Today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. We're talking about the end of days.
What the Bible tells us over and over is that it's not our job to know the day, the year, the month, or the time. That that's up to God. In fact, he tells us that the end will come as a thief in the night.
I'm preparing my family for the total destruction of the power grid.
A devastating earthquake, a series of catastrophic terrorist attacks.
Supervolcano.
Under a doomsday scenario, I'll be the only one standing there who has another hundred pounds to lose.
700 cans.
£241 of cucumbers. We have weapons for every individual in the house. This is the lifestyle that we live. Let's go. We're bugging out.
Doomsday preppers.
Well, there's a lot of weird ideas out there about the End of Days. I'm Wayne Shepherd with Mark Jobe. Mark, we need to turn to God's word for the answers, don't we?
We do. And there are a lot of extremes out there. Some people that just think, well, it's never going to happen. And others that are building bunkers and storing cucumbers and waters and generators. But you know, the Word of God does have a lot to say about preparing for the end times. Not like the doomsday preppers, but spiritually. How do we get ready for the end times?
And that's what's important to us here. Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is senior pastor of New Life Community Church and president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. So let's get to today's message titled How Close are We?
Matthew 24 and 25 are some of the most controversial scriptures in the New Testament. They have been read and analyzed. They have frightened people. They have been diagnosed and reread people, having interpreted it in different ways, because Matthew chapter 24 and 25 are Jesus explanation of how we need to ready ourselves for what the Bible calls the end times. Now, I know just saying that scares some of you, because I believe that there's two extremes when we talk about
the end times. I think there's the one on one extreme. You have the doubters, the people that say nothing's ever going to change. It's always going to stay the same. It's just going to continue on like it's always continued on before there's no Armageddon. There's no end of the world coming of Jesus. Everything's just going to progress like
it's always progressed before. And on the other extreme, there are the conspiracy theorists, the alarmists, the people that are always interpreting every event that happens as, let's build a bunker in our basement, let's get the waters and let's get the, uh, let's prepare for the end of the world. And they're predicting and everything is about the end is coming. And so you have, at one extreme, the alarmist, at the other extreme the doubters. But I believe that Jesus
gives us a bit of a different perspective. And I want to focus on that today as we look at this passage on the End Times. Now, recently, I was with my wife in a little town in Spain that we had never been to before, and I was trying to make my way to the hotel that we were staying at. now. And like most men, I just told my wife, follow me. I know where I'm going. How many of you wives have heard that before? And she said, well, how exactly are you going to get there? I instinctively, honey,
I'll know how to get there. And so as we started to walk. Now I always get there. I may not always get there. The straightest path. Sometimes I take a scenic route where people have never been before. Tourists have never toured before. And sometimes we see the bad neighborhoods in the city while I'm walking or there. But I always get there one way or another. And so she stopped and said, I'm tired. My feet hurt. I
want to know where you're going. So I pulled out my smartphone and pulled out Google Maps and put in the address. And it has a feature where you hit walk and then it starts telling you how to get there. So on the map, I could see where I was at because there was a little flashing dot and I could see the point where we were going. So I saw where we at the point where we were going, but in between, I wasn't sure what that would look like. So I started to follow my GPS, Google Maps, and
it took us through a well. We turned into a very narrow, long, dark alley that not even a car would fit through. And my wife said, I'm not going in there. I'm saying, well, honey, GPS says. So I convinced her to go through this dark alley. There was horse manure there. It looked like a scary dark alley. And I kept telling her, I'm not sure exactly how we're going to get there, but I know the dot is just ahead. And finally we arrived. And I think
sometimes biblical prophecy is like that. We know the destination Donation point and we sort of know where we're at. But what lies in between is a bit of a mystery how hard it will be, how narrow the path will be, how challenging it will be is a bit of a mystery. And so today we're going to look at the destination point and look at what Jesus says about the path to get to that destination point. Matthew
chapter 24 talks about the end times. Now, as I was studying this, I also discovered that we have a long history of making predictions about when the end will come. In fact, if you research it a little bit, you'll realize that since the days of Jesus, people have been making predictions about the day, the hour, the month, the year, and the time. I was really astounded about how many religious groups over the last 2000 years have made predictions
