In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of being prepared for the second coming of Jesus. He encourages Christians to be on fire for the Lord and to make the most of their time on earth. The preacher also discusses the signs that indicate the nearness of Jesus' return, such as fear and the mark of the beast. He concludes by reminding the audience to be vigilant and not be weighed down by worldly distractions, as the day of Jesus' return will come unexpectedly. The sermon is based on the words of Jesus in the Bible, specifically Luke 21:34-36.

Our text we find in Luke chapter 21. These days I thought that there may be many people who don't know of the things that have been foretold. And it would be a pity if you meet up with them and you were unaware. Bear with me, I'll read many verses. Luke chapter 21. Verse 5, Then as some spoke of the temple and how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, he said, These things which you see, the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down. So they asked him, saying, Teacher, but when will these things be? And what signs will there be when these things are about to take place? And he said, Take heed that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, I am he, and that the time is drawn But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified, for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately. Verse 6, Then he said to them, Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And they will go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences, and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. We'll stop reading there, but when you're at home, you can continue reading from there. And now to verse 25. And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars, and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, and the sea and the waves roaring. Men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up, lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near. And then verse 34. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life. And that day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the earth. Let's stop there. Here we read words spoken by the Lord Himself about His coming again. And telling us about the signs. Saying much will happen. If you look at this closely, you come to the conclusion that the Lord's coming must be very near. No one knows the exact day when He will come. We don't know how imminent it is, but we are amazed when we see about the signs which He tells us about. So we must not be ignorant about these things. Lest that day come upon us like the flood came in Noah's time, and many weren't expecting it yet. The Lord said that there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars. People will be perplexed about the sea and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them from fear, and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. I want to share with you things that happened long ago. Not when those things happen, that will just be the beginning of those things happening. And I'd just like to tell you about things, signs that happen in the sun and moon and stars. The Lord said that there will be many signs, one of them that the moon will change to blood. So we need to take note. In this text we read that there will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars. And the nations will be perplexed, they will fear and tremble. And I also read something regarding one nation rising up against another. There will be famines. Now these are things which we have to do with all the time. In fact we actually get used to it and we don't even really sit up and take note when they happen. So I'll start just with the signs regarding the sun, the moon, and the stars. There will be signs, things happening that men's hearts will start failing them for fear because of the things that are taking place. It also refers to the sea and the waves roaring. Well I don't need to tell you as we probably all know about the destruction brought about by the tsunamis in recent times. It says men's hearts will fail them for fear. Not knowing what to expect next. For even the heavens will be shaken. Stars that will fall from heaven. And the sun shall be turned to darkness. And the moon shall not give her light. And the stars shall fall from heaven. The powers of the heavens shall be shaken. That we even find in Joel 2 verse 31. And Revelation chapter 6. Where it speaks of a great earthquake. Revelation 6 from verse 12. There was a great earthquake. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hay. And the moon became as blood. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. In Joel it says the sun shall be turned into darkness. And the moon into blood. Before the great and terrible day of the Lord. These are things that we will still experience. Jesus said, some of the things I'm telling you, some will not die before they've seen these things. They showed him the temple. It was built beautifully. Decorated. Jesus said, Not one stone will be left upon another. It will all be destroyed. He said, And some of them did live to still experience that. Forty years after the Lord's death. That time, that whole area was under the Roman Empire. And Caesar wanted to conquer Jerusalem. So they besieged Jerusalem. And then they eventually destroyed it. Not leaving one stone upon another. And millions died. Jews. And they, so they besieged Jerusalem and destroyed it. So they died of starvation. They couldn't get any food into the city. And they, so they besieged Jerusalem and destroyed it. Some even resorted to eating their own children eventually. Because of that famine. That was just 40 years after the Lord spoke these words. Where they had marveled at the strength. The sturdiness of these buildings. And how wonderful it was. But God's wrath came upon them. Because they rejected the Lord Jesus. They even said, Let His blood be upon us. It wasn't just His blood that came, It was upon them. They even ate their own children. And the Jews were scattered throughout the earth. And the Lord said, This generation will still live to experience these things. And the Jews were scattered