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Matthew 24
Signs of the End of the Age - part 2.2 v. 15-35
(Emphasis on verses 20-30)
Jesus speaking to His disciples:
"Pray that your flight will not take place in 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, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is 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-if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.
"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vulture will gather.
"Immediately after the distress of those days 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."
Jesus, talking about the end times may be scary to some of you. But if you're saved, there's absolutely nothing to be scared of. The trumpets of the angels will be calling you. But in the meantime know what Jesus was saying. He telescoped near future and far future events, as did the Old Testament prophets. Many of these persecutions have already occurred; more yet to come. But God is in control of even the length of persecutions. He will not forget His people- YOU and me. This is all we need to know about the future to motivate us to live rightly now.
In times of persecution even strong believers will find it difficult to be loyal. To keep from being deceived by false messiahs, we must understand that Jesus' return will be unmistakable (Mark 13:26); no one will doubt that it is He. If you have to be told that the Messiah has come, then He hasn't. Christ's coming will be obvious to everyone. So be warned and discerning about false teachers. They are still in our world. Upon close examination it becomes clear that many nice-sounding messages don't agree with God's message in the Bible. If it doesn't stand up to God's Word, it just isn't right. Don't fool yourself. Only a solid foundation in God's Word can equip us to perceive the errors and distortions in false teaching. I pray that the Good News is just one of the tools you use to help you grow in this area.
The nations of the earth will mourn because unbelievers will suddenly realize they have chose the wrong side. Everything they have scoffed about will be happening, and it will be too late for them.
DON'T LET IT BE TOO LATE FOR YOU.
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach the Good News to the poor." Isaiah 61:1
Notes from Life Application Study Bible & NIV Women's Devotional Bible-Classic Edition.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
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