WWUTT 2488 Jesus Assures the Kingdom of God is Near (Luke 21:29-38)

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Jesus tells his disciples about the coming destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple. And he says, when you see these things, know that the kingdom of God is near.

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Not the new heavens and the new earth, but the kingdom of God in our hearts when we understand the text.

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This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible study in the word of Christ. For he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

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Tell your friends about our ministry at www .wtt .com. Once again, it's Pastor Gabe.

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Thank you, Becky. In our study of the Gospel of Luke, we've been in Chapter 21, that discourse where Jesus tells his disciples about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.

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We've got one portion to finish up here, Jesus' parable about the fig tree, and then encouraging the disciples to remain steadfast to the end.

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Let me begin reading here in verse 29. We'll go through verse 38. Hear the word of the Lord.

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And Jesus told them a parable. Look at the fig tree and all the trees.

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As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.

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So also when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

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Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place.

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Heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will not pass away. But watch yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life.

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And that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

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But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the son of man.

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And every day he was teaching in the temple. But at night he went out and lodged on the mount called

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

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And this will conclude his teaching in the temple here in chapter 21, because then we get to chapter 22 and we have

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Judas's betrayal, the last supper with the disciples, Jesus praying in the garden, being arrested.

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All of that is what's coming up next in chapter 22. This is Luke's edition of the

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Olivet discourse that we have in Matthew 24 and 25 of the three places in the

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Gospels where Jesus gives this teaching. Matthew's is the longest. It covers two chapters,

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Mark. It was chapter 13 here in Luke. It's chapter 21 with Jesus talking about the destruction of the temple.

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That's what sets this whole thing off back in verse five. The disciples are marveling at the temple structures.

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And Jesus says there will not be one stone here left on top of another. They will all be thrown down.

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And then he speaks also of the destruction of Jerusalem. That's exactly the context here. So verse 20, when you see

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

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And he's talking about a destruction that is going to come within the disciples lifetime.

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Because once again, as we read yesterday, or really what we're looking at today in the lesson of the fig tree, truly,

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I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place.

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You will see it. It will be his disciples who will witness these things.

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Some of them will die beforehand, but there will be many that will still be alive and witness the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem.

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So that's what Jesus is referring to. And of course, all of this comes to pass in the late 60s up to AD 70, when

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Titus leads the armies of Rome into Jerusalem and they destroy the temple.

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Indeed, they do exactly as Jesus said they would do. They take the stones and throw them off the temple mount so that the temple is not even there anymore.

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To this day, that temple platform still exists, but on top of it is the dome of the rock.

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The Gentiles continue to trample it underfoot as Jesus predicted they would. Verse 24, they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the

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Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. And that's still going on even to this day.

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After Jesus talks about all these things, which as I said earlier, would have been baffling to the disciples.

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They would not have expected this to happen ever until the end of the world. That's what was in their minds.

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But after Jesus tells them all of these things, he tells them about the fig tree. You'll know the season in which these things are going to take place because you know how to tell the times and the seasons.

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So just like you know this of the fig tree, you're going to know when this day draws near the day that I have told you about.

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Now the disciples probably don't understand what he's talking about here in chapter 21.

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They will understand it later, which is why it gets written down in the gospels like this. So in chapter 24, when we get to the very end of Luke, Jesus opens their minds to understand the scriptures and then even the things that he taught to them would come back to their minds later.

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So with this, this recording of this prophecy that Jesus makes, the disciples don't understand it yet, but they will understand it later.

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And he's saying to them, look at the fig tree and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.

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Why would he be telling this to the disciples if it wasn't something that they would see in their lifetime?

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They were going to witness this. So also when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

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Now that phrase doesn't necessarily mean that that heaven is coming down or something to that effect.

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You are now going to be taken up. You will be with the Lord in the air. You will dwell in his kingdom forever as it comes on earth.

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That's not what Jesus is referring to, because remember how the kingdom of God has been spoken about specifically in the gospel of Luke.

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It was back in Luke 17 where the Pharisees asked

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Jesus about when the kingdom of God would come. And in verse 20, Jesus said to them, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed.

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So as Jesus is talking about this in Luke 21, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

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He's not saying to them, this will finally be the day that the kingdom of God is established on the earth.

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Jesus comes down, the kingdom is here, new heavens and new earth. That's not what Jesus is referring to, because the kingdom of God is coming, but not in ways that can be observed.

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If that's the kind of kingdom that Jesus was talking about, if it was this coming of heaven down to earth in Luke 21, uh, 31, sorry,

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I was trying to look and see where the verse was. Luke 21, 31. If Jesus was talking about there, about the literal kingdom of God on the earth, then that's something that could be observed with your, with your natural senses.

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But Jesus again saying to the Pharisees, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, look, here it is, or therefore behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.

