I hope you'll look with me this
morning at the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24, and we'll also be
turning to the first book in God's Word, the book of Genesis,
chapter 6. Now, I believe, based upon God's Word, that the return of the Lord Jesus
Christ is very near. 1 Timothy, 2 Thessalonians, 2
Peter 3, Matthew 24 and 25, and all of God's word give clear
descriptions of the times immediately preceding the Lord Jesus Christ's
return. Now, no man knows the day or
hour. Our Lord himself said that, but
he did say that you can discern the signs of the times as you
can discern the face of the sky and know what the weather is
going to be. There are two principal signs which tell of our Lord's
near return. Two principal signs. One is apostasy. Apostasy means a departure from
the truth. In 2 Timothy chapter 3, the Apostle
Paul gives a description of the last days and perilous times,
and that description accurately describes the day that we live
in, more so than any other time. And he went on to say in chapter
4 of 2 Timothy, to young Timothy, he said, preach the word in season,
out of season. The time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine, and they shall turn away their
ears from the truth and be turned unto fables. I believe that the
word of God is out of season today. Men are rejecting it hands
down, especially the Old Testament. And there's a departure from
the faith, the truth, the faith of God's elect, the faith once
delivered to the saints, it's called. And the other principal
sign which precedes our Lord's return is the abundance of iniquity
or how that iniquity abounds throughout the world, iniquity
abounding. And our Lord said this in Matthew
24, verses 11 and 12. He said, Many false prophets
shall rise and shall deceive many. Now, when the Lord Jesus
Christ, who has the stars numbered and the grains of sand upon the
seashore, if he says many, that means there are many. Many false prophets shall rise
He said up in verse 5, Many shall come in my name, that is, in
the name of Jesus, saying that he is the Christ, and shall deceive
many. And he went on to say in verse
11 and 12, And they shall deceive many, and because iniquity shall
abound. It starts in religion. Religion was what killed the
Lord Jesus Christ himself. Iniquity shall abound, apostasy,
religious iniquity, and so will immorality abound as a result
of that. I blame the moral decay in this
country. I point it directly to the pulpit. When men started telling everybody
without exception that God loves them and quit describing a God
of justice and a God who will punish sin and begin to give
men and women the idea that there's no judgment for sin. Well, he
said, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall
wax cold. And I believe that there's never
been a time more wicked and more lewd and unclean than the day
that we're in. Why wickedness and lewdness is
advertised now, is even flaunted and promoted. And if you have
any sense of modesty or values or principles at all, you are
embarrassed and ashamed and offended by all that you see and hear
on the television and magazines and newspapers and all that you
hear from your fellow citizens and so forth. Or the filth and
the lewdness and the debauchery. Yes, iniquity abounds now more
than ever. Apostasy and iniquity. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is
returning. He said so. He said so plainly
here in Matthew 24, verse 30. He said, The Son of Man shall
appear in the heavens, and all tribes of the earth shall mourn.
They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven
with great power and glory. And he shall send his angels
with the great sound of the trumpet and gather together his elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
When is the Lord Jesus Christ returning? Well, no man, as he
said, knows the day or the hour, but now here is a A definite
clue, a definite sign of the times preceding his return. He said, here in Matthew 24,
verse 36, of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels
of heaven, but my Father only. Now, verse 37, but, but, he says,
as the days of Noah were, As the days of Noah were, so shall
also the coming of the Son of Man be. For, as in the days that
were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into
the ark, and knew not, they knew not, until the flood came and
took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of
Man be. As in the days of Noah, they
were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage.
That describes a day of prosperity. And we are living in the most
prosperous time in the history of the world. And it says that
the day that Noah entered into that ark, people didn't have
a clue. at a time when they least expect
it. He said in chapter 25, when they
shall say peace, then sudden destruction shall come upon them. Well, what were the days of Noah
like? He said, as in the days of Noah,
so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. What were the days
of Noah like? Turn back to Genesis chapter
6 if you're following along in your Bible. Genesis chapter 6. I think you'll notice with me
the similarities between Noah's day and our present day. Genesis
chapter 6, and I read verses 1 and 2. It came to pass when
men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters
were born unto them. that the sons of God saw the
daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives
of all which they chose. Now, the daughters of men, or
men, began to multiply. That is, the earth began to be
heavily populated, and most Bible historians believe there were
millions of people upon this earth during the flood, at the
time of the flood. It says the face of the earth,
the whole face of the earth, not just over in Asia or the
Middle East, but the whole face of the earth was populated with
human beings. And it mentions the men of the
world and sons of God, the daughters of men and the sons of God. It gives two distinctions here.