about the year, the day and the month. And I could spend a lot of time telling you all of the religious groups, both Christian and non-Christian, that talk about the end of the world, the predictions about some catastrophic event that will end the world Armageddon. And the history is full of prophetic predictions and false predictions about the
end of the world. For example, in the second century, a group of people called the Montanists, which were a kind of a break off of Christianity where there were a lot of prophets and prophetess. This movement predicted that Jesus would come sometime during their lifetime and establish the New Jerusalem in a city called Pepuza in Asia minor. They said, Jesus is coming in our lifetime and he's going to establish his kingdom in this area and it
didn't happen. Years later, one of the greatest moments where hundreds of thousands of people expected the end of the world in the coming of Jesus was at the turn of the millennium, at the year 1000. Literally hundreds of thousands of people in Europe expected that the year 1000 would be the end of the world. In fact, so many people believed it that then there was such a fervor that it was the end of the world, that
many people quit their jobs. Many farmers did not farm because they expected, hey, why am I going to farm if no one's going to be here to harvest the farm? In fact, there's a couple of nations. Christianized nations went to war with some pagan nations for the full purpose of converting them before the end of the world. The year 1000 came, the year 1000 left and Jesus had not come. I read also that there's a few religious groups that started because of their founders predicted the end
of the world. For example, a fellow by the name of Joseph Smith who started the Mormon movement in 1835. He predicted that Jesus would come in 56 years from then. So all of the followers believed that Jesus would come in 56 years. Well, 1891 came, 1891 left and Jesus had not come. Charles Russell, who started the Jehovah Witness movement. He predicted that in 1914 it would be the end of the world. Armageddon would come, that everything as we
know it would end. In 1914, hundreds of his followers left their jobs and went throughout the world going door to door telling people, get ready, the end of the world is coming. You only have two years to get ready because Armageddon is going to happen. That world is going to end. It's going to be a huge catastrophic event. The end is here. And 1914 came. People waited, expected on October the 2nd of 1914. They thought the year was it was going to end October came, October left
and the world was the same. More recently, one of the biggest. Well, in 1800s, a man by the name of William Miller predicted that Christ would return on April 3rd, 1843. Anybody have their birthday in April the 3rd? No. Oh. Over here! Yeah. One did all right. Big day in history. Miller believed that on April the 3rd, 1843, that Jesus was coming. It would be the end of the world. He had a half a million followers in the United
States of America that believed what he said. In fact, some of them, on April the 3rd, went up to mountains to be, I guess, closer to the heavens, and waited on the top of mountains. Some went to graveyards because they believed that their dead would resurrect, and they wanted to be next to uncle Harry as he came out of the grave. And so they went to graveyards. They went to the top of mountains, and they waited all through the night. This is the day, April the 3rd,
the end of the world. Jesus is coming and it never happened. I remember just a few years ago, do you remember a fellow by the name of of Harold Camping, who on May 21st of 2011, predicted that this would be the end of the world. He had 5000 billboards throughout the United States of America and hundreds of his followers that quit their jobs. He owned a network of radio radio stations, and he began to predict the end
of the world will come on May 21st. He had figured it out chronologically through the Bible, and explained that he had traced it all the all the way back to the prophecies of Daniel through the New Testament, and that he was sure that on May 21st, 2011, the world would come to an end. All his followers were shown with letter signs holding up. The end is here. They held it up. They held it up. The day ended and nothing had happened. Now I want you to
hear me very well. The reason I sometimes avoid this whole Bible prophecy timeline is because when you begin to talk about the end times, our natural proclivity is to ask this question when? When?
You're listening to Bold Steps with pastor Mark Jobe, and we're pausing our message on the End Times for just a moment. We'll return to Mark's message, though. Mark, I'm looking at an email from a listener named Estelle, and I won't read the whole email, but it's so encouraging. Your solid teaching of the gospel and bold steps has given me a great foundation. Estelle says I turned my life fully over to God and since have been delivered
from drugs and alcohol. You probably hear this all the time as a pastor, don't you?
