From His Heart

Speaker 1

Remember this about God. He does not want to judge. He wants to save. He doesn't take any pleasure in the death of anyone who dies. Therefore, repent and live. And he waits. And he waits, and he waits, and he waits.

Speaker 2

Just about everybody is interested in the future. It's just a common thing among humans. Even people who don't know Christ are interested in the future. And what with Hollywood making all the movies about Armageddon and climate change and apocalypse, one can't help but ask the question, is the end really near?

This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. Thank you for joining us today as he reveals the deception, division, disasters, and persecution that Jesus described would happen in future events and that they are like the beginning of birth pangs, signaling the end of the age.

Well, our message today is entitled the Prophetic Signs of the End Times. We are in part two today. We had part one last week. In this message, Pastor Jeff unpacks Jesus' prophetic words found in Matthew 24. This message is from Pastor Jeff's new nine-lesson series, When the Son of Man Comes, a study of Matthew 24 and 25.

You can visit our website at promisheart.org to hear part one. Click the Listen link now, though, open your Bible to Matthew chapter 24, and he'll do a short review and then continue with today's message, the Prophetic Signs of the End Times. Here again is Pastor Jeff.

Speaker 1

How many in this room would say that you are interested in the future? Anybody interested in the future? Well, the disciples were interested in the future, and they wanted Jesus to tell them what is going to come. As we read Matthew 24 and 25, you need to remind yourself of this fact: the Jews only saw one coming of the Messiah. When the Messiah comes, that's when he sets up his kingdom. They had to learn that there are two comings. The first coming, he came in humiliation to be crucified, and he's coming again.

So, in Matthew chapter 24, we have the Olivet discourse. Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when his disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to him. He said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly, I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another which will not be torn down." So what did Jesus tell them? And what is he telling us about the future? Three discoveries.

Discovery number one: the temple will be destroyed. He makes that very clear in verse two. Jesus said, "Do you not see all these things? Truly, I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another which will not be torn down." Jesus said, "Hey, guys, you may be all enamored with the temple, but I'm telling you, inside of 40 years, this is going to be totally destroyed."

Second discovery: signs will precede his coming at the end of the age. Remember this: the Rapture is a signless event that precedes his second coming, his actual return to the earth. You say, "How do you know that?" It's because he told us over and over, "Be ready, be ready, be ready, be ready." So the Rapture is a signless event that precedes his coming, and the coming of the Lord ushers in the end of the age.

Now, look at the question again: "Tell us, when will these things happen?" No doubt he told them, but Matthew doesn't record it. "And what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?" The sign of his coming and the end of the age are at the same time. When he comes and does battle with the Antichrist and wipes out all the enemies, and the blood flows up to the horses' bridles for a distance of 200 miles, there is carnage like you've never seen before or could ever even imagine. Then he sets up his kingdom. All that happens together. So that's two questions, but it's really one.

Then he goes into the signs. The signs of his coming are birth pains that will intensify. He says, "These are the beginnings of birth pains." What are these signs? First of all, in verse four, there is the sign of spiritual deception. Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in my name saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many." Many are going to follow after those false Christs. Spiritual deception is going to be at a high. That's a sign.

Secondly, there's the sign of political unrest and warfare. What did Jesus say? "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not frightened. Don't be alarmed, don't be terrified at that, for those things must take place. But that is not yet the end." Did you know? Very interesting. Over the last 3,400 years or so of recorded history, there have been only 268 years where the world was at peace. That's 8% of recorded history. The world's at peace. Somebody's always fighting—a nation against a nation, a kingdom against a kingdom—and there's fighting all the time. During the first three and a half years of the tribulation, there are going to be wars and rumors of wars.

Then he says, "The sign of natural and cosmic disasters is coming." Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. In various places, there will be famines and earthquakes. Jesus said, "The natural and cosmic disasters, that's a sign." That is the beginning of birth pangs.

Then he goes on in verse 9: "Then they will deliver you to tribulation and will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. At that time, many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold."

What's another sign of his coming and the end of the age? The sign of persecution and apostasy. You read about that also in Revelation chapter six. There are those who are martyred, killed, beheaded for their faith in Christ. That's going to be going on like crazy during the tribulation period—persecution of believers and apostasy, the falling away. One of the things that the Lord uses to determine whether someone is true blue or not in his or her relationship with Jesus is persecution, difficulty, and hardship. People bail out very quickly when it costs them to be a Christian.

If everybody's going along, "Hey, this is great. It's the cool thing, the end thing, to be a believer. I'll be a believer too." But if it starts costing you to be a believer, then you find out who's genuine and true and who's not. People are going to apostatize; they're going to bail out on the Lord just to show their true colors that they never were true believers. So that sign is coming. Nobody likes to hear about persecution and suffering, but that's part of the deal. In the last days, that is coming.

