Watchful to the End

Luke 21, verses 5 to 38.

Luke 21:5–38

And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings,

he said, ask for these things that you see.

The days will come and will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

And they asked him, teacher, when will these things be?

And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?

And he said, see that you are not led astray.

For many will come in my name saying, I am he.

And the time is at hand.

Do not go after them.

And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified.

For these things must first take place.

But the end will not be at once.

Then he said to them, nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.

There will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and pestilences.

And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

But before all this, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you,

delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons.

And you will be the same governors for my name's sake.

This will be your opportunity to bear witness.

Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer.

For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends.

And some of you they will put to death.

You will be hated by all for my name's sake.

But not a hair of your head will perish.

By your endurance you will gain your lives.

But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies,

then know that its desolation has come near.

Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,

and let those who are inside the city depart.

And let not those who are out in the country enter it.

For these are days of vengeance to fulfill all that is written.

Alas, for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days.

For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people.

They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations.

And Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles

until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars

and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity

because of the roaring of the sea and the waves.

People fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world.

For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

And when they will see the Son of Man,

and then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Now when these things begin to take place,

straighten up and raise your heads

because your redemption is drawing near.

And he told them a parable.

Look at the fig tree and all the trees.

As soon as they come out in leaf,

you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.

So also, when you see these things taking place,

you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Truly I say to you,

this generation will not pass away until all has taken place.

Heaven and earth will pass away,

but my words will not pass away.

But watch yourselves,

lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life.

And that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the earth.

Face of the whole earth.

But stay awake at all times,

praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place

and to stand before the Son of Man.

And every day he was teaching in the temple,

but at night he went out and lodged on a mountain called Olivet.

And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Hopefully he won't cut in and out anymore.

Jesus has been up to this point teaching every day in the temple.

And ever since he entered Jerusalem at chapter 19.

And some of the people that were with him were beginning to marvel at the temple,

how beautiful it is, how magnificent it is.

It says verse 5,

They were speaking of the temple,

how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings.

And that spurs Jesus then to talk about how the temple will soon be destroyed

and how that is connected to the coming of the end times.

And so Jesus then goes on to teach more generally about the ultimate end times that is coming as well.

And his main point here for us to learn is that we should bear enduring witness to Christ,

watchfully waiting for his return and our redemption.

And usually I have two or three points, but because of the,

not all the points are very long.

So bear with me.

I'll talk about the destruction of the temple,

the persecution of believers,

fall of Jerusalem,

disruptions in heaven and earth.

These are all things that will precede the return of Christ.

And so the exhortation to us,

it finally is to be watchful.

And the people were marveling at the temple.

And this temple,

the Jewish temple that they're marveling at,

is not the first Jewish temple.

The first,

the original temple that Solomon built

was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian army in 586 BC.

We see that in 2 Kings 25 and Jeremiah 52.

A second temple built was built to replace that.

It was built by the returning Jewish exiles from the Babylonian exile in 516 BC.

It was led by Ezra and Nehemiah and Zerubbabel.

But it says in Ezra chapter three,

verse 12,

that many of the priests and Levites and heads of father's houses,

old men who had seen the first house,

wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid.

Because compared to the first temple,

the second temple was so shoddy and insignificant,

they wept at the sight of it being erected.

But when Herod I became the Roman king of Judea,

ruling at the behest of the Roman emperor over the Jewish people in Judea,

in the first century BC,

he engaged in a lot of building projects to kind of showcase his greatness.

And one of those projects was a complete refurbishment of the second temple.

He overhauled it from top to bottom,

building new foundation walls and enlarging the temple area by about 200,000 square yards,

about twice the size of the original second temple,

size of 30 football fields,

to about 200,000 square yards.

And this construction took over 80 years,

and it was still ongoing,

but still a lot of it was done by the time Jesus was ministering.

It was undoubtedly an impressive structure,

and so people are marveling at how it was adorned with noble stones,

good quality stones,

and offerings,

which is a reference to ornaments of the temple dedicated to God,

including like the gold-plated gates and such.

And the first century Roman historian Tacitus described this temple as immensely opulent.

Archaeologists have found stones that are 42 feet long,

11 feet high,

and 14 feet deep,

weighing over a million pounds that were used in the construction of this temple.

