27TH FEBRUARY, 2022
Minister: Pastor Seyi Osanyinbi
Matthew 24
In continuation of the teaching of the second coming of Jesus, we will now consider some of the signs of the end times as revealed in the Scripture. The Apostles, the Prophets and the Book of Revelation tell us a lot about the signs of the end of the age.
Matthew 24:1-3; Romans 1:4; Revelation 16:14
From now till the end of time, there will always be men who are ready to deceive people. They will be backed by signs and wonders that make them look like Christ and many will be deceived thereby. This goes to say that miracles do not necessarily show that people are of God.
Unclean spirits can enable people to do miracles. These spirits will go around the whole world and try to deceive people. The Bible warned us not to believe every spirit but test them all.
Unfortunately, there are many people in the church who are so naïve and gullible that they cannot discern falsehood. We should be able to discern lest we sell our souls to the devil. We can easily tell people who are truly of God because their anointing will always operate by the spirit of holiness.
Matthew 24:6-14
Satan has been trying to force the hand of God and preempt Him but everything must go in accordance with God’s plan. It is He who made the earth that has the power to destroy it, not some world powers. Though there will be an escalation of man-inflicted sorrows, God remains the Supreme Ruler in charge of all things.
There shall be another level of deception by false prophets as well as the waxing old of the love of many as a result of much lawlessness. People’s belief systems will be stressed and this will cause many to depart from the faith.
We have been charged by Jesus to endure till the end. We will be under pressure to choose whether to hold on or to give up. It will be a time when everything we ever believed will be tested to the point that we can easily give up.
Jesus made it clear that the end will not come until the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached on all the earth. This gospel is about the fact that there is a King and every knee must bow to Him. It will be a witness against the nations of the world if they refuse to repent and to serve God and His Son.
Many things will be happening simultaneously before Jesus’ second coming. Nobody will know the Antichrist until he appears in the temple and declares himself as God. The temple probably refers to the heart of men or a physical place but it is certain that a serious crisis will hit the earth and our faith would be put under tremendous pressure. Those who will overcome must be able to testify that God in Christ has finished everything; they should also not love their lives even to the point of death. How far can we go in holding up what we have claimed to believe?
In summary, strange days are coming into the earth; with many crazy things happening, we must not allow our feet to slip. The signs of the end times are scattered in the Scripture. However, we need to always be ready because no one can say specifically when Jesus’ second coming would be.