exiles in Merrillville. I did get to see a few of them and so it was good to catch up a little bit. And of course, play with my granddaughters. Who needs an excuse? Just go down and see the granddaughters. That's enough. God's just very, very gracious and we're grateful. You'd like me to turn this on? Okay. Now we get a better recording. All right. Phil, thanks for preaching last week. We appreciate it very much. One of the things that's a great confidence for me as a pastor is that when I am away or something, we have so many different men here who can fill this pulpit. That is a good thing. Not only fill this pulpit, they're filling pulpits other places too. I think that's just part of God's mercy too and His faithfulness. We need more. I don't know how many churches are around looking for men and there's just not that many out there anymore. What's tomorrow? Veterans Day. Anybody remember what it was called before Veterans Day? Armistice Day. You have to have gray hair to remember that now, don't you? Okay. So I want to just begin. It was 106 years ago tomorrow, November 11th, 1918 at 11 a.m. And Armistice went into effect to end the fighting of what was then called the Great War. Now we call it World War I. Now the official end of that war would not occur for another seven months in the Treaty of Versailles, signed June 28th, 1919. But the cessation of hostilities in which at least eight and a half million soldiers were killed, at least 21 million wounded in battle, and the deaths of at least 13 million civilians was very significant and a great cause for joy. And so November 11th quickly became the date in many nations in which it was remembered and then tribute was paid to those who had died in that conflict. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th, 1919 to be the first commemoration of Armistice Day. Many states quickly adopted November 11th as the same, and then Congress did that on June 4th, 1926, and in 1938, it was made a legal holiday, a day to commemorate, give thanksgiving, offer prayer, and then to be observed with parades and ceremonies. After World War II, which required the greatest military mobilization in our history, and then the Korean War, concluding with a ceasefire in 1938 law, was amended in 1954 and changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day. And so veterans of all wars all going all the way back into the Revolutionary War would be remembered for their sacrifice and those who are currently in military service also remembered and to give thanks to them as well for what they're doing. So Jeff, I guess you're a representative of our military right now. Anybody else currently active duty? Jeff, you're it. So we thank you for your current service. All right, Jeff. Mark, sorry, you're retired. I am. I haven't seen you with any of those hats, you know, what conflict you're involved in. That's going to have to be a Christmas present for him so we can recognize him. Well, that was all very well and good, commemoration of the ending of the Great War. But the tragedy of that war, World War I, was also known as the war to end all wars. And it wasn't. It started off as probably one of the most foolish wars ever fought. The assassination of Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, June 28th, 1914 in Sarajevo kicked it off. Then it quickly expanded as nation after nation made demands on one another and then declared war on each other, dragging other nations to conflict because of mutual protection treaties. The result, by the end of the war, four imperial dynasties ended. Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. And then the tragedy increased throughout the war as development of military weaponry made the slaughter of soldiers, sailors, and civilians more efficient. But again, the most tragic aspect, the Great War, to end all wars, was only a pause as the nations rearmed, their sons grew old enough to go into another world war. Many people shifted, changed, and rejected their religions after that time. The United States became a much more secular nation after that war. It actually has a great effect on the church. Now those who pay attention to the Bible know from multiple prophecies that mankind will continue to be at war until the Lord returns and sets up his kingdom. So it's not surprising that wars continue on. And then there will be one final war Those who are evil will be destroyed. The presence in heavens and earth actually will be destroyed as well. A new heaven and a new earth will be created. Now Christians desire peace in the present. We work hard for that and we should work hard. We're living here. And yet we know that the effort will always be somewhat futile because it will only be a temporary peace until Christ returns. And that's what we're really longing for. And we have a fairly simple goal in life. Go to heaven and take as many people there as possible with you. Isn't that a good thing to do? And so we want to make sure we're quick with the gospel. Well today I begin a catching up of the series we began in eschatology back last winter. And then we had that long series on marriage, which I started I think in May. And we're catching back up with that. So this is the 15th sermon in the series on eschatology. Look over Matthew chapter 24. The parallel passages are going to be Mark 13, 1 and 2, and Luke 21, 5 and 6. We begin this section, it's often called the Olivet Discourse, in which Jesus is going to be revealing to his disciples some of the things that are to come. Now we'll begin a study of the book of Revelation, currently on the schedule set for December 29th. Now Jesus began his ministry with a very simple message, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That occurs in several passages, Matthew 3, 2 is one of them. Repent. Change your mind. Turn from your current sin to turn to what God is doing. Turn from yourself, your own sin, to put your trust in God and accept His graciousness. He now continues the same message, but there's the change of including more details about what is going to precede that future kingdom. It's at hand, but now he's going to talk about it being future. It's still just as certain. It is going to come. But Jesus now gives warnings of future wars and tribulation that are going to occur before the Son of Man would be seen, as Matthew 24 30 puts it, coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. Matthew 24 1 begins this way, Jesus came out from the temple and was going away. He will not be returning to the temple again. He had entered Jerusalem a few days before. To the shouts of Hosanna, blessed be he who is coming in the name of the Lord. Hosanna to the son of David. Hosanna in the highest. We call that the triumphal entry. It corresponds to him being declared this is the rightful king. Messiah has arrived. They acknowledged it. The expectation was he's now going to throw off the rule of Rome and reestablish Israel by setting up his own kingdom. They're anticipating the fulfillment of all these Old Testament prophecies. Jesus as their king is going to fulfill them and deal with these nations as Messiah, the conqueror. Now that upset the religious leaders who regarded Jesus as a threat to their positions in power. They became more upset the next day when he threatened their financial interests when he drove out the money changers and the merchants from the temple. The area that was supposed to be an area of prayer for the nations was a bazaar and he drove them out. When Jesus entered the temple Wednesday morning, he was quickly challenged by the chief priests and elders. That began a series of challenges throughout the day. Then by the Herodians and the Sadducees, then a lawyer and then the Pharisees. They all sought to ask him shrewd questions in some way to try to defame him. Defame him publicly so they could then destroy him without fear of the people. Well Jesus answered each question very pointedly and he demonstrated not only his own wisdom and his own godliness but also the hypocritical nature of his opponents. Their lack of understanding about the things of God. Now Jesus ended his public teaching in Matthew 23 with a warning to the people about the ungodly character of the scribes, the Pharisees. And then he addressed those ungodly religious leaders directly, denouncing them as hypocrites, fools, blind guides, sons of hell, snakes, brood of vipers, and pronouncing upon them a series of woes. The scribes and Pharisees professed and pretended to be godly, but in reality, they were far from that. They were the opposite. And Jesus was very direct with them. And yet, even with that kind of great condemnation, Jesus longs for the repentance. He turns to them as expressed in his lament over Jerusalem, Matthew 23, 37 through 39. He says, I have desired to gather them together as a way, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings to protect them, to guide them to safety, and they were unwilling. The consequence, their house would be left to them desolate. So even in the condemnation, Jesus still was offering hope if they would yet turn. Well, with the conclusion of his public teaching, Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and he began to observe the people. And he gave an important lesson to his disciples by contrasting the false piety of the rich compared to the true piety of a widow who actually did trust God and gave her all in worship of him. Now all this has to be kept in mind as we begin the study of Matthew 24. He is leaving the temple for the last time. These are the things that have occurred in the previous couple days. So he came out of the temple. He was going away when his disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to him. Now I've been there as you come out over on the east side. You cross the Kidron Valley and you start ascending the Mount of Olives. Especially in the evening, if you're looking back, the sun is setting that it is a beautiful sight even now, even though the temple's not there. And I can only imagine what it must have looked like to them. Mark and Luke both had that they were specifically, to point out the wonders, the buildings, they were adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, a reference to the sculptures. The artistic decorations had been added as vows of voluntary offerings. It was a gorgeous sight. Jesus' disciples leaving it. They've crossed the Kidron Valley. They're ascending the Mount of Olives. They turn around to look and it's just going to be glistening. It's going to be a beautiful sight. They're going back to Bethany which is on the other side of the Mount of Olives. That's where they're staying. Alfred Edersheim describes what the scene may have looked like in his book, The Life and Times of Jesus Messiah. Here's what he wrote. In the setting even more than in the rising sun must the vast proportions, the symmetry, the sparkly sheen of this mass of snowy marble and gold have stood out gloriously. And across the black valley and up the slopes of all of it lay the dark shadows of those gigantic walls built of massive stones, some of them nearly 24 feet long. It was probably now as they gazed on all this grandeur and strength that they broke the silence imposed on them by the gloomy thoughts of the near desolations of that house. Remember Jesus just said their house is left to them desolate. They're contemplating that. They see this beautiful sight and they're wondering. One and another pointed out to him those massive stones and splendid buildings, or spoke of the rich offerings with which the temple was adorned. It was but natural that the contrast between this and the predicted desolation of it should have impressed them." The temple was the center of Judaism. And here's an artist's rendition of the temple itself of that period of time. It is said that He who had not seen Herod's temple had not seen a beautiful building. It was certainly one of the wonders of the ancient world of that time period. And so the disciples must have been astonished over the Lord's proclamation that only a short time early that this house is going to be left desolate. They see all of its glory, they start pointing out and the Lord wondering, well, is this really true? Is this really all gonna be destroyed? It's gonna be left desolate? And so they had to be shocked what Jesus said next. It's one thing to leave a place desolate. I've been to a lot of ghost towns. They're desolate. But there's still things there. Look at verse 2. That's worse than desolate. That's absolutely the destroyed. The days of the fulfillment of that prophecy occurred a little less than 40 years later. Roman General Titus and his legions laid siege against Jerusalem and finally breached the walls in AD 70. The troops poured into the temple area in a wild frenzy. What began as an accidental fire was soon purposely spread to everything on the temple mount and into the city and it burned. Wrecking crews destroyed what remained. Josephus, a historian of that time period, records the pillars supporting the porticos were over 37 feet high and at least 12 to 15 feet in circumference. But everything was torn down. They were pushed over, towers were knocked over, the paving stones were ripped up. in an effort to gain access to the gold that had melted. Remember the inside of the temple had been covered in gold. It would have melted. It would have run down between the crevices and the paving stones were all torn up. And then any other riches that might have been buried under those things in the underground chambers. By the time it was done, not a stone was left in place. Josephus said it was difficult to believe that it had ever been inhabited. Now the western wall where the Jews pray today is not part of the temple. It's a retaining wall. I've been there, I've seen the pictures of excavation of all the debris that had been pushed off into the Kindred Valley. Massive stones. And then eventually buried more things and things built on top of it. The temple mount was clean. What Jesus said had come true. Now the disciples were stunned at what Jesus said and apparently they remained silent as Jesus now sat down to rest after ascending up the Mount of Olives. Mark 13, 3 and 4 records this, as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning him privately. Tell us, when will these things be and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled? Luke records the same two questions, but Matthew, who is writing to a Jewish audience, who is going to understand Hebrew prophecy, has three questions. Tell us when these things will be, what will be the sign of your coming, and at the end of the age. Now those questions have to be understood in order to understand Jesus' answer to them. And that begins by pointing out these are Jewish men and they're looking for Messiah to come and fulfill the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures. They had certain expectations. That's why the previous 14 sermons in this series dealt with those Old Testament prophecies, including going through the book of Zechariah. Because Zechariah 14 predicts a great tribulation before Messiah is going to come. The nation had experienced many tribulations, such as that of under Antiochus IV, who had slaughtered thousands and desecrated the temple. And they were still under the oppressive hand of Rome. Now, they also would have understood, according to other prophecies, that an Elijah-like forerunner would come and herald the coming of Messiah. And Jesus already said that that was John the Baptist. They're putting things together. If the Elijah figure has come, then what's next? The next event they expected was Messiah to appear and set up His kingdom. He's going to manifest Himself, which they thought probably was done a few days earlier in the triumphal entry. He's being declared. He's being declared Messiah. So now looking for the fulfillment of the rest of these commonly