Title: The King Is Coming
Bible Book: Luke 12 : 36-40
Author: Donnie L. Martin
Subject: Jesus, Return of; Rapture; Judgment
Objective:
Introduction
Rockets at Cape Canaveral are not the only things that are on a countdown. The world, and life as we know it, are on God's timetable, and the countdown has already begun. Since time began, the moments have been ticking away, rushing mankind toward the ultimate conclusion of God's foreordained plan.
News reports are pregnant with the tensions in the Middle East. Most of the tensions revolve around resources. The recent friction between Israel and the Palestinians has to do with land. The Palestinians are seeking statehood and want Israel to pull out of Lebanon, which they say belongs to them. There is now talk of trying to convince Israel to give up all of the land that they captured during the Six Day War. I think you can look for Israel to make very few concessions from this point on. They will be pushed only so far in the name of peace.
In 1990, a man by the name of Saddam Hussein became a household word. He triggered the Gulf War by invading the tiny country of Kuwait. But many people did not understand Hussein's purpose behind invading this tiny, defenseless country. The fact is, Hussein's main goal was never Kuwait at all, but rather the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Jordan. Not only do all these countries hate Israel, as does Saddam Hussein, but they also own 70 percent of the world's oil. The "Butcher of Baghdad" believed that if he could gain control of the world's oil supply, he could rule the world and make Babylon his capital, and restore it to its former glory.
We are also noticing that the cost of almost everything continues to rise. Crime is rampant in the streets. Real solid families are nearly nonexistent. Heartfelt love has been exchanged for hellish lust. Unrest, frustration, hopelessness, wars, and rumors of wars are everywhere. What does it all mean? It can only mean that mankind is on the bottom end of the "Countdown To The Conclusion."
I. The Sureness Of Christs Return
Tim LaHaye, a noted author and lifelong student of prophecy, says, "...We have more reason than any generation before us to believe Christ may return in our generation...Christ could come today, and no prophecy of the end times necessary for His coming would go unfulfilled. Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, Are We Living In The End Times?, published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, pg. xi).
A. The Old Testament Predicted Christ's Return
Isaiah 9:7, "Of the increase of his (Messiah's) government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."
Zechariah 14:4, "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south."
B. The New Testament Predicted Christ's Return
Acts 1:9-11, "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
Revelation 1:7, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen."
II. The Signs Of Christs Return
A. It Will Be A Time Of Increased Knowledge And Travel
Daniel 12:4, "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
Tim LaHaye states that, "Since 1914, when the average speed of cars and trucks was fifteen to twenty miles per hour, until today, when rockets and satellites average twenty-four thousand miles per hour, man has had an explosion in knowledge." Ibid, pg. 28.
It was a little less than forty years ago that man landed his first manned spacecraft on the Moon. Since then, the robot spacecraft, Voyager, has actually exited our solar system. Additionally, we have also landed numerous crafts on the surface of the planet Mars.
Someone has recently made the statement that man's knowledge is doubling approximately every six months.
B. It Will Be A Time Characterized By Extreme Tensions And Troubles
Matthew 24:6a, 7a, "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars...For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom..."
According to Tim LaHaye, "...There have been approximately fifteen thousand wars in recorded human history...but the twentieth century in particular has been far bloodier than any century that preceded it. Far more people have died in wars during the past hundred years than in all the centuries before." Ibid, pg. 38.
C. It Will Be A Time Of Social Troubles
Matthew 24:7b-8, "...there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrow."
The fact is, many of the STD's (sexually transmitted diseases) that those in the medical profession thought they had eliminated forty years ago, have returned with a vengeance. They are actually worse than before. Add to that, the scourge of AIDS, which, according the medical experts of our day is likely to wipe out half of the teenage population of Africa, and you have the makings of Tribulation-like pestilence. The diseases just mentioned do not include the infectious diseases that kill at least 17 million people every year.
Famines are also very common in our world. If you don't believe that, just listen to the evening news; or better yet, watch the many commercials sponsored by world help organizations, in which they plead for donations to help feed hungry children all over the world.
