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Series Code: MAT
Program Code: MAT000011S
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00:21 Shall we pray? Father in heaven we come before your throne once 00:24 again with humility realizing that our ways are not your ways 00:29 realizing that our wisdom is limited, realizing that we need 00:34 your help. We desperately need the Holy Spirit to understand 00:38 your word, to apply it to our lives and live in harmony with 00:43 it. So that as we study this very important subject about 00:46 the end of the tribulation that you will be with us to guide our 00:50 thoughts and open our hearts. We thank you Father for the 00:54 privilege of prayer and know you have heard us because we ask it 00:58 in the name of Jesus, Amen. 01:00 Well let's review the great events that take place from the 01:07 time that the small tribulation takes place to the time when 01:13 the sign is seen and God's people have to flee. I'm going 01:17 to mention six events in order of chronological sequence. First 01:24 of all you have a preliminary tribulation that is mentioned 01:29 in Matthew chapter 24 and verse nine through verse 14. Then you 01:36 have a sign in verse 15. This is a sign which is called the 01:42 abomination of desolation. Basically it's the sign for 01:46 God's people to flee from Jerusalem in the historical 01:50 fulfillment and it's a sign for God's people to flee to 01:53 desolate places at the end of time. This sign in the 01:58 historical application was when the Roman standards came with 02:03 the eagle and the sun and the Roman legions rendered them 02:09 worship. At the end of time it will no longer be a literal 02:13 eagle with literal sun worship. It will be a nation whose emblem 02:17 is the eagle and an imposition of Sunday as the day of rest. 02:22 This will divide the world into two groups. Those who flee and 02:29 those who stay. Then after the flight you have the beginning of 02:35 the great tribulation such as never has been seen since the 02:39 world began nor every shall be. And then in the midst of this 02:45 great tribulation mentioned in Matthew 24 and verses 21 and 22 02:51 then you have the counterfeit second coming of Christ. Satan 02:55 is going to counterfeit the second coming of Jesus. We 02:58 studied about that in our last lecture. And then at the very 03:03 end of the tribulation when Satan has counterfeited the 03:06 second coming of Christ, then we have the closing events at the 03:12 conclusion of the great tribulation. And that is what we 03:16 are going to study now in our lecture today. So let's begin by 03:21 going to Matthew 24 and verse 29 It speaks here about signs in 03:27 the heavens when the tribulation comes to an end. It says there 03:32 in Matthew 24 verse 29: 03:54 Now to when does this particular verse apply? There has been some 04:00 confusion regarding these heavenly signs in Matthew 24 and 04:04 verse 29. Some have claimed that this verse is out of 04:09 chronological order in Matthew chapter 24 because they say that 04:15 this verse refers to the great earthquake of Lisbon, it refers 04:20 to the sun being darkened and the moon looking like blood in 04:25 1780 and the falling of the stars in the year 1833. So they 04:30 say see Matthew 24 verse 29 is not in chronological order with 04:36 the other events in the chapter. However, this assumption is 04:40 wrong. The signs in the heavens in 1780 and 1833 as well as the 04:47 great earthquake in 1755 are not the same as the signs that are 04:54 mentioned here in Matthew 24 and verse 29. They are different 04:59 sets of signs. In other words there's one set of signs that 05:03 take place in 1755, 1780 and 1833. There is another set of 05:09 signs that take place immediately after the 05:13 tribulation as Jesus is about 05:15 to return. Now if you remember the papacy had two stages of 05:22 existence or of dominion. Therefore the tribulation must 05:26 also have two stages. And the signs in the heavens also have 05:32 two stages. The signs that took place in 1755, 1780 and 1833 05:40 announce the judgment phase of those who were martyred under 05:47 the fifth seal, whereas the signs immediately after the 05:52 tribulation point to the avenging stage of the cry of the 05:58 martyrs in Revelation chapter six regarding the fifth seal. 06:05 Now let's notice the function of the signs. What was the function 06:10 of the signs that occur in the heavens; that is in 1755 the 06:18 great earthquake, 1780 the darkening of the sun and the 06:23 moon looking like blood and the stars falling from heaven in 06:27 1833. We're going to talk about those first, then we're going to 06:31 deal more specifically with Matthew chapter 24 and verse 29. 