We continue our study the Olivet Discourse, and focus on some of the many questions that surround Bible prophecy.
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00:00Welcome to
00:04Studies with Stearman. Join us as we look
00:08deeper into the Bible. Strengthen your faith with us
00:12even as we see the day approaching. And now
00:16here's Gary. We are going to continue our
00:20study in the Olivet Discourse and
00:24some of the questions that arise concerning Bible prophecy.
00:28Turn to Matthew 24. There are
00:32in the New Testament two major discourses
00:36given by Christ. The first is when He appeared
00:40publicly and delivered the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount,
00:44and declared that He was king.
00:48He brought nine blessings to Israel and
00:52from that day to this people have hung on those words. The other
00:56discourse, His closing discourse in Matthew 24
01:00is the discourse to a world gone south
01:04basically. A world gone bad. And Matthew 24
01:08speaks of judgment. It speaks of what Jesus
01:12called the great tribulation, which would
01:16be so violent that it would be more violent than anything that's ever
01:20befallen Earth in the past. Last time
01:24in our continuing study on the events that lead up
01:28to this period of judgment, we sort of left off in
01:321 Thessalonians 5, so we're going to be flipping back and forth between
01:36Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 5 to begin with
01:40today. The point that we rested on
01:44last week is the point that we
01:48are not of darkness. And
01:52we saw how that really fits with the Olivet
01:56discourse and the story of the bride.
02:00The parable of the ten virgins who arose
02:04at midnight when the bridegroom came. It was a dark time, and we
02:08noted that when the apostles comment on this
02:12they always point out that we are not of that
02:16period. 1 Thessalonians 5
02:20says this, verse 4,
02:24"...that that day should overtake you as a thief."
02:28It's that idea that lies at the center of our study.
02:32The rest of the world is ignorant of the fact that judgment is
02:36coming. And it really doesn't give me any pleasure to talk about judgment
02:40coming, but the entire Bible does. And
02:44any time, as you well know, that we see the idea of a
02:48day of the Lord being presented
02:52prophetically, we are referring to the day of the
02:56Lord. Let me review that just a moment.
03:00Lest we forget, the day of the Lord
03:04is the largest, or comprises the largest
03:08single group of prophecies in the Old Testament
03:12called the time of Jacob's trouble. It's called the
03:16day of the Lord. It's called Jehovah's strange act. It's called the day of
03:20Israel's calamity. It's called the tribulation, the indignation, the overflowing
03:24scourge, the day of vengeance, the year of recompense, the time of trouble,
03:28the day of wrath, the day of distress, the day of wasteness,
03:32day of desolation, darkness, cloudiness, gloominess,
03:36and each one of these titles that I'm listing
03:40has with it an accompanying discourse. So it's not
03:44just a book, it's a discourse. It's called the day of
03:48darkness and clouds, the day of the shofar or the trumpet, the day of the
03:52alarm, and then most of all it's called the day
03:56of the Lord. The wrath of God, the hour of trial,
04:00the great day of the wrath of the Lamb of God,
04:04should I go on? It's called the wrath to come.
04:08It's called the great tribulation by Jesus and by the risen
04:12Son of God. It's called the hour of judgment.
04:16And we have examined why the hour of judgment is
04:20coming. God sees the need for it. I'd
04:24rather not have the hour of judgment on the horizon,
04:28but the Bible speaks about it and we're going to deal with it.
04:32Back to 1 Thessalonians 5, 1,
04:36but ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief.
04:40When the day comes, it's going to come with
04:44an instantaneous rapidity and no warning.
04:48Verse 5, ye are all the children of light, the children
04:52of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep
04:56as do others, but let us watch and be sober, which is exactly
05:00what we're doing. It's the reason we read these Scriptures
05:04to arouse our consciousness as to the times
05:08and seasons for they that sleep sleep
05:12in the night. They that be drunken are drunken in the night, but let us who are of the
05:16day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and
05:20for an helmet, the hope of salvation again
05:24when we've said this before, but it's worth repeating. The hope of
05:28salvation is not the hope that we're going to get saved in the classical sense of
05:32redemption. It is the hope of salvation in the sense of being saved from
05:36that judgment. For God has not appointed us to wrath
05:40but to obtain salvation, that is deliverance by our
05:44Lord Jesus Christ who died for us that whether we wake or
05:48sleep we should live together with Him. Wherefore, comfort
05:52yourselves together and edify one another even
05:56as also you do. Perhaps the
06:00most important aspect of studying prophecy is the comfort
06:04of judgment. Because there are two things that happen. If you
06:08become aware of what the Bible says about
06:12the latter days, it can be discomforting.
