We come now to part six of Jesus's prophetic discourse on the end of the age and we find ourselves in Mark's gospel, chapter 13, verses 26 through 31. If you've been with us over the past five Sundays that I've talked about this, you realize we're going through Mark's account verse by verse. Before we look at the text, let me set the stage for what we are about to examine. Everybody that knows and loves Christ will acknowledge that our country is under God's judgment. We are experiencing the wrath of divine abandonment, whereby, consistent with Romans one, he has given this people over to the consequences of their depraved choices that they love so desperately. We see college campuses filled with chaos, people protesting against Israel, and demanding other leftist causes. I was reading that more than 22.3% of Generation Z adults now identify as LGBTQ plus. According to the Daily Mail, the number of transgender troops in the United States Army has doubled since 2020. The Pentagon has spent more than $26 million dollars treating transgender troops since 2020. According to the Department of Defense, the number of US Army staff with gender dysphoria has doubled in that time, from around 1800 to 3700. 65% of Americans do not approve of the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. And a Rasmussen report that I read recently gives us a poll that shows that 41% of the United States voters say the country is likely to experience a second Civil War within five years. Folks, our only hope is in God, it's not in man. It's not in who gets elected next. And certainly, the return of Christ is ultimately what we look for, not the return, or the rising up of some great politician. And Jesus promised that he would return. But only after according to Mark 13, verse 19, "a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation, which God created until now, and never will." Mark 13:19. Indeed, the world is being prepared for the rule of the Antichrist. And then Christ will return and power and great glory.

But before that, Jesus tells us in our text this morning, that certain things are going to happen. Let me get a running start to this in verse 24 of Mark 13. Jesus says, "'But in those days, after that tribulation, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory. And then He will send forth the angels and will gather together His elect from the four winds from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven. Now, learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branches already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away but My words will not pass away.'"

Here, the Spirit of God speaks to us, revealing to us where the world is heading, and gives us sobering warnings in all of these passages to help us understand what will come about on the face of the earth, especially for those who are alive during the time of the tribulation, the pre-kingdom judgments. And also in this text, he reassures us of the infallibility and the authority and the unchangeable nature of his word. Now, I've divided this section into three very simple headings that I hope will be helpful to you; three categories to grasp with the Spirit of God has to say. Number one, we're going to see the sign of his coming. Number two, the season of his coming and then finally, the surety of his coming.

First, let's look at the sign of his coming beginning in verse 26. "'Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and great glory.'" Now, you may recall, in the transfiguration when Jesus was on the mount with Peter, James and John, we had a preview of the glory of Christ, that will be seen when he returns. There you will recall the effulgence of his pre incarnate glory, burst forth from him. Glory that was veiled while he walked here on Earth in the flesh. Matthew tells us in chapter 17, verse two that, "...His face shone like the sun, and His clothes becameas white as light.'" Peter even reminds us of this occasion in Second Peter one beginning of verse 16. He said, "We did not follow cleverly devised tails when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty." Don't you wish you could have been there to have seen that? Ah, but we will. The apostle John described the same magnificent reality in Revelation one beginning of verse 14. There we read, "His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and his eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength." Can you imagine the horror on the face of the god mockers when the Lord Jesus Christ returns? Suddenly all of their perverted pride parades and all of their social justice demands, and all of their godless ideologies will dissipate like fog, when the sun rises. Matthew's account says this in Matthew 24, verse 30, "'And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky.'" Fascinating statement. The phrase, "the sign of"--the grammar here in the original language, does not refer to something pointing to the Son of Man, as it would be in what we would call an objective genitive, but rather the sign will be the Son of Man of subjective genitive. In other words, against the backdrop of all of this darkness and chaos, the ineffable light of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ will glaze forth in ways that we can't even imagine. Suddenly, the astounding, dazzling brilliance of his Shekinah will appear. And people will see the resplendent light of his majesty. And then according to Revelation, one seven, "...every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him."

