We live in days where there seems
to be much concern, much worry, much consternation on the part
of many, many in government, many in the media, many who heard
their voices about the state of the world, about the state
of the climate, about how long this world will carry on for. Many are concerned for the generation
to come and how long this world will endure. And many go to great
lengths to try to change the world, to make it in their eyes
a better place, a more sustainable place, a world that will carry
on forever. But God has made it clear in
the scriptures that this world will not be here forever, that
this world's time is fast ticking away, and that the calamities
we see in this world, whatever they may be, climate or otherwise,
the troubles we see in this world are a consequence of mankind's
sin and rebellion against Almighty God. Are these things we see in the
climate that the scientists worry about man-made? Well, whatever
the science, in a sense they are, in that man's sin has brought
about consequences including the judgments of God which come
down upon him. This world is not here for long
and we as individuals do not spend long upon it. The disciples
came to Jesus and asked him about the end of the world. And Christ
had a few things to say about it. In Matthew chapter 24 we
read, And Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and
his disciples came to him, for to show him the buildings of
the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See
ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, there
shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be
thrown down. And as he sat upon the Mount
of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell
us when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of
thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered
and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear
of wars, and rumours of wars. See that ye be not troubled,
for all these things must come to pass. but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and
pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places. All these
are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up
to be afflicted, and shall kill you. and ye shall be hated of
all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended
and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. And
many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he
that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And
this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. This gospel of the kingdom shall
be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations
and then shall the end come. What words, what a testimony,
what a warning. Christ goes on in the chapter
to elaborate on the events which shall come leading up to the
end of this world and his return and his deliverance of his people
and as it were the separation of the sheep from the goats. There are many solemn warnings
in this chapter and only a fool ignores them. But the disciples come here at
the beginning and ask the Lord, when shall these things be? What shall be the sign of thy
coming and of the end of the world? Firstly, note the context
in which Christ speaks unto them and answers their questions. He is sat upon the Mount of Olives. when the disciples come unto
him privately saying, tell us when shall these things be? This follows immediately after
that point at which Christ departs from the temple and the disciples
attempt to show him the buildings of the temple. And Christ says
unto them, see ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you
there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall
not be thrown down. Having spoken of the destruction
of the temple Christ then sits on the Mount of Olives and answers
the disciples questions about his coming again and the end
of the world. He is sat on the Mount of Olives
This mount from which Christ descends just
before his betrayal and judgement and crucifixion outside of Israel
is a picture of the olive press, a picture of the crushing of
the fruit of the olive tree. a picture of that place that
the Lord and Saviour should be sacrificed. He's taken to a mount
and he is crushed under the outpouring of God's wrath against the sin
of his people. This place upon which he sits
and speaks to the disciples is figurative of a mount from which
salvation comes. The mount from which the grace
and the mercy of God is made known through the judgment of
sin in a substitute, a sacrifice in the place of sinners. This
is the mountain which the olive is crushed, the sacrifice is
offered up. It is here, as it were, that
Christ died and cries out upon the cross, it is finished. All for which Christ came into
the world to do was concluded at the cross. All the purpose
of God from all eternity and throughout all time was centered
upon offering up his Son upon the cross as it were on the Mount
of Olives. In the city of God, Zion, outside
the camp of man's religion, The Son of God comes into the darkness
of this world. He comes unto His people, the
Israelites, and His own reject Him. And He takes their sin. He takes the sin of His people
upon His own back. He carries the cross. He goes
to the place of crucifixion. He's nailed to a cross. He's
