WHEN JESUS COMES AGAIN – LIFE ON THE NEW EARTH  – The Tribulation

 

   June 3, 2007 Pastor Mike Barnett

 

Matthew 24 (pg. 700) says:

 

 1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2"Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

 3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

 4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,[a]' and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

 9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

 15"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,'[b] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.

 26"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

 29"Immediately after the distress of those days
   " 'the sun will be darkened,
      and the moon will not give its light;
   the stars will fall from the sky,
      and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'[c]

 30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

 32"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[d]is near, right at the door. 34I tell you the truth, this generation[e] will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown

 36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

 42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

 45"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' 49and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

BEFORE JESUS COMES TO ESTABLISH THE NEW EARTH, THERE WILL BE:

·        Many _______________(false) prophets professing to be the “Christ”.

 

·        Many false prophets will appear and _____________________(deceive) many people.

 

·        There will be _________________(wars) and rumors of wars.

 

·        There will be _____________________(famines) and ___________________(earthquakes).

 

·        Christians will be arrested, _____________(persecuted) and put to death for their faith in Christ.

 

·        Many professing Christians will turn ________________(away) from the faith and ________________(betray) authentic “Christ followers”

 

·        Wickedness and evil will ________________(increase) not decrease.

 

·        The love of most will grow _________________(cold) – hearts will be _____________________(hardened) even among professing Christians.

 

·        BUT THE CHRISTIAN WHO STANDS __________(FIRM) IN CHRIST TO THE _______________(END) WILL BE ____________________(SAVED)!

 

·        The Gospel will be _____________________(preached) to the whole ______________________(world), then the end will come.

 

·        We are told that there will be great _______________________(distress) unequaled from the beginning of the world until now that will never be _______________________(equaled) again.

 

·        We are told to _____________(pray) that this tribulation period to be ___________(cut) __________________(short) because nobody could survive the full onslaught of suffering that will come.

 

·        Jesus says that for the sake of the ________________(elect) (Christians), those days of suffering will be cut short.

 

·        Jesus tells us that do not believe the false prophets when they say, “Here is the Christ”.

 

·        The false prophets will even perform great ____________________(miracles) that will ________________(fool) most – but the true Christ follower is called to hold firm and wait for Christ.

 

·        Only the true believer will have the _____________________(wisdom) and ______________________(discernment) to know the difference between the false Christ and the true Christ to come.

 

·        Immediately after the distress of the tribulation, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and heavenly bodies will be shaken.

 

·        You will know when Jesus really comes because he will ___________________(light) up the entire sky from the far ______________(East) to the far _______________(West) and it will be evident by all.

 

·        Jesus will come down on the clouds of the sky with great ______________(power) and ________________(glory).

 

·        And he will send his angles with a loud trumpet call, and they will ___________________(gather) his ____________________(followers) that did not fall way from their faith in Christ.

 

·        The current Heaven and earth will __________________(pass) __________________(away) and be made new.

 

·        In V. 36, Jesus says that nobody ____________(knows) the ________________(day) or __________________(hour) in which he is coming again, not even the angles….not even the Son, but only the Father who resides in Heaven right now.

 

·        Jesus says that just like the flood came upon people ______________________(suddenly) so will his second coming.

 

·        People will be eating, drinking, marrying and carrying on their lives until it all comes to a screeching halt when Jesus comes again.

 

·        People will be shocked that their little daily routine and plans have been suddenly disrupted.

 

·        Two people will be working together, one will be ___________________(taken) up with Christ and the other one __________________(left) behind.

 

·        The Bible tells us that those who hold to their faith in Christ will be saved and live forever with God on the new earth.

 

·        Those authentic “Christ followers” who are not _____________________(deceived) the anti-Christ and hold on to the true ____________________(faith) in Christ to the end will spend eternity with God on the New Earth.

 

·        Those professing Christians who ____________________(deny) Christ and follow the antichrist by taking, the “_______________” (mark) will live with the Devil forever in hell.

 

·        The Anti-Christ is going to unify the world and promote a one currency economy.

 

·        The “mark” is the means to uniting this one world order where the entire world submits to his rulership.

 

·        Many Bible Scholars for years have believed that the “mark is a computer chip that is put in a person’s hand for forehead.

 

·        The technology is now available and several countries in Europe have already been experimenting with it.

 

·        In France for example people are now paying for their groceries at the super Market with this computerized chip with are their banking information on it.

 

·        It is like having a small bankcard implanted on your hand.

 

·        Even in the United States pets are now implanted with microchips for security reasons if they are lost.

 

·        It is widely believed now that children will be next.

 

·        So it is easy to see how the Antichrist will use this technology for his own selfish desire of world wide rulership.

 

·        The technology in and of itself is not bad, but will be used for deceptive and evil purposes to promote the leadership of the Anti-Christ.

 

A CHRISTIAN MAKES IT THROUGH THE TRIBULATION PERIOD WITHOUT FORFIETING THEIR REWARD OF THE NEW EARTH BY:

1) READING AND STUDYING WHAT YOUR _________________(BIBLE) SAYS FROM COVER TO COVER.

2) REALIZING THAT A REAL TRIBULATION PERIOD IS COMING IN WHICH ALL CHRISTIANS WILL _____________________(SUFFER) AND CHOOSE TODAY TO _________________ ________________(STAND FIRM) FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST.

3) PRAYING THEY WILL FOLLOW THE _____________________(WISDOM) OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND NOT THE WISDOM OF THIS WORD.

1 John 4:1-8 (pg. 863) says:

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

 4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

4) GUARDING THEIR ___________________(HEARTS) FROM  GOODLOOKING, SMOOTHTALKING PEOPLE  THAT ARE REALLY___________________ __________________(FALSE PROHETS).

5) PREPARING THEMSELVES NOW TO SAY ________(NO) TO THE ANTICHRIST AND TO BE ______________________(PREPARED) TO BE ______________________(MARTYRED) FOR THEIR FAITH IN CHRIST.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-15 (pg. 838)

 1Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness[a] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

 5Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

·        THE BIBLE SAYS MANY PROFESSING CHRISTIANS WILL BE DECIEVED BY FALSE PROPHETS AND THE ANTI-CHRIST – MAKE SURE YOUR NOT ONE OF THEM BY CHOOSING NOT TO ______________(COMPROMISE) YOUR _________________(FAITH) IN CHRIST TODAY AND FOREVER!

 

·        In the tribulation, many professing Christians will choose to ______________(live) by ___________________(sight) and follow what they can see. Make a decision now to follow the _________________ (Spirit) by _______________(faith) without _______________________(compromise).

Matthew 7:13-21 (pg. 685) says:

 13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

 

 15"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

 21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'