The End in View, Part 1

phone calls yesterday, not more
than one of them pointed out that I was less than enthusiastic
on the phone. And I kind of feel like I have
delved down into a jeweled cave and I came out and all I’ve got
to show you is a few rocks. I am excited about what The Lord
is teaching me about what I’m learning as I go through these
passages. I am thrilled at the truths that
are being uncovered, but as I step here into the pulpit, I just
feel at a loss to do these deep truths
justice. I’m going to ask you to turn
to the Gospel of Luke. We’re going to have to be pretty
adept this morning. Once we really get into our study,
I’m going to refer you to the passage in the bulletin as it’s
printed in the bulletin. But for our purposes this morning,
I want to take you back to the Gospel of Luke, at least to start.
We are, as you know, in the Olivet Discourse, Wednesday of Passion
Week. Jesus has enjoyed the triumphal entry. But by Friday, he will
be crucified. This is Wednesday, as we have
seen, Jesus is in the midst here in this Olivet discourse of the
longest answer he ever gave to a question. And really, it was
four questions, wasn’t it? As we have seen. The gospel writers in synthesis
provide four questions to Christ when Christ tells them this outlandish
news that the temple, the beautiful temple. The very heart of Jewish
worship was going to be destroyed. The. The apostles, no doubt, were
shaken. Most of them Jewish to the core, The very thought that
the plans, as they understood them, were not going to come
to fruition, that this Messiah that they had long looked for
was not going to take over and conquer and raise Judaism to
heights it had never before seen. It wasn’t going to happen like
that. No, it wasn’t. Jesus’ disciples are stunned
by the news. And they asked Jesus a series
of questions. When will these things happen?
When is the temple going to be destroyed? What will be the sign
when these things are going to happen? What will be the sign
of your coming? And clearly by that one question
recorded only by Matthew, we see that the disciples clearly
saw those two things, the destruction of the temple and the second
coming of Christ as being coincident. They would happen together. They
were all part of the same package, or so they thought. There was
a fourth question that Matthew records. What will be the sign
of the end of the age? How are we going to know when
everything ends? Jesus begins by answering the
questions that are recorded in Matthew’s gospel, as we have
seen for weeks. What will be the sign of your
coming and what will be the sign of the end of the age? Jesus
wanted to help them. Jesus issued them, because of
their vulnerabilities, a series of warnings. So that they wouldn’t
be misled by false signs or early signs. In order to help them,
Jesus says this, if you’re in Luke 21, look at verse 8. Just
by way of reminder, Jesus said, see to it that you are not misled. It was a great propensity for
them to be misled. Their hearts had already been
broken by this news. If they don’t get clued in really
quick to God’s program, they are going to fall for anything.
See to it that you are not misled. For many will come in My name
saying, I am He and the time is near. The other gospel writers
go on to say that there are going to be many, a plethora of those
that claim to be Christ himself, false messiahs. Jesus says, do
not go after them. Verse nine, when you hear of
wars and disturbances, do not be terrified. For these things
must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately. As we looked The history of the
world is a history of war. And God’s people would well easily
have been led astray if they sold all their properties and
cashed in everything they had at the first sign and sound of
war. But Jesus says the end does not
follow immediately. Don’t go chasing after everything
that you hear. There was a third warning, not
only false messiahs and this false labor of wars. Continued
by talking about what the gospel writers refer to as false labor,
when he said nations will rise against nation, kingdoms against
kingdom, there will be great earthquakes and in various places,
plagues and famines. All of those things are going
to happen. But those are not necessarily
the sign of the end. There will ultimately be, as
Luke points out, terrors and great signs even from heaven.
Falling stars, eclipses, who knows? But those are not the
sign of the end. Jesus issues them these series
of warnings so that they would not be misled. We’ll come back
to that thought in a moment today. But Jesus points out to them,
if you look at verse 12, that ultimately the church, Christ’s
people are going to face a certain persecution. We think in our day and age that
if our neighbor turns his nose up at our invitation to something
at church, we call that persecution. If somebody mocks us or snickers
at us because we carry our Bible or because we pray in a public
place at lunch, That’s not persecution. Not like what the church will
face in time. Look at verse 12 of Luke’s Gospel
when it says, before all these things, before all the wars and
before all the earthquakes. And I take that to mean first
in priority, not first in time, but the most noteworthy sign
of Christ’s pending return is that before all of these things,
they will lay their hands on you. They will persecute you,
delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before
kings and governors for my namesake. It’s going to happen. We don’t
know when. For at least the last several
hundred years, Our own nation has known a time of what the
Puritans used to call gospel opportunity, great privilege,
time of great freedom, freedom to gather as we desire, freedom
to proclaim Christ freely, freedom to live out our religious convictions
just exactly as our country was founded. But it won’t always be that way.
