Prophecy
Update 2004
Wednesday Evening Bible Study
Why do this study?
This is not about making predictions.
Amazing Kreskin predictions for 2003:
1. Martha Stewart will become a folk hero
2. Michael Jackson will try to be a stage musician and offered a role as
Frankenstein
3. Whirling dervish will be a dance craze
4. Bill O'Reilly will appear in a movie
Weekly World News (from last January)
1. Saddam Hussein steps down and settles in New
Jersey
It is about staying on track.
We’ve been talking on Sunday mornings about “vision”, about finding out what God has for our lives, finding the directions, the dreams that God has for us.
But this is the bigger picture. This is the goal that all our visions need to point toward.
Matthew 24
:1-14 Signs of the Times
(Mat 24:1-6 KJV) And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show 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. {3} And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? {4} And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. {5} For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. {6} And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Wars
Since 1947, a magazine called “Bulletin
of the Atomic Scientists” has published what it calls it’s “Doomsday
Clock”. The idea came about as a way of
letting the world know how close we are to nuclear annihilation. Over the years the clock has gone back and
forth depending on the condition of world affairs. In 1947 the clock read 7 minutes to midnight .
In 1949, when the Soviet Union exploded their
first nuclear warhead, the clock moved to 3 minutes to midnight . It got as
far as 2 minutes to midnight in 1953,
when the U.S. midnight when the
START treaty was signed. in 1998 it
moved to 9 minutes to midnight when India Pakistan midnight
as terrorism has increased around the world.
As far as current conflicts,
We are aware of something going on in Iraq Afghanistan
We have heard of the conflicts between Pakistan India
Africa is a place where many have died over the last
couple of years in war. Since
1970, more than 30 wars have been fought in Africa
with over 15 nations involved. While in
WWI only 5% of the casualties were civilian, in Africa
more than 90% of the casualties are civilian.
During the 1990’s more than two million children died as a result of
armed conflicts.
(Mat 24:7 KJV) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Famines
In an address given before the U.S. Senate back in February, a report was made in which a speaker from the International Food Policy Research Institute told the Senate that “at least 50 million people in 36 countries are in urgent need today of food and other humanitarian assistance. Some 38 million people, about 75 percent of those currently in need, live in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the deadly combination of drought, protracted conflict, and a raging epidemic of HIV/AIDS has created a catastrophe.”
Even though we have made great advances in food production and even though
the world community back in 1996 promised to cut world hunger in half by 2015,
there hasn’t been much progress.
Overall, the world’s hungry has decreased by 2% (2.5 million), but if
you take China
Pestilences
On their website, Samaritan’s Purse reports that there are 42 million men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS. Every hour, an average of 350 people die with AIDS. Every day, 14,000 people are newly infected with HIV. Every year, 3,000,000 children lose one or both parents to AIDS.
AIDS has killed at least 25 million people worldwide, and another 42
million are living with AIDS or HIV infection. To put those numbers in stark
perspective, imagine the population of Texas California
The pandemic is worst in Africa , where 19 million
have died, 28 million are infected, and 13 million children have been orphaned.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia
have the fastest growing epidemic, as cases of infection grew by 25 percent
last year. Epidemiologists warn that India Africa has today.
“This is a threat to an entire generation; this is a threat to an entire civilization,” said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Earthquakes
Has anyone heard of any earthquakes lately?
California
Magnitude 7.3
Southeast of the Loyalty Islands December 27, 2003
Magnitude 6.6
SOUTHEASTERN IRAN December 26, 2003 (the latest figures are that at
least 28,000 people died in the quake)
Magnitude 6.5
San Simeon, CA December 22, 2003
Yet we need to be careful when we talk about earthquakes. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the actual number of major earthquakes has stayed pretty stable throughout the last century. The reason we think there is an increase in earthquake activity stems from the fact that there are more seismic reporting stations around the world and the news reporting being better and better.
(Mat 24:8-9 KJV) All these are the beginning of sorrows. {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.
Persecution
The U.S. State Department releases a report each year called the International
Religious Freedom Report, this year released December 18, 2003 .
It’s huge and covers dozens and dozens of countries where persecution is
going on.
