What On Earth Is Going On?
Sunday, March 13, 2011
End-Times Series : Sermon One
[VIDEO]
TEXT: Matthew 24:3-14 ; 21-22 ; 27; 29-44
Luke 21:9-11; 25-33
[VIDEO]
INTRODUCTION
In his book, "A Tale of Two Cities", Charles Dickens wrote...
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."
Does that not fit the world that we live in today?
"Best of times" when it comes to technological advancement and conveniences...
"Worst of times" when it comes to the moral and spiritual fabric of society...
Right now, we're living through some of the worst economics we've seen in our lifetime...and not just nationally, but internationally!
We continue to experience more and more natural disasters...increased frequency of events...AND increased devastation...
This tragedy in Japan follows on the heels of tragedies in New Zealand, Chile, and Haiti just over the last year...
Unexplained deaths to thousands of birds and fish recently...
More and more new diseases we've never known before, and a return of some old diseases we thought medicine had conquered!
So you ask..."WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON?"
Your Bible speaks about these times we're living in right now...and calls it "The end of the age"!
NOTE: You and I are living in the last days of human history!
Matthew 24:3-4a, "Now as [Jesus] sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately saying...'what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?' "...and Jesus began telling them how it would be...
Someone would say, 'Oh Pastor, we've seen times like these before...this too shall pass...no need to be alarmed!'
Well, as a child of God, you'd be partly right...no need to be alarmed, but we would do well to BE ALERT!
Luke 21:28, "Now when these things BEGIN to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near"(Jesus)
But on the other hand, there are things that have happened over the last century that in fact ARE different from times before!
Matthew 24:34, and also in Luke 21:32...
"Assuredly I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place"(Jesus)
SO WHAT MAKES THE TIMES YOU AND I LIVE IN DIFFERENT?
That's what I want us to look at this morning!
The Sands in the Hour-Glass of the End-Times began on May 14, 1948!
Matthew 24:32-35
[EXPOUND..."the fig tree" relates to the nation of Israel...]
Other Bible Verses related to the "Fig Tree"...
Judges 9:10 (Verses 7-15 is called 'The Parable of The Trees')
"Then the trees said to the fig tree, you come and reign over us!"
Proverbs 27:18, "Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit: so he who waits on his master will be honored"
Hosea 9:10, "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season..."
Joel 2:22, "...and the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their strength"
These verses are speaking about more than just "agriculture"!
Hosea and Joel, both being prophets, were speaking prophetically!
Before May 14th, 1948, the nation of Israel had been non-existent for over 2,000 years...
The Jewish people were scattered among the nations of the earth with no homeland...the Hebrew language was nearly extinct...
Bible Prophecy concerning Israel and the Jews in the Last Days...
A) The Jewish People Re-gathered Back to Their Homeland:
Isaiah 11:11-12, "It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left...He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth"
---Fulfillment: Began in the early 1900's, and continues today!
B) The Nation of Israel Re-established:
Isaiah 66:7-8, "Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a male child. Who has heard such things? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children"
Ezekiel 37:21-22, "Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel..."
---Fulfillment: May 14, 1948
C) The Jews Re-Occupy Jerusalem:
Zechariah 8:4-8, "Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets...If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, will it also be marvelous in My eyes? says the Lord of Hosts. Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; I will bring them back, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness"
---Fulfillment: June 7, 1967
D) The Hebrew Language Revived:
Zephaniah 3:9, "For then I will restore to the people a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord"
---Fulfillment: Beginning in the 19th Century and continues today
E) The Nations of the World Coming Against Israel over the control of
Jerusalem:
Zechariah 12:2-3, "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness(rage) to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all the peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it"
---Fulfillment: Happening right now!
And what did Jesus say in MATTHEW 24:34?
"Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place"
[EXPOUND]
Since May 14, 1948, God's Prophetic Time-Table has sped-up Exponentially!
You and I are living in the most exciting times of Human History...the END TIMES...
The End of The Age...the Age just before Jesus returns to planet earth!
[EXPOUND]
Let's Go Back to Our Text in Matthew 24, and break-down the various signs of the times we're living in right now...
Matthew 24:6-7
"...wars and rumors of wars...nation will rise against nation...kingdom against kingdom..."
[EXPOUND...the upheaval just in 2011...governments collapsing...Egypt,
Lybia...the total unrest in that region...radical muslim takeovers...]
In just about every war and skirmish that's going on around the world today, radical Islam is behind it!
Why is that?
It's Not the Hatfields & McCoys, but close!
It's a Feud between Half-Brothers, Isaac and Ishmael!
-They shared the same father: Abraham
-Different moms...Isaac/Sarah(Jewish), Ishmael/Hagar(Egyptian)...
