[Darris McNeely] We get a lot of response from our viewers on "Beyond Today" and the readers of "Beyond Today" magazine. We had one recently, someone who has been watching our ads that have been running for several months on "Newsmax TV." And we've been running ads for some of our prophecy booklets because prophecy is very interesting and it's in the news and very relevant to help people understand what's going on in the world today. This reader says that, "You're focused," he says, "on trying to convince people that these are the last days because of what's going on. I think," he says, "that you're taking advantage of a very bad situation in the world to benefit yourself." Interesting observation as he watches our ads for the Middle East and Bible prophecy, the four horsemen and other booklets that we have here on Beyond Today.

We don't really benefit from what we offer free to the public in our magazine, "Beyond Today," and any of our booklets and literature. We don't ask for money. We provide everything for free. So it's hard to charge us with benefiting from the news and our effort to help people understand what's going on. This viewer goes on, "Your message seems to be, don't worry about trying to correct any of the ungodliness in the world. Just sit down and pray and Jesus will take you out of this world, soon to escape all of this."

He later mentions that we must believe in the idea of the rapture, which we don't. We don't teach that. We have a number of "Beyond Today" programs that show the fallacy of that teaching about the rapture. We don't teach that. We're not trying to get people to just get into escapism and stick their head into the sand. But we do understand the times we live in and we do understand Bible prophecy. And we understand in an interesting or reasonable approach to the timeline of Scripture, that indeed we are living in the last days, the time that precedes the second coming of Jesus Christ. And without the setting of dates and getting overly alarmist, we do seek to help people to understand what's going on in the world to be following Christ's teaching about watching and understanding so that they can take care of their own life and avoid the problems of despair, anxiety, and hopelessness that might come from just a bland understanding of the world and the news that are going on.

This reader goes on, he says that "You're discouraging people from acting against the evil that's going on, and all you're doing is encouraging an expedited self-fulfillment of Bible prophecy." Bible prophecy is going to come to pass regardless of any human effort or endeavor. We're engaged in the effort to help people to understand what the Bible does say prophetically about the world conditions and issues.

Now, when it comes to what we should do regarding that, the ultimate impact is that all of us should live godly lives. We should be motivated to godly righteousness as a result of understanding that there is a God of judgment, and that ultimately, judgment will be brought upon the nations. But that message doesn't leave us with despair. It can leave us with hope because we understand what the Bible says, what God is going to do, and that at one point in the future, Christ is going to return. He is going to intervene and bring a judgment upon the nations of this world in anticipation of the establishment of His righteous Kingdom upon this Earth. The Bible does talk about a lot of bad news before that time takes place. But to say that we might be attempting to profit or to benefit in some way, that's not the message and the mission of those of us here on "Beyond Today." We preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. And we encourage people to take control of their lives, work for good in your community, do what you can to live righteously, to work against evil by your example, by your teaching, and in whatever practical benefit you might be to people and to your community, certainly do that. We're not going to be raptured away and out of this. And we do have to make our best in this world at this time as we come to understand what God is doing.

The Bible does give us that hope and that foundation in life. Think about that. Whatever you view and read with our "Beyond Today" message and understand that it is meant to help you understand and have hope, rather than despair.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.