[0:00] First however we're going to turn to our Bibles and we're back in Matthew's Gospel. Last week we began looking at this section in Matthew chapter 24 and 25 where the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Olives is speaking about, well about judgment to come.
[0:18] And about preparing for that judgment by listening carefully to the Lord Jesus Christ. We looked particularly at verses 1 to 14 last week. We're looking at verses 15 to 44 this morning.
[0:33] But I'm going to read from verse 7 just to put us in context here. Matthew chapter 24 then reading at verse 7. The Lord Jesus says, And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations.
[1:32] And then the end will come. So, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place, let the reader understand, Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
[1:53] Let the one who's on the house stop not go down to take what is in the house. And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days.
[2:06] Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now and no, never will be.
[2:18] And if those days have not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. But then if anyone says to you, Look, here's the Christ.
[2:30] Well, there he is. Do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
[2:43] See, I've told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, Look, he's in the wilderness. Do not go out. If they say, Look, he's in the inner rooms.
[2:54] Do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will the coming, the true coming of the Son of Man be.
[3:07] Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
[3:20] Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will all see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
[3:35] And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. From the fig tree then learn its lesson.
[3:48] As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that the summer is near. So also when you see all these things, you know that it is near at the very gates.
[4:03] And truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
[4:25] As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark.
[4:37] And they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away. So will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field.
[4:48] One will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken and one left. Therefore, so, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
[5:04] But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
[5:16] Therefore, you also must be ready. For the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Amen.
[5:28] And may God bless us. This is His Word. Well, do turn with me to the passage you read there in Matthew 24.
[5:40] And you should have, I hope, a handout on your seats today to help us see our way through this chapter. It needs to be looked at carefully and I thought if I laid it out for you there that would give you something to take away and maybe a help.
[5:57] And I hope so. Now, some time ago I was coming out of Central Station and I saw some Jehovah's Witnesses with a stand of literature at the station entrance and they had a big sign that they were standing under and it said this, what does the future hold?
[6:14] What does the Bible teach? Well, I'm afraid their version is not what we believe the Bible really teaches.
[6:25] It has many errors in it. Nevertheless, that question is indeed a very important one. and it is the job of the Christian church to proclaim its true answer to the world.
[6:38] To prepare people for the very great certainty that is in the future for this world and that certainty above all others is the coming judgment of God. And that is what Jesus himself is doing here in Matthew 24 and 25.
[6:54] His whole subject is the birth of the everlasting kingdom of God which brings about the very rebirth of the whole creation. And it's begun with the coming of Christ the King as the Savior of the world.
[7:11] But it will be consummated only when he comes again to judge the world and to rule at last over all the earth as King of all the nations. And that's the reality that Jesus has been making clear all through all of his teaching in the Gospels.
[7:26] and he's very clear and very explicit about it here as he teaches us what to expect as we live in the already come but not yet consummated world of these last days.
[7:42] And first of all we saw last time in verses 1 to 14 that Jesus wants us to have realistic expectations of this waiting time. It will mean living through all the labor pains the birth pains he calls them in verse 8 right up to the very end when the whole world is fully reborn at the great regeneration when Jesus comes again.
[8:07] And that's so important to know isn't it so we won't give up in despair. Because if we expect childbirth to be easy and painless well when it proves to be very painful you'll think everything's absolutely out of control.
[8:22] But no Jesus is playing just as the apostles are playing. Through many tribulations we must all enter the kingdom of God is what Paul said to the early churches. And that's what Jesus himself spelt out so very clearly in verses 1 to 14.
[8:36] We saw it last time. Be realistic. You will face antichrists bloodshed calamities distress evil and falling away. But don't panic.
[8:49] Keep enduring to the end and you will be saved. That's the message. Be warned. Don't be led into hysteria and speculation or into heresy and immorality.
[8:59] But be glad because the rebirth has begun. And be bold above all. Keep preaching the gospel to the whole world and the end will come. But of course we need more don't we than just knowing what to expect.
[9:16] Christ's people need to know how to act in the light of that reality. reality. And Jesus teaches his followers realism about the last days so that they will live in a state of constant readiness taking the right actions in these days as we are preparing ourselves and are then prepared for the judgment that's to come.
