Eric Casagrande / Genelyn Novabos

What Shall Be The Sign of Your Coming?

My friends, I would like to speak with you today about the end-times, and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If I were to post a survey on this website, asking people what they believe the number one sign of our Lord’s return to be - without a doubt the great majority would say it’s the rebirth of Israel as a nation (May 15,1948), and the return of the Jews to their covenant land, after 1,900 years in exile.

Quite frankly, it’s a very persuasive argument. The Old Testament writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah – just to name a few -have many prophecies speaking about the return of the Jewish people to their homeland, prior to the physical return of Jesus Christ, to the Earth.

Now having stated this, I would yet submit to you, my friends, that as big a sign as it might be, nevertheless it is not the main sign pointing to the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So then, what exactly is the main sign, if not the return of the Jews to their homeland? Well the answer is quite obvious - and Jesus addressed it very explicitly with his disciples. Please turn with me now, to the 24th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.

Here we see Jesus and his disciples leaving the Temple area, heading for the Mount of Olives. Upon arriving, the disciples comment on the beautiful view of the Temple buildings, provided from the mountain-top. Jesus floors them by dropping an incredible bombshell – this magnificent structure will be completely razed to the ground (Matthew 24: 1-2).

Now although they were trained as fishermen, they weren’t complete fools. They must have been familiar with the prophecies given by Zechariah and Joel, which outline the final battle taking place in the Valley of Megiddo, at the time of the end, when the Messiah comes to rescue Israel.

Given this, it appears they responded (Matthew 24: 3), with a very logical follow-up question:

“ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the

disciples came to him privately. ‘Tell us,’ they said,

‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign

of your coming, and of the end of the age?’ “

So they were familiar with the scriptures. They knew about the prophesied battle over Jerusalem, at the time of the end, which itself would culminate with the arrival of the Messiah to save both Israel – and all mankind – from total annihilation, and rule over the Earth as its rightful King.

But Jesus – whom they believed to be the Messiah – clearly had not given them any indication he was about to set up office as King of the world. So they asked for a tell-tale sign, that would let them know when everything is about to happen.

Jesus responded in Matthew 24: 4-5, with the number one sign:

“And Jesus answered, and said to them:

Take heed that no one deceives you.

For many will come in My name, saying,

‘I am the Christ’, and will deceive many.“

There we have it, my friends! The number one sign … the absolute major indicator marking the soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ, is deception.

It’s not the return of the Jewish people to their covenant homeland (which itself is an awesome event), and neither is it an increase in earthquakes, pestilences, or famine. It’s deception, and it ranked as the number-one sign in all three of the Gospels where Jesus gave this teaching (see also Mark 13: 5-6 and Luke 21: 8).

The scary part is that deception isn’t coming from the world … it’s coming from out of the Church … in spades!

About a month ago, I happened to be lazily flipping through the channels on my televison set, when I came upon a certain ‘Christian’ program. If I were to mention the name of the group responsible for the broadcast, all my readers will have heard of them. But who they are, isn’t nearly half as important as the deception being propagated.

The fellow’s teaching was based on Matthew 7: 22-23, of the NKJV:

” Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord,

have we not prophesied in Your name,

cast out demons in Your name, and done

many wonders in Your name?’

And then I will declare to them, ‘I never

knew you; depart from Me, you

who practise lawlessness!’ “

I’ve highlighted the final part of verse 23, because that was the very heart and soul of the speaker’s agenda - namely, to promote the keeping of the Mosaic Laws, in order to gain acceptance and favor with God.

By deceptively isolating this one particular verse from the remainder of the chapter, he makes it seem to appear that if you don’t strictly adhere to the Law, then Christ will automatically reject you on the final day.

My friends, according to Paul, in Galatians 1: 6-9, that sort of teaching is nothing but a damnable heresy, which distorts the true Gospel of Christ!

Furthermore, in Hebrews 7: 18-19, Paul tells us that the Mosaic Law, with its multitude of regulations, has been set aside, because it was “weak and useless“ - making nobody perfect in the sight of God.

Well you might say: But Eric, that’s just one scripture verse. Can you give us more support for the idea of the Mosaic Law passing away with Christ?

I thought you’d never ask!

In Ephesians 2: 13-15, we read that Christ abolished the law in his flesh, with all its commandments and regulations! Then further, Paul teaches in Galatians 3: 19, that the Mosaic Law was only meant to be in place until the arrival of Christ:

“What then was the purpose of the law?

It was added because of transgressions,

until the Seed to whom the promise

referred, had come.“

Another way to understand it, is this: The law was our ‘babysitter‘, if you will, until the ‘parent‘ (Christ), has come home. Once the parent (Christ), has arrived, the babysitter (law), completely relinquishes all their previous authority over us, and departs!

But why stop here? If I may give a third witness to the passing away of the Mosaic Law, through Jesus Christ, read what Paul says in Romans 6: 14, where he writes:

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, because

you are not under the law but under grace.“

Talk about an eye-popper! Not only does Paul make it crystal clear that we are not subject to the Mosaic Laws, but he makes it just as clear that when you insist on subjecting yourself to the Law, what you are actually doing is placing yourself under sin’s dominion!

