The Course of This Present Age

Rev. Bill Coble, M.Div.2009

Probably… the most popular question is… Are we at the end?

Economic Turmoil

Political Unrest

Religious FactionsIncreased

Violence

Natural Disasters

The Truth Is…• We are!– Jesus calls it the Beginning of Sorrows in Matthew

24.– Paul calls it perilous times in 2 Timothy 3:1– Whatever you want to call it… We are in the Last

Days!

From Notes on Revelation, Dr. George D. Voorhis, Charlotte, 1988

Dr. George Voorhis in His Book “Notes on Revelation” Gives a Model on this based on Matthew 24 as the

Ground Work for Revelation

These Last Days are Characterized by:1. Great Deception- Matthew 24:4-52. Political Unrest and War- Matthew 24:63. Upheavals in Nature- Matthew 24:7

I. GREAT DECEPTIONMatthew 24:4-5

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. [5] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

False Christ

People who claimed to be Jesus

Source: Wikipedia

Cornishman

• He claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and his body temple of the Holy Ghost.

• He was killed by British soldiers at the Battle of Bossenden Wood, on May 31, 1838 in Kent, England.

Source: Wikipedia

Jim Jones

• Jim Jones Claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus, Akhenaten, Buddha, Lenin, and Father Divine.

Source: Wikipedia

Marshall Applewhite

• Marshall Applewhite posted a famous Usenet message declaiming, "I, Jesus—Son of God—acknowledge on this date of September 25/26, 1995: …".

• This was two years before he and his Heaven's Gate cult committed suicide to rendezvous with a spaceship hiding behind the comet Hale-Bopp.

Source: Wikipedia

Suma Ching Hai

• Suma Ching Hai claims to be an incarnation of Avalokitesvara and a living reincarnation of the Buddha and Jesus Christ.

www.preteristarchive.com- The Big List of False Prophets and Their Prophecies

David Koresh

• In 1992, David Koresh of the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco Texas, changed the name of their compound from Mt. Carmel to Ranch Apocalypse. 76 members perished with his claim of Messiah-ship.

False Prophets

Something to Think About

1970’s-1980’s

• 1970-Moses David formally David Berg proclaimed a comet would hit earth in mid 1970’s.

• 1983- Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh prophecied that New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles would disappear in 1993.

• 1986- Moses David once again made a prophecy that the battle of Armageddon would take place in 1986, and Christ would return to earth in 1993.

www.preteristarchive.com- The Big List of False Prophets and Their Prophecies

1990’s

• 1992- David Koresh• 1996- A disaster in the Pacific Ocean predicted

in the book of “Return of Jupiter”.• James Ussher- Christ would come back in the

fall of 1996.• 1998- Centro an organization in the

Philippines predicted the end of the World in 1998.

But Jesus Said..

• Matthew 24:44 - Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

• Mark 13:35-36 - Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: [36] Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

• Matthew 24:42 - Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Political Unrest and War

Matthew 24:6-7 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things

must come to pass, but the end is not yet. [7] For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom

against kingdom:…

Wars• We have been involved in 13

major conflicts in America alone.- Department of Veterans Affairs- PDF Document

• Israel fought wars after becoming a nation. In fact, they battled in 4 wars nearly immediately.- Voorhis- Revelation Notes- p. 92-93. To add to this they are presently still active with their enemies Hamaas.

Rumors of Wars• Netanyahu: U.S. Must Stop

Iran or We Will-Thursday, April 2, 2009 12:06 PM.- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is putting President Barack Obama and the world on notice: if nothing is done to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program, Israel will be forced to launch a unilateral attack to destroy it. – www.Newsmax.com

Rumors of Wars• Iran: President Says Israel

Should Be 'Wiped Off Map' October 27, 2005-Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map" has triggered a sharp international response and widespread condemnation. Ahmadinejad made the comments yesterday at a conference in Tehran entitled "The World without Zionism."

