Pastor Babij examines Jesus’ end-time teaching to His disciples. Jesus shows the Messianic kingdom would not immediately follow the destruction of the temple and gives His disciples two admonitions:
- Be on guard so that you are not deceived
- Be on guard against fear and anxiety
Auto Transcript
Note: This rough transcript was automatically generated by YouTube’s AI algorithm. We provide it here for your convenience, but know it will surely contain errors as it has not been proofread or edited by a human.
all right so mark chapter 13 and of course i’m going to take at least at least three messages on this passage of scripture um dealing with eschatology or end time things is never an easy task there’s many questions that are raised some of those questions almost cannot be answered some of them can be answered and we try to stay as close to the word of god to answer those questions but at the end of the day when it comes down to some eschatological things we uh have questions that cannot be answered because the information is not there we can conclude some things uh we can even infer some things but some things we can’t even be dogmatic on but what the scriptures tell us we can all right so this morning i’m going to be starting looking at the olivet discourse and in in preparing for the end times and so uh we’re probably going to be looking at verse 1 through 13 this morning before i do that let’s let’s have a word prayer lord this morning i do ask you for your help for your guidance by your spirit as lord we look again at the word of god and we uh lord are actually challenged by the end time teaching we are encouraged by it and lord even we’re rebuked by it many times lord so lord bring our thinking in line with scripture so we can begin to grapple with and understand the things that will take place but haven’t taken place yet and i pray lord jesus that you would uh just give us discernment and use this scripture to can add to our knowledge and our understanding and i prayed this in your name amen now as i’ve been saying it’s it’s been a real real real long exhausting tuesday for our lord and it’s still tuesday and it’s the end of the day though all the ministry and all the questions that were hurled at him are done and uh actually it’s going it’s going to end up being a very memorable day for his inner circle of disciples and why is that because in a private discussion jesus predicts that this magnificent temple they were looking at and admiring will be destroyed if you notice in verse number 1 of chapter 13 it says and he was going out of the temple one of his disciples said to him teacher behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings see they were looking at the temple and they were looking at the temple buildings these temple buildings of course were built by herod the great and they had begun he began to build these 50 years before this time and they were not yet complete actually would be another generation before they would be complete the walls were constructed of huge stones some 40 to 60 feet long we still wonder how exactly they moved all those stones because a lot of the building of the temple was not done on-site it was done off-site and they brought the material in to that site and of course the top of the stones were adorned with white marble with gold plates on the facade the jewish historian josephus comments that the sun reflecting off the temple building was blinding in its splendor of course we don’t get the chance to see that because there’s no temple there no anymore if you go to jerusalem and if you notice in verse number one it says and he was going out of the temple now jesus was leaving the temple uh with his disciples and he uttered some last astonishing words he says in verse two and jesus said to him do you see these great buildings not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down see jesus just said that the temple buildings will meet utter destruction and all the mighty stones will be dislodged the gospel of matthew records it like this in matthew 23 behold your house is being left to you desolate this is all also reminiscent of the glory of the lord departing from the temple in the prophet ezekiel where ezekiel is designed in two parts the first part of ezekiel is the glory of the lord the parts the second part of ezekiel is the glory of the lord returns well the glory of the lord has not yet returned to the temple or into that place in jerusalem today on the temple mount in jerusalem stands the muhabad in dome of the rock some call it the mosque of omar one thing is clear the temple is no longer there so you can’t go see it in fact there’s very little ruins left to see it you just have one of the side walls that is still remaining and uh that’s that’s all pretty much you can see of it so next jesus and his disciples move from the temple mount to the mount of olives now the mount of olives is like 200 feet above the temple complex so the the crowds had left and now jesus is alone with his disciples and from that location you could look down at the temple and that’s what they were doing because that’s what it says in verse number three it says and as he was sitting on the mount of olives opposite the temple peter james and john and andrew were questioning him privately so now it’s it’s a chance for jesus to get away from all the hustle and bustle all the noise all the questions of the crowd all of the attacks against him and now just to sit down privately and of course this is the lord’s inner circle of disciples that approach him the reason why is because the lord had heightened their curiosity about what was going to take place with the temple and so their questions actually addressed the when and the what because in verse four it says there tell us when will these things be and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled so that’s what’s on their mind now and of course uh the disciples actually uh apparently asked kind of three questions if we take what matthew said what luke said and with what mark said and the first question pertaining to the destruction of the temple which subsequently happened in 70 a.d at the hands of the roman army secondly a second pertaining