(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Luke chapter 21. And let's look at verse number 28 there. Luke 21 verse 28. The Bible reads, this is the memory verse of course. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. The title of the sermon this morning is your redemption draweth nigh. Okay, your redemption draweth nigh. Now, I'll just say this as a disclaimer. In your average Baptist church, in your average independent fundamental Baptist church, you're not going to hear this sermon. Okay, you're not going to hear this preaching. And the reason for that isn't because I'm something special. It's just that Luke chapter 21 is known as the Olivet Discourse. You know, the most famous passage on the Olivet Discourse is Matthew chapter 24. Okay, and largely most Baptists will ignore this chapter because they don't feel it's relevant to them. They don't believe it's for them to be aware of, for them to learn about. This is for some other group of people in the future times of a different nationality, you know, the Jews as it were. And they say this is just for them. This is not for us. And so what I'm saying to you is that the preaching you hear this morning is not going to be heard in your average Baptist church. All right, and there are reasons behind that which many of you know, but I won't go into all those reasons right now. But you know, for us as a church, it takes a Bible at face value. We believe that this word has been written for our learning, has been written for our understanding. So we can take this and apply it to our lives. Yes, if we're the final generation in the last days, but even if we're a generation today that may not face these things, there are still things that we can learn in the Word of God. We can't just throw chapters out and say, well, that's not for us. And then, you know, not teach on it. You know, that's not teaching the whole counsel of God. So let's look at this in Luke chapter 21, verse number one. Luke 21, verse one. Well, actually, I should say the first few verses are not part of the Olivet Discourse. The first few verses is Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem. And then he goes into the mounts and teaches the rest of the chapter. Verse number one. And he looked up, this is Jesus looking up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. Now, I've heard preaching on verse number one, and usually you'll hear people attack or criticize the rich men of giving large amounts into the treasury. You know, they teach, not all people, but I've heard it taught that these people were kind of prideful, showing off how much they've given to the temple treasury. Though I don't believe you can form that opinion from the verses that we know about, okay? What's important about here is that Jesus is just comparing this poor widow that put in two mites. Now, two mites are basically kind of like saying two cents. Just something very small, something very sort of insignificant that may not make any significant change in the temple in the way they spend their funds. But Jesus just sees how the rich are given, and then he sees this poor widow that probably no one pays attention to. You know, the amount she's putting in is probably considered, well, that's not going to do much for us. It's potentially how people see it. But Jesus sees this poor widow. God sees even the poor widow that puts in those two cents, those two mites, okay? Now, the encouragement you should take away from that is that not everybody is in a financial position to give a lot toward the work of God, okay? But the heart of the widow is what's important. Let's keep reading, verse number three. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow have cast in more than they all. So how's that possible, God? The rich men are given so much, this widow's just given two mites. But Jesus, look, this widow has given more. You see, God, when you give to the work of God financially, when you give your tithes and your offerings, God sees your heart first and foremost. That's what's important. And you know what? You can be putting in your two cents as it were, okay? If that's all you can give. And God can see that as more than anyone else can give, okay? In what sense? Look at verse number four. For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God, but she of her penury, or penury is another way of saying being poor, okay? Have cast in all the living that she had. Jesus says, look, these two mites, that's all she has. You know, that's what she's living from, okay? This is all she has. And she decided to give all that she has to the work of God. You see, God sees the heart of men, okay? And so look, and I've been, people have apologized to me, you know, that I can only give this much. You don't need to apologize to me. You're giving to the work of God. God knows what you're giving, all right? And if all you can give is two mites, then it might be all that you have, all right? And God sees that and he appreciates, he blesses the people that give what they can from, you know, in the giving. Now, just something to compare here, just for maybe your interest. In verse number four, Jesus calls this the offerings of God. Now you might be familiar with the terms, tithes and offerings, okay? And I haven't even taught on tithes yet, okay? Tithing. One day I will. But the tithe is given sort of a 10% of your increase to God, and your offerings is given above that. If you want to give above that to the work of God, that's what the offerings are. And of course, in this time, you had the Levitical priests who would live off the tithes, okay? That would come by those that would come and worship God in the temple. But notice it's called the offerings of God. Now, Jesus is not criticizing the rich. He's not criticizing those that have. He just says, look, they've given of their abundance, okay? In other words, they have more than they need. And from that more than they need, that's what they've given toward the work of the temple here, okay? But this woman's given everything that she has. And so God points to that and rejoices in that woman. And of course, she's going to have great rewards. She can only give the two minds, but she's going to have great rewards in heaven. You know, the widow did not just give 10%. She did not just give her tithe. She gave 100%. You know, 100% of what she had, all right? So let that encourage you. If you're someone in a difficult financial position, you wish you could give more to church, but you cannot. Hey, God sees your heart. You know, if that's what you can give, then so be it. You know, give it to the work of God. Let's keep reading verse number five. And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, as for these which ye behold, the days will come in the which there shall be not left one stone upon another that shall not be trodden down. So you have those in the temple speaking about how beautiful this temple is. You know, these precious stones, you know, it's a wealthy place. You know, people would walk into the temple and potentially feel like, wow, this is awesome. You know, and be encouraged spiritually to worship the Lord. But Jesus says, look, this is just a building. There's come in a time when this temple itself will be destroyed and not one stone will be left upon another, all right? Now, think about this for a moment. You guys are probably familiar with Judaism. And one of the practices they do, especially the Orthodox Jews, is they go to the Wailing Wall, all right? And they pray and they kind of worship toward this wall, okay? And one huge misconceptions that people have is that this was a wall that was part of the construction of the temple, okay? And so because they have such a great love and desire to be worshiping in the temple, they're praying toward this wall and they sort of bring their head back and forth if you've seen that in videos. But if that was part of the temple, then Jesus' words will not be true. You see what Jesus said? He said that, what did he say in verse number six? In the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, okay? And if you look into that, that Wailing Wall has nothing to do with the temple of God. It's not even in the same place. It's theorized that it's part of a Roman, when the Roman Empire was, what's the word, in charge of that area when they had the authority, that was part of their barracks where the soldiers would go and abide in. That wall was part of that barracks. And so I just wanted to tell you that because there are a lot of Christians that think that wall is part of the temple. But if it is, then Jesus' words aren't true. Of course the words of Jesus are true. Of course that temple was completely destroyed in 70 AD. This was at least 40 years after Christ, or thereabouts, you know, 40 years after Christ. Christ prophesied that this temple to be destroyed by the Roman Empire. And it was 40 years later after Christ said these things in 70 AD. Let's keep reading verse number seven. And they asked him, saying, Master, and by the way, Luke doesn't really clarify this very well. But now this question in verse number seven, they're no longer in the temple. They're now in the Mount of Olives. This is known as the Oliver Discourse. Okay, so let's have a look at what they asked him in verse number seven. And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be, the things of the temple being destroyed? And what sign will there be when these things come to pass? Now keep your finger there. Turn to Matthew 24, please. Turn to Matthew 24, verse number three. I just want to give you a greater picture of what's happening here. Matthew 24, verse three. Matthew 24, verse three. The Bible says, and as he sat upon the Mount of Olives. So now we have the setting which Luke didn't really tell us. Okay, it says the disciples came unto him privately saying, Tell us when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? So what you need to understand is when Jesus spoke about this temple being destroyed, the disciples of Jesus, he immediately saw this. He must be preaching about the end of the world. He must preach about, preaching about, you know, when Christ establishes his kingdom and, you know, the foreign nations, you know, they no longer have power over Jerusalem or whatever. They're thinking, man, if the temple is going to be destroyed, this must be the end of the world. And then the second coming of Christ. So I just wanted to show you that so you can understand why Jesus responds the way he does in Luke 21. So go back to Luke 21 verse 8, please. Luke 21 verse 8. And actually, what I'll get you to do is drop down to verse 37 quickly. Luke 21 verse 37. Let's just cover these two verses there. 37 and verse 38 quickly. It says, because remember, this is the final week before Christ is crucified. But these verses tell us the custom or the practice that Jesus had in this final week. Look at verse 37. It says, So these last verses here explain to us what's going on. So Jesus in this last week would go into the temple, would go into Jerusalem proper, and teach, and teach things. And then when it became late, when it was time to rest, when it was time to sleep, he would go into the Mount of Olives and abide there. But even when he would go into the Mount of Olives, he continued teaching anyway. And this is what we get. You know, what's happening here from verse number 8, is Jesus Christ teaching from the Mount of Olives about the end times. And he's teaching this to his disciples, not to the great multitudes in the temple. Okay, let's go back to verse number 8 then. And he said, All right. Now, when Jesus says these words, take heed, we should take heed. All right, we can't just say, well, this chapter is not for us. How crazy is that, right? To say this chapter is not for us. When Jesus says take heed, listen, pay attention. This is important. Why? And he said take heed that ye be not deceived, for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and the time draweth near, go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified, for these things must first come to pass, but the end is not by and by. He says the end is not near. The words by and by means near or close by. Okay, the end is not close by. All right. So Jesus tells us that there's coming a time now in the last days after the temple is destroyed. Okay, that was in our past in 70 AD. But now he moves on to future events. Okay, and he says there'll be those that come saying I am Christ. And of course, in 2019, we have men throughout this world saying they are Christ, saying they are the Son of God, saying they are Jesus Christ, resurrected, the second coming of Christ. We see that in different places in the world. All right. So that's already true. We've already seen that happening in our lifetime. And then he says, you know, you hear of wars and commotions. But he says, look, be not terrified. Don't be afraid when the world goes to war. Okay. This is great comfort that Jesus Christ has given us. And if you remember