1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:05,640 Hello and welcome to the Church Newtown Square podcast. 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:10,680 If we can serve you in any way or if you'd like to learn more 3 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:15,280 about our church family or the Acts 29 network, please visit us 4 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:23,240 at church nsq.org. That's CHVRCHNS q.org. 5 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:26,280 And now let's listen in to today's teaching. 6 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:30,160 In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus gives a warning, do not be LED 7 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:34,120 astray. And this is pretty much the the 8 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,760 thrust of the entirety of the Olivet Discourse. 9 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,880 It is be prepared and also prepare others for what I'm 10 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:44,520 warning you to to do. Ji Packer, if any of you are 11 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:47,240 familiar with him, in his book Concise Theology says that 12 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:52,440 theology, which is the study of God, is meant to lead us to 13 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:54,560 doxology, which is the praise of God. 14 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:57,880 What we're doing as we're looking at this, we're doing 15 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,680 what's called eschatology. We're studying the eschaton, the 16 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:03,920 last things. That's the Greek word eschatos. 17 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:09,040 It's it's last things. I was eschatos in my class when 18 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:11,200 I graduated. I did not have a very good GPA, 19 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:12,280 Right? You might use that. 20 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:16,280 That's not true. Close, but not true, not totally 21 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:19,320 true. So what I want to encourage us 22 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:22,320 is that what we're doing is when we're studying these things, 23 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:24,560 we're doing this this morning, that would lead our hearts to 24 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,680 worship that it would give us a great steadiness, it would give 25 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:32,360 us faithfulness. It's so often the focus when you 26 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:35,840 study the end times, the last things, it is good that you 27 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:37,240 study. Those things are in there for a 28 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:42,560 reason, but the focus on timing and stages tends to be something 29 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,520 that is overemphasized. And we forget the whole reason 30 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:49,240 for which we study it, which is that we would have great 31 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,880 confidence in the promises of God, that our that our hearts 32 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,240 would be rooted in the faithfulness of God, that it 33 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,160 would increase our love for God. Because when God says things 34 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,360 will happen and they happen, then we look back and say, well, 35 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,520 if he said that will happen and it does, then I can look forward 36 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,200 to the greatest thing that I'm hoping for, which is life 37 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,560 eternal. And so as we continue to listen 38 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:12,880 to the Lord's words here and his warnings, I hope that you are 39 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:18,760 encouraged by knowing that he tells us these things because 40 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:22,040 they are for our good and for his glory. 41 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:26,600 Jesus cares immensely for his church parents. 42 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,400 We don't warn our children because we just want to sound, 43 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:31,240 you know, kind of mean and curmudgeon Y. 44 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,600 We warn them don't touch that because we don't want them to be 45 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,880 hurt. If Jesus didn't care for us, he 46 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:39,880 wouldn't be warning us and he wouldn't be warning these 47 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,280 disciples or telling them or us these things. 48 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:46,240 And so if you're going to summarize the heart behind this 49 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,800 entire passage, this this next section in verses one through 50 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:54,040 28, I would I would label it like this, that that Christ has 51 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:59,240 a great care and concern for his church is great care and concern 52 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,440 for you. But three specific things I hope 53 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:04,880 I want you to see as we move through this, the rest of this 54 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,480 text or this first half of this, all of the discourses is one 55 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,880 that we see that the warnings of God cause us to be careful. 56 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:14,560 He wouldn't warn us if he weren't to be careful too, that 57 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,480 the Providence of God, his hand in all of history causes us to 58 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:20,920 be courageous. We can be courageous because we 59 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:23,800 know that he is providential in all things. 60 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:26,520 And finally, the clarity of God gives us great confidence. 61 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:32,880 And so if you remember in verse 1 of chapter 24, Jesus is 62 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:35,640 leaving the temple and the disciples are still in all the 63 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:37,440 temple. They are looking at that that 64 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:39,720 the temple. And to them it looked permanent. 65 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,520 This was the visible center of God's presence, Israel's 66 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,560 worship, and it was a religious order that seemed unshakable. 67 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,560 It was not going anywhere. But Jesus says this is all going 68 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:54,680 to be destroyed now if the temple falls, if the temple 69 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,520 falls, surely the end can't be far behind. 70 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,320 So what would the temples destruction mean for them? 71 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:02,560 They're like, what does that mean for us? 72 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:04,520 What does that mean for Israel? What does that mean for 73 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,000 Jerusalem? Why tear down the temple? 74 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,000 Why tear down the temple? Well, certainly Jesus says in 75 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:16,040 verses 37 through 39 he he alludes to the fact that it was 76 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,440 for judgment. Judgment is coming, and 77 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:23,200 certainly it was for that, and it was also for the unbelief and 78 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,280 the covenant unfaithfulness of the leadership. 79 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:29,080 But even that judgement serves a larger purpose. 80 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,040 It's not just about like destroying the temple because 81 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:36,280 God's angry. It's it's his redemptive mercy 82 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,240 towards them and towards us. The temple fulfilled its role. 83 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:42,760 It did what it was supposed to do it. 84 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:46,280 It was a type and a shadow pointing to the real thing. 85 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:49,400 The writer of Hebrews says that all of these are shadows 86 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:52,600 pointing to the one who would come, which is Christ himself. 