Light on the Hill

Guest (Male): Pastor James Kaddis on how the scriptures can lead and guide us during these difficult last days.

James Kaddis: In the scriptures, you must know the scriptures to be able to speak concerning the scriptures. And the reality of it is if you're going to make assertions about the future or even the current set of geopolitics that are in front of us, you need to be guided strictly by what the Bible says concerning these things. If you're not guided by what the Bible says concerning these things and you don't understand the full context of what's being discussed in the Bible concerning these things, you're going to be confused.

Guest (Male): I have found that peace only comes from you. I have found that joy only comes from you. Cuz all I need is you.

Guest (Male): I'm sure you've heard the phrase the end is near. Well, as you study the book of Daniel, that's obvious. How soon we don't know, but what we do know is we are rapidly approaching that time. Knowing that, what comes next? What do we need to prepare for? Answers are right around the corner on Light on the Hill. Here's Pastor James Kaddis in Daniel chapter 12.

James Kaddis: Okay, Daniel chapter 12. We are starting in verse five. Of course, as I have talked about before, some interesting insight we've already developed as we've gone through the whole book of Daniel. Within the first five verses, we had a incredible discussion about what to expect as we approach these last days. Again, this is Daniel being told to in essence seal up the book is what what we're going to find out as we get to the end here today. But there's so much to learn here and so much to know and we are living in a time period that Daniel actually prophesied about.

We are actually living in a moment right now that I think has been made manifest to us in a very unique and special way and it literally screams in the faces of those who don't understand it. It literally screams in the faces of those who take a different interpretation of God's gospel and turns it into a social gospel, which then completely diminishes all of the prophetic aspects of what God says. I want you to know something before we get into these next several verses and that's this. Anybody who places a huge emphasis on what I would call the social gospel, which by the way is a false gospel.

Anybody who places an emphasis on the social gospel is one who is not being mindful of the true gospel, especially as it relates to prophetic utterance, especially as it relates to understanding what to expect in the future. And one of the common characteristics that I see with people who express certain verses out of context in the name of the social gospel, there are people who do not take into account biblical teaching. They're not taking into account biblical precedent. They're not aware of what is being communicated at any level under God's prophetic utterances, under God's prophetic words.

And so they use certain verses that were meant for one thing to actually use it for another. Now, we've used lots of examples of this, right? We've talked about lots of examples. As a matter of fact, it's interesting when we talk about the parable of the talents that we go over in later on in Matthew chapter 25, I believe. One of the things that's very interesting is the average person will view the parable of the talents and they will use it as a lesson on how to manage your finances. And some of the principles you ought to know with respect to how you should manage your finances.

And quite frankly, I do think the parable of the talents can give us some really good insight as into how we could manage our money. But the real truth is the parable of the talents has everything to do with God entrusting his people with knowledge about things that are going to happen in the future and he calls them on what they choose to do with that knowledge. Some will bury that knowledge and do nothing with it because they're fearful of the repercussions of having that discussion. Others will invest by speaking truth concerning the things that God has declared about what comes and then producing a result that is substantial.

And then there will be others who will do the same thing yet at a greater level. And the two that actually went out and invested, the two that went out and leveraged what they had in front of them were the two that were blessed by God because they took the message of the kingdom and they took the message of what would be happening prophetically and they shared that with the rest of the world and doing so they they brought back a huge huge huge huge return on the investment. This is why by the way I despise the mindset that says if you choose to want to minister to younger people, then you must depart from the teaching of Bible prophecy because kids don't want to hear about all the doom and gloom of Jesus coming back.

They would rather be able to be socially oriented to do the type of things that they're motivated to do in the current moment in which they're in. And I would say that if you want to see a revival amongst children, if you want to see children come to a saving knowledge of Christ in a way that's spectacular and bountiful and one in which they make a radical difference, then you have to teach them about Bible prophecy. You have to teach them about what's coming. You have to teach them about what God says concerning Israel, what God says about the rapture, what God says about what's going to happen with the coming Antichrist.

You have to teach them about all of these things because they will be motivated to live a pure life if they know what's coming. And I think that this is something that's very difficult for people to understand. It's something that's very uh hard for people to understand because there is a deep-rooted satanic motivation behind the picture that people seek to draw concerning these matters. And the reality of it is the moment you abandon what God says is going to happen in the future becomes the very moment that you become displaced in your awareness of what God wants you to do in the present.

And I think that these are the types of things that we have to be aware of. They're the type of things we have to be thinking about and they are certainly the type of things that we need to be acting upon. So, Daniel here is being faithful to share about a future moment that he has no idea about. He is faithful to share about something that is going to happen thousands of years after the time that he is actually alive speaking about these things. But he does know that they will be sealed up for another day as he is going to find out.

