Jesus Prophesies of What is About to Take Place

Many prophecies had been given by God as to what the End-Times or the Apocalypse would look like. So when His disciples had a moment with Jesus they asked Him, ‘When will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the age.’ As you listen be blessed, empowered and transformed in Jesus name.

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Transcript

00:00 Intro music and voice over.

Welcome to jesus loves the world podcast. For more information and free resources visit our website jesuslovestheworld.info Be blessed empowered and transformed in Jesus’ name! 

00:21 Speaker

When Jesus walked the earth as a man He preached, taught and demonstrated the Kingdom of God. That is what the world looks like when God’s right to rule and reign is not only recognised but accepted and honoured. This acceptance of God’s right to rule and reign is acknowledged by giving total allegiance to Him and worshipping only Him. 

Jesus was also the embodiment of God’s Kingdom. His kingdom is a kingdom of peace and harmony, restoration and healing, deliverance and salvation. Jesus the Son of God, who became the Son of Man, is not only the king of God’s kingdom, but He is the advocate and judge. As the advocate, Jesus will bring to earth not only eternal salvation, but the judgement of evil and the total elimination of it.

Many prophecies had been given by God as to what the End-Times or the Apocalypse would look like. So when His disciples had a moment with Jesus they asked Him, ‘When will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the age.’

In the question, Jesus’ disciples testify that He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God who became the Son of Man. They also acknowledge that in Jesus’ first coming there were still events that were yet to take place. 

So in response to His disciples concern, Jesus prophesies of what were yet to take place. 

But before we begin to go deeper into the heart of God and what is yet to take place, let us take a moment to surrender to God. 

Let us pray. Father we take a moment to be still before you. We surrender our preconceived  thoughts, beliefs and emotions to You. Please reveal to us Your heart that is towards all humanity and most of all, may we receive a greater revelation of You. In Jesus name, amen.

So with a surrendered heart and mind let us go to Mathew 24 and listen to what the Spirit is saying, as Jesus prophesies of what yet is to take place. 

Matthew 24:4-8 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.

Jesus begins His response to His disciples question with His words of life and empowerment. He speaks of discernment. That is discern, perceive, beware, take heed, that no one deceives you. For many will come in His name saying they are the Christ and will deceive many. 

To be able to discern the lies and deceptions as just that, one needs to now the truth. That is the truth about God, self and others. In this context, who God is, what He has done, what He is doing and what He will do. For it is God’s heart that we live in the fullness of who He is and who we are in Him. In knowing the fullness of the truth, we are empowered by His spirit of truth to live in His victory, freedom and healing. Even more so in these times of sorrows in which we live in today. 

Jesus explains to His disciples what the beginning of sorrows looks like. The beginning of sorrows is the era or time period in which these events will take place. The time of sorrows is before the great tribulation and Jesus’ second coming. 

During the time period of sorrows there will many who will claim to be the Messiah, the Christ and deceive many. Yet in amongst it all, Jesus urges His disciples to stand firm in the truth that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the saviour of the world. 

Jesus powerfully speaks light and life into the disciples fear. He states that, ‘…See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet...’ Just as judgement and the elimination of evil must take place before full salvation is realised, so too does the time of sorrows. 

But the good news is, we need not fear because all these things must come to pass and Jesus speaks light and life over every disciple throughout the ages. He reiterates, ‘…See that you are not troubled…’

Let us read on. 

Matthew 24:9-14 “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.

Jesus now talks about a time of intense persecution on a global scale. Since Jesus’ resurrection and ascension there has always been an aspect of the church, that is everyone who has said yes to Jesus, yes to God, that have suffered persecution. Persecution because they have accepted Jesus right to rule and reign. Being a disciple of Jesus, living in a world that is totally opposed to God is challenging. 

In this time of mass persecution on a global scale Jesus warns that many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

False prophets are those who have aligned themselves with evil, yet portray themselves as ones who have aligned themselves with God, and they will deceive many.

In this time period, lawlessness will abound. As a result, love will depart from many.

In the first recorded instance of Jesus referring to lawlessness in Matthew, it is again in the same context. That is to beware of false prophets. 

