This sermon delves into the topic of facing the last days without fear, exploring the signs and challenges that will arise in the end times as described in the Bible. It emphasizes the importance of repentance, overcoming evil, and the need for endurance in the midst of trials. The focus is on understanding Jesus as both Savior and Judge, and the significance of being part of the church as God's special people zealous for good works.

Now, in the proclamation that we're going to make today, is taken from Titus chapter 2, verses 11-14. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed, and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works. Now my theme today, is a message I've never preached before. So it will be interesting to see how it comes out. It is, how to face the last days without fear. The Bible has a great deal to say about the last days, or the end time. It starts in the first book, Genesis, and goes on from book to book, through the last book, Revelation. A few days earlier, I was in a medical facility, for some routine medical tests. And I had at one time, a doctor and two nurses there. And they asked me, what do you think about the condition in the world today? And I said, I believe we're living in the last days. And rather to my surprise, all three of them indicated really, that they believed that was true. It was quite surprising. So I want to speak to you today, about how to approach the last days. We've already heard in prophetic messages, that this will be a time of severe testing. I believe it will be the time of the severest testing, that humanity has ever experienced. I just want to list, very briefly, some of the serious statements made in Scripture, about the last days. And then I'm going to go on, to the really practical issues. How can we face these last days, without fear. In 2nd Timothy chapter 3, verse 1, Paul says to Timothy, know this. It's very emphatic. You can be certain of one thing, this you must not forget. That in the last days, perilous times will come. The word that's translated perilous, only occurs in one other place, in the Greek New Testament. And that is used to describe two demon possessed men, who came to meet Jesus on the east shore of the Sea of Galilee. And there it is translated fierce. It says they were exceedingly fierce. So what the Scripture is telling us, that in the last days, fierce times will come. I think that's a much better translation than perilous. And Paul goes on in that chapter, to give the reason. The reason is, the deterioration of human character, ethics and morals. And he lists 18 moral blemishes, that will be conspicuous in the last days. Three of them are things that people love. The first is lovers of self. The second is lovers of money. And the third, the last one, is lovers of pleasure, more than lovers of God. And with unerring accuracy, Scripture pinpoints the great basic problem that faces humanity, and not least the people of this nation. It is love of self. Self-love is the cause of the breakup of marriages, families, churches, society in general. The attitude is, this is what I want, I don't care what you want. This is the way I'm going, you can go your way, but I'll go my way. I know what I want, and I'm going to get it. And that attitude is really responsible for the breakup of the family. And the breakup of the family means the breakup of society. And really the end of all structured order in society. The other place where we are warned about what will happen in the last days, one of the other places, is Matthew chapter 24, verses 7 through 13. And here Jesus is speaking about the birth pangs, or the labor pains, that will issue in the kingdom of God on earth. And one fact about the kingdom of God is, there's only one way into it. You cannot join it, you have to be born into it. Jesus said, unless a man is born again, he can neither see nor enter the kingdom of God. That is true not only of the individual, it is true of the earth. The earth can only enter into the kingdom of God through a birth. In Matthew 19, Jesus calls it the regeneration. And like every birth, it is preceded by birth pangs, by labor pains. And in Matthew chapter 24, verses 7 through 13, Jesus lists some of the main labor pains. The first is nation against nation. And interestingly the Greek word there for nation is ethnos, which gives us the phrase ethnic conflict. Which is one of the conspicuous features of the present situation in the world. Then it says kingdom against kingdom, which I would interpret as political wars. Then famines, pestilences, earthquakes. Now listen carefully, Christians to be persecuted and hated by all nations. Many Christians to be offended, in other words to give up their faith, and to betray one another for the sake of their own lives. Many false prophets, abounding lawlessness. And how many of you who've lived in this nation for at least 10 years would agree that lawlessness has been on a continual increase. And then it says the love of many Christians will grow cold. And the Greek word there is agape, the word normally used for the special love of Christians. And then it speaks at the end about the need for endurance. Jesus says he who endures to the end shall be saved. But actually the Greek is more specific. It says he who has endured to the end will be saved. You're saved now, but to remain saved you have to endure to the end. Let me just read that list without commenting again, because I think it's very significant. Nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom, famines, pestilences, earthquakes. Christians persecuted and hated by all nations. Many Christians offended and betraying one another. Many false prophets, abounding lawlessness. The love of many Christians growing cold. And finally the need for endurance. Now you'll agree with me I think that that is not a pleasant prospect. One