Let’s pray…
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?
Today we shall be looking at the signs of Christ’s second coming in view of the year 2020.
#FALSE CHRISTS AND FALSE PROPHET:
Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
So from the bible verse we just read Christ has counseled us to beware of false christs and prophets else we be deceived. Now, question, how do we detect a false christ or prophet?
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
TEST THEM WITH WHAT EXACTLY?
Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.
[Matt. 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? ]
We see that the True prophet teachings and lifestyle must be in accordance to the Law and the Testimony. i.e in word and deed, his fruits must testify of whom he belongs to. But, what if a prophet perform a live-seen miracle how do I know whether prophet is true or false?
Deut. 13:1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
13:2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
13:3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
13:4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
Did we see any false prophet in the year 2020?
Did the Coronavirus leave on 27th of March? No! Do you know what this failed event remind me of?
Deut. 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that [is] the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, [but] the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
THE LAW OF GOD IS THE LITMUS PAPER TEST FOR ANY PROPHET and not miracles or prophecies.
#WARS AND CONFLICTS:
Luke 21:9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end [is] not by and by.
Did we see a kind of commotion in the world in the year 2020? Oh yes!
Let’s name a few of them:
- The protest in Beruit after the mass explosion in Beruit, Lebanon that killed, injured and left homeless a huge number of people.
- George Floyd protest that later evolved to the Black lives Matter protest that occurred last year that also cost the lives of people and the loss of property(The increase in crime rate).
- Let’s come to Nigeria, the #ENDSARS protest, is this a fulfilling of prophecy and are we to be part of fulfilling such a bad prophecy? The brutality that occurred was so gruesome(from the videos that circulated both from the SARS and the Civillian’s angle was extremely gruesome), the strife, the seditions[work of the flesh(Gal 5:20)]. Is this the fulfilling of prophecy?
#FAMINE WILL ABOUND:
Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and FAMINES, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
- Did we encounter any cases of famine as a result of the pandemic in the year 2020? Oh yes! We see people going to other people farms to pluck and eat because of starvation, churches contributing to help those who do not have food and so on.
- Do the world organizations like the United Nations(UN) and the World food programme(WFP) anticipate food shortages in the future?
#NATURAL DISASTERS:
Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
- Did we see or hear of any Natural Disasters in the 2020?
#PESTILENCES:
Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
I believe we all know of the Coronavirus pandemic that shutdown the world in the year 2020 and caused the death of many. Is Christ truly coming soon? Oh Yes, He is.
#THE FEAR AND PERPLEXITY OF NATIONS.
Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
21:26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
We see that during the COVID-19 lockdown countries economy started to drop, political instability, terrorist attacks(Farmers killed by Boko haram), Climate change, Rape, Sexual-based violence at homes during the lockdown(Pedophilia, husbands abusing their wives and so on), injustice, protest, racism, idleness(Ezek. 16:49), the hoarding of palliatives by the government, the looting of palliatives and those killed in the stampede-rush, the killing of innocent law officers, the lawlessness that abound(Matt. 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold). There is truly trouble on every hand.
- Are these sign increasing in its rate?
- Should the iniquity of others(for instance the government) make our love cold?
- As Christians how is our love? Is it cold or is it hot?
- Is our Salvation sooner than we realize?
Let’s ponder on this questions. But, Amid all this trouble, conflicts, war, fear and perplexity Christ tells us “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me”(John 14:1). Now the million dollar question is how does all this things affect me? In 2 Tim. 3:1-5 we see a number of characteristics that classifies the majority at the close of time in the church. So how can this things in 2 Tim. 3:1-5 help me?
2 Tim. 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Someone may hurriedly go through this verses and conclude, “I AM CLEAN. I DON’T DO ANY OF THESE THINGS.” Having this mindset does not really help, the question should be “WHAT AM I DOING?” You see this bible verses reveals to us the characters that depicts the ungodly majority and also the characters that depicts the godly minority, one may ask the question HOW? Below, a table is drawn to show us what we ought to be doing in this last days as True Christians.
| CHARACTERS OF THE UNGODLY MAJORITY | CHARACTERS OF THE GODLY MINORITY | |
| For men shall be lovers of their ownselves, | For God’s people shall be unselfish | |
| covetous, | Self-sacrificing and charitable, | |
| boasters, | Altruist and self-haters, | |
| proud, | Humble, | |
| blasphemers, | Those who walk in reverence to God, | |
| disobedient to parents, | Obedient to parents, | |
| unthankful, | Thankful, | |
| unholy, | Holy, | |
| Without natural affection(Homosexuals, lesbianism, fornication, desire for skimpy immodest clothing), | Have Natural affections(God-sanctified marriages, modest clothing), | |
| Trucebreakers(yahoo, fraud), | Faithful, | |
| false accusers, | True witnesses, | |
| Incontinent(unrestraining), | Continent(i.e restrain from carnal lust), | |
| Fierce(violent and cruel), | Kind and courteous, | |
| despisers of those that are good, | Lovers of those that are good, | |
| Traitors, | Trustworthy in conduct, | |
| Heady(Stimulating, rash and intoxicating), | Calm and careful, | |
| Highminded(Takes pride in worldly attainments), | Sober-minded, | |
| lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; | lovers of God more than lovers of pleasures; | |
| Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof | Having a form of godliness, with the sanctifying power of Truth. |
I ask myself, how will knowing all the bad things in 2 Tim. 3:1-5 help me? and the answer “Do the Opposite”.
If lasciviousness, pollution, adultery, crime, and murder are the order of the day among those who know not the truth, and who refuse to be controlled by the principles of God’s word, how important that the class professing to be followers of Christ, closely allied to God and angels, should show them a better and nobler way! How important that by their chastity and virtue they stand in marked contrast to that class who are controlled by brute passions! {Mar 26.5}
In Conclusion:
Why do you think you’re alive today friend? And that you spared death this year? Is it because we are more righteous or more important?
Some people came to tell Jesus current-events on the national news in Galilee and Siloam. They told him about the shocking natural disasters, massacre by Pilate and increasing oppression. Let’s see how Jesus read and made commented on the news in his time. We’ll see it in.
Luke 13 (NET)
¹ Now there were some present on that occasion who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
² He answered them, “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered these things?
³ No, I tell you! But unless you repent, you will all perish as well!
⁴ Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them, do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem?
⁵ No, I tell you! But unless you repent you will all perish as well!”
Lets read Revelation 7:1-3 (NET)
¹ After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so no wind could blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.
² Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, who had the seal of the living God. He shouted out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given permission to damage the earth and the sea:
³ “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
Time of life is a privilege to make things right with God. This is the whole duty of man-fear God and keep his commandment. Every education and progress in life should place us in a better condition to fulfill our duty. The four winds of strife are held so that we be sealed. It is not to fulfill the selfish ambitions of the carnal heart or to make ourselves great but to reflect the character of God in our day to day interaction. Seek to please God in word and deed and make it a character you’ll fit and secure eternity this way . It’s the the purpose of life.
Jeremiah 45 (NET)
⁴ The Lord told Jeremiah, “Tell Baruch, ‘The Lord says, “I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth.
⁵ Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the Lord, affirm that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. But I will allow you to escape with your life wherever you go.”’”
As we see prophecies fulfilling in our very eyes, what should we be doing as people awaiting the coming of Christ? Apostle James said “…Faith without works is dead”(Jam 2:20). Do you have faith in Christ’s second advent? If yes, Should your faith correspond with your works? I believe if you have genuine faith in Christ’s second coming you will work to put an end to this misery of a world we are living in, let no man think that things in this world will get any better lest “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them”(1 Thess 5:3), for the earth will wax worse and worse and worse until Christ come. Let us hasten Christ coming by making an end to sin in our lives and declaring the good news to people around us(Matt. 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come). Let’s be watchful unto pray as well. I pray God sanctify and prepare our hearts for His soon appearing. Amen
Let’s pray…