The Signs of the Times and the 2nd Coming of Jesus
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We are going to spend sme time in Matthew 24 today as we look at the signs of the times. People are always wanting to know the future… when Jesus is coming back. People have written books about the 2nd coming and even predicted a date, which has come and gone… we’re still here.
No one knows when Jesus is coming back… imagine if we did. Imagine if he was coming backl this afternoon about 3? I’ll bet everyone would be saved by 2:45...
The only one who does know is God and the book he wrote is 100% accurate when it comes to predicting the future.
The 2nd coming of Jesus is a major doctrine in the Bible. It’s mentioned over 1,000 times int he OT and over 300 times in the NT. God is showing us that Jesus is coming again. He is showing us the fate of our world and oof those who are followers of Jesus.
Let me say this, the last days are here. Jesus prophesied about his coming.
The setting of the Prophecy.
The setting of the Prophecy.
As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!” Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”
Now as we look at the prophecies, remember this setting. The Temple was a magnificent place. It was the center of Jewish worship and social life. All of their hopes were based on that Temple… it was where God lived. It was on what we call the Temple Mount (Mt Moriah). It was beautiful and all could see it.
The disciples were pointing out the buildings to Jesus because of what Jesus told them in Matt 23.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate. For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Jesus was saying the Temple would be in ruins and they could not believe it. To make it even worse, Jesus said not one stone would be left on top of the other. they could believe it because some of the stones were bigger than our church building. I have no idea how they could have gotten them into place.
The Jews were always rebelling against Rome and the Romans came and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70. Luke predicted it in Luke 21:20
“And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived.
Titus had given orders not to destroy the temple, but someone shot a flaming arrow and it burned to the ground. It was rumored that their were hidden chambers of treasures stored in the Temple, so the Romans used pry-bars to separate every stone looking for hidden treasure.
And what they all thought was unthinkable … happened.
A lesson we can learn from this is that
We don’t live by reason, but by revelation.
We don’t live by reason, but by revelation.
The Subject of the prophecy.
The Subject of the prophecy.
The subject is the 2nd coming.
Look in Matt 24:3
Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”
The disciples basically asked three questions.
1. When will this happen?
1. When will this happen?
When will the temple be destroyed?
2. What are the signs of your coming?
2. What are the signs of your coming?
The greek word parousia means coming in his power and glory. When are you coming to set up your kingdom?
3. What is the sign of the end of the world?
3. What is the sign of the end of the world?
Literally means end of the age. They thought they were coming to the end of an age of oppression and that the Messianic age was about to begin. So they asked the questions.
In this chapter, Jesus looks down through time and gives them the signs of the times, the intervening days between the time they were living in and when He would return. He gives them 7 marks.
Signs of the End Times
Signs of the End Times
1. The deceptions of counterfeit Christs.
1. The deceptions of counterfeit Christs.
Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.
Jesus said that one of the marks or sings of the end of the age would be a time of great deception. Many people will be deceived by false teaching of all sorts.
The bible warns us against being deceived. How can we not be deceived?
Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
John tells us to test the Spirits. First of all, is someone does not believe actually came in the flesh… that he had a real body. If they don’t believe that, don’t listen. If they do not believe he is eternally co-existent with God, don’t listen. Jesus has no beginning and no end.
Even in John’’s day, the spirit of the anti-Christ was in the world… as it still is today. Ant-Christ has two meanings.
Antichrist means against Christ or instead of Christ.
Antichrist means against Christ or instead of Christ.
It can mean both. Throughout history, people have presented themselves as being Jesus. It’s amazing that anyone would ever believe them, but they do.
2. There will be divisions of Continueing Conflict
2. There will be divisions of Continueing Conflict
You would think that we would have solved the issues of war, but we haven’t. WW1 was the war to end all wars. WW2 was the next war to end all wars. We still have wars all over the place.
In the end times, there will be wars all over the place.
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.
