Sermon: Signs of the Second Coming Mark 13:3-22 June 15, 2003
I Introduction
A Every age wants to know the future
1 Poll -Time Magazine article by Nancy Gibbs - The article continues by pointing out that even the pre-Christian is thinking about the future. Recent polls suggest that 35% of Americans say they are paying closer attention to news events and how they relate to the coming of the world since the terrorist attacks of September 11th. 17% of Americans believe the end of the world will happen in their lifetime. 36% of Americans believe that the Bible is the Word of God and is to be taken literally. 59% believe the prophecies in the Book of Revelation will come true.
a
2 Dr. George Sweeting once estimated that "more than a fourth of the Bible is predictive prophecy...Both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises about the return of Jesus Christ. Over 1800 references appear in the O.T., and seventeen O.T. books give prominence to this theme. Of the 260 chapters in the N.T., there are more than 300 references to the Lord¡¦s return--one out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 N.T. books refer to this great event...For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are 8 on Christ¡¦s second coming."
SOURCE: Today in the Word, MBI, December, 1989, p. 40. Submitted by Guy Caley
B READ SCRIPTURE (apologize for switching text)
II What Jesus has to say about it
A Recorded in all three gospels
1 There will be signs
2 Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives the very place where the prophet Zechariah had predicted that the Messiah would stand when he came to establish his kingdom (Zech 14:4). It was fitting place for the disciples to ask Jesus when he would come in power and what they could expect then. Jesus¡¦ reply emphasized the events that would take place before the end of the age but not the chronological order of events.
a They were looking at the immediate ¡V when would the Messiah come ¡V when would he take over
b Nearly 2000 years have passed and we are still asking ¡§what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? And the signs still apply
B Six Signs as found in the gospels
1 There will be False Prophets, claims of representatives of Jesus, the new Jesus or the Messiah ¡V claims that have a special message from God
a Cults
i David Koresch
ii Wicca
iii Divination
iv Applegate
v Scientology
vi Neo Gnosticism
vii Holy Order of MANS
viii People¡¦s Temple (Jim Jones)
ix Movement for the Restoration
x Solar Temple
b False prophets within the Christian circle
i Prosperity gospel
ii Do wahever your desires tell you too it¡¦s okay God made you that way Give to your desires
iii There is no such thing as hell or sin
iv Jesus is not the only way to heaven
v Christians need to learn from other faiths
vi A recent study of Christian lay leaders
„« 47% believe there are no absolute Moral Truths
„« 43% say there is no such thing as the Holy Spirt
„« 33 prerecent believe that Jesus never had a physical resurrection
„« 19 percent believe Jesus sinned while on earth
c To penetrate the disguises of false teachers we can ask 1. have their predictions come true or do they have to revise them to fit what¡¦s already happened? 2. Does any teaching utlize a small section of the Bible but neglect the whole. 3. Does the teaching contradict what the Bible says bout God. 4. Are the practices meant to glorify teacher or Christ? 5. Do the teachings promote hostility toward other Christians?
d
2 There will be Political Unrest
a Rumors of war ¡V now that¡¦s a joke
i No longer rumors fact
ii 8% has seen peace.
b) 3,100 years, peace in 286.
c) 8,000 treaties made, broken.
3 There will be Natural Disasters
a Earthquakes
i The World Almanac tells us that there were only 21 earthquakes of major strength between the years 1000 and 1800. But between 1800 and 1900 there were 18 major earthquakes. In the next 50 years, between 1900 and 1950, there were 33 major quakes, and between 1950 and 1991 there were 93 major earthquakes, almost tripling the number of the previous half century, and claiming the lives of 1.3 million people around the world. This dramatic increase of severe quakes has led many scientists to predict that we are entering a new period of great seismic disturbances
b Famine
i So many images on TV of swollen stomachs that we have become immune
ii Ehiopia (12.5 million), Sudan Somalia Kenya, the D R of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Liberia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq and a bunch of countries I can¡¦t even pronouce
iii Our own country you only have to look as far as my home ¡V children eating out of trash cans
„« DFCS
iv 27,000 children die every day from hunger and preventable disease
c Diseases/Pestilence (plagues) Editorial in yesterday¡¦s paper
i SARS
ii Monkeypox
iii AIDS
iv West Nile
v Mad Cow Disease
4 There will be Religious Persecution ¡V
a False vision of persecution - Your vision of God¡¦s kingdom must not be limited by what happens only to you.
i In April of this year in Pakistan ¡V Rehmat Masih a staunch Christian married with five children was employed as a custodian at the Civil Secretariat in Lahore, was accused along with another Christian man of the theft of 300 law books from his employer. Although there were 10 other Muslim employees with access to the books, only the two Christians were arrested. Rehmats wife stated ¡§My husband was innocent and was arrested only because he was a bold Christian My husband was uneducationd andhis means of transport was a bicycle. Why would he stead 300 books and how could he transport them on a bicycle?¡¨ The 2 Christians were taken into custody without charges being filed on March 2,. After 17 days of illegal detention and sever toruture by authorities Rehmat died. Family members and fellow Christians were outraged and went to the government ministry to demand justice the police wouldn¡¦t allow them in, and one of rehmat¡¦s newphews were struck in the head by apolice officer during the protest and killed.
