The sermon, 'Warnings and Comforts' by Jason Dohm, explores Jesus' discourse in Matthew 24, focusing on the warnings and comforts provided to His disciples. It delves into the warnings about deceivers, tumultuous events, and severe persecutions that Jesus gives, and relates them to events preceding the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. The speaker emphasizes the importance of discerning false prophets and the purification of the Church through persecution, while highlighting the advancement of the Gospel. The sermon also interprets that the prophecy in Matthew 24:14 was fulfilled before 70 AD, as the Gospel was preached throughout the Roman Empire. The speaker underscores the importance of endurance, supported by Jeremiah 32:40, which promises that God will preserve His people. Ultimately, the sermon encourages believers to trust in God's sovereignty and to actively participate in spreading the Gospel.

And Jesus answered and said to them take heed that no one deceives you for many will come in my name saying I am the Christ and will deceive many 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. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by the nations for my name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise and deceive many, and because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come Therefore when you see see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place.

Whoever reads, let him understand. Father God, Lord Almighty, we ask this morning that you would speak to our hearts, that you would open up this text, this difficult text, and help us to understand. We ask, Lord, that you would open Jason's mouth and use him, your servant, to teach us well. Open our ears that we would hear, that we would listen eagerly and attentively. Open our hearts, Lord, that we would hear your words and understand.

Jesus' name, amen. Matthew 24 verses 4 through 14, warnings and comforts. This is what Jesus is bringing to his disciples in the last discourse that we're given, the last sermon that Jesus preaches in Matthew. I'm going to start in a bit of a strange place this morning. I want you to turn your Bibles to Luke 13.

I want to use Luke 13, the beginning of this chapter, to set the stage for how we ought to view really the whole discourse. Luke chapter 13 verse 1, I'll be reading verses 1 through 5. There were present at that season some who told him, Jesus, about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. So Apparently there had been Galileans who were offering sacrifices in Pilate. The governor in Judea had threw, I'm sure his soldiers, murdered these Galileans as they were offering their sacrifices.

Verse 2, and Jesus answered and said to them, do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than any other Galileans? Because they suffered such things? I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Are those eighteen on whom the Tower of Siloam fell and killed them, Do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?

I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. The temporal judgments of God, the judgments that happen in this life, on this earth, whenever they occur, wherever they occur, are all typical. They're all a type, just a picture. They're just a picture that God judges sin, that God actually has anger against rebellion against him because he's given life.

And if you take that life and you use it to shake your fist in his face, that makes him angry. And one day there will be a reckoning for that. There will be a settling of accounts for the life that he's given and what you did with it, that you chose to shake your fist in his hand. And so God actually in an act of mercy gives temporal earthly pictures of this so that people don't go all the way through their lives without an understanding that there's going to be a reckoning of these things. Jesus in Luke 13 talks about these two events, the Galilean's blood being mingled with their sacrifices and the Tower of Siloam falling on these 18 people.

And he gives the same response. Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. In other words, he's not saying this is just a random act. This isn't just chance overtaking people. And he's not saying that they were innocent victims.

What he's saying is, you deserve this too if you're a sinner and you won't repent. Do you get that? This is what Jesus is saying. Unless you repent, you too will all likewise perish. Now does Jesus mean that you'll be killed by Romans while you're sacrificing?

Or does Jesus mean that a tower is going to fall on you? No, he's saying that these are just little pictures. These are just little pictures of what's in store for those who would live in their rebellion to God. They're a warning, a shout from heaven against people who won't repent to warn them that a day of accounting is coming. Now relate this to Matthew 24.

Jesus is speaking to a very specific people. He's not even talking to the multitudes anymore. He's talking to his twelve disciples. They're all sitting on the Mount of Olives together and the indications are there's no one else around. It's Jesus and twelve other men.

And he's talking about very specific times. He's talking about things that will happen in their lifetime. He's talking to specific people about a specific time period. And if we don't understand why God gives us these accounts, then this becomes a very intellectual exercise where we say, well isn't that interesting that this happened in the lead up to 70 AD and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. And we don't get what's intended by God, which is that it's a warning.

God has given us a picture in history of what happens to those who live in rebellion to Him and will not repent of their sins. Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. So God wants us to look at the destruction of the temple, the destruction of Jerusalem, the flood, the tower of Siloam, the Galileans whose blood were mingled with their sacrifices. He wants us to look at all these things and to know that they're a type of the great day of judgment where all the accounts will be settled. See, God can settle the accounts anytime He wants to.

