I.
The Signs of the End Times Part 2
1.
Global
Shifts
·
We
are living in a time of Global upheaval and change…
Many people feel fearful
and anxious about the future
·
Two
events recent have introduced immense change to the world…
The 911 attacks and war on Terror,
and Two Pandemics…Sars & Covid-19
·
In
such short space of time nations have changed
·
The
coming Economic Impact on the nations of the latest pandemic is yet to be seen
`
2. God is in Control and Know
The Future: The End is Glorious
3. Jesus Revealed Signs to
Observe Indicating the End Times
·
Jesus
rebuked the Religious leaders for knowing the weather signs but not knowing the
signs that He was the promised Messiah (Mat.16:1-3)
·
Jesus
grieved and wept over Jerusalem because they did not recognise and respond to
the Day of their Visitation (Lk.19:41-44), and the suffering they would
experience as a consequence
·
Jesus
revealed to his Disciples the Signs to look for: The Temple destruction,
and the End Times
·
When
we look at 2020 we can see many events like Jesus describes in Matt.24
·
Eg. COVID-19, Global Riots, Looming Global
Economic Depression, Swarms of Locusts East Africa and Middle East, Rumours of
Wars
4. We Need to be Aware of The
Signs of The End times and Prepare
·
First
Sign: Wars and Natural Disasters
Mat 24:6 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.
For nation
will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there
will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various
places.
·
Ethnic
wars, political wars, famines, contagious diseases, earthquakes
Second Sign: Widespread
Hatred towards Christians
·
Mat 24:9 "Then
they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated
by all nations for My name's sake.
Third Sign: Widespread
Offences among Christians
·
Mat 24:10 And
then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate
one another.
II.
Signs of the End Times (Cont)
1. Fourth Sign:
Many False Prophets
Mat 24:11 Then
many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
·
Three times Jesus warns His
disciples against the danger of deception in (Matt.24:5, 11, 24)
·
A False Prophet draws
people to themselves and not to God and His Word
·
Their message will lack the
call to Repentance and transformation
·
Frequently they draw people
by promises that flatter people and are in fact a false hope
·
Characteristics
of False Prophets
(i) Fail to address
the real hurts and issues of people (Jer.16:14)
“Heal lightly” address only external
issues instead of addressing the real issues of the heart
Fail to call people to repentance and
transformation
(ii) Prophesy “Peace” when there is no peace
(Jer.16:14)
Flatter people giving them what they
want to hear instead of warning them what lay ahead
(iii) Speak
visions from their own heart and not from the Lord (Jer.23:16-17)
Fail
to address the issue of people despising the lord and His Word
Refuse
to confront sin, and instead promise false hopes for future peace and
prosperity
(iv)
They present themselves as sheep, but inwardly are ravening wolves (Mat.7:15)
They appear to be genuine believers but have
an agenda to take advantage of others
They are identified not by their messages, but
by their fruits, & influence on others
(Mat.7:19)
(v) They bring in destructive teachings that cause
disunity and division (2Pet2:1)
Paul’s Warning to Timothy
·
“Preach the word! Be ready
in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering
and teaching.
2Ti 4:3 For
the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to
their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
and they will
turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned
aside to fables.
But you be
watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an
evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2Tim.4:2-5)
·
“The time will come” refers
to the End Times and the condition of believers and widespread deception
·
They will want messages
that “feel good” but do not challenge them to change.
·
Truth is uncomfortable
(i) “Not endure
sound doctrine”….Sound Bible teaching establishes believers in their faith
and maturity
(ii) “Have itching ears”…..desiring
something pleasant, something that they want to hear, and not
something that challenges them to godly
living and personal change
(iii) “Turn
away their ears from the truth”….. Only a having a love for truth keeps us
from deception
If we do not cultivate a love for
truth, we will turn away from hearing and responding to truth
Itching ears become deaf ears….no
transformation
(iv) Turn to
fables…Fiction, plausible stories that turn us away from sound Bible truth
·
Notice Paul’s Words to
Timothy: Watch, Endure, Do the Work, Fulfill your
Ministry
2. Fifth Sign:
Lawlessness, The Love of Many will Grow Cold
Mat 24:12 And
because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
·
“Many”…… this means
a multitude of Christians
·
“Love”…..refers to
the agape Love for God and selfless love for people
·
“Lawlessness”……iniquity….from
word anomia….without law or restraint, acting independently of
laws
·
What is Iniquity?