And this is important because two separate genealogies given
back in chapter four of One genealogy is given for the sons of Cain. The sons of Cain, back in Genesis
chapter 4, and then the sons of Enos. Adam and Eve had, after Abel
was killed by Cain, and incidentally that was over religion. Cain
liked his works of religion. Abel brought the blood, which
was a picture of the coming Christ. Abel brought the blood which
God provided, and Cain didn't like that bloody religion. He
liked his works better, so he killed his brother. The first
murder was committed over religion. Anyway, Adam and Eve had another
son whose name was Seth, and he had a son named Enos. And
the two genealogies, separate genealogies given, were for Cain
and for Enos. And it says that Cain in chapter
4, Cain went out from verse 16, went out from the presence of
the Lord. He was without God, in other words, and his descendants,
his sons and daughters were just like him. And verses 19 through
23 give a description of these persons. And they weren't ignorant
savages. They weren't Neanderthal men
and women, but they were brilliant people. farmers, they were musicians,
they were craftsmen and so forth, if you will read that for yourself.
But yet they were violent, wicked men and women. And it mentions
the daughters of these men because they were known, most believe
it mentions them because they were known for their beauty,
albeit their vanity and their sensualness, and they were known
for their vanity and for their beauty. And the sons of God,
though, were mentioned. In verse 25 and 26 of Genesis
4, it says that Seth, the son of Adam and Eve, in the stead
of Abel, Seth was born, and then he had a son named Enos, and
then men began to call upon the name of the Lord. Now, these
are the sons of God he mentions in chapter 6. Sons of God and
then these sons of men. Well, these sons of God were
men like Jared and men like Mahaliel and Methuselah and Enoch. There's
a mention of a man named Enoch in chapter 5, which we've preached
on before. Enoch walked with God for 300
years. A faithful man, a believing man.
And you can believe that every one of these sons of God worshipped
a holy, sovereign, and just God. They believed God. And they brought
the blood sacrifice of a lamb. That was a picture of Christ.
They believed the coming Christ. They were lovers of God, lovers
of good, and lovers of each other. But even these began to compromise
when they married the unbelieving daughters of Cain's descendants. And God said, look at Genesis
chapter 6, Verse 2 and 3, God says, verse 3, My spirit shall
not always strive with man. My spirit shall not always strive
with man. God's spirit strives with man
by a conscience and by his word through preachers. A conscience. And when men and women quit listening
to their conscience, and when they quit listening to God's
word, then they've been given over to a reprobate mind. Well,
it says there were giants in the earth back then, giants known
for their power and their ruthlessness and their riches, and they were
admired by all. And the wickedness of men and
women in that day were great. And it says that God saw the
wickedness of man, in verse 5, that it was great, and every
imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that
he had made man on the earth and grieved him at his heart.
And he said, I will destroy man whom I have created. Now, God
is not a man that he should repent. But he says this in language
which we can understand, as if to say, I wish you had never
been born. And yet one man, it says in verse
8, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah. Noah found
eternal, predestinating, electing grace, restraining grace, constraining
grace, regenerating grace, keeping grace, sufficient grace, yea,
sovereign saving grace. Noah found grace. Noah was a
sinner like everyone else, but God in his restraining grace
kept him from the evil of the day, and constraining grace constrained
him to believe him. Faith is not of yourself, it
is a gift of God. and cause no one to look to God,
to call upon God, seek his faith, and to do his will. So it is
with all who God has determined to save. God is going to destroy
this world by fire. He said so. But some find grace
in the eyes of the Lord. Is it you? I hope so. Until next Sunday, may the Lord
bless his work.