[0:17]Greetings in the wonderful name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope many of you or all of you participated in our midweek prayer and fasting. Personally, I look forward to spending time with the Lord, and I hope you had a good time spending time with the Lord. And lastly, before I go to our topic today, I'm encouraging all of you, inviting all of you to continue the habit of prayer and fasting every Friday. The entire CCF, the leadership team, the staff, we fast every Friday lunchtime. Hope to see you next Friday. We continue our series on end game. What do we mean by endgame? What's going to happen at the end? This is what's going to happen. Jesus is coming, be ready. Today we will discuss Matthew chapter 24. It is about Jesus and what He has to say about end times. You see the disciple asked Jesus point blank. When are these things going to happen? When are you coming back? And what are the signs? So these are specific questions, and I'm so glad Jesus told them. Matthew 24, verses 1 and 2. Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down. This is what he said. Truly, I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down. Why is it an incredible statement? Many people don't realize Herod started the work for the renovation of the temple in 19 BC. before Christ. And that work continued on. It was finally completed in 63 AD. Imagine after spending all that money to remodel, to rebuild, to improve the temple, here is now Jesus saying, not one stone will be left on the temple. That is the prophecy. Not one stone. Why is that so important? Because history tells us that when the Roman government got so angry with the Jewish people, they sent this General General Titus to take over Jerusalem because Jerusalem was rebellious. The people were rebelling, and the Roman government was so angry that the people who tried to hide inside the temple because of its sacredness.
[3:40]They were thinking, they'll be spared. But not the Roman soldiers. They were so angry. They killed almost over a million Jews. Not only that, the temple got burned. So what? Well, do you realize the temple's motive, the roof, the decking were made of gold. And when the gold melted, it went to the crevices of the temple stones. Now, the temple stones are not like hollow blocks. Some of them are as long as 50 feet. As wide as 24 feet. So these are massive stones. Why will Jesus say they will fall down? Precisely because of the gold, they wanted to recover the gold that got melted, that went inside those crevices. Friends, one thing I want you to know. When Jesus says something, it will surely happen.
[4:51]And that is the backdrop of this prophecy. The certainty of the destruction of that temple. That temple was a masterpiece. It was so beautiful. And that temple was destroyed. Many of them saw it with their own eyes. The people listening realized when Jesus said something, it will happen. With that as the background, Jesus now tells them. He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? You know this the questions. Three questions. When will these things happen? the destruction of the temple. Next, what will be the sign of your coming? You see the coming of Jesus is so important that He taught them that He's coming again. That's why they asked Jesus. What is the sign of your coming? And then they asked, and what are the signs of the end of the age? When is the end of the age? That word end is from the word Teleos. What is the endgame? What is the final conclusion? Why is the second coming so important? Why are we discussing it today? Does it matter? Will it make a difference in your life? If you believe Jesus is coming again or you don't believe He's coming again, will that impact your life? I guarantee you. It makes all the difference. And you will know why as we go through what Jesus is telling the disciples. Jesus talk about his second coming, and He wanted them to be protected. So the first P is for their protection. You need to know the truth. The second is for them to be prepared. It is important that they be prepared. Why should we talk about the second coming? Because Jesus wants us to persevere, and that is what He wanted to convey to His disciples. So let's look at these three. So, what do we mean by protection? In Matthew 24 verses three onward, Jesus tells them, See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will mislead many. Do you notice that word, see to it that no one misleads you? Jesus wanted to protect the disciples. Jesus is warning them, don't let anyone mislead you when they say I am the Christ. Today, many people believe that a certain person is the Messiah, is the Savior. That is dangerous because you are risking your entire future in believing something that's wrong. So, it is important to know prophecy to protect us. Jesus tells them you'll be hearing of wars, rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
