John Hagee - The Signs of His Coming
Where is America going? Our text in Matthew 24 is the spine of prophecy. It is presented by Jesus Christ to his disciples on the Mount of Olives just a few days before the end of his life. The disciples listened to the greatest prophecy teacher who ever walked the face of the earth, and they asked him three questions, very intelligent questions. "When will these things be", meaning the end of time? And "What will be the sign" of your coming, and "What shall be the sign of the end of the age"? Read with me, please, Matthew 24:3 and verse 12. Ready? "Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, tell us when these things shall be. What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age"? Verse 12, "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. For he who endures to the end shall be saved".
Father God, let us hear your word today. Let us be encouraged by the knowledge that you are in absolute control of planet earth, and that we are in the middle of your hand and no man can pluck us from your hand. Let the anointing of hope and the spirit of joy flood our hearts as we contemplate the signs of his coming, in Jesus name we pray, and all of God's children said, amen.
You may be seated. Jesus said, in Matthew 24:12, that lawlessness would abound. The word "Abound" means, literally, out of control. Look at America for the past three and a half, almost four years. For three years plus, America saw the FBI under the direction of James Comey, plot, plan, and tried to destroy a sitting president of the United States of America on a fabrication that they themselves created. No charges will be filed, and I'm sure none are going to be filed. Now, the corruption of our government becomes a corruption of our nation. Our cities are burning. Looters are looting from department stores. Seattle is under siege. Their mayor, asked about what is this going to mean for Seattle. And she mystically looked into the camera and said, "This summer is going to be a summer of love", quote. Wow.
Policemen are being shot. They're being abused. There is a mass Exodus. Listen to me closely. I know there are bad policemen in the structure. Let's identify them, let's get them out, and let's stop, let's stop criticizing the great majority who serve this nation and protect us. We must protect and defend our police forces. America and the world are saturated with agnostics, pseudo intellectuals, and Laodicean churches that have stopped preaching the Gospel. If the church in America had been preaching this book in the churches, what's going on in the streets of this country would not be happening. What difference does it make whether you believe in the rapture or not? Exactly this: Paul writes in Hebrews 9:28, "To those that eagerly look for him will he appear the second time".
So the point is very clearly if you're not looking for him, you're not going with him. The Bible says, "Watch and pray that you may be counted worthy to escape those things that are coming on the earth". Will there be a rapture? If Jesus is coming back, why now? Let me explain something before I get that far along. It's confusing to some people. There are two comings of Jesus Christ in the future. The first coming of Jesus Christ is the rapture of the church, in which he's going to take his bride, the church, into heaven, in the twinkling of an eye, to celebrate the marriage supper of the lamb. This will last for seven years. This is the first coming of Christ, which is eminent! It could happen at any moment. It could happen before I finish this sermon. It will happen in the twinkling of an eye.
Millions of people will suddenly and strangely be missing from planet earth. The nations of the world will be shaken to the core. A few days later, the Antichrist is going to walk out on the stage of history in Europe, and he's going to form, 10 nations are going to go together under his leadership. The second coming of Jesus Christ will be seven years after the rapture of the church at the end of the Great Tribulation on earth. These seven years of hell on earth, with 21 major calamities that make the coronavirus, look like an absolute picnic. While we are in heaven celebrating the bride of Christ, on the earth will be seven years of tribulation. At the end of that time, Christ will come back the second time.
He is going to come back with all power in heaven and in earth. He's going to be mounted on a white horse followed by the angels which are in heaven and the bride of Christ. The Bible says there will be 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands. That's the Bible's way of saying it's a number you cannot grasp. And the Bible says they're all going to be mounted on white horses. Brother, that's the biggest cowboy trip you've ever seen in your life. Jesus will put his foot on the Mount of Olives. He's going to crush the armies that have come to attack Israel at the Battle of Armageddon. One army will be led by the antichrist, who is of the west. The other army will be led by china and the kings of the east.