87 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:56,880 And once Christ had come and once he offers himself and once 88 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:02,840 he rises again and once he continues live and to build his 89 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:05,800 temple clinging to something that was no longer needed makes 90 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,000 no sense, right. A lot of us want to we need to 91 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:09,680 pare down some things. Spring cleaning. 92 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:11,040 Have any of you done spring cleaning? 93 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:13,240 You have a hard time throwing things away. 94 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:15,920 My my in laws are are downsizing. 95 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:21,080 And some of you can, you know, commiserate with me on this is 96 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:23,560 that, you know, you're you're your mother-in-law. 97 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:25,520 You're holding. She was like, no, no, throw this 98 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:27,400 away. I don't want to throw it away. 99 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:28,600 You got to throw it. Let go. 100 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,440 Take your claws off that we hold on to things that we don't need 101 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:32,880 anymore. It wasn't really like that. 102 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:34,760 Where's Danae? She's she's, it wasn't like 103 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:35,960 that. I promise it wasn't like that. 104 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:37,840 I treat my mother-in-law with great respect. 105 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:40,080 I wait till she leaves, then I throw it away. 106 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:46,520 What what God is doing in destroying the temple is both in 107 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:51,200 his mercy and his justice removing He took away what had 108 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:54,280 become for them an obstacle to faith in Christ. 109 00:05:54,280 --> 00:05:56,720 And in doing so he makes clear that his dwelling place is no 110 00:05:56,720 --> 00:06:02,520 longer now fixed in one place, but it is where all over the 111 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:04,200 temple of God is the people of God. 112 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,680 And so no longer are they able to look and say, Hey, here's 113 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,680 where God dwells. He wants them to look and say 114 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:15,080 the temple of the living God is now among a greater people. 115 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:19,640 It is an expansionist. He's making the place bigger to 116 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:21,520 fit more people. We're going to adopt all these 117 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:24,280 kids. We got to build a bigger house, 118 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:27,920 right? So he tears down the temple so 119 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:29,480 that the temple might be expanded. 120 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:32,120 And the temple is in the people of God. 121 00:06:32,840 --> 00:06:36,800 The church is now the temple of the living God, and it's built 122 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:39,280 of living stones, as Peter says, indwelt by the Spirit. 123 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,280 Now what this is not, as some might say and argue, is a 124 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:48,680 cancellation of Israel. It's not their cancel, but their 125 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,200 expansion. He's expanding, right? 126 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:54,040 Jew and Gentile. He's tacking on to the people of 127 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:56,280 God. And so God tore down the old 128 00:06:56,280 --> 00:07:00,880 order because his promises had not failed. 129 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:02,720 They had actually been fulfilled in Christ. 130 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:04,200 He had done what he said he would do. 131 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:05,920 He said all the nations are going to be blessed. 132 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:08,560 And so now he's, he's building an expansion. 133 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:10,960 And so the disciples asked 2 questions. 134 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:12,680 There's two questions posed to Jesus. 135 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:14,960 When Jesus says, see all this, it's going to get torn down. 136 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:18,480 They're like, wait a minute, what? 137 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:20,480 When is this going to happen? When will the temple be 138 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:23,120 destroyed? And what will be the signs of 139 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:24,880 the end of the age and of your coming? 140 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:27,960 And Jesus answers those questions, and he gives his 141 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,080 disciples markers and warnings. And what makes this passage 142 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,360 difficult for some is because you have to sort out exactly 143 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:36,120 which question Jesus is answering. 144 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:40,560 It's not impossible because when we read Matthew, Mark and Luke, 145 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,400 if we read parallel passage, we can piece together a few things 146 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,400 that all of this discourse is recorded in those gospels. 147 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:48,960 And when we read them together, it kind of helps us flesh this 148 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,280 out, but it helps us to remember. 11 Apologetic note. 149 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:54,440 How do we believe the scriptures? 150 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,200 Well, one of the things is that these three gospels, Matthew, 151 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,480 Mark, Luke and John, not John, Matthew, Mark and Luke, the 152 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,160 synoptic gospels were written before 70 AD. 153 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,480 They were written before probably mid 60s. 154 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,680 Mark was the earliest. Matthew borrowed from Mark, Luke 155 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,200 borrowed from Matthew and Mark. But all of them, most people 156 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,800 agree that they were written by mid 60s, which means that all 157 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,920 that is foretold here is not looking back and be like they're 158 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:20,600 not. They're not re envisioning 159 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:22,680 history. They're saying, no, this is what 160 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:24,680 we recorded. We wrote it down. 161 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:28,320 And lo and behold, within a few years, this actually came true, 162 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,159 to which we have great confidence knowing that they're 163 00:08:32,159 --> 00:08:34,520 writing things down, that they're not rewriting history 164 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:36,480 and saying, oh, this happened, so we got to write it. 165 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:38,000 They're like, no, this is what was reported. 166 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:44,520 Oh, and it came true. And so Jesus answers their 167 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:46,200 questions. Look at verse 4. 168 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:49,600 Jesus answers them. See that no one leads you 169 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:53,360 astray. Jesus is hard, He answers them. 170 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:57,480 His main concern is not he's not trying to explain the future he 171 00:08:57,560 --> 00:09:01,720 which he will, but his heart is. I want you not to be LED astray. 172 00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:05,000 He loves his his sheep. He answers them. 173 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:08,880 His concern is a hard concern. He loves his sheep, He loves 174 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:10,520 these disciples, He loves his church. 