Preparing for What is Coming Part 2

by Jim Marcum February 13, 2011 INTRODUCTION In the last session, we began to examine from Scripture how we can be certain we are living in the final generation. This session will continue that theme, and establish it even more clearly. There are some major things on the horizon for us. Some national and global things are going to take place that will touch and affect every person on the planet to some extent. The focus of this series of teachings is how to prepare for these things how to prepare for what is coming. . 1. REVIEW OF LAST SESSION: THE END OF ALL THINGS IS AT HAND. A. Lets begin this second session by looking again at 1 Peter 4:7 1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. B. Summary action points from verse 7: 1) Know and embrace that you are part of the generation of time in which the end of all things is truly at hand. [The end of all things is at hand] 2) Receive from the Holy Spirit a work in your inner man which brings you self-control and a sober (clear, disciplined, alert) mind. [ therefore be self -controlled and sober-minded] 3) Learn to live a lifestyle of prayer speaking to God and hearing from God as the foundational purpose and practice of your life. [ for the sake of your prayers.] C. We are the generation that is experiencing the FULFILLMENT of this phrase in 1 Peter 4:7 the end of all things is at hand. Remember that every generation of believers, from the time these words were first penned by Peter, has received the instruction of these words. Every generation has benefited from the instruction of these words, and they have preached these words to their generation. D. But there would always be a target generation that would not only receive the instruction of these words, the ends of all things is at hand, but would actually experience the FULFILLMENT of these words. There would be a generation for whom literally the end was at hand. We are that generation! E. There is no need to become an alarmist or a doomsayer. Rather, be joyful about this, and know it is true! Its time to joyfully embrace the truth that you are a part of the end-time generation of believers who will experience the fulfillment of what Scripture calls the end of all things. You are in a unique generation and period of time on the earth! F. Knowing this, embracing this willingly and joyfully and yet seriously will affect you. 1) It will affect the focus of your life. 2) It will affect your ministry to the Lord and to people. 3) It will affect your lifestyle the way you live your life. 4) It will affect your prayer life the way you pray. 5) It will affect EVERYTHING when you embrace the understanding that you are living in the generation of believers that will usher in the final years, months, and days of this present age of human history upon earth. You are a part of the generation that will prepare the earth for the Lords return.

2. NOT KNOWING THE DAY OR HOUR BUT KNOWING THE GENERATION HAS COME. A. The Scriptures are clear that we do not and will not know the very day or hour of Jesus return. 1) Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32 But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 2) Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. B. However, the Scriptures are equally as clear that the generation of His coming will know they are that generation, and that the Lord will soon return. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-5 (2) For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (3) While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (4) But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. (5) For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. C. The Holy Spirit is saying through Paul here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 that: 1) Yes, the coming of Jesus for some will be sudden. They will be unaware it will be like when a thief comes in the night. 2) But it is very clear that the believers whom the Holy Spirit calls children of light and children of the day (vs. 5) they will not be unaware. The coming of the Lord will not be sudden and a surprise to them! It is in verse 4 You are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 3) How will it be that the generation of believers at the end times is not surprised by the Lords coming? It is because they will know the time is close at hand. They will be living in the light and seeing clearly the signs that tell that the day of the Lord is near. D. Look at what Jesus disciples ask him in Matthew 24, verse 3: Matthew 24:3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" 1) The disciples asked Jesus about the SIGN of His coming and the close of the age. In other words, they were requesting to know what visible evidence there will be for that generation of His coming to KNOW that it is the time of His coming. 2) Jesus then spends quite a bit of time throughout Matthew chapters 24 and 25 telling them about it. He doesnt say, Oh dont concern yourself with that. Theres really nothing to do or to consider it will just happen whenever it will happen. No, He tells the m about the signs of His coming. He answers their question. 3) In the midst of answering their question, Jesus makes the statement that the generation of His coming will not know the DAY or HOUR. But the rest of what He speaks to them in this discourse found in Matthew chapters 24-25 is information ABOUT THE SIGNS OF HIS COMING, which He is giving to PREPARE the generation of His coming to KNOW that they are that generation.

