Jesus is coming! How many of you know Jesus is coming? How many of you know when?

Me neither…

I had hoped that the scripture references over there for the "Sharing the Gospel" skit would have been larger and easier to see from the back of the room… maybe those of you sitting far away will come forward to have a look after the service is over.

What gives us the ability to reach out to others in the name of Jesus like that? How is it that we have become tools of saving grace in the hands of almighty God?

The topic for today is "God's Grace Frees Us".

And I want us to understand where are we in history, and in God's prophetic calendar. What is it that frees us to effectively reach out to others, so that we might bring glory to God?

If it is God's grace then we should understand what grace is. The definition of grace is "unmerited favor". We find favor with God even if we don't deserve it.

You may have heard some say that we are living in the "Age of Grace" … or some refer to it as the "Church Age"… it's just another name for the "Age of Grace". I would like us to understand this "Age of Grace" that we are living in.

Daniel 9, Matthew 24, and Revelation 7.

To fully understand this you should read Matthew 24.... Heavy chapter! ...Describes the end times and the signs of their coming. It coincides with chapters found in Daniel and The Revelation. And I'm speaking to you today about these scriptures because I would like us to see where we are on God's prophetic calendar. God's prophecies are like great mountain tops, with deep valleys in between. And as we look back over God's prophetic calendar of events, we see the mountain tops, and we don't always see the valleys in between, at least not within the pages of scripture. We, in the church age, are living in one of those valleys.

Many signs have been and are already being fulfilled, but Christ cannot come again until certain things occur. Jesus describes some signs and signals in Matthew 24 regarding the end times, and he also give us some warnings about how we should conduct ourselves as we prepare for his return.

But first some background… The prophet Daniel describes a period of 490 years of trouble for Israel in the 9th chapter of his book. It concludes with the completion of the "end times" referred to by Jesus in Matthew 24. (Dan 9:24, Mat 24:15-22). Daniel speaks literally in terms of "weeks" but it is accepted by almost all bible scholars, that the term "weeks" refers to individual periods of 7 years... so when Daniel talks about "seventy weeks" he means 70 "periods of seven years", or weeks of years... thus 70 * 7yrs = 490 years.

Daniel says, that out of the total of 490 years of trouble, "It will be a total of 483 years (literally seven weeks and 62 weeks) from the time "the command" is given to rebuild Jerusalem, until the Anointed One comes!" (Dan 9:25-26). Then Daniel foresees, that the Messiah would be "cut off" or crucified at this time.

Such a "command" to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem was given in 443 BC by King Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 2:8). And Daniel tells us that it will be 483 years from 443 BC until Christ is "scheduled" to be crucified.

Now this would make the year Christ was to be crucified, the year 40 AD But we know that Jesus was about age 33 when he was crucified. And so it seems as though the Daniel's prediction is incorrect.

Now listen... Here is the reason Daniel speaks in terms of weeks instead of years. The years are counted according to the Jewish calendar of 360 days per year, not 365. This yields 476 years on the Gregorian calendar. So, using the Jewish calendar year, and counting from the decree of Artexerxes in 443 BC to rebuild the temple, to the end of the 483 year period, brings the time the Messiah would be "cut off" to somewhere between 33-34 A.D.... This is exactly the time Jesus' ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing ended with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and crucifixion on the cross!!!!!!!

WOW!!! No wonder everyone in Jerusalem was wondering if every stranger in town might be the Messiah... They knew the scriptures well and were looking for him!

OK, What does this have to do with these chapters of Daniel and Matthew?

Well simply this, the full 490 years of trouble foretold by Daniel are not consecutive years. We had only experienced 483 years until Christ was Crucified, not the full 490. This leaves 7 years remaining. In the next chapter, Daniel describes this period as the "Great Tribulation", and it is also referred to in Mat 24 and Rev 7. We live now that period of time between the ascension of Jesus into heaven, and his prophetic return. This is known as the "Church Age" or the "Age of Grace". It's a break in God's prophetic calendar of events. God is using this time to allow us to reach out to the lost and the hurting, and lead them into fellowship with our Lord and Savior.

This period of grace will culminate when Jesus returns for his own, for his saints… for believers. This is sometimes referred to as The Rapture of the Church. Now you say, what's that?

(Read Read 1 Thess 4:13-18).

