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Matthew 24:1-3

The Messiah Reveals the Future Part 1

Good morning, I am glad you could join us this

morning.

We are going to continue our study of the Gospel

According to Matthew.

Please turn to Matthew 24.

Jesus has just finished His scathing rebuke of the

religious leaders at the Temple.

Jesus there pronounced a series of Woes or Judgments

on these men.

We saw that their rejection of the Messiah would be

costly.

Jesus at the end of chapter 23 states regarding

Jerusalem Matt. 23:38 See! Your house is left to you

desolate;

Jesus said because the Jews nationally rejected Him,

He would reject them as a nation.

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This statement was made through the emotion of

heartbreak and betrayal.

Jesus said Jerusalem would be left desolate, and if

Jerusalem were left desolate, that would include the

Holy Temple that stood in the midst of it.

The disciples here are starting to understand that the

Kingdom will be established at a later time, everything

Jesus is saying is telling them that this will not be the

time for Him to rule and reign.

And this is causes them to do some soul searching, and

they will have some questions now that that reality is

before them.

As they leave the Temple, on the Tuesday evening of

His final week of ministry, the disciples are pondering

all that Jesus has just said.

They will want more clarity from Jesus as they leave.

So, we pick up the story next in chapter 24, where

Jesus is leaving the Temple for the very last time.

He will never again set foot in the Temple that has just

been judged by the Judge of all the Earth.

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Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple

(Mark 13:1,2; Luke 21:5,6)

24:1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the

temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the

buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, "Do

you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you,

not one stone shall be left here upon another, that

shall not be thrown down."

Here the disciples question all that Jesus has just said

prior to this.

These men for the most part were Galilean fishermen

and common men.

They perhaps are not used to the sights of the big city.

It is all so impressive to them.

I remember growing up we did not have a lot money,

and it took my father many years to be able to afford

to take us on our first family vacation.

Now when I was 10, after my father saved enough

money, he surprised us with our first family trip.

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We lived in Phelan at the time, it was a desert

wasteland.

And my father was taking us to the Big City, L.A. for our

first vacation, we did universal studios, watched Ghost

Busters 2 in the Grauman’s Chinese Theater, we stayed

in a motel 6, Tom Bodet left the lights on for us.

It was such a fun time.

But I remember very clearly coming down the 10 FWY,

and cresting over the hill just outside of the

Walnut/Pomona area, and seeing the city off in the

distance for the first time.

It overwhelmed me as I saw it, and as we got closer

and closer, I marveled at the massive buildings.

I was so impressed with what man was capable of

building, I wanted to be a builder or architect from that

moment on.

Now if someone would have told me, you know these

massive buildings will be destroyed, and completely

levelled out one day, I would have had trouble

believing that statement.

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And these Galileans here in our text are amazed and

overwhelmed at the size of the structure, Mark records

for us that they marveled at the stones.

These country boys were enamored by what man

could create, there is no way they thought, that

something as impressive as this could be desolate one

day.

The City of David, sits upon a mountain top, during this

time the summit of Mount Zion had been dug away to

leave a plateau of approximately 1,000 square feet.

At the far end of this area sat the Temple.

This Temple was King Herod’s impressive work.

It was built of white marble, plated with gold, as the

sun reflected off this marvelous building; people would

have to shield their eyes from the reflection.

The Temple area was surrounded by great porches,

Solomon’s porch and the Royal porch.

These porches were held up by columns that were cut

out of one piece of solid marble each.

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These pillars were so thick, that three men with their

hands linked together could barely reach around them.

At the corners of the Temple, angle stones have been

found which measure from 20-40 feet in length.

They weigh more than 100 tons; mind you, they had no

cranes or equipment to move such stones.

It still baffles the smartest of men on how these

impressive stones were placed there on the mountain

top. Barclay

No wonder these fishermen marveled at these stones.

These stones that Jesus declared

“not one stone shall be left here upon another, that

shall not be thrown down.”

