Revolver Map.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Second coming.

In Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus "What will be the sign of His Coming , and of the end of the age?".... 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?" 4 ¶ 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. 9 "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. (Matthew 24:3-14 NKJV) Then Jesus gave the one unmistakeable sign of His coming by referring to the prophet Daniel. No one can understand this sign without understanding Daniel. This sign, involving the rebuilt temple, occurs 3 1/2 years before the return of Jesus Christ:... 15 "Therefore when you see the `abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place"(The Holy of Holies of the soon to be rebuilt third temple on the temple mount) (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 "Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 "And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. 23 "Then if anyone says to you, `Look, here is the Christ!' or `There!' do not believe it. 24 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 "See, I have told you beforehand. 26 "Therefore if they say to you, `Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or `Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it. 27 "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matthew 24:15-27 NKJV).... 29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 ¶ "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:(Israel-see Matt.21:1-19) When its branch (Jerusalem) has already become tender and puts forth leaves,(Jews still looking for their Messiah) you know that summer(the Kingdom) is near. 33 "So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near----at the doors! 34 "Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. (Matthew 24:29-35 NKJV) His Words have not only NOT passed away, but they have been translated into more languages, critically studied, and printed more than the words of any person!

Are we in the end times?

1. False teachers are proud.  They are concerned for their own popularity.  They are concerned for their own fame.  They are concerned for their own notoriety.  They are concerned for their own prestige.  They’re concerned to see themselves and hear themselves in the public eye.  They want large crowds, as it were, to bow down in great homage to them.  They’re characterized by pride and they will do anything to gain the ground they need to gain for the welfare of their own personal ego, including any amount of compromise necessary.
2. Secondly, false teachers are characterized by selfishness.  They tend to be self-centered.  They are concerned for their own comfort.  They are concerned for their own popularity.  They are concerned for their own prosperity.  In the end, it’s all about money, fame, and prestige and notoriety equals an increased bank account.  They are in it for the money and the personal material benefits that they can gain as they endeavor to feed their selfish desires.
3. Thirdly, They are characterized by deception.  They usually can weave a very sophisticated web of deception in their teaching because they tend to be articulate, if they’re going to be successful, and they endeavor to engage other people to aid them in their deceitful enterprise which gives it the, sort of, facade of credibility.
4. They’re not only proud and selfish and deceptive, but [fourthly] they’re irreverent.  If there’s anything that sort of dominates in my thinking about false teachers, it is their irreverence.  They have absolutely no regard for God.  The fact that they would go against God, that they would elevate themselves the way they do, that they would pervert the truth indicates their utter irreverence.  They have little, if any, regard for God, His Word, His truth, His glory, His honor…
5. Finally, they are spiritually destructive.  They seek to use people; they seek to abuse people.  They seek to lead people into error, which destroys them—into sin, which pollutes them. 
So, as you look at false teachers with regard to the world, they are proud and they seek fame and popularity.  With regard to themselves, they are self-centered, selfish, self-aggrandizing, self-gratifying.  With regard to the nature of their ministry, they are dishonest and deceptive and lack integrity.  With regard to God, they are utterly irreverent; in fact, they are blasphemous.  And, with regard to the people that they influence, they are spiritually destructive. So, their relationship to the world, their relationship to the ministry, their relationship to themselves, their relationship to God, their relationship to their people all reflects the deviation of their hearts.