Apathy and the Endtimes

Apathy and the Endtimes
A Wakeup Call to the Church # 2
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor

In his letter to Titus, the Apostle Paul wrote: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people.” (2:11-14)

• As we see the depth of wickedness in the world today, our hearts are broken with hopelessness and despair, not only for ourselves but for future generations.
• However, when we study biblical prophecy, we are assured of two things:
• The Day of the Lord will come, and while the unrighteous will be doomed to hell forever, those who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will be delivered to heaven forever; world without end. Amen!

Eschatology is the study of what the Bible teaches about the end of this present age, human history, and the world. According to church history, there was a serious expectation of the Lord’s return through the 3^rd century. As the false religion of Catholicism began to take over, the teaching of the imminent rapture of the Church and the physical return of Christ faded.

• While the religious leaders believed in the millennial reign of Christ, the event became more of a futuristic hope than an imminent reality, and the church fathers became divided in their views on when that millennial reign would occur.

Classic Pre-Millennial No Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church God’s promise to Abraham fulfilled during the church-age. Dispensational Pre-Millennial Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church Jews as God’s timepiece God promise to Abraham fulfilled at Christ’s return Post-Millennial No Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church Society gets better through education – a great awakening before the Lord returns Amillennialism – No Pre-wrath Rapture of the Church We live in the Kingdom of God

The new state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv on 14 May 1948

Once again, biblical prophecy began to make sense:

• Isaiah 11:11-12 – “In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people – He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.”
• Never before had any nation been dispersed to the four corners of the earth and then restored to their native land, their native language, and their native culture.
• Luke 21:24 – “Jerusalem will be trampled on by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. “
• In 1967, against all odds, in only six days, Israel defeated the Arab armies and took control of the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Ezekiel 36-39 – “Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will bring you into the land of Israel. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.”
• Because of the events of 1948 and 1967 and the massive return of the Jews to their homeland, the prophecies of Ezekiel 36-39 became more plausible, and the interest in biblical prophecy was renewed.
• In the early 1970s, new prophetic books, songs, plays and movies about Christ’s return were produced, but Jesus didn’t return.
• In the 1980s and 1990s, the “Left Behind” video series was shown in most evangelical churches, and many people were convinced that the rapture of the Church was near, but Jesus didn’t return.
• After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, and the religious wars that followed, many people thought the Lord would return, but He didn’t, and complacency set in.
• Because He has not called for His Church to “come forth,” and since most pastors never mention the Lord’s return, apathy has turned to apostasy, and “scoffers” are mocking those who believe in the rapture of the Church and the physical return of Jesus Christ to this earth.
• In 2 Peter 3:3-4, the Apostle wrote: “Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of His coming, for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
• Even the rise in “scoffing” is evidence of the imminent return of the Lord for His Church.
• To say the world is the same today as it has always been in just not true.
• In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 the Apostle Paul established this eschatological timeline.
  • The physical return of Jesus Christ to this earth to establish His Kingdom cannot occur until:
  • The Day of the Lord has come – the time of tribulation
  • The Antichrist has been revealed – which cannot occur until the Rapture of the Church.
  • The Great Apostasy – the “falling away” – the deliberate rejection of the gospel of salvation by grace alone.

God’s prophetic clock began ticking again in 1948 when Israel became a nation.

• We are living in the last days of the last church age.
• The nation of Israel is longing for someone to help them find peace with their Arab neighbors.
• The globalists continue to destabilize the nations.
• Violence and lawlessness are on the rise worldwide. People seem to love of evil and there is a desire for new evils.
• Technology and Artificial Intelligence have taken over the telecommunications industry.
• Men’s hearts are growing cold toward one another, and their hearts are filled with fear regarding the future.
• The pulpits are silent about biblical prophecy, and many others are proclaiming false doctrine.
• The “Gog-Magog” war is about to begin, which will lead to the Battle of Armageddon, which will end with the return of Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
• Are you prepared? Will you be found faithful?