08-14-2022 - The Beginning of the End

OPENING

What is this world coming to?

I’ve been asking that question over and over here recently. Just when I think that I’ve seen it all, something else happens and raises the bar again. The level of evil, hatred, and just down right stupidity in our society today has reached new levels. We are truly Living in the Last Days.

What is this world coming to? Well ultimately it is coming to “an end.” One day this world and this universe in which we live is going to be destroyed by God.

2 Peter 3:10 NKJV

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

The “old world” that existed before the time of Noah was destroyed by water. But God made a promise to never destroy the earth again by water and He put a rainbow in the sky as a sign that this promise is forever. But this existing world in which we live is going to be destroyed by fire and God will one day create a new heavens and a new earth for us to live with Him for eternity.

When will it end?

Even though we are living in the in the last days, the end is not yet. There are still many biblical prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled. We talked last week about the Rapture of the Church. The Rapture will be the next major event to occur on God’s prophetic calendar.

Where are we on the timeline of end times events?

We are nearing the end of the church age, which will end at the Rapture. The bride of Christ will be raptured and taken to Heaven where we will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ and be rewarded for our faithfulness to God and we will enjoy the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, which will be a celebration that symbolically represents that the marriage between the bride (the Church) and the groom (Christ) is complete.

Let me say something here about the reality of the Rapture. Many people do not believe in a literal rapture because they say that the word “rapture” is not found in the Bible. First, the concept of the Rapture is found throughout the Bible. Enoch was taken to Heaven without dying. The Bible says: “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). Elijah was taken to Heaven without dying when God took him up in a whirlwind with a fiery chariot. Both of these men were “raptured.” In Acts 8, Philip preached the Gospel to an Ethiopian and baptized him in water. As soon as they came up out of the water, Philip was translated to Azostus. Philip was “raptured” or “caught away” instantly from one place to another. We could also say in a sense that Jesus Himself was “raptured” when He ascended into Heaven. So the idea of a “rapture” is not just some far-fetched idea with no basis in Scripture. Also, the word “rapture” actually does appear in the Bible. The Greek word translated “caught up” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is the word “harpazo.” The Latin translation of the New Testament translated the Greek word “harpazo” with the Latin word “rapturo” which is where we get our English word “rapture.” So if you have a Latin New Testament, the word “rapture” is actually in your Bible. But regardless, the concept of the “rapture” or the “catching away” or being “caught up” is taught in Scripture.

After the church is raptured, things on earth are going to go from bad to worse. There will be a 7-year Tribulation period that will come upon the earth after the church is gone. This 7-year Tribulation period will be the time when the Antichrist comes to power and rules over the earth. The 7-year Tribulation will end with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ at the end of the Battle of Armageddon. This will usher in the time of the Millennial Kingdom which will be the literal 1,000 year reign on Christ on the earth with His headquarters being Jerusalem. At the end of the 1,000 year Millennial Kingdom there will be the Great White Throne Judgment where the devil and his angels along with the Antichrist, False Prophet, and every human being from the beginning of time who has rejected God and His plan of salvation will be sentenced to everlasting punishment in the Lake of Fire. This earth and universe will be destroyed by fire and God will create a new heavens and a new earth and a new city called New Jerusalem that John saw coming down out of Heaven. And we will rule and reign with Christ in that new creation for eternity.

But as we take a look at the timeline we see the marker “you are here.” All of these prophecies and all of these events have not happened and are yet future. But we know that, based on our understanding of God’s Word and the signs of the times that are all around us, we are right on the threshold of the Rapture of the Church and all of these events beginning to come to pass.

Last week we talked about the Rapture. This week, I want us to begin to take a look at some of the things that are happening right now, and some of the things that will begin to happen in the near future to usher in the end of time. And I want us to look this morning at a passage of Scripture in Matthew 24 where Jesus describes what He refers to as “The Beginning of Sorrows.”

MESSAGE

Matthew 24:3 NKJV

3 Now 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?”

The disciples asked Jesus to explain how they would know the time of Jesus’ Second Coming and the end of the world.

This begins what is referred to as the Olivet Discourse. The Olivet Discourse covers Matthew Chapters 24-25 and is the orderly and extended teaching by Jesus on the end times.

These questions are still being asked today. We are living in the last days, but in a sense, this world has been living in the last days since the time of Jesus. His disciples fully expected Jesus to return during their lifetimes.

Matthew 24:4–5 NKJV

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

Jesus warned the disciples that many would be deceived as they anticipated His return.

In the last days, false Christs or false messiahs will arise.

I saw an article the other day about a couple that claims that they are the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene.

False prophets and compromisers within the church will increase and deceive many.

Not only will there be false Christs in the last days, but there will also be false Gospels.