To act without
restraint, doing whatever pleases you with no respect for laws/boundaries
To go your own
way, doing whatever seems or feels right to you without restraint
To violate the
laws of God, to show contempt for the law and for healthy boundaries
·
It expresses itself
commonly by independence, disrespect for authority, resistance to
boundaries, instruction or correction,
active or passive rebellion and defiance
·
The recent riots, looting,
fighting, and destruction, hatred and anger against authorities in USA are examples of the spirit of
lawlessness at work
What is the
Root Source of Iniquity?
·
The root source of all
iniquity was Lucifer himself…this was why he fell from
heaven (Ezekiel.28:15)
·
Iniquity causes people
to come under the influence of the spirit realm of darkness and to be
manipulated by demons…it is the nature of that kingdom
·
When iniquity abounds, the
spiritual atmosphere changes.
·
Iniquity, people being
self-centered and doing their own thing,
causes the love of others to grow cold
·
What are The Personal
Consequence of Iniquity?
·
The Revelation of the
Kingdom of God is also a revelation of His Authority and Right to Rule
·
Iniquity Excludes believers
from The Millennial Kingdom Rewards (Mat.7:23)
Mat 7:21 "Not
everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but
he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Many will say
to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out
demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'
And then I will
declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness!'
·
When people are
unrestrained they cannot fulfill their destiny and authentic love grows cold
3. Sixth Sign: As it was in The Days of Noah
Luk 17:26 And
as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of
Man:
Luk 17:27 They
ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the
day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood
came and destroyed them all.
·
The account of Noah and his
family is found in Gen.6:1-14
What were the conditions that prevailed in
the Days of Noah?
(i) Population
Explosion
Gen 6:1 Now it came to
pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were
born to them,
(ii) Widespread Engagement with the Occult realm
Gen 6:4 There were
giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God
came in to the daughters of men and they bore children
to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
The Watchers,
fallen angels left their God given position and had sexual relations with
women, to corrupt and destroy humanity
The Nephilim,
“fallen ones” were the offspring of these relationships.
They were giants,
distorted creatures who became the Giants of Greek Mythology
A second irruption
after the flood caused the giants that occupied the land promised to
Abraham
(iii) Widespread Corruption of the Imagination and
the Thoughts of the Heart
Gen 6:5 Then the LORD
saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
“Continually”….every
day, non stop corruption and desire for evil
The heart is
the seat of motivation in life…they were totally corrupt
(iii) Widespread Lawlessness and Violence
Gen 6:11 The
earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
Gen 6:13 And
God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the
earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them
with the earth.
”Violence”….Injustice, use
of force to injure, oppress, abuse, and kill people
Violence is
like wine …it is attractive, intoxicating and removes judgment. (Prov.4:17)
Violence in the
earth is increasing….Global Terrorism, Abortion, ethnic and religious wars
Eg. Up to 203 million people killed by wars in 20th Century
Eg. Up to 300 million killed in armed conflicts
Eg. Up to 44 Million Killed by
abortion. NZ is one of the 4 top nations in the world per 1000 people
(iv) Widespread Corruption, Sexual Perversion, and
Sexual Abuse
Gen 6:11 The
earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with
violence.
Eg. Today one of the most widespread forms of corruption is sexual slavery
Eg. The estimated number of people in some form
of slavery across the world is over 40 million
About 25 million of these people are in
some form of sex slavery
(v) Widespread resistance to the Word of God
Heb 11:7 By
faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with
godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he
condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to
faith.