Number five: there is the sign of lawlessness and lovelessness. He says in verse 12, "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold." I like the Greek for "growing cold." It's a word that's used when you have a hot liquid that you blow on to try and cool it. You do that with hot coffee or hot tea. Something hot, you're blowing on it to try and cool it down. What's going to happen in the tribulation period? There's lawlessness because people are worshiping God, the Christians are gone, and the world is not worshiping God. The world is not following God's word, God's will, God's ways.

As Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter three, "But realize this: in the last days, difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, haters of God." They have thrown God, his will, his word, his ways out. When you distance yourself from the God of the universe, who is love—God is love (1 John 4:8)—when you get away from God, you get away from love. What happens? Your heart cools. There is not only a lawless heart; you're hog wild into sin and immorality, and life is cheap. You don't really care about somebody's life because the milk of human kindness has curdled, and your love has grown cold. That's a sign of the Lord's return.

Then sixthly, there is the sign of worldwide gospel proclamation. Look at verse 14: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony, as a witness to all the nations. And then the end will come." We are trying to preach the gospel to all the nations. I'm saying we, as part of the body of Christ, want to preach the gospel to all the nations. But there are a lot of people that have never heard the gospel. During the tribulation period, everyone will hear the gospel. Even in the midst of everything falling apart, everyone's going to hear the gospel.

Now, it's estimated that 42% of the 8 billion people in the world either have no gospel witness or very little gospel witness. That's 3.4 billion people that don't know about Jesus. We talk in missionary terms about the 10/40 window. Have you ever heard about the 10/40 window? It refers to the area between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north where those people haven't heard much of the gospel at all. During the tribulation period, the Lord has 144,000 (Revelation chapter 7) from the twelve tribes of Israel who will be sealed and will be like 144,000 Apostle Pauls released on the world.

I mean, you talk about witnesses; they're going to be witnessing like crazy. When the rapture hits, especially when the abomination of desolation occurs during the three and a half year period, people's eyes are going to be opened. The Jews are going to realize, "Hey, the Antichrist, this guy that said he was our Savior, he is the devil in the flesh." Their eyes are going to be opened, and they're going to remember the things that they had heard. Many, many Jews will come to Christ during the tribulation period.

The Bible talks about two witnesses in Revelation chapter 11. We don't know who those two witnesses are. Some say, "Well, it's Moses that came back and it's Elijah, those two great men from the Old Testament." Some say it's Enoch and Elijah, the two men who never died. Enoch was not, for the Lord took him, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. We say, "Well, the Lord's going to bring those two guys back." I don't know. It sure seems to fit with Moses and Elijah because those two guys had ministries that turned water to blood and other things. Fire came down from heaven with Elijah. But those guys are going to be witnessing.

You have 144,000, you have those guys witnessing, and you have angels involved in witnessing during the tribulation period. Everyone is going to hear the gospel. There will be a worldwide proclamation of the gospel. What does the Lord say? "And then the end will come." God wants everyone to hear about salvation that is in His Son. Even when people don't respond, he wants them to hear.

Now, Matthew 24 is going to tell us about the days of Noah. "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be." God knew no one was going to respond to Noah and his preaching, yet he preached for 100 years, and nobody responded. Remember this about God: he does not want to judge; he wants to save. He doesn't take any pleasure in the death of anyone who dies. Therefore, repent and live. He waits, and he waits, and he waits, and he waits.

One of the arguments that Peter brings up in 2 Peter chapter three about the second coming of Jesus is that mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lust and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." Peter says when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God, the heavens were made and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. They forget about the flood of Noah, but the present heavens and the earth by his word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

But know this first of all: the Lord is not slow about his promises, as some men count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. God is so patient. Why? Because he wants people to trust him. But if you refuse, and refuse, and refuse, and refuse, the day of the Lord will come, and you'll be left out.

Discovery number three: not only will the temple be destroyed, and not only will signs precede his coming and the end of the age, but the true saints will endure to the end. Verse 13 says this: "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved." People read that and think, "Man, if I miss the rapture and have to go through the tribulation, it would be a miracle of God that you don't die in the tribulation period because of the persecution and all the plagues and all the seals of wrath and trumpets of wrath and bowls of wrath."

But if you can hold on to Jesus, you'll be saved. People get in their minds, "How do I keep my salvation? I keep my salvation by holding onto Jesus. I just gotta hold on to Jesus because if I let go, I'm lost forever." That's not how that verse is to be interpreted. The one who endures to the end will be saved because the one who endures to the end is saved. You're not saved by holding on to Jesus; he holds on to you. Once you give your heart and life to him, he gives his heart and life to you, and your name is recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life. You can never lose that. You've passed out of death into life.

