Good evening if you all can start to take your seats. There's a few up here on the second row, and it looks like there's a few in between There also be overflow in the lobby. It'll be on the television screens out there At this time I ask those that are able to to please stand for the posting of the colors Thank you. You may be seated first and foremost. I want to welcome everyone to the Durham Police Department's annual service award ceremony My name is Captain Mary Ann Bond, and I'm joined here by Lieutenant J. L. Jackson Tonight we are here to recognize citizens civilians and Durham police officers for their extraordinary efforts and dedication to the city of Durham Their efforts and contributions to our community help strengthen the bond between law enforcement and the citizens of Durham Those we are honoring tonight were nominated by peers supervisors and community members At this time, I would like to acknowledge any special guests, and I ask that you please stand any federal elected officials any state elected officials County elected officials city elected officials city and county department heads all law enforcement the executive command staff and Also, welcome Boy Scout troop pack 137 from st. Joseph AME church in Durham These young scouts are working toward their citizenship requirement and are in attendance to learn more about the important role Citizens play in the keeping the community safe Thank you all for attending Like to mention one final item before we get started and that's tonight's ceremony is being broadcast live on the Durham television network The program will be rebroadcast several over the next several months and made available online for on-demand viewing At this time I invite chaplain Phil Wiggins to the podium for the invocation Please join me in prayer Heavenly father we come to you this evening thanking you for the many blessings Such as friendships our professions in which we have been called to serve the talents and skills given to each of us Today we come to recognize and honor those that have gone beyond what is required in the services to their organization and to the community With this special recognition comes added responsibility to those being honored It will now be their role as they are awarded for their work and leadership skills To demonstrate humility in that there are so many others as deserving And now they have the task to lift up those around them to a higher level of awareness motivation and commitment to perform well and go the extra mile and to help others climb the ladder of success with patients trust and respect We thank you for those being recognized tonight that their work and accomplishments May continue leading them towards excellence and all they do in Jesus name. I pray amen I now invite Durham police chief Jose Lopez to the podium for remarks and for a special presentation of an award Thank You captain byne first of all I'd like to recognize someone who is not an elected official, but it's the individual that I work for Mr. Tom Bonfield For his attendance here. I think it's important to note that because of support that the city manager's office gives to the City Police Department, and I wish to publicly. Thank you. I've been given a very difficult task here today I've been asked to be brief and that's going to be a bit hard today ceremony Recognizing our police officers and also recognizing members of our community for the efforts to work That they've done during the year is an extremely important Situation in an important time in today's law enforcement times It's very important that the message be sent out that both the community and this police department work together Especially here in the city of Durham that that's the way that we do it here that it is one family One family being the city both citizens and both police officers and I think it's very important that we recognize how we work together what we do together and Appreciate ourselves even more for that We deal with a lot of companies here in the city of Durham As far as working for the with the police department and one company that we deal with is Down-home Harley Davidson and They work with our motorcycle squad Motorcycle unit is one of the heaviest accolade units that we have they do an excellent job in their services asked all over the The the state and also in DC during the memorial. They're called upon to serve there also, but we have someone from The from the Harley Davidson Center who really has gone out of their way to To service that unit and to make sure that unit continues moving of course We do pay the vendor for the work they do but this individual has just stuck out To help us in keeping that that unit going at a moment's notice To the extent that I came to realize that he really needs to be recognized by this police department I like to call up will Hoyle Will makes it seem like our motorcycles never break down It always makes it seem like they have the best equipment and I wonder sometimes how we can afford that equipment But I think a lot of it has to do with the recommendations that are given Above and beyond so I want to take this moment to present with appreciation To will Hoyle for your outstanding service and dedication to the Durham Police Department this plaque. Thank you very much Now there are a lot of individuals who are going to be recognizing so I'm certain that many of you are going to be Disappointed that I'm going to stop speaking and I move on with the program. Thank you Good evening. The first awards for this evening will be the community service medals The community service medals honor DPD police officers non-sworn DPD employees and Members of the general public for service to the community above and beyond the call of duty The first award is awarded to a group of individuals that make up the city of Durham's neighborhood improvement services community engagement team Linwood Best Nicholas Allen Robin Dixon Laura Beideger Pamela Pagan and Wanoda stature By as departmental mission the NIS community engagement team is responsible for providing outreach and education To Durham residents and community organizations to eradicate blight and hence neighborhood vitalization Ensure safer neighborhoods and to encourage an active participation in neighborhood redevelopment and public policy and decision-making dialogue But in an extraordinary demonstration of the city's culture of service philosophy NIS community engagement staff have essentially operated as a voluntary ad hoc committee Supporting DPD's annual national night out of observances Their support and action greatly contribute to the DPD's national night out coordinators management and implementation of the observances many facets and 2014 with record numbers of registrations The NIS teams behind the scenes involvement was instrumental to another successful year Community community engagement team members Linwood best Nicholas Allen Robin Dixon Laura Beideger Pamela Pagan and Wanoda stature Demonstrated above and beyond teamwork and customer service to to DPD and the community These team members have been vital partners in our successful national night out observances Daryl Hedgepath Daryl Hedgepath Manages neighborhood improvement services impact team that is known as the department's the department's rapid responders Their mission is to remedy non-compliant housing properties abate public nuisances such as litter graffiti illegal dumping and abandoned shopping carts and conduct neighborhood service project projects Although law enforcement slash public safety is not the the team's core mission Daryl's actions and can-do cheerful attitude have helped to facilitate Pedestrian and motorist safety as part of national night out neighborhood events over the years Specifically with the support of NIS administration Daryl voluntarily manages delivery of barricade street closures relative to registered national night out events While barricade delivery may seem fairly simple and perhaps mundane The service is actually quite time-consuming and more importantly absolutely essential to national night out operations What makes the responsibility more challenging is the changes in registrations Locations and an add-on registrations often create last-minute barricade logistical issues This seamless service is provided across three city departments mainly because Daryl's enthusiasm professionalism responsiveness and resourcefulness Furthermore the national night out barricade service to date has been provided free of charge to communities because Daryl Hedgepath Makes it happen behind the scenes and always with a big welcoming smile Helen chick Hinton and Pat Ellis Durham crime stoppers Helen chick Hinton and Pat Ellis are both dedicated long-serving members of the Durham crime stoppers board Chick Hinton has been a Durham crime stoppers board member for approximately 20 years and is the longest serving member on the board in The time she has been a board member she has served as secretary and as backup secretary Chick can always be counted on to attend community events to represent crime stoppers and frequently Participates in project safe neighborhood community responses Her late husband Billy Hinton also served on the board of directors for 17 years Chick has been active with district two partners against crime and has attended Durham police department citizens police academies four times She has gone on police ride-alongs to learn more about how crime stoppers helps to helps to combat crime And she frequently communicates with the coordinator about upcoming functions And in addition to her crime stopper responsibility Chick also assist with assist with preparing promotional bags for communities participating in national night out She has a wonderful personality and people enjoy working with her She has she has dedicated a significant amount of time to helping law enforcement fight crime in our community Chick Hinton is an exceptional community member and partner to the Durham police department Pat Ellis has been a member of the Durham crime stoppers for 16 years During this time he has been a board member and has served as a chair as a chairman of the board for approximately 10 years Part of his role as the chair is to attend crime stoppers meetings Guide policy attend events and promote the program He is constantly recruiting new board members and has been has been successful in creating a diverse board of directors In his duties as chairman pat act pat acts As a liaison between the police department coordinator and the crime stoppers program He is always accessible to coordinators the community and other board members He comes up with new ideas and is highly supportive of new ways to promote the program Pat has participated in 20 community responses and neighborhood canvases and partnership with partner with project safe neighborhoods He goes to data he goes to the data bus station And helps to educate community members about crime stoppers and attends community events to support crime stoppers such as the target public safety day Pat has also attended numerous crime stoppers conferences to learn about new ideas and other programs and to network with fellow programs In october 2014 under his leadership Durham crime stoppers was awarded the 2014 productivity award by the north colander crime stoppers association He has done all this while still working full-time as a real estate agent and then active in his church Pat Ellis is an exceptional community member and partner to the Durham police department who helps enhance the quality of life in Durham nana asante nana asante A sexual assault advocate for the Durham crime crisis response center Has been a true asset and partner to the Durham police department and her work with the start by believing campaign This campaign which was launched in january 2015 is the result of hard work by nana asante Durham police Durham police investigator quincy tape and the Durham police department's special special victims unit The campaign focuses focus is to change the response to sexual assaults and rapes within our community by providing