Eschatology series part 1 Matthew 24 1 8

We're gonna be in Matthew chapter 24 this morning Matthew chapter 24 and we're beginning our study on Eschatology now,

I need to explain some things to you number one, this is a

Theology what's the difference between a doctrine and theology? Witten wake up.

What's the difference between a doctrine and theology? There you go, listen a

Doctrine in the God's Word is something that's from Genesis to Revelation It is mentioned the entire way through and it follows the law of logic of non contradiction in other words when someone says to you by grace,

I am saved through faith and I went and got baptized and joined the local

Baptist Church that also saved me That is a contradiction if grace saved you works can't

Bunny do these more. I feel like I'm screaming at people Not yet, but I will

So that is a doctrine theology, which so many insecure little

Bible nerds Am I doing something wrong? Okay Someone yell pull because I'm fixing the

There's the microphone God bless it praise Jesus. I'll stand right here.

That's cool All right So in other words theology the thing that has divided God's people is how we study

Doctrines and the paradigms that we see those doctrines through that's why so many people get hung up on religion now for those of you

That are new here. Let me tell you all religion is full of crap I don't care what it's called Baptist Methodist Pentecostal Catholic Mormon, whatever

Religion never saved anyone. Dr. Dawkins that eminent idiot from England did get that one thing right in the

God delusion the idea that religion can save anybody is not found anywhere in Scripture so theology is how we look at things

Doctrine is what God is trying to tell us now if you're one of those folks that have ever gone to a

Bible study and there's a group of upper middle -class yuppies with decaf coffee and coffee cakes sitting around opening the

Bible and they read a passage of Scripture and then some person sits there and says what does this mean to you?

You need to pack up your stuff and leave because what it means to us as individuals is irrelevant

Harmonetically of what God intended us to understand So we are here to try to figure out what

God says Not what Pastor Jeff says of the Baptist Church or Witten or whatever else theology is running in the world.

We want to understand What God? Intended the meaning to say now in discussing this we are going to get into theology because I'm here to tell you

No matter what left behind or Nostradamus tells you there are some things we don't know

We just don't know and if someone says to you, yes, I do know help them unwrap that weed and get out of their mama's basement and get a job because The Word of God says we do not know something

We do not know when Jesus will come back if anyone tells you different they're lying to you

But we can know some things God's Word is very clear on some things and the study of in times is talked about from Genesis to Revelation so to dismiss it is to dismiss it at the church's own

Parable peril so number one. Let me go with some theology.

Does anyone need one of these sheets and doesn't have one? Wow, really cool

Sweet brother Al you are a stud everybody love brother out man gotta love brother out

I want to just give you three concepts and it full disclosure Tell you where I'm at.

Okay. Number one millennial theology This is the overview and there's three major sections in which

Christianity Orthodox Christianity Actually differs on it's called this it's called premillennial

Postmillennial and I'm millennial theology and it's really stupid simple. Even you

Arkansas folks can understand this stay with me Basically, we all agree that Jesus is coming back one day.

We all agree to that. We all know Doctrinally that it is crystal clear that Jesus Christ is coming back and he's not coming back as a widdle man in a manger or the lamb or He's coming back as the lion of the tribe of Judah He is coming back to kick butt to bubblegum and he had a bubblegum you with me

That's we all agree that he's coming back what we Differ on is when that will occur in the sequence of events now

I am a premillennialist and I will tell you that that theology is in the minority of Scholars today and that's because they're wrong

But premillennial and basically says this from Jesus Christ to today right now is called the church age

Okay at some point in the near future and I believe very near I believe that the church will be raptured the

Antichrist will be revealed and we will go through Seven years of hell on earth that the world has never seen after those seven years

Jesus second coming the second Advent will occur and he will usher in a

Millennial reign here on earth. It's called premill because Jesus comes back before Mississippi Alabama fans comes back before the thousand -year reign gig 'em number two

There is post millennialism. Have I lost anybody yet? Is everybody with me?