For the people in Siloam, there were 18 people and God said, I'm settling accounts with you today and the tower came down. To the Galileans he said, I'm settling accounts with you today and Pilate mingled their blood with their sacrifices. On the day of the flood to a whole generation except for eight people God said, I'm settling the accounts today. He wants us to see these great judgments of the Bible and know that there's a day where the accounts are settled. Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

So Jesus is shepherding these twelve men. You see this? Times, unbelievable times are coming to these twelve men, and Jesus is shepherding them. He's making them ready for the times that they're going to live in. But he's also shepherding us by extension.

He put it in three gospel accounts. He put this generously, liberally, extensively in three gospel accounts so that we would learn these things and be wise. Last week we started into chapter 24 by looking back at the end of chapter 23, which is the context for this. And what was that? Jesus points back at their forefathers and he said, your fathers were stubborn and unbelieving and so they acted stubborn and unbelieving when I sent them prophets.

I sent them prophet after prophet after prophet and they acted stubborn and unbelieving. They would not hear and they killed those prophets. And you are just like your fathers. You have the same stubborn and unbelieving heart. And now I'm here as the Messiah, as the one that God would send and you're acting just as stubborn and just as unbelieving and just like you killed them you'll kill me and it's going to bring the guilt of all the prophets.

The guilt from the death of Abel to the death of Zechariah from A to Z, all the first prophet to the last will come upon this generation. That's what he says in verse 26. So everything that happens in 24 is in the context of the end of 23. And Jesus saying, all this guilt is going to be poured out on you. Because you had more blessing than any generation before you, because the perfect Son of God has been in your midst, working miracles, preaching perfect sermons, and you would not hear Him.

So Jesus says, see this temple, see all these beautiful, perfect buildings, not one stone will be left on top of another. And then his disciples, when they're on the Mount of olives and they're just by themselves, his disciples come to him to say, what? What? What can you mean by this? When's that going to happen?

When is the end of the age going to come? And we saw by looking at an overview of chapter four that in Jesus' answer, no matter what the disciples meant by their question, no matter what they meant by their question, in his answer, Jesus brings forward two great events. The first one is the destruction of the temple. The second one is the great day of judgment at the end of the age. And in verse 34, halfway through the chapter, in verse 34, I'm arguing, and I'm going to continue this line of argumentation today, that verse 34 is the great hinge point of the chapter.

If you don't make a separation between the two events in verse 34, then you're not going to understand what Jesus was really teaching. Listen to verse 34. Assuredly I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. So I'm saying that everything from 1 through 34, actually 35, applies to the destruction of the temple, the destruction of Jerusalem 70 AD, the year 70 AD. And that everything after that is going to apply to the great day of judgment at the end of the age.

Now look at verse 23. We're going to look back at 23 one more time. Verse 23, verse 36. Jesus says almost exactly the same words as verse 34, which can give us confidence that this is exactly what he's talking about. Verse 36 of chapter 23, assuredly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Almost exactly the same words. And clearly, he's talking to the scribes and the Pharisees, the hypocrites, who he's been accusing of having the same heart, unbelieving stubborn heart as their fathers. So if you want to know what Jesus means by this generation. It's the natural meaning of the word. There's no mystery here.

And you can tell that for sure in chapter 23 verse 36. He uses, in the same flow of thought, he uses this same sequence of words and the meaning in chapter 23 is so unambiguous. So everything up to verse 34 in chapter 24 is related to 70 AD and the destruction of the temple. Now, what do you do if you disagree with this? Don't be overly disturbed if you disagree that 34 is the hinge point of it.

There's still so much beyond controversy that can be applied that this will be, even if you disagree with that premise that I'm putting a lot of weight on, you'll be blessed by just seeing the things that are beyond dispute in this passage. There's so much that clearly applies, even if you don't agree with the branch of interpretation that I'm headed down. Now, chapter 24, verses 4 through 14, Jesus begins to answer the questions that the disciples had asked. When is this going to happen? When is this temple going to be torn down to the last block?

And what will be the signs? And what will be the signs of the end of the age? Jesus in our text today gives three warnings. So I'm going to talk warning by warning by warning. And He gives three comforts or three encouragements.

So it's not all bad news that is being delivered by Jesus in chapter 24 verses 4 through 14. He does give three warnings and man had we better pay attention to them. But he also gives three comforts and encouragements right alongside those warnings. The last thing I'd like to say is, as we go through this text, this is going to apply for weeks to come, as we go through this text, you're going to think, we're reading the book of Acts! We're reading the book of Acts.

These things that Jesus has put before us are so clearly one-to-one prophetic, the book of Acts are one-to-one prophetic fulfillments of so much of what we're seeing here in chapter 23. And you'll be able to do this without any help from me or anyone else. You'll be able to say, well that's like in Acts when this happened. Well that's like in the book of Acts when he did this. That's like the book of Acts when he was martyred.

And so we're going to continuously see this. Jesus says this and then 60 days later at Pentecost and then the years following then the things that Jesus said just come true and come true and come true. First warning, are you ready? Three warnings, first warning is this. It's a warning about deceivers.