held beliefs about Messiah coming. And they would include the following. An alliance of nations to fight against Messiah resulting in those nations being destroyed. Following that Jerusalem is going to be restored as Jews scattered throughout the world are going to be gathered back to Israel. And Jerusalem would then become the center of the world with all nations subjugated to Israel. And then Messiah's kingdom would bring a new and eternal age of peace, righteousness and divine glory. Now if you lived in that time I think you'd be looking for that too. We're looking for that. It is in that context the disciples ask Jesus these questions. Tell us when will these things be, the things you just prophesied, what will be the sign of your coming, the word here is parousia, appearing, so not arrival but manifestation of himself, and of the end of the age? Again, they believe Jesus is going to soon establish his kingdom and they want to know when is that going to occur and how will they know it's about to happen. Now Jesus does not deal with the question of when until verse 36 where he tells them only the Heavenly Father knows. The second question has led some people astray because they read too much New Testament theology into a question asked from an Old Testament perspective by Jewish people living prior to the church age. They were not asking when Jesus would return because they did not understand He was leaving. Make sense? They didn't know that. When are you appearing? When are you going to manifest yourself? What is the sign of your manifesting yourself and taking your place as Messiah and King of Kings? That's their question. The third question is tied to the second. What is the sign of the consummation of the age? What age? The age of the Gentiles. That was talked about in Daniel chapter 9. When is that ending that the age of Israel returns? When is the beginning of this messianic age? Those are the three questions. Now even after Jesus' resurrection, they did not fully understand the spiritual nature of Christ's present kingdom of which we are a part. The very last question they asked Jesus before he ascended from the Mount of Olives up into heaven after his resurrection, that's in Acts 1, verse 6. Lord, is it at this time that you're restoring the kingdom of Israel? That's still on their mind. The crucifixion has happened. He's been raised from the dead. He's been with them for 40 days. And it's still in their mind is, okay, now it's going to happen, right? We missed the whole point about your death and resurrection, but now that that's happened, you're going to do the kingdom now, right? Right? Anticipation. His answer was, you don't need to worry about that. You just be my witnesses here in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the world. It's not your concern when all this is going to take place. But that's their interest. The interest is when is the kingdom coming, not when is the temple going to be destroyed. For them, any thought about the destruction of the temple has to fit in with the prophecies of tribulation that occurred just prior to Messiah conquering and setting up his kingdom, as told in Daniel 9, 26, and 27, Ezekiel 37-39, and Zechariah 14, and the prophecies of Joel. That's why we covered those. Now with all that in mind, we begin to look at Jesus' answers to these three questions. I already pointed out He's not going to answer the when question, until verse 36. But he begins the answer to the second and third questions about the signs of his coming and of the end of the age together because they essentially have the same answer. When Jesus comes as Messiah, the King of Kings, it is going to bring an end to the Gentile age and the beginning of the Messianic age. Jesus addresses disciples using the second personal pronouns, you. but the scope of his answer is prophetic. Jesus describing things the disciples themselves would not experience. So he's addressing them but beyond them to those that would follow because it's prophetic. He's speaking in the same way the old prophets had spoke so often to the people. An example of that is Zechariah 9.9 in which the prophet tells that Zion is to rejoice for, quote, "...your king is coming to you. He is just and endowed with salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey, even an occult the foal of a donkey." That prophecy is not fulfilled until about 500 years later when Jesus rides into Jerusalem exactly as prophesied. Now let me give you five reasons why Matthew 24 and its parallel passages need to be understood as prophetic events that are going to occur after the disciples actually have died. Number one, according to Matthew 24 14, the gospel is going to be preached to all the world and that did not happen during the time of the apostles. 