survivors with a supportive response We believe this campaign will make a substantial difference in changing attitudes towards sexual assaults Enhancing our resources and building positive partnerships with other agencies Nana asante an investigator tapes fit their saturdays and sundays in february in february providing additional training to officers about how to respond to sexual assault calls The the success of this campaign would not have been possible without nana asante support and assistance Her hard work and dedication is making a positive difference in our community hazelene umstead Hazelene umstead has been an active and passionate member of pack three for many years and currently serves on its executive committee as an elected member at large As a leader of line park in pack three she inspires and motivates people to get involved by not just her words but by her actions Every year she participates in the citywide national night out observance by providing and hosting a huge feast Not only does she invite her neighbors, but she invites all of the district three police officers all the pack members and even elected officials Ms. Hazelene is famous for her cooking and is reputed to have the best national night out food in the whole city Her dedication to national night out was demonstrated in 2014 She was reaching for a dish while preparing her national night out feast and fell severely injuring herself But she continued cooking chopping and preparing the various dishes. She wanted to serve the next evening She was found by a friend the following morning who insisted on calling an ambulance Ms. Hazelene's only concern was for national night out and the officers and officials who would be disappointed by the cancellation of her event Hazelene umstead has served district three in her community above and beyond the normal call of duty Through her dedication commitment and hard work. She has made line park a much better place A much safer place to live work and play pastor dan johnson Dan johnson pastor of mosaic church has worked closely with the Durham police department and the community to provide comfort and assistance to friends and families of victims of violent crimes He has provided a free burial to a homicide victim and ongoing encouragement to his family After the homicide at an apartment complex Pastor johnson organized a family fund day in the parking lot Pastor johnson in conjunction with mosaic church brought in blow-up games Cotton candy and face painting for the families More than 250 kids came outside and participated as the community began the healing process When a nine-year-old died due to an accidental gunshot pastor johnson responded by visiting the family He networked with other churches and organizations to provide council food and financial support for the burial of the young boy Pastor johnson also serves as a member of the emergency chaplain's program Which provides assistance to local public safety employees as well as community members In addition, he developed a program to honor local law enforcement Pastor johnson has quietly and unassumably made a positive difference in the lives of many Durham residents through his faith and outreach Alice cheek Is a pack five co-facilitator and a leader in the edgemont elms community She believes that keeping the community safe and thriving involves people who live in the community as well as the police She always says the police can't fight crime by themselves. It takes all of us working together As district fives co-facilitator She works continuously to keep the lines of communication open between the community between the community and the police department Alice is a lady of few words But her work in the community speaks volumes She has extraordinary community planning skills, but collaboration is her strong suit She is efficient, tactful and somehow manages to leave everyone smiling at the end of a call Her energy and smiles are contagious As a community leader Alice Coordinated and assisted with community events such as national night out Bull City play streets build a better block build a bed her block Thanksgiving in spring Can food drives and backpack drives In the summer Alice volunteers her time at refiners fire community church as a mentor providing encouragement and words of wisdom to area youth She also initiated a bike safety campaign providing residents with bike reflectors and reflective handbands Alice sheik is an excellent community leader and a wonderful asset to our city Christina fountain Christina fountain has a strong commitment and to Excuse me. Christina fountain has a strong commitment to increasing the personal safety of law enforcement officers and their families She was watching the news in December 2014 when she saw a local story about a Durham police officer Been shot at while in his patrol car and she knew that she had to do something to enhance officer safety She started to do research and learn that in some states like florida The home addresses for officers are not published for the general public to see Christina decided she wanted to do something She wanted to do what she could do to make this become law in North Carolina She made a call to the Durham county tax office and North Carolina attorney general's office And met with chief Lopez to find out how this could be done She made a presentation to the Durham city council about the importance of protecting the home addresses of officers After this presentation, she met with delegates from the North Carolina state house and senate as well as with the city manager And county manager and the Durham county commissioners and it was agreed that a bill would be presented Christina fountain saw a need and put in time and effort to support law enforcement officers and to attempt to make their lives safer She has truly made a positive difference Chaplain Ralph Thompson Chaplain Ralph Thompson Director of emergency chaplains has been an invaluable partner to Durham's public safety agencies and the Durham community Chaplain Thompson formed emergency chaplains in 2008 to provide pastoral care For first responders and to assist citizens in crisis In 2009 chaplain Thompson And emergency chaplains created a 1038 fund to assist Durham police officer damon yoman's who was critically injured in an on-duty shooting Chaplain Thompson also provided Provided continued emotional support to officer yoman's as he recovered from his injuries Chaplain Thompson Attends and supports numerous events such as national night out the annual peace officer's memorial service and psn community responses He also created an annual home home town heroes banquet to recognize first responders who make significant contributions and go above and beyond the call of duty He is always available to public safety employees to offer a listening ear comfort and reassurance Chaplain Thompson is a force of a comforting Spiritual nature who has greatly advanced the ideas of public safety in a variety of ways Officer mark mark walko Officer mark walko has been assigned to the Durham police department's great unit for the last eight years During that time he has mentored three youth who were who were referred to outside service providers Mark saw the need and stepped in without being asked He has provided companionship encouragement discipline and an ear to listen and a heart to care He and his he and his son have been working with these three teams since they were in elementary school and one is now a junior in high school Mark meets with the students bi-weekly on saturdays They start the day with breakfast at a local mcdonald's that mark provides without question And they discuss issues such as behaviors and strategies to help them overcome social obstacles and build confidence After breakfast they spend the day doing activities such as fishing bike riding and hiking the trails at local state parks attending public at attending police athletic league events and assisting at mark's church during christmas to feed the hungry Officer walko has opened up And shared a part of his life and character with these young kids With hopes of helping them become successful young men and productive members of the Durham community He is a shining example of the idea of the city of Durham's culture of service to others Sergeant steven barn Sergeant barn has been the district 1b supervisor for two years and in isn't Sergeant barn who has been the district 1b supervisor for two years is an exemplary supervisor and a strong proponent of community policing He has developed many strategies to improve the east Durham community and the officers who officers who work for him One of his squads key initiatives was improving the quality of life in an apartment complex beset with crime issues and abandoned apartments He worked with numerous city and county agencies To form a multifaceted collaboration to improve this area He has also developed initiative initiatives focusing on vehicle breakhands burglaries larcenies high crime high crime areas and parking issues Officers were able to make several arrests as a result of these initiatives He worked he works closely closely with community members to identify issues and develop solutions Sergeant barn is pro is very proactive in his squads professional and educational development He set up two separate trips to the high point indoor shooting range In an effort to improve officer safety by teaching tactics for building searches And use of use of force scenarios under daytime and nighttime conditions He implemented a group squad run in 2014 to help us officers stay in shape And he provides weekly training in various areas of interest to his officers Sergeant barn has demonstrated that he truly cares about the well-being and health of his officers and works to Constantly improve their ability so they they can serve and protect the citizens of Durham at the highest level possible He's an excellent example of an officer who truly serves his community Corporal Jessica brie butler and lucas strout Durham police department employees lucas strout and corporal Jessica brie butler Have provided invaluable assistance to the police athletic league soccer program They have coached more than 100 children at club boulevard elementary school in the past four years They started a year-round soccer program at club boulevard and have put in more than 500 volunteer hours Lucas and brie provide halftime and end of game drinks and snacks and put together an end of year Celebration with trophies and jerseys with names and numbers for the players They have spent approximately $2,000 of their own money for these events Brie's mother has taken photos of the players free of charge and brie spent $700 to replace the soccer goals Lucas and brie also volunteered to step in when the pals coaches can't make it to the games Lucas strout and corporal butler have served as mentors and made differences differences in the lives of many Durham children They are a vital part of the pals soccer program and have gone above and beyond to make the program at club boulevard a success officer jacob west District four officers were asked to come up with a community project for the 2014 holiday season District four c officer jacob west immediately and passionately spoke up and suggested an initiative that would demonstrate his squad's Community involvement while promoting safety enhancing the quality of life within the community Officer west suggested that the squad put together gift bags containing hats gloves socks hygiene items and available resource referral sheets to be given to the homeless persons that the officers came in contact with during their tours of duty Officer west took the lead in organizing the gathering of the items needed and putting the bags together Most of the items were purchased from the squad members own money and emergency chaplains donated bottles of hand sanitizer Approximately 40 bags were given out over the course of the holidays The effort gave police an approximate headcount of homeless in the Durham in the district four area And the contact with them gave officers