lifted up and He's crucified and He's slain. And the olive. is crushed, its fruit is crushed
and a sweet-smelling savour is offered up unto God. He cries
out at the end of the hours of darkness in which he bore the
sins of his people, in which he was made sin, in which his
father forsook him. As he looked upon his son made
sin, bearing the sins of his people. As he looked upon his
son as a guilty sinner and poured out his wrath, his justice upon
him. At the end of the hours in the
darkness, Christ cried out, it is finished. And what was finished
was the salvation of his people. the judgment of this world, the
separation of this world into two camps, those in Christ, those
whose sins he bore, those whose judgment he took away, those
for whom he brings in everlasting righteousness and eternal life,
and those who know him not, who care not for him, whose sins
he did not bear, who will be cast out into darkness forevermore. At this point the world was divided,
light from darkness, good from evil, righteousness from sin,
the sheep from the goats, God's kingdom from this world. God's kingdom. from this world. And from thence the gospel of
the kingdom has been preached and is preached unto the end
of time. This gospel of the kingdom shall
be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations
and then shall the end come. It is upon this Mount of Olives
that Jesus sits, as it were at rest. having completed the work,
having finished the work of salvation, having died, been buried, risen
again and ascended into glory, he sits and he speaks to his
disciples and he speaks of the gospel of the kingdom and of
the end of all times. He sits in this moment and as
it were, time is concluded. When Christ cried out, it is
finished at the cross. time and eternity met, heaven
and earth met, the conclusion of all things was brought about. Yes, this world has continued
since that day. Yes, people are born. People die. Generations come
and generations go. But everything that has happened
since that day is determined by what happened on that day. As predetermined before the foundation
of the world by the covenant of God between Father, Son and
Holy Ghost. But what happened on that day
in Jerusalem has determined the end of the world and your part
in it. Where you and I will go when
this world is no more. Where you and I will stand when
this world is no more. Whether or not you are one of
these disciples as it were sat with Jesus in the Mount of Olives,
who sit and ask, and unto whom he speaks. Or wherever you are, one unto whom this Gospel has
witnessed, as it has witnessed in all the world unto all nations. that Christ has come and saved
his people from their sins. Has that message come unto you
as a message of life unto life to declare unto you that you
are one for whom he died? Or has it come unto you as a
message of death unto death to declare unto you that you have
no part nor lot in this matter. The disciples asked, tell us
when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of
thy coming and of the end of the world? How will the world end? When
will the world end? It was determined by the events
at Jerusalem. When the people cried out, crucify
him, crucify him. And the Son of God was offered
up as a sacrifice. And he cried out, it is finished.
Christ knowing this answers the disciples' questions in this
context. in the context of a finished
gospel, a determined destiny for all men, and the preaching
of the gospel of the kingdom in all nations unto the end. Just prior, the disciples had
sought to show Christ the buildings of the temple. But Christ says
unto them, see ye not all these things? all the buildings of
the temple, all that is in the temple, all the Levitical priesthood,
all the sacrifices offered in the temple, all the comings and
goings of the Jews, all the religion, all the religion of man in this
world. He says, see ye not all these
things, Verily I say unto you there shall not be left here
one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And in what sense is he speaking?
Well we know that not many years after the death of Christ the
temple in Jerusalem was destroyed physically. What we have left
today is but a few ruins of the temple as it originally was,
which have never been rebuilt. There was a physical destruction
to cement the reality in men's minds of the spiritual destruction
of that temple and the old covenant. the old Levitical priesthood
and the religion of man. All man's outward religion shall
come to nothing. There shall not be left here
one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. All the building
of men in religion, all the stones that they put up one upon another,
all the outward form, all the outward ritual, all the attempts
to come unto God and attain unto heaven by the works and the will
of man shall be brought to nothing. and all your attempts, all your
attempts either to seek after pleasure and happiness in this
world outside of Jesus Christ and his gospel shall come to
nothing. as is proven generation after
generation after generation throughout all history. Every sinner born
in this world that knows not Christ has come to nothing. Every man that sought after pleasure
in this world, no matter how rich he has become, he's lost
it all. No matter how many things he's
