All right, would you turn with me to Jude? I'd like to, you know, with Jude as the primary backdrop and the epistles of Peter and Timothy as secondary backdrops, I have been weaving together the multitude of scriptures that say to our hearts that these are the last days before the coming of Jesus Christ. and that the Lord's coming as soon, and the rapture of the church, and his bride taking his bride unto himself. I'd like to read a few of those scriptures to you this morning, just as the backdrop of these things that we're talking about And then take you back, if we get the opportunity, to Proverbs 30 again, where I'd like to talk a little more about the family relationships we have and the effect they have upon our lives and upon our nation and upon the second coming of Jesus Christ. Of course, I'm not using the records of Jesus at the moment on his coming, again, revealed in Matthew 24 and 25, and Luke 17 and 21, and many other portions of scripture, because they're tremendous if you want to read Matthew 24 and 5, Luke 17 and 21, on the second coming, Jesus' own words, you can read those. I'll be speaking of some of those things at another time, and have spoken in the past months about those portions. But I'd like to begin at Jude, which is one chapter, the eighth verse, Jude 8. Speaking of Sodom and Gomorrah and the terrible wickedness of the day, and of course Jesus says, as it was in the days of Sodom, so shall it be in the day of the succumbing of the Son of Man. Then Jude says here, likewise also these filthy dreamers, this is in his age, in our age, all are being judged the same. It makes no difference. God's judgments do not change. May I warn you about this? God hasn't changed one iota. If you can look in the scriptures and find what God did to adulterers back years and years ago, beloved, you can find his judgment upon adultery today. It's no less severe. Israel may have stoned them to death, but God's judgment doesn't have to do with physical death so much so often. but has to do with his culminating judgments. And we're not to think that because Christ is the end of the law to everyone that believes that we can violate the moral law of God. It will always stand. It's always the picture of his holiness and his righteousness. It is a manifestation of his character. And so the law of Moses, written way back there, we can tell by judgments of God in the past what his judgments will be in the future. His judgments haven't changed. His mercy endureth forever. Those who know Christ as personal Savior have the glorious joy of knowing that their sins are forgiven, that God does not reckon sin to the believer, that blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin. And aren't you thankful this morning if you're saved? I tell you, I don't know what you'd do. Where would you go with your sins? I look at all your faces and I think I really don't know you. Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad? Is there anybody would really want anybody else but God to know them? No one really wants anybody but God to know them. There's not a human being in all this world that you would ever want to know everything about you, every thought you've ever had, every passion, every desire, every immoral thought, every dishonest act. These things are hidden. Man looks on the outward things only, God looks upon the heart. But oh, it's so blessed to know that he is the one that does look upon the heart. And here we're warned likewise also those filthy dreamers who defile the flesh and despise dominion. And boy, we're living in an age, aren't we, where they despise dominion. Nobody wants to be governed anymore. Every man did as he thought was right in his own eyes. That's what it was in the Old Testament, and that's what it is like today. If you'd have listened to some of the slogans of the SDS, I was reading some of them, and that the whole principle is that each one is to do as they feel is right in their own heart. They're practically quoting the scriptures. that government means nothing. Despise dominion. Have nothing to do with it. Don't worry about it. You can violate anything. It doesn't make any difference. Well, I don't care. You can violate all you want and you can escape the judgment of the police department and the officials, but you'll never escape the judgment of God. You can hide away, and you can hide your sin, and you can do all that, but you're not hiding from God. God looks upon your heart. And so Jude warns that these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. And then the 11th and 12th verses. Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward. perished. Notice he uses past tense. He's speaking of the future judgments to come, and he speaks of them as though the judgments accomplished. He says if you've been anything or done anything of their character, you'll have the same judgment. It's not one bit of difference. The judgments of those in the past is the guarantee of God's judgments in the future. If God judged wickedness in the past, he'll judge wickedness now. He'll judge wickedness in the future. They've gone the way of Cain. They've ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward. They've perished in the gainsaying of Corrie. These are spots in your feasts of charity when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear. Clouds they are without water. Imagine, they come to your feasts of love. They come to your Lord's table. They partake of the elements. And I have to say this, that You can come to the Lord's table from natal doomsday, but unless you have a personal faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, unless the blood has cleansed you from sin, those elements of the Lord's table are just speaking to you of damnation, that's all. Whosoever shall come to this table of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. You cannot come to that table and expect that table to do anything for you. It is a communion of the saints, and that's all it is. It is a communion with Jesus Christ. The communion table has no power to forgive sins. The forgiveness of sins is in the blood of Jesus Christ and nothing else. There's no other forgiveness. You can't be forgiven any other way. And