an opportunity to gather identifying information in case of emergencies Moreover, it allowed police to point them in the right direction to help them get off of the streets The project was similar to an initiative officer west and his wife did in charlotte Officer west is a shining example of the idea of the city of Durham's culture of service to others Our next category is going to be the certificate of merit This is presented to members for outstanding performance or devotion to duty possibly involving personal safety The first recipient is master officer larry cox. Unfortunately, he's not able to be here with us tonight So captain brine's brian rights will be accepting his award master officer larry cox is a highly trained traffic investigator and motor officer As a traffic investigator master officer cox works on an on-call rotation To handle any serious injury accident that may happen at nights or on the weekends During a one-week on-call rotation in september of 2014 master officer cox was called in for four serious traffic crashes two of which were fatalities One of the traffic fatalities involved a toddler struck by a vehicle Master officer cox handled the investigation of all these incidents and went to the hospital to let the toddler's parents know how she died Another officer could have made the notification But master officer cox believed it was his duty as the investigating officer to personally handle this very difficult aspect of his investigation In addition to handling these investigations master officer cox conducted 112 traffic stops Resulting in four charges of driving while impaired 83 speeding citations Eight citations for driving while license revoked Seven citations for no operators license and 14 other charges Master officer cox demonstrated dedication a strong work ethic compassion and commitment to the city of Durham This award is given a recognition for outstanding performance master officer frank gore Master officer frank gore He joined the police department in 1986 and retired in april of 2014 As a motor officer in addition to his motor duties Master officer gore taught a wide variety of law enforcement classes on the local and state levels He served as a mentor to many officers over the years and developed strong partnerships between the Durham police department and other law enforcement and community agencies During the past year master officer gore taught the Durham police department's new recruits and traffic crash investigations firearms drivers training In addition to those classes master officer gore also taught Radar basic operator school a radar recertification course and a child passenger safety technician course Master officer gore was a valuable member to the child safety training committee and is currently a police motor instructor He is also a bike safe north carolina instructor and assessor In 2013 master officer gore was recognized as the instructor of the year by the north carolina child passenger safety training committee And as an instructor he taught several 40 hour passenger seat Excuse me child passenger seat installation certification classes to more than 1 000 people Master officer gore is dedicated to passing on the valuable skills he attained throughout his career To others in order to improve the level level of service to the citizens of Durham Master officer gore's work ethic is beyond reproach as is his dedication to his profession Which he truly loves He is respected by all and his reputation has spread across law enforcement He is a mentor instructor leader Officer and most of all a friend to all with whom he came into contact during his exemplary career This award is given in recognition of outstanding performance sergeant glenn price Sergeant glenn price is not able to attend this evening captain david adison will be accepting this award on his behalf On january 22nd 2013 sergeant glenn price was driving on stadium drive In route to an off-duty job when he noticed an suv Facing east partially on the curb and grass of the westbound lane with the lights on and the engine running Realizing realizing that something was wrong sergeant price stopped and approached the vehicle He saw a man slumped in the driver's seat The driver's window was down about two inches all the doors were locked and the vehicle was still in drive The driver's eyes were rolling back in his head and he was having a very hard time breathing Sergeant price called for ems and attempted to unlock the vehicle to reach the driver He used his department issued flashlight and broke the glass in the driver's door He placed the vehicle in park and turned off the ignition As well as unbuckling the driver's seat belt and assisting ems and moving the driver onto a backboard and stretcher Medics immediately started bagging the victim Sergeant price and another officer drove the victim's vehicle to the hospital parking lot and transported his phone keys and other personal items to the emergency room Sergeant glenn price training quick action and devotion to duty helped save a life This award is presented in recognition of outstanding performance investigator and cristalty Investigator and cristalty has demonstrated an exceptional dedication to her job and the victims of homicides During 2014 investigator cristalty investigated Seven homicides as the lead investigator Making it the second year in a row that she handled more homicides than any other investigator In addition to the homicides investigator cristalty handled 56 death investigations 59 missing person investigations And this translated into an average of almost 10 additional cases per month One example of her dedication to her work occurred on september 13th 2014 investigator cristalty was on a call that night and was assisting another investigator With a case when the one they were on became a domestic homicide Although she was not next in line in the homicide rotation. She adopted the case right away to save other investigators the trouble of having to come in after hours During 2014. She also trained a new homicide investigator and assisted on almost every other homicide This award is given in recognition for outstanding performance Thank you Our next recipient is lieutenant sherry montgomery. She's not able to attend this evening, but captain writes Will be accepting the award on her behalf During her time as a sergeant over the traffic services unit Sherry montgomery was able to enhance the relationships with other law enforcement agencies And secure grants to provide much needed equipment for her officers Then sergeant montgomery secured grants in excess of 200 000 for the traffic services unit These grants provided upgraded radar units for both attack officers and the motor units The grants were also used to purchase light towers trailers and other vital equipment To enable the unit to better completeness mission of making the streets safe for motorists and pedestrians As a result of purchasing the grant funded radar units the department was able to provide the old units and still serviceable radar units to the patrol districts Lieutenant montgomery was also able to repair a fractured relationship with the governor's highway safety commission Which aided in getting the grants approved The repair is a direct result of her leadership and interpersonal communication In this time of tight budgets for the department lieutenant montgomery's efforts provided a significant contribution to the overall effectiveness of the Durham police department This award is given in recognition for outstanding performance master officer deloas west master officer deloas west is unable to attend this evening, but captain david adison will be accepting her award Master officer deloas west spent 13 years as a homicide investigator and was known for her efforts to reach out and maintain communication with the family of homicide victims Master officer west spent the last year of her police career working tirelessly on unsolved homicides in addition to her usual responsibilities She initiated and helped implement a webpage for unsolved homicides and set up an associated unsolved homicide hotline Master officer west interacted with various members of local media to help promote this new program including a radio taped interview Master officer west worked closely with the Durham chapter of parents of murder children for many years She was a regular attendee at these meetings and has been continuously praised by the groups administrators for her assistance and support Her dedication to these cases goes beyond solving them master officer west pursues leads for the sake of closure for the family Her dedication compassion and efforts when above and beyond and will always be remembered by the families of the victims This award is given in recognition for outstanding performance mark Sherman Mark Sherman an EIS coordinator Specializing in audio video programs for the Durham police department has been part of a fast-growing area of support And handled a heavy workload in the past several years Mark is one of two coordinators responsible for producing the videos from the Durham police department's in car camera system Three years ago. He produced 250 videos, but last year that increase was up to 4 000 He is also he also keeps the in car camera systems up to date on software and works to correct any issue To ensure the cameras operate properly In addition to this he researched a failsafe camera login system and installed this on 80 of our systems Mark has been involved with the testing the use of body cameras for the department He created two surveys so that officers can easily share their opinions About the different systems being tested The officers can take the surveys on their computers or their smartphones He also created a new overtime sheet in excel to be used by non-sware employees to show the correct accrual of comp time Mark Sherman handled his normal job duties and those of a second allocated Audiovisual position for almost a year He came up with new ideas and provided top-notch service for a vital but often unnoticed area of the Durham police department This award is given a recognition for outstanding performance The next award is a group award Officer jacob west and richard cone Officers jacob west and richard cone responded to a possible suicide and progress call in november 2014 When they arrived they could hear a vehicle running inside a locked garage Officer west forces way into the house and then into the garage where the officers were able to locate and check on the victim The officer smelled a strong odor of vehicle exhaust and noticed that the female was unresponsive in the driver seat Officer west opened the car door and turned the ignition off while officer cone checked for a pulse and determined that She was still breathing but unconscious Officer west then removed her from the vehicle and carried her outside to fresh air Officer cone observed bottles of muscle relaxers and alcoholic beverages in the front seat of the vehicle and removed those as well After being in the fresh air for a while the victim regained consciousness, but was still disoriented and confused Officer west and cone despite concerns for their personal safety Were able to save the life of another through their quick action and decision making and outstanding performance The next certificate of merit is also a group award officer learon thomas jacob west michael hodrick and adam osborne On july 25th district four c officers thomas west hodrick and osborne Responded to a cardiac arrest call They arrived on scene close to the same time and found an 80 year old female unconscious on the front porch Officers west and thomas began rotations of chest compressions while officers hodrick and osborne Combed upset family members and gathered as much patient information as possible Officers west and thomas continued life-standing CPR until ems arrived on the scene and took over Paramedics regained vital signs and were able to transport the patient to the hospital The female was placed in intensive care at duke university hospital for further treatment If