As far as earthquakes are concerned, we are now hearing of more earthquakes in a month, than we used to hear about in a decade. "It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year. 100,000 of those can be felt, and 100 of them cause damage" (United States Geologic Survey).
D. It Will Be A Time Of Deception And Treachery
Matthew 24:5, 11 "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many."
Over forty years ago, Dr. M. R. DeHaan said that a new cult sprang up in America at least once a month. I wonder what he would say if he were still living today? If Satan can't get people to disbelieve in God or rebel against Him, he will seek to get them tangled up in some sort of false doctrine to keep them from being effective for God. Six times in Matthew 24, Jesus warned the disciples about deceivers in the last days.
E. It Will Be A Time Of Increased Sin And Tepid Love
Matthew 24:12, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."
A Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Francis Crick, "...has advocated that a child not be registered as a person until he is two days past birth and is healthy-also that people be exterminated beyond a certain advanced age" (Jerry Vines, Great Events In The Life Of Christ, published by Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois; pg. 121).
Are you aware that according to the current violent crime rate in America, more Americans are killed every two and a half years in this country than were killed in the entire ten years of the Vietnam War? Almost twenty-five thousand murders take place in this country every year (These facts taken from, Are We Living In The End Times?, pg. 330).
Are you also aware that fifty (50) million babies worldwide are murdered via abortion every year (Ibid, pg. 345)?
F. The Gospel Of The Kingdom Will Be Preached To The World In Total
Matthew 24:14, "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."
As little as thirty years ago a Bible translator might spend most of his life translating the New Testament into a tribal language. The computer has changed all of that. "...One translator has been known to translate the New Testament into five languages" (Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, Are We Living In The End Times?, published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, pg. 313)!
It should be noted that the preaching of the Gospel to the entire world is not now happening. It will happen during the Tribulation though. The point is that everything is pretty much in place for Christ's Second Coming.
By the "Second Coming" we do not mean the Rapture. Actually the Rapture is only the first part of the Second Coming of Christ. The Second Coming refers to that time when Christ will actually touchdown on earth and will set up His Millennial Kingdom. The Rapture will have taken place seven to ten years before that point.
It should also be noted that all of these signs of the times precede the Second Coming of Christ to set up His kingdom. There are no signs given in scripture that precede the Rapture of the Church. The Church is simply told to watch and wait for her coming Lord (Heb.9: 28; I Thess.1: 10). The fact that we are seeing the precursors of these signs, simply point to Christ's soon return.
III. The Sequence Of Christ's Return
A. The Rapture
The Next Event On God's End-Time Calendar Is The Rapture.
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
B. The Antichrist
After The Church Is Raptured, The Antichrist Will Be Revealed.
Note 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9, "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: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,"
C. The Tribulation
As Soon As The Antichrist Signs An Agreement With Israel, The Tribulation Period Becomes A Reality.
Daniel 9:27, "And he (Antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (refers to a week of years=7 years): and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."
D. The Return And Rule Of Jesus
At The End Of The Seven-Year Tribulation, Jesus Will Return To Rule And Reign.
Daniel 2:44a, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed..."
Matthew 24:27, 29-30, "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. 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: 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."
Revelation 11:15, "...The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever."
Folks, the time to walk with God is now!
The story is told of a little girl who had trouble sleeping one night. Her bedroom was upstairs, and every few minutes her parents, who were downstairs reading, would hear her little feet coming down the stairs. First she wanted a drink of water, then she wanted a cookie, and another time she wanted to know what time it was. Finally her parents' patience ran out, and they threatened her with punishment if she got up again.
All the little girl could do was lie in bed and listen to the striking of the grandfather clock downstairs. After the clock chimed eleven o'clock something must have happened mechanically, because the clock continued to chime. When the old clock chimed the eighteenth time, the little girl threw caution to the wind and jumped up and ran down stairs and cried, "Mom, Dad-it's later than it's ever been!" Ibid, pg. 364-65.
Folks, the little girl was right. It's later than it's ever been; and Christians need to wake up spiritually, and realize the necessity of living for Jesus. Are you ready to meet Jesus?