attained unto, he's lost it all. And with every gain and every
pleasure he gets, he has misery attached to it. And yet every
generation is born and every new young child and young person
grows up deluded by the message that they are sold by the fools
in this world that say, lo, here's pleasure, here's riches, here's
fulfilment, here's ambition. Here's happiness. Seek after
this. The adverts we see all around
tell us a picture of a dream we can attain unto. If we buy
this and we go here and we go there, oh what pleasure there
is. And it's all a pack of lies. Every one of them. And we know
it is. generation after generation has
proven it however much you may have it's but for a moment it's
like sand in the hands that passes through the fingers what does
it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own
soul and yet that is what so many are trying to do that's
probably what you're trying to do to try to gain all you can in
this world, because in that you think there's happiness. And
all it does is lead to destruction. Your life is brief, it's but
for a moment and then you're gone. And even in that brief
life, no matter how much pleasure you may gain, no matter how much
riches you may gain, all of it is laced with sorrow and tragedy
and misery, loss, loneliness, worry, uncertainty, fear. We live in a sinful world. Sin
is in every one of us. So it is in yourself to bring
you down and it is in every person that you come into contact with
to turn and rend you. It's there all around. We're
blind in the darkness. And no matter what any man may
tell you about prosperity, about the plans of this government
or that government, about what we're going to do to make this
world a better place, it's all lies. But not only is your building
in this world to attain under happiness going to be thrown
down. But if you have been so enlightened
to know and realise, as you should do, that there is a God, that
there is a spiritual world, that this world is just for a moment
and there is eternity to come. then if you are seeking to gain
into that eternity and to gain favour with that God and to strive
for everlasting life by your own works or your own will or
decision if you think that you will gain blessing from God by
what you do or by a decision you've made or by the way you
live then you will come to see that that gets you nowhere. The
Jews of old were given the law. They were given the law to show
them that they could not keep it, they could not serve God
and earn his blessing by their works. But so many of them took
that law and strove to keep it, thinking that they could keep
it. and thinking that their obedience
somehow brought some sort of blessing from God unto them. But how deluded they were. Even
what they thought was righteous was in God's eyes filthy rags. Their religion simply boosted
their pride and increased their blindness to the truth. That
law wasn't given for them to keep, it was given for them to
learn that they couldn't keep it and that they needed a sacrifice
outside of themselves. They needed one to stand in their
place and take the judgment that their sins had earned. to pay
the price that they should pay, to suffer under the outpouring
of the penalty of that law, because of their breaking of that law.
They needed a Saviour. They needed the Gospel. Now for
hundreds of years before the coming of Christ, for thousands
of years, God had preached the Gospel to this world in type
and figure. The law contained in type and
figure the Gospel. The sacrifices were pictures
of the sacrifice of Christ. The priests were pictures of
the priesthood of Christ. The blood of the sacrifices were
a picture of the blood of Christ. The temple was a picture of the
temple of Christ and of his church and of his people. All these
things were pictures of the gospel and some were given to see this
through these things. David beheld his saviour. Abraham believed the promises. Joshua led the people into the
promised land dry shot. Isaiah prophesied of the coming
of Christ, the branch. They saw in the outward religion
a picture of the gospel. and not having received the promises,
not having seen Christ born in their day and age, they still
embraced Him, they still embraced God's Saviour, they still believed
He'd come and die in their place. But many just had that which
was outward. Just like today, many have a
religion, they have a profession of Christianity, They claim to
have accepted Jesus into their hearts. But it's all the building
up of man. They've built their little temple. They've built their little religion
and they hope that God will bless them because of what they've
done. But Christ says plainly, See ye not all these things? Can't you see what you've done? Can't you see that all your religion
is your building? It's the works of man and it
shall be cast down. There shall not be left here
one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And the throwing down of all
these things took place when Christ, in the darkness, cried
out to all the world, it is finished. Man's outward religion was brought
to nothing. The old covenant, the law of
God, was fulfilled at the cross, having brought its penalty upon
the sacrifice. It has no more to say to those
who died in Jesus Christ. It was brought to a conclusion.
