The Sign of Christ's Coming

The title of our sermon study today is, The Signs of Christ's Coming. The Signs of Christ's Coming. And if you'd like to open your Bibles, we're going to begin in Matthew 24. Matthew chapter 24. As you turn there, I will just say, you know, as we've turned our attention in our preparation for the Day of Trumpets onto prophecy, prophecy is wonderful, we could say. You know, it's a wonderful thing that our Creator lets us know in advance what to expect when the end time approaches.

And having this end time knowledge of the signs, of the events, of the occurrences that will come, it really can serve not only to prepare us for all that we'll need to face, but there really is, what it will do is creating us a sense of calm and confidence. When those things around us are being shattered, we will be able to see, confidently see, that God is still in control and that things are happening as according to what we have been studying in Scripture.

You know, last study we noted that with each seal that was being broken, each of those seven seals ushering in a new end time event, those seals were being broken by none other than the Lamb Himself, Jesus Christ. So nothing is out of control. Nothing is acting outside of His will. And again, having a study on that which we can look for, these occurrences, can really serve to give us calm in the end time. We know in the end time, Satan the Devil will be turning his attention on to destroying mankind, destroying God's people in particular.

He will influence military forces to converge around Jerusalem, make war ultimately against Jesus Christ at His return. And it will be a time in which God's very elect will be susceptible to fear and confusion. Well, God answers that potential fear and confusion with prophecy, with giving us specific end time events to look for. You know, one of the...we won't turn there, but one of the things that Jesus Christ Himself says is that He gives prophecy. He tells four knowledge of events.

And He says, these things I've spoken to you that you should not be made to stumble when they come. So if your notes, that's John 16, verse 1. So I've spoken this prophecy to you, John 16.1, so that when they come, you won't be made to stumble. That's the purpose of prophecy, ultimately. We don't want to stumble. We don't want to be caught off guard. It's one of the major reasons that our loving Father gives us four knowledge of these things.

And this is what we're going to look into today. And our purpose at the end is to be strengthened, to have steady knees, with all...when we think about all that we'll need to face prior to Christ's return. So we're going to talk about end-time prophecy. Specifically, we're going to look at the signs, which Scripture gives us, signs or occurrences or events that will occur just before the tribulation begins. So these are going to be specific markers that we can look for as God's people to occur just before the three and a half year tribulation begins.

Throughout Scripture, we have that period of time, the last three and a half years, the Great Tribulation in which it's called, where we know the events are going to get really bad. The three and a half years Great Tribulation, we're going to read about that here in Matthew 24 in just a moment. I want to give you some other numbers to note. Three and a half years is, in fact, the Great Tribulation. It can also be identified as days, specific days.

So 1,260 days. That's the period of time of that three and a half year Great Tribulation. 1,260 days. We're going to look a few places where it shows that. How do we get that number in regards to the three and a half year tribulation period? Well, man's calendar is not this, but God's calendar is 360 days for a year. So in God's calendar, a year is 360 days. So if you take 360, 360, 360, and then half a 180, you, trust me, or unless you have a calculator, that adds up to 1,260 days.

We see this in Revelation. The two witnesses will be on the scene 1,260 days. That three and a half year period, the Great Tribulation, three and a half years, 1,260 days, it's a good marker to have in your mind as we begin to go through this study today. Now, before we get into Matthew 24 and these markers, these occurrences to look for, I will make a disclaimer. It's an important disclaimer. Neither the United Church of God or myself know the fullness of all to which will occur when the end time comes.

You know, we are given a measure, and we're going to look at this today, of understanding, but the actual fullness, we know that God will choose to reveal what we need to know in the end time. We, as Christ's sheep, will be praying to hear the shepherd's voice clearly, to understand the knowledge that we need to know at that time. But we will acknowledge the fullness. There is some silence in which the Bible employs surrounding this time.

As we approach a study like this today, I do want to make one other disclaimer. It is to acknowledge that most important to the Christian's life is not primarily in the knowing of end time event signs, but it is in the preparing for the end time events.

It is good to have a knowledge, and we're going to feed our knowledge today, but primary is in the preparing. Prophecy is to stir us. That's the purpose of prophecy. So it is important for the Christian life and the preparing in advance of all that God foretells. So with that, let's get started again. We're going to look at what the Bible reveals, the signs just before the Great Tribulation, just before those last 1,260 days, just before that last three and a half years.

