The Second Coming and Jesus

Let's bow our heads in prayer.

Father, we ask that you bring the truths of your word home to our heart.

And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

So, I discovered that I have a four-year-old granddaughter

who is a profound, systematic theologian over the Christmas holidays.

And in some ways, this story which I'm about to tell you,

I could almost say at the end of it,

let's stand and pray and move on.

Although we probably shouldn't pack it, and I will.

So, I've forgotten this.

I guess when people are playing rock, paper, scissors,

they go, rock, paper, scissors, shoot.

They go, rock, paper, scissors, shoot.

At least that's how my granddaughter played it.

And when you say shoot, you're supposed to put out, you know,

the paper, the rock, or the scissors.

So, my young granddaughter is playing this with one of her older siblings.

And my son is sort of watching them in the mirror as they play,

and they're giggling and having fun.

And then the older sibling decides that she's going to play a trick on the younger one.

So, they go, rock, paper, scissors, shoot.

And I don't know what it is that my younger granddaughter put out,

but the older one did this at her.

And she pouted and said, what is that?

And the older one said, that's a gun.

Guns beat rock, papers, and scissors.

So, my four-year-old granddaughter pouted

and sort of looked like she's trying to think in her mind

how she's going to get her older sibling.

So, she said, let's play a game.

So, you do rock, paper, scissors, shoot.

But this time when they say shoot,

the four-year-old put her hand up like this and yelled, Jesus.

And the older child said, what does that mean?

And the younger one said,

only the way a four-year-old girl sort of being pouty and whatever can say.

That's Jesus.

Jesus beats everything.

So, in some ways when we talk about the second coming of Jesus,

my four-year-old granddaughter has summarized the whole teaching right there.

Jesus beats everything.

Now, having said that, and I could just end it up,

we also have to acknowledge, of course,

we need to look at the Bible a little bit

and see why it's a fair summary.

But we need to remember that as well, of course,

that in our day,

saying that we believe in the second coming of Christ

is seen as kooky.

If I was a stand-up like laugh from the audience,

I would just have to come out and say,

my neighbor thinks Jesus is coming again.

And everybody would laugh.

And then he could make, or she could make,

or me, if it's me, it'd be he.

I could make a couple of other little comments,

and every one of them around the idea

that Jesus is returning a second time,

that somehow that will be taken in the air.

Everything you would say about that,

you wouldn't have to be very funny.

You would just have to say it,

and the audience would laugh.

And that's the culture,

and that's the world we live in.

It's actually sort of funny

that that's how the world views the idea.

And it's sort of funny for two reasons.

One is, it's scientifically true

that the world will come to an end.

I mean, this is the uncomfortable truth

that is hidden from us.

But the fact of the matter is,

is according to modern science,

a time will come

when our Earth will be swallowed up by the sun,

and that even if we are able to find

some other planet,

and we're able to go there,

at some point in time,

the entire universe will cease to exist.

That's just, in fact, what science tells us.

The other thing which is sort of odd

about many in our culture

thinking the idea of the second coming of Christ

is kooky,

is that our culture is obsessed

with the future.

Like, literally,

we are obsessed with the future.

We are obsessed

with thinking that we know the future.

We are obsessed

with using economic

and scientific types of things

to try to predict the future.

We are obsessed

with things that go on in the climate

and other types of things

that indicate that if certain things

don't get done,

then there'll be the end

of civilization and life as we know it.

Like, our culture at the elite levels

is literally obsessed with it.

And if you don't believe that,

just imagine if one of you

was to run for parliament

and just say,

by the way,

I think climate change

is complete and utter bunk,

and then you go through

a whole pile of other things

that you think are bunk.

Well, good luck with getting elected.

Well, that's not true.

You get elected in certain ridings,

but you definitely wouldn't win

the Canadian election.

Our culture is obsessed with it.

And even the fact

that we talk about people

having progressive politics,

progressive implies

progressing towards something,

which implies that somebody

thinks they know,

knows what the end is,

that they somehow know.

I mean, the fact is that,

of course,

that we have no idea

what's going to happen tomorrow.

Like, literally,

we have no idea

what's going to happen tomorrow.

Like, literally, we don't.

So, but it's in that,

but the fact is,

we live in a world

where our culture thinks

to talk about the last days

is kooky,

and that can infect us

as Christians

to either then

talk about it incessantly ourselves

or to not want to talk

about it at all.

So, we have before us

a text today

where Jesus talks

about his second coming.

So, let's look

and see what he says.

