The Last Days 2 - Luke 21 Vs 20-38

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Alright, welcome to Faith Bible Church. Glad to have you here today. Just want to go over some quick announcements before we get started.

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First on the list is prayer meeting. We will be having prayer meeting tonight at 6pm.

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So that will be here, obviously. And then our missionary of the month, again, is

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Eli Dresinga. She serves in Brazil with the Gospel Fellowship Mission in San Peranga, Brazil.

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She just does church planning there. She leads youth groups and teaches English. So just pray for her and her ministry there and that it is a fruitful one.

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We also have a special guest in September, John Knox.

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He's our missionary to Japan. He's visiting us on September 8th.

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He'll discuss his ministry at 10am, so there won't be any Sunday school that day. And just please invite anyone interested in missions, especially to Japan.

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Alright, and then we'll pray before we get started. Dear Lord, thank you for bringing us all here today,

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Lord, safely. Lord, we pray for those who are here today. We pray for those who couldn't make it,

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Lord. We just pray, Lord, that as we worship through song and through your word today, Lord, that we would just get rid of any distractions,

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Lord, from our prior week or from the week to come, Lord, and just focus on you,

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Lord. We love you, Lord, and we praise you in Jesus' name, amen. The first song is

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Is He Worthy, and it's sort of a responsive, and you're going to respond to yourself as we sing a verse, and then you'll say, we do, we do, he is, and but let's stand together.

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This is entitled Is He Worthy, and we know the answer to that, right? And you're going to say it a few times in this song.

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Is a new creation coming? It is.

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Is the glory of the Lord to be the light within our midst?

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It is. Is it good that we remind ourselves of this?

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It is. Is anyone worthy?

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Is anyone whole? Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?

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The Lion of Judah, who conquered the grave?

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He is David's Root and the Lamb of God, who died and was slain.

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Is he worthy? Is he worthy of all blessing and honor and glory?

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Is he worthy of this?

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He is. Our next song is

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Blessed Assurance, and it's a song that celebrates the joy of being in a perfect and confident love that casts out fear, having certainty in the love of Jesus.

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This is my story, this is my song, praising my

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Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song, praising my

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Savior all the day long.

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The scripture reading for today is from Daniel, chapter 7, verses 9 through 14.

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So Daniel, chapter 7, verses 9 through 14. I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the

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Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow and the hair of his head like the pure wool.

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His throne was like the fiery flame and its wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him.

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Thousand thousands ministered unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

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The judgment was set and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake,

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I beheld even till the beast was slain and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame.

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As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

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I saw in the night visions and beheld one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the

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Ancient of Days and they brought him near before him and there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages should serve him.

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His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

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May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of this word. Our next song is a very familiar one,

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Joy to the World, and I know we sing it at Christmas time generally, most of the time, but when

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Isaac Watts wrote this originally, wrote the words to this hymn, it's about Christ's second coming and I know we kind of we get used to wrote singing words to songs.

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Think about the words and think about Christ's second coming, coming again, and kind of adds a new light to the words to this hymn that is very familiar,

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Joy to the World. Let's stand together. and angels sing.

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He fills the world with truth and grace, the nation's true and wonders of his love and wonders of his love.

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Our next song and Kevin just read from Daniel chapter 7 and that's actually the first time that the phrase

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Ancient of Days appears and what it essentially means is that God existed before the beginning of time.

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God always was and is and shall be and his eternality and so we're going to, this is a new song, a new song for me and for you maybe, so let's join together as we sing

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Ancient of Days. and that my god is the ancient of days and God who lived before him was the ancient of my soul.

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He is here with me. I'm the ancient of days.

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I will watch and wait for the

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Savior to come to me and my joy complete, sending grace to faith.

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in the presence of the ancient of days is please turn with me to Luke chapter 21 verses 20 through 38.

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Luke chapter 21 But when you see

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Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.

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Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.

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For there are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

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But woe to those who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days, for there will be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

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And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.

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And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. And there will be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, and on the earth, distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them from fear, and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth.

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For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the

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Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.

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Then he spoke to them a parable. Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.

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When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.

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Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.

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Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. But take heed to yourselves.

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Lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you unexpectedly.

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For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and stand before the

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Son of Man. And in the daytime he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and stayed on the mount called

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Olivet. Then early in the morning, all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.

