Be Still, And Know That I Am God

Matthew 24:3-8 “Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”

Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

“Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.”

“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”

“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.

Let me inform you this morning that his return is very near, right at the door. Jesus warns us that sin will be rampant and love will become cold. There is not a day goes by where someone is not raped, abused, or murdered. A student leaving a bar disappears. A real estate agent showing a house disappears and her body is found days later.

Jesus informs us that technology would exist making it possible for all nations of the world to hear the Gospel.

Jesus warns about the rising of cults. There are estimates that 2500 cults currently exist in America. The exhalation of their founder or current leader above Jesus characterizes cults. Another characteristic of a cult is mind control through the manipulation of scriptures. Finally, there is usually a latter day revelation that goes beyond what God’s Word has revealed. Currently there are over 31 million people being deceived in the top three cults present today.

Jesus warns about wars, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom. Currently there are 10 wars and 8 conflicts taking place in the world. These numbers do not include the threat of terrorism that exists in our country today.

ISIS has become our newest enemy. We have watched in horror as innocent captives have been beheaded as an open threat to the United States. Recently a man who had been trying to make converts to Islam beheaded a woman in her workplace. ISIS is using social media like twitter to send messages to Moslems in the United States to perform acts of terror and brutality. They have operatives with the technology to disrupt our communications and hack into computer systems.

Jesus warns about famines. Currently in our country, only three states are not dealing with some form of drought. 18% of our nation is dealing with sever drought, 9% with extreme, and 4% with exceptional. The entire state of Oregon is now completely in a drought, while 97% of Nevada and 62% of California suffer. In California more than a million acres of farmland was left fallow due to the inability to provide water for crops. These droughts are expected to lead to higher prices on meats and produce at all supermarkets. I was in two stores recently that had signs in their fresh produce aisles that stated, “Due to the recent droughts in the west, our produce is limited.”

Jesus warns about earthquakes. This past year there have been 12, 215 earthquakes of a 6 point magnitude or greater. 20 volcanoes erupt daily. Recently homes were set ablaze by a slow moving lava flow. In addition, in Japan an unexpected eruption killed 48 hikers. In our country, we have 20 volcanoes located in the western states. Nine of those have the potential to become active. One of those is a volcano better know as Yellowstone National Park.

In an article from the Post-Intelligencer the writer stated;

“Scientists warn that it might not be long until a super volcano under Yellowstone Park erupts. By comparison, Mount St. Helens was a puff of smoke. In 1980, Mount St. Helens, in the State of Washington erupted. The eruption was the only significant one to occur in the lower 48 U.S. states since 1915. Two months of prior earthquakes and steam-venting episodes were warnings. A column of smoke rose 15 miles into the atmosphere and affected 11 U.S. states. Fifty-seven people died. Does Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park ring a bell? Something is going on there, and it is a scary thought.”

The United States Geological Survey recently discussed a study where the ash distribution of a Yellowstone volcano eruption was modeled, and practically a good chunk of the American Midwest would be covered in black ash. A massive volcanic eruption could potentially trigger global cooling.