Living in the End Times

 Everyone wants to know the future. A cynic might see everyone's future like this. Birth. School. Work. Marriage. Debt. Children. More debt. Cake. Weight gain. Retirement. Cancer or heart disease. Sorrow. Then, death. (Sounds like Ecclesiastes, eh?) Apart from God, life is tragic. Sometimes the future holds good news. Yet even good news is often mixed news. Ethel had an art gallery. Fred was a local artist. One day, Ethel called Fred. "Want the good news or the bad news?" "Good news." Fred replied. "A woman came in today & loved your work. She asked, 'Will its value would go up after he dies?' I said 'yes.' She bought every piece in the store." Fred was excited. "That's great! How can there be bad news?" Ethel paused. "It was your wife." We want to know the future. It's human. So do Jesus' disciples. Let's look at Lk 21:5-19. Mt Olivet is 150' above the temple. It's ~1mile away as Jesus tries to teach His disciples. The temple looms before them. 5aSome disciples are admiring the temple. 'Look 5bhow it's adorned with such beautiful stones!' <Temple slide> Its pure white marble stones are massive, ≤ 37' x 18' x 12' & 100 tons! It's 4 football fields wide. 5 long. Its columns tower 40 feet high. The top is gold, the rest gleaming white. At a distance it all looks like a gold-capped snow mountain. The gold & white are almost blinding in the fiery sun. It's massive & beautiful. Even so, restoration, ongoing the last 46yr, won't finish for another 30yr! 5cAnd such gifts inside dedicated to God! They're stunning! Gifts of furniture from rulers all over the world. It's massive, itself a treasure, & full of treasures! 5dBut Jesus? He isn't smiling. 6a"What you see here? The time will come (~40yr) when not one stone will be left on another. It'll be as dead as Jewish religion. Hard times are coming. War. Destruction. It'll get even worse. They'll persecute you because you follow Me. Not their gods. 6bEvery stone will be thrown down." < 10yr after finishing the restoration, Rome razed the temple in 70 AD. Josephus said over 1M died by crucifixion, sword, & famine. To survive, the starving people became murderers & cannibals. The temple? Destroyed stone-by-stone. Ground into rubble. Just as Jesus said. Only at the Wailing Wall do a few pieces remain. Only the foundation. No other trace. Scholars still argue where things were. It seemed massive. Permanent. But Jesus says it'll be completely destroyed. To His disciples, that can mean just one thing: end times. Judgment on the world. The KoG fully here. Jesus, the king. And they'll reign with Him. 7a"Teacher!" they gasp. Questions bubble up. 7b"When will these things happen? Our question, too. It's the end of all we know. When? The next pressing question? 7cWhat'll be the sign they're about to take place?" How will we know? What's our warning? What's the future? Jesus isn't interested in setting a date. He just wants to urge them (& us) to remain steadfast & faithful till He returns. It's urgent. 8aJesus replied, "Watch out that you aren't deceived. Jaws drop. 'Jesus, You trained us. How could we be deceived?' They'll try. 8bMany will come in my name, claiming, (lit.) 'I am.' If they claim to be the great 'I am,' don't believe it. Not until you see THE sign. False messiahs will appear in every age. Even ours. Jim Jones (1978). David Koresh (1993). Many more. All will claim they're the solution. None are. 8cOthers will come in my name, 'The time is near.' Many have claimed to know God's timetable. If Jesus didn't even know, how can they? He says only the Father knows. All others? Their dates come & go. And nothing happens. Until & unless you see THE sign? 8dDon't follow them. Wars aren't the sign. 9aWhen you hear of wars & revolutions, don't be frightened. In the last 3,400 years, less than 300 have been without war.1 Try for peace. But war shouldn't surprise us. 9bThese things must happen 1st, but the end won't come right away." In the last 300 years, one author counted 300 wars in Europe alone. 10Then He said, "Nation will rise against nation. Kingdom against kingdom. Wars are endless. But they aren't the sign. 11aThere'll be great earthquakes. In the 19th C. alone, one author counted >700 quakes. In the 105 years from 1898 to 2003, 1 researcher counted >203k quakes ≥ 4 on the Richter scale. 