Christ's Teaching on the End of the Age - Part 3

Daniel 9:27 - "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."  


At the beginning of Daniel's seventieth week, Antichrist will sign a covenant that involves Israel but halfway through he will stop the sacrifices that evidently this covenant allows to begin again. Did you know that in Israel, they are all ready to begin sacrificing again?  Hmm...  Check out this website...

Are there any other passages in scripture that parallel this act by Antichrist, giving further detail?

2 Thessalonians 2:3,4 - "Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come (the day of he Lord, when Christ comes and gathers His followers - see verses 1,2) unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God."

So not only will Antichrist stop the sacrifices, he will also set himself up as God.


Let's head back again to Matthew 24.

What are believers in Judea to do when they see this sign of Antichrist, that we are fast approaching the end of the age, by stopping the sacrifices and setting himself up as God?  They are to flee.  Why?  Verse 21 tells us there will then be the greatest tribulation against believers to ever come upon the world.  It will be worse than what happened to the Jewish people during the holocaust.

Who is this persecution against?  The elect.  Jesus says if those days of tribulation weren't cut short for the sake of the elect, no life would be saved.  Since the persecution is against the elect, Jesus is saying that no elect life will be left if the great tribulation isn't cut short.  Those who fall away from the faith, the look-a-likes, they will not be killed.  They will be living in peace and safety along with those who never claimed to follow Christ.  It will be those who are hated on account of the name of Christ who will be suffering persecution and death.

In Revelation 13:7, we are told that authority over every tribe, tongue, people, and nation is given to Antichrist.  This persecution against the elect will spread over all the world.

In verse 25 Jesus warns His followers again, "Behold, I have told you in advance."

Jesus goes on to say that there will be those who say He is in the wilderness.  He warned not to go out.  Others will say He is in a building.  Jesus warned not to believe them - Mt. 24:26.

Then Jesus describes His coming.

In verse 29 He says the natural lights will go out immediately after the great tribulation.  Remember, He said in verse 21 the great tribulation will be cut short for the sake of the elect.

After the sign of the end of the age occurs, the natural lights going out and the world being plunged into darkness, all will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with great glory - v. 30.  Jesus is not going to first appear in the wilderness or in a room to a small group.  He is not going to just appear to true believers.  All will see Him.  The look-a-like followers will see Him and those who never claimed to be His followers will see Him. 

In verse 31 we are told that His angels will be with Him.

With a great trumpet His angels will gather the elect.  His coming is not going to be secret nor is it going to be silent. 

Final part, next time...

Christ's Teaching on the End of the Age - Part 2

In Matthew 24:3 we find Jesus sitting on the Mount of Olives.  The disciples come to Him and ask Him to tell them the sign of His coming and the end of the age.
 

The very first thing Jesus tells them as He begins to lay out the truths about His return and the end of the age is not to let anyone mislead them - v. 4.  He then goes on to warn that many will come claiming to be Him and will mislead many.  His followers will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  He says not to be frightened, these things must take place but still, "that is not the end."  He said nation would rise against nation and famines and earthquakes would occur.  He said these are just the beginning of birth pangs.  His followers will be delivered to tribulation and will be killed.  His followers will be hated because of their Savior's name.  In verse ten He says that at that time (of tribulation) many will fall away, betraying one another and hating one another - vv. 5-10.
 

When tribulation, affliction, persecution, or pressure hits, Jesus taught another truth in the parable of the parable of the soils -
 

Look-a-like believers fall away.


Matthew 13:20,21 - "The one on whom seed was sown in the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction and persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away."

Back to Matthew 24.  In verses 11-14, Jesus goes on to instruct that before the end many false prophets will arise and mislead many.  Lawlessness will increase, most people's love will grow cold.  And the gospel will be preached in the whole world, and then the end will come.  He says that, "The one who endures to the end will be saved."


