"Signs of the End of the Age"

Mat 24:1- 35       Key Verse: 24:14

“And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Many stories begin, “Once upon a time,” and they finish, “The End.”  In life there are beginnings and there are endings.  There is a start to the school year and there is the end of the school year.  There is a beginning to the year, New Years Day and then there is the end of the year.  In the Bible, we find the ultimate beginning and end.  God began all things (Gen. 1:1).  But God will also end this present age.  Some believe that the end will happen in 2012 because the Mayan calendar says so.  Some think it will end through terrorists with black market nukes.  Others believe it will end through our abuse of the environment.  But the end will not happen in any of these ways.  It will end only when God decides it will end.  God says the end won’t happen until the Gospel is first preached to all nations; only then will the end come.  In light of this truth, Jesus tells us how to live.  We must watch out for false Christ’s.  We must stand firm in our faith to the end and preach the Gospel.

First, watch out that no one deceives you (1-5). 

As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His heart was broken with grief over the failure of God’s chosen people.  On the other hand, Jesus’ disciples were in awe of the temple and its buildings.  The temple towered over every building in Jerusalem and it overlooked the Kidron valley.  The temple was made of large white marble stones, and was covered with plates of pure gold.  It shone brightly in the hot Middle Eastern sun.  This temple had been rebuilt by King Herod and took decades to build.  It symbolized the cultural and religious life of the Jews.  It gave the disciples and the whole nation of Israel a sense of national pride and security. 

Look at verse 2. “‘Do you see all these things?’ He asked. ‘I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’” Jesus was not impressed with the temple.  The temple’s importance was that God established it to be a house of prayer for all nations.  It was from here that the Jewish people were to put into practice God’s vision that they become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.  But the Jewish people had rejected God’s calling and turned the temple into a den of robbers.  

The disciples should have known that the destruction of the temple was just a matter of time.  As early as the time of Solomon, when he just completed his beautiful and magnificent temple back in B.C. 946, the Lord clearly predicted the destruction of the temple.  The LORD would reject the temple, though then it was so imposing, and that he would make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples if they turned away from his command.  This took place during the Babylonian Exile.  The temple the disciples were looking at now was the rebuilt and remodeled one.  

The disciples just saw how angry their master Jesus was when he saw the corruption of the inside of the temple.  But obviously the disciples must have been shocked at the thought of temple’s destruction.  So they asked Jesus privately, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

This reveals the real problem of the disciples.   For them, the destruction of the temple was the worst thing that could happen.  So they quickly equated it with the end of the age.  They were also expecting that Jesus would come back QUICKLY to make them glorious ministers of his cabinet.  They did not know that things would become much worse ---the destruction of the temple would not be even the beginning of the beginning of the end---and that they would have to go through much pain.  They also did not know that what they were going to inherit from Jesus was far better than the honor and glory that their earthly minds could perceive.  Far better, far more glorious that even the worst possible pains would be worthwhile.  May God help us to understand this passage.  Amen. 

Look at verses 4-5. “Jesus answered, ‘Watch out that no one deceives you.”  There are already many liars and cheaters in this world.  One of our co-workers suffered because of a terrible liar who hit this co-worker’s car and yet claimed that it was not his fault and even produced false witnesses.  May God deal with this liar, but most of them can only take our possession.  But in the last days many false Christ’s would appear and false Christ’s take people’s souls.   They lead them into eternal destruction.  “For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many.’”  False Christ’s will be able to take advantage of people because people will be so fearful and yet would not give up their love of pleasure.  They refuse to be lovers of God.  They want someone who says what their itching ears want to hear.  There is a man in Florida, who claims to be the Christ; he wears sunglasses, and is decked out in gold and diamond jewelry and drives high end BMW’s.  His members have given to him their businesses and even homes in high end gated communities.  Many follow him and do these things because he tells them what they want to hear.  He tells his followers that there is no devil and sin does not exist.  Who doesn’t want to hear such things?

Second, “All these are the beginning of birth pains (6-8).

Look at verse 6.  “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.”  We hear of wars and rumors of war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. To some Islamic fundamentalist terrorists seem to be in charge.  If we think so, we become vulnerable to fear.  But that is not all; there will also be famines and earthquakes (7), even in beautiful Hawaii and far off Australia.  No place will be safe.  But Jesus says, “...see to it that you are not alarmed.”  We must overcome fear by faith in God.  God is in control of all these events.  There is God’s divine purpose in them. “The end” will come in God’s time.  All kinds of calamities serve God’s purpose and are under God’s control. 