06:16It could be agonizing. If there were no
06:20remedy, the thought of coming judgment is of such a nature that most people don't even
06:24want to entertain the idea. But having
06:28entertained the idea, having risen to the idea,
06:32you find comfort of some sort.
06:36Our eschatology, that is our theory of last things
06:40based upon the Bible says that
06:44this judgment is going to be preceded by at least
06:48one and perhaps two large wars that haven't happened yet.
06:52It's also to be preceded by the rise of
06:56global government. It is also to be preceded
07:00by the rise of an evil personage or
07:04group of people who find their way into power
07:08on the basis of rapidly changing global conditions.
07:12We kind of look around today and there's a little trepidation going on. Some changes
07:16are happening. And students of the Bible legitimately
07:20ask whether or not we might be in that day. You know how I
07:24feel about that. And having felt that way, verse
07:2812 says,
07:36We're going to take a little detour here and then
07:40back to our study in a moment. Let's continue on in the 12th verse of 1 Thessalonians
07:445.
07:58In other words,
08:02gather together in spiritual
08:06unity. Gather around the word and
08:10commonness that is in a state of communion.
08:14Forget the backbiting, the infighting, etc. Work together.
08:18It's what Paul is saying concerning this prophetic idea.
08:22Verse 13,
08:28Be at peace for yourselves.
08:32Verse 14,
08:36I don't know who that might be, but
08:40if you run across any unruly, any rebels,
08:44the Lord will lead you.
08:48But you know, that's interesting. And I think it's particularly
08:52appropriate at this time to stop and look at what this is saying.
08:56Paul's writing to those who would be alive at the time of
09:00these rapidly changing events. And he says,
09:04in other words, get in line.
09:08Comfort the feeble-minded. The word feeble-minded in the Greek is
09:12oligopsuchos, and the most literal translation
09:16of that word is despondent or depressed.
09:20In the King James it came out as feeble-minded, which
09:24is not the idea today. But on the other hand,
09:28depression and despondency are almost a
09:32national illness. They really are.
09:36And if you look at all the remedies you see being advertised today,
09:40you've got this pill and you've got that pill that you can pop
09:44to bring your mood up, elevate your mood. And people are taking other
09:48sorts of substances that are not necessarily prescription substances to try to
09:52help you. It's a day in which I think there is a sort of
09:56mass depression. And it's easy to be depressed as a Christian
10:00waiting for the Lord, the blessing of the Lord. You wait, you say,
10:04the Lord must be coming soon. Well, He doesn't come. And then the next day He doesn't come,
10:08and as one of our members once said, you can get depressed.
10:12Kind of have a pre-rapture depression happening here.
10:16It's very easy to be depressed as a Christian. It's called
10:20despondence. And Paul is just saying here, look,
10:24brothers, comfort those who are despondent
10:28and depressed. Support the weak.
10:32The Greek is asthenos, and it means
10:36weak both in spirit and in body. And be patient
10:40toward all men. In other words, behave in love within the
10:44congregation. I believe that pure
10:48love is the best possible palliative
10:52for depression and despondency. It offers
10:56hope. It offers a tangible hope.
11:00Paul in Titus 3.16 calls it the
11:04blessed hope. Verse 15, see that none render evil
11:08for evil unto any man. That's fairly easy to
11:12understand. But ever follow that which is good both among yourselves and to all
11:16men. And then Paul makes seven statements here,
11:20starting in verse 16. Number one, rejoice evermore.
11:24Why would you rejoice? Well, you've got a lot to rejoice
11:28about in the Lord. Number two, pray without ceasing.