And starting here in Matthew 24 is a great place to start because, in fact, we are giving some signs for people to look for, and we're going to be given one sign here by Jesus Christ.

All right, here Jesus Christ, He now sits at the mountain of olives and speaks to His own here. Matthew 24, let's begin in verse 3. Here Jesus speaks to His own, and He says, Matthew 24 verse 3, Matthew recording, Now He, Jesus Christ, set on the mount of olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming in the end of the age? Now Jesus will answer here. This is in our last study. We're going to see religious deception, earthly calamities, and such. Verse 4, Jesus answered and said to Him, Take heed that no one deceives you.

This is false religion, the first seal. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. That's the second seal. You will remember from our last study. See that you're not troubled, for these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, kingdom against kingdom.

There will be famines, pestilences, earthquakes in various places, going through those seals there of revelation. All these are just the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you. That's the fifth seal of revelation, persecution. And you will be hated by all the nations for my name's sake. Then many will be offended and will portray one another and will hate one another.

Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because of lawlessness will abound, the love of many will wax cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations.

And then the end will come. So Jesus is describing the future religious deception here and all these wars and earthly calamities here. He begins with that in answering the disciples' question, what will be a sign of these things? And now Jesus, beginning in verse 15, is going to give us a sign to look for.

A specific occurrence, a marker, a time marker here. And it's called the abomination of desolation. Look at this. Verse 15. This abomination of desolation. This is the sign. Verse 15, therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, whoever reads, let him understand. When you see this abomination, verse 16, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down and take anything out of his house. Let him who is in the field not to go back and get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and those who are nursing babies in those days.

And pray that your flight may not be in the winter or on the Sabbath. Let's stop there for a moment. So why respond in this way when you see the abomination? Why respond in this way? Well, verse 21. Here it is. This is the beginning of the three and a half years, that 1,260 days. After this abomination, verse 21, for then there shall be great tribulation, such as not been seen since the beginning of the world until this time. No, nor ever shall be. And unless those days be shortened, no flesh will be saved.

But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. Let's stop there. So this passage is very important to us. You know, you will see here, verse 15, when you see this end time occurrence, this sign of the abomination of desolation, this will be a sign to God's people. Okay? You could be looking for this. You, my disciples, he says, as my God's people, when you see this occurrence, you better get moving.

He says. Understand, you got to go. You got to flee. If we're in Judea, flee to the mountains. Don't go back. Don't get anything out of your house. Don't get your clothes. Go. It's your flight time. If you're pregnant, it's going to be difficult, he says. And pray that this, these days, don't fall on the Sabbath, he says there, or the winter.

Again, why do God's people need to move immediately when they see this abomination of desolation, this sign? Again, verse 21, for then there shall be great tribulation, such as the world has never seen before, or ever shall be. So this is it. This abomination is the sign which then begins the great tribulation period here. It begins the three and a half years. It begins those last 1260 days.

Christ says when you see this, great tribulation is now going to come. So this is a sign that Jesus Christ Himself gives to us. The abomination, this abomination of desolation occurs right before the great tribulation.

So following such words, we could ask, what is this abomination of desolation? I want to be able to know what to look for in particular. We're going to get into this, but we do see some signs here. We just see some details that we can glean from this passage. Verse 15 states that there's going to be a holy place. So there's going to be a holy place, a holy place designated by God in the end time, just before the tribulation begins. In this holy place, there will be an abomination that occurs when standing in the holy place. So this is going to be an evil figure, an evil man, who will be standing in this holy place that God made holy. An evil figure will stand in it and make it desolate. Abomination will occur, which will make this place desolate. He will defile this holy place. Therefore, to be an abomination, absolutely. When this happens, it'll trigger in and begin the great tribulation. So this sign should stir us today, you know, and we should see something like this and think, boy, I want to learn all about this period of time. This is good information for God's people to have. How do we look further into it? Well, you let the Bible lead us, and you can see there in verse 15, Christ says, now what I'm telling you about is exactly what Daniel wrote about. He says, the prophet Daniel. The prophet Daniel already gave this information to you. He says, and I'm giving it to you again. So then we, as God's people today, can look further into this in the book of Daniel. And when you scour Daniel, of course Daniel is a prophetic book for sure, what you see is this particular occurrence is given most detail in Daniel chapter 8. So let's turn over to Daniel to continue our study on this sign that we're given, this abomination of desolation. Daniel 8. And we'll pick up in verse 11. So Daniel 8 chapter 11, we have this recording given to us about the abomination. More details, more details given to us of this first sign, this marker here, this time marker, this event here in Daniel 8. So let's look here and see this. Again, we know so far indicated to us there's an evil one standing. He's defiling a holy place. And this abomination occurs, making the holy place desolate. So Daniel 8 verse 11, even he, this end-time evil one, exalted himself as high as the prince of host. And by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of his, God's sanctuary, was cast down because of transgression. An army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices. And he, this evil one, cast truth down to the ground. He, this evil one, did all of this and prospered. Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, how long will the vision be concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the abomination of desolation, and the giving up both of the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?

