R629 Future Events Pt.2

We all could use some encouragement, and we'll find it together today in the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton, all about future events. Yes, future events is today's topic. You can discover that and more resources like future events on our website. Drop by www.tewonline.org.

That's www.tewonline.org. Now, Dr. Don Wilton. We began to look at the first of the seven general categories of future events that Jesus spoke about himself in the Olivet Discourse. Matthew chapter 24 reports what Jesus said while on the Mount of Olives with his disciples, just prior to his death. And that is why it is called the Olivet Discourse. The Mount of Olives became and is today a very significant place, because that's the place where Jesus met many times.

You can picture the scene. It's also the place where Jesus ascended, to go back to be seated at the right hand of the Father. It's the place where Jesus will come back to when he comes back for the second time. It also looks across, if you stand on the Mount of Olives and you look from the Mount of Olives toward Jerusalem, it looks down in a sense on the city of Jerusalem.

And many of the pictures that you see on television are taken from the Mount of Olives, looking across at the Dome of the Rock, which is a highly disputed area of territory between the Palestinians and the Israelis, currently controlled by Muslims, the Temple Mound. We'll be talking a lot about that, and it's by no accident that this was the place where Jesus spent a large portion of his last days, before he went through the Kidron Valley and passed, perhaps, by or through the Garden of Gethsemane, and climbed up the hill onto the Mount of Olives where he delivered this discourse. In today's terminology, perhaps, you could say that this was a sermon that Jesus preached. It was a Bible study.

It was a lesson that he taught. And Jesus was saying something, and he was answering what I believe to be three very important questions that the disciples asked in Matthew 24 and verse 3. You can read about those questions there. The first question was, tell us when this will happen. Jesus had just spoken about this beautiful temple and the fact that it was going to be brought to ruin. Lord, tell us when this will happen.

The second question is right there. What will be the sign of your coming? That's a very personal question relating to the Messiah. Now, remember that the disciples believed that he was the Messiah, even though they were Jews.

Most of the Jews did not believe that he was the Messiah because they were still looking for a deliverer, someone who would brandish a sword and set them free from their Roman oppressors. So the disciples were asking a question, perhaps in response to the things that Jesus had taught them. There were many times in Jesus' ministry that he made eschatological reference. He referred to the coming kingdom. He used phrases like, the kingdom of God is at hand. He spoke about the fact that he was going to come again. You'll remember in John's gospel. He said, don't be troubled.

I'm going to come again. He spoke about heaven. He spoke about his death on the cross.

He spoke about the relationship between himself and God the Father. You'll also remember Jesus just, this is very interesting to note, Jesus spent a lot of time teaching them about the Holy Spirit. At this stage, they didn't know about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not yet come. Jesus had to leave in order for the Holy Spirit to come. And that happened in the book of Acts. You'll remember at Pentecost. You see, this was the instruction concerning the Holy Spirit. In the book of Acts in chapter two, we have the inauguration of the Holy Spirit. And then we have the commencement of the work of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus had taught all these things. Well, the disciples heard all of this. They were theologically saturated.

And I tell you, they had a lot of questions, good questions. And here we have three of them. Number one, when will this happen? Number two, what will be the sign of your coming? And number three, by the way, Lord, when we're talking about that, when will be the end of the age?

Age? Well, the disciples considered it to be their age, just like you and I do. We don't readily think about the end of the age in 2050. We think about the end of the age as it pertains to us. They were talking about, right now, they were thinking about the kingdom of God is at hand. That means, wow, any moment, all of this is going to come to pass.

They couldn't see beyond the curtain of time. And so it is, and I'm going to pick up at verse 10 of chapter 24 of Matthew today, just a few verses. Jesus says, at that time, now if you'll just all look at me for a moment. I didn't get very far with that reading, didn't I? Jesus said, at that time. That's what we're talking about.

What time? Some people say, well, it had to do with the destruction of Jerusalem. I don't believe that for a second. Because everything Jesus said, not only begins, but goes way beyond the destruction of Jerusalem. And besides that, the disciples were talking about these things. And besides that, when they asked a question, they asked about his coming. And we know, because we have the vantage point of the whole of scripture, we know from our perspective that his coming did not have to do with the temple and Jerusalem. It had to do with the time yet to be. We know that. Remember, we're looking at this from a different perspective than did the disciples.

