Understanding the Time Piece
Matthew 24:3-14 NKJ
Now 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?” And Jesus answered and said to them:
“Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name,
saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars
and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must
come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and
earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then
they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all
nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one
another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up
and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many
will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this
gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the
nations, and then the end will come.
THE INFLUENCE OF TECHNOLOGY
THE RISE OF LAWLESSNESS
A WORLD WIDE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE
Matthew 24:32-35 NKJ
“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already
become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you
also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!
Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all
these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will
by no means pass away.
Matthew 24:36-44 NKJ
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but
My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the
Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the
ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also
will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one
will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one
will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what
hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had
known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not
allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the
Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Genesis 12:1-3 NKJ
Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family
and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a
great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a
blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses
you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 17:15-21 NKJ
Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her
name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give
you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations;
kings of peoples shall be from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and
laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one
hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” Then
God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his
name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting
covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have
heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will
multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him
a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall
bear to you at this set time next year.”
Genesis 25:23 NKJ
And the LORD said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall
be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other,
and the older shall serve the younger.”
Three Religions Vie for Control of the World:
- Islam
- Judeo/Christianity
- Secular Humanism
Two Groups:
- Sunnis
- Shiites
World View:
• Dar al Islam – The House of Islam (where Islam rules)
• Dar al Harb – The House of War (anyone not submitted to Islam)
Jihad: struggle for holiness (Holy War against the Infidels)
Caliphate: new government establishing a global Islamic state
Sharia Law: divine law of Islam
Caliph: supreme leader of the Muslim world
Ezekiel 36:1-11 NLT
“Son of man, prophesy to Israel’s mountains. Give them this message: O
mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign
LORD says: Your enemies have taunted you, saying, ‘Aha! Now the ancient
heights belong to us!’ Therefore, son of man, give the mountains of Israel
this message from the Sovereign LORD: Your enemies have attacked you
from all directions, making you the property of many nations and the object
of much mocking and slander. Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the
word of the Sovereign LORD. He speaks to the hills and mountains, ravines
and valleys, and to ruined wastes and long-deserted cities that have been
destroyed and mocked by the surrounding nations. This is what the
Sovereign LORD says: My jealous anger burns against these nations,
especially Edom, because they have shown utter contempt for me by
gleefully taking my land for themselves as plunder. Therefore, prophesy to
the hills and mountains, the ravines and valleys of Israel. This is what the
Sovereign LORD says: I am furious that you have suffered shame before the
surrounding nations. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I have
taken a solemn oath that those nations will soon have their own shame to
endure. But the mountains of Israel will produce heavy crops of fruit for my
people—for they will be coming home again soon! See, I care about you,
and I will pay attention to you. Your ground will be plowed and your crops
planted. I will greatly increase the population of Israel, and the ruined cities
will be rebuilt and filled with people. I will increase not only the people, but
also your animals. O mountains of Israel, I will bring people to live on you
once again. I will make you even more prosperous than you were before.
Then you will know that I am the LORD.”
Zechariah 12:2-3 NKJ
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding
peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall
happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all
peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all
nations of the earth are gathered against it.”