I think one of the problems that
we face when we look at Matthew chapter 24 is trying to go into
too much detail. If you read the commentaries,
most of them are somewhat confused as to how to interpret this.
And it is somewhat confused in how to interpret it. The questions
that were asked and then the answers, the Lord sort of runs
everything together. But I just want to look at some
of these things in general. from this passage in Matthew
chapter 24. And leading up to this, if you'll
notice sometimes as you read this, this whole discourse began
back over in chapter 21 when the Lord was riding in to Jerusalem
on the donkey. And He comes there and He casts
those out that's in the temple that has their money changer
and they're selling their animals and so, And so on, and he said,
my house, my house shall be called a house of prayer. Now this is
the second time that he did this. You remember in John chapter
2, he did it when he first entered his ministry. He came there and
found them selling and buying in the house of the Lord. And he took him of whip and drove
him out. And he said, make not my father's house a house of
merchandise. And here he calls it his house.
And when the Lord finishes this discourse all the way over in
the chapter 24 in the last verse, this is the last time that he
visits the temple. He comes here no more to teach
and to heal anybody. It's his last visit to the temple.
And what you find out here in chapters 21, when the Lord is
here at this temple, that His enemies, it seems like His enemies
as a whole, they have congregated here together, and they come
against Him now. All of His enemies seem like
one after another group of His enemies. You find this in chapter
21. And it was said there in verse
23, the chief priest, The Pharisees and the elders
of the people, they came and asked him a question. The chief
priest and the scribes, the elders, the Pharisees. That was a pretty
large group. An influential group. That's
the teachers, the theologians. And they asked him a question.
They said they wanted to tempt him and take him in his word. They asked him what authority
he had to do these things. He had just ran them out of the
temple. They had been there playing religion. He disrupted their
religious services, their order, their traditions, and ran them
out. And they said, what authority do you have to do this? He said,
I'll ask you a question. The baptism of John, was it of
God? Was it from heaven? Was it of
man? They said, we can't say of heaven. If we say that, and
we don't believe that, and he knows we don't believe that,
and that's what he's going to say. As soon as we say from heaven,
he's going to say, why didn't you believe him then? If we say
it was a man, they say, they'll stone us. There's folks around
here that love John. Appreciate his ministry. And
they say, we can't tell. He said, I ain't going to tell
you, but what for I do this? I ain't going to tell you where
I got my part. And in chapter 22, the disciples
of the Pharisees and the Herodians came. And they tempted him and
asked him a question, and they said, is it lawful to give tribute
to Caesar? You know why they asked him that
question. They wanted to take him in His Word so they'd have
occasion to accuse him to piety. And he said, show me your money.
And he said, whose picture is this on it? Well, that's Caesar.
Render to Caesar the things of Caesar. Render to God the things
that are God's. And then in chapter 22 and verse
23, the Sadducees came that say there's no resurrection. And
they gave him this story about a man that had a wife. He died,
had no children. And his brother married his wife. And he died, he had no children.
Seven brothers married this lady. None of them have any children.
They said, whose wife will she be in heaven? The Lord said,
they don't marry in heaven. There is the angels of God. They
don't marry there. And you err in not knowing the
Scriptures. If you had known the Scriptures, you would have
known Moses said, when the Lord spoke to him, he said, I'm not
the God of the dead. I'm the God of the living. All
live to Him. We may leave these bodies, but
we live to God. And then in chapter 3 and verse
34, the Pharisees found a smart aleck lawyer, and they said, we want you to go
take him and his words. And go ask him something about
the Law of Moses. Try, if you can, to show the
people that he's really ignorant about the Law of Moses. So he
went and asked the Lord Jesus. Here in this temple now, at the
same time, he said, What's the great commandment in the Law?
And the Lord Jesus said, There's two of them. And on all this
hangs the Law of Commandments. The first commandment is this,
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And the second is likened to
it, Love your neighbor as yourself. And it shut his mouth. It shut
his mouth. And then in chapter 22 and verse
41, he asked them this question. He asked them a question. What
think ye of Christ, whose son is he? They said he's the son
of David. And the Lord said, how can he
be the son of David when David himself said, the Lord said to
my Lord, said on my right hand, till I make your enemies your
footstool, if he's David's son, how can he be David's Lord? And
they were so confused, and that chapter ends like this. From
that moment, they asked him no more questions. From that moment,
they just asked him no more questions. Their mouths were finally stopped. All his enemies got together,
all of them gave it his best shot, and he stopped the mouths
of every one of them. And they said, we ain't going
to ask him any more. He's embarrassed us. He's shamed us. We're not
going to ask him any more questions. And then, of course, in chapter
23, that whole chapter, boy, he begins to pronounce the woe
upon them. Woe to you, you Pharisees, you
scribes, you hypocrites, you pretenders, you self-righteous,
you legalists, you pretenders. Woe be to you. He begins to pronounce
the woe upon them all through that chapter. And he comes down
to chapter 23 in verse 37 and through verse 39. And he says,
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and
stonest them that are sinning to thee, how often would I have
taken your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens
under her wings, and you would not. And notice this. The first
time he entered this place, he said, this is my father's house.