E. Jesus refers directly to the generation of His coming in verses 33-34: Matthew 24:33-34 (33) So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. (34) Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 1) When Jesus says this generation in verse 34, He is talking to and about that same target generation that Peter talks about in 1 Peter 4:7. It is the generation that would experience the fulfillment of the promise of His return the unfolding of the last days of human history. 2) Jesus says here in verse 34 that it will in fact all take place during one generation. And He clearly says that there will be VISIBLE SIGNS things that this generation will SEE, and by seeing them they will know that His coming is very near. Jesus wants that generation of believers to BE PREPARED for WHAT IS COMING. F. YOU MUST BE READY! Matthew 24:42, 44 (42) Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. (44) Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 1) Jesus did NOT say that He would be coming to a GENERATION that would not expect Him. He said He would be coming at a DAY and an HOUR that a generation who would be looking for Him would not precisely know or expect. 2) So, He says, YOU MUST BE READY! What does being ready imply? It implies that there are preparations to be made. He is saying, in effect, Make preparations. Prepare. Prepare yourselves for the end times days and hours. 3) Jesus is saying that there will be a unique generation of believers alive at the end times who will be PREPARING for what is coming! 3. WHAT ARE WE PREPARING FOR? WHAT IS IT THAT IS COMING? A. TIMES OF DIFFICULTY. There is a phrase the Holy Spirit speaks through Paul in 2 Timothy 3:1 that is generally descriptive of what we are preparing for. 2 Timothy 3:1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 1) Other versions read: a. NKJV But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: b. NIV But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. c. Amplified But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear]. 2) The period of time we are entering into will be a time of great difficulty. See the descriptive words here in these versions terrible, perilous, great stress and trouble, hard to bear. 3) Part of the preparation we need to make is to be prepare ourselves to love and worship God, and to count it all joy in the midst of extremely difficult circumstances. 4) We need to be weaned from having our happiness or peace of mind based upon outward experiences, and the instant gratification of our physical needs. That has always been important, but it is absolutely vital in the days that are coming very soon.

B. GREAT TRIBULATION. Jesus says of these last days leading up to His return: Matthew 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. Mark 13:19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 1) Hear what Jesus is saying. We are entering a time of off the charts tribulations. 2) There never has been and never will be again this level of difficulty experienced by the human race. 4. THIS WAS NOT FULFILLED IN 70 A.D. A. This is one of the specific statements Jesus makes here in Matthew chapter 24 which helps us to know that He was not just speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. He says that the tribulation suffered will never be again as difficult as the time period He is speaking about. As bad as that time period was, it has been far superseded by: 1) The Holocaust which took the lives of an estimated 6 million Jews. 2) World War II which saw a total of some 50 million people lose their lives. 3) Present-Day Abortion. Today an estimated 50 million unborn babies are killed each year on our planet (worldwide). 4) What happened in 70 A.D. was terrible, but it pales in comparison to recent tribulations on the earth. 5) What happened in 70 A.D. also pales in comparison to what is prophesied in the book of Revelation will be taking place on planet earth at the time of great tribulation. 6) Dr. David Reagan, referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., said: The terrible events of 70 A.D. were a classic prefillment in type of the ultimate fulfillment that will occur immediately before the Lord returns. Prophetic literature is often this way there is an immediate fulfillment (prefillment) that serves to be a type or shadow of an ultimate fulfillment in the future. B. There are two other statements Jesus makes in Matthew 24 that also help us to understand that He could not have been talking only about what happened in 70 A.D. First of all, in verse 22 Jesus says: Matthew 24:22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 1) We can see the extremity of what this period of time is going to be like. What Jesus is saying is that not a single human being would survive unless this time of tribulation were cut short. 2) In 70 A.D., the destruction of Jerusalem was localized and did not threaten human life on the planet, like Jesus says will happen. 3) Since there were no weapons of mass destruction as there are today, nothing could have taken place in 70 A.D. that, unless cut short, would take the life of every human on earth. C. The other proof that these words of Jesus are not to be taken as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. is in verses 29-31:

