Luke 17:22-27
And then, The End
As with most people, I have a fascination with prophecy. I want to
understand the Bible so I look for the whys and the how’s that might
bring the Bible together.
Tonight, I want to share Bible passages with you. All of them have
an end time significance. But I do not just want to share Bible
passages. I also want to put them together in a possible order.
Understand, that is dangerous and I do not know if the order I will
put these Bible verses into is correct. I feel they are pretty
close, but that is all I can say. I may change my mind about some
of these things before I go to bed tonight. But for now, I believe
these are a possible order of what will happen.
You might ask, "Why would you share them if you are not sure?" Many
reasons.
1. First, if he only thing I preach on are the things I
personally know, our Bible would be much smaller.
2. Second, I want to paint a possible picture so that we can see
how close to the end of things we might actually be.
I. \\#Luke 17:22-27\\ The world will increase in sin.
A. Jesus told us that the world would be like it was in the days
of Noah \\#26\\ and the days of Lot \\#28\\.
1. Those were days so sinful that God had to judge the
sinners.
2. I am not so sure that we are not already there; but if we
are not, we will continue downward until we are.
3. If revival comes, it may turn the hands of sin back a bit;
but sooner or later, sin will win out.
B. Jesus also said that no matter how bad the world got, the
people would continue doing the same things.
1. \\#27\\ They will eat, drink, and marry.
2. That also means that they will go to work, go to some form
of worship, and go to some form of entertainment.
3. Life will not stop just because sin increases.
II. The Church will fall away.
2Thess 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition;
A. I know that I am reading into that verse the word "church."
1. I think the church is the only thing that can fall away.
2. Before something can fall away, it had to be pretty close
at to the target.
a. The church was filled with the Holy Ghost and a
witness for Jesus.
b. Not so much anymore.
B. The church will fall away until it is removed.
1. The church’s removal will be sudden and complete
\\#1Thess 4:13-18\\ and 1Cor 15.
2. I remember seeing pictures when I was first saved of the
rapture.
a. The sudden snatching away of Christians caused
automobile accidents and various emergency
situations.
b. I am convinced by what I see being called the church
today that we will hardly be missed for there seems
to be few who are truly believers.
c. Yet, the falling away is not complete yet. As more of
the saints die off and the church is filled with more
of the tares, the church will be missed less and
less.
III. Either shortly before, during, or just after that time, war will
be declared on Israel.
Psalm 83:1 Keep not thou silence, O God: hold
not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they
that hate thee have lifted up the head.
3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy
people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off
from being a nation; that the name of Israel may
be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one
consent: they are confederate against thee:
6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites;
of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines
with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assur also is joined with them: they have
holpen the children of Lot. Selah.
A. Some think this passage has been fulfilled.
1. That is possible, but I do not know when that was.
2. The Bible does not record such an army as this coming
against Israel.
3. Many of these nations came as individuals, some as groups,
but I do not know of a time when they all came.
4. Assyria came, Babylon came; but they attacked these
nations as well. These nations did not join with them to
attack Israel.
B. Notice that all of these nations are local to Israel.
1. Ezekiel 38 and 39 lists a huge army coming against Israel
which virtually everyone believes is end time; yet those
nations are all far away from Israel.
Eze 38:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me,
saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land
of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal,
and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am
against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech
and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into
thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all
thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them
clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great
company with bucklers and shields, all of them
handling swords:
5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of
them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of
Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his
bands: and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself,
thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto
thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
2. This battle commonly believed to be leading up to the very
last battle does not have a single local enemy of
Israel named.
a. Why?
b. I believe before we get to the last battle, the local
enemies of Israel have already tried to annihilate
Israel and got whooped themselves.
C. However, I believe the battle between Israel and their local
enemies does pull many other nations into the war and will
be part of a world-wide calamity.
Rev 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of
the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of
thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and
see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he
that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given
unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to
conquer.
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I
heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was red:
and power was given to him that sat thereon to
take peace from the earth, and that they should
kill one another: and there was given unto him
a great sword.
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard
the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld,
and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had
a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four
beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and
three measures of barley for a penny; and see
thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
IV. All of this will cause an unidentified ruler to rise to the
forefront.
A. I do not know what his earthly name will be, but in the Bible,
he is called the anti-Christ.
2Thess 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition;
B. This individual will negotiate or force Israel into a treaty.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with
many for one week: and in the midst of the week
he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease, and for the overspreading of abominations
he shall make it desolate, even until the
consummation, and that determined shall be poured
upon the desolate.
1. This treaty will be filled with compromises and
constraints.
2. It will allow Israel to build a temple, but it will also
force Israel to recognize other religions and work with
them.
3. This treaty will always be shaky at its best.
4. The anti-Christ will spend 3 1/2 years buttering everyone
up to make it work and when he thinks it is time, he will
announce that he is God.
a. Israel will bolt. They will recognize Jesus must have
been their Savior and will turn to Christ.
b. The anti-Christ will seize absolute power and begin to
persecute the Jews as he has already been doing to
the Christians.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war
with the saints, and to overcome them: and power
was given him over all kindreds, and tongues,
and nations.
V. The Bible describes the anti-Christ’s sudden control.
Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea,
and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having
seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns
ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of
blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a
leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear,
and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the
dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and
great authority.
A. He will implement a numbering system where everyone will have
to be IDed to buy or sell.
Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and
great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive
a mark in their right hand, or in their
foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he
that had the mark, or the name of the beast,
or the number of his name.
B. And for the next 3 1/2 years, he will blaspheme the true God
like no one ever has.
Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth
speaking great things and blasphemies; and power
was given unto him to continue forty and two
months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against
God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle,
and them that dwell in heaven.
VI. But at the same time, God will start ripping his kingdom apart.
Rev 16:1 And I heard a great voice out of the
temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways,
and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon
the earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial
upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and
grievous sore upon the men which had the mark
of the beast, and upon them which worshipped
his image.
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon
the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead
man: and every living soul died in the sea.
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon
the rivers and fountains of waters; and they
became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say,
Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast,
and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and
prophets, and thou hast given them blood to
drink; for they are worthy.
7 And I heard another out of the altar say,
Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous
are thy judgments.
VII. It is at this time that the armies of the world will move
against Israel.
Rev 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils,
working miracles, which go forth unto the kings
of the earth and of the whole world, to gather
them to the battle of that great day of God
Almighty.
16 And he gathered them together into a place
called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
A. Ezekiel tells us that some of the army will be destroyed on
the way to Armageddon.
B. Ezekiel and Revelation tell us that many will die at
Armageddon.
Rev 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without
the city, and blood came out of the winepress,
even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a
thousand and six hundred furlongs.
C. But a great host will actually make it to the city of
Jerusalem to be stopped by Jesus Christ Himself.
Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold
a white horse; and he that sat upon him was
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness
he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his
head were many crowns; and he had a name written,
that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in
blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed
him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,
that with it he should smite the nations: and he
shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he
treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and
wrath of Almighty God.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh
a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
I may not know for certain the order that these events will occur,
but I know they will occur. By the way, I do not think any of what I
have described tonight is considered by any Bible believer to be
allegorical or symbolic. These verses just the plain truth of the
Bible.
Now, how ready are you for them to occur?
<OutlineIndex>
<Close Window>
