LESSON 14 – WHAT ON EARTH’S GOING TO HAPPEN?
WHAT ON EARTH’S GOING TO HAPPEN?
Here we come to Matthew 24:21-22:
Jesus describes the end of the age to his disciples stating that the end will not be a single event, but rather a chain of events. The scriptures acknowledge that the “desolating sacrilege” Jesus refers to is a man of global prominence who enters the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem & claims the power of Deity. This act is so significant that it provokes the greatest crisis the world will ever face. Jesus says in Matthew 24:21-22:
“Thene there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”
When the “lawless one” takes his position in the temple of God, he will only be expressing what long has lain dormant in human hearts. Although this philosophy is recognizable within us and around us, the act of making a man into a god could never occur today because there are forces at work now which restrain its full realization. It cannot take over as a dominant philosophy of the race until these restraining forces are removed. Remember that Jesus said in the parable of the wheat and tares, the good and evil will grow together until the harvest. Furthermore, in verse 39 he said, “The harvest is the close of the age.” Until that time arrives, good and evil will grow together, but the dominant philosophy is not evil, but good. Only when the harvest arrives will evil be let loose to dominate the earth.
It seems to many that evil triumphs in our day, but despite widespread injustice and the presence of violence and crime, the dominant thinking of our day is not evil, but good. The proof of this is that evil must constantly disguise itself as good for it to survive. Scam artists try to appear respectable. They never boldly label themselves as crooks. Liars strive to appear truthful. Only good is truly acceptable, but evil must deceive and appear what it is not to gain acceptance. This alone is sufficient proof that against the massive power of evil so prevalent today is displayed an even more massive power for good.
Jesus reveals that in the end of the age, it will be different. Evil will reign in triumphant joyfulness, restraints will be set aside, and lawlessness will fill the earth. Horrifying catastrophes will sweep the earth, but man will still not repent. Fear will drive men to further defiance but not to prayer. They will be made happy with the triumph of evil. They will not wish to be delivered, but they do wish to be destroyed.
There are some vivid illustrations from the book of Revelation. One is from Revelation 6:12-17 regarding man’s fear & stubbornness: “When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale; the sky vanished like a scroll that is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountain and the rocks. ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?”
Another gruesome illustration is found in Revelation 11:17-10: “And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will make war upon them [the two witnesses from God] and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. For three days and a half men from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on earth.”
Obviously, these are very different days from those in which we live. So, what is it that restrains human evil today? In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples who were just ordinary men, “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world.” (vv.13, 14). Men have light when they are in touch with the life that comes for Jesus Christ. The apostles were simple men who possessed life, and because they had life, they had light. Because of this, they were salt, arresting corruption. We know the purpose of salt is to stop meat etc. from spoiling, from becoming rotten. So Jesus said they were as salt, molding human thought, challenging and resisting hatred and malice of evil in human affairs. Christians are intended to permeate every level of life. A bible teacher said, they are salt, but salt is of no value while it remains in the saltshaker!
We know that the “desires of the flesh are again the Spirit” (Galatians 5:17). And we also know that the “desires of the Spirit are against the flesh…to prevent us from doing what we would.” The restrainer of evil is the holy spirit within the Christian. Remember in earlier lessons, we know that Christ, the life of Jesus imparted by the Holy Spirit is in us, and the Holy Spirit acts as a dam against the display of evil. Paul told the Thessalonians: “He who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed.” The salt must be taken out of society to allow rottenness to be evident. So how is it that evil is permitted to run rampant? How is the Holy Spirit removed and taken out? The answer comes from many Scriptures. The church is suddenly taken out of the world. It doesn’t mean organized, institutional church. It means the true church, consisting of Christians everywhere who possess, through the new birth the indwelling life of Jesus Christ. It is through such Christians that the Holy Spirit restrains evil is society, so to remove the Christians is to remove the restraints of evil.
We don’t know when this rottenness will occur, and Jesus continually warned against any attempt to set dates, but Paul says that is will be before the Antichrist is revealed. It will be sometime before the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel stands in the holy place. Exactly how long before, no one knows. Late in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus describes in (verses 36-42) and issues a warning that it cannot be tied to a specific date:
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the father. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming [Parousia, presence] of the Son of man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and swept them away, so will be the coming [Parousia, presence] of the Son of man. Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”
The removal of the church is also revealed in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18:
“For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming [Parousia] of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep [died]. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
This means that one whole generation of Christians, will not physically die, but will pass directly into a glorified state, as Jesus did on the Mount of Transfiguration before the astonished eyes of Peter, James and John.
The whole point of our Lord’s revelation of this fantastic event is, “Watch, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Do not be deceived, do not be misled by the lies of unbelief in this day.
Until next time, may love, peace and joy be with you always.