[8:17]Nation will rise against nation, kingdoms against kingdom, various places, there'll be famines, earthquakes, but all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Now, those of you who are mothers, those of you who are fathers, you understand what is the meaning of birth pangs. My wife was a mother of five children. And before each child were to be born, we noticed something. Her stomach will begin to contract. It's called birth pangs. The closer the intervals, the stronger the intensity of the contraction, you know the baby is going to come soon. And that is what Jesus is saying. In short, Jesus is saying when you see these things, it is not yet the end, but the end is nearer than you think. And I began to research on those signs, wars, rumors of wars. You'll be amazed. We thought that after the end of Second World War, after the establishment of the United Nation, you have less wars. On the contrary, what Jesus is saying is so true. Today, you have more wars. Nations against nations. That word nation is Ethnos, it's ethnic groups. It is not a political division. It is like Muslim in the Philippines against Christians in the Philippines, it's ethnic groups. It's like what's happening in Africa. One tribe against another tribe. It's like what's happening in Iraq, what's happening in the Middle East. One tribe against another tribe. The Bible tells us wars and rumors of wars, they will increase. And then the Bible talks about famines. You will think famines is a thing of the past. No, in the 21st century alone, you have the family in Congo, 5.4 million people died. The family in Sudan, the family in Uganda, the family in Somalia. You may not realize, as of today, Every day you have 25,000 people dying from hunger. And out of those 25,000, you have 10,000 children dying daily. If I were to compute that on an annual basis, you have nine million people dying of hunger today, every year. And you have over 3.5 million children dying every year. We have not solved the problem of famine. Jesus prophesied. There will be plagues. Now, you and I will be thinking with the advancement of science, we should overcome pandemics, epidemics. But let's look at history. Some of the worst pandemics that has happened. It's called the Black Death, the bubonic plague, spread by rats.
[11:26]Around 200 million people died. Almost 51% of the population of Europe. New World smallpox. Wow, 12% of the population. Spanish flu. This is just in the 19th in the 20th century. And that's why you have the quarantine. It's because of the Spanish flu. They wanted to quarantine people. Cuatro, 40, quarantine.
[11:58]50 million died. And of course, you have the HIV. HIV is still ongoing. And you've already 35 million people who have died. And today, you have the COVID. The COVID-19 pandemic. My whole point is this, nothing new under the sun. There will be pandemics. What is very striking to me is earthquakes. The Bible tells us in the end time, there will be earthquakes. If I show you a chart what's happening when it comes to big earthquakes. Over five, magnitude of five. Look at what's happening. In the 1900s, that's the chart. Every 10 years, you will notice from the 1900s up to 2000, the year 2000 now. Look at the graph. The earthquake is increasing. It's increasing exponentially. Can I tell you what God is saying? God is shaking the world. God is telling us be ready. I'm coming soon. I will tell you the signs. And earthquake is one of those signs. God wants also to prepare us. What do I mean? To be forewarned is to be forearmed. And He tells us in the next few verses, Matthew 24. Let me read. Then they will deliver you to tribulation. They will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of My name. Brothers, sisters in Christ, do not be under an illusion that the world will fall in love with believers. The truth is this. God tells his disciples, you will be hated by all nations because of My name. Today, you will see Christians are being attacked all over the world. What is very sad, even in the states today, they are attacking Christianity. At that time, many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. You notice? Today, you have Christians betraying other Christians. Look at verse 11. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Jesus wants us. There will be many false prophets. Why is this important? You need to be prepared. You need to be protected from false prophets. What do I mean false prophets? In the time of Moses, people asked Moses, How will we know who is a counterfeit prophet and who is a true prophet? Because today there are many people claiming to be prophets. I'm sure you have heard many, many church leaders, claiming that this guy is a prophet. This is what he said. Well, I want you to be careful.
[15:47]Based on the Bible, how do you tell who are real prophets? Who are not? Let's find out. Deuteronomy 18, 20 to 22. But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, that prophet shall die.
