January 16, 2022
Morning Service

Mat 24:1-3 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  (2)  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  (3)  Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"

            This teaching (chapters 24-25) is often referred to as the “Olivet Discourse” because that is where He spoke it from.  The disciples’ questions here spur a prophetic teaching that points towards the Tribulation Period and Jesus’ Second Coming. The Mount of Olives overlooks the city of Jerusalem and had a great view of the Temple.  The disciples were impressed with the beautiful architecture of this magnificent building.  The inner temple was surrounded by an area full of sacred objects and the altar where the sacrifices were made.  A huge courtyard surrounded that area and is where the money changes and merchants had set up.  Leading into the courtyard were long porches.  Solomon’s porch was 1,562 feet long adorned with stone columns along the way.  It was an impressive site for some of us fishermen from a small city.  Jesus uses their statement to show them that the Temple and all this world has to offer is only temporary.  Despite the beauty and architecture of the Temple, Titus came into the city in 70AD and totally destroyed it just as Jesus predicts.  We must be careful not to place value on things of this world which are temporary, but focus rather on things eternal.  As they gaze over this impressive site, the disciples ask a three-part question “when will these things be?  What will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age?”  Imagine how everyone’s attention if fully upon Jesus as He speaks openly and honestly to us.  He does not directly answer the first question, but today we will look in verses 4-14 describe the time leading up to and the first half (3 ½ years) of the Tribulation.

Mat 24:4-9 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives 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.

            Our enemy is working hard and his job is to deceive and divert us from the truth.  Many false messiahs will appear and they will “deceive many.”  These false prophets will even do works that are counterfeit; look spiritual but are not. It is imperative that we as the church, “study to show ourselves approved rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” (2Tim. 2:15) We must KNOW the truth to be able to identify if we are being deceived.  Keep your eyes on Jesus and trust Him to lead us down the right path.  Stay engaged with your personal Bible study and be here in the services as the Hebrew writer encourages us:

 

Heb. 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

            We found out during our Covid shut downs that we need this assembling of ourselves together.  God has designed us to walk through life together, exhorting one another, carrying each other’s burdens, and studying the scriptures.  I can’t wait until we are able to return to “Hug and Howdy!” Stay engaged here in our Fellowship cry with those who are sad and laugh with those who celebrate!  Look for ways to be more involved and invest in each other as we see “the Day approaching.”  We are an easier target for our enemy when we are alone; we are better and stronger together! 

  In this prophetic discourse, Jesus warns of “wars and rumors of wars, national unrest, famines, pestilences and natural disasters.”  These are but the beginning of sorrows.  It does not take a theologian to see all of these things present in our world today does it?  Russia and China are both on the verge of invading smaller countries.  It seems there are new issues daily between our country and others.  Food shortages, Covid 19, and tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes and fires are all big part of the daily news.  These are national events that should be very much on each of our radars.  We certainly could make the case that we are on the verge of all these prophecies coming to fruition.  Jesus now prophesies on a more personal level to those who are following Him.

Mat 24:9-14 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  (10)  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  (11)  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  (12)  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  (13)  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  (14)  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

            Paul built upon this prophecy for each of us as he wrote this to Timothy:

2Ti 3:10-12 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, (11) persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.  (12)  Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

            Jesus and Paul are both transparent about what we are signing up for in following.  Persecutions will come along our journey; not if but when.  Today we, in reality, are experiencing very little persecution compared to our brothers overseas.  Jesus warns us however to be ready as the Tribulation time approaches it will come and with a fury.  Not only will we be brought before religious and civil courts, but some will (and many already have) be martyred for their faith in Christ.  Nations will conduct bitter hate campaigns against those who are following Jesus.  The world will be offended by the truth of the gospel message and lash out at us for it.  We see this moderately now as we speak truth about the issues of abortion, homosexuality, marriage, and gender, but we can expect that to intensify as time passes. These and other issues will cause even more deception inside the church and “the love of many will grow cold” even causing some to “betray one another.”  The passion in which many served and obeyed the Lord will be “conformed” to a worldlier point of view rather than spiritual.  Many will become “tolerant” of lifestyles and choices that are openly declared as sinful in the Bible.  Jesus is warning us so that we can be aware and prepared for this trial.  Our eyes must remain fixed steadfastly upon Him.  He ends this section by giving us hope that we can overcome this challenge.  “He who endures to the end will be saved” and the gospel message will not be defeated but will reach out all the nations.  We will win, so don’t quit when the going gets tough stand firm upon the foundation that the One we are following is “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” and He will not ever leave us or forsake us.

            Be a “doer and not a hearer only” of this message.  If this scares you, then buckle down and put God first in your life to build your confidence that “you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.”  Fear does not come from God, but from our enemy.  Build your faith through reading the Word so you will not give in to fear or deception but that you can with God’s help endure to the end.

 

Heavenly Father, open our spiritual eyes to the times that we are in.  Please grant to us a hunger for Your Word that will prevent us from being deceived.