2. Matthew 24 15 speaks of them seeing the abomination of desolation spoken about by Daniel. That's Daniel 9 and that had not happened. Matthew 24 21 speaks of a time of tribulation that will be unparalleled in past or future time and that had not occurred. Matthew 24 29 states the sun will be dark and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from the sky and that had not happened. Matthew 24, 34 states the generation that sees the beginning of these events will not pass away until all the events take place. The Apostles generation passed away a long time ago. This is prophetic. Jesus answers about the signs that are going to occur just prior to his coming. Actually, parousia, his appearing, his manifesting himself. as King, as Messiah. That is what is going to bring about the end of the age. This is not about the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. Jesus' message is for those that are alive at the end, during the events of the book of Revelation, as they begin to unfold. Matthew 24 parallels Revelation 6. That's why we read the first part of it this morning in our scripture reading. You might want to put a finger there in Revelation 6, because we're going to be flipping back and forth, at least pointing out what happens in Revelation 6. Both passages here are going to display God's wrath upon sinful man. The Church is not present for any of this. A lot of people don't like the idea that God's wrathful. But He is. In fact, some want to split it that He is wrathful in the Old Testament and He is not in the New Testament. Those passages show that He is wrathful in the New Testament too. Some people get all worked up that God let a bad thing happen. How could He be good if He let a bad thing happen to me or my family or somebody I know and care about? I have a better question. How can a holy God tolerate you for one second? It's because he is good and he's provided a way to escape his wrath. But his wrath is going to be poured out on those who do not believe. Now the scriptures are clear that the church will and does suffer much at the hands of wicked men and Satan's wrath. It is not going to suffer under God's wrath. There's a huge difference. Paul states that in 1 Thessalonians 1, 10 and 5, 9. Whose wrath? God's wrath. The other verse, "...for God has not destined us for wrath, but for attaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." What wrath? God's wrath. We're not destined for that. John records in Revelation 3.10 that the Lord's promise to the Church of Philadelphia is this, "...because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth." Our belief is that according to 1 Thessalonians 4, 17, the church is caught up, the Latin form of that is where we get the word rapture from, we are caught up to be with Christ prior to the outpouring of God's wrath upon sinful man during the tribulation period. This is not an escape from persecution. For Jesus said, in this world we will have persecution. Believers of every age can expect that they are going to be persecuted by unbelievers. We live in New York. We experience more of this than other places where people are not as secular, as atheistic, as selfish, as unhappy with life. There is a huge contrast. Where I was in Gainesboro, Tennessee, everybody we met is happy. They're happy people. They welcome you there. We're glad you're here. Don't change us, okay? We like the way we are. We have a great community. I was talking to one guy. He said it was great growing up in this little village, sort of. He said because anytime I did anything, my mama knew about it before I got home. So kids were under control. And you get back up here and what happened to the smiles? Does the Hudson River wipe them off your face? I don't know. But we have lots of reasons to be joyful. But we got a lot of people surrounding us. There's no joy in their life. No matter what happens, they're miserable and they want to take that misery out on you because you must be causing it because you're happy about the situation. Hmm. I have a different way of living life because I have a different purpose in it. We can expect to be persecuted by unbelievers. The estimate is that there were more Christian martyrs in the 20th century than all previous 19 centuries combined. The pace has not slowed down. The pre-tribulational rapture doctrine is not about escape from persecution. We, along with Peter, 1 Peter 4.13, and Paul, Philippians 3.10, we set our minds to rejoice and be partakers of the sufferings of Christ in the present. We believe this doctrine because the weight of Scripture indicates it. Let me give you some of the weight of this. Number one, 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18, it's given as a source of comfort to believers. Next, as already noted, the Church is exempt from the wrath of God. Next, the Church is absent from Revelation 6-18 which details God's wrath on sinful man. Next, there are no instructions to the Church about how to endure and conduct itself during the Tribulation period. Next, Jesus told us He was preparing a place for us to dwell with Him in Heaven, John 14. And this view also allows for a non-glorified human population on earth during the millennium. All this means the next eschatological event, the next event approaching in times that we expect to occur is the rapture followed by the signs that Jesus is now going to list. Now, what are these signs? Jesus starts detailing there in Matthew 24, verse 4. I'm going to look at each of them individually and comment on them. But again, these events occur at the beginning of Daniel's 70th week. That's the time of Jacob's troubles. It is the start of God's wrath as seen in Revelation 6. These are not events that precede the rapture, but they are events that occur after it. All but the last of these are very general events and have always been around, but they are going to increase just before the end. Let's look at verse four. Luke 21, eight adds the claim, the time is near and the warning, do not follow them. Don't be misled. There have always been those around that falsely claim to be Christ. Those who claim the end is near, even though the signs have not yet come. It's almost like the cartoon. The guy walking around with the sandwich board. The end is near! But this is worse. The guy in the sandwich board says, and I'm Jesus. They've always been around. Wikipedia, not a source of great information, but helpful in some things. It actually maintains a list of Messiah claimants. 