Parable of the Fig Tree — Luke 21-22

0:00 Let's give thanks for the time that we have here. Heavenly Father, we pray for your guidance this morning as we consider your word, Lord. We always wanna be careful. We always wanna approach your word with respect and reverence. So we pray that we'll do that this morning.

0:17 Lord, that we would let your words speak through us and to us. And Lord, that we would respond. That we would respond with the things that we have clarity on, that we would respond obedience and hope and all the things that help us to look forward to your coming as we will be discussing this morning. We thank you for your holy word, and we just pray, Lord, that today we'd be blessed by this and that you would be glorified in all things. In your name, amen.

0:53 So I was given the... Well, first of all, let me say this. I I do... I would be remiss to not thank the folks that have encouraged me to do this again. And I'm going to try not to get emotional today, but this is an emotional thing.

1:10 It just is by the nature... I'm getting there now. I should probably just get it over with, right? And then the rest of the message, I'd be okay. But it is an emotional thing, and I can tell you that the last, you know, I think it's been five or six years since I've been up here, to do this.

1:27 And I could say quite frankly that a mind that's tortured would be the best description of why it didn't seem possible. And it still doesn't. It's only through faith that I'm coming up here today, through the encouragement of others and faith that the Lord is gonna, He'll do the work. And I'm just gonna try to get through it. So, but I do appreciate because, and this is, I say this for all you young guys, it's such an encouragement to me.

1:53 And I know that it was the prayer of my mom. And if you go back, and I, you know, have done this recently, gone back and looked at the things that she set up for her own funeral, and her prayer was for the young men to grow in their knowledge and love for the Lord Jesus and to lead this body and to do those things. And so I can say with great joy, as I look at the young men in this assembly and the growth that we see the things that you're doing that, it's very encouraging. But getting up here and doing this, the real value, and those of you who have done it, you know that it's the preparation that's the real value, right? What we do up here once we have to present it, this is the nerve racking part, but the the beauty of it is in the preparation and just delving into God's word.

2:41 And so I desperately missed that, and it was very nice to get back to that and to be able to focus my thoughts and not worry about dinner and all those types of things. And they're on their own for a little bit so I could get ready and forget those responsibilities and just focus on Lord's word. So I do thank you and want to show that appreciation. We're going to be in Loop 21 eventually. And I say eventually, it's even on my overhead.

3:07 Eventually. But I have to start off by being honest with some... About some things. And, I did not want to speak on Luke 21. In fact, when the time was, you know, when we were setting up who was going to do what when, I had thoroughly hoped that I would not end up with any part of Luke 21.

3:30 I wanted to get Luke 22, which talks about the institution of the Lord's Supper, which is a very meaningful thing to me. I love the Lord's Supper. It is, I think, the most important thing we do as a body, and I couldn't wait to talk about it. And such is a case that I didn't get that. And I think it's for a reason.

3:46 I think the Lord has been showing me something. It's actually been for a little while. Mason, who has inspired a lot of this, has been really delving into the end times and been studying Revelation and Daniel and all those things. And so as a family, we read through Daniel, what was that, the summer or was it the spring? I can't remember when we finished, but we delved into Daniel.

4:08 And these are all things I've read before I've read Revelation, but I haven't studied them and I haven't cross referenced and gone back and forth. And a lot of that, you could say, alright, well that's just intellectual laziness or whatever you want to call it, but it really wasn't that. It was, I was very satisfied with what I'd been taught. I was okay with it. I was okay that I was in a pre trib family.

4:30 I'm not going to make any assumptions about any of you because I know better than that, because we're all different people with different thoughts. But I grew up pre trib, and I grew up all these, and I'll explain that later for those of you that don't understand what pre trib means. But, there are a lot of things that I was brought up in that I just accepted, and I was okay with it. I was like, you know, the Lord came and He lived and He died he rose again, and I know that my salvation is through that, and I know it's very clear that he's coming again. And while no one knows the hour or the day, and we shouldn't pretend like we do, And if anybody claims that they know the hour or the day, you should run the other direction as fast as you can because they're a liar.

5:11 That's all it is to it. The Lord said no one knows. And that's it, no one knows. So those are things I just accepted. And it's more of being not lazy, but just a simpleton, like I was content with that.

5:24 And so it's been recently that I've realized that I was neglecting something that was actually really important and neglecting something that had a lot of value. And so I decided, when we went through Daniel, to start looking into that. And then sure enough, what are we doing... Dave, what are we doing in, BSF this year? Revelation.