And he said to me, for 2,300 days, then the sanctuary shall be cleansed. Let's stop there. Okay, so here is what Jesus Christ was being, was referring to. Christ calls it the abomination of desolation. Here it's referred to as the transgression of desolation. Here. And Daniel gives us this information. He actually gives us more details. We can see here of this transgression of desolation.

Here, Jesus spoke of it. Here did the prophet Daniel speaking of it. So we're gonna look at this passage and glean out some more information here, because there's some pretty interesting things that are given here. Before I do, we need to go back to class a little bit, and I need to give you a little information on understanding prophecy. In prophecy, there is the principle of duality. Duality. In other words, when you look at prophecies of the Bible, some can have more than one fulfillment.

Prophecy in duality can be fulfilled in one portion of time. It can be carried out at one time in history. And then prophecy in duality can actually have a future fulfillment as well. So you have this principle of duality that we can look back in prophecy and see actual events occur in history, but that we can also see that it is speaking of a future time to come. And that's the case here in Daniel's writings.

So we want to look at this prophecy that's explained here in Daniel 8, first from the initial fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy, from the perspective first of what has already occurred in history. And then after that, we'll look at the future fulfillment that has yet to come. Again, it's interesting because there is duality in this fulfillment. Now here in verse 11 and 12, Daniel is speaking of one, an evil one, who would come. This evil one would exalt himself even as the prince of host. Who is the the great prince of host? Well, that's Jesus Christ. So this evil one is exalted himself to be like Christ here.

Jesus Christ, of course, is the great one. So this evil one is exalted him like Christ. So again, let's talk about the first fulfillment here because there was a evil one who actually carried out this very abomination of desolation. And he was a precursor to what we're going to see in the future. Here's the history lesson class. After Alexander the Great, after he died, the Grecian Empire was divided into four parts. And there were four kings which ruled from that point forward after Alexander the Great died. This horn here in verse 9, it refers to a historical king, one of the four kings that arose after Alexander died.

His name was Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus Epiphanes. He was a real historical figure, a king. He was this horn. So this has already occurred in history. And Antiochus performed a horrible act by exalting himself like God in the very temple or the very sanctuary of God. And in that, Antiochus made this transgression. It was abomination in the sanctuary or the temple.

So in speaking of this historical figure, Antiochus Epiphanes, again, verse 11, in history, he exalted himself as high as the Prince of Hosts. He opposed the daily sacrifices. He has stopped the daily sacrifices at that time. And the place of his sanctuary, God's sanctuary, was cast down. Antiochus was given an army. And as he opposed the daily sacrifices, he cast truth down to the ground.

He was given a measure of prosperity at that time. This actually occurred in history. Antiochus Epiphanes was an evil ruler. And this was the initial fulfillment of this end-time prophecy. History records. He was a Syrian leader, went to Jerusalem, took over Jerusalem, persecuted the Jews, took over the temple. He defiled it. In fact, after he took away the daily sacrifices, he put up a pagan idol.

History records. It was the idol of Jupiter Olympus. He set it right there on the altar, performed heathen rites in the sanctuary, even sacrificed swine's blood on the temple. This actually occurred in history.