06:35 So what is the function of the signs that announce the 06:39 beginning of the judgment phase of the cry of the martyrs in the 06:44 fifth seal. There are five specific functions for these 06:48 signs. First, they announce that the first stage of persecution 06:54 by the papacy, the first stage of the great tribulation is 06:59 about to come to an end. Second they serve as an omen of the fall 07:07 of the papal power because they occur immediately before the 07:10 papal power falls. And third in the third place, they serve to 07:16 draw attention to the approaching judgment in the year 07:21 1844. Four, they serve as indicators of the beginning of 07:26 the end. And finally they announced the soon coming of 07:31 Jesus Christ. So I'd like you to notice once again the five 07:36 functions of these signs in the heavens and also the great 07:41 earthquake, 1755, 1780 and 1833. First it 07:47 announces that the great tribulation, the first stage of 07:49 the great tribulation is about to come to an end. Second, it's 07:53 an omen of the fall of the papal power. Number three they serve 07:57 to draw attention to the approaching judgment in 1844. 07:59 Four, they are indicators of the beginning of the time of the end 08:05 and five, they announce the soon coming of Jesus Christ. 08:10 Now there are critics both within and without the Adventist 08:16 church that argue in the following fashion. How is it 08:20 possible to believe that events that took place over 250 years 08:26 ago are signs of the soon coming of Jesus? You know these signs 08:31 took place in 1755, 1780 and 1833. Over 250 years have passed 08:39 since then. So how can we believe that those signs are 08:43 signs that Jesus is soon to come Isn't this stretching credulity 08:47 to its limit. You know if you look at this on the surface 08:52 at appears like a persuasive argument that these signs cannot 08:55 announce the soon coming of Jesus Christ. But when you look 08:59 at this in a broader prospective it makes perfect sense. Let me 09:04 use an example. Let us suppose for the sake of argument 09:08 that I'm going to take a 6000 mile trip. When I start the trip 09:14 everybody would agree that the end of the trip is a long ways 09:20 off. When I'm half way there you would agree that the 09:25 destination is still then very distant. However, when I'm 250 09:31 miles from the destination would you say that I'm near my 09:36 destination? Of course. Two hundred and fifty years of 6000 09:42 years of history is only four percent. So when you look at it 09:47 from the perspective of creation to our time certainly the coming 09:52 of Jesus is near. The late C. Mervyn Maxwell who was my 09:57 teacher at the Andrews University Theological Seminary 10:01 wrote a very good book. It's called the Magnificent 10:03 Disappointment on pages 91 and 92, by the way this book was 10:09 published in 1994, he puts 1844 and the nearness of the second 10:14 coming in proper perspective. I read now from the book. 11:18 And he mentions a little before this quotation that more than 97 11:23 percent of human history took place prior to 1844. So it all 11:29 depends what perspective you look at this from. If you look at 11:33 it from the perspective of Eden oh we're very close to the end. 11:38 If you look at it from the perspective of 1844 it is a 11:44 different story. So let's notice why these particular signs. 11:51 The enemies of traditional Adventism and Ellen White have 11:57 frequently pointed out that there have been other 12:00 earthquakes, other dark days, other times that the moon has 12:04 looked like blood and other times that there have been stars 12:09 that have fallen. They argue what makes the Lisbon earthquake of 12:14 1755, and the dark day of 1780 the moon looking like blood in 12:21 1780 and the Leonids star shower of 1833 so unique and so special 12:27 The answer is fourfold. Number one, the location of these signs 12:33 Number two, their order. Number three, their timing and number 12:39 four, their intensity. So let's look at the location of these 12:44 particular signs. It's not coincidental that these signs 12:50 in 1755, 1780, and 1833 occurred in Europe and in the United 12:56 States. Europe was significant because the papacy was going to 13:01 receive its deadly wound there which would mark the end of 13:06 the 1260 year tribulation of God's people. The United States 13:11 was significant, particularly New England, because there the 13:15 Millerites were going to proclaim the beginning of the 13:18 investigative judgment in the 1830s. Once again C. Mervyn 13:23 Maxwell explains this importance of Europe and the United States. 14:24 So it's significant that the location for these signs was 14:26 in Europe and in the United States because at this time 14:29 they were studying Bible prophecy because they knew 14:32 that the 1260 years were coming to an end, the papacy was coming 14:37 to an end and the judgment was soon to begin in 1844. Another 14:42 thing which makes these signs stand out is their order. These 14:48 phenomena occurred exactly in the order that the Bible 14:51 presents them, in the exact chronological order as 14:54 Revelation chapter six. The Lisbon earthquake occurred in 15:00 1755. The dark day and the moon looking like blood took place in 15:05 1780 and the star shower took place in the year 1833. Now show 15:11 me one other instance within a 100 year period where you have 15:16 these signs in the precise order in which they