“Amazing Prophecies of the End Times”
Lesson
# 1
“The Signs of His Coming”
Matthew 24:3-12
Whenever something climatic occurs in our
world; whether it be “The Persian Gulf War” in 1990, or the September 11
Terrorist Attack in 2001 we hear the question, “Do you think this could be the beginning
of the end times?” The subject of the “end times,” or
eschatology if you want to be technical, has always been an area of fascination. Tonight I
would like to begin a series entitled “Amazing
Prophecies of the End Times.” It is my intention to give a broad overview of the
whole scope of Biblical Prophecy as it pertains to the second coming.
Three pertinent warnings
I think that we have to begin our study with
some words of caution. First, beware of losing
your balance in the study of prophecy. I agree with Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, one
of the foremost preachers of his day, when said: “Beware
of losing your balance with respect to this doctrine (the study of the end
times). Beware of becoming an exclusivist. There are some people
who take it up as a study and it almost becomes an obsession to them so that they see
nothing else in the Scriptures.” [D.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The Church and The Last Things. Vol. III. Great Doctrine of the Bible. (Wheaton: Crossway
Books, 1998) p. 88]
Secondly, we must beware of setting dates for the second coming of
Christ. Jesus warns in Matthew 24:36, “But of
that day and hour no one know, no, not even the angels in heaven, but my Father only.”
Yet at regular intervals throughout world history, fear of what might happen in the
future has prompted many individuals to latch onto a particular date for Christ’s
return and plan some radical action to take on or before the date. Some notable, examples
are; back in 1843, William Miller came to believe that Christ’s coming was imminent.
Using some dubious mathematical calculations he announced to his followers that the date
for the Second Coming was to be March 21, 1843. At midnight on the appointed date he and
his followers donned ascension robes, trekked into the mountains and climbed towering
trees, to get as high as possible so they would have less time traveling through the air
to be with the Lord. And they waited for Jesus. That date came and went so he (Miller)
recalculated and set a new date exactly one year later. This date also came and went
without the return of Christ, Miller’s followers quickly scattered. [David Jeremiah. Until I Come. (Nashville:
Word, 1999) pp. 1-2]
Our own generation has seen
it share of “date setters” as well; one such was a man named Edgar Whiseant, who
sold 4.3 million copies of his book entitled “88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be
In 1988.” In a particular mix of Old Testament feasts and mathematical
formulation he concluded that Jesus would arrive in September of 1988. When that date came
and went, he of course wrote another book entitled “Final Shout” of which
he sold 30,000 copies, in which he predicted Christ return in 1989. He obviously was wrong
again.
To reject date setting,
however, does not mean that we should go to the other extreme and ignore what the Bible
says about the future.
Third, beware of making agreement with your view of end
times a test of fellowship. We need to remember that among genuine believers there
will be differences on matters of eschatology. As Ed Hinson warns, “The facts of prophecy are clear, but the assumptions we draw from
those facts and the speculations we make off those assumptions are another matter.”
[Edward Hinson. “Biblical Prophecy and
the Looming War with Iraq.” National Liberty Journal. Nov. 2002, p. 9]
Since much of the interpretation of prophecy
rests on the symbolism in Daniel and Revelation, and since we cannot know for sure if
all our assumptions are right until they happen, we need to be cautious about assuming
that we are completely right and that everyone who disagrees with us is wrong.
Tonight there are three
things that I would like for us to understand about studying end times!
First,
We Must Understand The Reasons To Study The Second Coming.
There are of course many good reasons that can be given for a study bible prophecy, but I just want to give three.
First, the
study of bible prophecy is good
Over the course of the
centuries many people have set themselves up as people who can foresee the future.
We still hear of the predictions of
Nostradamus, a French spiritist who lived in the 1500’s. Every so often they run a
supposed documentary on his life and his predictions on one of the cable channels. But his
predictions are so vague they could fit any
number of situations while at the same time fulfilling none.
Jeane Dixon boasted that she was 80% accurate.
But Dixon’s predictions are so vague that they fit many different events, so it is
easy to see how she gained her level of accuracy. But even at 80% she falls far short of
the Biblical requirement of 100% accuracy (Deut 18:22).
Secondly, the study
of bible prophecy is good because believers
who understand prophecy will not give in to fear as the world situation seems to
get worse and worse. In John 14:1-3 Jesus connected His ascension and return, both
future events, to the disciple’s current experience of peace. "Let
not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. (2) In My Father's
house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to
Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
Later in John 16:1 Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made
to stumble.” In other words Jesus
said “Men, if you are able to understand what
I am telling you about the future, you will not panic when you see this things happening.”
In John 16:4 Jesus said, “…
these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you
of them….” In effect Jesus
said, “I have told you about these things so
that when they happen you will not be blown off course.”
Prophecy has been given so that the believer does not give in to fear because of what is happening in the world, because we have a sense of what God is up to.
Third, the
study of bible prophecy is good
Although the study of
prophecy will prove the reliability of God’s word and give us peace in the midst of
frightening world, we have missed the whole purpose if it does not produce in us a holy
life.
Secondly, We Must Be Able To Distinguish Between The Rapture and
the Second Coming.
We
must understand at the outset when we speak of the second coming that it can be divided
into two very distinct stages!
First, Jesus will come for his saints in the clouds and take them
to heaven. (1 Thess. 4:16-18). “For the Lord Himself will
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of
God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (17)Then we who are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall
always be with the Lord. (18) Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
This of course refers to the “rapture” of the saints.
Secondly, according to Rev. 19:11-16 Jesus will
come with his saint to the earth to
establish His kingdom.
