Text:  Matthew 24:29-31

Subject: “Joyful Anticipation of the End Times,” Part V

Introduction:

 

In our last message, we defined “the abomination that causes desolation” by answering four important questions.

1. Where is this important event first revealed in scripture? Daniel 9:24-27. From this text we see that “the abomination that causes desolation” occurs in the final seven (7) years of the four hundred and ninety (490) years that God decreed for the Jewish nation and the city of Jerusalem.  Four hundred and eighty three (483) of those years were fulfilled with the first coming of Jesus the Messiah. But the last seven (7) years will be completed with the second coming of Jesus. The last seven (7) years COULD NOT be fulfilled until Israel supernaturally became a nation again in 1948, after almost two thousand (2000) years of not being a nation,  and until the Jews miraculously retook control of Jerusalem again in 1967 for the first time since 70AD![1]

 

2. What is “the abomination that causes desolation?” II Thessalonians 2:1-4. Simply said, it will occur when the Antichrist (he will not be known as that by the world) breaks his seven year covenant (likely a seven year peace treaty that offers Israel security with her hostile Muslim neighbors) by going into the rebuilt Jewish Temple and proclaiming himself to be “God.” This will be an “abomination” to God when this takes place, and it will set in motion the most intense “desolation” that the earth has ever known! The Antichrist will make war on all who refuse to worship him as “God,” and God will release His judgments on all who do! This will be the Great Tribulation period.

 

3. When will “the abomination that causes desolation” take place? Daniel 9:27; Revelation 13:5. According to Daniel 9:27, it will take place at the midpoint of Daniel’s 70^th week or in the middle of the last seven (7) years of the four hundred and ninety (490) years decreed for the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem. And Revelation 13:5 tells us that “the abomination that causes desolation” will last for forty two (42) months or three and one half  (3 ½) years.

 

4. What is the relevance of “the abomination that causes desolation” to the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus?

 

The short answer to that question is this: according to II Thessalonians 2:1-4 and Matthew 24:15, 29-31, the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus CANNOT take place UNTIL “the abomination of desolation” has occurred. That means that the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus will take place at THE END of the Tribulation Period and NOT BEFORE.

 

And as we said in our last message, how exciting and encouraging it will be to the Church when we see on the news “the abomination that causes desolation.” When the Antichrist walks into the rebuilt Jewish Temple and proclaims himself to be “God,” then we will KNOW that we are only three and one half years (3 ½), forty two months (42), and one thousand two hundred and sixty days (1260) away from being reconciled with loved ones who are already with the Lord; from receiving our new and eternal bodies and from seeing the Lord Jesus Himself!

 

“The abomination that causes desolation,” although the beginning of the most intense and difficult time the earth has ever known, will be an amazing sign that will actually give strength and hope to all of those who are looking for the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus!

 

As I have said in previous messages, the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus will be the most outwardly significant event that has happened since God spoke the time and space universe into existence. It will be, to say the very least, the most stunning revelation of the glory and power of God that the world has ever seen!

 

Let’s pray that God will now give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation to further see what He has planned for the end of the age.

 

I want to begin by trying to gain some sense of where the world will be when the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus takes place. What will the world look like when the Lord returns to the earth?

 

According to verse 29 of Matthew 24, it will be a time of “distress” on the earth. “Immediately AFTER the distress of those days . . .” the days that began with “the abomination that causes desolation”—when the Antichrist proclaims himself to be “God” in the rebuilt Jewish Temple. The actual Greek word for “distress,” is “thlipsis.” It is translated “tribulation” in the KJV. It means pressure, anguish, persecution and trouble. Again, this will be the last three and one half years (3 ½) of the final seven years prophesied in Daniel 9:27.

And as we saw in Revelation 13:5-8, “The Beast (Antichrist) was given a mouth to utter proud words and exercise his authority for forty two (42) months.  He opened his mouth to blaspheme God and to slander His Name and His dwelling place and those who live in Heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And He was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All the inhabitants of the earth will worship the Beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb slain from the creation of the world.”

