Matthew 24:1-8 "The Olivet Discourse: The Beginning of Sorrows"

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Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew Chapter 24… “The Olivet Discourse.” Vss 1-8 today.

Some recap on where we are… Jesus and His disciples are in Jerusalem for the Passover. This is Jesus’ third and final year of ministry, and His final week before the cross.

Jesus has been ministering in Jerusalem… coming in peace, healing the sick, and teaching the people… and the people marveled at Him.

But, the Religious and Political leaders of Israel were greatly displeased… displeased by Jesus’ Triumphal Entry… His cleansing of the Temple… the people pronouncing Him as Messiah… and Jesus silencing these leaders as they attempted to ensnare Him with their questions.

We read at the end of Matt 22 “And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.”

And then, in Matt Chapter 23, Jesus pronounced 8 woes upon the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. ‘Woe’ is both a denunciation and an expression of grief. And, indeed, Jesus grieved over Jerusalem.

We closed Chapter 23, last week, with Jesus’ last recorded public words to Israel, Matt 23:37-39 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”

I believe this was said in a somber tone. This lament gives us insight into Jesus’ heart as He describes the future events of Matthew 24 & 25.

These chapters are known as “The Olivet Discourse” or “The Discourse on End Times.” This is the last of Jesus’ Five Major Discourses. And, this is Jesus’ second longest discourse, next to the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7).

It’s a prophetic discourse… on end times… Jesus’ second coming.

Matthew 24-25 are two of the most highly debated chapters in the Bible… and it’s because the topics deal with future events of the end.

Even from authentic Christians, prophecy can be confusing and sometimes it’s avoided.

Other people get so fired up by prophecy, that they lose themselves in it.

Somewhere in between is a good place to be. We shouldn’t avoid prophecy… we should seek to understand it, but we also need to be mindful of the great commission… preaching the gospel and making disciples.

But, prophecy is important… to avoid prophecy altogether is to avoid about 27% of the Bible… that’s significant. And, prophecy is unavoidable when you teach verse by verse, like we do.

Prophecy, in Hebrew or Greek, means “to speak by inspiration; predictively of future events.”

Thayers defines prophecy at “discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden.”

Hundreds or more years ago… in the OT… several prophets prophesied and hundreds of their prophecies have been fulfilled to the letter. There’s a higher statistical likelihood of hitting the lottery several times in your lifetime, than the number of prophecies that have been fulfilled.

Conservatively, Jesus alone fulfilled some 300 prophecies in His earthly ministry, and many scholars would almost double that number.

Prophecy testifies of the truth of God’s word in the past… and gives us confidence in God’s word for our future. And, my hope for you today is that you will be inspired by the things told which we await.

The Book of Revelation, which is almost entirely prophecy, opens with these words, Rev 1:1-3 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. [Purposed in preparation to stand confident in coming future events]. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it [Revelation is the only book in the bible with a direct promise of blessing for the reader, hearers, and for keeping/ obedience to the words in that book. And, why read, hear and keep?...]; for the time is near.”

The time is near, and studying end times helps you to prepare for the things coming… to comfort you of God’s plan.

1 Thes 4:18 states, “Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

One more thing on prophecy, and then we will get started… broadly speaking, prophecy falls into two categories: ‘Fulfilled Prophecies’ and ‘Prophecies Still to Be Fulfilled.’

About 50% of biblical prophecies have already been literally fulfilled, and since God is ‘batting 1000’… we can trust the other 50% will be fulfilled literally as well.

Some of the significant fulfilled prophecies thus far in history… • The first coming of Christ • Jesus as the Savior of mankind • Prophecies regarding Israel • Israel’s exile to Babylon • The destruction of the temple 70 A.D. • Daniel’s prophecies about the rise and fall of many kingdoms • Prophecies regarding individual people • Israel being re-born as a nation (1948)

And, there are Prophecies Still to Be Fulfilled: • The second coming of Christ • The rapture of the church • The tribulation • The resurrection of the saved and unsaved • The millennial reign of Christ • The new heaven and new earth.

Some prophecies are singular in their fulfillment and some have a duel fulfillment… often you see a ‘near or immediate fulfillment’ which occured hundreds or thousands of years prior… a word relevant for that day, but it was a shadow or a type of something that would happen again in the future… what is called the ‘far or future fulfillment.’

