Trouble Unlike Any Other | Matthew 24:15-28

Scripture

• Matthew 24:15–28

About this sermon

Introduction: Our world operates every day according to a false hope. That false hope is one of many doctrines of demons. There’s a demonically inspired narrative — a striving — a goal put forth in moralistic terms. You never stop hearing about it. You hear about it in songs, you hear about it through politics, you see it depicted in the movies, you hear about it when people express their goals and ambitions and wishes. It is a hope often expressed in modern education. That false hope is the idea that one day the world is going to get its act together. The hope is that one day this planet would experience what lost humanity would consider a SECULAR PARADISE. A world of complete peace. A world with complete harmony. A world without all the things that Jesus told us will be in the world until He returns. *No wars *No natural disasters *No diseases *No need for false Christs, or persecutions, or family betrayals, because we could all agree that there is no God. Or, we could all agree that if there is a God He can’t really be known. Or we could all agree that the differences in our beliefs about God really amount to nothing. That is this world’s version of religious utopia. No one can really speak for God. No one can really insist that there’s such a thing as absolute, objective, unchanging truth. No one can say that anyone really needs salvation — unless you believe the Bible. Then the world needs to be saved from you. According to this false hope human societies are evolving. People are being enlightened. The old ways of thinking are going away, and with it, the world, as it once was, is passing away. If we can all throw away the old ways of thinking, we will one day arrive at this humanistic, secular, paradise. AND WHAT’S AMAZING ABOUT THIS, IS THAT IT’S BEEN GOING ON EVER SINCE THE FALL OF MAN. Some form of empty hope has always taken hold of the humanity that is estranged from God. Just taking note of our own nation, within the span of time represented by the people alive in the world today, THIS FALSE HOPE HAS REPEATED ITSELF WITH EVERY NEW GENERATION. The 60’s were much wiser than the 50’s — in their own estimation. The 70’s wiser than the 60’s. The 80’s were modern compared to the 70’s. The 90’s outdid the 80’s…. You get the pattern. And now, THIS generation is smarter than all that came before it. Because we’re advancing. We must be because look at all the new technology. Advancements in technology are thought to be mirrored by advancement in mankind himself. Well, as we began examining last Lord’s Day, here is the Lord of all creation telling us about the future of the planet. And what he makes clear is that this world is not evolving. It is NEVER going to get its act together. It isn’t going to get better by itself, on its own. In fact, it’s going to get worse. And before Jesus returns it will reach a point where it has NEVER been worse. Never in the history of the world.