EASTPORT BAPTIST CHURCH                                   AND PRESCHOOL

"LOVING GOD BY LOVING HIS PEOPLE"                 

the end of the age

Last week we talked about you have to have a beginning before you have an end.

We reviewed God’s plan to bring in a new creation

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

God is in the business of creation and that is what he is still doing …he’s creating a new creature…that would be us his children.

That plan has taken thousands of years to complete and it’s not finished yet…

But just as in making anything there are stages and these stages are called dispensations.

We have been involved in this present stage called the church age.

It is where believers in Christ, with the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, have gone through out the world witnessing and giving testimony to what Christ has done for us at the cross of Calvary.

Matthew 28:19-20  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

That has been the Job of Christians for the last 2000 years.

J And now since God has been declared dead;

J Since he has been removed from our schools;

J Since he has been ruled out of our court systems;

J Since it is now coming to a point that it’s against the Law to preach about how wrong it is to kill children unborn or born (depending upon the mothers intent or how unsuccessful the doctor is):

J Since it’s becoming a matter of hate crime to simply tell someone that God loves them but he hates the sin and we are being intolerant;

J Since the church is in a state of decline, I really think we can look at the words of Jesus in that scripture and quote “until the end of the world”, look at what is happing and say whoa, we must be getting pretty darn close.

But we are not close to the end of the world…we are close to the end of the church age.

Just as civilizations from the beginning of civilization there has always been a rise and fall.

The Sumerian civilization

The Greek civilization

The Roman civilization

The age of the church beginning with Christ on the cross and ending with the death of the United States.

You say how do we know that the church is at the end of its purpose?

I believe we can go back to the book of Matthew again for some  insight.

Mt 24:1 ¶ And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mt 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Mt 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Mt 24:4 ¶ And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mt 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Mt 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mt 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mt 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mt 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.
Mt 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mt 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mt 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mt 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mt 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.

You can ask the question what makes today different from any other time in history when a civilization failed.

J There have always been wars and rumors of wars.

J There have always been false prophets.

J There have always been times where iniquity has abounded and love has gone…

o   Think of Germany and Adolph Hitler.

o   If you were a Jew there was not love

o   And Hitler was has been the biggest false Prophet in the last 75  years.

So why do I believe that the end of the church age is near…that we are coming close to what the bible says is the return of Christ for His children?

Mt 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.

Never before in history has the Gospel been preached to every corner of the world…

Never before in history has man had the chance to accept by faith Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as they have today.

Never before have missionaries transversed the continents and placed new testaments in the hands of so many people, in so many languages, giving the hope of our blessed savior.  

I believe that when you add up all the other prophesies and add this one verse to it…then and only then do you have the recipe for the end of the age and the return of Christ. 

Now you may say what about the tribe in the Amazon that has never been found or someone who has not heard the word of God yet….

It doesn’t say the word will be preached to every person though I believe that every person has had the opportunity or will have the opportunity to accept or reject Jesus before their time is up.

I don’t believe that God will allow one soul to slip into hell with out hearing the Gospel.

The Gospel has been preached from the north and to the South Pole and everything in between.

The Gospel has been preached

The end of this church age is coming

And Christ will and is going to return

The question has been and always will be and not if he is coming...but When?

Turn to 2^nd Thessalonians  2:1 

Now there is a lot of scripture there and we could spend days and months on those words in second Thessalonians and we will see some specifics that lead us to the conclusion that time is at hand….

2Th 2:1 ¶ Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

First we will see there is a gathering.

What kind of gathering…I believe it will be a separation of the church…we will soon not physically but spiritually in our beliefs come to an agreement of doctrine…the church will separate itself from other denominations as we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ.

We will agree on.

Creeds of Christendom (Vol 1)
The Apostles' Creed.

upon these beliefs Gods true church will take form and the liberalism of the church of the day the false churches that will send a soul to hell will turn on the true church.

2Th 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

Here all that is say is fear not…for God is in control  

2Th 2:3 ¶ Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

My question is …is there a falling away…

Is there a falling away …are people being lead astray…are people believing in man or in God more and more.

You can say that when the falling away takes place or is it taking place the son of perdition…or simply the son of hell…

 He will be reveled…

Is that time coming?

Is that time here?

Folks it is time to preach fundamentals.

2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

1.    What is it that with holds the man of sin from taking power?

2.    What would it be like if the police force suddenly disappears over night?

3.    What is it that Paul is talking about that withholds satan from taking complete control of this earth in which we live?

4.    what is the he that will be taken out of the way?

Church it is the Holy Spirit…

The power of the Holy Spirit is what is holding back the son of perdition so that people may be saved.

And where does the Holy Spirit live…

It lives in Gods Church

Here church is a picture of the rapture….

When God calls his church home to be with him…the Holy Spirit is taken with the church and the son of hell now has the authority to rule over the earth…

The church age has come to its conclusion.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The church has Gone….God turns his focus on the Jewish nation and all those who have turned there noses up to God will now face the wrath of God. God will send them what they want…the anti Christ.

I will stop here for today…

 These are signs and there are a lot more that we will pick up on in the next couple of weeks…

The point I make today is that Jesus is coming.

We are at the end of the church age…

Life will not go on as it always has…

The United States which was once blessed by God is now turning its back upon our lord and savior.

All I can say…are you ready for Christ to return?

The end of the age part 2

Mt 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Mt 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mt 24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mt 24:18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mt 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Mt 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mt 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mt 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Mt 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Mt 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mt 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
Mt 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mt 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mt 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mt 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mt 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mt 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mt 24:32 ¶ Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mt 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mt 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mt 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mt 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mt 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mt 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
Mt 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mt 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mt 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mt 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Mt 24:43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

Mt 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Mt 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mt 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Mt 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Mt 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mt 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mt 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mt 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.