These massive stones,

if the temple were still,

if the second temple were still intact,

if it were still there,

it would be more massive,

these stones that were used,

than any other ancient temple that existed.

Now, the ornaments were similarly extravagant.

First century Jewish historian Josephus writes that the gate opening into the temple

was completely overlaid with gold,

as was the whole wall around it.

It had above it golden vines from which hung grape clusters as tall as a man,

and it had golden doors 55 cubits high and 16 broad.

Before these hung a veil of equal length of Babylonian tapestry

with embroidery of blue and fine linen,

of scarlet also,

and of purple,

wrought with marvelous skill.

It had columns that rose 40 feet high,

and they were so thick that Josephus reports that it took three grown men

to try to stretch out their arms in order to get around it.

So imagine columns like the giant sequoias of the redwood forests.

If the temple still stood today,

we would be in awe of it,

we'd take pictures of it.

But Jesus is not impressed.

He says in verse 6,

As for these things that you see,

the days will come when there will not be left here

one stone upon another

that will not be thrown down.

This is because,

as Jesus said to these people in Luke 19.46,

they had turned a house of prayer into a den of robbers,

a hideout for people who do evil things

outside of the temple in their own lives

and then come to find refuge.

Instead of a place to seek God,

it had been reduced to a den of robbers.

So Jesus,

because they rejected the messianic king that God sent,

Jesus pronounced that the temple will be destroyed.

And so he tells them here,

and as people,

I think we tend to value these kinds of visible monuments

and historical landmarks,

but Jesus is telling us,

reminding us,

they don't last forever.

Consider the Massachusetts State House,

designed by the same architect

that designed the White House

with its gilded 23-carat gold dome,

or consider the famed Faneuil Hall,

indelibly etched into American history.

Many of you are Harvard students.

Consider Harvard's Memorial Hall

with high arched ceilings,

timber roof,

decorated with these

august portraits

of important people

and lighted by stained glass windows,

or the Weiner's Library,

which,

according to a college guidebook,

is colonnaded on its front

by immense pillars

with elaborate Corinthian capitals,

all of which stand at the head

of a flight of stairs

that would not disgrace

the capital in Washington.

Or consider MIT's

McLaurin Building,

which forms a U

around the grassy Killian Court,

facing the beautiful Charles River,

with an impressive colonnade facade,

and topped by 100 feet wide

great dome

modeled after the great Parthenon of Rome.

Consider all these things,

their buildings,

their illustrated history,

their revered traditions,

their unparalleled reputations,

and yet God is not impressed.

We think these things will last.

But they don't last forever.

The people who were with us

are not impressed

by the external grandeur

of the Jewish temple,

but Jesus tells them

not to be impressed

because it will not last.

Remember what God said

in Isaiah chapter 66,

Isaiah 66:1–2

verses 1 to 2,

Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool.

What is the house

that you would build for me?

And what is the place of my rest?

All these things my hand has made,

and so all these things came to be,

but this is the one to whom I will look,

he who is humble,

and contrite in spirit,

and trembles at my word.

That's what God ultimately cares about,

about us.

He doesn't need us to do anything for him.

There's nothing we can do

to make him more glorious

than he already is.

There's nothing we can give to him

that he doesn't already own.

If we really understand this truth,

it will set us free

from being captive to this world.

All worldly fame and recognition,

what school you went to,

where you work,

what your position is,

how much you earn,

all worldly riches,

the car you drive,

the house you live in,

the clothes you wear,

all worldly accomplishments,

the degrees you hold,

the patents you earn,

the laws you pass,

the problems you solve,

and the buildings you design,

these things do not endure forever.

What God cares about

is that you are of humble

and contrite spirit,

and that you tremble at his word.

What God cares about

is that you do all your work,

all these things,

not out for your own glory,

not out of love for yourself,

but out of love for him,

that you study,

write,

code,

build,

and work for him

in faith and obedience.

That's what gets God's attention.

A person who is inwardly humble,

submitted to him,

not things that are outwardly grandiose.

And the people are so startled

by Jesus' prophecy

because the temple

was the center of their worship.

And so they ask him in verse 7,

Teacher,

when will these things be?

And what will be the sign

when these things

are about to take place?