[9:39] That's what these next verses from 15 to 44 are all about. Look at the climax there in verse 44. It's clear. Therefore you must be ready.
[9:51] That's the purpose of Jesus' teaching in verses 1 to 14. To bring about action so that people are ready for judgment to come. Look at verse 15. It begins so so you must act.
[10:06] Judgment is coming so be ready for it. And he goes on to teach his hearers how to be ready both for the judgment for the judgment in both horizons that he's been talking about.
[10:21] Look at verse 3 again. There are two horizons aren't there? And first of all Jesus says this very generation must be ready for an imminent judgment in history.
[10:33] A judgment on Jerusalem and on its temple which will take place within that very generation for the people who are living in Judea in Israel. But also and even more importantly they and all Christians after them must be ready for the cosmic judgment upon the whole earth for the coming of the Son of Man in power and glory to judge.
[10:58] And there are similarities in both of these judgments but crucially crucially you cannot prepare for both of these judgments in the same way and so you must listen to Jesus very very carefully and you must act rightly so as to be ready for these judgments to come.
[11:16] That's very important. It's not just knowing about what to expect is it? It's those who heed Jesus and who act who will be saved.
[11:28] Remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mind everyone who hears my word and does them is like the man whose house will stand and not fall when the great storm comes in judgment.
[11:40] So we need to listen carefully so that we will be found acting rightly and therefore be ready for the judgment to come. I need to get this very very clear Jesus is telling us what to expect and therefore how to act and so his teaching here has got that very logical structure.
[12:00] You hear and you do. Now if we don't see that we're going to get very confused in this passage. Jesus structures his message very carefully and very logically and the key to it is seeing that there are four crucial so's.
[12:18] You see it in verse 15 so and verse 26 so verse 33 so and then again in verse 42 so it's translated therefore in the ESV in our version but it's the same word in all of these.
[12:34] Now these are real so's alright let's be clear about this this is not the so that starts a sentence today you know when you say so what's your name so my name's John so has become the new capital letter in the English language just as like has become the new comma in the English language so this is not so as a capital letter this is a proper so this is so the conjunction which means for this reason and in verse 15 he's going to apply the general expectations about the travel of these last days to a particular situation of God's judgment so verse 15 the first so introduces verses 15 to 25 look at that carefully so Jesus says learn about this coming judgment on Judea within this generation specifically and then the second so in verse 26 introduces the section from verses 26 to 31 and he's saying so learn also about the coming judgment on the whole earth it too is absolutely certain to come see Jesus clearly separates these two things and we mustn't confuse them and then the third so comes in verse 33 and that shows us that verses 32 to 35 is one logical unit and the message is so learn how to act and be ready for the coming judgment on Judea so that you will save yourself then in that day and then the final so that therefore in verse 42 indicates that likewise verses 36 to 44 are one unit with a parallel message so likewise learn to be ready for the judgment on the world and act so as to be safe on that day see it's very clear and logical and then everything that follows from verse 45 goes on to explore what being ready actually looks like in practice in answer to that question who then is the faithful and wise servant the one who displays the attitude of response of faith to the master and so will be praised by the master on his return it's a very clear logical didactic structure that Jesus teaches here a lot of the scholars when you read commentaries are very confused about this and I think that's perhaps because they're not preachers and teachers so they don't think like teachers the job of the preacher and teacher is to apply the bible to real life because that's what the bible is meant for applying to real life the bible wasn't actually written for people to do phds on much as some scholars seem to think but you see when you study the bible for applying it to real people in real life that you're actually likely to understand it properly well Matthew is a teacher teaching the church
[15:29] Jesus is a teacher teaching his people and so what we have here is set out very very clearly in order to both predict certain judgments to come and then to prepare God's people for these judgments to come so let's look at it as Jesus lays it out for us with very clear logic first of all in verses 15 to 31 we get two clear predictions of judgment and then from verses 32 to 44 here just two clear preparations for those judgments and that's on the back of your sheet there so first of all in verses 15 to 31 two clear predictions of judgment but of a very different scale after the the general characteristics of the last days that we've seen in verses 1 to 14 Jesus says in verse 15 so when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel standing in the holy place that's the temple then verse 16 let those who are in Judea at that time flee to the mountains