Signs Of The Second Coming Of Jesus
8-24-2011 Vol. 5 Part 5
Psalms 40:12-17 NKJV For innumerable evils have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of my head; Therefore my heart fails me. Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me! Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who seek to destroy my life; Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor Who wish me evil. Let them be confounded because of their shame, Who say to me, "Aha, aha!" Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, "The LORD be magnified!" But I am poor and needy; Yet the LORD thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God. Father we praise your name, we give you all the glory. Father our world is in a state of confusion. Hear our prayers for political, religious, business, and education leaders. All leader, even if they only lead one person. We ask that you touch the hearts of these leaders so they will hear your voice and lead according to your guidelines, the Ten Commandments. In Jesus name we pray! Amen!
Before I get started with verses 22-28 I want to mention 2 verses from last week that I failed to mention. Those 2 verses are: Matthew 24:19-20 NKJV But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. In verse nineteen the woe doesn’t mean that God is saying it is bad to be pregnant, but the escape to a place of refuge will be very burdensome being pregnant. The same goes for those mothers that have nursing babies. It will be much more difficult for them, compare to those in the field or on a roof top that can drop what they are doing and go. The same goes for verse twenty, seeking refuge in the winter time will be more difficult than other seasons of the year due to the cold weather of winter that will have to be dealt with.
Matthew 24:22 – 28
Matthew 24:22-28 NKJV And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. 23 "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 "Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
Verse 22: Is referring to the Tribulation and the length of it. It is a prescribe length of time set by God, being seven years, with the worse times and events taking place the last 3 ½ years (Great Tribulation). Remember mid way through the Tribulation the anti-christ rises, sits on the throne, and claims to be god, referred to as the “Abomination of Desolation”. This is when God is going to really pour out his wrath. If the tribulation went on for a longer time, all of mankind would be erased from the face of the earth. God is keeping the time shortened for the sake of the elect. The elect, meaning those that came to Christ during the Tribulation. Do you remember where these will come from, since all of God’s Saints will be rapture off of the earth at the beginning of the Tribulation? They will be Born Again Saints that the 144,000 Jews preached the Gospel to, and they accepted Jesus as their Saviour.
Verse 23: Jesus is telling us not to believe when someone says there is Christ. This is why we have to have knowledge of what is written in the Bible so we will be able to discern false prophets, teachings, and religions. If we don’t know what the end time events will be, we will be led astray. The upcoming verses tell us when Jesus will return and how. There will be no mistaking it is Jesus, but in the mean time many will try to deceive us through the works of Satan. Moses even told the Israelites that God would raise up a Prophet from among them, which he did, but they did not recognize their Saviour because they had a preconceived idea of who he would be and what he would do. (Deuteronomy 18:15 NKJV "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,) When Jesus comes a second time there will be no mistaking Him.
Verse 24: False christs and prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive. When I read the word “deceive” one thing comes to mind and that is Satan. He is a great deceiver and a master of it. Satan can whisper to us it is ok to do something that we know is sin, but we still do it. Genesis 3:4-5 NKJV Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Satan can posses someone and lead them away from Jesus making them think they are good, but really are bad. Acts 19:15 NKJV And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" Satan can also make statues talk to deceive people. Revelation 13:15 NKJV He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Over the years we have all heard of spiritual sightings and statues crying. Since I have picked up the Bible, read and studied it, and come to realize what Satan is capable of and what his motives are, I question these sightings and who was behind the scenes. I put my complete faith in Jesus Christ for Salvation and in no religion.
The end of verse 24 states, “if possible, even the elect” the elect is referring to Spiritually Born Christians. At times Christians will be led astray about some doctrine or by someone, but if they are truly saved they will return to the Truth because they know the truth. God puts a hedge around his people and no one can snatch them from his hands. John 10:28-29 NKJV And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
Verse 25: I have already mentioned that if we don’t know what the events will be coming in the future, then how will we be able to know the truth.
Verse 26: Jesus is telling us that if someone tells us that the Messiah has come and he is performing miracles someplace in the world, don’t be deceived and waste our time going there. In Jesus time false prophets would take people out into the desert or they would proclaim he is in someone’s house. I think we can all relate to this verse, just think back to May when there was a proclamation that Jesus was coming May 21st, and what about David Koresh in 1993 in Waco, Texas? If people have the knowledge of what scripture says, red flags go up, and you will be able to know the truth. If all the people in Koresh’s compound would have had a knowledge of what the Bible says, do you think they would have been deceived by him?
Verse 27: There will be no doubt as to when Jesus comes, because scripture tells us this. Mark 13:26 NKJV Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. Matthew 24:27 NKJV For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. This doesn’t mean Jesus will be coming from the east. It signifies that He will come when least expected, you know not the day or the hour. He will come like lightning, no one can predict where the next bolt of lightning will strike. Matthew 24:30-31 NKJV 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 on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 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.
Verse 28: The NLT states the verse this way; Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near. The NKJV states it this way; For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. This verse has a couple meanings. First of all, it is still talking about the signs of Jesus return. Go back and read the previous verses starting with Matthew 24:1-28 and then read verse 29. This verse is a metaphor indicating as the time draws nearer to the return of Jesus, end time events will come in rapid succession and with greater intensity. Just like a vulture can detect an animal near death. First you have one vulture circling, then two, then three, and pretty soon you have a couple dozen vultures circling and waiting for the death of the animal. Once the animal dies, they descend in a fury and feast on the prey. If you have watched Animal Planet, I’m sure you have witnessed this. Some Bibles say eagles some say vultures. If you have ever been to Starved Rock in the winter time when the river is froze over, you will see a gathering of eagle to prey on the fish in the open waters. It starts with one eagle showing up and before long you have a multitude of them. So whichever bird of prey you want to use as a metaphor, I feel you can, because I can relate to both.
The word carcass signifies death and anyone living in sin is dead to Jesus. This is what Jesus will be coming on a cloud to take care of, the destruction of any that are not Born Again. He is going to wipe evil off the face of this earth and then set up his Kingdom Come on Earth as it is in Heaven.
The Rapture will happen so quickly that if you do not have a Spiritual Birth right now, you will not have a chance to accept Jesus as your Saviour. I encourage you to accept Jesus as your personal Saviour today.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth,
Unless you are Born Again, you cannot enter into Heaven, the Kingdom of God."
Bill
Last Week’s Trivia: God helps those who help themselves. What is you thought about that statement?
Answer: “God helps those who help themselves.” Meaning we have to put forth an effort and God will bless us as a result. When I was first Saved I made this statement to a fellow brother and he commented, “We can’t do anything, God does it all”. I have pondered his statement now for over three years, and I think, or I hope he realizes what he said is wrong in a sense.
First, if we don’t do something to seek the Truth/Jesus then we have no chance to be Saved. I’m not talking about doing good works or deeds to get to Heaven, because we all know the only way to Heaven is through Jesus by being Spiritually Born. I’m talking about picking up the Bible and reading and studying it to learn the truth. Matthew 6:33 NKJV But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Second, if we need a job to support ourselves and don’t put forth an honest effort to find a job, how much help do you think Jesus will give us. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 NKJV For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
Third, if we don’t tithe to the church we go to, then how do we expect God to bless our finances. Malachi 3:8-10 NLT "Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated Me! "But you ask, 'What do You mean? When did we ever cheat You?' "You have cheated Me of the tithes and offerings due to Me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating Me. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in My Temple. If you do," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put Me to the test!
In other words we have to put forth an effort and obey God if we expect our prayers to be answered according to His will not ours.
This week’s Trivia: Why do people have a hard time understanding the Bible.
No comments:
Post a Comment