Signs of the End Times
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Introduction:
In one week from today, we will be celebrating Palm Sunday. It is the celebration of Jesus riding into the city of Jerusalem on a Donkey. People are waving Palm branches, laying their coats on the ground, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who come in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!”
Certainly something great to celebrate and acknowledge during what the church has come to know as the season of Easter… Or “Holy Week.”
Today and next week we are going to explore what took place days before Palm Sunday. It has to do with the future and what the Disciples would experience shortly after Jesus was crucified and then resurrected and then ascended into heaven, leaving his disciples to wait and wonder. We are still in a holding pattern, waiting and wondering, when will Jesus return. Today, we are going to talk about “The signs of the end times” as we are coming to know it. Turn in your Bibles to the text that was read earlier this morning.
There are many different thoughts in regard to this, but before we consider any of them, i want us to look at what took place between Jesus and his disciples Just prior to His arrest.
Turn in your Bibles to
The discourse of these events is recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels (synoptic meaning Matthew, Mark, and Luke all giving an overview of these events sharing similar detail, adding clarity to the events)
It begins as Jesus and the disciples are leaving the temple. Jesus had just finished teaching in the temple and was now leaving.
In Mark’s (31:1) gospel, one of the disciples said to Jesus, “Look, teacher! What magnificent stones. What massive stones.” In gospel, we read..
Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said,
Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said,
In Matthew’s gospel it states that they (the disciples) called Jesus attention to the Temple. Jesus used this as an opportunity to continue to teach his disciples, only this time he tells them some very frightening things. Jesus say,
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Later, when they were in a private setting, sitting on the Mount of Olive, they askedJesus, “when will all this take place.”
Jesus first talks about Destruction…
“Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
“Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
The only thing remaining of the Temple after its destruction in 70 A.D. is what we know as “The Western Wall” or “The Wailing Wall.” Actually, it is part of Herod’s temple.
a surviving section of the wall which in ancient times formed a part of the enclosure of Herod’s temple near the Holy of Holies and at which Jews traditionally gather for prayer and religious lament
It gives us a little bit of a picture of what size the stones that made up the Temple might have been like… The Holy Temple is not standing today. In it place, the place where it will be build again, stands a Mosque known as “The Dome of the Rock” It is believed that there will come a day when “The Dome of the Rock” will be destroyed and the Temple will be rebuilt. (Messianic Prophecy)
Later, when they were in a private setting on the Mount of Olive, they askedJesus, “when will all this take place.” After he talks to them about the destruction of the temple and before tells them that no one knows the day or the hour when He will return, he tells them what to expect before it does happen. He talks about Deception, Division, and Disaster
Secondly, he talks about ‘Deception’
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.
Many will come and say “I am the Christ” Who in our modern era have said, “I am the Christ”
Many of you here today may remember names such a Jim Jones who in the late 70’s claimed to be the Messiah and when national leaders began to investigate this temple cult, he led his followers into a mass suicide.
Then there was David Koresh who told his followers he was “The Lamb of God” from the book of Revelation who could interpret the Seven Seals containing secrets to the end of the world.
On February 28th, 1993, the ATF, citing evidence that cult members were amassing illegal weapons, tried to execute a warrant on the Branch Davidian at Mount Carmel. A two-hour gun fight resulted in the deaths of six Davidians and four agents. No one knows who initially pulled the trigger.
51 days later the compound was burned to the ground killing David and his followers who remained in the compound.
Here is a recent example of this… Reported on Oct. 6, 2017 He calls himself Vissarion. He teaches about a coming apocalypse and says it is his goal to join all religion on the globe together. Thousands of Russians have flocked to southern Siberia to follow this man who claims to be Jesus Christ reincarnated. The number of his followers has risen to about 5,000. He says, “I am Jesus Christ… it was prophesied that I would return to finish what I started.”
Many of the followers say they are exhausted by decades of corruption, terrorism, ethnic violence, and fading morality in their country. And feeling the absence of moral authority in orthodox churches, and feeling lost searching for a definite truth, they seek to fill the spiritual hunger with the utopian ideals of end-time cult leaders.
