Episode Transcript
Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, go therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Welcome to go teach all nations, bringing you Christ's teachings through australian and international speakers. And here is today's presenter, Pastor George Burnside.
And as they drank, they were discussing the kind of reception they got when they went home late at night under the influence of drink. Evidently, two of them didn't get a very good reception. The third man listened and then he said, well, you may not believe it, but he said, I can go home at any hour of the night or morning.
I knock on the door and my wife will get up out of the bed and let me in. And she never rebukes me. I can order any kind of supper I want and she'll make it for me, and she never rebukes me.
The other two men, they laughed. They thought that was the joke of the year. The third man said, it's perfectly true that the other two, they just wouldn't believe it.
And the third man couldn't convince them till eventually he said, all right, I'll prove it to you. You come home with me tonight and see whether it works or not. So at a very late hour that night, three half drunk men knocked on the door of the third man's home.
In a few moments the door was opened and the wife ushered them in and asked what they would like for supper. The husband ordered a good big supper because, you know, half drunk men always think they're terribly hungry. They always think they are hungry.
The Bible says wine is a mocker. Probably they're not hungry a bit, but they think they are because they're deceived. And I ordered a good big supper and the wife went ahead and made it for them.
And when she served it up, she said, is there anything else I can get you? They ordered some more, so she got it. Is there anything else I can get you? They was perfectly satisfied. And then eventually the first two left and they assured the husband they couldn't have believed it was possible.
After the two had left, the husband turned to his wife and he said, tell me, why do you do it? Why do you do it? The wife said, I'll tell you. For she was one of our people over there in Chicago. She said, I'll tell you why.
She said, I'm not counting on very much in this life. My hopes are on the other side of the coming of Christ. That's what I'm building on.
I'm not too worried about what happens here. But she said, I know the way you're behaving, that this life is all you're going to get. So she said, I'm going to make it just as pleasant for you as I possibly can.
For this life, I'm afraid, is all you're going to get. You know, we are told in the word of God never to be envious of the wicked. They may make a lot of money, they may seem to be getting some thrills.
Don't feel envious, friends, because that's all the poor people are going to get. And a man is a very, very poor man indeed if his treasures are all this side of the grave. For he's destined to be a very miserable creature.
In fact, the more a man gets of this world, the more miserable he becomes. I know that. But I've been in the homes of the very rich.
I've been friends in the homes of the very poor. I have been in a room, friends, that would be no more than 10ft square, 10 by 10 and 13 adults lived in it. There wasn't enough room for the 13 of them to lie on the floor at once.
They had to take turns. When I was there, three of them were curled up in a corner asleep in the afternoon. I've been in the homes, friends of the very rich.
I've seen fearful poverty. We don't know the meaning of it in this country. But I have discovered this, friends, that the most miserable people in this world are the rich.
They're very, very miserable. And a man is a very poor creature indeed if his hopes are all this side of the grave because he sees what he's got slipping away very quickly, very quickly indeed. The child of God's great hopes are centred, friends, on the other side of the coming of Christ.
And thank God. It's a very, very sure and a very, very certain hope. Very, very certain.
Now, tonight I'm going to speak to you on the last international sign before Armageddon. I could have named it the last international sign before our Lord's return. Because you can't separate Christ from Armageddon.
Regardless of what belief you hold in regard to Armageddon, you cannot escape the fact that it is linked right in with the advent of Jesus. For when talking about gathering the nations to Armageddon, it says right in the very midst of it here in Revelation 16, Jesus said, Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth.
They gathered him together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon for the coming of Jesus, friends, we'll terminate Armageddon. He comes to make war cease under the ends of the earth. And it's the culmination of human history.
Now, right there, in connection with the coming of Christ, there is a great work that will go forward on this earth. In fact, Revelation 15 and 16 brings to view the seven last plagues of which Armageddon comes in. Under the sixth, in the chapter just before it, we have the last work that will go forward on this earth to prepare the way for the coming of Christ.
Let me read it to you, for you'll find it here in Revelation, chapter 14. And I am reading to you verses six. And on notice for John the Revelator is looking right down there to the last days.
By the time we get through this, you'll be fully convinced that it's the last days, all right, it's the termination. And John, as he looked away down there to the end of time, said, I saw another angel, or the Greek there has messenger for literal angels don't preach. That task has been commissioned to men.
And he said, I saw another angel or messenger fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people. It will be a great worldwide movement, saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgement is come and worship him that made heaven, earth and the sea and the fountains of waters. And another angel followed, saying, babylon is fallen.
Is fallen that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. She made all nations drink. Another translation says, of the maddening wine there were fornication.
God says, in the last days the nations will be going mad. That's why when they don't want war, they get ready for it. I thought of that when I saw some modern arts right here in Christchurch not very long ago.
I thought, there's no doubt about it. They're going mental. You know, over there in London some time ago, they had an art exhibition.
One man got some pots of paint and poured it on the canvas, laid the canvas on the floor and poured it on. And he got his chimpanzee to dance around on it. It won the prize.