This would be inconceivable to all who heard this.

This statement really leads the disciples into enormous

thought, and it ignites in them some very important

questions.

They are starting to realize the Kingdom will not be

established at Jesus’ first coming.

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They will leave the impressive Temple now, and go to

the Mount of Olives, which overlooks the remarkable

city of Jerusalem, and this perhaps can be around

sunset or early evening.

They will ask about future events as they look out at

this impressive city.

Look at verse 3 with me…

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age

(Mark 13:3-13; Luke 21:17-19)

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples

came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these

things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming,

and of the end of the age?"

Now I imagine as these men all pondered all that Jesus

said about the mysteries of this great prediction.

They thought, “How could such a thing ever happen?”

These men I imagine had so much pride in their Holy

City.

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King Herod’s Temple had no equal at the time in the

world in regards to houses of worship.

As they meditate on Jesus’ words, I imagine sorrow

and doom has encompassed their hearts.

Now in the weeks to come as we embark to

understand the great sermon that Jesus preaches from

these three questions above, you perhaps will

experience similar emotions.

Jesus will speak very plainly about our world; He will

speak overwhelming truths about the Last Days.

It is very fitting Jesus puts this prophecy of the

destruction of Jerusalem right before He speaks about

His return and the end of this age.

I will warn you right now, as we bring application out

of this Olivet Discourse for us today, I will probably

push a little further then most pastor’s do on a Sunday

morning.

And things we talk about might make you a little

squirmy or uncomfortable, but it will prepare you for

our Study of Revelation in the coming months.

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Now, I say it is fitting that Jesus predicts the

destruction of Jerusalem, the seemingly impossible

desolation of such an impressive city, at the forefront

of this discourse, because it impresses on us the

validity of all that Jesus is saying here.

Everything Jesus said about Jerusalem came true; we

will discuss this in detail in moment.

However, the fact that His Words were proven to come

true, should solidify in our hearts the validity of all that

we will learn regarding the End Times, and return of

Christ.

So, there are three questions the disciples bring to

Jesus on that mountain top.

This morning we will take a look at the very first

question, and in the weeks to come we will see the

answers to the last two.

The questions asked in verse 3 are….

"Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be

the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"

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1. “Tell us, when will these things be?” They want

to know when the destruction of Jerusalem will

take place.

2. “What will be the sign of Your coming.” That is

Jesus’ Second Coming.

3. “What will be the sign of the end of the age.”

Now, the first question will be what we focus on here

this morning.

The destruction of Jerusalem.

Jesus here in Matthew does not answer that question.

We will have go to Luke’s Gospel record and read what

Luke records that Jesus says in response to this

question.

Jesus answers 2 and 3 in the order that they will take

place.

So the third question will be answered first by Jesus,

the end of this age, the Church Age, will usher in the

tribulation period, then the second coming of Christ,

and ultimately the Kingdom Age.

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I passed out a timeline of End Times events, and the

separation between the Ages as I understand them in

scripture.

Tuck those in your Bibles for a reference of terms in

the weeks and even months to come.

Now, I do not know for sure why Matthew does not

record what Jesus speaks about the Destruction of

Jerusalem.

But what I do know is Matthew wrote his Gospel

sometime after 70 AD, perhaps in the 80’s or 90’s of

the 1st century.

The destruction and fulfillment of Jesus prediction

would have already been fulfilled.

Remember Matthew is writing to the Jews, and the

Jews would know firsthand the enormity of what Jesus

predicted here.

They lived through the horrible destruction of their

beloved city.

Matthew records the answers for the last two

questions.

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Luke however, is writing to a gentile audience.

He records for them that part of the sermon dealing

with the destruction of Jerusalem in Luke 21:20-24

Please turn to Luke 21:20

Now we will see the language, and descriptions there

will have some of the same wording as the description

of the Great Tribulation that we will read in Matthew

24 in later weeks.