Read that verse again - sin gains authority over those who are under the law! This is further confirmed in 1 Corinthians 15: 56, where it says:

“The sting of death is sin, and

the strength of sin is the law.“

So now let’s go back to the original scripture (Matthew 7: 22-23), and see what it really means:

” Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord,

have we not prophesied in Your name,

cast out demons in Your name, and done

many wonders in Your name?’

And then I will declare to them, ‘I never

knew you; depart from Me, you

who practise lawlessness!’ “

First of all, you cannot simply take one scripture verse, and build an entire doctrine on it. Yet that is precisely what this individual has done.

My friends, in order to properly understand the Bible, you must always be careful to study its teachings in context. Simply ‘cherry-picking’ one verse here, and another verse there, in order to support a previously-determined idea, is not spiritually wise!

We need to compare what is being said, relative to the surrounding verses wherein it sits; with the rest of the chapter itself; and finally, in accordance with the overall Bible message.

Ask yourself three very important questions:

1. Who is the doing the speaking?

2. What is being taught?

3. To whom is the teaching directed?

In this particular case, we know it’s Jesus doing the speaking.

Then secondly, an examination of the previous two chapters leading up to, (and including) the one in question, shows Him giving an indepth teaching on the impossible requirements of the Mosaic Law.

Explaining the intent of the Law in a way never previously revealed, Jesus pointed out that even holding onto angry thoughts of another person, was considered murder, in the eyes of a Holy God (Matthew 5: 21-22). If you ever called your neighbor a ‘fool’ … you were just as seriously in danger of going straight to hell (Matthew 5: 21-22)!

Furthermore, adultery wasn’t simply based on having a sexual relationship outside of marriage. According to God, you could be found guilty for even looking at someone the wrong way - or for too long (Matthew 5: 27-30).

Additionally, if you didn’t forgive everyone around you from the bottom of your heart – God would likewise never forgive you (Matthew 6: 14-15).

So then, to whom was this teaching addressed? For that matter – who are the ones practising lawlessness (Matthew 7: 23), of whom Jesus spoke?

Well my friends, the answer is quite simple, because they are one and the same group - namely, the Pharisees, and the teachers of the law! These are the ones to whom Jesus speaks, and these are the ones he described as being practitioners of lawlessness.

Talk about irony!

You see, it wasn’t the day-to-day folks, with whom Jesus experienced any problems. For the scripture states in Mark 12: 37, that the common people heard him gladly. As a matter of fact, Jesus actually had a reputation for being a friend of sinners (Matthew 11: 19 and Luke 7: 34).

So how then, could the stern teaching have been directed at them?

Whereas the Pharisees - and the teachers of the law - on the other hand, had not only rejected Jesus as the Messiah, but were forever pushing His buttons in a very provocative manner, calling Him both demon-possessed (Matthew 9: 34), and illegitimate (John 8: 41). They completely deceived themselves into believing they could be saved by the works of the Law.

My friends, that’s what legalism does – it deceives you.

To be in the perfect will of God, you must simply believe in the one whom God has sent (John 6: 28-29). The true work of God is not based on the Law – it’s based on faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross.

Nothing more – and nothing less.

It’s not Jesus Christ plus your self-effort … it’s Jesus Christ plus nothing!

Anything else is pure deception.

HOME

Eric Casagrande / Genelyn Novabos

What Shall Be The Sign of Your Coming?

My friends, I would like to speak with you today about the end-times, and the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Quite frankly, it’s a very persuasive argument. The Old Testament writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah – just to name a few -have many prophecies speaking about the return of the Jewish people to their homeland, prior to the physical return of Jesus Christ, to the Earth.

Now having stated this, I would yet submit to you, my friends, that as big a sign as it might be, nevertheless it is not the main sign pointing to the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So then, what exactly is the main sign, if not the return of the Jews to their homeland? Well the answer is quite obvious - and Jesus addressed it very explicitly with his disciples. Please turn with me now, to the 24th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.

Now although they were trained as fishermen, they weren’t complete fools. They must have been familiar with the prophecies given by Zechariah and Joel, which outline the final battle taking place in the Valley of Megiddo, at the time of the end, when the Messiah comes to rescue Israel.

Given this, it appears they responded (Matthew 24: 3), with a very logical follow-up question:

“ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the

disciples came to him privately. ‘Tell us,’ they said,

‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign

of your coming, and of the end of the age?’ “

So they were familiar with the scriptures. They knew about the prophesied battle over Jerusalem, at the time of the end, which itself would culminate with the arrival of the Messiah to save both Israel – and all mankind – from total annihilation, and rule over the Earth as its rightful King.

But Jesus – whom they believed to be the Messiah – clearly had not given them any indication he was about to set up office as King of the world. So they asked for a tell-tale sign, that would let them know when everything is about to happen.

Jesus responded in Matthew 24: 4-5, with the number one sign:

“And Jesus answered, and said to them:

Take heed that no one deceives you.