so when we come to that Lord's table, it says here, they come, they're spots in your feasts of love. when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear, clouds they are without water, carried about of winds, trees whose fruit withereth without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, both physically dead, spiritually dead, twice dead, Oh, how blessed it is to know that if we've died with Jesus Christ, the second death can never touch us. If ye be dead with Christ, then are ye also risen with him? Thanks be unto God that giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Risen with him, walking with him day by day, these people are twice dead plucked up by the roots, raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame, wandering stars. What, you know, boy, I tell you, no writer ever wrote like this. God wrote this. Can't be much clearer, can he? Without fear. Let me ask you something. You know, that without fear challenges me. There are people who actually are without fear of the judgment of God. They don't understand, they cannot see that one day, no matter what happens and no matter what they believe, it's not a question of whether we believe that we shall face the judgment of God. All men shall face the judgment of God, whether they believe or not. God doesn't ask for faith. as to whether we're going to be judged or not, all men will be judged, and believers will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ, and unbelievers will be judged at the great white throne, because their names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Is your name written in that Lamb's Book of Life this morning? Is it? When we read these passing raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame, wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. And then the 16th, the 19th verses, these are murmurers, complainers. Do you meet a lot of complaining Christians, so-called Christians? You know, be careful, chronic complainer. If you're a chronic complainer, the Lord's got something to say. These are those that are murmurers, whisperers, gossipers, complainers, always complaining, nothing's ever right. walking after their own lusts, own desires, and their mouth speaks great swelling words, having men's person and admiration because of advantage. But beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time who should walk after their own ungodly lusts, Notice this, don't be concerned about, you know, sometimes people come to me and they get concerned. Somebody, they'll say to me, oh, so-and-so, you know, who was saved. Why, you know, this takes a great deal of judgment when you say that. I'm very careful. When I pray for the president, I don't say, Lord, we're so thankfully saved. I don't know. And when you begin to say, you know, oh, so-and-so that was saved, pastor, they've been living in the world for the last two years and living like the devil. And I spoke to them last week, and I had this happen just recently, spoke to them last week and said, how about you? I never believed in Jesus Christ. And then this person said to me, isn't it a shame? There they were saved, and now they're out there in the world. I said, why don't you believe what they say? Did he say he never believed in Christ? Believe him. It never upsets my heart except to challenge me very deeply within as to making sure that someone really knows what salvation is when I hear of someone who's done this thing. I know of those who made a testimony for Jesus Christ who claim they knew Christ as their personal Savior, and are out in the world, and are living in sin, and have nothing to do with the church of Jesus Christ, and want nothing to do with God, and want nothing to do with believers, and all I say to you, beloved, is they were never saved, and forget it. Pray for them with all your heart, but get away from this idea that they've been saved, and they're living for the devil. John puts it well in his epistle. He says, they left us because they were not of us. Because had they been of us from the beginning, they never would have left us. We're to bring down the condign hand and judgment of God to understand that there is no such thing as the middle road with Jesus Christ. If you can live in sin and like it and you're not grieved in your heart and coming back to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and confessing your sin, beloved, I then challenge you to get on your knees before God and say, am I really saved if I can live this way? And I'm afraid in the church, we've made salvation so cheap sometimes, and so easy to come to Christ, that people get the idea, you know, that, oh, it's just a matter of walking forward, and then you're a Christian, and from there on in, it doesn't matter much what you do. Well, I want to tell you, beloved, that according to Jesus Christ, by their fruits, you should know them. And if the fruits aren't right, I'd look at the tree to see where they came from. That's why I continually challenge hearts on this. God is sovereign and salvation is eternal, but it's only eternal to this age. Not to the unsaved, not to those of whom he speaks here. He says, they feast with you, they come to your feasts, they partake of them. He says, you can't hardly discern them, but he says, they're clouds without water carried about by winds, trees whose fruit withers. Notice what kind of fruit they bear. None. Without fruit, that's what it says. Notice that right down there in that 12th verse. Without fruit, Jesus says, by their fruit you'll know them. These people know fruit. Now, some people have an idea that when I say fruit here, I'm talking about soul winning. I'm not. Soul winning is precious and blessed, but it's not fruit. The fruits of the Spirit are these. Love, joy, this is all in Christ, peace, long suffering, patience. You look them up there. You can look them up, beloved, and find out every fruit of the Spirit so preciously set before us. I believe it should be around Galatians 5, 22nd verse, somewhere in there, I think. But the fruits of the Spirit, they're not fruit bearers, you see? Not fruit bearers. That's what it says here, without fruit. You see, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, raging