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This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we are grateful that you have saved us through your son,

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Jesus Christ, who died for our sin, suffering the wrath that we deserved, and who rose from the dead.

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And he calls us his own. Help us to live that way.

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We also pray for our brothers and sisters in the United Kingdom who are being persecuted for their speech.

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We pray that they would continue to proclaim the gospel and the biblical truth that they may be persecuted for.

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And we pray for them that they would endure and persevere through your power in order to please

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Christ for your glory. In Jesus' name. Now, while last week's passage dealt with the distant signs of the second coming of Christ, this week's passage will deal with the immediate signs of the coming of Christ.

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The distant signs were wars and rumors of war, right?

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Pestilence, famines. And as you know, since the first century, we've had a lot of those.

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And each time there's a dictator who wants to take over the whole world, we thought, that must be the

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Antichrist. But of course, those were the distant signs. The second coming unfolds both the judgment of the whole world and the redemption of the righteous.

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God's judgment and redemption go together. Now, this passage doesn't tell us every little detail of what will happen in the last days.

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For example, the rapture isn't quite spelled out in Luke's passage.

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But you can get to it when you read 1 Thessalonians. You can read about it in John 14.

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But this has to do with the second coming of Christ and the tribulation that comes before it.

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And Luke's passage is also uniquely different from those of Matthew and Mark's because Luke's focus is not really on the rise of the

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Antichrist. He doesn't mention the man of lawlessness, although Matthew does.

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Rather, he narrates the fall of Jerusalem as a parallel event to that of great tribulation.

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The question is really if the destruction of the temple in AD 70 was so gruesome, how much more on the last days when

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God's wrath is poured out? It's this parallel view of prophecy and it is quite common in the

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Bible. And this is important today because we rarely think about the last days.

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One of the consequences of not thinking about what Jesus will do when he comes back is that we have multiple generations who are more anxious than ever.

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We are, in fact, one nation under therapy and SSRI. More so than any other

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Western nations. Needless to say, we can't even compare with the

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African and Asian countries. And one reason for that is that we have lost the sight of the eternal perspective.

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We too often expect and pray for the world to continue the same way that it has been for the last however many decades.

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However, according to Scripture, the world will not get better. And having such an expectation that the world would continue on or even get better can cause people to worry and be anxious.

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In fact, this chapter in Luke and other eschatological texts concerning the last days show us the opposite.

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Yet, in the last days, Jesus still lives.

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I think that's very important. That's how Christians must face suffering.

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Even if it's not an eschatological trial. The suffering trials and the distress that you may face even in your current life is not purposeless.

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That's important. And that also means in the greater scheme of things, the wars and even the great tribulation, we'll not be meaningless.

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There is a purpose behind all of that. And thinking about the last days reminds us that God has a plan despite how best of this world will be and is becoming.

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And studying eschatology teaches us that God's solid plan not only foresaw but included the destruction that this world will do.

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That we might even see a glimpse of. There's just no guarantee of when the rapture takes place again.

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And if America falls before the rapture, we will witness some historically troubling and gruesome fall of the world.

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The main question today is what are the implications of Christ's second coming?

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What are the implications of Christ's second coming? First, how will we know when

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Jesus is coming back? How will the world know? Soon after the tribulation in Jerusalem, the whole creation will proclaim the coming of Christ and judge the world.

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Soon after the tribulation in Jerusalem, the whole creation will proclaim the coming of Christ.

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Verses 20 -24 show the desolation of Jerusalem in the immediate time before the coming of Christ.

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But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Now unlike Matthew and Mark's passages, the desolation of Jerusalem portrayed here focuses more on the destruction of the temple in AD 70.

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Rather than the desolation and abomination of the Antichrist in the future.

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Yet by viewing the first destruction, we get the preview of the second destruction in the eschatological time.

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The first fall is the foretaste of the second. Now verses 21 -24 show how the destruction will unfold.

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First, verse 21 shows that everyone will avoid Jerusalem like the plague. And let those who are in Judea, the southern region of the land of Israel, flee to the mountains.

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Let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.

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Those in the surrounding region will leave to the mountains. And this is a common thread whenever a judgment occurs.

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There is a common command to flee to the mountains. And we saw that before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.

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The angels tell Lot and his family to flee to the mountains. And this is almost an echo of it.

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Now those who are already outside must avoid even going in. And wherever you are,

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Jerusalem is the last. And verse 22 tells us this is not just an accident that Jerusalem is surrounded.

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But rather it's a national judgment for their failure to trust in the

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Messiah. This is AD 7. On the other hand, before the second coming, it will be a global judgment against the nations for defying

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Christ. Now verse 23 shows us the severity of the siege.

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The army is surrounded. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days.

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For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon us. This woe applies not only to those who lived in the first century

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Jerusalem. But those who are going to live through great tribulation. Remember Luke is using the first fall to foreshadow the second.

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And what was AD 7 like? We need to consider that. Often times when there is historical distance, there is a tendency for the world to think of it as...

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Consider even Napoleon. How many people were offended by him? But if you were a

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British citizen in the 1900s even, you would have asked, That wicked man?

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But imagine the first century, AD 70. What was that like?

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I will say it was much worse than what we may see in modern warfare.

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The first century Jewish historian Josephus reports that after the Roman siege, over 1 .1

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million Israelites were killed in Jerusalem. 1 .1

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million. Imagine everyone in Sacramento County just killed, wiped out.

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That's the equivalence here. Not only that, 97 ,000 were taken captive.

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Remember the siege was multiple years, it wasn't just a flash bomb. There was just killing left and right.

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And you could personally see that. Not only that, the

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Roman siege was so severe that the adults took their children as food.

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That's not a bird eye in modern times. It was a glimpse of hell on earth.

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Now if that was the Roman siege, imagine the great tribulation. And according to Jesus' words in Matthew, Such as has not been since the beginning of the world and never will be.

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The great tribulation would make AD 70 seem like a child's play. Now verse 24 tells us the result.

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And they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the

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Gentiles are fulfilled. The results here are twofold. One is the immediate result.

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Which is that no one will get out of that city safely. In AD 70.

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And that's God's judgment on you. The point is God's judgment is inescapable.

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And the reason why these verses are not just about AD 70 is because of the last praise.

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And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. And that actually looks beyond AD 70.

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Although Israel may be trampled down, it will be temporary.

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As in God's plan for Israel did not end. In AD 70.

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That's an important thing to consider. And this is the only time of the phrase times of the

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Gentiles is used in the New Testament. And that's the time we're living now. The times of the

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Gentiles. It is a period in God's redemptive plan in which the

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Gentiles are dominating. In which the Gentiles have been saved. In quite a large number.

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For example, in the last century alone, more Muslims were saved than the previous 18 centuries before that.

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Or whenever Islam came to be. Right? Yet, after this time, this would be post -rapture.

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God will redeem Israel as many, many, many

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Jews will come to faith in Jesus Christ. And Romans 11 details that.

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Paul believes that the ethnic Jews will come to faith in their

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Messiah in the end times. This shows that God still has a redemptive plan for the

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Jews. That they were not just left behind or abandoned after AD 70. God will save them too in a large number.

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Now, what will be the sign of Jesus' return? Verses 25 -28 depict the coming of the

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Son of Man. Verse 25 starts with the cosmological sign that precedes the coming of Christ.

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And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars that on the earth distress a nation with perplexity, the sea, and the waves roaring.

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This verse tells us that the heavens, earth, and the sea will all clearly proclaim the coming of their

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Creator. The signs in the sun, moon, and stars are portrayed in Isaiah 13, 9 -10.

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Behold the day of the Lord comes, cruel with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation, and to destroy its sinners from it.

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For the stars of the heavens and the constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.

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Those are the signs. The heavenly signs are the heavenly silence.

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The cosmic order will not work the same way as they have been before the

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Son of Man appears. The heavenly bodies will cease to work the way they have been working since the beginning of creation.

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Not only the heavens, but the earth will declare the coming of its Creator. Think earthquakes.

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Isaiah 24, 19 -20. The earth is utterly broken. The earth is split apart.

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The earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers like a drunken man. It sways like a hut.

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Its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and it will not rise again. Right, this is more than just a category, not a category.

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Bring to scale five earthquakes in the Southern California region that we hear about on a monthly basis.

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It will be an earthquake of a magnitude that we can't even measure.