occurred in 15:21 harmony with Revelation chapter six and verse 12. You will not 15:24 be able to find any other occasion within a 100 year 15:27 period where these signs exist in exact order that is mentioned 15:31 in Revelation six and verses 12 and 13. The next point is the 15:37 timing of these particular signs in the earthquake and the signs 15:44 in the heavenly bodies. These signs occurred precisely at the 15:49 right time immediately before the 1260 year tribulation came 15:54 to an end and just before the fulfillment of the prophecies 15:58 concerning the fall of the papacy in 1798 and the beginning 16:03 of the investigative judgment in 1844. So they occurred right in 16:09 time. And finally their intensity indicates that these 16:13 signs were unusual. Once again we find in the book Magnificent 16:19 Disappointment page 93 the following words by C. Mervyn 16:23 Maxwell... 17:25 So notice that these signs are special because of their 17:28 location, because of their order because of their timing and 17:33 because of their intensity. Now let's take a look at the 17:38 scripture references of the signs. You know that there are 17:42 several passages from scripture that describe these signs. And 17:48 so we need to take a look and see if there's a 17:50 difference between the signs that lead up to the year 1844 17:54 and the signs 17:56 that take place in the year after the tribulation as 17:59 Jesus is about to come to the earth. We find signs in the 18:04 heavenly bodies many times in scripture. Revelation chapter 18:08 six verses 12 and 13 that we'll read in a moment tells us that 18:13 the moon became like blood, not that it became dark. Remember 18:19 that. The signs in Revelation 6:12,13 are parallel to those in 18:26 the book of Joel chapter two verse 31 and Acts chapter two 18:31 and verse 20. In a moment we're going to read all of these 18:33 verses and put this together. Now let's read Revelation 18:38 chapter six verses 12 and 13 and examine these passages that deal 18:43 with signs in the heavens as well as an earthquake to see if 18:47 there's a difference between the signs that led up to 1844 and 18:50 the signs and the signs that take place announcing the second 18:54 coming of Christ. Revelation chapter 6 verses 12 and 13 18:59 states... 19:26 So you have an earthquake, the sun becoming black, the moon 19:30 looking like blood and the stars falling from heaven. That's the 19:34 order of the signs Revelation 6:12,13. And as I mentioned 19:38 these signs announce several events that are to occur in 1798 19:44 and in 1844. Now let's read where this actually comes from 19:49 because there's a text in the Old Testament where Revelation 19:52 is actually referring to. Joel chapter two and verse 31. 19:57 Joel two and verse 31. There's a very important little detail 20:02 here... 20:20 So the sun turned into darkness, the moon into blood occurs 20:25 before the great and awesome day of the Lord. 20:28 Incidentally the apostle Peter quoted this prophecy from Joel 20:32 In Acts chapter two and verse 20 in his sermon on the day of 20:37 Pentecost. I want to read that verse. Acts two verse 20: 20:50 So you notice that these signs that are mentioned in Revelation 20:54 6:12,13, Joel chapter 2:31 and Acts chapter two and verse 20 21:00 speaks of the moon being turned into blood and this occurs 21:06 before the great and awesome day of the Lord. However there are 21:11 other signs that point to an announcement of the second 21:16 coming of Jesus immediately after the tribulation when Jesus 21:20 is about to come to planet earth. And those signs have 21:25 details that are different from the signs that led up to 1798 21:30 and 1844. Let's notice three of those passages. Joel chapter two 21:36 verses 10 and 11. Now if you read the verses before this it's 21:40 describing the second coming of Christ very clearly. 21:43 Joel 2:10,11 says: The earth quakes before them. And now 21:50 there's an additional detail. Not only does the earth quake 21:53 but it says: The heavens tremble So this is not only an 21:58 earthly earthquake, this is a heavenly earthquake. The heavens 22:03 tremble and then it says the sun and moon grow dark. This is 22:08 different because in the previous prophecies it says that 22:12 the moon looked like blood. Here it says that the sun and the 22:15 moon grow dark. And the stars diminish their brightness. It 22:20 doesn't say the stars fall, the stars diminish their brightness. 22:23 In other words, everything goes dark. It continues: This is the 22:29 second coming. The Lord gives voice before His army, for His 22:32 camp is very great; for strong is the one who executes his word 22:36 And then comes this reference to Revelation six and verse 17. For 22:43 the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it 22:48 So you notice here that this is speaking about signs that take 22:53 place when the great and terrible day of the Lord has 22:56 arrived. The earthquakes and the heavens tremble, the sun and 23:00 moon and the stars don't give their light. These are not the 23:04 signs that led up the years 1798 and 1844. These are different 23:10 signs because they take place in the great and terrible day of 23:13 the Lord and we are told that the sun, moon and stars grow 23:18 dark. It doesn't say that the moon is turned into blood. 