11:32How do you pray without ceasing? Does that mean you have to walk around
11:36on your knees? No. Or even get down on your knees
11:40five times a day? No. It means you have a conversation
11:44with God. Eventually you regard Him
11:48as you would regard a father. And you are able to come
11:52to Him through Christ on a very familiar
11:56basis. Pray without ceasing. Number three,
12:00in verse 18, everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ
12:04Jesus concerning you. And we live in a society
12:08that really doesn't thank the Lord enough. He's kind of
12:12gone away. And according to Gallup,
12:16the latest Gallup poll, asking the question,
12:20are you a Christian? According to Gallup, there
12:24are close to 100 million Christians. But
12:28what kind of Christians are they? Well, they're the kind of Christians who are,
12:32I would call them reverent agnostics.
12:36You kind of like the idea of Christianity, but you really
12:40wonder whether God's around or not. That's sort of a common
12:44state. But once you become
12:48convinced of the reality of God,
12:52and once you become convinced that He
12:56is a provider, that He is love, that
13:00He will look after you, then the next thing in your
13:04agenda should be to give thanks. Realize, wait a minute.
13:08Anyone who's willing to give so much for me
13:12deserves thanks. And everything give thanks for this is the will of God
13:16in Christ Jesus concerning you.
13:20In this case, what's being said is that we need to give thanks for
13:24what was done for us in Christ,
13:28that we might come to the Father. The fourth item in verse 19,
13:32quench not the spirit. We believe that the one
13:36who is saved is indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God.
13:40And you can either cooperate with the Spirit of God, or you can sort of fight
13:44against the Spirit of God, and it's your choice. The interesting thing to me
13:48is that the spirit is quenchable, if you will. You can
13:52throw water on the spirit. You can throw cold water on the spirit.
13:56It's your choice. How do you quench the spirit?
14:00Well, by simply behaving in ways that are not pleasing to
14:04the Spirit of God. Well, what are those? Well, read the Bible. You'll find out.
14:08Despise not prophesying.
14:12Now, in this sense, a prophesying is
14:16the disclosure of the Word of God,
14:20the original autographs of the apostles in the New Testament,
14:24prophets in the Old Testament, the poetry and the
14:28writings. Take the Ketuvim, the Nevi'im,
14:32the Old Testament, the New Testament,
14:36take all of those and regard them as divinely inspired,
14:40and then you teach from those divinely inspired
14:44writings. And Paul is simply saying
14:48don't despise that. Why would you despise it?
14:52Well, I'll tell you. Because sometimes it will step on your toes, the Word of God.
14:56Sometimes the Word of God will kind of pinch. It will hit you
15:00uncomfortable. As it has been said many times,
15:04the job of a pastor is to comfort the afflicted and afflict
15:08the comfortable. And that's the job
15:12of the Word of God. And so if you're afflicted
15:16in that way, you might despise prophesying.
15:20But Paul says don't. Item 6, he says
15:24prove all things, hold fast that which is good.
15:28How do you prove all things? By
15:32holding the item in question up to the light of Scripture.
15:36That's how you prove all things. Abstain, number
15:40seven, from all appearance of evil.
15:44Again, that doesn't take a lot of explanation.
15:48Avoid even the suggestion of evil.
15:52Verse 23, and the very God of peace sanctify you
15:56and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and
16:00body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
16:04Now, that's a wonderful thought.
16:08And it's a thought given by an
16:12apostle writing in about the early 50s
16:16A.D., 52, 53. And this apostle is
16:20writing in terms of, if you will, what's now called psychology.
16:24And if you have studied psychology, you know that the
16:28goal of analysis, the goal
16:32of counseling in psychology is to produce what's called a
16:36well-integrated personality. A well-integrated
16:40personality has stability, objectivity,
16:44a clean, analytical way of
16:48looking at life and integrating life into
16:52a very stable perspective.
16:56And Paul says in verse 23, the very God of peace sanctify you
17:00wholly. To sanctify is
17:04in one sense to keep you moving,
17:08keep you dedicated so that you won't
17:12vacillate. Sanctify you wholly. And then he says
17:16as a footnote, and I pray God your whole
17:20soul and body be preserved blameless.
17:24The spirit, soul, and body comprise
17:28the being. The spirit, that
17:32quality by which we apprehend God.
17:36The soul, the mind, the will, the emotions.
17:40The body, sensory apparatus by
17:44which we are able to receive, translate
17:48all of the inputs from the physical world. All of that should be well
17:52integrated into a stable life.