Don't make it a house of merchandise. The second time he said, this
is my house. You've made it a den of thieves. And now look what
he says. Behold your house. Your house. It's left unto you desolate. Why did he say that? It's left
unto you like a barren, Desert. Well, look in chapter 24 and
verse 1. And Jesus went out and departed from the temple. I tell you, when He leaves a
place, it's desolate. When He leaves a place, it's
empty indeed. What was this temple without
His presence? It was nothing but a cold, stone,
dead building. What's heaven without His presence?
What's this world without His presence? What would our hearts
be without His presence? Desolate, ain't it? Desolate. He departed and left the temple. First time we read about this
place here in verse 1, Jesus went out and departed from the
temple. First time we read about this, and you may remember it,
all the way back over in Genesis chapter 22, we read about this,
didn't we? This very place, this is amazing. Mount Moriah. Remember Mount
Moriah? Where Abraham and Isaac went
up to worship. And Abraham put his son on the altar. Father, where's the sacrifice? God will provide Himself a sacrifice.
Abraham got up there on the top of Mount Moriah. It was a thicket.
It was a thicket up there. A goat, a ram tried to get up
through there and got caught in the thicket. It was so thick.
And Abraham cleared him out of a little slot, a little place,
and built him up an altar. And laid Isaac upon that altar.
That was this same place where this temple stood. And he took
Isaac off the altar and put the lamb on. And he said, My son,
there is coming a day when God shall provide Himself. And ain't
it amazing, right here, just a few yards from this building,
Mount Calvary. This was the same place, not
too awfully long after Abraham was up there, the Lord had smitten
Israel with a plague because of David's sin. And a man by
the name of Ornan owned this place. This is where he threshed
his wheat at. He had a little house there where
he threshed his wheat and his oxen and his instruments. And
boy, the angel stood with that sword stretched out and the Lord
instructed David, you go over there to Ornon's place and you
buy that place off of him and you offer me a sacrifice and
the plague will be stayed. And David went over there and
bought this exact place right here where this temple stood
and offered sacrifices to the Lord and the angel put his I
soared back in his shade and said, the plague is over. I smelt
a sweet savor. This is the exact spot where
Solomon built the temple. Magnificent temple. It wasn't
too long after Solomon built it, a few hundred years, Nebuchadnezzar
sent his army in there and they burned it and tore it down and
carried him off captive. Ezra came back in his group and
rebuilt it. And just a few years before our
Master came here, Herod remodeled this temple and added on to it.
A magnificent place. And the Lord says of it here
this, you see these buildings? You see this building? This magnificent
building? Verily I say unto you, there
shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown
down." But there was two temples here. There's two temples here. And sometimes even the disciples
got them confused. The Lord Jesus said, destroy
this temple, and in three days I'll raise it up again. And they
said, it took us 46 years to build this temple. And you're
telling us you're going to tear it down and raise it up again
in three days? But He spake of the temple of His body. That
was the temple and here both of them stood. That was that
body that God gave to Him. A body that He suffered in. A
body He gave upon Calvary's tree for our sins. A body that God
raised from the dead. A glorious body. And here's this
other temple that His disciples were talking about. And the Lord
said there in verse 2 that it's going to be torn down. Man built
it by His own hands. Man can demolish it by his own
hands, and when he does, it will never be rebuilt again. Never
be rebuilt again. You know, we've got the history
of when this place was destroyed. You can read the history. If
you have Josephus' works, you can go read the history of where
he went in in A.D. 70 and destroyed this place.
Here's what Josephus said. Let me read you this quote about
it. He says, Caesar gave the orders that they should now demolish
the whole city and the temple, except three towers, and he gives
the name of those towers, and a portion of the western wall.
