Are We Living in the Last Days? - Part B

The Bible clearly predicts the last days which he does and if the Bible in depicting the last days describes it as being full of spiritual apostasy and it will end up also in the last days of old Monterey then for those of us who are believers should not often think of the end of the ear filled with fear and gloom today on connect with Skip Skip shares what you can face the last days with hope before we begin want to tell you about a resource that will help strengthen your faith as you explore the lives of notable women in the Bible stands between you and a more fruitful walk with Jesus health for prominent women in the Bible thinks their struggle to be teaching theories from my new thing called Queens of the Bible on the Queen of Sheba hearing is the first step toward spiritual life right now, hearing step toward blessing because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God hear more from Lang as she explores the faith in the failings of four different queens in Scripture. The Queens of the Bible collection of teaching is our way of saying thank you when you get $35 or more today to support this Bible teaching ministry.

The cost of following Christ is to go wherever healing your copy of these unique teachings when you call 819 to 18 eight or give online securely connectwithskip.com/offer connectwithskip.com/offer use the computer to start so much joy Skip Jesus, he expounded to them in all the Scriptures all the things I imagine he began with Genesis chapter 3 verse prophecy the seed of the woman and the child to be born to crush the head of Satan. I imagine he he mentioned Genesis 22 Abraham almost sacrificing his son on a mountain called Mount Moriah which is the very same exact mountain. Jesus died on.

Years later, and the angel said to Abraham in the mountain of the Lord, it shall be seen. He made sense of that for them. He probably stopped off at Exodus chapter 12 the Passover.

The blood on the lintels on the doorpost of the homes he no doubt brought up the Levitical sacrifices, the tabernacle now that speaks of him, he probably mentioned the scapegoat prophecy and in Leviticus chapter 16.

No doubt he would've said and what about Psalm 22 Isaiah chapter 53 he maybe even unlock for them. Daniel seven and Daniel nine Fred says beginning and Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them all the things concerning himself.

No wonder then does the angel say that John in the book of Revelation for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. You probably have a smart phone or you could have a dumb phone but you you have a device but if the device typically has a code right that it's locked. Nobody can get in and Hackett. I hope you have that code and and you know it and you rock type it in and it unlocks but once it's unlocked.

If you want to get into any app you have to have a password.

If you want to get on any platform you want to buy something. You need a password and I do know about you but I struggle with just one set password again right away how I manage all my passwords because a combination of letters or numbers and letters and figures will unlock that platform or app that's the way it is with Bible prophecy to unlock Old Testament Bible prophecy, you need the right letters JES US when you put Jesus in the midst of those Old Testament prophecies like the apostles did cite now Isaiah 53 makes sense now. Psalm 22 makes sense now.

Genesis 22 makes sense. So, just as the planets revolve around the sun. So all the prophecies of the Scripture revolve around the sun of God, SON Jesus. So then the last days are foreseen by the Scriptures. They are focused on Christ. Here's 1/3 hallmark they will be filled with apostasy. If you know that word means. It simply means a a defector is an apostate someone who had a position and left of that original position.

Somehow they drifted away from. They walked away from.

Look at chapter 2 second Peter chapter 2 Peter says, but there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction, and many will follow their destructive waves.

Because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed by covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words for a long time. Their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. Time fails us to do it today, but the entire second chapter. If you were to look at all about the entire second chapter from beginning to end is devoted to apostates, deserters and false teachers or deserters who become false teachers and get this, it all comes from within the church, not from the outside, all from within the church. So in the last days.

This is the voice of the religious world in the last days according to the Scriptures. There will be a falling away from historic, biblical truth, but we would say is historic Christianity.

Now Peter is not the only guy who mentions this, Paul mentions it. Jude mentions it. When Paul wrote to Timothy in his first letter listened out playing. This is first Timothy chapter 4 verse one, the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons or better put demonically inspired teachings, many will depart from the faith. That's apostasy that's drifting away that's walking away that's deserting that's leaving an original position.