Now, no student of the Bible would be unfamiliar with what the Lord Jesus is describing here, especially when it comes to this idea of the light of His presence, the light of His glory. You will recall that we can see this in the Old Testament. His presence led the children of Israel through the wilderness. It was a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, leading them out of the bondage of Egypt through the wilderness. The light of his glory blazed forth on Mount Sinai at the giving of the law. And you will recall how the Shekinah blazed forth above the Ark of the Covenant between the outstretched arms of the cherubim, there in the Holy of Holies. And his first advent, we could see just the glowing light of his presence in his person, especially at the birth of Christ, when he was surrounded by light. Remember, in Luke two the angel announced his birth to the shepherds, and we read, "the glory of the Lord shown around them." And in Matthew two, we see the blazing light of God's presence that led the Persian kingmakers from the east to the very sight of their Savior and King. And later Jesus said in John 12, verse 46, "'I have come as'" a what? As "a light." "'I have come as a light into the world that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness.'" So again, at the Transfiguration, we see the ineffable brightness of the glory of God that radiated from him affirming his transcendent majesty.

This, by the way, was the same light that Paul encountered on the road to Damascus. I want to digress for a moment to help you understand what I believe is important with respect to what Jesus is describing. We know that God is immaterial. And we see in Scripture that often when he would materialize himself, he would do so in this glorious light, which was called the Shekinah. It comes from a Hebrew word "mishkan", which means “to dwell.” So it's his presence that we see shining. And his presence would always be this resplendent, brilliant, unapproachable light. By the way, we had a little glimpse of this, did we not the other night here in Nashville, we got pictures of it when we saw the Aurora Borealis here in Nashville. Which I might say, pales into absolute insignificance compared to what it looks like in the north countries where I've been on many occasions, but it was still beautiful. But the prophet Daniel tells us in chapter two verse 22, that he emanates light without shadow saying "...light dwells with Him." And in Psalm 104, verse two, he covers himself "...with light, as with a garment." Paul describes Christ Jesus to Timothy in First Timothy six, verse 16, as quote, dwelling "in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and everlasting power." And John tells us in First John one five "...that God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all." And what is truly fascinating is that scientists have no explanation for the origin of light. They cannot tell us where it came from. But of course, God has told us where it came from, in his self-disclosure in Scripture. On day one of creation, after creating the material universe, God created light by divine fiat. He spoke it into existence. Genesis one and verse three, "Let there be light and there was light, and God saw the light, and it was good." Instantaneously, think about this, the uncreated Creator of the universe, who dwells in unapproachable light, spoke the first light into existence.

Now, why it's easy for us to take for granted. Yet, it's an amazing thing, because when you think about it, it emanates from God who created it. Can you imagine a world without light, nothing would be able to exist. In fact, light is the single most important source of heat and energy on Earth. Light is the very essence of God that gives life to all things. Physicists struggled to understand light. And I struggled to understand what the physicists tell us about light, but I will do my best. They tell us that light is a form of energy that's made up of both particles and waves. That's what I thought, I'm sure that's what you thought to, right? And they tell us that light acts like particles, that light photons are like minuscule little bullets, that stream from its source and move at a measurable velocity. And of course, we know that, that's the speed of light. And when certain objects obstruct those tiny objects, we have shadows. But light is also very different from a particle, they tell us, it is also characterized as a wave that does not exist in finite space. In other words, it has no beginning. And it has no end. A perfect illustration of the eternally existent God that has created us; the one who was the Father of Light, the one who dwells in unapproachable light. And they tell us that live light waves are like ripples in space, instead of bullets. And this explains how rainbows work. They call it the wave particle duality. And it's one of the most mystifying aspects of physics. Light waves behave like particles, and the particle-like photons can behave like waves. Well, that clears it up for me, I'm sure it does for you, right? Isn't it funny, I mean, when you try to explain who God is, and what he has done, I mean we get some idea, but it's like whoa, it's beyond me. And they tell us that waves transfer energy from one point to another point without the transfer of matter. And so it's very different than the particle motion of photons, these waves are very different. And because light has both electric and magnetic fields, it is also referred to as electromagnetic radiation. Light waves come in a continuous variety of sizes and frequencies and energies. And this continuum of light waves is referred to as the electromagnetic spectrum. And what's really amazing is that the human eye cannot see light. Light is completely invisible; all we see is light interacting with the tiny particles of matter in the air that reflect it. And the colors we see in light depend upon varying wavelengths in the spectrum of light. In fact, they tell us that visible light occupies only 1/1000 of a percent of that spectrum of light. And think about that, and that minut portion of that spectrum, we can see all that we can see, all the beautiful colors.