But all the rest was laid so completely even with the ground
by those who dug it up, even to the very foundation, that
there was nothing left to make those who came thither believe
that this city and temple had ever been inhabited. They plowed
it up. Another historian, he says this,
he even gives the guy's name that did it. Terentius Rufus,
an officer of the Army of Titus with a plowshare pour up the
foundations of the temple, that the prophecy of Micah 3, verse
12, might be fulfilled, which is written, Zion shall be plowed
as a field. The Lord Jesus said there is
not going to remain one stone upon another. They are going
to tear this place down. And they did. They did. It is
still going today. And here in verse 2, See ye not
all these things? For I say unto you, there shall
not be left one stone upon another." And on this very site, this is
amazing, you already know this, but let me remind you. On this
very site where this beautiful temple was, where our Master stood, where
they offered these sacrifices, where the Word of God was read,
where prayer was often made, on this very site, you know what
sits there today? There's a mosque where Islam
worships, Mohammed. And inside that mosque, I've
seen photographs of it. In the center, right in the center
of that mosque is a barren, a bare rock. That's all it is, a bare
rock. And that's where the altar of
burnt offerings used to sit. Ain't that amazing? And they
say that every time the Jews passes that thing, their hearts
are filled with shame and confusion. But that's what the Lord said
is going to happen. You see this beautiful temple? They're going
to tear it down. They're not going to leave a
stone. They're going to plow the ground out. And that's what
they did in A.D. 7. And you know something, brothers
and sisters? This temple will never be rebuilt
again. It will never be rebuilt again. It will never be rebuilt with
that priesthood of Aaron established with sacrifices. It will never
be again. Somebody said, Bruce, how can
you be sure of that? Some tell us that it's going to be and
they're going to restore the priesthood and the sacrifices
and all the ceremonies. Because the Scripture says this,
among other places, in Hebrews 8, verse 13, that which decayeth
and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. And it's gone. It's gone. And if God is ever pleased to
regather these Jews and save them, I tell you, brothers and
sisters, it won't be by the blood of bulls and goats. They won't
come to this temple made with hands to worship. They'll come
to the Lord Jesus Christ to worship. They won't bring the blood of
bulls and goats. They won't come with their broad
phylacteries, seeking some front row seat in the temple. They'll
come with weeping. They'll come with supplication.
They'll come with true repentance and a broken heart, seeking and
believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it will have nothing to do
with a ceremonial wall or some temple or anything like that.
It's gone. That is gone. The sacrifices
is gone. The priesthood is gone. The temple
is gone forever. It's decayed and waxed old. And for these dispensationalists
to encourage the Jews to look forward to a time when the law
will be reestablished, And they can offer sacrifices again as
to nothing but deceiving those people. They don't need to turn
to Moses. They don't need to be worried
about rebuilding a temple made with hands. There's a temple
already, a temple that God dwells in, and that's Christ. In Him
dwells all the fullness of the Godhead body. And I tell you,
if the Jews are ever regathered and saved, and I hope they are, It will be the same way you and
I are saved. By Christ the Lord and by faith in Him. Let me show
you that right quickly. Just hold Luke 24. Look over
here in 2 Corinthians right quick in chapter 3. Salvation is in a person. Not
in a ceremony. Not even in some doctrine. But it's in a person. Look in
2 Corinthians 3. That's what Paul was talking
about all through this passage here. The New Covenant. The New
Testament. Not the letter that killeth. You begin reading there in chapter
3 and verse 6, and you look at what he says talking about that
administration of the law that it was to be done away with.
It's gone forever. And look what he said in verse
13. And not as Moses, which put a
veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not
steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. It's
gone. It's abolished. But their minds
were blinded. Blinded by the devil. Blinded
by sin. blinded by ignorance. For until
this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of
the Old Testament." When they read Moses who wrote of Christ,
they don't see Christ. They just see laws. They just
see ceremonies and commandments. But this veil is done away in
Christ. But even until this day when
Moses is read, The veil is upon their hearts. Nevertheless, when
it shall turn to the Lord, and I hope, I hope it's when and
not if. Don't you? I hope it's when. But if they're ever saved, they're
going to be turning to the Lord. Not a temple. Not some silly
heifer with her ashes. But to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And when they turn to Him, this veil that has blinded their minds,
shall be taken away. Now look back over again at my
text right quickly. Matthew chapter 24 and verse
3. These disciples of the Lord asked
three questions. And I don't know really, I doubt
if they even understood completely what they were asking. Their
questions seemed to me to be somewhat muddled. And then the
Lord's answers. At least in our mind it's somewhat
muddled. Look what he says. They asked
three questions in verse 3. And as he said, upon the Mount
of Olives, his disciples came to him privately, saying, Number
one, when shall these things be? Number two, what shall be
the sign of thy coming? Number three, and of the end
of the world. Now the first question. The first
two probably run together. Probably join those together.