I’m not a harbinger of doom. I’m not looking forward to it.
I’m not eager to face it. But the Scriptures say it will
happen. It will happen. But even that
isn’t bad news, because if you look at verse 13 of Luke 21,
Luke says it will lead. To an opportunity for your testimony,
it’s just greater opportunity for us to proclaim Christ. We looked at this passage in
depth last week. When it said it will lead to
an opportunity for your testimony, what it tells us is that it is
going to be a stage, as it were. Every time we’re called on the
carpet for our faith, it’s going to be a stage for us, a platform,
if you will, for us to proclaim the gospel of our Savior. And
that’s why Luke goes on, interestingly, to tell us to make up our minds
not to prepare beforehand. But to defend ourselves, we’re
not supposed to come up with some well-crafted. Presentation
as to what we’re going to say in that day, a very particular
day. For I will give you utterance
and wisdom, which none of your opponents will be able to resist
or refute. We spent no little time looking
at all of those opportunities as they shake out, even as family
members betray us, even as friends turn us in as fellow Christians,
those who once professed Christ, as they give up on Christ, as
they turn their back on him, they will turn us over to the
authorities. That’s what the scriptures say.
It’s not pleasant news. But it’s not all bad. It will
lead to an opportunity. And it is there that we want
to pick up today. We have a great gospel opportunity. We have an opportunity as Christians
to proclaim Christ. And as such, we are doing and
participating in God’s great plan. The great plan of taking
the gospel to the ends of the earth. And once that’s done. It’s done. Once the gospel is
fully preached. The Scripture says. The end of
the age will come. It is here that I would ask you
to take your bulletins, because just like I did last week, I
have presented you Quite a jumbled mess if you don’t know what you’re
looking at. As I suggested last week, it
is absolutely crucial in this passage that all of that discourse
to synthesize the gospel accounts to bring in Matthew, to bring
in Mark, to bring in what they say and to synthesize those things.
And you will see how crucial as the morning unfolds. As I
told you last week, If it’s in italics, it comes from Matthew’s
gospel. If it is in standard print, it
is from Mark’s gospel. And if it is in boldface print,
it is from gospel, the gospel of Luke. I’m still preaching
through Luke’s gospel. All right. I’m not taking a hiatus,
but we are going to start in Matthew’s gospel if you’re at
the top of that page. where Matthew records, many false
prophets will arise and mislead many. Because lawlessness is
increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who
endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom
shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the
nations. And then the end will come. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded
by armies. Matthew inserts here the abomination
of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel, the prophet
standing in the holy place. Mark points out it should not
be there. Let the reader understand Then
recognize that her desolation is near. Then those who are in
Judea must flee to the mountains and those who are in the midst
of the city must leave. And those who are in the country
must not enter the city. Whoever is on the housetop must
not go down to get the things that are in his house. Whoever
is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. Because
these are the days of vengeance. So that all things which are
written will be fulfilled. Woe to those who are pregnant
and to those who are nursing babies in those days. But pray
that your flight will not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great
tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning
of the world until now, nor ever will. For there will be great distress
upon the land and wrath to this people, and they will fall by
the edge of the sword and will be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled
underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are
fulfilled. Until those days, pardon me,
unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been
saved. But for the sake of the elect,
Those days will be cut short. Now, as I said, as I started
out, this is a difficult section. In fact, in my opinion, one of
the most difficult sections in an already difficult section,
the Olivet Discourse. The immediate problem here in
this passage is that only Luke mentions Jerusalem at all. Because
of that, several questions arise. And this is the part where you
sit back and just be patient. Is this section referring to
Jerusalem’s end in 70 A.D.? Many think so, or is this section
referring to the end of the age, the end of all things? It’s certainly
there aren’t any stronger passages that talk about calamity coming
upon mankind. My answer to those questions,
is this referring to 70 A.D. or is this referring to the end
of the age? The answer is yes. We had a funny
discussion, didn’t we, a couple of weeks ago at one of our little
dinners at our house, several couples over talking about husband
and wife communications. And our determination was that
wives tend to ask multiple questions all at once. Unaware of the amazing capacity
that husbands have to instantly analyze, sort through the multiple
questions and answer the most important question. Or perhaps the easiest question
to answer. So I answer these two questions
with the same adeptness with which we husbands often answer
our wives. Yes. Is this section referring to
Jerusalem’s end in 70 A.D.? Yes. Is this section referring
to the end of the age, the end of all things? Yes. The bottom
line is it’s not this or that. It’s both this and that. The sign here, as one said, either
relates to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., or it gives
the sign of the eschatological end, the end of all things. When the disciples presented
their question to Jesus, two crisis events The destruction
of Jerusalem and the consummation of the age seem to have merged
to fill the horizon of their thinking concerning the future.