Matthew 24:6 NKJV

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

Wars and rumors of wars will increase.

This is happening today.

The war in Ukraine.

The threat of North Korea.

The threat of China against Taiwan.

Unrest in the Middle East.

But notice here that Jesus tells them that “the end is not yet.”

Matthew 24:7–8 NKJV

7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Political division will continue to increase.

Trump and the FBI raid.

Republicans vs. Democrats.

Pro-life vs. Pro-Choice.

The weaponization of the IRS.

Famines will increase.

We have seen through the effects of Covid-19 just how quickly that supply chains can be affected.

We are seeing now how the war in Ukraine, and farmer strikes in the Netherlands, can affect global food supplies.

$5 per gallon gasoline.

$10 per loaf of bread has recently been reported.

Pestilences will increase.

Covid-19 and all the variants.

Now we are dealing with monkey pox.

Earthquakes and natural disasters will increase.

We are seeing weather patterns changing.

It is as if even the earth itself is groaning, awaiting the return of Jesus Christ.

But again Jesus says that this is not the end, this is just the beginning of sorrows.

“Beginning of sorrows” literally means labor pains.

Matthew 24:9 NKJV

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

Persecution and tribulation will increase in the last days.

There has never been a time in our nations history where Christianity is becoming so hated.

What has happened to our society?

In our schools, every morning began with prayer over the intercom.

English teachers taught literature using the Bible. There was a Bible lesson with a moral at the end.

As a result, the parking lots of our schools were filled with students and teachers pick-up trucks that had gun racks on the back window that had a shotgun and a riffle on it at all times.

And there was very little crime or non-sense going on.

Today, students will kill one another over a pair of tennis shoes.

We have lost our way as a society because we have lost our moral compass. And our moral compass should be God’s Word.

As a result, Christian principles are becoming out-dated and out-right hated.

The church will be raptured before the 7-year Tribulation, but that doesn’t mean that the church will not go through tribulation.

Matthew 24:10 NKJV

10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

Offence will increase.

Betrayal will increase.

Hatred will increase.

Spurgeon says, “Persecution would reveal the traitors within the Church as well as the enemies without.”

Matthew 24:11 NKJV

11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

This is now the second time that Jesus warned that false prophets would deceive many.

We can expect for false teaching and false teachers to increase in the last days.

The sad reality is that these false teachers have disciples.

Matthew 24:12 NKJV

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

In the last days the love of many will turn ice cold.

This is because lawlessness or iniquity will increase.

Matthew 24:13 NKJV

13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

This is a motivator for all of us.

Even though we will rise to meet the Lord in the rapture and will not go through the 7-year Tribulation, we are still going to face tribulation and it is going to require us to endure.

This is also a prophetic motivator for those who live during the 7-year Tribulation. Those who turn to Christ and live and die for Him during the Tribulation are called Tribulation Saints. Even they will be saved if they “endure to the end.”

Matthew 24:14 NKJV

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Jesus gives us a very important sign of the end. The Gospel will be preached in all the world before Jesus returns.

There has never been a time in history like today when this can be fulfilled.

Ministries are broadcasting the Gospel by TV, radio, the internet, and social media all over the world.

Missionaries are going into nations today that used to be impossible in the past.

The Gospel is essentially available anywhere in the world.

That means we are living in the last days and the signs that we see all around us today are proof that we are nearing the beginning of the end.

CLOSING

You might say, “Well that’s great. But if we are going in the Rapture and the Rapture is going to take place before the 7-year Tribulation period and the rise of the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation and the outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth, then why should we worry about all this and why should we even talk about it?

Well, let’s go back to 2 Peter 3. We looked at verse 10 at the beginning of this message which said that at the end of time, God will destroy this world with fire.

2 Peter 3:11–13 NKJV

11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

There are at least three things here that Peter encourages us to do:

“What manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.”

“The king is coming; he is coming to his throne, and to his judgment. Now a man does not go up to a king’s door, and there talk treason; and men do not sit in a king’s audience-chamber when they expect him every moment to enter, and there speak ill of him. The King is on his way, and almost here; you are at his door; he is at yours. What manner of people ought ye to be? How can ye sin against One who is so close at hand?” (Spurgeon)

“Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.”

We can hasten the coming of the Lord by:

Our holy conduct and godliness.

Evangelism.

Prayer.

“Look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

Things will get better, but not on this earth.

Some believe that the meaning of the Millennial Kingdom is that the church will ultimately spread Christianity over the entire earth and bring an end to all wars and evil. How is that working out so far?

I’m looking for Jesus to return. I’m looking for a new heavens and a new earth. I’m looking for a city who’s builder and maker is God.

ALTAR CALL