The destruction of the temple

would be the end of life

as they know it,

and it would portend for them

the beginning of the end times

and the coming

of the kingdom of God.

And so Jesus answers

their question

not only by speaking

of the signs

that lead up to

the destruction of the temple

and the fall of Jerusalem,

but also more generally

about the ultimate end,

about his second coming.

But before he talks

about these signs,

Jesus tells them about

what are not signs,

things that will happen

before the fall of Jerusalem,

but are not necessarily indicators

that the end is about to come.

He says in verses 8 to 9,

See that you are not led astray,

for many will come in my name,

saying,

I am he,

and the time is at hand.

Do not go after them,

and when you hear of wars

and tumults,

do not be terrified,

for these things

must first take place,

but the end

will not be at once.

There will be people

that come claiming

to be the Messiah,

saying,

I am he.

There will be timetables given,

saying that it is now the time,

the end time has come.

There will be false rumors

about Messiahs.

Likewise,

there will also be rumors

of war and tumults.

He says,

You will hear of wars

and tumults.

There will be rumblings of war

all throughout the world,

but we should not be terrified,

for these things

must first take place,

but the end

will not be at once.

These rumors

of the Messiah,

rumors of wars

and revolutions

are par for the course

after the time

of Jesus' death

and resurrection

and ascension.

They're not unusual events.

They will characterize

life after Jesus' ascension.

These are not necessarily

indicators

that Christ's coming

is imminent.

We know of

at least two

Messianic pretenders

that existed

right after Jesus' time

before the destruction

of the temple

in 70 AD.

Those are recorded

in Acts 5.36

and Acts 21.38

as well.

So this really did happen.

It was fulfilled.

But until Christ returns,

we need not be terrified

because we are not living

in the dark.

We expect these things.

And then Jesus gives us

a summary statement

in verses 10-11

of the signs

that will precede the end

that there will be wars

among nations

and natural disasters

and unusual phenomena

in the sky and land.

And then Jesus

elaborates on these

in the following passages.

It kind of serves

as a thesis statement

for verses 20-26,

verse 10 and verse 11 does.

But before all of these

designs will take place,

Jesus says further

in verse 12

that there will be

persecution of believers.

That's my second point.

They will lay their hands

on you

and persecute you,

delivering you up

to the synagogues

and prisons.

And you will be

the things

and governors

for my name's sake.

Persecution,

according to Jesus,

is not a sign

that the end

is imminent.

Persecution,

and here,

followers of Christ,

he says,

will be delivered up

to the synagogues

and prisons,

which suggests

religious authorities.

And also,

we will be brought

before kings

and governors,

which suggests

civil authorities,

political authorities.

And all of this

persecution will be,

Jesus says,

for my name's sake.

This phrase

is repeated twice

in this passage,

here in verse 12

and later in verse 17.

Already in Luke,

John the Baptist

has been imprisoned

for bearing witness

to Jesus.

And other followers

of Jesus

are imprisoned

in Luke's sequel

in the book of Acts

up to 16 times.

And then,

they testify

before civil authorities

on many occasions.

And all of that happens

because of Jesus,

for the sake

of Jesus' name.

That phrase

is repeated 17 times

in the book of Acts.

It shows the centrality

of a Christian's

allegiance to Jesus.

That's what our lives

are to be about.

About the name of Jesus,

advancing his name,

we live for his sake

and not our own.

So if I were to ask you,

is it obvious

to those around you

that you are living

for Jesus' name's sake?

Or are they more likely

to conclude

when they observe

your life from the outside

that you are living

for your own sake?

This is a question

that we all need

to ask ourselves

because often

the absence of persecution

is a sign

not of how principled

and moral

our society is,

but of how impoverished

our witness to Christ is.

persecution is not

out of the ordinary

for the Christian.

It's normal.

It's to be expected

in the life

following Jesus' ascension.

And Jesus says

in verse 13,

this will be

your opportunity

to bear witness.

We will be persecuted

for bearing witness

to Jesus,

but the persecution

itself will provide

further opportunities,

a platform

for bearing witness

to Jesus

because when people

mock us for our faith,

when people persecute us

for our faith,

when people bring us

to public courts,

we're being brought

for the hearing

of many.