And all Jesus does here is return the favor. Jerusalem is in view. The end of the age is in view.
Because, as he goes on, because of the close parallels between
the two events, interpreters have always found it difficult
To distinguish the two in Jesus answer. The sign given in Luke
relates to the historical fall of Jerusalem. But it is not the
same sign that is given in the other synoptic gospels, as I
indicated, Matthew and Mark do not even point. To Jerusalem. The tribulation connected with
the destruction of Jerusalem standing in the foreground of
the Olivet discourse foreshadows and contains the essential features
of the great tribulation at the end of time. We’ll come back
to that thought. Essentially, what he proposes is that what
we saw in 70 AD was a microcosm. Of what will be at the end of
the age, a small version. A prototype, if you will, where
Jerusalem was sounded surrounded by armies ultimately destroyed,
leveled to the ground. What he suggests is that that
is merely a microcosm of what is to be at the end of the age.
What is more, though? Some have even gone so far as
to suggest that Luke here, is describing the near end of 70
A.D., while Matthew and Mark are describing the end of the
age, even though they’re all recording the same Olivet discourse. That approach. Goes against all sound hermeneutics,
for those of you of the Institute, it goes against every sensible
fashion of interpretation Not the least of which scripture
interprets scripture, and we cannot possibly ignore the one
or think that the one is talking about one thing and the other
gospel writers speaking of a completely different event. Luke doesn’t
present an entirely different message here than does Mark and
Matthew. That approach is entirely untenable. For several reasons, as we’ll
see, and that’s why I say that blending the gospel accounts,
blending these accounts or at least a serious consideration
of them is absolutely crucial. Luke does not present an entirely
different message here than does Matthew and Mark, and neither
can this section be referring exclusively to the destruction
of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Let me give you some reasons
why. And this doesn’t count for my sermon yet, this is all just
preparation, we’re just in the introduction. Firstly, the gospel
writers, according to the clear context, are all recording Jesus
speaking on the same occasion, right? We all have seen that.
They’re all speaking or recording Jesus on the same occasion, speaking
on the same subject, while all of them record varying details
to suggest that one breaks away to describe something entirely
unique. Even contrary to what the others
are presenting, that idea is absurd. To put it plainly, Luke
is not describing the destruction of Jerusalem that is to take
place in AD 70. He’s just not. That is not Christ’s
focus. It hasn’t been from the very
start of his answer. While Matthew and Mark look down
the annals of future history. Luke seems to focus on the near
the soon to occur history. But with a variety of words and
shifting focus, all three of the gospel writers, Matthew,
Mark and Luke, are all recording the same message. It’s Christ’s
message. As one said, Christ did not visibly
return in AD 70, the opposing armies were not defeated in his
presence. All Israel was not saved. The
Jews were not grafted back into the olive tree. There is much
pertaining to the day of the Lord and his vengeance against
sin that yet awaits fulfillment. It cannot possibly be just about
eighty seventy. Secondly, when Matthew records
Jesus as declaring the gospel shall be preached as a testimony
to all the nations, It is plainly evident. That Jesus isn’t speaking
exclusively. About the pending doom of Jerusalem
in 70 A.D., but a much, much greater event. There’s no doubt
the gospel had gone out. Not only from Jerusalem and out
outward from Samaria and outward even from there. But it had not
yet by any stretch reached the ends of the earth in 70 A.D.
When Jerusalem was destroyed. Thirdly, the blending of the
gospel accounts, and this is my argument, the blending of
the gospel accounts is not difficult. It certainly isn’t impossible.