Jesus will also return to
the earth with the armies of heaven
which will include the
saints. He will defeat Satan and establish a kingdom on the earth that will last for a
thousand years.
We need to make no mistake
about it according to Isaiah 46:9-11 there is a divine plan and an orderly process
to the events the unfolding history. God has declared, “...I
am God and there is none like me, (10) Declaring the end from the beginning, And from
ancient times things that are not yet done…. (11)
… Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will
also do it.”
In Matthew chapter 24,
Jesus reveals the signs of his coming and gives us a basic outline of future events
leading to his return. Though we cannot know every detail, it is evident that we are
expected to discern the basic time frame of Bible prophecy.
Third,
We Must Comprehend The Signs Of The Second Coming. (Matt. 24: 3-18)
In verse three of Matthew 24
the disciples asked the same question that man still wants answered today, “Now as He sat on
the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when
will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of
the age?"
When
the disciples heard Jesus’ teaching concerning the destruction of the temple it is
clear that the disciple’s interpretation of what Jesus had said about the destruction
of the temple (v. 2) was synonymous of with the end of the world
In answer to the disciples
question Jesus then gave five signs that would precede His Coming (the number of signs of
course is determined by the way they are divided).
1. The Sign of Deception Among the Saints. (vv. 4-5) “And Jesus answered
and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. (5) For many will come in My
name, saying, "I am the Christ,' and will deceive many”
Toward the end of the age, Jesus has warned us
that there will be an increase in deception and a tremendous potential for people to be
deceived. One of the definite signs of Christ’s coming is that in the last days there
will be more and more false teachers. These false teachers will propagate their own
version of the truth rather than the truth as revealed in Christ. Taking advantage of
people they will use their teachings to control others and to enrich themselves.
Foolishly accepting their
teachings many will be led astray. Paul warns the young pastor Timothy in 1Timothy
4:1-3, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter
times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of
demons, (2) speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot
iron, (3) forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to
be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”
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 Charles Manson, Jim Jones of the People’s Temple, David Koresh of
the Branch Davidians and Marshall Applewhite of the Heaven’s Gate UFO Cult.
Bible believing Christians believe that the
presence of these false Christs (of which I have mentioned only a few) will culminate in
the appearance of one final Anti-Christ who is mentioned in 1 John 2:18. With breathtaking
advances in mass media, it becomes increasingly more feasible for false Christs to
disseminate their messages on a world-wide scale. And one day the ultimate false Christ
– the Anti-Christ step out and will be widely accepted on a world-wide scale.
2. The Sign of Disputes Among Nations. (vv. 6-7a) “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. (7) For
nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”
Historians all agree that the 20th century
Up until 1914, war had never been universal,
but in both World War I and II, total war was waged.
Since World War II, there have been numerous
major wars and hundreds of rebellions and revolutions. The death toll in conflicts since
the end of World War II has topped 23 million.
3. The Sign of Devastation Around the World. (v. 7b) “… And there will be famines,
pestilences….”
Harvard University scientists estimate that
there are over 25 million people worldwide who have full-blown AIDS, and an additional 100
million people will be infected with the HIV virus. However, AIDS is not the only modern
plague to afflict mankind. Virtually unheard of among our ancestors, over 100 different
kinds of cancer now kill over 5 million people every year. The depletion of the ozone
layer, which blocks much of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, is thought to be
responsible for a dramatic rise in melanoma, a deadly skin cancer.
“….and earthquakes in
various places.”
The
World Almanac tells us that there were
Beginning in verse eight Jesus corrects the
mistaken impression of the disciples that “everything
that seems to be a sign of the end of times is in reality such a sign.” It is a
mistake to take these separate happenings as infallible indications that end of the age is
immediately in sight. But in spite of clear warning found here, there are modern day
prophecy experts who speak on “The Signs of
the Times” and on the basis of some earthquake or war or threatening comet
predict this is “the infallible sign” of Christ’s imminent return.
In verse eight the Lord summarized all
of the above signs as merely “ … All these are the
beginning of sorrows (“sorrows” is literally- birth pangs).”
The distinction of labor pains is that the time of the birth gets closer the pain
increases, the intensity grows and the frequency grows. The point being made is that
although the characteristics that Jesus points out can be seen in every age they will
increase and intensify as the time of Jesus’ coming draws near.
4. The Sign Of
Intense Persecution (v.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. (10)
And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.”
According to International Christian Concern (@
www. persecution.org), “more Christians are persecuted and martyred for their faith
in this past century than all previous centuries combined.”
5.
The Sign Of Apostasy and Falling Away
(vv. 11-12) “Then
many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. (12) And because lawless-ness will
abound, the love of many will grow cold.”
Some believers will fall
away, because of the trials and testings of life. Unable to answer “why”
specific injustices and inequalities exist, why tragedies and suffering occur, many will
turn from the faith. Some will fall away because “lawlessness”
or “inquity” abound, in other words
because they have a desire to do that which is wrong they turn their back on the faith.
Enamored with the sinful pleasures of the world, many people who once professed faith have
been lured away from the LORD and they are no longer living for him.
The George Barna Group has uncovered
59% do not
believe in Satan
51% believe
praying to dead saints is beneficial
35% believe
you can communicate with the dead
50% believe salvation is earned and not a gift.
75% believe
people are born neither good nor evil—they make a choice between the two as they
mature.
44% believe
the Bible, the Koran and the Book of Mormon are all different expressions of the same
truth.
54% believe
truth can only be discovered through logic, human reasoning and personal experience.” (See www.barna.org “Americans Draw
Theological Beliefs From a Divers Point of View”)
All these are signs of His Coming, But Thank the Lord, He is Coming!!!! Next week we examine “The Rapture.”