And, it’s these future prophecies and dual fulfillment prophecies that give the greatest debate amongst dedicated Christian Scholars, who love Jesus. There are many great scholars with various views on prophecy in general and specifically in this discourse of Matt 24-25.

Chances are that as I teach on these chapters, you may disagree with me. And, that’s ok… as Pastor Joe Focht says, “You’re entitled to your distorted opinion and I’m entitled to my distorted opinion… but I’m right.”

But, in all seriousness, be a Berean. Have an opinion, but don’t let prophecy cause division. Paul repeatedly encouraged the church against division.

We will take this teaching in sections, today covering Matt 24:1-8… The title of today’s teaching is “The Olivet Discourse: The Beginning of Sorrows.”

And, that’s a reflection of words of Jesus in V8… not on our church going through this teaching…

Let’s pray!

Matt 24:1 “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.” (Let’s stop their and get oriented to the setting).

Jesus is departing the temple… some scholars highlight the verb tensing of the word “departing” as though Jesus is departing without intention to return.

Just prior, Mark and Luke share the account of the widow giving two mites, but Matthew omits that account, and ties the Olivet Discourse to the Woes of Matthew 23… the final verses in Matthew 23 where Jesus laments over Jerusalem… and especially V38 where Jesus states, “See! Your house is left to you desolate.”

And, these things seem to be rattling in the brains of the disciples, thus they approach Him… to talk about the temple… perhaps to uplift Him… or perhaps to contrast Jesus’ statement of a desolate house with what seems a house… a temple that would stand for all time.

Matthew highlights how the disciples showed Jesus the buildings of the temple.

The parallel account in Mark highlights the sturdiness and grandeur of the Temple, “… one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”

Luke highlights the adornments of the Temple, “… some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations [gifts or votive offerings]… ”

And, the Temple, called Herod’s Temple, was all of these things… huge buildings and huge stones…

Herod’s Temple was a restoration and expansion of the Jewish temple built when some of the Jews returned to Israel from Babylon. That temple was called Zerubabbel’s Temple and it stood for 500 years, but was in need of major repairs.

I have a little slide show that begins with a comparison of Solomon’s Temple to Herod’s Temple. Solomon’s Temple was grander than Zerubabbel’s Temple, and both paled in comparison to Herod’s Temple… the Temple of Jesus’ day… a true sight to behold.

Herod the Great, who was as crazy as he was brilliant, especially in the area of architecture… rebuilt Zerubbabel’s temple beginning around 18-19 B.C.... finally finished about 63-65 A.D. … ultimately destroyed in 70 A.D. by Rome … just 5-7 years later.

The Jewish historian, Josephus, in his book “Antiquities of the Jews” Chapter 11, had many interesting things to say about this temple.

Josephus said, Herod’s intent was to make a temple that was “...the most glorious of all his actions... sufficient for an everlasting memorial of him.”

For Herod, this Temple was as much a monument to himself as it was a political move to appease the Jews. Given the historical records of Herod’s character, I doubt he built this temple for God.

Josephus went into great detail about structures of the building, but just one more detail… the new foundation stones for the Temple were “… in length a hundred cubits (150’), and in height twenty additional cubits (30’)… 150’ long x 30’ high of various massive stones weighing tons.

You can visit Jerusalem today and take underground tours to see these massive foundation stones. The engineering to move these stones from the site where they were carved still baffles experts to this day. The disciples were not exaggerating when they spoke of massive stones.

But Jesus was not moved, look at His response in V2…

Matt 24:2 “And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

Matthew and Luke note Jesus called the temple, the stones, and adornments mere “things.” You get the sense that Jesus is not as impressed with Herod’s memorial to himself.

Prophetically, Jesus states that these stones will be thrown down… not one stone will remain standing.

And, literally… this prophecy was fulfilled. And, since this prophecy was literally fulfilled… it sets the tone that we can trust the remaining prophecies in this discourse also to be literally fulfilled.

In 66 A.D., through much provocation and over-taxation by Rome, the Jews revolted and had significant early victories, but were ultimately crushed in 70 A.D. by four legions of Roman soldiers (about 24k men)… led by Titus… the son of Emperor Vespasian.

