Matthew 24:12-42

We're going to continue today looking at Matthew 24, and the goal is to finish that. And then sometime in the future, we'll go on through and look at what is said at the end of that chapter, and going on into Matthew 25. It's good to review these things because they're basic truths that we've understood, and they remind us of things that we all need to be aware of. And I think you'll see that there's a very clear tie-in with what Mr. Weber was presenting in his technology presentation. It is scary what's coming with technology and artificial intelligence and genes, cloning, and all of the kind of crazy things that are going on. I know we had a picture of a dog that they had a super muscular dog, and I thought, this is not going to go well. You can just see so many places where Frankenstein is potentially going to come about, but that's the world we live in, and people think they're pretty smart, and all of these things are going to end well. But when greed and selfishness and those kinds of things get in there, that usually causes things to get off the track. We ended my last sermon talking about the coming persecution on the saints, which is a daunting thing to contemplate, but we also reminded that in Romans 8 it talks about the fact that nothing can separate us from the love of God.

And even though persecution may come our way, God is walking with us and right there with us, and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. So let's pick up in Matthew chapter 24 and look at verse 12. So we'll begin in verse 12, which talks about, I think, a condition that is becoming more and more the case in the world in which we live. Matthew chapter 24 verse 12 says, And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. And sad to say, we are moving more and more toward a lawless world. And when lawlessness abounds, what kind of world do we have? Basically, it becomes a doggy dog world. All you have to, if you want to see what that's like, just go read through the book of Judges. That's where there was no king in Israel, and everybody did that which was right in their own eyes. And when you have that kind of general trend in society, that's a lawless condition, and that's the condition that was common during the time of the book of Judges, and we're moving toward such a time today. So as that happens, governmental and societal rules and legislation are disregarded, and we can see this as you listen to the news or look on the internet at the news, you can see these trends taking place. And when lawlessness abounds and no one respects the rules, you have to watch out for yourself. It becomes, as I said, a doggy adversarial world. And interestingly, as you think about that, I mentioned as we began this, looking at this, is that Christ is addressing the church. He is addressing the disciples. He's not addressing the world. And when you look at the word there, it says, the love of many will grow cold.

The word love is agape. The world is agape. And that is godly love. That is the love of God, a fruit of the Holy Spirit. So this is saying that the conditions in the world are going to become lawless, and the love of many will grow cold. So for some reason, people that maybe once had the love of God are going to lose that. You can see by looking at the first church mentioned in the book of Revelation, the Ephesus church, it talks about that they had lost their first love. So somehow that condition that they had when they started out in Christianity, they had lost that.

And Christ admonishes them, you need to recapture that. And so it tells us that it is something we can lose if we're not careful. Now, lawlessness is abounding in the world, and unfortunately, the same can be the case in the church. Even in the church, the love of many, it says, will grow cold. So we have to be careful. It's something that we need to ask ourselves, where are we at when it comes to the love of God? Do we have that first love for the church and God and His way of life that we once had? And if not, why not? Do we need to make an effort to recapture it? Because it can be recaptured if we're willing to put the time and effort into it. So it says, the love of many will wax cold. And then right on the heels of that, it says in verse 13, but he who endures to the end shall be saved. So that would seem to be your love needs to continue to the end. You need to continue bearing the fruits of the Spirit. You can't say, well, I used to have them, but I don't have them now. You've got to have them through to the end. As it says, endures to the end. And what he's talking about is not necessarily active resistance, but patient endurance. Active endurance, not just bearing under adversity, but really dealing with it in the most positive way that you can.

And enduring without breaking down whatever the circumstance. I'm not going to give up what I believe, what I know to be true, or what I'm going to practice. An individual that exemplified, I think, that think about as Daniel. Daniel was threatened with being thrown into the lion's den unless he caved in to what was demanded by his adversaries. They wanted to see his bring about his downfall, and yet he was not going to give in. He was going to continue to practice what he knew to be true, and to continue to pray to God. Because he knew that's the only reason he had survived so far, and that's the only reason he was going to endure to the end. And we must do the same thing. We must endure to the end of the age, or the end of our lives, whichever comes first.

