Matthew 24
Today we covered Matthew
24 in 1st hour SS Class.
We will continue going through Matthew verse by verse. (We
typically cover the 5W’s and H as we dissect the chapter….then we take the main
themes and draw a storyboard that lines up with the topics in each
chapter…..attached are pictures of the main themes covered in Matthew
24…..since we often think in pictures – this gives your child an easy to
remember overview of the chapter).
Below is a copy of the lesson
page that we discussed in class during 1st Hour.
(purple words are the “fill in the blank” answers)
Matthew 24
This piece of scripture is often called The Olivet Discourse
beginning in verse 3. It’s still the Wednesday prior to Jesus’s
Crucifixion. He is speaking to the Jews and then privately to His
disciples.
Read vs. 1-8 (birth pangs)
The temple built by Solomon was destroyed in 586 BC along
with Jerusalem. Then around 515 BC Nehemiah built the walls of Jerusalem
and Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple. In 19BC Herod thought the temple was
too small – so he began construction on an enlarged temple…which was completed
in 66 Ad..
What does He remind them of again in verse 2? The
destruction of the temple.
Who remembers when that will take place? 70 AD
……. It’s around 30-33 AD during this time
Where are they in verse 3? The Mount of Olives (this was a
hill directly across from the temple)
What do the disciples ask Him about? The sign of His
coming and the end of the age
What are the warnings? False teachers,
wars and rumors of wars, nation will rise against nation, kingdom against
kingdom and there will be famines and earthquakes.
Read vs. 9-14 (time of great tribulation)
Who is “they” in verse 9? The enemies of
Christians
What will “they” do? deliver you to tribulation, kills you, hate
you.
What will happen to professing believers? Many will fall away and
betray and hate one another and love will grow cold
**Where must the gospel be preached? Vs. 14 The whole
world and all the nations
What happens to the one who endures? He will be saved
Read vs. 15-31 (closer look at the great tribulation)
What will they see in vs. 15? The abomination of desolation
Read Daniel 9:27
Read Daniel 11:31
Read Daniel 12:11
What should they do when they see the abomination in the
temple? Flee to the
mountains (which are located East of Jerusalem toward Moab and Edom)
What does He warn them again of in Verse 24? False
Christs and false prophets
What happens in the sky after the tribulation? Sun
darkened and moon will not give
its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the power of the heavens
will be shaken.
What is the sign of the Son of Man? The Son of Man
coming on the clouds
Who does Christ gather from the four winds In vs. 31?
His elect (who is
that?)
Read vs. 32-44
In vs. 35 What does not pass away? His Word
….. what does Hebrews 4:12 say about His Word?
We must be on alert for the coming of Christ!
What happened in the days of Noah when the flood came?
Read vs. 45-51
Who does the evil slave represent? The unbeliever who
refuses to take seriously the promise of Christ’s return.
Jesus reminds us hear that we must all give an account of
how we used the gifts God has given us!
Unfortunately many Christians
today hear a watered down gospel. But….Jesus came proclaiming “repent for
the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” Matthew 4:17 …& ...John the Baptist
came proclaiming “repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” Matthew
3:2
We often remind our class that
it’s not “about us”… and today we discussed false teachers who will make
people think that a walk with Christ is “all about you” ….. but it’s truly
“all about Christ” and a life of surrender, trust and obedience to Him +
proclaiming the GOSPEL TO ALL THE NATIONS (which we need to understand before
we can proclaim). John 16:8 tells us that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to
us for this purpose …. “And when HE comes, HE will convict the world in regard
to sin and righteousness and judgement”.
Below are some quotes from A.W.
Pink (1886-1952):
"Just as the world was not
ready for the New Testament before it received the Old; just as the Jews were
not prepared for the ministry of Christ until John the Baptist had gone before
Him with his claimant call to repentance, so the unsaved are in no condition
today for the Gospel till the Law be applied to their hearts, for by the law is
the knowledge of sin.””
A.W. Pink, Studies On Saving Faith
"Salvation is a free gift, but an empty hand must receive it, and not a hand which still tightly grasps the world!" A.W. Pink, Studies On Saving Faith
"Those who have not bowed to Christ’s scepter and enthroned Him in their hearts and lives, and yet imagine that they are trusting in Him as their Savior, are deceived, and unless God disillusions them they will go down to the everlasting burnings with a lie in their right hand." A .W. Pink, Studies On Saving Faith
May you all have a blessed
week…. and we pray that the seeds planted in the heart of your child will be
watered and continue to grow.