For great details on this event read, “The Wars of the Jews” by Josephus... Book 6, Chapter 4…

There was a long and frustrating siege of Jerusalem. Romans for days were attempting to batter down certain doors, but they were too strong.

Josephus wrote, Titus “… resolved to storm the temple the next day, early in the morning, with his whole army, and to encamp round about the holy house; but, as for that house, God had for certain long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was come… one of the soldiers, without staying for any orders… snatched… materials that were on fire, and being lifted up by another soldier, he set fire to a golden window, through which there was a passage to the rooms that were round about the holy house...” [and the fire spread uncontrollably].

Titus made numerous attempts to stop the fire, but with thousands of soldiers present… great commotion, fighting, and fires erupted, and things got out of hand. The soldiers did not hear him… more soldiers started additional fires… thousands of Jews were being slaughtered… and the soldiers plundered the temple.

Josephus accounts that the soldiers proceeded to burn down the building round about the temple, the cloisters (the covered walkways), and “They also burnt down the treasury chambers, in which was an immense quantity of money…”

He added… “And now all the soldiers had such vast quantities of the spoils which they had gotten by plunder, that in Syria a pound weight of gold was sold for half its former value.”

Some scholars attest that the gold ran between the stones, thus the Romans cast down each stone to get the gold… and there are stones that have been cast down near the temple mount to this day (cue slide).

Now… gold does melt, and the heat was great… but the story that Titus ordered the stones to be cast down to get the gold… I did not read of that. If you know of evidence to support that theory, please let me know.

But, what’s for sure is Jesus’ prophecy “… not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

Josephus wrote, “Accordingly, as the people were now slain, the holy house was burnt down, and the city was on fire, there was nothing farther left for the enemy to do.”

The legions of Roman soldiers utterly destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple… it’s people… and plundered it’s treasures.

And, as Jesus spoke these words in V2, it’s as if He can see the destruction that would come some 40 years later. And, you can almost feel the heaviness of His heart, as we read these words.

And, then V3…

Matt 24:3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

From this verse we get the title, “The Olivet Discourse,” as Jesus gives this teaching seated at the Mount of Olives which is just a stones throw walk east from the city of Jerusalem, across a small valley called the Kidron Valley.

Observe... this teaching is a private teaching... just Jesus and His disciples. Mark tells us specifically it’s “Peter, James, John and Andrew” who ask Jesus the questions. The inner three Apostles plus Andrew… the brother of Peter.

They ask two questions… when and what? When will Jerusalem be destroyed, and what are the details around the return of Christ. Mostly Jesus focuses on the ‘what’ and less on the ‘when.’

In Acts 1:6-7 the disciples also asked a “when” question… “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” Jesus wasn’t big in answering the ‘when.’

Some scholars place the prophecies of the Olivet Discourse as fulfilled in 70 A.D.... when Rome destroyed Jerusalem. There are parallels, but 70 A.D. is at best a shadow of things to come. In Matt 24:21, Jesus said, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

What happened in 70 A.D. was horrible, but Rome did not bring “great tribulation” worse than anything since the beginning of the world or in any future age.

This question, “when will these things be?” … this looks back to Jesus’ comment in V2, “...not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

When will that happen Jesus? When will the stones of all the great buildings of the temple be thrown down?

This question… along with other key context clues, helps us to understand the major audience of this discourse. Some people believe the main audience is the church. I don’t see that.

This is Passover. Jesus is a Jew… His disciples (Christ followers, but still… Jews)… they left the Temple (which is Jewish)… the conversation is about the destruction of the temple… and look at Jesus’ response to the question… “what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answers…

In V5 He speaks about “the Christ”/ “Anointed One or Messiah” a very Jewish idea… relevant for all, but Jews lived and still live in expectation of Messiah.

V15 He speaks about the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet...” a concept well familiar to Jews.

V16 “… then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” Those in Judea are Jews. Judea is the area around and south Jerusalem and today about 74% of Israel is Jewish… about 20% Muslim, only 2% Christian and 2% Druze (an Arab blend of a variety of religions).