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So what could Jesus be referring to in 21, 31, where he says, you know, the kingdom of God is near.

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There could be a couple of things. Here are two possibilities. So when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

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Could be a reference to the fact that you will see that this prophecy will come true and this will further convince you of the reality of the kingdom of God, that it is here.

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In fact, you will see the temple be destroyed and you will be looking at that going.

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We thought it was going to be here forever. We thought we were going to be here in Jerusalem.

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Jerusalem was going to become our central base of operations for taking over the world again The worship of God would return to the temple and it would be done in a right way.

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And here all these things are gone. Jerusalem's been destroyed. The temple has been destroyed, but the disciples were not to lose heart because that wasn't going to be the kingdom of God anyway.

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It wasn't going to be in Jerusalem or in the temple. Keep that in mind, please, because there are still people today that will say that it is that's not where the kingdom of God is going to be.

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The kingdom of God is in the midst of you. It's in those who have come to know and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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The kingdom of God is here. It is not a geographical place on the map that you can point to on planet earth.

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It's not even an ethnic people group that you're saying that people the way they dwell over there.

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It's not some nation that has signed treaties and so forth and is trading with other nations, a people group that you can select and say, there's the kingdom of God right there.

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That's not the way the kingdom of God is observed. The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.

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So when you see these things taking place, you will know, you will be even more sure that that was never the kingdom of God anyway.

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The kingdom of God is in the midst of you. You know that the kingdom of God is near because now all these other religious ways that you are familiar with are gone.

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So it is the new covenant that we are in, in Christ Jesus. So that's one possibility.

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That's one explanation for what Jesus means there. A second possibility is that the old way of doing things is gone.

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Of course, that's kind of wrapped up in that first possibility as well. But as we read in the book of Hebrews, what is now here is passing away.

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So the old religious system that the Jews were practicing is gone.

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And so now there's only the kingdom of God. So from this point on, after the destruction of the temple, there's only the kingdom of God.

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So it's almost like you would mark AD 70 as the beginning of the kingdom of God. It's not really, but that's kind of symbolically what would be in their minds.

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Well, now the temple's gone, so all we've got left is the kingdom of God. It begins there and continues on down through time, even to this very day.

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So that's the other possibility of what Jesus is referring to there when he says, when you see all these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

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So verse 32, truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place.

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And once again, I believe that that's absolutely literal. That is, that is Jesus talking to that generation.

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That's not preterism. I'm not a full preterist. I'm not of that camp that believes all these things have already been prophesied and taken place.

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When it comes to the Olivet discourse, Matthew chapter 24, especially Mark 13,

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Luke 21. When it comes to the Olivet discourse, those things are about Jerusalem.

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And the destruction of the temple, because that's the question Jesus is answering. So that's what that's about.

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Can this be about Jesus returned sometime into the future? Of course it can be types and shadows.

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So you have something that happens on a smaller scale with the destruction of Jerusalem. That is a picture of something that will happen on a grander scale later on in the future.

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That can certainly be the case. But what Jesus is talking about specifically here with his disciples is just this.

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The destruction of the temple. And it happens, it comes to pass within the generation that Jesus is telling these things.

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So if Jesus dies in AD 30, the destruction of the temple is in AD 70.

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That's 40 years. That's a generation. It happens within exactly a generation, just as Jesus predicted that it would.

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I really do not believe that Luke 21, 32 and similar statements in Mark and in Matthew.

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I don't think that means the present age or the next age rather.

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So the end times have started and this age won't end until all of these things have taken place as if Jesus is talking about something that's going to happen 2000 plus years into the future.

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I do not believe that's how you interpret that verse. I think you're taking your eschatology and reading it into that.

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And there may even be this fear of, well, I don't want to be thought of as a preterist. So I have to believe that Jesus is talking about his imminent return, which hasn't happened yet.

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That's what he's referring to here. So it's not this generation, literally, it's this generation symbolically, right now.

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I don't think that's what Jesus is referring to. He's literally telling the disciples that within your generation, these things will take place.

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Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. That's not to say that when the temple is destroyed, heaven and earth pass away.

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It's an idiom. It's just simply to say heaven and earth can come to an end, but God's word is eternal because it comes from the eternal

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God. Okay. So here, here is the prophecy. That's the conclusion of the prophecy there with Jesus telling his disciples about these things, destruction of the temple, destruction of Jerusalem.

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And remember that all of this happens after chapter 20, where Jesus is constantly combating against the

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Pharisees, the scribes, the Sadducees who are trying to challenge him on all of these things.

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And he's continually rebuking them and pointing them to the truth of the scriptures, which they don't believe.

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They believe they're twisted version of the scriptures, not what the scriptures actually say. So after this constant back and forth with them, he gets to in chapter 21, talking about the destruction of Jerusalem previously in the gospel of Luke, he's wept over Jerusalem because they did not know exactly who it was who came to them during that day of visitation.