17:56And people spend a lot of money. They spend $200 an hour going to
18:00see people who have couches in their offices and who have
18:04various kinds of prescription pharmaceuticals trying to
18:08achieve some kind of psychic stability.
18:12And I've said before, a lot of people are resorting to illegal substances
18:16to try to find some stability. The
18:20apostles agree on one thing. You can find stability. You can find
18:24integration. Your whole spirit, soul, and body
18:28can be well integrated unto
18:32the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is called the
18:36blessed hope. And by the way, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ here is not
18:40the second coming that everybody talks about
18:44because when the New York Times used to set hot type
18:48and wood type, they had a typeface called
18:52second coming, which was never used. You may have heard about this.
18:56The old New York Times used to have in its type cases a large
19:00wooden block type that was very, very tall.
19:04The title or the name of that font was the second coming type. And the
19:08editors of the Times said this type is never to be used
19:12because it is to announce the coming of Jesus.
19:16It's called second coming type. So whoever it was that
19:20edited the New York Times back then believed in the second coming.
19:24But I believe in more than the second coming. I believe in Jesus
19:28coming for the church. And so did Paul.
19:32And he taught it. And that's what he's talking about here. The coming of our Lord Jesus
19:36Christ. And so he's tied up in one neat little package
19:40with the idea of Christ's coming with the idea of
19:44mental stability, faith, hope.
19:48Verse 24, faithful is he that calleth you who will also do it.
19:52Then Paul says brethren pray for us.
19:56The us here would be the apostles. Paul and Luke and Silas
20:00and Timothy and others, Barnabas. These
20:04people were performing very dangerous kinds of work
20:08in very hostile atmospheres, unwelcoming societies.
20:12He says brethren pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.
20:16Now we don't do that anymore. They still do in
20:20some orthodox churches. You know they'll embrace and kiss each other on both
20:24cheeks and so forth and so on. Being of the Anglo-Saxon tribe
20:28my particular tribe doesn't engage in behavior like that. But we
20:32occasionally hugging others now.
20:36We used to just shake hands, you know. But when Paul
20:40says greet all the brethren with a holy kiss, what he's really saying is
20:44I want you to be open and sincere within the body of Christ.
20:48I want a demonstrated openness and sincerity.
20:52I want you to hold each other up, lift each other up, and be open
20:56with each other. And then in verse 27, I charge you by the Lord
21:00that this epistle be read unto all
21:04the holy brethren. Well guess what?
21:08We're doing it. So we're just simply doing what Paul wanted us to do.
21:12He would do it himself except he had to be
21:16somewhere else this morning. And besides, he would be reading it in
21:20Koine Greek and none of you would understand it. So
21:24he says I want you to read this epistle. And then he
21:28flows the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
21:32We'll be back soon.
21:36I'm Peter Coyne. Have a good one.
21:40There is such an amazing warmth
21:44in the New Testament.
21:48Now let's get back to our subject.
21:52In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus speaks of a
21:56time when the world would come unglued
22:00It would be a time of great shaking, designed
22:04to stamp out for all time wickedness and the wicked
22:08and to establish the throne of the Davidic
22:12kingdom. In the meantime, there is the
22:16body of Christ, the church, which is a restrainer.
22:20And before we go on, I want to really come back to a point
22:24and emphasize it this morning. We're on the verge
22:28and I don't want to preach gloom and doom, but we're on the verge, I think, of seeing
22:32some rather grave developments in global society.
22:36There are increasing numbers of
22:40indicators. We can see uprisings, revolutions, social
22:44breakdowns, financial collapse, social collapse
22:48of various kinds. And standing in the middle
22:52of all of that possible darkness is
22:56the church. And it's the invisible church. And it's growing
23:00increasingly invisible, I might add, in spite of the fact that there is
23:04evangelical television and so forth. The church is being ushered
23:08to one side in spite of the fact that the apostles all
23:12depicted the church as a stabilizing or the great
23:16stabilizing influence on society. We studied
23:20in Micah, the prophet Micah, a couple of weeks ago
23:24his view of what would happen if the
23:28godly men were taken away from the world. And you remember
23:32Micah said,
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