Yeah. You know, it's the power of the gospel that can take lives and turn them around. And that's part of our goal at Bold Steps, is we want to clearly present the Word of God that has the power to change lives. And, you know, I'm so grateful to the bold step partners that you help us get the word out there. And people like Estelle, who are delivered from drugs and alcohol and says now she owns her own business and she's a grateful woman of God.
Wonderful. Thank you Estelle. Thank you for your partnership with us. And when you become a partner with bold steps, the main benefit, of course, is you get to help with the cost of producing and distributing bold steps. But there are some other benefits we've mentioned. For those who give $30 a month or more, you get the 50% discount on anything in the Moody Publishers catalog, but you also will receive a signed copy of Mark's book, unstuck, and
twice a month you'll receive a personal video message from Mark. Because, Mark, we like to make this radio thing a personal medium.
Yeah we do. That's part of our goal is we want to keep especially in touch with our partners. We know that you're sacrificing to give. And so we want to say a special thank you. And we do it on a regular basis.
I hope you'll consider and pray about becoming a bold partner with us. Check it out at Bold steps.org. Now let's return to today's message. Of course, this much we know Jesus return is closer today than it was yesterday. Here's Mark Jobe with this message.
And here's the answer that the Bible gives us. The Apostle Paul in first Thessalonians chapter five, verse one through three says, concerning the times and the seasons, as he talks about the time, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord, the end, the day of the Lord. So comes as a thief in the night. For when people say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.
What the Bible tells us over and over is that it's not our job to know the day, the year, the month, or the time. That that's up to God. In fact, he tells us that the end will come as a thief in the night. Think about that for a second. When's the last time a thief has gone to burglarize a home and sends a Instagram message ahead of time saying, by the way, at 1230 tonight, I'm going to break into your house. Thieves come unexpectedly. We
don't know when they're coming. It's the element of surprise. That's how thieves come in. And Jesus says that no one knows the day, the time or the moment. These are just in the hands and the mind of the father. So I want you to look up at me. This is very important. Anytime you hear someone give a date a year, a decade, a month, a day, an hour, a time, I want you to be aware of this.
That that person is either a false prophet, or that person does not know their Bible because it's never, never, never up to us to predict the time, the day, the decade, the month. So do not believe it. I had someone send me a Facebook message in September, because there was some prediction that the end of the world was coming, I think September 15th or so. Anybody hear about that one? Yeah. And this person sent me a message distraught. They don't come regularly to this church, but
they said I. What am I going to do? How do I prepare? Help me. I'm distraught over this. I just messaged him back. Don't quit your job. Well, you need to do is what you do every day. Hopefully you get up in the morning. The best way to be prepared for the coming of Jesus is to prepare your heart and your soul. Let it be in the right place so you could die by being hit by a car. Before the coming of Christ. So be ready
every day. Amen. Alright. So having said that, let's jump into Matthew chapter 24 and look at what Jesus has to say about the end of times. Let me begin reading in verse one of Matthew 24. Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came to him to call his attention to its buildings, the buildings of the temple. Do you see all these things? Jesus said to them, truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another. Every one will be
thrown down. Jesus was making a prophetic prediction that this magnificent temple that all the Jews were in awe over would be completely destroyed coming soon. That was a prophetic word. The disciples. It was like a bomb dropped in them. It was like you showing some visitors around downtown Chicago and you point to the Sears Tower. I still call it the Sears Tower. I can't convince myself to call it the Willis. Anybody else with me here today? Alright, alright.