to jesus personal return and consummation of the aids associated with it those separated of course by many many years the two events are closely related in both and both are part of god’s ongoing program for the people of israel the third question really related to the sign when these things probably the destruction of the temple were about to happen so the disciples assumed that the destruction of the temple would be pre would preclude would be of course before the messiah’s return to consummate that age and initiate the kingdom on earth in other words in the time of disciples mind they were thinking that once this temple’s rebuild christ comes sets up his kingdom and there it continues all right that’s within the in their mind in fact that’s kind of in the mind of jewish eschatology two stages of jewish eschatology there is the a stage that talks about the present age now we already just talked about this a little bit uh from the gospel of mark and uh where mark mentions these two stages the present stage is the stage in which israel was waiting for the coming messiah the present age was to end in judgment so then the coming age must proceed will be preceded by devastation that was in their mind there’s going to be destruction and then there’s going to be restoration also the coming age in their mind is an age in which all of israel’s covenants would be fulfilled and israel would enter into her promised blessing as a result of the messiah’s coming in fact the prophet zechariah tells of an invasion of jerusalem where jerusalem would be totally destroyed and a majority of the people in the land would be slaughtered actually two-thirds of the people would be slaughtered and one-third the bible says in zechariah and zechariah 13 verse number 9 and i will bring the third part through the fire refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested and then it says this they will call on my name and i will answer them and i will say they are my people and they will say the lord is my god so again you see the devastation and then now a relationship with the lord there so in the disciples mind the destruction would precede the coming messiah of course again in zechariah 12 it says in verse number three i will come it will come about in that day that i will make jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples all who lift it will be severely injured and all the nations of the earth will gather will be gathered against it so there is going to come a time where the nations of the world will definitely gather against jerusalem and destroy uh the area there now the disciples concluded that the judgment christ had predicted was the one that would terminate the present age all right that of course that means messiah had come and now the age to come would take place that would be the messianic age so after this judgment the messiah would come to introduce the age to come however and this is what you don’t always get when you’re reading the scripture and you get in the gospels and in the old testament prophets the disciples did not see the long interval between the destruction of the temple and the end of the age they didn’t see that and the reason why they didn’t see it is because the church age would be timeless and it would be signless it would be a longer period of time that period of we don’t know how long the church age is going to be and we there was no signs to to show us there would be a church age the prophets didn’t mention that that’s why paul calls it a mystery all right that the lord of course is using this time because he’s turned from the nation of israel and he’s turned to the gentile nations to bring the gospel to them so this prophetic program that jesus reveals is really directed at from the gospels jerusalem remember the the israeli leadership has been denounced by him the judgment has come against the nation as the fig tree was cursed there’s no fruit spiritually all right so that means that this message was directed at jerusalem at the nation of israel and at the people of israel there’s no reference to the church here jesus deals specifically with i believe the future tribulation or the seven year period that will complete the prophetic program for israel as revealed in the prophet daniel where daniel says he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week that’s the antichrist and in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate even until the complete destruction one that is decreed is poured out on the one who makes desolate so this was of course spoken of in the prophet daniel now if you notice in mark chapter 13 verse 14 which i will not get there today it says this but when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be let the reader understand then those who are in judea must flee to the mountains now i’ll deal with that later but in matthew it says this is spoken through the daniel the prophet mark doesn’t mention that’s daniel the prophet even though he’s quoting from daniel the prophet here so so then that means the passage of scripture must be interpreted in a certain way that it must be interpreted in reference to israel not the church and there are different teachers that handle this passage differently some say it is only addresses the destruction of jerusalem which took place in 70 a.d others say it is only it it only has in view the end of the age and of course still others understand this as describing an imminent event a close event and also a future event that’s my position i think that it’s talking about two things and the reason for that uh is that it is a frequent way the prophets view events it’s called prophetic perspective they see an event immediately taking place very soon and then with that event there is a future event way in the future way in the distance all right so that is what’s taking place here that where the prophet’s message describes a close at hand event and then an event far into the distant future now the event here in the text that we’re looking at the one that is close at hand is the destruction of the temple in jerusalem but that event is the preparatory event for what will follow now in 70 a.d the prophecy of daniel 9 26 was fulfilled when