on Wednesday, we went through the fruits of the Spirit on peace, having peace as believers. And we saw how peace is the opposite of being afraid. All right. So as we go into this last, you know, a period of time, you know, whether it's our generation or some future generation, when we see these wars, when you see these people claiming to be Christ, Jesus says don't be afraid. You don't need to be afraid about it. Okay. And I know the natural reaction is to be afraid. You know, I know that's the case. And Jesus knows that's the case. That's why he tells us don't be terrified. Let's go to verse number 10. And he said unto them, nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. All right. So we've already seen nations go to war against nations and kingdoms go to war against kingdoms. You know, and the two, you know, greatest, you know, wars that we've seen, the greatest bloodsheds has been World War One and World War Two. You know, I'm not saying that this is necessarily World War Three. It could be World War Ten for all I know. Okay. But there's a coming a time when there's going to be these great wars, but not just these wars. In verse number 11, and great earthquakes shall be in diverse places. There'll be earthquakes and famines and pestilences and fearful sites and great signs shall they be from heaven. Okay. So let's stop there for a moment. Now, for those of you that have already been part of this church, we know that these, what Jesus calls this in the book of Matthew and Mark, I believe it is, he calls it the beginning of sorrows. Okay. The beginnings of sorrows. And we know that what he just speaks about is a period of three and a half years, a period of three and a half years where these wars, these earthquakes, these famines will be happening on the earth. Okay. Now, something that's interesting in the book of Luke in comparison to the book of Matthew is verse number 12. Let's pay attention now to verse number 12. Just the first few words. Look at this. It says, but before all these, say before all what? Before all we just read about, before all these things, before the beginnings of sorrows. Okay. Before the earthquakes, the wars, the famines, it says, they shall lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. Now, brothers, you know, normally when you read through the Bible, you don't pay attention necessarily to all the little words and the little phrases. When you read your Bible, you kind of just take the big picture, don't you? And you just read on. But as I came to prepare this sermon, verse number 12 really threw me off. Okay. And I'll explain to you why. Keep your finger there and go to Matthew 24. Matthew 24. Matthew 24 verse 7. Matthew 24 verse 7. The Bible reads, for nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. It's the same thing that we heard about in the book of Luke, right? Luke 21. And then verse 8. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Okay. That's where we get that term from. The beginning of sorrows. But look at verse number 9. Then. And what's the word then? It would mean following these things, right? After these things. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. So I don't know if you can see where I would be confused then. Okay. Because the book of Matthew says the beginning of sorrows, then you'll be persecuted. Then you'll be brought before magistrates and all these kinds of things. Whereas the book of Luke said, but before all these things. So is this a contradiction in the Bible? Okay. Of course we don't believe there's any contradictions in the Bible. All right. So let's try to, I'll answer that to you shortly. Okay. There is an apparent contradiction. I'll cover that shortly. Okay. Let's go back to Luke 12. Luke 12. Let's get a bit more context here. Luke 12. I'm sorry. Luke 21. Luke 21. Sorry. Luke 21 verse 13. So we know that these last generation of Christians are going to be brought before synagogues, prisons, kings, and rulers. All right. And you might say, well, the reason they're doing that is to persecute us. The reason they're doing that is to bring us down and to bring us low and to discourage us. But what Jesus says here in verse 13 should remind you why he allows you to go through persecution. Why he allows you to be brought forth before authorities. In verse 13 it says, and it shall turn to you for a testimony. What he's saying there is that the tables will be turned. Okay. They're coming to speak against you, but you're going to be able to use as a testimony to testify of Jesus Christ, to testify of the gospel, to preach the words of God. That's why he doesn't want us to be afraid because in these last days, the Holy Ghost will fill us with power, with his, you know, the abilities that the Holy Ghost can give us through his strength. And we'll be able to face kings and magistrates and the synagogues, whoever it is that's persecuting us, we'll be able to turn those tables and testify of Christ to an amazing promise. And then verse 14, settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what you shall answer. Don't even think about it. You don't need to think about what you're going to answer. Verse 15, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gain say, nor resist. Wow. What a promise to the last generations that go through this persecution that the Holy Ghost will work so mightily in them that they won't even have to think about what to say. The Holy Ghost will speak on their behalf, you know, and those that try to bring persecution against you, they won't even be able to speak against you. They won't be, they won't, says they shall not be able to gain say that speak against you, nor resist, nor resist what you're saying, you know. Hopefully, I'm hoping that means there'll be those that hear the gospel, not resist it and believe it, you know, because the tables have been turned in that sense. Okay. Now let's deal with the apparent contradiction now. All right. Now as I've been studying through the books and obviously preparing because normally when you read your Bibles, you're not thinking about how to preach it, how to teach it. So obviously different thoughts come your way when you prepare for a sermon. I started to think about this apparent contradiction. When are the people brought before the magistrates? Is that before the beginning of sorrows? Is it after the beginning of sorrows? What does Matthew seem to say afterwards? Why does Luke seem to say beforehand? And this is something that I've learned as I've been preaching