[15:22]The moment a prophet begins to claim this is what God is saying, and it does not happen, the Bible says that person should die because he's being presumptuous. Claiming to be a messenger of God, but he's delivering his own message. You may say in your heart, how will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken? How can we tell? Today I tell people it is important you must know the word of God. Because the word of God and the word of a real prophet will never contradict. But notice, When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you shall not be afraid of him. In short, don't listen to him.
[16:21]In other words, God wants us to be discerning, to be careful. But this is one of those warning that I want all believers to be prepared. This warning is more serious than earthquakes, famine, epidemics. What is this? Lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. And this is what's happening today. It's unbelievable. If you're watching the news, even you watch what's happening in America, lawlessness is increasing. But the danger is not just lawlessness, the danger is this. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. That includes Christians. Friends, Jesus wants you to be prepared, He wants you to be protected. The danger of a cold heart is more serious than pandemics. What do I mean? The moment you lose your love for God, what will you be doing? Everything you are doing will be legalism. The moment a pastor loses his love for the Lord. The moment a D group leader loses his love for the Lord, what kind of ministry would that be? It will just be like a routine. You will be doing something out of habit, but it's no longer love.
[18:03]And that my friend is very dangerous. And God warns us, in the end time, the heart of the people will grow cold. Let us always hear the warning of Jesus. Your love for God, your love for one another must be maintained. That is how you can persevere. And that's how you can be protected. The reality is Jesus wants you, He warns me. For the reality of hardship, persecutions. Based on the open doors latest research. 2018, 2019. Every day you have 13 Christians killed. Every day you have 12 churches. 12 church buildings being attacked. And every day you have around 12 Christians arrested, detained. What is very sad is in the 21st century. It is not possible to practice religion or believe safely in many parts of the world. And that's exactly what Jesus said. In the end times, you will have attack, you'll be persecuted. He not only wants to protect them. He wanted them to be prepared, but more than that, He wanted them to persevere. What do we mean by persevere? Persevere is from the word hypomono. Do you remember hypomono?
[20:00]That's the word for to remain under a burden. But it also means, you are not just under the burden, but you have a positive attitude. You are bearing the burden with the strength of the Lord. That's the idea of persevering, you endure.
[20:28]It's one thing to be faithful for one day. It's one thing to be faithful for one week. It's altogether another thing to be faithful for one year. But it is altogether another thing to be faithful for 10 years. To be faithful for the rest of your life. My question, are you learning to persevere? To keep on doing what God wants you to do, not just for one day, one week, one year, two years. My goodness, if it takes a lifetime, are you willing to persevere to the end of your life? That's what God wants us to learn. What must we continue doing? This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. Here is a very clear answer. When the end will happen. The end will come, the Bible tells us, the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of Jesus. Wow, shall be preached to the whole world. And then the end will come. What does it mean to endure? You not only keep on believing, you keep on preaching the gospel. You keep on doing what He has commanded us to do. That is what Jesus told the disciples. In 2006, there were a group of Christian leaders who met together. They realized there are over 3,000 unreached people group. What do we mean by unreached people group? These are people who don't have any local church in that community.
[22:27]There's nobody planning to evangelize them, no gospel. That's the same idea of ethnos. Particular ethnic groups. In the Philippines for you to understand what are people groups? People from Ifugao. People in Palawan. Now, in Palawan, you have Tagbanua. You have different tribes. Each tribe is a people group. You have Mangyans. Technically, you will notice that the gospel has been proclaimed to the whole world. It began in the Middle East, it went to Europe, and then it went to America. And from America, it went to South America, to Africa, to Asia. And now the gospel is being proclaimed back to the Middle East. God's desire is for the whole world to know Him and to repent. God has done His part. He wants us to do our part. Therefore, it is important that you and I do our part. Let's share the gospel. Let's get involved in whatever methods that can share the gospel with other people. I suggest go viral. It's very effective, it's very simple. If you want to know more about go viral, let us know. You can click on the CCF website about go viral, a simple way of sharing the gospel. In 2005, you have around 3,500 unreached people groups. But because a group of leaders met together. How to strategize to reach this unreached group. As of today, I have good news for you. As of today of 2021, there are only around 500 unreached people group. CCF is part of this movement. We are sending missionaries to places where they have never been reached. And by the grace of God, would you believe it? Many of them are using go viral. Are you doing something to share the gospel so that everybody will have a chance to hear? And the truth is this, Christianity is growing. The truth is this, there are more believers alive today than there ever was in the time of Christ. After this century, you have more people who are alive today, who are Christians. Why? Because many of God's people are spreading the good news.