Of course, they thought his coming would be the end of the world.
And they probably thought if the temple was destroyed, that
would be the end of the world. So they probably thought, this
is just one question. When's the temple going to be
destroyed? When are you coming? When's the world going to end?
All three of those are going to take place at one time. Little
did they know that that wasn't so. Here's the first question. And boy, looking back in retrospect,
looking back in retrospect, Look in chapter 24 and verse 15. I just want to remind you of
this because I want you to turn over to Luke chapter 21. The
Lord begins there in verse 15 and He begins to talk about the
abomination of desolation. When you shall see the abomination
of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy
place. Then let them which are in Judea flee unto the mountains,
and so on. And look over in Luke chapter
21. It's a parallel passage. The Lord was telling them there
was going to be an opportunity for them to escape out of the
city of Jerusalem when you shall see the abomination of desolation.
Look over in Luke chapter 21 and verse 20. When you shall
see Jerusalem compassed with armies. then know that the desolation
thereof is near." So he must have been telling him, and looking
back in retrospect, we know now that he was telling him literally,
when you see this city confessed about with armies, that's the
time to get out of here. That's time to flee. But how
were they going to get out if the city was confessed about
with armies? Well, here's the amazing thing,
and I read this in Josephus, and if you want to read this
book sometime, I'll loan it to you. But Josephus says this,
he says, the president of Syria came against Jerusalem and compassed
the city and besieged it and could have easily taken it. But
suddenly, for some unknown reason, he left. He just left. And when he left, he said many,
of course, he didn't know they were Christians, But he said
many of the religious people fled the city. That's where a
lot of Christians left the city. And then he gives this account.
When Vespasian came against Israel and defeated it, his armies were
ready to besiege Jerusalem and then Nero died or killed himself
or something. And he said that While Vespasian
was taken up with Nero's death and fled back to Rome, during
this time is when a lot more of the religious people left
Jerusalem. And then by the time that Vespasian
went back to Rome and sent Titus his son back, that gave the Christians
a chance to get out of this city. They went to Pella, a city called
Pella, and went to the caves and dens and anywhere they could
go. Because the Master already said, when you see this city
confessed about, there's going to be an opportunity for you
to flee. And that they did. And they got out of there. And here in Luke 21 and verse
22, the Lord is no doubt speaking this to this city. Look at verse
22, verse 23, and verse 24. Here's some things He said about
it. For these be the days of vengeance. that all things which
are written may be fulfilled." All the prophets that said, we'll
be to you Jerusalem, we'll be to you Israel, if you forsake
the Lord, He'll take vengeance on you. The Lord said, all those
scriptures in the Old Testament, that vengeance was pronounced,
He said, that's going to be fulfilled. You've got to get out of here,
He said. When you see this begin to happen, you've got to get
out of here. God's going to venge Himself for this too. And He
said in verse 23, Ward to them that are with child, and to them
that give suck in those days. For there shall be great distress
in the land, and wrath upon this people." You know, we've got
reports by Josephus that they even ate their children. Women
ate their own children. They were starving to death in
this time. Wouldn't it have been sad not
only to have to fend for yourself, even if you'd have been a believer
trying to flee this place? Not only to have yourself to
be worried about, but have a suckling child to be worried about. We'll
be to those that are with child. Because there's going to be great
distress in the land and wrath upon those people. Then in verse
24, And they shall fall by the edge of the sword. And they don't
know for sure how many. Some say anywhere from a quarter
of a million all the way up to three quarters of a million people
actually died. in the siege and the destruction
of the city. It was full of people when Titus
finally destroyed it. And they shall be led away captive,
and to all nations in Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the
Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. So that's the first question.
That's the first question. And the Lord Jesus answered it.
He answered it. I'll give you probably more general
than anything else, but that's the answer that I see to it.
