What Do We Have to Look Forward to?

Tim Moore’s Presentation — Part 1

Tim Moore: Turn with me to Matthew 24. And it opens by saying, “Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.” Now, I have to take an aside for just a second. I’d like to make the point that the disciples were from the sticks, if you will. In Kentucky parlance, they were the hillbillies from up north, all right? And they’d come to the big city of Jerusalem and they were amazed at all the structures. Of course, the temple itself had been enlarged and beautified by Herod the Great. He was a great builder. He was also a megalomaniac. But they were impressive structures.
To this day, when we go to Israel, you can witness the stones that are just part of the retaining wall that surrounded the temple, and they’re huge. Some of them as big as city buses. Some of them so large that modern cranes can’t even lift them. And yet they were placed side by side so tightly you can’t even get a piece of paper in between. These were impressive structures, and it’s almost like the disciples walked around saying, “Golly.”

And then Jesus reveals to them in verse two, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another which will not be torn down.” Now, later He reveals to the Pharisees that they will all be torn down, but He will rebuild it in three days, foreshadowing the temple of His body that would be destroyed and yet be resurrected in three days.

And yet in the very next verse, Matthew records, “As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us.'” Three questions. “When will these things happen?” The destruction he talked about in the previous verse. “What will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?” And I’d like to point out as you read on, Jesus said, “No, fellas, you got it all wrong. What? No, no, actually he didn’t say that. He didn’t say, “You’ve got it all wrong,” because they had these three points right. What Jesus had prophesied in terms of the destruction would take place. There would be signs of His coming.

So, already the disciples understood that He was going away and He would be coming again and that there would be an end of the age. No, what Jesus said is, in responding to their questions, “See to it that no one misleads you.” And I appreciate what Dr. G has already shared with you today talking about the Bereans. Even as Paul was bearing testimony to Christ and sharing the gospel, what did the Bereans do? They tested every sermon, every word that he uttered against God’s word. And so whether it’s Randy or me or anyone else who is preaching or teaching to you, make sure you test our words against the Word of God because we sometimes can err, but God’s Word never does. Let every man be a liar, but God is always faithful.

And then Jesus, in Matthew 24, went on to give many signs regarding His coming. Now, as soon as I begin talking about the Lord’s coming and end times things, a lot of folks’ minds want to rush to the bottom line up front. So, let’s just address it. Can we know with absolute certainty when Jesus is coming again?

The answer in a nutshell, yes, I heard it already, is no, we cannot know the day or the hour. Scripture says so. The Son says, “Only the Father knows when He will send forth the Son to gather His bride, the church, to Himself.” But the Lord also said there are a number of signs that we should watch for and I believe that He expects us to have discernment over. He ridiculed the Pharisees because they couldn’t even recognize the signs that He was giving to them even though they recognized the signs of weather. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning. And that’s exactly what He refers to when He says, “You understand the signs of the sky but you don’t understand the signs of the times?” And brothers and sisters, the signs today are multiplying around us even as the world grows tragically dark.

So, this begs a question that I will address very briefly today. I’m going to just whet your appetite because I can assure you we could go on for many hours and that’s why I refer you to all the materials that are available on our website. Where are we on God’s prophetic timeline? If there was a beginning, as Genesis tells us, and if the Lord came and went to the cross of Calvary about 2,020-some years ago and here we are two millennia later, what can we be looking for? What can we discern and recognize happening about us? In other words, what are the signs of the times here at the early portion of the year of our Lord 2024?

Well, once again, one more advertising pitch, you can go to christinprophecy.org and receive our “Lamplighter” magazine. Just this past year, we stepped through the six categories of signs that Dr. Reagan years ago organized to help us kind of put our arms around everything that’s happening before our eyes. Those would include signs of nature, signs of society, spiritual signs, both positive and negative, signs of world politics, signs of technology, and signs of Israel. And I think we may have either out on our table or available through our ministry a handful of the sets of those six copies, those six editions of “Lamplighter” magazine that you can buy all at once.

Part 2

Nathan Jones: Tim, I don’t think we can overstate the importance and significance of the six categories of signs that you outlined.

Tim Moore: Nathan, I absolutely agree. As a matter of fact, when I first began volunteering with Lamb & Lion Ministries as an assistant evangelist, David Reagan impressed upon me that our core message focuses on the signs of the times because they point to the imminence of the Rapture and Jesus’ soon return. That is why we frequently speak about the signs of nature, signs of society, spiritual signs, signs of world politics, signs of technology, and signs of Israel.