We're looking at this in 2002. We've had a whole lot of Bible study, and we've got wonderful preachers and teachers of the word of God. So Jesus said at that time, what time? The end of the age.

And what is he saying about that? He says at that time, many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. But here it is. He who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Now, I've just got to say this. Apparently here, it seems like what Jesus was saying is that persevering to the end is going to be the reason why you're saved. Perseverance will not save you.

In fact, I'm going to tell you that you and I cannot persevere. Why did Jesus talk about persevering to the end of the age? What Jesus was saying is that those of us who have been regenerated, those of us who are born again of the Spirit of God are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

That is the sovereign work of the Spirit of God who dwells within us so richly. Peter put it like this. He said we are guarded about, we are garrisoned about, we are protected, we are upheld by the mighty power of God.

And what Jesus was saying here is that the mark of a true believer is the fact that such a person is going to endure and will remain true to his or her profession of faith in Christ Jesus no matter what goes on. Well, there are seven major general categories that we're looking at and it's going to take us quite a while to get through them. Last week we looked at the first one of these, birth pains. We discovered that there in verse 8.

All these are the beginning of birth pains. The second general category of future events that Jesus was talking about here was enduring believers. Now, I want you to listen today. I hope you have your Bibles and your notebooks and pens and pencils and that you're asking the Spirit of God to give you a real insight into his Word today.

We're going to be on this subject for the next two or three weeks, no doubt. You see, right here in this passage, Jesus makes a statement. He says in verse 13, Those who stand firm to the end will indeed be saved.

Now, friend, just a quick word. How are you saved? You're saved first of all time past. Your salvation is an historical event. You are saved time past. Jesus saved you upon the cross. You are saved time present because you've given your heart to Jesus. But you are being saved time future because God by his power is sustaining you through faith unto salvation. That's why Paul, talking about preaching, said the preaching of the cross is foolishness unto those who are being saved.

But unto those who are being perishing, those who are perishing, those who are dying, it is foolishness to them. Well, Jesus here comes in and he makes an incredible statement. How do we see all of this in perspective? Well, maybe we need to try and look at this a little more closely together.

I should just imagine. Bible says we will be caught up together to meet him in the clouds and so shall we ever be with the Lord. This is not the second coming. So now all of a sudden the Jesus who's teaching us there in Jerusalem suddenly makes an appearance in the sky and all believers go back to be with him.

They are caught up. Now what's going to happen here, folks? What's going to happen? Number one, the believers are gone. Number two, the church is gone. Number three, the Spirit of God is gone. Where does the Spirit of God dwell?

In our hearts, in the heart of the believer. When the believer is gone, the Spirit of God is gone. The church of Jesus Christ is gone. So here's what happens, Jesus comes, takes the Spirit of God, takes himself, takes the believers, the church out of this world into heaven right at this point and immediately when you have a world that has no spirit, no Christian, no church, no moral reference, no nothing, you immediately have absolute utter chaos. Utter chaos for those who are left behind. The world breaks into chaos, accepting there's a man that rises up and his name is Antichrist. And I'm going to teach you about Antichrist. Antichrist rises up and he calls for peace. He signs a peace with Israel. I'm not going to go into details. Sam Davis, if you'd come up here please, sir.

And Sam, if you would stand over here, right there on that spot over there. Between Kent Holt where the church has raptured and Sam Davis, all right, there is a seven-year period divided into two equal halves and there's a lot to talk about. The Bible calls this the tribulation, the time of great distress. During this time there are going to be people who will come to know Jesus Christ. The Bible talks of them as tribulation saints. They are saved for two reasons, the word of God and the testimony of God. I'm going to preach on the tribulation saints, so don't worry about it.

We'll get there. Some of you are going to say, wait a minute, the spirit of God's gone, the church is gone, all Christians are gone. How do people in the tribulation come to know Jesus Christ? The Bible tells us how. You can go into Revelation 20 and read about them. You can go into Revelation chapter 6 when the seals are opened. Who opens the seals? Jesus Christ himself.

When he opens the sixth seal, there you see the tribulation saints who have been martyred for the cause of Christ. There are going to be people during that time who are going to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. But, friend, there's a warning there. We're going to talk about it. You don't want to risk that.

