And Then the End Will Come

Matthew 24:9-14 ESV

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

This was Jesus speaking to his disciples in response to their question, “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” So, first he talked about false christs who will lead many people astray, and about wars and rumors of wars, and about nation rising against nation, and of famines and earthquakes, but that these are but the beginning of the birth pains. And personally I believe “false christs” are those who try to take the place of Jesus in people’s hearts, and they may not all claim they are the Christ.

But then those of us who are walking in fellowship with the Lord, who are doing his will, who are following in his ways, and who are no longer living in sin, we will be delivered up to tribulation, and some of us or all of us will ultimately be put to death by those who hate us for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ. But not just for his name, for his name is now being very popularized. But a false christ is largely being taught instead of the Christ of the Scriptures. And so many people are falling in love with this false christ.

And who is this false christ? He is the image that is being painted of Jesus Christ by many false prophets and preachers and teachers, and via movies, videos, books, memes, cartoons, and children’s programs, etc. They have “dumbed him down,” i.e. they have altered and lowered Jesus’ character to make him more acceptable to the ungodly and to human flesh, same as they have done with the message of the gospel, and in order to attract large crowds of people from the world to their gatherings.

So, those of us who are teaching the true character of Jesus Christ and of his gospel message are those who are being hated and put to death (literally or not). And that is because we are contradicting the lies of the enemy with the truth of the Scriptures, and our enemy does not like that, and so he is out to destroy us. And so he will find many different ways to come after us in hopes to put an end to us and to silence us. For he does not want people to hear the truth, but he wants them to believe his lies.

And the enemy’s messengers can be very persuasive, and so many people follow them. And many of them have become convinced that the lies are the truth and the truth is the lie, and that the liars are the good guys while the truth tellers are the bad guys. And so they end up rejecting and casting aside those who are telling them the truth while they are embracing those who are telling them lies. And then people who are to love one another end up hating and betraying one another, and this is where we are now.

And the BIG LIE that is largely being spread, at least across America, is that we can “believe” in Jesus Christ – “belief” not usually biblically defined – and now all our sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and heaven is now guaranteed us when we die, but regardless of how we live. But that is not the gospel message that Jesus and his NT apostles taught. They taught we must die with Christ to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, in obedience to him, if we want salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

And because of what they are teaching, and because many of them are even teaching that we don’t have to repent of our sins, and we don’t have to obey God, and that no works are required of us by God at all, lawlessness has increased, and the love of many has grown cold, in particularly of those who have gotten trapped into sexual sin and idolatry and who love their idols but who hate those they are supposed to love. So they end up hating the godly and accepting the ungodly, instead.

But we have to endure to the end if we want to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God. We have to remain strong in the Lord and steadfast in faith to the very end. We must continue to walk now according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, and to die daily to sin and to self and to follow our Lord in obedience. We must not give way to the enemy of our souls or give up just because things got a whole lot harder. But we must persevere in the strength of the Lord.

And I love this part here where it says that the gospel of the kingdom of God will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. And I do know that the truth of the gospel is still being taught by a minority of followers of Christ, and that, via the internet, it is going out to people throughout the world, but I don’t know if it has reached every nation yet. But when it does, the end will come, according to the Scriptures. And us who follow Christ in truth have the hope of heaven.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387