The Advent Endgame

intro

There is no denying there is an extremely large fascination in the world with comic book superheroes. This is evidenced by the highest grossing movie of all time, 2019’s Avengers Endgame. The movie made 2.79 billion dollars world wide.

My theory on why people flock to the box office pre and post covid of course to see the world be saved by the likes of Ironman, Captain, America, and Thor.(or Wonderwoman, Superman, or Batman if you are a dc fan)...is because deep down we acknowledge we are living in a world in a desperate need of a savior. However it’s not Avengers we need to enact justice and fight the villains and bad guys. It’s the triumphant return of Jesus in the sky.

But is that it, are believers in Jesus to simply be patient and wait? Is that what the Bible tells us, to just simply endure? Wait? Well the Bible does have plenty to say about faithfulness, patience, and endurance of the Saints. But God also calls his people to action. He doesn’t call us to avenge, for of course, “Vengeance is mine declares Lord.” He calls us to service. He calls us to love. He calls us to share the good news while helping others.

I wont tell you where or when or with whom, but I once was a part of a church meeting quite a few years back that stood out to me for all the wrong reasons. It was the church meeting, I think, was the closest I’ve ever seen to participants going to blows with each other. Luckily it wasn’t with their fists, sadly though it was verses and scripture that were being weaponized. The dispute was over our duty of sharing the good news. A couple participants were advocating for compassion evangelism and others focusing on preaching uniquely Biblical Adventist messages. I just want to say I want it on record I am firm believer in BOTH and sharing the good news of salvation and compassionately helping others as Christ did. These ideals are not mutually exclusive or opposing. Jesus’s own ministry on Earth reflects this by helping people with miracles and offering hope and also sharing counter-cultural messages to listening ears. As an observer in this meeting, I felt both sides of the debate missed the mark.

This raises a question, what should be our response as Christians as we move closer every day to the return of Jesus. What do we do leading up to the Advent Endgame? I am glad you asked. Because as always, the Bible has answers. Before we go further, lets take a moment to pray.

pray

If you have your Bible’s please turn to Matthew 24. Leading up to the days of Jesus arrest and eventual crucifixion. Jesus spent time with his disciples and closest disciples on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Jerusalem.

What I’d like us to do is read through a particular passage and come back and analyze the various elements piece by piece.

Matthew 24:3–14 ESV

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

It’s interesting growing up hearing about this time of trouble which is explained here in the latter half. I like most who hear it focused on the scary elements and the danger it seemed to predict. But Jesus is really speaking of the endurance of His people in this time. Jesus was speaking about the near future his disciples would face in persecution and the destruction of the temple but also about the time his saints will face before His coming. All this stuff is happening, but let it not be missed, the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed as a testimony to all the nations. And then the end will come.

Jesus of course had just prior to this dropped a bombshell of a prophecy to the disciples that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed at some point in the near future. Jesus was preparing his disciples that even the things they thought would last forever on Earth would not last.

I just spent the week following the 4th of July in New Smyrna beach florida. This has been a family reunion tradition started 39 years ago. My grandparents have always been about honoring tradition and have made sure the whole family can attend. As the family grows larger its become more difficult for every family member to have a bed. Air and floor mats are often brought. Each year we eat Manny’s Pizza Saturday night and brunch at Aunt Catfish (best pancakes and ommellet you can find bar none.) My wife and I have differing opinions on the greatness of Manny’s Pizza and their world famous greek salads. But again this all happens every summer Lord willing. I say Lord willing because....even our family’s longest lasting traditions will eventually be no more. Both my surviving grandmothers live in homes they have owned and lived in for more than 60 years. One day those homes will be no more.

If we have learned anything over the course of this past year, it should be that things in our lives can change in a hurry.

Jesus knew the disciples lives were about to change drastically. Jesus knew his small group of companions were about to be put under some of the most difficult challenges they would ever meet and that this three years of traveling together was about to end. The unthinkable, their master would no longer be with them in person.

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In verse 5, Jesus mentions there will be some who will come in His name. There will be those that impersonate him as the savior. There certainly have literally been those. There have also been those figureheads who may not proclaim themselves to be Jesus Christ but a savior still. My friends there is no politician, no pastor, no celebrity, no world leader, no social media influencer who has the ability to save a fallen world. Only Jesus.

There are those who can help you live more healthy lives, a life of financial peace, a more healthy marriage, put you on an exercise plan, can help you deal with your mental health. These are not bad things to get help with, in fact when we need help in these areas, we should not hesitate to seek help. These are tools and resources pretty much all of us need, but please understand…the end of all pain only comes from Jesus.

Has anyone here ever had a mentor, teacher, pastor, doctor, coach, confidant let you down? Maybe they made a mistake, or had a moral fall or just let you down. The thing is, people will do that often. When we put all of our faith humans to solve our greatest personal issues or even solve our next world crisis, chances are they will let us down.