You don't want to say, well, I'll just take my chances and wait because that doesn't work because what's going to happen? You're going to die having sinned away your day of grace and if you die having sinned your way of day of grace, the Bible says that you can never come into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so you've got the seven-year period. There we come. Still got the Word. This is the Word. Who is Jesus, by the way? He is the Word. He's the Word. John says, in the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God, is God. This is the Word, Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, the Word which began over there teaching us in the flesh.

We behold His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word became flesh and He dwelt among us and then He taught us. He died. He ascended. Then He came back in the clouds to receive the church under Himself and for seven years, Jesus Christ back in heaven with all believers while the tribulation is going on and at the end of the seven years, Jesus Christ comes back in person, the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He comes literally bodily in person. He lands on the Mount of Olives, on the Mount of Ascension with the church. All believers will be coming with Him. You have the Battle of Armageddon, the thousand-year reign of Christ and the setting up of the new kingdom, the new heaven, and the new earth.

Would you go back to point one, please, sir? Now, folks, where are we today? What do we do? We are standing with the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are seated on the Mount of Olives. We're studying His Word and we're saying, Lord, You are the Word. Please show us these things. Thank you, gentlemen.

Please show us these things. And so Jesus says those who stand firm to the end will be saved. He's talking about the endurance of believers. Jesus is talking about the genuineness of the faith of one who has been stamped, sealed with the seal of the Holy Spirit guaranteeing His relationship with God the Father through the shed blood of Jesus Christ upon the cross.

Here's the question. Why does the Lord Jesus Christ use enduring believers as one of the seven future signs of the end of the age? Simply put, because Jesus is telling us there, He is prophesying, He is telling us that as we move from the Mount of Olives to His second coming in the Battle of Armageddon, as we move from this point to the rapture of the church, we are going to see an increase in things and circumstances that are going to take place, that are going to increase in rapidity as we talked about with birth pains, that are going to come to their culminating point so that in these last days, which is the tribulation period, the manifestation of the presence and work of Antichrist is going to reach its ultimate climactic expression. Here's my question today, and we're only going to get through one of these. What is it that Jesus was pointing to that is part and parcel of enduring believers? What is it that they come up against? What do believers have to deal with? What is going on in the world that Jesus is referring to that is ultimately going to sift the sheep from the goats?

What is going to reveal the true heart of man? Number one, the appearance of false Christs. The appearance of false Christs.

Look at verses four and five. Jesus answered, Watch out that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name, claiming I am the Christ and will deceive many. Now, remember, folks, we're talking here about a chronological unfolding of the eschatological mind of Almighty God. We're dealing here with a process that leads to the culminating event, which is the rapture of the church, the tribulation, and ultimately the glorious coming of our Lord Jesus Christ when He comes again, and we will have a new heaven and a new earth. And the first one of these revealers is going to be the presence of false Christs. Now, let's understand something today. There were false Christs before Jesus came.

We know that. There were false Christs while Jesus was upon the earth. We've read all about them, every shape and form. There were the Epicureans. There were the Gnostics.

I mean, you could go on down the list. There were the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and there were false Christs that appeared after Jesus came. And if you go and study your history through the Dark Ages, et cetera, the unfolding all the way, there is one thing you're going to notice, and that is simply this, that the numbers and the intensity of false Christs appearing in the world has grown by leaps and bounds.

I mean, you can't even compare the past century that we lived in. You know, the beginning of the past century, the church basically lived in peace. The church in many places in the world had no competition or relatively little. Cultism was something that was out there for weird people.

That was something that, you know, those people out there did, but it never infiltrated the mainstream of human society. It's not so anymore, folks. There are more and more false Christs appearing everywhere.

No wonder. I want you to look at verse 4. Jesus answered, Watch out. Do you see that little word there, watch out? That little word there, if you do any Greek textual study, it comes from the word blepo, easy word to remember, B-L-E-P-O, if you want France alliteration.

You know what the word blepo means in the Greek text? It literally means that what Jesus was saying is, see to it that you take note. What Jesus was saying is, listen, I want you to keep your eyes open. I want you to be aware of these things. I want you to be warned. I want you to be on the watch. I want you to be vigilant. I want you to be spiritually awake. I want you to be so in tune with the spirit of the living God that God, by His grace, will open the eyes of your spiritual understanding and let you see things that are only pertaining to the heart of God Himself. What a heart's prayer for God to open our eyes and help us focus. We would love to pray with you and for you anytime on our prayer line at 866-899-WORD. Jot the number down.

