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A Study Of Silver: Chapter 3
Jesus Himself Outlines The End Times Scenario In Matthew's Gospel (Mat 24:3-9 NIV) As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. (Mat 24:10-13 NIV) At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Mat 24:14 NIV) And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Mat 24:15-21 NIV) "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand--then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. (Mat 24:22 NIV) If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Mat 24:23-25 NIV) At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. The Lord Jesus Christ himself has told us what conditions will be like shortly before his return. We need to heed his warning and prepare for it, and not just for ourselves only, but so we may help others. (Mat 24:26-28 NIV) "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. (Mat 24:29-31 NIV) "Immediately after the distress of those days "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Many of the things that Jesus predicted will happen before the trumpet sounds and we are lifted up off of the earth by the angels to meet him in the air. Notice that it does not say that they (the people of the unbelieving nations of the world) will see him coming, returning to earth at this time, only that they will see the signs of his coming, and mourn about it. The signs are the darkening of the sun, stars appearing to fall from the sky, and other wonders in the heavens. Another sign in the heavens will be when bodies of the Two Witnesses rise from the dead in the streets of Jerusalem and ascend into heaven, and the saved of all ages bursting from their graves to meet the Lord in the air at the rapture. Those are the signs that will make the unsaved people of the earth really mourn, when they miss the first Resurrection. These signs could easily happen months or even years before Christ's return. To some the verses in Matthew 24:29-31 seem to indicate that the believers will go through the entire tribulation period, and meet Christ in the air as he is on his way down and then continue to descend with him until his feet touch the Mount of Olives. I do not personally believe that is the case. The four verses above pertain to more than just a few moments in time to complete. At least one year and maybe more, in my humble opinion. (Mat 24:32-35 NIV) "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Mat 24:36 NIV) "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Mat 24:37-42 NIV) As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. (Mat 24:43-44 NIV) 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. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. The Lord himself tells us to be ready for the time of his coming. There are many aspects to being ready. Number one is to be spiritually ready. Being ready spiritually means to have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to be living for him. In a broader sense being ready means to be prepared to endure and survive until the rapture takes place, if the Lord gives us grace to do so. It means being ready to die for him if necessary, and being mentally prepared to refuse to take the Mark of Antichrist, even if it means being booted out of our beautiful homes. Refusing to take the Mark means that people will be cast out into the street for non payment of debts and they will have to live by their wits and the grace of God for 1,335 days or less. You may ask, how do you know that people will lose their homes? Well, if one cannot legally buy or sell, even if their home is paid for they will not be able to pay their taxes to the government, or their utility bills, water, electric and gas, or any other payments that are due, such as insurance's and or special assessments. One might last six months or a year before being thrown out of their homes for non-payment of debts, but not much longer than that in today's electronic world. Even renters won't be able to pay their rent. We will have to live by our wits and by the grace of God during that time period. We may have an extended period of camping out. But, hey, there are homeless people who live outdoors day after day and year after year, and they make it. So can we, and with a little preparation, it might even be fun. (Mat 24:45-47 NIV) "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? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. Jesus tells us that during that time period the wise and faithful servants will be able to provide food for their households. Who are the wise and faithful servants? Those that listen to the voice of the master through his word, the bible, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. (Mat 24:48-51 NIV) But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 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. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mat 25:1-13 NIV) "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Again and again the Lord admonishes us to prepare and keep watch for we do not know the day or hour of his coming. He does not say, just forget about my return, because you don't have a clue when it will happen anyway. That seems to be the position of many Christians today. They think that hey, since I don't know when it will happen I won't worry about it. Jesus stresses that we should study the scriptures and be alert for prophetic fulfillments. Even if it doesn't happen in in our own individual lifetime, we still lay up treasure in heaven by obeying his word, and that includes reading the book of Revelation and studying prophecy. (Rev 1:3 NKJV) Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Mat 6:19-21 KJV) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. There are many lessons that can be drawn from Matthew chapters 24 and 25. In the parable concerning virgins and their lamps many scholars believe that the oil in the lamps allude to believers being filled with the Holy Spirit, and that may very well be true, but that is not all of the story. When one is full of the Holy Spirit they will be attuned to God's will through the workings of the Spirit and prepare for the end times according to his will. Now not every person will prepare in the same way. The body of Christ consists of many parts and I expect that we will all assist one another using our various talents, skills and resources during the tribulation period, and that is the way God intends it to be. The message in this study is for those whose hear the Holy Spirit touches and gives them the desire to prepare to help themselves, their families and others obtain food and necessities by commodity barter during the tribulation period. Others will no doubt provide other things. Perhaps some will have vacant land with the taxes somehow paid ahead years in advance where we can legally camp. Others may have various skills to build and provide comfort without without the modern convenience of electricity. Some may have musical talents to provide entertainment without television. Some may know how to make and repair clothing and shoes. In other words, we may have to flee to sparsely populated areas, pool our talents and resources, and live like those who settled this land hundreds of years ago. It is not an impossible task. Many of our ancestors came off of ships from Europe and from Africa with nothing, and they survived. We can do the same, with the Lord's help. (Mat 25:14-30 NIV) "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' "Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. "'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' (Mat 25:31-46 NIV) "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." The Lord, in his dissertation concerning the end times makes it clear that wise preparation is going to be essential as we draw near to his second coming. The question now is, what does wise planning consist of? How can we prepare? There are many ways, and as previously stated, spiritual preparation must be first and foremost. After that though the most essential things that humans need for survival is water and food. A waterproof sleeping bag and clothing can provide minimum shelter when absolutely necessary. Mountain climbers survive climbs for weeks carrying only lightweight gear and food. So then, the gist of this study is to show a way that we may be able to barter for food, and if necessary bottled water, during the tribulation period, using the commodity of silver as a means of barter. Note: Some may think that it is a contradiction to Jesus' command to "Lay up treasure in heaven" and then try to save some money down here. The reason it is not a contradiction is because we are not trying to store up great wealth or gain for worldly pleasures, we are merely trying to lay aside something in store during the good times so that we will be able to eat during the famine, and that is god's command to all heads of household. (1 Tim 5:8 NIV) If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. We are not trying to get rich by silver speculation, we are only trying to insure that we do all we can to provide food for ourselves and our families and to help others if possible, during troublsdome times. When we have done all that we can the rest is in God's hands. |
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Find out more about end times prophecy. Read "Countdown To
6000." Click on the chapter titles below. |