the roman armies destroyed jerusalem and the temple and the jewish nation was then scattered the romans are of course mentioned in daniel 9 26 where it says the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary that’s daniel 9 26 and its end will come with a flood even to the end there will be war desolations are determined that’s the near event that’s going to happen very soon uh in uh years to come and then there is the end time event the event that is far off in the future are really the destruction of the present evil age and the return of the son of man the lord jesus christ now if you just look over to matthew chapter 13 verse 24 to 27 if you notice the wording there and believe me uh there are time sequence words that are in the text all right it says there in verse number 25 or 24 it says in those days after the that 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 that are in the heavens will be shaken and then notice verse 26 then they will see the son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory and verse 27 and then he will send forth the angels and will gather together his elect from the four winds from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven so here we we see that there are sequence words time sequence words like then uh and after that gives us an indication that something has to happen before sutton certain things take place and so now we we get that sense and and of course the disciples asked a question but the lord’s answering much more than their questions he’s giving them a lot of information because remember he’s going to be going to the cross in a few days so he wants to let them know about what will happen to the nation of israel and so i have already addressed the reality of the overlap of the present age and the age to come but that it says in mark uh but that he will receive a hundred times well excuse me that’s in the beginning of mark where it talks about the president and the age and the age to come yeah it was in chapter 10. see christians always live in the tension between this age and the age to come every generation does actually in this age the christian life will be a struggle so the believer is admonished to persevere in the christian race to keep on going don’t let things hold you back from moving forward because to a larger or lesser extent this age is characterized by conflict and trial there’s no blessing not followed by trial there’s no joy not followed by sorrow and no final victory over remaining sin and just evil the only way to really a true christian to escape the battle with sin is and the experience of sorrow is to leave this present age uh and to be present with the lord so in other words the counsel in our text this morning from scripture would be that between the this age and the age that is to come christians must remain aware of the times they must remain servants in god’s program in god’s church and they must endure patiently in the midst of persecution however there will be a particular generation of believers that will experience the greater level of distress like labor pains of course of a woman that grows that really it grows in intensity before the blessed birth of a baby the distress will increase before the glorious end in fact mark actually uses that analogy in our text again jesus is letting his inner core of disciples in on some important teaching about complex about a complex of events that will be coming very soon jesus though does not address the issue of timing even though there are timing sequence words in the text instead actually jesus gives his disciples a warning and a caution so they can know what to look for and how to respond during the latter days and how to teach each generation about what is going to take place now he wants his disciples to remain on guard to take heed if you notice in verse number 23 it says in chapter 13 it says take heed behold i have told you everything in advance and then also in verse number 35 he says this therefore be on the alert for you do not know when the master of the house is coming whether in the evening at midnight or when the rooster crows or in the morning in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep and then verse 37 what i say to you i say to all be on the alert so really that’s the message the lord has for his disciples listen do not fall asleep no matter what age you may live in you need to be diligent about the end time teaching because it does really bolster our faith it does help us to understand that the lord is not done with this program we’re in in the program right now and yet it’s moving in a direction to a conclusion and we’re a part of that so that’s kind of exciting but the point is the lord wants us to be ready i was thinking when i i saw that admonition that the lord gives that when i was on a carrier um we were we were not flying planes that day and um we a carrier usually does not steam into bad weather they use they usually steam away from bad weather so they can fly planes well this particular day i don’t know what was going on i was a holiday or something the planes were in the hangar deck and we were actually in a storm and i saw that those storm waves tossed that gigantic ship like it was a toothpick in the ocean well this one guy for one particular day uh well before i say that the pilots uh who are actually the helo pilots on the carrier have a five-minute readiness they were to be on the alert for in five minutes no matter what happened well this one guy at three o’clock in the morning decides to jump off the ship and um into the into this storm he wanted eventually obviously to kill himself right well the pilots were noticed they were in uh their aircraft and they were now uh rescuing trying to rescue this guy well they rescued him they brought him back it was almost like an impossible rescue they brought him back put him on the ship and they and uh the police force on the ship uh took him but then he broke loose again and jumped off again and the captain of the ship said to him said to the guys who were supposed to be on the alert and ready it’s your choice if you want to rescue him this time and they didn’t they rescued him this time they made sure that once they got him they put handcuffs on his legs and hands and they flew him off uh the next morning to to a land base but these guys were were on the alert all the time for anything that could take place and and that’s in a sense what the lord wants us to do when it comes to god’s program he wants us to be ready for whatever may come our way whatever may come our way really in a global sense he wants us to be ready because his plan is moving it’s moving it’s not stagnant it’s going somewhere again i just want to mention that their questions address the when and the what it tells us in verse number four again when will these things be and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled now jesus by is really addressing the what first and leaves the wind a little bit for later but he is saying listen i want to give you two admonitions to my disciples and jesus gives them again much more than they asked for and and this these admonitions are for all christians of all nate ages and we need to heed jesus admonitions to us and here’s the first one found in verse number five is this to be on guard so that you are not deceived about the end times now notice what it says and why are we on are to be on guard because there will be religious trouble as we get closer to that time now notice what it says in verse five and six it says and jesus began to say them see to it that no one misleads you many will come in my name saying i am here i am he and will mislead many matthew says it like this for many will come in my name saying i am the christ and will mislead many now of course every generation has to be on guard when it comes to false teachers i don’t know if our generation is actually on guard against false teachers it seems like the church is accepting everything that comes its way see there will there will be a short supply uh there will be no short supply of false teachers there never is but as we get closer to the end there will be more and more and more false teachers and these will be teachers that are very persuasive and they’re able to accumulate a loyal following large followings they will be able to trick people to believe what is not true they will be jesus impersonators using the revelation of jesus christ as their sheep’s clothing they will be claiming to be christ so the warning for the disciples is don’t be misled by them and of course the bible warns that there will be antichrist first john chapter 2 tells us children in the last hour and just as you heard that antichrist is coming even now many antichrist have appeared from this we know that it is the last hour first john 2 18.
and then of course there’s this example i’d like you to turn there in acts chapter 8 keep your hand here in mark turn to acts chapter 8 because again here’s an example of a false teacher in acts chapter eight because and i wanna i wanna just give you some uh identifying things about this particular person he was a of course it’s simon the magician and it says in acts chapter eight verse number nine it says now now there was a man named simon who formerly was practicing magic in the city and notice what he’s doing he’s astonishing the people of samaria claiming to be someone great so they have the ability to astonish people all right in verse number 10 of acts chapter 8 it says and they they all from smallest to greatest were giving attention to him saying this man is what is called the great power of god and then in verse number 11 and they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts now those words they are important because false teachers have an ex an incredible ability to astonish people by their character and many times we know in the end it’s going to be accompanied by signs and wonders they’re going to be able to do miracles of course energized not by the spirit of god but by satan himself and why are these people around is because they are there for one purpose to deceive people to keep them away from the truth to convince people that they are the true way to god they are the ones to be believed and you know the bible warns that there will be antichrist or the the antichrist will come and he will be the master deceiver he will be the man of sin in the end times he is called the man of lawlessness who this who displays himself as being god in accordance with the activity of satan and then with all powers and signs and false wonders with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish because they do not receive the love of the truth to be saved so that’s what he’s trying to do these teachers are trying to keep people uh away from the truth now i don’t know if all of them consciously know they’re doing that because i think satan is deceiving them to think that they’re true and right to deceive others and they think they’re right and the only way to actually evaluate anything to know whether someone’s right or wrong is what the word of god right but a proper understanding of the word of god too how to handle the word of god correctly because you can take out you know bible passage of scriptures and make your own system but that doesn’t mean it’s the right one you got to take it from the way the bible gives it so see we are to be on guard in the end time why because there’s going to be religious trouble this is going to be in the form of religion everybody in some ways thinks religion is a good thing religion is the greatest recruiter for hell there is it’s the truth and god’s word in the true church that are the only ones that know what god’s plan is so they can avoid what is going to come a second thing to be on guard on back in in mark chapter 13 is in verse number seven is that there will be reports about wars there will be global trouble and if you notice in verse number seven when you hear of wars and rumors of wars do not be frightened those things must take place but the that is not yet the end so there’s this warning here these things are going to happen but it’s not the end yet so the lord’s saying no that’s not the time it’s not the time yet for it for then he says in verse number eight a four nation will arise against nation and kingdom against kingdom see the world of men will be affected by sin with the rise