now he's clearly talking about a coming historical judgment and one that will have warning signs that people can see with their eyes when you see this he says and his message to that generation of disciples is you must be on the lookout for these visible signs and you must be sure to act in readiness in time to be saved by fleeing immediately when you see them because it's going to be a real crisis a national crisis but at the same time he's telling them you mustn't be you mustn't be led astray at that time of crisis by people who say oh this is the end of the world this is the coming of Christ verse 23 look don't believe people who claim that in the midst of all of that in a crisis like that you see many people will get carried away with all sorts of apocalyptic fantasies it always happens and there'll be many people around to exploit it remember all the panic around the turn of the millennium the millennium bug and all of that turned out to be a total damp squib a lot of people made a lot of money out of it and lots of people were crazy and frightened happened at the turn of the first millennium as well now Jesus says stay sane remember verse 5 many false Christs will come and lead many astray and all the more is that going to happen in the very fertile grounds of a national crisis look at verse 24 false Christs and false prophets will lead many astray and Jesus says that will be a real threat even to real believers so as to lead astray if possible he says even the elect but no don't you be carried away by that rather look at verse 25 focus on what I have clearly told you before all this comes and act urgently in order to save yourself from that day so when you see the clear signs verse 17 don't stop and pack there will not be much time you have to flee you have to go it's like on the airplanes when they say in the event of a crash landing don't stop and get your baggage out of the lockers
[18:54] I remember watching a program once about plane crashes and they were saying that so many people didn't get out of planes because they did stop to try and get their hand luggage out it's extraordinary Jesus says don't do that don't wait and verse 19 and 20 he says don't pray that nothing will hinder your flight pregnancy or small babies or bad weather or so and it's going to be really terrible it's going to be a time of bloodshed and violence unprecedented verse 21 in Israel's history worse even than the Babylonian invasion in 586 BC when the people were carried off into exile that was a terrible time Jesus says this is going to be worse so he says you must listen to me you must obey me if you're going to escape that terrible judgment and destruction and we know from history that prior to the destruction of the temple and the sacking of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70 that many Christians did flee and escape the Roman armies and they were saved from that devastation unlike others who thought to themselves oh God will never allow that to happen to his city to his temple that could never happen well it did we also know that when the Romans first took the temple it was desecrated they set up the legion standards in the precincts of the temple they sacrificed on the altar of the temple to Titus the Roman emperor who was deified as the god who had defeated
[20:32] Israel's god if you go to Rome today you've probably seen the arch of Titus you can still see it there and on it is depicted exactly this very thing and the inscription on it is to the deified Titus to Titus the emperor who was made a god who crushed the god of Israel it was an abomination as verse 15 says and it was repeating again Daniel's prophecy which had already been fulfilled once in 167 BC when the Greek king Antiochus Epiphanes set up a pagan statue in the temple but this time it really was an abomination of utter desolation because the temple was burned it was utterly destroyed just as Jesus said at the end of chapter 23 not one stone left on another a house left utterly desolate as it still is today not one stone there two great mosques standing on the place where the temple of God stood and all this is a matter of history it's very clear here that Jesus is speaking about something coming in near history upon this generation he said in chapter 23 verse 36 not a distant thing not an apocalypse way in the future the parallel passage in Luke 21 verse 20 explicitly says when you see visibly see
[21:59] Jerusalem surrounded by armies know that its desolation is near so flee because Judea is going to be trampled on by Gentile armies and Jesus is clear that this will be truly catastrophic and unique in Israel's history verse 21 worse and nothing worse before or since might be hard to believe that but the scholar F.F. Bruce says as the Roman siege wore on the horrors of famine and even cannibalism were added to the horrors of war it was a truly dreadful tribulation but although it was utterly catastrophic for Judea the events described here are not cosmic are they verse 22 says clearly that these days will come to an end in fact he says in God's mercy they'll be shortened for the sake of believers it seems and history will go on verse 21 implies doesn't it that people will look back on those terrible times as the worst in anybody's memory but not world ending flight to the hills would hardly help you would it if the whole of earth and heaven has been shaken and judgment of all people is taking place so yes look at verses 23 and 24 there will be people claiming oh the end is upon us this is Christ's return but Jesus says very clearly in verse 26 don't believe that don't follow them rather listen to Jesus and be ready for the action you will need to take to be saved in that terrible day which is surely coming which is to flee from the Roman armies there will be signs to see and to anticipate telling you when these things will be which is what the disciples had asked in verse 3