They tell us that the energy spectrum of light goes from radio, to microwave to infrared, then you have visible light in the middle, then ultraviolet, X ray, gamma ray, and so forth. And it's absolutely staggering to me, that all that we can see, is able to be seen in that 1/1000 of a percent of that spectrum. And as I think about it, God has only allowed us to see a tiny bit of who he is. Yet in that miniscule range of spiritual light that he has given us, we see all of the dazzling realities of who he is. We can see his creation, and we can see him through his word. But oh dear friends, what will the world see when the glory of the Son of Man appears in the sky? Number 24 verse 17, the Prophet says, "...a star would come forth from Jacob." In Hebrew, a "kōkāb" have which is a blazing forth of light. You know, people say, Well, I just don't believe anything that I can't see. Well, one day you will see it. One day you will see it.

Now back to our text. In Matthew, I'm going to look at Matthew 24 verse 30, where Matthew is expanding on Mark's account, in verse 30, it says, "'And then the sign of the of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all of the tribes of the earth will mourn.'" Now, this will primarily be a mourning of despair over impending judgment. Most will be mourning over the terror of impending judgment. Some will mourn in heartfelt repentance. We read more about this in Zechariah 12, beginning in verse nine. And this portrays in a very graphic terms, the repentance of the Jewish people during that time. We read and, "In that day, I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." By the way, there we see, as in other places, that all of the nations are going to come against Israel. And we're already seeing that alignment, are we not? We see it in the United Nations and so forth. So there we have a prophecy of physical deliverance; the conquest of the promised land will finally be over. But God also promises a spiritual deliverance. He goes on to say, "I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son. And they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. In that day, there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo." That, by the way, is a reference to the death of Josiah recorded in Second Chronicles 35 that brought such mourning and such grief to the people.

So once again, Jesus says in Matthew 24:30, "'...all of the tribes..." --that could be translated "families"-- "of the earth will mourn.'" And again, most will be mourning in despair, the horrific prospect of divine judgment. And this is consistent with Revelation one in verse seven, where we read, "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him." No doubt, in that day, many will be mourning over the blasphemies that they have spoken in the past weeks and months and years. Maybe they will come to mind at that point. In Revelation 16, verse nine, we read about this. Think about this, despite the inconceivable agonies of divine wrath that's being poured out upon the world during that time, in the pre kingdom judgments, we read, quote, "They blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory." And in verse 11, it goes on to say, "They blaspheme the God of heaven, because of their pains, and their sores, and they did not repent of their deeds." Verse 21, "And huge hailstones, about 100 pounds, each came down from heaven upon men, and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; because its plague was extremely severe." And Luke's account underscores, even more, the horror of those who reject Christ. In Luke 21, verse 25, Jesus says, "'There will be signs in sun and moon and stars and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.'" Dear friends, today, men and women scoff and laugh, but a day is coming when that scoffing and that laughter will turn to trembling, and mourning. Jesus went on to say in that section in Luke 21, beginning verse 27, "'Then they will see THE SON OF MAN DCOMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory.'"