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Third, the seas will be roaring. Right, 70 % of the earth's surface will not be stable.

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And what this shows is that, in part, creation will announce the coming of the Son of Man. In fact, the nations will be perplexed, the

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Gentiles, because all the things that were normally dependable and predictable are uncontrollably shaking.

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Right now? We're often surprised by the death toll of one natural disaster in a region, even if it's far away.

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And it will be on the news for a while. This hurricane, category five, or this earthquake in this region.

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And you may never have gone to that region, but it impacts us because it is shocking.

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Unpredictable. It's a reminder that nature itself is not something that humans can control.

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That's beyond our control. That's God's domain. Now, imagine the whole world experiencing every natural disaster imaginable.

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This is the tribulation. And when the world sees this, that's the immediate sign that Jesus is coming soon.

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Now, how will the world respond to the cosmic signs of the coming of Christ?

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Verse 26. Man's heart's failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

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They will be struck with fear because they all know who is coming. This is important because a lot of the times,

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Christianity is just boxed. They say, Jesus isn't coming back.

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Some even argue Jesus is not even a real person. And often times, really powerful people say that.

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Well, if they experience the tribulation, they will fear because they know.

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They will know that all creation will announce the

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Creator's judgment. The powers of the heavens here are the stars. In ancient times, many pagan religions believed that the stars all represent the heavenly beings like angels or the pagans.

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They're gods, right? The stars represent their gods. Actually, even in our days, we see astrology has come back.

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And people believe that their lives are determined by the location and the kind of the stars.

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And now before Jesus comes back, the very things that people trust and worship will be shaken.

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That's the judgment. The judgment even affects the heavens. What seemed to be unreachable and unshakable will fail before Christ comes.

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Verse 27, Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

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How can we know that true Jesus Christ has come? He comes from above in the clouds.

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He comes in a cloud full of glory and power. False teachers may fly on their private jets, but none of them will come in a cloud.

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In fact, if they attempt, they will see Jesus real quick. This entry into the

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Son of Man's divine quality. In the Old Testament, the

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Lord comes in a cloud. This is from Exodus 15, 20.

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The Lord, here is Yahweh, right? Yahweh, or the Lord, descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the

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Lord. The question is, what kind of figure is this? The Son of Man, a figure who looks like a man.

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Coming in the same mode of transportation as the Lord himself.

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And the title of the Son of Man needs to be unpacked here as well, as Kevin read from Daniel 7.

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Before we even get to the Son of Man who received dominion and authority, all the recognition of God.

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A curious thing is that before the Son of Man even appears, thrones are placed.

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The question is, why are there multiple thrones in heaven? But there are thrones.

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There are sons. There is a hint of the Trinity even in the Daniel 7 passage. That you cannot explain away with one purely monotheistic truth.

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But there are thrones. Isn't this the God who does not share his glory with no other?

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You need to understand that from the right of the Testament. The Son of Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

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God has placed his Son. God has enthroned his

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Son. That's why there are thrones. Now let's get to the

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Son of Man. The Son of Man, in the Old Testament, in the most basic sense, is a figure that is a man.

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Ezekiel is called the Son of Man and he is obviously not the eschatological figure. What it's saying is, in the heavenly realms, where there are thousands and thousands of men serving

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God, and then, other than that, there are 10 ,000 and 10 ,000. 10 ,000 times 10 ,000 is 100 million.

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Saving the poor God. In that whole throne room, God picks one figure and it's not an angel.

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He picks the Son of Man. In the heavens, there is one human who is seated on the throne.

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And when that happens, the Ancient of Days, God himself, gives hands over all dominion and the glory to this

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Son of Man. And when this occurs, the whole world, every nation and tongue that we sustain, they serve him.

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And often times we would say, okay, maybe he's not a divine being. Maybe he's just a very important being.

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They just serve him. Angels can serve other beings than God. However, if you look at the verb, to serve, in the book of Daniel, in the first nine times, all eight other times refers to worshipping

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God or some other deity. Which means this verb is precisely and only used for not just any type of service, but of worship service.

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And that action is done towards the

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Son of Man. How can the

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Son of Man receive worship from all the world in front of the Ancient of Days unless he himself is divine?

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Now, what's the response to the coming of Christ? Verse 28 shows the response of the redeemed.