Jesus teaches us that such sufferings are birth pains.  Look at verse 8. “All these are the beginning of birth pains.”  Birth pains are not a dreadful event, but meaningful sufferings that result in new life.  Women understand this better than men, because they are the ones who give birth.  Many mothers when they are pregnant for the first time are full of anxious thoughts about the pain of giving birth.  They often think about it the whole time they are pregnant and it becomes more pronounced the closer the day of delivery comes.  But interestingly, after her child is born and the pain is long, long gone, she no longer thinks about the pain she had to endure.  Msn. Petra shared with me that when she was pregnant with her son Theo, she was so scared to give birth to him, because of the pain she would have to endure.  But then strangely, after Theo was born and she held him for the first time she immediately thought to herself, “I want another child next year!”

Third, stand firm to the end and preach the gospel (9-14).

Most leaders tell their followers only positive things.  But Jesus spoke the truth about persecution to come.  Look at verse 9. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me.”  In the last days many God-haters arise.  They hate Jesus' people because they hate Jesus for He is holy.  I read a story yesterday, that a young man in Boston was fired after he told a female colleague he thought her impending marriage to another woman was not proper before God.  As many of you know, the state of Massachusetts made same-sex marriage legal.  This young man received a termination letter citing the company's zero-tolerance policy regarding "harassment" and "inappropriate and unprofessional" comments.  This is just a beginning.  Things will become much worse, according to Jesus.  We will be put to death, and we will be hated by all nations because of Jesus. 

Look at verses 10-11. “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.”  Persecution tests the love and commitment of Jesus’ people.  Many suddenly turn away from the faith when it becomes costly.  During times of persecution, many false prophets appear.  They teach a compromising message that avoids the cross and persecution.

Look at verse 12. “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold....” It is not easy to love others in a wicked environment.  Wicked people make use of Christian love for their own benefit and hurt those who love them.  Some of us have loved young people who turned out to be selfish pragmatists, and even enemies of the Gospel.  One family opened their home to help a desperate young man.  This young man received all the love and attention gladly and restored his spirit and ambition. However, when a young woman appealed to his romantic inclination, he ran off with her making many false charges against this family.  Such things wound us.  We understand why love grows cold.  But it doesn’t have to. 

Look at verse 13. “...but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”  To “stand firm to the end,” means to remain in the love of God no matter what happens.  Actually, the one who suffers most because of the wicked world is our Creator God.  God grieves over it.  Yet God’s love never fails.  God so loved the world that He sent His One and Only Son Jesus to us.  Jesus was treated like a criminal even though He was completely innocent and good. Jesus was mocked, spit on, flogged and nailed to a cross.  It was for our sins. On the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk. 23:34a).  God loves each one of us at the cost of His only Son’s blood.  

Though people betray and wound us, God’s love heals our sorrows and pains.  God’s love satisfies our souls and gives us true joy and peace.  God’s love enables us to love God and to love others fervently. When we stand firm in God’s love we can be happy and victorious even in the midst of wickedness.  Jesus promises that he who stands firm to the end will be saved.  We cannot let our love grow cold toward others.

Look at verse 14. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”  Jesus' people are chosen people.  They are chosen to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God.  God made a plan of world salvation.  God fulfilled his plan through his one and only Son Jesus Christ.  Now this gospel must be preached to the whole world before the end comes.  When we obey God's world salvation purpose, we are going to be persecuted.

We must understand that this persecution must come in order that the Gospel would be preached to the ends of the earth.  The Gospel is the Good News.  In a world gone crazy, we must see what God is doing.  God is carrying out his world salvation work without fail to the ends of the earth.  To Jesus these things are going to happen so that the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.  God is determined to do this.

For those who listen and repent and believe the testimony given, they will be saved, but for those who reject the testimony given, they will in turn be rejected on that terrible and dreadful day and they will have nothing to say.  This is the great mercy and grace of God to those who are still in rebellion against Him.  He sends His saints to suffer at their hands as a testimony to His immeasurable love to them and to give them the chance to hear the Gospel of Jesus and repent and turn to Him.  God uses the worst possible scenario to bring the Gospel to all people on earth.

When we suffer in this way our testimony becomes the most powerful message for people to listen to and repent and believe.  Strangely, the Roman Empire was not conquered with the Gospel because of good doctrinally convincing Sunday messages each week; nor just human zealousness.  The Gospel was accepted because the saint’s testimony even in the face of increasingly severe persecution.  It was not so much what was said as what people saw that moved them to accept the Gospel message.  They saw the Gospel living through these saints who suffered so terribly and yet returned the hatred they were receiving with God’s love and message of forgiveness.  This is how it will be in the last days, but instead of persecution happening in one city, it is going to happen throughout the earth.  Again this is because God loves fallen sinners and wants them to repent and turn back to Him before that final, fateful day when God will judge all men.