One such country is the Sudan Africa . The
ministry “Voice of the Martyrs”
reports,
Africa ’s largest country is experiencing an
onslaught of persecution. The Muslim government of Khartoum
In June, there was a Christian pastor in Sudan who was burned to death, along with 59 others in his village who were killed because they were Christians.
In an article written for Gospelcom.net, Dan Wooding reports…
“…more people have died for their faith in the Twentieth Century than in all of the previous centuries combined. “During this century, we have documented cases in excess of 26 million martyrs. From AD 33 to 1900, we have documented 14 million martyrs.”
Since the fall of the Soviet Union and communism,
the number of martyrs per year has actually decreased, but is still 159,000
Christians die for their faith every year.
WorldNetDaily has reports of specific persecution among Christians in places around the world, including a story in July about a Palestinian man who became a Christian, then was captured and killed by Islamic extremists, then cut into four pieces and returned to his wife and children.
(Mat 24:10-11 KJV) And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. {11} And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
False religions
The world is full of “religion”.
(Mat 24:12 KJV) And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
iniquity – anomia – the condition of without law; contempt and violation of law
Hardness of heart
Increased wickedness leads to hardened hearts
Internet pornography –
We know that pornography and other sexual addictions are devastating in relationships. I can’t think of a better example of increased sin and hardening of hearts than this.
We usually think of these sins as belonging only to men. Yet statistics show that thirteen percent of women admit to accessing pornographic web sites at work. One out of six women surveyed, including Christians, struggle with pornography addictions. That’s a staggering 17 percent of the population.
(Source: Family Safe Media
Homosexuality –
This year has seen some saddening changes in our society. Back in June:
The U.S. Supreme Court votes 6-3 to overturn a
Canon Gene Robinson, an open homosexual who moved in with
his boyfriend after he left his wife and children, is appointed as the new
Bishop of New Hampshire.
Luke records a different but related prophecy:
(Luke 21:26 KJV)
Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which
are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Terrorism
It’s all about making us fearful.
(Mat 24:13-14 KJV) But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. {14} And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Evangelism
Jesus doesn’t have to wait until the world is evangelized to take His church in the Rapture. There will be an angel that will fly around the world during the Tribulation proclaiming the gospel (Rev. 14:6).
But the fact that the gospel is being preached around the world like never before is something to get excited about.
We have a chance to participate in this, whether it’s in telling our
neighbors, our family, going out on the streets of Fullerton Russia
:15-31 Message to Israel
I believe this next section applies to those who will be alive on the
planet after the time of the Rapture.
Specifically, it will apply to the Jews who live in Israel
(Mat 24:15-24 KJV) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) {16} Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: {17} Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: {18} Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. {19} And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! {20} But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: {21} For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. {22} And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. {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 show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Antichrist
One day there will one specific individual who will convince the world that he is the Jewish Messiah. We know him as the antichrist, the world will know him as their savior.
One of the things the antichrist will do will be to require everyone to take a “mark”, something that will be required to purchase anything (Rev. 13:15-18).
We’ve seen some steps towards this in 2003 –
1. There’s a high school in England that next year will begin retinal scans of its students to purchase cafeteria meals and check out library books.
2. We are about to enter a new period of technology regarding tracking products. It’s called “RFID” and stands for “radio frequency identification”. A small chip is put on a product package and is able to be tracked from delivery to purchase. Apparently WalMart is already using this technology to track products sold in the store. The idea is that this technology will eventually replace barcodes.
3. MasterCard is
going to take the RFID technology and begin implanting it onto credit
cards. The system is called “Paypass”. You won’t
have to swipe your card through a card reader, just hold it up next to a
device. There has already been a limited
trial done in Orlando Florida
4. You might wonder if someone would come up with an even handier idea of making a chip you could just implant on your hand (or maybe your forehead). That’s already been done.
The company “Applied Digital Solutions”
has developed a system called “VeriPay”, implanting a
12x2.1mm chip under the skin on your arm.
A spokesman for the company
said, “If you lose the RFID key fob or if it’s stolen, someone else could use
it and have access to your important accounts,” Cossolotto
said. “VeriPay solves that problem. It’s subdermal and very difficult to lose. You don’t leave it
sitting in the backseat of the taxi.”
