Understanding the End Times: Signs of Christ's Return Week 1

So, how is everybody today? We're okay. We're great. All right. You know, I I there's been so many things happening throughout uh the past few weeks that I think I prayed about it. And the message tonight is going to be a little bit off from what we normally do in talking about our church and the things that we need to do as a church member. How many I'm going to say a name and you probably already know who I'm going to be talking about, okay? But Charlie Kirk and my prayer goes to his wife and family. Uh, but all the talk surrounding this gentleman, I thought I'd kind of take a break a little bit from what we normally discuss and talk a little bit about some of the things that I notice that's going on.

And by the way, we need to be careful where we're getting our news from, okay? because we've got such so many people putting out all kinds of opinions about not just Charlie but everything else that's going on in this world. And so we really need to be careful on how we are deciphering what's being out what's what's being put out there. I couldn't help but notice the differing opinions among those who are discussing the events leading up to and the assassination and after the assassination of Charlie. So many different things going on there. Opinions on the poor handling of the investigation of his assassination, opinions about the inappropriate reactions that are happening.

uh some even got to a point where they lost their jobs because their inappropriate response to the assassination. So there's so many things going on there. Most of these opinions I notice are reaction to something that happened concerning Charlie and his and his what he's been doing. But one of the things that really kind of caused me to kind of talk about this tonight, our message tonight, is the fact that when I see the responses of people even in the news, even our great leaders um both in the religious side and the government side and how they respond. I was kind of taken aback on how most of them not all of them but most of them are kind of surprised about where we are as a society as a country and where we are heading towards that kind of surprised me and so my goal tonight is not really I'm I'm going to talk about I think we need to consider what scripture says what our Lord Jesus Christ says is about where we are and what is to come.

We as Christians should not be too surprised on where the world is and where the world is heading as a society, as a country, even in the global international uh arena. So tonight we will examine our Lord's explanation to his disciples about how to understand what's coming towards the end end times. And it's important that we kind of understand that so we can prepare ourselves and know what is coming. And so tonight, I I would invite you to examine with me the book of Matthew, chapter 24, and we're going to be in verses 3 to 14 and then in verse 31 as well. And then we'll dive into some of the points that I think we need to keep in mind as we prepare ourselves on what's to come.

So in starting in verse three of Matthew chapter 24, the Bible says, "And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?" And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For the nation, for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquake in diverse places.

All these are the beginning of sorrows. In other words, this is where there is more to come. Where is calamity to come? This is the beginning. So, it shouldn't be surprising to us that what we are seeing here today is not going to get better. It's going to get worse. Verse nine, then shall they deliver you up to the afflicted to be afflicted and shall kill you and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. When I got to this verse, I thought of Charlie. Verse 11. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. And he shall jump to verse 31. And the Bible says here in verse 31, "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from the end of heaven to the other." Father, Lord, thank you so much again for your holy word. It is indeed a passage that is most enlightening to most of us who believe and most of us who know about your word and read.

And I pray Lord that you would grant me clarity as we dive into this passage so that we may know the explanations of what to come and so that we may know what our purpose here on earth is and to prepare for what is to come. Father, we love you. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. In the entire Bible, I can tell you this. In the entire Bible, this passage is a very powerful passage that shows us the signs and the hints of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it shows the im the the imminency that is found in our text. Matthew chapter 24 as we examine our passage. These are the very words of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

Now, let's look at some of these signs that he was explaining to his disciples about the end that Jesus himself warned us to be on the lookout for. He said signs that he said would come to pass just before his second coming and the end of the world as we know it. In verse three of our text, he said and as he sat upon the mount of olives, the disciples came and they of course they asked and in verse five, this is what he said. He he gives the the first hint, his first tip. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall dis and shall deceive many. As a time of Christ returns or draws near his second coming, we will see more and more individuals who would claim to be Christ.

Are you seeing any of these today? don't answer. But I think that's a good sign. If you don't know, then that means you're really not, you know, paying attention out there. But there are I don't know where this number comes from, but there there's this one Christian leader who said since 1900 over,00 people have claimed to be Christ. That's a lot. But there have been scores of people in this century alone who claim to be the Messiah. in the inner circles or the majority of the ev evangelical uh Christians, they believe that all of this will eventually culminate into the appearance of the one final antichrist was mentioned in 1 John 2:18.

