For thousands of years,
there have been a number of individuals and groups that claim the
ability to see visions and make predictions as to what the future will
hold. Some claim that they literally have seen events unfold before they
have happened; sometimes hundreds of years before they happen.
When we talk about prophecy in the church
we think of the prophets of old such as Isaiah, Daniel, and others whose
writings we have in the Bible. They were individuals chosen by God to
communicate a message to the people. They were sometimes even blessed
with special abilities to perform miracles. But all too often people
ridiculed them because of their messages even though they were of vital
importance. (consider Noah and his message and how the people ignored
it)
There were predictions of the coming
Messiah, the Christ child, but usually the messages were simple and
clear, ‘Repent or reap the consequences. Change your sinful ways or
experience the fury of God Almighty. Repent or meet your doom.’
In the Bible such messages have rung out
from the time of Noah who spoke of a coming deluge, to the major and
minor prophets of the Old Testament who warned the Jewish nation of
their destruction by conquering nations. Even in the New Testament
Peter, Paul, and even Jesus Himself spoke of a coming judgment day; a
day that would end our world as we know it.
But have others seen this Judgment Day? Is it possibly there are those who are not part of Jewish history and never made it into the Bible who have seen such things?
I have wondered about this for years now.
Maybe some of you have see programs on television or heard about such
ancient or even modern prophecies?
The reason I am speaking on this
subject today is because over the next year you are going to hear a lot
about one such prophecy. The prophecy written in stone in
South America is centered around what will happen at the end of the
Mayan long count calendar.
The Mayans set this calendar to begin in
the year 3114 B.C. (according to our modern Gregorian calendar). If the
Long Count began in 3114 B.C. and it’s calculated to continue for 5126
years, the “end date” will be — you guessed it — 2012 A.D. Further
refinement sets the date to Dec. 21, the day of the winter solstice for
the Northern Hemisphere. We are talking about a year from this coming Wednesday!
As to what will happen on that day there
are debates. There are those who simply predict that it’s just going to
be another day like any other day. But there are also those who seem to
think that the Mayans predicted some significant changes to happen on
our planet Earth. Some say that the Mayans “predicted” the end of the
world as we know it. On this date, doomsayers assert that Earth will be
ravaged by a smorgasbord of cataclysmic astronomical events — everything
from a Planet flyby to a “killer” solar flare and a geomagnetic
reversal, ensuring we have a very, very bad day.
I want you to know that in the up and
coming months PUBLIC CONCERN ABOUT DOOMSDAY IN December 2012 will
continue escalate and blossom into a major news event on the Internet,
TV and Hollywood. They’ve already made a movie called 2012. According
to these doomsday prophets, we only have a year left.
Makes you think doesn’t it!
Will the worst case scenario happen? Will
the world end as we know it a year from now? I don’t know, but reputable
scientists who have studied this event seem convinced that no such
cataclysmic events are going to occur. They claim it’s bad science and
it’s all a hoax. But still it makes you think!
There are other so called prophets and prophecies, some ancient, and some not so ancient.
There is Nostradamus and Edgar Cayce and
St. Malachi who lived during the middle ages who predicted 112 Popes
names from his time forward until dooms day. All the predictions have
supposedly come true thus far, and that why the Catholic church labeled
him a saint for his outstanding ability and accuracy. He not only
predicted the 112, he also predicted only 1 more pope after the present
one. The last one he calls Peter the Roman, he writes that in his time
“The city of 7 hills will be utterly destroyed, and the awful Judge will
Judge the people.”
And then there prophecies of the Native
American tribe of Arizona, the Hopi Indians, and others which are very
similar to those of the Mayans whose carvings predict a end to life as
we know it in the year 2012.
Now as a preacher you may be waiting for me
to stand up and condemn all these so called pagan prophets and their
prophecies, and prove them wrong. I can’t. Most
scientists cannot.
Where did these individuals receive this ability? Are they a hoax?
Should we ignore their warning?
Is it all going to end in December of 2012 or somewhere in between?
And in all honesty, I can tell you this, I don’t know!
But as a preacher I can say this, we can be
sure of what the Bibles says. And what does it say concerning this day…
The last day?
To begin with, in Acts 1:11 two men dressed in white told His disciples, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven”
You can be assured of this, some day Jesus will return.