Nathan Jones: Exactly. And so God’s prophetic word is clear that when we see those signs multiplying all around us, we know that Jesus is near right at the door. Scripture says this increase in frequency and intensity will be like birth pains, but that is where your message continues.

Tim Moore’s Presentation —Part 2

Tim Moore: My wife and I are expecting grandchild number six. We don’t know when that new member of our family is going to arrive. I’ve got it marked on my calendar. My staff will tell you I have a countdown on my computer how many days left, because I’m always looking forward to something. But the doctor doesn’t know exactly when that baby’s going to arrive. They give an estimate. And yet at some point in that nine-month gestation period, that baby’s mother is going to begin to go into labor.

Ladies who are here or watching online know what that is like. The pains start fairly mild and somewhat infrequent, but they increase in frequency and in intensity until the moment that child is born. Now, even when the labor pains start, the doctor doesn’t say, “Aha, labor pains have started. Well, in 27 hours and 34 minutes, the baby’s going to arrive.” No, we don’t know if it’s going to be in the next few minutes or several hours. But we know when those labor pains start, the baby is coming.

And really that’s the same analogy Jesus gave us. When we see all these signs that I spoke about a moment ago beginning to increase in frequency and intensity, that still doesn’t tell us the day or the hour, but it affirms that our Lord is coming and He is coming soon. So, with that in mind, what is a timeline, if you will, of the end times?

Well, let me just assert right up front that at Lamb & Lion Ministries, we believe that Christ’s coming is a fact that will occur for all the world to see in His glorious second coming to the earth, but preceding that glorious event, Jesus is coming for His church in an event we call the Rapture. And I’m not going to dig into reading both of these passages right now. I would encourage you to go to 1 Thessalonians 4. I’ll actually read it in a moment I think.

But Paul documents the vision he’s been given of Christ’s coming, where He comes for His church. But He appears in the heavens, again, for His church. He comes as a deliverer to rescue us from the wrath to come. He appears in grace because even as a member of the church, a follower of Christ, I’m credited with righteousness just like Abraham. I haven’t earned it on my own. It is unmerited. So, it is given to me as a credit from Christ’s own immeasurable store of righteousness and Jesus indeed will appear for His church, the bride of Christ, as a bridegroom.

Contrast that with what John records in Revelation 19. This records John’s vision of the actual second coming of Christ to earth. Again, Jesus returns where? To the earth. He returns with His church, those saints that are wearing white garments and riding horses, as described earlier in the Book of Revelation 19, when we were given garments white and pure, signifying that all of our sins have been covered over, washed away by the blood of Christ. Jesus returns to the earth as a warrior in great wrath, to pour out His wrath on those that remain, and He returns to reign as a king, a millennial reign of Christ as promised to me. No, actually, that’s not a promise made to me. That’s a promise of God made to Jesus Christ, that He will reign on the throne of His father David.

Now, we would differ from those who would have a perception of Christ coming after the millennium. He’ll come at the end of the millennium. Oh, there is no millennium. Well, in the Book of Revelation, it says six different times, “Jesus is going to reign for a thousand years.” He only had to say it once for me to believe it, but He is going to reign because God has promised Him a kingdom on this earth from the throne of His father David, and I take Him very literally at that promise. But I also take His promises to me very literally.

So, what does Jesus promise through the writers of scripture? Well, he has promised through Paul that if we “wait for His son from Heaven, that is Jesus,” He will rescue us from what? From the wrath to come. You think you got troubles now? You got troubles with a little “t”. But the Tribulation with a capital “T” is going to be the outpouring of God’s wrath on an unrepentant world. The world’s never seen anything like it. Even in the outpouring of that wrath, God’s motivation is not just to punish, but like a loving father, it is to drive the unrepentant to the end of themselves so that they yield to Him and repent of their sins, such to be saved.

Jesus Christ also said, “Keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to…” What? “To escape all these things that are about to take place.” And returning to that final book of scripture, Revelation, Jesus, in one of the letters, dictated to the church, it says, “Because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I will also keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the world, on the earth.” Now, we’ve seen calamities befall the earth. We’ve seen local disasters. But since the flood, there’s never been an hour of testing on the entire earth issued forth by God Himself. And the Lord Jesus Christ has promised to keep those who have put their faith in Him during this church age from that hour of testing.

