Sermon on

Things that Show Christ's Coming is Near

By Brian Pepper

In the Gospel of Matthew we read that the Jewish leaders asked Christ for a sign from heaven as an indication that He was the Messiah. He answered and said unto them in Matthew 16:2, “When it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring. Oh ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” It is the work of religious leaders to understand the times and to warn the people of God as to what is coming. In these last days God expects the religious leaders to be warning the world of the coming of Christ. Indisputable evidence is given by Christ that we might know when his coming is near. Matthew 24:33 says, “..when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Let us notice further evidences that we are living in the last of the last days.   As in the Days of Noah Jesus declared, in verse 37. “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Here Christ indicates that the same conditions that existed in the time of Noah before the flood are to be repeated in the days prior to his coming.   Population Growth What were the conditions of Noah’s day? We read that “men began to multiply on the face of the earth.” (Genesis 6:1) There was a tremendous rise in population in the times of Noah. As it was in Noah’s day, so shall it be in days prior to his coming. Is there a big population increase today? Very much so. Authorities are alarmed at the 'population explosion' as it is termed. By 1800 AD the world’s population reached 1,000 million. This took over 4,000 years. However, 120 years later, that is, in 1920 AD the world’s population doubled to 2,000 million. The experts now declare that in 1980, the population will have reached well over 3,000 million. The terms now being used are, 'standing room only in the world.', 'running out of living space', 'too many people' and the experts are asking 'What can we do about it?' Surely this is a fulfilment of the prophecy of Jesus. An alarming thing about the population explosion, is that in 40 years, the world will be 70% Afro-Asian. This means that the living standards of the world will undoubtedly fall. The foreign aid from the West to the Asian countries is adding fuel to the fire, for it is helping to greatly increase the population. What a terrific sign is this of the Second Advent. The world is facing insuperable problems. They don’t know how to solve them. However to the one who has faith in God, and accepts the great prophecies of Jesus, this is a great sign of the nearness of the blessed hope. Advance of Mechanical Knowledge The second condition noticed in the days of Noah is that there was a remarkable advance of mechanical knowledge. In Genesis 4, six generations from Cain, which brings us to Noah’s day, we find that knowledge of music, metallurgy, and industry began to abound. Genesis 4:21 speaks of “Jubal . . . he was the father of all such as handle the harp and the organ...and Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer (mechanic) in brass and iron.” The greatest evidence regarding the extent of their knowledge and ability is revealed in the building of Noah’s ark. God gave Noah the blue print, but the workmen of the day constructed it. It was a marvel of engineering and building construction. It’s unladen weight was about 32,000 tons, and it had 2 acres of floor space. It’s laden weight was about 42,000 tons. This is a revelation of the extent of the knowledge of that day. “As the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” We are seeing the same remarkable increase of knowledge today. 150 years ago it was the age of the horse and buggy, and the sailing ship. The industrial age had not begun, but what a tremendous increase of knowledge has suddenly come to mankind in this our day. This is the second sign that we are in the last of the last days. Violence The third condition of Noah’s day is that “the earth was filled with violence.” (Genesis 6:13) Crime and murder were prevalent in Noah’s day. Little value was placed on human life. It was an age of violence. Are we seeing the same condition today? Answer: Yes, violence is the order of our age. In warfare, there is terrific violence. In air raids, whole cities with their populations are blotted out. One H-bomb, dropped in Elizabeth Street would wipe out most of Hobart. War Violence In the last war, think of the shocking atrocities, when 6 million Jews were systematically murdered – violence. When 60 million refugees were driven from their homes – violence. At Nordhausen where 25,000 slave workers were worked to death, violence. At Mauthausen, where they kept packs of trained dogs, to tear living human beings to pieces - if this is not violence then I would like to know what you would call it. The official Red Cross report from Switzerland declares that 26 million men, women, and children died in these camps. The official report of the parliamentary delegation on the Buchenwald concentration camp says, “Such camps as this mark the lowest point of degradation to which humanity has yet descended.” Not only has there been violence in Germany. The Readers