Preached by Gregory W. Lee
13 August 2006
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Matthew 24
-- this morning I want to address a topic that has been on all of our hearts for over a month now -- over the past several weeks, I have had several coworkers and friends come up to me and ask me, "What do you think about the situation in Israel?"
-- now, I consider myself well-informed when it comes to news and current events -- I try to stay up on what is going on in the country and the world -- but that is not why these people approached me about Israel
-- they weren't seeking an in-depth analysis of the political situation with Israel and Hezbollah and the Palestinian Liberation Organization -- they didn't want to know my thoughts on Condelezza Rice's diplomatic efforts in the middle east -- they didn't want me to explain the Bush adminstration's stance on Israeli relations
-- no, that is not why they came to me -- you see, even though my friends are not professing Christians, they had heard enough of Bible prophecy to be concerned and worried about the events of the last month -- I doubt that there is a person in America who has not heard of the antichrist, the tribulation, the beast, and the number "666," the mark of the beast -- and when the fighting started in the Middle East -- when they thought of all the natural disasters -- the hurricanes and tsunamis and earthquakes and famines and floods over the past few years -- the thought crossed their minds, "Perhaps it is all true -- perhaps the time is at hand" -- and you could sense the worry and the fear in their hearts as they wanted to know my thoughts on the situation from a Biblical point of view
-- was this the start of the end times -- were we witnessing the start of World War III -- of Armageddon? -- were we about to see the antichrist rise to power? -- and what did all of this mean to them?
-- I was reminded of the words of the men at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell on Peter and he preached in the streets with passion and power -- Acts 2:37 says, "when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
-- this is the heart of the matter that brought my friends to me over the past several weeks -- they know that I am a Christian, and so when the fighting in Israel broke out, they came to me and asked in unspoken words, "What shall we do?"
-- perhaps you have asked yourself this question as you have watched the news about Israel -- or perhaps you have had others come to you and ask you your thoughts on the situation -- regardless, I thought it would be wise to spend a few moments this morning answering this question from a Biblical perspective
II. Eschatological Cautions
-- now as we begin our study of eschatology -- the study of end times prophecy -- let me give you a couple of cautions -- first, the passages that deal with the end times are the most divisive passages in the Bible -- there are those who believe that these prophecies are yet to be fulfilled and that we will literally see the coming of an antichrist, a time of great tribulation, and then the return of Christ to set up His millenial kingdom here on earth
-- there are others who think these prophecies were fulfilled in the years immediately following the death and resurrection of Christ and that they don't apply to us today -- and there are others who discount them altogether as symbolic passages that are not prophetic at all
-- here's what I want you to understand -- belief in these eschatological prophecies -- belief in these end time prophecies -- is not a requirement for salvation -- in other words, we can agree or disagree with our brothers and sisters in Christ on these issues, but they are not life and death issues -- there is room in the body of Christ for disagreement and discussion of ancillary issues such as these
-- just because someone does not believe the same as us or does not hold the same interpretation of a passage as us does not mean that they are not Christians -- we can debate the intepretation and theology of these passages, but it really doesn't matter in the eternal scheme of things -- the only thing that matters -- the one thing that unites us as Christians -- is the belief that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins -- that He rose from the dead three days later -- and that He is coming back again
-- I am going to present this information to you as I understand it -- based on my study of the Bible, I believe in a literal interpretation of these end-time passages -- I believe that we will see the rapture of the church and a time of great tribulation -- I believe that we will see the establishment of a one-world government and a single unified religion -- and I believe that Christ will return at the end of the tribulation to establish His millenial kingdom here on earth
-- now let me give you the second caution -- look with me at Matthew 24:32
32. "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
33. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.
34. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
35. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
36. "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
-- don't let anyone ever try to tell you that Jesus will come back on a certain day or in a certain year -- He tells us in this passage that no one knows the day or the hour -- so, we should not be setting dates or predicting the second coming
-- however, Jesus does tell us here that we will know the times when all these events will take place -- just like we recognize the signs that summer is approaching, we should be able to recognize the signs when the fulfillment of these end-time prophecies is approaching
-- we won't -- and can't -- know the day and hour -- but we should know the times and should be ready for the coming of Christ at any moment -- look at verse 42
42. "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
43. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
44. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
-- Jesus tells us that our response should be one of expectation -- this does not mean that we should quit living life and start spending all day looking at the clouds for Christ
-- it does mean that we need to live our lives here on earth as He called us to -- serving Him by loving others and sharing with them the good news of salvation through Jesus -- going about our lives -- working and living in this world, but not getting so attached to this world that we miss Christ when He comes
III. Signs of the Times
-- so, what are signs of the times? -- how will we know the season is at hand? -- Jesus Himself tells us in this passage in Matthew 24 that we call the Olivet Discourse -- look back at the start of the passage in verse 1
1. Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.
2. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."
3. 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?"
4. Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.
5. For many will come in my name, claiming, `I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many.
6. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
7. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
8. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
-- first, He says that there will be wars and rumors of war -- nations will rise against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms -- and secondly, Jesus tells us that there will be natural disasters -- famines and earthquakes in various places
-- now these events have always occurred throughout the course of human history -- the Bible is a record of this in the life of the Jewish people, and our history books are filled with the stories of this taking place from the dawn of civilization until now
-- but Jesus says that these are the beginning of birth pains, meaning that as the season approaches, that these events -- the wars and the natural disasters -- will occur more and more frequently and will increase in severity -- when we see this happening, we know that we are moving towards the end of the age
-- verse 9
9. "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
10. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
11. and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
12. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
13. but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
-- the second sign of the season is increased persecution coupled with increased evangelism -- it's kind of hard for us to see through the lens of 21st century American Christianity, but world-wide persecution of Christians is at an all-time high -- there are more martyrs for Christ -- more people who are being persecuted and killed for their faith -- than at any time in history
-- we are not facing persecution in our country, but in places like China and Indonesia and Africa and the Middle East, Christians are being brutally persecuted for their faith -- they are being cast out of their families -- beaten, raped, and killed -- but, at the same time, the church of Christ is growing in these places as the faith of these martyrs bears witness to the gospel and as hundreds of thousands of missionaries are leaving their homes to share the good news of Christ with those in other lands -- countries like South Korea are literally sending thousands of missionaries out every year to preach and to teach others about Jesus
-- the gospel may not have been preached to the whole world yet, but with the efforts of the missionaries and technological advances that allow us to broadcast messages and video across great distances, we are rapidly approaching the time when everyone will have the opportunity to hear the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ
IV. Closing
-- as I watch the news every night, I cannot help but think that we are rapidly approaching the end of the age -- the signs that Jesus warned us about are everywhere -- we live in an age of ever-increasing warfare -- our own country has been fighting a war on terror for the last five years
-- we are seeing natural disasters on an unprecedented scale -- from tsunamis to earthquakes to the hurricanes of the past couple of years -- it seems like every day the newspapers say that these events are the worst ever recorded -- "hottest July on record" -- "worst flooding in 100 years" -- "largest earthquake ever felt in the region" -- you know what I'm talking about -- you've heard it, too
-- and while we may insulated from the persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ, with just a little interest on our part, we can learn more about their situations -- organizations like The Voice of the Martyrs and others are spreading the word about the persecution of Christians and requesting assistance through prayers, financial support, and evangelistic materials
-- so, I think we are seeing the signs of the end times all around us -- and the current fighting in Israel is just another of those signs -- how close are we? -- I don't know -- but I think it is safe to say that we are much closer now than we were twenty years ago
-- so, let's get back to the question that we opened with, "What shall we do?"
-- the answer is the same that Peter gave the crowd at Pentecost -- "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins -- and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit"
-- the first thing we must do is receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior -- to confess that we are a sinner and to repent of our sins -- to turn away from our sins and to turn to God -- and to ask Jesus to forgive us and to save us
-- and then, when we do that, we are to go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit and share the good news of salvation with those around us
-- I am planning on spending the next couple of weeks talking about end-times prophecy and summarizing the events of the end of the age as I understand them from this passage in Matthew and from the books of Daniel and Revelation -- whether you believe in a literal interpretation of these passages or not, you should still find it interesting -- but, in the meantime, let me leave you with this thought
-- as Christians, when we see world events that appear to mirror the signs of the end of the age, we should not worry or fret -- we should simply trust in the saving grace and the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ and take heart that He has already told us that these things would take place
-- and we should take these events as a sign for us that the time is short and that we should make the most of this time by telling others about Jesus and pointing them to the cross
-- as I close this morning -- as the last hymn is played -- I would invite you to respond to God's word as you feel led -- if you have never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then I would invite you to come forward this morning and receive Him into your heart -- if you feel a calling for missions or to rededicate your life to fulfilling the calling of Christ to tell others about Him, I would invite you to come forward as well
-- let us pray
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