WEBVTT 00:00:00.690 --> 00:00:03.529 Thank you, Mark, for filling in tonight. John 00:00:03.529 --> 00:00:06.629 Benham is at Crystal Evangelical Free Church 00:00:06.629 --> 00:00:09.910 leading the Summer Youth Orchestra there, the 00:00:09.910 --> 00:00:12.330 same one that we heard this morning in our worship 00:00:12.330 --> 00:00:16.850 service. Well, I understand there was a good 00:00:16.850 --> 00:00:19.109 time had by all yesterday at the church picnic. 00:00:20.010 --> 00:00:21.870 You can tell who was there. They're the ones 00:00:21.870 --> 00:00:26.539 with the sunburned faces. I'm sorry there wasn't 00:00:26.539 --> 00:00:28.320 a beach for you to enjoy, but I heard that there 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:31.960 was a faucet that got plenty of use, that water 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:36.060 balloons and cups of water, etc, etc, were utilized. 00:00:36.140 --> 00:00:38.759 That's good. This is really hot weather, isn't 00:00:38.759 --> 00:00:42.399 it? I knew it was hot when I looked out this 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:45.840 afternoon and saw a bird in the backyard getting 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:50.039 a worm using hot pads to pull it out. When I 00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:54.619 saw that, I knew it was hot today. Would you 00:00:54.619 --> 00:00:57.119 please open your Bible to 1 Corinthians chapter 00:00:57.119 --> 00:01:05.719 10? I am beginning this evening a series which 00:01:05.719 --> 00:01:10.219 I am calling the end of the ages. People have 00:01:10.219 --> 00:01:12.379 often talked about and written about the end 00:01:12.379 --> 00:01:18.219 of the world. There seems to be an innate awareness 00:01:18.219 --> 00:01:23.510 that there is a conclusion to this madness. in 00:01:23.510 --> 00:01:27.209 the world. Ecologists, for example, are telling 00:01:27.209 --> 00:01:30.390 us that unless we learn to mend our ways the 00:01:30.390 --> 00:01:34.909 human race will cease to be because of pollution 00:01:34.909 --> 00:01:40.469 in our environment. Politicians and diplomats 00:01:40.469 --> 00:01:44.250 tell us that unless we learn to live in peace 00:01:44.250 --> 00:01:47.549 in what they like to call the global village, 00:01:49.250 --> 00:01:52.189 unless we learn to get along on this planet, 00:01:52.599 --> 00:01:57.000 were going to be blown to bits. And then religious 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:00.319 teachers as well, even of the false variety, 00:02:01.420 --> 00:02:04.180 have occasionally predicted the end of the world. 00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:08.060 How many of you remember the Kohotek comet? Would 00:02:08.060 --> 00:02:11.240 you lift your hand? Would you believe that that's 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:15.020 been 13 years ago since that was in the news? 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:17.900 But I remember at the time that that comet was 00:02:17.900 --> 00:02:20.629 coming there were those who were predicting that 00:02:20.629 --> 00:02:22.969 with its arrival would come the end of the world. 00:02:23.110 --> 00:02:27.069 In particular, I remember the leader of the cult 00:02:27.069 --> 00:02:30.509 called Children of God who made that prediction. 00:02:31.949 --> 00:02:35.370 And that prediction variously comes and perhaps 00:02:35.370 --> 00:02:39.930 even more so with the turn of centuries and with 00:02:39.930 --> 00:02:43.389 the change of the millennium which we are about 00:02:43.389 --> 00:02:46.789 to face and enter into the 2000s. I think that 00:02:46.789 --> 00:02:50.159 we can expect more predictions along this line. 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:55.319 Well, in fact, the Bible does declare that this 00:02:55.319 --> 00:03:01.400 world as we know it shall come to an end. Perhaps 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:03.800 a better way to say it, at least for purposes 00:03:03.800 --> 00:03:08.400 of this series of messages, is that this age 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:15.639 in which we live will come to an end. An age 00:03:15.639 --> 00:03:20.990 may be defined in biblical terminology as a period 00:03:20.990 --> 00:03:27.409 of time that is noted by certain moral and spiritual 00:03:27.409 --> 00:03:32.750 characteristics. If you look back over the period 00:03:32.750 --> 00:03:36.289 of history since the beginning, since creation, 00:03:36.370 --> 00:03:41.069 as God has revealed it to us in His Word, history 00:03:41.069 --> 00:03:45.210 seems to fall out into these periods which were 00:03:45.210 --> 00:03:49.729 noted by certain revelation. from God and tests 00:03:49.729 --> 00:03:54.469 that God gave to mankind. Now in 1 Corinthians 00:03:54.469 --> 00:04:01.669 10 -11, Paul makes an astounding statement. He 00:04:01.669 --> 00:04:07.330 says, now these things happen to them as an example. 00:04:08.110 --> 00:04:10.710 He is talking about the previous things mentioned 00:04:10.710 --> 00:04:14.409 in the first nine or ten verses of this chapter 00:04:14.409 --> 00:04:19.670 to Israel. And he says, these things happen to 00:04:19.670 --> 00:04:23.149 them. That is, they are truly historical events. 00:04:24.350 --> 00:04:27.509 But more than that, he says, and they were written 00:04:27.509 --> 00:04:32.470 for our instruction. In other words, the Old 00:04:32.470 --> 00:04:35.769 Testament is not merely a collection of nice 00:04:35.769 --> 00:04:41.050 stories. They are recorded historical events. 