Time of Times

The podcast discusses the importance of understanding the time we are living in and what will happen after this time. It mentions different calendars throughout history and how they relate to biblical events. The discrepancy between Matthew and Luke regarding the year of Jesus' birth is explained by the fact that King Herod and Caesar Augustus were both in power during that time. The concept of before and after in our lives is compared to the division of time created by Jesus' birth. It emphasizes the need for humanity to seek meaning and answers in their existence and encourages seeking God for guidance and understanding. Welcome to CCI Fellowship's Podcast, thank you for joining us. At CCI Fellowship, we are reaching God, reaching each other, and reaching our community. We pray that this week's message challenges you in your walk with the Lord, causes you to grow in your faith, and encourages you in your love for the Word of God. So, there are three questions that after this message we may answer ourselves, or if someone asks you. The first question is, in what time are we living, for example, in the existence of time, where are we at? This is very important. Have you ever gone to a building or to a park in which there are these maps that tell you the red dots, you are here, and if you want to go here, there's a pattern where you want to go there. So, it's important to us to remember in what part of time are we existing, are we living. Second question is, what will happen after this time, or the information that we have at this point in time, and what should I do now? I love this example, I think that at one point I brought it, but I remember this pastor having and I really wanted to do it tonight, but this example, like physically, but I couldn't find a rope that big, but he had like a rope in the auditorium, and he had like the length of that rope, you don't know where it ended, and he had a tape for like two inches or three inches with a different color, and he said that this rope symbolizes your timeline of your existence, and this small part here is your time here on earth, and all the rope where you don't know where it is infinite, that's your existence. So if we think of that, if we think of eternity, basically this time on earth, sometimes we think that it's all that we have, but it's just a little part, symbolizing five inches, maybe in the two inches you're getting into college or something like that, and you get excited, and so a small amount of time compared to the eternity that the Lord has promised to us. So this message is encouraged with that idea. So let's open our Bibles, in Matthew chapter 24 verse 35, and keep this in mind during the whole teaching and sermon, and it says, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. We have to have that in mind in his word, in our hearts, in our minds. So if we go to history, we have our timeline, and based on the information that we have in Scripture, who believes in what Scripture says, I do believe it, that's our manual. Noah's flood happened around 4,004 years before Christ, I think that's the chart, Noah, the flood, happened around 2,348 years, that even, this caught my attention, historically after the flood, 100 years after that happened what we know, what happened at the Tower of Babel, that evacuation was scattered, then in the 1900s we have Abraham, in the 1700s we have the story of Joseph in Egypt, in the 1400s we have Moses and the Exodus happening, the story of David, around 1,000 years before Christ, the monarchy divides, in the year 975 before Christ, the destruction of Israel, in the 722 years before Christ, the Babylonian captivity of Judah, happened in the year 586 before Christ, and Jesus was born, it caught my attention, 4 years before Christ, so I'm going to get there in a few moments, but through history we have different calendars, have you heard about the Mayan calendar, here in Latin America, in Central America, Honduras, but first we had also the Roman calendar, it was 304 days, a year was 304 days, we have the Julian calendar, it had 365.25 days, this was given in the era of Julius Caesar, we have the Gregorian calendar, it has 365.2422 days, this was given by Gregory VIII around the year 1582, we have a Turkish calendar, I didn't know this, but there is a Turkish calendar, have you heard about this? I haven't heard about it, in 354 years we have the Mayan calendar, and also we have the Hebrew calendar, so why I'm telling all this, and there is a chart about how the Hebrew calendar is compared to ours, but have you ever read, I think it's in Daniel, or different scriptures that we read, in the month of Nisan, or different, at the beginning when you are reading a scripture you are like, what time is that, so this may give you an idea of what they are talking about, now you know when you are reading a scripture in the month of Nisan, now you know that it's a Hebrew calendar going on right there, so this calls my attention, since creation, the humanity and God's creation have been asking questions, and trying to answer those questions, I've heard this example that every human being has, how can we say it, like a Lego part, like a puzzle part missing in their souls, and definitely that missing part is always Jesus, the answer is always Jesus, always God, and as we read also, we are going to read more scripture later on, but I'm going to read it right now actually, it's in Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verse 10 to 11, I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race, He has made everything beautiful in its time, He has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from the beginning to end, so there is this question about in what year was Jesus born, have you heard about this, and why in this calendar that I brought, it said that Jesus was born in the year 4 before Christ, in Matthew chapter 2 verse 1 states that Jesus was born in the days of King Herod, based on Roman documents, and it says that it was in the year 4 before Christ, in Luke chapter 2 verse 1 states that the census from Caesar Augustus, based on the