23:21 Let's notice Joel chapter three and verses 15 and 16. It says 23:28 there the sun and moon will grow dark and the stars diminish 23:33 their brightness. Once again everything's going to go dark. 23:36 It does say the stars fall from heaven, doesn't say the moon 23:40 is turned into blood. It says that the sun and moon will grow 23:43 dark and the stars will diminish their brightness. Verse 16: 23:47 The Lord also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from 23:52 Jerusalem. The heavens and earth will shake. This isn't only the 23:56 Lisbon earthquake. The heavens and earth will shake; But the 24:00 Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the 24:04 children of Israel. Let's notice one further passage Isaiah 24:08 chapter 13 verses 10-13 and I'm reading from the New 24:12 International Version, this particular passage. It says 24:16 there: The stars of heaven and their constellations will not 24:21 show their light. So notice that the stars and constellations 24:25 don't shine anymore, they're dark. We continue: The rising 24:29 sun will be darkened and the moon will not give it's light. 24:32 Once again, different than the signs that announce 1798 and 24:38 1844. Verse 11:... 25:07 So this takes place at the second coming folks. So Matthew 25:12 chapter 24:29 is not out of chronological order. You just 25:17 can't take those signs and say well they're the same signs that 25:20 led up to 1798 and 1844. You know I've been on Zoom a lot 25:26 during this pandemic and every single time that I've shared 25:31 this message on Matthew chapter 24 at the end we have a question 25:36 and answer session, they say oh but wait a minute Pastor Bohr 25:39 you say that Matthew 24 is in chronological order but Matthew 25:43 24 verse 29, the signs in the heavens, they're out of 25:46 chronological order because that happened in 1755, 1780 and 1833. 25:51 And I have to explain all of this to them. You see the 25:55 chapter is in chronological order. There are signs that 25:59 point to the end of the tribulation at the hands of the 26:02 papacy and there are signs that the great time of trouble at the 26:06 end of time is about to come to an end. There are two different 26:10 sets of signs. You need to understand that. There's a 26:15 difference between the expression time of the end and 26:18 the expression the end of time. The signs in Revelation 6:12,13 26:25 point to the beginning of the time of the end whereas the 26:30 signs immediately before the second coming point to the end 26:33 of time. You notice that Matthew 24 verse 29 refers to the powers 26:40 of the heavens being shaken. Now the first thing is, what are the 26:44 power of the heavens that are shaken when Jesus begins his 26:50 second coming. Well the answer is in Genesis chapter one and 26:55 verse 16. Genesis one verse 16 says: Then God made two great 27:01 lights, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser 27:07 light to rule the night. He made the stars also. So the sun and 27:13 the moon are the rulers of heaven. The sun rules the day 27:16 and the moon rules the night. So Matthew 24 verse 29 says that 27:23 the powers of the rulers of heaven will be shaken. What does 27:27 that mean? It simply means that the sun, moon, and stars will be 27:34 moved from their places. They will be shaken somewhere in the 27:39 universe. They will not disappear. I'm going to read an 27:42 interesting statement in a few moments. They will not disappear 27:45 but they will be thrown some where in the universe and that's 27:48 the reason why during the thousand years this planet will 27:52 be dark. It will have no light because there's no sun, no moon 27:57 and no stars to illumine the earth. Now here's a very 28:02 interesting detail. It is noteworthy that Ellen White 28:08 quotes, and don't miss this point. Ellen White quotes 28:11 Revelation 6:12,13 in the Great Controversy page 304. Notice 28:19 this. Ellen White quotes Revelation 6:12,13 which 28:22 mentions the great earthquake and the signs in heaven, the sun 28:25 being darkened, the moon looking like blood and the stars falling 28:28 from heaven. She quotes this and she comments on this in The 28:32 Great Controversy, page 304. But interestingly enough she 28:38 does not quote verses 14-17 until pages 641 and 642. 28:46 That's almost 350 pages 28:50 between her reference to Revelation 6:12,13 and her 28:55 reference to Revelation six verses 14-17. This indicates 29:00 that there is a parentheses of time between verses 12 and 13 29:08 and verses 14-17. Let me quote from Ellen White pages 641 and 29:16 642. This is a short quotation. 