Transcription
So, let me give you six signs that the world is ending. Um. [laughter] I don't know why that's funny. I don't know. I guess I could just show up six candidates for office and then you know like. [laughter] And so, let me give you six signs that the world is ending.
And and he. And one of the great themes he talks about the coming of our Lord Jesus. The Bible uses the word the last days, um the end times. And also in uh chapter 5 verse 3, he talks about labor pains, which is intensity and frequency of God birthing eternity. Okay. [snorts] What he's saying is Jesus is coming and then the rest of the Bible says, "And here's how we know that we're getting close."
Now, some of you. Let me just. Let me say this. When is Jesus coming? I don't know. I don't know. There's always people who say, "I do." No, you don't. Jesus or the Bible says no one knows the hour or the day. There's always some guy like, "I do." Nope, you don't. You're weird and you scare us, okay?
Um. So, here are the six signs that the world is ending. Are you ready? Going to do this. Number one, an increase in stress, anxiety, and mental illness. Ooh. Somebody hit the AC. That got cold. Wow. Okay. 2 Timothy 3:1-4, "In the last days there will come times of difficulty." That's mental, emotional anguish, and stress. "For [snorts] people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful socialists, unholy, heartless." Hey, I'm reading the word of God, no interrupting. "Heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." Check. Thank you, sir, for your contribution. True or false, that sounds like Western culture?
Number two, an increase in scoffers who mock the Bible and those who believe it. 2 Peter 3:3, "Scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing following their own sinful desires." These are the comedians. These are the late-night critics. Uh these are the gals on The View. This is everybody who just lampoon. And I like I'm I'm just going to tell you like I Like I told you earlier, I don't care. I This isn't in my notes, but I'll just tell you I've been on The View. Yeah, I did. I I did. I was I I got my makeup done between um Joy Behar and Barbara Walters. I was like, "Jesus, between two thieves." It was I was there. And And all of us girls are getting our makeup done. [laughter] I don't believe in hell, but if there is a hell and I'm going to. No, I believe in hell, but I believe I'm not going. But if I was going. Let me clarify this. I do believe in hell. [laughter] But I believe I'm not going. But if I was going to hell that would be it. Every day I'd be getting my makeup done for The View. Every day I'd be getting my makeup done for The View. These are the comedians who make fun of Christ and Christianity and they mock Christians and Christian values. This is the counterfeit of a prophetic gift, which is mockering mocking evil. See like um in the Bible um God is not to be mocked, but God does mock. And And God's people are not to mock God, but we are to mock those things that are against God. And what the scoffers do, they mock God and the people of God and the things of God. It's a counterfeit. True or false, that's happening today? Check.
Okay, number three. So far we're two for two at the end of the world. An increase in mockers of Christianity, not just scoffers, of Christian morality who encourage pleasure, especially sexual sin. Jude 18, "In the last time there will be mockers following their own ungodly lust." That's a sexual word. Now, the scoffers, they're just mocking Christianity and scoffing Christianity, but what the mockers do, they're actually saying that the Bible is not just wrong, it's evil. It's evil. And so, this is hate speech. And And if it's evil, it must be deconstructed and opposed. Scoffers will make fun of Christianity. Mockers want to deconstruct and destroy Christianity. This is what they do. And what they would say is, "Well, anything that gives limits to our sexuality or our sexual identity or our sexual and gender pronouns or our desires, uh that's all evil. It's oppressive. It's repressive. Um this is just ancient patriarchal chauvinism that is holding back people from their full sexual desire." Right? True or false, this is still happening and it's happening more frequently? Check.
Number three. Number [snorts] four, an increasing love for false teachers and corresponding hatred for Bible preachers. 2 Timothy 4:1-4, "Preach the word." Okay, let me just tell you this. I've been doing this 30 years. By God's grace I got 30 more years. I don't mind calling the shots. I'm willing to take the shots. I just promise you if you let me teach you God's word, I will be immovable. I have not moved an inch in 30 years. I lead with the chin. I do not apologize and there is no reverse gear. There just isn't. Right? Because here's what I believe. If I lie to you, I'm not helping you. And if I lie to you, I'm declaring war on him. Now, I I've seen zero people win a fight with God. I'm not smart, but I I I I I I do not want to pick a fight with God. In addition, I love you and Jesus died for you. And you're Jesus people and you belong to him and the church belongs to him and the word of God belongs to him and I'm not an owner of it, just a steward of these things that belong to him. And so, you just need to know, friends, preach the word is really the answer because God's people can't stand against the world unless in the church they hear the word. The only way to stand against the world is to stand under the word. Amen?
So, here's what he says, "Preach the word. The time is coming." This was a few thousand years ago. Sounds like we've arrived at this time when people will not endure sound teaching. That's healthy. That's healthy. You can't be a healthy human being spiritually, physically, mentally, relationally, emotionally healthy without the word of God being taught and the spirit of God being active. "But having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth." There's an entire generation of false teachers and apostates. Some have been to Bible college and seminary. Some lead churches and denominations and networks. And you know, if we're going to preach against the world, we need to preach against the churches that are worldly. And what he's saying here is this, if if you want to believe something, you can go find someone who will tell you exactly what you want even if it's contrary to what God has said. These people, they get quoted in the media, they get they get preference on the platforms, uh they get uh they get book deals, they get to deconstruct Christianity, they get to criticize Christians and churches and mock the Bible and tell lies and and accommodate the world and the world loves them. And God will judge them. And I just want to tell you this, friend. Every single one of us has got something in the word of God that we wish wasn't true. And when you reach that point, whatever that issue might be for you, you need to know that you can find someone to disagree with God and agree with you. They're called false teachers. And instead, you need to believe what God has said and change your mind and agree with him. In addition, so let's ask this. Is Are Is this the day? Are we living in the days when Bible teachers and Bible teaching is attacked and those who are false teachers in the name of Christianity, they're getting platformed and preference? Check.