[23:55] I'm telling you in advance says Jesus in verse 25 so see the signs look for them before this generation passes and when you see it beginning flee in order to be safe be ready for judgment listen to me and act on my warning and many in the church in Jerusalem did listen and did act and many were saved but you see at verse 26 there is a clear shift of focus look so notice the second so so although that will be a terrible time says Jesus in Judea you must not confuse these terrible events with my coming to usher in the end of the age and to judge the world don't believe people who want to tell you that now verse 27 that day will surely come also but that will be a day that neither you nor anybody else the whole world over will possibly be able to miss it'll be unmissable says Jesus it'll be like sheet lightning going from the east right to the very west so will be the coming the true coming of the son of man in all his glory not the false reports and Jesus goes on to speak now of that certain cosmic judgment which also of course demands that everyone takes action everyone so as to be ready for that day but unlike the first judgment that he's spoken about in history in Judea for this last judgment
[25:33] Jesus is just as clear there will be no warning signs it's going to come like a thunderbolt swiftly and suddenly and so you cannot possibly prepare for that day by looking for visible signs by reading the news and current affairs so that when you see the sign you can act just in time no don't be led astray by anybody who tells you that either don't be led astray into stupor or into laziness thinking oh well I'll wait till the time comes then I'll see the signs and act no Jesus says you need to act right now with no delay and you must be ready he says all the time because that day will strike suddenly like lightning and there's no time to dodge a lightning strike is there do you see how different the events described in verses 27 to 31 are from those described in verses 15 to 25 first it's clearly a cosmic event it's not a local one not just in Judea is it it's like lightning verse 27 it will be seen worldwide from east to west verse 29 the sun and the moon and the stars will fall and the whole heavens will be shaken that's language lifted from the prophets from Isaiah especially from
[26:53] Isaiah 34 and other places which uses exactly these apocalyptic terms to speak about God's judgment on the whole world on all nations of the earth it's a language that Peter takes up in his second letter it's a language you read in Revelation chapter 6 for example of the great day of judgment the shaking of the heavens and the earth verse 30 speaks of the sign of the son of man in the heavens causing all the tribes of the earth the whole world to mourn and whether that sign is is Christ himself or whether it's the signs of his immediate appearance maybe the trumpet or the angels that are mentioned in verse 31 Paul also speaks about that doesn't he in 1 Corinthians 15 and then 1 Thessalonians 4 the sign of the trumpet the angels but whatever it is all together this is clearly a cosmic event it is genuinely apocalyptic it involves the climax finally of all history not just an event within history second it's obviously a public event isn't it it is not a secret one there's no signs to look for there's no signs for those in the know there's no let the reader understand this is going to be like lightning he says it's visible to everybody and that's why verse 30 says all the tribes of the earth will see and mourn that's maybe not so hard to envisage is it anymore in our age that the whole world can instantly know about some event an extraordinary thing happening but the point is it won't need explaining you won't need somebody to say oh I think
[28:37] Jesus has come again everyone will see it and that's the meaning of this proverb in verse 28 about the corpse and the vultures the presence of a corpse in the African bush just can't be hidden because you see the vultures circling from a long long way off in fact if you're in a game park searching out lions that's how you find them you look for the vultures because that tells you where the kill is and where the lions are going to be well just so he's saying Christ's coming will be no secret all will know they will see him they will say lo he comes with clouds descending it'll be the very antithesis of the first coming of Christ incognito to a Bethlehem stable that nobody knew of this will be the most public event in the history of this world it will be cosmic it will be public and thirdly Jesus says it will be ultimately divisive in judgment it will mark the final separation of the elect verse 31 from all the nations at the sound of the trumpet at the jubilee horn that will signal the great resurrection to eternal life in the presence of the Lord with all tribulation finished at last forever for God's people
