Signs Pt. 16 - This world will NOT last forever!

Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Mar 13:9  But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.

Mar 13:10  And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

Mar 13:11  But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

Mar 13:12  Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.

Mar 13:13  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Luk 21:12  But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

Luk 21:13  And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

Luk 21:14  Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:

Luk 21:15  For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

Luk 21:16  And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

Luk 21:17  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

Luk 21:18  But there shall not an hair of your head perish.

Luk 21:19  In your patience possess ye your souls.

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Deliver you up to COUNCILS (Civil Authorities) and in the SYNAGOGUES (Church Authorities). Some delivered up to imprisonment, some to death.        Brought before RULERS and KINGS.  This happened and has happened throughout history.  People being delivered to authorities, both religious and civil and YES, some, in fact MANY have been put to death.

This is an ON GOING sign of the world's impending end.

This world will not last forever!  People will NOT going on indefinitely as they are. So many believe that nothing will change in the GRAND scheme of life.  They believe that they will have children and live out their lives as the world changes for good and bad around them and then their children will do the same and then their grand children, great grand children, great, great grand children and so on.  This ISN'T TRUE!

Our world will END. If ANY generation lives not believing that their world is going to end and Jesus is going to return, then where is their HOPE for a life that they KNOW in their hearts SHOULD exist but does not, a life that was abdicated by Adam and Eve and given over to Satan.  We KNOW there should be something BETTER, something PAINLESS in every way- physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  We know this, but so many would much rather believe that everything is as it should be and we just have to deal with it all, suck it up and deal.

We MUST live with the HOPE of our SAVIOR returning!  Every single day that passes for us, is ONE day closer to our Lord's return! This is TRUTH!

False prophets (Again DECEPTION is a being brought up)  False prophets that will rise and DECIEVE many, and this after Jesus had already said 'Take heed that no man deceive you.'

DECEPTION-  Right now, no matter who you are, no matter what your religious affiliation ask yourself if you could leave all religious trappings you have around you and take your Bible and study on your own?  Could you live without any other person's influence? Yes, I'm talking about the favored pastor who seems to have all the wisdom of Solomon and comforting manner of the best healer ever.  Yes, I'm talking about the books, manuscripts, writings that you go to in order to put you on the right track. Yes, I'm talking about the church with all your friends inside it who help you live closer to God.  Can you give it all up? Would you be willing to give all that up and just take your Bible and go into a life where you are ONLY led by GOD and no outside source?  What are your attachments like? Are they hidden under the guise of godliness? Where is your heart, is it filled with the words of man, and not God? If you really cannot imagine yourself living without your spiritual human leader and still remaining God's and God's alone, then you might be caught up in deception. 

Now before you go off half-cocked and get all angry because I'm saying your favored minister is a false prophet, that's NOT what I'm saying. I don't even know your favored minister. What I'm saying is that being deceived is just that YOU ARE DECEIVED!

YOU WON'T KNOW!

Yet we are cautioned more than ONCE by our SAVIOR to make sure we AREN'T deceived! And the only way we can be sure of not being deceived is by knowing the TRUTH in CHRIST and holding to that TRUTH even when the whole world around you is caught up in SATAN'S DECEPTIONS! 

This point obviously cannot be stressed enough.  Jesus is our ONLY HOPE, no one and nothing else!

                                                                        

We will be betrayed by many- including brothers against brothers, fathers against sons, children against parents, friends against friends, relatives against relatives.         

Maybe you live in a family where members hate each other and think nothing of turning each other in to the police for anything at all. Maybe you live in a family where it's normal for you to hate your brother, your sister, your mother, your father.  Maybe you live in a family that has a way of life centered around feuding among each other.   I don't. I live in what I imagine to be an average family where we have our disagreements, our fights, our upsets, our periods of not talking, of angst and whatnot but for the most part we don't let it destroy our love for one another, and we wouldn't dream of turning each other in to any authorities for our religious beliefs. At least I THINK I live in that sort of family. To me the very idea that my son or daughter would betray me is unthinkable. The very idea of my sisters betraying me is absurd! And I have to believe that it would be the same for most families, but we are told that the betrayal among relatives and friends will take place.