Digest declares that 14 million slaves are in Siberia. “More people are in slavery today than at any other time in history.” Race Murders We think of Tibet where the Communists were charged with “race-murder”- where scores of thousands have been wiped out in cold blood - violence. There is violence around the world. In Algeria, in the Congo, in Angola, throughout most of Africa, the race riots in India, the uprisings in the Middle East and Ceylon, the revolts in Indonesia, the violence in the Latin American countries, the race riots in U.S.A. and in London, the riots in Japan, and many other disturbances. Violence on the Highways In almost every other country of the world there is violence. It is unparalleled. We think of violence on the highways with the unprecedented number of road casualties. Criminal Violence In the criminal world there is also extreme violence. In the U.S.A. a major crime is committed every 15 seconds. Every 5 minutes there is a murder, a rape, or an assault to kill. Daily there are 2,000 robberies and burglaries. Every 3 minutes a car is stolen. In the U.S.A. which boasts of its Twentieth Century civilisation, there are 6 million crooks at large. Violence is everywhere, and it is increasing. People seem to be fascinated by it - until they get involved. On TV, in the theatre world, and even in the comics, violence is prominent. We are rearing the present generation on violence. Woe betide the world in the world in the future. We hear complaints about juvenile delinquency of which the most prominent characteristic is violence. Surely conditions today are the same as those of Noah’s day. We surely are living in the last of the last days. Moral Corruption The forth condition prevalent in Noah’s day was moral corruption. God looked upon the earth and behold it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” Genesis 6:12. Is the same condition prevalent in our day? We find that corruption is world-wide. There is corruption in government, in politics, in business, in the legal world, in the sporting world, in the literary world, in the entertainment world; Corruption is everywhere. In noting the reviews of the world’s best sellers we find that the majority of the books that are read by people consist of filth. For example, statistics show that American children are reading over 9 million cheap adventure magazines, 3 million true confessions, or filthy sex story’s over 3 million detective stories, revealing all aspects of how to commit crime and get away with it. And 10.5 million movie magazines filled with sex appeal pictures. This is true of many other countries of the world. Immorality Christ declared “as in the days of Noah, they were marrying and giving in marriage, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:38. There is nothing wrong with marriage. Here Christ is referring to immorality. As Dr Holmes said, “When a Hollywood actress takes a forth husband, who is finding in her a fifth wife . . .  they have no more to do with marriage then prostitution has to do with chastity.” Today, society is morally rotten. We need to remember that we must not judge the rest of the world by conditions in Tasmania. This state is one of the best in the world. Much of the moral corruption is due to the influence of Hollywood, Television, etc. Box Office Essentials The essentials for box office attractions are stated as 'horror, violence and sex.' London doctors warn 'that the biggest evil facing teenagers is the rising tide of V.D.' And recently we read of the accusation by Archbishop of Sydney that University professors are advocating free love, etc. It might amaze you to know that in N.S.W. over 1,000 girls (a year) are picked up by the vice squad. Moral corruption is evident everywhere One of the striking lessons of history is that when a nation declined morally it was followed by the nation’s fall. Today the world is doing the same. Moral corruption will be followed by physical destruction. Eating and Drinking Another condition of Noah’s day is noted by Christ. “As in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:38, 39) In Noah’s day the populace was utterly ignorant of the fact that destruction was coming. In spite of the fact that Noah warned the world of the coming of the flood, nevertheless, 'they knew not'. They refused to listen to Noah’s preaching and closed their eyes to the remarkable evidence of the building of the ark, that Noah’s preaching was the truth. So it is today. World events are telling us in thunder tones that the world cannot last.   It is Near Jesus says, “When ye see these things, know it is near.” However the world refuses to listen and thus the majority will be unready when the Son of Man appears. The most important thing in all the world is for us to be ready for the coming of Christ. Jesus said, "Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh." May God help us to yield to His call, receiving from Him forgiveness for our sins, and grace to leave nothing undone that we ought to do: that we keep all His commandments, that we may be found faithful and obedient when He returns to save His people.