00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:45.720 which were written down so that you and I might 00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:50.079 learn from them. And then he describes us as 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:55.839 those upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 00:04:57.100 --> 00:04:59.639 The Apostle Paul seems to be saying here that 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:05.279 all of the preceding ages find their culmination, 00:05:05.579 --> 00:05:09.899 find their fulfillment or their completion in 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:15.000 the age in which you and I live today. We are 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:18.160 talking about what is sometimes termed the age 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:21.279 of the church or others prefer to call it the 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:26.420 age of grace. It is called the age of grace because 00:05:26.420 --> 00:05:29.699 of those events which initiated this period of 00:05:29.699 --> 00:05:33.240 time. That is the coming of our Savior into the 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:36.980 world. The grace of God has appeared says Paul 00:05:36.980 --> 00:05:40.560 to Titus. has appeared in the incarnation of 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:43.579 the Lord Jesus Christ and not only that but in 00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:47.259 his crucifixion for us and his resurrection from 00:05:47.259 --> 00:05:51.639 the dead, in his ascension back to heaven. In 00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:55.560 all of these gracious events in the life of our 00:05:55.560 --> 00:05:58.540 Lord Jesus Christ there was the beginning of 00:05:58.540 --> 00:06:01.600 this age and so it is often called the Age of 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:06.060 Grace. It began at that period of time Officially, 00:06:06.060 --> 00:06:08.920 we believe, with the day of Pentecost, when the 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:12.699 Holy Spirit came, as Jesus said He would come, 00:06:13.079 --> 00:06:16.060 having been sent by the Father and the Son to 00:06:16.060 --> 00:06:20.339 bless us. And not only to bless us, but to reside 00:06:20.339 --> 00:06:24.360 in us and to set us apart as a unique people 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:27.939 in the history of the world. Those people whom 00:06:27.939 --> 00:06:33.839 God is calling out as a people or as a bride. 00:06:34.089 --> 00:06:40.410 a body for His Son. And so this age began with 00:06:40.410 --> 00:06:43.689 His coming, the Holy Spirit's coming, and this 00:06:43.689 --> 00:06:47.470 age will end yet in the future. An age does not 00:06:47.470 --> 00:06:50.790 have a certain number of years to it. It is simply 00:06:50.790 --> 00:06:56.430 when the purpose of God has been fulfilled. I 00:06:56.430 --> 00:06:58.810 think it might be helpful if we ask certain questions 00:06:58.810 --> 00:07:01.089 to introduce this subject tonight and then later 00:07:01.089 --> 00:07:04.829 evenings we will talk about some of the specific 00:07:04.829 --> 00:07:08.149 things that we anticipate as we look toward the 00:07:08.149 --> 00:07:12.350 end of this age. The first question I'd like 00:07:12.350 --> 00:07:15.569 to ask is this, what is the nature of this age? 00:07:16.250 --> 00:07:19.529 That is, how does the Bible describe it to us? 00:07:20.810 --> 00:07:23.810 Well, as I've already intimated, God in each 00:07:23.810 --> 00:07:28.470 age, including this one, gives a revelation of 00:07:28.470 --> 00:07:34.620 Himself and His will to man. And in that age, 00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:40.240 he allows man to respond, and man does in the 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:45.420 course of history as it flows out. And then finally, 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:50.139 at the time of God's appointment, he dramatically 00:07:50.139 --> 00:07:56.160 steps in and concludes the age. And it is interesting 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:58.699 that as we go back into Genesis and trace these 00:07:58.699 --> 00:08:02.879 ages, we can see that each of the ages ends with 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:10.459 some sort of judgment from God upon man, because 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:15.240 man has not responded appropriately to his revelation. 00:08:16.579 --> 00:08:20.000 And so God initiates the period with some new 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.160 word, some new revelation of himself, and then 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:28.779 man is left to respond to that revelation. That 00:08:28.779 --> 00:08:31.959 does not mean that God is uninterested. as the 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:36.480 years roll, that God somehow goes away and then 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:40.179 comes back at the end of the age. Indeed not 00:08:40.179 --> 00:08:43.379 because God is fully involved in all that takes 00:08:43.379 --> 00:08:46.519 place through the age. But what I'm saying is 00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:51.000 that as the age unfolds, he chooses not to interrupt 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:55.460 the normal process of events. Now there are some 00:08:55.460 --> 00:08:57.399 exceptions. Excuse me Jerry, I want the air conditioner 00:08:57.399 --> 00:09:01.409 on. Thank you. I want it left on so we're kept 00:09:01.409 --> 00:09:03.990 cool in here. I appreciate that. Thank you. Can 00:09:03.990 --> 00:09:05.610 you not hear at the back? Is there a problem 00:09:05.610 --> 00:09:09.610 with hearing? Can you not hear? All right. Can 00:09:09.610 --> 00:09:12.570 you hear now? All right, let's turn the sound 00:09:12.570 --> 00:09:14.570 up then, but let's keep the air conditioning 00:09:14.570 --> 00:09:17.730 on. I don't want to use hot pads with this message. 