Now verse 14 says, And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come. So somehow, as we get to the end of the age, the gospel is going to be preached. And the gospel is the message that Christ brought, and that we are to continue to preach as the church. The good news that Jesus Christ brought is the same message that we are to preach. And interestingly, it's to be preached to all nations, all of the ethnos, the different ethnic groups, and national populations that are out there. It's to be preached to the whole world. It's a prophecy, as I said, that is going to be a characteristic of the end of the age. And today, many assume the gospel will be preached to all nations, for what purpose? To convert them. That's what many people conclude. But is that the purpose for preaching the gospel? Christ tells you in what he states there why the gospel is preached. It says, it's to be a witness. It is to be a witness. That word that is used for witnesses, often translated as testimony. It is testimony. In the King James Version, that's the way it's translated 16 out of 20 times. But let's look at an interesting use of this in Matthew 8. You might keep your finger in Matthew 24 and turn over to Matthew 8. And this is interesting because this is a testimony that we see on display here, or a witness. It says in chapter 8, verse 1, When he came down from the mountain great multitudes followed him. And behold, a leper came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. And Christ said, put out his hand and touched him, saying, I am willing, be cleansed. Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. So what does he tell the leper to do? And Jesus said to him, see that you tell no one. So don't tell anybody about this, which who could avoid telling other people about it, especially if you had friends that knew you were a leper, you couldn't hardly help but tell people. So, and the reason he didn't want this to all be disclosed is because there was a time frame in which he was the Messiah and that time frame needed to be played out. And if he became too well known and too popular and the groundswell took place, that could mean that he was executed, taken and executed prematurely. So he's to tell no one, but what's he to do? He says, but go your way, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded as a testimony to them. So he was to, there was an instruction, if you were healed of leprosy, you were to go to the priest and you were to make an offering in praise to God and thanks to God for what had been done for you. But you know what? It's a testimony that was given, would be given by the man to the priest. And you know what? The priest that heard that, there's absolutely no indication that he became a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. But a testimony was given in that regard.

So all the gospel is being preached and it is to be preached as a witness and a warning to the world. It doesn't mean everybody's going to be converted. That's up to God. Those seeds fall on the good ground and then they begin to bear the fruit. And as you look at the gospel today, is it being preached? It is, but not in a very powerful way. So this would seem to indicate there is coming a time when the gospel is going to be preached in a wider and more powerful way than we're experiencing it right now. So we see that that's to take place. And there are to be some most significant events that take place at the end of the age and one of them begins to be recounted in Matthew 24 verse 15. It says there, therefore when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place whoever reads let him understand.

So there is to be an abomination of desolation. And Daniel spoke about it and this is to take place and is taking place toward that time when the great tribulation is unfolding which is the fifth seal of Revelation 6. This abomination of desolation was historically set up by an individual known as Antiochus IV, also known as Antiochus Epiphanes. He conquered Jerusalem in 167 BC and erected a statue of Zeus in the temple and sought to eradicate the true religion.

The Jews see that as a fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy and we always have as well.

The another fulfillment of that came in the time of the Romans when they captured Jerusalem and they destroyed the temple. Did they make it desolate? They absolutely did make it desolate. They destroyed it from top to bottom, drug the stones out of the way, and then plowed the ground to make sure there was no Jerusalem that they would have to deal with in the future.

And looking at this, it indicates that at the end of the age we're going to have another fulfillment of that. And exactly how that's going to play out, we don't know exactly.

For instance, where is the temple right now in 2017? I don't see any temple building.

There's a remnant of the temple, what's called the Wailing Wall, but that's not the temple.

The temple at this time in 2017 is the church. There's no physical temple that exists.

So we don't know and is there going to be an abomination set up in the church?

That may be, but we don't know for sure. We don't know exactly how this is going to play out, but something dramatic is going to happen. And when you're looking at Jerusalem and there's something that looks like a religious desecration, then you have to say, hmm, this is a sign that something big is taking place. So it's wise to, you know, Mr. Weber was talking about staying, watching and praying. Well, stay tuned. We need to continue to look at what's going on.

Thinking of the abomination of desolation in Matthew 23, we saw that Jesus Christ excoriated the temple leaders for their abominable conduct to let them know why he was leaving the temple.