Take heed that no one deceives you. Wake up and pay attention and don't slumber. Take heed that no one deceives you. And Jesus in our text today actually talks about two kinds of deceivers. He talks about false Christs in verse 5, and he talks about false prophets in verse 11.

What assumption is built into this? Take heed that no one deceives you. What's the underlying assumption? Somebody's trying to deceive you. In fact, if we look at our text today carefully, we find that Many are actively working to deceive.

Verse 5. Many will come in my name saying I am the Christ. Verse 11. Many false prophets will rise up. And what will the result of that be?

Go back to verse five. And will deceive many. And verse 11, to the false prophets, and deceive many. So we see this constant repetition through this week's text that many false Christs and many false prophets will rise up and the result will be that many will be deceived by those false Christs and Many will be deceived by those false prophets. Jesus started warning about this in his first sermon, the Sermon on the Mount.

You remember in Matthew 7, Jesus talks about false prophets and he says they're like what? They're like wolves in sheep's clothing. They look like a sheep, they smell like a sheep, they bawl like a sheep, but inwardly they're ravenous wolves and these, what appear to be sheep, start devouring. So Jesus, all the way in his first sermon, all the way back in Matthew 7, is warning about these false Christs, these false prophets. You thought they were insiders, but they're outsiders.

Cleverly disguised outsiders. Listen to what Matthew Henry says, those that are most inquisitive concerning the secret things which belong not to them are most imposed upon by seducers. Seducers are more dangerous enemies to the church than persecutors. Wow. So Matthew Henry says two things here that are really important.

The first is, if you want to set yourself up to be deceived, then have an unhealthy preoccupation towards dark, hidden things. You hear that's what Matthew Henry is saying? He's saying, you set yourself up for the seducers when you're most inquisitive about the things that God hasn't told us. When you want to know nuances about end times that God hasn't shown us, you've set yourself up for a seducer who comes along and says, I've got the answer to that. I can tell you all about that.

It's not in the plain word of God, but I know about it and I can tell you've set yourself up for a seducer and a deceiver. And the other thing that he says, which is absolutely true, is that seducers are more a threat to the Church of Jesus Christ than persecutors ever were. Persecutors make the Church pure. They make the Church earnest. They make the Church prayerful.

Seducers make the Church lazy, untaught, stray. Church. Lazy, untaught, stray, seducer. Jesus talks about both in this text. Deceivers or seducers.

And then he's going to talk about persecutors. Which is worse for the church? It's the seducers. It's the one who you thought were insiders, but they come and they wreak havoc. They use their insider position to wreak havoc on the church.

Meanwhile, persecutors make us wake up. Persecutors make us rise up and serve God with a new fervor, a new faithfulness. Now this, what Jesus is describing, false Christs and false prophets, is exactly what happens between the period of the crucifixion in 7080. This 40 year period was rife with false Christs and false prophets. And it's in the Bible, but it's also everywhere in the histories from that time period from people who have no vested interest in proving Jesus is what Jesus said to be true.

In other words, when the pagan historians record this and the early church fathers actually speak a lot about it as well. Josephus, who witnessed the destruction of the temple and the destruction of Jerusalem. The Jewish historian Josephus lists three false Christs by name. This guy says he's the Messiah and then this guy said he was the Messiah and then this guy said he was the Messiah. The early church fathers actually had a lot to say about this as well.

Acts 8, Simon the Sorcerer. You remember Simon the Sorcerer? Simon the Magnificent, Simon Magnus in Acts 8. He had dazzled everyone in Samaria because he could do miracles. He could do counterfeit miracles.

And this is recorded in Acts 8. Justin Martyr, a church father from the very early 100s, so 70 AD is the destruction of the temple. We're talking 30 years after that is the life of Justin Martyr, who's an early church father, a faithful man. He recorded that Simon the Magnificent, Simon Magnus, was one of these false Christs. Or Irenaeus, another early church father from the 200s, wrote that Simon claimed to be the son of God and the creator of angels.

So Acts 8, Simon the sorcerer, Simon the magnificent, or Simon Magnus, Irenaeus is writing about him in the 200s. The history is still fresh and he's saying he said he was the son of God. He said he created angels or Jerome in the mid 300s. Jerome who translated the Bible into Latin. It's called the Vulgate.

He's an early church father. He quoted Simon Magnus as saying this, I am the Word of God. I am the Comforter. I am almighty. I am all there is of God." So this man who's recorded in Acts 8 was declaring all the blasphemies of exactly what we see Jesus talking about.

It would be a false Christ who comes and says, I am the Christ. The Apostle John talks about false prophets. Listen to 1 John 4 verse 1. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God, because Many false prophets have gone out into the world. Can you tell John, the apostle, was discipled by Jesus?