5:47 You know, it just so happens that we're studying revelation in BSF. So, so it was it was fine. It was like the Lord telling me, okay, enough. You've you've been content long enough. We need to start looking into these things.

6:34 I don't think we all have to agree on every aspect of it. I don't know that it's possible for us to all agree or for anyone to agree on everything related to the end times. There's just too much to debate and discuss and read into. And part of me thinks that maybe that's on purpose, okay, but we'll get into that in a few minutes. But I would say that there's value.

6:56 I want to show that there's value in doing it, also demonstrate that as we look into these things that, you know, do I believe there's an ultimate truth? Of course I do. There's the time that all those things. I believe that the Lord knows all of those things, and he's given us some information to it. But I think the value is in the study and the concentration and the focus on it more than maybe the answers.

7:25 And I'll explain that as we go, okay? So here's the debate. If we look at eschatology, which is the study of end times, These are all the things that and I'm going to get this centered so you can actually see it. Eschatology is the study of end times. And if you look at the list here, these are all things that are debated.

7:48 If you go online, it's fun. It really is. Go on YouTube and just type in pre, pre trib versus post trib and see what comes up. You'll have a fun afternoon. I was looking through the videos and all the things that that come up there.

8:01 But but just understanding prophecy, what things apply to Israel, what things apply to the church, what things apply to both. This comes into... It's at the bottom of the list, but dual prophecies. There's all kinds of dual prophecies in the Old Testament where there's references to the first coming of Christ, and then within that, there's references to the second coming as well. And you can understand why why why Israel was confused, why they didn't know what to expect and why they didn't know what to look for.

8:28 Because there's just a lot to it. And trying to sort through what was going to happen in the Messiah's first coming versus his second coming was probably very challenging. I think it's challenging for us sometimes. And we have the benefit of twenty twenty rearview mirror, right? So there's the literal versus symbolic discussions.

8:48 There's all kinds of debate about the rapture. And a lot of that's the timing of the rapture. I think it's pretty clear for most Christians that the rapture, there are, believe me, there's groups, you can find a group that, for anything, right? There are some groups that don't think there's a rapture. I don't know how you get there.

9:03 But okay, but the timing of the rapture is certainly discussed and debated a lot. The millennial reign of Christ, is that literal? Is it really a thousand years or is it figurative in that sense? Or when will it happen? Will it happen to the timing that many of us think it will?

9:21 The tribulation itself, that's highly debated. What will happen during the tribulation? And certainly we'll go through that pre trib, when I say trib, that's what I'm referring to for those of you who aren't familiar. It's the tribulation. And that's a seven year period in which there's going to be great, as the name suggests, tribulation in the world.

9:45 And in the middle of that, we'll have the abomination of desolation that will trigger the wrath of God for three and a half years, and a whole bunch of other things that will take place. And then you have these groups, and you can decide whether you've... And I want to make this clear. Like I think of Don, I can't Don, I think of you a lot when I do this because, or when I was studying this stuff because I know that you've put a lot of work into this, right? And I did think of you quite a bit.

10:16 And I think there are going to be some people who have put the time in, that have done the research, that have done the study, and they're very comfortable where they're at. Whatever it is you believe, you're comfortable in that place. What I would encourage you to do is, first of all, if you haven't put the time in yet, go into it with an open mind. Try not to be biased. And that's hard for me because I'm a 53 year old pre Trevor, right?

10:42 And so I had to go into these things and I wanted to clear that out and try to just, what does God's word say about it? And I don't want to trust what Moody said or what this, not that we can't use those things and help us to guide us in that study, but take the time to do it, and I'll explain why I think that's important in just a minute. So you have futurists. You have, in terms of revelation, the hysterists, the preterists, the spiritualists, which is also known as the idealists. You have the amillennialists, the premillennialists.

11:11 That's a hard word to say if you're tongue tied like I feel right now. Millennialists, the post millennialists, and the dispensationalists. You probably already know where you fit in that. And we might not all fit in the same spot. But if you're part of the assemblies and you've grown up in the assemblies, it's probably going to be strongly in one direction or the other.

11:34 Would you agree? Like, if you've grown up here, you know, like, and I've known nothing else, right, for the most part, than what I've learned here. And the list goes on. So these are all the things that are debated. I'm not going to answer any of them today.