And after doing that, he walked out. If you look at Luke 21, verse 20, and you don't have to turn there. I'll just read the verses 21 and 20, 20 through 22. It says, But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let those and let not those who are in the country enter her. So if you're in town, you need to get out. If you're out of town, don't go into Jerusalem. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Now Jerusalem was surrounded by the Roman army in A.D. 69 when the city of Jerusalem fell. In Daniel 9, let's go to Daniel 9. Keep your finger in Daniel and Matthew, but we're just going to look at a couple of verses in Daniel. Daniel 9, verse 26. It says in verse 26, Speaking of something that is to come and something that unfolded and ties in with the end of the age, it says, And after sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself. But speaking of the coming of Christ and the time in which he would be cut off, in which he would be executed, And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he shall bring to an end sacrifice and offering. And we've always felt that there was an end to sacrifice and offering that took place when Christ died, and when was he cut off? He was cut off on a Wednesday. He died Wednesday afternoon. And on the wing of abomination shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate. So it's talking about what was to come. Jesus Christ walked out of the temple in Matthew 23. The house was left desolate. Christ preached for three and a half years and was cut off. And afterward, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, which brought an end to sacrifice and offering. And interestingly, the nation is today surrounded by armies. But if you look at Jerusalem, Jerusalem is not surrounded by armies. The city of Jerusalem itself isn't, but the state of Israel is. You've got armies on all sides. So, you know, living in Israel is a precarious thing. It says in verse, as we said, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains and talks about fleeing. And it talks about in verse 20. It says, and pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. It's interesting that it says that and is an indication to all of us that the Sabbath will be observed even at the end of the age. Sabbath isn't going away. And it will be practiced even at the end of the age. And then we come to Matthew 24 verse 21. It says, For then there will be great tribulation, such as not been since the beginning of the world, until this time known or ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved.

But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. So there's something terrible, something that's never taken place before coming. And it tells us that the days are going to be shortened. And if they weren't shortened, there would be no flesh saved alive.

But why are the days shortened? They're shortened for the elect's sake. So clearly God is speaking about an elect. And the idea of an elect in our world, in our culture, is something that is frowned upon. Everybody is to be equal. There are to be no individuals that are special.

The elect are distinguished from everybody else on earth. God called them out of this world, and they responded in repentance from dead works. They began to act in faith. They were baptized, and they received God's Holy Spirit. And Peter spoke of making your calling an election sure.

Are you the elect? Well, if you're the elect, you've got to make your election sure.

In Revelation 17, it talks about those who accompany Jesus Christ at His return. They are the called, the chosen, and the faithful. And where it says chosen there, it's the same word as elect, the same Greek word as elect. So at the end of the age, the elect are not going to be very popular. The elect are going to be those who are persecuted.

And it's interesting that there will be an elect. And as you go back to the time of Noah, at the end of the first 2,000 years, what do we find? Let's go back to Genesis 6 and verse 13.

Genesis 6 and verse 13. So you've had about 2,000 years that have transpired.

And God's looking down on the earth and noticing its moral condition. Genesis 6 verse 5.

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. That is the state that one comes to as lawlessness abounds. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart. So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Of all the people living on the earth, one man found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And his family found grace as well because God offered faith that grace, extended that grace to Noah. Let's look at verses 13 and 14. And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. And behold, I will destroy them with the earth. And what does he tell him to do? Make an ark of gopher wood, make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.

So God used Noah and his family, who were believers apparently, to preserve human life through the flood. So Noah found grace in God's eyes. Now let's tie this in with Malachi chapter 3. Just flip back a little ways in Malachi chapter 3. Last book in the Bible. Malachi chapter 3, let's look at verses 13 through 15. Verse 13 says, Your words have been harsh against me. So they they had been speaking against God. And God said, Your words have been harsh against me, says the Lord. Yet you say, What have we spoken against you? How have we spoken harshly against you?

How have they spoken harshly? Verse 14. You have said, It is useless to serve God.