-Isaac was pure-bred Jew...Ishmael was a half-breed (Arab nation)
-Isaac was the "child of promise" who was in the blood-line
of Jesus Christ
-Ishmael, you could say, was the "step-child"!
You'll remember, Abraham tried to help God out while waiting for
the child of promise, by fathering Ishmael through Hagar...
God's Promise was to Abraham and Sarah, NOT Abraham and Hagar!
Genesis 16
Genesis 17:18-21
[Back to Matthew 24:7]
"...famines...pestilences...earthquakes..."
Famine: Extended Draughts...Shortage of Food Supplies worldwide...
Pestilences: Rogue pests...locusts, killer bees...
Unexplained death of scores of birds and fish recently...
Disease...the AIDS epidemic...
Resurgence of leprosy and other diseases...
Out of Control Diabetes...
New Diseases: Bird Flu, Swine Flu...
Earthquakes: Listen to these statistics...
-According to the U.S. Geological Survey Information Center:
-Total Recorded Earthquakes Worldwide from 2000-2011 = 296,220*
*Beginning in 2009, the USGS no longer keeps track of any quake
under 4.5 on the Richter scale!
-Earthquakes over 5.0 since 2000 = 17,934
Again, the frequency and magnitude continues to increase...
[EXPOUND]
Luke 21:25-26
"...signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars..."
[EXPOUND]
"...the sea and the waves roaring..." (Tsunami's?)
[EXPOUND...I never knew about Tsunamis until recent years...]
What is a 'Tsunami'?
-It's a series of huge waves that occur as the result of a violent
underwater disturbance, such as an earthquake or volcanic
eruption
-The waves travel in all directions from the epicenter of the
disturbance
-The waves may travel in the open sea as fast as 450 miles
per hour...
As they travel in the open ocean, tsunami waves are not particularly
large, making it difficult to detect them...
But as these waves approach shallow waters along the coast, their
velocity is slowed and they consequently grow to a great height
before crashing into the shoreline...they can potentially be as tall as
100 feet
The waves of the 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean reached 30 feet!
Eleven countries bordering the Indian Ocean were effected by that
event...the ripples even touched the east coast of the USA!
Going all the way back to Noah and also the Exodus story, you'll see that God always uses weather and nature to get mankind's attention!
Another thing to Note...God always raises up a prophet and a voice to warn of His impending Judgement (He's not willing that any perish)!
Go back with me to the book of Matthew...
Matthew 24:21-22
[EXPOUND...Weapons of Mass Destruction...Annihilation...etc...]
SO WHAT'S NEXT ON GOD'S TIME-TABLE?
"THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH"!!
Someone would say, but Pastor, in Matthew 24:36, Jesus says,
"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only"
That's right!
But we can know "THE SEASON" we're living in!!
Listen to the words of Jesus...
Luke 21:28, "Now when these things BEGIN to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near"!
Matthew 24:33, Jesus speaking again,
"So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near---at the doors!"
NOTE: Jesus took time to give us all the signs pointing to the end of the
age...He wanted us to recognize "the season"!!
The Last Thing I want to talk about is "The Rapture of the Church" and "The Second Coming of Christ"...
NOTE: When we speak of "The Rapture" and "The Second Coming", we are speaking of two different events!
And let me say this:
As far as we can tell at this point, there is no prophecy needing to be fulfilled before "The Rapture" takes place...
It could literally be at any time!
So, what is "The Rapture" of the Church?
It's the catching away of the Church of Jesus Christ...taken up from earth to heaven...
It's that event when the dead in Christ will be raised first, and we that are alive and remain will meet them and Jesus in the clouds to be escorted to heaven!
You won't find the actual word, "Rapture" in your Bible...it's a word that the Church has ascribed to "the event" for the purpose of brevity!
"The Rapture" is that event that takes place just prior to the seven-year period referred to as "The Great Tribulation"...
And, what is "The Second Coming of Jesus Christ"?
"The Second Coming" is that event that takes place at the end of "The Great Tribulation", when Jesus comes back to earth to set up His Millennial Kingdom on THIS earth!
RAPTURE:
Matthew 24:36-44
[EXPOUND]
Matthew 25:1-13
[EXPOUND]
1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11
[EXPOUND]
SECOND COMING:
Revelation 19:11-20:6
[EXPOUND]
So, "What On Earth Is Going On?"
Jesus is getting ready to come for His Church!
I'm not looking for the Undertaker...I'm looking for the Uppertaker!
I'm not looking for the Anti-Christ...I'm looking for Jesus Christ!
As we close,
Luke 21:34-36
[EXPOUND]
If "The Rapture" takes place today, tonight, next week...
ARE YOU GOING?