We know it takes place and has taken place in religions such as Islam where honor killings in families is going on even today.  But I believe that all those who do hold fast to Christ will face a time such as described and in that day we MUST truth wholly in our SAVIOR and not even THINK about what we will say to those imprisoning us.

                                                                

We will be HATED because we love our SAVIOR - we love the TRUTH that our SAVIOR IS.                                                                        

When we are delivered- we must ENDURE, we must settle it in our hearts NOT to mediate before what will will say to those we are delivered up to (councils or churches), the HOLY SPIRIT, will give us the words to speak                         

                                                

Mar 13:11  But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.                         

The HOLY SPIRIT will USE US!

The HOLY SPIRIT will SPEAK THROUGH US, hey will be HIS WORDS, not our own!

Imagine that, just imagine it for a moment.

We are creatures prone to worry, to premeditate what we are going to say, to get caught up in all the what ifs, and what nots. We have trained ourselves to contemplate what we will say and yet we are being told NOT to do this when we are brought up before councils, before synagogues to testify to our Faith.

This isn't going to be any ol' simple trial either, but a trial of our FAITH, when we are standing against all the DECEIVERS, all those who believe they have the true faith but have been led into deep deception.  All will seem lost to those who are looking from the outside in. They'll want to destroy those who do NOT accept their LIES, their DECEPTIONS.

                                                

Because of iniquity- the love of MANY will wax cold.                                                                        

Love. Jesus' love. True love. Will not be found.  Once deception has taken over someone they are even immune to their own loveless lives. What they believe is love will be anything but God's true love!

The Gospel will be preached in all the world , all the NATIONS for a WITNESS unto all-  THEN the end comes.                

We know from previous studies that the 'times of the NATIONS would be fulfilled when Jerusalem was no longer trodden down of the Gentiles' when Jerusalem was no longer in the hands of the gentiles, and that came to pass after close to a couple thousand years (PLENTY of time for the gospel to be witnessed to all the world).  In 1980 after wars which started in 1948, and another in 1967, a six day war, Jerusalem was back in the control of Israelites. In 1980 the Israelites made Jerusalem their capital- the seat of their government. 

We are living in the last remnant of time now believe it or not, no one will force you to believe, I won't even try to force you. Truth is truth.

                                                        

Enduring to the end- saved.                                                                        

In our patience we possess our souls.                                                                        

If we ENDURE to the END we will be saved!  ENDURANCE.  If we don't have ENDURANCE through our SAVIOR we will NOT be saved. 

In our PATIENCE we will possess our life.

Our patience.

2Pe_3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Longsuffering.

What we might be tempted to call simply suffering, senseless suffering, unnecessary suffering, God calls LONG SUFFERING. 

No, God does not like anything that has to do with sin, not a single thing. Not the results of it, not the  committing of it, not the punishment is warrants, God does NOT LIKE IT AT ALL and that is WHY HE SACRIFICED HIS ONLY SON!  God felt more deeply than any of us ever could feel, the pain, the heartache that sin brings.  All sicknesses, all tortures, all pain in all its forms, God has felt worse than we ever will. We question God and say, why? Why must the innocents suffer.  And God knows why, because sin has allowed suffering and the most innocent of ALL suffered worse than any innocent here can. He knows, He understands and He hurts.  

So why doesn't He just end all the suffering?

Because He's not willing that ANY should perish!

All that will come to Him He will wait for!  He will not let a single person perish that will be saved, that is something He could NEVER do, He paid too high a price for that person. And He will wait for that very last person.  And before you even start to think about how He will know when that last person has accepted His salvation, we know historically that God knows, right down to the very few who are His.

Sodom and Gomorrah- Abraham wanted it spared, but knew that God had a reason for its condemnation, still He couldn't help but ask God to spare it if there were 10 people that were His.  God agreed, but there weren't even 10 people that belonged to God in those cities.  He knows those who are His. And He will wait, He is willing to suffer along with us until the last person is His that will be His. And we… we have to be PATIENT.  Through everything we must have patience, trusting our God, that He will save US and all those who are HIS, loving Him and all His TRUTH!

Please Lord, please help us, save us, be in us all according to YOUR good pleasure!

Luk_12:32  Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Eph_1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will

Eph_1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself

Php_2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

2Th_1:11  Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: