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The End is Nearer than Ever!

Wisdom for the Heart / Dr. Stephen Davey
The Truth Network Radio
September 3, 2024 12:00 am

The End is Nearer than Ever!

Wisdom for the Heart / Dr. Stephen Davey

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September 3, 2024 12:00 am

The world is fascinated with the idea of a coming apocalypse, and it’s not just in movies—there’s an intuitive sense that something catastrophic is on the horizon. But what if the Bible has already given us the ultimate early warning system? In Luke 21:5-11, Jesus foretells events that will precede His return, describing wars, natural disasters, and cosmic disturbances that will shake the world to its core. Are these just distant predictions, or are they closer than we think? Join us as we explore what Jesus said about the end times and what it means for us today. Discover why, even in the face of these terrifying predictions, believers can find hope and assurance in the One who holds the future in His hands.

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Listen, the only way Jesus can predict these events with perfection is if he is in control of these events, if he is in control of nature, if he is in control of the storms, if he is in control of the kings and the kingdoms, if he is in control of the timeline of history. He can't predict the future unless he is in control of the future. And he is.

He is. Welcome to Wisdom for the Heart with Stephen Davey. Have you ever wondered about the end of the world? Jesus spoke about it 2,000 years ago, predicting events that are still to come. In Luke 21, he warned of wars, earthquakes, and cosmic disturbances.

But he also clarified his ultimate control over all history. While the world churns out apocalyptic movies, the real story is already written. The key to safety isn't in a bunker, but in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Keep listening to discover how these ancient warnings are more relevant today than ever. In his great patience with a defiant human race, God has given us not seconds, but years to find safety. And it isn't in a bunker.

It isn't somehow escaping a global meltdown. It is in his Son, the ultimate ark of safety. You're holding a copy of God's early warning system, by the way. And one particular warning is delivered to us now in Luke's Gospel, chapter 21. So I invite you to turn there. In our last study, we saw the Lord commending the sacrificial, freewill offering of the poor widow.

I believe she was held up as a model, not to pity, but to imitate. Matthew and Mark tells us that Jesus now leaves the temple and with his disciples, head out to the Mount of Olives. Mark's Gospel records that as they're leaving, some of the disciples are making these comments of admiration about the temple buildings. Mark says it this way, look what wonderful stones, what magnificent building. Mark 13, 1.

Luke puts it this way now. We're in chapter 21 and verse 5. Some, that is of the disciples, were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, jewels made part of the decor, given as offerings from devout Jews. So the disciples are marveling at the beauty, the stunning glory of the temple. Jesus says here in verse 6, well as for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

In other words, it's going to be leveled to the ground. Now we know from history that it was only seven years after it was completed that it is completely destroyed under the Roman general Titus and Jesus' prediction takes place to the letter. And to this day, of course, the temple has not been rebuilt. It'll be rebuilt in the tribulation period. The stones that you see today, if you visit there, it's commonly referred to as the wailing wall where devout Jews go to pray. That happens to be a part of the foundation.

Everything above was raised to the ground, completely leveled. But at this time, just imagine, okay, here you are, you know, admiring the temple and Jesus says, oh, it's going to be completely destroyed. That's shocking, alarming. Imagine going to Washington, D.C. You're on the mall, you're admiring the Capitol building and the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument and somebody says, yeah, in a few years this is all going to be destroyed. It's going to be leveled. Wait, what? Destroyed completely.

You'd have a hard time imagining it unless you're watching one of those end of the world movies where it is all destroyed. So the disciples are confused. They're curious. And when they get up the Mount of Olives, at some point they sit down and verse seven says, and they asked him, teacher, when will these things be? In other words, when's this going to happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?

What's the warning signs look like? Now what Jesus does here, recorded throughout the rest of this chapter, is to deliver what we call the Mount Olivet discourse, sort of a sermon to his disciples and those listening in. It happens to be his most famous sermon on prophecy. The parallel passages in the gospels of Matthew and Mark especially deal with the future destruction of Jerusalem in the tribulation period. Luke is going to describe the destruction of Jerusalem prior to the tribulation, of course. It's in the future for them. It's in the past to us. It occurs in AD 70.

And more on that later. But Matthew, Mark, and Luke reveal the conditions of the world during the tribulation period as Jesus prophesies here, prior to the return of Christ to planet earth to establish his millennial kingdom. So keep in mind that this discourse, this sermon, was a message given primarily to the Jewish people by their Jewish Messiah about the future of the Jewish nation. The Lord isn't discussing here his coming for the church. He isn't discussing the church. The rapture is not discussed here. In fact, no signs are needed to proceed the rapture. That could happen at any moment and nothing stands in the way of the Lord calling the church to meet him in the clouds. The church, by the way, isn't looking for signs today. We're looking for the appearing of our Savior. So when anybody says, hey, look what's happening over in the Middle East or look what's happening in the world today, it's got to be a sign Jesus is going to rapture the church. We don't need a sign. There's nothing in the way. In fact, the early apostles thought they would be alive when Jesus raptured the church to the Father's house.

So we're not looking for signs. The Lord, certainly we can build into this text, the clues related to it, but we're given here what life is going to be like primarily during the tribulation period and then we will return with the Lord when he sets up his rule over the redeemed nations of the world. Now we're going to travel through this amazing chapter together as God gives one warning signal after another. At first I thought I'd teach this chapter in 30,000 feet in one message so that it all kind of ties together. Then I realized we would need two sermons to cover it. Then I realized we needed four sermons to cover it. And now I'm not sure if we're going to finish it before the rapture.

We'll see. But as we travel through this chapter, I want you to understand this concept of now but not yet. It's an important prophetic interpretive principle.

Now but not yet. In other words, there are applications, I believe, for God's redeemed people now, and I'll try to point that out, but it's not fulfilled yet fully, fully experienced. Fully experienced when the tribulation occurs and then when Jesus returns to earth. So you'll notice this sense of now but not yet as the Lord begins his discourse. Look at verse eight. And he said, see that you are not led astray.

For many will come in my name saying I am he and the time is at hand. Jesus says do not go after them. In other words, don't be deceived by false teachers, antichrists. John the Apostle said in his epistles that many antichrists have already appeared.

So this is a warning for every generation in any culture and in every country. Don't be led astray by those who claim to be prophets, by those who claim to have yet another word. Whereas the Mormon church says another testament.

We got one that says we got one to add to the one you've got. Don't be led astray by those who claim to speak for Christ. Don't be led astray by those who even quote a little scripture but then have nothing to do with scripture. Don't be led astray by someone who claims to be a representative of Christ or even one who claims to be a Christian.

Test them according to the scriptures. Let me give you an example of someone who at first sounded more like a preacher than a demonically inspired dictator. In Munich on April 12, 1922, Adolf Hitler said this in a speech, my feelings as a Christian point me to my Lord and Savior. It points me to the man who recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them.

As a Christian, I read how the Lord rose in his might and seized the courage to drive out of the temple the brood of vipers. How terrific was his fight for the world against the Jewish poison, end quote. Hitler claimed to be a Christian. He claimed Jesus to be his Lord and Savior. He claimed to model himself after Christ but he was in fact an anti-Christ, wasn't he? Deceiving his nation, deceiving the German people but he used Jesus to defend his hatred for the Jewish people. So he was an anti-Christ but he wasn't the anti-Christ.

Now but not yet is the idea. So Hitler foreshadows the deception of the final anti-Christ, the full fulfillment but he isn't the final fulfillment. So there are deceivers now but not like the tribulation period when the deceiver will declare himself to be Lord. Now Jesus goes on here in verse 9, and when you hear of wars and tumult, do not be terrified for these things must first take place but the end will not be at once. He's talking about during the tribulation period it's going to take place and then the end will eventually come. Jesus is saying don't panic when another war breaks out.

Don't conclude well this is the end of human history as we know it or worse yet Jesus must be coming for his church. In this context don't assume the kingdom is just around the corner just because there is another war. I've read that in the last 3500 years we've had one battle after another. In fact out of 3500 years of recorded history only 268 years have not seen war somewhere.

And that by the way doesn't take into account unrecorded history. Now when we're touched by war we tend to think this is obviously the end of the world. Maybe I'd better buy a bunker. Maybe I'd better move into the woods. Maybe I'd better leave the world behind me. Maybe I'd better set my mission aside of making disciples and save my own skin. Beloved we will only experience a foreshadowing in our world today of the ultimate war to come on planet earth which is going to take place during the tribulation and I'm praying you won't be here.

You'll be with me in the Father's house. Now I want you to follow something here in a very real sense. Earthquakes, wars, famines, natural disasters that take place today they are the warning signal. They are the warning system.

They're minor but the big ones are on the way. Now with that Jesus begins to describe the fulfillment of these signs when the big ones arrive and they're rather terrifying in their proportion. What Jesus says next is going to parallel with the opening of the seven seals of judgment described in Revelation chapter 6. This is a description of the first half of the tribulation and the opening of the seven seals as the antichrist rises in power. And for those who believe that the rapture of the church takes place at the midpoint of the tribulation, this pre-wrath view of the rapture, well as Jesus describes the first half of the tribulation it's nothing less than a terrifying demonstration of the wrath of God on planet earth against the human race.

Wrath doesn't begin at the midpoint. As Jesus describes it this is the unleashing of horrific conditions. It's brought on by the judgment of God. The church is not going to experience it. And by the way again we're not waiting for the appearing of the antichrist.

We're looking for the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. That's why we're not preparing you to tell you to stock up food for the tribulation. We're not teaching you how to stand against the mark of the beast so that you survive. That's not for you.

That's why we don't spend any time doing that stuff. Titus 2 13 says we're waiting for our blessed hope. Now Jesus begins to describe the tribulation.

Look at verse 10. Then he said to them nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and pestilences and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. Again Jesus is describing what parallels with Revelation 6 and following as the tribulation period begins. Now these events in the tribulation are going to intensify over time.

Now let me break this description down verse 10 again. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. While our world has known nothing but one war after another, much of what occurs in our world today are local battles or continental wars between certain nations for power and resources. But as the end draws nearer and the tribulation begins, Revelation describes that rider on the red horse going out. He's bloodthirsty for war and destruction.

Stanley 2 Saint now with the Lord my New Testament seminary professor writes on this text, this will be spread over the entire known world. Nations and kingdoms are now in hostility with one another. This is worldwide conflict perhaps inspired by the rising power of the Antichrist. What is now set off is nothing less than worldwide conflict. This is this is sort of a race for global domination and the Antichrist is leading the pack of wolves. By the way the Antichrist will not succeed.

There will be nations that will still stand against him but he's going to do everything he can to rule the world. Now Jesus adds to this next in verse 11, there will be great earthquakes. Again what we might experience today is a foreshadowing of the fulfillment of this wrath from God. I read this since the invention of the Richter scale which measures earthquakes. There have been 35 of them measuring at least 8.5 or greater. Some of you are old enough to remember in 2011 an earthquake in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan measured 9.0 on the Richter scale. It created a tsunami which killed thousands upon thousands of people.

Thousands still missing. It also triggered a nuclear meltdown in a nearby nuclear plant. That displaced a hundred thousand people.

The effects of that meltdown are still being studied today. All that from one earthquake. Luke says here you might notice he uses the word earthquakes.

It's a plurality. In fact he calls them great earthquakes. The word great comes from the Greek word megas.

It gives us our word mega. These are mega earthquakes. They've never before been experienced. Jesus adds in verse 11 and in various places famines and pestilences. Again famines have been recorded in history going back as far as 500 years before the birth of Christ. Every continent has experienced them.

They're going to pale in significance however an impact with what is coming during the tribulation. He mentions pestilences. You could translate that word plagues. Again what the human race has experienced over the centuries.

