Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday already! Wow! It seems like only two days ago I wrote that it was Monday, time to go out and renew hostilities with the ever present, ever hungry enemy. Time sure passes quickly! Now I’ve got to say that Sabbath time is upon us once again. Anyway, ours is not to wonder why, just to do and hopefully not to die until we reach a ripe, old age. (smile) And though old age does have it’s drawbacks like aches and pains and other degenerative illnesses, at least then we don’t need signs to help us in the abundance of life, for we’ve already been there, we know where we’re going, if we can see. (smile) Yes Friends, signs are a very important part of life, whether they are physical, emotional, mental or otherwise. They guide and show us the way, provided we follow them. The problem though is that there can be good and bad, as well as right and wrong signs, and if we follow the bad or wrong ones we usually end up in trouble. But sometimes the signs are so well disguised and we only realize they are wrong or bad when we reach the end of the line. That’s why we need to pay very careful attention to whatever signs pop up in our lives, for often when we follow the wrong ones, there’s just no turning back, or we hit a high stone wall, then have numerous regrets. We saw yesterday where Jesus refused to give the Pharisees, ‘the adulterous generation,’ any signs beyond His death and resurrection, re the judgement day and His coming again, this time in glory. But He did give some hints to His disciples in private. This was after they came out of the temple and they showed Him the temple buildings and He told them: ‘See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’ (Mat. 24:2) So later, while sitting on the Mount of Olives they ask Him; ‘Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (age)?’ And what was Jesus’ answer? ‘Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.’ (Mat.24:4-5) Oh Friends, notice Jesus’ first warning was against false prophets, the antichrist. We have to be so very careful of whom we listen to and believe, because there are many wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing, who will gladly relieve us of our material possessions, our joy in the Lord and anything else they can, while leading us down the ungodly road to hellfire and damnation. Believe me brethren, there are many of them out there in this wicked world just waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting or naive person. As a believer, the only way to combat this is to fill your hearts, souls and minds with the Word, and screen all comers with the words of John. ‘Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is Christ? He is the antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye shall also continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.’ (1 John 2:22-25) Yes Friends, we must pay great heed to what others preach to us, using what we were originally thought as our guideline, for the spirit of the antichrist is fully alive and kicking, grinning with bared teeth, ready to devour us. Jesus then continued giving them more warning signals. ‘And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers (various) places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.’ (Mat.24:6-8) Oh my people, it surely seems like Jesus could be referring to our time, for we have all those things in unusual abundance: wars and rumours of wars, nations rising against nations, earthquakes, famines and much sickness all over the world. But Friends, according to Jesus, that’s just the start of our misery. Can you imagine our world getting any worse? Jesus seems to think so, for He says of His followers: ‘Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then many shall be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity (lawlessness) shall abound, the LOVE of many shall wax (grow) cold.’ (Mat. 24:9-12) All of that is already here Friends. But the great thing about our Saviour is that in spite of the dark and utterly terrifying pictures He paints of abounding sin and martyrdom, He provides a way out for His followers, He always gives us hope. And here is that hope: ‘But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.’ (Mat.24:13) Shout ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ Friends. For if we stand strong and fight the good fight, encouraging and helping each other, in tune with the Holy Spirit, then at the end we’ll be joyous in salvation and eternal life. One more sign Friends. ‘And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.’ (Mat.24:14) So there’s still a long way to go because we haven’t yet spread the gospel through missionary expansion all over the world. It seems the church age will last until we spread the good news of the gospel all over the inhabited world. So let’s get with it please people: LOVE your God, LIVE your Faith, and SPREAD His Word. Much LOVE!…obey the signs…and you’ll be fine…
Oh Friends, it’s Friday already! Wow! It seems like only two days ago I wrote that it was Monday, time to go out and renew hostilities with the ever present, ever hungry enemy. Time sure passes quickly! Now I’ve got to say that Sabbath time is upon us once again. Anyway, ours is not to wonder why, just to do and hopefully not to die until we reach a ripe, old age. (smile) And though old age does have it’s drawbacks like aches and pains and other degenerative illnesses, at least then we don’t need signs to help us in the abundance of life, for we’ve already been there, we know where we’re going, if we can see. (smile) Yes Friends, signs are a very important part of life, whether they are physical, emotional, mental or otherwise. They guide and show us the way, provided we follow them. The problem though is that there can be good and bad, as well as right and wrong signs, and if we follow the bad or wrong ones we usually end up in trouble. But sometimes the signs are so well disguised and we only realize they are wrong or bad when we reach the end of the line. That’s why we need to pay very careful attention to whatever signs pop up in our lives, for often when we follow the wrong ones, there’s just no turning back, or we hit a high stone wall, then have numerous regrets. We saw yesterday where Jesus refused to give the Pharisees, ‘the adulterous generation,’ any signs beyond His death and resurrection, re the judgement day and His coming again, this time in glory. But He did give some hints to His disciples in private. This was after they came out of the temple and they showed Him the temple buildings and He told them: ‘See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’ (Mat. 24:2) So later, while sitting on the Mount of Olives they ask Him; ‘Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (age)?’ And what was Jesus’ answer? ‘Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.’ (Mat.24:4-5) Oh Friends, notice Jesus’ first warning was against false prophets, the antichrist. We have to be so very careful of whom we listen to and believe, because there are many wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing, who will gladly relieve us of our material possessions, our joy in the Lord and anything else they can, while leading us down the ungodly road to hellfire and damnation. Believe me brethren, there are many of them out there in this wicked world just waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting or naive person. As a believer, the only way to combat this is to fill your hearts, souls and minds with the Word, and screen all comers with the words of John. ‘Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is Christ? He is the antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye shall also continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.’ (1 John 2:22-25) Yes Friends, we must pay great heed to what others preach to us, using what we were originally thought as our guideline, for the spirit of the antichrist is fully alive and kicking, grinning with bared teeth, ready to devour us. Jesus then continued giving them more warning signals. ‘And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers (various) places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.’ (Mat.24:6-8) Oh my people, it surely seems like Jesus could be referring to our time, for we have all those things in unusual abundance: wars and rumours of wars, nations rising against nations, earthquakes, famines and much sickness all over the world. But Friends, according to Jesus, that’s just the start of our misery. Can you imagine our world getting any worse? Jesus seems to think so, for He says of His followers: ‘Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then many shall be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity (lawlessness) shall abound, the LOVE of many shall wax (grow) cold.’ (Mat. 24:9-12) All of that is already here Friends. But the great thing about our Saviour is that in spite of the dark and utterly terrifying pictures He paints of abounding sin and martyrdom, He provides a way out for His followers, He always gives us hope. And here is that hope: ‘But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.’ (Mat.24:13) Shout ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ Friends. For if we stand strong and fight the good fight, encouraging and helping each other, in tune with the Holy Spirit, then at the end we’ll be joyous in salvation and eternal life. One more sign Friends. ‘And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.’ (Mat.24:14) So there’s still a long way to go because we haven’t yet spread the gospel through missionary expansion all over the world. It seems the church age will last until we spread the good news of the gospel all over the inhabited world. So let’s get with it please people: LOVE your God, LIVE your Faith, and SPREAD His Word. Much LOVE!…obey the signs…and you’ll be fine…
SCRIP-BITS 