Things To Come Pt. 2

We are involved in a study of Things to Come -

spending a few weeks

looking at some of what our Lord has told us about the future,

and especially about the events

immediately surrounding the end of this world as we know it.

And two weeks ago we began our study

by looking at a time line

to help us get a feel for where we are

at this point in human history.

I want us to go back to that time line

for a few minutes this morning

to point out a few things

we didn’t have time to touch on two weeks ago.

We saw two weeks ago

that we are created beings who,

after a brief period of innocence,

rebelled against our Creator.

We staked out our claim

to this incredible world He had created for us,

declared ourselves independent agents,

and told Him we could do just fine without Him, thank you.

I compared the human race

to a 16 year old son

who has ripped off his dad’s car

and his dad’s VISA card,

and headed off across country

to prove he could do just fine on his own.

We also saw

that, following our revolt,

rather than the Creator just scratching the whole miserable creation,

He instituted a carefully crafted plan

in which He provided a way

for those rebels who chose to

to return to Him.

We entered what we are calling The Age of Faith,

a brief period in history

in which our God has stepped back into the shadows,

and extended an open invitation

to the entire human race

to return to Him through faith -

through our choosing to believe Him.

I didn’t mention this two weeks ago,

but it is important to know that

even though this Age of Faith

came in response to our rebellion,

it never was “Plane B”.

This was not God’s attempt

to the make the best out of bad deal.

There has only been one plan

from before the creation began-

the plan that recognized that free will

always brought with it

the ability to rebel,

the plan that understood

that sin was inevitable,

and the plan that made provision for that sin

even before man existed.

There is an interesting statement

in Revelation 13

where John describes the world’s response to the appearance

of the Anti-Christ on the scene.

John writes,

Rev. 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

He’s saying, before Man ever existed,

God knew.

He knew it all.

He knew we would rebel.

He knew He would need to provide

a means through which

our debt of sin could be paid,

a means that would require

Himself taking on human form

and allowing Himself to be offered

as a human sacrifice

for our sins.

The Lamb, slain before the foundation of the world.

Now, we saw two weeks ago

that the basics of this Age of Faith

have not altered since sin entered the human race.

1. From the shadows

our Creator continues to pay our VISA bill,

and He continues to actively reveal Himself to every human being.

2. He postpones the final consequences of our rebellion

in order to give each of us

the opportunity to return to Him.

3. He requires just two things of those

who choose to forsake their rebellion

and return to Him.

a. We must bow before Him as God.

b. We must choose to trust Him...

the AGE OF FAITH.

This basic plan does not change

until Christ once again steps out of the shadows,

physically returns to earth,

removes all those who stand in rebellion against Him,

and establishes His kingdom,

a kingdom that will then exist for a 1000 years.

During that time there will be no need for faith,

because obedience and submission

will be the only option.

But there are a few other things

I want to point out on this time line

before we set it aside for a while.

Even though the fundamentals of this Age of Faith

have not changed since the fall -

there was a dramatic change that took place

2000 years ago

through the 1^st appearance of the Jesus Christ.

Matthew says it well when he quotes Isaiah in Matt. 4:16:

Matt. 4:16 "The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned."

Prior to Christ’s 1^st coming

man’s faith was based on God’s character and God’s promise

that He would provide a way

through which man’s sin could be removed.

But once Christ came on the scene,

and once He had physically offered Himself on the cross

for our sins,

the human race was flooded with light.

For the first time we were able to see

just exactly what God’s plan was

and how He was going to deliver us from our sin.

Now, Christ’s 1^st coming

began a special phase of the Age of Faith

that Scripture calls the Last Days.

You and I right now

are living in the last days.

We have been in the last days for nearly 2000 years now.

To our extremely finite minds,

a “last days” that lasts for 2000 years

may seem like an awfully long “last days”.

But from the eternal perspective of God

it’s nothing.

Peter addresses this very issue

in II Peter 3 where he says,

2 Pet. 3:3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,

2 Pet. 3:4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."...

2 Pet. 3:8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

2 Pet. 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

2 Pet. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

You see, this is the last phase

of God’s overall redemptive plan for mankind,

that brief period in eternity

when we have been flooded with the light of knowledge

that has come to us through Jesus Christ.

We know exactly what He’s doing,

and why He’s doing it,

and how He will accomplish it.

Which brings us, then,

to the last special period during the Age of Faith mentioned in Scripture:

The Seven Year Great Tribulation.

This brief period in history

is so significant in all that God is doing

that He has given us a detailed picture

of the events that will lead up to it

and also of the events that will take place

during that 7 year period.

Which brings us out of history

and back to Biblical prophecy.

And what I want to do with the rest of our time this morning

is to plunge right into one of the key prophetic passages in the New Testament.

It begins in Matthew 24:1 with Christ predicting the destruction of the Temple,

and runs through Matthew 25:46.

The whole prophetic message

was triggered by one of the disciples

commenting about what an impressive structure the temple building was.

Jesus responded by saying that a day was coming

when not one stone of the temple

would be left standing upon another.

As soon as the disciples could get Jesus alone

they asked Him for more information about the future

and Jesus responded with the comments we have recorded in Matthew chapters 24 and 25.