00:09:19.929 --> 00:09:24.830 All right. And so what I'm saying is that God 00:09:24.830 --> 00:09:27.250 chooses not to interrupt the flow of history, 00:09:27.269 --> 00:09:30.340 but with some exceptions. Now I want to show 00:09:30.340 --> 00:09:32.179 you an example of what I'm talking about. Would 00:09:32.179 --> 00:09:36.220 you turn back to Matthew chapter 24, please? 00:09:38.019 --> 00:09:43.700 Matthew chapter 24 and beginning in verse 36. 00:09:44.620 --> 00:09:46.840 I'm sorry if some of you did not hear the first 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:49.080 part of the message. We'll have a tape for you 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:52.259 afterward and maybe you can pick it up there. 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:59.799 Matthew 24 verse 36. Jesus says, But of that 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:05.159 day and hour, no one knows. The question is, 00:10:05.179 --> 00:10:08.840 what day and hour is he talking about? If you 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:11.059 go back earlier into the chapter, you find that 00:10:11.059 --> 00:10:14.320 he's talking about the hour of his return, the 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:17.879 day when he comes again. And Jesus is saying, 00:10:18.340 --> 00:10:21.320 not even the angels nor the Son himself, at least 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:24.340 during his earthly ministry, knew when that day 00:10:24.340 --> 00:10:26.740 or hour would be, when he would come again. The 00:10:26.740 --> 00:10:31.110 Father alone knew. And he says in verse 37, for 00:10:31.110 --> 00:10:34.509 the coming of the Son of Man will be just like 00:10:34.509 --> 00:10:38.490 the days of Noah. And so Jesus refers back to 00:10:38.490 --> 00:10:41.870 an earlier period of time, an earlier age, the 00:10:41.870 --> 00:10:46.570 prediluvian age, before the flood. He says, for 00:10:46.570 --> 00:10:49.909 as in those days which were before the flood, 00:10:50.690 --> 00:10:53.549 they were eating and drinking, they were marrying 00:10:53.549 --> 00:10:56.629 and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah 00:10:56.629 --> 00:10:59.690 entered the ark. and they did not understand 00:10:59.690 --> 00:11:02.509 until the flood came and took them all away, 00:11:02.850 --> 00:11:08.309 so shall the coming of the Son of Man be." Now, 00:11:08.309 --> 00:11:13.009 what our Lord is doing is saying this. In the 00:11:13.009 --> 00:11:18.529 days of Noah, God allowed that civilization that 00:11:18.529 --> 00:11:23.110 lived in that day, in that age, to go on without 00:11:23.110 --> 00:11:27.090 some special intervention until the day of the 00:11:27.090 --> 00:11:30.299 flood. But up until that point, he simply had 00:11:30.299 --> 00:11:34.620 his man Noah preaching righteousness to that 00:11:34.620 --> 00:11:38.399 generation. What were they doing in response? 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:43.620 Noah was saying, judgment is coming. The end 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:47.360 of this age is here. God is going to send a flood. 00:11:47.659 --> 00:11:51.039 All flesh will be destroyed. And what was the 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:53.960 response of the people at large? Well, Jesus 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:57.139 said that they did not heed. They were eating. 00:11:58.120 --> 00:12:00.720 and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage. 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:03.600 Nothing wrong with those things in and of themselves. 00:12:04.419 --> 00:12:06.379 That's part of the routine of life, but that's 00:12:06.379 --> 00:12:10.159 the point. They went on about life with no heed 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:14.139 to what God was saying to them, the warning that 00:12:14.139 --> 00:12:18.320 God was giving through His prophet. So I believe 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:20.820 that Jesus is saying that this age will be similar 00:12:20.820 --> 00:12:24.899 to that, that even up until the very last moment, 00:12:25.780 --> 00:12:28.399 People in general will not give heed to what 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:32.679 God is saying in His Word. They will not listen 00:12:32.679 --> 00:12:36.259 to the warnings that He is giving, that judgment 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:39.460 is coming. As in that day, they will go on about 00:12:39.460 --> 00:12:43.399 the routine of life, paying no attention. And 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:46.000 so that is something of what this age is going 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:50.039 to be like. God did ultimately step in. He brought 00:12:50.039 --> 00:12:54.730 judgment. The ark was prepared. the animals, 00:12:55.149 --> 00:12:57.190 Noah and his family were brought in and God shut 00:12:57.190 --> 00:13:00.590 the door. The age finished with judgment and 00:13:00.590 --> 00:13:04.769 I am convinced with a global flood, not a local 00:13:04.769 --> 00:13:08.710 flood, but a global flood destroyed the whole 00:13:08.710 --> 00:13:12.549 world. And then God started again with Noah and 00:13:12.549 --> 00:13:16.710 his family and his descendants. So what is the 00:13:16.710 --> 00:13:19.929 nature of this age? Well, it is a time when God 00:13:19.929 --> 00:13:24.200 is giving truth to mankind. He has given it to 