R633 Signs of His Coming, Pt.2

We all could use some encouragement, and we will find it together today in the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton on this edition of The Encouraging Word. Right now many friends are signing up online at www.tewonline.org for not only the free email, but other great resources from Dr. Don.

Join us today online at www.tewonline.org. Now, Dr. Don Wilton. Now, my beloved friends, I'm going to ask you to do something that I say to you every time we meet. Would you please take your Bibles this morning? But I'm going to add something. You absolutely are going to need your Bibles this morning.

You will not survive without them. We're going to be in the Word of God somewhat extensively. And I'm going to ask you before we even begin to hear from God's Word, that you open your Bibles first of all to Matthew 24. And then having done so, that you open your Bibles to the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. If you have a marker or something, mark your Bible around about chapter 9, but I'm going all the way from chapter 2 verse through to chapter 12 of the book of Daniel.

All inclusive. You might want to put a little marker there so that you can turn backward and forth rather easily. First of all in Matthew, and then we're going to go to the book of Daniel. We're also going to be considering some other passages. Until he comes, we are specifically dealing during these days with the signs of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remembering that the Lord Jesus himself, even in this chapter in chapter 24, tells us that no one knows when he's going to come. Nobody.

Not a one of us. But Jesus gives to us, I believe in Matthew chapter 24, amongst many other things, seven major signs or future events that are indicators definitively concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus told us to look for these things, and what he said was that these things will give you a clue. They will tell you concerning the imminence of my literal bodily return to this earth.

Now we've looked at some of them already. Sign number one was birth pains, and we looked at that somewhat extensively. Sign number two was the endurance of believers, enduring believers, because Jesus said quite clearly that those who stand firm to the end will be saved. And what he was trying to tell us that we need to be increasingly observant of the fact that as wickedness increases in this world, so it is going to become more and more obvious concerning those who stand for and with the Lord Jesus Christ. All the way to that culminating point at the end of the tribulation period at which standing firm and enduring as a tribulation believer is going to have particular significance considering the work of the Antichrist. The third sign that we looked at concerned worldwide proclamation, and I believe we discovered in verse 14 of Matthew chapter 24 that Jesus told us to expect that prior to his return to this earth that all people of every tribe and of every language will hear the gospel. And we discovered last week and some other times how this was going to be possible even through God's angels which he would dispatch at his sovereign grace according to the book of Revelation and send down with the message of the gospel. So today we're going to deal with the fourth of these signs. Here it is. The abomination of desolation.

Wow. I wonder if we were to take a survey of everyone worshiping with us this morning, how many of us would honestly say, what in the world is that? Well, Jesus spoke about it.

I'm going to be quite frank with you. There are some times in scripture when I come face to face with the reality of my own human limitations and I discovered just how much I don't know. And I would tell you that there is a great temptation on the hearts of most of us preachers that when we get to things like this, well, we just kind of say, well, there's too much to do. You cannot possibly explain everything and we go on to the next verse. Well, we're not going to do that because Jesus was telling us something of singular significance.

Let's read about it. Matthew chapter 24 verse 15. Jesus said, So when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel, let the reader understand. Rather an interesting parenthetical statement that Jesus makes. And I've wondered why Jesus added there in parentheses from his own mouth, let the reader understand. And I've come to the conclusion that unless he shows me otherwise, that this is so important that what Jesus was saying is this is not something that just the disciples need to know about. When Jesus was telling them about it, he was saying, let all those who throughout the ages read these things understand these things. I think, don't you, that the Lord had me in mind on that day. You know, when I got to that little parenthetical statement, I said, uh-oh, he's telling me that I better not skip over this.

There's something of major importance here. So he says that when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel, let the reader understand. Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Pray that your flight will not take place in the winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress unequaled from the beginning of the world until now and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, all right, would you look at me for a moment.

You know I went further than I've ever gone without an interruption. Now watch this, folks. Jesus is telling us something. He's saying when you see the abomination that causes desolation, there is going to be a time of such distress. You better pray that you're not there. You better make absolutely certain that you belong to me. You don't want to be there.

You don't want to be a pregnant woman. You don't want to be left behind because this time is going to be a time of distress which is unequaled in all the world. And then Jesus hastens to say, he says, and if these days were not cut short, if God did not put an end to this distress that I'm talking about, listen to what he says, no one would survive. That's how severe it is going to be. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.

I love that word elect. There are groups of people in America today who take that and tie that into the sovereign heart of a God who saves some and damns others. Nowhere in the Bible does the Bible teach that.

That's the business of the modern day Pharisees. There are groups of people in America today who are gathering around and they are taking these verses of scripture and they are saying we are the frozen chosen. The whosoever's of the Bible don't count anymore. God's love is not extended to everybody.

Friend, let me tell you something. When God talks about the elect, he's talking about one person. He's talking about all people who belong to Jesus Christ.

All people who have been washed and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. And the invitation from the cross was that Jesus Christ died for all people. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him shall not die. What is Jesus talking about? Jesus is saying if these days were not cut short, nobody would survive. But because for the sake of those for whom Christ died, for the sake of those who have been bought with a price, for the sake of those who have been washed and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, those days will be shortened.

Wow! I've got a new definition of love. That God would love us so much that he wouldn't allow this time of distress unequaled from the beginning to go to the point beyond which not even the elect could endure it. But then he says something here. He says at that time, if anyone says to you, look here as the Christ, or there he is, do not believe it, for false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect. The deception will be so incredible. The work of the Antichrist will be so marvelous.

It will be so impressive. It will be so deceitful that even the elect, those who are washed and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb during the tribulation could be duped and deceived by that. But then Jesus comes up with another parenthetical statement. He says, if that were possible.

Why? Because those who are in the palm of the hands of the one who died for them, no one can pluck them out. Because once you're saved, you can never be unsaved. You cannot lose your salvation. The question is not whether or not you and I can lose our salvation. The question is whether or not we were saved to begin with.

And so the Lord Jesus says, if that were possible, and then in verse 25, he says, see, I have told you ahead of time. What's the bottom line? Here's the bottom line of all of this.

Things are going to get worse before they get better. That's what Jesus was saying. It's important to understand here that the Lord Jesus was talking about two groups of people. On the one hand, he was talking about Israel specifically here in Matthew. But he was also talking about the world generally. He was talking about the end times. He is telling us that in the final analysis, there are only two categories of people. Those who are being lost and those who are being saved. That's what Jesus is saying. He's going to culminate this with the separation of what? The sheep and the goats. You're either for or against.

You either belong to God or you don't. There are two nations. He's talking about the nation of Israel.

Why? Because he has a very special relationship with the nation of Israel. And the nation of Israel plays a very significant role, particularly at the very end in the time of the tribulation. But he's also talking about the world in general.

Why? Because of the blood of Jesus Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male nor female, neither bond nor free. We're all one in Christ. Jesus is talking about the elect of God. Those who have been bought with a price. And he's telling us that if you want to put the bottom line on this thing, there are only two categories of people. Those who are being lost and those who are being saved forever. How does this all work out? Well, I just need to remind us of a few things.

Well, let's see what we can do here. Now, I'm going to step into the time when Jesus goes to heaven because this is the moment when Jesus goes to heaven. So Jesus is not on earth. We're going to go into the church age. And at the end of the church age, there's going to be this event that the Bible talks about called the rapture. The rapture. Alright, this is going to be the rapture.

I need to do something. Jesus Christ? Who is Jesus Christ? He's the Word. He is the Word. In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God. Here is Jesus in Matthew 24, who is the Word, telling the disciples what we're reading about in Matthew 24. And one of the things that Jesus says when you see the abomination of desolation, excuse me, what is he talking about? Then he tells us we better know about these things and he also says, I've told you these things now because you need to know about them.

What's he talking about? Well, we know that he's looking toward his death, burial and resurrection and ascension to be seated at the right hand of the Father. Jesus is looking right throughout the church age. We know that there's going to come a time that he's going to come in the clouds.

We'll talk about it in a moment. We're going to enter into a seven year tribulation period that is going to be led and controlled and dominated by none other than antichrist. Right in the middle of this tribulation, 1260 days, 1260 days, three and a half years, three and a half years. Right in the middle of this, something is going to happen. It's called the abomination of desolation. That is the center part of the tribulation.

Now watch this. Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is teaching us about things that we know nothing about. And he's showing us these things that are going to happen before he comes.

And so Jesus Christ comes to this point. He dies. He's buried. He rises from the grave. He goes to heaven. We enter the church age. All this time the Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven and all of our friends, our moms and dads, our grandparents, our brothers and sisters who are dying in Christ, where are they going?

They with him. Jesus Christ and all those who are with him are in heaven. I'm still on this earth.

I believe it's getting pretty close to the end time. And the Bible says that at some time known only to the heart of God, Jesus Christ is going to come in the clouds. He's not going to come back down to earth and we are going to go up if we're alive. We're going to be snatched up to meet him in the air. We're going to meet him up there, not down here.

He's not coming down. And the moment that that happens, Antichrist rises to the fore. And Antichrist, the first thing he's going to do is he's going to write a peace covenant with Israel. He's going to guarantee the peace of Israel.

We're going to read about it in Daniel 9 and verse 27 in a moment. He writes a covenant with Israel and for three and a half years Antichrist says to the world, don't worry about a thing. I'm in control. Antichrist pulls at General Alexander Haig on the White House when President Reagan was shot. As of now, I'm in charge at the White House. What he says is don't panic.

I know all these things have been going on but be cool. I'm in control and I'm going to show you that I'm God. And what he does is he goes around and he gets people to follow him and take the number 666. And he says, you follow me. I'm going to give you food. I'm going to protect you.

