Matthew 24:1-8

¹ “Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ² But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

³ “As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” ⁴ And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.”

As I shared with you last week, there are 8 specific prophetic events that have not yet been fulfilled. Since God can neither lie, be mistaken, nor break a promise, these events will take place exactly as God says they will in HIS Holy Word:

#1: The Rapture of the Church when every believer who as died will be raised from the dead and every believer still alive will be transformed into our glorified body and caught up to be forever with the Lord!

Cf. 1^st Thessalonians 4:13-18

#2: The Tribulation when God (to fulfill HIS own purposes) will allow the antichrist to come to world-wide power and begin persecuting the Nation of Israel and those who come to faith in Jesus Christ!

Cf. Daniel 9:21-27; Matthew 24:1-14; (Mark 13:1-13; Luke 21:5-19) Revelation 6 – 19

#3: The Battle of Armageddon where Jesus will return physically to earth and destroy the antichrist and his armies!

Cf. Revelation 16:12-16; 17:12-14; 19:11-21

#4: The Sheep and Goat Judgment when Jesus separates HIS people from unbelievers following the Battle of Armageddon!

Cf. Matthew 25:31-46

#5: The Millennial Kingdom when Jesus will fulfill God’s Covenant with David that one of his sons will sit upon the Throne of Israel and rule in righteousness forever!

Cf. 2^nd Samuel 7:4-17; Daniel 2:44; Revelation 20:1-6

#6: The Battle of Gog and Magog which comes at the end of the Millennial Kingdom when Satan is released out of his prison to gather all of the unsaved people on earth for a final rebellion against God and HIS Christ. He and his armies will be destroyed and he, himself, will be cast into the Lake of Fire forever!

Cf. Revelation 20:7-10

#7: The Great White Throne Judgment where the unsaved dead of all ages will stand before God to be assigned their eternal punishments in the Lake of Fire!

Cf. Revelation 20:11-15

#8: The Eternal State where following the unsaved dead are judged and cast into the Lake of Fire, the saints of God are taken to live with HIM and the Holy Angels in the New Jerusalem forever and forever!

Cf. Revelation 21 – 22

The sermon for this coming Lord’s Day will answer several questions about this much discussed, but little understood passage!

(24:1-3)

Why does Jesus ignore the very first question that HE is asked by HIS disciples?

– Why was HE leaving the Temple?

– Has HIS prophecy about the destruction of the Temple been literally fulfilled?

– If so, what does that mean about the way HIS other prophecies about the end times will be fulfilled?

– HE is focused on the future; on what were HIS disciples focused?

THE BIG QUESTION! If Jesus knows the future, how does HE know these things?

(24:4-8)

What are the three “Signs” HE says will “begin to take place” in Luke 21:28

What can we imply from HIS illustration of “Birth Pains?”

I deeply appreciate the many kind words about the introductory sermon in this series last week! I pray that you will find all six of these sermons to just as interesting and informative!

REMEMBER: Prophecy is the ONE Bible topic in which your unsaved family and friends will be interested… now, is a great time to invite them to come with you and learn the answers to these – and many more – of their questions about the future!

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!