It is you have, do you think they had lost their first love? It is useless to serve God. What prophet is it that we have kept His ordinance? And what that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of hosts? What use is serving God? How has God blessed us and benefited us? Verse 15. So now we call the proud blessed. Hey, they're the ones that are prospering the prideful, the people that appear strong. For those who do wickedness are raised up. They even tempt God and go free. So that's going on. That's the trend. But that's not with everybody, as cited in the next verses here, beginning in verse 16. Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another and the Lord listened and heard them. So a book of remembrance was written before Him. For those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name. They aren't speaking against God. They don't feel it's useless to serve God. These people don't feel that way. They may be persecuted. Life may be hard for them. They may not be seeing an abundance of blessings coming their way in following God. In fact, they may be persecuted. They may be suffering because of what they believe in practice. But God says, so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and those who meditate on His name. They're written in the book of life. They fear the Lord and they meditate on His name. Verse 17, they shall be mine, says the Lord, on the day that I make them my jewels, my special treasures is a way that could be translated, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Then you will again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve Him. You'll be able to discern in time exactly what's being sorted out here and who are the true people of God and who are not. As you look at what's taking place here in chapter 4, what's to take place in this time that it's describing, it says in verse 1, For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble, and the day which is coming shall burn them up, says the Lord of Hosts. That will leave them neither branch, root nor branch, but to you who fear my name, the Son of righteousness shall arise, with healing in His wings, and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this, says the Lord.

We've cited Noah, and in his time the earth was destroyed with a flood.

But as we come to the end of the age and God working with flesh and blood, the earth will be destroyed by fire. Verses 4 through 6, it says, Remember the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. Now that's not talking just to ancient Israel, that's talking to spiritual Israel as well. With the statutes and judgments, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

So, Elijah came, and Elijah sought to put Israel back on track, and he pointed them to the fact that they were walking, halting between two opinions, and he said, Why halt you between two opinions? You need to worship the true God, and took on the prophets of Baal. And as he talks about, and Elijah here to come, and he says, And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. And the word curse there means appointed to utter destruction.

And interestingly, God is going to have families on the earth at the end of the age. There will be families who follow God. In the church, the first fruits prevent the earth from being utterly destroyed. The church, those following God and faithful and true to God, prevent the earth from being utterly destroyed. And unless those families are there, and the hearts of the children have been turned to the fathers and the fathers to the children, the earth will be struck with a curse.

And this prophecy tells us that there will be those who find grace in the eyes of the Lord, just like Noah did. They will find grace in the eyes of the Lord, and He will protect them, and He will bring, you know, not allow all flesh to be destroyed. So He tells us the days will be shortened, and we know that the earth will again be corrupt, just as it was in Noah's time. But for the elect's sake, and the elect will be there, and they will find grace in God's eyes, and God will spare the earth because of them. Now, let's think about the coming. Go back to Matthew 24 and think about the coming of the Lord. Matthew 24, picking up in verse 23.

Matthew 24, verse 23.

It says here, Woe to you! Wrong chapter. 24, verse 23. It says, Then if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Christ, or there, do not believe it.

So it tells us at the end of the age, you're going to have people telling you that the Christ is here or the Christ is there. And He says, Don't believe it. Well, why not? Why not?

He says in verse 24, For false prophets and false Christ and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So can individuals aided by demons perform miracles? They absolutely can. They can levitate things, they can bend spoons, they can make tears run down idols and all sorts of things. Blood drip out, it seems, of the idol. They can do a number of different things, which God allows them to do. They have done and they will do. They will do some spectacular things that are going to impact people, and they're going to say, Surely this man represents God. But as you look at the miracles that the demons perform, you have to realize that demonic miracles are just displays. They're just displays. They have no impact. They don't do man any good. For instance, the leper being healed by Christ, was that just Christ showing off? Or was that Christ indicating that the kingdom of God was among the people of that day and age and he was able to heal a leper, or to heal the blind, or the deaf, or raise the dead? Those were all indications that Christ was the Son of God, and indications to people of what God was working out in their time. Demons have no interest in that. In fact, they want to thwart people turning to God and pursuing that which is right.

So, some interpret these verses as saying it's impossible to deceive the elect. Is that true?

It says, if it were possible, if you were the elect and you were walking in faith and yielding to God and you love the truth and are pursuing the truth, you're not going to be deceived. There are going to be deceivers, but you're not going to be deceived. Christ is telling you these things so you'll be prepared, and when these things unfold, if they happen to unfold in our time, then you will say, hey, I remember hearing something about this, and you'll look at it more closely. What's going to unfold is going to be very deceptive and subtle and deceitful, and it will be more troublesome, and we're going to have to be very close to God to be able to sort things out and make sure we endure to the end and we're not taken in by things that are false.

The return of Jesus Christ will not take place secretly, is what we find out next. Let's look at verse 26. So you're going to hear people say, hey, look, the Christ has come. I'm the Christ, or he's over here, or he's doing this. Verse 26 says, therefore, if they say to you, look, he is in the desert. Do not go out, or look, he is in the inner rooms. Don't believe it. Why not? Aren't they telling you the truth?