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Now, when did these things begin to happen? Look up and lift up your heads because of redemption, Charles. These are the redeemed who remained on earth and resisted the

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Antichrist. They presumably got to see some of their brothers and sisters executed under the rule of the

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Antichrist. And they survived by God's grace. And when these signs occur, it is their turn.

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It's a sign for their redemption. It's their turn to celebrate.

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While the wicked look down in fear, the redeemed will lift up their heads. The redemption is more than just spiritual here.

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It is a total deliverance. The King has come back and he will reign on earth.

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I don't remember when the solar eclipse was. That was a couple months ago. And before that, one student told me that Jesus might be coming back this week.

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And the reason was that either vertically or different cities.

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Salem. Important name, Salem, right? Jerusalem. Maybe there will be the rapture.

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Maybe Christ will come back. I had to remind her that the signs before Jesus' coming are actually more spectacular than the pre -solar eclipse.

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All of us needed special glasses to stare at the sun to see it cover a little bit. What this shows is that the second coming of Christ is a guaranteed event.

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It will not be questionable. It will not be an ambiguous entry.

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But there could be Christ. No, even the enemies of Christ who want to doubt that it is

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Christ will have no argument that it is Christ. The immediate events before Christ's second coming will be supernatural and spectacular at the same time.

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It will be terrifying for those who have rejected Christ, but it will be glorious for those saints who remained faithful during the time of tribulation.

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And the whole world will announce the coming of its Creator. The whole creation will know when its

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Creator is about to enter. And there will be only two responses, utter fear or full redemption.

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The hope is that all of us will be able to escape the coming of tribulation.

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I don't know when it's coming. I don't know when the rapture is. But the only guarantee is that we won't be left behind if your faith is in Jesus Christ.

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That's the only guarantee for us. But for those of you who may be left behind because you didn't truly believe, the guarantee of full redemption again is still the same.

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Full faith in Jesus Christ. When He comes back, you can lift up your eyes and see the coming of Christ.

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Faith. Faith is the thread that binds all these different dispositions together.

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The only proper response to Christ at any time is faith. It won't change.

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Of course, the hope is you don't get to see the tribulation. Now what do we need to be doing until the second coming?

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Followers of Christ must vigilantly anticipate the coming of Christ. Followers of Christ must vigilantly anticipate the coming of Christ.

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From verses 29 -33, Jesus tells a parable. Look at the fig tree and all the trees.

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When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. Remember, figs are delicious fruits with a lot of seeds inside.

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They were actually very prized and valued in the land of Israel. They were very well sought after and pretty common too.

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There are a lot of metaphors of fig tree all over the Old Testament. In this case, the parable is about discerning the sign.

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Why do we need to discern the sign the way we look at the fig trees? Well, for those of you who might have fig trees in your backyard, you know that they lose all their leaves.

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No leaves remain. They are not like the juniper. They are not pine trees.

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No leaves, no shoots. They just all fall back. However, when it is summer, the leaves and shoots come back.

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And it was a clear sign that summer is near. In fact, it is a drastic transformation.

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For those of you who have lived in tropical regions like Lodana, that is a new sight if you see it.

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The trees that seem to be dead are living again in the spring. That is the clear sign.

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Now, what is the point of this parable? When you see these things happening, know that the

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Kingdom of God is near. When all the signs are happening, the cosmological signs and the tribulation, the

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Kingdom of God is near. You do not have to fear. The worst is almost done.

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Just as we would look at the signs of the fig tree to know the season God's people must watch for, the signs that strike here to know the coming of the

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King. Now, how certain are the signs? Jesus assures his followers in the following two verses that they will happen.

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32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.

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You listen to that, you hear that, and you would be questioning what? This is one of the most difficult past verses to understand in the

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New Testament. The key to understanding is which generation is

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Jesus referring to when he says this generation. All has to do with the key, this generation.

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Some argue that the Greek word for that generation can be used for an ethnic group like the

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Jews. As in, the Jews won't pass away. However, I think that's really hard because the word is mostly used for a chronological.

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This leaves us with two options. First, this generation could be the current audience, the first century followers.

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However, obviously all things did not take place in the first century. Only a couple of things.

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In fact, only the destruction of Jerusalem took place, so it can't be all things.

