The church as a whole should not be having the attention focus of an untrained dog. One moment attentively listening to its master, the next off chasing cats and squirrels. We need to pay attention to our Lord's words regarding being watchful for His return, so that we'll be able to know the signs. For to those who know, His return will not come as a great shock.
Now, remember, Jesus is speaking with His disciples, not the general public. (vs 3). For such queries were even being said in their day that caused them to seek His wisdom concerning these things. Three questions they put to Him.
1. When will these things happen?
2. What will be the sign of Your coming?
3. What will be the sign of the end of the age?
WHEN WILL THESE THINGS HAPPEN?
Matthew 24:9-25 gives us more details. False Christs rise up to distract and try to detract from the gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Witnessing to All Nations wherein we will be afflicted (suffer for the sake of the cross) and killed (for His Name's sake). The Abomination of Desolation will call himself God and declare himself God over all other gods, regardless of religious affiliation.
THE SIGN OF HIS COMING
That one's pretty simple.
Revelation 1:7
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
1. HE COMES ON CLOUDS and
2. EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM
3. ANGELS WILL TRUMPET HIS ARRIVAL (Matthew 24:31)
So, if someone says, I am the Messiah you seek, but then he arrives not on clouds, nor is seen by every eye across the globe at the same time, then we know that the speaker is false and not to be trusted.
THE SIGN OF THE END OF THE AGE
Matthew 24:4-8 is brief in its description.
4. And Jesus answered and said unto them, "Take heed that no man deceive you.
5. "For many will come in My Name, saying, ‘I am The Christ,’ and will deceive many.
6. "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7. "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8. "All these are the beginning of sorrows."
These eight verses are not several signs, but one sign taking place in many events. The first two verses here warn against listening to lying spirits: false prophets and false teachings. Such will sound good to the itching ears which do not want to hear the Truth of God's Word, but will only bring about their downfall and their destruction. Too many people will choose not to believe God and His Word. As stated earlier in The Day of The Lord: The Warning to The Church study on this site.
Verse six tells of wars and rumors of wars. But the church, the born again, Spirit-filled believers, are not to worry or be anxious about such things.
And then, there's the rumors of wars. We hear those now, as our grandparents heard it then. Since early Bible times wars have been fought on every continent, with the victor deciding how the conquered nation should live, or whether that defeated nation should live at all. Though some countries have known relative peace and safety throughout time, many have not.
In the last days, during this time of falling away from The Truth of God's Word, when the church will be sifted like wheat, and judged for her philandering ways, the world will always be at war with the believer. As it has been, so shall it be, until the church is taken up out of this world by her Groom and Friend of The Groom.
Verse seven breaks this down even further. Not only will there be the wars and rumors of wars, but nation will rise against nation. And kingdom against kingdom. Within any continent there are many nations. And even within these nations there are more than one kingdom in place.
While all of the upheaval is happening, so, too, at the same time do famines, disease, and earthquakes in diverse places. Not just randomly, but in God's timing and on God's chronological chart, will these events take place. But don't be anxious, Christian: do no allow the worry of the world to take root in your hearts and minds. Yes, be wary of what is being said. But also be joyful, for these are only the birthing pains of what is about to happen.
In verse eight Jesus informs His disciples, then and now, that these events are merely the beginning of sorrows. The beginning of sorrows usually means travailing (contractions), childbirth. Though the arrival of a child is joyful, the getting to the arrival of the child, is painful for many women to go through.
In order for the church to be birthed, her Savior had to go through a period of sorrow, hence one of His titles is Man of Sorrows [Isaiah 53]. And His time of affliction is well documented both prophetically in The Old Testament and prophecy fulfilled in The New Testament. There are over 400 prophecies made in The Old Testament regarding The Messiah. In the gospel books {Matthew, Mark, Luke and John} Jesus Christ fulfills around 300 of them. (reference given below). Not all of them have been fulfilled yet; some will be fulfilled near the end of all life. That time of fulfillment of prophecy is nearer than many think or believe.
OUR MAIN OBJECTIVE AS CHRISTIANS - Preaching The Gospel
The church's main objective is to tell people about Jesus Christ, it is to win souls for the kingdom of heaven at any cost (Proverbs 11:30; Mark 16:15; Jude 1:22, 23):
That He is God's Only Begotten Son (1 John 4:9)
That He suffered and died (nailed to a cross) for the whole world, but that each individual must make a decision whether or not to believe this Truth. (John 3:16-18; Mark 16:16)
That He had the sins of the whole world laid across His shoulders (taking the load of sin off of us) (Isaiah 53:6; 2 Corinthians 5:21) God attributed the sins of the world to His Son Jesus Christ and then attributed Christ's righteousness to us, the believers.
That He was laid in a grave, wrapped in burial clothes (Luke 23:50-53)
That He went to hell and defeated it and death (Revelation 1:18)
and
That He conquered the grave when He rose from the dead and walked out of it in a new body, becoming the First of us to rise in newness of life (John 20; 1 Corinthians 15:20; Ephesians 1:18-20)
That people need to know they will die in their sins unless they repent and turn away from their sins, turning to God in the process, choosing to be obedient and faithful to and in His Word (Ezekiel 14:6,7; Acts 3:19; Matthew 4:17; Acts 17:30; Romans 3:23; Hebrews 4:1; Romans 3:9-20; Romans 10:9-13)
That water baptism is a public confession of faith in Christ Jesus, a symbol of being buried with Him and rising with Him (1 Peter 3:21; Romans 6:3, 4)
That the believer must hold fast, cling tightly to, faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation, not adhering to any words but The WORD (Anchored in Hope: Hebrews 6:19; Be Steadfast and Immovable: 1 Corinthians 15:58)
Then we know that the sign of the end of this age of political, ideological and spiritual unrest will be when the antiChrist stands in the holy place, when he seats himself in the temple and calls himself God. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 "Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
Our redemption is near. Luke 21:5-36.
**Resource Used: Ray Konig, Author & Investigative Journalist