The Bible said the blood is going to flow to the bridle of a horse for 200 miles. That's the length of the Battle of Armageddon. It will take Israel seven months to bury the dead, according to revelation 19:17. God will call for the fowls of the earth. The word "Fowls" translates, as far as we're concerned, buzzards. God is going to call the buzzards of the earth to come as soon as those people are killed. And he says, "To eat the flesh of kings", I'm quoting the Bible now, "The flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men and their horses". End of quote. It's God's banquet for buzzards for those that he kills. Let me tell you something. The only thing that matches the love of God is the wrath of God. God will give you the opportunity to repent and straighten out, but brother, if you do not, you will see a side of him that you only find in the Bible. It's God's payday for anti-semitic nations.
When God said, "I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you", it is an eternal contract that is intact right now. The Bible says, "He that keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps". And God is the keeper of Israel. Jesus of Nazareth will sit on the throne of his father, king David, in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount. He's going to establish the kingdom that shall never end. You're going to be a part of that. We're going to rule and reign the nations of the earth. The Bible says, "Jesus will rule with a rod of iron". I love that verse of scripture. It means his word is going to be the final word. There will be no rioting in the streets to determine truth. There will be no mobs of vigilantes burning down cities. There's not going to be government corruption. There will be no fake news releasing headlines that are nothing but boldfaced lies.
The lion is going to lay down with the lamb. Men are going to beat their swords into plowshares and study wars no more. It's going to be a wonderful time! What am I telling you? Right on the other side of all of this chaos that we're going through right now, in just a few days, in a millisecond, it's going to be over and be over forever. "When you see these signs", the Bible says, "Lift up your heads and rejoice. Your redemption draweth nigh". Give him praise in the house of God!
Look at the signs of his first coming. I'm talking about the rapture right now. 2nd Peter 3, "Knowing this, that there shall come in the last days", that's right now, "Scoffers, saying, 'where is the sign of his coming'"? Logic. The point is that if you don't believe he's coming, that's living proof he's almost here. If you listen closely, you can hear the footsteps of Messiah walking across the clouds of glory. Will there be a rapture? Saint Paul says, yes. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 17, he puts pen to parchment and he writes, "For the Lord himself", he makes that double entry, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout". Why the shout? Because the shout is the symbol of victory over death, hell, and the grave. And he will descend with the voice of the Archangel.
Why the voice of the Archangel? Because the Archangel is announcing the appearance of royalty, and he is the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the Prince of Peace. Jesus Christ is royalty! And he will come with the trump of God, because trumpets are used to announce kings. And the dead in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. It's going to happen just that fast. And we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, Paul says, comfort one another with these words. Comfort one another. The rapture of the church is not, "Oh dear me, how can that happen"? Brother, it is going to be paradise on the other end of the sound of that horn. Glory to the living God: we're leaving this mess!
People are saying, "Nothing like this has ever happened before". Oh yes, it has. It's happened six times already and getting ready to happen the seventh time. Let me give you the seven raptures in the Bible.
The rapture of Enoch in Genesis 5:24, Hebrews 11:5. The Bible says Enoch walked with God, and he was not, because the Lord took him. He didn't die. He's been alive in heaven for over 3,000 years. Think about that.
The prophet Elijah was raptured. He was snatched away into heaven in a chariot of fire, and he's been alive in heaven for 3,000 years. He's coming back to earth with Enoch during the tribulation as God's messenger to the Jewish people that the Messiah is coming. That's found in Malachi 4:5.
The rapture of Isaiah, Isaiah 6:1 and 3.
The rapture of Jesus Christ: five, the rapture of Philip. There was a very special representative from a foreign country that needed to hear the Gospel 20 miles away. And God just sent an angel over, picked him up by the armpits, and 20 miles carried him through the air and dropped him right by that chariot. I mean that beats Uber all to pieces. He was snatched and taken from one place to the other, which is a rapture. The next rapture, saint Paul, he was caught up to heaven, given a guided tour of heaven. And when he returned to earth, Paul, with all of his mastery of the English language, his ability described so much with such detail, just simply said, the half has not entered into the minds of men what God had prepared for his own. It means, let your imagination run as far as it can run. Think of everything beautiful and wonderful you would like for it to be. And when your imagination is exhausted, you haven't scratched the surface on how wonderful it's going to be when all of God's children get home. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God.
