Revelation: The End Game

1. Revelation: The End Game 2nd Coming in Our Generation?

2. Revelation: the End Game Why that title? What does that expression mean? There was a recent Cuba Gooding movie with that title: The End Game. The End Game is actually an expression that comes from the game of Chess. It is used in the context of the strategy you need to win the game. It involves the king, the pawns and the use of Bishops.

3. I don’t know much about the game of chess, so I will leave it at that. The concept, however, of the End Game in the book of Revelation is similar to that of chess. How are we going to win? It too involves the King, kings, pawns and bishops. The End Game is simply defining what winning the game looks like. Contrary to the definition of End, the End Game is really the beginning. What are the steps that lead to winning?

4. As a believer, we know 2 things: We are living in the Last Days. We will win! We have read the end of the Book, and we win! Jesus is the Victor and satan has been defeated but will be destroyed once and for all. But, what are the steps that lead up to the climax of the ages? Revelationdetails them. That is what we are going to examine as we go through this book.

5. Knowing this information should have a profound impact on our lives. It should not make us want to check out and lose interest with what is going on here. Rather it should motivate us to do 2 things: Live holy and productive lives. Share our faith and work to spread the Gospel around the world. The time is short and the Message must get out!

6. Tonight, I want to look at why we are living in the Last Days. This is going to be a preliminary teaching. We will open the book of Revelation next week and begin our journey to explore our End Game. Let’s look at 10 Biblical prophecies that point to the definite possibility of Jesus coming back in our generation. Each of these is unique in that they have not been fulfilled in any previous generation.

7. Jesus said, Now when these things begin to occur, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption (deliverance) is drawing near. (Luke 21:28, AMP) When you see all these things, know that it will not be long! Let’s look at several of these that suggest that our generation could possibly see the return of Jesus! This is not an exhaustive list either.

8. The Rebirth of Israel in 1948 This could be a whole teaching by itself, but let me give you the highlights. Gen 13:14-15 – 14 After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, "Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. 15 I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. 4,000 years ago, God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants forever. The Koran, the Muslim Bible, declares that this land belongs to the Jewish people.

9. However, we must remember that Abraham’s other son, Ishmael, the Patriarch of the Arabs, was also included in this promise. There will be no true peace until Jesus returns and is seated at the Conference Table. Ezekiel described in his vision of the Valley of Dry Bones that in the Last Days, Israel would return leading to the coming of the long awaited Messiah.

10. Ezekiel 37:11-14 – 11 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, 'We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.' 12 Therefore, prophesy to them and say, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O My people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the Lord. 14 I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!'"

11. No other group of people from the ancient world has lost its historic homeland for nearly 20 centuries. Then regained their original territory. Yet, Israel did just that in May 1948 after 2,000 years of persecution and exile! They have returned from 70 nations. Remember the significance of 70?

12. Matthew 24:32-34 – 32 "Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know His return is very near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. Fig Tree = Israel Summer = 2nd Coming Generation = it will happen during the time frame before the last person who was alive in 1948 dies.

13. This has to be a reference to our generation, or Israel is going to have to be exiled for another several centuries, which is highly unlikely.

14. 2. The Restoration of Hebrew – 2,500 years ago, the prophet Zephaniah predicted that the Jewish people would resurrect the ancient language of Hebrew to be used in the Last Days. Under normal conditions this is just as impossible as the restoration of Israel as a nation. Hebrewhad even ceased to be the language of the common people before the time of Jesus. Only the priests used it.

15. Zephaniah 3:9 – For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord. (NKJV) If you look through history, you will discover no other ancient people has recovered its ancient language. And, uses it on a daily basis like Israel has done with the Hebrew tongue. For example, there are no cultures in the Middle East speaking the now extinct languages of ancient Egyptian, Sumerian or Chaldean.

16. Arab-Israeli Conflict 3,000 years ago, King David prophetically listed the ancient enemy tribes that would ultimately form the nations that would join military forces against the nation of Israel. Psalm 83:2-8 – For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. 4 They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more."

17. 5 For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You: 6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; 7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8 Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. (NKJV) The Bible almost reads like the evening news! David prophesied that the surrounding nations of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt would join military forces to eliminate Israel and push it into the sea! Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s boast (Haman)

18. 4. The Return of the Ethiopian Jew During the years of 1989 -1991, 1000’s of Ethiopian Jews were flown back to Israel after having been separated for 3,000 years! This was in fulfillment of a prophecy spoken through the prophet Zephaniah. Zephaniah 3:10 – From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, My worshipers, the daughter of My dispersed ones, shall bring My offering. (NKJV)

19. Isaiah also confirms this: Isaiah 43:6 – I will say to the north, 'Give them up!‘And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth. (NKJV) North = Russia (1,000’s have returned since the fall of the former USSR.) South = Ethiopia This is all in the context of the Last Days.