Burnett's help out the blondes. All right, stay with me All right, post millennialism is simply this that there is an arbitrary or figurative literal

Arbitrary or figurative thousand years that the world is just going to keep getting better and better and better By the preaching of God's Word and we're all going to turn into Bellevue Christians and we're all gonna love each other and be a bunch of hippie

Christians Then Jesus is going to come back and you can see in the world today that that there is no evidence of that but we got to let the hippies have their theology as to and then the most

Widely held belief at least in the last 20 years is called Amillennialism and basically amillennialism says this that there is no antichrist tribulation blah blah blah blah blah

We're all just gonna keep going and one day God's gonna sit there and go Jesus no, and Jesus didn't come back and that's it.

Those are the three main views once again, I believe Premillennial theology is the most accurate now.

There are people here that don't agree with that and guess what? It's cool It ain't like saying something like I believe

Jesus the only way and you believe that in Pantheism or you believe everybody's it's not heresy

Theology is not heresy unless it goes against doctrine. Does that make sense

Jeff? Are you with me? He's an Alabama fan. So I know the lowest common denominator is getting it

All right. So now starting in Matthew chapter 24 God Starting in Matthew chapter 24.

Let's read together Chapter 24 verse 1 as Jesus left and was going out of the temple complex.

His disciples came up and called his attention to the temple buildings Then he replied to them.

You see all these things I assure you not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down While he was sitting on the

Mount of Olives disciple approached him privately and said tell us when will these things happen and What is the sign of your coming and the end of the age then

Jesus replied to them? Watch out that no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying

I am the Messiah And they will deceive many and you are going to hear of wars and rumors of war see that you're not alarmed

Chill out. Stay calm carry on because these things must take place

But the end is not yet for nation will rise up against nation

Kingdom against kingdom there will be famines earthquakes in various places

All these events are the beginning of birth pains now Let's logically go through some things here for a second

And if you want to write these things down or type them into your phone, these are key characteristics that we must understand one of the reason

I am a Premillennialist is because I believe in Harmonutix Harmonutix is a legal and literary and theological comprehension that are rules for interpreting anything one of the rules is context and Words mean things in Context here.

The first thing I want you to notice is this the disciples asked three questions now

Let me paint a picture for you. This is the last time Jesus was ever going to be in the temple the last time he as he was walking out the disciples said

Dude, check this out now to understand the context or the back story about why they said that to Jesus is because of this all

All The way back in Deuteronomy all those years ago they worshiped

God in a tent Okay, that's basically how they did it and then over time God sat there and said well

We're gonna build a place and they finally King David in 1010 BC King David took over this place called

Jebusite Which became Jerusalem and on Mount Moriah, which is where Abraham was going to sacrifice

Isaac they built Solomon built a temple you fast -forward about 500 years and God's people and this is going to be strange to you, but God's people started getting arrogant

I know that's a hard concept to understand They started getting divisive and arrogant and they started treating

God's Word with contempt and they basically started saying things like this Well, I know the Bible says this but I feel

I think I believe our times are different now So that and they started disobeying the

Word of God and God said people you better get ready Because if you don't repent bad things are fitting to happen well

These dudes called Babylonians came in smacked the Jews around burnt down the temple and it was just laid waste to Jerusalem Over the years through Nehemiah and Ezra They tried to rebuild it and they did but it was kind of more like the difference between this room and Bellevue Baptist Church Right.

I mean it was just it wasn't the same. Well, the Romans came in now. I'm fast -forwarding.

Am I losing you? Y 'all with me. All right. Come on. Come on. Hang with me. Take an Adderall. Stay with me

All right. So fast forward to the Roman times the Romans come in. They're taking over the whole known world.

They come into Jerusalem and They take over that area. Well to keep the

Jews peaceful They they got a king named Herod and in 16

BC They said dude make the Jews cool You see all the Romans wanted were two things pay your taxes and don't revolt and we'll all get along just fine

You worship whatever God you want. It was the beginning of the Mafia you do whatever you want to do

Just pay me my money. And so this guy named Herod started building this temple now when he did this

When he did this he goes man, we're gonna build this right because God Must be worshipped in a really cool building.

And so he didn't just build a Witten He didn't just build a Bellevue. He built a

National Cathedral if you look on your little paper here This is an outline of what that used to be

And if you look over in this kind of courtyard area, you remember Jesus turning over temples? Well, that's our turning over tables.