From the days when Jesus was here, the world has had war. It always will. Since WW1, at least every month, there has been an attempt to take over a country somewhere in the world and bring political, economic, racial, or religious change. Many wars today are presented as religious wars, but for some of the terror leaders, it’s actually their businesses and they are getting wealthy off it them.
Just look at the middle east. We are still fighting in Iraq. Of course there is the attack on Israel. Iran is behind all of the groups that are attacking countries all over the place. This week, one of their groups attacked Christians in the Sudan and massacred them.
Look at North Korea, Russia, China...
In thee 6,000 year recorded history of mankind, it’s estimated that 600 million people have been killed in war. One half of those have died since 1900.
This seems to show that things are moving towards a conclusion. More wars have been seen in this generation than any other generation: terror attacks, bombings, assassinations, sabotage, Cyber attacks, war…
A lot of what’s going on today is centered around Jerusalem or Israel and the bible speaks to this.
Israel is the Key
Israel is the Key
I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves.
Continuing conflicts…
3. There will be disasters of cataclysmic consequence.
3. There will be disasters of cataclysmic consequence.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Jesus looking through time saw that there would be famine. As smart as we think we are we have not solved the problem of famine. Israel sort of has but everyone is trying to eliminate them and not allow them to help.
Famine includes agricultural failure and bottleneck of distribution.
Famine includes agricultural failure and bottleneck of distribution.
Even when food is available, we can’t get it to where it needs to be. Does the phrase supply chain issues bring up bad thoughts? Yes. We have been experiencing supply chain problems for 3-4 years.
Agricultural problems include much of the soil being worked so hard, it’s becoming sterile. In the OT, they would work a field for 6 years and then let it rest for a year… Sabbath. We don’t do that any longer. Rev 6:6
And a voice from among the four Living Beings said, “A loaf of bread for $20, or three pounds of barley flour, but there is no olive oil or wine.”
Bread and everything else will be expensive. Famine is coming and in fact we have experienced it since COVID.
Jesus not only spoke of famine, he spoke of plagues.
Jesus not only spoke of famine, he spoke of plagues.
While we have made progress against some plagues like polio and small pox. Plagues like AIDS, SARS, EBOLA and COVID are still around.
Jesus said there would be earthquakes
Jesus said there would be earthquakes
There has been a dramatic increase in earthquakes in the last years. We have had more earthquakes in the last 20 years than the previous 100. Seismology experts have calculated that earthquakes have increased 1,000 percent since America was discovered by Columbus.
Many of these earthquakes have been deadly.
March 25, 2002: Northern Afghanistan a 5.8 killed 1000
Jan 26, 2001: India a 7.9 killed an estimated 13,000
Jan 17, 1995: Kobe Japan 7.2 killed 6,000
Aug 14, 2021 Haiti - 2,000 and growing killed
That’s just a few of the earthquakes that have hit in the last years. Jesus said that in the years before he returns there will be earthquakes.
4. There will be defamation of Committed Christians.
4. There will be defamation of Committed Christians.
“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.
Jesus said that religious persecution will increase as we move into the last of the last days and it’s mainly aimed at those who follow Jesus. The world doesn’t minds religion… it does mind Jesus. It hates Jesus.
More Christians have died for being a Christian in the last half century than in all of the centuries back to Christ himself.
More Christians are being martyred today than other times.
More Christians are being martyred today than other times.
We often think of the Christians who were persecuted under the Roman Empire, but more have died since then than died under Rome. It’s estimated that more Christians were tortured and killed during 12 months of WW2 that during the days of Rome. Some historians believe that over 50 million Christians were killed by Russian and other communist countries because they followed Jesus. Many of the “ethnic cleansings” we see today are Muslims killing Christians.
Christian bashing has become a sport in todays culture. If you are a Bible believing Christian, you are to blame for everything bad according to culture. Years ago, an NPR employees, on NPR said that he was given a bible track in NO about the Rapture. He went on to state the the evaporation of millions of Christians who believe “this crap” would be the nest thing to ever happen for the world. Christians are constantly told to stay out of the public life of our nation. I don’t know anything about the new speaker of the house except that he professes to be a bible believing Christian; and that he is being attacked for that.