thing I've learned about the Bible is to be objective. I started to study the Bible as a believer about 52 years ago. And I made up my mind then that I would try to find out what the Bible really said. Set aside human opinions, human interpretations, set aside my own prejudice. You see we all have prejudices, personal prejudices, racial prejudices, nationalistic prejudices, denominational prejudices, theological prejudices, and others. But if you really want to hear what God is saying in his word, you have to lay all that aside and open your heart and mind in humility to hear what God really says. And I've often told people, if you've never been amazed, you've never really read your Bible, because it is an amazing book. And if you've never been shocked, you've never read your Bible, because it is a shocking book. Now I want to turn for my answer to this question, how to face the last days without fear to the book of Revelation. And I want to say I don't have a chart, I don't have a system of interpretation, thank you very much. And I don't try to interpret prophecy, my attitude is, I'm open if God shows me something. And over the years he has shown me quite a number of things. But I believe that the first chapters of Revelation are the essential key to approaching the end days. And if we don't come by this approach, we will be overwhelmed by the forces that will be released against us. It begins, my interpretation begins with Revelation chapter 1 verses 10 through 17. John says, I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. And what you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And I notice in Revelation, when there's to be a personal revelation of God, the attention of the person receiving the revelation does not usually focus, first of all, on the person of the Lord. It's as if we could not stand immediately being confronted. So first of all, John sees the seven lampstands. Then he says, and in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. He had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. Now John had had probably the most intimate relationship with Jesus, while he was on earth, of any of the apostles. He was the one who reclined on the Lord's bosom at the Last Supper, and asked that question, who is the one who betrays you? Even after the resurrection, he shared breakfast with Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, together with a number of other disciples. But at this point, John had a totally new revelation of Jesus. And the revelation was so overpowering, that he fell at his feet like a dead man. What was the revelation? My answer is, he encountered Jesus as judge. You see, today we hear very little in the church about the fact that Jesus is not only Savior, but he is judge. He is the judge of all men. He will judge the church, and later on, he will judge all the rest of the dead. And I think it's extremely important that we come face to face with the fact that Jesus is the judge. And it was a terrifying spectacle. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his voice like the sound of many waters. Out of his mouth went a sharp-edged sword. His feet were like burnished bronze in a furnace. All those are types of judgment. And when John encountered the judge, he fell at his feet as one dead. Now I think it's important that we all recognize that we will all encounter Jesus as judge one day. Let me just turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 for a few moments. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, I'm going to read from verse 10. For we, and that means all Christians, we must all appear or be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. And notice there are only two categories. Whatever is not good is bad. There is nothing neutral in God's categories. And then Paul goes on to say, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. I wonder how many of us have ever come to know the terror of the Lord. How many of us ever preach from a background of the terror of the Lord. The spectacle of Jesus was so overwhelming that John became like a dead man. Then it says, Jesus laid his right hand on me saying to me, do not be afraid. I am the first and I am the last. I am he who lives and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore, amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of death. Now Jesus is presented not merely as the judge, but as the total victor over all forms of evil, sin, death, Satan, Hades. He had emerged totally victorious. There was nothing missing in his victory. I want to point out to you that Jesus did not go through that for his sake, because he always was victorious. He identified with himself, with us, that he might take our place and bring us into his victory. That's the grace and the mercy of God. Now the next thing that I want to point out to you there, which I think is of tremendous importance, is the first area that Revelation focuses on, is the seven lampstands. Which are the seven churches. And John saw Jesus standing in the midst of the seven churches. And we all need to understand that God's primary concern in history is the church. As Ruth and I quoted just a moment ago, that he might present to himself his own special people, zealous for good works. That's where the focus of the Lord is. It's not on the nations. It's not on the politicians. It's not on the military commanders. It's on his church. And we need to understand that we come first in the list of his concerns. If you don't realize that, you will easily be frightened. The first place John saw him was in the midst of the churches, walking to and fro, examining apparently each church. Then it says at the end of that chapter, the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels, I prefer to say ministers, of the seven churches. The seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. Now