29:29 This is Ellen White commenting. She said the heavens are rolled 29:32 together as a scroll, the earth trembles before him because he's 29:36 coming in his second coming. Every mountain and island is 29:38 moved out of its place. And then immediately after this Ellen 29:41 White quotes Revelation six verses 15-17. Interestingly 29:47 enough in connection with the second coming. But when she 29:51 comments on verses 12 and 13 she's speaking of the signs that 29:54 took place in 1755, 1780 and 1833. So there are 350 pages 30:03 between page 304 and pages 641 and 642. There is a period of 30:09 time, in other words, between verses 12 and 13 and verses 30:13 14-17. What is the principle here? The principle here is that 30:21 there are signs that mark the end of the two tribulation 30:27 stages. In both cases the signs indicate that God is going to 30:34 deliver his people from oppression. The signs in the 30:36 heavens leading up to 1798 and 1833 show that the period of 30:41 oppression during the tribulation when the papacy 30:44 persecuted God's saints is the first stage of these signs. 30:49 Whereas the second stage of the signs in the heavens is that the 30:54 tribulation of God's people in the great time of trouble is 30:57 coming to an end and God is about to deliver his people. 31:00 We must understand this also from the perspective of the 31:04 fifth seal as we studied in our last presentation. The fifth 31:08 seal mentions the two groups of martyrs; one past during the 31:12 1260 years and one future during the great tribulation at the end 31:17 of time. The signs in the sixth seal, Revelation 6:12,13 31:23 announce the judgment stage of the cry of the martyrs whereas 31:29 the signs in Revelation 6:14-17 point to the moment when God 31:34 avenges his faithful people. Let's go once again to 31:39 Revelation chapter six and notice this because it's 31:43 important that keep this particularly in mind. Revelation 31:46 chapter six and we'll read verses nine through 11. And I 31:51 remind you that the horse, the first seal, represents the 31:54 apostolic church going out conquering and to conquer. 31:58 The second seal is the red horse. This is the Imperial 32:03 persecutions where God's people are mowed down by the Roman 32:05 Empire. The third horse, the black horse, is when error comes 32:09 into the church and paganism and Christianity are joined together 32:13 in the days of Constantine. The fourth horse, the yellow horse, 32:16 the horse of death is the period of papal oppression when 32:20 millions of God's people are slain and then in the fifth seal 32:22 the martyrs are crying out, the martyrs that died during the 32:26 fourth seal are crying out. Let's read verse nine. When they 32:29 opened the fifth seal: I saw under the altar the souls of 32:34 those who had been slain for the word of God and for the 32:37 testimony which they had. And they cried with a loud voice 32:40 saying how long O Lord holy and true until you judge, they are 32:47 pleading for two things, until you judge and avenge our blood 32:53 on those who dwell on the earth? So they're asking for two things 32:58 We want you to judge and we want you to avenge. And then verse 11 33:04 says, Then a white robe was given to each of them, that is 33:07 to those who died during the first period of tribulation, the 33:11 period of persecution and it was said to them that they should 33:15 rest a little while longer, in other words, they were going to 33:17 remain dead, they'll rest a little while until both the 33:21 number of their fellow servants and their brethren who will be 33:24 killed as they were completed. In other words, until 33:27 the rest of the martyrs die these martyrs are supposed to 33:32 rest. So the first signs are an indication that the judgment 33:37 stage of the cry of the martyrs is coming very soon in 1844. 33:42 The signs that we find in the heavens at the end of time 33:46 is the sign that God is delivering his people from the 33:49 end time tribulation and he's going to avenge them. Now let's 33:57 go to Luke chapter 21 verses 25 and 26. These are interesting 34:02 verses. Usually preachers take these verses and say that they 34:07 are describing the present turmoil of society. In other 34:10 words, the distress among nations that is taking place now 34:14 Let's read the verses and see when this applies to 34:19 specifically. Luke 21:25,26 reads: 34:51 So notice that this distress among nations, the signs in the 34:54 sun, moon and stars when the powers of the heavens are shaken 34:58 You know, this is the same concept that we found in 35:03 Matthew 24:29. In other words, Luke is parallel to Matthew but 35:10 Luke adds some details. He adds that there's going to be 35:15 distress, perplexity, the roaring of the sea and men's 35:18 hearts failing them for fear. Jesus here is not talking about 35:24 present distress among nations. That is out of context. In 35:29 context the focus is the distress among nations now 35:35 because they see the signs in the sun, moon and stars and the 35:38 great earthquake and they know that Jesus is coming soon. The 35:42 sea is raging at this time. In the chapters, The Time of 35:49 Trouble and God's People Delivered in the book The Great 35:53 Controversy, Ellen White follows the identical order of the 35:57 events of Matthew 24 verses 29 and 30. I want you to notice 