Jesus describes false prophets as coming in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. They deceive many saying they are of God, yet in their hearts they have given their allegiance to evil. With the sole motive of preventing anyone from coming to God. Jesus will declare to these false prophets on that day of final judgement, ‘…depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

Lawlessness in this instance, those who knowingly reject God and effectively declare war on God aligning themselves with evil. 

Jesus ensures His disciples that if they have received Him, received God, then they will endure to the end. Once all those throughout the ages who will come to Jesus have come, the gospel would have been preached, as a witness to the nations. That is to every tongue, tribe and nation would have the gospel proclaimed to them. 

As it is God’s heart that none should perish He continually reveals Himself to humanity. Throughout generations and cultures God never leaves Himself without a witness. 

There have been times in human history when different aspects of humanity have received God’s witness and testimony. However over time, there has not yet been a mass revelation received, all at the same time throughout the world. So until that time, the end has not yet come and God continues to pursue humanity in love. 

God’s kingdom is an eternal kingdom that is not of this world. From every tongue, tribe and nation who have said to Jesus yes to God, dwell in His kingdom. Having said yes to Jesus, yes to God have their identity in Him and that is for us in time now. As we live in His kingdom on earth, in this world damaged by evil. However for the fullness of our salvation to be realised, the judgement and elimination of evil must take place. 

So Jesus prophesies what is yet to take place, as we live in this time now.

All these things Jesus prophesies have been there since Jesus’ first coming. That is persecution, the gospel being preached and false prophets. However not on the global scale and intensity that Jesus is referring to here. Whilst the increased scale and intensity of all this is currently taking place, the final climax of this time of sorrows is yet to be fulfilled. 

Let us continue. 

Matthew 24:15-20 “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.

Here Jesus refers to an Old Testament prophecy given by God to the prophet Daniel. God who is eternal shared His heart with Daniel. He told Daniel what would happen to his people, that is those of Jewish lineage. God also showed Daniel that the empires of humanity are temporary. They come and go, yet at the end all will be judged. 

At this time of the visions God gave to Daniel, Daniel was taken captive by the Babylonian empire. This was centuries before Jesus walked the earth as a man. Daniel was in exile from his beloved Jerusalem. God showed Daniel that before the final judgement of evil there will be intense persecution towards his people. 

It will be in intensity and magnitude like that has never been known or seen before Daniel’s time. This intense persecution would exist when the time of the daily sacrifices are taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up. 

The abomination of desolation is a detestable thing, specifically in this instance, the image or personification of evil. In the end times apocalyptic literature books of Daniel and the Revelation of Jesus, this is referred to as the image or mark of the beast. This image of the beast will be setup in the place of God, in the temple of God. This will be done by someone who has given their total allegiance to evil, yet claims they are of God. 

Remembering that Jesus is primarily warning against being deceived. He again emphasises that in these times of sorrows, we are empowered to discern the times and seasons. Having given our allegiance to Jesus, allegiance to God, we are to flee from partaking of the lies,  deceptions and abominations of evil. 

Our identity is with God. The false prophets, the false Messiah or antichrist have their identity with evil, that is satan. 

After all these things have taken place with an intensity and scale not yet seen, Jesus says, then will be great tribulation. But once again Jesus speaks life into the future. 

Matthew 24:21-28 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.

“Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

During the great tribulation the days will be shortened, for the sole purpose of the elect’s sake. If these days of great tribulation were not shortened, then ‘no flesh would be saved.’ 

Again Jesus reveals the heart of God and  no one be deceived and that none should perish. For during this time of great tribulation, there will be those who will be His. They are those who are referred to as the elect. The elect being those who have identified themselves with Jesus, with God. They will be those who are preserved or safe. If these days of great tribulation were not shortened, they would not be able to endure. 

A Jesus makes it very clear that all those alive at the time will not miss the second coming of Jesus, the Son of God who became the Son of Man. Let us read again verse 27-28. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

It will be after all who have come to Him have come, when the nations have received the full witness of the gospel and after the time of sorrows and the great tribulation have passed. For it is God’s heart desire that no one be deceived and that none should perish. 

So tune in next week, where we will go deeper into the heart of God and continue with Jesus prophesies of what is yet to take place. 

19:40 Outro music and voice over. 

For more information and free resources visit our website jesuslovestheworld.info Be blessed empowered and transformed in Jesus’ name!