But this account in Luke will be speaking about the

events that happened in Jerusalem in AD 70, and Jesus

in Matthew’s account draws from the same event the

pictures for the Great Tribulation.

In Matthew Jesus will be specifically be talking about a

time that is future to us that will take place when a

New Temple is built in Israel, and “The abomination of

desolation will be set up.”

All of which we will discuss in the later weeks.

But, I want to read Luke now for the answer to the first

question, “When will these things be” regarding

Jerusalem being destroyed…

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Luke 21:20-24 "But when you see Jerusalem

surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is

near. 21 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. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all

things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 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. 24

And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led

away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be

trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are

fulfilled.

Now there is no doubt that some who heard Jesus say

these things on the Mount of Olives were also present

40 years later in AD 70 when Roman armies laid siege

to Jerusalem and cut it off from the rest of the world.

When Rome finally breached the walls and got into the

city, what they did was terrible, and up to that point in

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history, it was worse than anything in the Jews had

ever experienced.

It was even more devastating than what

Nebuchadnezzar over six centuries earlier did to the

Jews.

Now, it was unthinkable that Jerusalem, that city set

on a Hill, behind the seemingly impenetrable walls

could be taken by Rome.

It was protected vehemently by religious fanatics.

Instead of the masses adhering to Jesus’ words to flee

when the armies began to encompass Jerusalem, many

fled into the safety of the cities walls during this time.

As the siege began, the Roman general Titus was

patient.

He knew the history of these defiant people; he knew

the stories of the Maccabaeus who fought valiantly to

maintain independence from the threatening Gentiles.

Titus knew the stubbornness of these people.

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So Titus was determined to break their will, he did so

by starving them out.

Because the Jews fled from the advancing Roman

Armies, they piled into the city and that very foolish

decision to flee behind those thick walls, contributed

to the grim horror of the famine of the siege many

times over.

The Historian Josephus records for us the grim horrors

of all that took place at this time.

In his 5th and 6th books of the Wars of the Jews you will

find a detailed description of the fulfillment of Jesus

Words.

Josephus was an eyewitness to these events.

Josephus writes of these horrific days of the siege and

famine “Then did the famine widen its progress, and

devoured the people by whole houses and families;

the upper rooms were full of women and children that

were dying of the famine; lanes of the city were full of

dead bodies of the aged; the children also and the

young men wandered about the market places like

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shadows, all swelled with famine, and fell down dead

whosesoever their misery seized them.”

“As for burying them, those that were sick themselves

were not able to do it; and those that were hearty and

well were deterred from doing so by the great

multitude of those dead bodies, and by the uncertainty

of how soon they should die themselves, for many died

as they were burying others, and many went to their

coffins before that fatal hour was to come.”

“Nor was there any lamentation made under these

calamities, nor were heard any mournful complaints;

but the famine confounded all natural passions; for

those who were just going to die looked upon those

who were gone to their rest before them with dry eyes

and open mouths. A deep silence, also, and a kind of

deadly night had seized upon the city… And every one

of them died with their eyes fixed upon the temple.”

Josephus 5:12:3

Remember Jesus said of this time in Luke 21:23 But

woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are

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nursing babies in those days! For there will be great

distress in the land and wrath upon this people.

I was reading a portion of Flavius Josephus’ account,

and to my horror, he records a story that radically

pierced my soul, at the precision of Jesus’ words.

Remember Jesus, last week said He would have

gathered Jerusalem to Himself, as a hen gathers her

chicks.

But they rejected Him!

And in that rejection Jesus saw the horror of what was

to come, and His heart broke over this rejecting city.

We see Jesus the Prophet here, and His very words

have sway over nature, armies, and all the powers of

the universe.

Josephus records in his 6th book in the 3rd chapter in

section 4 about a woman who did the opposite of what

Jesus said to do, she went into the city.