11:46 Aren't you relieved? Yeah. So am I. I'm relieved that I decided not to try to. But the question is, why bother?

12:15 The the first week of our study in Revelation at BSF. And we looked at Revelation chapter one verse three. It says, blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, referring to Revelation, and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near. And, you know, it's funny because we look at that and we say, well, that was written two thousand years ago. And we consistently see throughout the New Testament, this is the time is near.

12:42 The time is near. The time is... Well, it's been two thousand years. Right? Well, I don't know that the time is near now.

12:48 And we're gonna talk about, we're gonna get into back into Luke 21 to, I don't know that the time is near now in the sense that it's imminent, it's coming any second. Should we live and prepare as if it is? Absolutely. No question about it. I'm convinced of that, that we need to live and prepare as if it could happen right now.

13:07 Okay? However, we don't know the Lord's timing on this. He's given us some indicators. He's given us some things to look at. But we need to be careful about that because sometimes we look at the things that Jesus said, yeah, these things are gonna happen, but it doesn't mean right now.

13:24 Like, that doesn't mean that it's near. And I'll explain that in a minute. So we have to be careful about what things are telling us that it's real close and what things tell us that now is the time to start the clock, right? So there is blessing in just looking through this stuff. And this one, and this is my list.

13:45 You could probably put a better list together than I can. But this is the list that that, as I was going through, why why should I be looking into these things? These are the things that I came up with. Know, like, so I don't... This is not all encompassing.

13:55 And no list that I've made today is all encompassing, okay? So I'm sure you could probably think of verses and things on the list that would be better than what I have, but that's okay. Anyways, but what came to me was prophecy fulfilled. I don't know the exact number because I didn't have that kind of time to go through every Old Testament prophecy that referred to the first coming of Christ. But looking at it, thank goodness for it online, right?

14:21 Thank goodness for the Internet, and I don't say that very often. But on the Internet, I looked it up and looked through a whole bunch of different sources, and not one of them had under 300. They were all 300 plus. That means Jesus Christ, in the life of Jesus Christ, 300 Old Testament prophecies at least were fulfilled. 300.

14:44 Over the course of thousands of years. Jesus, his his birth, even the things before his birth, John preparing the way for the Messiah was a fulfillment of prophecy. But in the birth, the life, the death, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, we see over 300 prophecies fulfilled. So why would it matter that we look at the second coming? We know about the first.

15:12 We have the way of salvation. We have all those things. Why does it matter? Well, according to the numbers, and and there was a range here. The range was between 1,200 and about 1,600 that I found.

15:22 But we're looking at least three, if not five times as many prophecies about the second coming as there were the first. So if Jesus fulfilled 300 prophecies through all those things in his life, right, if he fulfilled 300, and there's 1,500, maybe five times more than what he fulfilled in his first coming, doesn't it make sense that we should be looking into his second coming? I think so. I have the verse up there. I'm not gonna read all of them for the sake of time, but but that's why they're there, for you to read through them while I'm while I'm talking.

15:58 K? Because if I go through all of them, we won't get to the end, And I've done that before, and it's already... I can't see that clock. That's not good. That's not good for the rest of you.

16:11 What is that? You have twenty minutes. Oh my goodness. I might not be able to read any of the verses. Okay.

16:18 And also to avoid deception, we're warned again and again. Jesus warns us in in Luke 21 and in Matthew Matthew, 24 and in Mark 13, which are the parallel sections. Take heed that you be not deceived. There are people that are going to come and claim all kinds of things about the Lord and claim to be the Lord and claim all kinds of claims about the Lord and his coming. And Lord doesn't want us to be deceived.

16:47 And so we need to do the research, we need to find out what's really going on. Gosh, there's some really good verses. I really hate to just blow through them, but I feel like I have to at this point. Have twenty minutes left. I think it's important that we we do this to prepare for tribulation.

17:07 And folks, looking at the end times and understanding what's coming, notice it doesn't... That's not with a capital t. I'm not suggesting we have to prepare for the tribulation. That will be up to you to decide after you put the time. I was gonna ask this question.

17:21 How many people, before I get to that, how many people feel that they are, through great research, prayerful study, that you are just solid on the end times? Raise your hand if you really feel like, I'm solid, I got this down pat. Well, that's good to know. Oh, Connor. Okay, Connor.

