Sunday
Morning Bible Study
December
30, 2012
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it speak to the
broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a
decision Is the church loved?
This was the
year that it was supposed to happen … at least according to some people …
As you all know, the movie was based on the notion that the ancient Mayan
calendar predicted the end of the world.
Whether it did or not, I do like the recent explanations in the
cartoons…
1st Cartoon
– only had room enough to go up to 2012 …
2nd Cartoon
– it really just predicted the end of Twinkies
When it comes to the future, there is no shortage of people who want to
make predictions. Check out the
predictions in this video, made in 2011, and see how many of the predictions came
true this last year.
Not a lot of
the predictions came true, huh? J I think Rhett got maybe two right.
On a more serious note, there are people who make
claims of predicting the future, but too often people don’t follow up to see
how accurate they are.
There is one source of accurate predictions when it comes
to the future, and that is the Bible.
The Bible doesn’t just get 5% of it’s
predictions right, it gets all of them right.
That’s because there is a God in heaven, and He not only knows what is
going on in the future, sometimes He lets his prophets catch a glimpse as well.
(Is 46:9–10 NKJV) —9 Remember
the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; 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, Saying, ‘My
counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’
I find it fascinating that some of us might find a Mayan prophecy intriguing,
while we ignore the One who actually knows the future.
There is one reliable source when it comes to knowing the future – the
Bible.
Since the world
hasn’t ended in 2012, does
that mean that we’re in the clear? Does
that mean that we no longer have to be concerned about the end of the world as
we know it?
Not so fast.
Some years when I do our annual “Prophecy Update”, I am spending a lot of
time going through news events, comparing them to Scripture, in hopes of
encouraging you to consider just how close we are to the end.
Yet with all the talk this year of the end of the world, I would like to do
something a little different and simply take you through one of Jesus’ sermons
about the end times.
Matthew 24
24:1-3 The Questions
(Mt 24:1–51 NKJV)
—1 Then Jesus
went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him
the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things?
Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another,
that shall not be thrown down.”
:2 not one stone shall be left
Things change.
Some things that we have grown accustomed to will one day change.
The temple would have certainly been something that people would think
would never change, yet one day it too would be torn apart.
Forty years
after His statement, Jerusalem would be wiped out by the Romans, and the Temple
would be torn apart.
Today you can
see some of those stones that were tossed off the Temple mount as the Romans
tore down the Temple.
3 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?”
The disciples wanted to know what to look for. I’m glad they asked the question.
24:4-26 Signs
4 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.
:5 I am the Christ
False Messiahs
– There have been many people over the years who have claimed to be the Christ.
One of them,
Sun Myung Moon, died this last September. He claimed to be the Messiah.
There is nothing new about a person claiming to be the latest “Messiah”. There have been lots of them through the
years.
6 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.
:6 wars and rumors of wars
Wars are a part of the signs of the end. Yet war is nothing new.
This must come to pass.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and
earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
:7 famines – food
shortages
:7 pestilences – loimos – pestilence; pest, plague
We have progressed a lot in the field of medicine, and yet there always
seems to be some new disease or epidemic on the horizon.
In our modern
world we also have things like bio weapons to be concerned about.
:7 earthquakes –
I’m not sure that there has been an actual significant increase in
earthquakes over the last fifty years, but when an earthquake happens, people
get a little shook and start to think about God.
:8 beginning of sorrows
These aren’t all that we look for, this is just the beginning.
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.
:9
they will deliver you up
Persecution
We don’t know much in our nation about real persecution, but there are
other parts of the world where it isn’t safe to be a Christian.
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one
another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And
because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who
endures to the end shall be saved.
:11 false prophets
The president of Iran, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad has been claiming that he is preparing the world for the return or
the “Mahdi”, the Islamic Messiah.
:12 lawlessness will abound
Lawlessness – With things like the shootings in Connecticut, or people getting pushed off the platform
in the New York subway, you wonder where our nation is heading.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached
in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and
then the end will come.
:14 preached in all the world
Evangelism – Everything so far has been bad news. Not this.
With the explosion of the internet, more people are hearing the gospel today
than ever before, even without missionaries being
sent.
There’s a
ministry called “Global Media
Outreach” that has websites up with the gospel message in all sorts of languages. Hundreds of thousands see these websites every day, with tens of thousands
responding to the gospel every day.
15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination
of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy
place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea
flee to the mountains.
:15 the abomination of desolation
This particular event is not one I expect us to see, because it will happen
in the middle of the Tribulation period, and I expect that we will have been
raptured to heaven before that takes place, but it does point to something that
is on the horizon.
This event takes place when the antichrist will go into the Temple in
Jerusalem and declare himself to be God.
It means that there will be a global leader (which we refer to as the
antichrist).
Temple
It also means there will be a Temple in Jerusalem (which there is not).
Groups like the Temple Institute in Jerusalem have been working for years
toward the goal of one day rebuilding a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount.
It will take a monumental
effort in diplomacy (or war) for the Muslims to allow the Jews to rebuild on
the Temple mount.
