Signs, Wonders, Conspiracies and the return of Jesus This morning, I want to give you a very pastorally, very biblically centered talk concerning something that is very concerning to me when it comes to people looking for signs and wonders and clues about the second coming of Jesus and delving into conspiracies that seem to capture the minds and the hearts of many people who follow Jesus. After the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus, Jesus made appearances to many, many people. But the day came for him to ascend into heaven and leave his work on earth to those who follow him. But the disciples had one last question before Jesus left; Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? Even then the disciples wanted to know when Jesus was going to fix everything and make everything right! We need to just calm down. In one of the first statements Jesus made about upcoming prophetic things, he said this; Mark 13:4 “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains. 13:21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false Christ’s and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand. Paul comes back to this in one of his letters. 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. The sense I get from these three passages is that there will be those who will come along and try to alarm us, try to get us in a panic, try to excite us. These people have always been around. They will always be around. It’s a regular thing that we have people who call themselves prophets and preachers who have discovered some new information in the pages of the Bible. So, my message is… Calm down with this stuff. Jesus and Paul, both tell us to be very wary of those who are coming along and telling us “it’s about to happen. It’s right over here! This guy knows!” Stop falling for it. Listen to Jesus… Matthew 24:36 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. Calm down about these conspiracy theories. Our world is full of conspiracy theories. Because we don’t trust the media anymore, because of the wealth and ease of getting information, because key institutions we once trusted and are failing us – we are prone to seek out our own news sources to reinforce our own biases. As a pastor it deeply bothers me when I see followers of Jesus dive headlong into these conspiracy theories. I’ve known many good and solid believers who have fallen for conspiracies. What does Scripture say? Isaiah 8:11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. Calm down and be grounded in the whole Word of God. 2 Timothy 2:23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. 1 Timothy 4:6 …being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. From the very beginning of the Jesus movement in the world there are people who came around with all kinds of ideas and fascinating things that had nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ. They sounded like Bible. They used the right words. But they were all wrong. In these two verses Paul is really straightforward what is talking to his protégé, Timothy. In our everyday language, here is what Paul is saying; You will encounter people who believe in stupid things. These people want to draw you into meaningless debates and controversies that have a total lack of grip on reality. But these people who claim to be smart are actually untrained and undisciplined in the words of faith. What they bring to you will only bring strife and division. When you know what is real it’s not hard to spot a counterfeit. Calm down because things are not out of control. John chapter 19 you look like evil was winning the day and chaos was prevailing. Jesus has been arrested. A near riot breaks out as the scream for him to be crucified. Then Pilate takes him inside and asks Jesus some questions. When Jesus doesn’t answer Pilate gets mad and says this; John 19:10 “Why don’t you talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or crucify you?” 11 Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. It looked like they had defeated God. That’s what it looked like. But the uncontainable God was doing something else. So, let’s calm down. Evil has not won. Where are we right now in the prophetic history of the world? When you come to Revelation chapter 5 you have the apostle John weeping. He is weeping because he is seen as the vision of the promised future. A vision of a new heaven and a new earth where there are no more tears and no more death no more wars and no more hurt. It’s the vision of the world as it ought to be But is weeping because he wonders if there’s anybody that can get us there. Revelation 5:1 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who was sitting on the throne. There was writing on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a strong angel, who shouted with a loud voice: “Who is worthy to break the seals on this scroll and open it?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll and read it. 4 Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it. 5 But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.” 6 Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth. 7 He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. 8 And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. 12 And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered— to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” 13 And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: “Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” Let’s see what GOD can do! Pastor Brian Harrell