Who is "the one?"  "The one" is Christ's true follower.  The one in whom the seed falls and takes root and bears fruit - Mt. 13:23. Not a look-a-like follower.  Look-a-like followers do not endure through persecution.  Look-a-like followers, in the beginning, are joyful when they hear the gospel, but the word  never actually takes root.  Look-a-like followers fall away when persecution hits.  We saw in the parable of the tares that they will be thrown in the lake of fire and burned.  Look-a-like followers will suffer the wrath of God.  Look-a-like believers do not endure under the tribulation of man.  Their falling away proved a temporary, false faith.  A genuine follower will hold to their testimony, even if it means death. 


True followers endure.  


So before the end comes and Christ returns there will be false Christs, wars, famines, earthquakes, the gospel going out all over the world, and tribulation in which the Lord's true disciples will be killed.  Some true disciples will not be killed and will endure all the way to the end and be delivered from tribulation, but look-a-likes will fall away and betray.

The first word in verse 15 is very important.  Jesus says, "Therefore..."


He is grabbing our attention here and is going to give more detail about what He just said will happen before the end. 


"Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place."

Here is a very clear sign Jesus gives us to look for to know when His coming and the end is approaching. 


Let's go to Daniel the prophet for a closer look at that sign...


Part Three, next time...

Christ's Teaching on the End of the Age - Part One

It is amazing how Scripture parallels itself.   We know the Bible does not contradict itself because it is the Word of God.  There are parallel passages all throughout Scripture, that with a little digging, it becomes clear they are just another perspective on the same truth.  I love what the Psalmist said in 119:160, “The sum of Your word is truth.”  


CHRIST'S TEACHING ON THE END OF THE AGE

Following Jesus resurrection and before He ascended into heaven to the Father, Jesus left final instructions for His disciples.  In Matthew 28:18 He said that all authority had been given to Him.  Then He told them to go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that He commanded them.  He was commissioning them to take the gospel out, to the ends of the earth, and in so doing His church would be built.  Then He said, "And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

What occurs at the end of the age?  What events lead up to the end of the age?  Are there any other places in Scripture where Christ gives us truth and instruction regarding the end of the age?



There are two, Matthew 13 and Matthew 24.  


In Matthew 13:24-30, we find the account of Jesus telling the parable of the wheat and the tares.  He said the kingdom of heaven could be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.  While the men who tended this man's field slept, this man's enemy came in and sowed tares among the wheat which the man had planted, then the enemy went away.  The tare seeds took root and sprouted, and bore grain. Once the plants bore grain, it was evident that there were tares among the crop of wheat.  The slaves of the man go to him and ask him, "Didn't you sow good seed in your field?  Why does it have tares?"  The man responded by saying that an enemy had planted tares amongst the wheat.  The slaves ask the man if he wanted them to go and gather up the tares.  The man tells them no.  The reason is that while they are gathering the tares, they could uproot the wheat with the tares.  It wasn't harvest time yet.  He said he was going to wait until harvest time and then he'd send out the reapers who will gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to be burned and the wheat would be gathered by the reapers and put into the barn.

Later on, after Jesus told the parable to the crowds, His disciples go to Him and ask Him to explain the meaning of the parable of the tares.  Jesus told them that the man who sowed the good seed was the Son of Man.  He said the field was the world.  The good seed are the sons of the kingdom and the tares are the sons of the evil one.  The enemy who sowed the tares is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age.  The reapers are angels.  Just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.  The Son of Man will send His angels and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and they will be thrown into the lake of fire - Matthew 13:37-42.


What was one of the truths that Jesus was teaching?  He was teaching that the church was going to have true believers and look-a-like believers.  Not everyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus will be genuine.

I will come back to this parable again because Jesus was teaching other truths as well, but let's go to Matthew 24, the third instance in which Jesus is giving instruction and He mentions the end of the age.  

Part Two, next time...

Challenge

My challenge for us as we walk through the day today is to ask ourselves this question, often -

Does this honor the Father?

Or, we could put it another way -

Does this in any way bring dishonor to the Father?

I do think our lives will be lived quite differently if we were to make this a daily spiritual discipline.

May the Lord be lifted high in our lives today.