throughout the earth. And then He also then spoke about these signs. And the sun, the moon, and the stars. It's actually a miracle that there's still any Jew left in the world today. That any Jew survived in that generation is a miracle. And then they were scattered throughout the world. And it's amazing. Wherever you go in the world today, you recognize the Jews there. And Jesus said, Their end won't come until these things have taken place. For one, this generation is about 1800 or 1900. And then the people who are scattered there are about 80, many 80 people. Now that they eventually ended up eating their own children, it was 80 years after Christ. But then other things happened in the 18th and 19th century. And about the sun turning dark, I'd like to say something about that. And the moon. You remember when the Lord Jesus hung on the cross, the sun hid its face, it went black. There was darkness for three hours. This place shows that the creator of heaven and earth must be terribly sad, or maybe this is already the end of all things. Yes, that will happen, that there will be fear on earth. I remember years ago when the first jet flew from Joburg to Durban and back. There was real fear among the people, because you know how a jet roars. And people heard it. I remember at that time there was someone riding his bicycle, when he heard this noise he dropped his bicycle in the road and he ran into the bushes because of his fear. So that shows you how that fear can overtake you and will overtake you as well if those things happen, if you're not right with God. People even phoned each other and said, what is this noise that we are hearing? So that was the first jet flight from Joburg to Durban, but they couldn't land in Durban because there wasn't an airport where they could land at that time, so they flew straight back to Joburg. Some saw the jet up there. And they thought it was a snake up in the sky. And in front they could see the jet and the sun was shining and reflecting against the plane and shining in the sunshine and they said, well there you see the snake and the tongue that's sticking out, putting out its tongue. Now that was not even a serious sign, and yet just for that people feared so greatly they went and they hid in their homes. Daniel said in the end times there will be pillars in the sky. Now you know when a jet flies up there, if the conditions are right, those vapor trails, and especially in Europe you see it a lot, where you just see all these lines, these pillars across the sky. And Daniel also says in those days wisdom will increase, and well we see it, how much people are doing it. You just think of moon and moon travel, space travel, people who have flown to the moon and come back again, you maybe remember someone even speaking here in the auditorium who had been to the moon and back. And then it says the moon will turn to blood, and some people say the mere fact that man has put his foot on the moon, a human being with blood in his veins has put his foot there, they say that's a fulfillment even of that prophecy. Now I'd just like to refer to things that happened in the 18th and 19th century. The Lord didn't say he will come when those things happen, he says that will be the beginning, when those things begin to happen, it will be the beginning of the last days. In May 1780, a dark day occurred. In New England and America. So this dark day occurred in New England and parts of Canada. The darkness was seen in many places. It was dark, pitch dark. And scientists even now are trying to work out what caused that darkness. Signs that will happen in the stars. On November 13th, 1833. And there came a great meteor shower. Some reckon that around 200,000 meters fell per hour. Every hour. And that lit up the sky for hours. Just as the Lord prophesied that in the last days, these signs will happen. And it's possibly the most spectacular meteor shower in history that took place at that time. It was on the night of November 12 to 13, 1833. A tempest of falling stars broke over the earth. And the sky was covered in every direction. With shining tricks and illuminated with majestic fireballs. In Boston, in America. They say that the meteors fell like snow, flakes of snow. The numbers were beyond counting. Some say it must have been about 240,000 in those nine hours. But there was no philosopher or scholar. Has told to record an event like that. And so to this day, scientists are trying to decipher what caused that event. But these events are those signs which the Lord referred to. The signs in the stars. And then that the earth will be shaken. Earthquakes. In Revelation 6, it speaks of a great earthquake. And there was a great earthquake. That took place in Lisbon, in Portugal. This earthquake had an estimated magnitude of nine. Five and six is already a strong earthquake. All the scientists are very much aware of this earthquake. And it shook even parts of Europe. Other parts of Europe. And Africa. Even America. And Greenland. And the West Indies. Even Norway and Sweden. It was so dark during the day that candles were required to be lit. 300 years ago. And parts of North Africa. It's a strange event. People don't know to this day what happened. To the scientists, it's a mystery right to this very day. It's referred to as the dark day. May 1917-18. It's now 232 years ago already. It's a strange event. It's a strange event. So for all these years to this day, scientists and historians have argued over the origins of this strange event. May 1978. It was a remarkably dark day. Candles were lit in the houses. Just for them to see. The birds were silent and disappeared. And the fowls retired to roost. They thought the night had come. And people thought Judgment Day had come. It was on that day in May. In 1780. That horror of great darkness came upon the earth. And men feared. It was pitch black. Men prayed. Women wept. All ears sharp to hear the doom blast of their trumpet. All were expecting to hear the trumpet. But they were not. But to this day people don't talk about it. They don't want to talk about it. Even the scientists because they cannot explain it. But they say the remarkable thing is that at the same time there