How would you be able to sort through that? Verse 27, it says, for as lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Now, when lightning is on display, you really can't see it, can you? Oh, you can. Even in the daytime, you know, the clouds come over.

So when that bolt of lightning is there in the sky, you know the lightning has cracked across there. And at some point, in a short in short order, you're going to hear the thunder. But when lightning flashes across the sky, that is very clear, very clear what what God is doing. You can also, when it talks about lightning there, it could also be a reference to the sun. And for most of us, when the sun comes up, we know it's come up. You know, it begins to lighten the sky all across the horizon.

So when Christ comes back, it's going to be very obvious. It's not going to be secret. It's not going to be deceptive. It's going to be very clear cut. And if you keep your finger there in Matthew and look at Revelation chapter 1 verse 7, it tells us something that's important to keep in mind. Revelation chapter 1 verse 7, it says, Behold, he is coming with the clouds. So Jesus Christ rose into the clouds, as we're told in the book of Acts, and he's going to come in the same way.

And it says, And every eye will see him, even they who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. It seems that the whole earth is mourning because he's returning, and they're not sure who this is or what he is because they've not listened to the truths that have been preached. So they see him as some alien force, but every eye is going to see him.

So there's not going to be anything secret about the return of Jesus Christ. It's going to be like a bolt of lightning, and it's going to be visible to everyone. It's going to be visible to everyone. It then goes on to say, For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. So what does that mean? Here you're talking about every eye will see the return of Christ, and then you go to talk about a carcass and eagles being gathered there.

What does that mean? Well, the Amplified Bible reads this way. It says, Wherever there is a fallen body or a corpse, there the vultures or eagles will flock together. The birds described here belong to a family known as Old World Vultures, which includes eagles, buzzards, kites, and hawks. When vultures gather to eat a carcass, it's called a wake.

It's called a wake. So you see them, you know, circling around up above. You know that there's something dead or dying, and they're just waiting for the opportunity to swoop down. And when they're all gathered there, it's called a wake. Vultures sell them attack-healthy animals, but they have a keen sense for when one is wounded and they will come down and kill off an unhealthy or sick animal. Their digestive systems are so acidic they can ingest rabies, cholera, all sorts of diseases. They don't affect them at all, and that's one of the reasons God said, don't eat those birds. They're not healthy for you. As Christ says, where a carcass is a wake of vultures is imminent, this tells us little aside from the fact that it is in response to the disciples' question about the sign of His coming and the end of the age. And combined with the reference to lightning, it implies that His return will be highly visible. It'll be highly visible, something that, you know, these two things go together and talk about that it won't be done in secret, but everybody will be able to see what's going on. So Christ's coming is going to be something that the whole world is going to know. It's going to unfold. So if you don't see that happening and somebody's telling you, you know, somebody's telling you Christ is here or there, you've got to doubt it. I'm looking up and I don't see any of that going on, and you will be able to see it. Let's go pick up again in Matthew 24 in verses 29 through 31. Chapter 24, beginning in verse 29. It says, immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. The sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power. And he will send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. So as you look at these verses, note the timing. This is one of the passages that helps us to understand prophecy and how it ties together. You know, typically, you know, as we try to understand prophecy, we know that there are various prophecies in the Old Testament. We look at Daniel, and we can look at Joel, and the various prophets, and they tell us things about the end of the age. And you can take the Old Testament and you can try to figure out that what it says is going to be happening at the end of the age, and note a number of different things about it. But the question is, if you just had the Old Testament, how would you put it all together?

You would have a very difficult time doing it. You can't put it together with just the Old Testament. The New Testament, especially the book of Revelation, gives us a step-by-step progression. So we can see things that take place in the Old Testament that were prophesied, and through the writings of the apostles and John, we can put those things into an order that makes sense, where we can see how it's all going to unfold. So we can look at various books, and we can put it all together. The book of Revelation has very little. As you look at Daniel, it tells us about four great empires, but it doesn't tell a whole lot about the fifth empire that is to come. And the book of Revelation has very little about those old empires. It does tie in with the book of Daniel, but it has a great deal to tell us about the final empire that is to unfold at the end of the age. And so with the Old Testament and New Testament, then God's people can put together the puzzle. Does that mean we're going to know every jot and tittle and exact order and timing? No, but we can get a big picture, and we can get enough of a picture that when it begins to unfold, we can say, hey, this is happening. This is happening.

