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THE SIGNS OF HIS RETURN 4. The Great Tribulation and the Return of Jesus Matthew 24:21-31 Matthew 24:15–31 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Tonight we’re in our fourth installment of our study in one of the most radical passages of the Bible. The context is of the passage is the last week of the life of Jesus. It is the middle of the week — the hours are ticking down to His crucifixion. Jesus has predicted the destruction of the Temple — blowing the minds of His followers because it was so magnificent in its size and structure. He is now with His disciples somewhere on the side of the Mount of Olives answering a two-fold question asked by Peter, Andrew, James and John.

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We have worked our way through the first 20 verses of His response — known as the Olivet Discourse. In the first 14 verses of Chapter 24 Jesus has been setting forth for them the flow of human history leading up to the revealing of the Antichrist. In verse 15 we have the actual event which pulls back the curtain on the true nature and agenda of this man. What we do need to bear in mind — and this is very important — is that by verse 15 this man has already been on the world scene in a public way for 3 ½ years. In fulfillment of Daniel 9 this man will have confirmed a covenant with the nation of Israel in a 7 year pact Most likely giving to Israel the ability to rebuild the Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. We say that because the fact that there will be a Temple is presumed in the prophecies of Daniel 12 — 2 Thessalonians 2 — Revelation 13. Each of those prophecies tell us about what this man is going to do in the Temple. We looked at that last week THIS IS CRUCIAL FOR US TO KNOW — Those 3 ½ years leading up to Matthew 24:15 and the 3 ½ years beginning at Matthew 24:15 constitute the last seven years of God’s dealing with the nation of Israel those seven years constitute the final week of the 70 weeks of Daniel 9.

Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, 70 periods of 7 years — determined upon Daniel’s people (the descendants of Abraham) and Daniel’s holy city (Jerusalem) — 490 years. 69 of those 70 weeks (483 of those 490 years) have already transpired in history. That clock started ticking on March 14, 445BC when the command went forth from Artaxerxes to restore and rebuild Jerusalem — out to the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem on April 6, 32AD (we refer to that date as Palm Sunday). When Jesus was cut off for the sins of the people the prophetic clock was put on pause. There was still one week left — one 7 year period of time left — in God’s dealing with the nation of Israel. As of this moment in history that final 7 year period of time has not yet begun. It’s going to begin 3 ½ years before the event Jesus predicts in Matthew 24:15

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We don’t know when it’s going to begin — but it’s going to begin with a 7 year pact. And in the middle of that seven year covenant this man will stand in the Temple declaring himself to be God — fulfilling the prophecy of Daniel

Daniel 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation…..

THAT is the event Jesus is referencing in Matthew 24:15

Matthew 24:15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

The holy place presumes a rebuilt Temple — a rebuilt Temple presumes the existence of the nation of Israel (which didn’t exist from 70AD to 1948).

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Today in Israel there is The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement. Here is an excerpt from their Long-Term Objectives.

Liberating the Temple Mount from Arab (Islamic) occupation…. The Temple Mount can never be consecrated to the Name of G-d without removing these pagan shrines. Consecrating the Temple Mount to the Name of G-d so that it can become the moral and spiritual center of Israel, of the Jewish people and of the entire world according to the words of all the Hebrew prophets. It is envisioned that the consecration of the Temple Mount and the Temple itself will focus Israel on: fulfilling the vision and mission given at Mt. Sinai for Israel to be a chosen people separate unto G-d, a holy nation, and a nation of priests (Exodus 19:6)

There’s also The Temple Institute

The Temple Institute is dedicated to all aspects of the Divine commandment for Israel to build a house for G-d's presence, the Holy Temple, on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem.