Our faith

is becoming

made an issue

and gives us

an opportunity

to bear witness

to Jesus

and tell them

about our faith

and about the hope

that we have

in Jesus.

And so it's

an opportunity

for witness.

This is kind of

really a radical way

to think about it

and look at it

because if preserving

ourselves

or promoting

ourselves

is the primary

goal of our lives,

then persecution,

of course,

is undesirable.

It's a setback.

It's a disappointment.

But if

proclamation

of Jesus,

if promoting

Christ

is our ultimate

goal in life,

then persecution

is not a setback

or a disappointment.

it's an opportunity,

a golden chance

to bear witness

to Jesus

and how precious

he is to us.

And he says

we need not worry

about persecution

because it's not

a threat to us.

It's an opportunity

and Jesus

will teach us

by his spirit

what to say.

He says in verses

14 to 15,

settle it therefore

in your minds

not to meditate

beforehand

how to answer

for I will give you

a mouth and wisdom

which none of your

adversaries will be able

to withstand

or contradict.

Jesus said something

very similar earlier

in Luke 12

Luke 12:11–12

verses 11 to 12

when he said

that when we're

brought for trial

to the religious

authorities

that we don't need

to worry about

defending ourselves

or worry about

what to say

because he said

therefore

the Holy Spirit

will teach you

in that very hour

what you ought to say.

That's what Jesus

is promising here.

I will give you

a mouth and wisdom

and that phrase

mouth and wisdom

recalls

Exodus chapter 4

Exodus 4:10–12

verses 10 to 12

when God calls Moses

to go to Egypt

to deliver Israel

from their captivity

and this is

Moses' excuse.

He says

O my Lord

I am not eloquent

either in the past

or since

you have spoken

to your servant

but I am slow

of speech

and of tongue

but the Lord

said to him

who has made

man's mouth

who makes him

mute

or deaf

or seeing

or blind

is it not I

the Lord

now therefore

go

and I will be

with your mouth

and teach you

what you shall

speak.

God who created

the human mouth

God who is the

embodiment of all

wisdom

will himself

help you

when you are

being interrogated

persecuted

for the sake

of Jesus' name.

So you need not

worry.

God will teach you

what to say

and help you

to say it.

How many times

have you

given that excuse

the same excuse

that Moses has given

for not bearing

witness to Jesus?

I'm not eloquent.

I'm slow

of speech.

I don't have

all the answers.

When God

gives you

an opportunity

to witness

in that context

you don't need

to worry

about being

ridiculed

persecuted

mocked

for your beliefs.

When that happens

when the opportunity

comes

Jesus himself

the Lord God

himself

will give you

a wisdom

and a mouth

to speak.

And we see

this fulfilled

throughout the book

of Acts.

Jesus continues

in verses 16

and 17

you'll be delivered

up even by parents

and brothers

and relatives

and friends

and some of you

they will put

to death.

You'll be hated

by all for my

namesake.

In some cases

followers of Jesus

will even be

betrayed

by their parents

brothers

relatives

and friends.

some of them

will be put

to death.

This shows

what Luke

has been saying

over and over

again throughout

the gospel

that our

allegiance to

Jesus

must trump

even our

allegiance

to our

family members.

We will be

hated

by many

for his

namesake.

All I think

here is

hyperbolic

all kinds

of people

will hate

us

because of

our

allegiance

to Christ.

But

Jesus promises

in verses

18 to 19

not a

hair

of your

head

will

perish.

By your

endurance

you will

gain

your

lives.

A

single

strand

of

hair

is

really

the most

insignificant

part of

our

bodies.

We lose

about

hundred

strands

of

hair

per

day.

I

know

that's

hard

to

believe

but

that's

what

they

estimate.

So

saying

not a

hair

of your

head

will

perish

is

metaphorical.

Jesus

is

saying

here

no

harm

will

come

upon

you.

Now

if you're

paying

attention

that should

raise

the

question

how

can

that

be

possibly

the

case?

Didn't

Jesus

just

say

literally

some

of

you

they

will

put

to

death?

That

sounds

like

a little

more

than

a

hair

to

me.

The

context

suggests

here

that

Jesus

is

not

speaking

of

temporal

well-being

but

of

our

eternal

well-being.