He's saying just the same thing. So Jesus is saying in Matthew 24, he's saying, test the spirits to see whether they are of God. Don't let anyone deceive you. It's just like what Jesus is teaching in our text today. And he's saying that many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Jesus said it would happen in their lifetime and John, as he's writing, says, It happened. They're out there. Satan transforms himself into an angel of light and his ministers do the same thing. They blend in. They put on the cloak of a sheep and They try to make themselves insiders and they're deceivers.

That's what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11. Satan transforms himself into an angel of light and his ministers do exactly the same thing. So Paul is giving the same warning in 2 Corinthians 11. Brothers and sisters, take heed that no one deceives you. Many, many, many, many, look at the repetition of the word in Matthew 24.

Jesus is warning those who would be his disciples, those who would be taught by him, that many will try to deceive. And there will be more as we proceed through chapter 24. There's going to be a lot more about false Christs, even doing miracles to deceive the elect if that were possible, is what Jesus will say later in the chapter. So there's more on this in a couple of weeks. So that is warning number one.

The warning about deceivers, false Christs and false prophets. Warning number two is a warning about tumultuous events. There's going to be all manner of tumult in this generation that will live after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and after the outpouring of the Spirit. Jesus speaks of wars and rumors of wars, of nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Now this is said in a time of peace.

Jesus is on Mount Olivet he's speaking to his disciples. Jesus was born in a time of unprecedented peace in the Roman Empire. And he lived during a time of peace in the Roman Empire, but that ended very soon after Jesus uttered these words. And there was all manner of wars and tumults in the Roman Empire. During this stretch between the resurrection and 70 AD, there was a period very near the end of that time where there were four Caesars who died within 18 months.

Three murdered, one Nero committed suicide within eighteen months. And these are happening as parts of wars within the kingdom. That's why they're being murdered. These are coups with the exception of Nero who committed suicide. So Jesus has lived all during a time of peace in the Roman Empire but Jesus says There's going to be wars, rumors of wars.

There's going to be nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And very soon after he utters these words, this is historically what happens. Famines. Listen to Acts 11 verse 28. Then one of them named Agabus stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.

Jesus says there's going to be famines and Acts records it. It happened. There was actually a prophet who said this is getting ready to happen. There's going to be a worldwide famine. And it happened during the days of Claudius Caesar.

Jesus says there will be pestilences and earthquakes. Tacitus, the Roman historian, and Josephus, the Jewish historian, both living during this time between the resurrection and 70 AD, both confirm this. There were pestilences. There were earthquakes in increasing frequency leading up to the time of 70 AD. Now Again, these are both pagan historians in the sense that these were not followers of Christ.

Josephus was a good Jew, but he was no Christian. And Tacitus was neither Jew nor Christian. So they have no vested interest in proving out Jesus' words to be true but as they record history, they record that what Jesus says in Matthew 24 came to pass before 70 AD. So the disciples lived to see all these tumultuous events, the wars and the rumors of wars, the famines, the pestilences, the earthquakes. And Jesus is discipling these men and making them ready for this time.

How's he doing that? How's Jesus making his disciples ready for these tumultuous times? Look in verse 6. We have our first comfort or our first encouragement here. See that you're not troubled.

See that you're not troubled by all these troubling events. See that you're not troubled by all these troubling events. Why? For all these things must come to pass. God has ordained them, that's why.

That's why Christians shouldn't be troubled by troubling events, because God has ordained them. Because there's an almighty God bringing history to exactly the end point that He always had in mind, bringing it there. No one can stop history from going to the place that God is directing it to. No one, no king, no nation, no individual. God is taking history there and no one can stop the flow of history because God Almighty is taking it to that point.

And so even in the middle of troubling events, Jesus says, see to it that you're not troubled. Everyone else thinks the world is falling apart. Christians think that God is on the move, that God is doing something for His glory. When there's an earthquake, The secularists theorize about how man caused it or how man might be able to control it. When there's a hurricane, The secularists blame it on something.

They should blame it on God. God is almighty. God is to be blamed for every earthquake, or thanked, or praised. Better still, God is to be praised for every earthquake. He's to be praised for every tornado and hurricane.

He's to be praised when every building falls down. Jesus didn't come to bring peace but a sword. This comes right out of Matthew 10, where Jesus is sending out his disciples. And he says, he warns them about so many of the things. We're going to spend a little more time in Matthew 10 this morning.

I'll just say this by way of introduction. Matthew 10 reads a lot like Matthew 24. He sends his disciples out. He tells them they're going to be persecuted. And he says, I didn't come to bring peace, but a sword.