And he says some things

which are very, very,

very surprising.

So, let's turn

in our Bibles

to Mark chapter 13.

Mark 13 · chapter mention

And we're going to begin

earlier than the part I read.

We're going to begin

at verse 1.

And here's how it goes.

And as Jesus came

out of the temple,

one of his disciples

said to him,

look, teacher,

what wonderful stones

and what wonderful buildings.

And Jesus said to him,

do you see

these great buildings?

There will not be left here

one stone upon another

that will not be thrown down.

Now,

this would have been

a very surprising thing

for Jesus

to have said to them.

The temple in those days

was actually a remarkable,

like,

it might have been

the greatest,

if not the greatest,

it was one of the greatest

architectural feats

of that time

in the ancient world.

The size of the stones

that were brought in

to make the temple,

the stones were huge.

If you ever

get to go to Jerusalem

and go for a bit of a tour,

they'll show you

one of the stones

that's part of the original wall

or part of the original building.

And it's absolutely massive.

Like,

it's from here to there

and higher,

like,

higher than that

and it's like,

you know,

it's like 10 feet thick

and they maneuvered

these things all together

to make this

unbelievable edifice.

But,

Jesus says,

they're all going

to be thrown down.

Now,

here's our first

little problem

when we read this,

especially if we

are familiar

with what goes on

in the Twitter verse

and the TikTok verse

and the Instagram

and Facebook world,

is,

well,

here's the problem.

What Jesus said

came true

less than 40 years

after he said it.

Like,

it came true.

In 70,

the year 70,

the Romans

defeated the Jewish people

and tore the temple down.

So,

less than 40 years,

40 years or less,

after he said

that this became,

this in fact was true.

So,

many people will say

that,

of course,

what happened

is that Jesus

didn't say this

but after the fall

of Jerusalem,

they went

and Mark,

guys like Mark,

wrote beforehand

to make it look

like Jesus

prophesied the future.

And they'll normally

say something like,

and you can't prove it

otherwise.

Well,

that's not entirely true.

I mean,

the fundamental issue

is,

well,

actually,

what the issue is

is that the issue

is really whether

the triune God

of Christianity

exists or not.

And if the triune God

of Christianity

doesn't exist,

then there's no reason

to believe

that you could possibly

say something

about the future

that's true.

Like,

that's,

I think,

a fair point.

The question is,

though,

is whether,

in fact,

the God of,

the triune God

of Christianity

is true.

And if he is true,

there's no reason

at all why

he might not be able

to tell a particular

person or reveal

to a person

something that's

going to be true

in the future.

Now,

you can't then

look at evidence

to discuss this issue

but then rule out

all prophecies.

Like,

if you actually

want to try to

figure out the answer,

you have to look

at the issue.

You can't just rule out

certain types of conclusions

in advance.

That's basically

not looking at all.

And so that becomes

then the issue.

Well,

if the triune God

does exist,

then prophecies

are possible

and what about

this particular case?

Well,

there's two things

to be argued

for the fact

that Jesus,

in fact,

did say this

before the destruction

of Jerusalem.

The first one is

that there's not

as much detail

as you'd put on

if you were writing

it after the fact

and you wanted

to make Jesus

look good.

You would have

thrown in extra details

to make it look

like he was really

just nailing it.

And the second thing

is,

and this is the

bigger problem,

I subscribe

to a minority view

amongst biblical scholars

that with maybe

the exception

of the book

of Revelation

that everything

in the New Testament

was written

before the year 70.

Because one of the

great mysteries

of the New Testament

is that there's

no reference

to the destruction

of Jerusalem

and the destruction

of the temple.

Like,

it's not talked about.

Like,

in the destruction

of the temple,

it brought the end

of the Jewish

sacrificial system.

It brought the scattering

of the Jewish people.

It brought the destruction

of the Jewish nation.

It brought,

and these are all

obvious talking points

for the early Christians

for whom dealing

with their Jewish

friends and neighbors

was one of the biggest

things that they had

to deal with.

It was an obvious

talking point.

Like,

you can no longer go

and have a sacrifice

to deal with your sins.

And didn't,

you know,

that's just all gone.

And yet there's no

reference to it

whatsoever

in the entire

New Testament.

Which is why

a minority,

but a significant

minority of scholars

believe that everything

in the New Testament

with maybe the exception

of the book

of Revelation

was written

before the year 70.

The absence

of the destruction

of Jerusalem

which transformed

the Jewish people

is a very telling

piece of evidence.