And we also know that that other day is here. It's in front of us right now. And so very interesting as we go over this and it's interesting for us because we have to take every little detail and we have to work through them thoroughly. If we don't, we're going to miss some of the more important nuances as they relate to these things. So, with that, let's dig right into chapter uh 12. We'll continue on in verse five where we left off and it says this. It says then I Daniel looked and behold, there stood other two, the one on one side of the bank of the river and the other on the side of the bank of the river.

And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, how long shall it be to the end of these wonders? So, it's interesting Daniel is getting to listen to an exchange between uh two angels here where they're asking about how long it's going to be until it's all finished, right? Now, mind you, there's a context to understand here and the context is deep and the context is one that serves uh the moment that we're in very well. And that is Daniel just finished telling us about what to expect in the last days.

Daniel lays out the period of time that leads to Jesus coming back, the first time coming to Jerusalem, riding in on a donkey, being crucified. And then Daniel gives us in Daniel chapter nine what happens in the last week of the 70 weeks that Daniel brings up. If you remember, the first uh 69 weeks uh covers a period of 483 years. And of course, we have that calculated right to the day because you know that the start of that clock happened to be on March 14th, 445 BC when Artaxerxes Longimanus makes a declaration to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.

We know that it happened on that day. If you take 483 years and you multiply that times 360 days per year, that brings you to 173,880 days. And if you count 173,880 days from the very date that I just gave you, which was the day that Longimanus uh declared the restoration, the rebuilding of Jerusalem to the very day, it gets us to the very day that Christ rides into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey as predicted in the Bible would happen. And it is very interesting because that we know that that's the week where in essence he is killed for our sin.

He is uh literally he is crucified, he is buried and resurrected, and we know the story. So, there was one week that is not accounted for. And that one week of course represents seven years. And as we know, we know that there are 1,260 days that that represent the first part of that seven-year period. And then there's another 1,260 days that represents the last part of that seven-year period. And so what we know is that the commencement of the first 1,260 days will happen when uh according to Daniel chapter nine verse 27, there is an agreement that is signed between the Antichrist or who we call the beast, right?

With uh Jerusalem strengthening the treaty that exists between Jerusalem and and the rest of the world. Whatever that treaty is, we don't completely know. There's a lot of people who assume what that treaty is. Some people say that it's some takeoff of maybe what is the Abraham Accords today. I don't know, but we do know that the commencement of that tribulation is when the Antichrist signs that treaty. Now, it's interesting because based on 2 Thessalonians chapter two, we know as Christians we won't be here when that happens because we have to be raptured before the Antichrist is even revealed to the whole world.

Once he is of course revealed to the whole world, then we know, and this is a very important thing to understand, then we know uh of course that uh then and only then can the tribulation actually start. And the way that the tribulation starts is of course by the signing of this deal. Once that signing takes place, it starts on a very specific day. I don't think people are going to know what that day is, quite frankly, because we don't know if the agreement on that deal was done on a paper napkin in some back room somewhere.

We don't know that if it was done in a restaurant. We don't know if it was done quietly with a few people who kind of put it all together. Uh the very public day may not be the day that we start the countdown. And just like Jesus said, no one will know the day or the hour when the coming of the Son of Man will be, the second coming that he refers to. And this is why. So, we know that it's going to happen and that will start this first 1,260 days. After that 1,260 days is completed, then we know the abomination that causes desolate will happen and that will kick off the remaining 1,260 days.

It's very important that you note that. So, the first three and a half years we know will will commence as a result of what the Antichrist chooses to do in uh making strong this treaty. And then per Daniel 9:27, we also know that the commencement of the last three and a half years or the last week or the last half of the week, the 70th week of Daniel will commence of course when the abomination that causes desolate takes place and that is when the Antichrist sits in the temple and of course demands to be worshiped.

Now, it's very important to understand all of this because if you don't understand this, you're going to have a difficult time with the questions being imposed because Daniel just describes all of this to us. As a matter of fact, he even shows us the description of types of the Antichrist. Specifically, he speaks to us about Antiochus. If you remember the story of Antiochus Epiphanes, this was the guy that of course uh set himself up in the old temple, the Solomon temple, the one that was uh uh revanished or re-revamped by uh uh would have been as early as Ezra's time.

And of course, he sets himself up in that temple and he pours pig's blood on the altar and many other horrible things happen to desecrate that temple. And of course, with the Maccabean revolt and what happened there, there was a time where that temple had to be reestablished. By the by the fact, more on that to come. We know that the calendar had to stop for a little while in order for that to take place. And of course, it's interesting. We know that there's a type being given to us and it's important to know those things.