They gave it the prize. Beautifully blended, wonderful workmanship. And when you listen to some of the music they put out and the songs they sing, and you see art that is called wonderful art.
Well, it makes you think of the nations drinking the maddening wine of Babylon. They're going mental. But I better not get let loose on modern art tonight.
Verse 9. And the third angel followed. You see, friends, they are all linked together because it is referred to as a third.
There are other angels mentioned in the book of Revelation, but these are grouped together. But you notice the third one here is referred to as a third. They're all tied right in together.
You can't separate these, but they're all tied right in. In a great work going forward. And a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any man.
It's worldwide, you see. If any man worship the beast and his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. And they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image. And whosoever receiveth the mark of his name, it warns, you see, strongly against the mark of the beast.
Here is the patience of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth.
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them. And I looked, and behold the white clouds. And upon the cloud one sat, like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
There you have a wonderful description of our returning lords. Then another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the clouds, thrust in thy sickle and reap. For the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Jesus said, the harvest of the earth is what? The end of the world. And here, friend, you have the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was raped.
Here you have the reaping of the harvest of this earth. So here in this prophecy, friends, you have not only brought to view the coming of Christ and the reaping of this earth, but just prior to it you have three mighty messengers going to all the world under the figure of three angels. And they are there friends with one task.
To prepare a people for the second coming of Christ. Their message, you notice, goes to all the world. It goes to every nation, kindred tongue and people.
And as soon as it is gone, then the end comes. And it goes to all the world just prior to the coming of Jesus. And as soon as it is gone, then the harvest of this earth is reaped as Armageddon and the coming of Christ eventuate.
Then the end comes. Now, I meet a lot of people in this world that tell me the world will never end. You ever hear them? Everywhere I go I hear that.
But my dear friends, Jesus says there is an end coming. I'm turning over here to the 13th chapter of Matthew, where I'll read it to you right from the lips of Jesus. Matthew, the 13th chapter.
And down here in verse 38, I read this statement. The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom.
But the tares are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that soweth them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels.
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be at the end of this world. Jesus says there will be an end to this world. And Jesus said the harvest is the end of the worlds.
Yes, Jesus said there is an end coming to this world. And as I said a moment ago in the question period, it doesn't matter an atom, my friends, if a minister or 10 million people say the world won't end, Jesus said it will. And Jesus said, although heaven and earth may pass away, my word shall not pass away.
So you can rest assured, friends, when Jesus makes a statement, it will come true. And as all those prophecies in the past have come true to the very letter, so this one, friends, will also come true. And there will be an end to this world.
And when this world comes to an end, Jesus will be there with the angels, and they will gather up the redeemed. As we have just read now, when will the righteous be gathered up? Matthew 24, and I'm reading to you. Verse 30.
Note the statement. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then shall all tribes of the earth mourn.
And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. And so when Jesus comes to reap this earth, he has his angels.
He says the Angels are the reapers, and they gather up the redeemed from all across this earth. Now, just prior to that, he tells us here in Revelation, that there will be three mighty messages going to all the world to prepare a people for the great day when Jesus comes. At the first advent of Christ.
Jesus sent his angel or his messenger, to prepare the way. You'll read that over here in the last book in the Old Testament, the book of Malachi, chapter three, and verse one. Note the statement, behold, I send my messenger.
He shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom you delight in. Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
So Jesus said that this one who would come would be John the Baptist. But if you turn over into the 11th chapter of Matthew, you find that's exactly what Jesus said, the 11th of Matthew. And he quotes this very prophecy that I have just read, Matthew 11:10.
Note the statement. For this is he of whom it was written, behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before me. Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women, there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist.
And so Jesus said that John the Baptist was the messenger or the angel to prepare the way for the first advent of Jesus. But when you come down to the last days, just prior to the second coming of Jesus, you find he sends three mighty messages under the figure of three angels to prepare a people to stand in the great day of God. And you'll notice, friends, one or two characteristics regarding this message.
It is the everlasting Gospel, and it goes, friends, to all the world and announces the fact that the hour of God's judgement is come, not will come, but it's here, and it has the everlasting Gospel. I'll show you later on how many of the great truths of the Bible have been lost down through the ages. In fact, next Sunday night, right here, when I speak on why so many churches, I'll show you how many of those great things have been lost, the great truths.
And then down here in the last days, it will be restored. Because under this message, friends, they have the everlasting Gospel. It's a complete truth restored.
And part of that truth, part of the everlasting Gospel will be the hour of God's judgement is come. And, friends, they will preach it to every nation under heaven. It warns against the Babylon, against the beast, and against his mark.
And it says, it calls out a people to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. And it will be a worldwide message. It's the last message that will go.
And it says it goes to every nation, kindred tongue and people. It won't happen in a corner, it will go to the whole world. And the whole purpose of it, friends, is to prepare a people for the coming of our Lord.
And that mighty message will go. That's the reason, friends, why all these inventions have come in the last days. Over there, in Daniel 12 and verse 4, God told Daniel to close up his book.
When he had written it, he said, steal it up to the time of the end. For down there in the time of the end, he said, many will run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased. Now friends, all these amazing inventions have come about not because people have superior intellects.
