I want you to open your Bible with me; we’re going to look at Matthew 24. I want to share today on the Signs of the Coming of Jesus - the Signs of the End Times.
How many know that there are global shifts are taking place? There's a lot of changes taking place in the world; you can see the massive changes. When 9/11 happened, I remember thinking then: Lord, this is not just about an event that happened in America; this is about a global shift. Something is changing in the nations of the world. People felt they lived in peace and security; but now there was the realisation that sudden change can take place.
Then there's been two waves of pandemic - there was the SARS virus, which perhaps for many didn't have such an impact; but this with latest one, Covid-19, suddenly, within a few days, you find yourself shut up in your home and you can't go out - can't do this; can't do that. Life as you knew it stopped.
These are kind of beginning signs. They're kind of evidence to us, of a time of change in the world; and we want to be anchored to the word of God, in this time. I think the first thing we need to know, if I look on the signs of the times, the first thing I want you to look at, or to just be aware of, is this:
God is in total control, and nothing can stop His purpose being outworked. God is in total control.
That doesn't mean that everything is operating the way He wants. In fact, it's not operating the way He wants, but it will come to a point where it does, and it really helps us to see a Bible perspective.
Isaiah 46:9-10 – “Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’”
God knows the end. He understands exactly how the whole thing ends.
We're just on the journey. We're caught in time. If you're in eternity, then you can see the start, and the end, and what's beyond; but when you're in time, then you only see what you've got now. When you're in time, then you often live out of the moment, or out of the experience you're in now, rather than out of an eternal biblical perspective. God always draws us back to Himself, and to the fact He's got your back. He's got the plan - so get connected and listen to the plan!
For example, in the Book of Daniel, there was a king there. The people of God were in a time and season where they were in bondage. Imagine that all the promises of God have gone; and everything they treasured was gone. They're in captivity; they're in slavery; and there's this false prophet, saying that it's not going to happen; but all kinds of things have been happening. In the middle of it, the king of Babylon, which was the greatest world empire of its day… it would be the ‘America’ of its day - it was the greatest empire.
The king had a vision in that; and in the vision, he sees an image - he sees the head of gold, and various parts of silver and bronze, right down to feet of clay and iron. Then he sees in that picture, that suddenly a rock comes, and the rock smites this image, on its feet. Then the image begins to crumble, and collapse, and fall to the ground - and the rock, that smote the feet of the image, now grows, and becomes a mountain that fills the whole earth!
The king is very troubled by this, very troubled indeed; and he says to all the wise men, the astrologers: I want to know the meaning of the dream; but no one could tell him - so he was going to kill everyone! You guys say you're smart, but you can't interpret my dream? Daniel said: give me a bit of time to seek the Lord - He knows dreams; and then Daniel comes back and says: I've got it!
God has shown him not only the dream, and its details; but also, the meaning.
Daniel 2:34 – “While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them”
Keywords: End Times, Second Coming, Days of Lot, Lot’s Wife, Sodom, Pride, Homosexuality, Sexual Perversion, Angels, Tolerance, Intolerance, Hate Speech, Fig Tree, Israel, Nations, Selfishness, Gospel of The Kingdom, Giants, Darkness, Watch and Pray, End Times, Second Coming, Matthew 24, Wars, Disasters, Pestilence, Famines, Earthquakes, Hatred, Offences, False Prophets, Itching ears, Deception, Love grow cold, Iniquity, Noah, Days of Noah, Lot, Fig Tree, Israel, Nations, Nationalism, Gospel of the kingdom