through these books. Is that it's good to compare scripture with scripture. You know, God has given us the four gospels for a reason so we can get a deeper understanding of the word of God. But as I've been saying to you in the past that the Bible has many, many layers. Okay. It's very deep, you know. And of course, this does not capture all the words that Jesus spoke. Sometimes you'll find the same teaching, but one gospel writer will focus on one application and another gospel writer will focus on another application. And they might focus and write about it in different ways. But it's the same teaching at the end of the day. It's not a contradiction of the teaching. It's just that the gospel writers are focusing on different areas. All right. Now, remember the book of Luke. It said that before the beginning of sorrows, they're going to be brought before magistrates and the synagogues and stuff like that. Now, why is that relevant? Because if you've been here from Luke chapter one, we learned that Luke is also not just the author of the book of Luke, but he's also the author of the book of Acts. All right. Now, which New Testament book do you see, you know, the apostles and disciples of Christ being persecuted, being brought before magistrates, being brought before authorities? Which New Testament book covers this in the most detail? It's definitely the book of Acts. Definitely the book of Acts. Definitely the book that is written by Luke. Okay. Now, keep your finger back in Luke. Stay there in Luke, but go to Acts chapter six. Acts chapter six, please. Just very quickly. Acts chapter six and verse number nine. And this is the story of the martyr Stephen. Okay. Stephen, who was a mighty man filled with the Holy Ghost. But just let's touch on this very quickly. Acts chapter six, verse nine. It says, then there arose certain of the synagogue. And remember, in Luke, he said you're going to be brought before synagogues. It says, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines and Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist. Remember that word? The wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Hey, in what power was Stephen speaking? By the spirit of God, wasn't he? Okay, by the spirit of God. And here we have those of synagogues coming and disputing, arguing, debating against Stephen. But they were not able to resist the words that he spoke. All right. That's exactly what we read in Luke 21. Go back to Luke 21, verse 15, please. Luke 21, verse 15. It said, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. You see that? You see the consistency that we see in the book of Luke going into the book of Acts. Okay. But then Matthew focuses on another group in the future, in the end times, after the beginning of sorrows. So this is not a contradiction. Okay. These are just two gospel writers taking the teaching of Christ and focusing on different aspects of that teaching. All right. So this is probably what happened on the Mount of Olives. When Jesus taught them about being brought before magistrates and synagogues and all these things, and you're going to be persecuted, he told them, okay, because we know this in the book of Luke, he told them, this is going to happen before that, before the beginning of sorrows, this is going to happen to you guys. Okay. And so we see Luke focus on that, and he writes in the book of Acts many times where the children of God are brought before the magistrates, okay, and they have to give an answer. Okay. And then he would have said, but also, you know, after the beginning of sorrows, then after that, in the future time, this is going to happen also where the people of God are going to be brought before the authorities, and they're going to have to give an answer. But the same working of the Holy Ghost that we saw in the book of Acts is going to take place as well in those last days. And so Jesus came teaching both things. It's just that Luke focused on the things that are relevant to what he's writing about in the book of Acts, and Matthew focuses on it, on the teaching of the end times. So I hope that makes sense, you know. It's not a contradiction, it's just that they're focused on different things. If I haven't made that clear, please ask me after the service. All right. Now let's go back to Luke 21 verse 16. Luke 21 verse 16. Now this is probably the saddest verses that I can think of, okay. Verse 16. And ye shall be betrayed, ye shall be betrayed, both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends, and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. Now I thank God I have a Christian family. I thank God I have Christian parents. I have, you know, many of my children are believers today, okay. And I thank God that largely my uncles and cousins and my extended family are saved, okay. So if I'm going through this in the last generation, it's less likely that I would be betrayed by my family, okay. But some of you come from homes, non-Christian homes. They might even hate the word of God. They might even hate the gospel. They might even hate the fact that you believe what the Bible says, and you know, you're not going along with the traditions of old or whatever. You know, if you're this person going through this final time, you've got to be very careful because your closest relatives, your closest friends are the ones that will betray you, that will betray the children of God. And that gives me great sadness to think that's the case, you know. That people align themselves with the world, align themselves with the Antichrist that comes on the scene later on, and persecute their own friends and family, you know, for standing up for the name of Christ. And look at verse 17, that is for the name of Christ. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, all right. Why are they hated by men? For the name of Jesus Christ. How can this chapter be about unbelieving Jews that reject Jesus Christ? They're not being persecuted for the name of Christ. Who's persecuted for the name of Christ? The Christians, the believers, the children of God. You know, we call ourselves Christians, you know, we give that name to ourselves because we're aligned with Jesus Christ. And it's those that have the name of Christ that proclaim the name of Christ, they're the ones that are going to be hated by all men. This is relevant to the last generation of believers, guys, not just to some, well, it's not about the unbelieving Jews, all right. This chapter is relevant to us. Now, here's another apparent contradiction that I've heard. Let's look at verse number 18 now. But there shall not be an hair of your head perish. What? Jesus, didn't you just say in verse 16, let's have a look at it again, at the end of it says, and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. But then in verse 18, and there shall not an hair of your head perish, okay. Well, just again, look at verse 16, it said, and some of you, some of you, okay. Some believers will be put to death, but then obviously verse 18 are those that will not be put to death, okay. They will not have an hair of head perish, okay. Now, if you guys can remember, actually you're in book of Luke, just turn there, Luke 17, please. Luke 17, when we looked at Luke 17, we spoke about the end times as well, okay. And verse 32, Luke 17 verse 32, the memory verse that you guys all memorized. Remember Lot's wife, okay. But then following that it said, whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it, okay. So here's the thing, if you want to be, if you just want to be guaranteed that you're going to lose your life in these last days, in the tribulation period, you want to guarantee that for yourself, then in verse 33 that said, whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it. If you do everything to protect yourself, you do everything to hide, you know, you don't go preaching because you don't want to be found out to be a follower of Christ, you know, you go and hide, you try to, you know, build up all your supplies and all your needs, and you're going to be the one that loses your life because you've tried to save your life, physically, you physically tried to save your life, you're the one that's going to lose it. But if you want to have a chance of preserving your life, you want to be that one that has not a single hair of your head perish, then you have to be willing to lose your life in these last days, okay. You have to be willing to put yourself out there people to know that you're a follower of Christ, that you're a believer of Him, you know, you're preaching the gospel, trying to get those saved that remain that can be saved. If you're doing the works of God, then you've given yourself that opportunity to see it through on those last days, all right. Go back to Luke 21, Luke 21, and actually, now go to Revelation chapter 20, please, Revelation chapter 20, Revelation chapter 20 verse 4, Revelation chapter 20 verse 4. There's a lot to cover in this chapter, but Luke 20 verse 4. They say, what about, how does that lose their life? That's a bit unfair, right? But remember why they're losing their life in the tribulation period. It said, for my name's sake, okay. So I want you to understand something. If you're going through this period of time, first Jesus says, don't be terrified. You don't have to be afraid, even at the loss of your life. You don't have to be afraid. God's Spirit will be there to empower you. But if you choose to hide, if you choose to preserve your life, you will lose it, okay. There will be others though, that for the name of Christ, for Christ's namesake, they will lose their life. But of course, these people that are losing their life for the name of Christ, they're the ones doing the great works. So there are going to be those that do the works of God and will still lose their life. There'll be some of those as well, all right. Now you might say that's a bit unfair, but look at Revelation 20 verse 4. It says, and I saw thrones. This is when Christ comes to establish his millennial kingdom. And he says, and I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Christ. Hey, these people were beheaded for Christ's namesake, for the witness of Christ. They were witnessing, they were preaching the gospel, okay. And they still lost their life. But look, it says this, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands. Look at this, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Hey, they might lose their life, yes, temporarily, but they live with Christ and reign with Christ for a thousand years. So here's what could potentially happen, guys, if we're the last generation. We say, you know what? I'm willing to lose my life. I'm going to go and preach the word of God, okay. You might be counted as someone that does not have a single hair parish. That could possibly happen. But if you do lose your life anyway, you're given a special privilege, okay. You're not just going to live in the millennium with Christ. You're going to rule and reign with Him. What an honor, you know. You lose your head, so be it. I'm going to be ruling and reigning with Christ for a thousand years. You know, you're going to be those that would be closest, sitting on those thrones with Christ, because you've done it, you know, as a witness toward Him, okay. So not every believer that loses their life in the time will be ruling and reigning in that sense, okay. That close to Christ, you know, because there'll be those that just hide and try to save their life and lose it. They're obviously not going to have the privilege of reigning like those that witnessed of Christ and lost their lives, all right. So I hope that gives you some clarity, if you feel like there's some contradictions there, you know. But Jesus Christ just talks about different groups of people in these last days. Let's go back to Luke 21, please, verse 19. Luke 21, verse 19. It says, in your patience possess ye your souls. It says, look, if you're in last days, just be patient, okay. Be patient. That's going to help you possess, like keep it together. You're going to be able to keep it together as long as you stay patient. And I'll just read to you from Romans 5 free. It says, and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. You know, so when you're going through the difficulties in life, whether it's today or whether it's this last generation, the tribulation is going to allow you, if you're close to God, to work on patience. And that patience is what's going to keep your souls. It's what's going to keep you from not being fearful. It's what's going to keep you from keeping it together and serving Him. Verse number 20, Luke 21, verse 20. And when ye shall see Jerusalem come past with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Now this is specifically about those that live in Judea in these last days, okay. But I do believe we can apply this for us if we also suffer persecution like this. It says, then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains and let them which are in