[29:58] I tend to think that when verse 29 says that his coming will be immediately after the tribulation of those days perhaps means the days of verses 27 and 28 and perhaps refers to what Paul speaks of in 2nd Thessalonians 2 where he describes a heightened time of oppression for Christ's people before his coming and I think that in general the New Testament does teach us to expect a worsening of opposition as we approach Christ's return but it also at the same time always puts that along with a wonderful worldwide advance of the gospel those two things always seem to go together in the New Testament in Christ's teaching and in that of the apostles heightened tribulation but heightened advance of the gospel that's what you see isn't it when you read the book of Acts the more opposition the more perseverance of the gospel might be on the other hand that verse 29 is just referring to the whole period of tribulation throughout all the last days that's how
[31:07] Don Carson takes it but either way the key point is very clear that day will be the day of final salvation full salvation for all of Christ's elect all his people from all the corners of the earth and it will also be the day of final judgment of all who have rejected Christ verse 30 all the tribes of the earth will mourn because at last they will face the wrath of the one who they hated their hatred of Christ will be publicly exposed that last to the whole of earth and heaven although in fact that hatred has been visible all the way through as Jesus says in hatred of Christ's people look back to verse 9 they'll be hating they'll be persecuting they'll be killing them for Christ's name's sake but in this utterly cosmic and public event it will all become clear and there will be that ultimate division and fourth it is a final event
[32:07] Jesus is speaking of here there just isn't any suggestion here is there in fact nor is there any suggestion anywhere else in the new testament of two comings of Jesus as though he'll come first for his saints in a rapture to heaven and then again later after a thousand year reign with his saints after a great tribulation that comes after his coming no look this is one single final event after the tribulation to end all tribulation to save all his elect from all the nations he's not talking about saving the church first and then coming back later to save the Jews or anything like that he's coming to save all his people and judge all his enemies there is one last day one coming one salvation and one judgment look at verse 30 there he comes on the clouds of heaven with power and glory and angels trumpeting and gathering his light from all over now turn over and look down to chapter 25 verse 31 it's that where it tells us very very clearly what it means when Jesus comes in his glory and with all his angels around him it's an exact parallel do you see it means chapter 25 verse 31 verse 32 it means that he will sit on his glorious throne on that day to judge the world to separate people one from the other for all eternity it's exactly what Jesus said back in chapter 16 verse 27 that when he returns it means final judgment for the son of man is going to come with his angels and the glory of the father and then he will repay each person according to what he has done not by their profession notice lord lord but by whether they have done the will of god or not
[34:12] Jesus is very clear judgment is by works not by mere words we'll see that very clearly in chapter 25 so there we are two clear predictions of judgment from Jesus this second one just as clear just as definite as the judgment that is coming on Judea within a generation and just as specific and the second one is all the more urgent to prepare for and to be ready for because it will be cosmic it will be public it will be divisive it will be utterly utterly final two clear predictions but right expectation alone is not enough is it there's got to be a response there's got to be an action there's got to be readiness in preparation for these events so quite logically now Jesus the preacher goes on to press that home and in verses 32 to 44 he does that with two clear preparations for judgment first of all in verses 32 to 35 he says prepare for judgment on
[35:16] Judea and be saved listen to me act in readiness and you will be safe on that day read the signs that point to what is coming verse 32 just as when the fig tree buds you know summer is near verse 33 so also the third so when you see all these things when you see there'll be visible signs all the things I spoke of in verses 15 to 25 the abomination in the temple the invaders around the city when you see these things don't be blind don't pretend oh this can't happen to God's holy city it will happen I'm telling you beforehand and when you see those things it is imminent it's near and the only hope is that you flee or you'll be lost in the massacres maybe Jesus is recalling the fig tree that he cursed just recently back in chapter 21 that fig tree of course was a symbol wasn't it of Israel and Jesus is saying yes it really is going to happen the final cursing of the land and its religious establishment which has scorned and hated the son of God which has rejected the word of God it's coming people tend to think
[36:33] God could never let their beloved religious institution fail or be destroyed that's what they thought well Jesus is saying think again he's urging the verse 34 it will happen and it will happen soon look again within this generation take my word and verse 35 it is as sure as eternity my word will never fail even though this earth fails wonder how much of our national church here in Scotland will be left within one single generation some people think it's got some sort of divine right to protection because God would never destroy it well look what happened to his own chosen nation Israel Jesus said to that generation listen learn be ready to act there's no other way to escape that coming judgment but to flee from the destruction so that's the first call to preparation to readiness and second even greater in fact of ultimate importance is what he says from verse 36 following and also you must be prepared for that day when