Now I'd like you to see another one, the Paul returned his turn in your Bibles to second Timothy. Take your Bible and turn in it to second Timothy chapter 3 verse one, but know this, and anytime pulses know this is an ally some heavy on us. But know this, that in the last days is the prediction perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, Speiser's of good traders, headstrong hottie lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God where this is not a good list having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people rights. Paul turn away so the last days will be marked by a drift drift away from biblical truth replacing that truth with deceptive ideas so Peter writes about this apostasy. Jude writes about this apostasy. Paul writes about this and so does John the apostle John the apostle of love in first John chapter 2. Listen to how how explicit he is. He says little children. This is the last hour and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, which is how we know it is the last hour they went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would not have left us or gone out from us, so all of these are talk about the same thing in the last days, you can expect deception and the deception will rise even among believers, so to speak, or at least people who claim to be believers within church assemblies themselves. Even Paul said to the church of Ephesus.

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in destroying the among your own selves. He says they will arise.

So deception, which is one of Satan's master tools will be employed in the last days. I suppose that if you want up if you want to know what stage of the last days wherein this is a pretty good indicator there's always been defectors there is always been in every age apostates but I think there is a proliferation of that. I found an interesting little study that was done.

Survey that revealed that 52% of evangelical Protestants believe that salvation is as basic as you can get. Salvation comes by a combination of faith and works.

So 52% means over half, which means technically most most evangelical Protestants believe you get to heaven by believing and by working for trying to earn it. Even though the Bible says you only get saved by faith alone in Christ alone, by grace alone, more than half most evangelical Protestants was a name I think you get to heaven by believing in Jesus and working hard for only 30% in the survey saved by faith alone. Now that's an anecdotal piece of evidence.

Let me give you another.

A few years ago, two authors named Daniel Dennett and Linda La Scala wrote a piece called listen this title. Preachers who are not believers. Preachers who are not believers, so they did a study in their work chronicled five different preachers who, over time, entertained, accepted, listen to heretical teachings about Christianity and today have fallen away from the faith.

Today, these pastors are either pantheists in their worldview or clandestine atheists. The most disturbing thing about the study is that these preachers maintain the position as being pastors of Christian churches so their congregations are wholly unaware of their pastors spiritual state pastors don't believe their pantheistic or atheistic with their teaching people to believe in Jesus and the article is called preachers who are not believers. If you don't believe apostasy is real. Go read Revelation chapter 2 and three were Jesus right seven little postcards to seven church groups and each of those little letters. He notes that all seven of them except for one have fallen away from an original position and he says I have something against you, he rights to all of them because they had fallen away. So in the very least let this be a warning to us as a church and a warning to us as individuals their there is such a thing. I call it spiritual entropy. I'm using the term from physics entropy. The second law of thermodynamics is that energy is lost in a closed system over time that I use it simply to say there's a degradation that naturally happened.

There's a declension that naturally happens over time that I was sure feeding energy into the system stoking the fire of your soul, so to speak. It's easy like Jesus said to the church of Ephesus to leave your first love. I have this against you is that you left your first love. So we need to be inputting our lives with truth, Bible study, prayer Fellowship, etc. in Hebrews chapter 2 we are told. Let us give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard listed anytime we drift away from them.

So the last days that are foreseen by Scripture focused on Christ, but they will be filled with apostasy to be taken another step. The last days. According to Peter will be framed by skepticism. Now go back with me where we started in chapter 3, and we just look at the phrase the last days but we neglected to really unlock the passage so let's look at that beloved second Peter three verse one beloved, I now write to you this second epistle he wrote first Peter. This is second Peter in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets was all the Old Testament guys and the commandment of us. The apostles of the Lord and Savior. That's a New Testament guys knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning, get this, just as apostasy is the mark of the religious world in the last days the mark of the secular world in the last days is mockery's that's what scuffing means that the word scoffer means one who treats lightly. What should be taken seriously. So it somebody who ridicules the truth and you should know this, that the Old Testament guys the prophets when they spoke in the Old Testament that scoffers around them. You may on your own. Want to read Isaiah chapter 5 Jeremiah chapter 17 Ezekiel chapter 12 and Malachi chapter 2 all of the mentioned mockers scoffers and their age in their era.

Now I just read this text to you.

Second Peter three out of the version that I teach with every week of the new King James version. This is a version I've used for years and so I stuck with it. There are various translations, all of which are good. Let let me read one of these verses to you out of it very different translation called the message and listen to this.

