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It Is Written

John Bradshaw

Great Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 24

Coming up next, please stay tuned for It Is Written, presented by Pastor John Bradshaw.

We've long looked forward to flying cars and cities on the moon.

Children a generation ago watched The Jetsons and Lost in Space and Star Trek.

A Swiss physician in the 1950s predicted that surgery would 1 day no longer be needed as every illness could be treated with a pill.

Engineers at Google have, probably self-servingly, predicted that it won't be long and people will be able to live forever.

But who'd have thought 50 years ago that you'd be able to carry a device in your pocket that would let you communicate with anyone and access information about anything at any time from anywhere?

There are still people who read horoscopes, believing that an astrologer is able to predict circumstances for your life based on the position of the sun when you were born.

Nothing scientific, nothing reliable, nothing credible about that at all.

So why do people give it the time of day?

Because the future intrigues us, and an answer today about tomorrow is irresistible for some people.

There are spiritist mediums who claim to be able to tell you what has happened or what will happen, what your future holds, or that they can bring you messages from the other side.

At least not with the cooperation of God.

If you recall the story in the Bible about King Saul consulting the witch of Endor, you'll remember that God was completely opposed to that practice.

She's referred to as the Witch of Endor for a reason.

In her professional life she was getting information from somewhere.

If she was getting it from anywhere, it was the dark side, from the devil.

There's nothing about psychics and mediums and seances and so on that Christians ought to have anything at all to do with.

Today we continue our ongoing series, Great Chapters of the Bible.

Of course, it's a little subjective to be singling out some chapters of the Bible and not others as great.

But there are undoubtedly memorable chapters, some mountaintop chapters.

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and deals almost entirely with the subject of God's Word.

Matthew chapter 5 contains the Beatitudes.

In Exodus 20, God wrote the 10 Commandments on 2 tables of stone.

In Daniel chapter 2, Babylonian king has an epic dream which turns out to be an incredible prophecy about the rise and fall of nations from the time of King Nebuchadnezzar until the return of Jesus to this earth.

Today, a look into the future, at least from the perspective of when these words were spoken.

In Matthew chapter 23, Jesus is speaking to a group of scribes and Pharisees, religious leaders who prided themselves on their strict adherence to the law of God.

He tells them their fathers killed the prophets, that they are no better.

He says in verse 37, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the 1 who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her, how often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." And then this, "'Your house is left to you desolate.'" Chilling words.

The chosen ones, This people God had rescued from Egypt, had sustained in the wilderness for 40 years, and then brought into the land that flowed with milk and honey.

And he says, essentially, I'm done with you.

The disciples of Jesus listened to this and they wondered.

And Matthew chapter 24 begins like this, Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.

Just what they were expecting Jesus to say is not recorded in the passage, but those buildings were magnificent.

You'd anticipate that a person would have admired them.

This was the second temple, refurbished by King Herod, who had a penchant for massive building projects.

But Jesus' response was not what anyone was expecting.

Assuredly, I say to you, not 1 stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.

You can visit Jerusalem today and see some of those very stones that were pushed off the Temple Mount.

It's no wonder the disciples expected the Temple to stand forever.

Now, as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be?

And What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus' answer was interesting.

They asked him 2 questions, but he blended the answer.

Tell us about your return to the earth and the end of the age.

And tell us about this phenomenal time when Jerusalem will be destroyed." But you'll notice something.

He in fact didn't immediately answer the question, but he gave his friends a warning.

And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no 1 deceives you, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many." In more modern times there have been spiritual leaders who have led people away from faith in God.

Jim Jones led a large group of followers to Guyana in the 1970s.

You wonder how 900 people could die, more than 300 of them children.

In a turbulent time, he ran a church that was a model of racial harmony.

He'd been endorsed by people in high places.

And again, remember, he did what he did in the name of Jesus.

David Koresh, the leader of the group that perished at Waco, Texas, was another who quoted the Bible and used, or misused, scripture, and succeeded in convincing a group of people to follow him into what turned out to be a tragedy.

There are many religious leaders today leading cults that exert control over the minds of others and lead people into dark spiritual places.

The solution to that, of course, is that a person prayerfully reads the Bible for themselves and follows God's leading according to the Bible and not according to the word of another person.

Once someone gets caught up with a false spiritual leader, It's not always easy to get out of that mess.

It might be that your relationship with God is being dictated to.

That someone doesn't want you to think for yourself.

Maybe a domineering spiritual leader is wielding outsized authority in your life.

Let me encourage you to think for yourself, to get as spiritually healthy as you can, and to refuse to be led away from the teachings of Jesus.

For the Christian, the final authority is the Word of God, not the word of a pastor, or the word of a priest, or the word of a politician.

Make the Bible your guide and let the teachings of God, let the sayings of Jesus give direction to your life.

I'll be back with more from Matthew 24 in just a moment.

The signs of Jesus' return are all around us, but what does the Bible say we should look for?

Find out by getting today's free offer, Seeing the Signs.

To receive this free DVD call 800-253-3000 or visit us online at iiwoffer.com.

Find out for yourself what the Bible says about the signs of Jesus' soon return.

We're looking at another great chapter of the Bible, this time Matthew 24.

Jesus' disciples asked Him to tell them about 2 things, the signs of His coming and of the end of the world.

And after warning them against being deceived by false Christs, people who would come in His name and deceive many, He said this in verses 6 and 7, "...and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass.

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Great Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 24

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