The Domino Effect

We're going to see from God's word today just how relevant this ancient text, the Bible, is with the modern things you get to read every morning. Let's read Luke 21:25 and following. "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars: and on the earth, distress of nations. With perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring. Men's hearts failing them for fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on earth. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near". Let's pray:

Heavenly Father, today we come together today thankful to God that you have put us on the earth for such a time as this. As we have seen the signs of the times, we do not hang our heads in despair, but we rejoice with exceedingly great joy, knowing that our God reigns, he sits upon the throne, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Today fill us with conviction and boldness to share the message of your gospel with the ends of the earth: that those who do not know and have not received your son might hear of him and accept him today as their Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, we pray. And all of God's children said, amen.

All of my life, I have been fortunate to grow up in a church where the Word of God was not only preached and taught, but it was believed. And so all of my life, I have heard my pastor speak about the end times and the coming of Jesus Christ. But I have also heard throughout my life individuals filled with cynicism start to question whether or not the preacher was right. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:1-4, these are Peter's words in a letter that he wrote to the New Testament church. He's speaking to believers. He says, "I write to you to stir up your minds", I'm trying to keep you sharp, is what he's saying, "Knowing that there will come in the last days", when will they come? The last days, "Individuals (scoffers), saying, 'where is the promise of his coming?'"

Each and every one of us are familiar with the thing that happens when somebody decides they're going to take out several dominoes and they're going to line them up in a certain configuration. And then they start a chain reaction by touching one on one end, and they all begin to fall after they collide one end to the other. Well, when you take the signs of the times concerning what should happen in the world that we live in order for the antichrist to come to power and in order for Jesus Christ to come and establish his kingdom, you'll recognize that we are not very far from somebody just touching one of the dominoes and everything coming together. Today we're going to see from our culture, our economy, our politics, and the spiritual condition of our church, all things working together to see God's plan come to pass.

We first look at Daniel 12:4. Here is what God told Daniel after they had a prophetic conversation. God said, "But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end". When was he supposed to seal it? Until the time of the end. And he said these are the signs that we're at the end. One, "Men will run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase". Now, when I was married and my wife at the time told me we were expecting a baby, I did not look for the child until the nine-month term of gestation began. I did not know when the baby would be born until the hour he took his first breath. Now along the way, I knew we were headed towards something. You need to know that the world we live in went into the labor and delivery room in 1948.

People say, "What happened in 1948"? The first domino that we see introduced into the equation is the most significant prophetic sign other than the birth of Jesus Christ on earth. It is the birth of a nation, the birth of Israel. In 1948, the answer to the question that Isaiah asked became reality. Isaiah asked a question, "Has anyone seen such a thing? Shall the earth be caused to give birth"? In Isaiah 66, he says, "Shall a nation be born in a day"? The second sign of the time, the next domino to come into effect, the next birth pain, is nuclear weapons. There's a question that is asked in the Bible by prophet Zechariah when he describes a plague. In Zechariah 14, he describes the plague. He says, "This plague is going to strike people". He says, "Their flesh is going to fall off their bones. Their eyes are going to be consumed in their sockets. And their tongues will melt in their mouths before their bodies can hit the ground".