That's where it happened. So this massive complex man. It was huge It was about 35 acres and the stones that were quarried

In fact, you can look at this little picture down here You can actually see three timelines right here

The largest stones at the bottom were the original temple stones set up by Solomon Nehemiah and Ezra the next layer of stones were the ones set up by Herod in the time that we're talking about in the

Little itty bitty stones at the top Those are the ones that were actually put up there during the

Crusades of the Middle Ages By the way, you can get on a little plane fly over there right now

Millennials and touch it It's still there that which is spoke about in the Word of God is still there to this day

Now the reason I'm saying all that to you is this go back to verse 1 again

Jesus is in the temple with his disciples They're walking out this grand massive thing and the disciples look at Jesus and go

Dude, we're America. We're number one Look at this temple, baby.

We are the best of the best of the best flex We're dripping or drip,

I don't know how to say it, but I ain't flogging you we the best I Jesus sat there and said hey dork.

I'm telling you there's a day coming There's a day coming when not one stone would be left upon another

Within the post -millennial view set they say that this already happened in 70 AD if that has let me ask you a logical question

How is it that all of us are looking at a picture right now of the original stone some of them standing one on top of another

I'll let give you a minute. Let that sink in What's happening in Matthew 24 has not happened yet If we were to study all of this history and you to understand everything and I sold to you

Well, it's already happened. It's no big deal. I'm wasting my time in the time of this sermon yet.

Here's the reality It hadn't happened yet and the butt -kicking that's coming for those who've rejected

Christ is something that's for real Some of you sitting in this room some of you who attend here every

Sunday are as lost as a goose in high weeds Because you prayed some silly prayer when you were a kid

You walked down the aisle while someone was playing the slow Melodic hymn and you asked

Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord and Savior you got baptized You even went to Sunday school

But you know what? Nothing really changed in your life and You have been led into a deceitful understanding of what it is really to be a

Christian You see I'm preaching this sermon today. I'm not here to entertain you I'm here to warn you that there is a

God you're not him and he's coming back and unless you are prepared with the reality of Jesus Christ sola fede sola sola scriptura

Only by God's Word. Are you gonna know the absolute truth? You're going to go to hell and you can sit there and say well

I don't believe that or I feel or my pastor taught and all of that ain't gonna make a hell of beans difference standing before a holy and righteous

God So we're not just doing this so you can be intellectually superior to other people for some of us

It is a warning of impending doom damnation number two

I want you to notice this There are three questions that are asked the disciples and once again in harmoneutical context

Jesus sits there and he has a mic drop moment He sits there and sees you see these stones one's not going to be left upon the other mic drop

Disciples are like what and they don't say anything the next verse it says they're on the

Mount of Olives So what happened is Jesus made that statement? He walked west out of the temple complex down the

Valley of Kidron up to Mount Olives by the way We're going there in two years Up to the

Mount of Olives and the disciples are kind of freaking out man. They walk up to Jesus and go

What What and I want you to notice what it says it says they approached him privately

Look here real quick with me in verse Four it says they approached

Jesus privately you want to know why? Because the arrogance of preachers back then matches the arrogance of preachers

We see today church people and pastors and Bible school teachers want to pretend They know everything and that arrogance is then passed on to their church members guys

If we don't keep asking questions and searching God's Word with the humility of understanding

We don't get it. We are never going to understand the full power that God has given his church

But they had to ask privately because they didn't want everybody else hearing how ignorant they really were

And they sit there and they said these questions number one They said Jesus when will these things happen by default what you just said?

When are those gonna happen and they had those 15 minutes walking up to Mount Olives to ask the subsequent questions in their minds

Oh my gosh, the temple's gonna come. Well, well, well, when are you coming back?

Where's the end of this age now? I want you to understand those three questions Jesus is about to answer them in the correct order of which they were asked

Are y 'all with me Melanie? Are you getting this? Oh man, praise God guys He is fixing the answer when these things are happening.

