Tribulation Turmoil TDD#19

Tribulation Turmoil

Today again read Matthew 24:1-14

Today our key verse is Matthew 24:9 "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”

The way out of the tribulation is through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and through him alone.   Today I am going to discuss the Turmoil of the Tribulation.   But know this upfront, the only hope we ever have today or tomorrow is the blood of Jesus Christ.  

There is no other message from the scriptures.  When you study you study and learn that these 7 years known to us as the tribulation  or Jacobs Trouble, I am motivated to understand that it is through the Blood of Christ that I am redeemed!

So these are a few valid reasons to study the 7 years known to us as the tribulation period.  

In the first 8 verses of Matthew 24, as we have studied there are some wonderful truths about what is going to happen as we move toward the time of the end.  

So i want to look  at Matthew 24 verse 4 again…   Jesus answered:"Watch out that no one deceives you.”

Look at Revelation 6:1&2… “1 As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of the four living beings say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain the victory.”

Keep in mind I have told you before in this study that what we see in Matthew 24 is also seen in the Book of Revelation.  These two outlines are going side by side.  There are parallel with one another.  

 As you read Matthew 24:4 and Look of Revelation 6:1 what you discover is that the one John talks about here in Revelation 6:1 & 2 is not the coming of Messiah.  

Rather he is talking about the coming deception through the anti-Christ.   Jesus said that the first sign that was the coming was that of deception.   Revelation 6 talks clearly about the coming of the antichrist to deceive.  

Remember now, Matthew 24 is an outline of Revelation.  If we follow it together much of it is a parallel in structure.  

Matthew is a very concise outline… Revelation fills in much of the extra detail.  

I told you one of the signs of the second coming was war.   Look at Matthew 24:6… “You 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.”

And compare that to Revelation 6:3-4  “When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere.”

These verses in Revelation speak of war.    Jesus said  In Matthew 24 as we approach the end and the coming return of our Savior there will be a time of war, and more war.  

Look at Matthew 24 verse 7 “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.”

Go back to Revelation 6: 5-6 “When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.  And I heard a voice from among the four living beings say, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.”

When you look and compare these back and forth you see that both Jesus and John are talking about famine. 

Famine on the earth Jesus talked about that in this Olivet discourse, and Revelation says that too.  

As you look at Matthew 24:8 “ All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

As you look  in Revelation 6:7-8 says… 7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living being say, “Come!” 8 I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals.

Both Jesus and Revelation have the same schedule in mind, and it is incredible how they both move in unison through this period of time, and think with me about this!  

It is amazing…  as you look at Matthew 24:9  "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”

Then consider Revelation  6:9-10  “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. 10 They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?”

Here is the story of the beginning of the tribulation period when 100’s and 1000’s of people will be persecuted and die:  It is called martyrdom. 

This theme is the same in Matthew as it is in Revelation.   Many in the Amillennialism argue  that is this unfair to say that there will be a greater time of persecution during the Tribulation.    It maybe unfair but that is what the Bible says.    The tribulation will be hard days and these difficulties will be greater and more intense that the world has ever known.    I’m not degrading what is  going on in our world.  This cover crisis is bad, and there are lots of things I think are bad  and tied and connected to this pandemic.  

There are areas of the world that suffer from immense persecution, but please listen,  the tribulation according to the Bible is greater and worse than anything before it.   Anything we live under right now, these days are just the birth pains for that greater time to come.

I don’t think we are in the tribulation, I don't think the anti-christ is on the scene yet.  He may very well be alive, but He has not yet been identified.   We are headed to these days but we are not there yet.  

You have to read the scriptures and be wise in how you apply them.    You can’t apply them with our feelings, or our emotions, you can't apply them  reckless  abandonment to sound interpretation.  We have to be faithful to the book of the Bible.  

Look again at Matthew 24:10-13… 

 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,  11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.  12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,”

 Let me just tell you in this cover crisis it is refreshing to see someone who loves others.  Look at the attitudes and the pervasive discourse in America today and you will see a cold increase of wickedness and a  cold response of people.  We have been programed to isolate ourselves from one anther.  We are scared to death interact.  Just this morning I saw a report for our dogs to practice social distancing.  This was a recommendation from the CDC!  

As we become more and more disconnected I fear our love for others will grow cold.  

This is a time of chaos upon the earth, and I think part of what is going on intentionally or not, is that our society is being conditioned to hate more and love less.   As wickedness rises love decreases,  as love increases, evil decreases.   This is just a simple biblical principle that we cannot ignore.  

Now this principle is at work and it is working in the day w live and  it is not in full bloom and the shadow is not fully cast - but you see this principle that Jesus said to his disciples.

We had better awaken because if we are not careful this wickedness that we are breeding will lead us to cold - cold hearts. 

As we study this passage If these things do not move us to hit our knees and petition our father  I am not sure what will.   I am not sure  what will shake us or wake us.  

I am concerned for the world I live in, I am concerned for the nation I live in, and we are in  a land of wickedness and our hearts are growing more and more cold every day!

Isolation is not good for us.   What we need is the gospel message- the Good news of Jesus to change our lives.