How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord is laid for your faith in his excellent word.

Is the stage already set for the Antichrist?

Well, Dr. J. Vernon McGee believed that it was, and that was over 40 years ago.

Well, before the terrorist attacks, pandemics, and the global unrest that have shaken our world in the past few years, he held those beliefs.

Welcome to Through the Bible.

I'm Steve Schwetz.

And in this study of the Old Testament book of Zachariah, we're going to

hear about the Foolish Shepherd, also known as the Antichrist. But to start, let's hear from a

listener in Texas who wrote about living in the Valley of Despair. That's exactly who Zachariah was

speaking to. So here's Dr. McGee reading that letter that he received years ago.

It says, you once said you had never been the man you wanted to be.

If you had been the man you wanted to be, you wouldn't be the preacher that you are.

When people are hurting, they aren't interested in a preacher's eloquence and rhetoric.

When people are living in the valley of despair, they aren't interested in the preacher's accomplishments.

They want help.

They want someone who can comfort them with the same comfort with which God comforted them.

If you had been the man you want to be, you would be just like that rich preacher you told us about

who preached on the blessings of poverty.

You would be a Job's comforter, multiplying words without knowledge.

You once said you had never preached the sermons you wanted to preach.

Your preaching and teaching is greater than you know.

In the Bible, God tells us a tree is known by the fruit it produces. I receive Jesus as my Savior through your teaching of the word of God.

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