As I hope to prove as we unfold this, To say, as Luke does, that
armies surround Jerusalem. If you look across your page
and you look at verse 20 of Luke’s gospel to say that armies surround
Jerusalem is not impossible to reconcile with Matthew and Mark’s
end of the world scenario. Specifically, with what they
refer to as the abomination of desolation, those two things
are not discordant. They can be blended and they
must be. They are all recording varying
details of Christ’s one Olivet discourse. That’s not to say
that Luke’s focus can’t be the near event, while the other two
gospel writers, the more distant events. Watch what happens. The end of Jerusalem is clearly
in view. The end of Jerusalem is clearly
in view. Look at this. Look at verse 20 of Luke’s gospel,
Luke 21, 20. It is Jerusalem that is surrounded
by armies. Even in Matthew 24, 15, he records
Jesus as speaking of the holy place. This is a clear reference
to the temple. And the Holy of Holies smack
dab in the middle of Jerusalem. Also, in Luke 21-20, Jesus refers
to her desolation. Obviously, Jerusalem’s desolation. In Luke 21-21, those who are
in Judea must flee. It is Jerusalem then that is
in view. But it’s not just Jerusalem that
is in view. The end of the age is also in
view. Matthew 24-14 says the end will
come. And that points to the end of
the age. It is as clear as can be. Matthew
24, 15 speaks of the abomination of desolation, probably an entire
Sunday’s worth of material. Luke 21, 22 speaks of days of
vengeance. There’s no doubt that there was
vengeance in 70 A.D. when Jerusalem was destroyed,
but it can in no sense be referred to as the Great Tribulation,
which is what those days of vengeance point to. Luke 21-22 goes on
to say that all things which are written will be fulfilled
in that day. And in no way can we suggest that in A.D. 70 everything
that needed to be fulfilled was fulfilled. It just didn’t. All
of this is clearly future. It wasn’t fulfilled in 70 A.D.
The end about which Matthew speaks did not occur. The abomination
of desolation While it foreshadowed was foreshadowed by the events
of 70 A.D. did not occur. The days of vengeance
were while foreshadowed by the events of 70 A.D. were not fully
realized, and it cannot possibly be said that all things which
are written. Since the world has continued,
Israel has been replanted as a nation that Christ has not
returned, all things were not fulfilled. Fourthly, Still in
my introduction. The continued flow of this passage
makes it absolutely clear that it doesn’t have to be an either
or proposition. Either a near event in 70 A.D. or the distant event called the
Great Tribulation, it doesn’t have to be an either or proposition. A third option would be to blend
both That what happened in 70 A.D. is a microcosm of what will
transpire at the end of the age. It was a foreshadowing of things
to come. This is clearly supported by
the natural blending of the responses to the last days that Jesus admonishes
in all three gospels. Watch this. Go, if you would,
across the page and look at the passage again. Where you see
in Luke 21, where Luke admonishes those in Judea must flee to the
mountains. And those who are in the midst
of the city, he calls out to and those who are in the country,
whether you’re urbanites or suburbanites, listen up, Jesus says, but watch
what Matthew does. Matthew and Mark both call to
those on the housetop and those in the field. Whether you’re
in the city on top of the house or those in the field out in
the country, either way, that whole thing is blended. This
is one account. It is one Olivet discourse. And
he calls to all three of these, pardon me, he calls to all of
these groups in the context of a great tragedy. It is unreasonable
to say that Luke speaks of one account and Matthew and Mark
speak of another. Rather, it is one repeated episode. And thus we see Jerusalem attacked
and destroyed exactly as happened in 70 A.D. That ought to be a
great encouragement, a proof of prophecy. But that wasn’t the end of the
story. Jerusalem having to be rebuilt once again to come into
focus again. The hatred of nations again indwelt
by the nation of Israel again surrounded only this time. An
attack on Jerusalem will be in the context of what is known
as the Great Tribulation. And when that takes place, when
that is finished, it is finished. Fifthly, This section cannot
be referring exclusively to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70
AD, because, as J.C. Ryle said, we must not suppose
that this part of our Lord’s prophecy is exhausted by the
first taking of Jerusalem. Our Lord’s words have a further
and deeper application still. They apply to a second siege
of Jerusalem, which is yet to take place when Israel has returned
to their own land and to a second tribulation of the inhabitants
stopped only by the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is
the end of the age. And we look to that. We haven’t
seen it. Another said it this way, a closer
look at the whole Olivet discourse reveals that the most important
elements of Jesus prophecy were not fulfilled in 70 A.D., including
his own return, the gathering of the elect, the great tribulation
that Christ described involves a cataclysm and suffering on
a global and cosmic scale. Not a local event in Jerusalem
only, It will be a time of distress and hardship that will be unique
in all the world’s history. What occurred in Jerusalem in
1870 has been superseded by scores of far worse calamities and Holocaust
in the centuries that have followed. And now. We begin our sermon. What we have. In the passage
that is inserted into your bulletin is essentially a panorama, a
broad view of what Jesus called the end of the age. A panorama
of the end of the age, point one. First of all, we want to
look at the indications of the end. Jesus has told us what isn’t
going to be an indicator, earthquakes and the like, that we’re not
supposed to be caught off guard by false messiahs. But now Jesus
wants to tell us to sit up and take notice. Focus in here, because
these are going to be the indicators of the end of the age. In the
context of Matthew 24, verse 10, where Jesus said there, at
that time, At the end of the age, many will fall away and
will betray one another and will hate one another. We saw that
in the context last week of the great betrayal. And it’s in that context that
he says false prophets will arise, false prophets, many false prophets
will arise and will mislead many. this defection that we talked
about last week where people basically just cash it in. It’s
too hard to follow Christ. I lose too many friends that
way. It’s hurting my business. I don’t like being so isolated.