20. 5. The Incredible Fertility of Israel Isaiah prophesied that Israel would become fertile in the Last Days. Isaiah 27:6 – The time is coming when Jacob's descendants will take root.Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole earth with fruit! (NLT) Today, Israel supplies the majority of the fruit and flowers for Europe!

21. Let me put this in perspective. Rome practiced a scorched earth policy when they overran a nation. They uprooted every tree, burned all orchards and often plowed salt into the ground. The Turkish Empire which controlled Palestine for centuries didn’t care much for the land either. Even Mark Twain who traveled there in 1887 wrote: There was hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soul, had almost deserted the country.

22. According to the UN, Israel has transformed the land into the most agriculturally efficient on earth. The value of the agricultural crops produced annually exceeds $2 billion. Israel supplies over 90% of the citrus fruit consumed by the 500 million Europeans. They are also a major supplier of dairy products. All this coupled with the fact that there has been dramatic increase in the amount of rainfall. They have planted 200 million trees, which has transformed the environment in Israel.

23. Isaiah 35:7 – The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived. (NLT) Here’s the really interesting point— As a result of the incredible reforestation of Israel, her climate is beginning to return to the original conditions of the past when Israel was called a land of milk and honey.

24. 6. Knowledge & Travel Shall Increased 2,500 years ago Daniel predicted that there would an explosion of knowledge and a massive increase in travel in the Last Days. Daniel 12:4 – But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase. (NLT) If that doesn’t describe our time, I don’t know what does?!?!

25. Knowledge – From the time of creation until about 1850, knowledge stayed pretty steady. Today, it has been calculated that the total body of human knowledge increases every 2 years! Travel – From the beginning of time, the fastest speed man could muster was about 35 miles an hour on a race horse. Today, astronauts travel at a speed of more than 18,000 miles an hour!

26. Insert Air Travel Video Here

27. 7. Technology & the Mark of the Beast Revelation 13:16-18 – 16 He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. 17 And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. 18 Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

28. Putting a mark on either the forehead or the back of the hand was a farfetched idea until recently. Now, with the advancement of microchip technology this is possible. Only in this generation has this been possible.

29. Instant Global Television Revelation 11:9-10 – 9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. (NKJV) Until our generation, this would have been impossible without cable, satellite transmission.

30. 9. The Rebuilding of Jerusalem Totally Incredible! This is a little known prophecy. In the Last Days Jerusalem would be rebuilt to specific dimensions and sequences predicted by the Prophet Jeremiah.

31. Jeremiah 31:38-40 – 38 "The day is coming," says the Lord, "when all Jerusalem will be rebuilt for Me, from the Tower of Hananel[NW corner of the Temple Mount] to the Corner Gate [Jaffa Gate]. 39 A measuring line will be stretched out over the hill of Gareb[NE of the Corner Gate on the ancient wall] and across to Goah[Schneller’s Orphanage]. 40 And the entire area—including the graveyard and ash dump in the valley [ancient cemetery], and all the fields out to the Kidron Valley [follows ancient Kidron Brook] on the east as far as the Horse Gate [an ancient wall up gate near the Eastern Gate]—will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be captured or destroyed."(NLT)

32. This interesting prophecy has been fulfilled with amazing precision in the last generation. Jewish exiles have rebuilt their capital city to these exact dimensions. It has been determined that the chances of this happening is 1: 80 million.

33. 10.Prophetic Signs among the Newly Reached Mexican Indians Testifying Pygmies in Central Africa—written songs that say something like, Jesus is Lord, and He is coming soon! Iranian Believer’s Vision Orthodox Jewish Man’s Dream This is a phenomena that is occurring all over the world right now. It certainly fits into what the Bible is telling us.

34. Remember that prophecy has to agree with Scripture. And, this is so interesting that these are new believers who have absolutely no Christian background. 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. (NLT) Jesus clearly states that no one not even Himself knows when He is returning. But, we can know the season of His return.

35. Or, He would not have said: Luke 21:28 – So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near! [for your redemption draws near] The Lord has not left us in the dark as to the season of His return. That is why 28% of Scripture is prophecy. The 2nd Coming is close and closer than it was yesterday.

36. This knowledge should cause 3 things to happen in us: Live a Holy and Productive Life Share the Gospel with others Peace in our hearts knowing God is ultimately in control God is cluing us in our The End Game. Are you paying attention?

37. Revelation: The End Game 2nd Coming in Our Generation?