Honoring the Father

My thoughts have been on this specific phrase for the past couple of days.  This is the purpose for our existence.  Jesus lived His life out in perfect honor to the Father.  Every thought Jesus had, every choice He made, every act He engaged in, and every feeling that Jesus experienced honored His Father.  That is Jesus desire for us as well.  Being dead in our sin keeps us from being able to honor the Father.  Jesus death on the cross paved the way so our lives could bring honor to God.  Without Jesus honoring the Father in this way, it would be impossible for us to honor Him.  This makes Jesus death a most precious thing, doesn't it?  Jesus, in bearing the wrath of His Father on the cross for our sin, honored His Father, and it paved the way so our lives could now honor Him too.

Doing the will of the Father then is what brings Him honor.

Every command in Scripture reveals the will of God.  When He says, husbands love your wives, this is God's will and it honors God when husbands love their wives.  When God tells wives to respect their husbands, this is God's will and it honors God when wives respect their husbands.  When God says children are to obey their parents, this is God's will and when children are obedient, the Father is honored.  To know God's will then, we must be in the Word.  We need to be in the Word, find out God's will, obey it, and God is honored. 

May we be about doing the will of God today.  It is the desire of Jesus, we honor the Father, and it shows that we cherish the death of Christ on our behalf.

Jesus Greatest Desire

Want to know the heart of Jesus?  To know what Jesus greatest desire is, all we need to do is look at His instruction to us regarding our very first request when we pray...

"Hallowed be Thy name..."

Jesus wants His Father honored, and this is also what true prayer consists of...our existence, everything about life, is not about us, it's about Him.

"Join in Imitating Me"

Daniel is at the stage where he loves to imitate people.  If you ask him to say grandpa, "apa" is usually what comes out.  "Birdy" on the other hand, rolls very clearly off his lips.  "Kitty, kitty"  sounds more like "gully, gully."  Ask him what a bear says and he'll growl.  Peek-a-boo is a favorite game of his.  If I put my hands over my face, he will too.  We're still working on blowing kisses but believe it or not he can put his lips together and whistle after I do, at only sixteen months of age!  Toddlers love to imitate or follow what other people are doing.    

Paul confidently told the Philippian believers to imitate him.  He said in Philippians 3:17a, "Brothers, join in imitating me..." 

What was Paul doing that he wanted the Philippians to imitate?  

He was pursuing Christlikeness with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength...

"Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.  But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Let those of you who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.  Only let us hold true to what we have attained.  Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us."  Philippians 3:13-17

One mark of spiritual maturity is the desire to go on with Christ.  Paul called his readers to share with him in the effort of the zealous pursuit of Christlikeness.  What he wanted for himself he also wanted for them.  It is the reason Christ laid hold of us and we are to surround ourselves with believers of like minds.  

One of the greatest needs believers have is to live up to what they already have in Christ.  We are perfect in Christ in our position.  This exalted position is what we attained at the moment of salvation but most of us live far below our exalted position.  We have been clothed in His perfect righteousness.  Now we are to strain forward in that righteous, matching our practice with our position.  This does take conscious effort.  God has graciously given us each other to encourage one another to live according to our high position, with earnestness. 

With concentration, with the enthusiasm and persistence of a Greek runner, Paul sought the prize of ultimate conformity to Christ.  Paul didn't live with his mind on earthly things, nor did he live with his mind in the past, on what could have been.  He lived with his mind on what was real and true, what he was going to ultimately be in the future and it affected his living in the here and now.

That is how we are to live.

As you go about your day today, relentlessly pursue Christlikeness.  Show love that places others before yourself.  Let praise of God and His wondrous works spill from your lips, rather than complaining or gossip.  Take that Bible off the coffee table and spend some rich time with the Lord.  Think about the prize that awaits you, one hundred percent Christlikeness, all the time, in heaven. Your humanity is going to someday be glorified into the complete likeness of Jesus Christ.  Make conscious choices to live according to your high and exalted position, with joy, with enthusiasm, and with much thanksgiving...and remember, others are watching you, especially little ones.