This is what Jesus prophesied saying, Many will be deceived by those claiming to be me. Reported by signs of the last times.
Jesus reaffirms this again in
For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
The word Elect comes from the Greek word ‘Eklektous’ meaning chosen or elect… could be referring to Israel… believers… this is a study for another time but what we do know is there are people who believe in Jesus and can be deceived.
In verse 25 Jesus said, I have told you about deception ahead of time. In verse 26 he says, ‘Do not believe this.
In recent conversation it was shared about a young adult who grew up in a Christian home. After graduation and living on their own, they have encountered a teaching from someone who says, “there is more than one way to heaven.” Have you ever heard that before?
When we read the Bible, God’s Holy Word to us; Words coming from a God who does not lie and does not change, he is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, we have a solid foundation to build our faith on based on the fulfillment of prophecy and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who promises to come again.
Jesus ....
In verse 27 he makes it clear that just as “Lightning that comes from the east, is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
In other words, you will not have to guess if it is Jesus. It will happen like the flash of lightning in the sky.
He says, such deception will come… don’t be surprised. The end it yet to come. (vs. 6)
He adds to deception, division in verse 6 “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.”
There will be Division - In verse 7 he states there will be nations against nations… Kingdoms against kingdoms. It was stated by Woodrow Wilson along with others that World War I was to be the war that ended all wars. According to a timeline of the 20th and 21st century, there have been approximately 17 documented wars since.(this does not include the ethnic wars of 50 plus that have taken place in other parts of the world) People have a tendency to look at this and say, “the end is near” but Jesus is stating, there will be wars and rumors of war.
The Greek word for Nations is Ethnos… referring to Ethnicity (different Ethnic groups) there will be a divide… in Recent days we have heard a great deal about the ethnical divide between White and African Americans… It has also been said that 1/4 of the US population is Latino or Spanish. We are seeing more ethnic groups coming to the United State due to War’s in places like Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Indonesia… In an article written back in 1994 there were some 52 civil wars in countries such as those mentioned above.
There will be ‘Wars and rumors of wars; people groups against people groups...
It was stated by Woodrow Wilson along with others that World War I was to be the war that ended all wars. According to a timeline on the 20th and 21st century, there have been approximately 17 documented wars since. People have a tendency to look at this and say, “the end is near” but Jesus is stating, there will be wars and rumors of war.
According to Group Crisis International there are 10 countries of conflict to watch in 2019...
Watch for places like Yemen, because of International Lawlessness over this past year.
Afghanistan - in 2018 there were more than 40,000 lives lost because of civil war
Watch for places like U.S. & China. There has been great tension over trade tariffs - The standoff between China and the U.S. is not a deadly conflict, no matter how bitter the trade war between Washington and Beijing has become. Still, rhetoric between the two is increasingly bellicose (aggression and people willing to fight). If relations, already at their lowest ebb since the Tiananmen protests almost three decades ago, continue to deteriorate, the rivalry could have graver geopolitical consequences than all of the other crises listed this year.
Saudi Arabia, U.S. Israel, and Iran -
Syria -
Nigeria -
South Sudan -
Cameroon -
Ukraine -
Venezuela -
There will be Disasters (vs. 7)
In verse 7 he states there will be nations against nations… Kingdoms against kingdoms. Then he speaks about famine and earthquakes in various places. All these things are “The Beginning” of birth pains, meaning, the time is soon to come… no one knows for certain, but it has begun.
He speaks about famine and earthquakes in various places. All these things are “The Beginning” of birth pains, meaning, the time is soon to come… no one knows for certain, but it has begun.
Every decade going back to 1860 there have been more than a million lost lives due to famine. Some decades ranging into the 10s of millions. From 2,000 - 2,009 there were 2,800,000 lives lost to famine.
Here is some good news in the midst of all this bad news… Since 2010 till 2016 there were only 255,000 lives lost. It appears that the world has made significant progress in this area, which is fantastic. One would like to think that it will continue and famines will come to and end. With God, nothing is impossible.