In fact, I notice the authorities and archaeology that excavate in these ancient places. They say they are fully convinced that men away back there thousands of years ago had far greater intellects than human beings today. They are fully convinced on that.
That is the men who are doing the excavating and they see the work and they know something of the background. Now. Why is it, friends, that for 6,000 years mankind as it were never advanced at all as far as rapid communication and speed of travel is concerned.
But suddenly, in these last days, they have just leaped ahead until they travel now across the earth and they can send messages across the earth with an amazing speech. Why? It's because, friends, as God says, in the last days, knowledge would be amazingly increased. God just revealed it to men.
They just thought others have seen it before. But it just dawned on to illustrate. A man one day was sitting looking at a kettle boiling on the fire.
Millions had seen it before. But as he watched that lid bouncing up and down on the kettle, it suddenly dawned on him that there must be a power bumping it up and down. And the power of steam was discovered not because he had any greater intellectual, but it just dawned on him when he saw it.
And so, friends, God is revealing these things. He said he would that he could hasten his message to all the world in the last days. For that great message, friends, will go to every nation, kindred tongue and people.
It'll be a worldwide work. And what a message. The everlasting gospel with a truth completely restores, announcing the fact that the hour of God's judgement is come, not will come, but it's here, you say, what do you mean by that? I'll give you a key that will explain it tomorrow.
Nights. And then also, friends, you notice this message warns against Babylon. In fact, just last week I was approached by a man who wanted to know just exactly what it means.
Well, this last message, friends, is right here to tell you exactly what it means. For God will have a message that will make it clear and crystal clear. It will also warn against the beast and against its mark.
That is something, friends, we must know. For if you get the mark of the beast, you'll never get to heaven. For the strongest language that is found anywhere in the Bible is found against those people that receive the mark of the beast.
I know some people will tell you that nobody knows what is the mark of the beast. But dear friends, if we're in the last days, we must know what it is. We are to know what it is because Jesus said and warns against the people that will have it.
And not only that, he says he'll send a great message to all the world to show people exactly what it is. And this message, friends, will show people. It will also call out of people to keep the commandments of God.
Evidently, in the last days there'll be a lot of discussion about the commandments of God. But God will call out a people, he says they're keeping it. I meet a lot of people that tell me that nobody can keep them.
I meet a lot of people that tell me they're abolished. When I have people talking like that, I say, no, thank you, I'm not interested in you. I'm looking in the last days, friends, for a people that are preaching the everlasting gospel, that can tell me exactly what is the hour of God's judgement.
Exactly what is Babylon, what is the beast and what is his mark? And a people, friends, that are keeping them. What are people that tell me nobody can keep them or they're abolished. And you don't need to bother.
I'm looking for a people, friends, that are not only keeping the commandments of God, but they also have what, the faith or the teaching of Jesus. They'll be a Christian people who will be emphasising that. And as soon as that message, friends, goes to all the worlds, then, my friends, the end will come.
For as soon as that work had gone to all the world, then John looked up and, and he saw Jesus coming. And not only coming, but he came, friends, to reap the harvest of this earth. It was our Lord's return.
For remember, friends, this message is the last message that will ever go to the world. There'll be no others. It'll be the very last.
And it will reach out to every nation, kindred tongue and people. It'll be a worldwide message. It'll be an international message.
In fact, friends, it will not only be the last, it'll be the most important sign of all that Armageddon and the termination of human history is coming. It'll be the biggest sign, far greater than shooting rockets to the moon or world war preparation or anything else, or the frightening increase in population which is packing the world very rapidly into a corner. All of those things are looming up and they are tremendous.
But, friends, this thing is far bigger because it is the last message that our God will ever send to this world. It'll be the last call. The last message.
He sent many messages over the years and sent many messengers. But this one, friends, will be the last, the very last. And it will go to all the worlds.
Now, the question naturally arises what church is preaching it. But I want to tell you, friends, the whole purpose of these meetings here in Christchurch is to bring to you this message. That's our purpose.
That's why we're here. It's not a matter of denominationalism. It's not just another church.
But Jesus, in his love has pointed out that just before he comes again, he'll send this message to all the world. It'll reach Christchurch. It'll be everywhere.
It's not just another church. It's not merely denominationalism. It's interdenominational.
It's far more than a church. It's the last call, friends, that our God will ever send to this world. It's the most important thing in the world.
What if it's the last message that our God will ever sense and the next event is the coming of Christ to terminate human history? Well, there is nothing more important in the world. Nothing Is there. There couldn't be.
For it's the last message that God will ever send. And, friends, it must be there because Christ outlined it in his words. You know, when I go around preaching some of these things, I meet a lot of people that get very, very hostile with me.
Very, very hostile. But as I assure them, it's no good getting annoyed with me. I didn't write the book of Revelation.
I didn't write Revelation 14. I didn't write about the hour of God's judgement and the warning against the mark of the beast, did I? It was written, friends, by Jesus long before I was ever thought of. But it's there.