In Love …from Christ’s
Servants,
Mike & Kim Armstrong
“Hope itself
is like a star – not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be
discovered in the night of adversity.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Below is a
blog post regarding spreading the gospel from Ligonier Ministries on Matthew 24
The Worldwide Gospel by Jerry Bridges
In His
monumental discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70,
and His second coming at the end of the age (Matt. 24–25), Jesus covers a vast
amount of territory. While all of the discourse is important, there are certain
statements that stand out in the same way that higher peaks rise above an
entire mountain range. One such peak is Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be
proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then
the end will come.”
These
words from Jesus stand in a long line of divine promises and prophetic
utterances concerning the worldwide proclamation of the Gospel. The first of
these promises occurs in Genesis 12:3, when God promised Abraham that
“in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This promise is
further clarified in Genesis 22:18, when God said to Abraham: “In
your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” The apostle
Paul, in Galatians 3:16, identifies this “offspring” as
Christ. So we have God’s immutable promise that through Christ all the nations
of the world will be blessed.
In
addition to His promise to Abraham, God gave numerous prophecies of the
worldwide spread of the Gospel. Prominent among them is Psalm 22:27: “All the ends of the earth shall
remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall
worship before you.” And in one of the Servant chapters of Isaiah we find these
words: “‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the
tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a
light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth’”
(49:6). Note again the emphasis on the nations and the end of the earth.
Turning
to the New Testament we find Christ’s command, often called the Great
Commission, to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18–20). And immediately prior to His
ascension He told His disciples that they would be His witnesses from Jerusalem
to “the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Clearly,
Jesus envisioned a worldwide proclamation of the Gospel that will result in peoples
of all nations trusting in Him as Savior and Lord.
Finally,
in the book of Revelation, we see “a great multitude that no one could number,
from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before
the throne and before the Lamb” (7:9). Here is the fulfillment of God’s promise
to Abraham in Genesis 22 and His prophecies in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 49.
It is in
the light of all these Scriptures that we should understand Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:14 that “this gospel of the kingdom will
be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations.”
There was no doubt in Jesus’ mind that the Great Commission would ultimately be
fulfilled. And in Revelation 7:9, we see that the fulfillment of
the Great Commission is seen as an accomplished fact.
The
church’s response to the Great Commission began with the apostles, particularly
the apostle Paul, whom God sent to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21). Over the centuries the church’s
commitment to the Great Commission has waxed and waned depending on the clarity
or obscurity of the Gospel at the time. Today we live in an age of
unprecedented missionary activity. Over the last two hundred years the Gospel
has spread to some degree over the entire world. Much has been accomplished.
Yet much remains to be done. The so-called “10-40 window” of northern Africa,
the Middle East, central Asia, India, and southeast Asia still remains largely
unevangelized. In this area, containing almost half the earth’s population, the
Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist religions present a formidable obstacle to the
Gospel. In addition to the religious obstacle, most governments of these
countries actively oppose or even make illegal the proclamation of the Gospel.
How then should we respond to this daunting challenge to the fulfillment of the
Great Commission?
Historically,
the church has responded by recruitment of more missionaries, together with
prayer and financial support for them. This is good, and we should continue
this practice. However, there is something more we can do, and it is something
every believer can and should be involved in. That is to pray fervently for the
fulfillment of the Great Commission itself. This type of prayer goes beyond
prayer for our missionaries and their various ministries. It is actually
calling on God to fulfill His promise and His prophecies. It is earnestly
asking Him to accomplish that which He says in Revelation 7:9 will happen.
Thus, we
should plead with God to fulfill His prophecies. There is no doubt that God
will accomplish that which He has promised to do, but He has condescended to
involve us in the process through our prayers. Let us all, then, pray
frequently, if not daily, for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
Also…..found
this interesting….
Since it’s
VBS season…..one of the bloggers I follow shared some things about childhood
conversions. There’s also a link to a sermon by Justin Peters who was
converted/baptized at age 7 and then later realized that his conversion was
false.
Thursday,
June 23, 2016 http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2016/06/vbs-season-child-conversion-and-baptisms.html
VBS season, Child Conversion, and Baptisms
The visible church today is
seeing a flood of false Christian adults. They profess Christ, but either by
lack of fruit, a sinful walk, or outright eventual repudiation, in many sad
cases it becomes obvious they never possessed Him.