Number five, an increase in people who are antichrist. Uh come back. We're going to deal with quote the man of lawlessness. This comes in Paul's teaching to the Thessalonians. It's coming. An increase in people who are antichrist leading to a massive counterfeit quote unquote Christian apostasy, which paves the way for the antichrist. That's 1 John 2:18 and 19. So, there is one antichrist. He is the counterfeit of Christ. To be antichrist is to want to oppose him and replace him. This has been Satan's agenda since the throne room in heaven. He wanted to oppose Christ and replace Christ and sit on the throne ruling and reigning instead of Christ. So, there is one who is the antichrist. Um let me just verbal process. A few things are coming to mind I've not really thought about, but let me just see if this helps. Jesus comes empowered by the Holy Spirit [snorts] as fully God, fully man. The Antichrist comes possessed not by the Holy Spirit, but by Satan. Fully evil and fully man. And Satan comes working through the Antichrist. I I didn't intend to say this. Uh I think what we're looking at is a massive global leader [snorts] who seeks to bring politics and entertainment and education and economics and the family and gender and religion under one authority structure. Okay. And um I'm way off my notes, but you can see this attempted in places like Egypt in the days of Moses. You could see this in empires like Babylon in the days of Daniel. Uh we saw this in uh ancient Israel when we looked at the days of Elijah. Uh in Paul's day, this was under the auspices of the Roman government. And every generation, there is an attempt to consolidate power for evil. And then one person who has supernatural power and authority to rule and reign. And what that is, that's a counterfeit of the kingdom of God. Okay. Everything God creates, Satan counterfeits. Satan doesn't have any great new ideas. He just reads the Bible and tries to counterfeit everything that God commands and creates. So, when he's talking about the Antichrist, what he's talking [snorts] about is there's a parade of Antichrist. So, I'll read it in a moment, but there's a parade of Antichrist. In every generation, there are political leaders, economic leaders, cultural influencers, and they are Antichrist. They are against Jesus and they want to replace him with someone or something else. People following the Antichrist, they are the apostates. And then ultimately comes the Antichrist and all of the Antichrist and all of the apostates, they then come under the authority of the Antichrist. Let me say it this way. Um [clears throat] man, I'm way off my notes. I don't know if this is prophetic or pathetic, but let me just share one more thing. This is the entire push for globalism. The entire push for globalism is if we could all just come together, we wouldn't need Jesus to return. We'd make heaven on earth all by ourselves. This started in the Old Testament of Babylon. There was the Tower of Babel. And what it said was that everybody came together and they made a high point so [snorts] that they could literally have a throne and rule and reign as God. And what that was was globalism. Everyone working together with one language and and and one currency and one economy and and one government and one nation. Unity. And God looked down. And God said, I I I need to scatter them and I need [snorts] to confuse their languages because together nothing will be too hard for them. And they're sinful and evil. The point is this, unified unbelievers are more powerful than divided believers. And Satan is always trying to bring everyone together who's Antichrist. And this is this is a globalist agenda. I I didn't intend to get here. Maybe it's prophecy and maybe I need a nap. But the people are like, we're basically good and if all the nations and all the religions and all of the cultural beliefs and if all of the people could just all come together, we wouldn't need Jesus. We'd have heaven on earth. And Satan just keeps whispering, "Oh, that's a great idea. You don't need Jesus. Just get everything set up so I can be in charge." And there are little Antichrists in every culture that are trying to rule and reign. They're in the educational system, they're in politics, they're in economics, they're in government, they're in education, they're on platforms. They're trying to use their little throne and dominion to pave the way for the Antichrist. Now, they don't know it. They just think that they're helping because that's what deceived people think. I'll just read it again. It is the last hour. Antichrist is coming. Many Antichrists have come. It is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us, for had they been of us, they would have continued with us. I told you at the beginning, we're seeing a generational apostasy. Record numbers of people no longer going to church and no longer claiming Christ. I shared with you that a large number of mainline Protestant pastors, they don't believe the Bible and they could flip a coin on Jesus. These are people that go to school to be a pastor. These are people that get pulpits and churches and their entire career is to serve God and they are anti- Christ. They're Antichrist. They're Antichrist. Are we seeing this in our day? Check.
Number six. An increase in wealth, comfort, and a sense that God is not needed for a successful life or concern for eternity. I don't need to go to heaven. I'm living such a good life. I don't sense any need for Jesus. James 5:3, "Your gold and silver have corroded. And their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days." Wealth, affluence, obesity, addiction, debt, self-indulgence. True or false? Check.
Howdy, Pastor Mark here. Thanks for viewing the clip and if you'd like the entire sermon, we've got it ready to go.