JOPLIN, Mo. —
The Dec. 21, 2012, date marking the end of the Mayan calendar holds no significance for David Hall. Nor do the suggested theories of many modern-day doomsday theorists.
The true secrets of the world's end times exist in the scriptures of the Bible, said the 76-year-old man Carthage man. Hall has been doing research on the end times since being moved to do so by God nearly 50 years ago.
"I began my research when the Holy Spirit told me I needed to start studying and finding out more about the end times," said Hall, who leads weekly Bible study groups on the topic in people's homes and job sites, as well as at church and Sunday school classes. "I try to go wherever I can learn more. It started in Bible study with family, friends and whoever wanted to come. Everybody would bring their Bibles, and we would not only talk about it, but also have a lot of prayer about it."
Signs of the end times are everywhere, if you study the Bible, said Hall, who worked six years as a financial planner with the Christian Broadcasting Network and world-renowned evangelist Pat Robertson.
Focusing on the Bible, which he calls the blueprint for life, is essential to getting a better insight into the end times, Hall said.
He added that through reading The Lamplighter, a bi-monthly Christian magazine, he has found a lot of evidence supporting his beliefs, such as one issue that listed 50 biblically supported reasons as to why we are living in the end times.
Some of these include increases in instability of nature, Matthew 24:7 and Luke 21:11; lawlessness and violence, Matthew 24:12; immorality, Matthew 24:37; materialism, 2 Timothy 3:2; depraved entertainment, 2 Timothy 3:4; calling evil good and good evil, 2 Timothy 3:3 and Isaiah 5:20; use of drugs, 2 Timothy 3:3; attacks on Jesus, Romans 1: 18-19; persecution of Christians, Matthew 24:9; wars and rumors of wars, Matthew 24:6; Arab threat to Israel, Ezekiel 35-36; and denial of the Second Coming, 2 Peter 3:3-4, as well as creation by God, Romans 1: 18-22.
The Lamplighter, an outreach of the Lamb and Lion Ministries, founded by David Reagan in McKinney, Texas, is a strong publication on the end times, Hall said.
Hall said it is important to tell people the truth of what is going on in the world.
"Somebody has to stand in the gap," he said "Somebody has to blow the trumpet. I wish ministers would teach more on how the Scriptures tie in with how we are living today."
Hall hinted that the writing is on the wall, but it is difficult to say how everything will turn out.
"The time clock of the world is Israel, and we are closer to the end than you might think," he said. "It is just a matter of watching and seeing what happens."
Lifestyles
Carthage man's research on end times centers on Bible
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