The seventh rapture, God's number of perfection, is going to be the church, the victorious church of Jesus Christ, the church without spot or wrinkle, the church of Jesus Christ that's preaching the Gospel, the church triumphant, the church that's looking for his glorious appearing, the church that has been washed in the blood of the lamb and their sins have been forgiven, the church that is the light of the world and the salt of the earth, the church without spot or wrinkle. That's the church triumphant! Praise God you're in that church, because that church is going to be the church that sees the Lord in the air.
The greatest question of your life is, are you in that church? It's one thing to be around the church, and it's another thing to be in the church. You can know Jesus as a fact, but is Jesus Lord of your life? Are you ready? Is your family ready? Romans 8:11 says, "But if the spirit of him", meaning the Holy Spirit, "Who raised Jesus from the dead, dwells in you, he who raised Jesus from the dead (the Holy Spirit) will also give life to our mortal bodies through his spirit which dwells in you". All believers will take the Holy Spirit with them into the grave. And on the resurrection morning, it is the supernatural kinetic force that launches you into the paradise of God.
Matthew 24:30, "And then shall appear the son of man in the heavens. And they shall see him coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory". Acts 1:11, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye here gazing into heaven? This same Jesus shall come in like manner". Which way? Literally, you saw him physically. You saw him visibly. The next time he comes, he's coming literally, he's coming physically, he's coming visibly. He's not going to be wearing a mask with rubber gloves or standing in a social distance. We're going to fly away in the twinkling of an eye! Put these verses together and you have this picture of the first coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ,
The crowned prince of glory, appears suddenly in the heavens as lightning flashes from the east to the west. The trump of God has sounded, announcing the appearance of royalty. The voice of the Archangel summons the righteous from their graves. All over planet earth, the graves will explode and the occupants will begin to soar toward the heavens. Cars will be empty beside the streets and the freeways. The motors are running. The drivers and the occupants are strangely missing. Homes of believers will have the supper dishes on the table. The food will be on the stove. But the occupants are gone to the marriage supper of the lamb. Headlines will be screaming, "Millions are missing". The television announcers will be going crazy trying to explain what has happened. An economic crash is on the way, because the Christian tax base has just left. Who's going to pay for all of this?
Television cameras will video the cemeteries of your city, the empty homes, the supper tables with food on the table and no one's home. Where are we? We're gone! We're gone! We're gone! We're not coming back, not till seven years. If you're not a believer, don't you dare fly with a Christian pilot, because he's going up and you're going down. Yeah. Cell phones will be jammed with families all over the earth trying desperately to get in touch with one another. Churches will be packed with weeping, sobbing, hysterical people who believe the Lord has come, and they have been left behind. Their choice is now. When you are left behind, your choice is to take the Mark of the beast and lose your soul, or to have your head cut off. If you have your head cut off, God will place you in the Book of Revelation, under the altar of those who are slain for their witness. And when Jesus comes back the second time, you will be resurrected and join in that heavenly entourage.
Let me tell you, it's just so much easier to find Jesus and go up the first time, than go through all of that. Some of you watching this telecast will be the first to welcome the Antichrist because you think what I'm saying is absolutely false. Jesus Christ is the last person you want to see. Believe me, God's not in heaven saying, let's make a deal. God's in heaven saying, this is the deal. You either accept me as Lord, and I am the Lord of your life, and you're going to heaven. Otherwise, you're going to spend eternity in hell. It can't be any simpler than that. When this happens, neighbors are going to be standing out in streets, looking up, faces covered with shock. I would just stand here talking to Mr. Jones, Mr. Garcia, and suddenly he disappeared, gone. Just beyond the clouds, the saints of God are gathering in. From the north, the south, the east, and the west they are coming, with 10,000 times 10,000. God is wiping away every tear from every eye. There will never be a day of suffering or sorrow in this place.