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:27.659 us here in this book. It is being declared to 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:31.340 people and it is a time when God is testing man 00:13:31.340 --> 00:13:33.840 with respect to that to see what man will do 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:37.379 with it and apart from those in whom the Holy 00:13:37.379 --> 00:13:40.720 Spirit works to bring them to faith there is 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:45.690 an ignoring or even a rejecting. of the message 00:13:45.690 --> 00:13:49.330 of God in this age as in every age because of 00:13:49.330 --> 00:13:52.169 the hardness of the heart of man as we were talking 00:13:52.169 --> 00:13:57.330 about this morning. Now if you'll turn with me 00:13:57.330 --> 00:14:01.129 back to Matthew chapter 13 we see another word 00:14:01.129 --> 00:14:03.750 from our Lord regarding the nature of this age. 00:14:05.990 --> 00:14:09.769 In Matthew 13 we have a series of parables that 00:14:09.769 --> 00:14:13.230 Jesus calls in verse 11 the mysteries of the 00:14:13.230 --> 00:14:18.970 kingdom of heaven. The Jewish people anticipated 00:14:18.970 --> 00:14:22.250 the kingdom of heaven, that is, heaven's rule 00:14:22.250 --> 00:14:25.990 over the earth. The Messianic age, that was what 00:14:25.990 --> 00:14:29.830 they longed for. Their hearts ached for that 00:14:29.830 --> 00:14:34.049 fulfillment of the coming of Messiah. How tragic 00:14:34.049 --> 00:14:37.509 that when he came to his own, his own received 00:14:37.509 --> 00:14:41.870 him not. They did not want him. They turned from 00:14:41.870 --> 00:14:46.809 him as a nation at that point. And so the kingdom 00:14:46.809 --> 00:14:49.570 of heaven, that is the direct rule of heaven 00:14:49.570 --> 00:14:54.730 over the earth, was postponed. And God is bringing 00:14:54.730 --> 00:14:57.929 about something in this age that was totally 00:14:57.929 --> 00:15:02.590 unrevealed until that rejection took place. That's 00:15:02.590 --> 00:15:05.009 why it's called the mysteries here. These are 00:15:05.009 --> 00:15:07.710 things that were not revealed up to this point. 00:15:08.570 --> 00:15:11.110 And so our Lord gives us, in Matthew chapter 00:15:11.110 --> 00:15:14.549 13, some understanding of the kingdom of heaven 00:15:14.549 --> 00:15:18.210 as it is in this age. It's not what the Jewish 00:15:18.210 --> 00:15:21.429 people expected it to be. It is an invisible 00:15:21.429 --> 00:15:24.590 kingdom, a hidden kingdom. It's taking place 00:15:24.590 --> 00:15:26.769 in the hearts of people. It's not an outward 00:15:26.769 --> 00:15:29.190 visible kingdom with Christ sitting on the throne 00:15:29.190 --> 00:15:33.090 in Jerusalem. That will come. But the kingdom 00:15:33.090 --> 00:15:35.590 of heaven in this age is in its mystery form, 00:15:35.590 --> 00:15:38.529 and that's what Jesus explains to us here. Now, 00:15:38.570 --> 00:15:40.529 he tells several parables, as I've said, but 00:15:40.529 --> 00:15:44.330 in verse 24, we have the beginning of the parable 00:15:44.330 --> 00:15:46.889 of the wheat and the tares. He presented another 00:15:46.889 --> 00:15:49.409 parable of them saying, the kingdom of heaven 00:15:49.409 --> 00:15:52.450 may be compared to a man who sowed good seed 00:15:52.450 --> 00:15:55.830 in his field. But while men were sleeping, his 00:15:55.830 --> 00:15:59.090 enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat 00:15:59.090 --> 00:16:02.450 and went away. But when the wheat sprang up and 00:16:02.450 --> 00:16:05.330 bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:08.820 And the slaves of the landowner came and said 00:16:08.820 --> 00:16:11.620 to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your 00:16:11.620 --> 00:16:15.539 field? How then does it have tares? And he said 00:16:15.539 --> 00:16:19.500 to them, An enemy has done this. And the slaves 00:16:19.500 --> 00:16:21.799 said to him, Do you want us then to go out and 00:16:21.799 --> 00:16:25.259 gather them up? But he said, No, lest while you 00:16:25.259 --> 00:16:27.460 are gathering up the tares you may root up the 00:16:27.460 --> 00:16:31.120 wheat with them. Allow both to grow together 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:34.419 until the harvest. And in the time of the harvest 00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:37.440 I will say to the reapers, First, gather up the 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:41.039 tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up. 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:45.039 But gather the wheat into my barn." Now what 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:48.480 does this parable mean? We're not left to guess. 00:16:49.019 --> 00:16:52.440 Because Jesus explains it to his disciples beginning 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:56.580 in verse 36 where they ask for the explanation. 00:16:57.340 --> 00:17:01.120 And then he says in verse 37, the one who sows 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:06.009 the good seed is the son of man. That is Jesus' 00:17:06.289 --> 00:17:09.589 name for himself. So make no mistake about it, 00:17:09.650 --> 00:17:13.349 the one who is sowing is the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:17:14.250 --> 00:17:18.210 And it says, the field is the world, not just 00:17:18.210 --> 00:17:20.950 the church, but the field is the whole world, 00:17:20.970 --> 00:17:25.150 the world at large. And he says, the good seed, 00:17:25.230 --> 00:17:29.269 these are the sons of the kingdom. That is, those 00:17:29.269 --> 00:17:33.759 who believe in him in this age. those in whom 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:37.000 God's kingdom has been established personally. 