of immorality where there is no absolute standard of truth where the truth of god is suppressed where narcissism is widespread and morality is plummeting wars will increase they will increase just like paul told timothy but realize this that in the last days difficult times will come for men will be men will be lovers of self lovers of money boastful arrogant revilers disobedient to parents ungrateful unholy unloving irreconcilable malicious gossips without self-control brutal haters of god treacherous reckless conceited lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god you’re you know what if you have those kind of people you know what you got war you’ve got fighting you’ve got conflict and it’s going to be all over the place it’s going to be a worldwide thing and then of course nation will rise against nation and kingdom again kingdom a nation uh is a body of people that is held together by customs by language and by culture a kingdom is a body of people that is under one king usually or one government uh of course even in our government the balances of government prevent the one person from getting too much power so they become a king right and it’s very dangerous if they do get all the power right because then it’ll turn out all bad not that it turns out great otherwise but because you have a bunch of sinners running the program right so so with all these different structures on how people should be governed has and will cause wars but we have to ask the question where does wars really come from well according to scripture in james chapter four verse one and two they start right in your heart for this is what james says what is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you is it not the source uh is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members you lust and you do not have so what do you do you murder you are envious and cannot obtain so what do you do you fight and quarrel that’s why there’s wars there will always be wars we will never be in a time where there will be no wars and peace a matter of fact those people who say peace peace when the prophet says there is no peace all right there is no peace there will not be peace until jesus sits on the throne in the eternal kingdom all right and and of course there will be no peace until that real real genuine long-lasting forever peace that’s the only way so jesus christ is the prince of peace is he not right so he hasn’t fulfilled that role completely he makes peace with sinners as they come to him in repentance and faith but peace of a whole group of people from all tribes and nations have not taken it has not taken place yet but it will take place someday and i’m looking forward to that so jesus is saying listen be on guard because there’s going to be global trouble and also it’s interesting that the world of nature is also affected by sin look what it says in verse number eight of mark chapter 13.
it says there will be earthquakes this is the middle of the verse in various places and there will also be famines these things merely here it is the beginning of birth pangs or birth pains again putting that in there to let us know that it’s not yet see the world of nature is affected by sin it’s not about climate change that’s not the priority on the agenda it’s not about global warming or cooling you know it’s about it’s about the rebellious nature of sinful humanity opposed to god that’s what it’s about this world has a curse on it all right that curse has come about because of our sin and rebellion against god for it’s paul tells us in romans for the cr creation was subject to fertility not willingly but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into freedom of the glory of the children of god for we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now and what are we waiting for we’re waiting for eagerly our redemption or our adoption as sons and the redemption of our bodies and then the lord restores the whole thing all right that’s what he does so even our creation is subject to the curse of sin and as it says in psalms it is falling apart we are living on a disposable planet all right no sense trying to rescue it it will last as long as god wants it to last and it will do exactly what god wants it to do so we live in a world that is fast ripening for coming judgment because of the curse of sin this disposable earth is definitely coming apart it’s not what it used to be because that’s what sin does its sin destroys things oh by the way what is going on in the world today is merely false labor pains for again mark chapter 13 verse 8 these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs or birth pains see so what is happening today is really only a prelim prelude to what is to come so in in a very sense we’re in the end times but we’re not in this end time i take it that these real birth pains describe the first half of the tribulation period for revelation actually chapter 6 describe the events i just mentioned right in chapter six where of course tribulation is uh mentioned under the seals on a scroll the seals fall within the first half of tribulation and if you care to look there in revelation chapter six verse number two what we have first we have uh writing on a white horse false messiah it says in verse two i looked revelation six two and behold the white horse and he who sat on it had a bow and a crown was given to him and he went out conquering and to conquer so we have again one who is a false leader a false teacher a false messiah who goes out to wage war and then in verse number four another a red horse went out and to him who sat on it it was granted to take peace from the earth and that men would slay one another and a great sword was given to him so peace was taken from the earth and of course what ensues when there’s no peace war and then in verse six we have this widespread famine and i heard something like a voice in the center of four living creatures saying a quart of wheat for daenerys and three quarts of barley for daenerys and do not and do not damage the oil and the wine enough and uh of course as we conclude that it’s talking about famine there’s not enough food and then in verse number eight you have wide spread