And the event, that event of Antiochus was future to Daniel. It's history to us, you see. But it was an abomination. It was an absolute horrible abomination in the sight of God. It was an abomination that made the temple desolate in this way. It was not pleasing to God by any means. In fact, history records that Antiochus didn't last much longer after he performed this abomination. He came down with a painful disease, died within just a few years after he had carried out this abomination, and made the temple desolate at that time.

But, but, as we mentioned, there's duality. There's duality in this prophecy. Antiochus was just a type, a forerunner, of a future event and a future evil leader which will carry out these very things. You know, when the disciples asked Jesus Christ, they said, tell us a sign of when these things will come. And Christ pointed to the end. You remember, the seals, the false prophet, war, famine, pestilence, persecution, speaking of the future in time. And Jesus Christ spoke of himself as the abomination of desolation. You remember.

So, this abomination will occur, as we discussed, just before the future Great Tribulation begins. So, there's still another fulfillment of it. We can't just keep this in history past. This is another event that's coming prior to the Great Tribulation. So, as we read verse 11 and 12, we want to read 11 through 14 again. But let's turn our thinking onto the future fulfillment here. Again, verse 11, he even exalted himself as high as the priest of hosts. Verse 11. Okay, so we're thinking of the future event. By him, the daily sacrifices were taken away. The place of his, God's sanctuary, will be cast down. Because of this transgression, an army is given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices. He cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospers.

Then the Holy One speaking to another Holy One. How long will this vision be?

Concerning the daily sacrifices, the transgression of desolation, the giving over the sanctuary to be trampled under foot. Verse 14 and the answer for 2300 days and then the sanctuary will be cleansed. These are incredible signs which are given to us.

So you'll notice verse 13 and 14 really propel this final future fulfillment forward, this prophecy. The Holy One speaking to another Holy One. This perhaps could be just two angels. It actually could be perhaps the Logos, Jesus Christ himself, speaking to the Father. When will these things occur? When will the daily sacrifices be taken away? When will the temple be cast down? How long will this vision be concerning these daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation until the cleansing occurs? You know, this could be Jesus Christ because even he said, you remember, no man knows the day or the hour.

And so if this is the Father, he gives us more information here, a sign, a time marker here. How long will this vision be? 2300 days and then the sanctuary should be cleansed. So this is incredible prophecy. 2300 days. This will all take place. So it seems to indicate... you notice my words carefully there. Do we know the fullness of these things? No. Can we look at Scripture and get indications of things? Yes. Hopefully guided by the Holy Spirit. It seems to indicate that in the end time, the daily sacrifices will start again. Then the sacrifices will be taken away. That holy place will be defiled by an abomination, an evil figure standing in it. And then the cleansing will occur, the cleansing of the temple.

Again, so verse 13 again, how long will this vision be here? And verse 14, for 2300 days. And then the sanctuary should be cleansed. So he says for 2300 days. So we have this time period. From when the daily sacrifices will begin, the defilement occurs until the sanctuary is cleansed. That whole period will encompass 2300 days. That's about six years. A little over six years.

So when we see the daily sacrifices begin, we can have an expectation as God's people to start really preparing. Because we're given a measure of a sign here, a measure of understanding. Gods can have an expectation that at the end of those things we'll have a cleansing, not only of the temple but of the world. You see. And you may ask, well, I'm not sure if Daniel 8, this is good to have an inquisitive mind. Is this actually speaking about the end time? Or is this locked away in Antiochus Epiphanes time? Well, continue to read. Verse 15 through 17. This spells out that this is, in fact, future fulfillment. Verse 15 through 17. Then it happened when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking meaning that suddenly there stood before me one having an appearance of a man. Verse 16. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Uli and called and said, Gabriel, make this man, Daniel, understand the vision. So he came near where I stood and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face. But he said to me, understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end. Okay, so this is future fulfillment. This is coming here. So again, a future period where the sacrifices will begin and it will culminate in the cleansing of the world. The return of Jesus Christ. A period that seems to be around six years, 2,300 days.

