Introduction to End Times Events.
Jesus gave us a full chapter in Matthew Ch 24
He lays out the order of events before his return.
Section 1 The Temple will fall.
Matthew 24 1-2
1)And Jesus went out and departed from the temple: and his disciples
came to him to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2) And Jesus said unto them, "See ye not all these things?
verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another,
that shall not be thrown down."
This same temple He just declared desolate in Matthew 23: 38.
Every stone would be thrown down. God would judge that place because they
rejected His Son.
Section 2 The Disciples Question and the Beginning of Sorrows.
Matthew 24: 3-5
3) And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, " Tell us,1) when shall these things be? 2)and what shall be the sign of thy coming, 3) and of the end of the world ?
4) And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Take heed that no man deceives you.
5) For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many."
Jesus starts by warning about deception, not earthquakes or plagues, but false Christs. Because spiritual deception is the most dangerous, according to Jesus.
Matthew 24: 6-8
6) And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled:
for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places.
8) All these things are the beginning of sorrows.
Jesus outlines the beginning of sorrows, these are just the start.
and they will begin with false Christs and deception, followed by
war, famine, disease and earthquakes.
Matthew 24: 9-13
9)" Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10) And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and they shall hate one another.
11) And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many"
12) And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13) But he that endures unto the end, the same shall be saved."
These verses are speaking about people living during this end time event.
Use the word of God, the Bible, so you are not deceived.
If we are living in this time we are to stay faithful in this tribulation,
for the Lord is with us all the time.
Those that endure will inherit eternal life.
Matthew 24: 14.
"14) And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations; and then the end will come."
Notice Jesus says something powerful in verse 14:
The gospel will go into all the world before the end comes.
Even during the tribulation the World will not be stopped.
And every person will have the opportunity to believe the Gospel
or reject it.
Section 3 The Abomination of Desolation and Great Tribulation
Matthew 24: 15
15) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of
by Daniel the prophet, and in the holy place, " Let the reader understand.
Here is the turning point. The abomination of desolation makes the middle
of Daniel's 70th week after 3 and a half years, this is when the tribulation turns into the Great Tribulation.
This is when the anti Christ reveals himself and sets up something blasphemous in the holy place.
Matthew 24: 16-22
16) "Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:
17) Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out
of his house:
18) And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days.!
19) How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!"
20)Pray that your flight will not take place in the winter or on the Sabbath.
21) For then there will be great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the
world until now and never to be equalled again.
22) If those days had not been cut short, no-one would survive, but for
the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
When the abomination of desolation comes, Jesus gives instructions as to what to do, Jesus says, " Flee, don't pack or grab a bag, get out quickly. They are to trust and obey and God will protect them.
The danger will be so severe that if God didn't cut it short, no one would survive.
But for the elect's sake, those who believe, He shortens it for all believers.
Section 4 False Christs and the Visible Return of Christ.
Matthew 24: 23-28
23) Then if any man shall say unto you, lo here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great
signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect
25) See, I have told you ahead of time.
26) Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27) For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28) For wherever the carcass is, there will be the vultures gathered together.
Jesus warns again and again: don't fall for counterfeits. If someone says
Christ is in the desert or in hiding, don't believe it.
When Jesus comes, it will be as obvious as lightning splitting the sky.
Don't fall for any deceptions. Trust in the word of God and put your trust in
Jesus our Lord.
Matthew 24: 29-31
29)"Immediately after the tribulation (Not before)
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."
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.
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.
This in verse 31 is the rapture, it is a Latin word, rapturo, which means to seize,
snatch, or catch away suddenly.
as it says in :-
1 Thessalonians 4: 15-17.
15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall 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 so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Every eye sees Him. There is no secret pre-tribulation rapture anywhere in the Bible. And then, He gathers His elect. That's the rapture, and it happens after the tribulation, just as the Bible says.
Conclusion. To Matthew 24: 1-31.
We just walked through the most detailed , direct and explosive prophetic
teaching Jesus ever gave.
1) The temple would fall and deception would increase as it is now.
2) Tribulation will begin and it's coming.
3)The abomination of desolation would mark a turning point in world history.
4)After that tribulation, not before, the sky goes black, the world stands still
and the sign of the Son of man appears.
The second coming of Jesus Christ our Lord.
What does it mean for us right now?
1) We cannot afford to be deceived.
False prophets will not look false. If you don't know the real Jesus through
His word, you might follow the wrong one.
2) We must expect persecution.
Jesus never said, you'd get raptured out before it gets bad.
He said, "You shall be hated by all nations for my name's sake."
They will be hunting you and trying to kill you.
3) We must preach the Gospel boldly.
Before the end comes, Jesus said, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world." That's our mission.
4) We must be watching.
The sky will break. The clouds will part. And the same Jesus who was taken up
will come down. What an awesome time this will be when we will be with Jesus
for eternity.
To help us in our service with our Lord.
What we need, that will help us through the coming years.
In Ephesians 6: verses 10 to 18.
We are told about the gift of the Armour of God.
Here are five gifts we are given to help us every day.
1) The Belt of Truth.
The belt held the soldier's uniform in place.
without the belt he could not move quickly, so could not fight.
The belt is the word of God, so when we are under attack we can rely on
God's word as it is most powerful. And the truth of God's word sets us free.
2) The Breastplate of Righteousness.
The Breastplate covered the vital organs of the chest and heart.
When we compromise morally or spiritually, We become uncovered before the enemy. When we confess our sin and repent and rely on Christ's righteousness
We stand with him in strength.
3) The shoes of Peace.
We need good shoes so we don't slip and fall.
When fear threatens to overwhelm you, put on the shoes of the gospel of peace.
Then we rest in Jesus.
4) The Shield of Faith
When the devil's darts are launched against us we can call upon the Lord
for help in times of trouble.
Our faith in Jesus and depending on him every day as we trust him with all our heart and rely on his powerful word.
5) The helmet of Salvation
This keeps our head protected, which speaks of our salvation and
security in Jesus Christ our Lord as we have been purchased by the Lord Jesus
through his cross and resurrection and we belong to him.
As it says in Romans 8: 38-39
Declares that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
We can survive if we know we are the children of God.
When we put on the helmet of salvation we can boldly declare:-
As Romans 8: 37 says:-
"We are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
Amen.
