Thank you, Mark, for filling in tonight. John
Benham is at Crystal Evangelical Free Church
leading the Summer Youth Orchestra there, the
same one that we heard this morning in our worship
service. Well, I understand there was a good
time had by all yesterday at the church picnic.
You can tell who was there. They're the ones
with the sunburned faces. I'm sorry there wasn't
a beach for you to enjoy, but I heard that there
was a faucet that got plenty of use, that water
balloons and cups of water, etc, etc, were utilized.
That's good. This is really hot weather, isn't
it? I knew it was hot when I looked out this
afternoon and saw a bird in the backyard getting
a worm using hot pads to pull it out. When I
saw that, I knew it was hot today. Would you
please open your Bible to 1 Corinthians chapter
10? I am beginning this evening a series which
I am calling the end of the ages. People have
often talked about and written about the end
of the world. There seems to be an innate awareness
that there is a conclusion to this madness. in
the world. Ecologists, for example, are telling
us that unless we learn to mend our ways the
human race will cease to be because of pollution
in our environment. Politicians and diplomats
tell us that unless we learn to live in peace
in what they like to call the global village,
unless we learn to get along on this planet,
were going to be blown to bits. And then religious
teachers as well, even of the false variety,
have occasionally predicted the end of the world.
How many of you remember the Kohotek comet? Would
you lift your hand? Would you believe that that's
been 13 years ago since that was in the news?
But I remember at the time that that comet was
coming there were those who were predicting that
with its arrival would come the end of the world.
In particular, I remember the leader of the cult
called Children of God who made that prediction.
And that prediction variously comes and perhaps
even more so with the turn of centuries and with
the change of the millennium which we are about
to face and enter into the 2000s. I think that
we can expect more predictions along this line.
Well, in fact, the Bible does declare that this
world as we know it shall come to an end. Perhaps
a better way to say it, at least for purposes
of this series of messages, is that this age
in which we live will come to an end. An age
may be defined in biblical terminology as a period
of time that is noted by certain moral and spiritual
characteristics. If you look back over the period
of history since the beginning, since creation,
as God has revealed it to us in His Word, history
seems to fall out into these periods which were
noted by certain revelation. from God and tests
that God gave to mankind. Now in 1 Corinthians
10 -11, Paul makes an astounding statement. He
says, now these things happen to them as an example.
He is talking about the previous things mentioned
in the first nine or ten verses of this chapter
to Israel. And he says, these things happen to
them. That is, they are truly historical events.
But more than that, he says, and they were written
for our instruction. In other words, the Old
Testament is not merely a collection of nice
stories. They are recorded historical events.
which were written down so that you and I might
learn from them. And then he describes us as
those upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
The Apostle Paul seems to be saying here that
all of the preceding ages find their culmination,
find their fulfillment or their completion in
the age in which you and I live today. We are
talking about what is sometimes termed the age
of the church or others prefer to call it the
age of grace. It is called the age of grace because
of those events which initiated this period of
time. That is the coming of our Savior into the
world. The grace of God has appeared says Paul
to Titus. has appeared in the incarnation of
the Lord Jesus Christ and not only that but in
his crucifixion for us and his resurrection from
the dead, in his ascension back to heaven. In
all of these gracious events in the life of our
Lord Jesus Christ there was the beginning of
this age and so it is often called the Age of
Grace. It began at that period of time Officially,
we believe, with the day of Pentecost, when the
Holy Spirit came, as Jesus said He would come,
having been sent by the Father and the Son to
bless us. And not only to bless us, but to reside
in us and to set us apart as a unique people
in the history of the world. Those people whom
God is calling out as a people or as a bride.
a body for His Son. And so this age began with
His coming, the Holy Spirit's coming, and this
age will end yet in the future. An age does not
have a certain number of years to it. It is simply
when the purpose of God has been fulfilled. I
think it might be helpful if we ask certain questions
to introduce this subject tonight and then later
evenings we will talk about some of the specific
things that we anticipate as we look toward the
end of this age. The first question I'd like
to ask is this, what is the nature of this age?
That is, how does the Bible describe it to us?