We don’t have time even to read this entire passage this morning,

much less to study it,

but I want to plug in some divisions for you

so that you can read it on your own

and better understand what’s being said and to whom,

and then we’ll return to the 5 verses

that are directed specifically to where I believe we are right now.

Jesus uses the disciples’ questions

to offer prophetic comments

to 3 specific groups of people.

And what He says here

will only make sense

if we keep in mind who it was said to.

In Matt. 24:4-44

Jesus gives specific instructions to the Nation of Israel preparing them for the time of the Great Tribulation.

In 24:45-25:30

Jesus directs comments specifically to and for His Church during the church age.

And in 25:31-46 He offers comments about His return and its impact on the Gentile (non-Jewish) nations.

And we also need to keep in mind

that what we want

and what our Lord knew we needed

were two very different things.

What we want is a date and a time so that

we can decide whether we should

put our dividend into a CD for our child’s college expenses

several years down the line,

or whether we should use it

for that Caribbean cruise

as one last fling before the Lord’s return.

But what Jesus wanted to offer us

was not dates and times,

but rather ATTITUDES -

attitudes that would equip His people

to face the future

with wisdom,

confidence,

and effectiveness

in every generation

from the day He departed

until the day He once again sets foot on the Mount of Olives.

Now, just to get our prophetic feet wet,

let’s start with Matthew 24:4-8.

In response to the disciples’ request

for more information about when the end of the world would come Jesus said:

Matt. 24:4-8 And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many. And 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. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

In this passage

Jesus sets up an analogy between

the events surrounding His return

and a pregnant woman

beginning the process of labor

in preparation for child birth.

And He gives us 5 specific indicators

that He tells us will serve as what He calls, merely the beginning of birth pangs...

Those 5 are:

False Christs,

wars and rumors of wars,

increased tension between nations,

famines,

and earthquakes.

Now, there have always been false religious leaders in the world,

there have always been wars,

there have always been tensions between nations,

and there have always been periodic famines and earthquakes.

But the key here

is in Jesus’ comparison to birth pangs.

Those of you who have been through this birth thing first hand

know that once birth pangs begin

they continue to increase in frequency and intensity

until they finally culminate in a strength and duration sufficient to bring about the birth of the baby.

Now, we are not going to get into

a major side-track here,

but let’s just take one item on that birth-pang list

and use it as an illustration

of what’s going on around us.

We’ll take earthquakes.

During the 38 year period from 1863 to 1900

there were 12 earthquakes worldwide with a magnitude of 7.0 or greater.

During the 38 year period from 1900 to 1938

there were 53 earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or greater.

During the 38 year period from 1939 to 1976

there were 71 earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or greater.

And during the 35 year period from 1977 to March of 2011

there have been 164 earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or greater.

And the trend since 1997 is especially fascinating.

In the 11 year period between 1986 and 1996

there were 15 earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or greater.

But between 1997 and 2007, also a period of 11 years,

there were 99 earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or greater,

more than a six-fold increase in the previous 11 year period.

If we took the time,

and did the research,

we would find strikingly similar patterns

with all five signs

that Jesus offered as what He called,

merely the beginning of birth pangs.

Now, when a woman feels “merely the beginning of birth pangs”

what does she do?

I remember when Sandee felt the beginning of birth pangs with Joni.

We called the doctor.

We said, “They’ve started! They’ve started! We’re coming to the hospital NOW!”

He said, ‟NO! Not yet.

This is just the beginning.

When the contractions get X minutes apart, then call me again, and head to the hospital.”

You see, with these signs,

Jesus is saying, “When you see them dramatically increasing - stay alert,

and watch carefully what’s happening.”

And for this morning

let me wrap this up with two final statements:

#1. We have clearly entered the birth-pangs phase of the Last Days.

The reason Christ gave these signs

was to alert us to where we are

in the over-all prophetic program.

Given the signs He selected

even the most casual reader can recognize there is a dramatic increase in intensity and frequency.

#2. No one knows how long birth pangs will continue until they culminate in the birth.

It could be another 30 seconds,

or another 30 minutes,

or another 30 days,

or another 30 months,

or another 30 years.

About 45 years ago

I sat awestruck in a crowd of college students as Hal Lindsey

carefully outlined the Biblical requirements that had to be fulfilled

before Christ returned.

He talked about these birth pangs,

and a number of other pieces to the prophetic puzzle.

He then shifted his attention to the restoration of the nation of Israel in 1947,

and quoted Jesus’ statement in Matt. 24:34

in which the Lord says,

Matt. 24:34 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

He then explained to us that a Biblical generation was 30 years in length

and concluded by strongly implying that

1947 plus 30 years put the outside limits of the return of Christ at 1977.

1977 was the first year of Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

Those were not exceptionally good years in our nation’s history,

but I guarantee you, they were NOT the great tribulation.

All I’m saying is this -

we want dates,

our Lord wants ATTITUDES.

He wants us alert

He wants us aware

He wants us prepared

and He wants us at peace.

Now, just so you know where we’re going next week,

there is a major transition between Matt. 24:8 and Matt. 24:9.

Matthew 24:9 takes the nation of Israel right into the great tribulation of the last 7 years preceding the return of Christ.

There are 2 major missing pieces

that must fit in between those two verses.

One of them involves the church,

and the other involves the Nation of Israel.

We’ll look at those two pieces next week.