The battle is over. The total victory has been won. The crowns are being given. New names are being placed around the necks of the righteous. They're wearing, now, splendid white robes of righteousness, which are the righteous acts of the saints. Angels are escorting them to the mansions that have been built by the architect of the ages, especially designed for you. Brother, that's a story that just makes me rejoice beyond all knowing. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Do it now! There will be no more parting. There will be no more pain. There will be no more suffering. There will be no cancer wards. There will be no more abortions. There will be no more divorce courts. There will be no more racial tension. There will be no more drive-by shootings. There will be no more missing children, no more government corruption, no more civic injustice, no more riots in the streets of America, no more fake news! Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Do it now!
The premier prophetic sign that this is the end of the age is the rebirth of Israel, May 15, 1948. Israel is God's stopwatch. When the Jewish people are in Israel, God's clock is running. When they're out of Israel, as they were from 70 A.D. To 1948, the clock was not running. King David writes in Psalms 102:13, "You will rise and have mercy on Zion, for the time to favor her, yes, the set time has come". That set time was 1948. Notice the accuracy of Bible prophecy. A Bible fact, Abraham was born 1948 years after God created Adam. Israel was born 1948 years after the A.D. calendar began. God does things by precision and by the clock, the set time. Listen to the prophetic clues concerning the rebirth of Israel. 2 Peter 3:8, "Be not ignorant of this one thing that one day with the Lord is as 1,000 years, and 1,000 years is as the day". Jesus said to his disciples concerning Herod, this is in Luke 13:32. Disciples, "You go tell that fox".
Now please hear this. In the Middle East, to call someone "A fox" was the most scurrilous thing you could say. It was street talk. You go tell that fox, "Behold, I cast out demons and perform miracles today and tomorrow". That's two days, "Today and tomorrow". That will be 2,000 years. "And on the third day, I will be glorified". Jesus is saying, from this moment forward for 2,000 years, they're going to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And on the third day, I am going to be glorified. They're going to see me. I'm going to be face to face with them. Let's go forward and get another Bible verification of that. The prophet Hosea gives us the answer in chapter 5. He prophesied the 2,000-year diaspora of Israel in Hosea 5:11 through 14. He then prophesied again in Hosea 3:4-5 that Israel shall abide many days without a king, without a prince. Afterwards, Israel will return in the latter days.
Say that phrase. "In the latter days". When is that? Right now. That's when we're living. Hosea prophesied in chapter 6 that God will bind us up, speaking of the Jewish people, listen, and afterwards, toward the end of two days. Say that with me. Toward the end of two days, he will revive us. And in the third day, he will raise us up and we will live in his sight. He said so much so fast, people for almost 2,000 years missed it until Israel was born. Remember, now, a day with the Lord is as a thousand years. So day one would be zero from a.D. To one thousand years is day one. Say it. Day one. Day two started with the year 1000, 1100, 1200, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. 1948 was in the afternoon of the second day. Hosea said, God will bind us up in the second day. And then he said, on the third day, we will stand in his presence.
If you can stand in his presence, it means he's there. So both Jesus and Hosea are saying, the king is coming back on the third day. Where are we living now? The third day. We are there. Israel was reborn in the late afternoon of the second day. Isaiah's prophecy, written 740 years before the birth of Jesus, declared, "Who has seen such a thing? Shall a nation be born in a day"? That exactly happened. Israel was born may 14, 1948. Boom, just like that. The story of Israel began in Genesis 12 when God Almighty said to Abraham, I want you to get out of your country, get away from your pagan family to a land that I will show you, and I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you. Say that with me. "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you".