We know this is the sixth seal talking about Christ's return in the book of Revelation.

Let's read Revelation 6, beginning in verse 12. I'll just read it, and you can look it up later. It says, I looked, and when he, Jesus Christ, opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood, and the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll, when it rolled up in every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth and great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. Now you can tell here by what is said that this is obviously something secret that very few people know about. If you read that, it tells you everybody's going to know something is happening. It's serious, and it's an upheaval like no upheaval that's ever taken place, and they're all seeking to hide.

It's not something secret. And which, you know, you look at, and it's very commonly believed that there is a rapture, and you're like, how do they believe that? How do they understand that? So they look at things very differently than we do. So people are seeking to hide, saying, fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of his wrath has come and who is able to stand. So as you look at verse 29, it tells us immediately after the tribulation, that's when the persecution takes place, the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven. These are the heavenly signs, and what we see here is that the heavenly signs follow the great tribulation. It gives us some indication of an order in which things take place. Joel speaks of this and talks about wonders in heaven in Joel chapter 2 verses 30 and 31. And Joel also tells us that the heavenly signs precede the day of the Lord. So you have the tribulation, you have the heavenly signs, and then you have what is called the day of the Lord. That is when God intervenes in the world to bring judgment upon the earth and to establish his kingdom. It's interesting as you go back and look at something here that is a little bit of an aside, but ties in here when it talks about God is going to blot out the sun and the moon and all of this kind of thing. People are going to see something significant taking place with these great objects that dominate the day and the night.

Interestingly, if you go back and think about the Roman Empire, the Roman Empire worshiped the sun.

And there were sun-worshipping practices are still with us today. For instance, we have Easter, we have Sunday, and we have Christmas. All Roman sun-worshipping events. Now, if you look at Islam, if you look at Islam, so the Roman Empire was focused on the sun and it's still part of our culture today. If you look at Islam, where are they focused? They're focused on the moon. For instance, if you leave Brose Road, turn left and look to your left a little after you make that turn, you'll notice a building and on top of that building is a moon, a crescent moon.

That's because it's a part of their worship. When Jesus Christ returns, God will clearly demonstrate power over the sun and the moon. So those who are involved in these things are going to say, you know, I don't think the sun and the moon are all that powerful. They are powerful to an extent, but the great God who has intervened in our world, he trumps them all. Matthew chapter, I better stop using that term here in this day and age. Matthew chapter 24 verse 30 says, Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with great power and glory.

He's going to come back with great power and glory. And Daniel speaks of his return and talks about the setting up of a kingdom that will never end. You know, each of the great empires that Daniel talks about came to an end. But the ultimate empire that is to come, that will be led by Jesus Christ, will never end, and it will wipe away any vestige of those past empires.

So, Christ is going to return to the earth. He rose in the clouds. He will come back in the clouds.

Matthew 24 verse 31, it says, And he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.

So there will be a great sound of a trumpet. We know quite a bit about that because we keep the Feast of Trumpets. We are reminded about the trumpets in that portion of God's plan every year. It is the time when Christ returns, and the dead will be raised and meet Christ in the air, and then they will return with Christ, and when Christ touches down on the Mount of Olives, they will touch down with him. And we can look in the book of Revelation, and we can see a number of details about how that is all to be played out. And the angels sounding seven trumpets, and very clear what God is going to accomplish as he sends his son back to this earth. So the angels would gather together his elect from one end of heaven to the other, and the days were shortened for the elect's sake. Jesus Christ will come to gather his people from all over the earth. And what a wonderful day that is. That's what we're all looking forward to a better day when Christ will reign here.

And we all look forward to it, and we can be thankful that God has given us that understanding.

So that that trumpet is going to sound, and just as it's going to be as bright as the lightning, and everybody will notice it, the reason that that trumpet sounds is because everybody's going to hear it. So if you happen to hear a trumpet sounding with an intensity you've never heard, that's an indication, uh-oh, I think something serious is up. I think we've moved on to a the end of the age, and we need to be prepared for it. That's why Christ is telling us these things. These things are going to play out, and we need to have them in mind, not just to know how the jigsaw fits together, but because it is to impact us to want to seek God, and want to walk in His ways, and to want to make sure that we love God, and we love His way of life, and the love of God has not waxed cold in our lives. Let's go to Matthew chapter 24 verse 32. Matthew 24 verse 32.