There is another good verse in 2 Peter 3, read verses 1-10a “Dear
friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of
them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2I
want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets
and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4
They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our
ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of
creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget
that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth
was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By
the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,
being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is
like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The
Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but
everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.”
There are a few things that I want you to consider from this text today.
#1. Some day Jesus will return, not to save, but to judge, (
cf. Mt. 25:31 ff) (Click on verse to go to the link)
#2. As to WHEN He will return, the text
says that he will come like a thief in the night. The time is unknown.
It could be December 21, 2012, or it could be tomorrow, or it could be
in the year 2525.
But one thing I think is interesting, as
you examine all the Old Testament prophecies of coming Judgment, and
then their fulfillment; there were always signs to indicate that the
time was near. (Noah – ark; Moses – Plagues; Jewish Nation –warnings,
wars, plagues, and droughts)
In Luke chapter 21 Jesus warns his
disciples then of the great disaster that was to fall upon Jerusalem in
70 AD by the Romans. In verse 25 He tells them that there will be
obvious signs of impending doom. Around verse 30 He tells them that when
you see plants sprouting you know summer is near, likewise there would
be signs of the up and coming judgment on Jerusalem.
So 1st Jesus will someday return.
2nd The actual date is not given to us in the Bible. He said he will come like a thief in the night.
#3. Look at what he says will happen when He returns in 2 Peter 3:10b (read) . ”
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will
disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the
earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.“
Then Read 2 Thessalonians. 1:6-9 “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7
and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will
happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with
his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10
on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be
marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you,
because you believed our testimony to you.”
If God said that He is going to do this why hasn’t it happen already? Verse 9 states that He is not wanting anyone to perish, but wants everyone to come to repentance.
Then God should keep letting the world go on for ever, right?
The Old Testament doesn’t seem to indicate that God chooses to work that way. He knows the hearts of men.
– He knew what was in their heart in Noah’s time
– He knew what was in the hearts of those in Sodom and Gomorrah
– He knew what was in the heart of those
people in the promised land when commanded Joshua to kill every man
woman and child in certain cities.
He knows when people are hopelessly steeped in sin. And He knows when mankind will no longer choose to repent.
Whether the predictions of the Mayan’s or
the Hopi Indians, or St. Malachi of the world ending soon is true or
not, I don’t know. But one thing for sure the Bible surely predicts an
end, and also preaches a warning
Read 2 Peter 3:11-18 “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
14
So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make
every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear
brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16He
writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these
matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand,
which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other
Scriptures, to their own destruction.
17
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your
guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless
and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
#1. Verse 11 burns in my heart and mind.
Since this is going to happen, what kind of person should I be? How
should I live? How should I act? What things should I do? What things
should I avoid? What should I tell others?
And if Jesus does return shortly, ‘Am I
ready? Have I obeyed His commands?’ And if He doesn’t return in my
lifetime, ‘Shouldn’t I be living this way anyway?’
What about you?
This is Christmas week, the time the world
is reminded of and celebrates the greatest gift that God ever gave us,
His own Son, born in a manger almost 2000 years ago. Born to die for our
sin, for our mistakes and disobedience. He is the greatest gift that
could ever be given to us, EVER! And He is a gift given to us out of
Love. The Father’s love.
And all we need to do is receive God’s
gift, His son in faith; we need to accept and believe in Him. And we
need to convince others to do the same.
#2. Verse 13 goes on to say, “in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”
So if doomsday comes next December or not,
do not be afraid. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for you. That is if
you have accepted Him as your lord and Savior. And if we are still alive
when He does return, Paul writes to the Corinthians that we will be
immediately instantaneously, “transformed ..” as fast as a twinkle in
an eye. In 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul writes, “I
declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the
imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52
in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the
mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
#3 So in Verse 17 it says to be on your guard, don’t let anyone rob you of your faith
#4 Verse 18 says to continue to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Closing: Again I ask you the question that
Peter wrote in his letter. Since this is going to happen, “What kind of
people ought you to be?” Accept His gift and share it with others!
At
Apologetics Press, we receive numerous questions on various topics. One
of the more commonly asked questions is, “Are all sins equal?” In order
to answer such a question, we must go to the only definitive source
that can speak with authority concerning sins: the Bible. When we do, we
see that the answer depends upon the context in which the question is
asked.