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They thought that their Messiah had come, but they thought the Messiah was going to be an earthly emancipator.

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He is going to free us from the tyranny of Rome. And that's not why Jesus came. He came to free us from the tyranny of sin and the wages of sin, which is death.

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Jesus pays for it on our behalf with his death on the cross, his resurrection from the grave so that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

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That's not what they were expecting of their Messiah. Even the disciples didn't understand this, though they would understand it later after they see him risen from the dead.

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But even the disciples at this juncture, they're thinking the same way the rest of the Jews are thinking. We are looking for our

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Messiah who's going to free us from the tyranny of Rome. And after he is constantly going back and forth with these false teachers.

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That's when Jesus then leaving Jerusalem talks about the destruction of Jerusalem.

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They don't believe. They don't know who Jesus is. What they want from him is not to believe that he is the son of God who dies on a cross for their sins.

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That's not what they're expecting of their Messiah. So they really don't understand this. And so it's in their unbelief, their rebellion against God, they're twisting the word even to make it mean what they want it to mean.

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It's after Jesus contests with them about all of that, that he then leaves and talks about how the place is going to be destroyed.

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So they would not believe they continually rebelled against God and his word and what would come upon them would be the destruction of their most sacred place, the place they thought

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God was dwelling with them. But it's not going to be in temples built by human hands.

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He dwells with us through his Holy Spirit living in our hearts. All those who believe by faith.

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So Jesus does give a warning to his disciples, and this is the conclusion of this discourse and this chapter, verse 34, watch yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life.

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So you have several different things that are going on here. It could be that the disciples are expecting earthly emancipation.

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We want a kingdom on earth that is going to be the most powerful nation in the world.

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That's what we want, which we certainly have as Christians in the spiritual sense, but they want it in the actual physical earthly sense.

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We want that nation. And if that's what's in their hearts, if that's what they want, then they are going to be severely disappointed when it turns out that their

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Messiah dies. And then the city itself that they were putting their trust in Jerusalem and in the temple, when that's gone, their hearts would be weighed down.

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Or when they go after the stuff of this world, when they just get enticed by, hey, the treasures of Rome, the promises of Rome, the creeds and even the assurance of protection that you will receive in Rome.

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And they start going after the stuff of this world. They're weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness, and they've taken their eyes off Christ.

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That day will come upon you suddenly like a trap, Jesus says, for it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

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Now, again, that's another verse where in this section that can cause confusion because people will think, well, it's the whole world.

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Well, Jesus is probably referring to the Roman Empire exclusively.

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So because that was the world at the time, it was the Roman Empire. Or it could be that he is referring to just the land.

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And I had said that previously. This will come on the face of the whole land in the land of Judea, Jerusalem, all the surrounding region.

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There is not a part of this that will be unaffected by what will happen on that day in 8070 or at that time when

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Titus leads the armies against Jerusalem, it will affect everything. The land of Israel, as you know, it will be completely upturned because of of the war, the

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Jewish Roman war that was about to take place. But stay awake at all times, Jesus says, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the

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Son of Man and all these things that are going to take place. That's anything. That's resisting the devil and his schemes.

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That's resisting the passions of your flesh. That's resisting the temptations of the world. You are able to escape all these things that are going to take place, even the wars and rumors of wars and the destruction that will come.

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Your hearts will not be weighed down. You will not lose heart and you will be able to stand before the

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Son of Man on that day. You will be welcomed into the heavenly kingdom.

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And so, verses 37 and 38, every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called

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

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But that's the conclusion of Jesus teaching in the temple. Next we have everything else, as I mentioned, coming up in Luke 22,

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Judas betraying Jesus, the Passover with the disciples, institution of the Lord's table. That's what we'll be reading on next week.

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Heavenly Father, we thank you for what we have read. And I pray these things would be hopeful for us.

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Jesus is talking about the destruction of the temple, which did happen. But seeing that having taken place, we do not lose heart, but know that the kingdom of God is near.

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It's not in a geographical location on the earth that's far away from us that we can't even get to.

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But the kingdom of God is right here. It's within our hearts, and we are citizens of it.

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If we are followers of Jesus Christ, we know people that are part of that kingdom. If we attend a church with other believers, and then we are all part of that kingdom together, we desire to see that kingdom grow when we go out with the message of the gospel so that others will hear it and be added into the kingdom of God, adopted as sons and daughters through the precious blood of Jesus.

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And so, Lord, may reading these things continue to strengthen us and encourage us and make us long all the more for that day when we will be with our

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Lord forever in glory. Until that day comes, may he find us faithful and working servants.

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In Jesus' name, amen. You've been listening to When We Understand the

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Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study.

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Then on Thursday, we look at an Old Testament book. On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers.