MARANATHA! THE LORD IS COMING

Maranatha which means the Lord is coming.

By it is also fitting to note that tomorrow is the 164th anniversary of the falling of the stars. Happened last month. November 13. The last sign Jesus gave that would mark His soon return.

Our scripture reading is found in the book of Matthew chapter 24 and verse 29

Matthew 24:29‑33 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. (KJV)

As Adventist we are very much acquainted with this prophecy of Jesus. Here in this passage Our Lord has given us the signs that would precede His coming. Jesus implied that immediately after the tribulation. We believe that to be a period called the dark ages that consisted of 1260 years of the Papal persecution beginning in the year 538 AD terminating in the year 1798.

John was shown these same signs in Revelation

.... and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell onto the earth,. . . Revelation 6:12,13

We know that according to secular records historians give us accounts of each of these prophecies fulfilled except one.

On November 1, 1755 the occurrence known as the great earthquake took place.

Sir Charles Lyell "A sound of thunder was heard underground, and immediately afterward a violent shock threw down the greater part of the city. In the course of about six minutes, sixty thousand persons perished. Principles of Geology, page 495

But we as Adventist know that

The next event to take place in this sequence of signs in the natural world is described by John in the Revelation.

... and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; ... Revelation 6:12

Samuel Tenney in the book Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Part 1,, Vol. 1 (1792)

"If every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded darkness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes was equally invisible with the blackest velvet."

Samuel Williams of Harvard

"between the hours of ten and eleven, A.M. and continued until the middle of the next night," varying in degree and duration in different localities. Persons could not see to read common print in the open air."

Historians say that after midnight the darkness disappeared, and the moon, when first visible, had the appearance of blood.

But we as Adventist we know that.

       The next sign to be seen in the heavens is described by Jesus:

... and the stars shall fall from heaven, ... Matthew 24:29

on November 13, 1833 Jesus' prediction concerning the falling of the stars was fulfilled to the letter.

According to Agnes Clarke in the book " A Popular History of Astronomy" p.369, 370

"From the Gulf of Mexico to Halifax, until daylight with some difficulty put an end to the display, the sky was scored in every direction with shining tracks and illuminated with majestic fireballs. ~ At Boston, the frequency of meteors was estimated to be about half that of flakes of snow in an average snowstorm ‑ ‑ ."

Frederick Douglass "Life and Time of Frederick Douglass" p. 117 (1941 ed)

"I witnessed this gorgeous spectacle, and was awe‑struck. The air seemed filled with bright descending messengers from the sky .... I was not without the suggestion at the moment that it might be the harbinger of the coming of the Son of Man; and in my then state of mind I was prepared to hail Him as my friend and deliverer. I had read that the stars shall fall from heaven, and they were now falling."

Jesus said that the stars would fall from heaven and they did!

Where are we living in relationship to these chronological order events?

The Great Earthquake           November 1, 1755

The Dark Day                         May 19, 1780

The Falling Stars                   November 13,,1833

What does John say will be the next prophecy to be fulfilled

Revelation 6:14-17

14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

(KJV)

Last month marked the 164th anniversary of the falling of the stars the last sign to take place before Jesus comes and the end of the world.

Even without the signs in the heavens the Bible indicates to us that there are signs all around us indicating to us that the end is near.

The Bible gives its description of the last days in 2 Timothy 3:2,3

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy .... without selfcontrol, brutal....

June 23, 1997

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Betty Shabazz, the widow of civil rights leader Malcolm X, died Monday, three weeks after being severely burned in a fire allegedly set by her 12-year-old grandson.

July 2, 1996
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Lyle and Erik Menendez were sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without possibility of parole nearly seven years after they killed their wealthy parents with shotgun blasts.

The Bible says

2 Tim 3:13

13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. (NKJ)

Drugs Lords capturing the now society

Article read that among a poll taken by parents the number one concern was drugs. 

October 28, 1997
Web posted at: 8:51 p.m. EST (0151 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The nation's largest annual survey of student drug use shows the use of illegal drugs is increasing among sixth, seventh and eighth grade students.

Corrupt lawyers, judges, senate members, government, law enforcement

over 65% chance of becoming a victim of a rapist, murderer, thief, embezzler, extortionist‑ mugger, or other criminal.

Jesus said

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; .... Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. Luke 17:28, 30

Paul,‑ speaking of the moral conditions that characterized these cities said

Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men . . . Romans 1:27

1997

On December 3, Judge Kevin Chang of Hawaii's First Circuit Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Baehr v. Miike, holding that the state's denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates Hawaii's Constitution. The long-awaited decision is an historic landmark on the road to full equality for lesbians and gay men -- and particularly toward allowing lesbians and gay men in committed relationships the equal benefits available to other married couples. Contrary to the persistent false rhetoric of the Religious Right political movement and its allies, granting legal recognition to gay and lesbian marriages will take nothing away from heterosexual marriages and in fact will serve to strengthen family values and protect children in our society.

TV and movies are treating gay themes more openly and sympathetically. Not an alternate lifestyle anymore it is a gender

October 17, 1997

Vice President Al Gore has praised the "coming-out" episode of "Ellen," saying Hollywood had allowed Americans to "look at sexual orientation in a more open light."