not for the quick action of these officers the female patient may not have held on long enough for paramedics to arrive Officers west thomas osborne and hodrick used their training and reacted quickly under difficult circumstances to save a life This award is presented in recognition of outstanding performance Our last certificate of merit is also a group award officers ryan benfield Troy fitting and edwin valerio District 1b officers benfield fitting and valerio responded to a cardiac arrest call on january 1st 2015 When they arrived they found a female who was unresponsive and had no pulse Officers immediately began CPR and continued to assist Durham county ems by rotating in and out during the CPR In addition these officers also worked to ensure ems had a clear route to exit with the patient by moving patrol cars and repositioning ems vehicles since the resident residential street was narrow and congested The efforts by those on the scene brought a pulse back which allowed for immediate transport of the female for continued care Officers benfield valerio and fitting used their training and reacted quickly under difficult circumstances to save a life This award is presented in recognition of outstanding performance The next award presentation for this evening will be the the distinguished service medal This is this is presented to members who apprehend Or caused to be apprehended a dangerous person at grave or imminent danger to themselves Corporal charles finnell Corporal charles finnell was at home at home off duty on october 28th 2014 when he received a telephone call about a shooting near his home Corporal finnell without hesitation Rushed from his home and with the assistance of neighbors apprehended the suspect the suspected shooter and held him until patrol officers arrived After the suspect was detained corporal finnell returned to the victim and performed CPR until ems arrived Unfortunately despite corporal finnell's quick actions the victims succumbed to his injuries Corporal finnell demonstrated his willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty Even while off duty at great risk of risk of personal injury Although corporal finnell was unable to save the victim's life His speedy and unselfish actions help help responding officers locate the murder weapon and arrest the suspected murderer Corporal finnell's actions demonstrated his dedication to his job and to the community he serves His action also helped bring a small beacon of hope to a grief-stricken family who lost their child in such a tragic manner In connection with this incident the police department will also later be awarding police medals to two residents who wish to remain anonymous police medals Are awarded to community members who apprehend or cause to be apprehended a dangerous person at great At person at grave or imminent danger to themselves officers monti d southerland jonathan k mead and ryan d whale Officers responded to an armed robbery of a business in progress on may 23rd 2014 When k9 officer j jonathan k mead and officer monti d southerland arrived at the business and the 4400 block of north roxburgh street They heard a door close and realized someone was hiding inside The officers entered the business and discovered two victims with their wrists and ankles duct taped The officers freed the victims and continued to search the business The officers found three armed suspects hiding inside a bathroom and challenged them to come out with their hands over their heads Kenan officer ryan d whale arrived on scene and assisted the officers in apprehending and handcuffing the three suspects officer me Well and southerland reacted quickly and professionally when faced with with a dangerous situation They put their personal safety at risk and were able to rescue the victims who were unharmed They also were able to arrest three suspects recover all the soda and property and seize three handguns Our next award would be for the civilian of the year The Durham police department civilian employee of the year medal is presented by the department to any non-sworn employee Of the department for exceptional performance throughout the year christina moody Durham police department eis supervisor christina moody joined Durham police department in 2000 and has been an invaluable employee She is knowledgeable and always available to answer questions and resolve issues If she doesn't have an immediate solution, she will find one She takes a very active role in making sure that she and her unit provide excellent service to the department She created and maintains a website with valuable information to make it easier for officers to do their jobs The website is basically a one-stop shop for officers to find forms Answers to questions and and links to helpful websites during the past year chris played a large part in the behind the scenes preparation and testing of the start of the Durham of the department's body-worn camera pilot program She is currently overseeing all of this staging and coordination With technology solutions to assure that our department has a smooth transaction to the city's new telephone system In the middle of 2014 chris lost two of her four technology staff members to retirement in a two month span During the time her unit was understaffed and even later As she trained her new personnel She displayed a high level of dedication to the department by putting in many extra Unpaid hours on on the job to assure that all of her unit's projects and programs stay on track Christina moody's work ethic And the great attitude she brings to the job every day make her a true asset to the Durham police department By demonstrating her exceptional devotion to duty Chris moody has been selected as the Durham police department's 2015 civilian of the year The next award is our Durham police department officer of the year The Durham police department officer of the year medal is prevented presented by the department for an outstanding to an outstanding officer for performance throughout the year sergeant dale gunter Sergeant gunter joined the Durham police department in 1994 and has spent the last 20 plus years Serving the city and community with an unrival level of devotion As heat two supervisor sergeant gunter takes every available opportunity to spend time in the community speaking with residents Corresponding with pack two members and handing out junior police stickers to the kids He is an interactive member of 28 neighborhood listservs Responding to dozens of questions and concerns on a daily basis Whenever he's not busy patrolling the streets with his team You can find sergeant gunter walking through neighborhoods on foot Interacting with citizens and even taking a moment to shoot hoops or play in the snow with local children Each year he participates in community events, which are too numerous to mention Recently a pack two member was hospitalized with a serious health condition Sergeant gunter took time out of his schedule to visit him in the hospital and used his personal finances To install a new handrail for the gentleman's front doorsteps Operationally sergeant gunter is involved in several areas He teaches in the recruit academy and provides in-service training in firearms CPR tracks and mobile field force preparations Sergeant gunter instituted instituted and maintains the lifesaving aed registry program throughout the department And there are now 30 aed units available Sergeant gunter has won numerous awards over the years for his work By demonstrating his exceptional devotion to duty and to the safety and care of the Durham citizens Sergeant dale gunter has been selected as the Durham police department's 2015 officer of the year Our last category of awards is the medal of valor The medal of valor is the highest recognition given by the department Any member may be nominated for the award The medal of valor may be granted to members who distinguish themselves by gallantry and bravery In attempt to preserve life or property at a clear risk of personal safety The act must be so conspicuous that it clearly distinguishes the member as the one who acted far beyond the call of duty master officer jj mcdonough In 2004 master officer john mcdonough was on patrol in a high crime area in district two Responding to complaints of drug activity master officer mcdonough observed three individuals selling narcotics and approached the subjects when one fled on foot master officer mcdonough gave chase and followed the suspect into the wood line Where master officer mcdonough was ambushed The suspect was hiding and fired a shot from extremely close range at master officer mcdonough The round passed with an inches of officer mcdonough's face called his powder burns The round that was fired skimmed his vest Striking his holster and lodged into his weapon Master officer mcdonough's preparedness training and courageous actions assisted in his ability to survive this confrontation His dedication to law enforcement and devotion to duty led him to risk his life and service to the citizens of Durham and his fellow officers Master officer mcdonough is awarded the medal of valor officer jacob west On thursday december 25th 2014 at approximately 10 p.m Officer jacob west was working on a report in his mark patrol quarter patrol car at the corner of lakeland street and truman street At some point officer west noticed two males approaching his car from the rear Officer west exited his vehicle to speak with the men and one of the males removed a gun from his waistband And without provocation opened fire on officer west Officer west immediately returned fire and dove for cover behind a set of stairs at an abandoned apartment building on lakeland street This action caused officer west to sustain a minor injury to his wrist Ignoring his wrist injury officer west composed himself and prepared to further engage the two men Officer west rose from the stairs and saw the two males running away down a path on lakeland street This event was particularly chilling because this incident happened only two days after the fatal ambush of two new york police officers In which a lone gunman opened fire on the unsuspecting officers while they were seated in their patrol vehicle Officer west actions on that evening were truly a testament to his bravery and his unwavering willingness to sacrifice his safety In order to attempt to apprehend these men and stop them from causing any further harm He demonstrated steadfast courage in the face of imminent danger for this officer west is awarded the medal of valor That ends our last award if you all could please put your hands together one more time to applaud our recipients Thank you. I'd now ask that chaplain phil wiggins to come to the podium to give the benediction Please join me in prayer Our heavenly father We are grateful that these men and women have been honored this evening because of their dedication and commitment to do more than is required or expected Father help us to be able to say Whatever we do we do it hardly as to the lord not into men Protect us from seeking praise of men more than the praise of god Be with those that have been awarded this award tonight watch over them and guide and direct them in all that they do in christ's name We pray amen In closing I would like to thank the Durham police department awards committee who've spent many hours behind the scenes in preparation for this event Specifically assistant chief winslow forbs lieutenant germane jackson kim walker and cammy michael I would also like to thank assistant chief jesse burwell The Durham police department honor guard our citizens on patrol The city of durham public affairs office to include durham television network master officer brandon parrot and david reynolds As well as the city of durham general services Finally the durham police department. Thanks all of the families of our employees and the citizens for your support Congratulations to our recipients that concludes our program. Please join us for refreshments in the lobby. Thank you so much


