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Home , Matthew 24

Matthew 24

Signs of ’s Return

1 came out from the temple and was going away [a]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

3 As He was sitting on the , the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen , and what will be the sign of Your coming , and of the [b]end of the age ?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you .

5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the [c]Christ,’ and will mislead many.

6 You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened , for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.

8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

10 At that time many will [d]fall away and will [e]betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many false will arise and will mislead many.

12 Because lawlessness is increased, [f]most people’s love will grow cold.

13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

14 This of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole [g]world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come .

Subject: What are the signs of Jesus’s coming and of the end of the age?

Complement: Jesus gives eight general signs that have always existed but will intensify as the tribulation grows before His thus bring an end of the age.

Homiletical Idea: Do you not see all these things?

Introduction:

What were you doing on May 21 st , 2011? Do you remember? For most people May 21 st was like any other day, but for the followers of Family Radio Network's founder Harold Camping, May 21 st was going to be the day of King Jesus’s return. Many followers of his sold or gave away all of their belongings and traveled to Oakland, CA. to celebrate the return of King Jesus with Camping. Sadly though, Jesus didn’t return and now all those who were planning that the world would end on May 21 st had to face the harsh reality that they were still here and that Jesus hadn’t returned. Harold Camping, quickly admitted that his predictions were wrong, and that the will now take place on October 21 st . Family Radio spent over US$100 million on the information campaign. If you consider the money lost and lives that were affected by this false prophecy, you feel sadden by the way people are misled and deceived.

End time prophecy has always been a popular discussion and more often than not, people have used the to try and prove their personal beliefs and teachings on the subject. With all of the false teachings out there, we can become skeptical and begin to even doubt in all prophecy, even that which we find in the Bible. Prophecy or should I say Biblical prophecy is important, and we as mature believers need to know that true Biblical prophecy is beneficial to our daily lives. Tonight we are going to be looking at a passage of scripture that is Biblically prophetic, yet often times is miss interpreted and thus miss used by many well-meaning Christians in today’s church. I can honestly say that I too have miss-used this passage in the past, and am grateful that God will reveal the truth of His holy Word if we honestly seek to know it. Matthew 24:1-14 is a perfect example of God answering our questions with truths we can understand. Before we dig into this passage, let us open in prayer.

OPEN IN PRAYER:

I. As I said earlier Matthew 24:1-14 is one of the most miss-understood and miss used scriptures in the Bible. A. It is a small part of Jesus’s longest discourses recorded in scripture, known as the Mount . This discourse is recorded in three parallel passages in the . i. Matthew 24:1-25:46 ii. :1-37 iii. :5-36 1. The largest of these being found in Matthew. B. Basically in this discourse, Jesus is answering the disciples questions found in Matthew 24:3. i. This possible could be the longest answer ever given to a question; it begins in Matt 24:4 and goes until Matt. 25:46. ii. Tonight we don’t have time to cover the whole discourse, but we will focus on the first part of it; Matthew 24:1-14.

1. Let’s read together Matthew 24:1-14 II. The disciples see the temple. (vs. 1-2) A. This was the third temple in Israel’s history. i. First was King Solomon’s Temple destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC ii. Second was authorized by Cyrus the Great and began in 538 BC and is known as the Zerubbabel Temple because he was the one who dedicated the temple. iii. Third was known as Herod’s Temple being renovated around 20 BC and later destroyed around 70 AD by the Romans. B. We need to understand the relationship between the nation of Israel and the temple. i. The two were intertwined together which means that the destruction of the temple was viewed as destruction of the Jewish nation. C. The disciples point out the temple, Jesus points out its future destruction. i. The disciples were shocked by Jesus’s statement, and were wondering when the temple will be destroyed, and if this meant that Jesus was going to be setting up His earthly kingdom. III. The disciples see a problem. (vs 3) A. The disciples ask, “When will these things happen?” i. When will not one stone be left upon another? ii. When will the temple be torn down? B. The disciples ask, “What will be the sign of your coming?” C. The disciples ask, “What will be the sign of the end of the age?” IV. Jesus sees the disciples’ misunderstandings. (vs 4-14) A. Jesus doesn’t answer the disciples’ first question in these verses. i. You can find that answer in Luke 21. B. Jesus answers the next two questions by giving the disciples seven signs to watch for. i. Remember in Matthew 24, Jesus is talking to his disciples at that time, and answering their questions based on their understanding of God’s plan for humanity. 1. The disciples have no idea about the church age. 2. The disciples have no idea about the rapture. ii. There is a difference between the rapture and Christ’s second coming. 1. The signs Jesus give are signs before Christ’s second coming and the tribulation which is going to take place before He returns. 2. In the Mount Olivet Discourse, Jesus is not talking to his disciples about the rapture. a. Many pastors, teachers, and so called Bible scholars miss-use these verses to try to prove that the rapture is soon, because these signs are present.