[37:56] I will return to judge the whole earth you must listen and you must act if you're going to be safe on that day but you don't prepare for that day the same way at all for that day you cannot look for signs visible signs so that you can prepare when you see them no there are no visible signs there cannot be visible signs because Jesus says even he himself doesn't know the timing of that day only the father so how do you prepare for that coming day if there are no visible signs well Jesus says you must be ready all the time the right action to prepare yourself for that day is constant readiness every day every single day beginning right now you cannot be thoughtless you can't be blasé about it at all look at verse 37 remember Noah's day he says there were no signs of danger apart from that lunatic building an ark it was a picture of domestic bliss civic bliss people were eating and drinking marrying family life was going on work life was going on there were no visible signs at all of the end of the world as they knew it except for
[39:11] God's word of warning through Noah and Noah and his company those who listened to him were ready and so they were left standing alive and safe in the ark and so it will be with the coming of the son of man says Jesus twice verse 37 and again in verse 39 it will hit the ordinary bloke in the street verse 40 the farmer in the field the worker in the office the woman making bread and there will be a sudden final eternal division between those who are prepared and ready and who will remain standing and those who are not and will be swept away in that flood of judgment or rather a fire of judgment as Peter says when he also likens the last judgment to that judgment in Noah's day therefore says Jesus verse 42 that's the final so so wake up and listen most of you think I'm joking he says or at least you think there's going to be plenty of time one day to get ready later but you're wrong verse 43 look ask the man who's just been burgled about that he wasn't awake and so the thief will ransack his house he wasn't ready for it the thief doesn't say doesn't phone you up and say
[40:31] I'll be I'll be around next Thursday evening to rob you during the night no he comes suddenly and swiftly decisively when you don't expect him and it's too late isn't it to get your alarm fitted or a better lock fitted or all those things you should have done long ago and 42 you don't know on what day your lord is coming so listen to me he says do you want to be prepared for that day do you want to be ready to meet your judge and lord on that day when there will be division forever either into joy and salvation standing before the son of man as Luke puts it in his account or swept away into weeping into separation from Jesus forever and ever well listen says Jesus and act now stay awake he says verse 42 be ready he says verse 44 because be assured the son of man is coming and at an hour you do not expect you see everything
[41:48] Jesus teaches here is emphatically not to encourage speculation it is to encourage preparation for certain judgment to come it's the very opposite actually to so much so called end times teaching just speculation preparation always be gone right now says Jesus every day from now you see that's the issue isn't it for every single one of us here listening this morning because what Jesus says here about the world's last day is just as true also for each of us because none of us know when our last day is but we do know as the apostle says that it's appointed for man to die once and then comes judgment and we can't escape that day if our personal last day comes first or the last day for the whole world comes first we by
[42:49] Jesus so let me ask you this morning do you believe Jesus prediction we can look back at his very clear prediction about the first century of that generation and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and history records it happened exactly as he promised but you see here's the thing by the time we can look back on the last day of recorded history by the time we can look back on this world's last day that Jesus also describes just as much detail here well it'll be too late then won't it too late to act in time to be ready so you see you need to trust Jesus now you need to trust him when he says heaven and earth will pass away but my word about this will never pass away it is utterly certain truth so if it's true and if you believe him that it's true you have to trust him now you have to obey him now you have to act now don't you a right expectation of what's going to happen that's not enough this isn't about ticking the box of right doctrine having the right view of eschatology no no no no it's verse 44 that must sink in right into our heads right into our hearts you also must be ready for the son of man is coming and at an hour you do not expect see
[44:26] I told you in advance so that you may be saved that's the Lord's message to us today be ready for the last day well let's pray together heavenly father we thank you that you have sent your son already into this world to be the savior who alone can enable us to stand on that last day when every one of us will see him and we'll stand before him in judgment at his coming and meet that day with great joy and gladness for we ask it in
[45:40] Jesus name amen man to say another Lord can ask a ark