The main character of ABC's sitcom "Ellen" told her friends and family last season that she was a lesbian. At the same time, the star, comedian Ellen DeGeneres, publicly announced her homosexuality.

The episode during which "Ellen" reveals her sexual orientation got high ratings. This month, however, DeGeneres angrily objected to ABC's decision to air a warning advisory on an episode in which her character playfully kisses a female friend.

Schools

My two Mommies, Daddy has a roommate

Nation's first private school for gay students opens

September 5, 1997
Web posted at: 5:21 p.m. EDT (2121 GMT)

DALLAS (CNN) -- Walt Whitman Community School -- all three teachers, seven students, one building and three classrooms of it -- opened its doors in Dallas this week as the first private school for homosexuals.

Two veteran educators founded the school. Becky Thompson, who is a lesbian, and Pamala Stone, who is not, decided to form the school after observing students harassing others at the north Dallas prep school they left in January.

Tuition at Whitman is $7,000 a year; all seven students are receiving financial assistance from people who want the school to succeed, Thompson said. The school is also seeking grants from private foundations. It hopes to eventually have up to 30 students.

Of the current enrollment, four are gay, and three are there because a parent is gay. Only two students are seniors. Thompson said that reflects the younger age at which people are becoming aware of their sexuality.

All around us are signs that Time is running out the sins that called for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah exists today.

Billy Graham once said that if God doesn’t destroy this world soon .  .  .

But as Adventist yea, we know that

Matthew 24:42‑5142 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. 45 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 1 tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48' But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (NIV)

You see this text bothers me because before you kind of knew who the Lord was talking to.

Matt 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; (KJV)

Matt 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. (KJV)

Matt 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (KJV)

Matt 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. (KJV)

"I was shown our danger, as a people, of becoming assimilated to the World rather than to the image of Christ" 4Tp. 306

"Satan will in every conceivable manner assail those who profess to be the commandment keeping people of God and to be waiting for the second appearing of our Saviour in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will lead as many as possible to put off the evil day and become in spirit like the world, imitating its customs" 4Tp. 306

If he could get our minds on the things of this world then the things of God would grow strangely dim in the light of worldly pleasure:

Matt 24:37-39

37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

(KJV)

Doesn’t this stun you.  First of all you animals walking in – secondly I know you had some church people back then beside Noah’s family.

But what we don't realize is that being in the church does not necessarily make us immune from the last day deception.

People who come to church and sit.  Hear the message of Jesus, understand the truth, know that they should come to Jesus give Him their life. See the signs of the times but nothing shakes them!  Just like the people in Noah’s day.

There has been strange fire coming into the ranks of the Seventh‑Day Adventist church. The trumpet has not been giving a certain sound.

Jewelry and makeup

Yes, yes you took yours off right away

But there are some poor deceived souls who believe yes I'm free in Jesus

all kind of attire

Moves which rival those found on the dance floor.

They say we are in a recession, church can't afford to pay its bills.

Plush this, tiled that

If we took care of what God gave us

Take the tithe and pay the bills

                Some of us have become so stingy that returning tithe is not a privilege but a

burdensome duty

Never was it meant for God's church to suffer so that we have to make calls at the altar and have Bake, sales, concerts.

we have become the one dollar specialists.

God cries aloud

If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.

Sometimes its not overtime, sometimes it's not 3 and 2 jobs that we need what is needed is for us to say all to Jesus I surrender.

Luke 21:34‑36

34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

(KJV)

Election/cancer eating out souls

One thing about the Seventh‑Day Adventist truth it is sweet. But you can still be lost if you only fall in love with the message and not the messenger. 

Time is important

Fighting each other

youth against senior

member against member

member against clergy

clergy against clergy

clergy against administration

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I

administration against administration

offshoots

This is God's church

John 17:5

5   And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

(KJV)

ship of Zion

In an age of pessimist Jesus says " Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid!""

But what if you're a Union, conference President, church officer for many years and all of a sudden the brethren decided that someone else must take the mantle and you can't sit in office any more.

He who overcomes I will grant Him to sit with Me

But what if you have a family and you mother and father and whole family leaves

you

though mother forsake and father forsake you then the Lord will lift you up.

But what if you got no money and you need a job.

Jesus says the silver and the gold are mine, seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

                But what if you been backsliding for over 20 years and you haven't returned to

Jesus yet.

              Jesus says Behold now is the accepted time, him that cometh to me I will in no

wise cast out.

I Thessalonians 5:2‑5 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. (KJV)

Maranatha! The Lord is coming!

Jesus is coming again the signs have declared it

But He hasn't come yet

Why?

2 Pet 3:9-12

9   The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,

12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire!

(RSV)

Time is granted them, not to be employed in studying their own ease and becoming dwellers on the earth, but to be used in the work of overcoming every defect in their own characters and in helping others, by example and personal effort, to see the beauty of holiness. 4t p.307

the slaves who didn't have split level apartments

tents

don't have cars

they didn't have shoes

still praised the Lord!

Altar Call