The theme for today’s sermon is “knowing the times”. The first words of the Bible are “In the beginning (time) God created the heavens (space) and the earth” (matter). The relationship between time, energy, space and matter is a fundamental concept in physics to give us an understanding of the universe. God created a perfect universe and a perfect world for human beings created in His image and likeness. But it does not stay perfect for long. They used their freedom of choice to listen and obey the devil rather than to listen and obey God. Their sin cost them the intimate relationship they had with God because the wages of sin is death. They immediately died spiritually and would eventually die physically and lost God’s authority and dominion to rule on earth. The rest of Scripture is God working to rebuild and restore the relationship that existed between them in the beginning to enable them fulfil His divine will and purpose. God who created time and “in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” determined when and how this restoration would take place and revealed His plan and timeframe through prophecy. The Word of God is filled with prophecies that reveal God’s plan to enable God’s people discern God’s purpose and know the time of its fulfilment. These revelations give everyone the opportunity to make the right decision concerning their eternal destiny.
Throughout the ages people have determined what type of weather to expect by observing the clouds and the direction of the winds. Today they rely on satellites and other modern equipment to predict the weather. There are still visible signs that enable mankind to know the times and the seasons but prophecy remains the most accurate way to know God’s time for the restoration of God’s people to fulfil His divine will and purpose. Many people, however, see prophecy being fulfilled but are not able to discern the times. Many prophecies about the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus Christ but many people including the religious leaders failed to recognise Him and the time of their visitation. The people were still demanding signs to prove that Jesus Christ is the Messiah in spite of the many prophecies about Him that had been fulfilled. Why would they need another sign to discern the presence of the Messiah in their midst. They knew about the supernatural birth of John the Baptist who proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah. They knew about the supernatural conception of the Messiah by a virgin and His birth announced by angels appearing to shepherds in the field. They heard about the visit of the Magi following a star and the response of Herod to the news. They heard God’s confirmation at His baptism when the Holy Spirit descended on Him and God said, “This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased”. They saw and heard about the many miracles Jesus performed, turning water into wine, feeding 5000 men with a child’s lunch of five loaves of bread and two fish, restoring sight to the blind, healing the sick, the deaf, the dumb, the lame, the lepers, casting out demons and bringing the dead to life. How could they not believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah?
Prophecy is a revelation of God’s will and purpose and the time of its fulfilment. The prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem was fulfilled to the tiniest detail in AD 70 when the Roman soldiers completely destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. The burning of the Temple melted the gold that was used in its decoration and in the utensils used for worship. The molten gold could be found everywhere even in the crevices of the Temple walls. The Roman soldiers removed the Temple walls stone by stone to retrieve the gold and fulfilled the prophecy that not one stone would be left upon another. The prophecies concerning the Messiah have been fulfilled to the smallest detail and the prophecies concerning His return are being fulfilled to enable us discern and know that the time of His return is near. The right response to the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ will determine our eternal destiny.
There are many compelling signs heralding Christ’s return. One major sign is the rebirth and restoration of Israel. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70, the Jews ceased to be a nation. They were expelled from the land and no longer had a homeland. In 1946 a nation that had ceased to exist for 2000 years, a nation that had survived persecutions and the concentration camps of the Nazis, was reborn in a day as prophesied by Isaiah in the Scriptures with Hebrew as their language. Never in the history of the world has such a thing happened before. A language that had practically ceased to exist was revived as the language of Israel. In the 1967 war, the West bank, the Golan Heights and all of Jerusalem came under Israel’s control. In 2018, President Trump moved the American embassy to Jerusalem and declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel. According to prophecy Israel and particularly Jerusalem, has an important part to play in the return of Christ and current events are confirming that the time of His return is near.
The times we are living in is a time of increasing evil and violence. We are witnessing the horrors of war, the suffering of displaced persons and refugees and sexual depravity on a scale that is hard to believe. Evil is so widespread that we have become immune to suffering and show no regard for human life. Today the priority for most people in the world is the love of money. Loving our neighbour as ourselves has completely been overshadowed by greed and the pursuit of wealth and pleasure. There is no concern for people being poisoned, deformed and dying from illegal activities including illegal gold mining activities. The world is witnessing the destruction of the environment on a massive scale and heatwaves, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, storms, and flooding have become more frequent than ever before.
We are living in a time where many are being deceived by false Christs, false prophets, and strange unbiblical teachings. We have literally exchanged the armour of God for the blanket of comfort. The focus is on God’s provisions and not on God, the Provider. The prophet Isaiah foresaw this in Isaiah 4:1 when he writes “seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, we will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name”. The seven women refer to the seven Churches of revelation. They will take hold of one man, Jesus Christ, and use His name but will believe and share their own word and wear their own clothing instead of God’s Word and His covering of righteousness. Today, questionable and outlandish doctrines are no longer opposed but tolerated and accepted. According to the Theologian, A W Tozer, when we change the message of God, we change the God of the message and making God to be who He is not is idolatry. When God ceases to be our priority, immediately something else takes His place and becomes an idol. We are making for ourselves many new idols in this information or digital age when social media and browsing the internet has become our priority. It is true that the internet has brought about significant transformations in how we communicate, work and interact with the world but it should not take God’s place and become a priority in our lives. Today many people spend so much time on social media and browsing the internet that they have no time for God. Digital banking, satellite surveillance and Artificial Intelligence have changed our way of life and made our lives safer and more comfortable and giving us more time but do we spend it in God’s presence. Unfortunately, we are we are spending less time with God and gradually moving to a time when digital transactions will usher in a cashless system. A cashless society, satellite surveillance, and Artificial Intelligence has the potential to equip a world leader with the ability to control people’s movement and lives.
Prophecy is being fulfilled to the smallest detail and is reminding us that Jesus Christ will soon return. Are we ready to welcome Him on His return? Have we accepted the good news that Christ suffered and shed His blood to pay the penalty for sin, that He rose from the dead for our justification and that if we believe in Him, we will be saved? Faith makes available to us what the grace of God has provided so let us by faith take hold of God’s salvation and abundant provisions to the praise and glory of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen!