Why is that? Because Jesus is inaugurating his kingdom. And he's going to bring it into conflict with the kingdom of the devil. Jesus' kingdom wages war against the works of the devil and so there must be conflict. Jesus is having all of his enemies made his footstool by his Father.

And so you can believe as the enemies of Jesus Christ are being made his footstool that there's going to be tumult. All this is part of the sovereign plan of God. Jesus is teaching us in this text, see to it that we're not troubled. Are you troubled by elections? Are you troubled by hurricanes?

Are you troubled by earthquakes? Jesus says, see to it that you're not troubled. The people of God understand that God is doing all these things for his own glory. That God is behind every one of these events and he's making his name great. He's advancing the gospel in a thousand different ways through all these things that he would bring upon us.

Don't be troubled by these things. Praise God even for these things that seem so terrible. Know that God is bringing about his own glory and he's advancing his own kingdom even through these things. Verse 6b, second half of verse 6, But the end is not yet. So Jesus wants them to know that all these things are going to happen.

There's going to be deceivers. There are going to be earthquakes. There's going to be pestilences. There's going to be famines. There's going to be wars and rumors of wars, but the end's not yet.

We're given a very clear time marker so that the disciples would know that the destruction of the temple and the destruction of Jerusalem was not to be immediate. Verse 8, all these things are the beginning of sorrows. Just the beginning of sorrows. The King James and New King James have it as sorrows. The NASB, the ESV and the NIV render it birth pangs.

Not sorrows, but birth pangs. Braxton Hicks, the first contractions, maybe even months off, but the beginning of birth pangs. It's a good translation of that word. The second half of chapter 24, The thrust of it is going to be watch and be ready Don't get lulled to sleep by the delay. That's what we're gonna see after verse 34 We're gonna when I believe the shift happens to the final judgment the end of the age The message is going to be don't be lulled to sleep by this delay you better be watching and you better be ready because you don't know when it's going to happen.

The first half, it's exactly the opposite. It's, don't think it's going to be too soon. Don't hear of a war and say, it's going to happen. Hear of a famine and say, it's going to happen. Not yet.

These things are the beginning of sorrows. So the first warning is about deceivers. The second warning is about tumultuous events. The third warning is about severe persecutions. Jesus says there's going to be tribulation.

There's going to be martyrdom. Verse 9, They will kill you. There's going to be hatred by all nations. Again, isn't this the book of Acts? You want tribulation for the church?

Look at the book of Acts. You want the account of the righteous being martyred for the name of Jesus Christ? It's the book of Acts. You want to know hatred by all nations? Go see Paul stoned among the Gentiles.

And then getting up and walking back into the city. Three things will result from these persecutions. This is in our text. Thing number one, Purification of the true church. It doesn't say it in those words there, so you might be surprised that that's thing number one, but it is in this text.

The church will be purified by these persecutions. Well, how can I say that? Well, the text talks about the apostasy of false believers. The falling away of people who said, I follow Christ, but their heart is far from them. Persecutions drive them out of the church.

Persecutions purge the church of hypocrites because it was convenient when there was no persecution. It was good. It was tidy. It was comfortable, but when the persecution comes, hypocrites say, I didn't sign up for this and they leave and the church is more pure. Look at verse 10.

Then many will be offended. The Greek word is scandalizo. Scandalized by the gospel. Many will be offended. They'll be scandalizzoed.

They'll be scandalized by the gospel. The gospel will become a scandal and they'll head for the door. In John 6, this is exactly what we see. Jesus says, I'm the bread of life. Unless you eat my body and drink my blood, you can have no part of me.

And most of the people who were around Jesus at that time say, this is a hard saying, who can accept it? And they leave. So Jesus turns to his disciples and say, do you want to leave too? What does Peter say? Where would we go?

You have the words of life. This is what persecution does. This is what the scandal of the gospel does. When the gospel becomes scandalous. When the Word of God says, unless you eat my body and drink my blood, you can have no part in me.

And the gospel becomes not comfortable, but a scandal. The unregenerate said, I didn't sign up for this, I'm out of here. And the regenerate say, there's nowhere else to go, you have the words of life. How could we leave you? No matter what happens, how could we leave you?

You have the words of life. When the gospel becomes a scandal, when many are offended, it works for the purification of the church. Verse 10 mentions betrayal. They will betray one another. So they're going to be traitors.

This absolutely happened in the run up to 70 AD. Nero is the emperor. Nero is viciously persecuting Christians. And he sets his hand on you and his people, his soldiers say, you're as good as dead, but you can save your skin if you'll renounce your faith and you'll tell us who the other Christians are. That's how it worked.

The only way to save your life was to renounce the name of Jesus Christ and to say who else was in the church. And many, many saved their own skin this way. And many, many people were betrayed by false professors in the church. Tacitus, the Roman historian, records this. That's how it worked under Nero.