just so it's getting cooler here so anyway all right I'll come back for this next lecture we're going to continue from where we paused any questions on the previous lecture any thoughts any things anyone wants to ask or discuss all so let's go forward so we were talking about you know how to live this life in Christ right so we said first we said we live out of that completed work the work that God has completed for us in Christ we live out of that second we live with renewed mind heard we must walk in the spirit then we must walk in Christ as walking in conformity in alignment to Christ is then we are to be rooted in the person of Christ be rooted in him and then we move forward now to talk about Paul also said Colossians 2 7 be rooted in him and built up built up in him built up now he's using that word built up actually it's the idea of a building you know it's like construction you know you're you're constructing a building layer by layer you are being built up so that's the idea he's talking about us being built up layer by layer like how a building is being constructed and of course he says as you know built up and then will be established in the faith and we will overflow with Thanksgiving now that word built up really you know we we need to look at how Paul is using those those words in other places in Scripture to understand what's he trying to get at right and so you know if you go to Ephesians 4 13 and 15 and and again I'm just pulling this out from the classic amplified by the classic edition but he uses the same word built up you know and here he talks about being built up in the context of growing up to in all things to be like Jesus so then you understand okay what's he having in his mind when he says we have to be built up in Christ because he's using that same word and he's explaining it further in Ephesians so he says to be built up really means that we are growing up into Christ in everything or the amplified Bible says we're growing into mature manhood the completeness of personality you know which is you know going into the full measure of Christ's own perfection or grow up in everywhere and all things into him right so to be built up is to grow up in everywhere in all things into Christ so as we are living this life in Christ part of the process is we are becoming more like Christ we are growing up in all things to be like him so we are living in conformity to who he is we are rooted in the person of Jesus drawing our strength and our stability and our source of life from him and we also growing up to become like him and we understand this you know we understand in the Bible there are different stages of spiritual growth the spiritual birth we have babies and then we grow into mature maturity of perfection in Christ so there's this process of growth we understand spiritually so think about this again you know although we are complete in Christ yet we are growing up in Christ right so the completeness is the spiritual thing God has done for us the practical thing is look we're all growing up now in Christ we're being built up in him and we're being built up into what into being like him in all things we are being built up or growing up to become like him so our prayer must be Jesus I want to be more like you in every way it says grow up in every way and in all things so in every area of life you know personal family ministry social life that is in how we relate to other people in every area of life our prayer is Lord we want to grow up in all things to be like Jesus in every way grow up to be like him so that's part of our living in our life in Christ letting the Lord build us up make us more like him and that should be a constant prayer I want to be more like Jesus if we are not pursuing that then we won't be able to live out of our life in Christ because that's the ultimate purpose when you're living out your life from him your life in Christ the ultimate purpose we will see this shortly is for us to become like him and so that's the goal that's what we are striving towards and the last in him instruction we find in Scripture is to abide in him and this instruction was given to us by Jesus himself and we know this passage in John 15 right that very familiar passage on 15 1 to 8 Jesus said I am the wine true wine my father is the wine dresser and you know we are all we are all branches in that wine so Jesus the wine we are branches in the wine and the branches of course bear fruit the branches are connected to the wine and the life of the wine is flowing in the branches but throughout this passage Jesus gives us an instruction his instruction is abide in me and he repeats this over and over again abide in me abide in me abide in me abide in me abide in me right so he's saying look I'm the wine you're the branches you've got to abide in me and I've got to be abiding in you my words are going to be abiding in you meaning this whole connectedness must be there so there are these instructions the Bible has given to us on how to live this new creation life it says we have to be renewed in our minds where to walk in the spirit we have to walk in him we have to be rooted in him we have to be built up in him and then Jesus himself gave us this instruction we've got to abide in him so the word abide it is a very simple word it simply means to stay where you are you know remain continue 12 you know settle down there I mean no changing in position talking about us being continually connected to Jesus because you know he gave this illustration of the wine and the branches obviously we know if you break the wine at the branch of the wine the branches going to die it'll dry up then it's going to be just used as firewood so he's saying look you got to stay connected because the moment you see is being connected you can't bear fruit you will also dry up and it's of no use so stay connected and this whole part of abiding in Jesus you know is really elaborated by John in his episode especially first episode you know he talks about abiding in him and abiding in him now you keep his word we know that we are in him abide in him no he repeats this word abiding in Christ in his episode right and by just looking at scripture we can say look when somebody's abiding in Christ what will happen they will take on the mind of Christ they will be thankful in everything they will be taught by the Spirit the Holy Spirit is teaching them by the word of God they're going to be walking in obedience they're going to be walking in holiness in other words you know for us to stay connected with him you've got to keep out things that disconnect us from him now when I said disconnect I'm not saying you know he will just throw us off and be spiritually lose our position in Christ no it's talking about relationship that connectedness you and I be abiding in him and he abiding in us through his word so there's that spiritual harmony there's a spiritual connectedness that we have in Jesus and there are things like sin and you know other things that disrupt that connectedness so we keep those things away and protect our abiding in Christ protect our connectedness with him because that's very precious and it's in that place that his life can be expressed through us we can bear fruit people will see Jesus in our lives and so on okay so if you put this all together what is the scripture instructing us to live out of our life in Christ scripture is teaching us to renew our mind walk in the spirit walk aligned to Christ be rooted in Christ be built up in Christ and to abide in Christ this one scripture is instructing us as you live like this and if you live like this you'll be able to live out of that union that you have with Christ and live out of your identity live out of your inheritance that is in Jesus and that's our goal renew your mind to that but in any situation who I am in Christ what is my inheritance I'm going to walk in it my I'm gonna walk aligned to who Jesus is what does the Holy Spirit saying I'm gonna follow his instruction I'm gonna be rooted in the person of Christ not be shaken from that I'm gonna make sure that in everything I'm gonna grow up to be like him and I'm gonna protect my connectedness with him so that nothing should interfere with that you live like that we will live out of our life in Christ now the last closing thought that I just want to leave with us is why did God bring us to be in Christ he brought us in him so that we could all be like him so God brought us into Christ so that we could be like Christ and that's that's really the heart of the father right he wants a people he wants a family of sons and daughters and he made Jesus who is the son of God to be the prototype and we're all to be conformed to that image and now in order to make that possible he said I'll put you in that image I'll put you into that mold you know that makes absolute sense right suppose you want something in a certain image what do you do you put it into the mold so example Jesus the mold says I want you all to be like him so I'll put you all in the mold he put us in Christ now we're in him and he says okay the work is complete I've put you in Christ the work is complete but in everyday life I want you to live out of that so that in practice in practical life you will also be like him that's what he's after so we are in him to be like him and you can find scriptures on this first on to six says he who abides in him as you're talking about being in Christ what'll happen you are to walk just as he walked now think about it walk just as you walk what a high standard I mean to conduct yourself live your life just as Jesus lived if you are in him live like him be like him is what the scripture is saying let me push on 417 it says love has been perfected among us happens we have love of God filling us perfecting itself in us and so we have boldness of the day of judgment so we're not afraid of judgment day no we're not afraid of it why because as he is so we in this world because we are right now living just like Jesus to put it in simple terms we are living just like Jesus or all that Jesus is so are we in this world as he is so are we our life is in this world is the same as his so yeah here to be like him and we are living in this world like him so that's the ultimate enough we are not obviously we have not arrived yet in the natural spiritual God has done the work in the natural it's an ongoing process of course but that's our goal to be like him and that's what we should be after Lord I I just want to live this life the way you would live it and I want people to see Jesus in me so we are in Christ to be like Christ okay now let me let's do a quick review of this entire course I'm just looking at the course outline the very first document I gave you know so what did we cover in this course of our identity in Christ and I divided this into initially I divided into 12 then I made it 13 sections let's review this so in the first section we talked about the revelation that Jesus himself said that we will receive the revelation of our being in him and him being in us and the apostle Paul started writing about this revelation then in section two we looked at what does it mean to be a new creation you know we have a new identity we have we're totally new and the use that you know that analogy or a comparison of how an orphan boy in the slum is adopted by every family you know how what a what a difference it would make in his life this thing is in a similar way but in a much greater way God took us into his family everything became new and then we understand who we are and a new creation it'll change the way we relate to God it'll change the way we relate to one another it'll change the way we face life situations it'll change the way we confront the morning powers it'll change our own image of ourselves it'll change everything then we said you know some of the key things we see in scriptures we have justified we have made righteous in the eyes of God there is no condemnation against us we have been made holy so God has already said we are holy people we are called saints and therefore we live like saints because he made our saints then we spent two weeks on