17:41 There's not one person on this planet that believes that, but okay. Well, that's good. How many people would rank themselves as I feel pretty doggone good about where I'm at as far as my understanding? Just raise your hand. Like, yeah, don't be afraid to do that.

17:57 If you feel, it's not an overconfidence. That means you put the time in. You've studied it. You know it. How many people feel like probably where I'm at, I've heard a lot, but I've never really put the time in.

18:11 And that, I don't I don't think think if we go from church to church and we ask that question and everybody answers it honestly, I think that's what we'd find out. I think we'd find that out because it's hard. It's hard, isn't it? You've got to take all this Old Testament prophecy and apply it to the things that we learn in the New Testament, right? I mean, you know the books.

18:33 It's not just Daniel and Revelation and a couple of verses here and there in Thessalonians. It's strewn throughout the Bible, right? And so to take all that information and put it together and figure out what makes sense and what applies to Israel and what applies to us and what applies to both and try to figure out the timing of these things, It's it's a task. I'm finding that out in just a little bit that I've gotten into this. Right?

19:14 If if don't die first. You will be here for the tribulation. I would be more worried than anybody in this room if you don't know the Lord because the tribulation is not going to be good, hence the name. Right? But we all have to be prepared for tribulation.

19:32 Right? Because the Lord warns us that, first of all, the world's going to hate us. Because we love Him, the world's going to hate us. That's a guarantee. We are going to be mistreated.

19:42 We are going to be... And in this country, it's pathetic. You know, there's some part of me... I know this sounds crazy, someone's going to say that. There's this weird part of me that says, I would would like to go through the tribulation.

19:56 I know it's going to sound very strange, but I would like to be put to the test. I think about Columbine, when they put that gun to that girl's head and they said, reject Jesus, because they knew she was a Christian, and she said no, and they shot her. I would have an easier time doing that than I do handling when two of the teachers I'm trying to talk to about the Lord walk out of my room and say, pfft, nah. Right? That to me is demoralizing.

20:23 That to me is embarrassing. And I'm like, oh, maybe they're not going like me because we're stupid and we're human and we like to be liked, right? And we don't want people to think that we're weird or whatever the case may be. But I find my cowardice sometimes in sharing the gospel is worse. But if someone put a gun to my head and said, reject Jesus, I say, pull the trigger.

20:41 Thank you. Thank you. Because I know what's coming. And it's way better than anything here, right? That I can deal with.

20:49 And so I wonder, being put through the tribulation and testing of my faith, would that be a... There's something that would be pretty awesome about that too. I'm not suggesting that's what's going to happen. I really am not. I'm saying, could it be a cool thing?

21:07 I don't know. Depends how we react to it, right? But we do have to prepare for tribulation, and we know that it's coming. Right? That it's always gonna happen, that Christians will be put to the test.

21:22 There's more there. We're supposed to rejoice in our tribulations and our suffering. Right? Because they produce in us endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

21:43 Folks, we have it easy here. We do. There are people in the world that are going through serious tribulation, like what they experienced. If you're in North Korea and you believe in God, knowing that your own children... Isn't that talked about?

22:00 How children will turn into their parents? Right? We see that in Matthew 24, that children will turn against their parents and parents against their children and all these things because of the gospel. Go to North Korea and try to be a Christian and see how that goes. There's real persecution.

22:18 You're thrown into a camp for the rest of your life until you're dead. I mean, that's, you know, kids turning in their parents. There's parents that can't tell their children that they've accepted Christ. Because their kids will go to school, say, my parents are reading, I saw my parents reading a Bible. Here comes the police, take them away.

22:33 I mean, that's very genuine, very real. And then this is one of my favorite verses in all the Bible. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. And I put that one right before the last section of why we should do this, why we should take the time to study the end times, and that is, you can't see it because this is an overhead projection. Oh, I could move this.

23:02 I keep forgetting I have that. It's been a while. It's motivation, right? Motivation. While no man knows the day or the hour, we can all agree that today is one day closer to that day, and we should be thankful for that.

23:17 But we should have motivation, to do that. And why? Because because by studying the end times, by studying these things that relate to the second coming of Christ, First of all, keep in mind, like, your first hope is that he comes now, today. That's our first hope. After that is death.

23:38 That's our next best hope. You understand that, right? Like dying is our next best hope because when we're dead, we get to be with the Lord. We don't have to be here anymore. But the first one, the best one is that he'd come quickly, right?

