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THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES -- Matthew 24:1-14
Matthew chapter 24 is a favorite text for messages about the end times because Jesus very clearly sets forth some indicators of where we are on God’s Timeline for Mankind. In vs. 3 the disciples asked 3 questions. What prompted these questions? Vs. 1 says the Lord’s “disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.” The Temple was the focal point of Jewish life. It sat on Mt. Moriah in all its splendor. The disciples could not believe that it would ever be desolate or destroyed, and the Lord’s prophecy of its destruction did not make sense to them. But Jesus said in vs. 2, “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” The Romans came against Jerusalem, and though General Titus had declared that the Temple was not to be destroyed, a flaming arrow shot at random set it on fire. The fire was so hot the gold that was in the Temple melted and ran down into the crevices between the stones of it. Then the plunderers came and pried apart all the stones of the Temple looking for gold and fulfilling the Lord’s prophecy. But in vs. 3 the Lord’s disciples asked: 1) When shall these things be? 2) What shall be the sign of thy coming? 3) What shall be the sign . . . of the end of the world? If we will get a proper understanding of the Lord’s answer to these questions, though It is impossible for any person to know exactly when Jesus will return, we can have a knowledge of the events that will signal to us that it is near. Some commentators say that Jesus did not answer the first question because the disciples were asking for a specific date (day and time) of Christ’s coming to rule the earth. In Acts 1:6 they asked, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” We humans are obsessed with time because we are here in this body for so little time. In James 4:14 James asked a question and answered it, “For What is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” The disciples wanted to know “when” Jesus was going to return and restore the kingdom to Israel, but look at the Lord’s answer in Acts 1:7: “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” In Matthew 24:36 Jesus said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” First century believers lived with a daily expectation of Christ’s return, quite unlike most believers today. Is Jesus really coming again? YES! And, there is a way for us to know that His coming is drawing near. And, I pray that God will use this message to stir our hearts and minds so that the glorious coming of Jesus may be uppermost in our hearts. We see there shall be:
I. THE PRETENSE OF COUNTERFEIT CHRISTS - VV. 4-5.
II. THE PRESENCE OF CONTINUING CONFLICT - VV. 6-7.
III. THE PROBLEM OF CATACLYSMIC CONSEQUENCES - VV. 7-8.
IV. THE PERSECUTION OF COMMITTED CHRISTIANS - VV. 9-10.
V. THE PERVERSION OF CHRISTLESS CULTS - VS. 11.
VI. THE PROLIFERATION OF CARNAL COLDNESS - VS. 12.
VII. THE PERFORMANCE OF CHRIST’S COMMISSION - VV. 13-14.
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By JWHMatthew chapter 24 is a favorite text for messages about the end times because Jesus very clearly sets forth some indicators of where we are on God’s Timeline for Mankind. In vs. 3 the disciples asked 3 questions. What prompted these questions? Vs. 1 says the Lord’s “disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.” The Temple was the focal point of Jewish life. It sat on Mt. Moriah in all its splendor. The disciples could not believe that it would ever be desolate or destroyed, and the Lord’s prophecy of its destruction did not make sense to them. But Jesus said in vs. 2, “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” The Romans came against Jerusalem, and though General Titus had declared that the Temple was not to be destroyed, a flaming arrow shot at random set it on fire. The fire was so hot the gold that was in the Temple melted and ran down into the crevices between the stones of it. Then the plunderers came and pried apart all the stones of the Temple looking for gold and fulfilling the Lord’s prophecy. But in vs. 3 the Lord’s disciples asked: 1) When shall these things be? 2) What shall be the sign of thy coming? 3) What shall be the sign . . . of the end of the world? If we will get a proper understanding of the Lord’s answer to these questions, though It is impossible for any person to know exactly when Jesus will return, we can have a knowledge of the events that will signal to us that it is near. Some commentators say that Jesus did not answer the first question because the disciples were asking for a specific date (day and time) of Christ’s coming to rule the earth. In Acts 1:6 they asked, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” We humans are obsessed with time because we are here in this body for so little time. In James 4:14 James asked a question and answered it, “For What is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” The disciples wanted to know “when” Jesus was going to return and restore the kingdom to Israel, but look at the Lord’s answer in Acts 1:7: “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” In Matthew 24:36 Jesus said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” First century believers lived with a daily expectation of Christ’s return, quite unlike most believers today. Is Jesus really coming again? YES! And, there is a way for us to know that His coming is drawing near. And, I pray that God will use this message to stir our hearts and minds so that the glorious coming of Jesus may be uppermost in our hearts. We see there shall be:
I. THE PRETENSE OF COUNTERFEIT CHRISTS - VV. 4-5.
II. THE PRESENCE OF CONTINUING CONFLICT - VV. 6-7.
III. THE PROBLEM OF CATACLYSMIC CONSEQUENCES - VV. 7-8.
IV. THE PERSECUTION OF COMMITTED CHRISTIANS - VV. 9-10.
V. THE PERVERSION OF CHRISTLESS CULTS - VS. 11.
VI. THE PROLIFERATION OF CARNAL COLDNESS - VS. 12.
VII. THE PERFORMANCE OF CHRIST’S COMMISSION - VV. 13-14.