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.
The article continues. “The problem would then become food, water, clean air, and warm clothes and shelters. Massive volcano dark clouds would shut out sunlight. Heavy dark clouds would reduce plant growth, and that would lead to food shortages for this country. There is no enforceable law when people are starving. Colder air would be another result, and clothing would necessarily be heavier with jackets, gloves, etc…”
But Jesus warns that these things are but the beginning of birth pains. The ice caps are melting. There is a debate whether this is man-made or the natural cycle of our earth. But for whatever reason the ice caps are melting. The ocean levels have risen 6” to 8” over the last 100 years. Melting icebergs have placed a greater amount of fresh water in to the ocean causing an in balance of the salinity of the seawater. In Bangladesh, over a million people have been misplaced by the rising sea and 13 million more are in jeopardy along with the low-lying areas for rice crops. In Africa, melting ice caps have affected the balance of nature. On Friday I read a report where Jamaica’s famous 7 Mile Beach is eroding at the rate of one yard per year due to rising sea levels. Some areas are less than three yards wide.
We live in the danger of the effect of a huge solar flare from our sun. We could experience electrical blackouts on a massive scale that might not be repaired for weeks. There could be damage to communications satellites that would disrupt non-terrestrial telephone, television, radio, and Internet links. Systems such as GPS and LORAN would become non-functional. Geomagnetic storms and increased solar ultraviolet emission heat Earth's upper atmosphere, causing it to expand. The heated air rises, and the density at the orbit of satellites up to about 621 mi increases significantly. This results in increased drag on satellites in space, causing them to slow and change orbit slightly. They slowly fall, and eventually burn up in Earth's atmosphere. A massive solar flare could destroy more than 300 transformers and leave over 130 million people without power, with a cost totaling several trillion dollars. It could knock out electric power for months.
So far this year there have been 26 asteroids of various sizes that have past by the earth closer than the moon. We can’t see them because they are rocks and do not reflect light. On February 18 Earth had a close encounter as an asteroid as big as three football fields whizzed by at 27,000 mph. There are over 200 million known asteroids near the Earth, 50 of which are capable of destroying mankind. We are floating in space with millions of rocks being thrown at us.
The most talked about news item this week is the introduction of the Ebola virus into our country. One infected individual has led to four individuals being quarantined and a 100 more being monitored. In addition, another individual may be infected in Hawaii.
Also the outbreak of a respiratory virus known as Enteroviruse D68. Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is one of more than 100 non-polio enteroviruses. This virus was first identified in California in 1962. Enterovirus has perhaps been responsible for the death of four children and the paralysis of 10 children. Cases have currently been found in 42 states.
Have I frightened you? Does it seem hopeless? How does God view this disturbing news? Let’s read Psalm 46:8 “Come, see the glorious works of the Lord:
See how he brings destruction upon the world.”
How can God consider all these terrifying events that bring destruction to the world his glorious works? Because these things are a precursor to the return of Jesus. All these horrible events are every bit a promise from God as his promise that one day his Son would return for us. Jesus said these things must be.
Psalm 46 is very prophetic for our current time in history.
Psalm 46: 2-3 “So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!”
Earthquakes, volcanoes, rising sea levels.
Psalms 46:6 “The nations are in chaos,
and their kingdoms crumble!
God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts!”
Wars and conflicts throughout the world.
However, in the midst of this chaos there is this promise so intense that it is mentioned in both vs. 7 and vs. 11.
“The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.”
I believe the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is Jesus. In Revelation 19:14 the armies of Heaven are following him as He leads. That makes him the Lord. We have the presence of Jesus in our midst. Plus we have the fortress of God to protect us. And what does this fortress resemble? A glorious city.
Psalm 46:4 “A river brings joy to the city of our God,
the sacred home of the Most High.
God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.
From the very break of day, God will protect it.”
This is our destination. This is where Jesus said He has prepared us a place. He promised to one day to come for us. But first, all the things we heard about today have to take place.
Our greatest fear is death. But you don’t have to fear death when you realize you are already dead. In fact, our focus should not be on the horrors occurring around us but rather the excitement of the promises of Jesus.
Colossians 3:2-4 “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”
We are dead to this life. The dead are not affected by the horrors mentioned here. Neither should we. Our life is not only hidden in Jesus but Jesus is to be our very life. When we, in the midst of chaos, reveal Jesus to the world through our words and actions we share in his glory.
So how are we to handle these tragedies and worries around us? Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”
I have always mistaken this word “Be still” to mean be quiet. I have been taught that it meant to meditate on God’s Word and to be in prayer. But this week I looked deeply into “Be still” and realized its true meaning.
The word for “Be still” is rapha in Hebrew. It is used 46 times in the Old Testament but only once is it interpreted to “Be still”. That, of course, is in Psalm 46:10.
The word does not mean to be quite. The word means, “To hang limp, sink down, be feeble.” God tells us in the midst of our troubles to purposely let go; to purposely become weak.
What happens if we go limp? We will fall to the floor unless someone is there to catch us and prop us up. God says, “Go limp, and know that I am God.” We are to trust him to prop us up so all the people throughout the world will honor him.
What happens if we sink down? We become overwhelmed. God says “Go ahead, sink down, and know that I am God” God understands there are times when we are overwhelmed and feel as if we are in over our heads. But He will lift us back up so all the people throughout the world will honor him.
What happens if we become feeble? We can’t walk very well. We can’t take care of ourselves. God says, “Go ahead, become feeble, and know that I am God.” He wants us to be feeble so that we must rely on his strength. When we rely on his strength all the people throughout the world will honor him.
Psalm 46 begins with this statement vs.1 “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” God promises to be our source of help in times of trouble. He may chose not to be our solution in times of trouble but He promises to be there to help us through them. He may not act as preventative for our times of trouble but He promises to be there to help us through them. Whatever we go through He will be there to help us.
We are on the verge of the greatest homecoming in the history of mankind. We don’t have too much more time to wait. But until then things are going to happen around us and to us. We must rely on God because there really is nothing else or no one else we can rely on. Sin is at war with this world as is death and satan. However, the day is fast approaching when we will see the fulfillment of Psalm 46:9
“He causes wars to end throughout the earth.
He breaks the bow and snaps the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.”