So I think it's valid

for us to read this

as a prophecy.

Jesus says this.

Forty years later,

it happens.

So,

what happens?

He just doesn't

sort of stop there.

Something deeply human

in the disciples

provokes a longer

teaching time

by Jesus.

Here's what I mean.

Look at verses

three and following.

And as Jesus

sat on the Mount

of Olives

opposite the temple,

Peter and James

and John

and Andrew

asked him privately,

tell us

what are about

to be accomplished.

Now,

as I said

in my introduction,

we're obsessed

with thinking

that we know

the future.

In fact,

we look down

our noses

at people

who don't look

at the

January 6th

events

as being

a sign

and a precursor

of terrible things.

Who don't,

who others

who see the border

crisis in the United States

as a sign

of terrible things.

Who see

the hate speech

stuff that's going on

in the Canadian government

as being a sign

of a terrible future.

Like,

we are obsessed

with trying

to think

to figure out

what the future is

and we look

down our noses.

Somebody who doesn't

share our particular

political perspective

that will look

and how can you

not see that

as a sign

is how we talk

to each.

Like,

we might not use

that word

but that's how we think.

How can you not

see that as a sign?

Like,

we're always looking

for signs

and we always think

that we can know

the future

that we have

some insight

and we think

that people

who don't share

our insight

about where

the culture

is going

are naive.

They're foolish.

They're,

you know,

whatever.

Brainwash by who

and pick your bad guy.

So what we see here

is the normal

human thing.

A normal

human thing.

I got Jesus here.

I'm going to,

he's going to tell me

when this is going

to happen

and he's going

to tell me

the signs

of when it's

going to happen.

Now you have

to realize

that this desire

for this inside

knowledge,

this takes place

on either the

Wednesday

or the Thursday.

Probably the

Wednesday.

And on Friday,

Jesus is hanging

on the cross

dying.

They're asking him

this question

on Wednesday.

and less than

approximately

48 hours later,

he's dying

on the cross.

And I can

well imagine

that afterwards

they were going,

good grief.

what were,

what was,

like what,

like what just

happened?

Why were,

I mean they think

Jesus is going

to go on,

he's going to

triumph and you

know who knows

what they thought.

Maybe they thought

that after he conquered

the whole world

he was going to

knock down the

temple,

make a better

one.

Like who knows

what they were

thinking.

They're just

caught up with

their desire

to know the

signs better

than other people,

know the future

better than other

people and

they're asking

it from their

perspective and

they don't see

that even though

Jesus has told

them time and

time and time

and time again

that he's going

to Jerusalem

to die on the

cross and

that he'll rise

from the dead,

they don't see

that's about to

happen.

How does

Jesus answer?

Does he say

to them,

you're so stupid

you're asking me

this question

when I'm about

to die on the

cross?

Like what,

he doesn't do

that.

He takes the

question and

in a sense

what he's doing,

you can see

here that Jesus

is speaking to

our human

desire to

to know the

future and

to know

signs.

And so he

answers their

question.

So what does

he say?

Look at verses

five and

following.

And Jesus

began to say

to them,

see that no

one leads you

astray.

Many will

come in my

name saying,

I am he,

and they will

lead many

astray.

Now just sort

of pause here

for a second.

this command

and warning

to not be

led astray

is going to

be repeated

in this text

and it's a

very important

thing for us

to understand.

I mean,

it's something

for us to

make a part

of our

prayers.

That Lord

is,

as we're

trying to

figure out,

you know,

things about

climate change

and things

about politics

and things

about economics

and things

about this

and that,

help us to

think about

it Christianly

and Father,

help us to

not be

led astray.

And when it

comes to

teachings around

the second

coming of

Christ,

help us not

to be led

astray and

help us not

to be led

astray by

false teachers

and false

prophets

and idols

and lies.

Help us,

Lord,

not to be

led astray.

It's a very

good thing

for us to

pray.

Jesus is,

in a sense,

telling us,

you should

pray this

because you

should want

to not be

led astray.

And it

also must

have,

like,

we don't

get any

of the,

we don't

get any

of the

disciples'

reactions to

this,

but it

must have

puzzled

them.

They're

trying to

think,

okay,

we're just

asking about

the stones

being knocked

down,

but now

you're talking

about false

Christ?

Like,

how can

there be,

we just

know who

you are,

like,

how could

there be

a false,

like,

we don't

get their

reaction to

that.

But,

okay,

maybe he's

now going

to tell them

the signs

and the

time.