Part 3

Nathan Jones: Well, that is such an important point. The full canon of scripture has been completed. Some people hunger to know more, and indeed, I think we would all like to know more. But God has given us everything we need to know to understand His plan for the ages and to lead us to faith in Jesus Christ. And He’s given us enough to be encouraged that even as our world seems to be spiraling out of control, He has everything under control.

Tim Moore: Exactly. Moses said, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever.” That includes Revelation, the final revelation of Jesus Christ given to us to show His bond servants, Christians, the things which must soon take place. But the entirety of God’s Word, including Revelation, also offers a warning to those upon whom God’s wrath still abides. Suffering the eternal wrath of God is a fate too horrible to even imagine, and yet it is the destiny of all who reject Christ as savior and Lord.

Tim Moore’s Presentation — Part 3

Tim Moore: But I have to say this because, again, I don’t know every one of you and I don’t know who’s watching online today, but Paul is very clear that there are many, even now, let alone in his day and hour, who should make us weep as Paul did, because just as Randy described with those who follow after an evolutionary mindset or secularism that’s permeating our society, they’re actually enemies of the cross and their end is destruction.

And that’s not something we celebrate. That’s not something we gloat about or we look forward to. Yeah, they’ll get theirs. It should break our hearts to the point of driving us to our knees and driving us to share urgently the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, with that in mind, let me give a warning to unbelievers, if you will, a timeline of those who reject Jesus Christ.

Yes, we’re living in the church age when so many just can’t be bothered by what’s happening from a prophetic perspective. They’re apathetic. The Rapture will occur, catching many off guard. “You know, Tim always told me about getting left behind,” and sure enough. And yet scripture says that they will embrace a deceiving spirit.

What do you think the world will say when all of us who are followers of Christ disappear in an instant? Good riddance. That’s going to be their first response. You know why? Because y’all are troublers. Just like Elijah. When he came to Mount Carmel, what did Ahab say? “Oh, is this you, you troubler of Israel?” Y’all are troublers of America. We could be great if it just weren’t for those Christians.

And so those who have rejected Christ will then be subjected to the Tribulation when the wrath of God is poured out on an unrepentant world, again, not just for the purpose of punishing, but for the goal of driving some to the end of themselves. As Billy Graham says, “The same sun that melts the butter hardens the clay.” And sadly, many will harden their hearts just like Pharaoh instead of yielding in faith and repentance to the Lord God.

And then after that seven years of Tribulation, Christ will come again. But instead of being these people’s blessed hope, Jesus will return to the earth, dare I say, as their holy terror because He will consign those who have rejected Him to hell for all of eternity.

Brothers, sisters, this is a fate that, again, should break our hearts on behalf of family, friends, neighbors, anyone we know, even our worst enemy. God loved enough to send His son. Think of the worst person you can imagine that you either know personally or you’ve read about in history. If that was the only person that was in need of salvation, God would have sent Jesus Christ for them.

You know how I know that? Because He came for me and I’m the worst person that I know. Y’all don’t know me as well as even my wife. If I haven’t disappointed you yet, talk to her. Give me enough time, I’ll disappoint you, too. The point being that even for me, Christ came. So, God loves everyone, every person who is lost, enough to have sent His son. And if I have the heart of Christ, so should I.

So, why is God withholding judgment right now? Well, just as he demonstrated great patience in the days of Noah and would have relented in the destruction of Sodom, He is withholding judgment now for three reasons, because He does not wish for any to perish for the sake of the church until our membership, our number is full and because it is not yet the appointed time. That’s a phrase uttered by Jesus Christ in Genesis 18 when he promised Abraham, “I will return to you at the appointed time.” Yes, he was referring to coming the next year when Abraham had a son, but that’s a messianic promise that at the appointed time, He will return to us.

Second Peter describes that “the Lord is not slow about His promise,” and which promise? Not just any promise. Specifically in the context of this verse, it is His promise to come again, “as some count slowness, but is patient, not wanting any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” And yet soon, and very soon, the trumpet will sound. We will be swept up in an instant as the Rapture occurs and as Jesus Christ meets us in the air.