Is this chip the “mark of the beast”? Not until it comes attached with the worship of the antichrist (Rev. 14:11). But it’s certainly setting the stage for it.
(Mat 24:25-31 KJV) Behold, I have told you before. {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 wheresoever the carcase is, there
will the eagles be gathered together. {29} Immediately after the tribulation of
those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken: {30} And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. {31} And he shall
send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
The return of Christ will be obvious to all. If you are a person living during the time of the Tribulation, you aren’t going to need someone to tell you about it, everyone will see it.
:32-35 The Fig Tree
(Mat 24:32-35 KJV) Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: {33} So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. {34} Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. {35} Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Israel
One of the symbols of Israel 11:13 ). Though
Jesus might be talking about all the prophecies beginning to “bud”, I think
He’s specifically talking about things happening to Israel
Yet from AD 70 until AD 1948, there was no nation of Israel Israel
Back in July, there was an interesting article by WorldNetDaily
where former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres came up with a possible
solution as to what to do with Jerusalem Jerusalem Jerusalem Israel
We’ve talked before about how the Temple
Institute in Jerusalem Temple
:36-41 The Rapture
(Mat 24:36-41 KJV) {36} But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. {37} But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. {38} For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, {39} And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. {40} Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. {41} Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
I believe this is talking about the event we call the “Rapture”.
This is when Jesus will come and snatch away believers before the beginning of the seven year Tribulation period.
Some have suggested that these verses are talking about something that will
happen at the end of the Tribulation just before Jesus comes back, not the
Rapture. But the problem with that is
that we know the “day” when Jesus will come back. When the abomination of desolation occurs
(vs. 15), you can count the days until Jesus returns. It will be 3 ½ years after the antichrist
declares himself to be god in the Temple
of Jerusalem 9:27 ; 12:11 ).
Yet this event (Mat. 24:40-41) happens suddenly, at a time when some things seem normal, like in the days of Noah.
:42-51 Watch & Be faithful
(Mat 24:42-44 KJV) Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. {43} But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. {44} Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Lesson
On watch
We need to be looking for the signs that lead to His coming. We need to be ready for His coming.
This is also not just about predicting the time of the Rapture.
For some of us, His coming at “an hour as ye think not” may refer to our own death.
God says,
(Amos
Are you ready to meet your maker?
If you’re not ready, tonight you can be. The first step is opening up your heart to the Savior.
The Bible says,
(John
Make tonight the night that you come to Him and trust in Him.
The danger of getting used to the red flashing lights.
We are now learning about such a thing as “Terror Alerts”. We are currently on a “high” Terror alert threat. The reason we have these alerts is to make us as a nation be careful about possible terror attacks. One concern is that we become numbed to being on “alert” and not notice something that could be dangerous.
One of our purposes of these annual “Prophecy Updates” is to once again ring the bell and remind us of the warnings.
Be ready. Don’t grow sleepy. Stay on track.
(Mat 24:45-51 KJV) Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom
his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
{46} Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
{47} Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
{48} But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; {49} And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; {50}
The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and
in an hour that he is not aware of, {51} And shall cut him asunder, and appoint
him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.
Lesson
Be faithful
The faithful servant is able to keep going and do the things he needs to do because he is constantly aware that his Master will one day return.
Our theme for the next couple of Sundays is “Vision”.
Though it is my desire that God will stir up vision in us for our own personal lives, we need to be sure that individually, our vision is heading us in the right direction.
Some of the things that God may be stirring up in you may be about having a closer walk with the Lord. It may be about having a better marriage or being a better parent. It may be about having a friend come to know the Lord. It may be about a ministry to help a certain group of people in a certain way. But that alone isn’t enough.
Illustration
When I worked at McDonnell Douglas, I worked on what was called the “T-45” project. It was a fighter-trainer jet for the Navy. In particular, I worked with the Electrical Engineering department for the plane. I was a kind of support person to the engineers doing the real work. These fellows would have an assignment to design certain systems within the aircraft and have to produce drawings to manufacture those systems. Even though an engineer might be totally consumed in making drawings for his navigation system, that wasn’t the whole project. It was just a piece to the bigger project, the aircraft itself.