Well,

let's look,

verses 7

and 8.

And when

you hear of

wars and

rumors of

wars,

do not

be alarmed.

This must

take place,

but the

end is not

yet.

For nation

will rise

against nation

and kingdom

against kingdom.

There will

be earthquakes

in various

places.

There will

be famines.

These are

but the

beginnings

of the

birth pains.

Now,

just sort

of pause

here for a

second.

every one

of these

things are

exactly the

sort of

thing that

we think

of as

being

signs.

We see

a war.

We see

famine.

We see

earthquakes.

We think

surely these

must be

the signs.

And Jesus

says these

are not

signs.

This is

just normal

life.

This is

just normal

life.

They're not

signs.

They're not

signs.

life.

It's

just

life.

So we

go,

okay,

that's

a bit

puzzling.

But then

he continues.

Look at

verse 9.

But be

on your

guard.

That's

sort of a

very similar

type of

command as

to not

be led

astray.

for they

will deliver

you over

to councils

and you

will be

beaten in

synagogues

and you

will stand

before governors

and kings

for my

sake to

bear witness

before them.

And the

gospel must

first be

proclaimed to

all nations.

And when

they bring

you to

trial and

deliver you

over,

do not

be anxious

beforehand

what you

are to

say.

But say

whatever is

given to

you in

that hour.

For it

is not

you who

speak

will rise

against

parents and

have their

parents put

to death.

And you

will be

hated by

all for

my name's

sake.

But the

one who

endures to

the end

will be

saved.

Isn't

Jesus great

at sales?

Like if that

doesn't make

you want to

become a

Christian,

I don't

know what

would.

Once again,

none of

these are

signs.

He's

describing

normal

human life.

And he's

describing

that people

who, what

he's describing

is he's

describing life

after his

death and

resurrection,

that there

will be a

Jesus

movement,

movement,

and that

this Jesus

movement is

going to

face at

times very,

very, very

bitter and

deadly

persecution.

We have

it very

mild here in

Canada right

now.

Maybe it

will get

bad.

We should

pray that it

doesn't.

Those of you

who work in

the government,

those of you

who work in

media should

do what you

can to turn

our nation

from really

wanting to

persecute

Christians.

But we

know that

there are

many countries

in the

world where

this, you

know, I

haven't read

all of the

book, but

there's this

very profound

book called

Everything

Sad is

Untrue.

And it's

written by

a fellow

whose mother

in Iran

became a

Christian.

In Iran.

I think

she was a

doctor.

And because

of the

persecution

against her,

she had to

flee the

country and

she lost

everything and

she took

her two

kids with

her.

I think

it was

two.

And this

is a bit

of a

memoir of

the man

now much

older about

what it was

to be taken

in as a

refugee to

have fled

Iran and

be taken

in as a

refugee in

Oklahoma.

And the

culture shock.

And it's a

very, very

powerful title.

And in many

ways it could

be another

title about

the point

of the

second

coming of

Christ.

Is that

part of the

reason the

second coming

of Christ

isn't kooky

but is very,

very profound

and very,

very necessary

is that it

tells you that

for those who

are in

Christ,

at the end

of the end

of the end

of the end

of the end,

everything sad

is untrue.

That every

tear will be

wiped away

and every

wound will be

healed.

and every

abandonment

will be

met with

reception

and love

and a

forever

family.

These are

not signs.

This is

normal

Christian life.

But notice

in the midst

of this

description

of profound

heartache

and profound

hard times.

Like,

not only

would it be

hard for me

to be dragged

before a

court

and sentenced

to death

or dragged

before a

crowd and be

sentenced to

death and

then killed

because I'm

a Christian

and that

would be

hard.

It would

be even

harder if I

knew it

was one

of my

kids

who was

responsible

for it.

That would

be just

so hard.

Whether it

was my

brother or

my wife

who turned

me in.

But the

thing which

is interesting,

if you go

back and

you look

at the

text again,

is in the

midst of

that very,

very,

very hard

time,

and we

still haven't

got to

any signs

yet,

is that

God is

still active

and sovereign.

The gospel

is proclaimed

to all the

nations.

When you

speak before

kings and

governors,

the Holy

Spirit will

actually speak

through you.

And that

if you

endure all

of these

things,

the result

of enduring

all of

these

things is

eternal

life.

That

that's

the destiny

of going

through all

of these

things,

that you

will be

saved,

that you

will have

eternal

life,

that God

is still

sovereign,

even in

the midst

of these

very,

very,

very hard

and

difficult

times.