00:17:37.500 --> 00:17:40.160 Righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:43.299 which you and I enjoy as citizens of his kingdom 00:17:43.299 --> 00:17:47.079 as it is now. We are the sons of the kingdom 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:50.579 and our Lord has distributed us. He has sown 00:17:50.579 --> 00:17:55.980 us throughout the world. But it goes on to say, 00:17:56.940 --> 00:18:00.099 and the terrors are the sons of the evil one. 00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:05.799 And the enemy who sowed them is the devil. And 00:18:05.799 --> 00:18:11.140 so all of these figures in the parable are explained 00:18:11.140 --> 00:18:17.160 to us. And the devil has also sown his sons, 00:18:17.299 --> 00:18:21.799 his seed, as it were, in the world. Who are they? 00:18:22.420 --> 00:18:28.119 Well, they are the counterfeit Christians. Those 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:31.839 religious people, some of them even very sincerely 00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:35.380 religious people who have no personal relationship 00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:39.440 to the King, to the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:43.039 They are not sons of the kingdom, but they are 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:48.299 sons of the evil one because they reject the 00:18:48.299 --> 00:18:51.380 Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel of the Lord 00:18:51.380 --> 00:18:55.079 Jesus Christ. Even though they may call themselves 00:18:55.079 --> 00:18:58.559 Christians, though they may attend a church with 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:01.759 the name Christian right on it. It doesn't make 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:06.000 them Christians. We have here Satan's counterfeit 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:10.740 and as most of you know that is Satan's number 00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:15.039 one ability to produce counterfeits. He is not 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:20.619 an ingenious creator but he is an ingenious counterfeiter 00:19:20.619 --> 00:19:26.339 and so he sows his seed in the world. that in 00:19:26.339 --> 00:19:29.299 some respects look like the real thing, but are 00:19:29.299 --> 00:19:33.440 not. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:36.660 he says, and the harvest is the end of the age, 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:41.140 and the reapers are angels. Therefore, just as 00:19:41.140 --> 00:19:43.900 the terrors are gathered up and burned with fire, 00:19:44.279 --> 00:19:47.200 so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:50.259 of Man will send forth his angels, and they will 00:19:50.259 --> 00:19:52.640 gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:56.420 and those who commit lawlessness. and will cast 00:19:56.420 --> 00:19:59.180 them into the furnace of fire. In that place 00:19:59.180 --> 00:20:02.180 there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:06.619 Obviously he is talking there about hell. And 00:20:06.619 --> 00:20:08.640 then he says, the righteous will shine forth 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:13.319 as the sun in the kingdom of their father. And 00:20:13.319 --> 00:20:18.779 so our Lord says that ultimately this age will 00:20:18.779 --> 00:20:24.539 end with a division. And he says, that there 00:20:24.539 --> 00:20:29.039 will be a separation made. He is talking here 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:32.680 about the very end of this age. There are some 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:35.920 things that will take place before this, which 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:38.700 will also produce a separation, and we will talk 00:20:38.700 --> 00:20:41.900 about that in coming weeks. But at the very end, 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:45.619 when our Lord comes again to the earth, at that 00:20:45.619 --> 00:20:49.359 moment there will be a separation. And only the 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:52.140 righteous, only the sons of the kingdom will 00:20:52.140 --> 00:20:55.650 enter in. to his kingdom on the earth. And those 00:20:55.650 --> 00:20:58.549 who are the children of the enemy, the children 00:20:58.549 --> 00:21:01.710 of the evil one, will be pulled out from the 00:21:01.710 --> 00:21:04.450 population of the world, the angels will gather 00:21:04.450 --> 00:21:09.410 them, and they will be cast into hell. Those 00:21:09.410 --> 00:21:12.250 are the words of Jesus. And so what are we to 00:21:12.250 --> 00:21:15.829 expect in this age? We are to expect that alongside 00:21:15.829 --> 00:21:19.490 the real thing, there will be the counterfeit. 00:21:20.700 --> 00:21:23.420 And we're not to become overly alarmed about 00:21:23.420 --> 00:21:28.319 that. We're not to seek to root out the counterfeit. 