11 of which are still currently alive. People who claim to be Messiah. There's a whole long list of them going back centuries. However, as the tribulation period begins, that's going to become more intense. as a restraining influence of the Holy Spirit is removed according to 2 Thessalonians 2, 7. And then people seek after deception, 2 Timothy 3, 1-8. They're going to actually look for it. Stay away and do not follow those who make such claims. Period. Stay away from them. In the present or in the future. Second, verse six. You'll be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place. But that is not the end. The nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There have always been wars. Someone tallied over 300 wars in just Europe alone from 1700 to 2000. That's just one small area of the planet in a very small period of time. I don't even know if I'd want to try and count how many wars I've been told about in my own lifetime. I'm not sure I could even figure out how many wars are currently going on. There's a lot of them. But it's going to get worse as the great tribulation period begins. Now in Revelation chapter 6, the first seal is broken and it releases the first horseman who is riding a white horse and he goes forth to, guess what? Conquer. His bow and crown represent multiple ways nations can be conquered, which includes war, threat of war, and economics. Economics is warfare, and that's exactly what Antichrist is expected to do as he begins his ascent to power. The second seal broken in Revelation 6, 3 and 4 releases the second horseman who's riding a red horse. He goes out to take peace from the earth that men should slay one another. These are horsemen of war and the anarchy that goes with it, but neither of these bring the end. The third and fourth seals, verse 7 continues, in various places there will be famines and earthquakes, but all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. The Braxton Hicks of eschatology, I guess you could call it. The beginnings of it. You're not into it yet. Luke 21 11 adds plagues to the list. Famines, plagues, earthquakes are and always have been common being recorded throughout history. Famine can have many causes. War is one of them. Crops are either not planted, or they're not tended, or they're not harvested, or they're destroyed or stolen if harvested. Remember how expensive things got when the Ukraine-Russian war began? Okay, I noticed it in chicken feed prices. Okay, it went up to, what was it, 26 bucks a bag, I think it got up to? About 30 bucks a bag, what is it now? 14, okay, why was that? Well, war stopped Ukraine from planting and harvesting its wheat crop, and so wheat became a commodity worldwide that was in great demand, and so prices everywhere skyrocketed. War can cause famine. War is also accompanied by plagues as basic sanitation practices are lost and diseases start spreading quickly. That's always been part of it. Revelation chapter 6 verses 5 and 8 describes the breaking of the next seal. and two more horsemen ride forth. The third is famine, signified by excessive price for wheat and barley. The fourth brings death through various means, including violence, starvation, pestilence, and wild beasts. They go rampant. I've seen articles in which the writer tries to make much about the frequency of earthquakes in our own time. But some of that is simply because we have equipment to recognize earthquakes that we would not have noticed. There are hundreds of earthquakes going on constantly, but they're small. We only get the big jolts, like, oh, I felt something, I think. Early in the tribulation period, at the beginning of the sixth seal in Revelation 6, there occurs an earthquake. Very different than what we're talking about now. People always are like, oh, it's another earthquake. It must be this. Revelation 6.12 says an earthquake. And throughout the rest of Revelation, there are horrible earthquakes that make anything recorded in our own times insignificant. Insignificant. There's an earthquake coming that's going to flatten every mountain. I think that's a little powerful. I don't think that shows up on the Richter scale. That's what's common. Now Jesus states these are just the beginning of birth pangs. Birth pangs start off slow. They build in frequency and intensity. And so it is during the tribulation period. All these things, the deceivers, the war, the family earthquakes, build to unprecedented levels at the beginning of the tribulation period. Fifth, They will deliver you to tribulation and will kill you and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Mark and Luke add specifics of being delivered to synagogues and courts, prisons and floggings. There is going to be severe persecution against those that become Christians during the tribulation. I'll point out, they are not under the wrath of God, they're under the wrath of those who hate God. There's a difference. Now most of the souls that are going to be saved during that tribulation time are going to profess Christ at the forfeit of their physical lives. At the breaking of the fifth seal in Revelation 6, 9 through 11, John sees, quote, Under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. They cried with a loud voice saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them. And it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season until their fellow servants also and their brethren should be killed as they and should be fulfilled. So coming to Christ during the tribulation will probably be at the forfeit of your life. But the persecution there is not from God, it's from those who hate God. Mark 13, 10 and 11 and Luke 21, 12 through 14 add in connection with this persecution they would quote, stand before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them. In addition, they were not to worry about defending themselves. The Holy Spirit would give them what to say with, quote, wisdom which none of their opponents would be able to resist or refute. So God is going to be working very strongly through them in that period of time. And those are encouraging words to give confidence. Sixth, verse 10. At that time, many will fall away, will betray one another, and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved." Now Mark and Luke specifically add that the betrayal will include family, relatives, and friends. Persecutions will be physical, it'll be mental, it'll be emotional, and it will take its toll in both apostasy and treachery. Now, open hatred is bad, but betrayal is worse because it brings a broken trust from an unexpected source. That's especially true when it is someone with whom you've been close with, such as a family member and friends. Fear of this will cause people to turn away from things, even though they know what is right and true. Fear causes them to turn away. They want to avoid the current suffering, and they don't want to be an outcast. That same kind of pressure is applied today all the time, isn't it? You're not part of the group. Don't you be part of the group? And you're persecuted, and so, okay, I'll just fit in with the group. Peer pressure. We need to walk with what is true. What we know is right. Regardless what anybody else around us does. Apostasy will be rampant due to the deceit of many false teachers that are going to arise. Because most people are going to be ignorant of the scriptures. Remember the church is gone. There will be those who become Christians and they're going to be... I mean part of the reason for even doing this whole series is leaving a record. That hopefully some after the rapture occurs will... somehow find it, even if it's just my son. Okay, I think there's gonna be a lot of the prodigals that we have, and there's a lot of them within our own congregation. We have sons or daughters who've grown up in the faith, and they've turned aside from it, but the rapture occurred now. Gotta wait longer. If the rapture occurred now, I know what's gonna happen with those people. They're gonna go, wait a minute, I was taught about this. And they're going to start looking at it, and I think those are going to be the first Christians after the rapture. So, that's who this is really written for. But they're not going to know scriptures well, so they could be led astray again to a false teacher. Even worse would be the increase in lawlessness, the abandoning of God's moral standards, which will entice others into selfishness expressed in every way imaginable. Okay? Yes, worse than Vegas. Worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. That salvage will cause the love to grow cold since love requires being thoughtful and giving towards others. In 36 years of pastoral ministry, I've seen that happen in many people who turn away from Christ. They turn away then from friends and family and the pursuit of selfish desires to do whatever it is they want to do. That becomes more important than anything else. Cold-hearted people. And yet, even in that environment, God is going to have his remnant. The Holy Spirit continues His ministry in the true believers so they're able to resist the many temptations, the pressures, and still hold fast to faith. They will endure to the end, whether that end comes through martyrdom or living to the end of the tribulation period. Their souls are secure in the Lord, just as ours are. 7th Luke 21 11 adds that there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. Now that corresponds to breaking of the sixth seal in Revelation 6, 12 and 13. The sun is darkened, the moon becomes like blood, stars fall from the sky, the sky is split apart as a scroll. What does that mean? I don't know, but that's what it says. I haven't seen that happen. Wait a while. When it happens, then I'll describe it to you. I haven't seen it yet. The signs in the heavens become more pronounced as the events in Revelation unfold. 