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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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