death i looked and behold an ashen horse and he was sat on it had the name of death and hades was following him authority was given to him over a fourth of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth so again looking at what the lord is telling him that these things fall within the first three and a half years of the tribulation period that’s going to be the generation that lives during that time in other words as the world moves closer and closer to the end the pains will become more severe more frequent iniquity will abound and then finally the baby will be born that’s where it’s going so the warning is don’t be deceived by the complex of events that will take place in the last days right and of course matthew kind of explains it a little bit more like if the messiah says um hey the messiah is over here in the mountains go if there’s a messiah’s over here in the desert go jesus said don’t go and the reason why he’s not coming from the earth he’s coming from the sky that’s how he’s coming so don’t look here or there don’t even go there don’t pay attention to them now is that important yes it is important especially there’s going to be a lot of false teachers that have a lot of character and a lot big followings and you’re going to think well look they’re so large they must have the truth right so you see that’s what’s going to happen in the last times but that happens uh during any age but in this particular ages the deception is going to be at its height in fact thessalonians tells us that god will even send strong delusion that people will actually believe the lie of the false teachers only because they rejected the truth so those days are coming he wants all the generations to be aware of it because if you’re on guard if you take heed then you won’t be deceived why because you’re armed with truth you’ve got the armor of god on you’re able to stand up against anything that satan can throw at you no matter which way he throws it why you know what it what it says see that the next thing that jesus gives his disciples is a caution so that they can know what to look for and how to respond during the latter days and here’s the second admonition back to mark chapter 13 and verse number nine here’s the second admission be on guard so that you are not anxious instead endure faithfully in the midst of persecution and why is that because there’s going to be personal trouble no there could be global trouble there could be religious trouble there could be trouble in the world itself but personal trouble is at a different level it’s harder to take when you have personal things going on in your family right it’s not no longer the other person it’s i i have to deal with it so see he’s telling us listen be on guard don’t be anxious because there will be personal trouble mark it on your calendar this will take place verse number nine notice it says be on your guard for they will deliver you to the courts and you will be flogged in the synagogues and you will stand before governors and kings let me just stop there see in other words it won’t be an easy time for that generation of disciples there will be vicious opponents of jesus and his gospel and anyone who would follow him political and religious authorities will preside over accusations of believers unjust and unfair trials of believers find them whatever the evidence may be guilty and of course in prison and then execute them that’s what’s going to take place and why what are the reasons for these troubles now you would always want to why is this happening to me right don’t you ask that when things happen well look what it says in verse number nine this is the why are these troubles this is answering the question it says this in verse number nine in the middle of the latter part of the verse it says for my sake and as a testimony to them see we are persecuted or this group and any believer who would be persecuted is persecuted because of christ on account of christ for the sake of christ for what reason so you can be a testimony to them who are accusing you so you can bring them the message of the gospel those who are accusing you and then of course in verse number 10 it says the gospel must first be preached to all nations it’s also because of the gospel there will be a world wide evangelization taking place the heralding of the good and glad news concerning the salvation of different people groups who repent and receive christ as their lord and savior they need the truth or it will be that the gospel is used as a testimony of judgment against those who reject the offer of free grace in christ so the lord gives us the reason why these things would take place even today they take place in our families where our families were christians and you know that when you’re a christian and somebody in your family is not a christian you don’t have a whole lot of in common anymore do you matter of fact they don’t often want to be around you anymore family functions almost are a trial to show up because you know that you know you want to bring up the subject of the gospel and of how to have a relationship with god and they want to they don’t want you to bring it up so that tension is there and some to a greater some to a lesser degree depending on where you’re at and your christian walk and where you’re at in your family but those tensions are real but these tensions at this time are going to be heightened to a extent that no one has ever experienced before but the lord gives us encouragement he gives people encouragement during those troubles and notice what it says in verse number 11 and in other words he says don’t be discouraged this is god’s plan he’s in charge of these times and he will give you the right thing to say at the right time luke says verse 11 when they arrest you and hand you over do not worry beforehand about what you are to say but say whatever is given you in that hour for it is not you who speak but it is the holy spirit in other words god divinely intervenes on behalf of those who are being persecuted that you don’t have to worry or be anxious about oh no what am i going to say when i brought before them he’s going to give it to you or he’s going to give it to those who are