September 13, 2002 Sermon Series on the End Times - 2
Judges chapter 5 relays a story of a Sisera’s mother - who was waiting for her heathen son to return from war with Israel. It says,
“Through the window peered Sisera’s mother; behind the lattice she cried out,
‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’
29 The wisest of her ladies answer her; indeed, she keeps saying to herself,
30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils: a girl or two for each man,
colorful garments as plunder for Sisera, colorful garments embroidered,
highly embroidered garments for my neck— all this as plunder?’
Little did she know that her son had been put to death by a woman named Jael, who had driven a tent peg through his forehead while he was sleeping. With visions of glory, Sisera’s mother imagined him coming home with gold, riches, women, and fame. But as time went on, she knew that something had gone terribly wrong. Her son wasn’t coming home. He was dead.
As Jesus was ascending into heaven, the angels very clearly said, This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” It’s been over 2,000 years since Jesus ascended into heaven. After the century came and went, many people were disappointed that he never showed up. Some wondered if he ever would come, or if something had gone terribly wrong. How about you? Do you believe Jesus is still coming or not? And if he is coming, when will he come? Is it sooner or later? And what should you do? That’s what we’re going to consider today as we see how -
The Day is Surely Drawing Near
I. How close is it?
The Time magazine article said that 17% of Americans believe the end of the world will occur within their lifetime. They are looking for clues from God’s Word to know when. That’s good. But it’s rather strange to see how some are going about this. I found a web sight where a guy used the Hebrew letters of Numbers 22 and a mathematical formula to try and say that September 11th was predicted in the Bible. Of course he “figured this out” five days after the attack occurred. 25% of the people polled believed that the terrorist attack was predicted in the Bible though. There are some other strange signs that people are using as their “Biblical proof” that the end is near. For instance, some point to Daniel 12:4 which says, “Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” They say, “this is a prediction of cars and planes - showing that the end is near.” Others say that the “mark of the beast” is the Social Security numbers we have. Or many are leary of the New World Order and the forming of the United Nations - claiming the Antichrist will rise through these things. Others point to the forming of Israel in 1945 as proof that the end is near - and once all the Jews are converted to Christ the end will come. There’s all kinds of stuff out there - and all kinds of passages being used. People are on edge because of them, thinking that the end is just around the corner.
Of course, there’s the other group out there as well. The writer of the article stated, “Masses of people became convinced the end was nigh when Rome was sacked in 410, when the Black Death wiped out one-third of the population of 14th century Europe, when the tectonic shudders of the Lisbon earthquake in 1755 caused church bells to ring as far away as England, and certainly after 1945, when for the first time human beings harnessed the power to bring about their total destruction, not an act of God, but an act of mankind.” (45) What was he insinuating with this statement? He was basically stating, “don’t worry about it - people always talk about the end when this stuff happens.”
No matter what they say or think - make no mistake - Jesus is coming. In Mark 13 Jesus clearly said: in those days, following that distress, ”‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ 26 “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. There will be no second chances - no people left behind.
But is it really as close as people think? We don’t know for sure. But as far as we know, it COULD be any day! How do we know that? When you’re driving down a highway, you see signs - this many miles to Kansas City, etc. In a similar way, Jesus gives us certain signs that tell us how far along we are. Instead of looking to obscure passages or symbolic language, Jesus talked about the signs of the end times in very clear terms. These are not as specific as saying, “Judgment Day is two days away.” They are more like general clues that you see in the landscape. For instance, when you drive down to Oklahoma - even if you don’t see the signs, you will begin to notice the red clay and the change of landscape. These are more general clues that you’re getting closer, even though you don’t know specifically how close. There are plenty of these “general signs” in God’s Word. Listen to what Jesus said to his disciples -
Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ, and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. . . Many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
My friends, every one of these predictions has come true. False Christs have come. The war in Afghanistan and pending war in Iraq is just another reminder to you - Jesus is coming soon. Way back in Paul’s time he said to the Colossians All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing. This means that Jesus could come any day. The day is surely drawing near.