Paul describes this, here’s the passage from Thessalonians, “The Lord himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive,” I dare say some of us in this room I believe will still be alive at Christ’s coming. We will be caught up, snatched away, raptured. That’s where the word comes from. It’s actually in the Latin Vulgate. That’s the transliteration of the original “harpazo.” But that’s the concept of snatched away, caught up in the blink of an eye. “Together with them in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”

So, what is the promise that I absolutely cling to and confirm? That Jesus has promised He is coming again. And to personalize it even more so, He also promised He’s coming for me. You say, “Well, Tim, you don’t deserve it.” You’re right. “Well, Tim, those people, they don’t deserve it.” You’re right. That is the good news. It doesn’t matter that I deserve it or you deserve it. No one watching today is beyond the love and the grace, the unmerited favor of God, and that is the gospel. The good news of Christ is that in spite of me not deserving His salvation, it is mine, and there is no condemnation for me or for you if we put our trust in Christ.

How do I know He’s coming again soon? Because He promised three times in Revelation 27. “Behold, I’m coming quickly. Behold, I’m coming quickly. Yes, I am coming quickly.” Even for people who have hard heads like me and Peter.

You ever wonder why Jesus named Peter, Peter the Rock? I think it was a little tongue in cheek humor. Everything with Peter had to happen three times. You ever think about that? Hardheaded. And as soon as I chuckle, I think, “Gee, that’s a lot like me. Lord, thank you for your patience with me. I’m hardheaded too.” But, again, there is now no condemnation.

Jesus also promised He would go and prepare a place for us. He would come again and receive us to himself. He said, “Write, ‘blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the lamb.'” That’s me and that’s you if you’ve put your trust in Him. And in spite of Dr. Reagan’s book and all the other imagining of what heaven is like, Paul tells us in Corinthians that “eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has entered the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” We cannot imagine. It’s going be so wonderful.

But I don’t want you to miss out. So, while we wait, what do we do? Well, like Abraham, I’ll go full circle back to Abraham from the first hour, who lived his entire life as an alien, as a sojourner in the land he was promised, who lived his life with a name changed to mean father of many looking upon one son of promise. Does that mean God wasn’t faithful in Abraham’s life? No, it means that if Abraham expected all the promises of God to be fulfilled in his life, his time horizon was too short. But Abraham wasn’t shortsighted because even as he sojourned in Canaan, he was looking for a city that has foundations whose architect and builder is God. He lived in a tent and yet he was awaiting and looking forward to a heavenly home built by God just like you and me. I look forward to going to the place Christ has prepared for me and for you, but I’ll be patient until he says, “Come on, Tim, it’s time.”

The other thing that Abraham did, which I find is tremendously important and instructive to us, tremendously, is that because of his great faith, he ensured that the promise of God would pass forward to the next generation. Abraham raised his son Isaac, and Abraham made sure to pour into his grandson Jacob an expectation of God’s promise. And God reaffirmed those promises to Isaac and to Jacob. And it is incumbent upon you and me to pass forward our expectation of God to keep all His promises to our children, our grandchildren, so that if He tarries, there will yet be some who have faith remaining here on the earth.

Conclusion

Tim Moore: Referring to Jesus Christ, John said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” Psalm 90 is a psalm of Moses, in it, he testifies, “Before the mountains were born or you gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.”

Nathan Jones: Our Everlasting to Everlasting Conference was meant to draw attention to the bookends of the Bible, Genesis and Revelation. We want to emphasize the reliability and importance of these two books. Genesis lays the foundation for understanding why the world is beset by sin, why man suffers under a curse, and why we’re in desperate need of a Savior. Revelation explains how God has preordained that His righteousness and holiness will put an end to sin and deliver justice to those who’ve rejected His offer of salvation. Both books point to Jesus Christ, who’s not only the author and perfecter of our faith, but also the One who created all things, holds all things together, and is coming back to reign on the earth.

Tim Moore: All the signs of the times point to the eminence of Jesus’ return. Soon, and very soon, He will come for His church at the Rapture. Shortly after that, the world will be subjected to a horrific seven-year period we call the Tribulation. These prophetic promises are certain because they are promises of God. The bottom line is this. When Jesus comes, He will either come as your blessed hope or as your holy terror. While there is still time, we urge you to heed the prophecy of Revelation and put your trust in Jesus Christ. We pray this series has been a blessing to you. If the Lord tarries, we’ll see you next week for another episode of “Christ in Prophecy.” Godspeed.

End of Program