V20 “… And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.” Sabbath… very Jewish.

Not to mention, this discourse is found in Matthew who wrote to the Jews, Mark who wrote to the Romans, Luke who wrote to the Greeks, but not in John who wrote to the church.

One scholar wrote, “John specifically states his purpose in John 20:31, "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." Therefore the purpose of John's Gospel is to "confirm and secure Christians in the faith."

But, John doesn’t include the Olivet Discourse. Matthew includes this discourse for the Jews, but for the church… John does not.

John’s prophetic message to the church is John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” … This speaks about the rapture of the church… as Jesus comes again, He will receive us to Him.

On these two questions in V3, The scholars at Dallas Theological Seminary wrote, “The questions related to the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, and the sign of the Lord’s coming and the end of the Age. They have nothing to do with the church, which Jesus said He would build [c.f. Matt 16:18 “… on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”]. The church is not present in any sense in chapters 24 and 25. The disciples’ questions related to Jerusalem, Israel, and the Lord’s second coming in glory to establish His kingdom.” -BKC

And, as I mentioned earlier, there are other scholars that would disagree whole hardheartedly with that statement, but hey… that’s one of the strengths of the church. The enemy could design a nice plan against the church if we agreed on everything, but the church disagrees about many things.

So, that sets the stage… let’s begin to look at Jesus’ response…

Matt 24:4-8 “And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

Most scholars would agree that what Jesus is talking about here, in VSS 4-8, is the beginning of the first half of the seven-year tribulation period prior to Jesus’ second-coming.

The first 3.5 years of the tribulation are a relative time of peace… most scholars agree that things don’t get really bad until after the 3.5 year mark of the Tribulation.

Calvary Chapel holds a pre-tribulation rapture position of end times where the church is raptured prior to the Anti-Christ being revealed, and at that time the seven year tribulation will begin.

This position, in my mind, matches the context of Matt 24… specifically that these verses have Jews in mind.

For ex, In Revelation Chapters 4-5, there is a heavenly scene with twenty-four elders with stephanos crowns (the Greek victor’s wreath… as opposed to the diadem…the royal crown)… up for debate, but I align with the scholars that hold these elders represent the church.

Rev 4:4 “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes [just like the bride of Christ]; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.”

Rev 4:10 “...the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne...” The Raptured church worshipping Jesus in Heaven.

These same stephanos crowns are promised to be awarded to the church…

1 Pet 5:4 “...when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”

2 Tim 4:8 “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

So, while not everyone agrees on who these elders are, I and many scholars, see them as a representatives for the Raptured church… only pictured in heaven and not on earth from Rev 6-19.

Many scholars believe the next time this group returns to earth is in Rev 19:11-14 “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns [diadems..royal crowns]. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.”

This is Jesus’ ‘Parousia’ or Second Coming. Coming with the church… His bride... to usher in the Millennial Kingdom. So, from this perspective, the church is not pictured on earth from Rev 6 until Rev 19:11.

But, who we do see on earth are Jews. Most noteworthy... 144,000 Jewish believers (Rev 7) who will be the light of the world during the Tribulation time… and I believe given the highly Jewish context of Matthew 24-25… these Jewish end times believers… the 144,000 are specifically who Matthew 24-25 addresses.

At the end of Rev 7, there is another group pictured who many scholars, whom I agree with, hold to be non-Jews who were not saved thus were not raptured, but come to faith during the tribulation. This group is separate from the elders (Rev 7:13)… they are the martyred saints, as pictured in the Fifth Seal of Rev 6… who refuse to take the mark of the beast, and are pictured in other various scenes throughout Revelation, but given the Jewish context of Rev 24-25, I do not see this as the primary focus of Matthew 24-25.

Going back to Matthew 24… if you compare Matt 24 (Jesus’ answer to the sign of His coming and to the end of the age) to Rev 6 (what I see as the beginning of the Tribulation)… they align.

Starting in Rev 6, Jesus takes a scroll, and begins to loosen it’s seven seals… I have a slide of these seven seals… no… wrong seals… there we go.

And, if you google “scroll with seven seals” you’ll also see many varied ideas of how the seals are placed upon the scroll.