So the first result of the persecutions is the purification of the true church. The second result is the advance of the gospel. Persecutions serve a master. And here's the master, the advancement of the gospel. Now, turn to Luke 21, because it's not in this account.

Luke 21 is our parallel account in Luke, so it's the same discourse, but it's a different gospel recording what Jesus said to his 12 disciples on Mount Olivet. Luke 21. And I'm going to begin reading in verse 10. And read through 19. Luke 21, 10 through 19.

Then Jesus said to them, nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. So you see we're in exactly the same spot we were in in Matthew 24. And there will be great earthquakes in various places and famines and pestilences. And there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven." Now we didn't get that in Matthew. I just want to put a placeholder there.

Matthew, in a couple of weeks, will be talking about signs in heaven. So we'll be back here in Luke so just put a place marker there. Verse 12, but before all these things that will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, You will be brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake." Sounds like the book of Acts, right? We're back in the book of Acts here. Verse 13.

"'But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.'" Here's why the persecutions. As an occasion for testimony. Verse 14, therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist." Here's the plan of God working itself out. Here's the advance of the gospel. The enemies of God are going to say, we've got them on the run.

God says, we're on track. Kings are hearing the gospel. Kings are actually going to hear the gospel in the book of Acts. Paul is going to be brought before King Agrippa. He's going to preach the gospel and command them to repent right there on the spot.

God promises to send the spirit to tell them what to say when they need to say it and he even says all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist what you're saying. Verse 16, you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all men for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls." Now verse 18 is difficult.

It says, not a hair of their head will be lost. Two verses earlier it was saying, some of you are going to be killed. How do you reconcile those things? In verse 20 and forward, he starts talking about fleeing when you see the armies surrounding Jerusalem. So I think this is a promise that as they obey and flee when they see their armies approach, that the Christians will not be killed in the destruction of Jerusalem, but the Jews will be.

And then verse 19, by patience possess your souls. Now we're back to see that none of these things trouble you. See that none of these things trouble you. By patience, possess your souls. When all this turmoil and tribulation and persecution is brought on you, be patient.

Possess your souls like a Christian ought to, not being troubled by these things, but looking to God Almighty to deliver you. Okay, back to Matthew. So the first result of persecution was the purification of the true church. The second result was the advancement of the gospel. It actually gives an opportunity for testimony.

The third result, look at verse 12, lawlessness will abound, causing the love of many to grow cold. Lawlessness will abound. Well, of course, of course, when persecution forces out the fakers, the hypocrites, the false professors, of course lawlessness will abound. And of course the love of many will grow cold. Love is the fulfillment of the law.

All the law and the prophets hang on the two great commandments of love, to love God and to love neighbor. So when people abandon the gospel, Of course love is going to grow cold. Of course lawlessness is going to increase. We see this happen in some of the most frightful ways in the lead up to 70 AD and the destruction of the temple. Two weeks from today is really history day.

We're going to talk a lot about Josephus and his accounts of the destruction of Jerusalem. So I want to put another place marker here. When we think about love growing cold and lawlessness increasing, some of the most lawless acts, some of the greatest loss of love are described in what happened in 70 AD in the destruction of the temple, in the destruction of Jerusalem. It will make you weep to read the accounts. Verse 13.

In verse 13 we get our second comfort. What was the first one? The first one, see that you're not troubled. The righteous don't have to be troubled even in troubling times because God is almighty. The second comfort or encouragement is in verse 13, but he who endures to the end shall be saved." I offer this paraphrase to you.

Stay steadfast in the face of persecution and you will receive the crown of life. Stay steadfast when all these troubling things come upon you and you'll receive the crown of life. If you endure in the day of trouble, the promise is you will be saved. This is contrasted to the ones who have fallen away, who were offended, who were scandalized by the gospel. And so they turned on the true Christians.

This is setting, verse 13, is in contrast to the fakers, the hypocrites, those who apostatized and fell away from the living God. The contrast to that is those who endure to the end and they'll be saved. This can't mean temporal salvation. It can't mean earthly salvation. The saving of your skin.

It can't mean that. Because there's already been a promise here in the text, a couple of verses earlier, that some of them will be killed. In fact, tradition has it that 11 out of the 12 disciples were martyred. Well, Judas doesn't count as a martyr, but he died. But John, as tradition has it, John was the only disciple that died in old age and that the rest of them were martyred.

So this can't be the saving of your skin, the saving of your neck. This has to be the saving of your soul. Now, I'm going to read Adam Matthew 10. This is Jesus. You can turn there if you like.

Matthew 10 and 16. This is Jesus sending out his disciples two by two for the very first time. He says so many of the same things. Matthew 10 and 16. Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.

Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, but beware of men for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles." Doesn't that sound exactly like what we just read in Luke 21? "'But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak, for it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved." Almost exactly the same words in Matthew 10 as we have in our text this week. Jesus has been teaching His disciples and making them ready since the early chapters of Matthew. He's been repeating and repeating so they'll know that one, they're going to be persecuted so they can expect it. But that two, God will be faithful in it.

God will sustain them through every persecution and that he who endures to the end will be saved. He says it in Matthew 10, 22, and he says it in Matthew 24. Now, who will endure to the end? Who will remain steadfast? Who will overcome?

Listen to Jeremiah 32 verse 40. Memorize this verse. Jeremiah 32 verse 40. It's so helpful in understanding who will endure, remain steadfast, and overcome. Jeremiah 32 verse 40.

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them. So this is the portion of Jeremiah where Jeremiah talks about the new covenant. So Jeremiah 32 is about new covenant days and God's dealing with his new covenant people. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from doing them good. But I will put my fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from me." God says in the new covenant, he won't turn away from doing good to his people, but he will put his fear in their hearts so that they will not turn away from him.

Who will endure to the end? The one, the man, or the woman, or the child that God puts his hand upon and gives a new heart to, and He'll cause that new heart to fear Him so that they won't turn away from Him. It is God Himself who preserves His people to the end. This is why it's a comfort and not a point of despair. If I don't know that God Himself, because He's good, will cause me to fear Him in the day of trouble, I'd be so afraid of those coming times.

I know how frail I am. I'm only dust. I'm so given to weakness. If God won't preserve me, how will I ever be preserved? There's so much weakness in this heart of mine, but God promises in Jeremiah 32 verse 40 that He will cause His people to fear Him so that they will not turn away from Him.

This is how God preserves His people. It's not that the people with a lot of backbone make it to heaven. No! That's not what the Bible teaches. It's that God in His kindness puts His hand on His people and He gives them a heart to fear Him so that they don't turn away in the time of adversity.

This is how He preserves His people. Listen to the benediction at the very end of Jude. Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and forever. Amen.

Yes, let's praise him because he is able to keep us from stumbling and to bring us into his presence with exceeding joy. Now verse 14. Verse 14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. This good news, this gospel of King Jesus and his offer of pardon to those who have lived in rebellion to him but through his redemptive work on the cross, a man can be reconciled to him, a sinful rebel can be made not a servant but a son.

This good news of the kingdom and King Jesus and what he's done will be preached to the ends of the earth and then the end will come. This preaching of the gospel, this kairouso of the gospel, that's the Greek word, kairouso. And it means authoritative public proclamation. It's what a herald does. It's what a herald does when it goes before the king to say, by order of the king.

That's what preaching means. It's caruso. It's authoritative public proclamation. Not because you have any authority of your own, but because you've been sent as a herald of the king to declare the message that was given to you to declare. That authoritative public proclamation of the good news of the kingdom will go to the ends of the earth and then the end will come.

Seems like a problem in my interpretive scheme, doesn't it? In my view of how this chapter is ordered, that requires verse 14 to be fulfilled before 34. Because 34 says all these things will come to pass. This generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Wait a minute, verse 14 is here.

That means Dome thinks, that means that the pastor thinks this was fulfilled before 70 AD. That's correct. I think verse 14 was fulfilled before 70 AD. There are two phrases that we have to consider. The first is, in all the world.

Cosmos. World. Literally it means the inhabited earth. Everywhere there are people. But it's got a broad range of meaning which sometimes means the Roman Empire.

Listen to Luke chapter 2 verse 1. And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This is the birth of Jesus. This is what took Jesus. This is what took Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem.

All the world should be registered. So, same word, kosmos. All that world should be registered. The other phrase is to all the nations, ethnos. We get our word ethnic from it, ethnos, all the nations.

Ethnos appears in the King James Version 164 times. So, by the way, I'm not trying to do any sleight of hand with words here to get you to agree with my interpretation. Okay, so I'm using King James because BlueLetterBible.com counts it for you and I didn't want to count the 200. Okay, so in the King James Version, ethnos, nations, is rendered 164 times total. 93 of those times it's rendered Gentiles.

So 57% of the time, more than half the time, ethnos, nations, this word in this verse is rendered Gentiles. Now I want to take you to three specific texts that I think unequivocally say that verse 14, as it was intended, as it was taught by Jesus in Matthew 24, has been fulfilled. The first is the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Acts 2 verse 5, listen. Acts 2 verse 5, and there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation, from every ethnos, same word, under heaven.

So what happens on the day of Pentecost? These men from every ethnos, just like Matthew 24, 14, have been gathered together and Pentecost happens and they come together from every ethnos and they hear what? They hear the saints praising God in their own language. Now, have you ever thought of Pentecost in this way? This strategy goes on to today.