the midst of it depart out and let not them that are in the countries enter there into. So if you're from another country, another area, don't go into Judea during this time. For these be the days of vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled, but woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days. For there shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people and they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Now there's a lot to cover there but basically there's come in a time when the Antichrist will raise himself up, claim to be God and start persecuting the people of God. And in Judea is where most of that persecution is going to be. That's where it's going to be the strongest. That's why the instruction of Jesus Christ is just get out of there. There's other places to go. Okay there's other places to preach the gospel. There's other places to do the works of God. Get out of there. And especially those that are with little children in those days. Okay it's best just get out of there otherwise it's going to be very difficult for you in that during that time period. But it's verse 24 that I want to focus on. It says that Jerusalem will be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Now this reinforces the teaching that what Jesus Christ is speaking of here is of the last days. All right so keep your finger there once again. I know it's a bit of a Bible study today. But turn to Revelation 11 please. Revelation chapter 11. Let's work out what the times of the Gentiles are about. Just very quickly. Okay Revelation chapter 11 verse 1. Revelation chapter 11 verse 1. And this is John speaking. John who wrote the book of Revelation. It says and there was given me a reed like unto a rod and the angel stood saying rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and them that worship therein. So we know where the temple of God and the altar is. That's in Jerusalem. That's in the land of Judea which corresponds with what we saw in Luke 21. And then verse number 2. It says but the court which is without the temple leave out and measure it not for it is given unto the Gentiles and the holy city shall they tread underfoot forty and two months. So notice what is said there by the angel. It says that the holy city will be trodden underfoot. That's what we saw in Luke 21. But by who? It said for it is given to the Gentiles. The Gentiles will tread the holy city under their foot for forty and two months. Now forty two months if you can work it out is three and a half years. Three and a half years. Go back to Luke 21 now. Luke 21 verse 24. It says and they shall again let's look at it again and they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles. Okay but Luke doesn't tell us how long. Now we know. Forty two months. Three and a half years until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. All right so all of that just to say this is that we know if you've been here before and you've heard the preaching is that the Antichrist the beast the one that claims to be the resurrected Christ or the resurrected God or whatever it is he establishes himself in the midst of the week in the last seven years of this time he establishes himself three and a half years into it which means there's still three and a half years left. Okay where he's ruling and reigning and we know eventually you know God will pour out his wrath upon that his kingdoms anyway. Okay but that corresponds with the 42 months. Okay and Jerusalem will be under control of Gentiles or the powers of the Gentiles and this might lend toward the belief that the Antichrist is not a Jew but actually is a Gentile. Okay because it's being trodden under his authority or you could just say well he has all the power of the Gentiles that's why it's been trodden on the foot of the Gentiles and Jerusalem will be under the control of the Antichrist and these foreign powers for 42 months. Why is that relevant? Because at the end of those 42 months we know that Christ comes back establishes his kingdom takes full control over Jerusalem and rules and reigns from there. Okay so I know that's a lot to take in one day I'm going to go through revelation you know teach for revelation but you know we've got to cover these things because it's covered here in the book of Luke as well. Let's keep reading verse number 25. Verse 25. So when this tribulation time comes where the Antichrist is ruling and reigning when Jerusalem is trodden under the foot okay there's going to come a time it says and there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon. Hey there's going to be supernatural signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars and upon the earth the stress of nations with perplexity the sea and the waves roaring even the seas and the waves are going to be just aggressive and forceful and verse 26 men's hearts failing them for fear. Hey you know what this world when they see these signs and they see all these earthquakes the sun and moon these wars their hearts are going to fail them. People are just going to die from heart attacks out of fear. People are going to be so afraid okay but what did Jesus tell us? Don't be terrified. He doesn't want the believers to be afraid okay. The people of God we should not be afraid during these times but those that are without Christ yes their hearts are going to fail them for fear okay. Verse 26 and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Now keep your finger there again please go to Matthew 24. Matthew 24 verse 29. Matthew 24 verse 29. Because you might be wondering what are these signs? What are these signs in the sun the moon and the stars? Well Matthew 24 gives us the detail. Matthew 24 verse 29. Matthew 24 verse 29. The Bible says immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened. So the sun goes completely dark and the moon shall not give her light. The moon goes dark and the stars shall fall from heaven. The stars are gone right and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. The same things that we saw in Luke 21. So here's what's going to happen okay. After the tribulation okay before the end of the 42 months when Christ comes back to establish his kingdom there's going to come a time when the sun the moon and the stars go completely dark okay. All across the world it's a supernatural sign that's going to happen. Of course if that were to happen today don't you expect the whole world to be afraid okay. Let alone the seas and the oceans you know what did