That's God's foreign policy toward Israel, and it's good to this day. Israel is the only nation created by a sovereign act of God. Genesis 12 and Genesis 13. Israel was given to the Jewish people exclusively and eternally. "For the land which you see, I will give to you and your descendants forever". "Forever" means forever. The concept that the Palestinians have owned the land in the past, and somehow they can control it now, is one of history's greatest frauds. Never have they ever owned the land. It begins in the book of Genesis with it belonging to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their descendants forever. The Jewish people do not occupy the land of Israel, they own the land of Israel right now.
The Jewish people are dearly loved by God. Zacharias says, 2:8, "For he who touches you touches the apple of God's eye". The apple of your eye is your pupil. If someone sticks their finger in the pupil of your eye, they'll get your attention. God says, when you pick on the Jewish people, you are sticking your finger in my eye. Look at the boneyard of human history. Egypt enslaved the Jewish people and killed their infant sons, and God killed the first born in every Egyptian home. He destroyed Egypt's government. He destroyed their military. He destroyed their economy. Egypt has never been the same. It is poverty stricken to this very day. "I will curse those who curse you".
Babylon, that magnificent empire, invaded Israel twice and deported the Jews from their homeland for 70 years. God destroyed Babylon through the Persian empire. Where is the Roman Empire? It's gone. Where's the ottoman empire? It's gone. Where is the British empire? At one time it had global influence, but it kicked the Jewish people out of their country twice. Today they are anti-semitic and they're down to one island from a global empire. Where are those lunatic goose-stepping Nazis that followed Adolf Hitler? They're in the boneyard of human history to be forgotten. Where is Israel? Israel is alive and well. Israel is growing. Israel is prospering. Israel is blessed of God. Jerusalem was reunited with the state of Israel in 1967.
Listen closely. Luke 21 records, "And Jerusalem will be trodden down under the feet of the gentiles until the times of the gentiles be fulfilled", meaning when Jerusalem and Israel come together, God's top priority now will be the Jewish people. We have had it to ourselves for 2,000 years. Now God wants us to extend our love to the Jewish people. Listen to God's love for Jerusalem. "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people", talking about the Jewish people. "From here to eternity", Isaiah 62:6, "On your walls, o Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen all day and all night. They will never be silent, and give the Lord no rest until he makes Jerusalem the praise of the whole earth". Jerusalem is the shoreline of eternity. Jerusalem is going to be the capital city of the final kingdom when Jesus Christ sits on the throne of his father, David, and of that kingdom there shall be no end. And you, and you, and you are going to be in that kingdom.
It was with great honor that Diana and I had the opportunity to have dinner at the white house with the president of the United States to discuss the Bible mandate to bless Israel, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital. I took my Bible and I read from the Bible to the president about the year of jubilee. The year of jubilee is a 50-year period of time. From year 49 to year 50, no one in Israel worked. They lived off of the crops they raised. All indentured servants were returned to go home. It was a time when all debts were forgiven. When Israel came back in 1917 because of the Balfour Declaration, God's clock started ticking. Add 50 to 1917, you have 1967. That was the six-day war when Israel more than doubled its size in geographical holdings. Add 50 to 1967 and you have the year 2017. That was the year that I was talking to the president.
A few days later, the president of the United States announced that the City of Jerusalem would be recognized as the capital city of the Jewish people. Then he moved the us embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Why? It fulfilled the prophecy of Deuteronomy 28, when God said, I'm going to make you the head and not the tail. The head is the decision maker. For 2,000 years, other nations decided what Israel was going to do, what are we going to do with the Jews? When the Jews got home and they had a nation, now the Jewish people are telling other nations, this is how you're going to relate to us. We're making our own decisions now. We are the head and not the tail. You have seen that develop in your lifetime. Our president has done more to bless the state of Israel than all the presidents combined since 1948. God bless you, Mr. President. God bless you.