you know being identified with Christ that is we are identified with Christ's death burial resurrection ascension and seating at the right hand of the father we're identified with that what happened to him happened to us and there's there's relevance to it now our old man is crucified our we're buried the whole life is gone we've been raised we have a new life we have been ascended we are separated from this world we are seated we are in a place of authority then we talked about the fact that we are redeemed now God has taken us out of the powers of darkness he has brought us in his own kingdom Satan has no right over us no claim over us then we talked about the fact that we are free we are free from man made rituals man made ideas we are free from our vain forms of worship and traditions so we are free in Christ and yet we exercise our freedom with out of love out of the place of love so love overrides the exercise of our freedom so we don't exercise our freedom in a way that would hurt somebody else or offend somebody else no we are free but we let love guide us then we also said we are children and joint heirs and this is the highest honor that God could give to us to make us his heirs and joint heirs that means he's like come your next in line so to speak yeah your heirs your next in line you're my children I mean this this is no higher honor God could have given to us so we are in that place of high honor that God has put on us in Christ then we talked about the fact that we are blessed we went through so many blessings different blessings so we just call that section blessed but then we listed almost I think about 20 different blessings that we could identify not including the ones we'd already seen earlier we are blessed in Christ to be in Christ also means we are one body that means we are connected to everybody else who's in Christ and so we learn how to live as one body we honor other churches that are also in Christ and we recognize that we also I also I also added one more chapter called the spirit of life in Christ I added it here section five the spirit of life so there we emphasize the work of the spirit in us living this life in Christ so I added that while you're going along then we talked about the fact that we are ministers and ambassadors in Christ we have our ministry in the Lord every one of us we are ministers and we are ambassadors in Christ and lastly in the closing which we did today we talked about the instructions God has given to us on living the in Christ life this is what he's told us this is how you must live because you are in Christ and that's how we live out of our identity and our inheritance and the life that we have in Jesus Christ so that we come to the end of this course in our study what we are going to do is I'm going to put out three assessments I need to work on it and hopefully this week I'll make time to do that I create three simple assessments for you based on this content and put it out in the coursework in the classroom and also the e-learning portal for students who are studying on the e-learning portal and the rest of November is just for you to finish these three assessments and you'll be done with the course that's it but most importantly I want you to live by these things that you've learned and that you put it make it part of your life and I cannot I'm trying to be contained in what I'm saying but you know if there was one thing you tell me what should we teach believers I would say teach them about their identity in Christ that's like the first and the most important thing teach them about that and let it just sink into them and sometimes you have to repeat it you know 10 times the same thing to keep repeating it before it really sits in all of us need that you know because we may not get it the first time so we keep hearing it again and again and again until it really settles into our hearts it's okay this is who I am and we need to be reminded because we tend to forget and so I cannot overemphasize how important this revelation is on our identity in Christ and keep repeating it till it sinks into you and sinks into you know the people that you might be ministering to that it sinks into their hearts that this is who we are and we have to live out of that okay and we are actually working on expanding this as a book and we will release it and then you know you will get the the full PDF will be available on our church website and you can use it for your own spiritual growth and to teach others build them up and yeah so we can strengthen the body of Christ any questions before we close off for today okay yeah I want to thank each of you for being part of this course I hope you found it enriching and useful and we will I'll see you on Friday when we get into our course on when you ramp up our course on faith and yeah it's been a good journey and I trust many of you will continue on I'm next semester we will have some again some good courses I would be usually teaching a how many texts that is how to interpret scripture and I'm not sure what else I teach in the second semester but yeah for those of you who will be going into your third semester yeah again you have some interesting courses as well okay who would like to pray the closing prayer and and then we can dismiss anyone can please pray with the whole class would like to do that hallelujah go ahead Inak shall we pray father we want to say thank you we give you all the glory we give you all the praise thank you for everything you have done for us the gift of life thank you love for this school thank you love for this opportunity to learn at your feet we give you all the glory we say thank you in Jesus name my father my god all we have learned today please love we want to be a doer of your world sinking into our lives and let the reflection of your glory in us in the name of Jesus Christ as we are going to a various offices various work various ministry daddy god almighty you will be with us all the days in the name of jesus and we commit the rest of the lectures into your able hands although it shall be is for signs and wonders in the name of Jesus Christ thank you for our lecture room you have used today we ask you love daddy refreshing and fresh in the name of Jesus Christ strengthen more and more and all the lecturers and all the students in Jesus name I have prayed amen amen amen amen thank you everyone thank you for being part of this course so just look out god bless you just look out for the assessments and I'll see you all again soon god bless bye now bless you sir thank you so much god bless you thank you thank you everyone god bless thank you thank you thank you god bless


Okay. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to BC 213, our course on the end times. And, thank you for joining the class. Let's take a moment to pray, and then we will get started. Could one of us please pray with the class, and we can start? Let's pray. Father Almighty, King of glory, in the name of Jesus, we thank you for today. We thank you for bringing us together. We now surrender this class into your hand, that Father, let your Holy Spirit come and lead us. We pray for a spirit of wisdom, spirit of knowledge, spirit of understanding, that what we may learn, Lord God, may impact on us. Let us give us wisdom to spread your word. We pray all this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you once again. All right. So, we have been, we started our final lesson in this course on the end times. So, the plan is to finish that and then next week, maybe we'll do a full review of the entire course. So, we were looking at the signs of the end times, the signs of the end times. We're going to share the PDF so that we could pick up from where we paused last week and just quickly review a few things and go forward. So, what we're doing in this lesson, lesson five, is trying to look at what are the signs that are indicating to us where we are in relation to the start of the final seven years of tribulation. Just before that, the rapture will take place. The Lord will come to take the church out of the way and then the seven years will begin of tribulation that will lead us basically from Revelation chapter six onwards. So, how close are we? Now, of course, we cannot predict the date or the month or the year. We can't do that but we can get an indication that we are close and so that's what these signs of the times are for that we're looking at. So, we said one of the biggest most notable signs is of Israel coming together as a nation which has already happened. This is very significant because a lot of the end time prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled are in relation to the Jewish people and are in relation to Israel as a nation. So, that was very important. So, Jewish people began to gather back into Israel over time and then in 1948, they identified themselves as an nation, an independent nation. In addition to that, what was significant was that they recaptured Jerusalem some in 1967. That means Jerusalem which is a very important city for the Jewish people. They regain control of it or at least part of that control of that city in 1967. So, Jesus said one generation will see all these things. So, if we put this as the starting point, then we say, okay, we don't know how long a generation is, whether it's 78 years or it's a lifespan of a normal human lifespan or what it would put somewhere in that range is what we're looking at. A generation is going to see all of these things. So, this is just to give us an indication of where we are and we're not trying to predict the year or the date or anything like that because we know we cannot when we're not supposed to. The second important sign of the time is that Jerusalem becomes a focal point of conflict. And that again is happening now. People are very interested in what's always looking and what is happening in Jerusalem in Israel, particularly in Jerusalem because we said that the and we see this in Revelation 16 and on that the buildup towards the battle of Armageddon is armies of the earth moving towards Jerusalem, Israel in general and Jerusalem in particular. So, God said I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples. So, that is an important observation that we need to look at. Keep looking at it. What is happening? How are the nations aligning themselves in relation to Israel and towards Jerusalem? So, that's a second sign that we discussed. So, we're going to start now from number three and move forward. The third sign we need to look at is about the temple mount, the temple being ready to be rebuilt. The reason is again a lot of end time prophecies like we saw in Revelation 13 that this Antichrist who comes he sets himself up in the temple as God and demanding worship. So, we say there obviously has to be that temple because he's going to stop the sacrifices. He's going to put himself up to be worshiped. Desi is going to speak blasphemies against God. We see in Revelation chapter 13 and also in the book of Daniel chapter 7, 8 and 9. So, there has to be this temple but like we said in a previous chapter right now on the temple mount there are two Islamic monuments or monuments that belong to the Arab people, the Muslims. There is the Al-Aqsa Mosque and there's the Dome of the Rock. They are both sacred places for the Arabs and the Jews are only allowed to come to one side, the western wall. So, we need to look at that and that of course is the major point of conflict between the Jews and the Arabs. And we need to see, you know, how is this temple going to come back? I mean we don't exactly exact place but we know that's the temple mount. That was where the temple was or used to be. And what we can read and this has been known for some time is that there are a group of Jews who are all ready, all set to rebuild the temple if they were given the opportunity. So, they've made their plans. They've got everything needed to resume the worship inside the temple, the sacrifices, the sacrificial worship and rituals. They've got everything ready and it is not a secret. They have a website also, I