23:53 That he comes today and receives us back to Himself. So He wants us, the Lord wants us to set our minds on His return. It wouldn't be talked about as frequently in the Bible, pick whatever number, someone probably has gone through it and knows the exact number, I don't. And I probably never will. But I mean, if I do, then, honest to goodness, I'll probably wear a shirt that says it.

24:19 You know, like, I went through and I found them all. I don't know who knows them all, but we know there's a whole bunch. The Lord talks about his coming again for a reason, and that's for us to set our minds on that, to think about him. I was thinking about all the different ways that the Lord has reminded his people, whether it's Israel or Christians, to remember him, right? We just did it in the last service.

25:00 He didn't say... None of those things were commanded, but he said, remember me. Do this together. Remember to me. Do this.

25:07 He wanted us to remember him. Right? And so anything we can do when it comes to his second coming, he tells us again and again in his coming, he's telling... And remember, he came humbly the first time, but he could come in glory and power the next time. And he wants us to be ready.

25:24 And that's the point of the parable that at some point I'm going to talk about today. And I have to move. He wants us to set our minds, our hope and our comfort in him, to be sanctified. That means set apart to him. We're not supposed to live our lives for ourselves.

25:41 We're supposed to live it for him. And he wants to be the... To completely dominate our lives. In everything we do, we should be defined by what we are as a follower of Christ. Right?

25:53 And then salvation of the lost, and that's not last for, it's just last because that's the order came in. But but guys, we only have so much time to tell other people about Christ. At some point, it's going to come to an end, whether by our death or by the Lord coming again. Whatever it's going be, we only have so much time. And and we've been tasked with this responsibility to make disciples throughout the world.

26:17 And it's not an easy thing, especially for some of us, it's harder than others. Some people seem to have that burden and go out and do it. For all of us, you know, we have, I'm more comfortable talking to people that I know and care about, and I want them to be saved, so I share it there. But I'm not good at talking to the guy at the Wendy's drive thru. You know what I mean?

26:36 I don't think about it in that moment the way that I should. And I pray for myself to have a greater burden for all the lost, not just the people that I love and care about. You can pray for me on that. So let's get to Luke 21. I put it up here so that you don't have to go hiking through, trying to search through, all the scripture.

26:59 I try to put them all up there so we can just read it together. But... So here's my section today at five after. Or... Yes.

27:07 At five after. We're gonna hustle. Then he spoke to them a parable. Look at the fig tree and all the trees. And I want to point out very quickly that, there's a lot of people that say the fig tree represents Israel and it very well may.

27:21 Again, I'm not making any conclusive decisions yet because I'm not there in my own study. But Luke is the only gospel that mentions in all the trees. That to me has significance. It might, right? Matthew just says the fig tree.

27:38 Mark just says, Mark 13 just says the fig tree. But Luke, being a Gentile, says he tags in there in all the trees. The significance of that we can figure out. Because a lot of this is who is being referred to? Who's being talked about in Luke 21?

27:55 Who is it referring... And there's debate about that. There's debate about whether it's just Israel. Or is it Israel and the church? Is it just the church?

28:03 There's a lot of discussion about which one is right. And I'll let you know when I get there. Okay? I mean, I know what I think, but I'll let you know when I get there for sure. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves this summer is now near.

28:19 What I love about this parable, because there's some parables I've had to speak on in the past where there is no explanation afterwards. That makes it a lot tougher. But when the Lord goes ahead and explains it right away, that makes the job a lot easier in terms of interpreting the the meaning behind it. So you also, when you see these things happening, we're going to have to go back to that, know that the kingdom of God is near. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.

28:50 We're going to go through some of the... You can see there's some things in bold there. Till all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. So let's talk about some of the things that are debated in this.

29:04 First of all is the symbolism of the fig tree. Symbolism of the fig tree and then the other trees. Is that Israel? A lot of people would say that it's just Israel. You know, I was looking...

29:19 I I love I love the notes in my bible. This... The kids... One of the greatest gifts they've ever given me is to get this rebound so I can keep using it because it was a it was a disaster. But, you know, I'm looking through it, and I use those notes so heavily.

29:33 You know who the notes? Well, guess what type of Bible it is? Schofield, right? So guess where I've been getting my notes for all these years? From, brethren, you know, right, Schofield.

29:43 So, which is not bad. It's a wonderful thing. But that's where I've been getting all my notes. So anyways, the symbolism is debated. These things is also debated.

