Introduction - Signs – and watching for signs – road signs?
Sign of the times
when things aren't what we would like them to be
teddy boy's, mods and rockers
Policemen being over vigilant, or aggressive
head teacher not allowed to do their jobs
Signs
Red sky at night
Pregnancy and birth – contractions (birth pains)
A new series coming soon – how long – a few weeks or they'd tell you the day
road signs – warning
restrictions
information
journey on a motorway – leave at junction 50, start paying attention at 45
then looking carefully for signs – like road names as you get closer to your destination
Types of signs -
for the immediate future
for the more distant future
Review of Bible passage
Difficult passage :
2 – questions
Tell us, they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
when will this happen?
what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?
The first one is easy ...
Jesus doesn't know – even Jesus
This is the fathers decision and his alone
36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
So Jesus Christ <> God. They may be One, they may be parts of the trinity, but there ARE differences – and this is one of the difference.
V2 “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
Jesus' prediction came true four decades after his death, in A.D. 70, when the Roman army crushed a Jewish rebellion in Jerusalem. Soldiers knocked down the massive stones of the temple in search of the melted gold that had run down between the stones as the temple burned. The largest stones weighed over 400 tons, but General Titus's soldiers levelled them all.
what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?
More difficult.
V4-5 “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ’, and will deceive many.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church who actually claim to be Jesus Christ.
One Christian leader claims that since 1900, over 1,100 people have claimed to be Christ. I’m not sure where he came up with the number 1,100. But there have been scores of people this century who claimed to be the Messiah including
Jim Jones of the People’s Temple,
Moses Guibbory,
David Koresh of the Branch Dividians
Christ Mytraya,
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late leader of the Lubavitch movement based in New York City was believed by his followers to be the Messiah. There is a large banner in its main sanctuary proclaiming Rabbi Schneerson the Anointed One (viz. the Messiah)Marshall Applewhite of the Heaven’s Gate UFO Cult was apparently considered a reincarnation of Christ (or another being like Christ) by his followers.
Father Divine,
Charles Manson,
Maharaja Ji,
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of Transcendental Meditation fame, and The Dalai Lama of Tibet
Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s chief propagandist, said in a broadcast on 19 April 1936, that "Germany has been transformed into a great house of the Lord where the Fuhrer as our mediator stands before the throne of God." It was Hitler himself who ordered that he be presented as a deified messiah. Another powerful voice in the Nazi party, Dr. Robert Ley, proclaimed that "We believe on this earth in Adolf Hitler alone! We believe in National Socialism as the creed which is the sole source of grace!"
Joseph Stalin, a former seminary student, used his theological training to develop a program to deify the leader of the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was Stalin’s belief that Russians were forever looking for a god-tsar, so he decided to present them a new god, in place of the one overthrown by the Bolsheviks. The new god-tsar was an atheist messiah, the god, Vladamir Lenin.
These are not THE Anti-Christ as mentioned in 1 John 2:18.
“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrist have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.”
With global communications, this time more than any other time in history false Christs can disseminate their messages on a world-wide scale. The Anti-Christ is still to come.
v6 You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
Historians agree that the 20th century was unparalleled in the scale of its human misery. No period has witnessed the escalation of wars like the 20th Century. The Red Cross has estimated that over 100 million people have been killed in wars since the 20th Century began. This is not including genocide of Russians opposed to Stalin, the Jews exterminated during the Holocaust, Idi Amin’s or Pol Pot’s, or Mao Tse Tung’s Evil and bloodthirsty regimes.
Up until 1914, war had never been global, but in both World War 1 & 2, total war was waged.
Since World War II, there have been numerous major wars & hundreds of rebellions & revolutions. The death toll in conflicts since the end of World War II has topped 23 million.
These things are happening...
V7a Mt 24:7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Nation – is the root word for both pagans and Gentiles – it means an ethnic grouping – perhaps a tribe, or western Europeans, or Scotsmen.
Kingdom is the political people grouping, more like today's nation state.
So the warning here is of conflict between peoples at all levels.
That is exactly what we are seeing – from the Cold War to Northern Ireland.
v7b There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
There is some research that indicate that the number of earthquakes is increasing, but since the planet has only recently been covered with seismological equipment it is difficult to be sure.
We are certainly much more aware of famines now because of global communications.
v8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
All this is just the beginning! The first sign of a contraction, some women don't even recognise them. It's been 2000 years now, how long is it supposed to take?
The rabbis spoke of “birth pains” - sufferings, that would precede the coming of the Messiah
“Isa 13:8 Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame.” This is from a passage that the NIV heads “A prophecy against Babylon” Babylon was used in Jesus time to represent the forces of evil against God.
v9“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
There's the nations word again – all groupings of people will hate Christians – Do you see that happening?