For many will come in My name, saying,

‘I am the Christ’, and will deceive many.“

There we have it, my friends! The number one sign … the absolute major indicator marking the soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ, is deception.

The scary part is that deception isn’t coming from the world … it’s coming from out of the Church … in spades!

The fellow’s teaching was based on Matthew 7: 22-23, of the NKJV:

” Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord,

have we not prophesied in Your name,

cast out demons in Your name, and done

many wonders in Your name?’

And then I will declare to them, ‘I never

knew you; depart from Me, you

who practise lawlessness!’ “

I’ve highlighted the final part of verse 23, because that was the very heart and soul of the speaker’s agenda - namely, to promote the keeping of the Mosaic Laws, in order to gain acceptance and favor with God.

By deceptively isolating this one particular verse from the remainder of the chapter, he makes it seem to appear that if you don’t strictly adhere to the Law, then Christ will automatically reject you on the final day.

My friends, according to Paul, in Galatians 1: 6-9, that sort of teaching is nothing but a damnable heresy, which distorts the true Gospel of Christ!

Furthermore, in Hebrews 7: 18-19, Paul tells us that the Mosaic Law, with its multitude of regulations, has been set aside, because it was “weak and useless“ - making nobody perfect in the sight of God.

Well you might say: But Eric, that’s just one scripture verse. Can you give us more support for the idea of the Mosaic Law passing away with Christ?

I thought you’d never ask!

In Ephesians 2: 13-15, we read that Christ abolished the law in his flesh, with all its commandments and regulations! Then further, Paul teaches in Galatians 3: 19, that the Mosaic Law was only meant to be in place until the arrival of Christ:

“What then was the purpose of the law?

It was added because of transgressions,

until the Seed to whom the promise

referred, had come.“

Another way to understand it, is this: The law was our ‘babysitter‘, if you will, until the ‘parent‘ (Christ), has come home. Once the parent (Christ), has arrived, the babysitter (law), completely relinquishes all their previous authority over us, and departs!

But why stop here? If I may give a third witness to the passing away of the Mosaic Law, through Jesus Christ, read what Paul says in Romans 6: 14, where he writes:

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, because

you are not under the law but under grace.“

Talk about an eye-popper! Not only does Paul make it crystal clear that we are not subject to the Mosaic Laws, but he makes it just as clear that when you insist on subjecting yourself to the Law, what you are actually doing is placing yourself under sin’s dominion!

Read that verse again - sin gains authority over those who are under the law! This is further confirmed in 1 Corinthians 15: 56, where it says:

“The sting of death is sin, and

the strength of sin is the law.“

So now let’s go back to the original scripture (Matthew 7: 22-23), and see what it really means:

” Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord,

have we not prophesied in Your name,

cast out demons in Your name, and done

many wonders in Your name?’

And then I will declare to them, ‘I never

knew you; depart from Me, you

who practise lawlessness!’ “

First of all, you cannot simply take one scripture verse, and build an entire doctrine on it. Yet that is precisely what this individual has done.

My friends, in order to properly understand the Bible, you must always be careful to study its teachings in context. Simply ‘cherry-picking’ one verse here, and another verse there, in order to support a previously-determined idea, is not spiritually wise!

We need to compare what is being said, relative to the surrounding verses wherein it sits; with the rest of the chapter itself; and finally, in accordance with the overall Bible message.

Ask yourself three very important questions:

1. Who is the doing the speaking?

2. What is being taught?

3. To whom is the teaching directed?

In this particular case, we know it’s Jesus doing the speaking.

Then secondly, an examination of the previous two chapters leading up to, (and including) the one in question, shows Him giving an indepth teaching on the impossible requirements of the Mosaic Law.

Furthermore, adultery wasn’t simply based on having a sexual relationship outside of marriage. According to God, you could be found guilty for even looking at someone the wrong way - or for too long (Matthew 5: 27-30).

Additionally, if you didn’t forgive everyone around you from the bottom of your heart – God would likewise never forgive you (Matthew 6: 14-15).

So then, to whom was this teaching addressed? For that matter – who are the ones practising lawlessness (Matthew 7: 23), of whom Jesus spoke?

Well my friends, the answer is quite simple, because they are one and the same group - namely, the Pharisees, and the teachers of the law! These are the ones to whom Jesus speaks, and these are the ones he described as being practitioners of lawlessness.

Talk about irony!

You see, it wasn’t the day-to-day folks, with whom Jesus experienced any problems. For the scripture states in Mark 12: 37, that the common people heard him gladly. As a matter of fact, Jesus actually had a reputation for being a friend of sinners (Matthew 11: 19 and Luke 7: 34).

So how then, could the stern teaching have been directed at them?

My friends, that’s what legalism does – it deceives you.

To be in the perfect will of God, you must simply believe in the one whom God has sent (John 6: 28-29). The true work of God is not based on the Law – it’s based on faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross.

Nothing more – and nothing less.

It’s not Jesus Christ plus your self-effort … it’s Jesus Christ plus nothing!

Anything else is pure deception.

HOME