Daniel told us about these things. He said that these things would happen. And if he said these things would happen, then it is critical that we pay attention to those moments in history to be able to decipher the answer to the question that's being imposed to us here in Daniel chapter 12. By the way, I should also note this. Jesus speaks about what Daniel says in Daniel chapter nine and yes, Daniel 10 and 11. And so it is very interesting. We should also go to Jesus's words when he speaks about these things because there is a context for all of them.

And it's a context that we cannot ignore. It's a critical context. So, when you get into understanding all of these things, they become very valuable especially when trying to understand what specifically goes into understanding the answer to this question. So, they're asking each other when uh this is going to happen. So, the question specifically is how long shall it be to the end of these wonders? Verse seven, and I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven and swore by him that liveth forever that it shall be for a time, times and a half when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

Now, again, this is interesting because this is not something uh that should be difficult for us to understand. What he's talking about here when he says the time times and a half, again, he is talking about a three and a half year period, okay? That's what he's talking about. Remember, when we talk about this uh stipulation being carried forth, it's not difficult to be aware of what happens here because we know what's being given to us. But look what it says. And I heard, but I understood not. Then I said, oh my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?

And it's interesting because the answer here in verse nine is and he said, go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. It's very interesting because when we talk about the idea that knowledge will increase in the last days, knowledge increasing in the last days has nothing to do with the advent of AI. It has nothing to do with technology um as we understand it today. Although it is interesting with AI as it sits right now, it increases its knowledge basically every 12 to 24 hours, which is a very scary uh uh very very scary picture uh as into how rapidly knowledge is increasing in these last days.

But when the Bible talks about knowledge increasing, the knowledge that we talk about increasing has nothing to do with the advent of uh the type of uh information technology tools that we have and so on and so forth. It has everything to do with knowledge increasing concerning the prophecies of this book, right? It's knowledge increasing concerning what the Bible says concerning these last days. And it's a very important thing to be able to understand because at the time that Daniel was writing these things, he was told to seal up the book because there was no understanding of it because God was not going to reveal the context of it until a later time.

And of course, we have the benefit of knowing history. We have the benefit of being able to understand what took place during all of these moments which then gives us a better understanding as into knowing what is to happen in the future. And so the time is increasing and uh this growth in our understanding of these things uh uh speaks concerning more of Bible prophecy and not necessarily the fact that knowledge will increase in uh general. Look what it says at verse 10. Many shall be purified and made white and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand.

Notice this, but the wise shall understand. So, the idea here is that uh those that continue to give themselves to wickedness are never going to be able to understand these things. But those who walk in the wisdom of God's word will always understand these things. You know, I have been always uh somewhat astounded and a little shocked in many ways as I have watched many of the podcasts that have been going out uh lately, especially as they are beginning to touch up on principles that relate to the subject of the state of Israel. And uh listening to people saying the things that they're saying, it's shocking to me.

One of the examples of this was I heard a podcast where one of the people on the podcast referred to a guy named Daryl Cooper. I don't know who Daryl Cooper is. I have no idea of his background or anything, but they referred to him as this astounding historian. And he claims to read everybody's side of the story. He reads hundreds and thousands of pages before he puts together a deeper understanding of what's actually being communicated. And I don't know the accuracy of the claims that he makes. I don't know anything about him, but I know that people are quoting him just like they're quoting lots of other people concerning things that relate to the state of Israel and relate to the last days.

And unfortunately, the problem that you have here is you are having people who do not walk in wisdom, who are commenting concerning these things and they do not use the benefit that's being given to them through the scriptures to be able to discern what God says about these things prophetically. And as a result, they come to conclusions that are very far gone. And it's unfortunate because this is why you can have a group of people who say I'm a Christian and make all kinds of assertions about Israel, make all kinds of assertions about things that they claim are biblical, but in reality speak very ignorantly concerning the Bible because they have not given themselves to the interpretation of the scriptures and have made themselves aware, thus receiving God's wisdom in these matters and being able to determine and understand some of the most basic principles as God lays out.

And I think it's interesting because although I would like to think that the experts and the experts only are the ones that understand these things, quite frankly, it's the experts oftentimes who miss these things and they miss them at a greater level. And I think that's one of the things that I've been very thankful for with respect to the advent of these uh uh podcasts and the social media tools that everybody has. There's a lot of very smart people who might not have a specific expertise in one area, but are hitting a lot of things right on the nose because they're not allowing themselves to be given to what's been traditionally understood or accepted.