2Pe 2:4 For
if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and
delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did
not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher
of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
Noah preached
righteousness for 120 years but people were resistant to his message of impending
judgment and the need to repent and walk with God
Only 8 people
believed the Word of God and were saved
Noah was warned
by God of
things never before seen, and commanded to prepare an Ark
No doubt Noah
was subject to ridicule for his building an Ark in obedience to the command to
prepare
(vi). Total
Unawareness of the Impending Global Crisis
Luk 17:27 They
ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day
that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
They continued
in their daily activities completely unaware of the impending danger to them
When the rain
came it was too late to enter the Ark…The Lord shut him in (Gen.7:16)
4. Seventh Sign:
As it was in The Days of Lot
Luk 17:28 Likewise
as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought,
they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it
rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it
be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
·
The account of Lot and his
family are found in Gen.19:1-13 and Ezekiel.16:49
·
What were the conditions
that prevailed in the Days of Lot
Lot dwelt in
the City of Sodom. He was daily troubled by the conditions in the city
(i) Brazen open
homosexuality
(ii) Aggressive sexual violence
(iii) Hospitality and covenant relationships
ignored
(iv) Intergenerational sexual perversion…………Old
and Young given over to sexual sin
(v) Pride
(vi) Materialism….Fulness
of bread, Self-indulgence
(vii) Lack of concern for the poor and needy
·
Jesus mentions 8 common
activities that occurred both in the days of Noah and the days of Lot
Luk 17:27 They
ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day
that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:28 Likewise
as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they
sold, they planted, they built;
·
They were so immersed in
these activities that they failed to recognize what was about to happen
·
Materialism and the cares
of life blinded them to eternal realities and they suffered consequences
·
Jesus Warning:
Luk 21:34 "But
take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with
carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you
unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of
the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be
counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand
before the Son of Man."
5. Eighth Sign:
The Fig Tree and All the Trees
Luk 21:29 Then
He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.
When they are
already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now
near.
So you also,
when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.
Luk 21:32 Assuredly,
I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take
place.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words
will by no means pass away.
·
“The Fig Tree” refers to the
nation of Israel
·
“and all the trees” refers to the
other nations of the world
·
The change in nations will
begin with the fig tree…Israel first and then the other nations
Israel Becomes
a Nation
·
In 1948 Israel became a
nation……” it began to bud and form leaves”
·
They became free of rule by
the British, and established their own history culture and language
·
In 1967 Israel took control
of Jerusalem. In 2019 Jerusalem was acknowledged as their Capital
The Rise of
Nationalism
Across the
globe now the nations are beginning to put for the leaves of their own identity
There is an
upsurge of nations wanting to establish their own identity, history and culture
·
"Now learn this
parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and
puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see
all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to
you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take
place. (Mat24:30-32)
·
Jesus specifically taught
that these are the signs of the EndTimes and His
imminent return
·
It is near…at the
doors….this generation
6. Ninth Sign:
Great Change in the Culture…Selfishness
2Ti 3:1 But
know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
For men will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
unloving,
unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
traitors,
headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
having a form
of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
·
“Perilous times”….fierce,
dangerous, reducing strength, hard to bear
7. Tenth Sign:
Cosmic Upheaval and Great Global Fear
Luk 21:25 "And
there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth
distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
Luk 21:26 men's
hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are
coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Luk 21:27 Then
they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
·
There will be great Fear
as a result of increasing upheavals in nature
8. Eleventh
Sign: Increase in Travel and Knowledge
·
Dan 12:4 "But
you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many
shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."
9. Twelfth Sign:
The Gospel of the Kingdom Preached
·
Mat 24:14 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.
·
End time revival …….the
Gospel will be preached in all the
world….this is the Key Sign
·
Gospel of the Kingdom….The
message of the Kingdom of God
·
Gospel of the
Kingdom…..With demonstration of the Supernatural Power of God (1Cor.4:20)
·
2Pe 3:9 The
Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long
suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should
come to repentance.
III.
Prepare for Jesus Return!
1.
Jesus will return in great
Glory and Power and Majesty
·
Mat 16:27 For
the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and
then He will reward each according to his works.
·
Luk 21:27 Then
they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
2.
The Day of the Lord will be
a Great and Terrible Day (Joel2:11)
·
It will be Great for those
who have prepared for Jesus return
·
It will be Terrible for those who live unprepared
3.
We Must Personally Prepare
for the Second Coming of The Lord
·
Mar 13:32 "But
of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,
but only the Father.
Mar 13:33 Take
heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.
·
Luk 18:7 And
shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He
bears long with them?
Luk 18:8 I
tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man
comes
will He really
find faith on the earth?"