It says, Now learn this parable from the fig tree. Learn this parable from the fig tree. When its branch has already become tender and puts forth its fourth leaves, you know that summer is near.

So you can look at that tree, and you can look at the leaves, and you can look at the fruit, and you can see what time that you're in, and from that be able to discern the time.

He says, So you also, so keep this in mind, keep this what I'm telling you in mind, so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near at the doors. So when you see these things unfolding, you have to say, you know what? I think this is all coming to pass. It's near, it's at the doors. Heaven and earth, as we know it, will pass away. But we know that that's to happen, but the word of God will not pass away. It will endure forever. It says, So you also, when you see all these things, know what's near at the doors, and you see what things? The things that includes everything spoken up to this point. The beginning of sorrows that we saw in verses 4 through 8 of Matthew 24. The persecution of the church that we spoke of in verses 9 through 13. Is the church being persecuted today? In some places, Christians are being persecuted, but we specifically are not.

But when we see that unfolding, it's telling us something. The gospel being preached, as I said, the gospel is being preached today, but not in a very powerful way. It seems to me that the gospel, as we get to the end of the age, is going to be preached in a very powerful way. I don't know how that's going to take place. Is that going to be the two witnesses? How is that going to come to pass? I look forward to when it comes to pass, but right now we don't see it being done in a very powerful way. There will be the great tribulation and false claims about Christ having come in the heavenly signs. We don't see these things, and these are very specific things that we are told are going to take place. It says, it is near. It is near at the doors. Well, what is near? What is it? What is near? The simplest answer is probably the best one. The simplest answer would be the answer to the question in chapter 24 verse 3. When the disciples ask, tell us when these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age. The end of the age, the end of Satan's rule, the age of Christ will begin.

That's what is near when we see these things unfold. Chapter 24 verse 34. It says, Assuredly I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. So he says, Assuredly I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away.

It's a statement that is to assure us. I'm telling you the truth kind of a statement.

And we understand this to mean that when these things start to unfold at the end of the age, they will happen in that generation. That's how we've always understood it.

And that way may very well be so. But there is another way to look at it. When it talks about this generation, the Greek word for generation is genaia, which can mean either those living at the same time, the generation, or it can mean family, the genoa of this group, all their children down through time. And the Wycliffe Bible Commentary states this on verse 34. It says, This generation shall not pass away to explain generation genaia here as the lifetime of the disciples obligates one to seek the fulfillment of all these events by 70 AD. And I don't think we saw the fulfillment of all of those events by 70 AD. But that is manifestly impossible unless one spiritualizes the second coming of Christ. However, genaia can mean race or family, and this yields good sense here. It gives us another way to look at this. In spite of the terrible persecution, the Jewish nation, which is generally how Protestant scholars and most scholars look at Israel, it's the Jews. Well, that's not the sum total of the Jews. Israel is a much wider body of human beings than that.

We would see it as the 12 tribes. And what it's telling us is that those tribes will not be exterminated, but will exist to share the blessings of the Millennial Kingdom. God's people, the spiritual people, will be there, and a remnant of the physical people will be there as well.

They're going to live through it, and Christ will save them. And that would make sense since it follows on the analogy of the fig tree, which indicates a blessing on Israel. Verse 35 says, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.

The physical world is going away, ultimately, but God's truths will endure forever.

And then Christ goes on in verse 36. It says, But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. So Christ didn't know exactly when things would come to an end. He didn't know. God had kept that to Himself, the day and the hour. And the angels didn't know. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and did not know until the flood came and took them away. So also will be the coming of the Son of Man. It's quite clear we don't know the day or the hour of Christ's return. And in my time in the church, there have been lots of ideas about the day and the hour. But you know what? They've all been wrong. People have had this idea and that idea and yeah, it's happening this time and this day they've all been wrong.

So that tells us don't waste your time with that. Keep the big picture in mind. Try to keep the signs that Christ very clearly gave to us in mind and look for those. And if you don't see them, we're not there yet. It says, but as the days of Noah were, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man. And you might ask, why did Noah build the ark? Why did he build the ark?

It was a witness to the pre-flood society that the flood was coming. He built it in a place where there was not a body of water on which you could float. And he built a gigantic ship.