They're removing these uh tradition-based biases and they're coming to conclusions that are very healthy. The problem is that doesn't work when it comes to the scriptures because in the scriptures you must know the scriptures to be able to speak concerning the scriptures. And the reality of it is if you're going to make assertions about the future or even the current set of geopolitics that are in front of us, you need to be guided strictly by what the Bible says concerning these things. If you're not guided by what the Bible says concerning these things and you don't understand the full context of what's being discussed in the Bible concerning these things, you're going to be confused.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Pastor James Kaddis on Light on the Hill and part of our new study in the book of Daniel. Pastor James will be right back with more. There are a few ways you can listen to today's message again or catch up on what you may have missed in the series. We post all of our programs to Light on the Hill radio.com as well as oneplace.com. You'll also find Light on the Hill on most of the major podcast platforms like Apple, Spotify, and Google. We also have an app that makes listening to messages easy to do on any of your mobile devices.

Just search for Calvary Chapel Signal Hill in the App Store or Google Play. We're thankful to the Lord for the listeners that come alongside us with their prayers or financial support. It helps us do what we do every day. If you'd like to make a donation to the ministry today, visit lightonthehillradio.com. You can also give through the Light on the Hill app. Start following James Kaddis on X, Instagram, and YouTube throughout the week. He shares biblical encouragement and videos that deal with current events and Bible prophecy. You can also explore the Countdown to Eternity program for even more biblical encouragement in this area.

You'll find that at Countdown the number two eternity.com and at oneplace.com. Pastor James, today you mentioned the social gospel. Some of our listeners may not know what that is. Would you take a moment to explain what it's about and why it's very dangerous?

James Kaddis: Sure. You know, simply put the social gospel basically is we're going to come to you in the name of Jesus and we're going to feed you, clothe you, etc., etc. It's a focus fundamentally on social issues. But the problem is is it's oftentimes absent of the real message of the true gospel and lots of people are being ministered to in the sense that they're getting their food, they're getting their clothing, but their hearts are hardening towards the things of God because what oftentimes accompanies the social gospel is a message of acceptance of wicked and sinful things, whether it be things like abortion or homosexuality or so on and so forth.

And it's a very dangerous gospel. The other great danger or grave danger of the social gospel is it completely takes out of context what the scriptures teach. And some of the more modern examples of how this is manifesting is in the series of commercials that have come out that deal with the fact that Christ understands us. I believe the series is called He Gets Us. Very very demonically inspired in some context and it takes people's focus away from the true and living God and causes them to not even consider what the real gospel message is.

Guest (Male): Thanks for sharing that. And now let's finish up today's study in Daniel.

James Kaddis: If there's one thing that the book of Daniel should teach us, if there's one thing that the book of Daniel should encourage us concerning and that is to make a heavy investment in understanding Bible prophecy because the deeper you begin to understand Bible prophecy, the more aware you will become of all of the matters that surround you, especially as it relates to what God says is going to happen in the last days. Your awareness of geopolitics becomes enhanced. Your understanding and your discernment concerning the many issues that surround what we could come to expect in the near future becomes enhanced.

Your willfulness uh to seek the Lord will grow because you're being purified by what you know is actually coming. Your relationship with the Lord is strengthened because you develop a deeper awareness of what to expect as he continues to orchestrate all of these things in the future. All of this stuff is powerful. All of this stuff is critically important. And right now we find ourselves to be in a fork in the road. And there's a big fork in the road. And the challenge that I want to give you is what direction are you going to take as you stand where the fork in the road is.

Are you going to go to the side that chooses I will walk in wisdom? Or are you going to go to the side of the road that says I will walk in complete ignorance because I will choose what is comfortable, not challenging, and what seems to be convenient to my flesh. More than ever, we are presented with an opportunity to work harder than we've ever worked before, to dig deeper than we've ever dug, to open up our eyes to see things that human history has never seen before. And in that, we get to see a glimpse of God's glory in a way that no other human has seen it before prior to going to be with him.

And I think that there's something to be said about a group of people who will dedicate themselves to understanding these things with clarity and discernment and understanding and to be able to know what exactly is coming and what's taking place. There is so much there. There is so much to be aware of and so much happening. And I think that uh it's going to be exciting to see where all of this culminates. So, with that, guys, dig dig dig, invest in these things, invest in Bible prophecy, develop a better understanding of it. It will change how you look at life today.

It will change how you look at geopolitics. It will even change how you look at how people teach. And this is why I tell everybody all the time if you go to a church and the pastor is not teaching Bible prophecy, run from the church because you're not going to grow in that church. Things are not going to be well because you have to be armed and equipped with what the Bible says is going to happen in the future. Otherwise, you won't be motivated to live towards the future. And I think that that's a very very important thing to understand and discern.

Guest (Male): We'll finish up our study of Daniel tomorrow on Light on the Hill with Pastor James Kaddis, a listener supported ministry of Calvary Chapel Signal Hill.

Guest (Male): I have found that peace only comes from you. I have found that joy only comes from you. Cuz all I need is you.