 

The last world empire—the Beast kingdom led by the Beast or Antichrist—will negatively affect the whole world either directly or indirectly. Imagine ISIS or ISIL as a world empire and you will have a glimpse of the Antichrist kingdom that will be in power the last forty two (42) months of this age. It will be a time of “distress” in the world but especially in the Middle East. According to Revelation 12, Israel and the Church will be the two people-groups that will be the primary targets of the Antichrist. Even now, you can see the antichrist spirit at work in anti-Semitism and anti-Christian bias and persecution.

 

Now at the same time that the Beast or the Antichrist, who is claiming to be “God,” is causing such chaos and distress among the nations by trying to force the world to worship him, God is also sovereignly at work. How so? The book of the Revelation tells us that God is causing desolation for an unbelieving world by releasing divine judgment through seven (7) seals and seven (7) trumpets. (This is setting things up for the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus)

 

I’m going to very simply list them for you with only a brief explanation of what they are. It is not my intent here to go into a deep theological, exegetical explanation.

 

Revelation chapter six (6).   (The Lamb (Jesus) sovereignly breaks the seals!)

1. First Seal—the rider on the white horse, the Antichrist, is released to begin his mass deception of the world. His speech will be smooth, like Hitler, but war will be in his heart!

2. Second Seal—the red horse in which the rider takes peace away from the earth (war).

3. Third Seal—the black horse, famine.

4. Fourth Seal—the pale horse, death and hades where ¼ of the earth’s population is killed by war, famine, disease, and by the wild beasts of the earth.[2]

5. Fifth Seal—martyrdom, those who will be killed because of the Word of God and the testimony that they maintained.

6. Sixth Seal—an earthquake; the sun turning black and the moon blood red; the stars—could be comets and meteorites—falling from the sky; the sky itself being ripped open.

Many Bible commentators see these seals and their effects associated with nuclear war. However they may come and whatever they are, we know that one reason for them is the Antichrist claiming to be “God” and trying to force the world to worship him as such. However, we also know that these seals are the sovereign and divine judgments of God on an unbelieving and rebellious world. And as we will soon see, they are setting the stage for the stunning return of God’s Son and the Rapture of His Church at the end of the age.

 

After the release of the six seals, in Revelation seven (7), God sends His angels to seal the remnant of Israel who will be saved—thus fulfilling His promise that there will always be an Israel.[3] Beloved, “the abomination that causes desolation” will begin a very difficult time for the Jewish people. The Antichrist will do all that he can to wipe them off of the face of the earth! You can actually hear this satanic hatred daily in the news in the vitriolic speech of Islamic extremists. But the devil’s plan will not succeed![4]

 

7. Seventh Seal—this is the half hour of silence in Heaven. Many commentators believe that this is the “deep breath” before the intensity on earth goes to another level in the seven (7) trumpet judgments.

(The seventh seal and the seven (7) trumpet judgments begin in Revelation chapter 8. You have the seventh seal followed by a description of the church interceding before the seven (7) trumpets are sounded).

 

1. First Trumpet—in this judgment, one third (1/3) of the earth is burned with fire. Again, this could be nuclear war.

2. Second Trumpet—this is the judgment on the oceans and the sea life.

3. Third Trumpet—this is judgment on one third (1/3) of the fresh water supply.

4. Fourth Trumpet—judgment on the sun, moon, and stars and how that this judgment affects the people living on the earth.

5. Fifth Trumpet—judgment on all those who do not belong to God, possibly through some kind of modern warfare—perhaps through chemical weapons.

6. Sixth Trumpet—the release of a two hundred million (200,000,000) man army—possibly from China and Asia, with the result of one third (1/3) of mankind being killed.