He's fixing the answer when He's coming back and the end of the age now

I know a lot of people want to say that the end of the age is the end of the world That is not true

The end of the age is the end of the age of mankind ruling apart in his little brain at least apart from Jesus Christ Guys, do you realize that scripture says every knee will bow and every tongue will confess

Jesus is Lord I know in today's times the idea of paying homage or kneeling to Anything is beyond the scope unfortunately in some of the arrogance of American minds

But I'll promise you this There is a day coming when the fear of the

Lord if you have ignored it now will enter into your soul and Take you to a place in which you have never experienced before People say well

Jesus my best friend. I'm never gonna be scared You do not know the Jesus of God's Word For when your sinful self comes face to face with the holy and righteousness and power of Almighty God even in the vision of Christ You will fall on your face

Go throughout scripture and find every place God in the theophany or Christophany showed up to mortal men

None of them said what's up JC good to see you up in this house Every single one of them including the

Apostles fell face First on the ground and said get away from me for I am sinful and not worthy to be in your sight

If you're in a place today where you don't understand the humility of serving a holy and righteous

God You might a either be backslidden or be going to hell number two

Not only do you ask these questions? It gives us and you'll notice that this is the first point because this is the only time

I have today to get through this Sermon is the first point. So you're gonna have to just keep coming back which might be beneficial for your spiritual life

Anyways, but anyways in verse 7, it's give Jesus starts answers the questions and he says this

There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. Now. Let me switch to the other side to you

Hyper eschatology folks who every time there is an earthquake or every time there's a new president elected

You sit there and go. Oh, oh, oh, it's the sign of the Bible I remember when Barack Obama was elected president all these conservative apologists out there went it's the

Antichrist done We're out of here. Well, why is he the Antichrist because he's ungodly?

Oh, yeah The string before him were just just stalwart Christians. I mean guys like Kennedy and these other guys

They were awesome Ronald Reagan's wife was having seances in the White House, man.

Come on y 'all Stop smoking crack and start listening to the

Word of God. Okay, stop looking. Here's the other one, please If you get a message on the internet or you get another book and it says see count the first letter

Of each of these verses add them together and then divide them by the number of the Apostles and then you're gonna get the year of Jesus's return

Stop it Stop, please No man knows the time

God did not endue you with a special knowledge that he did not do anybody else

Stop smoking crack for real. We don't know the time Alright, but it says this there will be earthquakes and famines.

Well, we got earthquakes going on right now We got famines. I mean we got Ian I am

The Florida thing we got the hurricanes. We got you know dogs sleeping with cats.

It's total chaos everywhere Well, there's been a rise and usually a how Lindsay or a left -behind guy will start and put in his computer

How many earthquakes today compared to how many earthquakes then? Well, okay, you're extrapolating and by the way

Millennials climate change people You do not have data more than a hundred and seventy years old.

So quit thinking that you know You don't know stop it But anyways, you can't measure it by that and by itself because in once again honest harmoneudic academic intellectual honesty

We can't say that there's more here than there was here I mean Mount Vesuvius that happened 40 years after Jesus is talking here

Logically, you could have sat there and said oh You can't do that But you can add that with everything else.

Jesus is gonna say you understand what I'm saying. Are you with me? All right. All right. Here we go. Young people.

Y 'all with me. All right, Moses you getting this. All right All right, baby Moses has gotten it

In a little basket, all right, here we go Number two for nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom

Once again right now there are 20. I looked it up on the UN right now

There are 20 major wars going on and there are about 30 something smaller wars going on so then logically

I go what's the difference between a major and a minor here's the criteria a major war is when there is 1 ,000 or more deaths per year

Well, that doesn't I mean that's Chicago man, I mean, you know, we live in Memphis I ain't really just you know, tickling my tastebuds what?

So you can't sit there and say well because there's more wars now than there was then we're close but You can look at some anomalies of history.

I am an ardent student of history in the last 120 years

We have had two count them two World Wars Now for some of us who were in the truck rolling a joint during history class in high school that might not mean a whole lot but World War one and World War two are an anomaly in world 8 ,000 years of recorded human history

Literally the whole world went to war the whole world That is a little different Also, do you realize that the

United States has been in war? More than it's been at peace and its last 250 years.

We always got to be fighting somebody, you know Okay, but that's still kind of thin.