What are they? Wake up calls. Warning signs.

Life becomes very tenuous doesn't it? Warning sign in a disease is the warning of plagues to come. You go back in history to that notorious outbreak of bubonic plague called the black death.

Took place in the middle of the 14th century. It swept through Europe and Asia. Most of you know the little poem that originated from that plague. Ring around the roses a pocket full of posies a tissue a tissue we all fall down. That rhyme originated with the bubonic plague and it all and it described each line that ring around the roses was a reference to the red rashes that developed on the infected.

A pocket full of posies related to their superstition that it was caused by demons and if they and if there were sweet smelling flowers it dried the demons away and so they'd stuff their pockets with posies. A tissue a tissue was a reference to the sneezing of those infected. We all fall down simply meant if you had this you died and 25 million people did. The book of Revelation records however that the plagues of the tribulation will account for the death of one fourth of the world's population. That means if the tribulation were to begin tomorrow not 25 million people but eventually 2 billion people would die. Now Jesus ends this severe warning verse 11 by adding and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. This is apocalyptic language.

The prophet Isaiah describes it this way in chapter 13. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark at its rising. The moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity.

I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant. The book of Revelation describes in detail everything from meteor showers and hurricanes to hail storms with hail weighing four times the size of a bowling ball. Mankind it occurs to me has long worshipped nature. It's given to nature divine attributes as if nature did that. They've even named it mother nature as if we came from her. During the tribulation it's as if God unleashes mother nature on the human race. The idolatrous human race which has stolen from creator God the glory due him alone.

And it's as if mankind has given their praise to her and as if God uses her to punish them without mercy. Let me tell you this is not an end of the world movie. This is reality and it can't even begin to capture the horror of the wrath of God upon planet earth. There's not a bunker you could hide in.

80 seconds wouldn't matter. Here's your warning. Here's your safety alert. It's been ringing for 2,000 years which means the end is nearer than ever. The fulfillment of Christ's predictions are closer now than ever.

This is for real. Now Jesus says here in verse 12 but before all this. Now note that time stamp. Jesus has just described some of the horrors of the tribulation period but now he says but before any of these things take place something else is going to happen. Before the tribulation this is gonna happen. And what Jesus now does is describe what happens to the believer before the rapture. Before the tribulation takes place on planet earth. Jesus is about to give us the answer of what we should expect on planet earth while living in these days before all that happens. And what do we discover in his answer?

We'll find out next Sunday. Don't read ahead. All right now in the meantime what can we take away with today? Two things.

Number one. First don't be deceived by false teachers. They're alive and well in every generation. They're slick. They're believable.

They're smooth. They call Jesus their Lord and Savior. But test them according to the scriptures. Secondly don't be dismayed by current events. It's not the end of the world. We're not waiting for something to happen for Christ to take us home. There's nothing in the way of the Lord coming for us today. These events will fully arrive during the tribulation when you and I are safely home. But don't miss this here. Don't miss this.

I'm gonna close with this. The Lord is predicting what we might experience during our lifetime and he has just given his predictions of what the world will experience during the tribulation. Listen the only way Jesus can predict these events with perfection is if he is in control of these events. If he is in control of nature. If he is in control of the storms. If he is in control of the kings and the kingdoms. If he is in control of the timeline of history. He can't predict the future unless he is in control of the future. And he is.

He is. That was Stephen Davey the president of Wisdom International. You're listening to Wisdom for the Heart. Remember Jesus has given you ample warning about the future.

The end of the world as we know it is nearer than ever. You can have a secure place in Christ. If you have any doubts or concerns about your relationship with God and your place in God's kingdom we can help you. Stephen has a resource that explains the message of the gospel. It's called God's Wisdom for Your Heart. Here's how you can get it. You'll find it on our website if you navigate to wisdomonline.org forward slash gospel. Join us next time here on Wisdom for the Heart. you
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-09-03 00:14:15 / 2024-09-03 00:23:18 / 9

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