think it's called the temple mount.org and you can go and everything, you can read about all the preparations, everything is ready. The only thing is they just, okay, give us the place, the place to build this on and they are ready to do it. So, we are that close to seeing that happen. Now, how and when, you know, we don't know. Just the fact that these people are ready to do it, the Jewish people are ready to do it, got everything in place and now it's just a matter of the place on which they're going to build the temple. So, we are very close, very close and literally within months, they would be able to set it up, put everything to build the temple and, you know, resume this or to have the sacrifices coming. So, that is something to keep looking at what is going to happen, how are things developing towards that, you know, you have to keep observing. A fourth important thing signed to look at is about the 10 leaders, 10 leaders who are to emerge. Now, where do we read about this? I'll just quickly mention in Daniel chapter 2, Daniel spoke about a time when, you know, in the image that he had, you know, there was this big image head made of gold and chest of brass and waist of silver, I think, waist of brass and feet of iron, legs of iron and then the feet was a mix of iron and clay and had 10 toes and Daniel in interpreting that dream with Nebuchadnezzar had, he said, in the days of that kingdom, that is, the mix of iron and clay, God himself will set up his kingdom. That was Daniel chapter 2 and then that is expanded for us in Daniel chapter 7, 8 and 9, where the 10 toes are then represented by 10 horns or 10 leaders. Where will these 10 leaders come from? They will come from the region that's a mix of iron and clay. Iron was the Roman Empire. So, you know, when we study Daniel, we will understand this. It was the part of the Roman Empire and then the Roman Empire now is mixed with clay, which is people from all other nations. So, the Roman Empire predominantly covered parts of Europe across the Mediterranean and then the northern part of Africa. So, that's where the Roman Empire was and today that iron is mixed with clay. That means that region is, it has people who were part of the original, you know, people living there, but it's all mixed with people from all the nations, all mixed people, all migrated and emigrated and so on. And in that vision Daniel chapter 2, because in the days of those kingdoms, when there were 10 leaders emerging, God would intervene. So, there are going to be 10 leaders coming out of that region. The region where there was once the former Roman Empire, which now is mixed with people from all other countries, all other nations, which is what we are seeing today. So, while we won't restrict ourselves to the European Union, the European Union is of interest because it covers overlaps with parts of that which used to be the former Roman Empire. There's an overlap and so we're looking, you know, parts of Europe, who are these 10 leaders who are going to rise, who are going to come into political significance. Why is that important? Because in Daniel's vision, chapters Daniel 7, 8 and 9, he tells us, we will study this in our third year, he tells us that there will be a little horn, a small horn, meaning a very insignificant leader who will come. He will rise up from what used to be the former Greek Empire. So, he will rise up from that region and he will subdue three of these 10 leaders, meaning he will somehow gain influence over three of these 10 leaders and with their help, he will come into prominence. He will come into, you know, he will become the Antichrist, this man who tries to bring in a peace, a deal with Israel in the Middle East. So, we are looking at what is happening in this part of the world with interest. Who could be these 10 leaders who are emerging? Who could be this little horn who's coming on the scene? And which of these 10 leaders, three of these 10 leaders here, he's going to gain control over, he'll influence them. So, we are watching that. But the main point is, all of this is very possible today. Then we look at what's happening in and around Europe and around the Mediterranean. That means we're talking about, you know, Europe going all the way from Western Europe, Eastern Europe. And then you cross the Mediterranean, you come over into Turkey and Syria and around the countries all around Israel, come across Northern Africa and so you're looking at all this region, this area carefully and you're saying, okay, yeah, we can see, you know, 10 leaders coming and how these others are aligning themselves and just keeping an eye, you know, on this region. But whatever Daniel wrote in Daniels 7, 8 and 9, you know, it actually can happen before our eyes. Then leaders, a little leader coming and influencing three of them coming into prominence and that leader being able to come and set up some peace agreement with Israel. It can happen any time. So that also is of great interest to us as we look in that area. And that's a sign because only then can the prophecies of the end times be fulfilled. Number five, the fifth sign. Let me just pause. Any questions on that? Yeah, you all with me so far? Any questions? Okay. Feel free to ask any questions. I'm not purposely turning into Daniel 7, 8 and 9 because we will study that, you know, worst by worst in our third year. But I'm just pointing to you, to the chapters where these prophecies have been given for us. Another important sign of the end times that we're going to look at, we should be looking at years. The possibility of a global currency system and identification system. Now, we saw this in Revelation 13. You know, when the Antichrist comes, he's referred to as the beast in Revelation 13. And of course, he's empowered by the dragon, that is Satan. The Antichrist, along with another man called the false prophet, they're going to extend their influence politically and through a economic system and through a religious system. Now, this economic system is such that in Revelation 13, it says no man can buy or sell unless they get the mark of the beast, which is 666. Now, we don't have to worry about the particular number 666, you know, okay, it's there. But the point is, it is a mark of the beast, an identification system. And only if you accept it, receive that, only then can you engage in financial transaction, but you cannot buy yourself without having that mark. You know, if you thought about this maybe 30, 40 years ago, you'd say, how is this possible? You know, how could you control what people buy or sell and you know, how is this possible? But today, it is possible that you could have a financial system, a global financial system that you can then say, if you're going to participate in this financial system, you need to have this particular identification or you have to have this particular way of engaging. You can do that today. Right? So, for example, of course, there are many financial systems, many banking systems around the world, every country has their own, you know, system, but any person sitting in any part of the world can transact financially, literally anywhere else. Now, you have your credit card or you have your bank details and you can move money, you can buy yourself globally. It's possible.  So, the technology and the possibility is in place for what John wrote 2000 years ago in Revelation 13. Of course, the Lord Jesus revealed it to him and he said, this beast is going to control people. They cannot buy yourself unless they have the mark of the beast. He wrote that 2000 years ago and here we are today and we say, yeah, that's possible. It's possible to have a global financial system where people around the world can engage in and you can require some sort of an authentication from them, where in this particular case, it's called the mark of the beast. So, that's very interesting that we are living in a time when Revelation 13 can actually be fulfilled before our eyes. What, two years ago, it would not be possible. You know, so it's telling us how close we are to where these things can actually take place. Number six is to see how Russia, China, Iran and Turkey align themselves. So, I just want to point us to one verse of Scripture, one or two verses of Scripture. If you turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 38, please, just to highlight this, we won't read the whole chapter but I want to point out something for us. Ezekiel chapter 38 and if you read verses one, two, eight, Ezekiel 38, one, two, eight. Can somebody read that please? Ezekiel 38, one, two, eight. Somebody could read it. Ezekiel chapter 38 verses one through eight. So, let's just look at it here. He says, son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshach and Tubal and prophesy against him and say, thus says the Lord God, be all that against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshach and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and lead you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all splendidly clothed in a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords, Persia, Ethiopia and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet, Gomer and all its troops, the house of Togarma from the far north and all its troops, many people are with you.  After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come back, come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate, they were brought out of the nations and now all of them well safely. And then if you skip now to verse 16, he goes on to say, you will come up against my people Israel like a cloud to cover the land, it will be in the latter days that I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me and I'm hallowed in you O Gog before their eyes. So basically is equal to 38th chapter. If you look back in verse one onwards, Gog, the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh Meshach, Tubal. Now what some Bible scholars point out for us is Rosh Meshach and Tubal are pointing to tribes that belong or a part of Russia today. So that's why when they say Gog and Magog or Rosh Meshach and Tubal, they say these are pointing to Russia, tribes in Russia. And then you look at verse five, Persia. Persia is the Bible name for Iran, Ethiopia and Libya. So we have these people, these nations, what will happen to them? Verse 16, they will come against Israel. They'll come against this land whom these people who have been brought back into their land. So this is something for us to look at. So that's why, let's go back to the notes. Russia, Iran, Turkey, Togarma. This is in verse six, Gomer and all its troops and the house of Togarma. So Turkey Togarma, Persia, Iran, Gog and Magog represent by the tribes of Rosh Meshach, Tubal, that's Russia. So these are nations that are going to be engaged in coming against Israel. The reason we also mentioned China, although China's never mentioned by name, is because of what we saw in the book of Revelation, where he says Kings from the East, this is Revelation 16, Kings from the East begin to move across the river Euphrates towards Israel. So we don't know for sure, because China's not mentioned by name, but Kings from the East, talking about leaders from the, you know, armies from the East. So we say, well, it's very likely China is one of those powerful nations that will move from the East, East of Israel. So that's why we're looking at these countries, because we know about Russia, Iran and Turkey, mentioned in Ezekiel 38 and China, Revelation 16, most likely comes as part of the Kings of the East. So how about these nations aligning themselves? How are they positioning themselves? And it's very interesting to see that although Russia and China, you know, they don't always see, you know, they don't, or to say, maybe they're not 100% aligned, but yet you can see them, you know, building their relationship. And then their influence, Russia and China over in these areas, Iran and Turkey. So you can see these leaders, and I've just mentioned a little bit here, but you can see how these leaders are interacting with each other and