historian Flavius Josephus with other events, was around the year 6 to 7 after Christ, so what's here, what's going on, and I'm bringing this example because someone may say there is a discrepancy here, in Matthew it says that it was born in the days of King Herod, and in Luke 2 chapter 1 says, based on Roman historians, it was around the year of Caesar Augustus the emperor set a census in the old empire, but what's going on here, and the first thing that comes to mind is that there is a discrepancy here, but no, we can go, and I love what Pastor John always teaches us, the best commentary on scripture is the scripture itself, the answer itself, but who was King Herod at this time, King Herod was the king over Judea, but he was part of the Roman empire, and Caesar Augustus was the Roman empire at that time, and he was the one who set a census over the whole Roman empire, so where does this come about that Jesus was born in the year 4 before Christ, it's amazing how when Jesus was born he divided time, like a before and after, there is always a before and after, and if we go to your existence, there is a before and after in your life, even though if you since a little boy you were taught about Jesus and the church, but there is a specific point in time in which you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, and there is a before and after in your life, does everybody here have had this before and after, or are you still living in the before, and you need that something happen today, you know what, instead of bringing condemnation or saying that we are all saints right here, if you have doubts at this point in your life, if there is a before and after, and you think that you are still living in before and you are awaiting an after, after this day we are going to pray for you, and definitely there is going to be an after in your life, Amen, so what happens, where did this division came from, and actually let's go to the year 525, it says that there is a Latin phrase called Anno Domini, that translates in the year of the Lord, the difference between the pagan era and the Christ era, so there is the AD system was created by Dionysius Tixicus, I think that is the right pronunciation, he was a Scythian monk to help number Easter, so in the year 525, there is where we have this exact AD, have you read when we are reading history AD, the year 100 AD, it means Anno Domini, and also a lot of scientists around there also divide time, like with the letters BCE, before the current era, and that nowadays is the current era, because they don't want to admit that there is a before and after Christ in time, but basically we are talking about this, and maybe you may know more about all this history facts, but those who know me, I love fun facts and things that you can get into conversation to present Christ whenever in our daily life, from Monday to Saturday or any time in your life, so by this example we can see the need of humanity to seek that reason of existence in how things work and why, I always say also that if there is a question in your life that you want to ask the Lord, why is this happening, how does this work, instead of upsetting God or bringing His anger to you, definitely if you pray, He is going to answer, He is going to bring teachers, He is going to bring lectures, He is going to bring books, and that's amazing, you simply just, I encourage you to ask God if you have a lot of questions and He is going to bring answers, there is an example and I thought of this while preparing my notes, I am not a musician, but I know some songs, but sometimes if you hear a melody or an extract of a song, you can get into the song, you can start singing it and adapt to that specific time of the song, and I think that's called the tempo, I was asking to a musician, a worship team here, I asked her what's that called, that's the tempo, the time that it's set, the song and the velocity, I think that song is going on, so while I was thinking of this, because since creation, we were not born in the year, the next year that Adam was created, we were born, we are living in the year 2024, but when we know Christ, we definitely, that exact point when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are getting into that melody called creation and existence that God has created, so when we adapt, when we start to hearing His voice, it's an example of hearing a melody, and in that way, I'm thinking in Spanish and I'm translating to English, but in that way, we can get into that melody, amazing melody called creation and eternity of Jesus, how amazing is that, every time they would call me to church, some people is asking me, is it necessary to go to church every Sunday, is it necessary for me to be part of a group of believers, yes you need, not because that's a checklist to get, you need to be able to do it, if there's a checklist to get into heaven, no, in that way, when you are part of believers, you are nurturing yourself, the model that Christ showed us is growing with other believers, worshiping with other believers, right now in heaven, there are angels singing holy, holy, holy, there's a creation, there's a community, there's a lot of people, and I like this, one of the first books that I read, coming to Christ, and I encourage you to do it, if you feel motivated and you have a lot of questions today, is this book, a purpose driven life from the pastor Rick Warren, and the first two chapters, he answered a question in my heart, using scriptures, why did God create us, and I was thinking, why did God create us, why, and this question came into my mind, like trying to understand a lot of things, and sometimes these thoughts came like, it wouldn't be more easier, like, to God who created humanity, as a robot program, already programmed, and just like the flowers in their seasons, and everything is programmed how it's supposed to happen, why did God didn't create us that way, and just an answer came, because God created us, because He loved us, He didn't want us to be robots, He didn't want us programmed because He wanted us to have free will, and willingly come and