It was a schoolmaster unto Christ. It was given to show man his
sin and lead the sinner to the foot of the cross, to behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, to
behold He who is sat here on the Mount of Olives and who answers
the disciples' questions about the end of the world. Jesus goes on. He said unto them,
Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my
name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And ye shall
hear of wars and rumours of wars. see that ye be not troubled for
all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet for
nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and
there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places
and these are the beginning of sorrows the beginning of sorrows firstly the disciples come and
ask when shall these things be and Christ begins to answer and
the first thing he tells them about is this beginning of sorrows
and this beginning of sorrows is twofold firstly there are
those men in this world who come to deceive. Ever since Christ
died at the cross, there have been those who have gone about
in this world pretending to preach Christ, pretending to lead sinners
unto Christ, pretending to point unto salvation, who know not
Christ, who know not his gospel, and who bring no salvation. And
there have also been those throughout time who will point men to that
place of happiness which they may attain to if they do this
or that. Look what you may gain in this
world. Look where you may go. Look what
you might become. How many are deceived. Take heed
that no man deceive you. Don't be deceived by the foolish
wisdom of men that would lead you away from God and promise
pleasure in this world, which will ultimately be taken away
from you. And do not be deceived by those
who come saying, I am Christ. Although here is Christ, those
who preach another Christ and another gospel those who say
that Christ came and when he died upon that cross he died
for everyone and loves everyone and wants everyone to be saved
those who would say that salvation is a result of whether you receive
Him or reject Him. It's in your hands, it's at your
will. He's done all He can. He loves
everyone. He loves you. Do you want to
be saved or don't you? Who put the power and the instrumentation
of salvation back into your hands. Oh how appealing this is to the
pride of man. and this is why they gain such
an audience and this is why they deceive so many because sinful
fallen men like to think that God loves everyone and like to
think that salvation is in their hands at their disposal Oh well
when I choose to follow Christ I will do it. I won't do it now
when I'm young. I'm going to go off into the
world and I'm going to do this and do that. I'm going to fulfill
all my ambitions and feather my nest and when I'm old then
I will come and I will accept Jesus when it suits me. Or some may think that they will
accept Him when they're young and that they will have His blessing
and have everything from Him because they've called out and
they've decided, they've made the decision, they've called
unto Jesus and accepted Him, they've told Jesus what to do. As if Christ is at the bid and
call of man. This is very appealing to man
because it puts us upon the throne. It gives us the power. It gives
us the choice. It allows us to decide what to
do. It makes God serve us and not
us serve God. Many shall come in my name saying
I am Christ and shall deceive many. And to whom do you listen? concurrent with these lies which
are preached throughout the world concerning Christ and his gospel.
Our troubles and sorrows which we see all around us, despite
the claims of men that this world is progressing, that mankind
is prospering, that there is a bright future ahead. History
tells us, and we see it in our own day and every generation,
that the opposite is true. Ye shall hear of wars and rumours
of wars in every age and every generation. In the last hundred
years we have seen some terrible wars in this world. We have seen
the First World War and the Second World War concluded by the dropping
of a nuclear bomb which could destroy all mankind if it was
repeated. The bombs they have today could
destroy nations The great fear of mankind is that if there was
ever a third world war, that that's what would come about,
that mankind would destroy himself. But even since such a terrible
war, there have been constant wars since. The Korean War, the
war in Burma, the Afghanistan War, The Falklands War. The Iraq War. The wars we see
today in Syria and Yemen. All over this world there are
wars taking place even at this hour. Wars in Africa. So many nations with such instability. There are wars and rumours of
wars. Man hates man. See that ye be not troubled,
Christ says to his disciples. For all these things must come
to pass, but the end is not yet. for nation shall rise against
nation as they have and as they do and kingdom against kingdom
as they have and as they do and there shall be famines and pestilences
and earthquakes in diverse places and these are the beginning of
sorrows. Not only are there wars but there
are disasters all over the world. We have this coronavirus spreading
like wildfire and mankind knows not how to contain it. We have
other diseases and man can't stop them. We have cancer and
heart disease and so many things and even the wonders of modern
science and medicine can't stop them. They invented these great
antibiotic drugs and now they're finding them useless to prevent
so many diseases which have overcome them. So many nations, even in our
modern world, fall into famine. How tragic, how terrible that
countries in Africa, though in Western society there's food
on every table, countries in Africa can come into famine as
they have done and millions die in the open air to be eaten by
scavengers. The carcasses of dead people
lie in the soil with flies buzzing around them in our day. And pestilences, and earthquakes,
and tsunamis, and bushfires, all these things are going on
in the world in our day and our generation, generation after
generation constantly. And Christ warned of them. He
said they will come and they are the beginning of sorrows.
