HG139pt5 Matthew 24:21-29, Mark 13:20-24, Luke 21:25 Signs of the times
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
In the previous verse we have been told:
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Last week we heard about Jacob’s troubles and how the survivors of the initial onslaught will be saved and protected from the Antichrist. He will do the ‘abomination that causes desolation’. We are told by both Daniel and Jesus to understand what this is. The abomination is caused when the Antichrist declares himself to be God and stands in the temple in order to be worshipped. We know that as a result he will be worshipped by every person on the planet other than those who are and will be saved during the tribulation. God’s judgement is poured out on him, the world and Jerusalem. The desolation that happens as a result will be the destruction of Jerusalem by the surrounding armies - this is not the same as happened in AD70 but is a still future event. We know that 2/3rd of Jews will die as a result. We are now at the half-way point of the tribulation and now, the last 3.5 years are called the Great Tribulation. This is the time of God’s judgement. It has been a dreadful 3.5 years already with a quarter of the world’s population dying in what Revelation 6 calls the “Seal Judgements”. But the next 3.5 years are set out for us too with the Trumpet Judgements and Bowl Judgements. Remember that the point of these judgements is to bring the world to account and to bring them to repentance. This is the last chance saloon. And in his mercy He was also provided witnesses with the 144,000 Jews and the two in Jerusalem, likely to be Elijah and Moses.
So, what is the timetable set out in Scripture for the last 3.5 years before the coming of Christ to reign on the earth?
a. The Trumpet Judgements
1. The First Trumpet—Rev. 8:7 –1/3 of the green vegetation on the face of the earth is destroyed.
2. The Second Trumpet—Rev. 8:8–9 —1/3 of the oceans become blood and 1/3 of the life in the sea is destroyed. 1/3 of the world’s shipping is also destroyed. (Imagine the impact this will have on world food supplies. No doubt this will bring about even more death by starvation.)
3. The Third Trumpet—Rev. 8:10–11 —Perhaps this refers to a meteor that falls into the water supplies and pollute 1/3 of the freshwater of the world. This poisons the water and many more people perish in this plague.
4. The Fourth Trumpet—Rev. 8:12 —Some events takes place in the heavens and the sun’s light is diminished by one-third. Also, one-third of the light of the other heavenly bodies is destroyed. This is the day being shortened from 24 hour days to 16.
Before the Fifth Trumpet sounds, an angel flies through Heaven and pronounces three woes upon the earth. The reason? Things are going to get even worse. Rev. 8:13
5. The Fifth Trumpet—Rev. 9:1–12 —The earth is invaded by an army of demons from the pits of Hell. The demons have the power to torment men for 5 months. They won’t kill men, but the pain will be so intense that men will want to die, but they will be unable to achieve death! Hell will literally visit the earth!
6. The Sixth Trumpet—Rev. 9:13–21 —An invasion of an army that numbers 200,000,000 from the East. This was more the whole earth’s population when Revelation was written. China is now seven times that on its own. The results of this invasion will be that 1/3 of the human population will be destroyed. This event is on top of the 25% who have already died mainly through famine meaning that over half of the worlds population has died since this all started. But, what is the reaction of humanity? Rev. 9:20–21, they remain unrepentant!
7. The Seventh Trumpet—Rev. 11:15–19 —This trumpet announces the soon return of the Lord Jesus. It also introduces the seven Bowl Judgements.
b. The Bowl Judgements
1. The First Bowl—Rev. 16:2 —Some kind of vile cancerous sore in poured out on mankind.
2. The Second Bowl—Rev. 16:3 —The waters of the sea are turned to blood and every creature in the sea dies.
3. The Third Bowl—Rev. 16:4–7 —The fresh waters of the earth are turned to blood.
4. The Fourth Bowl—Rev. 16:8–9 —The sun’s heat is intensified and men’s bodies are burned by the heat of the sun. Yet, with all these torments, they do not repent!
5. The Fifth Bowl—Rev. 16:10 —This plague brings darkness and intense pain to the inhabitant of the earth. Again so intense that they gnaw their tongues in their pain, yet they still refuse to repent.
6. The Sixth Bowl—Rev. 16:12–14 —The Euphrates River is dried up preparing a pathway for the nations of the earth to descend upon Israel for the final conflict, otherwise known as the Battle of Armageddon.
7. The Seventh Bowl—Rev. 16:17–21 —This bowl brings with it a terrible cataclysm in the earth. There is an earthquake of such magnitude that the islands of the sea sink and all the mountains of the earth fall down flat. On top of this, all the major cities of the earth will be destroyed! Then, hailstones fall from the heavens that weigh in at around 125 pounds each. By now the majority has died.