Matthew 24:29-31 (29) "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (30) Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 1) When does the Lord say this season or period of tribulation He is talking about will occur? He says it will occur IMMEDIATELY before His return to earth. He says immediately after the tribulation of those days (vs. 29) they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds (vs. 30) . 2) So what Jesus is speaking about is the period of time that takes place immediately before His return. Jesus did not return to the planet in 70 A.D., so it is impossible the signs He was talking about were referring to that time. If they had been, then He would have returned to earth IMMEDIATELY AFTER they occurred in 70 A.D. 5. THE MAJOR SIGN THAT THE GENERATION OF CHRISTS RETURN HAS COME. A. Lets go on and read verse32-34 of Matthew chapter 24, and look at what many prophetic scholars have called the sign that would appear which would signal that the generation of the Lords return has arrived. Matthew 24:32-34 (32) "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. (33) So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. (34) Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. B. Weve looked at verse 34 already. Jesus is telling us that there will be a generation that will not pass away until it has experienced the fulfillment of this season of distress and tribulation, and the return of the Lord. It will happen within the scope of one generation. C. Now look back at verses 32 and 33, and here is Jesus in the midst of all of this suddenly talking about a lesson we need to learn from a fig tree. He says that when the fig tree blossoms, then you know that summer is near. Then He relates that to seeing and knowing that His return is very near. This is the passage that many prophetic scholars believe points to the MAJOR SIGN that would appear which would signal that the return of the Lord is at hand. D. It seems odd to us that Jesus would speak of a fig tree blossoming as relating to the nearness of His return. What does He mean? Here is what we need to understand. The prophets Jeremiah, Hosea, and Joel speak of the nation of Israel as a fig tree. Jesus was not just randomly speaking of a fig tree blossoming as a sign of His coming. He was purposefully using the fig tree to refer to the nation of Israel, just like the Old Testament prophets did. E. What Jesus was saying was that when the fig tree, that is, the nation of Israel would blossom again when it would become revitalized that would be a sign that His return was close at hand. Some Bible interpreters believe that because Jesus goes on to speak then in the next verse

of a GENERATION seeing and experiencing all of this, it could follow that the blossoming of the fig tree (the reappearance of the nation of Israel) would mark the beginning of that generation. F. Well, it has happened! The fig tree has blossomed. The nation of Israel was reborn in 1948. There is a prophecy in Isaiah which speaks of a land or a nation being born in a single day, and then relates it to Zion: Isaiah 66:7-8 (7) "Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son. (8) Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children. 1) In George Konigs book, About Bible Prophecy, he says: In Isaiah 66:7-8, the prophet foreshadowed the re-birth of Israel, which happened "in one day." The woman giving birth before going into labor represent Israel. This accurately describes what happened on May 14, 1948 - when the Jews declared independence for Israel as a united and sovereign nation for the first time in 2,900 years. During that same day, the United States issued a statement recognizing Israel's sovereignty. And, only hours beforehand, a United Nations mandate expired, ending British control of the land. During a 24-hour span of time, foreign control of the land of Israel had formally ceased, and Israel had declared its independence, and its independence was acknowledged by other nations. Modern Israel was literally born in a single day. 2) George Konig says in this quote that it has been 2,900 yrs. since Israel had been a united and sovereign nation. He is obviously going back to the united kingdom under Solomon in 900 B.C. just before the kingdom of Israel was divided into Israel in the north and Judah in the south. However, many prophetic scholars do not go back to 900 B.C. to refer to the last time Israel was a nation, but rather they look to the date of 70 A.D. as the time Israel ceased to be a nation. This is based upon the fact that the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed at that time, and the Jewish people were dispersed from the land of Israel and did not return en masse to re-form their nation until 1948. G. HOW LONG IS A GENERATION? For the sake of summary and without really getting in-depth about this, the usual number of years considered to be a generation, Biblically speaking, is either 40, 70-80, or 120. 1) Forty years is spoken of as a generation when the Bible speaks of the generation which died in the wilderness during the time of Exodus, which lasted 40 years (Numbers 32:13). In this sense 40 years is thought of as a space of time between two generations. 2) Seventy to eighty years is spoken of in Psalm 90, verse 10 as the years of a life or the span of a life, which could be taken to mean a generation. 3) 120 years is spoken of by God in Genesis 6:3 as the number of years he would henceforth limit mans life to again this would be a generation in terms of lifespan. 4) As you know, 40 years from 1948 was 1988, and Jesus did not return! If we understand 7080 years to be the span of a generation, then the years between 2018-2028 might be considered as the time of Christs return. Or if we understand the limit of a human lifespan by God to be 120 years, and that constitutes a generation, then the farthest time period from the blossoming of the fig tree in 1948 to consider for Christs return would be the year 2068.

