He's Back - You've Been Warned
Notes
Transcript
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.
17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
It is known as the Blessed Hope of the Church - the RAPTURE of the Saints!!!
It is when Christ will come on the clouds and gather the dead in Christ first (their physical bodies will be resurrected with their spirits in the air, and then those remaining shall be caught away into the heavens for eternity!
Jesus COMING Back for His Bride the CHURCH!
This morning we are embarking upon a series on what will it be like if Jesus returned TODAY!
You see the reality is - the return of Christ is IMMINENT!!!
As the love of God and faith of many waxes cold in this world, we see the signs all around.
2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.
Matthew
10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
For those whose hearts are spiritually closed and sleeping, it will overtake them in suddenness. For those who are in the faith - part of the Kingdom, there is no surprise!!!!
If Jesus came back before we got out of church - we would have no excuse for not being ready as the body of Christ because he said we will know the season of His return by the signs!!!
I entitled this message - YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.
30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
32 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near.
33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.
34 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place.
35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
36 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
Matt 24.
Jesus started off by saying that you won’t know the hour and day, but you will know the season! So many have tried to set dates, you just cannot do that. Those false prophets have caused scoffers to mock and lulled people into spiritual unpreparedness.
We can tell the season by the signs.
How many of us know summer is around the corner when we see the leaves start to bud and spring forth!
This is the indicator about the fig tree, and when we see these kind of things happen Christ is about to mention, we know His return is coming soon. There is NO EXCUSE TO NOT BE READY!
1.Political, Geological and Ecological and Astronomical Signs
1.Political, Geological and Ecological and Astronomical Signs
6 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.
7 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.
8 But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
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Political Signs
Wars, rumors of wars, Kingdom will rise against Kingdom...
The 20th century held the most catastrophic wars of history with 60 million dying in WW2 alone, but technology and the atomic bomb has made a reality that mankind possesses the capability to wipe out mankind
When this prophesy came forth the ability to utterly destroy mankind in moments did not exist in a person’s wildest imagination yet we live with this threat today.
Even Hollywood has produced cult movies about the end of the world and worldwide destruction for decades now.
Where previously cyanide in a cistern or a torch on a thatched roof was some of the greatest destructions - today rogue nations possess nuclear arms and loom as a threat with crazy dictators who cannot be reasoned with could begin the end of the world.
Rumors of wars surround us on a daily basis, and with internet we are constantly aware of every move of our enemies that screams forth views, opinions and the potential of the worst to come.
North Korea, China, Iran, and others seem to threaten the Western way of life, but hold to the terrifying potential of affecting all mankind.
Even within nations, political wars rage dividing brother against brother and threatening democracies and kingdoms as we now know them.
Not just in the US, but across the US, wars in Africa and Asia, and unrest abounds.
In addition to this is the constant unrest in the MIDDLE EAST, especially since Israel reestablished as a nation in 1914. War between the Palestinians and Jews, and war between the Muslim and Judeo Christian war always looms and has existed for over 100 years now. We have just become accustomed to these things as a way of life.
Geological Signs are Ever Increasing
The constant shaking of the earth’s core and plates are ever before us.
Since the beginning of 2020 hundreds if not thousands of small quakes have occurred in addition to numerous larger quakes creating disaster in near every region of the earth.
Yesterday alone by noon hundreds of earthquakes occurred across the world.
Friday a 7.0 off the coast of Japan, 100 miles below the ocean floor.
Shortly after the New Year the Philippines was rocking.
Puerto Rico suffered for weeks on end...
Turkey has had significant shaking...
Saturday Taiwan was shaking with 5.2 and above
Off the coast of El Salvador
Greece and Crete have had significant shakes close to the earth’s surface
Last year in 2019 we began with the reporting of major earthquakes occurring as well...
20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope,
21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Ecological Signs
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
The NKJV and KJV list both famines and pestilences as part of the signs of the return of Christ. Throughout history there have been issues with famines in the world. With modern technology there has been a great effort to irrigate and create the movement of water to dry lands.
However, famines are still occurring, and often due to pestilence.
Currently in the Horn of Africa (East Africa) there is a great locust plague that is elevating famine in the land. Even with our modern day efforts, we cannot completely stave off such issues.
These locusts are consuming vegetation in large masses, there are billions of locusts causing swarms the size of cities.
