Introduction
Twenty-three days before going to the cross, Jesus takes a moment with his disciples to talk to them about what will happen at the end. They ask him the question that runs through all of us: "What will the end of the world look like?" You'll find his answer in Matthew 24. This Sunday at Kobe Christ Glory Church, Pastor Sugawara returns to this second part of Jesus's teaching on his return. He's not offering theory. He puts you in front of a choice: which side do you want to be standing on when the end comes?
Outline of the article
1. Evil spreads and love grows cold (Matthew 24:12)
"Because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12). Look around you. Lawlessness is overflowing. The pastor tells a story from the news that struck him: an eldest son who kills his own father, a doctor, before killing a woman. Japan remains, he says, one of the safest countries in the world. But when he mentions his upcoming trip to New York, he shares a shocking fact: there, below a certain dollar threshold, shoplifting isn't even prosecuted anymore. The prisons have no more room. Evil no longer hides.
But pay close attention to how precise Jesus is. He doesn't say that everyone's love will grow cold. He says "the love of many." So the pastor invites you to speak a blessing over your household: that your home remains a place of love, peace, and safety, whatever happens outside.
2. The one who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13)
"But the one who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:13). This is the verse that carried the pastor when he was still a teenager, freshly converted at 17 or 18. His faith wasn't yet solid. He didn't understand everything in the Bible. But this verse gripped him: no matter what happened, he would hold on to the end. He sank his teeth into it, the way you clench your lower lip to keep from letting go. And his faith was kept.
This verse is for you too. You don't need to be a spiritual giant to be saved. You need to hold on. To endure. To not let go of Christ, even if everything around you is letting go.
3. The gospel preached to the whole world (Matthew 24:14)
"This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). Here is the other condition. Sixty years ago, when the pastor received Jesus, several peoples had never heard the gospel: Mongolia under communist rule, the remote tribes of the Amazon, the people of the highlands of New Guinea. Today? A smartphone in almost every hand. The gospel is spreading. This condition is being fulfilled before our very eyes.
4. The abomination of desolation and the third temple (Matthew 24:15)
"So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place..." (Matthew 24:15). Jesus quotes Daniel. The abomination must appear in the holy place, that is, in the temple. But today, this third temple has not yet been built. That means the return of Christ is near, but we cannot claim it will happen in three or four years. This temple must first be rebuilt.
5. Daniel's seventy weeks
The pastor then takes you into Daniel 9. Seventy weeks are decreed for Daniel's people. Seven weeks plus sixty-two weeks lead to the coming of the Anointed One, the Messiah. Multiplying 69 by 7 years, starting from King Artaxerxes's decree to rebuild Jerusalem, brings you to the year of Jesus's crucifixion. Robert Anderson, in his book The Coming Prince, worked out this calculation.
One final week remains: seven years. This is the time of the end. The Anointed One is cut off after the 69th week. Time is suspended. Then comes the 70th week, those seven years when "he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering" (Daniel 9:27).
6. The antichrist: charismatic but a wolf in disguise
The pastor stresses this point. The antichrist will not appear as a frightening monster. He will appear appealing. Charismatic. Politically brilliant. He will even perform healings and wonders. People will say, "He's like Jesus." That's exactly why he'll draw the crowds. That's even why some Christians risk following him. The pastor warns you: never fix your eyes on a man, however impressive he may be. Look at Jesus alone.
But his heart is a wolf under a lamb's skin. In the second half of these seven years, he will reveal his true nature and persecute the faithful.
7. He will try to change the times and the law (Daniel 7:25)
"He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law" (Daniel 7:25). Change the times? Just imagine. Today we live in 2025 because our calendar is anchored to the birth of Jesus. What if a leader decided that history should no longer be counted from Christ, but from himself? That is what changing the times means.
Change the law? The pastor gives a political example: Putin rewrote the Russian constitution so he could run for office as many times as he wants. Some are also speculating about a third term for Trump. When someone holds power, they're tempted to rewrite the law to suit themselves. The New Age movement, too, proclaims that the two-thousand-year Christian era is over and that a new age is beginning. So many signs preparing the ground.
8. Three and a half years, no more
His rule will not last. "A time, times, and half a time," that is, three and a half years (also called 42 months or 1,260 days in Revelation). Then "the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and bring him to nothing by the appearance of his coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:8). No man will be able to defeat him; it is God himself who will bring him to nothing.
9. Don't let yourself be deceived (2 Thessalonians 2)
"Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction" (2 Thessalonians 2:3). This rebellion is when Christians abandon the faith. Why? Because the leader who is coming will be so appealing that even believers could fall for him.
"The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders" (2 Thessalonians 2:9). Miracles and signs, yes, but wrapped in a lie. In the end, the Bible says it clearly: there will be no more lukewarm people. Everyone will choose their side.
Key takeaways
- Evil is spreading, but Jesus never said every heart would grow cold. Your home can remain a place of love and peace.
- Enduring to the end is not a heroic feat, it's a daily choice not to let go of Christ.
- The return of Jesus is near, but certain signs still need to be fulfilled: the gospel is reaching nearly the whole earth today, and the third temple has not yet been rebuilt.
- The antichrist won't look frightening at first glance. He will be appealing, charismatic, and will even perform miracles. Don't fix your eyes on a man, but on Jesus alone.
- His rule will be limited to three and a half years. Then God himself will bring him to nothing.
Personal application
- Is your home today a place of love, peace, and safety, despite what the world is going through? What can you change this week to make it more so?
- What Bible verse keeps you standing when your faith wavers? If you don't have one yet, take Matthew 24:13 and make it your anchor.
- Can you recognize an appealing speech or leader who is subtly pulling you away from Christ? Take a moment to ask the Holy Spirit for discernment.
- Do you take time to fix your eyes on Jesus each day, rather than on a man or a charismatic figure?
- If Jesus returned this week, are you ready to stand on his side, publicly and without compromise?
Verses cited
FAQ
Is the return of Jesus coming soon?
According to the Bible, it is near. Several foretold signs are being fulfilled before our eyes: lawlessness overflowing, the gospel preached almost everywhere. But as long as the third temple has not been rebuilt and the antichrist has not been revealed, we cannot claim it will happen in three or four years. Live each day as though he could return, but prepare yourself to endure over the long haul.
Can a Christian be deceived by the antichrist?
That's exactly what the Bible foresees. "The rebellion comes first" (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Some Christians will abandon the faith. The reason is simple: this leader will be so charismatic and will perform such miracles that the risk is real, even for a believer. Your protection is to fix your eyes on Jesus alone, and not on a man.
What do the "three and a half years" correspond to?
This is the second half of the last of Daniel's seventy weeks: seven years. The Bible uses three equivalent expressions for this length of time: "a time, times, and half a time," "42 months," and "1,260 days." During this period, the antichrist will reveal his true nature, but God himself will put an end to his reign.
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