17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to
take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to
those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray
that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then
there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the
world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were
shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be
shortened.
This is the famous Tribulation that we studied in the book of Revelation. It will be a horrible time on the earth.
23 “Then if
anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not
believe it. 24 For false christs
and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if
possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 “Therefore if they say to you,
‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in
the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
:26 He is in the inner rooms!
Invisible Jesus
People will from time to time say that Jesus has already come back, but He
did it secretly, so secretly that you can’t see Him.
There will be no secret when Jesus comes back. Everyone will know that He’s returned.
24:27-31 The Second Coming
27 For as the
lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming
of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered
together.
:28 wherever the carcass is
“Eagles” could also be translated “vultures”. This might be saying that when you see the vultures flying
overhead, you know there’s a body somewhere.
So when you see these things happen, you know that Jesus has come.
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those
days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars
will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the
sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the
earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and
they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven
to the other.
:27 the coming of the Son of Man
He will indeed return one day.
Last week we talked about His first coming and what He came to do at His
first coming as outlined by the prophet Isaiah.
This is what Jesus read from when He began His ministry in Nazareth.
(Is 61:1–3 NKJV) —1 “The
Spirit of the Lord God is
upon Me, Because the Lord has
anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the
brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the
prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
This is as far as Jesus read in the synagogue at Nazareth. He stopped at the comma, in the middle of the
sentence. Why? Because the rest of the passage talks about
the Second Coming –
And the day of
vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give
them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for
the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The
planting of the Lord, that He may
be glorified.”
When He comes
the second time, He will be coming with “vengeance”, or “justice”, to make
things right on the earth.
People wonder, “When will there ever be justice on this
earth?” It will happen when Jesus
returns. He will make everything right.
He will also
come to bring comfort to His people Israel, to give them beauty for ashes.
24:32-35 Fig Tree
32 “Now learn
this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and
puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you
also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly,
I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things
take place. 35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My
words will by no means pass away.
:32 puts forth leaves
In the springtime, the bare
branches begin to produce buds, showing you that spring has come, and summer
with its fruits is right around the corner.
When you begin to see these things take place, start to get excited. He is coming back.
The generation that sees all these things come together will see His
return. I think we are that generation.
24:36-44 Days of
Noah
36 “But of
that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father
only. 37 But as the
days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in
the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did
not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming
of the Son of Man be.
:36 eating and drinking, marrying …
The idea is that in the days of Noah, life was normal, just like always.
Now that we’ve passed the dreaded “2012”, and with the
nation of Iran slowing down its nuclear production, and if the nation can avoid
the “fiscal cliff” and settle down financially, people are going to let their
guard down.
And in an hour we “think not”, He will come.
40 Then two men will be in the field: one
will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken
and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
:40 one will be taken
I think this may be hinting
at the rapture.
(1 Co 15:52 NKJV) in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed.
43 But know this, that if the
master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have
watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore
you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
:43 if the master … had known
There’s a TV
show that we’ve been watching called “Person of Interest”.
One of the stars of the show
is the guy who played Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ”.
The premise of
the show is that there is a big
computer that the government has built that is watching all of us, looking for terrorists,
by predicting the actions of the bad guys.
The heroes of the show have access to this computer and they are told
when a person is going to be a victim of a crime, and they swoop in and save
the day.
They stop the
crime by knowing ahead of time when it is going to happen.
If you “really
knew” Jesus was coming back, wouldn’t you want to be ready?
I’ve got news for you. He is coming
back. He tells us that we need to live
our lives every day as if today is the day.
24:45-51 Two
Servants
45 “Who then
is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household,
to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will
find so doing. 47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his
goods. 48 But if that
evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins
to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master
of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at
an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the
hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
:45 faithful and wise servant
It’s the faithful servant that lives as if his Master could come back at
any moment.
His coming back might not be with the Second Coming, but it could be in
another way that we may see Him at any moment.
Every day
people die.
It might be from disease, or it could be a car accident.
There is no guarantee that you have thirty more years left. Tomorrow could be the day when you see Him
face to face.
Are you ready?
There is nothing foolish or unwise about living right.
Resolutions
I think there can be value in making “resolutions” for the New Year.
It’s not a bad practice to take some time and think about where your life
has been and where you want it to go.
There’s an old
saying that goes, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll surely hit it”.
I think there can be value in setting goals or making “resolutions” for yourself.
The problem
comes when we make unrealistic resolutions, or half-hearted resolutions.
A resolution is only as good
as your intention to really do it.
Yet instead of making a resolution that we seriously intend to keep, our
resolutions are more like the “wish” you make before blowing out the candles on your birthday
cake.
Paul gives us this word about the future:
(Ro 13:11–14 NKJV) —11
And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high
time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we
first believed. 12 The night is far
spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and
let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk
properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and
lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
What does that mean for you this year?
Take a moment to think about how this year could be different for you.
It might start with one of those “blow out the candle wishes”, but you have
an opportunity this morning to take a step down a new path and take it past
“wishful thinking”.
Do you really want to change?