"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come."
There is a tendency among many pastors to try to fit every news headline, no matter how ridiculous, into the prophetic timeline of biblical prophecy. While others seem to trivialize them, scoffing at the importance of the clear signs of the times. No one knows for certain when Jesus is coming back, however, I am certain that He is! For every one verse in the Bible that speaks about Jesus’ first coming there are eight verses which describe His second coming.
There are bound to be differences of interpretation regarding end times, however, as Bible believing Christians, we must not allow petty disagreements related to eschatology to divide the unity of the church. Prophecy is not intended to satisfy our curiosity but to to instruct us as how we should live in light of His glorious return, to sanctify our character. I believe the next big event on God’s calendar is the Rapture of the church, there's nothing else that needs to occur before it does and it could happen at any moment. We must be faithfully committed to sharing the Good News with the lost, while pursuing godliness, holiness and
righteousness in our own lives and agree to let God handle the end of the world!
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Amen
Today's Message: Signs of the End-Part 3
In 2 Timothy 3, Paul wrote Timothy and said "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
There has been a significant increase of narcissism, individualism, materialism, pluralism, pantheism, occultism,
relativism, universalism, humanism, paganism, skepticism, rationalism, racism, gender confusion, a complete disregard for moral laws and unconstrained lawlessness in just the last several years. There is little doubt this is a sign of those difficult times Paul warned about.
According to a Barna study, research indicates a new brand of morality has evolved in America. He insists that
Christianity has for the most part been removed as the cultures’ moral norm and replaced with a new moral code, which David Kinnaman says consists of six tenets:
The best way of finding yourself is by looking within yourself.
People should not criticize someone else's life choices.
To be fulfilled in life, you should pursue the things you desire most
The highest goal of life is to enjoy it as much as possible.
People can believe whatever they want, as long as those beliefs don't affect society.
Any kind of sexual expression between two consenting adults is acceptable.
The best way of finding yourself is by looking within yourself.
People should not criticize someone else's life choices.
To be fulfilled in life, you should pursue the things you desire most
The highest goal of life is to enjoy it as much as possible.
People can believe whatever they want, as long as those beliefs don't affect society.
Any kind of sexual expression between two consenting adults is acceptable.
In 2 Peter 3, Peter writes, "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."
If you haven't experienced scoffing, just make a post on social media taking a firm stance on God's Truth, and watch what happens.
"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come."
Let's look at verse 9, "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name."
Jesus is adding further clarification of what life will be like for His true followers. He says you will be delivered to tribulation. There will be widespread persecution of the redeemed, beyond compare. It will exceed all other times of persecution.. The word deliver is the Greek verb "paradídōmi," to be arrested, handed over, or betrayed. It's from the word "para," meaning closely beside.
If the church has been raptured, where do these believers come from? That's a fair question. Remember the two witnesses going all around proclaiming the truth, there will no doubt be people who come to Christ as a result of their preaching and rising from the dead after being murdered. In Luke 21, his parallel account, he writes, "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name."
Not only will they become the objects of persecution, even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, who will deliver them to the synagogues to be arrested, beaten, and put to death. Even those claiming to represent God will persecute the true believers. Their perseverance to endure to the end is evidence that God has chosen them for salvation. The disciples, as well as all disciples today, needed to understand that they can expect conflict, persecution leading to imprisonment, banishment, or even death. In fact, it is already happening in certain parts of the world, and it will certainly happen here in our own country in the future, as Christianity becomes less and less socially acceptable.
Verse 10, "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another."
When the cost of being a Christian becomes so great, many will not be willing to pay that price. Tragically, they not only reject Christ, they will hate the true believers, betraying them and handing them over to be killed, giving persecutors their names and addresses. In 1 John 2, John says "They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us." Jesus laid out the principle of discipleship in John 8:31, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine." The bottomline is, true disciples are going to suffer just like Jesus Himself suffered. Only those who truly belong to Christ are willing to pay the price, those who fall away and out for safety, are not even worthy to be a disciple.
In Luke 21, he says "But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name."
In verse 11, Jesus says "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. "
Since Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, there will be all kinds of false teachers and religious deception. We're already seeing more and more pastors prostituting the Gospel, deception is already flourishing, affirming sexual immorality, installing practicing same-sex and transgender clergy, supporting the slaughter of the unborn. It will be so much more rampant than it is today. Over the last decade or so, worship has become man-centered and shallow. In Matthew 15:8, Jesus said "‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me."
Look at verse 12, "Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold."
The love of many has grown cold because they outwardly attach themselves to Christ, but love their wicked pleasures more than Him. The word lawlessness is the word "anomía," which means the utter disregard for God's law. Paul writes in Romans 1, "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." Because pastors have refused to deal with the sin in the church, sin has gone wild. We haven't given up worship; we have actually just chosen to worship someone else other than God. As a result, we have broken the intimate connection between Christ and His church, that's what we're seeing that today. When we refuse the light, we descend into darkness.
Verse 13, "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved."
Notice there are two things are implied in this verse, the first is, Jesus will one day put an end to all of this conflict. Second, those who remain faithful to Christ, trusting Him to the end, will be saved. The faith that perseveres is saving faith, that is always the mark of the saved. Endurance.
That's James chapter 1, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
That brings us to verse 14, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come."
Amidst the chaos, conflict and persecution the Gospel will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony of Jesus to the nations! Right before judgment, there be one last great evangelization of the world. Listen to Revelation 14:6-7, "And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters." That's the fulfillment of this verse here in Matthew 24. The angels will fly around the world and call people to repentance and point them to Christ. At the end of verse 14, then Jesus says "And then the end will come."
In Closing..
At the Rapture we will be taken up by the upper-taker instead of down by the undertaker, transformed into a glorified resurrected body in the twinkling of an eye. While I believe the coming of the Lord must surely be near, many who have come before me have thought the same thing. Christ’s imminent return should cause us to walk in the glorious light of His return today.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2023 All Rights Reserved