“What I Know About the End Times”
11/19/2006
“As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples came along and wanted to take him on a tour of the various Temple buildings. But he told them, "All these buildings will be knocked down, with not one stone left on top of another!" "When will this happen?" the disciples asked him later, as he sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. "What events will signal your return and the end of the world?" Jesus told them, "Don’t let anyone fool you. For many will come claiming to be the Messiah and will lead many astray. When you hear of wars beginning, this does not signal my return; these must come, but the end is not yet. The nations and kingdoms of the earth will rise against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in many places. But all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come. "Then you will be tortured and killed and hated all over the world because you are mine, and many of you shall fall back into sin and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and lead many astray. Sin will be rampant everywhere and will cool the love of many. But those enduring to the end shall be saved. "And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it, and then, finally, the end will come.
"So, when you see the horrible thing (told about by Daniel the prophet) standing in a holy place (Note to the reader: You know what is meant!), then those in Judea must flee into the Judean hills. Those on their porches must not even go inside to pack before they flee. Those in the fields should not return to their homes for their clothes. "And woe to pregnant women and to those with babies in those days. And pray that your flight will not be in winter, or on the Sabbath. For there will be persecution such as the world has never before seen in all its history and will never see again. "In fact, unless those days are shortened, all mankind will perish. But they will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen people. "Then if anyone tells you, ’The Messiah has arrived at such and such a place, or has appeared here or there,’ don’t believe it. For false Christs shall arise, and false prophets, and will do wonderful miracles so that if it were possible, even God’s chosen ones would be deceived. See, I have warned you.”
Matt 24:1-25 (Living)
As I was praying about what to share with you this morning, for some reason I felt like God wanted me to talk about the end times. I don’t preach much on the end times because there is so much that is open to interpretation and so many people have such different ideas. And that’s okay. You can be a good Nazarene and believe Jesus is coming before the tribulation, after the tribulation, in the middle of the tribulation or some other time. What we can agree on and what our manual says is this:
XV. Second Coming of Christ
19. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again; that we who are alive at His coming shall not precede them that are asleep in Christ Jesus; but that, if we are abiding in Him, we shall be caught up with the rising saints to meet the Lord in the air, so that we shall ever be with the Lord.
I think we can all agree with that, can’t we. We are free to disagree on many ideas about the second coming of the Lord, but we can agree on that.
Through the years I have read a number of books on the second coming from Hal Linsey’s “The Late Great Planet Earth” to “Christians will go through the Tribulation : and How to Prepare for it” by James M. McKeever, and consequently I have held most of the popular views at one time or another. I lean toward Christians going through the tribulation and preparing for it – but I pray I’m wrong and we will all be gloriously raptured before the 7 years of tribulation. As I study the Scripture I can’t quite believe that – but I hope I’m wrong.
Many people believe we are in the end times right now. Some quote the Mayan and Hopi Indian calendar which has the end of time on 12-21-2012. Nostradamus had the end coming October 23rd 2005. Jesus said,
"Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When her branch is tender and the leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is almost here. Just so, when you see all these things beginning to happen, you can know that my return is near, even at the doors. Then at last this age will come to its close. "Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words remain forever. But no one knows the date and hour when the end will be--not even the angels. No, nor even God’s Son. Only the Father knows.” Matt 24:32-36 (Living)
I think I will believe Jesus, don’t you? We can’t know the day or the hour – but we can know the season – and it’s fall isn’t it? Or in other words, the season we are in is the end times. How can we know that? Take a look at just about any days headlines. You will read about
Super volcanoes, mega tsunamis, disease and plagues, earthquakes, hurricanes, war and nuclear weapons, biological and chemical warfare, black holes, asteroid impact, terrorism, alien invasion, spirits and ghost to name just a few things.
Jesus said,
"The world will be at ease --banquets and parties and weddings--just as it was in Noah’s time before the sudden coming of the Flood; people wouldn’t believe what was going to happen until the Flood actually arrived and took them all away. So shall my coming be.” Matt 24:37-39 (Living)
So one thing I know for sure about the end times is that it will take most people by surprise. Things will be pretty much normal; people will be doing what they have always done. People will be planning that wedding, going to Christmas parties, and graduations- when – BAM! Like lightning striking – Jesus will appear. So we need to be prepared. Jesus said,
"So be prepared, for you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. "Just as a man can prevent trouble from thieves by keeping watch for them, so you can avoid trouble by always being ready for my unannounced return.”
Matt 24:42-44 (Living)
If you knew that Jesus was coming soon – what would you do? Suppose the Mayas nailed it and Jesus did come on December,21 2012. What would you do to prepare for it? Peter wrote:
“The day of the Lord is surely coming, as unexpectedly as a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the heavenly bodies will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be burned up. And so since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives we should be living!” 2 Peter 3:10-11 (Living)
There are a few things I would do if I believed that Jesus was going to come back soon. First of all, I would do my best to live a holy and godly life.
Do you think that Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life” and “Purpose Driven Church” may be one way God is getting us ready for His return? Remember what our very first purpose is? It’s to get to know God and love Him.