30:23 That's a warning that still whether... Regardless of who this is addressing, as with most scripture, it certainly applies to us. But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified, for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately. And I want to point out, there have been wars and pestilence and famines and terrible things going on since Adam sinned. Right?

30:51 There's never been a period of peace and tranquility, maybe for about twenty minutes after Noah landed. Right? There was some peace until his son shamed him and all that. You know, right? Like, there's been problems all the time.

31:06 And Lord's saying here, don't look, know, these things are going to happen, but don't look at these as the end. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places and famines and pestilences. And there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. Look at the timing.

31:28 Next verse. But before all these things, what's going to happen before all those things happen? What should they expect first? They should expect they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. And certainly that would be a clue for those people that think this applies to Israel.

31:47 That that helps. You will be brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake, but it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore, settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer, for I will give you a mouth and a wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Understand what it means to be a disciple of the Lord.

32:17 You might be put to death. Do we fear that a whole lot here? No. Could it happen? Could things change?

32:23 Absolutely. And you will be hated by all for my name's sake, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Again, wish there was time to go through all of it, but by your patience, possess your souls. And then we have the but in verse 20. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, if you continue reading from there, I believe, or at least I'm led to believe, that these are the...

32:52 These things. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. All these things take place. When he talks about these things, I think it's starting there. That the other stuff is going to happen.

33:07 It's going to happen. It's going to happen for a long period of time. I think we're seeing that. How many people thought that it was all over when World War I was going on? Or the Napoleonic Wars?

33:16 Or, right, because there, he seemed like the Antichrist, that could be it, right? When World War II, Hitler is like the poster boy, you would think, for the Antichrist. We've had terrible things going on throughout the world for all kinds of times, and Jesus says, that stuff's going to happen. Okay? He says, when these things come to pass.

33:37 Well, what are these things? I believe it's starting in verse 20. When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. And again, there's lots of debate. Is this the seventy AD destruction of Jerusalem?

33:48 Is this some future thing? Or is it dual prophecy and it's referring to two different times? Right? Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written will be fulfilled.

34:12 But woe to those who are pregnant and those who are nursing babies in those days, for there will be a great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. Again, some clues in the wording. And they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away captive in all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Folks, we're in the time of the Gentiles.

34:36 I think that's pretty clear. And at some point, it's gonna come to an end. And God's people, he has plans for them. And there will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars and the earth, distress of nations with perplexity and sea and waves roaring. Men's hearts falling from them for fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth.

35:00 For the powers of the heavens will be shaken and they will see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now these... When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads because your redemption is near. So there's a lot of things that are debated. What does he mean by these things?

35:34 Some people think it's the generation, well, because generation is used in multiple ways in the Bible, right? Sometimes a generation means an age, right? It refers to an age. Sometimes you can't even get agreements on whether a generation is twenty, thirty or forty years just in general terms, right? You can.

35:51 Go look it up. Go look and see what everybody says, and you'll find twenty, thirty, forty years. There's not a whole lot of agreements of what a generation means. A lot of people would say, probably lean, leaning. I hate to say it to Mesa because I had so much fun taking the other side with him this week.

36:06 You know what I mean? Because he's a pre trip guy. And so I had so much fun, like, pulling out the other stuff. But I also think that when we talk about the, oh, where was I? Oh, the generation, I think it most, to me, it makes sense that he's referring to the generation, that when these things begin, when these trials and the ending begin, that it's a reference to that generation.

36:34 But again, I don't know conclusively. I'm not going to pretend to. Oh, I got it. In conclusion, I have a lot more to go. I'm going to see how I can sum this up quickly.

36:51 Boy. In my mind, it didn't seem to take that long. Again, I'm out of practice, right? Let me get to the point. Because he continues in Luke 21 through thirty four thirty four through 36, he says, but take heed...

37:16 Nope, you can't see it. Boy, am I really out of practice, you guys. I'm glad this isn't being filmed. But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing drunkenness and cares for this life that in that day will come upon you unexpectedly, for it will come as a snare on all those who dwell in the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and stand before the son of man.

37:45 So in summation, Jesus is telling us through this parable, the fig tree, that when the leaves come out, it tells you that summer is coming. Well, so when you see these things happening, be ready. Be ready. I'm coming, and I'm going to be coming soon. And you're not going to know the day or the hour.

38:06 Be ready. What's the overall message? Be ready. Be prepared. And so my thoughts went to, and I'm not going to be able to go through it the way I'd hoped, and that's okay.