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:31.400 We're just to keep on living for the Lord. The 00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:34.099 Lord will take care of the counterfeit at the 00:21:34.099 --> 00:21:39.440 end of the age. The Bible declares that this 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:43.099 age will grow worse and worse and will degenerate 00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:47.980 and culminate in judgment. I personally believe 00:21:48.349 --> 00:21:54.369 that we are at the close of this age. I believe 00:21:54.369 --> 00:21:58.829 that, for a number of reasons, I'd like to suggest 00:21:58.829 --> 00:22:02.890 just a couple of them to you tonight. One is 00:22:02.890 --> 00:22:06.970 because the Bible predicts that this age will 00:22:06.970 --> 00:22:11.849 be closed with the time of unprecedented moral 00:22:11.849 --> 00:22:16.769 and spiritual decay. And it seems to me that 00:22:16.769 --> 00:22:21.829 we are living in that day. Not just in one civilization 00:22:21.829 --> 00:22:25.950 or one society, but around the world there is 00:22:25.950 --> 00:22:30.410 a general, unprecedented moral and spiritual 00:22:30.410 --> 00:22:34.670 decay. Would you turn with me please to 2 Timothy 00:22:34.670 --> 00:22:49.619 chapter 3. As the Apostle Paul brings to a close 00:22:49.619 --> 00:22:55.819 his ministry of writing, and as he pens this 00:22:55.819 --> 00:23:02.900 last book inspired by the Spirit of God, he concludes 00:23:02.900 --> 00:23:05.940 with these words written to Timothy, who was 00:23:05.940 --> 00:23:10.319 pastoring the church at Ephesus. But realize 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:15.440 this, that in the last days, difficult times, 00:23:15.549 --> 00:23:20.670 will come. Now there is one sense in which the 00:23:20.670 --> 00:23:25.730 last days embraces this entire age. That is, 00:23:26.009 --> 00:23:30.289 that phrase refers to the period of time following 00:23:30.289 --> 00:23:34.910 the complete revelation given in Jesus Christ. 00:23:35.069 --> 00:23:40.089 We see that in Hebrews 1 verses 1 and 2. This 00:23:40.089 --> 00:23:44.470 whole age, in one sense, is called the last days. 00:23:45.579 --> 00:23:49.900 in the history of the world. But the phrase also 00:23:49.900 --> 00:23:53.640 is used, it seems, in the New Testament to describe 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:59.140 the last days of the last days. That is the conclusion 00:23:59.140 --> 00:24:03.380 of this period in which we are now living. Now 00:24:03.380 --> 00:24:06.619 the Apostle says difficult times will come. That 00:24:06.619 --> 00:24:12.299 is grievous times, savage times, times that will 00:24:12.299 --> 00:24:17.710 be beastly. times that will be hard to deal with. 00:24:18.630 --> 00:24:21.490 And then he describes what society will be like. 00:24:22.210 --> 00:24:26.769 He says men will be lovers of self, lovers of 00:24:26.769 --> 00:24:34.309 money, boastful, arrogant. Their outward boasting 00:24:34.309 --> 00:24:36.829 will come from the pride within their arrogant 00:24:36.829 --> 00:24:41.160 hearts. revilers, blasphemers, that is, those 00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:45.779 who abuse others with their tongues, disobedient 00:24:45.779 --> 00:24:50.079 to parents. There will be a crisis of authority 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:54.680 in the last days, even in the most basic of elements 00:24:54.680 --> 00:25:01.000 in society, that is, the home. Ungrateful, unholy, 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:07.700 unloving. The idea there no family love not even 00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:11.319 the normal kinds of of love that exists within 00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:15.220 a home within a mother father children setting 00:25:15.220 --> 00:25:22.299 he will not exist Irreconcilable people will 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:26.380 not be willing to compromise Irreconcilable malicious 00:25:26.380 --> 00:25:33.519 gossips Without self -control brutal literally 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:37.079 people will live like animals and treat each 00:25:37.079 --> 00:25:41.859 other like animals. Haters of good, treacherous, 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:47.079 reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather 00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:52.180 than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness 00:25:52.180 --> 00:25:56.779 although they have denied its power. And he says, 00:25:57.119 --> 00:26:01.279 stay away from people like this. That is, do 00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:05.000 not become intimately associated with them in 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.380 their worldliness. So those are the characteristics 00:26:09.380 --> 00:26:13.259 of the closing days of this age. As we go down 00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:17.019 that list, we have to admit that some of these 00:26:17.019 --> 00:26:23.680 have been known in history, here and there, as 00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:26.960 civilizations have crumbled and decayed, been 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:30.819 destroyed. But I wonder, has there been a day 00:26:30.819 --> 00:26:36.480 when these things have all come together in such 00:26:36.480 --> 00:26:40.359 an unprecedented way, with such intensity as 00:26:40.359 --> 00:27:00.000 the day in which we live? It says, Peter, that 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.559 in the last days mockers will come with their 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:08.059 mocking, following after their own lusts, and 00:27:08.059 --> 00:27:12.259 saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For 00:27:12.259 --> 00:27:16.059 ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues 00:27:16.059 --> 00:27:20.099 just as it was from the beginning of creation. 