This past Sunday we KICKED OFF our NEW series "YOU PICK." People voted on their top 3 topics for me to speak on. One of the top 3 was End Times. You can listen to the podcasts or download it by clicking here WYANDOTTE FAMILY PODCAST You can also watch the sermons on our NEW You Tube Channel CLICK HERE
If you haven't heard the message I encourage you to click on the links above to watch or listen first and then read the blog.
During the message I talked about 2 of the "Signs of the end times" that Jesus shared. I talked about the persecution of followers of Christ and how sin will be rampant and the love of many will grow cold. Here are some quick thoughts of the other signs in Matthew 24.
Sign #1 - Many will come in my name claiming to be the Messiah
When we hear someone claiming to be the Messiah today in the news we laugh and think of the person as crazy. However, there are many people who claim they have the way to eternal life when Jesus said clearly He was the way, truth and life, no one can come to the father except through me. That is why Jesus told us not to be deceived.
The
Greek word for deceive is planaō to lead away from the truth, to lead into error, to deceive.
Many have arisen in our world to deceive and pull people away from the truth of Jesus Christ.
Sign #2 - Wars and Rumors of Wars
Since
Jesus' words were spoken, we’ve had too many wars to count. Whether it was the Holocaust, Libyian
Civil War, Dafur conflict in Sudan or the current war in Syria and Middle East, wars and rumors
of wars continue to increase.
2001 - Terrorists attack in the USA
2001 -Afghanistan's liberation war - USA & UK vs. Taliban
2002 - Cote d'Ivoire's civil war
2003 - Second Iraq-USA war - USA, UK and Australia vs. Saddam Hussein and subsequent civil war
2003-2009 - Sudan vs. JEM/Darfur
2004 - Sudan vs. SPLM & Eritrea
2004 - Yemen vs. Shitite Muslims
2004 - Thailand vs Muslin separatists
2007 - Pakistan vs. Pakistanki Taliban
2012 - Iraq's civil war after the withdrawal of USA troops
2012 - Syria's civil war
2013-2016 - ISIS and the war in Europe and Middle East
Sign #3 - Famine and earthquakes in many parts of the world
But between 1997 and 2007 (incl), a period of only 11 years, there were 99 earthquakes with magnitude 7.0 or greater : This is more than a six-fold increase on the previous similar period - and is a stark increase on any earlier decades in 20th century too.
Action against
Hunger—Global
hunger now afflicts nearly a billion people worldwide. Severe acute
malnutrition, however, is the more immediate killer: it threatens the lives of
19 million children. Every year at least 3.5 million of them die from
malnutrition-related causes.
Sign #5 - Many will turn from the faith
GEORGE BARNA says: "One common thread in every survey has been
the significant number of Millennials among these “Nones.” The initial Pew
survey found that nearly one-in-three members of the Millennial generation
(32%) has no religious affiliation. But, who are these faithless
twentysomethings? Where did they come from? Did they ever claim faith? And what
is it about religion that has left them cold?
Recent surveys by
the Barna Group have shed light on this trend by examining those 18- to
29-year-olds who used to identify themselves closely with faith and the church,
but who have since begun to wrestle with that identity. In fact, between high
school and turning 30, 43% of these once-active Millennials drop out of regular
church attendance—that amounts to eight million twentysomethings who have, for
various reasons, given up on church or Christianity.
Sign #6 - Many will betray and hate each other
I don't have to tell you, there is an undercurrent of anger and hatred in our world. Say one wrong thing, or accidentally take too long at a recently turned green light and people start yelling and cussing you out.
When we see people looking out only for their own interest, even if that means betraying each other, the time is near. When people cuss you out, call you names and even yell at you because you simple disagree with them, the end is near.
Sign #8 - The good news will be preached in every nation
According to the
Joshua Project, as of 2013, Of the 16,650 people groups by country, 7,183 are still considered unreached. There is work to be done yet we are closer than ever before with
the Internet, radio, TV and the digital era.
In the height of WWII, Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned for taking a stand against Hitler. Yet he continued to urge fellow believers to resist Nazi tyranny. A group of Christians, believing that Hitler was the Antichrist, asked Bonhoeffer, "Why do you expose yourself to all this danger? Jesus will return any day, and all your work and suffering will be for nothing." Bonhoeffer replied,
In the height of WWII, Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned for taking a stand against Hitler. Yet he continued to urge fellow believers to resist Nazi tyranny. A group of Christians, believing that Hitler was the Antichrist, asked Bonhoeffer, "Why do you expose yourself to all this danger? Jesus will return any day, and all your work and suffering will be for nothing." Bonhoeffer replied,
"If Jesus returns tomorrow, then tomorrow I'll rest from my
labor. But today I have work to do. I must continue the struggle until it's
finished."
Sign #9 - False Prophets
A false prophet is anyone who speaks about life, God and heaven yet is contrary to the word of God. False prophets in the Old Testament would prophecy peace and safety even though the people of Israel were doing everything God has asked them not to do and were not doing anything that God had asked them to do. When the prophets of God spoke the truth, they were persecuted and killed.
If anyone speaks against Christ rest assure it is not from the Lord.
Have people predicted Jesus coming in vain? Yes! Have people tried to scare people with the end times? Yes! In spite all of this, we see in the Bible that Jesus is coming again so all who believe can be with Him! We are closer now than ever before.