Now back to Mark 13, verse 26, That's what he says, Jesus there, in that account, says, "'Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory.'" Matthew 24:30 says the same thing, "'They will see THE SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS.'" He adds "'OF THE SKY with power and great glory.'" We're unsure what this means, can't be dogmatic, but it's probably a reference to a supernatural phenomenon that will occur when the glorious light of his presence will be seen around the globe all at one time. Daniel helps us see a bit of this in Daniel seven, and verse 13. And there God's revealing himself to Daniel as one who will be coming with "...the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him." And again, as I said earlier, Revelation one seven, "BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS and every eye will see Him..." I mean, this is an amazing scene. I try to visualize it as best I can, in my mind; suddenly then effable brilliance of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ will illuminate the whole world. And what's even more amazing is that when he appears, do you realize, we will be revealed with him in glory. The raptured church, the Bride of Christ, has been attending, quote, "the marriage supper of the Lamb" in Revelation 19 And verse seven, along with the Old Testament saints, quote, "Those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb," in verse nine. Apparently, both Old Testament believers who placed their faith in God's grace, before the Incarnation, along with his bride, who will need no invitation to the wedding feast, will accompany the Savior and King when he goes into battle, when he returns in power and great glory. In Revelation 19, verse 14, we read, "And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses." So we see here that somehow we will be an unarmed group of saints following him in his glory. He is armed, shall we say, with a broad sort of holiness in truth that's coming from his mouth, Revelation 19:15, "...that He may smite the nations and rule them with a rod of iron..." I remember the first time I was in Israel, a number of years ago, and I ascended up to Mount Carmel. That's where Elijah battled the prophets of Baal, you recall in First Kings 18. And I gazed across the vast valley of Megiddo, where the battle of Armageddon will be fought, or at least that's the main staging area; much of it will be fought all the way into Jerusalem. And I thought about these amazing truths that one day as one of his own, I will be with him, and I will be revealed with him in glory as he descends upon a wicked world. And I was trying to imagine what will that be like, as I look above this vast valley, following the invincible warrior king as he enters the fray, a heavenly army of overcomers. I remember it just brought tears to my eyes. And there was a hymn that came to my mind, "Lead on Oh King eternal, we follow not with fears, for gladness breaks like morning, where er they face appears. Thy cross is lifted or us we journey in its light, the Crown awaits the conquest, Lead on, oh God of might."

So indeed, he will come, as Jesus said in Matthew 24:30, "...with power and great glory." Bear in mind, dear friends, the first time he came, he came in humility. But not so the second time, he will come in glory. The first time he came in obscurity, the second time, nobody will miss him. The first time he came, there was no room for him in the inn. The second time he comes, the whole universe will not be able to contain his glory. The first time he came to seek and to save sinners. The second time he comes, he will come to conquer and judge sinners. The first time he came, the world mocked him and crucified him. But when he returns again, they will bow before him and indescribable horror as they await their sentence. Indeed, he will come in power to defeat all who oppose him. All of the scoffers will be silenced forever. And he will come in his unveiled glory, something that no human is ever seen completely. He will be accompanied by quote "many 1000s of His holy ones," according to Jude 14; which will include both angels and the raptured saints.

Colossians three, verse four, Paul says, "When Christ, who is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." Let that sink in for a minute. First Thessalonians three verse 13. He says that "He may establish your hearts with without blame and holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints." You see at the translation of the saints, when he takes the world away in the rapture, he will come for his saints, but when he returns the second time, he will come with his saints. Revelation 19, verse 14, "...and the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, we're following Him on white horses." Symbolic of just the glory of what is going to transpire. It will be a time of judgment, but also a time of reconciliation for his elect remnant; a time of renovation, when he will return the world back to Edenic splendor. The long-awaited promises to Israel will finally be fulfilled. You must understand that at this point, the fullness of the Gentiles as described in Romans 11, verse 25, will finally come to fruition. And as it says in verse 26, "...and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, 'THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.'" And then Jesus adds this in Mark 13:27, "'And then He will send forth the angels and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.'" And Matthew's account of our Lord's words, in Matthew 24, verse 31, says, "'And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.'"