be part of His family, so this answered, and it gave me so much peace, and it was so humbling, and so loving, the way that God showed me this, and not because Rick Warren said it, he just put scripture in there, and teach me that God created us, because He loved us, let's go to Luke chapter 24, verse 44 to 49, Luke chapter 24, verse 44 to 49, if you are following the notes, I think that it was Luke 22, but it's Luke 24, just make sure if you are in the new version that it's Luke 24, and this is Jesus speaking, and He said to them, this is what I told you while I was with you, everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms, then He opened their minds, so they could understand scripture, this amazed me, scripture says that then He opened their minds, so they could understand scripture, who here believes that scripture is a living book, it's not just literature, it's basically the most amazing literature piece in whole history, a lot of authors or writers, in different eras, different times, and giving the exact same ending, can we say ending? the exact same message that is Jesus through the whole scripture, verse 46 says, He told them, this is what is written, that Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, this is what is written, that Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance, hear this, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem, you are witnesses of these things, I am going to send you what my Father has promised, but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high, so this is one of the answers, what time are we living right now, and right now we are preaching, we are teaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem, also I am going to send you what my Father has promised, what was the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, and this year it is amazing how the Lord has been speaking a lot about Acts chapter 2 and the beginning of the church, and how they were filled with the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the presence of God living in us, doing by what, not by works, but just believing that He is. It was the belief when Jesus came to this earth, in Jerusalem specifically, we can have two currents of thoughts, or religious or even political parties, we have the Sadducees and the Pharisees, have you heard about the Sadducees and the Pharisees, we heard about them through the New Testament, and what does the Sadducees thought, they rejected doctrines such as resurrection, life after death, the existence of angels in the spiritual realm, they considered the written Torah to be the only source of divine authority, Torah is really the first 5 books that we have in our Bible, that is the Torah, that is the law, and then we have the Pharisees, and this is crazy because the Pharisees, we read about them in the New Testament, and they were the ones involved in the crucifixion of Jesus, and what does the Pharisees thought, they were opposed to the Sadducees, they believed in the resurrection of death, they believed in the coming of a Messiah that will bring the world peace, also that God punish the bad and compensate the good, they were legal experts and distinguished by their legal consciousness, so we can read of the Pharisees that they were very legalistic, and they had this train of thought and a lot of rules that even they cannot fulfill all the rules that they were each day creating, so they were expecting a Messiah, but the Messiah that they were expecting was a Messiah that will bring world peace as they thought it would be world peace, or victory, or this happening to his people, and Jesus approaches this, they were thinking, there are a lot of messages about this, that Jews were waiting for a different Messiah, or maybe in the figure of David, a warrior coming with war, or they expected something else, and this has happened not only in this time, but throughout human creation and human history, we are expecting that God move in the way that we want Him to move, and sometimes we forget that He is God and He is our Creator, who knows best, our Creator definitely. And if we go to Acts chapter 17, we can read about Paul being in Athens, and he is having this debate with Stoic and Epicurean philosophers or thinkers, and who are the Stoic ones, it's based on the idea that virtue is the only true good, and it's sufficient for happiness. Stoics believe that a simple, peaceful life is the most virtuous, and one should avoid powerful emotions or attachments. They thought of no life after death, and that this is everything. Right now we have a lot of people thinking that this is everything, people rejecting definitely the life that Jesus wanted to give them. Who are the Epicurean thinkers? They emphasize in pleasure, simplicity, that moderation as keys to happiness, and give pleasure to self. Last Sunday, Pastor Jose preached about a living sacrifice, and one of the things that stood more out of that message is that we need to die to ourselves, our own carnal and fleshy desires. So what are the train of thoughts or religions we can think of right now? Can you think of one of the most popular religions right now? Islam. Islam right now statistically is the most growing in a faster time religion throughout the whole world, and we are living it. We can see it, we can see Europe, we can see, we have here someone that went to Africa to preach to Muslims, and maybe she could give you more insight about how is to preach the Gospel to Muslims. And it caught my attention that Islam comes from the Abrahamic culture. So when Islam was created, when it started, it was in the 7th century in Arabia. They believed that the soul goes to the barzakh, a state of waiting until the day of judgment. On that day the soul will be resurrected and brought before Allah to be judged. The outcome of judgment will determine whether the soul goes to heaven or hell. That's basically in some points, I haven't studied more of Islam, but basically this is what they thought. And have you noticed that it's something similar, like Christianity in some way, but a different God, different people, and caught my attention that this doctrine or religion was starting in the 7th century and coming from a human that definitely is still in a peace and haven't resurrected. We have the Hinduism, they believe in a universe of God, and that the universe is God, and that each person is divine. They also believe that the purpose of life is to realize the divinity within oneself. Like the Epicurean thinkers, oneself, like the self, thinking that I'm a God. Buddhism, it was originated 2500 years ago in India. Buddhists believe in the reincarnation of the soul and that by following the teachings of Buddha, or Dharma, the people can reach the enlightened statement called Nirvana and stop the cycle of reincarnation. What does the Bible tell us? And this is the first scripture I ask with prayer in this message. The first scripture that comes to my mind is in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 13 to 14. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 13 to 14 says, Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of pitching and by cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. In Acts chapter 17 we see Paul, going back to Acts chapter 17, we see that Paul was preaching and having these debates. Now this doesn't have to offend you if someone asks a reason of your faith. Scripture tells us to give an answer to them. Why do we believe in what we believe? And if you read Acts, this is a lifestyle. They were having debates, but they were filled with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. We can see Paul, even he was called to the Aeropagos and he had the opportunity to preach to the Athenians there. Even he approached their culture and said, I've seen that you are very religious and you even have a God that is with no name. And then that opened him away into preaching the real God, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When he did that, some people added to be followers, to be disciples of Jesus and some others just tossed and said, no, that's not, we'll keep thinking our own thoughts and our own beliefs. So there are two things that the Lord has placed in the existence of mankind. Do you know what's that? Even if you're a believer or non-believer, there are two things that God has placed in the existence of mankind. First is a sense of eternity. Let's go to Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 10 to 11. It says, I have seen the burden God has laid on human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart. Just no one can fathom what God has done from the beginning to the end. We read last Sunday also about Job and the way that God answered him, where were you when I created basically the earth? The second thing that God has placed in the human, in the creation, is the moral law of God. The moral law of God. How can you explain to me how do people in Asia or different countries or even in an island, I don't know, I was thinking of the name of a very far island, but imagine a very far island, how does people there know that it's bad to kill someone? How do they know that it's bad to rob? Because there is a moral law of God written in their hearts. And even where in the Bible it says that. Let's go to Jeremiah chapter 41, verse 33. It says, this is the covenant I will make to the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. Amen. We can see also that the laws, the judicial, how do we say, the constitutions, even the creation in the beginning of the United States of America, it was based on the Bible, on the law. And it's amazing how nowadays we have law systems through the whole world that are very similar and the base is the moral law of God. We can see a basic timeline and this could get us like a lot of, maybe a month, a year to study. But here's a small timeline that I created. There's creation, we see that creation happened around 4000 years ago. There was created Adam and we have in scripture that there's the Old Testament up to Jesus, the Messiah came to this earth. And right now I want to call it the building church. We were singing like the bride waiting for the groom. We are a church waiting for you. That's the time that we are living right now. There's going to be a time at which there's going to be a rapture of the church. There's going to be tribulation. There's going to be the return of Christ. There's going to be the millennium. There's going to be the great white throne and there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. When we bring these messages to people, the first thing, or maybe saying the word rapture, it's like, there's like the people are getting like nervous, or what's happening and I'm going to stay, is Jesus going to call me? I want to give this key verse to you. 1 John chapter 4 verse 17 to 18 says, It is how love is made complete among us, that we will have confidence on the day of judgment. In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. This is a very profound scripture. When I was a little kid, when I was afraid of something, my mom always told me, I'm going to say it in Spanish, El perfecto amor echa fuera todo el temor. That encouraged me, but basically here the writer of this is telling me that when we are preaching or teaching about the return of Christ and eternity and that there's going to be a judgment day, we don't need to be, we don't need to fear. We definitely don't need to fear because we need to be perfect in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. What does the scripture say about the rapture? And I'm going to read this very, very, very fast. As I said, we can do a lot of sermons about this. But the first letter to the Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13 to 17 says, this is Paul writing to them and says, Brothers and sisters, we don't want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. That's the hope that we have. According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we are still alive who are left until the coming of the Lord. We certainly will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel and in the trumpet call of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive, our left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. That's amazing. That's an expression, that's an Aramaic expression called Maranatha. That this means Jesus come. There's going to be a time of tribulation in Matthew chapter 24 verse 21 says, For then there will be great distress, unequal from the beginning of the world unto now, and never be equal again. And this aligns with Daniel chapter 12 verse 1 says, And at that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations unto then. But at that time your people, everyone whose name is found written in the book, will be delivered. Amen. The return of Christ, John chapter 14 verse 1 to 4. I'm going to read very fast because I want to read one more scripture. It says, Do not let your hearts be troubled. Remember what we read before? Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. My Father's house has many rooms. If that were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. That's the hope that we have. This is very interesting. And the book of Revelation has a lot of nutshells, a lot of interesting facts, a lot of history there for what is called to happen. And this is called a scatology. If you're interested in this, you can study more about scatology. And there's going to be a millennium, a thousand years in Revelation chapter 20 verse 3 says, He threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed over him to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. Have you ever heard of the great white throne? There's going to be a great white throne. It says in Revelation 20 verse 11 to 13 says, Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And the books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. And the sea gave the dead that were in it, and the Aedes gave up the dead that were in them. And each person was judged according to what they had done. This is speaking to the people that didn't know Christ, didn't die knowing the gospel. There's going to be a judgment day. But instead, Scripture is encouraging us to be fearful, to be desperate. His loving Scripture is telling us to not be burdened over this. We need to be perfected in love. We need to be perfected in him. And that's the hope that we have. There's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. You can read more in Revelation 21. Verse 4 says, He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. What should I do now? As we read in Luke chapter 24, repentance. We need to preach the repentance for forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations. That's what we're called to do. We have the Great Commission. In John chapter 16, verse 33 says, I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world. The worship team may come to the altar. And I want to close with this Scripture. This is the way that the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul calls it in this way. In chapter 16 says, I, Paul, write these greetings in my own hand. If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed. Come, Lord. We can change this come, Lord, with a Ramaic expression, Maranatha. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen. So the title that I would change for this message is Maranatha. Just Jesus come. Jesus come. And that's the hope that it's in Jesus. And let me pray for you. As I said before, instead of bringing judgment, instead of bringing condemnation, think yourself today if there's a before and after in your life. Maybe you have been born and raised in a church, and maybe you are having questions if you have known Christ. If you are doubting this, I invite you to please pray with your whole heart this day that there's a before and after in your life from this day on. That you may remember this Sunday, not for who was preaching or the church that you were in, but the day that you gave wholeheartedly your life to Jesus Christ. If someone is desperate tonight, and I know that most of you guys have been in ministry during years, but if someone needs to return to their first love this day, this is the day that the Lord has made. So let me pray for you. Let's pray together to the Lord. Lord, thank you. Thank you, Abba. Thank you, Father, for that promise that you have given us. That one day we will be raised from the dead. And even right now, Lord, thank you because you have given us a new life. Not our will, but your will in our lives, Lord. Father, I pray that your presence may fill each and every one of us here in this auditorium, Lord. Return us to Acts 2. In chapter 2, we can read the born of the early church, Father. They were filled with the Holy Spirit, Lord. And you open the understanding of Scripture to everyone here, Lord. Father, I pray that someone is having doubts. If he is having an eternity with you, Lord, not that they belong desperately with me, Father. If they are chained or they are captive in different areas of their lives, Father, my prayer today is, Lord, that they may find freedom in the name of Jesus Christ. Father, if they are having a sinful life, if they are having chains, consumption of narcotics, alcohol, pornography, Father, or even lying or even having this sinful life, Father, I pray that from the Lord, Father, your word tells us that to be holy because you are Holy, Lord. I pray that your love that covers multitudes of sins may be revealed to each one of us in this life, Lord. Maranatha, Jesus, come, Lord, and we wait for you. Thank you, Lord, for this day, and that your name would be glorified before the whole nation through the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you for listening to this week's podcast. If you are ever in the Tegucigalpa area and looking for an English-speaking congregation, please join us on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. in the main auditorium of the Glacius CCI in Colonial Trepici, at South Boulevard, Cuyapa, near Una. If you would like prayer or more information about our church, contact us at fellowships.cci at gmail.com. That's fellowships.cci at gmail.com. Or follow us on social media. We hope to see you or hear from you soon. God bless you.