting sign," instead of going to the restaurant. We pull out chairs and we'd be idiots. The signs are pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ, but we get so caught up on the signs that we hang out there and we'll talk about that sign year after year after year. The same thing without remembering the sign points us to this. We're going to be about our Father's business. We stop at the sign and we pull out our chairs. We might even bring napkins and forks and knives and everything and put up a picnic table.

James Kaddis: Look at how much could have been done. That's such a great illustration. We could have gone to the coast. We could have stopped by Disney World after we got there. I've been to the parking lot of Disney World. I've never been inside. But it's true. Unfortunately, in the prophecy world, we're getting people mad at us today. But the problem is we've got to bring the truth. It causes anxiety because people just start looking for this one thing. This guy promised this was going to happen on such and such date. After it comes about, they say, "I said it could happen on such and such date. We were in the high watch days." That is not being honest.

The "high watch days" is the thing that just bothers me to no avail. That one just kills me. I believe every day is a high watch day because the rapture's imminent. It doesn't matter if it's winter, spring, summer, or fall. There are 365 and a quarter days a year. We could be called home at any moment, and to take those things, I just think it's a terrible thing to do. It will create anxiety, and it also gives people an opportunity to mock those who believe that Jesus is coming again because they've had friends who've already heard this, or they bought into it before and now they turn against Israel. They turn against Bible teaching and the second coming of Christ, legitimate Bible teaching and the second coming of Christ, because of this type of thing that fuels mockery.

Tom Hughes: It's evil. I think that more than ever, how about we just stop for a minute? How about we just stop talking about how evil it is for one second and just approach it from the same angle that you brought up on the road trip? It's right there right in front of us. You guys have an opportunity in this world right now to experience so many cool opportunities, so much joy, so much happiness. I'm relating to all kinds of personal things right now. God has just blessed me with a fourth child. I can't imagine what life would be like without my children. But I had people come up to me and tell me I shouldn't be adopting children because we're in the last days and why would I want to put children through this kind of life?

James Kaddis: That is just crazy. That's the more reason you should. Let's say the rapture really is going to happen in six months. Or let's say we're going to be here for ten more years, whatever it is. Well, shouldn't you want to take that kid under your wings and be the man of God for them? Isn't that what you would want?

Tom Hughes: It makes no sense. Then just what about the joy? I mean, what about the joy of the children that we have? Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Children are a gift from the Lord, adopted or biological.

James Kaddis: But Jesus is coming, so who cares? Get rid of them. You got me all fired up now.

Tom Hughes: You got me fired up too. We might have already burned some bridges, so why not? Let's just ask the difficult question. What, out of your mouth right now in the season that we're in, is the thing that you're the most concerned about? Name a person if you need to, name a situation, a circumstance, or maybe not. What is it that in your opinion people should be watching out for?

James Kaddis: Apart from deception and apostasy? Specifically to this time, to this season, I'm watching people say very unique, specific things. For me, it's everything that we just talked about. It's the lies that have infiltrated the Bible prophecy community. Here's what happens: the date setting does what Paul warned about in 2nd Timothy chapter 4, that it itches the ears. People will not endure sound doctrine. They won't put up with the truth. Instead, they will turn to fables.

What's interesting is if I go back 30 years, 25 years, back when we were doing Bible prophecy things together years ago, there was this certain solid element that was on Bible prophecy. We would take 2nd Timothy chapter 4 and we would apply it to the Joel Osteens and stuff like that. The Bible prophecy community used to call out that kind of stuff, where they will not endure sound doctrine, instead they will be turned over to fables, raising up teachers to itch their ears. The very prophecy community that used to be a watch person for that has now become that exact person. They've become that community that will not endure sound doctrine. They raise up teachers that itch their ears and make them feel better. That's exactly what has happened. The very community that used to call out that stuff has become the thing that they used to call out. It is every bit as bad as Joel Osteen when I see these hucksters.

James Kaddis: And for me, it's the bandwagon jumpers. When you start to see somebody pivot all of a sudden and start talking about some of the things that we've been talking about for years, view them with caution because the things that they're saying are crazy. It's just absolute crazy. They have zero credibility. They are going to be used by the enemy to ruin the reputation of things that Christians have been saying for thousands of years. It's evil.

Tom Hughes: We have to remember our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ and the timing is His.

James Kaddis: Practical advice: stay close to the word. Assume you know nothing. You carry the understanding that you must validate the conclusions that people come to, including and especially your own, by going to the word of God and allowing the word of God to speak to you clearly. You never view the word of God in light of what the media tells you. You view what the media tells you in light of what the word of God says. You don't do that with current events, you don't do that with circumstance with government leaders, and you certainly don't do that with people who call themselves prophecy watchers who are not watching anything other than their own wallets.

The reality of it is I have no problem with people being wealthy. I think wealth is a symbol of the grace of God on a man's life that they might be able to do what God calls them to do, which is bring it to their children's children. No problem with that. I have a problem with people who capitalize on it. I have a problem with people who will break the backs of very well-meaning individuals in order to capitalize on an opportunity to completely rob somebody.

Tom Hughes: Years ago, when I first used to be on staff with Greg Laurie, then I went out and I was senior pastor at a church, I remember the guy who became my executive pastor at the time said to me, "Never forget that this church is built on the grandmas who are living on social security and all they can give is $20 a month." He said to never forget that for them this is a major sacrifice. I never forgot that. It's true in ministry. You can never forget it. People sacrifice because they trust you, and to take advantage of that and stand before the Lord, we need to talk off the record. There are some things that are really bothering me.

James Kaddis: We hope you guys will be blessed by what we shared. It's time to take things seriously. It's time to take things to a different level. Christ could come back at any moment. You need to be caught giving Him your best. You need to be caught building. You need to be caught thinking about the next generation. You need to be caught doing everything that you can to live as though you understand you're going to be here for the next thousand years, knowing full well that that is definitely not happening. Deny the con artists. We love you, God bless you, keep fighting the good fight.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Countdown to Eternity with Pastors James Kaddis and Tom Hughes. Online at Countdown2Eternity.com. You can listen to this episode again right there at Countdown2Eternity.com. I should also mention Tom Hughes is online at HopeForOurTimes.com. Take a look at his available resources and some of the top stories at HopeForOurTimes.com. Pastor James has a new book called The Last Book. Revelation isn't a book of fear; it's a book of hope. The Last Book is a guide to Revelation, giving you what you need to know about Revelation, the rapture, and the end times. Learn what the Bible says about the days we're in and what God's promise is for believers in The Last Book by James Kaddis. Available right now at Countdown2Eternity.com or Amazon.com. If you'd like to support what we're doing at Countdown to Eternity, there's a place to give at Countdown2Eternity.com, then click the give tab. Then join us next time when the Countdown to Eternity continues. This program is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Signal Hill.