She brought all she owned, her food quickly ran out, as

men took advantage of her, and she sat famished, she

was caring for a nursing infant.

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Josephus records the famine pierced through her very

bowels and marrow, the misery of it all overwhelmed

her.

He says one day while snatching up her son, who was a

suckling at her breast, she said ‘O, though miserable

infant! For whom shall I preserve thee in this war, this

famine, and this sedition?

She figured her son would end up in slavery and

justified in a rage of insanity to kill her son and she

roasted him for food.

They found her crazed with half her baby still with her.

The horror of this story swept through Jerusalem, as

the hopelessness of their condition set in, this story

added to all their miseries.

Josephus tells us when the Romans finally took the city

and were going to plunder the houses and all that the

Jews had within their homes, they were stricken by the

horror of the conditions that they saw, and the soldiers

turned and left empty handed.

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They went into the houses and found the dead bodies

of families stacked upon each other and the soldiers

did not touch a thing.

Remember Jesus said in Luke 21:20

24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be

led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be

trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are

fulfilled.

Well Josephus records that this was fulfilled,

understand Josephus was not a Christian; he was a

Jewish Historian who was loyal to Rome.

He was recording history as he saw it, yet Jesus spoke

about this event 40 years prior to it happening.

Josephus records that 97,000 Jews were taken captive

and 1,100,000 died.

The Jews since Nebuchadnezzar overthrew Israel; 6

centuries earlier never fully came out from under the

rule of Gentiles.

Not until 1948, when Israel against all odds became a

nation again, was it not ruled by a gentile nation.

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One could still argue this little nation in the Middle

East that is about the same size of New Jersey is still

somewhat under the foot of Gentiles.

This nation is bullied by the UN, and the world powers,

and it still has to hold itself accountable to Gentile

nations.

But Jesus says one day, it will no longer be trampled on

by the gentiles, the age of the gentiles will be through,

when He comes and sets foot in Jerusalem, and rules

the world from that Holy City.

1948 is a landmark year for Prophecy students,

because we are living in a time, when the Jews are

going back to their homeland in record numbers, and

this is telling us, the Prophetic time clock is ticking

closer to the Second Coming of Christ.

Israel is God’s Prophetic timepiece.

But the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 was the

doom Jesus foresaw, and spoke to those listening on

the Mount of Olives with Him.

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A horrific tragedy that the disciples perhaps thought

was impossible, that not one stone would be left upon

another.

We have to understand the power of Jesus Words;

nothing could stand against those Words spoken.

Even the conquering General Titus, wanted to spare

the magnificent Temple.

But Jesus’ Words were even more powerful, His Words

swayed these Roman soldiers, even to do the

unthinkable, and these men in a maddening rage

moved ahead, even past their fear of Caesar and

disobeying Titus’ order, and they demonically

destroyed this Holy structure.

History through the eyes of Josephus records after the

city walls were broken through and the Roman armies

began to advance.

"In the morning Titus commanded that the fires should

be put out and that a road should be built to the gates

to allow entry for his troops. His generals then came

together to discuss what should be done with the

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temple. Some wanted to destroy it, because it would

give the Jews a reason for uprising. Others argued that

if the Jews would clear out of the temple it should be

allowed to stand, but if they were to use it as a

fortress, it should be destroyed.

Titus then gave the command that no matter what

happened, the temple should be spared, because it

would always be a great tribute to the empire. Three

of his chief generals agreed, and the meeting was

disbanded.

.....Titus then went into Antonia, intending the next

morning to attack and overwhelm the temple with his

entire force. But on that day, the tenth of Lous [August

30, 70AD], the same day on which Solomon’s temple

had been destroyed by the king of Babylon, the

structure was doomed.

The Jewish rebels again attacked the Romans after

Titus’ retreated, and a battle took place between the

temple guards and the Roman troops who were trying

to put out the flames in the inner court. The Romans

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scattered the Jews and pursued them into the

sanctuary.

