November 6, 2011
Morning Service

Acts 3:12-21

 

Peter has now preached his second sermon.  The people were amazed at seeing the lame man walking, and leaping, and praising God.  So Peter began his sermon with telling the people that it was in the Name of Jesus that this miracle had occurred.  Then went on and preached Jesus to them.

            Peter concluded this message with this thought; 

Act 3:19-26 KJVR  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;  (20)  And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:  (21)  Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 

• Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things.  You see God has set everything in order, and there is a specific time that Jesus will return for the church, and that is when all things are restored, or completed in all the prophecies which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy Prophets since the world began.
• Some of this restitution is what the Apostle Paul told the church at Thessalonica.

2Th 1:7-10 KJVR  And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,  (8)  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:  (9)  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;  (10)  When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

And continuing;

2Th 2:1-17 KJVR  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,  (2)  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.  (3)  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;  (4)  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.  (5)  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?  (6)  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.  (7)  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.  (8)  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:  (9)  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,  (10)  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  (11)  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:  (12)  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.  (13)  But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:  (14)  Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (15)  Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.  (16)  Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,  (17)  Comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work.

• First of all Paul is telling them not to worry concerning the day, or the hour that Jesus will return for His followers.  It is certain He will, but it is not given to us the exact time that this will happen.
• Jesus gave us some things to look for when it would be time for His return;  If we look at what Jesus said, and compare it with what the Apostle told the Thessalonians, it all comes together.
• Mat 24:6-39 KJVR  And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  (7)  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.  (8)  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  (9)  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.  (10)  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.  (11)  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.  (12)  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 

I can see God allowing this to happen to a world that has fallen away from worshipping Him.  A Godless society will produce this very affect.

• (13)  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.  (14)  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 

(15)  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)  (16)  Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:  (17)  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:  (18)  Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.  (19)  And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!  (20)  But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:  (21)  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.  (22)  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.  (23)  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.  (24)  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.  (25)  Behold, I have told you before.  (26)  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.  (27)  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  (28)  For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.  (29)  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:  (30)  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  (31)  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 

• The abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet.  This very possibly is the man of sin that Paul is referring too.
• I feel this explanation by Jesus was given for our generation.  He knew these people would not see this happen.  They did actually see something similar to this in AD 70 when the Roman General destroyed Jerusalem, and sat in the temple, and sacrificed pigs on the altar of God.
• But all of these things did not happen at this time.  Such as the appearing of all the false Christs, and prophets, showing great signs, and wonders.  The sun was not darkened, and the moon not give it’s light, and the stars did not fall from the heavens, and the powers of heaven be shaken.  I believe these are yet to come.
• Then in verse 30 we see the Lord describe His coming, much like the Apostle Paul describes in I Thess 4:13-18.

(32)  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 

• That’s just a well known fact.

(33)  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.  (34)  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 

• This generation, the one that sees all these things happen, is the time of restitution of all things, in which Peter told these people, at the end of his second sermon.

(35)  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.  (36)  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.  (37)  But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  (38)  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,  (39)  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

• Can anyone deny that this is where we are at in history.  We have allowed godless men and women to dictate to our nation, once established on the principles of God, to do away with God, and His ways, follow after the ungodly ways of the world.

BACK TO PAUL:

• Two things;  first there must come a falling away.  Falling away, I believe this means a falling away from the church, and purity of It’s doctrines.
• And then a man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

The generation that is alive, and sees these things happening will be the one to see the return of the Lord.

 

I believe these things are in the future, and I believe that an ungodly world will be what brings this all to pass.

 

Almighty God we know that all things are being controlled by You.  We trust You for our well being, and stand on Your Word that the church shall not suffer in Your wrath.  Amen.