5) Here is something very important I am not and we should not be attempting to set a date for Christs return! We do not know that specific information. What we do know is that we are living in the generation of the end times, based upon among many things, the blossoming of the fig tree the rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948. 6) Looking at future target spans of years as being the potential years for Christs return to earth DOES in some way help us because we start thinking of it literally and actually. We stop thinking of well, sometime in the future, and we start realizing that there is a limited span of years ahead which constitute the end times or last days season, and we are living in those years! We start thinking concretely about it, which is good. Its what we need to do. It will motivate us to start PREPARING for what is coming! 6. THE CALL TO PREPARE WATCH AND PRAY! A. Corey Russell, one of the senior leaders at International House of Prayer Missions Base in Kansas City, makes this statement on his website: This is the generation that we believe will witness the greatest revival that the earth has ever witnessed and will also witness the rage of Satan, the sin of man, and the judgments of God. This will all culminate in the literal return of Jesus Christ and His establishment of His kingdom on the earth... Its with this conviction that my family and I have given our life to prepare ourselves and as many as the Lord will allow us to prepare for this glorious hour of human history. Jesus continued in Matthew 24 by stating that the ark or place of safety for our generation is a call to growing and increasing in the spirit of revelation and the spirit of prayer. He commanded us to Watch and Pray! He commanded us to cultivate a watchful heart by the Spirit of Revelation and a faith-filled heart by the Spirit of Prayer. B. Corey is one of the bold ones today who is saying it very plainly. He says he is giving the days of his life to preparing himself and his family, and as many others as the Lord allows him to prepare, for the coming of the Lord Jesus back to earth. And he says that the centerpiece of his preparation plan is the twofold admonition of the Lord Jesus: WATCH and PRAY. He says he is doing everything he can to order his personal and family life in such a way that he and they are increasing in a spirit of revelation [watching] and in a spirit of prayer [praying]. C. The scripture he refers to is found in Jesus discourse about His se cond coming in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21: Matthew 24:42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. Mark 13:33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. Luke 21:36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. D. Remember again what the Holy Spirit says through Peter there in 1 Peter 4:7: The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 1) Being alert, engaged, clear-minded SO THAT WE CAN PRAY is the central, foundational thing we must do to prepare for what we are about to experience. There is a way to pray, a type of prayer, a lifestyle of prayer that is available, and that we must receive from the Lord right now. 2) I believe we need to do as Corey Russell and so many others are doing give the rest of the days of our life to growing and increasing in a spirit of revelation and a spirit of prayer. Watching and praying are to be a way of life. That is what will prepare you and me for what is coming. WATCH AND PRAY!