I don’t know about you, but one of the important things on my agenda each day is to get to know God a little better. How do I do that? First, I get into His Word every day and read it. I read to get a word from God to me each day. What is He saying to me today? But I also read to get to know my Savior a little better. And He does reveal Himself to me in wonderful ways.
One way, this last week, was as I was reading and having my devotional time, I happened to read Hebrews 1:9 that God anoints with the “oil of joy”. Other versions say “Oil of gladness”. I want that – don’t you? I want to be anointed with the oil of joy. I picture in my mind a giddy heart and laugher bubbling over. I know that heaven is going to be a place of joy – but do you believe we can be anointed with the oil of joy right now? I do. I believe that God revealed to me that He wants to do that. So I prayed for it and prayed for God to anoint my family and to anoint you with that oil of gladness. We know that trials will come. We know temptation will strike at us. We know we need struggles to grow – but don’t you think a little joy is okay from time to time?
Nearly every day God reveals a little more about Himself and we get to know Him a little better – if we want to- if we will invest the time to get to know Him. Read God’s Word and discover God. Let Him reveal Himself to you.
Another way to get to know God a little better is prayer. I don’t know about you – but I am a busy man. I have to MAKE time to pray if I want to pray. Of course I talk to God throughout the day. I lift up continual prayers to Him – but I think we need to make time to spend a few minutes each day talking to our Friend; talking to our beloved Father; communicating with our Savior. He wants us to talk to Him about what’s going on in our heads and in our lives. He already knows – but He wants us to talk about our dreams and desires and aspirations. He wants us to tell Him about our failures and disappointments. He wants us to seek His help and strength. He is only too willing to give it – if we just ask.
If I knew Jesus was coming soon – I would do everything I could to get closer to Him. I would do everything I could to get to know Him more and more. I would do all I could to walk in obedient love with Him.
Secondly, I would do everything I could to get others prepared. I would warn them. I would try to bring them to Jesus. One of my personal goals is to invite at least one person to Church or to share the gospel with at least one person each week. I try to keep open to the leading of the Holy Spirit every day. I try to plant seed every day. But above that – I have a goal to bring someone each week to a place of decision. I have to do it on purpose. I have to plan on it. I want to go to heaven – and I want to take as many people as I can with me.
I remember when I was in Bible College, my older brother, Fritz, went to some revival meeting or evangelistic meeting that really impacted him. The speaker asked the question, “If you knew Jesus was coming this week – how would you spend your life.” He decided he wanted to spend it witnessing to people. So he took me with him, a little reluctantly, to the city park and to bars and wherever sinners gathered. And we would share the four spiritual laws with them. I don’t remember winning any to the Lord, but he did. At the least we presented the gospel to a lot of people. Some of them were drunk and some were angry and some were unresponsive. But it will be fun when we get to heaven to see what happened to some of that seed.
After Jesus talked about the second coming in Matthew Chapter 24 and told us to be prepared, he went on into the 25th chapter of Matthew and shared 3 important parables. The first one was the parable of the ten virgins. Five were prepared and five weren’t. The virgins obviously represent the church. The point is that we need to be prepared and if we aren’t – we will be shut out of the party.
The second parable is the story of the talents and the point was that we need to use what God has given us. If we do – Jesus said we will hear Him say to us,
"Good work…. You are a good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over this small amount, so now I will give you much more.’”
Matt 25:23 (Living)
The point is that whether we have been gifted with a lot or just a little – we need to use it. The third parable is the parable of the goats and the sheep. The goats represent rebellion and the sheep represent those who love Him. Those who use their lives to do His will and use their lives to minister to others hear:
"Then I, the King, shall say to those at my right, ’Come, blessed of my Father, into the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes; naked and you clothed me; sick and in prison, and you visited me.’
"Then these righteous ones will reply, ’Sir, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you anything to drink? Or a stranger, and help you? Or naked, and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ "And I, the King, will tell them, ’When you did it to these my brothers, you were doing it to me!’” Matt 25:34-40 (Living)
The point is that when we serve others – we are really serving Christ. One of the things I notice is that those on the right don’t even notice much what they are doing. It’s no big deal. It’s just an expression of who they are. Because of the love in their heart they feed people; they help people; they visit the sick and those in jail. They aren’t doing it for any great reward. They are doing it because they love the Lord.
If I believed Jesus was coming soon – I would do all I could to be His hands and feet in a fallen world. I would allow Him to use my voice and my heart.
Jesus IS coming soon. Will He find you ready? Will you be prepared? No matter when you think He may be coming back – be prepared.
First, work on your relationship with him. Learn more about Jesus and learn to love Him.
Secondly, share Him with others. Save as many from the fire as you can.
Third, Be His hands, heart and voice in your world. Serve others joyfully.
He IS coming back. He said,
“There are many homes up there where my Father lives, and I am going to prepare them for your coming. When everything is ready, then I will come and get you, so that you can always be with me where I am. If this weren’t so, I would tell you plainly.” John 14:2 (Living)
Let’s pray:
Thank you, Jesus, for promising to come back for us. Thank you for preparing a place in heaven for me. Forgive me for any rebellion or resistance in my heart. Make me pure and holy and pleasing to you. And help me to share you with others. Help me to serve others. I want you to use my hands and voice. Work through me. Help me to bear much fruit for you.
In Jesus Name.