Let's go there. I'll read it to you. Little children, it is the last time as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come. And even now are there many antichrist whereby we know that it is the last time. We live in a time in which instant simple little happenings events can permeate permeate the entire world through social media. So if you consider history, we are living in a time where it just provides so much through media for these false prophets, preachers to put out their agenda. That is why I was telling you earlier when I first started that you be you need to be careful where you're getting your your news from, who you're following.

But very soon a false Christ will widely be accepted in the worldwide scale. And that is very scary. And I see that already happening. Verse 11 and 12 of our text. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. You know what that means? Iniquity shall abound. lawlessness, unrighteousness abounding in our world and it is scary but it is and is becoming the norm. The love of many shall wax cold. See, because of these trials and persecutions from without and those uh with the false prophets from within, the love of many uh many to Christ and and his doctrine and to one another shall grow cold.

I don't know you, but if that's what's happening out there, I want to be in here. I want to be in here with God's people. Some openly discerning the faith. You'll find that in verse 10 of our our passage and others corrupting it in verse 11. And others growing indifferent about it in verse 12 of our passage. There are many today who hold Christian doctrine, believe it or not, who believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven. that the bi that the Bible is God inspired and inherent word of God, but yet they do not have the love of God in their hearts. You know, I I I think the past few Wednesdays I talk about the importance of coming together to exhorting one another to showing love because we have a God of love.

We are currently studying the book of John on Monday nights. We we recently studied chapter 13. And in John 13:35, Jesus says this, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if you have love one to another." I cannot overemphasize the importance of showing love to your brothers and sisters because it's not just for you and I. the world who is looking in will know that we are a children of God. And and this I mean a gothy love the the the kind of love that does not require reciprocity doesn't require a reaction. You love because you love God. Turn to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7 21-23.

I think this if if you really read and understand this could be one of the most scariest passages in the Bible. In it, Jesus says this, "Not everyone that said unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven. Many will say to me, in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works?" Verse 23. And then will I profess unto you, I will I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Among our Christian circles, there are people that are not of the same belief.

You think they're doing the word of the Lord, the work of the Lord, but you, you know, this is not for you and I. this is for Christ. He's going to make the decision. He's going to say, "You know what? I never knew you." But it's scary to me because you don't want to be on that side. You don't want to be thinking you're doing the work of the of God, but you're not. You're you're not the self motiv it is a self motivation that you're doing. You've got the wrong motivation. Love for others, including our enemies, is the shest indication that we are true disciples of Christ. It is so easy to start saying, you know what, let it let us judge the shooter and his family, the guy who killed Charlie.

I'm not saying that he did he he was, you know, I'm not downplaying what the shooter did. But we are to love. We are to love. And and I'm not going to judge. That is for God to do. In verse 6 through eight of our passage, Jesus gives us another clue. He says, "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. All these things are the beginning of sorrows. When it start to happen, it is not going to get better, folks.

If you are surprised that we are in a world in which people are killing people and you're shocked, perhaps you need to open up the Bible more often. Because Christ is telling us that it's going to get worse. It's going to get worse. Is historians they all agree that the 20th century was unparalleled scale of its human misery created by other humans. No period has witnessed the escalation of wars as the 20th century. The Red Cross estimated that over 100 million have been killed in war since the 20th century began. And this is not including genocide of Russians opposed to Stalin or or the D Jews who were exterminated during the Holocaust.

Up until 1914, war has never been universal. But in both World War I and World War II, total war was waged. Since World War II, there have been numerous major wars and hundreds of rebellions and revolutions through this world. The death toll in conflicts since the end of World War II has topped over 23 million. Think about that for a minute. See, Jesus also predicted in verse 7, "And there shall be famines and pestilences, diseases, epidemics, and earthquakes in diverse places. On March 27, 1964, the magnitude 9.2 Good Friday earthquake occurred in Prince William Sound region of Alaska and the most powerful recorded in US history."

and second in the the largest in the world. This earthquake was so powerful that it got it caused so much damage, devastating tsunami, casualties and destructions affecting South Central Alaska, Crescent City, California, coastal areas of Oregon. That the event triggered landslides and actually changed the geography of those regions. See, 30 years since the great Alaska earthquake, there have been many major earthquakes in the entire previous 2,000 years of world history. Now, some say, you know what, just because we have more better tracking systems. I don't know. But if if you look at what we have now, it shows a trend.