This group has already made all the garments of the priests (which we’ve been reading about recently in the Bible Bus) — all the vessels for the sacrifices have been made. They’re just waiting to find a way to get on the Temple Mount and rebuild the Temple. This seems to be an insolvable problem — but it would seem that this 7 year covenant in Daniel 9 will actually bring peace in that region — and make it possible for the existence of a rebuilt Temple because in the middle of that 7 years the same man who brokered the agreement will break it — and he will be seen for who he really is — that he anything BUT a man of Peace. Paul describes this man and this event in 2 Thessalonians 2

2 Thessalonians 2:3-5 …. the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

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From the abomination that causes desolation it will be exactly 3 ½ years until Christ returns! Jeremiah 37 calls this last 3 ½ years the time of Jacob’s trouble. It is also known as the Great Tribulation. We get that title from the opening words of verse 21. To say that only the final 3 ½ years period is a time of tribulation is to be naïve. The FIRST 3 ½ years will be a time of social — political — economic chaos on a global level that will be so intense that it provides the platform for the Antichrist to come on the scene as a brilliant negotiator and peacemaker; a man with a brilliant plan to utilize technology to stabilize the global economy with a one-world system of buying and selling. The world is going to embrace this man. Israel is going to embrace this man. But as we’ve noted, all of this will be a RESTRAINED VERSION of what is going to transpire during these last 3 ½ years. SO LET’S LOOK at it Matthew 24:21-22 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. We need to stop for a moment and think back on just recent human history In the civil war, an estimated 620,000 men lost their lives in the line of duty (2% of the population). In World War 1, seven million civilians and ten million military personnel were killed. In World War 2 we stagger at the death camps (Aushwitz — Buchenwald — Dachau and more). When you go to Israel and visit the Holocaust Museum you see pictures of the train loads of little shoes that belonged to the little Jewish children who were gassed and burned in ovens. There was Hiroshima and Nagasaki — and before that, the fire bombings in Europe. An estimated total 70-85 million people perished — which was about 3% of the 1940 world population (est. 2.3 billion). We think — HOW can anything be WORSE than those times. Jesus says it can be and it will be! In the first 4 judgments in Revelation 6 one fourth of the population on planet earth will be wiped out! 22And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

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“Elect” — There are those who read this and say — Ah! There you have it - the Church is in the Tribulation. We need to understand that the term Elect speaks of three groups of people in the Bible: Israel — The Church — Those saved in the Tribulation. LAST WEEK I asked you to read Revelation 6-19 (the expanded account of the Great Tribulation). In those chapters you will NOT find the word CHURCH once! That silence is significant — it’s deafening — because in the beginning of the book of Revelation Jesus writes letters to seven churches that existed in Asia Minor at the end of the 1st century. He begins each of them with the words “to the church in….”. When Paul began his letters he would say — ”To the church in…”. But not once do you see the word CHURCH in Revelation 6-18. So we must understand that the term ELECT in this passage cannot mean the Church. If it isn’t the church, who is it?

Isaiah 45:4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen (KJV = Elect), I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. Isaiah 65:9 I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my mountains; my chosen (KJV = elect) shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there. Isaiah 65:22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen (KJV = elect) shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

Another important chapter concerning Israel as the elect is Romans 11. It’s a very important chapter because it clearly tells us that God is not finished with Israel — no matter what some say. Those who find the church in the Great Tribulation do so because they have replaced Israel with the church. We can understand why GREAT theologians — GODLY men with a GREAT reverence for God’s Word — took the position that the Church had replaced Israel — because from 70 AD until March 1948 the WAS NO Israel. But there were godly who believed that there would once again be an Israel when there wasn’t an Israel

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J.C. Ryle — an Anglican bishop in the 19th century — said that there was going to an Israel. God is NOT done with Israel! Remember, all 70 weeks of Daniel 9 are ALL ABOUT ISRAEL. The last week of Daniel 9 have to do with God completing His plans and purposes in and through Daniel’s People (Israel) — and Daniel’s holy city (Jerusalem).

Romans 11:25-29 KJV Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:

Paul was writing this to gentiles.

a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

It’s not that Jews are NOT getting saved. But God is not dealing with them on a national scope. I’ve been to Israel a number of times and had unbelieving Jews as guides on some of the buses I was on. They can quote you chapter and verse from anywhere in the Bible — including the New Testament. But they would not believe on Jesus Christ for anything in the world

26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; 27 “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

28 As regards the gospel,

they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

There are a lot of people who take that last phrase as referring to spiritual gifts or calling to ministry. THAT is not what Paul is talking about here at all CONTEXT!! He is talking about Israel — the special things He has done for Israel and given to Israel — the covenants He has made with Israel. THAT STUFF between God and Israel is not over. So the ELECT here does NOT place the church in the Great Tribulation — it is a reference to Israel. But I also believe that the very nature of the Great Tribulation is why the church is not found in the Great Tribulation: In Revelation 11:18 voices in heaven call the

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Great Tribulation the time of God’s wrath (NLT). Even those living on the earth call know it’s the wrath of God.