So now

we do

get to

some

signs.

And just

before I

start to

read it,

I'm going

to say

it,

and then

I'm going

to come

back to

it.

I have

only,

so I'm

not trying

to make

any attempt

to try

to connect

the abomination

of desolation

with the man

of lawlessness

or the beast

or the

antichrist.

I'm not

giving a talk

on eschatology.

It's fine

to give a

talk on

eschatology,

and obviously

the Bible

teaches

an eschatology.

I'm just

trying to

deal with

the text

in front

of me.

And so

I have

one particular

piece of

advice,

is that

if we

listen to

this,

you don't

want to

be Eustace

or Jill.

You want

to be

puddle glum.

And those

of you who

know the

Narnia

Chronicles,

that's the

big takeaway

that you

should get

from this.

I want

to be

puddle glum,

not Jill

or Eustace.

So I'll

explain it

in a

moment.

Let's

listen to

these

signs.

Verse 14.

But when

you see

the abomination

of desolation,

standing where

he ought not

to be,

let the reader

understand.

Then let

those who

are in

Judea flee

to the

mountains.

Let the

one who

is on

the housetop

not go

down,

nor enter

his house

to take

anything

out.

And let

the one

who is

in the

field

not turn

back

to take

his cloak.

And alas,

for women

who are

pregnant and

for those

who are

nursing infants

in those

days,

pray that

it may

not happen

in winter,

for in those

days there

will be such

tribulation

as has not

been seen,

as has not

been from the

beginning of the

creation that

God created

until now

and never

will be.

And if the

Lord had not

cut short

the days,

no human

being would

be saved,

but for

the sake

of the

elect whom

he chose,

he shortened

the days.

And then

if anyone

says to

you,

look,

here is

the Christ,

or look,

there he

is,

do not

believe,

and false

prophets

will arise

and perform

signs and

wonders to

lead astray

if possible

the elect,

but be on

guard.

I have

told you

all these

things

beforehand.

Now,

there's a

series of

books by C.S.

Lewis called

The Narnia

Chronicles,

and I can't

remember what

book it is

in the order.

The two

human beings,

it sort of

talks about a

separate world,

a separate

universe,

where there's

this Aslan

who's like a

Christ figure.

And all of

The Narnia

Chronicles involve

human beings

from our sort

of world or

timeline going

into this

other world.

And in this

one particular

world,

these two

young people,

I think they're

both like 12

or something,

Jill and

Eustace,

they get

brought into

this other

world.

And Aslan

meets them,

and Aslan

gives them a

task to

fulfill.

And in this

task,

he says,

you will have

four signs,

and these

four signs,

you need to

remember them

every day.

Every day,

you need to

say them over

and over

and over

again.

Don't forget

them.

Be on the

lookout for

them.

And then

here's the

main point.

You need to

understand that

these signs

might not be

obvious,

but you will

come across

them,

and if

you follow

them,

you'll

succeed in

this quest

which he

sent them

on.

Four signs.

And they're

told to

remember them

over and

over and

over and

over again.

So the

thing goes

on,

and what

happens,

of course,

is that the

two kids

regularly forget

what the

signs are,

never recognize

the signs

when they

come.

The only one

who actually

remembers the

signs and

finally recognizes

each signs is

this creature,

a marsh

wiggle,

called

Puddleglum.

And that's,

I think,

the recommendation

we can have

for this.

It's very

interesting.

In the

commentaries,

they go on

and on and

on and on

about what

the abomination

of desolation

means.

Nobody knows.

There's three

vague references

in Daniel.

But we're

told that it

will be a

sign of

the end.

And we're

told that there

will be a

time of

great tribulation.

Whether that's

all over the

world or just

in one particular

area, we're

not told.

One of the

great problems

with North

Americans is

that we think

somehow or

another,

whenever the

tribulation

comes, it

has to be in

North America,

as if we're

somehow like

the center of

the universe.

Duh!

We're not!

Like, maybe

it's describing

right now what's

going on in

Iran.

Like, maybe

we're in the

period of it

right now

because of

Iran or

China.

Like, why

should we

think it

has to be

connected to

us?

Like, maybe

it's going

on in

parts of

Africa.

It just

says there

will be a

time of

great, great,

great tribulation

and there's

this thing

called the

abomination

of desolation

and what

we can, I

think that

C.S.

Lewis was

very wise.

We probably

won't recognize

it.

That's why

Jesus keeps

saying, be on

your guard,

be on your

guard, be on

your guard.

