MOTIVATE

Last week JD preached about missing nostalgia (Blockbuster, Malls, Shoney’s, etc.).

Today I want to talk about the future in everyday…

• Waymo & Tesla self-driving cars… SpaceX regular space trips or even Mars!
• Amazon whatever to doorstep at same day or tomorrow
• Remote workforce expected
• A.I. ability to write & process

People are eager for future

• Jetsons cartoon / Back To The Future (Michael J Fox)
• Astrology, Horoscopes, Psychics are still $-making business
• Not a week goes by where some politician, news media, Hollywood entertainment, or even church convos promoting or predicting how the future will be

Today’s message is about “What Will Happen” w/ reality only God is sovereign & certain.

EXAMINE   What’s Gonna Happen (Matthew 24-25)

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 end of the age?”

• Matthew 24 known as “The Olivet Discourse” based on location of Jesus speaking
• Used for all sort of predictions of end time events & views; which we will discuss…
• Ultimately, we cannot predict the end bc Jesus says, “No one knows the day or hour” (24:36). In the original Greek this phrase means “stop acting a fool and making stupid predictions!” Seriously, the essence of biblical eschatology is less about predictability and more about urgency. Too many are trying to be on the planning committee when Jesus simply wants His followers on the welcoming team. And the reality is that no one is promised another minute/day/month – so all must live with the end in mind.

Jesus provides at least 3 exhortations for living with urgency for eternity.

Beware Of Deception

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.

Multiple times in Jesus’s ministry and in this passage (24:4-5, 11, 23-26), he warns against deception. The NT writers warn against spiritual deception as well (Gal 1:6-9; 1Tim 4:1; 2Pet 2:1; 1Jn 4:1; Jude 1:4). This deception will climax when the Anti-Christ mimics Jesus with “power and signs and wonders” but actually is the activity of the adversary (2Thes 2:9-12). The adversary will be so deceptive that the masses will follow him as a helping voice of reason and rescue, but it will be to their ultimate and eternal destruction.

Deception will also come in the form of International Conflict

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,

There has been no historical generation where there have not been wars and rumors of wars. The last generation has experienced wars in China, Japan, Germany, Rwanda, Somalia, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Croatia, Vietnam, Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, Kuwait, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, even USA. Undoubtedly, I’m missing several. And Jesus said, “don’t be alarmed, this must take place.” IOW, with every international conflict and war,[1] we cannot associate the end of the age or return of Christ. Human perspective is too narrow, human depravity is too wide, and God’s timetable is too sovereign to use national conflict as evidence of the end of the world.

Deception will also come in the form of Natural Disasters

⁷ there will be famines & earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of the birth pains.

War and earthly tragedy have been present in each generation. Famine and earthquakes are noted, but many manuscripts also add the word pestilence (NKJV, also cf Lk 21:11). A pestilence is a contagious or infectious disease on an epidemic or pandemic level. Jesus predicted natural disasters, so they are part of our history, unfortunately part of today, and will occur in however many future years this world has. The point is, as bad as these tragedies are, they’re merely “birth pains.”

Just as a pregnant mother may experience painful contractions, leaving her and the father to think a baby delivery is near, sometimes those genuine contractions are known as false labor pains. As time passes and in the right moment, those labor pains will increase in frequency and intensity with a final great rupture for the miracle of childbirth. Likewise, we cannot predict the return of Christ with every painful contraction. The Gospel writers and the book of Revelation through Jesus describe His return following a time of Great Tribulation on earth that will include tragedy of great lengths. In the last days before Jesus returns, the world will tremble, chaos will spread, riots and violence will erupt, and the systems and leaders we have placed way too much trust and hope will demonstratively disappoint and fail us. In those confusing, frenzied, and anarchic times, a man of supposed peace will promise deliverance for all who follow him, but it will be to their eternal regret.

Following 7 seals, 7 trumpets, Jesus sends four-horsemen with hoofbeats unlike ever heard on earth.

• 1^st seal is a white horse – deceptive of purity but will bring condemnation and seek to conquer the earth.
  • 2^nd seal is a red horse – symbolic of destruction and war against peace.
  • 3^rd seal is a black horse – symbolic of grimness, and will bring famine to the earth.
  • 4^th seal is a pale green horse executing death over ¼ of the earth.  
  • 5^th seal is the martyr’s cry from Christians
  • 6^th seal opens what appears as an astrological earthquake with a blackened sun, a reddened moon, and falling stars. While cosmic upheaval sounds far-fetched, John is simply communicating a vision w/o the benefit of 2000+ years of scientific foresight. Perhaps these are wild weather patterns, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, or even a nuclear holocaust.
  • 7^th seal is interlude w/ a great multitude 144K being protected & crying out praises of God’s salvation (Rev 7).
  • After the 7 seals are the 7 Trumpets (8:6-9:21)
    1. Hail and fire burn 1/3 vegetation burned 2. 1/3 of sea turns blood 3. Falling star turns 1/3 of fresh water bitter 4. 1/3 of luminaries (sun, moon, stars) turn dark 5. Abyss Plagues permitted to harm everyone but those people who had God’s seal on their foreheads (Rev 9:4). 6. 1/3 of man killed 7. Announcing more judgment
  • and then the 7 Bowls (15:1-16:21)
    1. Painful sores 2. Turn sea to blood 3. Turn fresh water to blood 4. People burn with fire 5. Darkness & Pain 6. Evaporate Euphrates river 7. Greatest earthquake
  • After all these, a final beast – or Anti-Christ figure enters the scene with 10 horns & 7 heads, likely representing multiple kingdoms uniting as a final empire.
  • Revelation 14:12-13 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write: The dead who die in the Lord.
  • Following the Fall of Babylon – this great nation of industry yet immorality – the saints cry out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just… [he] has avenged on her the blood of his servants” (Rev 19:1-2)

[so as you can imagine…] Deception will also come in the form of Persecution
⁹  “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.