Revelation 6:12–17 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones

Presidents — law makers — diplomats and the generals and the rich and the powerful,

Men like Carlos Slim Helu — Bill Gates — Amancio Ortega, Warren Buffett — Mark Zuckerberg — Jeff Bezos

and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,

It’s telling us is that there will NO ADVANTAGE to any station in life There will be NO PLACE to HIDE.

16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

ALL men will cry out — BUT NOT for repentance or for salvation - but to be hidden. Vance Havner said that at this period of time the most expensive real estate in the world will be a hole in the ground!

Paul wrote this to men and women living in the 1st century who had come to faith in Jesus

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1 Thessalonians 1:10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

….if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. The events of this period of time are going to be so catastrophic — so horrific in nature and scope! AGAIN — Revelation 6-19. It is a really rough bit of the Bible to read through — NOT because it’s not inspired — but because as you read through it you’re thinking

DEAR LORD!! I CANNOT COMPREHEND THIS HAPPENING!! I CANNOT COMPREHEND YOUR WRATH!! I CANNOT COMPREHEND THE REBELLION OF MAN BEING SO GREAT THAT HE WOULD NOT REPENT!!

The events taking place in those chapters are so horrific that if they were to continue beyond 3 ½ years it would result in the total extermination of everyone living in the world. It is to stop this process that Jesus returns to the earth. Jesus returns to the earth — exactly the 1260 days after the abomination that causes desolation. 23Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. FIRST — things will be so bad that people are looking for a savior — only not the real one SECOND — If it were possible = it’s impossible

25See, I have told you beforehand. 26So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

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Jesus didn’t say - “I’m coming to Brooklyn in 1925 to reveal myself to the Watchtower Society.” He didn’t say - “I’m coming in the 1800’s to reveal myself to a 14 yr. old story teller named Joseph Smith. INSTEAD - He tells them that there will be NOTHING SECRET — NOTHING UNCERTAIN about His Second Coming

27For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. “as the Lightening” — Yes, this could speak of the SPEED in which He will return. BUT — in this context lightening stands in stark contrast to the notion of His return being obscure or unnoticed — local or limited; or one which is so gradual that it can scarcely be discerned! Lightening can’t be MISSED or IGNORED even if you don’t want to see it you see it! Every eye shall see Him! Jesus — the Light of the world — will be seen AROUND the world — from East to West. And the world will be STARTLED! Nothing is so sudden or so startling as lightening.

28Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. You be asking yourself — WHAT does this mean? 1. The certainty of God’s Judgment. When a body dies, the vultures come. In the same way — Where there is wickedness and moral corruption — judgment must come. The great judgment being poured out upon the world in the Great Tribulation is a Divine CERTAINTY. It’s being poured out on mankind in the face of the blasphemy and unbelief which characterizes the great tribulation period. 2. These vultures will be a literal reality during the Great Tribulation

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Revelation 19:17-18 17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”

3. It is a reference to the WHEN of Christ’s return. You see God measures time — not by BC or AD or by human calendars. God measures human history by a moral clock. In Genesis 15 God told Abraham that the Jews would go down into Egypt for 400 years — and THEN He would bring them into the Promise Land. He was waiting those 400 years because the iniquity of the Ammorites was not yet full. There would be 400 years — as man measured time — before God would give the descendants of Abraham the promised land because their entrance into the land would also be used by God to bring judgment upon a people that will be so corrupt that they were never going to repent Matthew 24:28 tells us that the world will arrive at a moral condition that is so bad that judgment is inevitable. That’s why Jesus makes this the reference to the vultures that ties into Revelation 19:17-8. 29“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Jesus has been describing the backdrop of His return. He says —

The events of the Great Tribulation are going to be horrific beyond imagination — so horrific — that if I didn’t come there would be no one left on the planet. But for the elect’s sake I’m returning. So be careful.

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Don’t believe it when you hear people saying “this guy’s the Messiah” or “that guy is.” Because when I come you won’t need a prophet to tell you — or a secret society to talk about it. When I come — the sun will go out — the moon will go out — heavenly bodies will fall from the sky And OUT OF THAT utter darkness — as lightening shines and comes from the east to the west — I WILL COME.” This will not be a confusing issue. This is not going to be a secret thing. There will be only ONE visible light in the sky — and THAT will be ME!”

