The End Times // Midweek Bible Study // Bishop Butler

Paul names the time. By the Spirit, 2 Timothy 3 says the “last days” began with Acts 2, the outpouring promised by Joel, and this whole stretch has been the church age where the Comforter runs point. Yet Scripture also sketches the very end of that span as “the end of days.” Timothy’s “perilous” signals reduced strength, not because the Holy Ghost is weak, but because the church starves itself of the Word and slides into apostasy. Jesus then takes the floor in Matthew 24. The Mount of Olives question is about “the end of the age,” and Luke 21 marks the timing: the times of the Gentiles end when Jerusalem is no longer trampled. That shifted in 1967. Start the clock. The fig tree parable tells anyone with eyes that leaves mean summer is near. Anyone who can read the leaves ought to know the season.

Jesus sets the first sign on the table: massive deception. Isaiah 5 already warned of a culture that flips moral poles, calling evil good and good evil. Paul ties the culmination to a falling away that opens the door for the man of sin to be revealed. The reduced strength is traced to 2 Timothy 4: pulpits swapping the meat of the Word for itching-ears comfort, a “psychology gospel” that majors on feelings and minors on faith, hope, love, and in Christ truths. Jesus also names what fills the air: wars and rumors, with information now everywhere. Ethnos rises against ethnos, basileia against basileia. World wars were not the finish, but the contractions. Famines follow conflict. Pestilence goes global, not local. Diseases thought buried reappear with teeth. Earthquakes shake in many places. These are the beginning of sorrows, labor pains building to the blessed event.

Persecution spreads wide. Large swaths of the globe press Christians hard, especially across Asia and North Africa. The composite effect is worldwide instability and the fertile field for false prophets. Scoffers mock the delay, but Peter answers that God counts days differently and James explains the delay: the Husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, early and latter rain. The door stays open because the Father wants all to come to repentance.

So Jesus keeps the assignment simple. Mark 16 sends the church to preach so people can hear, because without hearing there is no believing. Matthew 28 commands making disciples of the ethnos, baptizing, and teaching believers to “observe” by guarding their eyes with the Word, not the crowd. No one knows the day or hour, but the leaves are on the tree. The rapture is near. Therefore holiness is not optional, and calling is not decorative. Good ground lives clean and does the assignment.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The last days mean reduced strength [03:20] Reduced strength does not indict the Spirit, it indicts a church running on thin Scripture and thick self-comfort. When pulpits trade doctrine for vibes, saints lose stamina and discernment. Returning to the Word restores capacity, clarity, and courage in a deceptive hour. Strength rises where truth is preached and received. [03:20]
• 2. Jerusalem reset the prophetic clock [10:49] Jesus tied the “times of the Gentiles” to Jerusalem’s status, and 1967 marked a turn that Scripture said would signal the season. The fig tree’s leaves are not trivia, they are timing. Reading history through that lens sobers the soul and shortens priorities to what matters eternally. Urgency is not panic, it is obedience on schedule. [10:49]
• 3. Deception deepens before revelation [17:03] Jesus warned of seduction, Isaiah named moral inversion, and Paul foresaw a church drift that clears space for the man of sin. The most dangerous lies come wrapped in anointing language and therapeutic tone. Anchoring conscience to Scripture, not sensation, is how a believer refuses the slow wander from safety to fantasy. [17:03]
• 4. Sorrows swell toward a birth [05:26] Wars, famines, pestilence, and earthquakes are not random spikes, they are contractions that grow closer and sharper. The pattern is mercy, because labor announces a birth and gives time to prepare. Reading the pains rightly produces holy fear without terror, steady hope without denial, and readiness that looks like repentance. [05:26]
• 5. Preach so people can hear [48:01] Faith’s chain begins with hearing, so silence is complicity in unbelief. The Great Commission is not crowd work, it is seed work, and God holds sowers accountable for clear proclamation. Telling the truth in love risks rejection, but it opens the only door where repentance and new birth can actually happen. [48:01]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:11] - Framing the last days
• [00:55] - Acts 2 and the church age
• [02:43] - Perilous times: reduced strength
• [04:52] - Labor pains toward the birth
• [09:45] - Times of the Gentiles completed
• [10:49] - Fig tree: knowing the season
• [13:21] - First sign: massive deception
• [16:04] - Apostasy and the man of sin
• [18:59] - Itching ears and psychology gospel
• [23:44] - Wars, famines, pestilence, earthquakes
• [36:16] - Global persecution of Christians
• [43:27] - Why God waits: precious fruit
• [48:01] - Preach and make steadfast disciples
• [51:02] - Leaves on the tree, rapture near

Bible Reading
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)
"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness but denying its power. Avoid such people."

Matthew 24:4-14 (ESV)
"And Jesus answered them, 'See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, "I am the Christ," and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.'"

Luke 21:24-28 (ESV)
"They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

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Observation Questions

1. What specific signs does Jesus list in Matthew 24:4-14 as indicators of the "beginning of birth pains" before the end?
2. According to Luke 21:24, what event marks the completion of the "times of the Gentiles," and how does this relate to Jerusalem? [10:49]
3. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, what attitudes and behaviors characterize the "last days," and how do they contrast with genuine godliness?

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Interpretation Questions

1. Why does Jesus emphasize deception as the first sign of the end times in Matthew 24:4-5, and how does this connect to Isaiah 5:20’s warning about moral inversion? [17:03]
2. How does the parable of the fig tree (Luke 21:29-31) help believers discern the season of Christ’s return, and why is Jerusalem’s restoration in 1967 significant to this imagery? [10:49]
3. What does Paul mean by "reduced strength" in the church (2 Timothy 3:1-5), and how does this relate to modern challenges like prioritizing comfort over truth? [03:20]

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Application Questions

1. How can you actively guard against deception in your daily life—whether through media, relationships, or teaching—by anchoring yourself to Scripture? [17:03]
2. The sermon highlights that "urgency is not panic, it is obedience on schedule." What practical steps can you take to prioritize eternal priorities (e.g., evangelism, discipleship) over temporary distractions? [10:49]
3. In a culture that often prioritizes feelings over truth, how can you intentionally seek out and support teaching that emphasizes "faith, hope, love, and in-Christ truths" rather than comfort? [03:20]
4. The parable of the fig tree calls believers to "read the leaves" of current events. How can you cultivate a habit of viewing global instability (wars, pandemics, persecution) through a biblical lens without fear? [05:26]
5. Jesus commands believers to "preach so people can hear" (Mark 16:15). Who in your life needs to hear the gospel, and what is one specific way you can share it with clarity and love this week? [48:01]
6. How can you intentionally "observe" Christ’s commands (Matthew 28:20) by guarding your heart and actions against cultural compromise? What areas need repentance or renewed focus?