was a full moon at the time and it appeared just like it was turned to blood. The Great Lisbon Earthquake is one of the, if not the most terrible earthquakes ever recorded. And it's over 250 years later, right? To this day, geologists are trying to piece together the story behind that earthquake, what caused it, and whether such an event could reoccur. So what proceeds from the Lord's mouth comes to fulfilment. We don't know when, however. The book of Revelation, it refers to the Antichrist and that he will put his mark on people. And it speaks of the mark of the beast, the number 666, which will be put on the hand or the forehead. And the Bible says that he who receives the mark of the beast will not be able to receive forgiveness ever. But in those times you will not be able to buy or sell if you do not have the mark of the beast. And nowadays you see the technology is available. You know as in a store you've got these scanners that read the barcode and you don't even have to enter what the price is and what the item is. But that doesn't mean that this technology is already, that is already the mark of the beast, but we can see the direction in which it's heading. When the mark of the beast does come, people will be so used to these things that it won't be anything out of the ordinary. Now that mark, that 666, numbers even have a meaning. One refers to God, the only God. Two is a witness, there is a witness, there are two. Three refers to the Trinity. Four refers to the whole earth, the four corners of the earth. Five is the number of grace. Remember how David took five stones when he was facing Goliath and he took that stone and he killed the giant with it. But five is grace. Six stands for man, man who was created on the sixth day. So when you have three sixes, it refers to a man who makes himself out to be God. It's the Antichrist. So we could continue but we don't have time to do it. Time's up. But these days as I was travelling in the mountains, I was wondering whether the people were aware of the things that we are facing. And then I wondered whether you were aware of these things or whether we will just fall headlong into them with our children. But if you look at what is happening, you realise we're living in the end times. We all, everyone, should be expecting the Lord's return every single day. We don't know when he will return. But be ready every day and expect his return any time that that day may not come as a snare and catch you unexpectedly. Remember, the words which the Lord speaks, they happen, they go into fulfilment. As the Lord said, heaven and earth will pass away but not one word that he has spoken will pass away. Those who abide in the Lord, who live for him, they don't have to worry because they don't need to meet up with these things. Those that have died, sorry, those that have died. So those that have died, when these things come to pass, they don't need to go through them all. We don't know when the Lord will return but we would wish he would return before the Antichrist brings all this about because who of us will stand when it gets to that point where you cannot buy or sell without the mark of the beast? But we pray and say, Amen, come Lord Jesus. The unbelievers, they fear and tremble when they think about all these things and the things that are coming our way. But we who are in the Lord, who are believers, we lift up our heads and we say, Lord Jesus come. So we're all expecting his return. Dear friend, are you ready? If you're not ready, you can expect God's wrath that will come down from heaven. And it doesn't matter where you are, whether you're in a city or out in a rural area, wherever you are, you must know that these things, we can expect. We'll meet with them. And everyone, whoever we are, wherever we are, even a child at school, every day we should pray and say, Lord, be with me today and help me to be ready if you came today. Let us Christians be on fire for the Lord. Let us make hay while the sun shines. Let us work for the night cometh where no man will work. So work while it is day, let the day not find you. When you're not expecting and he said some people will be busy. They will be drinking. They will be greedy after many things But you must be expecting And we should every day be asking the Lord to help us and that we should commit ourselves to him daily Goba, Uma, Gunga, Njalo Nala, Sugulu, Mpigu, Christu Mpigu, Christu, Aska, Mbuni Agagafigi Kwa, Tumoya, Wake, Usuya, Sebenzo, Kupantua, Nabunga, Lalleli The Antichrist has not yet appeared but the spirit of the Antichrist is already at the at work among the children of disobedience I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't know what to do, I don't Like the ten virgins, five were wise, five, however, were foolish. They were foolish, they were asleep. They were asleep, their lamps were not full, their lives were not full of the Holy Spirit. And so they were caught asleep, and the others went in, they were left outside. The Bible says, he who has an ear to hear, let him hear. This morning I read about some Christians, I don't know whether it's three years ago, they left Korea and went to Nigeria. They warned the Christians, they warned the Nigerians, they said, the Lord has revealed to us that his coming is at hand, so be prepared and get ready. And if you think of what's happening in Nigeria today, what the Christians are going through, then one understands. But God had sent these people from the East to warn them. I don't say that those in Korea had the right vision, but one thing I tell you, see what has happened in Nigeria the last three years. Maybe it was God speaking to them. Maybe God sent those Koreans to Nigeria to warn them. If you think of all those abductions, those girls that have been kidnapped, they get raped and all that they are going through, but they were warned by those Koreans. Let us be ready. If you have not made right your life, make it right. That we will be ready for that great day. Let's bow our heads and pray. Lord Jesus, give us an ear to hear that we may hear the words that have come from your mouth, so that when that great day does come, that it will find us ready to meet with you. Amen.