Well, as I've already intimated, God in each
age, including this one, gives a revelation of
Himself and His will to man. And in that age,
he allows man to respond, and man does in the
course of history as it flows out. And then finally,
at the time of God's appointment, he dramatically
steps in and concludes the age. And it is interesting
that as we go back into Genesis and trace these
ages, we can see that each of the ages ends with
some sort of judgment from God upon man, because
man has not responded appropriately to his revelation.
And so God initiates the period with some new
word, some new revelation of himself, and then
man is left to respond to that revelation. That
does not mean that God is uninterested. as the
years roll, that God somehow goes away and then
comes back at the end of the age. Indeed not
because God is fully involved in all that takes
place through the age. But what I'm saying is
that as the age unfolds, he chooses not to interrupt
the normal process of events. Now there are some
exceptions. Excuse me Jerry, I want the air conditioner
on. Thank you. I want it left on so we're kept
cool in here. I appreciate that. Thank you. Can
you not hear at the back? Is there a problem
with hearing? Can you not hear? All right. Can
you hear now? All right, let's turn the sound
up then, but let's keep the air conditioning
on. I don't want to use hot pads with this message.
All right. And so what I'm saying is that God
chooses not to interrupt the flow of history,
but with some exceptions. Now I want to show
you an example of what I'm talking about. Would
you turn back to Matthew chapter 24, please?
Matthew chapter 24 and beginning in verse 36.
I'm sorry if some of you did not hear the first
part of the message. We'll have a tape for you
afterward and maybe you can pick it up there.
Matthew 24 verse 36. Jesus says, But of that
day and hour, no one knows. The question is,
what day and hour is he talking about? If you
go back earlier into the chapter, you find that
he's talking about the hour of his return, the
day when he comes again. And Jesus is saying,
not even the angels nor the Son himself, at least
during his earthly ministry, knew when that day
or hour would be, when he would come again. The
Father alone knew. And he says in verse 37, for
the coming of the Son of Man will be just like
the days of Noah. And so Jesus refers back to
an earlier period of time, an earlier age, the
prediluvian age, before the flood. He says, for
as in those days which were before the flood,
they were eating and drinking, they were marrying
and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah
entered the ark. and they did not understand
until the flood came and took them all away,
so shall the coming of the Son of Man be." Now,
what our Lord is doing is saying this. In the
days of Noah, God allowed that civilization that
lived in that day, in that age, to go on without
some special intervention until the day of the
flood. But up until that point, he simply had
his man Noah preaching righteousness to that
generation. What were they doing in response?
Noah was saying, judgment is coming. The end
of this age is here. God is going to send a flood.
All flesh will be destroyed. And what was the
response of the people at large? Well, Jesus
said that they did not heed. They were eating.
and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage.
Nothing wrong with those things in and of themselves.
That's part of the routine of life, but that's
the point. They went on about life with no heed
to what God was saying to them, the warning that
God was giving through His prophet. So I believe
that Jesus is saying that this age will be similar
to that, that even up until the very last moment,
People in general will not give heed to what
God is saying in His Word. They will not listen
to the warnings that He is giving, that judgment
is coming. As in that day, they will go on about
the routine of life, paying no attention. And
so that is something of what this age is going
to be like. God did ultimately step in. He brought
judgment. The ark was prepared. the animals,
Noah and his family were brought in and God shut
the door. The age finished with judgment and
I am convinced with a global flood, not a local
flood, but a global flood destroyed the whole
world. And then God started again with Noah and
his family and his descendants. So what is the
nature of this age? Well, it is a time when God
is giving truth to mankind. He has given it to
us here in this book. It is being declared to
people and it is a time when God is testing man
with respect to that to see what man will do
with it and apart from those in whom the Holy
Spirit works to bring them to faith there is
an ignoring or even a rejecting. of the message
of God in this age as in every age because of
the hardness of the heart of man as we were talking
about this morning. Now if you'll turn with me
back to Matthew chapter 13 we see another word
from our Lord regarding the nature of this age.