It was a warning that judgment was coming. So, you know, as you look at Noah, it talks about him in the faith chapter in Hebrews 11. It says, by faith Noah being divinely warned of things not yet seen. So God said, this is coming. Moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Peter said that Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and he was, but did he necessarily go out and preach? He went from town to town and village to village and preached the gospel to them? Or did he preach the gospel to them and the message of the Lord? The gospel to them and the message is a witness and a warning by building the ark.

You don't think people knew he was building the ark? They did. That nut job Noah is building a boat in the middle of nowhere. It's gigantic, it's huge! So it was a warning to people. Did he do some preaching? Maybe. But more than anything he preached through his building, through his sawing, through his drilling, through all of the work that he did to prepare the ark. And interestingly, he did all of that. It was a witness and a warning, but how many people believed what he was preaching?

The only people that got on the boat, Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives, that's it, eight people, and the animals that God gathered. You know, as you think about that, Noah didn't gather all the animals. He built the ark and I'm sure he put the food on there. But when the animals showed up, you don't think that might be a giveaway that something serious is happening here?

And then when you see him loading them on the boat, you don't think that would be something serious? You know, as you look back on it, they missed every sign. They paid no attention. They gave no heed to what was taking place there, and that's how human beings are. That's how they were with the prophets of old. They went to the people of God early. They went to them late. They explained things to them. They warned them over and over and over again, and they paid no attention.

They paid no attention and went on with their lives. And what did they do? They went on eating and drinking and doing the same things that they do every day. The world has not changed.

And then, boom, it came to an end. And that's a very important warning that even though there is a warning, will we heed it? It's very easy as human beings, ah, that's a ways off. And that's a ways off. That doesn't really apply to me. I don't think this is going to really happen.

And once it starts happening, it's too late. It's too late. So no one took the warning.

Only Noah and his family were saved. And why were they? They had found grace in God's sight, and they were the elect of the time. And like in Noah's day, the earth is once again becoming filled with violence. It's becoming a very similar world. And if we continue on that course, we're going to get to the same point in time like when the flood began. There won't be a flood in that day, but there will be events that will unfold leading to the return of Christ. As we think about these things, what we don't see is we don't see Europe united. Europe is far from united and increasingly secular. They have empty churches. They're selling off the churches, and the church is really not the dominant force that it once was. We don't see a political figure known as the beast on the scene. Where is that guy? We don't see the religious figure designated as the false prophet anywhere. Where is that guy? He is to come, but we don't see him. We don't see a king of the north or the king of the south. Although there are some ideas about those things, we don't see those things unfolding at this point. We don't see two witnesses in Jerusalem, do we? So we don't see yet all these things taking place. The Bible tells us that they're to come, but we don't see them.

In it says in verse 40 of Matthew 24, then two men will be in the field, one will be taken, and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour the Lord is coming. But know this, if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. So we, and this paragraph really should calm anyone trying to figure out the timing of Christ's return. Basically, whatever you think it is, it isn't.

And what do we conclude from this? We must be ready. We must be ready.

And, you know, it talks about the one being taken and the other one left.

That's up to God, isn't it? But we can do our best to be ready. So if we are the one that is taken, and we've always felt that this was being resurrected or raised to meet Christ in the air, you want to be that one that's brought and taken up into the air. Let's go to verse 42. So it says, Watch therefore, for you do not know the hour the Lord is coming, and we should be ready.

That's the main thing we have to be aware of. We want to make sure that we have the love of God, and the fruits of the Spirit are being born in our lives, and we are taking the truths of God, and we are putting them into practice. That's what we've got to be doing every single day.

And, you know, as we look at these things and we are aware of them, when we see them to begin to unfold, we can say, I think we're in the countdown, and these things are beginning to unfold. And if you have bags, I'd pack them and, you know, get ready to go. So these things are going to happen, and, you know, they are sobering things, but they are things that are in the Scriptures, and we need to be aware of them. So what we're going to do in the future, I'm not exactly sure when we're going to take a detour and look at some other things that I think are significant for us to be aware of. And we'll finish up the end of Matthew 24 and chapter 25, because they give us important things that we can think about and apply in our lives as we seek to be ready for the return of Jesus Christ. So I hope you found it profitable. Please have a good remainder of this Sabbath day, and thank you for your attention.