The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry will present its annual Look Up virtual Bible prophecy conference this weekend—Friday and Saturday, March 10 and 11.
The theme this year is “Unraveling the Mysteries of the Bible,” and it deals with a number of questions related to eschatology.
The conference is free for all to participate and will remain available to re-watch until March 24. Registration is required at lookupfoi.org.
This online event is especially significant for me because it is the first time I have been involved in Look Up—or in any speaking opportunity of this magnitude.
I was amazed and humbled at the invitation to present the concluding message, in a series of six, on the subject, “Why Must There Be a Millennial Kingdom?”
The other speakers and their subjects are as follows:
Dr. Jim Showers – “Why Is Prophecy Important for Today?”
Dan Price – “What Are the Signs of Christ’s Coming?”
Chris Katulka – “Why Must Things Get Worse Before They Get Better?”
Steve Herzig – “Where is the United States in the End-times?”
Dr. Mike Stallard – “When Will the Kingdom Begin?”
I was given complete latitude to develop my presentation, so I expanded upon five reasons why I believe that there must be a 1,000-year kingdom of Christ on this Earth—as our Lord rules the world from Jerusalem.
A big part of the joy of being involved in this project for me was traveling to our headquarters in Westville, N.J., to spend time with my colleagues there—preparing for and then recording these conference sessions.
My message not only comes last in the series, but it was the final one to be recorded. This worked to my advantage, as I was able to sit and watch all the other recordings first, allowing me to get acclimated to the environment. I will have to say that this was really the first time I have been on the set of any video production of this scope.
Another thing that helped me is that I did not specifically have to preach just to the cameras. All FOI staff were invited to come and listen to the sessions as they were able. There was a good representation of the faithful still there for me as I did the final recording, and that made it much easier for me, as I was able to talk directly to an audience.
All of this was a great learning experience for me, and I hope that it will provide a wonderful learning opportunity for the thousands of people who will view this material in the days, weeks, months, and years to come.
Jesus exhorted His disciples in Luke 21:28:
“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
May God enable this Look Up conference to provide significant Biblical insight into the issues of this time, which so many people all around us are seeking to understand. May it calm those with “hearts failing them from fear” (Lk. 21:26)—instilling peace from the One who is returning to overturn the curse of sin.
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Paul J. Scharf (M.A., M.Div., Faith Baptist Theological Seminary) is a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in Columbus, WI, and serving in the Midwest. For more information on his ministry, visit sermonaudio.com/pscharf or foi.org/scharf, or email pscharf@foi.org.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version.
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