At that time, according to the scriptures, Spirit Filled Christians will be removed from this earth. Why? Because as we have just learned, the Great Tribulation or the final 7 years of tribulation foretold in the 9th chapter of Daniel and in Matthew and The Revelation, is on it's way. In Mat 24, Jesus tells us "There will be persecution such as the world has never before seen in all its history, and will never see again." (Mat 24:21). In fact", he says, "unless those days are cut short, all mankind, will perish." Now the reason Christians are called home before the Great Tribulation begins is because scripture tells us that believers are not appointed unto wrath.

In Rev 3:10, we read, "Because you have patiently obeyed me despite the persecution, I will protect you from the time of the Great Tribulation and temptation, which will come upon the world to test everyone alive." In Romans 5:9, we read, "And since by his blood he did all this for us as sinners, how much more will he do for us now that he has declared us not guilty? Now he will save us from all of God's wrath to come." In John 3:36, we read "And all who trust him - God's Son - to save them have eternal life; those who don't believe and obey him shall never see heaven, but the wrath of God remains upon them". And so, we see that Christ will return for his believers before God wraps things up here on earth and deals with Satan and claims victory over evil, once and for all.

Now this remaining 7 year period called The Great Tribulation in Rev 7:14 is described as two 3 & 1/2 year periods (Rev 11:2,3; 12:6, 14; & 13:5). As I mentioned, Jesus said in Matthew 24 that "these days will be so severe that if those days were not cut short, all mankind would perish. But they will be shortened for the sake of the elect."

Now, Who are the elect?

I believe they are the remnant of Israel. The Jews were God's chosen people and they are still God's chosen people. And there will be 144,000 Jews (12,000 from each tribe of Israel) who will be preserved and elected by God during the Great Tribulation to preach the Gospel to those remaining on the earth who still had not yet heard this good news of salvation. You can read about this in Rev chapter 7.

The Great Tribulation triggered by The Rapture of the Church allows The Antichrist defined back in Daniel 11:36-45; and in 1st Joh 2:18-23, to appear on the scene and try to put this broken world back together again… remember we Christians are already gone, and there will be tremendous anarchy in our absence.

After this seven year period of destruction and deception portrayed by Jesus in Matthew and in Daniel, and in The Revelation, comes the great battle of Armageddon (Rev 16:12-16) when The Antichrist and Satan are defeated. The long awaited Triumphant Second Coming of Christ (Rev 19:11-21) finally occurs. Every eye shall see him as he returns as "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords"! The remaining dead are resurrected to the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20:7-10). This is followed by the casting of anyone who's name is not found in the lambs book of life into the Lake of Fire.

Whew! This sounds both awful and awe inspiring. Where does that leave us?

Well, the 21st chapter of The Revelation portrays a vision of Heaven as it has been intended by God since the beginning of time, both spiritually… and physically here on earth, with a brand new Jerusalem! There will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. All that is gone forever. And the one sitting on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new!" (Rev 21 1-7).

Now you say, "Hey, look at how much we know about what's going to happen!!!". So what don't we know?

Well, we don't know when Jesus is going to gather up his saints who are still alive, to be at home with him… forever. Only God himself knows this as stated by Jesus in Mat 24:35. But we do know that the Great Tribulation cannot come until Jesus comes for his own, and this is the next great event on God's prophetic calendar.

Now many say, OK we're saved from the wrath of God… and through Christ we already have all of the salvation we are ever going to need… so come on God…, why don't you just wrap it up?

(Read Read 2 Peter 3:3-15).

(Repeating)… "And this is why he is waiting. He is giving us time to get his message of salvation out to others" (2 Pet 3:15).

Back to Matthew 24, verse 42… Jesus is speaking, and he poses a question to us… "So be prepared, for you don't know what day your Lord is coming. Just as a man can prevent trouble from thieves by keeping watch for them, so you can avoid trouble by always being ready for my unannounced return. And Jesus asks, "Are you a wise and faithful servant of the Lord?" (Mat 24:42-45).

So what is our responsibility in this "Age of Grace"? God has freed us through grace to make our own choices. What kind of choices should we be making? What kind of lives should we be living?

We should be a shining example of life with Jesus. We should be approachable and able to describe, defend, and tell others about our faith in Jesus Christ.

Most of what we know about Jesus, comes to us from first hand accounts written in the pages of scripture.

Sixty-six books in the bible, 35 different writers, spanning 4,000 years with one central common theme… God loves us, and this - world - needs - a savior! And so, he sent, his son.

So much has already been fulfilled exactly as Daniel and Jesus and the other prophets and disciples have spoken… why would we think that anything still yet to be fulfilled will not also occur in the fullness of time exactly as he said it would?

Please, and I always say this… Don't take my word for anything… look this up… study it… pray about it…