36:03 this. You know, how did Ellen White get all these things in 36:05 the exact proper order, in the correct order. Was it a lucky 36:10 guess? Or was she simply inspired by the Spirit and she 36:13 is being given this information so that she puts everything 36:16 where it's supposed to be. After describing the great tribulation 36:21 in the chapter on The Time of Trouble Ellen White wrote on 36:26 how God's voice will shake the heavens and the earth. She then 36:32 describes the roaring of the sea in tempestuous fury and the 36:38 resulting distress among nations a clear allusion to the language 36:42 of Luke 21:25,26. So Luke 21:25,26 is referring to the 36:49 distress among nations when they see the sun and the moon and the 36:54 stars darken and not only the earth being shaken but the 36:56 heavens shaken, the indication that Jesus is about to undertake 37:00 his return to this earth. Then just a few pages after this 37:05 Ellen White describes the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. 37:10 The she describes how the sign which is a little black cloud 37:16 about half the size of a man's hand which comes closer and 37:21 closer to the earth, it becomes a white cloud and then Jesus 37:24 sends the angles to pick up his saints from the four winds. 37:29 Now let me just review with you the pages in Great Controversy 37:34 where Ellen White follows Matthew 24:29,30 in the exact 37:38 order in which it appears in the text. In Great Controversy 613 37:43 and 634 she describes the time of trouble or the great 37:49 tribulation. Great Controversy 613 to 634. Then in Great 37:53 Controversy 636 and 637 she refers to the signs in the sun, 38:00 moon and stars and the great earthquake. Then in pages 638 38:07 and 639 she describes the distress among nations and the 38:11 lashing of the sea. Then in Great Controversy 640 and 641 38:16 she describes the sign of the coming of the Son of Man and 38:20 then on page 645 she describes the gathering of the elect. 38:25 It's in the exact order of Matthew 24 and verses 29-31. 38:30 And of course she adds a lot of details. She amplifies greatly 38:36 what we find there in Matthew 24 verses 29-31. But now we need 38:43 to deal with a seemingly difficult statement from Ellen 38:47 White. This statement is found in Great Controversy page 304. 38:51 And some people are confused. They say Pastor Bohr's wrong 38:56 because the signs that took place in 1755, in 1780 and 1833 39:02 Ellen White says that Matthew 24 at the end of the chapter is 39:05 talking about that. Let's read it carefully. You know we need 39:09 to read things carefully, not superficially. Here Ellen White 39:14 wrote the following: Prophecy not only foretells the manner 39:21 and object of Christ's coming, but it presents tokens by which 39:28 men are to know when it is near. So notice two things: Prophecy 39:36 foretells the manner and object of Christ's coming and also 39:41 presents the tokens by which men can know that it is near. She 39:47 continue: Said Jesus... 40:10 There she's quoting from Mark 13 verses 24-26. and then she 40:17 states:... 40:31 So because Ellen White quotes Mark 13:24-26 where it says the 40:36 sun will be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, the 40:38 will fall from heaven, the powers that are in heaven will 40:40 be shaken and then they will see the Son of Man coming in the 40:44 clouds with great power and great glory, she's quoting Mark 40:46 chapter 13:24-26. And then she says the revelator thus 40:51 describes the first of the signs that precede the second advent. 40:54 So she saying Mark 13:24-26 seemingly is referring to the 41:00 first signs that took place in 1755, 1780 and 1833. That's only 41:08 if we read this superficially. You say why is that? Because 41:14 at the beginning of the statement Ellen White says that 41:19 prophecy foretells two things. It foretells the manner and 41:23 object of Christ's coming and it also presents the tokens by 41:29 which men may know that it is near. So Ellen White is talking 41:35 about two sets of signs. First of all, manner and object of 41:40 Christ's coming and the tokens by which men are to know when it 41:45 is near. When Ellen White quotes Mark 13:24-26 she's referring to 41:51 the manner and object of Christ's coming. And when she 41:55 talks about the great earthquake the sun being black as sackcloth 41:59 of hair and the moon became as blood she's talking about 42:03 the tokens by which 42:04 men may know that it is near. Now let me read another 42:11 statement which puts this all in perspective. Ellen White wrote 42:16 in Early Writings page 41 the following words: 43:12 So she's saying that when Matthew, Mark and Luke talk 43:15 about the signs that are taking place in heaven they have to do 43:21 with the moving of the sun, moon and stars out of their places. 