I'm going to guarantee your security. And for three and a half years Antichrist does his thing and I'm going to be teaching you on that. But all of a sudden at the halfway mark, the Bible says that he is going to turn on Jerusalem and Israel. And when he turns on Jerusalem and Israel, he's going to reveal his true colors. He's going to show the world who he really is and he is going to enter into the temple and he is going to desecrate the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to the extent that he is even going to force Jewish priests to eat pork in the Holy of Holies. This is going to be the culminating point of the Antichrist. This is going to be the moment of all moments that Jesus says, I want you to know that this abomination which is caused by Antichrist, which reveals who he is, is going to cause the desolation of the Great Tribulation, which is the next three and a half years, during which time there is going to be suffering and torment, such of which you and I cannot begin to imagine. And so Antichrist now comes this way and he is wreaking havoc on the world and Jesus there gets ready to come and here comes the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is his second coming and when Jesus comes again, he comes in the cloud of glory. He comes with all the tribulation saints who have gone on to be with him.

He comes with all of those of us who have been washed and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and he lands literally and bodily in Jerusalem and marches to Armageddon and he looks around and there is Antichrist saying, I'm going to show you God, I'm going to show you who's the real God around here and Antichrist begins to gather his troops. He's the master conqueror. He's conquered the north. He's conquered the Libyans from Put, from the Magogites in the Russians. He's conquered Iran. He's conquered all the Chinese.

He's rampaged across the world and he's in control. The Bible talks about this fourth kingdom as a kingdom of iron that stomps and breaks everything in its pathway and here comes the Lord Jesus and Antichrist says, I'm going to get you, Jesus. I'm going to get you and Jesus lands in Jerusalem and Jesus marches out to Armageddon and by the very word of his mouth, he says, Antichrist, you are defeated. You are out. You dead. You gone. I am the Lord your God.

Let's give God a hand, folks. Forgive the interruption. We'll be back in just a moment, but Dr. Wilton wants me to remind you, we are connecting right now on our phone at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 and on our website, T-E-W online dot O-R-G. If you haven't been lately, it's fresh and new.

T-E-W online dot O-R-G will encourage your day. Now let's get back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. This is what God does for us, folks. Now I want you to note something here. Jesus says in Matthew 24, he says, when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation, well, there are three things I want us to consider very briefly that will help us to understand this.

Number one, you want to understand the abomination that causes desolation. You've got to understand that there will be a fake peace. We've talked about this, a fake peace.

We all know what the word fake is, it's an athletic term where you pretend you're going to make a play but you don't make it. It will follow the rapture. It is going to be led by antichrist. It will involve Israel. Here's the sequence of events that take place during this fake peace.

First of all, there will be a fake pretense. Remember, antichrist is going to head a confederacy of 10 European nations that are going to come out of the old ancient Roman Empire. Turn with me to Daniel chapter 7. Daniel chapter 7.

I just want to show you a couple of things here that are interesting. Now, this is in the dream that Daniel had and the interpretation of the dream concerning the four beasts. Verse 23, Daniel chapter 7, he gave me this explanation. The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom.

Now, I want you to just hold that right there. Go back to chapter 2 of the book of Daniel. Quickly, chapter 2 and verse 40. Daniel chapter 2 and verse 40.

Here's what the word says. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom. Strong as iron, for iron breaks and smashes everything.

As iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. There's going to be a false pretense to protect Israel. Number two, there's going to be a fake alliance. Go to Daniel chapter 9 and verse 27, quickly. Daniel chapter 9 and verse 27. By the way, I'm going to be in this particular chapter one of these days rather extensively because there's a lot to do with our timelines.

But just for now, let's concentrate on verse 27. He that is antichrist will confirm a covenant with many for one seven. That is for seven years. In the middle of the seven, what is half of seven?

Anyone know? Three and a half years. How do we know the tribulation is going to be seven years? The Bible tells us. How do we know the covenant will be broken at the half point?

Because God tells us. In the middle of the seven years, in the middle of the seven, he that is antichrist will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple, he will set up an abomination that causes desolation until the end that is decreed by God through Jesus is poured out on him.

Alright now, watch this. There will be a fake pretense, a fake alliance, but there will also be a fake victory. And we read a lot about it. Daniel chapter seven, for example, from verse 23, and I've already read that to you. That this one who is iron, this one of the fourth kingdom, is going to crush and trample everything on the whole earth.

Trampling it down. A fake peace. Jesus saying to us, watch for the abomination of desolation.

How do we identify it? We identify it by virtue of the fake peace that is going to take place. Now remember, if you're a Christian today, you're not going to be on the earth when this happens.

Did any of you miss that? You're going to be in heaven. What Jesus is talking about here is only for people who are on the earth.

Those who have been left behind. What powerful teaching from God's word in the pulpit with Dr. Don Wilton. Now as he steps into the studio, open your heart to what he wants to share next. 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 prayed along with Dr. Wilton to give your life to Christ, or rededicate your life to Jesus, welcome to the family of God.

Welcome home. We want to put free resources in your hands that will help you grow. And we would love, along with Dr. Wilton, to pray for you. Call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. Or meet us online at TEWOnline.org, where you'll discover great resources like this. My book, Saturdays with Billy, is about an extraordinary relationship with a precious man who impacted lives across the world. You don't want to miss this opportunity to be inspired by his life, too. Remember the phone number, 866-899-9673. Or connect online with us at TEWOnline.org.