Perilous times of the Last Days
(Message delivered by Pastor at the True Life Church 10.30 am Service, Sep 11, 05)
Text: II Tim. 3:1;Matt. 24:3, 6-8, 13-14
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (II Tim. 3:1) And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto 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 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. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 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. (Matt. 24:3, 6-8, 13-14)
In these perilous times of the Last Days, God has specially protected us from all harm since Singapore gained independence in 1965 forty years ago. During the last two weeks we are drawn into the reality of Perilous times in the Last Days. Suddenly the breaking loose of the Hurricane Katrina blowing all along the Gulf Coast at well over 200 km per hour brought death to tens of thousands of Americans with the full flooding of New Orleans. Everyone of the 480,000 population was affected. As a result not only tens of thousands were killed but went without water or food and now it is reported 400,000 jobs are lost. What touched us sympathetically is that Singapore’s three Chinook helicopters near New Orleans have gone into action to ferry 700 out of the flood waters to safety, a part of the evacuation of New Orleans 480,000 population. America is surely grateful for what Little Singapore can do.
(Alarming predictions of as many as 10,000 dead in New Orleans may have been greatly exaggerated, officials have said. The authorities said the first street-by-street sweep had revealed far fewer corpses than feared. “Some of the catastrophic deaths that some people predicted may not have occurred,” said Colonel Terry Ebbert, the city’s homeland security chief. “Numbers so far are relatively minor compared to the dire projections of 10,000,” he said on Friday. He said a reliable assessment of the death toll would be obtained only in two weeks. The spectre of a five-figure toll had been raised as the Federal Emergency Management Agency ordered 25,000 body bags to be flown to a temporary morgue for Louisiana fatalities. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin also suggested last weekend that “it would not be unreasonable to have 10,000 dead”. But soldiers helping in the search were not seeing that kind of toll. “There’s nothing at all in the magnitude we anticipated,” said Major-General Bill Caldwell. Louisiana’s official death count stood at 118 and Mississippi’s was 211. – The Sunday Times, September 11, 2005)
An UN Official declared this was worse than the Dec 26, 04 Tsunami that struck Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia at which around the Indian Ocean, 300,000 were killed. It will take years before Aceh in Sumatra and New Orleans can be restored.
The title of my message this week, “Perilous times of the Last Days” must show that it is a worldwide event. Beginning with the Dec 26, 04 Tsunami in the next five months there were 8 earthquakes. The following month another 2 earthquakes shook Japan injuring 60 in the first one.
As I look at the events hereafter I cannot expect better times. More earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods will soon follow. A few days after I said this Japan is pounded by Typhoon 14 with over 20 deaths and over 50 injured. Famines while fighting shy of Singapore a land of plenty are just being reported ravaging Africa’s 900 million. For, 300 million are going hungry every night. Pestilences, which means any contagious deadly disease, such as bird-flu coming out of Vietnam and dengue fever rising to 8,850 this year are invading Singapore. Now come wars and rumours of wars out of man’s wickedness. The Book of Revelation reveals one third of the people will be killed. Rev. 9:13-16 says, “And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.” This means a World War i.e. a Third World War is in the process of formation. The river Euphrates is present day Iraq.
As we come to Rev. 16:12, “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.” So from Iraq will come kings of the east. Is China in the picture? How about Pakistan and India?
And God will gather them together kings of the whole world to a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. This is a hill south of Haifa, Israel’s northern port and west of the Sea of Galilee from where the enemies of Israel will drive down to Jerusalem, in a matter of a few hours where the final battle will be fought. This is the actual battle of Armageddon.
The mention of Iraq is significant, for already two wars have been fought, the second War with Iraq by President Bush of USA. Iraq is seething with troubles again.
With USA now standing against North Korea in the East and Iran in the West, against China and Taiwan in the middle, should war break out that will be the end. The Third World War is the Last War. Even Singapore is armed to the teeth with the latest American fighters.
We are in the Perilous times of the Last Days. Whether the Perils are brought in by nature such as by Hurricane Katrina over New Orleans or by the wickedness of men, we who know the Lord must not seek the world and its riches and pleasures but His Kingdom. For the end of the world and Christ’s Coming can happen even in our short lifetime! Whether you will be saved is your problem.
In these perilous times of the last days our Lord has some good news for us. It is what I would call “Accelerated Missions”. The Gospel will be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come. It is reported Korea alone sends out 12,000 missionaries and the whole world 400,000, including technical missionaries. We at Far Eastern Bible College receive students from 19 nationalities. When our students return to their own countries then they will spread the gospel to other nationalities and bring them to Christ. And that shall lead to the end. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen.
THE GOSPEL OF LIFE: Chapter XV
John 15:18-25
Double Reinforcement for Stormy Days
“Reinforced concrete” is a term often used in the building industry. Webster defines it as “concrete masonry in which steel bars or mesh are so embedded that the two materials act together in resisting forces.”
Before our Lord left His own He must see to their utmost preparation to meet with stormy days ahead. Are we prepared? In the previous sections we have seen how our Lord has reinforced the disciples by inculcating love – love for the Master, love for one another. When we stand united in the bonds of Christian love we can face a hostile world.
Yes, the hostile world is what the disciples will be launched into. They will be met with hatred (v. 18), persecution (v. 20), prejudice (v. 25). These are the forces facing every true disciple, for every true disciple must undergo what the Master undergoes. Our Saviour in witnessing to the Truth ended in death. So death, martyrdom, is the end expected of every true disciple in a hostile world.
Are we prepared to carry the cross in these last days?
To doubly reinforce the disciples to stand in an evil day, our Lord reminds them of oppositions that will arise for His sake. “But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, . . . He that hateth me hateth my Father also.” So, for the Father’s sake too. The realisation of a Christian, when persecuted for righteousness’ sake, that such persecution will be turned into blessing (Matt 5:10) reinforces him to go through the ordeal.
So, speaking from his own experiences, Peter exhorts the persecuted, “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. . . . Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf” (I Pet 4:13-16).
Double reinforcement for stormy days consists of love, and devotion to suffer for Jesus’ sake, like the concrete and steel used in building houses.
John 15:22, 24-27
Christ convicts, the Comforter Convinces
Christ had taught the gracious doctrines of the Truth especially to the Jews. To prove that His teachings were from God, He performed mighty miracles before them, “the works which none other man did.” How privileged the Jews were, who
were given sumptuous spiritual feasts, course after course. Instead of being grateful for Christ’s ministry, the Jews, like spoilt children, spurned the one who fed them. In so doing, they condemned themselves. They were convicted by their rejection of truth. They had no cloke, no excuse, for their sin.
They fulfilled the words of David, who spoke as a type of Him, and was hated without a cause by the men of his generation. Judases not only within, but also without, a great many of them.
But God would not let sinners go without the continuing work of the Holy Spirit. So Jesus encourages the disciples that He will send the Comforter proceeding from the Father, to further testify of Him. The work of the Holy Spirit is to give success to the Gospel. He will work in the hearts of stubborn men to convince them that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Matthew Henry says, “The blessed Spirit is the Emanation of the Diving Light, and the Energy of Divine power. The rays of the sun, by which it dispenses and diffuses light, heat and influence proceed from the sun, yet are one with it. They (the disciples) also, taught and encouraged by His influences, would bear testimony to Him and His salvation. They would be especially competent in this, having been with Him from the beginning of His ministry.”
When Christ is rejected by our initial testimony, the Holy Spirit must work to convince them who reject Christ in order to become those who receive Him. Is that not the experience of those of us who were very stubborn in the beginning? That we have now received Christ is the inner work of the Holy Spirit.