Now, this is an astounding thought. A mighty host of holy angels will gather the remnant of his elect to receive the rewards and eternal blessings as they prepare to enter into the millennial kingdom; not only those who trusted Christ during the seven-year tribulation, but also the Old Testament saints will receive their resurrection bodies, according to First Corinthians 15, verse 23. And unbelievers also will be brought before their judge. We read about this in our Lord's words in Matthew 13, beginning in verse 39, he says, "...and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. Therefore, just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so it shall be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

Let me pause here to remind you, that what he's talking here talking about here, is the solitary confinement of an eternal hell. This is not going to be party time, as some mistakenly believe. In fact, in Revelation 20 and verse 10, we read that, "The devil who deceived them who was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." Many people reject the doctrine of eternal hell. And the reason they do so is because they have a low view of God and a high view of man. If you do not understand the transcendent otherness--the holiness of God--then you will think that he is not all that different than we are, and that we're not all that bad. But dear friends the chasm between his holiness and our sinfulness is beyond anything that you could even begin to imagine. The end of that section in Matthew 13, verse 43, Jesus said, "'Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears let him hear.'" I pray, my friends, that you have ears to hear. Another description of this reaping is found in the Apostle Paul's words in Second Thessalonians, one beginning of verse six. He says, "For after all, it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed--for our testimony to you was believed." Once again, lest anyone laughs at what God has promised in his word, if you do not belong to Him, this will be your fate. And that's why Jesus says, "'He who has ears let him hear.'"

So we've seen the sign of his coming, secondly, the season of his coming; verse 28, "'Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branches has already become tender, it puts forth its leaves, and you know that summer is near.'" So here. Jesus is giving a very uncomplicated parable to help the disciples understand what the signs will--that he's just been describing--what will happen and what you need to be looking for. And he's speaking primarily now to the Jewish remnant that will be alive during that time. He speaks about when the "parousia" is about to occur--the manifestation, the presence of Christ at his return. And that, by the way, is very important here; hat's the dominant theme of his entire discourse here--the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. And notice he says here in verse 28, "'Now learn.'" See this is more than just an intellectual understanding about something, but it speaks of a wholehearted reception of truth that motivates your entire life. In fact, the apostle Paul, used this term in Philippians 4:11. It says that Paul, quote, "...learned to be content in whatever circumstances..." God placed him in. In other words, Paul grasped the truth of divine sovereignty to such a degree, that his understanding shaped his life. So he could relax in the midst of his sorrow; he could be content and not complain. So likewise, Jesus is saying, "'Now learn the parable from the fig tree.'" In other words, let the simple analogy regulate your life. And he says in verse 28, "'...when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.'" We understand this, I mean, whether it's a fig tree or any other kind of tree, everyone knows that in the springtime, the sap begins to rise, and branches become pliable and tender, and you begin to see leaves budding and so forth. It's a sure sign that summer is right around the corner.

Verse 29, "'Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.'" In other words, when you see these signs that he's been describing; these birth pangs, these pre-kingdom judgments; even as you know summer is near when the fig tree begins to bud in the springtime; when you see all of these signs, "...recognize that He is near, right at the door.'"

I might add that the pronoun "He" can also be rendered "it." "It is near." "It" referring to the glorious appearing of the king and the inauguration of the kingdom and so forth. In fact, Jesus said in Luke 21:31, "that the kingdom is near." So Jesus helps us understand the general timeframe, or the season of these events. And then he adds in verse 30, "'Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.'" It's interesting, the signs will not be stretched across 1000s or hundreds of years, but they're going to occur within the lifespan of the generation alive at that time. And I'll speak more to that in a moment. Other prophecies give amazing mathematical detail--and we've gone over many of these in the past--concerning the time of Daniel 70th week, Daniel nine, the seven years, the last half of the Tribulation Jesus described as "the great tribulation" in Matthew 24:21, lasting three and a half years as described in Daniel 7:25, Revelation 11 two through three, Revelation 12 and verse six, and so forth. And I might add that, in my humble opinion, this is further evidence that these prophecies are not to be spiritualized. They're not to be treated as some kind of a mysterious allegory and force into the events that occurred at ad 70. So the span, or the duration of these signs, these birth pangs, and all the events that Jesus has described, will occur before those witnessing them, it says, pass away. In other words, those who experienced the birth pangs will also experience the birth, if I can put it that way.

