We are beginning a brand-new series called “The End” and we are going to take a look at what is happening in our world right before Jesus comes back.
When it comes to this subject there is a lot of debate and symbolism, which makes it impossible to know exactly on how the end times will happen or in what order. We do know one day, the world is going to end, and we need to be ready and prepare ourselves as much as possible for this day. So throughout this series we are going to look at God's Word and give the best clarity we think we can find from these passages.
When it comes to this subject people generally have one of two responses and neither of them is very healthy. To have one response is that people try to avoid this subject altogether. It scares them. Thinking about Jesus coming back brings up feelings of anxiety and fear so they don’t want to talk about it. In fact, they don’t want to think about it. My hope is by the time we get done with this series you’ll understand it better and it will bring comfort that God is in control.
The other response people give to this topic is they become obsessed with all of this. They try to piece everything together and they try to figure out when the end will come. There are really only three things I can know for sure about the return of Christ.
I hope you know for sure that you will go with Jesus when he returns because you love him and you live your life for him. If you aren’t sure about that, text Remix to 97000. The bottom line is we need to always be ready for his return.
The Bible teaches that one day there is going to be an event called the rapture. In the blink of an eye Jesus will return and take all Christians to be with him in heaven.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 says, "And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words."
Imagine that moment in time when in the blink of an eye Jesus calls up over 1 billion people on planet earth home to heaven. Imagine what the world would look like after Jesus did that.
Abandoned cars cause massive traffic accidents on every highway and on every street because those Christians who were driving those cars have just disappeared. Thousands of homes burn to the ground because stoves and ovens were left on when the person who was cooking vanished. Planes fall from the sky because the plane’s pilot has vanished.
Mass confusion and panic begins. People are running out into the streets screaming. They don’t understand what has taken place. Their loved ones are gone. Governments, businesses and schools are shut down trying to make sense of it all. You think the pandemic was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet.
People become glued to their TV sets waiting to hear the next piece of news and as the day unfolds the news gets worse and worse.
People are interviewed, and someone talks about how their bus crashed on the way home from school because their bus driver was taken to Heaven. Or a student is interviewed who hasn't had dinner cooked for them in weeks because their parents have been missing.
Politicians try to answer the questions surrounding the disappearance of so many people. They were abducted by aliens; this must be some strange nuclear reaction. Some people know the truth that Christians have been taken to heaven but it is difficult to persuade the others.
And just when a person thinks it can’t get any worse it does. Governments are struggling to keep order. The stock market plummets. The economy begins to tank. People are looking for a leader, any leader to give them an answer and to provide them with a little bit of hope for tomorrow.
Friends, you and I don’t want to still be here after Jesus comes back because the Bible says that there will be seven years of tribulation, that means God’s wrath will be poured out on mankind and it will be the worst seven years the people on this planet have ever endured.
You might be wondering, “When will this happen?” Let’s let Jesus answer that question. He says,
Mark 13:32"No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows."
Jesus said there is only one who knows and that is God the Father so when you hear someone predicting when Jesus will return don’t freak out. No one knows the day or the time of Christ's return. Jesus did say that there would be signs that will point to his return and it is those signs that we need to be aware of.
What are these signs? Let’s take a look. Let’s start in Mark 13,
Mark 13:1-2"As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, look at these magnificent buildings! Look at the impressive stones in the walls.” Jesus replied, “Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”
What the disciples were looking at was the temple of God built by Herod. It was a magnificent structure. Some of the temple stones were over 60 feet in length and weighed over 1000 tons. The temple took 46 years to build and was completed in 63 AD. The temple walls were made of gold. Historians described the temple as appearing like a mountain of gold.
Jesus said every single one of these buildings you see will be completely destroyed. Not one stone will be left on top of the other. The disciples probably couldn’t believe what they were hearing but history tells us in 70 AD that is exactly what happened. The city of Jerusalem was completely destroyed.
The beginning of the end was all the way back in 70 AD with the fall of Jerusalem. Jesus said this was the beginning of birth pains. If you know how a woman gives birth, she at first feels a pain, a cramping and then as she gets closer to delivering the baby those labor pains, those contractions get closer and closer together. When that happens it won’t be long before the baby comes.
Jesus said the first birth pain is the fall of Jerusalem. Then he listed more birth pains and more signs that would come before Jesus returned. He said,
Mark 13:5-6"Jesus replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah' They will deceive many."
There will be a rise in false teachings.
For many years now there has been an explosion of cults that have led people astray. Cults like Mormonism, Jehovah’s witnesses, Christian Scientist, Church of scientology, new age philosophy and mysticism.
Many people take a little of this religion and a little of that one. They claim to worship God but it is a God of their own making.
There will be wars and rumors of wars.
Mark 13:7"And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.'
In the last 6000 years there have only been about 300 years of peace. When we add up the military and civilian deaths due to war over the past 100 years the numbers of people that have died exceed the number of people who were alive during Jesus’ life on the earth.
Seems like every day we hear of the potential of another conflict. Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Ukraine. Now we have nations that have nuclear weapons. Nations that are unstable and much more likely to use them to start wars.
There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines.
Earthquakes continue to hit all over the globe. Scientist locate about 12,000 to 14,000 earthquakes each year or approximately 50 earthquakes per day.
There would be severe persecution for those who follow Jesus.
There were more Christians who died for the faith in the 20th century than in the first 19 centuries after the birth of Christ combined. We don’t know what severe persecution is yet in the United States but they do in many countries around the world. And then Jesus said,
The Gospel will be preached to all nations.
Some people interpret that verse of scripture to say that Jesus won’t come back until Jesus is preached and the Bible is translated into every language but I don’t think that was what Jesus was saying. The disciples thought they were fulfilling Jesus’ statement in their time. They had taken the message of Jesus to Rome, even as far as India. It seems obvious that the writers of the New Testament believed that they were living in the last days. They believed that Jesus could return at any minute.
The bottom line is Jesus could return at any time. And if there is a prophecy that is hanging out there that God hasn’t fulfilled yet, I promise you this God could fulfill it in a second.
The question I have is “Are you ready?”
Luke 12:40, Jesus says"You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected."
Jesus’ return could be today, we really don't know. Before you walk out these doors today, before you step into your car, before you go into your house, before you sit at your table, before you turn on the T.V. before you go to bed, before you wake up in the morning it could happen.
The big question isn’t “when is He coming?” The big question is how am I going to live while I wait?
Next week we're going to talk more about how to be ready, but today if you're needing to make a decision, text Remix to 97000 and someone on the Student Team will reach out to you.
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