In addition to the insect kind of bug is the pestilence of disease -
Cholera, Zika, Dengue Fever, Sars, Aids Epidemic, and most recently the Coronavirus are all pestilences that have plagued the world in the last decade or so or are currently active.
The coronavirus has the world scrambling, planes being quarantined, travel becoming restricted and face masks selling off the shelves in unprecedented quantities.
Astronomical
11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
Luke also includes in the list that Jesus gave - great and fearful sights and signs in the heaven.
I think we are all aware of the increasing blood moons and lunar eclipses or the tetrad that occurred last year and their significance in one year in Jewish history to have occurred on all their holy days. Some have pointed that there will be a significant shift with Israel because of that.
Shifts that many believe will be events happening in end times.
The reality is that these four kinds of signs have all been happening in greater frequency and intensity - and if Christ came back today, we should not be surprised because the season sign of a changing time has been evident!
2. Sinful Condition of Mankind
2. Sinful Condition of Mankind
12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.
For the first time in history the category of those who have no religion - the “religious nones” is greater than those claiming any religion.
Christianity has taken a sharp decrease. Protestantism has gone from 51% of the adult population to 43% in the last decade and Catholicism has also dropped 3% for a combined total of a 12% decline.
Church attendance has also dropped between 7 and 10% and more attend a few times a year than a few times a month.
Church closures is on the increase.
More so than the attendance of people in church is the worldwide attitude toward Christianity and the immoral state of society.
The drastic advancement of the LBGTQ community and our society’s norm of sexual promiscuity, alchoholism and drug use.
Over 2/3rds of people now co habitate prior to marriage and have co habitated with more than other persons
Globally less than half the world finds it immoral to have sex outside of marriage
In US only 28% find it morally unacceptable
The stats for that are less than 10% in European countries
We are killing newborn babies that are unwanted, aborting for convenience, allowing children to be told they can choose their gender, lying is acceptable culturally, murder is on the rise, terrorism covers the universe, suicide is becoming a norm, including suicide for seniors and terminally ill, life is not respected, sexual morality is not respected. People live to party. Drug use is becoming a societal norm and many fight for its legalization.
The church is no longer an active agent causing change in the world, Christians live as immorally as the lost/ unsaved.
Passion for the things of God has dwindled, a little pressure and Christians cave in their faith or yield to peer pressure.
Everyone wants to fit in.
1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.
2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.
3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.
4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.
5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
2 Timothy
22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it.
23 People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them.
24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes.
25 But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.
26 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.
27 In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building—
29 until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
31 On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home.
32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife!
33 If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.
34 That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.
35 Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.”
37 “Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked. Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”
Life will be a party! Nothing will be sacred!
The church will shrink and grow cold!
These are all signs that His return is near!
3. Persecution and Hatred of True Believers
3. Persecution and Hatred of True Believers
I hate to say it, but these days Christians even persecute other Christians for holding a stance!
9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.
.9
Followers of Christ are hated.
Hatred in the US, what was once a Christian nation is increasing, and persecution of those with Christian values increases continously.
Everything is ok, except for Christians, they are bad.
We even have laws that are being designed to jail Christians and pastors for speaking the truth of the Bible!
In other nations, like Nigeria, and China, the Phillippines, Indonesia, North Korea, Afghanistan, etc - Christians are constantly targeted in terrorism, and being killed for their faith.
Christianity Today published an article showing the worst 50 countries for Christians to exist, and stated that 1 in 12 Christians in the world live under harsh persecution. 215 million believers are being targeted for their faith.
3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.
4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”
5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water.
6 Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood.
7 And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.
9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
Scoffers are all around mocking the church for our BLESSED HOPE… they antagonize stating that our claim to a returning Jesus is not real.
They have already rejected the truth of the flood through the teachings of evolution and have created scientific means to reject the truth of God’s Word. I am not down on science, in fact I believe true science proves God’s Word.
However, for many, science has given a reason to ignore what God has taught us in His Word and led to the scoffing and persecution now in the world today.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
These are the signs of Jesus coming back!
He said, you can tell the season by the signs - like a fig tree begins to shoot forth tender roots, or where you see a vulture circling in the air you know a carcass is nearby -
When you see these things - you know His return is near...
Believers are instructed to stop clinging to this life!
To remain steadfast in serving Christ even though everything around is changing and getting far from God, and persecution may abound.
That those who endure until the end will be rewarded with His eternity, with being taken to be with Him in the air.
If Jesus came back today, You have been warned to be ready!
It should not overtake you as it will those who have no faith.