And not only that, in the Word that never makes a mistake. It's there. And Bible prophecy comes True.
And friends, if you and I are in the last days, then this message must be here. And I know I'm speaking to an audience of people that believe that we're in the last days. Let me see a show of hands of all those that believe we're in the last days.
Put them right up high. Well, that looks to me. Well, it's certainly a big majority, if not pretty, nearly a hundred percent.
Now listen, friends, if we are in the last days and Jesus is coming soon, and he outlines the last message, then it must be here, isn't that so? Or else you've got a failure in Bible prophecy. And friends, if it is here and it's outlined in the word of God, then your job and mine, the very first job we have is to get in line with the message of Christ for today, isn't that so? Not a matter of which church. That's very, very secondary.
But friends, it's what is truth and what is God's truth for today? In fact, this message, friends, is what you could call present truth. You know, the Bible talks about present truth, you say? What do you mean by that? I'll tell you. There are certain truths, friends, that are always true.
For instance, it's always true that there is a God. It is always true that the Bible is the inspired word of God. That's always true.
It is always true that Christ died an atoning death for you and for me. It's always true that he rose from the dead. It's always true that he'll come again and so on.
But friends, in special hours, God has special messages to illustrate. Back there, before the flood, he sent a special message to get people ready for the flood, didn't he? And their destiny decided on their relationship to that message. At the first advent of Christ, he sent a special messenger to prepare people.
And then Jesus came with a truth for that hour. Down in the. In the Middle Ages, God raised up Martin Luther with a great message.
It was the message of God for that hour. He raised up the Wesley movement with the message of God for that hour, and so on, present truth for those times. And down here, friends, in the greatest hour of all.
For with every crisis, before the destruction of Jerusalem, before Sodom and Gomorrah, before the flood, every one of those, he sent a special message. Well, surely, friends, when the greatest event of all history, the termination of history, is about to take place, well then, my friends, the greatest message that ever went is there to prepare a people for that time. And so, friends, it's the greatest Message.
It's God's present truth for this hour. And any preacher, friends, that is not preaching this message, he's behind the times, isn't he? Because that's God's truth. He may be preaching truth, but, friends, he is not preaching the truth of God for this hour if he is not preaching this message.
Because Jesus, in his special book, has outlined it. And remember, friends, that Jesus was the one who gave us the Book of Revelation. In fact, it is called the Revelation of who? Jesus Christ.
And then that is in the very beginning of the book. That's the first verse of Revelation. And when you come right over here to the last chapter in Revelation, he again emphasises that.
In fact, he emphasises it all the way through. But you come right over here to the very end, Revelation 22. And down here in verse 16, he says, I, Jesus, have sent mine angel or my messenger to testify unto you these things in the churches, regardless of which church you belong to, Jesus wants you to hear this message.
And then, friends, when you hear it, and you get it, as it were, into your life and heart, then you go out and you tell other people about it. But ever since I heard this message, all I've done is just go around in simple, plain language and tell people about it. And I've seen hundreds, I've seen thousands.
Now, acceptance. Why? Because, friends, it just burns in your bone. And when a person gets hold of this message, you just got to go out and tell other people about it.
In fact, before I heard this message, if anybody had even inferred that I'd have been a preacher, I think I'd have knocked them flat. It would have been about the worst insult you could have given me. For me, they were a namby pamby lot of creatures, almost effeminates, and I almost loathed them.
But, friends, when I heard this message, it just got down there into my soul and I had to go out and tell other people. And I've been doing it ever since. And I've seen a lot of people accept it.
And I know, friends, it will go, and I know nothing will stop it. Why? Because it's the message of God for this hour. And nothing will ever stop us.
Nothing. Oh, I know it won't be popular. Truth has never been popular, and I know it won't be rushed by the multitudes.
I know that the truth has never been rushed. And truth all the way through history has been opposed and been opposed, my friends, by religious leaders, hasn't it? You read church history and it's the story right throughout the whole history of humanity. And we'll get it in the last days, make no mistake about it.
In fact, I'd be almost disappointed if we didn't. I think there was something wrong with us if we didn't get it. But friends, above it all is the fact that it's the last warning message that will ever go to this world.
And among all the conflicting voices that are crying in this sunset hour of civilization, if you want to know what is truth, then, my friends, look for a people that are preaching this message. And any church or any preacher that is not preaching it, he does not have the message of God for this hour. Doesn't matter who he is because Jesus pointed it out.
And, friends, he's out of dates. He's behind the times. But if we're in the last days, then the last message must be going, isn't that so? And it's here.
And what is more, friends, this message will never be eclipsed. No other movement will rise up to eclipse it all. Down through the ages, God has had messages.
And when they have run their time, another message has arisen to eclipse it, and so on. But when you come down to this one, it will never be eclipsed. Why? Because it's the last.
There'll be no other. I have seen little peoples break off from the truth of God. And they are going to do this and they're going to do something else.
They talk about finishing the work. I told some of them over there in Australia, talk about finishing the work. You haven't even begun it.
There's only one, friends, and it's the last, and it will never be eclipsed. For Jesus said, it's the very end. It's the last message that will go.