43:25 So we need to understand this quotation and read it carefully, 43:31 because Ellen White is talking about two things: The manner and 43:35 object of Christ's coming and the tokens by which men may know 43:41 that it is near. And first she mentions the manner and object 43:45 of Christ's coming by quoting Mark 13:24-26 and then she goes 43:50 to speak about the tokens at the end of this quotation which are 43:54 the signs that took place in 1755, 1780 and 1833. Now let's 44:02 look at sign of the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:30: 44:10 When these signs take place in the heavens it says: 44:26 What is the sign of the Son of Man? The answer is in the Elijah 44:32 story in 1 Kings chapter 18:41-44. I wish I had time to 44:38 develop the story of Elijah. I've done it in other venues. 44:42 You remember that Elijah had three enemies: A harlot Jezebel, 44:48 false prophets that did her bidding and Ahab who was a wimp 44:54 and did everything that Jezebel said. These three foreshadow the 45:00 trilogy of terror at the end of time; the dragon, the beast and 45:05 the false prophet. Do you remember in the story of Elijah 45:09 that after Elijah went through his severe time of trouble when 45:15 Jezebel was seeking him out and after Elijah had brought down 45:20 fire from heaven in the sight of men, you remember what occurred? 45:25 Then we find Elijah see a small cloud in heaven about the size 45:33 of a man's hand. What was this cloud? Well we know by 45:39 continuing our reading of this particular story. In 2 Kings 45:46 chapter two verse 11 we find a fiery chariot surrounded by 45:52 angels that picks up Elijah and takes Elijah in a whirlwind to 45:57 heaven. Remember that small black cloud was the sign that 46:02 the chariot was coming to pick up Elijah. And that's exactly 46:06 what happened. Is that going to happen at the end of time? Yes 46:11 God's going to give a sign, the sign of the coming of the Son of 46:16 Man. That small cloud about half the size of the palm of a man 46:20 and Ellen White describes how this cloud is going to get 46:24 closer and closer and it will become a white cloud. Let me 46:28 read you this statement in Early Writing 33 and 34: 47:13 This is the chariot of fire that comes to pick up God's people. 47:17 You say now wait a minute. It says there that a white cloud 47:21 comes for God's people. It doesn't say anything about a 47:23 chariot. Well let me read you about the return of God's people 47:27 to heaven with Jesus. We find in Great Controversy page 645: 48:05 Swing low sweet chariot comin' for to carry me home, as the 48:11 Negro spiritual says. So you have the great tribulation, the 48:18 signs in the heavens and the great earthquake that announces 48:21 the end of the tribulation. Then you have the sign of the Son of 48:24 Man, that black cloud, Jesus is beginning the second coming. 48:29 And then Jesus comes down and he arrives above the earth and 48:35 then he's going to send his angels to pick up his elect. 48:39 Notice that Jesus doesn't come all the way down to the earth 48:42 and start walking around gathering his elect. No, he 48:47 stays above and he sends his angels. Notice Matthew 24 and 48:52 verse 31. 49:06 Obviously the rapture isn't true Why would Jesus come to gather 49:10 his elect from the four winds of heaven if they had previously 49:13 gone to heaven in the rapture? They would actually be coming 49:17 with him. He would not be sending his angels to gather 49:21 them. Now there are other passages in scripture that 49:25 that Jesus will not touch the earth when he returns for the 49:28 second time. We find this, of course, in Matthew 24:31 it's 49:33 strongly hinted at when we are told that Jesus sends his angels 49:37 to pick up his elect. But also we find it in 1 Thessalonians 49:40 chapter four and verses 15-17. A passage very well-known read 49:46 possibly at every funeral that I have attended. The apostle Paul 49:52 wanted to comfort the Thessalonians and he wrote the 49:55 following words: 49:56 In other words, those who are 50:07 alive are not going to heaven before those who die. Verse 16: 50:11 Notice that Jesus stays in the air. 50:37 He doesn't come down to set up his everlasting kingdom here at 50:40 his second coming. He's going to take his people to heaven. We're 50:43 going to know it. So once again Verse 17: The we who are alive 50:48 and remain shall be caught up together with them, with those 50:50 who died and resurrected, in the clouds to meet the Lord in the 50:54 air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort 50:58 one another with these words. 51:01 Second Thessalonians chapter two and verse one also indicates 51:05 that we are going to gather to Jesus at the second coming, 51:08 Jesus is not going to gather to us. It says there in 51:11 2 Thessalonians two verse one: 51:21 It doesn't say that he's going to come to gather to us and he's 51:23 going to stay here on earth for a thousand years. No, it says 51:27 that we will gather to him. Also we need to read John 14 verses 51:32 one to three. Famous verses that were referred to in my last 51:36 presentation Jesus said to his troubled disciples as he had 51:40 told them in the previous chapter that he was leaving, 51:43 he told them this so that they would be comforted. 