It's

similar

to what

Jesus

says

in

Matthew

10

28

do

not

fear

those

who

kill

the

body

but

cannot

kill

the

soul

whether

fear

him

who

can

destroy

both

soul

and

body

in

hell.

Your

soul

God

is

saying

which

you

have

entrusted

to

me

is

in

my

sovereign

hands

and

no

one

can

touch

you.

Even

your

body

they

might

kill

but

I

will

raise

you

up

in

a

new

glorious

resurrection

body

in

the

end.

So

don't

you

fear

them.

Not

a

hair

of

your

head

will

perish.

By

your

endurance

even

through

death

you

will

gain

your

lives.

The

word

life

there

lives

there

is

often

translated

soul.

It's

the

same

more

that

Jesus

used

in

Luke

9

23

25

That's

the

saving

of

life

that

Jesus

is

talking

about.

Yes

you

might

die

for

his

name

sake

but

your

soul

will

be

well

you

will

be

preserved

to

the

end.

If

you

endure

through

persecution

not a

hair

of

your

head

will

perish.

Endurance

is a

Christian

virtue

that is

praised

often

throughout

the

New

Testament.

It

assumes

difficulty.

You

don't

endure

something

that's

easy.

Bearing

witness

to

Jesus

living

as a

Christian

will

not

come

easily.

It

requires

endurance,

perseverance.

It

will

come

with

its

own

share

of

suffering

and

persecution.

But

Jesus

teaching

us

here

that

it's

worth

it.

We

must

endure.

And

then in

verses

20 to

24

Jesus

returns

to the

topic

of

the

destruction

of

the

temple

and

the

fall

of

Jerusalem.

He

says

But

when you

see

Jerusalem

surrounded

by

armies

that

know

that

its

desolation

has

come

near.

