Saturday, September 26, 2020

As a Thief in the Night – Part 2

Matthew 24:3-14 “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?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

 

We are not the first people to be trying to figure out if we are living in the “End Times”. We now have the vehicle for the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations. That’s something to think about today. There is also the “Abomination of Desolation” and “the Tribulation” before Christ return. But, Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Only God the Father knows when the end of days is coming. Jesus said to His disciples again in Acts 1:7, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. Jesus goes on to say that what matters most is that we all are ready. Additionally, Jsus instructs His disciples in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

 

Revelation 6:10-17 tells us, They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. 12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

 

It will be cataclysmic at the end. The Apostle Peter tells us “you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles”. The reason to keep these Scriptures fresh is not to scar us; its so that we will be ready for the end times. The goals is to encourage us, to know what is happening and know how to respond when you see these events taking place, if they happen in your lifetime. It doesn’t mean to watch the news daily with your Bible open comparing or figuring out who are the figurative figures in Revelation are. We are to be aware enough to recognize the events, but live in the daily Commandments of God without fear. 

 

2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

 

(2) The reason that Jesus has not returned yet is because God is patient and wishing that no one should perish. The Apostle tells us, “that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming?” The rise in scoffing about God’s existence, His Creation of the Cosmos, the anthropic Earth, the origin and purpose of life and about Jesus Christ will return and exponentially grow in the last days. The willful and ignorant sinners on earth who reject God and His teachings, statues and commands, those who are perishing unto eternal damnation in Hell, will misinterpret God’s patience against the truths in the Bible. When the end comes, judgment will come to the wicked unbelievers. Scoffers in unbelief will misinterpret God’s patience and subsequently twist that since “all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” to mean that God is not real and that Jesus is not really coming, but actually God’s is just buying time for those very scoffers.  


Let's continue Pastor Kyle's message on End Times in the next post.

In Christ, Brian

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