Tekoa Conference 2018: The King is Coming

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Tekoa Missions

Narlon Edwards

Even At the Door

Father, we are thankful for the privilege and opportunity for studying your words.

We're praying now, Lord, that you'll give us wisdom, give us understanding, keep us awake and keep us alert, give my mind clarity.

I pray that you speak to me and speak through me to your people.

And as a result, we pray, oh God, in a special way that our hearts may be challenged and changed.

And we pray, Lord, in a special way that you send holy angels to move the dark forces that might try to interfere and interrupt that which you desire for us to learn tonight.

We pray in a special way, Lord, that the Holy Spirit may illuminate the sanctuary and that our hearts may be challenged and blessed.

For we ask in the precious name of Jesus, amen.

Now, I believe that objects in the mirror is much closer than they appear.

And in fact Ellen White says, ministers should present the sure word of prophecy as the foundation of the faith of Seventh-day Adventists.

And then it goes on to say, the 24th chapter of Matthew is presented to me again and again as something that is to be brought to the attention of all.

Now I've been studying the book of Matthew 24 for over 20 years.

And it's within the last year or 2, the Lord showed me some specific things in the book of Matthew chapter 24 that helped me to realize that even though I've studied it and I've understood parts of it, that I never truly understood the book of Matthew chapter 24.

And she said that it should be brought to the attention of all, and she said, Lord has shown me again and again that it's something that should be studied.

And then it says, we are today living in a time when the prediction of the chapter is fulfilling.

Then it says, let our ministers and teachers explain these prophecies to those whom they instruct.

Let them leave out of their discourses matter of minor consequence, and present the truths that will decide the destiny of souls.

So we're gonna study deeply the book of Matthew, chapter 24.

Turn there with me, Matthew chapter 24, and let's pick up in verse 1.

Matthew, the 24th chapter, and where subject is entitled, Even at the Door.

Matthew 24, And we're going to pick up in verse 1.

The Bible says, And Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.

And Jesus said unto them, see not all these things.

Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here 1 stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.

And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

For many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many.

And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nations shall arise against nations, and kingdom against kingdom.

There shall be famines and pestilence, and earthquakes in diverse places.

And then in verse 8, the Bible says, and all these are the beginning of sorrows.

Now in answer to the question, when shall these things be, what shall be the sign of thy coming and what shall, when shall be the end of the world, Christ began to outlay to the disciples some some specific and explicit things that shall take place right before he comes.

He mentioned that there's wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, pestilences, which is sicknesses, wars and rumors of wars and many other things that Christ named, Deceptions.

And then he said that these are the beginning of sorrows.

Now many of us have studied that word sorrows and we've come to the conclusion that based on a Greek word, that Greek word for sorrows is the word Odin.

And it means the pain of childbirth, travail, pain, birth pangs.

So as you look into the book of Matthew chapter 24, it's not just the events that take place, but it's how rapid and how successive they are in their order.

So in other words, we know that there have always been earthquakes, we know that there have always been pestilences which are diseases, we know that there's always been wars and rumors of wars, but the Bible is telling us as travail with a woman with child, once the contractions gets more rapid and more intense it is a sign that the baby's about to be born.

So Christ is saying don't just look at the signs but look at how rapid, how intense and how successive they are and once you see how rapid and how intense they get after year, after year, after year, then you see that the signs are more closely being fulfilled.

And then it goes on to say they shall deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you ye shall be hated of all nations for my namesake.

Then he talks about many betraying each other.

Then he talks about the iniquity of many shall wax cold.

Now here's the thing even with this in mind the mind naturally will say, just like the past year, if we had 3 category 5 hurricanes in 2017 or 2016, whenever it was, I believe it was 2017.

That means in 2018, we might have 4 category 5 hurricanes.

And let's say we get 4 category 5 hurricanes in 2018.

Then we say, well, in 2019, we might get 5 category 5 hurricanes.

And then, since we got 5 category 5 hurricanes in 2019, we might say, well, in 2020 we might get 6 category 5 hurricanes.

So what I'm saying is that our minds, even with this understanding, could be putting off the coming of Christ in a means in how we're interpreting prophecy.

As you go through the book of Matthew chapter 24 you notice that is very strategic and systematic how Christ put together his message to the disciples in Matthew chapter 24 which is also a message to us that he preached or taught in the book of Matthew chapter 24.

So in the first aspect of Matthew chapter 24, you notice that Christ starts off with things that happens year after year after year.

Had there always been earthquakes in diverse places?

Had the love of many always been waxing cold?

We know that that's why the antediluvian age was turned over because the love of the many in that time also waxed cold.

So as we see these events that's out late in the first aspect of Matthew chapter 24, he starts off with things that are broad, things that happens all the time.

So a person could say, well these things happen all the time, so to me I just anticipate that it's going to be something more intense, more rapid in the successive years, and in our minds, unknowingly, we are putting off the coming of Christ.

So as we study the book of Matthew chapter 24, I want you to notice that first and foremost, Christ starts off with things that are broad and as you navigate through the chapter you notice that he gets more specific.

So he starts off with things that occurs all the time, earthquakes, wars, rumors of wars, pestilences, sicknesses, false prophets and deceptions, the love of many, wax and coal, these things have always happened since the inception of sin with the antediluvians all the way down to our time.

But as you continue to go through Matthew chapter 24, notice what it says in verse 14.

The Bible says, notice how more specific it gets, 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.

Question, is that something that happens all the time?

So you notice as you're going through the chapter, it's not as broad and as wide as it was in the beginning.

You notice it gets more specific and more narrow as he goes through.

So again, something that is more specific.

Now, the abomination of desolation has happened 4 times, well, 3 times and there's 1 to come.

But it's not something like earthquakes, it's not something like wars and rumors of wars, it's not something like pestilences, it's not something like deceptions.

You notice now that as Christ goes through the book of Matthew chapter 24, he gets more specific.

It's not just broad things no more, he's getting more narrow.

When we see these things, we know that Christ coming is near because it's not as broad as the beginning of the chapter.

Now I mentioned that there's 4 abominations of desolations.

We're not going to study this for the sake of time, but the first 1 was in the time of Daniel.

The abominations are the sins committed by the people of God, and as a result of their sins God allowed pagan nations to come in and destroy them.

And then As a result, there's 1 more coming, which is the end time, the National Sunday Law.

There'll be another abomination, which will also lead to desolation.

Verse 16, the Bible says, which be in Judea fleeing to the mountains.

Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house, neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

Verse 19, and woe unto them that are with child and to them which give suck in those days.

But Pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on this Sabbath day.

Verse 21, for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever shall be.

Verse 22, and except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

So as we look at these abomination of desolations, in the book of Matthew chapter 24, Christ had in mind specifically AD 70, but prophetically he was also speaking of the dark ages, which we'll look at what those dates are as well.

And I want you to notice that he says, this is great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, to this day, and he says, no, nor ever shall be.

Let's focus in on the Dark Ages, the abomination of desolation during the Dark Ages.

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Even At the Door

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