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And remember, Jesus and scripture never lie and are incapable of lying. It can't be wrong.

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Then, this generation must be the tribulation generation. The generation that will face the tribulation.

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This fits the context well. Remember what Jesus said in verse 20. When you see

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Jerusalem surrounded, the sign of desolation is near. These are some immediate signs. Unlike last week's passage, all of today's passages are centered around the immediate signs of the second coming.

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If you're in the tribulation time and you see the sun, moon, and the stars all darkened, you'll see the coming of Christ.

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Hence, all the signs of the tribulation and the coming of Christ, what that means will all occur in great succession.

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Which means the same generation that experiences the tribulation, if they survive, will witness the second coming of Christ.

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It will be quite immediate. Now, lest the future followers of Christ doubt the veracity of this prediction,

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Jesus confirms it in verse 33. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my works will by no means pass away.

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The foundation of this world may be gone, but his work will remain firm.

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The very things that we expect to occur, like the rising of the sun and the gravitational pull, all of those may change.

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Jesus' word. Now knowing this, what does

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Jesus command for his followers? But take heed unto yourself, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing drunkenness and cares of this life.

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And that day come unto you unexpectedly. Hearts here are, it's not just the physical organ, hearts here are the inner beings.

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They're the inner seat of emotion, will, and desire. It's your core being of who you are.

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Now what does it mean by weighed down? Well that means your hearts become heavy.

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Now what does that mean? In Hebrew idiom, heavy hearts are hearts that are insensitive to the work of the

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Lord. Where do I get that? In Exodus 7 -14, the literal translation of Pharaoh's hardened heart is actually heavy heart.

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The Lord says to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is heavy. He refuses to let the people go.

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This is not heavy heart of sorrow, it's the heavy heart of unfaithfulness.

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It's the heavy heart of outright rebellion. It's the heavy heart of callous towards God's movement.

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Maybe our idiom would be something like, our hearts are dull, have grown dull to the work of God.

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That's what it means. So Jesus is commanding his followers, be careful, watch out, unless your hearts become dull with the following.

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What causes our hearts to be heavy or dull? What causes our hearts to be insensitive to God's work and His plan?

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There are three examples given here, and by no means they're exhaustive. But they are carousing, drunkenness, and tears of dislike.

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The first on the list goes with the second. Carousing and drunkenness. It is the uncontrolled indulgence in pleasures.

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Uncontrolled indulgence in pleasures. It is a passionate devotion to pleasure that numb our minds from the reality of this world.

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Some of the more common ones in our days are alcohol, even it can be activities like sex, video games, social media.

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You'd be surprised how many people spend over five hours on their phone.

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What this is, it's a passionate devotion to pleasure to numb, to escape from the reality of the world.

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And it is idolatrous. It's an act of worshipping a false god. It is seeking substance or experience to soothe away the discomfort or uncertainty of life, instead of going to Christ to surrender the outcome to Him.

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It is an act of placing our pleasures on the throne of our hearts where Christ needs to be.

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That's why it's idolatry. And what they do is they make our hearts insensitive to the work of.

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And when you're insensitive to the work of God, it may be too late to respond in faith.

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While the first two on the list seek to escape from reality, the third on the list is the fixation on the reality and cares of this life.

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Other translations may have anxiety of this life or worries of this world. What this means is instead of trying to drown away the hardship with pleasures, the danger here is an attempt to control every part of it.

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Every part of life. Life is hard. Life is unpredictable.

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That's always been the case. Don't let anyone promise you otherwise. Because then they're probably trying to sell you something or get you into a cult.

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Life is full of suffering. Here, however, the person attempts to control every part of it.

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I've got to get my education figured out. I've got to get my job security. I've got to marry the right person.

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I've got to enjoy my life. I've got to go hit my bucket list. I've got to send my kids to the right school.

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And I've got to, and I've got to, and I've got to. Everything has to be figured out to the

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T. In the end, this too is idolatrous.

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It's idolatry of control. I have to be omnipotent.

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I have to know the future by plan. It's a five -year plan. And I have to be omnipotent.

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I've got to curate my life according to my plan and how I want to be. It's about control.