It's not getting better. only 21 earthquakes of major strength between the years of 1,00 and 1800. But between 1800 and 1900 there were 18 major earthquakes in in the next and in the next 50 years between 1900 to 1950 there were 33 m major earthquakes. Between 1950 and 1991, there were 93 major earthquakes, almost tripling the the the number of previous half century, claiming lives of over 1.3 million people around the world. And it's going to get worse. I still remember the tsunami in this primarily Muslim Buddhist in Hindu uh of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Somalia. I was here watching it on TV.

How many of you remember the tsunami in 2011 in Japan? actually met some people who were there. And there shall be famines and pestilences. Don't get me started on HIV and AIDS. In 1993, AIDS became the leading cause of death uh for US males between the ages of 20 and 45. There are so many different plagues that are happening virtually unheard of. Our ancestors over 100, we have over 100 different kinds of cancers now killing people. Over five million people every year. How many of you donate to St. Jude? I'm just kind of you don't have to show your hand, but children dying of cancer. Epidemics of typhoid, dtheria, and even the black death have affected areas of India and the former Soviet Union.

There are deadly new strains of malaria, TB and cholera. I remember some years ago back in in the Micronesian Islands, Colorado hit. A lot of people got sick and some died. I hate to be the bearer of good uh bad news, but I have to say this. Go to go to verse nine of our passage. On top of all of this, then shall they deliver you up to the to be afflicted and shall kill you, and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. Christians will be persecuted. They will be hated. They will be killed. The world we live in will get worse, folks. So I guess the question for you tonight is this. Maybe this is not a question for everybody, but are we really near the end times?

Christ has actually given us some hints. We ought to consider his signs in this passage. Bible doesn't tell us where exactly. He doesn't God does not give us a date and time. But he gives us hints, signs. So let us consider these signs. I say we're pretty close. Could be wrong. So what do we do about it? Verse 13 and 14 of our passage says this. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. You know what we need to be doing right now while we're here on earth?

Preach the gospel. Mark 16:15. You all know this. And he said unto them, "Go ye into the world and preach the gospel to every creature." In Matthew 28:19, "Go ye therefore teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. We believe in the pre-tribulation rapture." I just have to mention this a little bit where one day Christ will come for his people before his second coming. In 1 Thessalonians 4 chapter 16-1 17 the Bible says this. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout and the with and with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first those who have already passed.

Then we which are still alive and remain shall be caught up in together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. and so shall we ever be with the Lord as rapture. Different from the second coming. Jump down to verse 31 of our passage. I'm going to read this, but before I do, I just painted a very bleak, hopeless kind of picture for the world. In verse 31, he said, ' And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together in his elect, I mean, together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. That is when he's mobilizing his angels and his army to return to be king Jesus.

That is the second coming description. The hope that you and I ought to have is this will be raptured before the tribulation. You know those people that he talking about in verse 31, his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other, they're going to they're going to ride in with Christ on his second coming. You know who those people are in the white robes behind him? It's you and I. Hallelujah. We're going to be part of his army. We're coming back. That's the hope that we ought to have while we're here on earth. Now, the great commission. When was the last time you spoke to somebody about the gospel of Jesus Christ?

When was the last time you handed out a track? When was the last time you were where the church members are to reach others? Get involved. Get involved. The world will get worse, but our mission here on earth is to share the gospel of Christ. You're going to see news. You're going to see people of importance die for the cause of Christ. Brothers and sisters, you, one of you may even die like Charlie did. But I look of all the concerns and people surprised that this is the world is getting worse. And I'm thinking, you know what? Open up your Bible. You know what to expect. You know how to prepare and what the hope is within your hearts.

It's not hopeless. We are on the winning side. This battle has been written. Boy, am I glad. Am I I'm I'm so glad that I'm a child of God. I'm so glad that I'm going to be in that army coming back down on the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I get so excited about it when I think about what's to come. Don't be in despair. Study up on scripture what Christ says about what is to come. Prepare yourselves. I hope this been helpful to you. Short message, but I just had to put it out because I want to make sure that you and I, brothers and sister, understand where we're going. It's not that hopeless.