Luke 21: 8 – 19
Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs
8 And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them. 9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.” 10 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. 13 But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. 14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head shall be lost. 19 By your patience possess your souls.
We talked about in our last study how the same topic is covered by the apostle Matthew, so let us see again what he wrote.
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?” 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
As you know we have already conducted a few studies regarding my position that there is no such thing that will happen called ‘The Rapture.’ In fact, I believe it is part of the ‘Strong Delusion’ that will come upon mankind in the last days.
In the book of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, we read this,” 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
It is not heresy to disagree with the Rapture position. It does not go against the truth that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Is coming back to earth a second time.
However, what if we come to learn through what God’s Word reveals that this idea is a fabrication of biblical truth. Would it not be qualified as a ‘strong delusion’ that bible teachers and Pastors have incorrectly been feeding their sheep. Would it not qualify in the warning that our Lord and Savior gave to us as listed in the book of Revelation chapter 22 which states, “18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” Would accepting this theory as fact and teaching this theory to our Lord’s flock be liable as adding to God’s word. I know I do not want to mess around with what my Supreme Holy Ruler says. So, with this powerful challenge let us begin.
Since I used the Scripture of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and highlight the term – ‘Strong Delusion’, it would be good for us to understand what this word means. In life we read a lot of things and sometimes take for granted that we know what the word means. So what does out favorite dictionary say about a ‘delusion’.
1a. The act or process of deluding.
b. The state of being deluded.
2. A false belief or opinion:
3. Psychiatry A false belief strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence, especially as a symptom of mental illness:
So what do you think it means when our Lord says that He will send a ‘strong delusion’. You do not have to be a brain surgeon to know that what is listed above as ‘delusion’ is greatly intensified.
Do you see all the great harm that this false idea has caused us believers? The word of God says what it means and means what it says.
If you are a new believer in our Great and Wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ forgive me for getting into this dialogue. Yet I do believe that you need to be informed about what is circulating out in Christian circles. I have come to understand the amazing grace it took our Savior to get us ‘Saved’. We live in a cursed world. Before our feet step out of bed we fight the world, the flesh, and the devil. Our Faithful Lord broke through these tough sinful defenses and revealed Himself to us. Thank you Lord. Then once we are ‘Saved’ we aren’t able to kick back. We are now exposed to every wacky religious cult and dead organization out there. So, how can you be sure what is true? The answer is – God’s word is true. Don’t trust me or any other teacher. Check everything out yourselves from God’s Word. People were complemented by the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts because they did just this. Look at what it said in chapter 17, “10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
So, the description of the Rapture teaches that all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who are alive will be physically removed from this earth. To the naked eye they will vanish. These people will instantly be beamed wherever they are up to meet the Lord Jesus Who Is positioned somewhere above the earth.
Now to add confusion great theological scholars cannot come up with the same conclusions. Some biblical experts say that this event will occur before what the bible calls the Great Tribulation. People who accept this position are called Pre-Tribulation Rapture or Pre-Tribers. Since many biblical scholars have come up with the idea that the Tribulation will be a period of 7 years some have taken a position that believers will be ‘Raptured’ halfway into the 7 years or after 3 and ½ years after the Great Tribulation begins. Those who hold this position are called Mid-Tribers. Lastly, there are those who take up a position that all believers will have to go through the whole seven years of the Great Tribulation and then be ‘Raptured’ out. They are referred to as Post Tribers.
Does this sound a tad bit confusing? Again forgive us for getting into this stupid worthless debate. The book of 1 Corinthians chapter 14 says about our Precious Holy Spirit this, “33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.’
In all truth the doctrine of a ‘Rapture’ is the most divisive of modern day positions.
Where did the idea of the ‘Rapture’ came from. You will be quite amazed that this is a modern day discovery.
This idea was birthed back in the 1800’s. Here is what I discovered.
In early 1830, Margaret McDonald, a 15 year old Scottish Girl had visions [we’re in trouble now, one girl has a ‘vision’ which will set church policy. I thought the bible was complete. Haven’t the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses been correctly labeled as cults for their visions?] that included a Secret Rapture of believers before the appearance of the Antichrist. A viewpoint that we will discuss later is that the Roman Catholic Church had put forth a Counter Reformation to the Protestant Reformation that in the future one man would be the epitome of all evil and be called the Antichrist.