WOW!!! Try to imagine the heavens FILLED with the brilliant glory of Christ brighter than the light of day — when Jesus Christ comes back in power and great glory. TURN WITH ME to Revelation 19:11-16 The main subject of the LAST Book of the Bible is JESUS – It is the REVELATION of Jesus Christ. It is all about the revelation of Jesus Christ when He comes. The first eighteen chapters of Revelation lead up to it and describe the great tribulation which anticipates the second coming. Revelation 20 describes the millennium, the period following the second coming. Revelation 21 and 22 reveal the eternal state which will follow the millennium. But chapter 19 records the great climax of the book of Revelation the second coming — which IS the revelation of Jesus Christ

Revelation 19:11-16 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges

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and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

SOME ASK — How everyone will see the second coming of Christ. The Scriptures reveal that Christ will come to the Mount of Olives. How is He going to be seen in the United States? Because the earth is round, will only half of the earth see this event? I DON’T believe that the answer to this question is TV. The events preceding His return are going to be so catastrophic that there won’t be much technological infrastructure remaining by this time. Even if some telecommunication does survive the cataclysmic events of the Great Tribulation not everybody will have access to it. As always — A simple explanation of the problem is probably the best. The rapture (Jesus coming FOR His Church) is an event that occurs instantly (moment/twinkling of an eye). But there is no reason to assume that the second coming of Jesus to the earth will be instantaneous. In fact — the Bible pictures just the opposite. The second coming is a very deliberate — methodical event. Millions upon millions of believers will come WITH Christ TO the earth in His Second Coming. It could easily transpire over the time it would take the earth to make a complete revolution. Everybody will have a ringside seat. As the earth turns, every eye will see Him descending to earth. “…then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn There will be those in Israel and among the Gentiles who will have turned to Christ during this time of GREAT tribulation.

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As best as I can see — the ONLY believers that will survive the Great Tribulation will be 144,000 Jews who were sealed by God (revelation 7) and preserved through the Great Tribulation. They will welcome Christ’s return. BUT — The great majority of the world will have worshipped the beast, the world ruler. They will have received the mark of the beast, blasphemed the name of Christ and put themselves beyond the reach of grace. Now their hour of judgment has come. When Jesus returns — it will be too late for those who have not confessed Him before His coming. The Bible reveals plainly that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as Lord (Isa 45:23; Rom 14:11; Phil 2:9-11; Rev 5:13). Those who do not bow the knee to Jesus BEFORE His return WILL BOW — but not willingly. When Jesus came the first time — prophecy was literally fulfilled. He was born of a virgin — of the line of David — in Bethlehem. He was Immanuel — God with us — God incarnate. These great prophecies were completely fulfilled in Christ — even to the minute detail of soldiers gambling for his cloak at the foot of the cross. So too — in His Second Coming prophecy will be fulfilled. This time He will not come as a babe in a manger. He’s coming as King of kings and Lord of lords. The graphic account of Revelation 19:11-16 describes the majestic armies of heaven — Countless millions of saints and angels accompanying Jesus as He comes from heaven to the earth to claim the earth which is His

His by right as creator His by right as redeemer. Created by His power — Redeemed by His blood

31And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. The RETURN OF JESUS is not only a time of judgment on the wicked —

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it is also a time of reward and gathering for the saints of God. Mark expressed it in his account of the Gospel — “from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven” (Mark 13:27) AGAIN — This is not the rapture. The rapture has an entirely different purpose: to take the church out of the world. The gathering here is for the purpose of joining with Jesus in His 1,000 year reign upon the earth JESUS IS COMNING AGAIN in fulfillment of His promise given by the angels in Acts 1:11 This same Jesus…shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. In His ascension — He went to heaven bodily. He is coming back the same way. He went gradually — they watched Him. He is coming back majestically and every eye will see Him. AMAZING STUFF! Our generation is closer to His SECOND Coming than any generation before us — which makes the coming of Jesus FOR His Church more IMMINENT than ever before. Jesus is going to continue in this discourse. He is going to give a series of illustrations and applications for all those who await His coming. FOR NEXT WEEK — MATTHEW 24:32-52

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