how are the leaders in China and Russia, you know, they're strengthening their personal positions in their own lands. But they're also trying to build bridges with other countries. China has done a lot of work through its Belt and Road Initiative, where they have actually invested in about 70 countries worldwide, and they're kind of building almost like a network of governments who will back them up. So it's almost like if China moves in one way, these other countries are going to move with them because of the kind of influence China already has in nearly 70 countries because of the investments they have made. So China has now become a very influential nation of superpowers globally and is now, you know, building bridges with Russia as well. So you can see what China is doing in terms of investing, especially in Iran. They've strategically invested over there. Russia is strengthening its relationship with Turkey. Turkey is exerting its influence in that part of the world. So it's interesting to see all these nations, how they're lining up with each other. So if one of them were to move in war against Israel, it's likely they're going to bring all of the others in because they've already invested so much and got them to be on their side. They're going to move towards Israel. And so the kings of the east could very well be all of these nations who have aligned themselves with each other moving against Israel. And this is very likely, very possible. It's a fulfillment of what we see in Ezekiel chapter 38 and also in chapter 39. The next any question on that point number six? Are you all with me? Is it clear? Yes. Okay. Yes. Okay. All right. So now let's move to our next point. Number seven about peace talks with Israel and the plan to divide the land. So like we said, Israel as a nation, Jerusalem specifically, has been a rubble spot in the world, mainly because of the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel. The Palestinians want a separate identity, a separate nation. They have sections of land on the west side called West Bank, the west side of Jordan, and also Gaza, again another portion of land. They're staying there. And there's always been this talk, how do we resolve this conflict? And so many, many leaders have tried to establish peace, right? But Joel prophesied in Joel chapter three, verse one and two, he said, for behold in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Jerusalem, I'll also gather all nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, that is Megiddo at the Battle of Armageddon is going to take place. I've lent a judgment to them there on account of my people, my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations. They have also divided up my land. So God is saying, in those days at that time, after, you know, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, so the people of Judah and Jerusalem, they are back in their own land. They have come back. We saw that 1948, they were there, recognized as a nation, 1967, they've got back part of Jerusalem. So we are very close to this fulfillment of this. What is happening is the nations are coming against Israel, and they are going to divide up the land. So when you look at the solutions that were being proposed for resolving this conflict in the Middle East between Palestinians and Israel, one of the solutions was, let there be two states, let them have their own place and let the Palestinians have their own place and be given their own identity, which means Israel is going to give up what they want for themselves, what they consider as really part of their land. So that's been proposed, put forward, but nobody has taken that, you know, to make it real. It's just not possible. Israel will not let it happen. There's the other challenge, which is the control of the city of Jerusalem, especially the Temple Mount. Who's going to control this place? Because the Jews want it, the Arabs want it. So Israel says, hey, all of Jerusalem is our capital. All of Jerusalem belongs to us. That's Israel. The Palestinians, they say, hey, east of Jerusalem, that's our part, our part. It belongs to us. East Jerusalem, all of that portion is belongs to us. So there is debate, there's, you know, the desire to control Jerusalem. And these are two very difficult or two points of conflict that are going on and on and on. Different leaders have attempted so many different things over the years. But eventually what the Bible is saying is, people will come to divide up my land. So one of the things that will actually give rise to this ultimate conflict, that is the battle of Armageddon, where the nations will gather in the valley of Jehoshaphat. Yes, they're going to come to divorceably divide the land, take it out of Israel, and say, no, you've got to give it. So they've come to divide up the land. Which means that these two problems have precipitated, have become something so big that nations have gotten involved in it. And they've come to divide up the land. And that's when, as they come into the battle of Armageddon, God himself will step in. And he says, I will enter into judgment with them for the sake of my people, because they have come to divide up my land. So looking at what leaders are proposing as a solution, you know, to this Arab-Israeli Arab conflict is something we have to keep looking at, because we know the direction this is going to go. We know that ultimately, they are going to try to forcibly divide the land. And that will give rise to this final conflict, the battle of Armageddon. So it's interesting. Keep looking. What are people trying to propose as a solution to this problem? And what is the direction it's going? Keep looking at it. One more, let's look at maybe a couple of more. Another important thing we keep looking at is to look at the church. So all these other signs, previous signs that we looked at were signs outside the church, what is happening in the world. But it's also very important to look at what's happening in the church, because the Apostle Paul said that when the Lord Jesus comes back, he will come for a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. So that he might present her to himself as a glorious church. That means when Jesus is coming back, he's going to present the church to himself as a glorious church, not as a weak church, not as a defeated church, not as a divided church, but a glorious church. So in order to bring the church to this place of glory, what do we need? Well, he has put apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints to edify the body of Christ. That means to build up the body of Christ till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man. That means these ministries are going to be working towards bringing us to that place of maturity. So this is another important thing to look at. We have seen over the last several decades that the minister of the apostle, the prophet, the evangelist and pastor and teacher has been restored in the body of Christ. And then these ministries are helping build up the church, build up the body of Christ and are helping the church come to this place of being a perfect man, to the full measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. So that's what we are seeing happen. And God is restoring everything in the church, is bringing the church to be this glorious church. And Acts 3, Eater said, Lord Jesus Christ, whom heaven must receive, or the word receive actually can be also translated retain, heaven must retain until the time of restoration of all things. So Jesus is going to be in heaven until the time when everything is going to be restored. And one of the things that will be restored is the church, that the church would be brought to this place of restoration. So you look at the early church, you see how powerful it is. We know the church went through a difficult time in history, but now the church is coming back to its place of strength and glory, and Jesus will be retained in heaven until the time of restoration of all things, including restoration of the church. So the church is brought to its place of restoration, and then Christ will come. So that's something to look at as we consider the science. And it's exciting to see that the church is being restored, being brought into this place of maturity. A couple of other things that we can quickly look at, which we are, I would say, a more familiar science, number nine, is that the gospel must be preached to all the nations, which is something that's happening. Like never before in history has, you know, this many people living on the earth, and the gospel having reached so many people all across the world. Yes, there are tribes or there are communities and there are tribes where the gospel is not yet reached, but the gospel is being preached in all the nations. Within those nations, there may be tribes where, you know, the final, the last mile, the final efforts are being made to bring the gospel to those people groups. But the big picture is the gospel has reached all the nations, and we are now looking at people groups, which are the people groups that need to hear the gospel. So this is amazing that this science, because Jesus said, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached as a witness to all the nations, to all the ethnic people groups, and then the end will come. So we are looking at the gospel reaching all the people groups, all the nations. And that's, and we can see that we're getting closer and closer to the coming of the Lord. Increased persecution of the church is another indication, because Jesus said, as he gave the signs of the end times, he said, look, they're going to lay hands on it, they're going to persecute you. Yes, we know persecution has always been there, but there's going to be an increased persecution for my name's sake, for the sake of Jesus Christ. So we look at that, how, what's happening in the world's reaction to the church. We look at that and see what's happening. There's going to be increased deception, false spirituality, false Christ, false prophets. Again, now these are things that have always been there, meaning it's not new in that sense. There are always been cults and false religions and all that, but it's going to happen in an increased manner. First Timothy 4, 1 and 2, the Spirit says very clearly in the latter times, there will be deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. So that's going to increase in the latter times. So that's something the Holy Spirit has already spoken to us. Okay, let me pause here. Any questions so far? Everybody's with me? Okay, so let's take a break and right after the break, we'll be back in 10 minutes and right after the break we'll finish the remaining signs of the end times. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. We'll finish the remaining signs, maybe just another, I think we just need maybe another 20 minutes after the break. And then we should be done with this lesson. And then our next step is to do a full review. I will most likely keep the full review for next week. We'll take the two hours just to quickly review and I'll also encourage you to please ask any questions that you may have about anything in this course that we've covered. So let's take a quick break for 10 minutes, be back in 10 minutes and then we will finish up this lesson on the signs of the tax. Thank you.


This study investigated the effects of delta-tocotrionol supplementation on glychemic control parameters in individuals with prediabetes. The results showed that participants who received delta-tocotrionol had significantly lower levels of fasting plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, insulin and homeostatic model assessment insulin resistance index compared to those who did not receive it. This suggests that delta-tocotrionol may be beneficial in improving glychemic control in individuals with prediabetes. Further clinical trials are required to confirm these findings. This article was authored by Farhana Suleiman, Dilshad Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Amjad Purvesh and others.