175 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:12,600 He does not want them to be LED astray. 176 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:14,240 Why? Because when we're LED astray 177 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:18,560 from Christ, are we LED from death or to life in Christ's 178 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:22,000 life apart from Christ's life? So to be LED astray from Christ 179 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:27,080 is to be LED astray from life. His heart is that they would 180 00:09:27,560 --> 00:09:30,240 hold fast to him. And in verse 4, that's the first 181 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:32,800 thing I want you to know is that the warnings of God caused us to 182 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:36,040 be careful. Be careful, church, be careful. 183 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:39,560 Jesus says, see that no one leads you astray. 184 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:42,040 Because in verse 5, he said there will be many people who 185 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,640 have, will be LED astray. They'll say that I'm the Savior. 186 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,160 You could probably list at least two or three cults you know of 187 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,240 in history, right? We use this term, Hey, I don't, 188 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:52,520 I'm not drinking the kool-aid anymore. 189 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:54,000 Does anybody remember where that came from? 190 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,200 There was a guy that led a bunch of people to believe that he was 191 00:09:57,200 --> 00:09:58,920 a Messiah. They went over to Africa and 192 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:00,720 they all committed mass suicide by drinking. 193 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:07,160 Guess what kool-aid? He says when you hear wars and 194 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:08,960 rumors of wars, see that you're not alarmed. 195 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,360 You say don't be alarmed when you hear all of these things in 196 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:14,560 verse 6. All of these things must happen, 197 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:18,960 but the end is not yet. In a sense. 198 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,440 It says these there's going to be signs that feel like signs, 199 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:23,120 but they're not signs at the end of the age. 200 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:27,040 It says don't be LED astray. Don't be alarmed verse 8, do not 201 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:28,440 be alarmed when they deliver you. 202 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:30,520 Do not be alarmed when you are hated. 203 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,800 Don't do not be alarmed when you see many fall away when they 204 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:35,640 betray one. Do not be alarmed when many 205 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:37,480 false prophets arise. Do not be alarmed. 206 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:40,760 Do not be alarmed when lawlessness and the lack of love 207 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:44,840 arises. But verse 13, if you endure 208 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:47,920 through to the end, guys, you shall be saved. 209 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:51,400 And so the one of the questions that we have to ask here is OK, 210 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:53,920 what is the end that Jesus is talking about? 211 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:57,160 The end is the end of these tribulations. 212 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,880 If you live through these hardship guys, you'll be safe if 213 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:02,480 you hold on to me. That's the basic truth of the 214 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:04,920 gospel. We don't look to anything else 215 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,680 but Christ. That's that's the simplicity of 216 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:10,120 the gospel. The gospel is not, hey, your 217 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:12,800 church attendance plus your faith in Christ matters. 218 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:18,160 No, some of you would fail your kind words to your neighbor, 219 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,760 your patience with your kids. Man, we are, we are toast. 220 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:27,400 Aren't you glad that there isn't things added to look to Christ 221 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:34,520 and you shall be saved. John 14 Jesus says let not your 222 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:36,920 hearts be troubled, don't let them be agitated. 223 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:40,120 He says believe in God, believe in me, I and the Father are one. 224 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:45,400 When things happen in the world and our hearts are agitated for 225 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:48,720 trouble, troubling things happen to us in life. 226 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,080 And that there's nothing more troubling than death, is there? 227 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:56,160 We can be troubled by the loss of a job, lack of finances, but 228 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:59,760 death is something that troubles us the most, isn't it? 229 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:07,560 And all of us face down Death, trouble and tribulation does not 230 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:12,920 mean that God is not with us. He says It's not a sign that God 231 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:17,080 has removed his hand. In fact, the destruction of the 232 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:19,880 temple is not signs that God has removed his hand. 233 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,520 It's that God is actually doing what he said he would do. 234 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:27,560 And so join in, Jesus teaches that these things that are 235 00:12:27,560 --> 00:12:32,200 coming are to prepare us, be prepared for what's going to 236 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:35,000 happen, not panic. Don't panic. 237 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,600 For many Christians around the world, in places like Nigeria, 238 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:46,240 like Congo, places like Somalia, these words are not theoretical. 239 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:53,320 When when militants come into a church building, round everybody 240 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:57,520 out and just systematically fire guns at them, set their places 241 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,600 on fire, this is not theoretical for those who live in those 242 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:07,600 countries, is it? But Jesus teaches us that. 243 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:11,560 Yet even there, when suffering is present, that is not a sign 244 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:14,000 that God has abandoned his church. 245 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:19,480 It's part of the path by which he keeps his people and where he 246 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:23,400 leads them to glory. Look at verse 14, the promise. 247 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:26,840 This is an encouragement. It's not an if. 248 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:31,120 Look what it says. And this gospel of the Kingdom 249 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:35,720 will be not might be not maybe will be proclaimed the good news 250 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:38,840 the the mission will be accomplished, boys. 251 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:44,240 The church will not fail. I will not fail in reconciling 252 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:46,960 many back to the Lord. And that's good news, isn't it? 253 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,120 Wouldn't you like to know that like hey, guaranteed 254 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,880 championship for insert your favorite team here. 255 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,680 And we all know that our favorite teams are the Flyers, 256 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:59,760 the Union, the Eagles, the Sixers and the Phillies. 257 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:01,320 Are we all all on board with that? 258 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:03,200 For the rest of you, there's grace. 259 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:05,960 You're welcome to worship with us. 260 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:12,760 A guarantee of a championship, guarantee of success. 