Sermon Tone Analysis

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.