In Matthew 13 we have a series of parables that
Jesus calls in verse 11 the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven. The Jewish people anticipated
the kingdom of heaven, that is, heaven's rule
over the earth. The Messianic age, that was what
they longed for. Their hearts ached for that
fulfillment of the coming of Messiah. How tragic
that when he came to his own, his own received
him not. They did not want him. They turned from
him as a nation at that point. And so the kingdom
of heaven, that is the direct rule of heaven
over the earth, was postponed. And God is bringing
about something in this age that was totally
unrevealed until that rejection took place. That's
why it's called the mysteries here. These are
things that were not revealed up to this point.
And so our Lord gives us, in Matthew chapter
13, some understanding of the kingdom of heaven
as it is in this age. It's not what the Jewish
people expected it to be. It is an invisible
kingdom, a hidden kingdom. It's taking place
in the hearts of people. It's not an outward
visible kingdom with Christ sitting on the throne
in Jerusalem. That will come. But the kingdom
of heaven in this age is in its mystery form,
and that's what Jesus explains to us here. Now,
he tells several parables, as I've said, but
in verse 24, we have the beginning of the parable
of the wheat and the tares. He presented another
parable of them saying, the kingdom of heaven
may be compared to a man who sowed good seed
in his field. But while men were sleeping, his
enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat
and went away. But when the wheat sprang up and
bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
And the slaves of the landowner came and said
to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your
field? How then does it have tares? And he said
to them, An enemy has done this. And the slaves
said to him, Do you want us then to go out and
gather them up? But he said, No, lest while you
are gathering up the tares you may root up the
wheat with them. Allow both to grow together
until the harvest. And in the time of the harvest
I will say to the reapers, First, gather up the
tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up.
But gather the wheat into my barn." Now what
does this parable mean? We're not left to guess.
Because Jesus explains it to his disciples beginning
in verse 36 where they ask for the explanation.
And then he says in verse 37, the one who sows
the good seed is the son of man. That is Jesus'
name for himself. So make no mistake about it,
the one who is sowing is the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it says, the field is the world, not just
the church, but the field is the whole world,
the world at large. And he says, the good seed,
these are the sons of the kingdom. That is, those
who believe in him in this age. those in whom
God's kingdom has been established personally.
Righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit
which you and I enjoy as citizens of his kingdom
as it is now. We are the sons of the kingdom
and our Lord has distributed us. He has sown
us throughout the world. But it goes on to say,
and the terrors are the sons of the evil one.
And the enemy who sowed them is the devil. And
so all of these figures in the parable are explained
to us. And the devil has also sown his sons,
his seed, as it were, in the world. Who are they?
Well, they are the counterfeit Christians. Those
religious people, some of them even very sincerely
religious people who have no personal relationship
to the King, to the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
They are not sons of the kingdom, but they are
sons of the evil one because they reject the
Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Even though they may call themselves
Christians, though they may attend a church with
the name Christian right on it. It doesn't make
them Christians. We have here Satan's counterfeit
and as most of you know that is Satan's number
one ability to produce counterfeits. He is not
an ingenious creator but he is an ingenious counterfeiter
and so he sows his seed in the world. that in
some respects look like the real thing, but are
not. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil,
he says, and the harvest is the end of the age,
and the reapers are angels. Therefore, just as
the terrors are gathered up and burned with fire,
so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son
of Man will send forth his angels, and they will
gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks
and those who commit lawlessness. and will cast
them into the furnace of fire. In that place
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Obviously he is talking there about hell. And
then he says, the righteous will shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their father. And
so our Lord says that ultimately this age will
end with a division. And he says, that there
will be a separation made. He is talking here
about the very end of this age. There are some
things that will take place before this, which
will also produce a separation, and we will talk
about that in coming weeks. But at the very end,
when our Lord comes again to the earth, at that
moment there will be a separation. And only the
righteous, only the sons of the kingdom will
enter in. to his kingdom on the earth. And those
who are the children of the enemy, the children
of the evil one, will be pulled out from the
population of the world, the angels will gather
them, and they will be cast into hell. Those
are the words of Jesus. And so what are we to
expect in this age? We are to expect that alongside
the real thing, there will be the counterfeit.