Jesus walked on this Earth, he was not to be confused with the politicians or religious leaders of His day. And when He comes in clouds (as prophesied in Revelation 1:7) it will be distinct, it will be clear…this is the savior.

And I know....that sounds absolutely bonkers right?? Every eye will see Him. The physics of that always has me stretching my brain. I guess its not that crazy considering the day we live in. One news piece or social media post can go viral have millions of views in just a matter of minutes. Understand as the time draws near and when Jesus comes…our lives will not be the same as they are now.

Speaking though, of expedient shared information. change slide

Matthew 24:6 ESV

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

There is no denying this has been, and is taking place. There is war happening around the world. change slide

Matthew 24:7–8 ESV

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Violence and devastation are happening now. Its hard to look on as you see outcries in other countries. And then you also see the infighting and witness the unrest in our own. The growing racial strife, political divide. The continued bickering of those who hold different viewpoints. These are not to be ignored either.

There have been moments where I have listened to rants about different peoples and sometimes it feels people can go so far as to be wishing hellfire destruction on others. Folks this is a problem. My readings of the scriptures indicate the only thing God wishes destruction of by hellfire is SIN plain and simple. That is why he wants to wash away our sin. God takes no pleasure in the destruction of any people, and neither should we.

Unfortunately people will let us down, and people do betray us. Commenting on the same encounter with the disciples of Matthew 24, Luke 21 quotes Jesus, change slide

Luke 21:16 ESV

You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.

Adding commentary to this exchange, the book Desire of Ages shares: change slide

On every occasion when persecution takes place, those who witness it make decisions either for Christ or against Him. Those who manifest sympathy for the ones wrongly condemned show their attachment for Christ. Others are offended because the principles of truth cut directly across their practice. Many stumble and fall, apostatizing from the faith they once advocated. Those who apostatize in time of trial will, to secure their own safety, bear false witness, and betray their brethren. Christ has warned us of this, that we may not be surprised at the unnatural, cruel course of those who reject the light.

White, E. G. (1898). The Desire of Ages (Vol. 3, p. 630). Pacific Press Publishing Association.

What I take away here is, as mentioned before, when we cling in all circumstances to our earthly safeties and or our comforts or traditions, even our very homes, we can be seduced into renouncing our faith in Jesus and even betray our brothers and sisters in the faith.

Sometimes our comforts we cling to causes us to ignore the atrocities taking place.

Maybe it is when social and racial injustices occur we might look past them because it may not be directly affecting you and I personally. But to your close friends who have been affected, our indifferences can almost appear as a betrayal.

I’ve said it before whenever their is a large scale tragedy such as a mass shooting, or a hurricane, or a tornado…the news cameras are on the crisis non-stop...until the next incident and then they move on. They don’t show the recovery, or much of the aftermath. These events are not resolved in a matter of days.

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In late August of 2005 Hurricane Katrina tour apart the gulf coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. It was estimated the damages exceeded 125 billions dollars. I was 15 years old and had just began my sophomore year which was my first year attending Mount Pisgah Academy, our Adventist boarding academy apart of the Carolina Conference just outside of Asheville, NC.

That year we had 4 different mission trips planned for the students. They all likely would have been great trips and we might even have gotten to have some fun adventures and see some neat sights. However after hurricane Katrina hit, the mission was put right in front of us. Our leadership at MPA made the call that it was going mobilize the entirety of its 170 students and many of the faculty and drive down and serve. It took 4 full busses. For an entire week we ran a distribution center in Waveland, Mississippi and slept on mats in the gymnasium of Bass Memorial Academy (another Adventist academy located in Mississippi. The gym had a giant hole in its brick walls from its own damages from the hurricane.

I will never forget the line of cars driving through getting basic living supplies. There was so much donated bottled water. Sometimes we would use it to wash windshields of the cars coming through. As a short break from helping, our bus driver took the students at different times to see the devastation along the coasts. Whether it had been a multi million dollar home or a shack, the hurricane had shown no favoritism in its destruction. It felt as if we were in an entirely different world. One of the greatest lessons I learned as a student at Mount pisgah was in my first month as a student there: there are times when God calls us to drop everything, the comforts of our beds, the air conditioning of our homes and go help and be a part of his cause. It also showed me we can also extend God’s love and share the gospel without a sermon even preached. Of course we did share handouts of our message and what we stood for and we felt people were very receptive. In moments of crisis, the ability to offer love and hope was more valuable than gold bars, well that and toilet paper I remember.

As a young person, this trip and this school’s willingness to drop everything and go help, stood out to me so much.

As I talk to the young people of this church, I consistently hear what they want to see from their church is for it to be consistently living out what it believes through service and not just in preaching only. When they witness the bickering, the gossip, the backstabbing, it is a major turnoff to making church life something important to them as they grow older, or even worse, it teaches them to participate themselves in the bickering, gossip, and the backstabbing.