But, with the opening of the seals, I believe this begins the seven year tribulation period. Some scholars, even pre-millennial scholars see Matt 24 as general signs of the Church Age… but, false prophets, wars, etc. have always existed. In Matt 24, Jesus is specifically addressing what happens at the end of the age prior to His coming.

John Walvoord, with Dallas Theological Seminary, an end times scholar I highly respect wrote this interesting view… “Most expositors assume that the events beginning in Revelation 6 cover the whole seven-year period. The Book of Revelation, however, never uses a seven-year figure but frequently refers to three and one-half years or 42 months. Because the events of chapter 6 and afterward seem to coincide with the Great Tribulation rather than with the time of peace in the first half of the seven years, there are good reasons for concluding that these great events are compacted in the last three and one-half years before Christ’s return to the earth. Certainly at least by the fourth seal (Rev. 6:7–8), the events described anticipate a time of unprecedented trouble.”

Charlie Campbell at Always Be Ready Apologetics Ministries, places the 6 seals opened in Rev 6 in the first half of the Tribulation time frame… and I have aligned with this view, but I can see Walvoord’s point as well.

On the welcome table… I printed a Revelation chart Charlie Campbell nicely put together… if you are interested for further study...

Walvoord and Campbell… two brilliant Christians… well studied on end times, and they see some things differently… and that’s ok. I don’t question if either are saved… I don’t question their love for Jesus… I don’t question their desire to see the lost come to Christ. And, as we go through these chapters in Matt 24-25, again… you may see things differently than me, and that’s ok as well. I’m sure we have more commonalities than differences.

Well, as mentioned… If you compare the seals of Rev 6 to Matthew 24:4-8… they align… let’s take a look, and we will wrap up there before our heads blow up with from all these end times concepts...

Matt 24:5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”

First Seal: Rev 6:1-2 “Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” 2 And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.”

This is the Anti-Christ…coming on a white horse like the King… Jesus. There are many deceivers, even claiming to be Jesus today, but Anti-Christ is the ultimate counterfeit, and truly will deceive many globally. He has a bow, but no arrows… because he conquers the world governments in peace. Anti-Christ will come in peace… he won’t need arrows initially. And, he has a crown… a stephanos… NOT the royal crown that Jesus wears. He conquers at the beginning of the tribulation… Jesus will truly conquer at the end of the tribulation.

Matt 24:6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

Second Seal: Rev 6:3-4 “When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.”

This second horseman is war… great conflict on earth. And, following war, food scarcity is prevalent…

Matt 24:7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

Third Seal: Rev 6:5-6 “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius [inflation]; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” [the wealthy will still get their luxuries]

The third horseman is famine.

Fourth Seal: Rev 6:7 “When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.”

The fourth horseman is widespread death, which includes pestilence.

And, I have a slide depicting these “Four Horseman.” Even if you are not familiar with end times theology… most everyone has heard the term “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”… Rev 6 is where that concept comes from, and to think these four horsemen are not even as severe as later judgments.

Jesus also mentioned “earthquakes” which is picture in the Sixth Seal: Rev 6:12 “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake…” and the verse continues with numerous cosmic disturbances. Which Luke 21:11 describes as “… fearful sights and great signs from heaven.”

And, in Matt 24:8 Jesus says, “All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

The word “sorrows” by def. is “birth pangs.” And, just like labor… as nine months of pregnancy continues… there is more evidence of pregnancy… “birth pangs” are a great description because they are an indicator that a baby will soon be born. Birth pangs, at the end of pregnancy increase in frequency, duration, and intensity.... and during the tribulation from the seals to the trumpets… to the bowls (or vials)… God’s wrath also increases in frequency, duration, and intensity.

It’s all a sign that the end is near… and the King will return.

And, we will pick up there next week.

Let’s pray!

If you are here today, and you’ve never studied end times or have just flirted with end time theology… keep studying. Even with many diverse positions on how things will happen in the future… most scholars agree Jesus is coming back, and He wins… us with Him in the end....

Sermons like this one today may be difficult to find an application in life, but I hope it gives you inspiration for your life. Inspiration to dig deeper in His word… to grab a position… to have an idea of the possibilities of what will happen when Jesus comes back.

And, all the saints say… “Amen and Maranatha!”