First off you need to know that in the last days mockers are going to have a heyday. Reducing everything to the level of their puny feelings they will mock such a colorful translation. It's as if Peter anticipated social media everything just reduced to the puny little feelings and so they mock the responses mockery, give, or share your faith with an unbeliever. When you get to the point about heaven and hell and judgment. They just disconnect it really you believe that, and especially if you mention the fact that Jesus is coming again, you can hear that a lot ha you believe that my grandmother taught me that my great-grandfather believed in that Jesus hadn't showed up yet. Sounds like verse four and saying, where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. Now you need to know why they scoff. Here's why mockers mock. Here's why haters of Christianity hate it's because they want pleasure without accountability. I didn't make that up.

Look at verse three knowing this first, scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, there is they want pleasure without accountability. They don't want you or Jesus or anybody else telling them what to do. It's all about what they want to do and all about their pleasure in their own lusts, so is one of the marks of the last days to be framed by skepticism only give you 1/5 hallmark. Now the last days, and of all of them. This is the best and that is the last days are going to be faced with hope because there's not always just apostates. There's not always just scoffers.

There are true believers, a remnant of true believers and their negative face the same future with great hope, no matter what happens. They have hope and they respond in obedience go down to verse 10 of chapter 3, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. God created the heavens and the earth.

God will one day on create the heavens and the year.

This is the end creation.

This is the destruction of it going to end. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved. Being on fire and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless we, according to his promise. Look for new heavens and a new word in which righteousness dwells. Peter is pretty logical and this whole book.

If you look at chapter 1, two and three. In a nutshell, here's his appeal. He says if the Bible clearly predicts the last days which he does and if the Bible in depicting the last days describes it as being full of spiritual apostasy and it will end up also in the last days. It will be filled with secular mockery and it will then for those of us who are believers. It should evoke a godly response. What manner of persons ought you to be in holiness and godliness.

It's a good question.

How should we live, how should we then live what manner of persons ought we to be if the world is going to be burned up. What kind of people should we be. First of all, not too materialistic if it's all going to burn number two. We should be mockers like skeptics, we shouldn't scoff at it because there scuffing at the fact that Jesus said is going to return, but he's going to return so you want to be on the mockery side. Your response should be a godly response filled with hope. As you anticipate is coming ominous sum it up this way the Bible's revelation of the world's consummation should evoke godly motivation that something you can write down readers committed to memory. The Bible's revelation of the world's consummation. It's ending should evoke, among true believers, godly motivation, so I want to leave you with three things that I think are the right response for believers living in the last number one. Be careful of spiritual entropy. Be careful of it. Be careful of the tendency to just let things slide to drift away from things to decline to leave our first love. Be aware of that. Be careful about. Second, be confident in spiritual truth is why we need to get into the word read the promises of Scripture believe all the things Jesus said about his coming more of which will look at next time, so be careful of spiritual entropy. Be confident spiritual truth.

Third, be consistent in spiritual activity. Be consistent in your commitment to your God, to your family to your church to your friends to your place of employment.

Be consistent because that's the healthy balance between waiting for Jesus to show up and being engaged in our culture you know it's like it's like when a couple goes to the doctor and the doctor tells the husband and wife. The young couple she's pregnant you can have a baby. So now they got nine months to prepare.

Well, maybe by the time to hear.

Eight months but they hear they find okay will you have a baby so they started getting really jazz and psych there preparing for the coming his coming or her coming and so they start picking names out they start thinking about colors for the room buying furniture for the room there preparing for the coming but the same time still go to work still pay the bills. They still fix things around the house they still stay engaged so that's the balance as we wait for the coming Jesus said occupy until I come. Stay busy until I come. So for the believer, living in the last days. Keep your eye on the sky and keep your hand to the plow. Keep your eye in the sky. Jesus could come back anytime he chooses.

Could be tomorrow could be before 2021 ends, God willing, I'm ready, but until whenever he comes keep my hand to the plow. Keep serving stay engaged, stay faithful all the way.

Wait for his return. That concludes Skip a text message 2020 use with an important message for God's word has the power to change lives. I believe that with all my heart.

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