Because it could

very well be

something that

people just

go, you know,

it's like, it's

like, I'm

starting to be a

bit controversial,

complaining about

medically

assisted dying.

Oh, don't, it's

just a small

thing.

Don't worry

about it.

Don't think

about it.

Or discussing

certain other

types of

things about,

you know,

changing the

gender of

kids.

And they

talk, you

know, so we're

going to start,

don't worry about

it, just a

small, like, why

are you getting

all upset about

it?

It could very

well be

something that

all of the

elites, all of

the hoity-toity

pooh-paws who

live in the best

sections of the

country and all

make lots of

money and are

all very, very

smart and they

all have 10

PhDs or have

are very, very

powerful and they

all think this is a

wonderful thing, is

pray that I will be

puddle-glum and

pray that you will be

puddle-glum.

Remember the signs.

Remember them.

And by the way,

before we go

anything any way

further, why on

earth do we even

think about this?

Why is it even being

talked about and

remembered?

Well, the only

reason that any of

this is being talked

about and remembered

is that even though

it was said on a

Wednesday and on

Friday he died on

the cross, on

Sunday the grave

was empty and

Jesus appeared

alive.

And if on Sunday

the grave was not

empty, if in fact

the body of Jesus

was still there, we

wouldn't read any of

this stuff, we

wouldn't know about

it, nor would we

care about it, nor

would we think it's

important.

And if we met

somebody who thought

it was important with

Jesus' body rotting in

the grave just after

he'd said these

things, we'd say,

you guys are

deluded, like why

do you pay any

attention?

The guy, nothing he

said worked out or

turned out.

It's only the

significance of the

resurrection of Jesus

after his prophecies and

in light of the whole

history of the whole

story of the Old

Testament that we

look at these things

and say, the grave is

empty.

He rose from the

dead.

He ascended to

heaven.

And he is the one.

He didn't tell us that

he's going to come

again because he's

studied the

dialectics of

history, that he's

understood the

dynamics of technology

and science, that he's

figured out an

algorithm that will

show the future.

These are things that

our culture would like.

His only authority is

his own.

It's the authority of

having defeated death,

of having risen from

the dead.

And when he ascended

into heaven, he said,

I'm going to come

back.

I will return.

And now we get to

this other part.

I have to watch my

time.

24 to 27.

And this is just

mind-blowing.

And what this is

showing here, by the

way, is showing

something that, you

see, when Jesus

dies on the cross, on

one hand, his first

coming is to deal

with a sacrifice

for sin.

He is introduced

in John's gospel as

the Lamb of God who

takes away the sin of

the world.

And in all of the

Old Testament

sacrificial systems,

there's always this

double thing that goes

on, where you have

an animal that's

innocent, and in a

sense, by touching

the animal or offering

the animal up, the

bad things in you, the

shame in you, goes on

the animal, and the

innocence of the

animal comes to you.

And the fundamental

purpose of

Christ's coming is

that he is that, he

is, as God's son, he

is that Lamb of God

that God has provided

so that when we put

our hands in the hands

of Jesus, the things

within us which are

evil and bad go on

him and his

righteousness is given

to us.

But there's something

else as well, is that

when he rises from the

dead, it means that

something new has

entered our

created order.

The life of the

world to come has

come to enter our

created lives to

Christ, and we are

born again.

That life of the age

to come, that eternal

life, enters ordinary

human beings like you

and me.

And when we see these

final words, we're

seeing is the life of

the age to come,

coming to its final

end and breaking

apart the life,

our life,

the life of this

age.

Listen to it

described.

For in those days

after that tribulation,

the sun will be

darkened and the moon

will not give its

light and the stars

will be falling from

heaven and the powers

in the heavens will be

shaken.

And then they will see

the Son of Man coming

in clouds with great

power and glory.

And then he will send

out the angels and

gather his elect from

the four winds from

the ends of the earth

to the ends of heaven.

Jesus will come.

Why do we believe

that Jesus will come?

It's because of the

resurrection of Christ.

Why is it precious?

It's precious because

it shows us the true

story of the world and

a way for us to be in

the true story of the

world that makes it a

great difference.

Here's what it is.

Like if you read

self-help books, if you

read advice columns,

if you sort of just,

you know, pick up what

the main lessons of

Hollywood and the media,

the lessons is that the

full human life, the

mature human life is,

you know, win, win,

win, win, win, and at

the end, win in capital

letters.

But that story doesn't

have any place with

suffering or for

failure.

And in fact, actually, I