In regard to earthquakes…AS of this past Monday, dating back to March 26th of this year, there were 10 earthquakes reported. On on March 31st 17 miles from Santa Elena, Ecuador, also affecting Peru, with a Magnitude of 6.2.
I still remember the earthquake that took place in San Francisco on Oct 17, 1989 during game three of the world series. One of the people who attended the church i served at the time said he remembered everyone fleeing for some place of protection and he himself stated that he stood under a door frame in a hotel at the time.
Without going any further on any of these events, it is important to hear Jesus teach about these types of disasters taking place and that they are the beginning of birth pains.
There will be a time of Defamation (vs. 9) there will be persecution of believers, people will slander one another. The bible records for us the persecution of many who followed Jesus in the early years… The disciples where persecuted, Stephen was the first martyred follower of Jesus.
But what about today? Do Christians face persecution today?
Open Doors is an organization with the most comprehensive, authoritative report on the top 50 countries where Christian persecution is most severe. It has a world watch list of Countries where Christianity is illegal.
PERSECUTION AT A GLANCE
Christians remain one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world. While Christian persecution takes many forms, it is defined as any hostility experienced as a result of identification with Christ. Christian torture remains an issue for believers throughout the world including the risk of imprisonment, loss of home and assets, physical torture, beheadings, rape and even death as a result of their faith.
Trends show that countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East are intensifying persecution against Christians, and perhaps the most vulnerable are Christian women, who often face double persecution for faith and gender.
Every day we receive new reports of Christians who face threats, unjust imprisonment, harassment, beatings and even loss of family because of their faith in Jesus.
Every month, on average:
345 Christians are killed for faith-related reasons
105 Churches and Christian buildings are burned or attacked
219 Christians are detained without trial, arrested, sentenced and imprisoned
According to our research:
245 million Christians experience high levels of persecution in the countries on the World Watch List. And worldwide, 1 in 9 Christians experience high levels of persecution.North Korea is ranked #1 for the 18th consecutive year as the most dangerous country for Christians.
Islamic Oppression fuels Christian persecution in 8 of the top 10 countries. In seven out of the top 10 World Watch List countries, the primary cause of persecution is Islamic oppression. This means, for millions of Christians—particularly those who grew up Muslim or were born into Muslim families—openly follow-ing Jesus can have painful consequences. They can be treated as second-class citizens, discriminated against for jobs or even violently attacked.
This does not give Christians the right to hate. It simply reveals the fact that people of other faiths will persecute people who believe in Jesus as the One and Only Divine Son of God and that he is more than just another way to heaven, He IS the ONE and ONLY Way to God.
If you take that stand based on your Biblical Theological faith, you will be persecuted, even by others who claim to be Christians!
Ok, all that I have shared with you today can be quiet discouraging and depressing… But before we go down that road, the reality is, Jesus said these things to His disciples and to us so that we would not be ignorant. () But he also told them so that when he rose from the dead and promised and eternal Kingdom with Him at the helm, they would have hope! A Hope that would not disappoint them.
So I have spoken on these things only to make us aware of what is happening around us, knowing that the birth pains have begun. However, as we will look at next week… no one know the time of Christ Jesus return. The question, are you ready?
If you have made a committment to Jesus; repenting of your sins; confessing to him that you are a sinner and you need him and desire him in your life, then you can celebrate communion today because he said “I will return to take you where I am.
If you have not accepted Jesus as the Son of God; the way the truth and the life, then you are at a crossroad - will you believe in him and accept his teachings and put your hope in Him? or will you say no to him and continue to walk as you wish, trusting in only yourself and your efforts to be a good person?
These things have not been written and addressed by Jesus to lead us into despair, but to lead us into hope. Hope based on His promise, that he will return and when he does he will establish a Kingdom of Peace, where there will be no more tears or sorrows… no more worries about tomorrow. You will rise each day with a revived spirit knowing that “All things are in His hands.” For He is “The Way, the Truth, and The Life.”
May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,