Let's keep going. Then it says this It says in the social order for as the days of Noah were

So shall it be in the coming of son of the Son of Man for as in those days before the flood they were eating drinking marrying and giving into marriage until the day when

Noah entered the ark and they were unaware until the flood came and swept Them away. So will be the coming of the

Son of Man I've heard a lot of dispensationalists talk about this verse and they say something like this

Noah's days were really really bad and then we're gonna reach that point at some time self

Where Noah's days they like aborting babies Well, he doesn't really read about that.

In Noah's days was John going and getting sniffed here and there and becoming Jenny I mean,

I don't know. I don't remember reading about that Why would Jesus give us an example of which there would obviously be no logical way to deduce that as a measuring rod?

Then I started thinking That's not what Jesus is saying It's not the amount of sin of the proliferation of sin within the cultural society, which is the mark

If you read carefully, it says this they were eating and drinking and getting married. When is that not been a time?

Right. Are you with me? Am I losing you? Are you okay? Alabama you good.

All right, so watch this so it's not that watch what it says though Until the day when

Noah entered the ark, so the idea here wasn't the amount of sin it was the amount of complacency in The impending danger that was coming by God's man

Noah sitting there going people get ready God is not a happy camper and he's coming to kick butt and they were like I Personally don't believe that and I am a god in and of myself

And well, I believe through the deconstruction ideas of religion that I have come to a truth at 25 years old

That goes against your 4 ,000 years of historical evidence Okay, man

Do you realize today that Witten in the city of Memphis is an anomaly?

I Average age in this church is 27 most churches this size are averaging about 40 to 50 people all over the age of 70 every week a

Thousand churches every week in the United States closed forever That's never happened before in history.

It's never happened Do you realize that today more people are turning away from God's Word than ever before in the history of the

United States Do you realize for the first time? since the birth of the church

That more nations are now becoming atheist and agnostic rather than Christian Do you realize in England today, which was once the mega?

mega juggernaut of missions and evangelism Less than 20 % of the people believe in God in less than seven attend worship service

Hmm It is an anomaly in history it is because people have become

Complacent with their spiritual life just a couple more and we're gonna be done not only Natural world goes into chaos.

The social structure goes into chaos, but watch this the religious world if you want a

Signpost to mark the coming of Jesus Christ look here in verse 4 It says this

Then Jesus replied to them Watch out that no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying

I am the Messiah And will deceive many guys you can sit there and say it

I've heard people in debates that I've had with them say well, there's been false Messiah since the word go

Absolutely. Absolutely. We got false messiahs everywhere, but that's not the quantitative mark

I want you to look at it's the subsequent phrase after that it says and will deceive many

Jim Jones y 'all well y 'all are mostly y 'all are too young But back in my day, there was a guy who was a pastor and he was one of the first guys to stand up Against segregation in churches.

He was a good guy He was sitting there going if we're all Christians Why can't we all get together man, and he was standing up and he was fighting in California.

He was fighting for equal rights and then The arrogance got to him a little bit

In fact, it got to him quite a bit and he started sitting there saying oh my gosh sit the

Suez Crisis in 1973 we need to run away and start a compound in the jungle

So us will be safe and a lot of his people went Okay, and they all ran off to a

I forget where it was South America or Africa I can't remember but they built a little compound and they were living there and intermarrying and it just got crazy after that and finally the government sit there and said something's wrong here and Jim Jones stood up and said hey guys, we're gonna take a break and have a cup of Kool -Aid and talk about this and They all committed suicide knowingly by drinking cyanide following their leader now, that's pretty wild man

But that wasn't many that was like a hundred and seventy of them but today

Today we have mainstream churches Teaching things contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ The largest churches in America are teaching their people something like this

There are many ways to God Jesus is just but one of them John 14 6

Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me and There's this little dot that comes right after that word me

It's a period the exclusivity of Jesus Christ is a doctrine found from Genesis 3 15

All the way to Revelation 22 now you may say to yourself Well, I don't personally believe that well, this may surprise you but God's sovereignty is not dependent upon your belief

The reality is Jesus is the only way there are pastors today that sit there and say this

Just follow your heart This morning if you're searching for God And usually there's an organ playing at this point

If you're hurt today, and you want in to find God in your life Just follow your heart

What if God says your heart is deceitfully wicked who can trust it?