Then

let

those

who

are

in

Judea

flee

to

the

mountains

and

let

those

who

are

inside

the

city

depart

and

let

not

those

who

are

out

in

the

country

enter

it

for

these

are

days

of

vengeance

to

fulfill

all

that

is

written

alas

for

women

who

are

pregnant

and

for

those

who

are

nursing

infants

in

those

days

for

there

will

be

great

distress

upon

the

earth

and

wrath

against

this

people

you

will

fall

by

the

edge

of

the

sword

and

be

led

captive

among

all

nations

the

siege

of

Jerusalem

will

bring

its

desolation

and

this

will

be

so

severe

Jesus

predicts

that

those

who

live

in

the

wider

region

around

the

city

should

depart

they

should

flee

into

the

mountains

those

who

are

inside

the

city

should

depart

and

leave

the

city

and

those

who

are

just

outside

the

city

in

the

country

should

not

enter

it

everyone

should

avoid

Jerusalem

because

that's

how

severe

the

judgment

will

be

because

and

this

was

fulfilled

in

70

AD

in

66

AD

the

Jewish

people

in

Jerusalem

they

rebelled

against

the

Roman

per

Vespasian

besieged

Jerusalem

and

eventually

destroyed

both

the

Jewish

temple

and

the

city

in

70

AD

so

it

will

be

Jerusalem

will

be

trampled

underfoot

by the

Gentiles

until

the

times

of

the

Gentiles

are

fulfilled

this

remark

in

verse

24

shows

the

Gentile

predominance

in

the

age

that

continues

after

Jesus

ascension

and

that

will

be

the

case

until

the

times

of

the

Gentiles

are

fulfilled

that's

likely

related

to

the

idea

in

Genesis

Genesis 48:19

48

verse

19

where

Jacob

also

named

Israel

places

his hands

on his

grandson

Ephraim

and he

blesses

him

and he

says

this

as he's

blessing

him

his

seed

would

become

the

fullness

of

the

nations

fullness

of

the

Gentiles

which

in

turn

is

related

to

God's

promise

to

Abraham

that

all

nations

all

peoples

will

be

blessed

and so

salvation

is from

the Jews

because it

comes

through

a

Jewish

Messiah

Jesus

Christ

many

of the

Jews

however

rejected

the

Messiah

and

their

hearts

were

hardened

leading to

Jerusalem's

destruction

but

Jesus

prophesies

here

that

a

time

is

coming

when

the

times

of

the

Gentiles

are

fulfilled

this

remark

seems

to

hold

out

hope

that

there

will

be

a

future

restoration

of

Israel

there

will

be

people

there

will

be

an

influx

of

Jews

that

come

to

faith

in

Jesus

Christ

Paul

is

likely

referring

to

this

as

well

in

Romans

Romans 11:25

chapter

11

verse

25

when

he

addresses

Gentile

believers

this

way

lest

you

be

wise

in

your

own

sight

I

do

not

want

you

to

be

unaware

of

this

mystery

brothers

a

partial

hardening

has

come

upon

Israel

until

the

fullness

of

the

Gentiles

has

come

in

it's

not

a

full

hardening

of

the

Jews

there's

a

partial

hardening

so

that

many

of

the

Jews

reject

Jesus

some

of

them

still

come

to

receive

Jesus

but

a

time

is

coming

when

that

hardening

will be

lifted

and

that

will

be

after

the

time

of

the

Gentiles

are

fulfilled

that's

the age

we're

living

in

now

when

I

was

a

student

at

seminary

I

worked

part

time

at

the

center

for

the

study

of

global

Christianity

and

in

their

publication

called

the

Atlas

of

Global

Christianity

it

chronicles

the

shifts

in

the

gravitational

center

of

global

Christianity

starting

from

30

AD

to

present

day

and

the

center

of

gravity

for

the

early

church

was

predictably

Jerusalem

in

30

AD

and

then

it

gradually

shifted

north

and

west

so

that

its

gravitational

center

was

Constantinople

what's

now

Istanbul

in

Turkey

around

1000

AD

and

by

1500

AD

the

gravitational

center

of

Christianity

has

shifted

further

north

into

what

is

now

Budapest

Hungary

and

Vienna

Austria

and

by

1900

AD

it

had

shifted

further

west

due

in

large

part

to

the

rise

of

the

US

and

the

gravitational

center

was

in

Madrid

Spain

and

since

then

the

gravitational

center

of

Christianity

has

been

shifting

southeast

rather

than

northwest

so that

it's

now

in

Niger

Africa

it's

expected

to

continue

this

shift

into

southeast

into

Nigeria

over the

next

50

years

it

actually

seems

to have

been

going

around

full

circle

back

to

the

Middle

East

toward

Jerusalem

just

hundred

years

ago

the

countries

with

the

largest

population

of

Christians

were

US

Russia

Germany

France

Britain

in that

order

got

America

China

Russia

China

and

Mexico

in

other

words

Christianity

has

flourished

in

the

Middle

East

in

Eastern

Europe

in

Western

Europe

the

United

States

in

South

America

and now

in

Africa

and

Asia

as

well

it's the times of the Gentiles

is being fulfilled.

All nations all over the ends

of the ends of the earth

are coming to faith in Jesus Christ

and now contrast that

with Islam.

The center of gravity for Islam

is now in the Middle East.

It has always been in the Middle East.

Hinduism's center of gravity,

Buddhism's center of gravity

have both always been in Asia

now and at its inception.

The gospel of Jesus Christ, however,

is for all nations.

He has always been,

has always had an outward orientation.

It was God's intention

that through Israel,

through the coming of the Jewish Messiah,

Jesus Christ,

that salvation would come

to all peoples.

and this is why we as a church

is part of the great mission of God

to evangelize the nations.

That's why we pray for the nations

and the people groups.

Because God intends for His good news

to be heard among all the nations.

We're still living in fulfillment

of this prophecy

of what Jesus said in Acts 1.8.

But you will receive power

when the Holy Spirit comes upon you

and you will be in Jerusalem

and in all Judea and Samaria

and to the end of the earth.

That's why we should bear

enduring witness to Christ,

watchfully waiting for His return

and our redemption.

So having answered the question

about the destruction of the temple

and the fall of Jerusalem

and about the signs

that precede those events,

Jesus now turns His attention

in verse 25

to the signs of the ultimate end.

And this is because,

as I said before,

the destruction of Jerusalem

and the destruction of the temple

is connected

to the Jewish perception

of the end times.

It signals

the view of the end.

That means the end is imminent.

Not in the sense that,

you know,

it's going to be next week

or next year,

but in the sense that

the hourglass has been turned over,

the clock is ticking.

It's impending.

The end and Christ's return