II. How do I prepare?
The question is - how can I prepare? What do you usually do when you hear a tornado siren? Now tell the truth. The first thing you do is go out and look outside and say, “where is it? I don’t see anything.” How many times have you seen video tapes of people who have done that? I wonder how many people have lost their lives doing something like that. What’s my point? It’s one thing to look for and recognize the signs of a coming disaster. But it seems that people are getting so wrapped up in the signs that they aren’t worried about what to do to prepare for the actual day. There’s a web sight called “raptureready.com” that is dedicated solely to looking at the signs to determine how close we are to the day of Jesus’ return. But if you don’t realize that this is not going to just be a spectacular light show - but that your eternity is involved - you’ll get caught on the wrong side. Maybe that’s why Jesus was more vague in his signs to the end of the world - because he didn’t want people to get wrapped up in the signs - but to focus on the goal.
The ultimate goal is for us to survive the terrible things that were predicted to happen and end up in heaven. But how? Many believe that the only way you will be able to survive the coming of Christ is if you don’t get a social security number - which they believe is the mark of the beast. Others say that you have to move to Jerusalem - or hunker down at Petra, a rocky fortress south of there to be able to survive Jesus’ Second Coming. Many of you may remember the Heaven’s Gate cult. They thought that Christ was riding in on the Hale-Bopp Comet, so they drank poison mixed with apple sauce in hopes that their souls would be teleported to the comet somehow. They think if they do these things, they’ll be ready for the Lord to return.
Doesn’t it seem like a strange way to prepare for the Lord to come? What does not getting a social security number have to do with the message of the Bible? Or why would you need to be in Jerusalem to go to heaven? Throughout the Scriptures God has laid one message of salvation out to all people. It has nothing to do with a social security number, a bar code, what race you are, or any sort of place where you live.
What did Jesus say ? Jesus very clearly said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Peter said, “salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Paul said, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. The way to salvation has consistently been through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ once for all. What does faith have to do with a bar code? What does righteousness have to do with where I live? Absolutely nothing. I can have faith in Christ in jail. I can have faith in Christ and still have a social security number. I need the righteousness of Christ through faith in him at one month old or a hundred years old. I am not exempt from this at any age - even if I’m only six. When I believe in Christ I already am prepared for His Second Coming. That’s what the Bible says. So why would God change his mind?
III. What should I do now?
God hasn’t changed his mind. The way to salvation is still the same today as it was back in Adam and Eve’s time. The only difference is that Jesus said that things would go from bad to worse. Antichrists would come. Families would turn against one another. Jesus even went so far as to say, If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. . . . For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time. This is what has many worried - that things are supposed to become so bad. But we realize that they already are bad - right? Our children are being bombarded with anti-Christian messages on TV - at school - and even from their own family - telling them it’s cool to have sex when they want - that they should make their own decisions - that their parents don’t know what they’re talking about. Our personal freedoms of religion and speech are being hindered every day by new legislation proposing that it’s a hate crime to speak against sin. So how are we supposed to prepare for that? How can we keep the faith when things are only getting worse?
Jesus gave us the clear answer to this as well. He didn’t tell us to move to Jerusalem. He didn’t tell us to fight and rebel against the government. What did he simply say in Matthew 25? At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. Jesus simply said to keep oil in your jars. The explanation is simple - as God says, “faith comes from hearing the message.” Just stay in the Word. Keep taking the Lord’s Supper. It’s in the Word that God assures us that he still loves us. It’s in the Word that God assures us that everything is under HIS control - even when the world seems to be falling apart. So stick with what got you here in the first place, and you’ll be fine. On Friday nights we’ve been studying the letter to the galatians. In it, the Galatians were being told to jump ship, to go and get circumcised if they really wanted to be saved and follow in the footsteps of Abraham - and they were actually thinking about it! What was Paul’s message to them? You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. If you want to be prepared for the trials and triublations of the last days - to be ready for the coming of Christ - then stay in the Word. It’s plain and simple. That’s the oil that keeps your lamp burning in the darkest night.
Just recently many of our children experienced their first day in school. Like with any big day - they were nervous. And how did they prepare for it? They bought new clothes. They made sure they had a pen, paper and notebooks. They enrolled in classes, and they went. Were all of these things necessary? No. But since it was a big day - they wanted to make sure they were prepared.
When Jesus comes again - it is going to be a big day for us. There will be no second chances. That will be it - life or death - eternally. Before he comes, things will go from bad to worse. If you already believe in Jesus - you don’t need to go out and buy new clothing, for you already have the righteousness of Christ. But like preparing for any big day, it’s good to review and make sure your prepared. Do you have faith in Christ? Do you believe he died for you. Are you staying in the Word? Review the facts. If you need some more courage, get in the Word. If you need more strength, take the Lord’s Supper. Prepare yourself now. For the day is surely drawing near. Amen.