Parents, teachers, church leaders, and youth leaders. I implore you today, to not just teach our children about Christ’s love but show them the example of love by living it for them to imitate.

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Verse 12 of Matthew 24 says, not only will their be lawlessness increased (which I interpret as the disregard for protective laws) but also that the love of many will grow cold.

Folks, I’ve literally had it said to me on multiple occasions, that we are preaching to much on love, and not enough on doctrine. You cannot have sound Biblical doctrine without the love of Jesus. And as we can see here lack of love and empathy is absolutely one of the signs of the times.

It should be noted these signs are signs the end is coming. They are not signs the end is here. This talk Jesus is having with his closest disciples started with the question, “what will be the sign of your coming, and the end of the age?”

Jesus mentions turmoil, (civil, religious, political, military) natural disasters, hostility toward believers, apostacy, dissipation, but also the ongoing proclaiming of the gospel! These things are not and were never intended to set a date or time for the 2nd coming. The two most precise signs of the end, is the gospel being proclaimed to the whole world, and the 2nd coming itself.

Some of you who have grown up a part of the Adventist church or maybe have been a part of this movement for decades, half a century, or more. You may have felt Jesus was going to come soon several times over, or heard sermons feeling like He’d come any day now.

In my mind, the question in mind is as we analyze the signs that Jesus is coming and soon, what should we be doing. If we are aware of certain events that will take place during the time of trouble. Should we now run and hide? Should we stop helping others or stop preaching of the good news of the gospel.

My personal belief is we are share the truths of the gospel, the truths of the Sabbath, until when and if we are no longer free to do so, and even then keep sharing the good news of Jesus soon coming.

I believe as Christians, and Adventist christians (Advent means arrival of a notable person)....If you believe Jesus is coming in the clouds to come get us....you’ve got some Adventist in you....As adventist christians we should never stop responding to those in need. We can all do our part and likely do more than we are already doing in service to others who are in crisis.

In my experience, in preaching prophecy seminars which preach the gospel and the signs pointing to Jesus’s return at full length. ( We look forward to John Boston’s meetings in the first half of October). My experience has been those who have embraced their brokenness or fallen on difficult life circumstances were the ones who have been most willing to listen. So many of us who have lived these “blessed” lives (I’m not talking about acquiring just financial wealth), I am talking about those of us without great tragedy…can often feel like....why do I need a savior? Life is pretty good right now.

It’s the equivalent of having a terminal illness and never knowing anything was wrong. change slide

2 Peter 3:3–4 ESV

knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

New Testament scholar William Barclay once related a parable of the three apprentice devils sent to Earth to complete their training. Each presented his plan to Satan to for the ruin of humanity. the first proposed to tell the people there was no God. Satan replied that this would not delude many, since most have a gut feeling to the contrary. The second said he would proclaim there was no hell. Satan rejected this tactic also, since most people have a sense that sin will receive its just deserts. The third said, I will tell the men that their is no hurry. “Go” said Satan, “and you will ruin men by the thousand.”

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Adventist Bible scholar, George Knight puts it this way, “The most dangerous delusion is that time will go on indefinitely. ‘Tomorrow’ can be a dangerous word. It is against this attitude that Christ warns us in his parables on watchfulness and readiness.”

Your homework today is to read the rest of Matthew 24 and into Matthew 25 ;)

Before we conclude, I did want to quickly examine the parable of the 10 virgins, found in beginning of Matthew 25 change slide

Matthew 25:1–8 ESV

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

The difference between the wise and the foolish believers is not whether they sleep. They all do, But not all have prepared for the summons. Some have left their preparations to the last minute, when it is to late

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Matthew 25:11–12 ESV

Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

As we wait for the, or better said, “live” leading up until the time for the bridegroom to receive us for the time of the Advent Endgame.

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Jesus is calling for his followers not to do so passively. He calls us to endure by His might the times that be. To proclaim the gospel and make disciples of all men and women. He calls us to love boldly and be his hands and feet helping those in need.

Readiness for the return of Christ does not mean passively waiting for an event. Rather readiness is responsible activity that produces results for the kingdom of Heaven.

God doesn’t call us to just preach or be reminded of messages we’ve heard before. He calls us to act in faithfulness and in response to what we’ve heard and believed.

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what is the advent endgame?

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My friends Jesus is coming soon. Those of you who haven’t made a decision to surrender your life to, listen to what God is leading you to do. Don’t wait another day! Maybe you already have but maybe youve been feeling you haven’t made yourself available to God’s purposes and mission. Pray, talk to God and allow Him to talk to you. Ask Him is there something more you can do in being watchful and ready. I warn you though, be ready for God to make you do something uncomfortable. Understand your life may change drastically. Don’t cling to the possessions or traditions of this world. Make Jesus your Endgame.

pray.