Store it in your cell. 24 hours a day, we're here at 866-899-9673 or online at tewonline.org. That's tewonline.org. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don. Jesus was saying something here that was remarkable. You see, a world without Christ is blind. A world without Christ doesn't recognize the difference between a false Christ and someone who genuinely worships Jesus. Folks, when I have people come to me on occasions and they say to me, Pastor, I want to start a new ministry, my ministry, and I begin to realize that that person starting a ministry has no regard for the local church, no regard for the authority of the local church, has no connection into the local church, and above all is diminishing the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, my antenna begins to go up. Why? Because Jesus said you better make certain that you keep your eyes open.

Folks, that's why I don't just fall out of bed all the time. Somebody wants to start a ministry. We've got an epidemic of people starting ministries in America today. Oh, I'll just do my own ministry. I'm just gonna start my own ministry.

Friend, there's nothing wrong with it. God uses people from missions to every circumstance of society, but there is no substitution for the local New Testament church because Jesus said it is upon this rock that I will build my church. The acid test of any ministry is not the crowd that we draw or the size of the church or the miracles we perform or the amount of money or the budget that we have.

The acid test of who we are in the presence of Jesus Christ is who Jesus Christ is. That's why we must keep the main thing the main thing. This is all about the Lord Jesus. It's not about Don Wilton. It's not about the chairman of deacons. It's not about buildings.

It's not about budgets. It's all about Jesus. Paul said, I say to know nothing among you excepting Jesus Christ and him crucified. Folks, there are people today who have become so blind, people running off to find stories and funny fables, young people today who are going out, they're looking for two things. They're looking first of all to entertainment theology.

I'm going to go somewhere where I can be entertained, and if I can find a church or an organization that is going to scratch my itch, if I can be sufficiently entertained, that's where I want to be. The second thing they are looking for is licensed theology. Licensed theology, my friend, means that there are those out there who actually are giving us license to sin.

People love that. And if I can find a church where the preacher says, look, it's okay, God doesn't mind, that's where I want to be. Oh, you know, it doesn't matter. We don't need to preach the word of God. No, you know, I know that there's some people, man, we don't want to be around those people. I mean, you know, and we find license.

It's an accommodation for who we are. This is what Jesus was talking about. This is what Jesus was talking about. Jesus was saying, listen, let's talk for a moment about those who stand firm to the end because they're the ones who are going to be saved.

Why? Because they have genuinely met the Savior. There's not a masquerade here. You know, if you turn with me very quickly to 2 Peter chapter 2. Turn there quickly in your Bibles. 2 Peter chapter 2.

Here's what the Bible says. 2 Peter 2 and verse 2, verse 1. Peter confirms what Jesus was talking about, obviously. Listen to what Peter says. 2 Peter 2 and verse 1. But there were also false prophets among the people just as there will be false teachers among you.

Here it is. You ready for this? They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.

Here's the part that's tough. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.

And so it goes on. I'm always deeply perplexed when I hear people say, well, man, I like to go to this church because I love to just hear all the stories. Folks, listen, loving Jesus Christ and learning about him is not just about telling stories. Jesus here was warning us about false prophets, about false Christs, and he was saying on the one hand, the emergence of false Christs is a sure sign as to those who are the true Church of Christ because they stand firm, and yet on the other side, the emergence of false prophets are a true sign of those who are living a false life, who are not genuine, who have never met Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for listening to today's teaching with Dr. Don Wilton.

And before we get away, hear these closing thoughts from Dr. Don Wilton. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner, and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today I repent of my sin, and by faith I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. If you just gave your life to Jesus Christ, welcome to the family of God, and let us grow with you, pray with you, give you some free resources. Just call 866-899-9673 and let us know if you've given your life to Christ or rededicated your life. We want you to have these free resources.

The number again is 866-899-9673 or online at www.tewonline.org. Did you know the Encouraging Word has a YouTube channel? On this channel you can watch over 100 of Dr. Wilton's sermons. You can also listen to the weekly Words of Encouragement, a devotional series written by Dr. Wilton. Visit us on our YouTube channel today. It's been a great day of teaching. Let's continue that on our website right now at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org. Encouraging Word