Jesus reminds His followers that God’s prophets were persecuted, He was persecuted, and the same will be true of Christians (Mt 5:11-12; 10:16-39; Php 1:29; 1Tim 3:12). Christians today should have no reason to think our relative freedoms will continue, and every biblical reason to think they will not. Persecution is unavoidable for those who truly live for Jesus Christ. So, short of substantial revival, persecution against Christians and the church will increase. As it did in history and does today, persecution has a way of refining genuine faith.

Deception will also come in the form of Christian Apostasy  

¹⁰ And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. ¹² And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Apostasy is the abandonment or renunciation of a previous held belief. Bible students can trip up on this topic, thinking that faith is something that can be lost – conditional security rather than unconditional perseverance of the saints (“once saved, always saved”). Yet, Jesus always taught faith is not just about external performance but a transformed heart with deep roots.  
*MT 13 – parable of sower w/ some seed received but grows up & choked by deceitfulness of world.
*HEB 3:14 “we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end”

*1JN 2:19 “They went out from us, but were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.”

Be Ready

³⁶ But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. ³⁷ For as in the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying… until the day when Noah entered the ark ³⁹ and were unaware until the flood came and swept/took them all away.⁴⁰  [OR] Two men will be in a field and one taken and one left [ἀφίημι]  ⁴² Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

IMO it is important to see that “taken” in vv. 40–41 (though a different verb in Greek) parallels v. 39 for those swept away in judgment; while those left behind are spared – saved by grace^[2], further the word for “left [behind] is often translated as “forgiven.”[3]
Regardless, the context of Jesus’ coming in MT24 is not a “secret rapture” but a significant worldwide event with severe consequences.

Cf even John MacArthur: “When [Jesus] returns, one will be taken to judgment and the other will be left to enter the kingdom. This is the same separation described in the next chapter by the figures of sheep and goats (25:32–46). The ones left will be Christ’s sheep, His redeemed people whom He will preserve to reign with Him during the Millennium.”^[4]

Illus: 2017 was our last child’s birthyear. Being a 5^th child, I knew his arrival would come swiftly. I chose not to go on our church’s international mission trip that year – leaving in good hands of other trusted leaders. Indeed, my wife’s birth pains were so swift that my son was almost born in garage or a hospital hallway. The minute she was rolled into a room, he was making entrance!

Likewise, Jesus’ coming should constantly be on our mind/heart in a way that it influences decisions of our life. At Jesus’ return, we want to be found faithful not lazy or negligent.
*So, whether it be significant life decisions or momentary choices, would you be regretful or ready for Jesus’ return?
*Will you be found loving and serving others, or ignoring and callous toward neighbors?
*Will you be found fighting temptation or forfeiting your witness at Jesus’ return?

The consequences of unfaithfulness can be embarrassing at least or eternally severing, where Jesus says, “I never knew you… and you will be cut in pieces and placed with hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (7:23; 24:51).

Be Laboring

Matthew 25 consists of 3 parables[5]

• 10 bridesmaids with 5 who wisely took extra oil for their lamps and 5 who foolishly were neglectful. When the groom arrived, the foolish bridesmaids were unprepared to serve and were left out of the wedding celebration.
• Master entrusting servants with talents (resources).
  • One servant received 5 talents and he worked and traded to multiply to make 10.
  • One servant received 2 talents and worked and traded to multiply to make 4.
  • And a last servant received 1 talent but he buried his talent to keep it safe.
  • WHEN the Master returned, he blessed those who labored well but the one who buried his talent was described as “wicked, lazy, and worthless,” and sentenced to the outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth.
• Shepherd separating sheep to stay and the goats to depart. This parable challenges believers to feed hungry, welcome strangers, minister to impoverished.

APPLY/TAKEAWAY

*Jesus’ teachings guide us to truth and protect from falsehoods – – – – why we need church!
    The Bible doesn’t affirm us; it aligns us

*BC Jesus suffered persecution and endured… we can too by faith.
    You will never experience something that resurrection cannot overcome

*Salvation is free but rewards are earned from laboring for an eternal harvest… start today (1Cor 15:58)

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[1] https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-wars-2031197

^[2] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 366. Further, OT/NT theology affirms the righteous inheriting the earth not being removed from it (Ps 2:8; 37:9-11, 29, 34; 115:16; Pr 2:21-22; Mt 5:5; Rev 5:10

[3] https://biblehub.com/greek/863.htm see Matthew 6:12, 14, 15, 9:2, 5, 6; 12:31, 32

^[4] John F. MacArthur Jr., Matthew, vol. 4, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985–1989), 75.

[5] I’ve taught on this chapter before: https://growinggodlygenerations.com/2020/08/16/child-games-jesus-kingdom-matthew-25/, https://growinggodlygenerations.com/2025/03/30/living-surrendered-matthew-251-13/