One place that false conversions can easily happen is with children. And VBS is the most dangerous season of all. Wikipedia gives a history of VBS, known as Vacation Bible School:
One place that false conversions can easily happen is with children. And VBS is the most dangerous season of all. Wikipedia gives a history of VBS, known as Vacation Bible School:
Vacation Bible School (VBS) is
a specialized form of religious education which focuses on children. Churches
usually hold the week-long events during the summer, though the lengths of such
programs may vary, and they are sometimes held during other times of the
year. he origins of Vacation Bible School can be traced back to Hopedale,
Illinois in 1894. Sunday school teacher D. T. Miles, who also was a public
school teacher, felt she was limited by time constraints in teaching the Bible
to children. So, she started a daily Bible school to teach children during the
summer. The first Bible school enrolled forty students and lasted four weeks.
...
Today, many churches run their
own Vacation Bible School programs without being under the umbrella of a
national organization. Some churches opt to use themed curriculum programs from
their respective denominations or independent publishing houses which provide
easy preparation and include marketing tools. Modern programs usually consist
of a week-long program of religious education which may employ Bible stories,
religious song, arts and crafts, skits, or puppet shows which cater toward
elementary school-aged children.
However either
in sincere love for Christ and a desire to see people saved, or due to outright
deception due to worldly church growth strategies, some churches are quick to
accept a child's profession in Christ and they quickly baptize them thereafter-
declaring them saved. Many VBS volunteers, without knowing the devastating
consequences of a false profession, at the end of a VBS session with children,
simply ask a few superficial questions such as "Do you want to go to
heaven when you die?" or "Do you accept Jesus into your heart?"
and then declare the child converted and even write the date into the Bible.
Baptisms quickly follow, with pastors trumpeting the "success" on
social media such as Facebook with lots of Woo-hoos, PTL's, and exclamation
marks.
These children grow up believing they are truly saved, yet by the time they are adults, have not borne fruit, aren't growing in knowledge of the grace of Jesus Christ, have no godly sorrow over sin, care not for personal holiness etc. Some of them go away from the faith when they become teens or young adults, only to come back in their late 20s or early 30s to "rededicate their lives to Christ." As Peters says in his new teaching, he believes for most of these people, the rededication is actually the conversion.
Here is a wonderful teaching from Justin Peters on the "A Biblical and Theological Understanding of Childhood Conversion". He admits that the teaching goes against the grain of common practice. However, when he shows from scripture why it's wise to wait in declaring a person saved, especially children, the clarity of the teaching becomes apparent and foundationally attractive.
Many of you have sent me messages and emails concerning your children, asking questions about baptism, home devotionals, and VBS. I'm grateful that the Lord led me to this wonderful resource and I happily pass it along to you.
These children grow up believing they are truly saved, yet by the time they are adults, have not borne fruit, aren't growing in knowledge of the grace of Jesus Christ, have no godly sorrow over sin, care not for personal holiness etc. Some of them go away from the faith when they become teens or young adults, only to come back in their late 20s or early 30s to "rededicate their lives to Christ." As Peters says in his new teaching, he believes for most of these people, the rededication is actually the conversion.
Here is a wonderful teaching from Justin Peters on the "A Biblical and Theological Understanding of Childhood Conversion". He admits that the teaching goes against the grain of common practice. However, when he shows from scripture why it's wise to wait in declaring a person saved, especially children, the clarity of the teaching becomes apparent and foundationally attractive.
Many of you have sent me messages and emails concerning your children, asking questions about baptism, home devotionals, and VBS. I'm grateful that the Lord led me to this wonderful resource and I happily pass it along to you.
The
link is the first time Pastor Peters delivered this teaching, he said, and he
has since honed it into a book, upcoming for publication. Be on the lookout for
the book. The link brings you to an hour and 21 minutes' teaching, but the
first few minutes are recommendations of other books and the end is a Q&A.
Peters as always is humble, kind, and delivers his teaching in a quiet but
scripturally persuasive manner. If you as a parent have questions about the
credibility of your child's conversion, especially during this energetic VBS
season when child conversion is at the forefront of church activity, then by
all means please check it out.
Here are the
Storyboards that we covered today:
Storyboards
1.
Temple
will be destroyed
2.
False
teachers/wars/earthquakes
3.
Tribulation
– believers killed
4.
Gospel
preached to all the world
5.
Desolation
of the temple (false Christ)
6.
People
flee to mountains
7.
Son
of Man will come on the clouds
8.
Elect
will come from all corners of Earth
9.
No
one knows the day or hour
10.
One
taken to destruction and the other left
11.
One
slave invested the Master’s money…..other slave hid it
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