I don’t like being considered an oddball. I don’t enjoy this
persecution. That’s it. I’m done. I’m done
with Christianity. I’m done with church. I’m done
with Christ. Many will fall away. That means
that they sat here with us at one point they were with us.
It’s not just that they were casually introduced to Christ.
These were professing followers of Christ. Many will fall away. And it says that in turn, they
will betray one another. It’s not enough for them not
to want to follow Christ anymore, if it’s not good for them, it’s
not good for anybody. It’s troublesome. It’s a troublesome
doctrine. And that defection. Of these
believers, so-called these professing believers at one time is going
to lead to just a huge advance of false prophets. These prophets
so-called are going to rise largely from the ranks of the defectors. As one said, Even for us, it is difficult
to even get our bearings on what this means, that many false prophets
will arise. Because these guys were bigger
than pastors, far bigger than pastors and elders, far bigger
than some local evangelist blowing through town, far bigger, bigger
even than televangelists, bigger. As one said in the early church,
not to mention Israel’s history, prophets were significant figures. Paul ranks prophets as second
only to the apostles. Clearly, they were valued very
highly and their words listened to with close attention. Accordingly,
it is a disastrous situation when false prophets make their
appearance. And many of them means that there
will be no small trouble in the church. They will deceive many. They’re going to come. And they’re
going to be familiar. They’re going to rise even from
our own midst. They’re going to have a following
and they’re going to call out a great number of people. That’s
what Jesus says. This is an absolutely devastating
feature of the end times. And Jesus says that we can expect
it. And Jesus says, when you see it, there’s an indicator
of the end. The deceivers, said Matthew,
Henry, would pretend to divine inspiration. We know that in
our day, don’t we? Anytime somebody says the Lord
told me run. Unless they’ve got their Bible
open in front of them. The deceivers would pretend to divine inspiration
and immediate mission and a spirit of prophecy when it was all a
lie. The seducers here pointed to
were such as had been settled teachers in the church. They
had gained a reputation as such, but afterward they betrayed the
truth they had taught. They revolted to pardon me, revolted
to error and from such danger as the greater because least
suspected. In other words, they were trusted.
We knew them, they had a following. One false traitor in the garrison,
said one, may do more mischief than a thousand avowed enemies
without. Did you get his point? One false
traitor in the garrison may do more mischief than a thousand
enemies without. It doesn’t matter what the heathen
are saying. We’re not going to fall for one
of them, but somebody who’s got a following, somebody who’s got
a teaching ministry, somebody who’s been on the TV for years
or somebody who has pastored a church with great faithfulness. When he falls, when he goes astray,
it is an absolute travesty. Because he will mislead many. And I’ll tell you, I’ll tell
you, since the day that I ever even thought about getting into
the ministry, that is one of my great fears. I don’t want
to be that guy. I don’t want to be the false
teacher. I don’t want to be the one that misleads or leads astray. That’s why the scriptures tell
us, let not many of you become teachers. There are too many
anyway. And too many inaccurate teachers
and too many creative teachers. No wonder Paul, exhorting young
Timothy, told Timothy, pay close attention to yourself, to the
way that you live, to what you believe. Pay close attention
to yourself and to your teaching. One of my favorite verses, because
I don’t want to pass along inaccurate information. I don’t want to
spread some incorrect, silly, nonsensical view. I don’t want
to spread the wisdom of men. Some people, because of that,
have called me a perfectionist. OK, that’s all right. I serve
I serve a precise God. On the matters of doctrine, it
is reasonable to assume that God would demand precision, isn’t
it? And so far as we’re able and
because of that, we as people need to cultivate a passion for
truth. Truthfulness, accuracy, correctness. But we also need to cultivate
the attitude that goes along with that, don’t we? An attitude,
a right attitude, a humble attitude. As I’ve said so many times, a
proud Calvinist is a contradiction of terms. If you believe God
gave you your salvation, don’t you also believe that God gave
you any doctrine that you’ve ever been taught? We need to
cultivate a right attitude, we need to cultivate right priorities,
we need to cultivate right methods, we need to do what God wants
us to do the way that God wants us to do it. That’s my great
fear. I don’t want to be that guy.