it say roaring you know and being so aggressive tidal waves and all these kind of things happening. Of course their hearts are going to fail them for fear okay. But that will not be our reaction because go back to Luke 21. Luke 21 verse 27. Luke 21 verse 27. Paris do you mind just helping um yeah Ethan please. Luke 21 verse 27. Okay so while everyone else is afraid how should we react? And then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory and when these things begin to come to pass then look up and lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. Hey the great promise for us when everyone's afraid is that we can look up. We don't have to be afraid of the darkness because we will see the Lord Jesus Christ return. The son of man return. Just lift up your heads you know your redemption draweth nigh. Yes all that persecution that this last generation of believers will be going through. You know all those concerns that you may have will now be alleviated. Now you're going to be with Christ forever. He's coming back to take you away before he pulls out his wrath on this earth. Okay so we see the contrast between the people of God and the believers. Hey we're going to come through. If you come through okay you're going to be strong. You're going to be without fear. You're going to lift up your heads and just be praising the Lord Jesus Christ. Desiring to be with him forever. It's going to be awesome. Verse 29. Now let me just tell you this. So those that say this chapter is just for the Jews they'll point to this in verse 29. Say see the fig tree represents Israel. It's like what? Is that what Jesus just said? Remember Jesus is in the Mount of Olives. There's obviously trees. He's obviously seen a fig tree all right. And he goes look let me just give you a parable now. You guys look behold the fig tree. Look at the fig tree right here. And all the trees. All these other trees. So is it just if the fig tree was if it was the Jews what about all the other trees then? What do they represent? Wouldn't that be the whole world? Wouldn't the whole world then be going through this or you know the believers or whatever. It'd be everybody if you wanted to take that approach. But obviously that's not what Jesus is focusing on. He just says look look at the fig tree and all the trees. Verse 30. When they now shoot forth you see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So look when you see trees and they start to flower they start to blossom. You know generally speaking you know that that happens during springtime. Okay this is something a phenomenon across the whole world. Not every plant not every tree but most trees and plants will flower and blossom and grow during spring. Okay and so when you see that you don't need to watch the news you don't need to follow the calendar to work out when summer's coming. When you see the trees blossom and grow you go well we're in spring summer's coming close by summer's coming next. We're going into summer. That's what Jesus is saying. Look when you see the trees blossom you know that summer is now night hand. It's coming around all right. So what's the parable? What's the comparison? Verse 31. So likewise ye when ye see these things come to pass say what? What did we just read about? You know and these that say it's about Israel they say well when you see Israel come back and be a nation that happened in 1948. That's when it's all that's when you'll know all this stuff is going to come to pass. Well you're just going to ignore what Jesus just said for the last few verses. When you see what? You know the wars and nations against nations the persecution of believers. When you see the Holy Spirit speaking on your behalf when you see the sun and the moon go dark and you see the stars fall from heaven and you see the waves roaring. When you see all these things come to pass what he just taught us know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Hey that's the second phase of the kingdom the millennial reign of Christ. That's when we'll know our Christ is coming back and soon nigh at hand it's going to happen soon he's going to establish his millennial kingdom. Hey those that lost their lives in the name of Christ they're going to be they're going to be back and they're going to be ruling and reigning with Christ for those thousand years. What an honor. Verse 32. Now this is also quite interesting and people say this is also a contradiction but it's not. He says verily or truly I say unto you this generation shall not pass till all be fulfilled. So there are some that believe all of Luke 21, Matthew 24 all the Olivet Discourse has already been fulfilled. Some people believe that. Some people believe that Christ has already come back. This is like fringe teaching it's not very common these days. The reason they say that is because they look at verse 32 and say well Jesus speaking to his disciples right. So Jesus this generation shall not pass till all be fulfilled. So say it must be that generation that Jesus is speaking to that will not pass they will not die till all this stuff happen. So it must have happened some time ago. No all right. Which generation shall not pass the generation that goes through this tribulation? The generation that sees the sun and the moon and the stars dark and that generation shall not pass till all be fulfilled all right. So that should encourage us that this is not going to be some prolonged persecution it's not going to go on forever okay. In fact in Matthew 24 it said except those days be shortened you know that there shall no no what to say for the elect's sake that Christ is going to shorten those days otherwise no flesh will be saved during that time. So we see that even God makes sees fit to make sure this period is not too long that the generation that goes through this has the hope that they will see the return of Christ okay. It's not something that will go on forever and ever all right. Now let's keep going verse 34. And take heed to yourselves take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with suffering. Now that word suffering means overeating, gluttony you know like looking for selfish desires because not just that and drunkenness and cares of this life and so that they come upon you unawares. Look Jesus says look listen take heed to yourselves pay attention to what I'm saying this chapter is important we can't just throw this out of the church because if you take this away you take these warnings away you're not watching for these things then your hearts might be seeking desire to just eat and drink get drunk you know and these days will come upon you and you're not even going to be aware of it happening. See this is why it's important for us to focus on this chapter we can't just throw it out okay. I mean I can understand if someone's been taught that they're going to be raptured before any of these things happen you know I can understand how someone can go and go wow I'm still here right and it's like where's Jesus wasn't he meant to come before any of this stuff happened wasn't he meant to take me away and then be like discouraged and be like lacking faith and then they'll start getting drunk and start overeating like you know just be like I don't know I can see that happening but if we teach the Olivet Discourse if we don't ignore passages in the Bible when these things come to pass we're going to be more aware we're going to be more desiring to do the works of God knowing that there's going to be the power of the Holy Spirit in a mighty way in these last days I mean I'd love to take hold of that power you know in these last days you know and be able to do these great works that Christ speaks of here and then verse 35 for as a snare, snare means trap it shall come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth you see the whole earth will be unaware they won't be prepared for the return of Jesus Christ and then verse 36 watch ye therefore this is our instruction we're aware Christ has given us the detail Christ has given us this chapter for a reason watch ye therefore listen he pay attention and now when you have the information watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man now just another false doctrine that's out there very quickly people use verse 36 to teach multiple raptures they'll say there's a pre-trib rapture there's a mid-trib rapture a post-trib rapture and depending on how faithful you are to God you'll be taken in different raptures there's only one rapture guys there's only one resurrection in this time okay but they'll say see it says that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things if you want to escape all these things if you want to be taken up to heaven raptured before any of these things happen you have to be counted worthy you need to be one of the most faithful believers out there and then you'll experience the pre-trib rapture but if you're a bit of a slack Christian but you're still pretty good you might go up in the mid-trib rapture but if you're one of these really bad Christians that don't serve the Lord you're going to face the end of the like you're going to be the end of the tribulation like you're going to go through all of this wrath of God and you'll be raptured right at the end and people that believe this it's called the partial rapture theory partial rapture theory so people are taken up at different parts of different raptures they teach that's a false doctrine okay if we just keep it within the context it makes perfect sense let's read verse 36 again watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass what did we just read about before we saw that there are some Christians that are going to lose their lives there are going to be other Christians that see it through okay and if you want to be someone that sees it through yes you need to serve the Lord do the works of God preach the gospel yes but also pray always ask the Lord that you would be accounted worthy in the sense that you would see it through that you will live live all the way through that period of tribulation so that you can literally stand before the son of man that you'll make it there toward the end not for your salvation we're not teaching about salvation here okay salvation having your sins forgiven is a free gift of God okay it's been paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ his death bearing resurrection okay and the bible says in Ephesians 2 8 and 9 for by grace are ye saved through faith it's by putting all your faith and trust on Jesus Christ alone that will save you and then he says in that not of yourselves it is the gift of God hey gifts are free it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast hey your works are not something that you ought to boast in hey your works yes it will be rewarded by Christ when he comes back yes but your works will never count you worthy the only way you can be worthy guys is by having the blood of Jesus Christ applied to you by believing on his death bearing of resurrection that's how you get saved all right but if we're in these last days okay Christ has asked us to pray to ask him that we will be worthy in the sense of seeing it through that we will make it to the end and not be those that pass away okay so please be careful you know people will try to give you another gospel all the time they'll always try to give you a workspace gospel they'll find something like verse 36 there they'll find something you know and say well see this teaches that you've got to be a good person this teaches you've got to stop sinning this teaches that you got to come to church this teaches that you need to be baptized to be saved no salvation has been fully paid for in Jesus Christ okay but the lesson we have today guys is that if we are this final generation we need to be close to God we need to be hearing his instruction we need to be watching for the events to come we need to be serving him and praying what did it say there pray always consistent prayer if we want to see it to the end okay say well what if we're not that generation then well then hey this is good stuff anyway all right we should be walking with the Lord closely we should be serving him anyway we should be preaching the gospel anyway we should be praying always anyway okay so if you think oh maybe it's a waste of time preparing for the last days preparing for tribulation because it may not be my generation well that's just a stupid way of seeing things okay because these great spiritual truths are going to help you through your days anyway you know you may face different types of tribulations in your life and applying these things doing the things that Christ has asked of us will help you get them through anyway okay so that's what I've got for you today guys Luke 21 again you're not going to hear this preaching in the average church but it's so important how many times did Jesus say take heed pay attention don't be deceived watch okay so many times please don't disregard these chapters in the bible let's pray