Now, it's important throughout his discourse, Jesus has been discussing those who will be living in the future. In verse four, "'See to it that no one misleads you.'" Verse six, you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. Verse nine, they will deliver you to tribulation, you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. Verse 15, "...when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION..." Verse 23, "'Behold, I have told you in advance.'" So Jesus has been consistently speaking, prophesying, to a future generation, even as Daniel did, and the other prophets. Now some will argue that this term, "this generation," refers to the Jewish race that will not pass away until their Messiah ushers in the kingdom. That makes no sense to me. That seems contrived and confusing, even pointless. Of course, they will be alive. Moreover, if that was what Jesus meant, he would have simply stated "Israel" or "My people" will not pass away. Others will argue that since Jesus admitted in Matthew 24 verse 36, that he did not know, quote, "the day or the hour" that only the Father knows, that he just guessed and was referring to the disciple's generation, and it was kind of a bad guess. Well, so much for divine authority in Jesus teaching, right?

But in reality, during the time of his incarnation, you will recall that Jesus deliberately and temporarily set aside certain aspects of his divinity. In his incarnation, he admittedly did not know the specific moment of his future arrival, even though he did know the signs that we're going to lead up to it. Certainly he knows it now. And then others argue that "this generation" refers to those who were alive in Jesus' day, very popular view. Thus, they experienced all the events that Jesus described in Jerusalem in AD 70; that all of this was just talking about what happened at the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans. And I fear this position is fueled more by a commitment to preserve the philosophical system of Covenant Theology than the exegetical and contextual considerations of the text. If you begin with what I believe is an errant presupposition that insists that somehow the church has permanently replaced Israel, then you're going to interpret, you're going to have to interpret, the prophetic literature into such a way as to avoid any possibility of Israel as a nation ever becoming the undeserved recipients of divine blessing as God has promised them in the Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenants. Again, nothing that occurred in AD 70, in Jerusalem, compares to the universal scope, and the cataclysmic severity of the staggering events that Jesus, and the other prophets describe. Furthermore, given the exceedingly more horrific slaughter of the Jews, under the Nazis in the Holocaust, how would it make sense to say that all of these events occurred in ad 70? Because Jesus said in Matthew 24:21, "'...there will be a great tribulation, such as not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved...'" Well, if that's referring to ad 70, how do you account for The Holocaust that was far greater than ad 70?

Also, I would humbly add, that such a view discounts the undeniable parallels that we see in the content and sequence of the events found in the Book of Revelation, which was written in 96 ad--long after the fall of Jerusalem. John MacArthur adds, perhaps the greatest single refutation of that view when he said, quote, "Most important of all, Jesus certainly did not appear then (referring to ad 70.) It is a strange logic," he says, "to argue that Jesus could accurately foretell the destruction of Jerusalem, some 40 years hence, but be mistaken about his returning at that time, or if at some suggest, the teaching here was merely symbolic and allegorical with the limited destruction of Jerusalem representing the vastly greater destruction of the end time. What event in AD 70 could possibly have symbolized Jesus return, which is the main subject of the discourse?" End quote. So I believe that the generation, of which Jesus refers, is that generation of people that will be alive during the tribulation.