And we're not to become overly alarmed about
that. We're not to seek to root out the counterfeit.
We're just to keep on living for the Lord. The
Lord will take care of the counterfeit at the
end of the age. The Bible declares that this
age will grow worse and worse and will degenerate
and culminate in judgment. I personally believe
that we are at the close of this age. I believe
that, for a number of reasons, I'd like to suggest
just a couple of them to you tonight. One is
because the Bible predicts that this age will
be closed with the time of unprecedented moral
and spiritual decay. And it seems to me that
we are living in that day. Not just in one civilization
or one society, but around the world there is
a general, unprecedented moral and spiritual
decay. Would you turn with me please to 2 Timothy
chapter 3. As the Apostle Paul brings to a close
his ministry of writing, and as he pens this
last book inspired by the Spirit of God, he concludes
with these words written to Timothy, who was
pastoring the church at Ephesus. But realize
this, that in the last days, difficult times,
will come. Now there is one sense in which the
last days embraces this entire age. That is,
that phrase refers to the period of time following
the complete revelation given in Jesus Christ.
We see that in Hebrews 1 verses 1 and 2. This
whole age, in one sense, is called the last days.
in the history of the world. But the phrase also
is used, it seems, in the New Testament to describe
the last days of the last days. That is the conclusion
of this period in which we are now living. Now
the Apostle says difficult times will come. That
is grievous times, savage times, times that will
be beastly. times that will be hard to deal with.
And then he describes what society will be like.
He says men will be lovers of self, lovers of
money, boastful, arrogant. Their outward boasting
will come from the pride within their arrogant
hearts. revilers, blasphemers, that is, those
who abuse others with their tongues, disobedient
to parents. There will be a crisis of authority
in the last days, even in the most basic of elements
in society, that is, the home. Ungrateful, unholy,
unloving. The idea there no family love not even
the normal kinds of of love that exists within
a home within a mother father children setting
he will not exist Irreconcilable people will
not be willing to compromise Irreconcilable malicious
gossips Without self -control brutal literally
people will live like animals and treat each
other like animals. Haters of good, treacherous,
reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness
although they have denied its power. And he says,
stay away from people like this. That is, do
not become intimately associated with them in
their worldliness. So those are the characteristics
of the closing days of this age. As we go down
that list, we have to admit that some of these
have been known in history, here and there, as
civilizations have crumbled and decayed, been
destroyed. But I wonder, has there been a day
when these things have all come together in such
an unprecedented way, with such intensity as
the day in which we live? It says, Peter, that
in the last days mockers will come with their
mocking, following after their own lusts, and
saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For
ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues
just as it was from the beginning of creation.
So this is part of the decay in the last days
as well. People will say, well, yes. There have
been those talking about the second coming of
Christ since he came the first time. Now, where's
the promise? Why hasn't he come yet? And their
argument, says Peter, is uniformitarianism. That
is, things uniformly happen, that nothing has
ever interrupted the flow of history before,
they say. You know, that's the philosophical
basis for evolution. That is things have always
been basically as they are now and evolution
flows from that and Peter goes on to say that
they willingly overlook they choose to be ignorant
of this fact that God once before did Step into
human history and he points specifically to the
flood Now is there any historical event that
raises such mocking today among archaeologists
and scientists, geologists and so on, as the
flood. But who could ever believe in such a thing
as a worldwide flood? Even some theologians,
particularly of the liberal stripe, laugh and
mock at such an idea that there ever was a literal
Noah and a literal ark. Peter says in the last
days they will be willingly ignorant. They will
choose not to recognize the fact that God has
indeed intervened in human history before, that
the philosophy of uniformitarianism is false.
And nonetheless, they will base their lives on
it and they will say, well, it's always been
just like this. Things continue as they always
have. I believe we're living in a day that is
described here. It would be interesting, and
this is merely speculation on my part, it would
be interesting if in these last days of this
age God allowed the remains of the ark to be
discovered on Ararat. Wouldn't that be interesting?