And then the second question and third question, what shall
be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world? And
here's what I see about this in general. The Lord tells them
something that's going to be going on. He don't tell them
the exact date. He never gives any date of His
coming, the destruction of the end of the world. But He gives
them some things to watch out for. And He says here in verse
8, here's the first thing. Look what He says. In chapter
21, I believe. Just stay right there. We can
get it out of this as well as we can. Matthew 24. Take heed
that ye be not deceived. For many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ. And the time draws near. Go ye
not therefore after them." When is he talking about? Is he talking
about before the destruction of Israel, Jerusalem, or after
the destruction? Well, it doesn't really matter,
does it? It doesn't matter. Because what
he says here, take heed that you be not deceived. Many shall
come in my name. If that happened then, and it
may well have, it's still happening today, ain't it? What's going
to be the sign that you're coming? Well, here's going to be one
of them, and it's a sign that started to take place back then,
and it's a sign that's still going on today, and probably
climax in the last day. These false Christs, false Gospels. I'm Christ. No, we're Christ. We got the real gospel, but they're
false. False Christ. Now there are many
antichrists in the world, John said. And Paul said, many walk,
of whom I've told you often that they're enemies of the cross
of Christ. They went out from us. And what did Paul say? In the last days, it would get
so bad that men would be deceiving and deceiving others. Deceiving
themselves and deceiving others. Evil men and seducers shall wax
worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. And then verse
9, verses 9 through 11 of chapter 21, look at this. And when you shall hear of wars
and commotions, don't be terrified, for all these things must come
to pass, but the end is not yet. Nations shall rise against nations,
kingdoms against kingdoms, And there will be earthquakes in
diverse places, and famines, and pestilence, and fearful sights,
and great signs shall there be from heaven." Heaven, we have these for 2,000
years now. And here's the problem, I think,
that some of our commentaries have. They can't figure out when
this prediction was to be fulfilled. Was those Jews in Jerusalem going
to look for these wars and commotions, or is it for our day? It was
for both of us, them and us. We can see that looking back,
and that's the way we know prophecy, isn't it? We always look at it
after it's happened. And looking back through history
from this time to now, what have we had in this world? Wars, rumors
of wars, plagues, diseases, commotions. Perplexities? Boy, those dear
disciples that thought the gospel was going to usher in a time
of peace and prosperity and safety, they had a surprise on their
hands, didn't they? They sure did. They said, Lord, will you
at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? I mean, it's going
to be hunk-a-dory from here on out. We're going to sit on these
thrones. We're going to have it made. He said, you know what
you're going to be facing from here on out? Larry told us this
morning. Tribulations, wars, and commotion. You're not going to have peace
in this world. It's going to be tribulation. Don't be deceived. It's going to be that way until
I come. And in the latter days, it's just going to climax. And
that's probably the days you and I are facing right now, isn't
it? And He says you're something
else in verses 12 through verse 19. But before all this, they shall
lay their hands on you and persecute you and deliver you to the synagogues
and to prisons to be brought before kings and rulers for my
name's sake. And it shall turn to you for
testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate
before and what you'll answer. I'll give you a mouth and wisdom
which your adversary shall not be able to gainsay. And you shall
be betrayed both by parents and brothers and kinfolks and friends,
and some of you they shall cause to be put to death. You shall
be hated of all men for my name's sake. There shall not a hair
of your head perish, and your patience possess you, your soul." Ain't this been happening all
along? It started happening all the way back in the early book
of Acts. We looked at that, didn't we? They beat them in the synagogues,
excommunicated them, put them in prison, cut their heads off,
confiscated their goods. The Lord said, this is what's
going to be happening. What's going to be the sign, Lord? Is
it going to be peace? Is it going to be safety? No,
it's going to be bad. They're going to persecute you
and slay you and kill you. In the latter days, perilous
times shall come. dangerous times, lawless times. Because iniquity shall abound,
the love of many shall wax cold. All that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer." And he says all the way down
here in verse 25 and verse 26, look at this. And there shall be signs in the
sun. In the literal sun. Is this speaking
symbolically or spiritually? I don't know. Is this real or
symbolic? I don't know. There'll be signs
in the moon, in the stars, and upon the earth? Distress of nations
with perplexities? Do we see that today? Our forefathers thought they
were living right down in the time, because their little communities
got like this. You and I see it now in the world,
don't we? We're one world. We're global
now. And we see the world slipping
into this attitude of, what in the world are we going to do?
What's coming? And they don't know what to do.