Why do they come? Why, as some people ask, does
God allow them? They come because a man said. All these events, every war,
every famine, every disease, every earthquake, every tragedy,
Every single one is a result of mankind's sin and rebellion
against the Holy God, of mankind's rejection of Christ and his gospel. and of God in response sending
judgment here, there, here, there throughout this world as a reminder
unto a wicked world and wicked man that your sin brings about
a consequence. Man loves to turn around and
say why does a holy and a loving and a righteous God allow these
things? because a holy and a loving and
a righteous God will justly condemn sin. He will judge sin and he
will either judge it in you or in me or he will judge it in
his own son. And every judgment he sends in
this world, every storm, every tempest, every war, every earthquake
and famine is a reminder to us of that which poured out upon
Christ, the Son of God. And that which will pour out
upon us, if we're not in Christ, the Son of God. There is no war,
there is no earthquake, there is no famine, which is worse
in its consequence than that which was poured out in judgment
upon the Son of God. and every war and every famine
and every earthquake is deserved by wicked men. These things are
not occasional judgments of God. There's no debate that, oh this
particular storm, was that a judgment or was it just nature? Every
occurrence in every place at every time is the judgment of
God in response to man's sin. Every sorrow, every trouble is
a reminder that God is just, he's on his throne, and your
sin brings about a consequence. Every day that we live in rebellion
against the Son of God and His Gospel, we deserve every judgment
that God could rain down upon us. And how thankful we should
be when a storm comes and we're not swept away to our death.
How thankful we should be when the winds blow and we're not
the one that's killed under a falling tree. How thankful we should
be when famine comes and we're not in the place of famine but
we have food on our table. How thankful we should be when
the earthquake shatters a nation and many fall to their deaths
and we are spared. because God through these things
is reminding us that he's in control that sin brings about
these judgments and that God in mercy and love has poured
out such judgment upon his son so that those who are found in
him those who are covered by his blood Those who believe in
the gospel of Jesus Christ will be spared from destruction, spared
from judgment, spared from eternal wrath to come. How can a loving
God send such things? Because he's telling this world
of his son. He's preaching through every
occurrence of these events the Gospel. He's rawn in the world
that justice must be upheld and sin must be judged. But I have
sent my Son and He suffered more than you've ever suffered. He
was forsaken more than any man was forsaken. in order to save
his people from their sins. I have displayed my love in Christ. I have displayed my mercy in
Christ. Here is my son. Believe on him. Christ goes on, then shall they
deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and ye shall
be hated of all nations for my namesake and then shall many
be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one
another. The believer who's heard the
voice of Christ in the gospel who has believed on Christ in
the Gospel, and who speaks of Christ in his Gospel, will find
that this world around him, which is under the judgment of God,
which rebels, which mocks at the Gospel, which casts scorn
upon the name of Jesus Christ, hates them as it hates him. they shall find themselves to
be rejected as Christ was rejected cast out as he was cast out but
no matter what men do unto them even if they kill them they will
rise again with Christ the other side of the grave in an everlasting
kingdom of everlasting life you cannot harm the child of God
He's in God's hands forevermore. He's under the mercy and the
grace of God his Saviour. Let not your hearts be troubled. And many false prophets shall
rise and shall deceive many and because iniquity shall abound
the love of many shall watch cold. As the years go on, as
we've read earlier in the chapter, many false prophets shall arise. There are those who will come
who, as it were, pretend to be Christ, pretend to be a saviour,
pretend to be all you need. And there are many who come who
prophesy and point to a Christ and a saviour, who will not save. They come with another gospel,
another message, another saviour, and they deceive many. And because
of the iniquity that abounds, abounds in the world, abounds
in society, and abounds in the churches, the love of many shall
wax cold. Those who've heard the gospel,
those who've shown a love for Christ, will be so affected by
that which is around them. They're so distracted by that
which is going on, so distracted by the sin they see in the world,
so distracted by that which is allowed by society, so cast down
by that evil that they see all around them, that their hearts
grow cold, they're just concerned and worried. Their gaze is taken
off Christ and the cross. Their gaze is taken off the Saviour. And they look to the world and
the sin around them and they're cast down by that sin. Or they
look to themselves and they're cast down by themselves. The antidote. to all the iniquity
which abounds in this world. The iniquity which abounds in
society. The iniquity which abounds in
the churches. The antidote to it all is the
preaching of the gospel of Christ. The antidote to it all is the
cross of Christ. That's our one message and our
one hope. If you take your gaze off Him,
if you look anywhere but Him, if you look out to the sinful
world around you, or you look inwardly at your own heart, you'll
come crashing down. But if you're brought by the
Gospel to look unto Christ alone, then you'll see the love of God
for your soul, and then you'll know the love of God in your
soul. and you will endure to the end for as we read he that
shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved he that shall
endure unto the end the same shall be saved oh what a journey
this is and how hard a journey it can be in a world full of
hatred and a world full of pestilence and warfare and sorrow and misery
and disease and earthquakes. A world full of hatred of the
gospel and a world which abounds in sin. How can a believer stand? How can we endure to the end? We can't of ourselves. We can't in our own strength. We're like those cast into the
waters in a swirling tempest at sea. We'll drown if it's left
to ourselves. Only grace can keep us. Only the hand of God can lift
us up out of the storm, out of the floods, and put us safely
in an ark, which leads unto salvation. Only God's grace, only God's
mercy, only Christ himself can keep you to the end. Who shall endure unto the end?