You know everybody who follows their heart ends up screwed up Cuz you're stupid man and your heart is full of sin

You're gonna trust your heart. That's why I'm 285 pounds cuz pizza hut and peanut brittle or what my heart wants right

Just being honest with you, that's why I was smoking crack cocaine because I was following my heart

Guys, you can't follow your heart. You have to follow something outside of yourself

Have you ever tried to talk to a woman using compass settings? Maybe just go east on Germantown.

Was that right or left? What depends on what side of the road yard? Well, I feel like it's this way

Now some chicks are good at that. I'll be honest with you. My wife's pretty good at it. Oh Germantown runs north and south busted, but anyways,

I want to thank you for that by the way Someone escort her out guys If you go by your own compass

You're usually gonna be the person sitting in a Baptist Church or some church Trying to find

God again after something really bad has gone on in your life You're gonna be the one who's gonna rely on some message of encouragement to validate you to continue to live in your sin

You might want to pulled into another parking lot besides here Because I'm here to tell you it is not your dad abusing you

Or life not giving you a fair chance Your problem is your sin

There is no other excuse You can spend the rest of your life coming up with excuses of why you were in rebellion towards God and they will be a life wasted

Where are you right now? Are you deceived? Are you following the

God of self or the God of the Word of God? Where are you today?

Pastor, I don't know. I don't know. I'm gonna close with this scripture. Look it with me and say

I wrote it on the bottom Of your paper, but if not, the reference is 2nd Timothy chapter 3. We just heard

Jesus Matthew recording what Jesus said now Let's fast forward 30 something years to where Paul is writing

Timothy on the island of Crete He's a young pastor there and he's writing him and he's saying hey man, you might want to mention this 2nd

Timothy chapter 3 Starting in verse 1 but understand this that in the last days there will come times of difficulty

For people will be lovers of self hmm lovers of money proud arrogant

Abusive wait for this one Disobedient to parents I had someone tell me the other day. Well, that's always been that way not hadn't not hadn't

Because back in Jesus's time if you hit your parent You died It was a capital punishment

You were taken out of the camp and people threw rocks at to you until your brains were leaking out your ears and your nose in the times of Rome pater familia if you went against what the father said he could sit there and go

I'm gonna cut off your allowance. Oh, and by the way, it cut off your head and the law said cool

So it's not always been that way now We only have a few people in here over the age of 60

Someone over the age of 60 raise your hand Okay. Hi. Can any of you remember a time anywhere in your life where you walked up your mom and went shut up, huh?

Yeah, I have the reason I'm saying that is because I had a family in my office last well last month who did just that Did you ever have a time in your life?

Where you like twist the fatty with mama? hmm

Okay Children would be ungrateful unholy Heartless unappeasable.

Oh my gosh There's one thing about kids that just this is a sign you are messing up as a parent if your kids cannot

Self -entertain themselves by the age of three you need to change something

Okay, trust me on that you need to change something but that's for sermon for another time lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God dude

That's us, baby Well, the air conditions got to be right the muses got to be right the chairs have got to be comfortable everything

The sermons got to be this way. I needed to speak to me in a certain way. Oh, I don't like that song

Yeah, cuz it's all about you Skippy. That's what the whole world of God is about.

That's what the whole church is about pleasing you Well that didn't speak to me because you're deaf and you are blind because you've never been

Regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God watch this having the appearance of godlessness

Godliness, sorry having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power

You can read the rest you want but listen And I can't do it y 'all let's know

If there is any doubt in your mind right now you would be a fool to leave this room

And you sit there and say I'm not ready You never will be you drunk drugged a adultery godless even you trying to clean yourself up before you come to Jesus is an exercise in Utility because you want to have the moral and social godliness of respect and acceptance from a religion

But you did not a regenerating power of the Holy Spirit God in you without the

Holy Spirit of God You will always be a drunk without the Holy Spirit of God You will always be a legalistic hypocrite without the

Holy Spirit of God You will never know the peace of God Of a church or religion rather than the power of God's spirit

In my 30 years of counseling people I Don't I Am Encouraging Your prayer

Number two

Your Bible Number three

You are