THE END OF THE WORLD
(AS WE KNOW IT) "THE TRIBULATION"
TEXT: Mt. 24:21
THESIS: To show the
nature and purpose of the
Tribulation Period.
INTRO:
A. There is more prophecy on the Tribulation than any other period in Bible prophecy. It would take many messages to cover adequately the subject, but today we will make an attempt to show the nature and purpose of the Tribulation.
B. WHEN is this event called the Tribulation? It is a 7 year period before the 2nd Advent of Christ and after the Rapture of the Church.
C. WHAT happens during this period?
🔸God's judgments occur under the 7 Seal, 7 trumpet and 7 bowl judgments resulting in an ecologist's nightmare.
🔸Stars fall, planets veer off course, dramatic climactic changes occur, famine, disease and plagues run rampant, fires rage out of control, sea life dies, water supplies are polluted, earth-quakes, storms and winds increase, darkness and death reign and the earth is demonized.
🔸Besides these natural and supernatural events, the Antichrist will run rampant and create economic turmoil, terrorize the nations, wipe out all morality and persecute saints.
D. WHY does all this happen? What is the purpose of this horrendous period in the earth's history?
I. TO JUDGE THE WORLD:
A. For Her Sins:
Is. 26:21
For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
1. The world at large has rejected the Savior and deliberately and willfully worshipped false gods and "worshipped the creature more than the Creator." (Evolution)
2. The world has also jettisoned the morality of the 10 Commandments, the moral law of God, and violated every semblance of decency.
ILLUS: 👿We now live in a world where the rights of the rapist, murderer, homo, child molester, etc. are protected over the rights of the victims.
👿Why didn't the assault by the homos on a church in San Francisco not even make the evening news, but when a homo gets beat up by a couple of sailors all the media pick it up and the TV news magazines beat it to death?
B. For Her Worship of Antichrist:
1. They follow lamb who speaks like a dragon and reject the Lamb of God. Rev. 13:11-12
2. They prefer the Antichrist over the real Christ.
C. For Her Rejection of Christ!
1. The Tribulation is God's purging and cleansing of the planet for the coming of His Son.
2. The Millennium is the climactic dispensation of man's sojourn on earth and the Lord wants to "begin again" with only saved people on an earth cleansed of sin and sinners.
ILLUS: There is a spiritual principle here also. Before blessing there is often suffering. Before peace there is often warfare. Before fellowship with Christ there is often purging.
II. TO PREPARE THE JEWS:
A. For Their Messiah:
1. Jews are presently blinded to the Gospel.
Is. 6:9-10
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Rom. 11:25
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
2. Jews will either follow the Antichrist and die or get saved and live forever.
a. God will seal 144,000 Jewish witnesses to preach the Gospel of the coming Kingdom and multitudes will be saved.
b. God will send 2 OLD TESTAMENT witnesses to win Jews to Himself.
Rev. 11:3
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
c. God will apparently resurrect Elijah.
Mal. 4:5-6
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
B. For Their Future:
1. Israel will be persecuted but preserved.
2. The Abrahamic Covenant will be fulfilled and Israel will become a blessing to all the nations of the earth.
III. TO POPULATE THE MILLENNIUM:
A. The Jewish Remnant Will Be Saved:
Rev. 12:17
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
1. The purpose of the Tribulation concerning the Jews will have a positive effect.
2. Many of those who have not received the mark of the beast will be protected by God.
Rev. 12:15-16
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of pit of the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
B. The Gentiles Who Reject Antichrist Will Be Saved:
Rev. 7:9
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
1. These together will make up the inhabitants of the Millennial Kingdom.
Rev. 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Mt. 25:31-34
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
CONCL:
▶"THE END OF THE WORLD (AS WE KNOW IT)" is the result of the 7 yr. Tribulation Period.
▶But it is also THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD AS WE DON'T KNOW IT!
▶This will be a world where wrongs are righted, righteousness reigns and Christ rules.