8th verse 14, It's after this that he's going to start talking about the Great Tribulation. Right now we're just in the beginning of it. Now this is not a reference to completing the task of world mission so that Jesus will return as is claimed by some who are trying to promote their missionary endeavors. We've got to get out there and preach the gospel so that Jesus will return. No, that's not why we preach the gospel. We strive to proclaim the gospel to every nation because we love Christ and His command is to do so. We want to see them saved. Okay? Whether Jesus comes back then or not is irrelevant to us. We have a different task to be his witnesses just as he told the disciples. Right now, this is what you're to be doing. Don't worry about the other stuff. Christ's return is not dependent upon us. Revelation records several supernaturally empowered witnessing events, time periods. Revelation 7, 144,000 Jewish witnesses, 12,000 from each tribe, each sealed as God's bond servants, they're out witnessing. Revelation 11, there are two witnesses who have supernatural power to witness for three and a half years, 1,260 days, before they are killed by the beast, temporarily. They're raised from the dead three and a half days later, and while the world is watching, which, quote, terrified many who then gave glory to God of heaven, unquote. I guess if you see dead bodies for three and a half days and then they just get up and walk away, I think that'd be a little terrifying. Revelation 14, 6-7 though has a really interesting passage about fulfillment of preaching the gospel everywhere on earth. God sends an angel. Yes, the whole world will be evangelized. If they didn't get it before, an angel is finally going to tell them. God will accomplish the task of making sure the gospel is preached to the whole world. It is after that, then, quote, the end will come, unquote. And we'll look into that next week. Now, what's the point of all this? God has revealed many aspects of a future that he has already determined. What will you do with that knowledge? Now, it should be a comfort and encouragement to the Christian who is serving Him faithfully while awaiting His return. That's an encouragement to me. I will admit, when I read a book about this when I was in junior high, it scared me to death. I remember sweating at night, praying, Lord, if I didn't do it right before, save me now. Save me now. I don't want to go through that. Okay? What do you expect from a 14-year-old? It's scary when you're reading through this. but as someone who serves Christ and loves Christ and understands now how it all fits together, it's an encouragement. My life is in his hands, no matter what. It should be a warning to the non-Christian, get it right before it's too late. You don't want to be part of that group that has to go through the tribulation. You don't want to be part of those, what was the series, left behind? You know, it's like, ooh, mom and dad were right. You don't want to be part of that group. You want to be part of the group that isn't there because we're in heaven celebrating the marriage feast of the Lamb. Now whether these passages are frightening to you or not is going to depend upon three factors. Number one, your understanding of them. That's one reason I'm preaching through them. To give you a greater understanding of what are these passages talking about? What is going to happen in the future? Second, you're trusting God to do what he says he's going to do. That's in all things. I can trust my God in all things. He is faithful. If I seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, he says I will be fed and clothed. It may be rice and beans, but I like rice and beans. It's okay. He said I don't have to worry about these things. He says that he is preparing a place for me. I believe him. He's going to come back and get me. He says that I can cast all my cares upon him because he cares for me. I believe him. So that's going to have a factor on your emotional state as you consider these things. How much do you actually believe God? And third is, what is your own relationship with the Lord like? If you're fearful, talk with me, talk with any of our church leaders. Let us help you get a right relationship with Jesus Christ. So that even though when we're reading about things that they're scary on the surface, they don't have to be scary for you. God has given us his peace. And it passes all understanding. And we can have it in any circumstance. Father, thank you for the truth of your word. Even these sections that talk about things coming in the future, that they are very scary. The Father, we can approach them because we know the rest of your word and the promises given to us. Thank you that though we will be persecuted by those who hate you, that's just in keeping of suffering along with Christ for they hated him first. But that we're not under your wrath in any way, shape, or form. Father, for by simple faith in Christ, we're forgiven, we're cleansed. Father, thank you for Robin's testimony earlier as she got baptized, because that was a central part of it. Finally understanding there no longer has to be guilt. Jesus has paid it all, once for all, and he sat down at the right hand of the Father. So Father, that you do not see us in our righteousness, because we don't have it. You see us in his. His robes for mine, in Jesus' name, amen.