51:45 Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also 51:50 in Me. In my father's house... Let me ask you where does the 51:54 Father live? We pray our Father which art in heaven. The Father 51:59 lives in heaven. So Jesus says: In My Father's house, that is in 52:04 heaven, are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told 52:08 you. I go... Where was he going? To heaven right? I go to 52:12 prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you 52:18 That's heaven... I will come again and receive you to Myself; 52:24 that where I am, there you may be also. 52:29 You know the fundamental problem of those who believe in the 52:33 rapture is what they believe concerning the millennium. 52:37 They're wrong regarding the millennium. You see Jesus made 52:40 two promises. The first promise that he made to his followers 52:45 is that he was going to take them to heaven. The second 52:49 promise that he made to them is that the meek will inherit the 52:52 earth. So how can Jesus fulfill both of those promises? The 52:56 promise to take his people to heaven and then the promise that 52:59 the meek will inherit the earth. Well those who believe in the 53:03 rapture say there's only one way in which Jesus can fulfill both 53:06 of these promises and that is when he returns at the rapture 53:11 he takes his faithful people to heaven, that fulfills the first 53:15 promise, and then seven years later he comes to this earth and 53:20 he establishes his millennial kingdom here on earth. So that 53:23 way they say he's fulfilled both promises. He's taken the 53:27 redeemed who were ready to heaven in the rapture, that 53:31 fulfills the first promise, he takes them to the Father's house 53:34 and then he comes down seven years later in his glorious 53:40 coming and he sets up his kingdom on earth and the meek 53:42 will inherit the earth. But there's a much more biblical way 53:45 of understanding how Jesus can fulfill both of these promises. 53:48 You say how. Well, there's only one glorious coming of Jesus 53:54 Christ. He comes from heaven at his second coming and at his 53:59 second coming he resurrects the dead, he transforms the living 54:04 gives both the dead who were resurrected and those who were 54:07 alive glorified bodies and then Jesus takes them to heaven for a 54:12 thousand years. That's how he fulfills the first promise by 54:17 taking all the redeemed not only those who were ready for the 54:20 rapture but all of those who are ready. He comes the second time, 54:26 picks up all of his people and the takes them to heaven for a 54:30 thousand years. That's the way he fulfills his first promise. 54:34 And then, at the end of the thousand years Jesus returns to 54:40 this earth with the New Jerusalem. You can find it in 54:43 Revelation chapters 21 and 22. He returns to the earth, he 54:47 destroys Satan and his angels, the wicked, and then he creates 54:51 a new heavens and a new earth and the meek inherit the earth. 54:55 So there's another way of understanding how Jesus can 54:59 fulfill promises without trying to create the rapture idea which 55:05 does not find any foundation in holy scripture. I want to read a 55:12 final statement that we find in Great Controversy page 37: 55:15 The world will then behold, as never before, the results of 55:22 Satan's rule... She's talking about when God's Spirit is 55:28 withdrawn from the earth. She continues:... 56:20 This is what the Bible refers to as the blessed hope. And you 56:26 know when I was Pastor of Fresno Central Church here in Fresno, 56:30 California at the end of the service we always sang that song 56:33 We have this hope that burns within our hearts, Hope in the 56:39 coming of the Lord. That is the blessed hope according to the 56:43 apostle Paul, the coming of Jesus to take his people to 56:48 heaven for a thousand years where they will judge Satan and 56:52 his angels and the wicked who have been left here. The wicked 56:55 are dead, Satan and his angels are alive. God's people will be 56:59 pronouncing sentence upon them. The after the thousand years 57:02 Jesus will descend with his saints and he will enter the 57:06 holy city, he will resurrect all of the wicked dead. The wicked 57:10 dead will gather around the city with the intention of destroying 57:14 those who are inside. In other words, the battle that took 57:16 place against God's people before the thousand years 57:18 continues after the thousand years. But then the Bible tells 57:22 us that fire descends from heaven and consumes Satan, his 57:28 angels and the wicked. And then God will create a new heaven and 57:33 a new earth where righteousness reigns. So the apostle Paul 57:38 told us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, after speaking about 57:43 the resurrection of the dead and the translation of the dead 57:47 along with the living, he said to the Thessalonians who were 57:50 wondering what was going to happen with those who had died 57:52 in Christ, the apostle Paul said Therefore comfort one another 57:58 with these words. What a glorious day the coming of Jesus 58:03 will be! 58:06 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2021-07-22