▶Purging comes before the Prince of Peace comes.
THESIS: To show the
nature and purpose of the
Tribulation Period.
INTRO:
A. There is more prophecy on the Tribulation than any other period in Bible prophecy. It would take many messages to cover adequately the subject, but today we will make an attempt to show the nature and purpose of the Tribulation.
B. WHEN is this event called the Tribulation? It is a 7 year period before the 2nd Advent of Christ and after the Rapture of the Church.
C. WHAT happens during this period?
🔸God's judgments occur under the 7 Seal, 7 trumpet and 7 bowl judgments resulting in an ecologist's nightmare.
🔸Stars fall, planets veer off course, dramatic climactic changes occur, famine, disease and plagues run rampant, fires rage out of control, sea life dies, water supplies are polluted, earth-quakes, storms and winds increase, darkness and death reign and the earth is demonized.
🔸Besides these natural and supernatural events, the Antichrist will run rampant and create economic turmoil, terrorize the nations, wipe out all morality and persecute saints.
D. WHY does all this happen? What is the purpose of this horrendous period in the earth's history?
I. TO JUDGE THE WORLD:
A. For Her Sins:
Is. 26:21
For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
1. The world at large has rejected the Savior and deliberately and willfully worshipped false gods and "worshipped the creature more than the Creator." (Evolution)
2. The world has also jettisoned the morality of the 10 Commandments, the moral law of God, and violated every semblance of decency.
ILLUS: 👿We now live in a world where the rights of the rapist, murderer, homo, child molester, etc. are protected over the rights of the victims.
👿Why didn't the assault by the homos on a church in San Francisco not even make the evening news, but when a homo gets beat up by a couple of sailors all the media pick it up and the TV news magazines beat it to death?
B. For Her Worship of Antichrist:
1. They follow lamb who speaks like a dragon and reject the Lamb of God. Rev. 13:11-12
2. They prefer the Antichrist over the real Christ.
C. For Her Rejection of Christ!
1. The Tribulation is God's purging and cleansing of the planet for the coming of His Son.
2. The Millennium is the climactic dispensation of man's sojourn on earth and the Lord wants to "begin again" with only saved people on an earth cleansed of sin and sinners.
ILLUS: There is a spiritual principle here also. Before blessing there is often suffering. Before peace there is often warfare. Before fellowship with Christ there is often purging.
II. TO PREPARE THE JEWS:
A. For Their Messiah:
1. Jews are presently blinded to the Gospel.
Is. 6:9-10
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Rom. 11:25
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
2. Jews will either follow the Antichrist and die or get saved and live forever.
a. God will seal 144,000 Jewish witnesses to preach the Gospel of the coming Kingdom and multitudes will be saved.
b. God will send 2 OLD TESTAMENT witnesses to win Jews to Himself.
Rev. 11:3
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
c. God will apparently resurrect Elijah.
Mal. 4:5-6
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
B. For Their Future:
1. Israel will be persecuted but preserved.
2. The Abrahamic Covenant will be fulfilled and Israel will become a blessing to all the nations of the earth.
III. TO POPULATE THE MILLENNIUM:
A. The Jewish Remnant Will Be Saved:
Rev. 12:17
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
1. The purpose of the Tribulation concerning the Jews will have a positive effect.
2. Many of those who have not received the mark of the beast will be protected by God.
Rev. 12:15-16
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of pit of the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
B. The Gentiles Who Reject Antichrist Will Be Saved:
Rev. 7:9
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
1. These together will make up the inhabitants of the Millennial Kingdom.
Rev. 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Mt. 25:31-34
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
CONCL:
▶"THE END OF THE WORLD (AS WE KNOW IT)" is the result of the 7 yr. Tribulation Period.
▶But it is also THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD AS WE DON'T KNOW IT!
▶This will be a world where wrongs are righted, righteousness reigns and Christ rules.
▶Purging comes before the Prince of Peace comes.
