Tag Archives: Matthew 24

Offenses Shall Come (Pt. 3)

The ultimate test is one of pride and humility. Pride led to satan being cast out of heaven. Pride leads to unforgiveness and ultimately, alienation from Him. And pride always leads to a fall and destruction (Proverbs 16:18). We are more than conquerors because He, in His grace will enable us.

While our offenses may be great and indeed sometimes horrific, and while those who have caused them are worthy of judgment, we are not charged with administering that judgment. We are charged with obedience to the teachings of Christ Who taught us to forgive, leave the judgment to Him, and walk in humility and submission.

The Lord said in that day (of judgment), many will say unto Him:
Matthew 7:21-25 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.”

‘Knew’ in the scripture above means to have an intimate relationship with.

That’s why we are warned by the Lord himself that wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through that gate. But small is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Enduring until the end….

In the same passage in Matthew 24 which warns us of offense and the other things which will occur right before his coming, we also see a verse that describes the overcomer:

Matthew 24:13
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Endure is defined in the Greek below:

G5278 hoop-om-en’-o – To stay under (behind), that is, remain; figuratively to undergo, that is, bear (trials), have fortitude, persevere: – abide, endure, (take) patient (-ly), suffer, tarry behind.

Jesus humbled himself even unto death on the Cross. He endured the ultimate humiliation and injustice of man. He is our supreme example and our light by which we are able to find our way.

In the days we live in which are the last of the last, we must understand that He is coming for a bride without spot or wrinkle whose lamps are full of oil (Matthew 25); one who has prepared herself for His return. His bride will shine brightly and the oil in her lamps will illuminate the way to Him. He will know (have an intimate relationship with) her, and she will know Him. Just as oil is extracted from the olive by crushing, I believe that precious oil which lights our lamps and lead us to Him comes from the crushing processes of life which, when we submit to them in obedience to God, show us the way to life everlasting.

Those things which He taught us by His supreme example are the things He will recognize within us at His coming. He will know us (have an intimate relationship with us) and we will know Him.

God loves you, He really does!

Time Has Come (Pt. 6)

 

I am a builder.  I have always enjoyed planning and working on new building projects and seeing them come together step by step.  I learned early on that in reading blueprints, if I wanted to get the entire picture, I had to view each individual overlay of the master plan – an overlay for the foundation, one for the infrastructure, another for the plumbing and wiring, another for the interior walls, roofing, exterior surfaces, even an overlay for the landscaping and parking lots – and then lay them on top of each other.  Only after studying the individual overlays together could I get an accurate picture of what ws going to come into existence.

To truly understand the book of Revelation, you must review the prophecies of Daniel, ponder the words of Jesus from the Gospels, and then consider Paul’s writings to the Thessalonians.  As you add each of these layers to the book of Revelation, you can begin to see the entire picture as the Lord intended it to be seen.

One of the most important overlays to understanding Revelation is the Second Coming discourse given by Jesus to His disciples and recorded in Matthew 24 and Luke 21.  Many of the “signs of the times” mentioned by Jesus are similar to those in the vision John received and recorded in Revelation 6.

John Kilpatrick is the former pastor of Brownsville Assembly of God Church in Pensacola, Florida, a place where a genuine revival broke out on Father’s Day 1995 and continued unabated with spontaneous services every night for five years, with more than four and a half million people going through the doors during that time.  For years John studied the passages relating to the Second Coming.  In regard to the words of the prophets and the predictions of Jesus, he said, “These days are not coming they are here.”  John added, “Every major sign of the Second Coming is in motion right now.”

You don’t need to be a Bible scholar to know that the planet is groaning.  Populations are increasing while the resources needed to sustain them are decreasing.  The oceans are dying, clean air and water are becoming scarce, natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, floods, crop failures, bacterial mutations, and shifting weather patterns), conflicts (terrorism and wars), false religions (cults and pseudo religions), and a worldwide economic meltdown are reported daily in the news.

Something big is about to happen.  We need to prepare to see Jesus!  Knowledge that we are living in what the Bible refers to as the “last days” should motivate Christians to live closer to Jesus than ever before and to more actively seek out opportunities to share the gospel with people who don’t yet know the Lord.  The clock is ticking and time is running out.  Yes, difficult days are upon us, but do not lose hope.  Jesus Christ will return, and He will take you to live with Him eternally.  Right now, however, we need to brace ourselves for some shocks.

How do I know this?  Because Jesus Himself said so in Matthew 24.

(Excerpt from “Time Has Come”)