We've seen the sign of his coming, the season of his coming, finally, the surety of his coming. This is so precious. Notice verse 31, "'Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.'" Indeed, we know from Scripture that Jesus has promised, this universe, this old universe, will soon pass away; it's filled with sin, it must be purged. And later it will be replaced with quote, "...a new heaven and a new earth.." Revelation 21 and verse one. And Peter tells us in Second Peter 3:10, "...the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." And in Revelation 20 and verse 11, "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them." That will be the judgment of the wicked as they stand in total space, no place to hide, no place to run, as they stand before the judge.

Folks, you want to remember, according to the Second Corinthians four and verse 18, "...we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." So again, Jesus says, "'Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.'" In other words, everything that I have promised is going to happen, just as I have said. Indeed, "His word endures forever", Psalm 19 and verse 19. And in Matthew five and verse 18, Jesus says, "'For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.'" Luke 16, verse 17, "'But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.'" Oh, dear Christian, what comfort we have in the unassailable and unchanging sovereignty of God. He has promised to do two primary things: to redeem his people and to restore his kingdom. And that is absolutely going to happen. What confidence we can have in his word.

May I remind you, as we bring this to a close this morning, folks, we serve a sovereign God, not a contingent God. He is the one, according to Isaiah 46 and verse 10, who has declared "...the end from the beginning..." And because of this, I want to leave you with three truths. Number one, God never changes his mind and pursues a Plan B, because Plan A was always perfect. First Samuel 15:29, we read, "Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man, that He should change His mind."

Secondly, God does not make promises with his fingers crossed behind his back. His purposes is never change. Psalm 33 beginning of verse 11, "The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance." And in that great passage in Hebrews six beginning in verse 17, we read "...God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us."

And finally, God does not clearly say one thing, but in fact, mean something totally different. He did not clearly articulate what he was going to do in the Abrahamic, the Davidic, and the New Covenants, but really, in the back of his mind knew that none of those things, or most of those things, weren't really going to actually come true, especially the material blessings for Israel. But rather, one day people would wise up and see that all of that is merely spiritual talk merely an allegory. Isaiah 31, beginning of verse one, it says, in verse two, the Holy One of Israel, it says, "...does not call back His words." In Malachi three and verse six, "'For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore, you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.'" And in Romans 11, verse 29, "...the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."

Dear Christian, may you be encouraged as we think about these things. God is absolutely in control, he is going to accomplish his purposes; neither demon, nor man can thwart his purposes. And we can relax in that. And we can fearlessly proclaim the gospel, despite those that would mock us. May I also say that as undeserving sons and daughters of the kingdom, we should be captivated by a burden for the lost. We should have a heart to give the gospel to people in need. We need to love these people that so viciously hate us. We need to pray for them. We need to boldly stand in their face, and share the love of Christ forthrightly, but without compromise. We need to show mercy to them. We shouldn't disregard them. And in so doing, we prove as Paul said in Philippians, two verse 15, we prove ourselves to be quote, "...blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom we will appear as lights in the world." Will you join me as we close in prayer?

Father, as always, we rejoice in the hope that we have in Christ. We thank you that you have given us your word that gives us at least some general idea of how the story ends. And we rejoice knowing that it ends with you on the throne, but in a way that is visible to all those who mock that reality. And this morning, once again, I thank you that we don't mock that reality. Not because we're so smart, or we're so good, but solely because you have done a work of grace in our hearts. You've caused us to see the horror of our sin and the glory of the cross. You have forgiven us our sins because you gave us eyes to see. You cause us to be born again. You imputed the righteousness of Christ to our account. You made us new creatures in Christ. And now we have the hope of heaven. And we can understand your word because of the indwelling illuminating work of your Spirit, that we give you praise for all of these things. Cause us to be bold for the sake of Christ in the presentation of the gospel. And finally, Lord, if there be one here today that does not know you in a very real, personal way, I pray that you will bring such overwhelming conviction to their soul that they will have no rest until they come and throw themselves at the foot of the cross and receive the mercy that you will give all those who bow and repentant they. We thank you. We give you praise in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.