Now, friends, who is preaching this message? That's the question that you and I need to face at the first advent of Christ. It was not the established church that took the message. They were bound up in ritualism and formalism, and they didn't want it.
So Jesus had to reach down and lift up an insignificant personality, John the Baptist, and do the work through him. And so, friends, in the last days, he will do the same. He will reach down and pick up insignificant people to proclaim his last message to the world.
He won't pick out great men. He doesn't need great men. In Corinthians it says, God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the mighty.
He doesn't need great men. I meet a lot of people that say, you know, Brother Burnside, Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if some of these great men really got in behind this message and began to preach it? Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing? Be a wonderful thing, friends, for them? I don't know if it'd be so wonderful for the message, for my friends, the message of God doesn't need great men. Great men need it, but it doesn't need great men, does it? Never.
And what is more, friends, the great preachers of the past have not preached this message. You read their writings. I've waded through the sermons and the writings, I suppose, of nearly all of those great men of the past.
Knox, Wesley, Spurgeon and so on. Great men. But my friends, they never preach this message.
You won't find it in there. That wasn't the burden of their message. Why? Because, friends, the hour hadn't come.
It wasn't the last days. But down here in these last days, in the last days, then the last message is due, and it's due today. And, friends, Jesus said it will go.
Now, what is more, the churches today are not preaching this message. The established churches are not preaching it. I'm not saying that in a critical manner, but it's only a matter of fact.
It's only a matter of fact. You can attend the average church, I suppose, for 50 years. And will they ever show you what is the mark of the beast? Will they? And so on.
Even friends, if you found an individual church that's doing it, that wouldn't fulfil the prophecy, because it's got to be a great message that is going right around the world to every nation, kindred tongue and people. An individual preacher here and there, even if he had it, wouldn't fulfil it. Because it's got to be a great worldwide movement with all of these things.
The everlasting gospel, the hour of God's judgement, the warning against Babylon, against the beast, against his mark. They've got to have the commandments of God, the faith of Jesus, and they'll have this message going to every nation, kindred tongue and people. And anything less than that, friends, is only a humbug.
It is not meeting the specifications. And the real reason, friends, why we have come here, is to proclaim to you this message. And you need to know it.
And as you know it, friends, you'll need to follow it if you're going through to meet Jesus when he comes again. Because Jesus, the same one who died on Calvary for you and the same one who is going to come in glory, has outlined this last great work that you and I may be ready to meet him. I was over in Australia on one occasion and I went into a certain city to preach, to run some meetings, and as I was waiting to start, because we could only book the hall for a certain date, and I was in there a little while beforehand and I was going around doing a little collecting for medical missions, I called on her home one day and a young lady was there, and believe me, she was hostile.
She was hostile. She said, you know, you people only track other mission bodies. That's all you do.
He said, you don't go out and pioneer. Ah. I said, is that so? Well, I said, you work this out.
You work this out. I said, we are working literally in hundreds of places where no other Protestant mission body is working. In fact, friends, the small people that are behind these meetings here, do you know they send out more missionaries and they are working in more languages and in more countries than any Protestant denomination you like to mention.
They may outnumber us many, many folds, but we're in more countries and in more languages than anywhere else. In fact, there are only one or two countries that we are not in countries that are listed. They're very small, very insignificant, most of them.
To illustrate, one of them is Vatican City. We don't have any organised work in there. I won't tell you why, you might even be able to guess it, but we don't have any organised work in there.
Actually, do you know that we have people taking our correspondence course, our Bible correspondence course, right there in Vatican City. So we get the message in just the same, but they won't let us establish organised work in there that is listed as a country, that's one that we don't have organised work in. Now, when I mention, friends, that we don't have organised work, don't get away with the idea that we don't have people in there.
And in some of those countries we do, but we only list them where we have organised work, work thoroughly established and organised. And friends, there's only one or two very small places like that that we don't have organised work in. And so when I gave some of those facts to this young lady, it sort of steadied her up.
But she said, Any rate, Mr. Burnside, why do you come here to preach? Well, I said, we have a conviction deep down in our souls that God has given us a message that is to go to all the world to prepare a people for the coming of Christ. And I said, that message is outlined in Revelation 14.
And I said, God has given us a conviction to preach it. Oh, she said, you don't need to worry because our preachers are preaching it. I said, is that so? They are preaching that message outlined in the 14th chapter of Revelation? Yes, she said, they're preaching.
Well, I said, if I had known that, I said, I wouldn't have come here, I'd have gone somewhere else. Well, she said, you can go because she said, they are preaching it. Well, I said, that's certainly good news, very good news indeed.
I said, that they're preaching it and they're making it quite clear. You're quite clear on it? Oh, yes. She said, don't worry about that.
She said, they're preaching it and they're making it very, very clear. Well, I said, you might be able to explain a few things to me if they're making it quite clear. And I opened my Bible and I read that that message would be preaching the hour of God's judgement is come.
I said, what does that mean? And she just looked at me. I said, when did it come? The poor lady never had the faintest. I said, evidently they're not getting that too clear.