b. Yes the rapture can take place at any time, but it is not because these signs are present. c. These are the signs for the disciples to watch for that will precede the second return of Christ. So, what are the signs of His coming? C. Jesus gives seven general signs. i. These are signs that have always existed. ii. These are signs that will intensify as the time of tribulation draws near. iii. The tribulation itself is a sign of Christ’s return. 1. Remember we are talking about prophecy concerning the tribulation and the second coming of Christ, not the rapture of the church which I believe takes place before the begins. V. Do you not see these signs? i. Religious deception. (vs.4-5) 1. Prior to the tribulation there will be an intensifying of religious deception. a. Current examples of false religions outside the church, false teachings in the church, and a world where there are no TRUTHS everything is relevant. 2. War. (vs.. 6-7) a. Throughout the time of man, there has always been war. Remember these are general signs that have always been, but will intensify as the tribulation draws near. So we can expect war and the only time there will be peace will actually be during the first three years of the tribulation, but it will be a false peace and we the church will not be here because we were raptured to be with our King. b. Vs. 6 Jesus warns that it is not over yet, there is still more to come. 3. Famines. (vs. 7) a. In Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Uganda, people are suffering like they haven't in a long while. The UN estimates that some 12 million people are already faced with hunger. And that is likely just the beginning. b. Wars often lead to famines, and during the tribulation there will be worldwide war and worldwide famine. 4. Earthquakes. (vs. 7) a. The NEIC now locates about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year.

b. Vs.8 Jesus warns that these are only the beginning (birth pains). Start light but will increase as the time of birth draws near. c. Remember these are general signs but will intensify as the tribulation draws nearer. 5. Martyrs. (vs. 9) a. There are many closed countries around the world that forbid and persecute followers of Christ, but remember Jesus is talking to the Jewish nation. How many countries want to destroy and do away with Israel? b. Last week, the UN assesses Palestinian state application. 6. Worldwide chaos. (vs. 10-11) a. Many will fall away b. Many will betray others c. Many will hate other d. Many false prophets will mislead many. 7. Lawlessness. (vs. 12) a. People will become cold and calloused. i. How true this is today. No respect for authority. Who are you to say what I am doing is wrong. ii. Jesus clearly teaches that the world is going to get worse as the tribulation gets closer. That is how the anti-Christ comes to power by offering false hope to a world gone mad. VI. Some will see the end of the age. (vs. 13-14) i. Remember Jesus is telling His disciples about the signs that will precede the tribulation and in verses 13 and 14 He tells them what those who endure to the end will see. 1. They will see those who endure be saved. a. Not Christians/the church preserving in order to be saved. b. Jews and others who believe on Christ during the tribulation will be saved and thus enter the kingdom when Christ returns. 2. They will see the gospel preached in the whole world, for a witness to all the nations. a. Many, including me have thought that this verse is saying that Christ can’t return until the church takes the gospel to the whole world. i. Example: When I was with the JESUS Film and wondering if I was working on the last language group who had never heard the

gospel, and then once my work was done, Christ would return. b. Jesus did tell the disciples to take the gospel to the whole world. :18-20. We as the church should also do all we can to share the gospel with people we meet, not so that Christ can return, but rather that they can be saved from their sins and also from experiencing the tribulation times. i. Remember the Church will be raptured before the tribulation. c. The gospel WILL be preached in the whole world. i. The found in Rev. 11. ii. The Angle with the Gospel found in Rev.14:6-7 B. Then you will see the end. i. Finally after all that has taken place. 1. The early signs (labor pains) 2. The tribulation 3. The gospel preached to all the world ii. Then you will see Christ returning to reign. 1. When will the disciples see this? 2. No one knows, not even Jesus Himself. a. Matthew 24:36 VII. What do we see? A. In conclusion, we see that in Matthew 24:1-14 Jesus is beginning to answer the disciple’s questions. B. Jesus wanted to make sure that His disciples would not be. i. Deceived ii. Frightened iii. Discouraged C. Jesus gave his disciples general signs to watch for, and prophetically showed them what must take place before His second coming. D. Jesus didn’t know when He will return, and neither does anyone else. Only God the Father knows when that day will be, but God gave us His Word and the prophecy in that Word to help us be prepared for Christ’s return. E. We as believers thus need to be actively sharing our faith, not to expedite Christ’s return, but rather to lead as many people as possible to Christ before our time here on earth is finished. No one knows how long we have left here, in fact we could die tonight, or the rapture could happen tomorrow. Think of your loved ones and neighbors who don’t know Christ. We would hate to see them suffer through the tribulation time, and more than that them die and spend eternity in hell.

God didn’t give us prophecy to make us prophets – He gave us prophecy to teach us how to live. So let us go out and live for Him.