Rumors of Wars

• North Korea, rejecting international criticism, launched a rocket late Saturday night in what could be a step toward putting a nuclear warhead on a missile capable of reaching the U.S. and beyond.- Fox News.com April 5, 2009

Political Unrest• Riot police storm G20 protesters'

squats ... as violence spreads to France-Riot police yesterday raided two London squats which they believe were used as bases by the anarchist leaders of the violent G20 protests and the ransacking of the Royal Bank of Scotland building. In a major show of force, at least 80 people were led out of the buildings in Earl Street, near Liverpool Street Station, and Rampart Street, Aldgate, and made to sit in the street outside as police sought to identify those involved in the violence 24 hours earlier. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1166349/Riot-police-storm-G20-protesters-squats---violence-spreads-France.html

Political Unrest• ISLAM

– Since 9/11- 34,000 Americans have converted to Islam

– 21% of the World in 2005 is Muslim.

– New Statistics are showing Islam is now the religion of choice in one in five Americans

– Radical Islam has contributed to some of the biggest political unrest in our world.• 9/11• Afghanistan• Iraq• Iran• Palestine

Famines, Pestilences, and Earthquakes

Matthew 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Poverty-Famine• 15 Million Children a year die

from hunger.• In the 1990’s it was estimated

that over 100 million children died from starvation and illness.

• In 1994- The Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. records that 1 out of 6 elderly are malnourished.

• 1 out of 8 children go to bed hungry in America each night.- www.library.thinkquest.org- This is world hunger statistics.

Poverty-Famine

• North Carolina– 2000-2002 Income

decreased by 4.4 percent– 12.9% of our state suffers

from hunger.– Cherokee County NC has

4 or more food banks and an unemployment rate of 17.9% Graham County has 27% unemployment rate.

Pestilences• Leading Cause of Death in

United States– Heart Disease 652,091– Cancer 559,312– Stroke 143,579– Respiratory Disease 130,933– Accidents 117,809– Diabetes 75,119– Alzheimer’s Disease 71,599– Influenza/Pneumonia 63,001– Nephritis 43,901– Septicemia 34,136www.CDC.gov

Earthquakes

• United States Geological Survey– Several Million

Earthquakes a Year. – 50 Earthquakes a day on

average in the world.

www.neic.usgs.gov

Earthquakes• The earliest North Carolina

earthquake on record is that of March 8, 1735, near Bath. This event was probably less than intensity V. On February 21, 1774, a sharp shock was felt over much of Virginia and southward into North Carolina. Reports from Winston-Salem indicate that this earthquake was felt quite noticeably.

• Earthquakes have hit North Carolina in 2006-2009 at least once a year.

• North Carolina

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

“THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS”

IT LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR THE TRIBULATION!

Matthew 24:4-14• False Christs v.4-5• Wars and Rumors of Wars v.6-7• Famines and Earthquakes

v.24:7b• Famines and Plagues v.7• Persecution and Martyrs v.9-19• Terrors and Great Cosmic Signs

Luke 21:11• Worldwide Preaching of the

Gospel v.14

Revelation 6-7• Rider on White horse v.1-

2• Rider on Red Horse v.3-4• Rider on Black Horse v.5-6• Rider on Pale Horse v.7-8• Martyrs v.9-11• Terror v.12-17• 144,000 and their

ministry. 7:1-8

It Lays the Foundation for the Holy Spirit’s Work

• Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

• Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

• Rev. 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

It Lays the Foundation for the Church

Matthew 24• Matthew 24:46 Blessed is that

servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

• Matthew 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

• Matthew 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Revelation 2-3• Rev. 3:13 He that hath an

ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

It Lays the Foundation for the Return of Jesus Christ

Matthew 24• Matthew 24:30-31 -And then shall

appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. [31] And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

• Matthew 24:44 -Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Revelation 1:7 and 19• Rev. 1:7 Behold, he cometh

with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

• Revelation 19:11-16

The First Time vs. The Second Time

First Time• He rode on a donkey.• He wore a crown of thorns.• He was mockingly called

king.• He fled from kings.• He rejected the kingdoms of

this world.

Second Time• He will be Riding on a White

Horse.• He will be wearing a Crown

of Gold.• He will be called King of

Kings and Lord of Lords.• Kings will flee from Him.• He accepts the kingdoms of

this world.

HE IS COMING AGAIN!Luke 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.