261 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:14,160 A guarantee. That's what Jesus says. 262 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:15,720 Like, yeah, I've, I've won the day. 263 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:17,400 And that's what the resurrection does. 264 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,360 Jesus emerges from the grave, and that's the sign and seal 265 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:24,600 that God has accepted. So it's no big deal whether Paul 266 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:26,800 says I live or I die, I go to be with Christ. 267 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:28,080 I win. We win. 268 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:32,360 We win because Christ has won. We don't win because of anything 269 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:35,760 we've done, but this gospel, this good news that we can be 270 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:39,280 reconciled back to our Father, our Creator, it will be 271 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:41,200 proclaimed. And so that's a comforting 272 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:44,320 thought. But look what he says. 273 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:47,680 He says this gospel will be proclaimed and then what? 274 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:52,000 And then the end will come, right? 275 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:55,360 Then the end comes. There's a distinct timeline 276 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:57,800 here. There's an A and AB you, you've 277 00:14:57,800 --> 00:14:59,520 all have done geometry, right? A&B. 278 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:02,680 You know that there's a point A point B, and in between that 279 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:08,320 point is a line, right? And so we are currently living 280 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:10,920 in what's called the middle. Jesus says there's two points, 281 00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:13,080 boys. There's the destruction of the 282 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:15,680 city and then there's the end of the age. 283 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:17,440 Those are the two questions that they asked him. 284 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:21,040 One might argue that in the grander story we're actually 285 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:24,800 living in, it's Point C You know, the end is Point C Point A 286 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:27,680 is the beginning of the story which happened where in Genesis 287 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:31,920 God began this work in the moment we fell. 288 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:36,720 Point B is the middle point of the resurrection to Point C is 289 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,760 the end of the age. There's there is a timeline here 290 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,240 reflecting on the chaos of his day as we're thinking about what 291 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:46,680 it's like to live in this day and age. 292 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:50,520 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, if you're ever familiar for familiar with 293 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:54,520 him, he was a pastor in World War 2, Germany and leading up 294 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:58,600 into the days of World War Two, he was reflecting on the chaos 295 00:15:58,600 --> 00:15:59,680 of his day. And he said this. 296 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,120 He said humankind no longer lives in the beginning. 297 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:05,440 Instead it has lost the beginning. 298 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,560 Now it finds itself in the middle, knowing neither the end 299 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:10,640 nor the beginning and yet knowing that it is in the 300 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:12,480 middle. He was seeing things that were 301 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:16,520 so mind boggling to him that Germany had left its Christian 302 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:21,960 moorings and he was like, have we forgotten where we came from? 303 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,720 Created by God to live for God. And now no one knows what will 304 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,760 happen with Nazi Germany. Well, we all know what happened 305 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,680 with Nazi Germany. It rose and it fell and other 306 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:34,680 kingdoms rose and fell. Other kingdoms are rising and 307 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:36,720 falling, but yet the end has not come, has it? 308 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,440 And so therefore we are living in the middle, seeing these 309 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:43,040 things. He believed that modern people 310 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:46,320 had become so unmoored from their true beginning, so 311 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,040 uncertain about where their history lies. 312 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:52,200 Your neighbors are uncertain to where history is headed. 313 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:57,400 We're either in existential threat from the world just being 314 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:01,680 too hot, to which just 20 years ago we were fearful that it was 315 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:04,160 going to be too cold and then it was too hot. 316 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:05,760 It's just like living with your grandparents. 317 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:07,319 Too hot, too cold, too hot, too cold. 318 00:17:08,079 --> 00:17:11,960 I'm sorry, not grandparents. Some of us in here, it's too 319 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,240 hot, too cold. So how do we live in the middle? 320 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:19,520 That's what Jesus is saying. How how do we as a church live 321 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,560 in these days when we are moving towards the end of the age? 322 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:25,359 And Christ cares how we live in the middle. 323 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:28,480 He cares how these disciples, they're going to experience and 324 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:32,440 did experience all of these things that he he shared with 325 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:34,960 them. We live in the middle with 326 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:40,000 Christ by hearing what it is that his promises are and we 327 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,720 respond in faith and in hope and in prayer and obedience. 328 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:47,520 Now, admittedly, I'm what what we're about to go through, we're 329 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:51,680 going to, we're going to work through Christ's warnings and 330 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,760 there's all sorts of debate of what happens on the line 331 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:59,520 between, you know, point A and point B Point B being the end of 332 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:03,320 the age and point A when Jesus establishes his church. 333 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:05,720 And then we move forward. There's all sorts of debate and 334 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:08,120 it's fine to debate those things. 335 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:12,600 But what I want us to focus on is the important heart issues 336 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:18,720 that we would focus on what Jesus says we need to know, and 337 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:23,400 that would be primary. And so if Jesus is saying, look, 338 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:26,120 guys, the destruction of the temple is not the end of the 339 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:27,840 age. All of these things are going to 340 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:31,440 happen, but the end is not yet. That's verses one through 14. 341 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,840 Now what will happen is he'll answer the second question. 342 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:38,040 All right? So verses 4 through 14 have 343 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:39,600 been, in a sense, kind of a digression. 344 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,480 Jesus addresses the first one. He says, here's what you're not 345 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:46,640 to be fearful of. It's not the end of the age. 346 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:51,200 It's not the signs of the end. It's not over yet, but be 347 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,280 careful. Be careful. 