All who are Christ's. All who are God's. All whom He
has chosen under salvation. Not those who have chosen Him. Not those who have decided to
follow Him. But those whom He has chosen. Those whom He has pursued. Those
whom He keeps by His grace. Those who are chosen of God.
unto salvation. He that shall endure unto the
end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom
shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations and then shall the end come. This gospel of the kingdom
shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations. It shall be preached. Why do we make such an emphasis
of the gospel and of the preaching of the gospel? Because it is
that which saves sinners from their sins. It is that which
God has sent from heaven above by the voice of Jesus Christ,
by the power of the Holy Ghost, through men whom he calls to
preach, by which he calls sinners under salvation. This is why
this world remains, because God is preaching the gospel of the
kingdom, in all the world for a witness unto all nations until
that hour when the end shall come. Why are you sat here this
day? Why have you arisen from your
sleep this day? Why did the sun rise this morning? Why has this world not been destroyed? Because God is still preaching
the gospel of the kingdom. in all the world for a witness
unto all nations. You are here to hear this gospel. You are here because God is preaching
this gospel. And it will either come unto
you inwardly by the power of God and you will be given faith
to believe it and receive it and be drawn unto Jesus Christ
or it will come unto you outwardly. But the only reason you are here
is because God is preaching this Gospel. The only reason there
is a Church of Jesus Christ, a people of God, an Ecclesia
in this world, is to preach the Gospel. The only purpose of the
people of God as they gather is to preach and to hear the
Gospel. And the only way unto salvation
is to hear the Gospel of the Kingdom, the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, the Gospel of His grace, the Gospel of His love. And when
it has been preached in all the world for a witness under all
nations, and the last sinner for whom Christ died has been
brought to hear and believe on His name, then the end shall
come. The end of this world is coming
and the only reason you're still here today is because this gospel
is still being preached because there are sinners yet to hear
and yet to believe. What of you? Every hour that this world remains
is an hour that you may yet hear this Gospel and God by His grace
may yet turn your fallen, stubborn, hard heart unto Him. Every day that you wake up is
a day in which He may yet preach the Gospel inwardly to your soul
and you may yet by His grace, His mercy and His love be brought
to call upon His name. And there is the grace and the
love of God under His people that He preserves this world
for the preaching of His gospel and that the end has not yet
come. But be warned, the end is coming. The end is coming. And we know the end is coming
because we see the wars. We see the nations rising up
against nation. We see the famine. We see the
illness. We see the misery. We see the
destruction all around us. We see the crimes on our streets. We see the consequences of man's
sin all around us. And we hear the gospel preached. All the time that man in rebellion
fights against God and flees from God. God sat on the Mount
of Olives in glory above, preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom. Today
Christ sits and He preaches. He declares what He has done
for the souls of His people. He declares what happened in
the darkness upon the cross. He declares what his blood was
shed for. He declares the justice and the
righteousness of God. He declares what his faith wrought
in the darkness. He declares the gospel every
day. He preaches the gospel. Have you heard his voice in the
gospel calling you unto him? This gospel of the kingdom shall
be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations
and then shall the end come. Amen.