At the same time, a soldier recklessly grabbed a torch…

He hurled the firestick through the doors made of gold

on the north side which allowed entry to chambers

around the sanctuary. On seeing the flames, a cry went

up from the Jews, and caring nothing for their lives,

they rushed forward to put out the fire.

A messenger rushed to the tent of Titus to inform him

of the fire. Immediately, Titus ran to the temple to put

out the flames. But because of the battle that raged

on, the soldiers either could not or would not hear his

commands. The wrath of his troops could not be

stopped, and at the doorway many soldiers were

trampled by their own forces. There among the

burning ruins they fell, sharing the same fate as their

enemies.

Pretending not to hear the commands of their general,

and filled with hatred, the soldiers rushed on, hurling

their torches into the temple. The helpless rebels made

no attempt at defense. Fleeing for their lives, with

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bloodshed all around, many civilians were caught in

the battle. Even the steps of the altar were stained

with the blood of the dead.

When [the troops could not be held back], Titus

and his generals entered the temple and viewed for

the last time the Most Holy Place. Since the fire had

not yet reached the inside, but was still feeding the

outside chambers, Titus made one last effort to save

the structure. Ordering a centurion to club anyone if

they disobeyed his commands, he rushed forward and

pleaded with his soldiers to put out the flames.

But because of their hatred of the Jews and their

desire for riches, the soldiers disregarded the orders of

their general. Seeing that all the surroundings were

made of gold, they assumed that inside there would be

great treasures. Titus then ran out to hold back his

troops, but one of those who had entered with him

thrust a torch into the hinges of the temple gate, and

mighty fire shot up inside. [He] and his generals fled

for safety, and thus, against his wishes, the sanctuary

was burned."

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....... The city and the temple was then leveled to

the ground by the command of the [Roman army’s

leader.] Only the highest towers and part of the

western wall remained to show all mankind how the

Romans overpowered such a strong fortress."

And by the command of Caesar the following prophecy

of Jesus came true as we read in…

Matt 24:2 “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I

say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon

another, that shall not be thrown down."

This is an amazing prediction here. And it took place 40

years after Jesus spoke it.

Josephus said after the Romans were done with the

temple, it was as though there had never been a

building there.

The Roman soldiers literally pushed every stone over

the wall and they went smashing down into the valley

below.

David Guzik mentions how it is said… the fire that

was started engulfed the whole building. Ornate

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gold detail work in the roof melted down in the

cracks between the stone walls of the temple, and

to retrieve the gold, the Roman commander

ordered that the temple be dismantled stone by

stone. The destruction was so complete that today

they have true difficulty learning exactly where the

temple was. Guzik

Now that may be true, but however this happened, it

happened. Every stone was thrown down.

Again, I emphasize the power of Jesus’ Prophetic

Word.

Even against the powerful general Titus, Jesus’ word

prevailed.

Now this morning we only got to see the answer to the

first question, we learned a lot of history this morning.

I did this for a reason, we will now hear from Jesus in

the weeks to come on future events.

Jesus will tell the disciples about the time period from

the era the disciples and even we are in now, leading

up to End of the Age, and ultimately to the signs of the

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times of Jesus’ Second Coming, referred to as the

Parousia.

There will be a lot said regarding that time period.

Now all that we learned this morning, about the

destruction of Jerusalem, and Jesus’ Prophecy being

fulfilled, will serve as a go to point, a reference to look

back upon.

Some of the things we will learn, might make you feel

uncomfortable, they might seem impossible.

You might be like the disciples who looked at those

massive stones that built the Temple, and doubt that

what Jesus is saying will be able to happen.

Jesus will use the horrors of the fall of Jerusalem as a

point of reference, and use similar wording to describe

the Great Tribulation.

But He will add to those words things like Matt 24:21

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not

been since the beginning of the world until this time,

no, nor ever shall be.