348 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,240 Then in verses 15 through 22, what he's going to do is he's 349 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:01,160 going to describe the crisis which is soon going to come upon 350 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:02,440 Judea. He's going to start giving them 351 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:04,280 the sign. He's like, look, the destruction 352 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:06,160 of the temple's going to happen, but you're going to start to see 353 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:09,280 some things. And I want you to be courageous. 354 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,160 And then in verses 23 through 28, he's going to give them 355 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,160 further warnings about being kind of like jumping the gun 356 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,480 again. He's warning them to guys, the 357 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,720 end is not yet. But I will give you clarity on 358 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:26,480 the end. The end will be obvious, but be 359 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:31,400 confident in your work. All right, So look at verse 15. 360 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:35,480 The Jesus says all right guys, so the destruction of the temple 361 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:37,280 is coming. Don't be alarmed. 362 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:39,160 There's going to be people, false Christs. 363 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:41,880 They're going to be all sorts of persecution, but the end is not 364 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:44,720 yet. Now he's going to shift towards 365 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:48,040 answering. Here's the sign of things to 366 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:53,240 come when you see the abomination of desolation and he 367 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:58,720 refers back to Daniel, which is a a similar account of what 368 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:00,840 Daniel was saying in the future would come. 369 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:04,400 Standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. 370 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,040 That's a little parentheses right there. 371 00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:09,760 Jesus says that when you see the abomination of desolation spoken 372 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:14,000 of by the prophet Daniel, then understand that's a little 373 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,200 paraphrase that's added. Actually, that's Matthew. 374 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:18,520 Luke does the same thing. He writes a little note. 375 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:20,120 He's like, hey, you need to understand this. 376 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:22,120 What does that mean? Basically what he's saying is 377 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:25,000 like, hey, if you've read the book of Daniel, you kind of, 378 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:27,800 you've seen this phrase before. You should understand that the 379 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:29,760 similar circumstance is going to happen. 380 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:31,800 OK. You would understand that if 381 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,840 you're Jewish, not if you were kind of like, I don't, I've 382 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,080 never read the book. An early Christian who is not 383 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:39,600 Jewish would not know that. And so somebody would have to 384 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:41,760 come alongside and say here's what that means. 385 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:47,840 It means look more deeply into this because what is said is 386 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,280 less than what is meant. Jesus is allowing them to unpack 387 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:53,440 kind of what is thought. So what they would have thought 388 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:55,960 of as good Jewish boys who've been through 8th grade history 389 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:58,080 class. They're like, they're like the 390 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:00,520 abomination of desolation. I thought that was fulfilled in 391 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,960 167 BC. You guys all know that, right? 392 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,760 You, you remember what happened in 167 BC? 393 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:07,920 Does anybody know what happened in 167 B? 394 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:11,280 This guy named Antiochus Epiphanes came in and started 395 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:13,680 desecrating the temple. And that's where the zealots 396 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:15,120 came out. They came out and they're like, 397 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:18,240 that's not going to happen here. And so there's a huge revolt and 398 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:19,360 they fight and they kick him out. 399 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:20,920 That's where we get Hanukkah from. 400 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:24,960 Did you know that? The Festival of Lights, Adam 401 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:28,880 Sandler, anybody? Yeah, anyway, yeah. 402 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,840 So that's what that got the the the festival of lights is the is 403 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:35,120 the kicking out of the desecration of the temple and 404 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:38,800 everyone, every historian like that's what Daniel was talking 405 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:41,080 about. But because Jesus mentions it 406 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:43,920 here, it means that that wasn't the fulfillment of that. 407 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:46,880 He says when you see the abomination of desolation in the 408 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:50,320 holy place, then you know the destruction is near. 409 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:56,600 Then you know Luke helps us look at verse 20 and Luke chapter 21. 410 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:59,680 It's right here ready. Luke adds this point and again, 411 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:01,680 this is before. He says when you see Jerusalem 412 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:06,000 surrounded by armies, then you know that his desolation has 413 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,640 come near. This was something that was 414 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,200 already foretold by Jesus in Luke's Gospel. 415 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:15,920 Jesus already says it and Luke includes it, but Matthew does 416 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:19,880 not. And so rather than bore you 417 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:24,440 this, this participle, when you see this, it participles a 418 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,600 Greek, it's an ongoing, it's like this thing when you see 419 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:32,000 these these things happening, it's basically it's a build up. 420 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:38,000 And what happened was Titus and the Roman army in 70 AD began to 421 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,440 gather armies around as things kind of got heated in Jerusalem. 422 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:46,120 What they began to see is that Rome began to surround the city 423 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:51,240 with armies and it started in late 60s and then it began early 424 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,520 in the 70s. And then Jesus is saying that 425 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:58,320 something like this, where the gathering of armies is going to 426 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:01,120 happen. And So what you boys need to do, 427 00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:03,280 disciples, what you need to do is be prepared. 428 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,680 Another clue is he says let those who are in Judea fleets 429 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:09,480 the mountains. This means that Jesus is still 430 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,160 talking about the destruction of the city. 431 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:15,600 Before we move on, let me show you 2 paintings. 432 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:16,680 Let me just show you 2 paintings. 433 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:19,440 Some of you might be familiar about this is this is based on 434 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:23,560 Josephus's and Eusebius history of Jerusalem in the city's 435 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:25,960 destruction. That's kind of the picture of a 436 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:28,720 painting based on that. It's not the actual event, 437 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,680 obviously, but it was destroyed pretty thoroughly. 438 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,640 And then the next thing that was recorded is on the altar. 439 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:37,560 That's the great altar where the smoke would rise. 440 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:39,240 They were all that was the picture. 441 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:41,880 They were slaying bodies and stealing things out of the 442 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:44,360 temple. The temple was utterly destroyed 443 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:47,640 and there was massive slaughter. If you read the accounts of the 444 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:49,280 destruction of Jerusalem, it's brutal. 445 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,960 Women and children were stuck in the alleyways, they were eating 446 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:55,040 their children, they were starving, they were surrounded, 447 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,040 they were sieged. Men and women were killing each 448 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:00,120 other, they were jumping off the the walls. 449 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,680 It was brutal. There was starvation and finally 450 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:06,720 the city fell, it was sacked and then they absolutely destroyed 451 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,320 the temple. So with those pictures in mind 452 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:18,040 and Jesus doing this in 30 ish AD 333032AD and with the gospels 453 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:21,520 written before this account, listen to what Jesus says. 454 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,600 They ought to be warned. We're still talking about the 455 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,320 destruction of the temple. Look at verse 17, he says when 456 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:29,920 you start seeing the city surrounded by armies, Luke gives 457 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:31,920 us clarity. Let the one who's on the 458 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:36,560 housetop don't go down. Verse 18, the one in the field, 459 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:40,080 don't turn back. If you're pregnant, that will be 460 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:44,560 a shame because it will be hard for you to run and to flee for 461 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:46,320 those who are nursing infants in those days. 462 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:49,480 It will be brutal and it was actually if you read Josephus 463 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:52,360 and Eusebius and you saw that pregnant women and women with 464 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:55,520 young children were were were forced to either starve or eat 465 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:59,280 their children. If it was the Sabbath, 466 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,560 everything would be closed. If all of these things Jesus 467 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:03,600 saying if these things happened, you need to pray and be 468 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:08,200 prepared. The destruction is such that you 469 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:09,760 need to flee. Look at verse 20. 470 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:14,960 Pray that your flight from the city to the mountains may not be 471 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:20,840 in winter or the Sabbath. There is urgency here. 472 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:22,720 There is there is a sense of man. 473 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:26,120 This is turmoil and Jesus saying guys run like the wind. 474 00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:29,720 If you see all these things happen, but look at the 475 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,000 encouragement that is in this text. 476 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:36,880 He says, but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut 477 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:38,680 short. That word elect there has to do 478 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,080 with for the sake of those who would would would survive the 479 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:45,640 onslaught. How does that happen? 480 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:49,360 The verse above says those days will be cut short, that God in 481 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:52,840 his Providence sees the suffering of people and he's 482 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,440 doing something that's part of a bigger redemptive picture, but 483 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,920 he's still in control. There's only one man that can 484 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,880 shut days short. There's only one God in the 485 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:04,680 world who can control world events. 486 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:07,640 He's the one that starts wars and finishes wars. 487 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:09,600 He's the one that prolongs them and shortens them. 488 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:11,760 He's the one that holds our days in his hand. 489 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:15,160 He's the one that ends our days. He's the one that does all 490 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:16,640 things. He is the sovereign God. 491 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,840 He is in control of history. Jesus says he is still in 492 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:25,360 control. And that, friends, causes me to 493 00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:29,000 be courageous because I know that when God promises these 494 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:31,800 things must happen and you will be delivered through them. 495 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:35,120 Just do not be LED astray. I can be courageous. 496 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:41,200 I can, I can look at the news and be like, well, OK, it's 497 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:43,800 getting pretty bad. Not for us directly, though, is 498 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,440 it? We're relatively living at peace 499 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:48,680 right now here, right? Lots of people in the world are 500 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:50,840 not living in peace. What is it like for Christians? 501 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:54,160 Which by the way, there are Christians in Iran right now who 502 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:58,400 are drawing from this passage and saying, man, the end is not 503 00:26:58,400 --> 00:26:59,760 yet. God is doing a great work 504 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:01,720 because you know what's going on in the midst of that 505 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:03,400 tribulation, guess what's going on? 506 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,440 Many are coming to Christ because they have no other hope 507 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,320 in anything else. That's what tribulations do. 508 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,200 That's what suffering does. That's why Jesus is saying, 509 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:17,800 guys, take your eyes off the immediate and look at the these 510 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:21,600 things are happening so that more would come to trust God. 511 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,760 That makes sense, right? We don't we don't eschew 512 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:29,280 suffering and troubling in our lives because that's what 513 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,440 strengthens US. No one's ever said, I've said 514 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:33,800 this before. No one's like, you know what, my 515 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,320 life is pretty easy. I've grown a lot from having an 516 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:38,760 easy life. Has anybody said that it's nice 517 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:40,440 to have comfort? It's good that we are 518 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,400 comfortable, but I've never heard anybody be like, man, I 519 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:45,720 walked into the gym and just looked at the weights and I got 520 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:49,080 stronger. Actually, some of us do that. 521 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:52,680 Some people do that. It just, you know, think that 522 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:53,880 being in the presence of weights. 523 00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:55,960 No, no, it's the lifting of the weights. 524 00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:58,680 It's the, it's the struggling with death and destruction. 525 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:02,680 It is the hard times that cause us to cry out to God and 526 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,400 strengthen and come to him. And that's exactly what happens 527 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,800 when trials and tribulation in the world happen. 528 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:14,640 There's encouragement that none of this is outside of God's 529 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:19,120 providential control. It is for the sake of his people 530 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,520 and it is for the sake of his people that he cuts the shorts. 531 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:25,880 The days, the suffering, the siege was relatively short and 532 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:27,760 it was done. And guess what happened to the 533 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:31,280 church? It expanded, it grew it, it, it, 534 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:34,720 it goes out of Jerusalem. Do you remember the persecution 535 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,760 early in the church when the Christians are spreading and 536 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:40,720 Saul is persecuting the church and killing Christians and 537 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,720 imprisoning Christians and it spreads them and they go to 538 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:48,240 Turkey, they go to Europe, they go to North Africa, they, they 539 00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:52,840 spread into Eastern Asia. The, the gospel goes to all of 540 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:57,200 known Roman Empire and the gospel is spread. 541 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:03,840 And that's all because God decides to end one age and enter 542 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:07,360 into the new age where now we have a global focus. 543 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:10,360 It's not just a focus on this particular part of the world. 544 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:16,680 Now it's a a global focus. Look at verse 23. 545 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:21,920 He says Jesus, listen, if anyone says to you, look, here's the 546 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:25,160 Christ or there he is. What are we to do not believe 547 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:27,480 it. There's nothing like suffering 548 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,120 that causes people to look for other saviors. 549 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:33,160 He's like, guys, do not take your eyes off me. 550 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:38,960 Verse 25 I see he says, I told you beforehand, I'm telling you, 551 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,480 Jesus says this because he knows that his disciples are going to 552 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:45,240 need these words later. I've told you beforehand, he, he 553 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:47,280 underscores this. He does the same with the 554 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:49,360 resurrection too. He said, guys, I'm going to rise 555 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:51,680 from the dead and they just didn't understand it. 556 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:53,480 But guess what? They understood afterwards, They 557 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,640 looked back, they hid his word in their hearts and when they 558 00:29:56,640 --> 00:29:59,400 needed it, they drew upon their like Jesus told us this would 559 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:01,680 happen. What does that do to us? 560 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:05,840 It gives us great courage, right when they're seeing all of this 561 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:08,320 go on, they're gonna remember like, man, remember when we 562 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:10,920 were, remember when we were listening to the Olivet 563 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:12,280 Discourse? They actually wouldn't have said 564 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:13,480 that. They're like, remember when 565 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:16,000 Jesus remember when he said the temple was gonna be destroyed? 566 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:17,440 And then he started telling us all these things. 567 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:19,360 We were like, didn't understand it. 568 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:22,440 Now we understand. He told us this would happen. 569 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,760 It gives us great courage because his word is in his heart 570 00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:29,720 and that's what it means for God to dwell in your heart. 571 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:33,080 When we hide the Lord's word in our heart, when we take his 572 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:36,160 promises and they're there in moments of distress and moments 573 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:39,760 of fear, in moments where we need courage, when he speaks to 574 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:41,680 us through his word, David says, I've hidden your word in my 575 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,080 heart so that I might not what sin against you. 576 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:46,760 But also we hide God's word in our hearts so that we might be 577 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:48,480 encouraged. So the less we know that God 578 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,880 says, the less opportunity we have to draw from his his 579 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:54,960 promises. The more that we know, the more 580 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:57,480 that we read and study Scripture, the more that we do 581 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,160 this on Sunday mornings, the more that we sing his word and 582 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:01,600 pray his word and learn his word. 583 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:05,120 His word dwells in our heart and he abides in us and we in him. 584 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:08,760 And so when those moments come when we are absolutely frazzled, 585 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:14,560 agitated, troubled, Jesus is small still whisper is fear not, 586 00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:21,800 I'm with you if you're not. I've overcome the world. 587 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:28,920 Fear not. I will provide for you to he who 588 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:32,320 is able to do all immeasurably more than you asking or imagine 589 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:36,680 I'm able to do this if you're not, I love you. 590 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:41,520 There's neither height nor depth nor length or width. 591 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:43,960 That's how much I love you. An infinite amount. 592 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:46,000 I love you, I love you, Fear not. 593 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:57,920 See, I've told you beforehand, Jesus says in verse 26, if they 594 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:03,000 say, look, he's out in the wilderness, or if they say look, 595 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:04,840 he's in the inner room. She's like, don't go out there, 596 00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:06,880 don't believe him. Why? 597 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:10,480 He's like, guys, it's going to be obvious where I'm at. 598 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:17,280 He gives us great clarity. He says verse 27, for as the 599 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:20,200 lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the West, 600 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:22,320 so will the coming of the Son of Man. 601 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:24,960 Lightning's pretty obvious in the skies, isn't it? 602 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:28,800 So right now, here is in this passage, in this section, in 603 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:32,840 this teaching, where it seems like he is starting to lift our 604 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:34,800 eyes above the city's destruction. 605 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:40,040 So in the 1st 28 verses, there are no signs that he's talking 606 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:41,760 about the end of the age. It's quite the obvious. 607 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:43,800 He's saying, guys, all of this is going to happen. 608 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:46,640 He's like, and if they say look, there he is here, he's coming. 609 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:48,520 He's like, no, no, no, no, it's going to be obvious. 610 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:51,840 Like carcasses on Route 3 around a deer that's been splattered by 611 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:55,680 a Mack truck, right? We've all seen that, right? 612 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,600 It's nasty. Big vultures, Turkey vultures, 613 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:02,640 you know what I'm talking about. They're obvious. 614 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:06,800 Or in the sky, lightning. He's like, it will be obvious. 615 00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:11,080 He's lifting our eyes beyond Jerusalem's fall. 616 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:14,440 He's beginning to say now what will be the sign of the coming 617 00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:17,400 of the Son of Man. It will be very obvious. 618 00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:24,680 I'm not sure if you know this, but there is a thing called 12 619 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:27,240 verse Shia Islam. Does anybody know what 12 verse 620 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:32,200 Shia Islam is? The 12 are It is a hope that is 621 00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:34,640 attached to what's known as the hidden Imam. 622 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:38,480 Imams are Muslim teachers. They teach the Quran. 623 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:42,040 They, they teach the people of Allah how to submit to Allah 624 00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:44,440 through the Quran. But there is this belief that 625 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:48,840 there is a hidden Imam and that hidden Imam will emerge one day 626 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,560 in the future. The world is in chaos and in 627 00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:56,840 trouble and he will return, maybe with Jesus, the Mahdi, 628 00:33:56,880 --> 00:34:00,720 he's called, he is believed to be the one will appear in the 629 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:03,720 last days and that matters. Do you know why that matters? 630 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:09,199 Because in Iran their constitution makes the Twelver, 631 00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:12,120 Jafari, Shias and the official religion of the state. 632 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:20,199 Did you know that this world is not in a battle between men and 633 00:34:20,199 --> 00:34:21,960 men? And we battle not against flesh 634 00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:24,000 and blood, but against the rulers and the powers and the 635 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:27,199 principalities there. This is a spiritual battle and 636 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:28,840 not everybody in Iran believes this. 637 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:33,480 But what they do believe who believe in the 12 or Shia Islam 638 00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:36,280 is that there is one other than Christ who will come. 639 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:43,360 And Jesus tells us that we are not awaiting a hidden Christ, we 640 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:49,679 are awaiting one who will emerge victoriously and he will come 641 00:34:49,679 --> 00:34:53,480 back victoriously. The first has already happened, 642 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:55,719 hasn't it? He's emerged from the grave 643 00:34:55,719 --> 00:34:57,920 victoriously. And Jesus and boys, when I come 644 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:00,120 back, I keep saying boys, because I'm imagining him 645 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:02,720 talking to these disciples, but he's saying, church. 646 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:07,920 When I come back, it will be as bright as lightning, as obvious 647 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:10,880 as it the, the, the light in your face. 648 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:14,440 You will not miss me. And that is of great 649 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:17,280 encouragement. And that's what we're waiting 650 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:19,640 for. We're not waiting for things to 651 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:22,400 secretly happen. Jesus says here's the 652 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:25,520 destruction of the temple. Here's the end of the age. 653 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:31,280 In between there, be prepared, be encouraged, be faithful, be 654 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:34,880 steadfast, be not afraid. Don't be LED astray. 655 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:36,520 Do the things that I've told you to do. 656 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:40,080 And trust me, I will return. And when I return, the waiting 657 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:42,800 will be all over. It will be finished. 658 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:49,440 And So what Jesus will begin to do is he'll begin to answer the 659 00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:53,080 question, what will the Son of Man look like when he comes 660 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:56,280 back? The destruction of the city has 661 00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:59,200 happened. This, the city was destroyed, 662 00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:02,920 all of these things that Jesus talked about was fulfilled 663 00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:07,160 between 30 and 70 AD. And now the church looks to the 664 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:09,720 second part where he says, when will the Son of Man return? 665 00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:12,560 Next week we're going to finalize the Olivet discourse. 666 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:15,200 We're going to, we're going to wrap up and see what does it 667 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:17,120 mean for the world when Christ returns? 668 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:19,160 What does it mean for us? What should we look for? 669 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:20,720 What should we not be so worried about? 670 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:23,600 But what should we look for? And what is the New Testament 671 00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:26,960 reveal about what the disciples and the church believed about 672 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,600 his return? Some of them did fear that they 673 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:31,040 missed it. The Thessalonians are like, did 674 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:33,320 we miss it? Paul's like, no, you didn't miss 675 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:37,480 it. But when the Son of Man comes 676 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:39,520 back, what a great encouragement it will be. 677 00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:41,840 It'll be amazing. It's going to be a significant 678 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:45,040 event, and we ought to keep our eyes fixed on that and be 679 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:47,840 encouraged. But while we are waiting, 680 00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:51,480 there's work to be done, right? More people need to hear about 681 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:55,080 Jesus. The sermon you've just listened 682 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:58,280 to is a presentation of Church Newtown Square. 683 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:02,000 To find out more about our church, check out Church 684 00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:09,000 nsq.org. That's CHVRCHNS q.org. 685 00:37:09,720 --> 00:37:12,520 You are welcome to copy and distribute this sermon to others 686 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:16,320 as long as you do not do it for commercial purposes or alter, 687 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:19,440 transform, or build upon this talk in any way.