Well, I said, I suppose they've got this point clear regarding Babylon, for in the last days Jesus is calling his people out of Babylon. He said, come out of her, my people. I said, tell me, what is modern Babylon? And she just looked at me.
Well, I said, evidently that's not too clear. Well, I said, they must have the third point clear regarding the mark of the beast. But I said, if you get that, you'll never get to heaven.
If there's a word of truth in the Bible, for the strongest language that is found anywhere in the Bible is found against the people that get the mark of the beast. I said, tell me, sister, what is the mark of the beast? And the poor lady never had the funk. She never had the faintest idea.
I said, listen, just as long as your preachers are not making it clear. I said, we're coming along to preach it. But Jesus said, that message has to go and we are going to preach it.
Oh, she said, you're only a lot of sheep stealers, that's all you are. Well, I said, there may be some truth in that. But I said, I thank God every day of my life I haven't stolen any goats.
I said, you can have all the sheep. At least you can have all the goats. I said, I don't know very much about sheep.
But I said, I was brought up for a few Years in the lands. Then I discovered this, that if sheep are in poor pastures and there's good feed next door, there's no fence on earth will stop, they'll crawl through somehow. But I said, you know goats, you can feed them on anything you like.
I think they caught on. I think they caught on. But, my dear friends, it's the sheep we're after.
Jesus says, come out of her. Who? My people. Jesus said, my sheep will hear my voice and when they hear it, they'll follow.
And thank God, friends, they will. And this message will go. And what is more, friends, this message is going for between the year 1844 and the end of all time, that message, Jesus said, we'll go.
And tonight, from Greenland's icy mountain to India's coral strands, that message is ringing out. It's going. And I'm going to ask you a question tonight.
You can answer it, friends, publicly if you like, but I'm not hesitant in the slightest bit. And here's the question. Can you tell me of any church or any organisation that is preaching this message outlined here to all the countries of the world except the people that are behind these lectures here in this theatre? If you know of any other, I'll be interested.
I've asked that question, Friends, I suppose, nearly around the globe. I've asked it now of tens of thousands of people. And I'm still waiting on an answer for Friends, I know there is no other.
There is no other church or organisation or denomination or movement in the whole world tonight that is preaching this message on a world basis except the people that are conducting these meetings right here. You know, friends, it's an amazing thing to meet. It's a thrilling thing to be able to read in this dear old book of God and see the very work, the last word work outlines that Jesus said, we'll go to all the world and then see it before your very eyes.
And it's a more wonderful thing even to know that God's called you to have a part in it, isn't it? Oh, friends, I say take the world, but give me Jesus and his truth that he has outlined here so clearly. And from now on, friends, from tomorrow nights, I'm going to start right in. And you'll notice that I will outline this message step by step until when I leave.
And it won't be long. By the time I leave, friends, I'll have made it just as clear as the sunlight, for there is no question about it. And whatever you do, friends, try and not miss a single night, even if you've got to crawl all the way for when Jesus comes, you won't be disappointed.
For Jesus, that is the last work that will go. And friends, all I ask is a hearing. What you do with it will be your business.
I won't fall out with you, and I won't dislike you one atom. If you turn it down cold, that'll be your responsibility. But I just asked for a hearing.
And it's our job to supply the evidence. And, friends, I haven't got a doubt that I'll make this truth just as plain and as clear as the sunlight. Because, friends, it's there.
And when you've got a clear case, all you need to do is get up and present it. Isn't that so? And there it is. The great danger that you and I face, friends, as individuals, is not to be awake to God's movement for the hour in which we live.
Turn over here to the 13th of Acts and notice a statement, friends, that is true in every age. It is true today. Acts, the 13th chapter.
And I'm down here in verse 40. Listen. Beware, therefore, lest it come upon thee which is spoken of in the prophets.
Behold, ye despises and wonder and perish. For I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. And God says, be careful.
You see, people are quite willing to accept the prophets of God of the past. They've always done that. But the prophet of that hour, they don't want back there in the days of Moses, they rejected Moses.
They took up stones to stone him, didn't they? They didn't want him. But you come along a few years from the time of Moses, and lo and behold, the people of Israel said, we believe in Moses. We'll stand by them.
And the same people, friends, put to death the prophets of that hour. Moses was rejected in his day. Come along a few years, and they all talked about Moses.
If we had lived back there, we would have followed Moses. But the same people, friends, stoned the prophets of that hour. You come down to the time of Jesus, and they talked about Moses.
What a great man we are, Moses disciples. And they talked about the prophets. And they said, if we had lived back there in the days of the prophets, we wouldn't have killed them.
We would have stood by them. And do you know, friends, those same people went out there and they sprinkled flowers over the tomb of the prophets. And they wept.
And they just poured their tears out over the tombs. And they said, oh, if we had lived back there in the days of the prophets, we wouldn't have done that. The same people, friends, were planning the murder of Jesus.