we've just ordained a brother as pastor today. And we who are in the ministry, pastors, evangelists, whatever, teachers, prophets, we need to remember the Lord holds us in his right hand. It's a very solemn thought. We are in his right hand. Then in the next two chapters, chapters 2 and 3, we come to the messages to the seven churches. I don't want to dwell on them at length, but let me point out to you that every message was sent to a church. Anybody who was not in a church never got the message. And I believe myself that normally, with certain special exceptions, God expects every believer to be a committed member of a congregation. And if the message of Revelation was sent today, and some of you were not associated with any congregation, you would never get the message. It's only sent to the churches. But then, at the same time, the message is to every individual. If anybody hears my voice. So it's not enough to be in the church. You must be able to hear the voice of the Lord. And I've looked at the messages, and I don't want to spend a lot of time, but I want to point out two things. Five times, to five of the churches, Jesus says, I know your works. Now let me point out, I'm preaching from the New King James. And it has that phrase seven times. But if you look at the newer translations, which are based on better texts, it's only five times. I don't want to confuse you. I love the New King James. I think myself it's closer in spirit to the words of God than any other. But they did not have available some of the textual knowledge that recent translators have. So don't be confused. If you have the New King James, you'll find it there seven times. In the other more recent versions, you'll find it five times. But at least five times, Jesus said, I know your works. That's significant. He didn't say, I know your denominational labels. He didn't say, I'm familiar with your statement of faith. He didn't say, I know your church program. He said, I know what you're doing, and that's what matters. It's not what we say, it's what we do. And five times, to five of the seven churches, his first commandment was, repent. So people have said to me sometimes, do Christians ever need to repent? My answer is, at least five out of seven churches needed to repent. And from what I know of the contemporary churches, I would say the proportion would not be any lower. I could believe it would be seven out of seven. And remember, repentance is the key to everything else. If you bypass repentance, you can never have true faith. And you can seek and call out for the blessings of God, but they'll never really come your way. Because the first condition is repentance. When John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus, his message was, repent. And when Jesus began to preach, his first public utterance was, repent and believe the gospel. And the day of Pentecost, when the unconverted multitude said to Peter, what must we do? The first thing Peter said was, repent and let every one of you be baptized. To be baptized without being repentant, is a waste of time. Paul told the Ephesian elders the message that he'd brought amongst them. He said, I did not fail to teach to you, both publicly and in every house, repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. So repentance comes first. I've spent a lot of time in past years counseling Christians with problems. And I've come to the conclusion that there are limits to what can be accomplished by counseling. Sometimes I think it's more important to cast out the demons, than to spend a lot of time counseling. But one conclusion I arrived at, was at least 50% of Christians problems are due to the fact that they've never repented. And I suggest if you are struggling with problems in your Christian experience, you better examine yourself. Whether you have really repented, turned totally from everything displeasing to God, and yielded yourself to God in unconditional surrender. The messages contain various main elements. First of all, commendation, praise for what is good, correction where things are going wrong, warning of judgment that may follow. And notice that the promises are given only to one kind of person. You know who that is? To him who overcomes. There are no promises in the New Testament to those who do not overcome. And in John, in Romans chapter 12 verse 21, Paul said, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. And you only have two options. Every one of you, myself included, to overcome or to be overcome. And the only thing powerful enough to overcome evil, is good. And right at the end of the book of Revelation, in Revelation 21 verse 7, God himself speaks and says, he who overcomes will inherit all things. And I will be his God, and he will be my son. There are no promises of good in the New Testament or in the Bible, to people who do not repent. Now I want to go on from this brief overview of the churches, to chapter 4. Ruth and I read chapter 4 together this morning, as we usually read a passage. And I was so overcome with the glory of it, I broke into tears. I couldn't read. I've discovered one of the problems of wearing glasses, which I do reluctantly, is that when you shed tears, you smear your glasses. From time to time, I have to pass them to Ruth to clean them up for me, but I'm all right at the moment. Chapter 4 is vital. If you bypass chapter 4, you're not going to make the right approach. Chapter 4 is the throne room of the universe. We just look at the opening verses. After these things I looked, and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet, speaking with me, saying, come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold a throne set in heaven. What was the first thing he saw? A throne. See, again, he could not look immediately at the one who sat on the throne. But the theme of this chapter is the word throne.