Just making sure you're with me. To me, it's the Sears, not the Willis. And walking by the Sears Tower and someone says, oh, by the way, not a beam of the Sears Tower will be left one upon it will be utterly destroyed. You would be aghast at that. You would think, well, it has to take a nuclear bomb or some some catastrophic event that will tear down the Sears Tower. Well, the disciples were shocked that Jesus said of the temple that it would be destroyed. They walked
for about a mile. Thinking about this, conversing about this, murmuring about this. And when they got to a private place, the disciples went to Jesus, who was sitting in the Mount of Olives. And the disciples came to him privately. And they said to him, when will this happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? Now this is what brings about the conclusion of this chapter. The reason this is confusing is that in Matthew chapter 24 and 25, Jesus is
actually answering three questions with one answer. The disciples assumed that the destruction of the temple would mark the end of the world, but it was not so. Little did they know that 40 years after their conversation that the destruction of the temple would happen. It would not be the end of the world. It would be the end of Jerusalem, but not the end of the world. So Jesus is answering, when will the temple be torn down? What are the signs of the coming of Jesus? And
when will be the end of the world? You see those three answers packaged in one passage.
This is bold steps, and Mark will dive into the four signs of the times on Friday's program, so please be sure to keep listening. Mark.
You know, Wayne, today's young girls, they're just bombarded with messages that shape their beliefs, affect their identity. That's why I'm excited about this Bold Steps gift this month. It's called Lies Girls Believe by Dana Gresh.
And Dana is with us right now.
Absolutely. Dana, great to have you with us. Uh, tell.
Us a little bit about why you wrote this book.
Oh, well, my friend Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth wrote a book called Lies, Women Believe. And over a million women read that book, and it helped them to really identify where they were in bondage to lies. And that was resulting in emotions that weren't working, that weren't healthy. That was one of the telltale signs, as well as sinful behaviors that they just couldn't stop. And when they identified the lies,
they felt freedom. Well, those women said, these lies started when I was in my teen years and in my teen years. So Nancy and I worked together to write both lies Young Women Believe for teens and then Lies Girls believe for the 8 to 12 year old girls.
So this is for 8 to 12 year olds specifically, by the way, I just think this is so, so needed. Yes, especially in today's culture, where young girls more than ever are bombarded about identity, lies about who they are, gender where they fit into the world. What would you say are the top three lies? I know you have a list of quite a few lies. Can you identify what you say are the top say three lies.
God is not enough. If we don't believe that God is enough, then that dismantles and affects everything else around us. And one of the ways that shows up is emotions, which I just addressed. Emotions are one of the telltale signs that we aren't believing God is who he says he is, and he will be in our lives who he says he will be. So we believe God isn't enough. I need the car, or the house or the job or whatever. But as as tweens, they tend to really
believe the lie. God isn't enough. I need the friend. And friends lead you down a road of believing all kinds of other lies. Peer pressure is either a great gift in our lives that leads us to Jesus, or it is a great dismantling of our faith and leads us away from Jesus to counterfeits. And so I think that's probably one of the big lies. And you mentioned identity so many times if if that friend isn't from
a source of biblical truth. A home that's grounded in biblical truth today, which of us feels good about ourselves? Our emotions are healthy in our in our middle school and pre-teen years. None of us. Well, today people are saying, okay, the reason you don't feel good is because and they're leading them down these really lethal, dangerous roads of lies that lead to lots and lots of years of of struggle and pain.
Well, Dana, we are so happy to partner with you in getting this book into the hands of our listeners. Lies, Girls believe and the truth. Can't forget the subtitle Mark the Truth that Sets Them Free. Dana, thank you so much.
My pleasure. Thanks, guys.
Dana's book is just one of the great tools and resources we have available to you to help you on your walk of faith, whatever stage of life you're in. To request a copy of this important resource for any girl in your life, send your contribution and request in the mail to Bold Steps. 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten or call us at 800. D.L. Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. And of course, you can also visit us
online at Bold Steps. Org on our website. Be sure to share your testimony or even ask Mark a question you might hear your question addressed on one of our programs. Again, that's bold steps. Well, that's all the time we have today, but be sure to join us again tomorrow when we'll continue this discussion on the End Times for the Book of Matthew. Mark will address the question, how close are we? And you won't want to miss it. So be listening.
Friday to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.