Second coming; A contemporary look at the coming of Christ- Part 2

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Second coming; A contemporary look at the coming of Christ

Text: John 14:1-3

Introduction

As I mentioned in my previous sermon also the four cardinal doctrines of the Assemblies of God are Salvation, Divine Healing, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Second Coming of Christ. Erroneous date-setters have inhibited many pastors from preaching on this subject lest they be grouped with those fanatics. BUT, HE IS STILL COMING! The recent world-wide revival plays into this picture; it is one of the signs of the imminent return of Christ. But there are many others, equally significant. In the next few weeks we will examine several.

I. The re-birth of the nation of Israel

A. Dispersion was God’s promised punishment

1. Leviticus 26:14, 33 (Promised if they ignored His commandments)

2. Deuteronomy 4:27,28 (To be scattered among the nations)

3. Deuteronomy 28:64-68 (Their lot to be unpleasant)

4. The Dispersion should not have caught Israel by surprise.

B. The Re-gathering was also promised by God

1. Ezekiel 37:12,13, 21,22

2. Jeremiah 23:3 “And I will gather the remnant . . . ”

C. All the end-time prophecies were contingent upon Israel’s return to the Promised Land.

D. How it happened

1. Prior to world war-1 Arabs occupied Palestine

2. In 1918 England took possession & Jews started home

3. During world war 2 the Jews running from Hitler fled to Israel

4. By 1948 they were strong enough to declare Independence from Great Britain.

5. In April, 1948 a group of men met under the sanction of the U.N. to form a nation for the millions of Jews pouring into the Middle East. When asked what would be the name of the new nation, one replied, “She shall be called Israel!” And so it was! One month later the nation of Israel was born.

6. Former Chief Rabbi in Israel, Col. Shlomo Goren said,

The last days, the Age of the Messiah, have come. We are starting the Messianic era now. We are accomplishing it according to the Bible. The signs are 3 fold.

(1)    The acquisition of the Holy Land (1948)

(2)    The establishing of a Jewish government

(3)    The in gathering of exiles

The second stage will be marked by the reconstitution of the Sanhedrin, the special Jewish court in matters of the Jewish faith. It has not been recalled since the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in A.D. 70. He believes the third stage will be the building of the third Temple. This he says, will not be a mere human building, but will be accomplished with the hand of God.

E. The Reconstruction of the Third Temple

1. Because of the many references to the Temple in Revelation, many believe it will be reconstructed in the end-time.

2. If Israel is God’s barometer of time, the pressure is falling fast, something earth-shaking is about to happen!

II. The increasing rate of natural disasters

A. Famines, Pestilence and Calamities

1. Consider Somalia, Angola, Sri Lanka, Haiti

2. The AIDS epidemic is sweeping the world!

3. Natural disasters and plagues: Tsunami, Dengue, Swine flu

4. The deterioration of the ozone layer

B. Matt. 24:7 “…earthquakes in various places…”

1. Prior to 1950 . . . 2.3 quakes per decade (6.0 Richter)

2. 1950′s . . . there were 9

3. 1960′s . . . there were 13

4. 1970′s . . . there were 51

5. 1980′s . . . there were 86

6. 1990′s-2009 (so far) have been over 250!

C. Like increasing birth pangs, the earth is groaning for release

III. Availability of nuclear power

A. Matt. 24:29,30 ” . . . sun darkened . . .”

B. II Peter 3:10-12 ” . . . the earth . . . laid bare. . .”

C. It was bad enough when Russia alone had that capability, now they have sold it to the highest bidder.

D. You can find a recipe for an atomic bomb on the Internet

E. It’s not a matter of “If” some fanatic terrorist will detonate a nuclear bomb some where in the world, but “When?” and “Where?”

IV. increase of knowledge and travel

A. Knowledge: Dan. 12:4 ” . . . shall be increased . . .”

1. In one long lifetime man has developed

a. Travel

b. Communication

c. Media & Information technology (I can carry in my pocket a one gigantic library.)

V. Revival of the cults and the occult (2 Timothy 4:3)

A. Definition: “counterfeit spirituality”; Satan’s substitute

B. Hillary Clinton’s recent consultation with fortune tellers

C. Republicans, don’t shout too loud; remember Mrs. Reagan?

D. Our educational system has expunged Christianity from our academics and replaced it with Secular Humanism and New Age thought.

E. Examine the latest catalog of course offerings from Santa Fe Community College and find out how many New Age and Occultic courses are being offered. Quite a few!

F. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today!

VI. Moral corruption: 2 Tim. 3:1-6

A. Too few moral restraints in our society

B. The lyrics to the rock songs are too filthy to repeat

C. Nudity, illicit sex and vile language punctuate nearly every movie in the local Cinema halls.

D. Prime time sitcoms make a mockery of morality and Christianity.

E. Homosexuality, living together, prostitution has become a part of life.

F. Abortion rate has reached the peak!

G. Worse yet! The morality of the world has infiltrated the church. (Like a mullet from a muddy river, the taste of the mud is in the fish.)

VII. Parallel apostasy and revival

A. Apostasy: (2 Tim. 3:5) “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” The majority of those who call themselves Christian today have only a form.

B. Revival: (Joel 2:28 & Acts 2:17) “…in the last days…I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh…”