Warner – persecution mainly Christians & Jews – why? – The One true God!
V10 &11 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
As a result it will become harder and harder to become a Christian, or to stay a Christian. In the film “Kingdom of Heaven” (about the defence of Jerusalem from the Moslem's during the crusades), the Bishop says “convert now, repent later”. That, of course, was tried in real life during various oppressions and persecutions. In the film it wasn't necessary, but in many real life situations there was much debate about whether those who denied the faith should be allowed back into the church.
Here though we are talking about people genuinely turning away, or defecting, or actively choosing to follow false prophets. They will not find a home back in the church – because there will be no opportunity to repent and return.
v12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
When I read this verse, I thought of the Christian organisations in the DR of Congo. Many of them have pulled out as the fighting intensifies. Their rational is obvious, get away, so that you are still alive to return later – when the fighting calms down. That's fine, but how must it appear to those who are residents and cannot just leave.
We see increasing wickedness in so many places. During the week it was Halloween. It occurred to me that we are teaching children that it is OK to go knocking on doors and demanding things. If I tried it tomorrow night:
Knock knock
“Hello, I'd like a bar of chocolate please, if I don't get it I will play a trick on you”
.. I'd probably get arrested!
v13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
There are many exhortations in scripture to remain faithful, to not give up, but to stay the course – here are a few:
Mk 13:13 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
2Ti 2:10–13;Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
Heb 10:36;You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Jas 1:12; Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
5:11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
v14 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.
world – used to mean either the inhabited or Roman world
nations – the same word again – meaning Gentiles, or ethnic groups
SO: before the end comes there must be preaching of the gospel to all ethnic groups across the entire planet.
How are we doing?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncontacted_people “Uncontacted Peoples”
“Recent usage favours the term "isolated" rather than "uncontacted" as few peoples have remained totally uncontacted by modern civilization”
test – has this happened? - not quite – but we are nearly there …
v15 So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation', spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—
NO time to look at the imagery in Daniel
Da 9:27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.
Da 11:31 “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.
In AD 70 the temple was destroyed by the Romans as we have already seen. The Roman Standard would have been set up in the middle of the destroyed building – to underline the victory the Romans had achieved. An unholy symbol in the middle of the temple.
v16-25
v16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
v17 Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house.
v18 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.
v19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!
v20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.
v21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
v22-23 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect b those days will be shortened.
At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.
v24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible.
v25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
This is not the time to stand and fight. This event has been permitted by God, so standing against it is not a sensible approach. The only reasonable thing to do is to leave. This gets the disciples of that time out of the centre of Jewish life, and helps to spread the message of Christianity, just as the later persecutions did around the Roman Empire.
Are these verses restricted to describing the destruction of the temple? - Yes, it appears as though they are, as they refer to Judea at the start.
The same test should be applied – “has it all happened yet?” this time yes & no
Mt 24:26-27 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
When Jesus returns it will be as obvious as lightning in the night sky! We don't need to go chasing after phantoms, if the question has to be asked, the answer is already known.
Mt 24:28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
At first sight a strange verse, but it probably relates to the Roman standards as they arrived in Jerusalem. Their black eagles looking like a flock of vultures circling a corpse. It was common not to distinguish between eagles and vultures. The implication of this is that the Jewish nation is dead.
Mt 24:29 “Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
This is most likely OT symbolism for the end of creation, although some would say that it refers to kingdoms rising and falling, rather than astronomical events.
Mt 24:30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
The sign, or banner, or standard, or the son of Man becomes visible to all. The nations of the earth mourn for the persecutions they have caused – the pain and death of so many of the believers over time. They mourn for themselves. There is no sense of repentance.
Mt 24:31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
The Christians are taken from the nations to be with God. Four Winds, is like four points of the compass
Mt 24:32-35 “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. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Lastly in this passage Jesus warns the disciples that these things are about to happen, he gives them a time-scale for the start of the age – within a generation all the things mentions will happen. The temple will be destroyed, his followers will be persecuted and scattered.
Conclusion
This is a long and difficult passage for a single sermon. I hope that I have given you a better idea of what Jesus was predicting. It isn't over yet, and He will return at some point. The Jews had to wait for their Messiah for thousands of years. There is no telling how long we will have to wait.
The important thing for us is to watch out for the signs.
As we went through these verses which of the signs did you see?
Are you actively looking for signs, or just noticing them as they pass?
How far do you think we have progressed?
For me, I think we are pretty close to the end, the key test seems to be that all the nations have heard the gospel. I'm not clear how many of these isolated tribes have heard – maybe there are only one or two who haven't.
And then the end will come.
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