00:27:21.259 --> 00:27:23.839 So this is part of the decay in the last days 00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:28.269 as well. People will say, well, yes. There have 00:27:28.269 --> 00:27:30.569 been those talking about the second coming of 00:27:30.569 --> 00:27:34.289 Christ since he came the first time. Now, where's 00:27:34.289 --> 00:27:38.029 the promise? Why hasn't he come yet? And their 00:27:38.029 --> 00:27:43.529 argument, says Peter, is uniformitarianism. That 00:27:43.529 --> 00:27:47.029 is, things uniformly happen, that nothing has 00:27:47.029 --> 00:27:50.230 ever interrupted the flow of history before, 00:27:50.509 --> 00:27:54.170 they say. You know, that's the philosophical 00:27:54.170 --> 00:27:58.849 basis for evolution. That is things have always 00:27:58.849 --> 00:28:01.849 been basically as they are now and evolution 00:28:01.849 --> 00:28:05.730 flows from that and Peter goes on to say that 00:28:05.730 --> 00:28:09.210 they willingly overlook they choose to be ignorant 00:28:09.210 --> 00:28:12.829 of this fact that God once before did Step into 00:28:12.829 --> 00:28:16.230 human history and he points specifically to the 00:28:16.230 --> 00:28:21.670 flood Now is there any historical event that 00:28:21.670 --> 00:28:25.309 raises such mocking today among archaeologists 00:28:25.309 --> 00:28:28.349 and scientists, geologists and so on, as the 00:28:28.349 --> 00:28:32.130 flood. But who could ever believe in such a thing 00:28:32.130 --> 00:28:35.630 as a worldwide flood? Even some theologians, 00:28:36.190 --> 00:28:38.650 particularly of the liberal stripe, laugh and 00:28:38.650 --> 00:28:41.289 mock at such an idea that there ever was a literal 00:28:41.289 --> 00:28:49.990 Noah and a literal ark. Peter says in the last 00:28:49.990 --> 00:28:53.450 days they will be willingly ignorant. They will 00:28:53.450 --> 00:28:57.289 choose not to recognize the fact that God has 00:28:57.289 --> 00:29:00.509 indeed intervened in human history before, that 00:29:00.509 --> 00:29:03.990 the philosophy of uniformitarianism is false. 00:29:05.890 --> 00:29:07.930 And nonetheless, they will base their lives on 00:29:07.930 --> 00:29:10.569 it and they will say, well, it's always been 00:29:10.569 --> 00:29:13.109 just like this. Things continue as they always 00:29:13.109 --> 00:29:18.849 have. I believe we're living in a day that is 00:29:18.849 --> 00:29:24.099 described here. It would be interesting, and 00:29:24.099 --> 00:29:26.440 this is merely speculation on my part, it would 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:31.220 be interesting if in these last days of this 00:29:31.220 --> 00:29:36.240 age God allowed the remains of the ark to be 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:39.000 discovered on Ararat. Wouldn't that be interesting? 00:29:40.460 --> 00:29:42.859 To then listen to the explanations of people 00:29:42.859 --> 00:29:47.619 for this big boat on top of a mountain. Now I'm 00:29:47.619 --> 00:29:50.099 not saying it's necessarily there. I don't know. 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:54.440 I think that there is very curious and interesting 00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:58.779 evidence that there's something on that mountain 00:29:58.779 --> 00:30:02.000 that's quite unusual, that mountain in Turkey. 00:30:02.759 --> 00:30:04.480 But I'm simply speculating and say, wouldn't 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:07.039 it be interesting if God allowed those remains 00:30:07.039 --> 00:30:12.440 to be uncovered at the end of this age? And then 00:30:12.440 --> 00:30:15.799 see how men continue to claim uniformitarianism 00:30:15.799 --> 00:30:19.799 and deny a flood. It would also be interesting 00:30:19.799 --> 00:30:22.180 in light of those verses in Matthew 24 as it 00:30:22.180 --> 00:30:25.940 was in the days of Noah. At the end of this age, 00:30:26.819 --> 00:30:30.420 that the ark or the remains of it might be there 00:30:30.420 --> 00:30:35.000 to testify to God's judgment previously and to 00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:37.940 remind them of God's judgment impending, and 00:30:37.940 --> 00:30:41.980 yet men undoubtedly would refuse that. Well, 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:44.220 that's speculation. That's free tonight. You 00:30:44.220 --> 00:30:48.299 don't have to pay for that. The end of this age 00:30:48.299 --> 00:30:51.779 is characterized, says the Bible, by a decline 00:30:51.779 --> 00:30:56.839 in moral and spiritual things. And we also see 00:30:56.839 --> 00:30:59.119 in other passages that there will be an upsurge 00:30:59.119 --> 00:31:03.740 of false teaching at the end of the age. Doctrines 00:31:03.740 --> 00:31:07.940 of demons, it says in 1 Timothy 4, will abound. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:11.720 Now what that means is satanic deceptions will 00:31:11.720 --> 00:31:15.480 abound. Demons will go throughout the earth. 00:31:16.269 --> 00:31:19.910 creating all kinds of philosophies and ideas 00:31:19.910 --> 00:31:24.930 and religions in order to deceive people to keep 00:31:24.930 --> 00:31:28.930 them from the truth. But I want to close with 00:31:28.930 --> 00:31:33.930 one verse or two verses from Titus because we 00:31:33.930 --> 00:31:36.509 need to wrap this up in some practical application 00:31:36.509 --> 00:31:40.329 to our lives as we shall attempt to do each time 00:31:40.329 --> 00:31:43.190 we talk about this subject through the summer. 