ii Since 1999 in Indoesia 10,000 Christians have been killed and over 500,000 displaced Jihad warriors have burned down or confiscated c ountless homes and destroyed numerous churches. Many captured believers are forced to convert to Islam or die
iii In October of this past years in Banao Cuba the police came into the area and went door to door confiscating cameras acnd cutting telephones lines. Then ten uniformed police surround the house of Leonel Dominguez Vega, the Christian pastor, and seized his house at 5 AM in the morning removing the pastor and all their belongings saying they had purchased the house illegally. They insulted the pastor and tried to goad him into a fight so they dragged his eight year old son out of the house took the baby from his mother¡¦s arms and forcibly seized his wife and forced her into an ambulance. The pastor and belongings were taken to another city and dumped. His family was not allowed to live Banao for two months.
iv Persecutions are happening when you hear about them pray for those who are suffering ask God what you can do to help. And then do it. ¡V not just money
b Love grown cold
c Testimony to the world
5 Families will fall apart
a Only have to look in the paper
i Killings by chidren of their parents, brothers killing brothers¡K
ii Children divorcing their parents
iii Courts taking children from parents
b Children Abuse, Parent Abuse, Elder Abuse
c Separation ¡V dissent ¡V Dr. Laura months before her mother was found dead in her apartment
d One parent households
e Absent Fathers
6 There will be times of ¡§admonination that causes desolation¡¨ in Jerusalem
a
b End of the time of the Gentiles¡¨ 1945?
7 This is not the end but the Beginnings of birth pains
C Urgent message but don¡¦t worry
1 The signs are all here and so you would think the time is ripe and yet¡K
a Even the Jehovah’s Witnesses have changed their minds but when the end will come. After warning for decades that the world would END within this present generation, THE leaders OF THE sect announced in December 1995 that THEy have sOFtened THEir position. As a spokesman explained, "Jesus said that ’this generation will not pass away’ until a number OF signs have taken place (Mark 13:30). When we reflected on THE scriptures, we decided that he was talking about his generation raTHEr than ours.¡¨ John Dart, "Jehovah’s Witnesses Abandon END-OF-THE-WORLD Prediction," Religious News Service 1 December 1995, PresbyNet, p. 3318.
i What that means, OF course, is that THE Jehovah’s Witnesses are now like many OF THE rest OF us. We have grown relaxed in our anticipation for THE END OF THE WORLD. We come become complacent to the signs.
ii THE New Testament was written by a church that lived on tiptoe, always watching for THE imminent return OF Jesus Christ. As time passed, THE urgency cooled. As one generation after anoTHEr passed away, THE church found it difficult to maintain much enthusiasm for THE END OF THE WORLD.
b The signs have been present in every generation and while it Does seem to be a increase in intensity ¡V we do not have any reason to assume that it will be today or will be in this generation
i While we may not be able to tell the day or hour, Jesus gave us many signs whereby we can tell the time is near at hand. Over 300 scriptures in the N.T. alone point to his return. [If there were 300 signposts in 27 miles saying "Dallas Ahead", you¡¦d be a fool not to believe it was getting near.]
ii we need anticipate it, see if with urgency
iii for this is my and your one opportunity =- you see it doesn¡¦t really matter when the ¡§end of the world comes¡¨ ¡V what matters is the limitations of your life time. You see you only have this one life, this one chance to accept promise of eternal life. You only have this lifetime in which to accept Christ ¡V and you don¡¦t know when that lifetime is going to end either.
iv Your family and friends only have this lifetime, this opportunity - there is a real sense of urgency - the signs are real, people need to make a decision for Christ, we need to tell them before its too late ¡V but Jesus said you don¡¦t have to do it alone.
2 Holy spirit was ushered in with these days that
a Witness to others
b Right words
c Testimony to the persecutors
3 ¡§You will be saved¡¨ when Christ comes
4 But don¡¦t worry you won¡¦t know it for the bible says there will be signs in heaven
a Jesus will come down in cloud from heaven
b It will be so obvious that even the scoffers and unbelievers will mourn for they will see the truth
c The Second Coming of Christ will not be hidden it will be revealed
III Closing
A Children at the Window - There is a story told by Dr. Joseph Stowell, President of Moody Bible Institute, as he visited a home for mentally handicapped children. While walking through the corridors, he noticed that the windows were covered with tiny little hand prints. He asked the director, what they were all about. The director replied, "The children here love Jesus and they¡¦re so eager for Him to return that they lean against the windows as they look up to the sky."
B I suspect there are a lot of finger prints on our windows as we look out on life, as we reflect on our lives but I wonder but I wonder is that because we are busy looking around or is it because we looking eagerly to the sky for the second coming of Christ.
C BLESSING Let your life reflect the knowing of the signs for their purpose is not to scare you, worry you but prod you to living life out in the fullness of Christ to prod you to tell others that the end is near for them, they must make a choice, they need Jesus. May we not focus on the signs but on Christ.