I don’t want to be the guy that leads people astray. Paul warned
his Ephesian elders as he called them to him in one of the most
intimate, poignant scenes of all of Scripture, right? Acts
chapter 20 calls him to himself. They end up when they end up,
you know, it’s all that mushy, gushy hugging and tears. Paul’s heart was breaking. He
says, I know. I know without a shadow of a
doubt, I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among
you, not sparing the flock. They’re going to come in and
devour your people. And from among your own selves,
I mean, how do you think that made the elders feel? One of
you is going astray. From among your own selves, men
will arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples
after them. It’s their whole point, their
whole focus. Second, Peter, chapter two, verse
one, echoes the same thoughts, false prophets also arose among
the people, just as there will be false teachers among you who
will secretly introduce destructive heresies. Even denying the Master
who brought them bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
1 John 4. Beloved, do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from
God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Don’t trust everyone that you see implicitly. Don’t give them
carte blanche. Test, listen, examine. Ask questions. Matthew 715, beware of false
prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous
wolves. None of them mean you any good.
They will lead you astray four times in Matthew 24. He uses
that imagery of being misled or led astray. Many will come in my name, saying,
I am the Christ, and will mislead many, 24-5. Many false prophets
will arise and mislead many. Don’t be misled. Don’t follow
one who shouldn’t be followed. Don’t follow one who doesn’t
operate from the sound foundation of God’s Word. Don’t follow him.
Jesus says here, That is the time of this world draws to a
close. False teachers are going to proliferate. They’re going to be plentiful
and they’re going to be popular. Do you know that the Mormon Church
is enjoying growth like it has never enjoyed? Do you know that
Jehovah’s Witnesses? Jehovah’s Witnesses draw their
greatest growth. From Baptistic believers. Not to mention that the Roman
Catholic Church continues to grow talking about things that
Scripture never mentions. All the while, we got fearful
in the 80s about the health and wealth teachers, what they were
teaching back then is mild in comparison to what they teach
now when they tell us that we can be little gods. Not to mention the anything goes
church growth strategies that are being advanced in our own
day and age. False teachers are going to proliferate
in the last days. I don’t even think we’re anywhere
near close. It’s bad. But it’s going to get much, much
worse, much worse. False prophets will arise and
they will mislead many. There’s a second feature. that
points to the end of the age, not only false teachers, but
cold hearts, cold hearts. Look at verse 12 and we’ll close
with this. Because lawlessness is increased,
most people’s love will grow cold. He says that at the end of the
age, maybe the persecution has become just too tough. Maybe
the fact that all these false teachers, but the lawlessness,
the sin, the rampant sin is what he points to. The King James
calls it iniquity. Because of all that, people’s
hearts are just going to grow cold, cold towards God and cold
towards one another. The good news is you have one
week to go home and examine your heart, to warm it at the fires
of Christ and the cross To come back and we’ll examine what those
cold hearts look like to those in that last day. You pray with
me. Father God, you are so incredibly
merciful. To pen down these things for
all time. Not things to be treated as spooky. Or frightening. But truth. To which we are to come and to
humbly sit and meditate. And to consider. And Father God,
as your word will go on to say, the greatest goal of all of this
is that the gospel will be preached. Grant us the grace to seize the
moment. To proclaim Christ to our friends
and to our family. The doing that. Will thereby
fulfill your great plan. In the proclamation of Christ
to all. Lord God, we thank you for the
privilege of hearing your word. We ask your blessing on the remainder
of our day. It’s in Jesus name that we pray.
Amen. you