In verse 22 we are told that unless the days had been shortened then no one would be saved. How to understand this? Well, perhaps it really means that the days are shortened - to 16hr days instead of 24. We have understood the possibility of this from Revelation 8 where a third of the sun, moon and stars light has gone. We cannot think that somehow there is only 2/3rd of a sun, 2/3rd of the moon, and 2/3rds of every star are somehow blotted out. It simply means that we will not see them as much for the days are shortened. Others speculate that the tribulation itself will be shortened but seeing Daniel and Revelation are very specific about 42 months, 1260 days, and 3.5 years this seems unalterable.
The point, though, of all this, is the love God has for His people. When God judges He remembers mercy.
But during these terrible days there will be so many false prophets around, and people are no doubt even more superstitious so that they do not do is turn to the living God.
And there will be those who will say Christ is there or here but they should not believed simply because when Jesus does come there will be no doubt in anybody’s mind! The first time Jesus came from Heaven to earth it was with humility, practically anonymous, in some small place in Bethlehem with a few shepherds for company. He had come to die, die on a cross to save humankind from ourselves and a fate worse than death and He achieved reconciliation for us who trust in His name. The second time He comes from Heaven to earth every eye will see for He will come in glory, to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords and will be the judge of all the earth, both the living and the dead.
We are told angels said:
11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Just as He went up in the clouds bodily so shall He return bodily and will arrive at the Mount of Olives where this very sermon is being preached and from where He ascended back to the Father to prepare a place for us. No one will be in doubt as to His return.
The earth and its people will have been decimated during 7 long years of trouble and just after the battle of Armageddon there will be bodies everywhere as a sign of the judgement of God and the vultures will be having a field day. When you see this then you know Jesus the Judge is about to arrive.
The seven year tribulation is going to be an horrendous time - we know the aim is to bring judgement upon the nations with the hope that some may be saved as a result, and the other purpose is to purify Israel and only a 1/3rd will survive the holocaust that will happen.
People will be uncertain but Scripture has laid out the timetable that they will really be without excuse. Everything is set out that the generation that is alive when all this happens will also see the Coming of the Lord. At His coming He will set up His kingdom and it comes almost as soon as the tribulation ends. How do these terrible seven years end?
The key is the word ‘immediately’ in the next verse. What happens immediately?
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Scientists will not believe it to be possible. What will not be possible? Well, how they can still be alive after all this happens for surely life is dependent upon the sun and everything being in its place - and normally they are right, of course. But it is not the universe that keeps us alive and holds things together though it would appear so at this time. Just an aside, do you know that we humans are held together by a remarkable gene called laminin that is like glue which pervades every part of our cells. What is interesting is that this gene looks like a cross under an electron microscope. It is the cross that reconciles us with our own bodies! Of course, it does not mean that we are not held together by another force - and that is the Word of God, and Jesus Himself, as it says in:
17 He is before all things,
and by him all things hold together.
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Indeed, it is Jesus who holds things together and sustains all things by His powerful word. But, in verse 29, He then lets it go and the whole universe unravels. Yet, there are still those on earth surviving!
The tribulation is over but the the very existence of human kind is at stake.
But there is still one in control and has told us before time what will happen. If God is in control of a vast universe and what is happening on earth then why are we of such little faith that He does not know the things going on in our own lives - He is not only sustainer of the universe but Hebrews says that He is the sustainer of everything including us. When everything seems to be falling apart look to the One who holds all things together.
Communion
Communion
Jesus foretold His own death, burial and resurrection in the Old Testament. He came for us who are most undeserving. When we think of the vastness of the universe what are we that He thinks of us? We are merely a dot among stars of our own galaxy let alone the million of galaxies containing the hundreds of millions of stars in each of them. Yet it pleased the Lord God to bruise Jesus for our sins that offend a holy and almighty God. He took upon Himself my sin and yours and suffered like none had suffered before or since or ever will. The price was too much yet He received the fullness of God’s wrath so that we did not have to. This was Jesus’ Great Tribulation. He paid it in full. We have been given life and reconciliation with God. It is time to do away with sin and return, to repent and follow Him. Our response to His love demands it.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Benediction
Benediction
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Carr, A. (2015). The Sermon Notebook: New Testament. Lenoir, NC: Alan Carr.
Davies, W. D., & Allison, D. C., Jr. (2004). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew (Vol. 3). London; New York: T&T Clark International.
Elwell, W. A. (1995). Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Geisler, N. L. (2005). Systematic theology, volume four: church, last things. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers.
Grudem, W. A. (2004). Systematic theology: an introduction to biblical doctrine. Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2014). John MacArthur Sermon Archive. Panorama City, CA: Grace to You.
McCune, R. (2010). A Systematic Theology of Biblical Christianity: The Doctrines of Salvation, the Church, and Last Things (Vol. 3). Allen Park, MI: Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary.
O’Donnell, D. S. (2013). Matthew: All Authority in Heaven and on Earth. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
Rogers, A. (2017). Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive. Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:47 12 October 2019.