On December 26, 2004, a tsunami struck southeast Asia.  Hardest hit was Banda Aceh, Indonesia.  Muslims had been trying to make this a Muslim state for five years, cutting it off from the outside world.  According to some reports, they burned Christian churches and martyred pastors right after their Christmas service.  Then the tsunami struck–thousands died; villages disappeared.  Many Christian relief agencies came to help.  After a year, local people began to say, “Muslim leaders told us we were being punished, and did nothing.  But Christians have shown us God’s love.” Many opened 

their hearts to the Gospel.  In God, catastrophic events are opportunities to reveal God’s love.  They are also reminders that our real hope is in Heaven.

Fourth, the abomination that causes desolation (15-25).

Look at verses 15-25.  The ‘Abomination that causes desolation” will be when the man of lawlessness (antichrist) sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.  II Thes. 2:3-4 reads, “³Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. ⁴He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”

The antichrist will not just be an enemy of God Almighty, but of anything which distracts the human race from the worship of himself as the one true God.  The antichrist will wage war against the saints because they do not worship him.  So when he sets himself up in the place of God, we must flee to the mountains.  It is important to note that Gen. 22:14 says, “¹⁴So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.’”  Even though we may think we are in need of something, in truth on the mountain of the Lord we will be provided.  When we flee to the mountains God will provide everything for us.

Verse 21 reads, “²¹For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”  Jesus clearly reveals that these will be the worst days in all mankind.  When we think about the Nazi Holocaust and the ‘Killing Fields’ of Cambodia and Stalin’s purges or Mao’s ‘Cultural Revolution” and how many died because of these horrendous events, yet none of these will compare to these last days.  It will be so terrible that if God did not cut these days short no one would be left alive!

Verses 23-25 read, “²³At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. ²⁴For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. ²⁵See, I have told you ahead of time.”  The persecution will become more and more severe during the end of times.  As it becomes more and more desperate it will become harder and harder for believers to endure.  Many will be deceived, even the elect (if that were possible).  They will be hoping that Christ will come quickly and when false Christs and false prophets appear and perform great signs (not small signs, but GREAT signs), and miracles they will be deceived and think that this MUST be Christ.  False Christs will have the ability to perform GREAT signs and miracles.  DO NOT BELIEVE IT.  Why?  Because when Jesus comes again it will be unmistakable, everyone will be able to tell.

Firth, the Son of Man will appear in the sky and gather His elect (26-31).

Jesus’ second coming will be as visible as lightning in the sky.  Jesus is not going to be coming like He did the first time; as a baby in a manger, where no one recognized or knew who He was.  When Jesus comes again He will come in all His glory, power and majesty.  There will be no mistaking it.  It will be abundantly obvious.

Job 37:2-4 reads, “²Listen!  Listen to the roar of His voice, to the rumbling that comes from His mouth.   ³ He unleashes His lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth.  ⁴ After that comes the sound of His roar; He thunders with His majestic voice.  When His voice resounds, He holds nothing back.”

Look at verses 30-31.  ³⁰"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”  All unbelieving people will suddenly realize their bitter end is near. They will realize that their time to enjoy sinful pleasure is over and that now they must give up their eternal souls in return. They will go into utter misery and darkness forever, without love, peace or hope. The mourning of peoples of all nations will fill the air.  For the children of God, Jesus’ coming again is entrance into everlasting glory in heaven.  They will enter into the joy of the wedding banquet and into the eternal peace of the victorious King.  They will live forever with Him in the endless rapture that produces praise after praise.  This is our hope. This hope gives direction to our souls.  This hope is the source of strength and joy.  This hope enables us to live a holy life.

Sixth, learn this lesson from the fig tree (32-35).

Look at verses 32-35, “³²"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.  ³³Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.  ³⁴I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.  ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will never pass away.”

The fig tree is representative of Israel. (Jer. 24:5)  Israel was destroyed as a nation in AD 70.  But it was restored as a nation on May 14, 1948, about 1900 years later.  This is the new leaves that come out.  When Israel was restored as a nation, we can know that the end is near, right at the door.  We are the generation that will see Christ’s return.

Jesus wants us to learn from the fig tree.  This passage is for us.  Jesus wants us to know what to expect in the not too distant future.  He not only wants us to know what to expect, but more importantly to know what we must do.  We must stand firm to the end.  We must not allow our love to grow cold.  We must preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  Then Christ will return.

One Word: The Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world.

PAGE  

PAGE  6