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Describing very clearly a time different then the

destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

Now, Satan, he is a master deceiver, and he will try to

put the things that we learn about, the things to come

in the future, he will try to put them in the imagination

part of your brain, the part where movies and books

engage your mind's eye.

But, today I shared with you literal history that you can

research yourself, you can validate for yourselves the

prediction of the seemingly impossible destruction of

Jerusalem.

What Jesus says in the next few weeks will literally

take place in a future time.

We will not approach these things as some kind of

allegory, as some today safely do.

These things are not a metaphor, they are meant to be

taken as factual.

We will understand everything we learn here to be

literal, this will happen, and we can rest in this literal

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approach, because of the literal destruction of

Jerusalem being fulfilled.

That is why this teaching is so important to what we

will learn next.

And as we will see, we are already starting to see the

signs literally coming to fruition.

So next time we are together on Sunday, we will step

away from the history books, and we will look into the

future events that Jesus speaks of.

Now, even within those in the Calvary Chapel

movement, some are finding End Times messages to

be irrelevant.

They think the new generation of Christian will not

come to church if we teach on this topic, because it

will fail to reach the heart of the modern churchgoer.

We will not buy into that mindset here, the driving

force behind many revivals has been the thought that

Jesus will come back at any moment.

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It changes your perspective on your life, it helps you to

filter the motive behind every decision you are making

in life.

What trial are you facing this morning that when held

up to the thought that Jesus could come back at any

moment, still has weight to it.

The church is stirred up when our attention is drawn to

the things that are coming.

We as a leadership here, have committed ourselves to

teach the whole council of God, in that we will come

across prophecy often, and we will not shy away from

it.

We went into so much depth on the fulfilled prophecy

of the Jewish Nations destruction, to ready our hearts

for the surety of all the things we will learn.

To understand that Jesus speaks with the Authority of

the God who spoke our Universe into existence, Jesus

was at Creation, when the stars were spoken into the

night sky, when God breathed the Sun into its place.

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Jesus’ Words are the truest, most dependable we have

in this world of uncertainty.

Col 1:17-18 And He is before all things, and in Him all

things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the

church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the

dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Prepare your hearts to believe all that Jesus teaches

His disciples their on the Mount of Olives.

The next few weeks will not be typical Sunday morning

messages that make us feel good, we will go through

this and try to feel the weight of all that Jesus is saying.

I will tell you this, this world is searching for answers,

even unbelievers have this uneasiness about them, and

they know that this world is spinning incredibly fast out

of control.

You will be surprised to find how open people are to

coming to check it out your church, when you tell them

that your church is discussing End Times Prophecy right

now.

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They are searching for these kind of answers, and

Hollywood is making billions off this uneasiness of the

culture.

Apocalyptic themes are blockbusters for the movie

industry.

And the next few weeks, Jesus will give us the realities

of the true end of the age, so invite your inquisitive

friends and co-workers, and let the scriptures meet

them in their questions.

Now I want to end by saying this, if you are not a

Christian this morning, and the Truths brought to your

attention in regards to Jesus words here have

captivated your heart and minds, just know that Jesus,

provided a way for you to spend all eternity with Him.

The frightening events that we will discuss in the

weeks to come will be bypassed by the believer.

You see the End of this Age, the Church Age, it is

marked by a certain event, the Rapture, where Christ

will come and in a moment take those who have

placed their faith in Him, and snatch them into the sky.

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We will be with Jesus while the full wrath of God is

unleashed in the Great Tribulation, during the last half

of 7-year tribulation period.

Jesus says those days will have to be short. Mark 13:20

And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh

would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom He

chose, He shortened the days.

If you do not know Jesus, if He is not your Savior,

please come to Him today, and know for certain that

you will be spared from that 7 year period.

The Elders will be up front if you decide today that you

want to give your life to Jesus.

Now perhaps you have unsaved loved ones, I want to

encourage you this morning to come forward and pray

for them.

Whatever prayer needs you have we are here for you.