[25:20]And I praise God for you. I praise God for CCF Beyond. We are reaching to the far corners of the world. We are planting churches to people group to those who have never heard. And I pray we'll do the same. How do you persevere? He tells us, there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. He talks about a great tribulation. Verse 22, unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved.
[26:08]But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. If anyone says to you, behold, here is the Christ, or There He is, do not believe him. In short, what is Jesus saying? There will be a day of great tribulation. And the elect, he will be going through those tribulation. In the time of great tribulation, you will not have false Christ and false prophets will arise. And there will show great signs and wonders as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. You know what Jesus is saying? Even the elect, even the believers, if they are not prepared, if they are not warned, they can be deceived. You know why? The false prophets and the false Christ will say in the midst of this tribulation, I am your Savior. I will save the day. That's the meaning of the word Antichrist. Substitute for the Messiah. And he continues. 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 the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. This must be so scary. When the power of heavens will be shaken. I cannot imagine such a day. If you see that movie Deep Impact where the meteors, a big meteor is going to fall on the earth. Stars are falling. That's the idea. And then look at verse 30. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
[28:54]You have that word elect repeated again and again and again. What is the meaning of the word elect? The word elect comes from this Greek word electos. That is always applied to God's people. That's where you have the word chosen, selected.
[29:28]It always refers to God's people. In other words, it is very possible. If you read Matthew 24, especially verse 22, unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved. But for the sake of the elect. For our sake. That means there are believers who will go through the tribulation. In verse 24, if possible, even the elect will be misled. Believers can be misled. And Matthew 24, verse 31, the angels will gather His elect. So what does that mean? This is where I like you to understand biblical theology. When the Bible is very clear on something, you can teach it dogmatically. But when it comes to the second coming of Christ, when it comes to the rapture. My friend, don't be dogmatic as to the when. You can be sure of this, Jesus is coming again. You see the whole message today is very simple. Jesus is coming very soon, be ready. He gave seven illustrations in Matthew 24 to 25. What are these seven illustrations? He talks about the fig tree, He talks about Noah, He talks about the two workers, He talks about the thief, He talks about the servants. This is Matthew chapter 24. I don't have time to expand on the 10 virgins and the talents which is in Matthew 25. But if you study all of these, they have one common theme. You do not know when Jesus is coming again. But you must be ready. Let's talk about the illustration of the fig tree. Jesus tells us, learn from the parable of the fig tree. When you see the branch becoming tender and bring forth leaves, you know the summer is near. You too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. What Jesus is saying simply this, fig trees are known in Israel. During winter, they lose all their leaves. However, when springtime comes, you will see the buds, the leaves is slowly blooming. And Jesus is saying, when you see a fig tree with leaves, you know the summer is near. With that story, He's saying, you better realize, when you see all of these signs, wars, rumors of wars, remember, I'm coming very soon. Look at this expression. Recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. What do you mean by this generation? Many scholars like to believe that generation that sees what's happening, that is seeing all of these signs. For some people, they see the fig tree represent Israel. When you see Israel restored as a nation, that generation will see all of these things happening. Whatever it is, this is what is important. In verse 35, Jesus said, Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. I want you to notice, Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. What Jesus is saying, simply this is a certainty. What I say will come true. I am coming again. All of this prophecies will happen. My word is even more dependable than the heavens or the earth. The rising of the sun, the setting of the sun, the planet Earth that you see. My word will last, my word will come true.