going through that trial at the time that they needed so so this is that’s encouragement to those who are going through that do you think that’s good to know if you were there if you go through that yes i think it’s going to be really good to know that it’s going to be good to know these things and so the lord wants every generation to pass these truths down faithfully to the next so we’re all on the alert so we’re all ready for whatever the lord has and uh in his plan and of course there’s one other thing he says in verse 12 and 13. listen don’t be anxious there will also be family trouble uh before he says look in verse number 12 brother will betray brother to death and a father his child and children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death you will be hated by all because of my name but the one who endures to the end will be saved the lord will take and persevere those who are his to the end now the rejection of family and friends will be the most painful of these troubles betrayal and hatred will come from the closest of relations because the times are so confusing and so twisted for those who don’t really know the truth they think you’re the enemy when in fact you are their friend you have the truth see disciples will be hated for being on the right side of truth hated for being a faithful witness of jesus christ now things are definitely escalating we are definitely moving towards this time but do you do you know i don’t know if we’re all aware of this do you realize in the past 10 years 100 000 christians a year have been martyred for their faith that’s 270 every 24 hours 1 million over a period of 10 years but you don’t hear about that why don’t you hear about that because the world don’t care about that the world doesn’t care about christians they don’t care about god they don’t care about the truth right so that this is going to continue to go on so see the the lesson for god’s people is no matter what period of time they are living don’t be lulled into carelessness don’t be pulled away from the truth don’t be be on guard be alert take heed be vigilant be diligent all those words that’s what we’re to be as christians all the time not just if we were living in that generation the christian singer steve green who sang six years with bill and gloria gaither tells about getting to know some of the workers the work crews in large auditoriums where their concerts were held the gaithers preferred concerts in the round which means extra work for the riggers who walked on four inch rafter beams hundred feet off the floor to hang speakers and spotlights and so on and so forth the fellows steve green says i talked to weren’t bothered by the site of looking down a hundred feet what they didn’t like they told me was where they had jobs in buildings that there was a false ceiling that’s acoustical tiles slung just a couple of feet below the rafters they were still high in the air and if they slipped they would their weight would go right and smash right through the flimsy tile and they’d smash on the floor 100 feet below he said that when you have that false facade underneath you your mind plays tricks with you and you actually get lulled into carelessness because you think that you’re safe because you can’t see the floor but you’re not safe just because they couldn’t see the floor they were not safe see satan’s business is not so much in scaring us to death but persuading us that there is no danger at all his deception is lulling us into carelessness concerning spiritual matters so that we don’t take heed to the scriptural teaching concerning the end times and we do not trust god concerning his plan for the future so we remain anxious and we remain confused if we don’t take guard if we don’t take heed to ourselves so that’s how the lord communicates to his disciples in the first part of this passage of scripture he actually gives them warnings he gives them warnings about yes something’s going to happen here but something’s going to happen also over here whatever be ready be on the alert take heed let’s pray lord this morning again i thank you i thank you lord for your word it’s astonishing lord to uh to read these passages of scripture even lord in light of where we live today in the world with everything that has gone on with the ability to know what’s happening around the world in just a few seconds just lord um and just to hear things about wars going on still lord and knowing that these are just the beginning of things that things are going to be escalated to a time of tribulation that has never been known by the world and never will be afterwards and lord we know that it’s your plan so i pray lord that we would not kick against it but that we would we would receive the word with a sincere heart and that lord we would look at our own lives and really make ourselves ready lord for those who don’t know you they’re not ready to meet you so i pray you would bring them to salvation bring them to real repentance and faith to believe in you to those lord who have maybe gotten cold in their christian walk i pray lord today you would cause them to examine themselves so they get back to the place of walking with you with joy and peace that they you they can be a vessel uh a clean vessel that you can use any time of the day where you would want them to speak for you or be an example for you or to teach for you i pray lord that you would do what you need to do to make us people that are on guard that are ready for whatever may come and that lord we would be vessels uh used by you to know that if persecution comes and we’re part of that it’s for your sake it’s because of your name so i pray lord jesus that if persecution does come it’s for that reason and so lord today will allow us to really honestly look at ourselves so we can be made the disciples that you want in the days in which we live looking forward to what is coming looking forward to your coming looking forward to all these things even those these things many of these things are very difficult to handle in our mind and i pray lord that you would just continue to show us and teach us so we’re not ignorant and so lord we are not careless and i prayed this in your name amen