This will continue to get worse as we go through the last days moving towards the Rapture. This persecution will separate real believers from Cultural Christians.
5. The distortion of Christless cults.
5. The distortion of Christless cults.
There are all sorts of non-true teaching around. Here is what that causes.
Many will fall away.
Many will fall away.
And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.
Why do people leave the faith?
False prophets deceive people.
False prophets deceive people.
And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.
Someone said,
When a person ceases to believe in the one true God, it doesn’t mean that he believes in nothing; it means that he will believe in anything.
Jesus spoke of false prophets. What he is speaking of here is not necessarily a religious prophet, but of someone who speaks with authority. It could be a philosopher, a celebrity, a college professor, a scientist, a social media influencer… These are people who shape our cultural beliefs and behaviors. And they will deceive many people.
Look at what the bible says in Gen 6:5
The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.
He is talking about carefully crafted philosophies. It’s like the molding of pottery. These influencers are trying to mold society into their belief system.
For example. There is a belief that all belief systems lead to heaven. Many are ok with Jesus but they are ok with Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna and others.
6. The disposition of Carnal Coldness.
6. The disposition of Carnal Coldness.
People are going to become cold hearted. Carnal Christians live by the world and not the Word.
Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.
What brings about this cold heartedness? It’s the teaching of these false prophets. These false prophets take away the moral base of our society. When you have no moral base, it’s alright ti kill babies, it’s alright to perform homosexual marriages, it’s alright to let boys into women’s locker rooms, it’s alright to euthanize the old…
Why are all these things happening in our culture today? Our moral base is gone. The standard for right and wrong has been removed. When you remove moral limits, you destroy the fire and glow of true love and the substitute of lust and your theology turns into me-ology. Jesus is saying that because of sin, people’s hearts will grow cold.
When you have out of control iniquity and sin, you will have a great crime wave. Iniquity means lawlessness. So what naturally follows is that we don’t stop and help people like we used to because we are afraid of crime.
7. The discharge of Christ’s Commission.
7. The discharge of Christ’s Commission.
Before Jesus left earth, he gave us what we call the great commission where we are to take the Gospel to all the world. It doesn’t say that we will win everyone Christ, but it says we are to take the gospel to the world.
The Gospel was not given to save civilization from wreckage, but to save men from the wreckage of civilization.
Jesus said we are to take the Gospel to the world. Will that be done? Yes it will.
But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.
Jesus is saying that His Gospel will be preached to the world. This is happening now. There may be a few people groups that have not heard the Gospel, but through the internet, TV, Radio and Tracts, the Gospel is being preached around the world.
Now Jesus says something interesting in Matt 24:8
But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
All of these things are just the beginning. It’s like a woman going into labor. It’s beginning but there will be more pain before the birth. What’s happening now is just beginning of Labor pains.
If you out these signs together you know we are getting close. Here is what this means to me.
It means that God’s Word is true.
It means that God’s Word is true.
It means that Christians should be hopeful.
It means that Christians should be hopeful.
We need to be hopeful and full of courage. I am not without hope. We are on the winning team. Look what it says in Luke 21:28
So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”
It means that we should get busy sharing the Gospel.
It means that we should get busy sharing the Gospel.
We need to get busy doing everything we can to see people come to faith in Jesus Christ. I don’t want anyone to miss the first trip out before the tribulation begins.
It means that if you don’t know Jesus as Lord, you ought to change that today.
It means that if you don’t know Jesus as Lord, you ought to change that today.
If you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, give your heart to him today. He will Save you, he will transform you and he bring you to heaven one day.
Conclusion
Heads bowed and eyes closed.
How many here today would say, If Jesus were to appear in the sky today, I know that I am ready to meet him? If not, let’s get ready. If you could not raise your hand, it’s real simple. Paul said,
For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Would you call on the Lord today? Pray this with me today. Lord Jesus, I need you. Come into my heart. Save me and help me, Lord Jesus to never be ashamed of you.