You come down a few years later. They stood by Moses, they stood by the prophets, they stood by Jesus, but they rejected Luther and Knox and those men that God had raised up. And so it is, friends, you come down to the last days, they'll talk about the prophets, they'll talk about Moses, they'll talk about Jesus, about Peter, James and John, about Wesley and Spurgeon and those men.
But they don't want the truth. For today. It's the same old story, friends.
And God says, be very careful that I don't work a work in your day and you miss it. But I want to say this, friends, there has never been a time in human history when God has given so much evidence of the truthfulness of his Word and his last messages today. Never.
There has never been a time, friends, when God pours in so much evidence as today. And you and I, friends, have more opportunity and more privileges. And the truth of God has never been clearer and more convincing than it is today.
And God said he will send it, and he outlined it in His Word so that we will never miss it. Well, you say, will it convert the world? No, friends, it won't. It won't convert a great number.
The truth has never been rushed. Or you say, but if it's the truth, well, then people will see it and follow it. When Noah preached back there, friends, how many went into the Ark? 8.
I meet plenty of people that say, oh, if I'd lived back there at the time of the flood, you wouldn't have kept me out, I'd have got in. I wonder. They say if I'd lived in the days of Jesus, I would have followed him.
I wonder. It would have cost you a lot. You'd have lost your job, you'd have lost your position, you'd have had a hard time, probably cost your life.
And friends, it's costing the lives of a lot of people today in a lot of countries today we have people being battered to death and they're lying in dungeons merely because they live the truth of God. We have thousands of them suffering that here in New Zealand, it's about as easy as ABC to live it. Just about that.
I know some think it's a bit hard, but believe me, I've been in a lot of countries where it's a hundred times harder. A hundred times harder. I went into a home over there in Turkey not long ago.
We went in to have a Bible study. When I came out to the front door, I noticed a piece of glass set in the door about as big as my thumbnail. I wondered what it was just about on the eye line set in the door.
When I stepped inside, it was a piece of glass about an inch and a half in diameter. And do you know, you could stand inside and look at that piece of glass and you'd see the complete person outside and they couldn't see you. I said, what have you got it for? I said, do you know every one of us could be jailed if we were caught having a Bible study here this afternoon.
Every one of us, but we had a Bible study. And every person in that audience that afternoon was accepting me, had been in prison, friends, because they were caught reading the Bible. They were doing it.
And down there in our little church, they had a list of 40 odd people that had met their death for the Bible that was in Istanbul. I could take you into Europe, friends, and places where scores and hundreds of our people have died in the last few years. I could take you down there to South America.
But at the present moment, they are dying. Churches are pulled down. Our people are being flogged to death.
And it's not behind the Iron Curtain either. In fact, not long ago, do you know, they took one of our girls, about 15, and egged on by the priest, 40 soldiers raped her and then they chopped off her head and they made a little sister hold the headless body up. And I've talked to men and women from down there and the men have taken off their shirt and showed me their scarred backs where they've been flogged for the truth of gods.
We have Cole Porters that are arrested and their boots have been taken off and they are beaten on the soles of their feet until their feet are a jelly, pounded to a pulpit so they can't get out and then probably thrown in a dungeon. And when their feet are healed, they're on the job again. You know, over there in Romania, just before the communists took over, it was a Catholic country and our people suffered a lot of persecution, a fearful lot.
In fact, some years ago when our work was only getting underway there, they called in our president. They said, tell me, how many Adventists do you have here in this place, in this country, in Romania? He said, we have 1500. Well, he said, I've called you in here to tell you that your work is going to stop.
Well, he said, I'm sorry, but he said, God has called us to Take a message to all the world and we've got to carry it. He said, listen, president, I've called you in here, and this was a government official, one of the head men. He said, I've called you in here to tell you that your work is going to stop.
Even if we've got to raise 1500 crosses and nail 1500 Adventists up on them, we're going to stop your work. Our president looked him in the eye. He said, sir, you can raise your 1500 crosses and you can nail 1500 Adventists up on it, but you'll find 1500 others will rise up to take their place.
And that's true. One year there, every preacher we had in the whole country was in the dungeons. But our lay people got out, friends, and in one year, our lay people alone brought in 1100 converts.
And the work goes on. Nothing will ever stop us. Nothing.
The radio work is beaming it around the world. Television. Thousands of preachers, thousands of Cole Porters, and hundreds of thousands of lay people are taking it.
And, friends, it will go. But I read here, in Revelation, chapter 12 and verse 17, again Jesus gives a glimpse of the last work that will go forward on this earth. Revelation 12, verse 17.
Listen. And the dragon? Who's that? No doubt about it. You just go back a few verses and say, that old dragon called the devil and Satan, you know who he is.
And the dragon was wroth with the woman of the church and went to make war with the remnant of her seed. What's the remnants? The last parts, right down there. In the last days when the last message is going.
The remnant of her seed which keeps the commandments of God and has the testimony of Jesus Christ. Only a remnant, not a great multitude has never been rushed. Truth has never been popular.
In the days of Jesus. A dozen men followed him. Eight went into the ark.
Truth has never been rushed. But friends, it was the truth of God. And in the last days we are told that thou get plenty of opposition.