Jesus said this in John chapter 10: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give to them eternal life, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand." Here you are; you gave your life to Jesus. He puts you in his hand and says, "No one will snatch you out of my hand." Then he says, "My Father, who is greater than all, has given them to me, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

So here you are. You gave your life to Christ. He puts you in his nail-scarred hand, and you can't get out of there. The Father puts his hand over the Son. You'll never get out of there. You will endure to the end if you're genuinely his.

Now, what does that say to us today? In 1 John chapter 2, the apostle John says this very importantly because some of us say, "Well, I know somebody who used to be a Christian, but now they have rejected Christ. They're not a Christian anymore. I guess they lost their salvation." No, they didn't. They never had it. John says this: "They went out from us, but they were not really of us. For if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. But they went out that it might be shown that they all are not of us."

How do you know if someone's a genuine Christian? They cannot ever deny the Lord. It's impossible because he holds us. When Jesus preached his sermon in John chapter 6, that was a tough sermon. It was about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. He was speaking spiritually, but they didn't get it. They just said, "This man, who can follow this? These are difficult statements. Who can understand them?" They withdrew from him, his disciples—not the twelve—but his disciples were not following him anymore.

Jesus did that on purpose because they were wanting to make him king right then, and his time had not yet come. After those people left, he says to the twelve, "You don't want to leave too, do you?" Peter says, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. You're it. I'm not going anywhere else. You're it." That's how you know you're really saved because you cannot turn away from Jesus.

Can you deny him as Peter did? Yes. Can you sin terribly? Yes. Can you reject him? No. Can you walk away from him? No. Because he holds you. That's true for the true saint, the one who endures to the end. Guess what you find with the one who endures to the end? That one was truly saved. All these others who defect, they were not truly saved.

Hey, mom and dad, maybe you have a wayward son or daughter, and you're holding on to this: "Well, I know they walked down the aisle when they were young; they prayed this prayer." Who knows? The Lord knows those who are his. We have to be honest enough to say if our kids have walked away from the Lord and they don't want to have anything to do with the Lord, we need to start praying for them that God would convict their hearts and show them how desperately they need Jesus.

It sounds like they've never been saved. We have to come to grips with that, and we pray differently. You pray differently for somebody that is a believer who is away from the Lord versus somebody who's never been saved.

So here's the question as we close: the true saints will endure to the end. Are you a true saint who will endure to the end? Do you have the real thing? In 2 Corinthians chapter 13, the apostle Paul says, "Test yourselves to see whether you be in the faith. Examine yourselves to see if you're genuine and true." Do you know that you know that you know that you've given your heart and life to Jesus, that he's come into your life, that you've been changed? It doesn't mean you're a perfect person, but you know there has been a change, and God's Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you're a child of God. Do you have that testimony? If you don't, you can have it today.

Speaker 2

If Jesus is the Lord and Savior of your life, God sees you through the righteousness of His Son and doesn't see you through the eyes of your sin like perhaps you do. But if you don't know Jesus in a personal way, you've never surrendered your life to Him, then we want to invite you to turn from your sin now. That means repent of your sin, be sorry for your sin, and surrender your life to Jesus in repentance and faith. Faith that He alone can save you. And when you do that, Christ will come in and you'll be a new creature. Just go to fromhishheart.org, click the "Why Jesus" link to help you understand what surrender means and how your life and eternity will be changed again. That's fromhishheart.org and then click the "Why Jesus" link.

As we jump into a brand new year, the world around us feels like it's unraveling by the day. People everywhere are asking what in the world is going on. As we've been learning in this message, the prophetic signs of the end times. Jesus gave us the answers, and that's what this new nine-message series from Pastor Jeff called "When the Son of Man Comes" is all about. And it's yours for a gift of any amount from His Heart this month. We appreciate your support, and it allows us to be on this station and hundreds more around the world each and every day. We could not do it without you.

To get your copy of this nine-message series on CDs, DVDs, USB flash drive, or MP3 download, simply make that gift of any amount and call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to From His Heart. Jesus said that before His return, the world would see spiritual deception, political unrest, natural disasters, persecution, and a worldwide proclamation of the Gospel. And that's what we're about. He told us these would be like birth pangs, increasing in both frequency and intensity until the day He comes again.

So we hope you'll step up to help us by supporting From His Heart this month so we can urgently reach more people for Christ. And when you do, we'll send you the nine-message series "When the Son of Man Comes." God bless you for your faith and trust in this media outreach called From His Heart.

Thank you for joining us today on From His Heart. I'm Larry Nobles, reminding you that From His Heart is a listener-supported broadcast ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve, speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. We hope you'll be with us next time for the next lesson in Pastor Jeff's series. It's called "The Abomination of Desolation." Join us then as we open up God's Word and share real truth, real love, and real hope. From His Heart.