Many ministries are targeted towards college campuses. Why? Because the world comes there. The world comes to our college campuses. So there are many ministries there for that reason, because they can talk to men from Saudi Arabia and preach the gospel to them without going to Saudi Arabia.

This is exactly what happens on the day of Pentecost. The nations have come to Jerusalem. They're devout Jews from every ethnos that are there. And God supernaturally gives His people the ability to speak in the language of the Medes, in the language of the Persians. They don't know the language of the Medes or the language of the Persians and yet there they are praising God and 3, 000 people receive the gospel and are baptized.

They probably go home at some point. Go home with the gospel. Think of how much, this is 60 days from when Jesus is speaking here. Think of how much happened just on the day of Pentecost where devout men from every ethnos come and receive the gospel. Hear it in their own language and then go to their nations.

The second verse I'd like for you to consider is Romans chapter one verse eight. Romans chapter one verse eight. Paul writes, first, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world, throughout the whole cosmos, same word as Matthew 24, 14. Paul writing to the Romans says, your face has been hurt everywhere, using the same word that Jesus uses in 2414. Now I want you to turn to Colossians.

This one's long enough, you should see this one with your own two eyes. So Acts 2 was nations, the same Greek word that Jesus uses in 2414. And Romans 1 is world or cosmos, the same word that Jesus uses in 2414. Now, in Colossians, chapter one, I'm going to read three through six, and then I'm going to skip to verse 21 and read 21 through 23. Follow with me.

Colossians one, three through six. We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ praying always for you. Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints, because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel so this is what they heard in verse five the word of the truth of the gospel now verse six which has come to you as it has also in all the world, kosmos, same Greek word, and is bringing forth fruit as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth. Now skipping same chapter but verse 21. And you who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, Yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight.

If indeed you continue in the faith grounded and steadfast and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard." So we're back to the hope of the gospel which they had heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. The world, The world was turned upside down in the intervening years between the resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost for the purpose to make them mighty witnesses for the Gospel. The inhabited world, the Roman world, the Gentile world, the Gospel was preached. They turned the world upside down as their enemies were happy to confess. Now what impact should this interpretation have on our Great Commission efforts?

Well, have the nations, have the ethnos been discipled, baptized, taught to obey all things that Jesus commanded? Is that done? Is that fulfilled? I'm really comfortable based on what I see in the scriptures that verse 14 is fulfilled, was fulfilled before 70 AD. I'd be really uncomfortable with the thought that the nations have been discipled, baptized, taught to obey all that Jesus commanded.

I think we should Double the number of translators that we sent, regardless of whether you think 14 was fulfilled before 70, 80 or not. We should double the number of missionaries that are sent to the nations. The Great Commission has not been fulfilled. It's still before us. Faithful Christians have to engage in it with all their hearts.

But I think what Jesus was talking about here in verse 14 happened before he came in judgment to destroy the temple in Jerusalem. In conclusion, Jesus is so kind to make His disciples ready. They had no idea what was before them and He starts prepping them in chapter 10 when He sends them out two by two with a little mission. And He just keeps repeating these exhortations that will make them ready for the day of persecution, tribulation, earthquakes, pestilences, wars, rumors of wars. He's making them ready.

And as he repeats it in the gospel, He's making us ready. Who knows what is before us? Only God knows. But we don't have to have hearts that are troubled. That much we know.

We can know with confidence that whatever things come to us have come from the hand of God. See to it that you're not troubled, even by the most troubling circumstances. God is working in and through all those things to spread the gospel, to advance his kingdom, to make his name great. We can know with confidence that those who endure to the end will be saved And that even that is a gift from God. It's His own work to cause us to endure to the end, to give us the fear in our hearts of Him so that we wouldn't turn away from Him in the day of trial like Jeremiah 32 verse 40 says.

And that the Gospel is still advancing in the world. The people of God turned the world upside down in their generation. May it be said that the people of God in our generation rose up to turn the world on its head once again. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for your word.

I pray that you would help us to be careful with it and faithful to it. I thank you for the encouragements that we have in what Jesus taught in Matthew 24. I thank you that our hearts need not be troubled, that you have all things in control. I pray that we would know you as a sovereign God who does all things for his own glory and that these things work together for the good of those who love you, who are the called according to your purpose. God, I thank you that those who endure to the end will be saved and that you mightily work to preserve your people.

And I thank you that your gospel is always advancing because you're good, because you desire to set the captive free. Oh, give us such a heart to advance your gospel, oh Lord. Now that we've been saved from our sin, make us pray. Cause us to pray that our unregenerate neighbors would be saved from their sins, that our coworkers who are on a path to destruction would be saved from their sins. Make us a mighty people in the gospel.

We pray in Jesus name, amen.