11bIn various places there'll be 11cfamines & 11dpestilences. Epidemics & pandemics. (COVID is 5th of 20 worst since 2nd C.2) 11eFearful events & great signs from heaven? They aren't the sign. To sum it up, it'll keep going from bad to worse until the end. Then how should we live? Party hearty, for tomorrow we die? What's the incentive? Where's hope? What Jesus says next is eye-opening. 12a"Before all this, they'll lay hands on you & persecute you. It started with the 12. Ever since, Christians have been persecuted somewhere in the world. 12bThey'll deliver you to synagogues & prisons. This was the 1st C. Christian experience. Jews eventually severed all ties. 12cYou'll be brought before kings & governors. This has been true for Christians all over the world, ever since. Where today? Sources3 tell us. The top 11 list is (in order) Afghanistan, North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Eretria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, India, & Saudi Arabia. Right behind them are another 39 countries where persecution is a problem. Christians are still being persecuted around the world. Why so much hatred for Christians? 12cAll on account of My Name. Even in the USA it's ok to talk about God. But just mention Jesus' name & watch the hostility. See what happens if we mention His name in schools. Or in government places. Public prayers. Christians helped make laws of tolerance for other religions. Those same laws are used to prevent freedoms for Christians-in the name of tolerance. Really? It's against my religion, but I'd be forced to resign or marry a gay couple in some states. Public businesses have been forced to close after refusing to serve those against their religion. It happens even in America. But guess what happens with each situation in which we're persecuted. 13aAs a result you'll witness to them. Each time we're persecuted, it's an opportunity to witness. But here's the thing. Our response will witness either for or against Christ. We have to make up our mind beforehand. How will we witness while we defend ourselves? 14But make up your mind not to worry beforehand about that. Why? Where's help? 15I'll give you words & wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. Look how Paul handled being arrested, each time. Each time, he witnessed. 16aYou'll be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives & friends. <sigh> 16bThey'll put some of you to death. It still happens. 17All men will hate you because of me. Not much of a Christian recruitment poster so far, is it? Join Jesus & suffer. Where's the blessing? 18Not a hair of your head will perish. Huh? Even if we're put to death? Jesus has more than just death in mind. 19By standing firm you'll gain life. Eternal life. Let's choose to stand firm. Witness as we stand. All they can take is our life. And that's homecoming. Young Sally visited Granny at spring break. Sally complained & complained. All she had was bad news. Mean professors. Weather, too cold or too hot. Boys didn't like her. Her social life was in the toilet. She couldn't sleep. But Granny was wise. While Sally talked, Granny filled 3 pots with water & put them on the stove's burners. When they came to a boil, she put carrots in one, eggs in the 2nd, & ground coffee beans in the 3rd. Sally kept complaining as if she was in the Great Tribulation. Soon, Granny turned off the stove. She put the carrots & eggs in separate bowls. She put the coffee in a pot. When Sally finished, Granny spoke. "Honey, the carrots, eggs, & coffee all faced adversity. Hot water. The carrots went in strong but came out soft & weak. The eggs went in with an outer shell to protect them, but their insides turned hard. Now, smell the coffee. It changed the water. Do you want to be carrots, eggs, or coffee?" Let adversity come. But let's choose our response now. Let's stand firm & witness. The reward? Eternal life. And changing our persecutors. That's how to live in the end times. 1 Preaching the Word, Mark, Mark 13:1-37 2 Wikipedia: 19 Worst Epidemics since 165AD; Logue Library: 20 worst epidemics since 165AD 3 World Watch List 2022 --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ Living in the End Times - Luke 21:5-19 Page 1 of 1