To then listen to the explanations of people
for this big boat on top of a mountain. Now I'm
not saying it's necessarily there. I don't know.
I think that there is very curious and interesting
evidence that there's something on that mountain
that's quite unusual, that mountain in Turkey.
But I'm simply speculating and say, wouldn't
it be interesting if God allowed those remains
to be uncovered at the end of this age? And then
see how men continue to claim uniformitarianism
and deny a flood. It would also be interesting
in light of those verses in Matthew 24 as it
was in the days of Noah. At the end of this age,
that the ark or the remains of it might be there
to testify to God's judgment previously and to
remind them of God's judgment impending, and
yet men undoubtedly would refuse that. Well,
that's speculation. That's free tonight. You
don't have to pay for that. The end of this age
is characterized, says the Bible, by a decline
in moral and spiritual things. And we also see
in other passages that there will be an upsurge
of false teaching at the end of the age. Doctrines
of demons, it says in 1 Timothy 4, will abound.
Now what that means is satanic deceptions will
abound. Demons will go throughout the earth.
creating all kinds of philosophies and ideas
and religions in order to deceive people to keep
them from the truth. But I want to close with
one verse or two verses from Titus because we
need to wrap this up in some practical application
to our lives as we shall attempt to do each time
we talk about this subject through the summer.
As I say, we're going to be looking at some of
the specific events in Scripture that are said
to be a part of the end of this age. For now,
let's go to Titus chapter 2. Let me remind you
again of the verse I alluded to earlier, verse
11, for the grace of God has appeared, bringing
salvation to all men. And here's what the grace
of God teaches us, instructing us to deny ungodliness
worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously,
and godly in the present age. God's instruction
to you and me as we look at the conclusion of
this age is found right here. It is in the first
place living a godly life. The negative side
of that, and remember this morning we talked
about the negative and positive so often being
together. Here's another example. on the one
hand denying ungodliness and on the other hand
and also worldly desires and on the other hand
living sensibly the idea there is soberly not
being drunk with the intoxication of the world
but to have our minds functioning well sensibly
to live sensibly and righteously making right
decisions though everybody else around us may
choose the wrong and also godly though this is
an ungodly age we are to live with God evident
in our lives though there will be those who will
not choose him and who will persecute those who
choose to live godly in Christ Jesus. We are
nonetheless to live with our Lord in the center
of our lives, right now, in the now generation,
in this present age. So we are to live godly,
and secondly, verse 13, we are to be looking
for the blessed hope and the appearing of the
glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.
We're to be looking for Him, folks. finish out
this age. On the one hand, living godly, sensibly,
righteously, denying that which is pressed upon
us by the world, refusing to be conformed to
its mold for us. And on the other hand, as we're
living here, facing the reality of life as it
is now, we're to be looking, looking for His
glorious return. That's a great encouragement.
I am convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ will
come and deliver his own from the coming judgment,
the coming holocaust in the world. We'll be talking
about that perhaps the next time as we think
about our Lord's glorious appearing for which
we are looking. I'd like for us to sing together
tonight a hymn that talks about this, number
248. He'd ask the question, what if it were today?
That's an important question for each of us to
ask ourselves. What if it were today that he
would come? Would I be found of him spotless,
without blame? Would he find me living the way
he wants me to live and looking for his return?
I trust that would be true of every one of us.
Let's stand together as we sing a verse of 248,
What if it were today? Well, we could sing that
last little phrase there, Jesus may come today,
because he may. And if you do not have, my friend,
the assurance of your sins forgiven and your
heart being right with God, if you're not ready
for Him to come, to claim you as one of His redeemed,
His chosen ones, will you tonight give your heart
to Christ? Won't you come and see me afterward
and say, Pastor, I need to be sure about my own
eternal destiny. I'd love to sit down and talk
with you, promise not even to share my cold with
you. But I would love to be able to answer your
questions and open God's Word and show you how
tonight you can joyfully anticipate the return
of the Savior. Let's bow together. And now our
Lord, our great God and Savior, we anticipate
your coming. And we say, glory, glory, oh what
joy that will bring to us. when we see you face
to face.