Edward Irving (1792-1834) her Scottish Presbyterian pastor and forerunner of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, attended prophecy conferences that began in Dublin Ireland in that same year, 1830, at Powerscourt Castle. There he promoted the doctrine of the Secret Rapture.
John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), a minister of the Church of Ireland, who later became a member of the Plymouth Brethren, also promoted a Secret Rapture after attending the same Powerscourt Bible Prophecy meeting in 1830 where he learned of Margaret McDonald's vision. He visited Margaret McDonald at her home in Port Glasgow, Scotland, and then later visited America several times where his Secret Rapture theology was quite well accepted.
As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation.
The writings of John Darby greatly influenced Cyrus Scofield (1843-1921) who incorporated this doctrine in the notes of his Scofield Reference Bible, first published by Oxford University Press in 1909. One million copies were printed by 1930, firmly establishing this Futurist interpretation in the Bible schools and denominations of the United States in the 20th Century.
The beliefs Darby disseminated were then propagated with Scofield’s Reference Bible at such places as Dallas Theological Seminary and Bob Jones University and by authors and preachers such as Hal Lindsey who wrote a best seller called ‘The Late Great Planet Earth. and Tim LaHaye who I am sure you know, became a huge success co-authoring his ‘Left Behind’ stories.
Can you see how this idea was adopted and thereby infiltrated into our churches?’
Yet, before we end our studies I want you to see right away that from God’s word that this doctrine is false.
Can you now stop and think with me for a moment. It took mankind one thousand eight hundred years to understand a new fact. Do you actually think our Lord would hold out on all the saints for 18 centuries of this significant happening?
Please take time to look at the whole chapter 24. At any time do you see the disciples thinking our Lord is coming back in two stages? Is there any reference from our Lord that He Is coming back to the earth in two stages?
What do false prophets principally teach? - Health and wealth messages. ‘Don’t worry’, they say, ‘You do not have to worry about Tribulations. The Lord Is going to remove us before it all comes down.’
When you review chapter 24 our Lord Is very concerned that we, His children, are not deceived. He Is more interested in us being prepared, than letting us know the time and dates.
I know that I have been repetitive, but I believe the truth needs to be hammered home. Here is a question for you. Why do you think our Precious Holy Spirit sometimes says the same word twice? In our vernacular in Philly is like saying, ‘let me tell you, ya no what I’m sayin.’. He wants to drive home the point for us to really pick up what He Is about say.
So, let us get back to our study of Luke chapter 21. In our last study we only covered a few verses.
To bring us up to speed on what has been transpiring so far, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had just given a major lecture in the Temple. He and His disciples were leaving the Temple complex and one commented about how magnificent the Glorious Temple was.
So, now in chapter 24 of Matthew and from the Gospel of Luke chapter 21 the disciples commented to the Lord how beautiful the Temple was. This caused our Lord to remark about its future destruction. Picture with me the disciples shock to the Lord’s words. Their whole life was centered on the Temple worship and now they hear that it is going to be destroyed in a few years.
Many people miss this next direct act by our Awesome Lord. He sits on the Mount of Olives which is the very place where the prophet Zechariah in chapter 14 had predicted that the Messiah would stand when He would come to establish His kingdom.
Zechariah 14, “ 4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.”
Can you now see why the disciples asked these questions of our Lord Jesus Christ? They knew at this point that He was the Messiah, so they wanted to know when He would come in His Power and what would then happen. Matthew says, “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?”
To me our Holy Lord was asked two questions by his disciples not three as many adhere to. We are now going to pick up His answers to the two questions.