For the dragon is still rocked with those that preach that message, for he hates it. He knows it's the sign of his own doom. For when Jesus comes, he's finished.
But, friends, this message with all its opposition will triumph. I like that. As Woodrow Wilson said, I would sooner perish in a cause I knew would triumph than triumph in a cause I knew would perish.
And it's true. What's the use, friends, of succeeding in a cause that is dooms? It's a thousand times better to perish in a cause that will triumph, isn't that so? And I'm going to read it to you, friends, for this message will triumph. Revelation 15.
How do I know? Listen, here's the book that never fails. Revelation 15, verse 2. And John is looking right over there into the land of glory, and he said, I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire, and them that had gotten the victory over the beast and over his mark and over the number of his name, and they stand on the sea of glass having the harps of God, and they sing the song of Moses and the lamb.
John saw a people that got the victory over the beast and over his mark. And they were right over there on the glory shore. He saw them triumphant.
Listen, friends, you'll never get the victory over the beast and over his mark if you don't know what it is, will you? You couldn't. And these people that John saw over there on the glory shore, friends, they had gotten the victory over the beast and over his mark. They'd come out under the preaching of this message.
And John saw them over there on the glory shore. It's a wonderful thing, friends, to be in a message that you know is going to triumph. And if we perish, let us perish looking towards the new Jerusalem, isn't that so? But remember, this last message is the greatest sign of all that Jesus is coming again.
For as soon as this work is finished, then Jesus will come. And listen, friend of mine, as you know the truth of God, isn't it time we put everything we've got into it? Isn't it? For this is the last message. I tell you, it's high time that we woke up.
You know, I meet some people that are in it, and they're just about half asleep. They're hardly awake all the time. In fact, they remind me of a doctor I heard about over there in America.
They said that man works seven days a week and 24 hours a day. Somebody said, how does he sleep? Doesn't he get any sleep? Oh, yes, they said he sleeps 12 hours a day. They said, how can that be if he works 24 hours a day and he sleeps 12 hours a day? How do you work it in? Well, he said, he's half asleep all the time.
That's the way he gets on. Well, there's some people like that, you know, they're just about half asleep all the time. But listen, friends, if it is the last message, it isn't the time that we awoke.
Isn't it? As Paul said, it's time that we woke up and put Everything we've got into it. I meet some that want to sit back and criticise. I bless your heart.
It's time we got rid of the lot and got in and did the work of God, isn't it? And you ought to say Amen to that too, and not sit there half asleep. It's time you woke up, isn't it, and got on with the job. Because, friends, it's the very last work and it's the message of Jesus that is going and will soon be finished.
In fact, every time I think of this message, it always reminds me of Sir William Russell when he was walking up under the gallows to meet his fate. He put his hand in his pocket and he pulled out his watch and he handed it to his physician. He said, here, you can keep this watch.
I'm finished now with time. I'm dealing with eternity. And dear friends, as the last work is well advanced, you and I are just about finished with time.
We are on the borders of eternity. And so, friends, as the last great work is going forward, you and I will certainly need the power of God to live it. If ever there was a time in history when we need to see God and read His Word and make sure that we've got the truth, not something that just fits in with our desires, but to see whether we've got the truth of the living God, that we might be ready when Jesus comes.
You know, somebody, in fact, two or three people here have come and asked me about healing. They say, you know, that's the most important thing in Christianity today. No fear, it's not.
It's goods and it works. But listen, friends, the most important thing that you and I can face is to be ready to meet Jesus. Isn't that so? And truth, my friends, is the most important thing we can have.
And Jesus has outlined his truth. And that's what you and I need to get in line with. And I know deep down in your hearts you've got a desire to know the truth of God and lives.
Let us look to God in prayer and ask him for strength. Our Heavenly Father, tonight we thank Thee for Thy love. We thank Thee for the great truth that Thou has revealed to us.
Bless each soul. Dear Lord, in this audience, they all need Thee, dear Lord, every one of them. We've been stirred tonight as we've looked into the last great sign, the last message that Thou hast outlined.
And dear Lord, above everything else, we've got a great desire to know thy truth in all its beauty and limits, to know the truth as it is in Jesus. And tonight, Lord, as our heads are bowed, we know there are people right here that are just longing to follow Thee and Thy truth. And they're determined to look right into Thy truth.
And as they find the truth, to follow it, and as their heads are bowed and their eyes closed, I wonder how many here tonight as a sign to God that they are going to look into this. And if it's truth, they'll want to live it. Father, we thank Thee for Thy presence and the desire Thou hast given to us in our hearts to live for Thee and follow Thee.
Bless every dear soul here, Lord. Keep them all close by Thy sight. Bring them all back again tomorrow night as we outline this amazing prophecy which is the foundation to so much in Thy word words.
Bless them, Lord. Make us earnest, as Jesus said, to strive to enter into the straight gate. Help us, Lord, to be earnest in these things and to seek Thee and to follow Thy word.
For Jesus sake, we ask it. Amen.
This programme has been brought to you by 3ABN Australia radio.