Again, I'll remind you the key is not, you know, God's sheep will hear their shepherd's voice. We will know what to do. We will have recognition. The key is to stir us now. Prophecy. This is to stir us now. Great details which is being given. But it even gets more interesting. There's more. There's more. I get excited about these things because we even have more signs given to us in Daniel. Additional confidence. Markers, if you will. More signs given to us of what to expect in the future. So we have this 2,300-day period. We know that the abomination occurs in it. We know in that 2,300-day period, the Great Tribulation is the last three and a half years. We're actually given a few more signs within this period. And I think it's remarkable. Turn with me. Let's see this. Turn with me to Daniel 11. And we're going to look at verses 11 and 12. We are actually going to be told here in Daniel 12 verses 11 and 12 when the abomination is going to occur. We're actually told when. And we're also also told of one other sign here. So we're going to be given two other signs. One is given at the 1,335-day mark and the other is given at the 1,290-day mark here. So let's pick this up. Daniel 12 verses 11 and 12.

And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. Blessed is he who waits and comes to the 1,335 days. Let's stop there. So what do we see? We see two more signs with specific days assigned to them. Remember, this is all counting down. So we have the sacrifices starting at the 2,300-day range and before the cleansing. And we're coming to these days. Let's first talk about coming to this, which is mentioned here in verse 12. Coming to 1,335-day mark. So we're going to be coming to 1,335 days before Christ returned. So we see that there's a blessing that's talked about in coming. Blessed is he who can come to the 1,335-day mark. So that's there in verse 12. So we have the sacrifices begin. We're moving into that prophecy and we know at the end is the cleansing. Blessed is he who comes. We're counting down. Blessed is he who comes to the 1,335-day mark. 1,335 days before Christ returns. A blessing comes to God's people.

So we, as God's people, can expect a blessing at that time there. You know, things are getting bad. We can expect to be helped here.

We know that the Great Tribulation begins 1,260 days prior to Christ's return. So this is just before the Great Tribulation begins. We're coming to the 1,335 days before Christ returns. Just before that last three and a half years. What could it be? Well, it's pure speculation because there's no indication of what this blessing is. But, you know, we could say in looking at other scripture, one of the blessings, some have speculated that this might be the blessing when not all the church, but some of God's people will be taken away and nourished for those last three and a half years.

And we have referred to it as a place of safety, a nourishing period. If you'd like to keep your marker there in Daniel, and turn over to Revelation 12, verse 13 through 17. We read of what certainly is going to be a blessing. We don't know if this is the blessing that Daniel speaks about. But Revelation 12, verses 13 through 17, does speak of a time in which the woman, the church, is taken to be nourished for those last three and a half years, for those last 1,260 days. And it says, so Revelation 12, verse 13 through 17, Now when the dragon that Satan saw that he had been cast to the earth, again, we have some duality here. We know about duality. So we can think about past and also future. So when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman, the church, who gave birth to the male child, capital C, Jesus Christ. But the woman was given, but the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time, times, and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened up its mouth and swallowed up the flood, which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, the church, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. So we know that there is going to be a time at the end, where the woman, the church, God's people, a measure of them will be protected for time, times, and half a time. Again, on God's calendar, a time, a year, is 360. So 360 times 360, 360, half a time, 180. That's our 1,260. So the woman, the church, God's people, is going to be a measure of them is going to be protected for that last three and a half years tribulation. So we see, back in Daniel, there's a blessing that comes 1,335 days prior to Christ's return. So just before that great tribulation begins, we have a blessing that comes to God's people. Perhaps, perhaps. That's when God's people are ushered away and nourished for those last three and a half year period. I just want to show you one other part, now that we're here in Revelation, before we go back to to Daniel. If you turn back one chapter to Revelation 11, verses 1 through 3, Revelation 11, during this time, during the the last three and a half years, the witnesses are on the scene, the final two witnesses of God. Revelation 11 verses 1 through 3, Then I was given a read like a measuring rod, and the angel stood, saying, Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there, but leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will tread the holy city under foot for 42 months, and I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy 1260 days clothed in sackcloth. Okay, so again, the those last three and a half years are 1260 days. That's 42 months. That's the last three and a half year tribulation. So the priors, we come to 1335 days before the cleansing, we have the blessing come to God's people.

So when it's getting bad, God's people can expect this. So turning back to Daniel, again, possibly we don't know if that's when when we come to this 1330 days, whether it will be the time in which we're ushered off to a place of safety, but that certainly would be a blessing. So turning back to Daniel, we're going to see another time marker here, given to us. So Daniel chapter 12 verse 11 again. Daniel 12 verse 11 again.

