The Protocol for the Parousia
Matthew 24:1-14
24 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew 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.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 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.
10 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.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 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.
Introduction: There is absolutely no question that the events of this time are pointing towards the end of the world. If you believe what the Scriptures have to say about the end times then it is obvious that the end is near and that Jesus will be coming soon. Jesus had a great deal to say about this subject and it can be found here in our text and in Luke 12, Mark 13 and in out text today. We are surrounded by events and developments that could interpreted as signs of the end. On every hand we see famines, earthquakes, disasters, troubles, persecutions, wars, and rumors of wars.
I. Don’t Be Fooled vs 1-5
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.
a. “Take heed that no man deceive you.” The danger of deception.
It is interesting to note that the Lord’s begins His answer with a warning. He knew that in the end of things that man would be especially susceptible to false teaching.
b. “Many shall come in my name” The most dangerous enemy is a religious enemy.
Satan can change his appearance and conceal his identity in many ways. He is described as a serpent, a lion and an angel. He is the most dangerous in the latter of the three.
c. “And shall deceive many.” It will be a time of widespread apostasy.
No matter how we may feel about the others signs of the times, apostasy is with today and it is pervasive. We live in a time when many of our largest protestant groups no longer adhere to the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture and have openly embraced the kinds of behavior that formerly was condemned.
II. Don’t Be Frightened vs 6-8
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.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 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.
10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
When Luke penned his Gospel things in the world were heating up. The Roman Empire were fed up with all the problems being constantly stirred up by the Jews so they sent their army to deal with this rebel nation. This is why during the time of our Lord Jesus when Matthew was in our Lord’s very presence and heard these words where our Lord spoke of the near future disasters as described in chapter 24.
Now what we read in chapter 12 of the Gospel of Luke takes on some new understanding. Our Lord has warned all the people now reading both Luke’s and Matthew’s Gospel that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed. If the people wanted to save their families lives then they needed to flee soon. Put yourselves in their position. Will the destruction come in their lifetimes or is it speaking about some distant period in human history. The people were concerned about all that they had invested in with their property, positions, and possessions. So, our Lord is teaching them about how to think properly look again at what He says about all the worldly pursuits. – “22 Then He said to His disciples, Three things come to mind:
a. The trouble – Have the things that are happening around our world and in our country disturbed your peace? “Don’t be troubled” If we are not careful many of the things that we will see and hear will shake the foundations of our faith. What Jesus was telling His disciples must have been very troubling indeed. To them the destruction of the Temple must have seemed inconceivable but that is just what happened in 70 AD. 1,000,000 Jews were slain in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem.
b. The threats - Just look at the nightly news and observe the devastation in Ukraine.
Think of the fires, earthquakes, droughts, wars and others disasters we have heard about. Threats seem to be on every hand.
Troubling Moral Climate: Americans are troubled by our moral climate, according to the Gallup Poll’s “morality meter” 59% are somewhat (29%) or very (30%) dissatisfied with the U.S. moral and ethical climate — which includes a wide range of issues: sexual and violent content in television and movies, racial prejudice, rampant divorce, corporate scandals, gay rights (pro and con), plagiarism in schools and more. Only 7% are “very satisfied,” with 33% “somewhat satisfied” with our moral climate. (Pastor’s Weekly Briefing 3/11/05) http://garydfoster.com
c. The Trust -
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? 25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? 29 “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. 30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer died in a German concentration camp right before it was liberated.
This is what he wrote:
“In me there is darkness, but with you there is light; I am lonely, but you do not leave me; I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help; I am restless, but with You there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience; I do not understand Your ways, But You know the way for me.” “Lord Jesus Christ, You were poor and in distress, a captive and forsaken as I am. You know all man’s troubles; You abide with me when all men fail me; You remember and seek me; It is Your will that I should know You and turn to You. Lord, I hear Your call and follow; Help me.”
Scriptures: Job 2:1-10
PERSPECTIVE ON TROUBLES
A small trouble is like a pebble. Hold it too
close to your eye, and it fills the whole world andputs everything out of focus. Hold it at proper viewing distance, and it can be examined and properly classified. Throw it at your feet, and it can be seen in its true setting, just one more tiny bump on the pathway to eternity
Proverbs 3 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
III. Don’t Be Faithless vs 9-14
10 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.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 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.
a. Our Passion
More than anything else our love for God will be tested. Think of all the passages that deal with our love for God.
Luke 10:27
27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with allyour mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” ESV
John 14:23
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Rev. 2:4-5
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
b. Our Perseverance
‘He that endureth to the end.” Have you ever heard “that quitters never win and winners never quit.”
THE ENDURING FROG
We can flourish and develop in new ways or we can drown in despair.
Story from India: One night two frogs found themselves in a dairy. Hopping and jumping around as frogs do they both jumped into a milk pail half full of milk.
After swimming around for some time they tried to get out. But the inside of the pail was too slippery and there was nothing on which they could rest so that they could jump out. One frog thought it was useless trying to swim on and just gave up hope and sunk and was drowned.
The other carried on swimming, hoping against hope that something would turn up. He swam and he swam until he began to feel tired. But by this time the milk, which was full of cream, had become thick. When the frog had swum some more the cream had been stirred so much that it became a solid lump of butter. On this the frog could scramble and rest. And from it he could easily jump out of the pail into safety.
[source: home.freeuk.net]
c. Our Promise
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.
Wycliffe Bible Translator Chet Bitterman’s Death Motivated Others for Missionary Service
Jesus Himself said that the end would come only after the “gospel of the Kingdom” is “preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations” (Matthew 24:14). As His coming approaches, Jesus wants the whole world to know about Him.
The Wycliffe Bible Translators tell us that the Bible needs to be translated in yet another 2,200 languages before everyone in the world can have a copy of the Scriptures in their own language. Wycliffe is working to complete the task and they are getting very close to getting it done. In fact, their goal is to start translating the last language by the year 2025. (www.lastlanguagescampaign. org)
Nearly 40 years ago, on January 19, 1981, when there were 3,000 languages to go, seven armed terrorists burst into the Wycliffe Bible Translators’ office in Bogota, Columbia, and took one of the translators captive. His name was Chet Bitterman, and they held him for seven weeks before shooting him in the head.
Some saw this as a setback to Wycliffe’s work, but Wycliffe’s founder, William Cameron Townsend, saw it differently. He called it a “tremendous advance,” because “young people have been awakened in a new way.”
The fact is soon after Chet Bitterman’s death, nearly 100 students at his Alma Martyr, the Columbia Bible College, pledged themselves to missionary service. Chet’s widow, Brenda, vowed to return to Bible literacy work, and his younger brother, Craig, applied to Wycliffe hoping to become a Bible translator. In addition, a new chair of Linguistics and Bible Translation was established at California’s Biola University in Chet’s memory.
Chet’s father, Chester Bitterman, Sr., made this comment at the time: “On a human level, Chet may have lost his life, but we believe that God is not finished in this. We haven’t read the last chapter yet.” (Bible Illustrator #2379-2385)
Indeed not! After 40 years, we see that the so-called “setback” only speeded up the process. & That’s what we need to pray for today when times are tough. We need to pray that God’s Word spreads even faster during these days and that people would respond to that Word as they never have before.
From a sermon by C. Philip Green, Anticipating Advent -- Part III, 12/19/2009
Scriptures: Matthew 24:14
Conclusion: Let’s review what we should do as we wait for the end.
Don’t be foolish. Study the Scripture and be discerning.
Don’t be frightened. God has not given us the spirit of fear.
Don’t be faithless. Don’t lose faith.