waves of the sea. Then their murmurs complain a 16th verse, walking after their own lust. Remember ye the words which were spoken before the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how they told you there should be mockers in the last time who'd walk after their own ungodly lusts. Notice, these be they who separate themselves and are sensual, having not the Spirit. Now, you know, we're living in a rough day. We're on a rough day. Well, let me just read a couple of more scriptures. I'm going to just give you a scripture and a few comments, but The Scriptures are so tremendous, you know, they say by themselves such a tremendous message. First Timothy, fourth chapter, first to third verses. First Timothy, fourth chapter, the first to the third verses. Now notice, remember now what we've just read in Jude. The book is so loaded with these verses that it's tremendous as you read them. Fourth chapter, first of the third verses. Now the Spirit speaks expressly so that there's no doubt that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith. He's just been talking about that in Jude. Raging waves of the sea, spewing out their own shame. feasting with you at the table. They're giving heed, he says, to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry. Boy, are we living in a day like that today. It's not a matter of forbidding hardly to marry. They just don't like the idea of getting married at all. And here, we're warned that in that latter day, there would be this forbidding to marry. to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. And then the sixth verse, if thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. And then over the 15th verse, meditate upon these things, give thyself wholly to them. that the profiting, thy profiting, may appear to all. Take heed to thyself and unto the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself," notice, and them that hear thee. Then 2 Peter 2. I'm just taking a now notice from Jude to Paul, now to Peter. 2 Peter 2. 2 Peter 2, the first of the third verses. Notice again, prophetic, but there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow, notice, their pernicious ways. by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. May I say this, that word pernicious here, very important. The word in the Greek is apollio, and it means they're spiritually lost ways. They're damnable ways. This is, you can look this up. They're perishing ways. They're dying ways. They're wasted ways. They're very hurtful ways, pernicious, their ways. Many shall follow their pernicious ways. Beloved, there's a whole generation following something that is out of the pit of hell. a whole generation following into areas where young people and older people, too, should never have gone into. areas of the psychedelic, areas of the marijuana, areas that are filled with all that is filthy and unclean and impure. And even though the mind is expanded so that it thinks beautiful thoughts, may I remind you that sin always looks rather beautiful? That there's nothing in Scripture that has ever said that sin looks ugly? that it tells us that Moses forsook the pleasures of sin, that he might rather suffer with the people of God. And so there is a whole area, their pernicious ways, their very hurtful ways, their damning ways, those ways which lead away from God. and take them into areas of fleshly sin. Remember Jude, sensual of ease, having not the Spirit of God, yearning for fleshly satisfactions. yearning for those things. And beloved, if I don't speak of it as a prophet of God, as a servant of God, who's going to speak of it from the pulpits? Where are you going to hear it? There seems to be such a fear to say these things. God, give me grace to be able to say those things which are needful to our hearts. It isn't just touching, if I might say. Do you know that last year, according to J. Edgar Hoover, over 240,000 teenagers left home to hippie land. Over one million illegitimate children in the United States. Do you know that nearly 40% of the marriages performed, they said, in New York City were of girls who were already pregnant? If the ministry is not going to speak, isn't this the very thing that God is warning against? Isn't this the very thing that Jude speaks of? They're being sensual and filled with lusts, leading many astray with their pernicious ways. I cannot picture when I read of ministers or organizations that are sponsoring premarital sex and all of these other things, it amazes me in this age we live in. Let me speak of it. Let me speak to our young people and say, God deliver you from this. God deliver you from that which will destroy your heart and your mind. Your mind is going to be crushed under the weight of it. I read this week that according to the Psychiatric Association in this country, that over 65 or 70% of all psychiatric care they are now taking care of is composed of those who have engaged in immorality. What is it saying? The mind is crushed under the weight of sin. Though many have seared their consciences, as we read before, with a hot iron, I would remind you, beloved, that the heart God made you, and God will finally judge you, and God will be the one who will determine everything about you. And therefore, since you know, you must appear before God. You must appear before Him for judgment. It is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment. And since every single one of us, whether you're young or old, face judgment, then it would seem to me that by any common reasoning that we would know that these sins that are being so commonly committed in the world around us and which are crushing people mentally. Oh, young people, how I plead with you. Flee temptation! Resist the devil! and says, and he will flee from you. And I have seen those who one time said that they had come to Christ as personal savior being duped. They get into, listen, let me tell you something. About two months ago, my heart was broken here. Oh, it wasn't a boy from my church. but it's a boy I know very well. His parents have moved away since. But this boy came every day, every Sunday to this church on Sunday afternoon. He's the boy, you may have seen him, came here about 2.33 in the afternoon, cleaned