So here is our next sign in counting down and coming to these days before the cleansing of the return of Jesus Christ. And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, verse 11, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be 1290 days. Okay, so we see when the abomination is set up, it is set up right before the great tribulation begins. You see here. So we come, blessed to see who comes to the 1335 days before Christ returns. And just 45 days later, we have the abomination of desolation occur here when you come to 1290 days before Christ returns. This is when the abomination... So 45 days after the blessing, the abomination occurs. It seems like there's a 45-day period after the blessing before this abomination occurs here. And you remember in Matthew 24 what Christ said, when you see that abomination, you better go. You better flee, he said. It's about to get bad. It is about to get bad. So you see why there would be a blessing that came to God's people prior to the abomination. This abomination, this false prophet, will exalt himself to be like God, stop the daily sacrifices, and usher in the Great Tribulation, which will begin just 30 days later at the 1260-day mark. So the abomination occurs at 1290 days before the cleansing. 30 days later, the events begin. The Great Tribulation begins.

Here. Time, time, and half a time. So 1260 days before Christ returns. Everything is going to be shattered once that begins. If staying here in Daniel 12, if you go up to verse 7, speaking of how bad it's going to be when that last three and a half years occurs, begins. Daniel 12 verse 7. Then I heard a man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time. And when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. Stop there. So that's the final three and a half year period there that is being referred to. So you can see Christ's words when he speaks of the abomination of desolation, why he is so urgent. And so when the disciples ask him, when will these things be? He gives us that sign. It's going to be a worldwide sign that we'll be able to see as God's people. God willing, we will be in a place being nourished. But if God so be it, we will be here witnessing to God and carrying His testimony in those final days.

If we do not see these things in our time, we need to teach our children. They need to be aware. They need to be educated of these things. And again, you can see through a study like this that it does evoke a certain amount of fear in our humanity. It's natural, a nervousness, a unsureness. How do you answer that? Well, like we heard in the sermonette, today is the day to be stirred and to change. Turn back to the law. Make the right choices. Today, this is when we prepare for these things. If we wait and we start to see some of these signs and then we get stirred, it's going to be too late. This is the time to be stirred. Everyone knows you have to prepare for the big event that's coming. And now is the time to prepare. And the day of trumpets is to do that very thing, is to stir in us that preparation.

Well, I'd like to conclude today by reading a passage of Scripture, which really gives us a good summary of all these things. And we know that all of God's people wrote of these things time and time again. We now know and we can't say that we didn't know. We are held accountable for what we know. And we know that throughout all of Scripture, it speaks of this period of time and the overarching mandate is to get ready. So let's turn to a summary chapter of all the things that we've studied today. And it's found in 2nd Thessalonians 2. So let's turn there, if you will, as we begin to work to a conclusion.

2nd Thessalonians, in chapter 2, again, it's just remarkable that we do find harmony in all these Scriptures. And certainly we see a great summary of all that we study today here as Paul writes, urging God's people in Thessalonica here. So let's read this together. This is 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2. And we're going to begin in verse 1. And let's just read through the whole summary here of this chapter. Here's the great summary of all that we've read.

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by the word or by letter, as if from us as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means, for that day will not come unless there's a falling away comes first. And the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Verse 5. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time, for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains as Christ will do so until he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception, among all those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. So we want to receive this love today. Verse 11. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion. So we need to respond while there's still time, that they should believe the lie, and that they all may be condemned, who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Verse 13. But, but we are bound to give thanks to God, always for you, brethren, beloved by God, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit, and belief in the truth to which he called you by the gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold to the traditions that you were taught, whether by law, by word, or by our epistle. Now, may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and our God, and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, may he comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

There you have it. I think we could all say amen to that. So today, as we look forward to the day of trumpets, let's look to increase our love for the truth, for the truth that you be established in good works. Do not believe these lying wonders here. God chose you for salvation. He did not choose you for destruction, for salvation. He chose you for saving you, for saving you, and bringing you up, and bringing you into his family as Jesus Christ returned. Let this be an everlasting comfort, an everlasting consolation to you. And as Paul says, this will conclude, comfort your hearts, and may these things establish you in every good word and work. Let's be prepared, and let's let these signs of Jesus Christ coming prepare us to the end.