00:31:45.509 --> 00:31:47.730 As I say, we're going to be looking at some of 00:31:47.730 --> 00:31:51.089 the specific events in Scripture that are said 00:31:51.089 --> 00:31:54.690 to be a part of the end of this age. For now, 00:31:54.829 --> 00:31:59.369 let's go to Titus chapter 2. Let me remind you 00:31:59.369 --> 00:32:02.009 again of the verse I alluded to earlier, verse 00:32:02.009 --> 00:32:05.930 11, for the grace of God has appeared, bringing 00:32:05.930 --> 00:32:10.049 salvation to all men. And here's what the grace 00:32:10.049 --> 00:32:14.730 of God teaches us, instructing us to deny ungodliness 00:32:15.779 --> 00:32:20.839 worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, 00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:27.079 and godly in the present age. God's instruction 00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:30.960 to you and me as we look at the conclusion of 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:34.619 this age is found right here. It is in the first 00:32:34.619 --> 00:32:38.720 place living a godly life. The negative side 00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:40.559 of that, and remember this morning we talked 00:32:40.559 --> 00:32:42.960 about the negative and positive so often being 00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:45.640 together. Here's another example. on the one 00:32:45.640 --> 00:32:50.279 hand denying ungodliness and on the other hand 00:32:50.279 --> 00:32:55.259 and also worldly desires and on the other hand 00:32:55.259 --> 00:33:00.839 living sensibly the idea there is soberly not 00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:06.500 being drunk with the intoxication of the world 00:33:06.500 --> 00:33:12.160 but to have our minds functioning well sensibly 00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:15.279 to live sensibly and righteously making right 00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:18.099 decisions though everybody else around us may 00:33:18.099 --> 00:33:22.700 choose the wrong and also godly though this is 00:33:22.700 --> 00:33:28.559 an ungodly age we are to live with God evident 00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:32.759 in our lives though there will be those who will 00:33:32.759 --> 00:33:38.400 not choose him and who will persecute those who 00:33:38.400 --> 00:33:41.680 choose to live godly in Christ Jesus. We are 00:33:41.680 --> 00:33:44.539 nonetheless to live with our Lord in the center 00:33:44.539 --> 00:33:47.240 of our lives, right now, in the now generation, 00:33:47.640 --> 00:33:50.980 in this present age. So we are to live godly, 00:33:51.099 --> 00:33:53.839 and secondly, verse 13, we are to be looking 00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:57.900 for the blessed hope and the appearing of the 00:33:57.900 --> 00:34:01.240 glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. 00:34:01.779 --> 00:34:06.480 We're to be looking for Him, folks. finish out 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:12.579 this age. On the one hand, living godly, sensibly, 00:34:13.039 --> 00:34:16.800 righteously, denying that which is pressed upon 00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:21.139 us by the world, refusing to be conformed to 00:34:21.139 --> 00:34:25.300 its mold for us. And on the other hand, as we're 00:34:25.300 --> 00:34:29.320 living here, facing the reality of life as it 00:34:29.320 --> 00:34:33.260 is now, we're to be looking, looking for His 00:34:33.260 --> 00:34:37.070 glorious return. That's a great encouragement. 00:34:38.110 --> 00:34:40.610 I am convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ will 00:34:40.610 --> 00:34:44.070 come and deliver his own from the coming judgment, 00:34:44.530 --> 00:34:48.469 the coming holocaust in the world. We'll be talking 00:34:48.469 --> 00:34:51.409 about that perhaps the next time as we think 00:34:51.409 --> 00:34:56.730 about our Lord's glorious appearing for which 00:34:56.730 --> 00:35:00.269 we are looking. I'd like for us to sing together 00:35:00.269 --> 00:35:03.349 tonight a hymn that talks about this, number 00:35:03.349 --> 00:35:07.429 248. He'd ask the question, what if it were today? 00:35:08.769 --> 00:35:11.849 That's an important question for each of us to 00:35:11.849 --> 00:35:15.110 ask ourselves. What if it were today that he 00:35:15.110 --> 00:35:20.929 would come? Would I be found of him spotless, 00:35:21.130 --> 00:35:24.730 without blame? Would he find me living the way 00:35:24.730 --> 00:35:28.090 he wants me to live and looking for his return? 00:35:29.269 --> 00:35:32.349 I trust that would be true of every one of us. 00:35:32.539 --> 00:35:35.699 Let's stand together as we sing a verse of 248, 00:35:35.880 --> 00:37:09.440 What if it were today? Well, we could sing that 00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:13.760 last little phrase there, Jesus may come today, 00:37:14.039 --> 00:37:17.159 because he may. And if you do not have, my friend, 00:37:17.340 --> 00:37:20.159 the assurance of your sins forgiven and your 00:37:20.159 --> 00:37:22.940 heart being right with God, if you're not ready 00:37:22.940 --> 00:37:26.559 for Him to come, to claim you as one of His redeemed, 00:37:26.559 --> 00:37:29.619 His chosen ones, will you tonight give your heart 00:37:29.619 --> 00:37:32.699 to Christ? Won't you come and see me afterward 00:37:32.699 --> 00:37:36.980 and say, Pastor, I need to be sure about my own 00:37:36.980 --> 00:37:39.679 eternal destiny. I'd love to sit down and talk 00:37:39.679 --> 00:37:41.679 with you, promise not even to share my cold with 00:37:41.679 --> 00:37:45.039 you. But I would love to be able to answer your 00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:47.199 questions and open God's Word and show you how 00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:50.840 tonight you can joyfully anticipate the return 00:37:50.840 --> 00:37:55.820 of the Savior. Let's bow together. And now our 00:37:55.820 --> 00:38:01.420 Lord, our great God and Savior, we anticipate 00:38:01.420 --> 00:38:07.619 your coming. And we say, glory, glory, oh what 00:38:07.619 --> 00:38:11.780 joy that will bring to us. when we see you face 00:38:11.780 --> 00:38:12.440 to face.