1. Tell us, when will these things be? [the Temple destroyed]
2. And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
I do not know about you but one thing I have noticed is that people do not know what words really mean? They just accept them without doing further research to really understand. Our Wonderful Holy Spirit complements His children who really want more of Him, that Is to understand Him more fully. In the book of Acts we seen the people from Beria complemented by God for not only hearing His Word but by going home and checking out what was taught was really true. “10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
So why am I making such a big deal here? Remember we are talking about the position some have taken called ‘The Rapture.’ If you look at the question the disciples as our Holy Master what will be the sign of Your Coming? So, what is His coming? Is He coming back to hover in space and call us, His children, out of this world, in a part 1 coming and then come back in a part 2. Or, will He just come back? The Greek word for ‘Coming’ is ‘Parousia’. We will see throughout that this word refers to our Lord’s 2nd return to earth. His first appearance was as the suffering ‘Lamb of God’. He will return as the conquering ‘Lion of Judah’. Praise You Lord!
Our Lord Is going to answer the questions in reverse order. Let’s take a look.
Again using Matthew’s version of this event, “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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.”
Look immediately what our Lord says, “ 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.” Way back then He was telling the disciples and us that many will be led astray.
Not only deceivers would arise but some are going to appear and claim that they are Jesus- “5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.’ Sadly, many will buy into these lies because they do not read their bibles.
Some people have and some will say that wars will be the sign that our Lord Is Coming back. There have been some terrible wars since the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD through World War II. Yet, our Lord Is saying here, do not use ‘wars’ as a reason that He Is coming back. You will be deceived if you believe this. “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. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” All these wars are just a result of sinful mankind trying to lord over others.
We have also witnessed some great and horrible natural disasters. Some teachers will go to great length to talk about the increasing intensity of ‘Birth pangs’. However, please note that our Lord says, that all these things are just the ‘beginning’ of sorrows. In other words – ‘you haven’t even begun to see difficulties.’ “And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
Our Lord has told us that wars and natural and manmade disasters will go on into the future. All His followers will have work to do. He has not spoken anywhere in the Bible that there are going to be some of His followers set aside and taken out of the world. He promises us all what? – Tribulation. “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.”
We have been spoiled in America. Christians have been persecuted and killed throughout all generations since our Lord’s death and Resurrection. It still continues today.
Many will stumble. Christians in various parts of the world to a large extent have to keep their faith somewhat a secret because they will be killed. People will turn them in to the ruling authorities. “10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.” In America where we have the freedom people are hiding their Christianity because they want to fit in with society. A good question to ask yourselves is, ‘would there be enough evidence that in a court of law I could be convicted of being a Christian.’ If you cannot answer ‘yes’ to this question, you need to do some serious personal inventory.
One of the books I use to hate to read was the book of Job. Man did that guy get whammed. Yet, when one really digs into it, you see that our Holy Righteous God was proud of His child Job. He was bragging in Heaven about how faithful and great his son was. But there was one who wasn’t a happy camper. He challenged our Holy King that if he was allowed to get Job then things would be different. Satan told God that he knows when men and women’s lives are in the balance, they will turn away from God. Look with me at these accusing words in chapter 2, “1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?”Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” 3 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.” 4 So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips..
Way to go Job. I am glad that we read how our Gracious Holy God Blessed you as we read in the end of your book.
Look at the great heroes that stood firm in their love and devotion to the King of kings and Lord of Lords in the book of Hebrews chapter 11, “ 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. 23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command. 24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. 32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us”
Our Lord says here that there are going to be phonies who say that they represent Him and will lead many astray, “11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” You my friends have just realized this scripture become visible before your very eyes, with this ‘Judgment’ fiasco.
Our Lord Jesus then reveals to us that there will be many church’s that bear His Name but does not have the Holy Spirit working among its congregants. “12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold..” If you somehow disagree with their ways you do not see mutual agreement but hatred and viciousness.
There is a great question circulating among believers and it is this, ‘If you are once saved, then are you always ‘Saved’? The words here in chapter 24 of our Lord say, “13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” My belief is that if you are saved then you are always saved. The problem lies in the fact itself, ‘are you really Saved’ Paul instructs us in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 13, “5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. 6 But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.” Many people might profess the words of salvation but they do not possess the Holy Spirit in them.
Look at the possibility of this from the lips of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ also in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 7, “13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ 24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” 28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Our Lord ends this portion on a high note. “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.’ Nothing is going to stop the work of Holy God. Even the gates of hell shall not prevail against anything our Lord has pre-destined to happen. His word will prevail. Hallelujah!