 

It is in this context (“distress” and “desolation” in the world like never before) that will set the stage for the seventh (7) and final trumpet being sounded!

 

 

Revelation 10:5-7 “Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, ‘there will be no more delay. But in the days that the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery (what has not yet been known) will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.’”

 

Revelation 11:15,18 “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet,[5] and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever. . . v.18 The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your Name, both small and great—and for destroying those who destroy the earth.’”

 

Now let’s go to our text in Matthew 24:29-31. With the earth reeling from the Seal and Trumpet judgments—the atmosphere, land, water, and of course mankind profoundly impacted—possibly from nuclear exchange among the nations; with the Antichrist still trying to wipe out the Jewish remnant; and with a church that has been attacked relentlessly and ruthlessly by the Beast, it happens. The Seventh Trumpet sounds!

 

Matthew 24:30 “At that time. . . ” What time? (The time we have been describing in this message) “. . . The sign of the Son of Man (Jesus, the Messiah and Son of God) will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They WILL SEE the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a LOUD TRUMPET CALL[6] and they will gather His elect[7] from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” Try and imagine this climactic, stunning and world changing event if you possibly can?

 

Beloved, this is the Feast of Trumpets, the next feast to be fulfilled on God’s prophetic calendar.[8] And as we have said in a previous message, it will be judgment for the world but blessing and reward for the people of God—for both those who have fallen asleep as well as for those who are still alive on the earth when He comes.

 

 

 

Following the Feast of Trumpets, ten (10) days later, Jesus will save the remnant of Israel from the Antichrist, thus fulfilling the Day of Atonement! It is my belief that the Lord will begin in modern day Jordan (ancient Bozrah)[9] and move forward to Jerusalem,one hundred and twenty miles (120), pouring out the seven (7) bowls of wrath—the final seven (7) judgments of God—killing the armies of the Antichrist as He goes. He will then kill the Antichrist himself! Five days later, He will begin the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles and the beginning of the thousand (1,000) golden years of the earth being under the leadership of the Greater Solomon—Jesus Christ the Jewish Messiah!

 

I will conclude this message by telling you how that you can have joyful anticipation in the last of the last days (3 ½ years, 42 months, and 1260 days from the time of “the abomination that causes desolation”) in spite of the fact that this will be a time of “distress.”

 

1. First, as we have seen previously, the last days will end with the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus to save Israel and the Church.

2. Secondly, as we see the numbered judgments of the Seals and Trumpets being fulfilled before our very eyes we will know that the Feast of Trumpets will soon become a reality. Can you imagine the pure excitement and anticipation as we realize that the eternal plan of God is at the door! The Church will be a place of genuine purity and power in those climactic days! I don’t think holiness will be a problem!

3. Third, just to think that YOU will literally witness and EXPERIENCE the Rapture and Second Coming –whether from Heaven or on the earth—can and should fill you with joy unspeakable and full of glory!

 

Beloved, when Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation Period and appears in the sky with great power and glory, and shouts or commands His New Creation to come forth, it will be the greatest event that the world has ever witnessed. And you and I will literally be part of it!

 

So yes, a thousand (1,000) times yes: we will have joyful anticipation in the end times! For the best, the very best is yet to come!

              

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[1] Mark Twain once said, “If you want proof of God, look no further than the Jews.”

 

 

[2] With the current population of just over seven (7) billion people, that would mean that about 1.8 billion people would be killed.

[3] Genesis 17:7-8

[4] Romans 11:25-27

[5] Keep in mind that the number seven (7) in the Bible is the number of completeness.

[6] See further I Thessalonians 4:16; I Corinthians 15:52; Revelation 11:15.

[7] Of the twenty two (22) times this word is used in the NT, it is clear that it is referring to believers and not Israel.

[8] Jesus fulfilled, 1.Passover, 2.Unleavened Bread, 3. First Fruits, and 4. Pentecost, with His first coming.   

[9] Isaiah 63:1-6