Another sign that we're reaching the end of the age is the increase of knowledge. Daniel 12:4, God says, "But you (Daniel), shut up the words to the book and seal it until the end of time". Until when? "The end of time". When is that? That's right now. "When men shall run to and fro". You want to see a to and fro? Go out there and sit beside that freeway at 5 o'clock. That's to and fro. "And knowledge shall be greatly increased". From the gates of Genesis until the 19th century, men rode on horses and communicated by flashing mirrors from mountaintop to mountaintop. Then came the telegraph, then came the telephone, and then the tell a woman. I mean television. Now you have a piece of plastic in your hand that can reach out and touch any one on planet earth in seconds.
When I was a child, it took you 20 minutes to do a long-distance call from Texas to California. It was big news when someone phoned you from out of state. Now you have something in your pocket that the government can record every session, and they know exactly where you are. Isn't that a comforting thing? We've gone from horseback to automobiles. We've gone from automobiles to supersonic jets, and from jets to the moon. We are that generation where the knowledge has been greatly increased. Medical science has been so increased: we've had to redefine what death is. We are that knowledge. Another sign that we are approaching the end of the age is the invention of international television. Revelation 11:9 and 10, describes the two witnesses, Elijah and Enoch, that will lay dead in the streets of Jerusalem for three days. And then they will be resurrected, but the whole world will see them at one time. That's what the Bible says.
And the whole world will see them at one time. And we would just say, you know, if the Bible is true, that can't be true. And then came television. And we still didn't get it until international television came on. Bang. That's how they'll do it. International television hastens the day of the Lord. Jesus said, "When this Gospel is preached to all the world for a witness to all nations, then shall the end come". Right now, through those television cameras, I am fulfilling the prophecy of Jesus Christ. I am preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations of the world. The Son of God is on his way. The Son of God is on his way. Bless the name of the Lord.
In closing, the waging of a war with pestilence. Webster defines "Pestilence" as a contagious or infectious epidemic that is virulent and devastating. The coronavirus was presented to America as a pestilence without vaccine, without solution, and it was no accident. The release of this deadly virus should be a wake-up call to every person in America, because according to John the Revelator, it will not be the last time. Fact: a sovereign God has allowed this, because if God is not in control of everything, he is not sovereign. And if God is not sovereign, he's not God. It's a wake-up call for this country and for the world. God is saying, I still have all power in heaven and in earth.
I show you just how quickly the nations of the earth can be brought to their feet. Our world was turned upside down in 60 days. God's message to the church? Get ready. Get ready. You're the group! You're the group! The Bible says, "Let every man examine himself to see if he be of the faith". Everyone can sing "When we all get to heaven". But it's a living fact we're not all going to heaven. Because the Bible says, "Broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be that walk that way. Narrow is the way that leads to the gate of heaven, and few there be that walk in that way". Where are you in your life? Are you on that narrow, bloodstained path leading to the cross, or are you walking hand-in-hand with the world?
I am telling you: in my lifetime I may never have the opportunity to talk to you about the rapture again. But I want you to hear this. Look deeply in your soul and ask yourself, am I ready? Are my family members ready? I want you to be ready. I want you to be ready. While you stand to your feet and you bow your heads, how many of you in this room can say, pastor, I'm not ready to meet the Son of God. If he would come right now, I'm just not ready. I want you to all pray this prayer with me. Those of you who are watching around the world, pray this prayer.
Heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, I ask you to forgive me of all of my sin. Prepare my life for the soon coming of Jesus Christ. From this day forward, I pledge to serve you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and body. Even so, come Lord Jesus! I will serve the Lord all of my life. Amen.
Lift your hands for the blessing.
And now may the Lord bless you and may the Lord keep you. And may the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and may the Lord be gracious unto you and give you his peace. May you walk in the confidence that the blood of Jesus Christ protects you, and every member of your family from the evil of the wicked one: that God himself will present you faultless before God the Father, and that you will be numbered among the redeemed. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your name has now been written in the lamb's book of life, and you are a child of the King of kings. Give the Lord praise in this house. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.