Everything they do seems to be wrong. And it will continue that
way until they deceive themselves by saying peace and safety. Then
what's going to happen? Sun destruction. Sun destruction. But you and I think they're perplexed
up in Worcester now. They got their summit together
over there in Copenhagen to figure out what they're going to do
about the moon and the sun and the clouds and the atmosphere and
everything. You know what they're going to do about it? If we got
a problem with global warming, you know what they're going to
do about it? Nothing. Nothing. Ain't it presumptuous
in man to think he can control anything? And they get perplexed about
it all. We've got to do something. What
are we going to do? Who knows? Who knows? Look here what the Lord says.
Boy, this is so confident. This is so comforting. Sue's
mother's calling her daughter. I've got you good, Sue. You deserve
every bit of that. Look here what he says. In verse 9, look at this of chapter
21. This is so comforting. And when
ye shall hear of wars and commotions, what's your attitude? Don't it
scare you sometimes? Don't you get anxious about it
all? I mean, that's foreign wars. That's wars on our border. I
saw just over the border at El Paso, right there, a little border
town, just a small border town, 1,800 people killed last year
in a small town. A lot of it had their heads cut
off. They're about to lose control then in Mexico. They're about
to lose control in other places, too. Don't that bother you? It
does me. when we see what's coming. What
did the Lord Jesus tell us? Look at this. Don't be terrified.
Don't be frightened. Don't be afraid. Don't get tore
up about this. Why, Lord? Look at this. These
things must come to pass. They must. Ain't that a wonderful blessing?
Just to know that He knows. that this is in his purpose.
If we thought this was taking him by surprise, it would scare
me to death for sure. But when he says, listen Bruce,
listen Blake, listen Barb, I'm telling you, there's going to
be wars, there's going to be commotion, there's going to be
people getting their heads cut off, there's going to be robbery
and rape, devastation. Don't be afraid. I've told you
before it comes to pass. I've got it all under control.
All power is mine in heaven and earth. Nothing's going to happen
to you. Nothing's going to happen to you. Ain't that what He said?
Not a hair of your head. Not a hair of your head shall
perish. That's what He said. Be not terrified. Be not terrified. See that you be not troubled.
Only our Lord and our Savior could tell us about all these
dangers that's going to come to pass, then turn right around
and say, but don't worry about it. Ain't he amazing? Ain't he amazing? You know the
doctors, they won't even hardly tell us if we've got a disease.
People try to hide the facts from us. People lie to us. No,
politicians lie to us. Things are going to be good.
I'm going to make everything good. This promises us everything and
having us believe everything is going to be just fine. And
then they disappoint us and worry us to death. And here comes the
Lord and He says, folks, things are going to get bad. It's going
to get so bad, you just ain't going to believe how bad it's
going to get. But don't worry at all. Don't worry at all about
it. And you know, when I think of
this, I look at the time that we're in and the time that we're
facing, and I'm sort of excited about it. I feel sorry for the
world, especially when He said it down here, men's hearts will
be fell on them. They're looking after the things
that's coming on this world. They're scared. They're losing
their money. They're losing their fortunes. They're losing their
lives. And their hearts are failing.
But don't you be afraid. Don't you worry. Ain't that comforting? That's comforting. Verse 17 and verse 19. You shall
be hated of all men for my name's sake, but not a hair of your
head shall perish. in your patience, possess you
yourself. What should we do, brothers and
sisters, in the time that we're facing? Be patient. Just be still. Be still and know that I'm God.
Continue to worship. Continue to read. Continue to
be careful. Be watchful. Be sober. Don't
let this world and its pleasures and cares overwhelm you. Keep
looking. Keep gathering with the Lord's
people as we are here now. Don't worry about it. The Lord's
got it all under control. Trust in Him. Commit yourself,
all you have to Him. Be determined that you may have
to give it all away, lose it all, or it all be taken. But
it don't matter, does it? It don't matter. You have in
Heaven a better and endeared substance. 29 through verse 33. That's what
our Lord tells us. Verse 32, Verily I say unto
you, This generation shall not pass, till all be fulfilled.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. His promises is as good now as
they were then. Take heed to yourselves. lest
at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness,
and the cares of this life and that day come upon you unawares.
For as a snare shall it come on all of them that dwell on
the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray
always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all of these
things, Not be consumed by them. Go right through them. And never
be affected by them. And stand before the Son of Man. And then he goes on in chapter
24, chapter 25 of Matthew. And he tells about when the lost
and the saved stand before him. And he gathers his sheep next
to him. He casts the wicked away. And
he says to them that love him and believe him, Come ye blessed
in my Father. And he says to everybody else,
Depart, ye curse. Let's pray.