the basement, came from a pretty good church, a good church, let me say that, and cleaned the basement, took all the chairs, got it ready for our young people's meeting. I'd meet him downstairs. I'd say, John, it's good to see you. I talked to him about the Lord, got him to the point at one place where in talking to him, he thought maybe he'd like to serve the Lord someday. Then he went up to King's College. He went up there for about one year. When he came home that summer, he said to his parents, he said, you know, the food's not so good up at King's College. This was about four years ago. I'd say the food is very good today, too. But he said, the food isn't so good. It's not like home, Mom. And he said, I don't know, I don't feel like going back because really I just can't eat it. And his mother and father had a good table, you know, and mother was an excellent cook. And so he said, couldn't I go to some other college? Well, mother and daddy said, well, if you really want to. And here was a place they should have said, now stand it. It's a good Christian school. Go, son. He didn't need much encouragement. I didn't know a thing about this, because after he once got to college, he didn't clean here anymore, see? So his mother and father said, all right, if you want to. So he went to a local college. I won't use the name right now, but it's very local. He went to a local college. It wasn't long before he was involved with the wrong crowd. Four weeks ago, I came in, in the morning, and I got a call on the phone. I said, Pastor Guillen? He said, yes. I just want to tell you, John so-and-so is dead. He's 22 years old. I said, dead? He said he was a healthy fellow. rugged, athlete. I said, what happened to him? He had taken LSD, went down to the East Rockaway Station, and blew his brains out. Now, beloved, If the Word of God doesn't make clear to us, those parents have moved away. Hearts broken? Oh, broken. Oh, that we would listen to God. Young people, please, I plead with you, listen to the Lord. Here was a boy who, to me, showed great possibilities. Lovely fellow, cheerful. good mom and dad, that they made one mistake, they said, they should have said, why don't you stay where you are, John? Come home weekends, something of that character. And that one thing, but imagine, here's a boy, started on marijuana, I got the whole story there, went to LSD, and under the effects of LSD, You may have read it in the paper, East Rockaway Station blew his brains out. Now, beloved, may God speak to our hearts as he speaks in his word here. Many shall follow their pernicious ways by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. Boy, I tell you, I went to my study that morning and I said, Lord, please, I pray for my young people. Please, God. This boy I loved, I talked to many times. I talked to his parents, honestly. I'd gone down to them when John worked here and talked to them because I thought this boy had possibilities. He had talked to me about serving Christ. And the next thing I hear, this has happened. Oh, how I pray for you. This is a rough world. No young people have ever faced anything like you are facing. I have to say that. I believe that with all my heart. It's a rough world. But, oh, young people, how I plead with you, come close to Christ. Never could have conceived of that happening to him. I don't know anything about the boy as to his faith or anything else. All I know is I spoke to him. But oh, how I plead with you this morning, young people. Listen to God, please. Listen to God. You know, sometimes you may not listen to your parents. Okay. The parents won't have to worry if you listen to God. Because God will fill in exactly what your parents want for your life, I can tell you that. That's exactly the same. So may God do this for us this morning. Let us pray. Father, we thank Thee for Thy Word. And Lord, as we've read these portions, it really, as we read it prophetically and we see how God says in the last days there'll be false teachers, false prophets going to come among us, bring in damnable things, even denying the Lord that brought them and bring swift destruction upon them. And many will follow their pernicious ways, their vicious ways, their destroying ways, their hurtful ways. And many times the truth has been evil spoken of because of those who've held the Word of God at one time and then get into evil and do evil things and wicked things and the way of truth is evil spoken of. Oh, Father, how we pray this morning for our young people, touch their hearts. Lord, as I think of John, how my heart breaks for those parents. They were in a real state of shock, hard to believe. Father, we pray that out of this there are other children involved in that family, that wherever they've gone to live, that you'd touch those children and those parents, that there might be such a radical change. Lord, how this should speak to parents' hearts this morning and young folks. Father, we pray that our lives might really shine for Jesus Christ. Touch us, Lord. Oh, God, give mothers and fathers the joy of being godly mothers and fathers. Help them to stand fast for those truths that they've believed down through the years. There's such a falling away today. It's a sign of the last days. God, help us to be strong. And Lord, would you bless our young people, and may they, in that love for their parents, understand that the parents yearn for but one thing. that their lives might truly be fruitful lives, and that when they come to their deathbed, which all of us will come to unless Jesus comes, when they come to their deathbeds, there'll be that in their heart which says, thank God that I had such parents that brought me up to love Jesus Christ as my Savior. Now, Father, if any hearts are here this morning in need of Christ, we pray that thou wouldst touch them by thy Holy Spirit And that as so many others have done, this morning at the door they would just say to me, Pastor, this morning I came to Christ. Or, Pastor, this morning I really decided I want to live for Jesus. I've been saved. I'm a young person. I really want to live for Christ. God helping me. Holy Spirit strengthening me. I will live for Jesus Christ. We pray this in his blessed name. Amen.