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But in fact, we know that only one being is omniscient and omnipotent, and that's

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God himself. When our hearts are heavy and made dull because of the cares of this life, and there's no care for the life to come, there's no space for the coming

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Christ. So Jesus commands his followers to be vigilant that our hearts are not filled with those things.

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I'm not saying don't take care of your family. I'm saying don't make your plan the ultimate plan.

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I'm not saying don't go on vacation. But don't make it your plan.

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I've got to do this before I die. Don't live for those things.

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Now, why do we need to be alert? Verse 35, For it will come as a snare of all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

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Imagine a trap that's suddenly shutting. That's what

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Jesus is saying here. The coming of Christ will come suddenly, and it has a cataclysmic consequence if you're not vigilantly watching.

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And if you're not with Christ now, then you will be left behind to face God's full wrath.

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And if you don't ever come to Christ, there's no guarantee that you will be watching for the coming of Christ the second time anyway.

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So those people, their hearts would be heavy. If your trust is in something else now, whatever it is will not save you from the wrath of God that will befall you.

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Now how can we be saved from this? Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the

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Son of Man. Those who are attentive to Christ will escape the wrath of God this time.

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They will be taken out. In the end, the only source of salvation from the coming wrath of God is our trust in Him.

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Christ alone. No one can escape God's judgment on their own accord.

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But those who are counted worthy because of their faith in Christ will stand before the

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Son of Man justified. They will escape the wrath to come to be with Jesus.

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And verses 37 -38 are transitional verses that tell us that Jesus continued to preach and teach in the temple despite the leadership's opposition.

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Which sets up for the betrayal that's coming. If they can't turn Jesus externally to publicly humiliate

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Him, then we will get Him from the inside. We'll hire someone to betray

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Him. Now, vigilance and watchfulness of the end days is not installing an atomic bomb through bunkers but receiving

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Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and walking with the Lord in every facet of your life.

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Eventually, God's wrath against this world will be. And that wine cup will be.

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And Jesus promises that He even shares what signs will occur distantly and even immediately before the coming of Christ.

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The question is not how to avoid God's wrath but rather who will receive God's wrath.

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That explains how to avoid God's wrath. In the end, we are all sinners and we all deserve to hell.

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We all deserve to face God's wrath. And your best intended deeds are filthy rags before God.

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You could fool your family. You could fool your teachers. You could fool the church.

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But God is omniscient and He sees the heart. He sees your highest devotion.

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And He sees the object of your devotion. And with this in mind, it is clear who deserves

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God's wrath and that's everyone of us. But, God in His compassion and grace decided to take your place of wrath.

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This was only possible and it was the only way to save sinners.

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When God became a man and lived the perfect life that we all fail to live.

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He died the sinners death that we all learned. And Jesus accomplished this on the cross.

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He faced the full wrath of God that was deserved by us. For every ounce of our sins so that we may be forgiven.

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Now if you trust in Him. If you trust in His death and resurrection. That wrath you would have received.

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Whether you die or enter into tribulation. Has been poured out on the cross.

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There is no remainder wrath for you. If you are trusting in Jesus Christ.

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And this is how you are counted worthy to escape the coming wrath. There is no wrath for you if you will walk with Christ because He took you.

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But, if we are not vigilant.

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If we are not watching Him. If our main concern is not of the eternal world to come.

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There is a huge risk to Savior in the first place.

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And when Christ comes for the church. We have to be watching

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Him. Lest we find out we only mentally assented to Christ.

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We just checked all the boxes of correct theology. But later find out that you only trusted in yourselves.

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Ask God to reveal to you what is making your heart dull. What is making your heart heavy against Christ.

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What is your truth? What is truly your highest delight? What do you race toward when you are down?

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Where does your mind go when you are idle? Is it the presence of your

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Savior or the presence of something else? And the call to watchfulness applies to us today.

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Because the tribulation is a horrible way to wake up. Wake up today.

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Put everything else in your life as disconsecutive. And place

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Christ as Lord of all. Let us pray.

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Father we are grateful that Jesus is coming. And we are grateful that in Christ we can avoid the tribulation.

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We can avoid the wrath to come. We can avoid the eternal judgment. Because He faced it for us.

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Thank you that we will be with Christ one day. And that would be the most glorious and most pleasing, most exciting moment in our lives.

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Help us to look forward to that. And may that eternal perspective shape how we live now.