38:20 These things happen. We'll just go through the main points. And there's a whole lot of scripture that I'm just going to have to bypass. I had you guys look at this last night. How come you didn't tell me this was going to take way too long?

38:45 Okay. So let me go through this part quickly. So what does this look like for the believer? And that's really when I was going through this process. This is about, you know, like, I was thinking about it in terms of how should I respond to this.

39:01 It's clear that the Lord wants me to look into these things. And I think that's true for all of us. I think he wants all of us to look into this, into the end times. But what does it look like to be ready? Because that's what was pressed on my heart as I was reading this.

39:16 Like, am I living my life as someone who's ready for the imminent return of Christ? Am I really living that way? Or do I live, you know, like there's times where I'm living for the Lord, and then there's times that I'm kind of doing what I like to do because I'm an idiot and I just, know what I mean? Like, am I really living for the Lord the way I should? And so I think it goes back to those things that we talked about in the motivation, to set our minds on his return.

39:42 The Lord wants to be the focus of every thought and wants us to look forward to his return. And I put a lot of really wonderful scripture there to help support that. And then I appreciate your patience, everybody. If you want a copy of this, I'd be happy to give you one. And then sanctification.

40:03 We are a testimony to the world, folks. A world that's dying and doesn't even know it's dying, right? A world that thinks if I go to church or if I'm a good person or if I'm not a murderer, that God's going be okay with me. But the Bible is very clear, folks, the Bible is very clear that that's not the way it is. That if you reject the truth of Scripture, if you reject what the Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross for our sins, there is an eternal damnation waiting.

40:29 And people say, well, that doesn't sound like very nice. Yep, that's what a just God does to people that reject Him. And if you reject his son, if you make what Jesus Christ did on the cross as if it's not worth anything, then you've rejected the suffering and the pain and the torment that his son went through on our behalf. That's not a little thing. God doesn't look at it that way.

40:53 So we are to be sanctified. We're supposed to be a testimony to the world, and we want to set our thoughts on him. And again, someday, we're going go through that. And then folks, salvation and the lost. If you have it figured out and your burden is where it should be and you take advantage of every opportunity to share the gospel with people that don't know it, then thank you and great, and that's awesome.

41:24 I'm not. I bet that describes a whole bunch of us. I don't think I'm alone there. I think sometimes we 're cowards when it comes to it because we hate the rejection. We don't like people to think that we're weirdos or whatever the case may be.

41:38 But we have the greatest news that's ever been told, right, that Jesus died for us and provided a way of salvation. And we should speak it boldly. And I have to say this verse to myself all the time, like whether I'm at school or wherever. Like, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God to salvation. Right?

41:55 I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. And I have to repeat that to myself over and over again. So those opportunities come up. A lot of times I'm fighting it, and then I go, that verse comes to my head, I go, just say it. Just say it.

42:05 Just say it. And if they don't like you or they think you're an idiot, fine, who cares? Our responsibility is to talk about it and to tell people the good news of Jesus Christ because that's what he wants. So Jesus promises, surely I am coming quickly. Folks, I don't know when.

42:33 We have a universal body of Christ, that's everyone that has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as savior, right? Everybody who has proclaimed his name as the one who has saved them. That puts us all in the same family. There's enough to be divided about. And if it's foundational issues foundational doctrine that has to do with salvation and those things, then yes, we sometimes we have to divide on those things.

42:59 But when it comes to things like, and I want you to just try to put it in perspective, if you're a pre triber and you get disgusted with post tribers, you're seven years apart waiting for the same thing. I mean, does that help a little bit? Or maybe if they're a mid tripper, that means you're only three and a half years apart. Should three and a half years or seven years divide us? They shouldn't.

43:22 They shouldn't. And should we look down on one another because someone thinks differently about these things that are not... I'm not... And believe me, I'm not implying that they're not important. They are important.

43:33 But I believe that they're not clear for a reason. It doesn't just come out... Think about the things that Jesus comes out and says directly that we can just take to the bank. Right? Think about throughout the entire Bible, all the things that God says directly that we can just take to the bank.

43:49 But there were things that he leaves a mystery to some degree or another. He gives us just enough to whet our appetite and make us want to look into it, right? And I think that's what he wants. I'm just, again, not saying anything conclusively here, but I have to think that he wants us to look into these things, to meditate on him, to think about his coming. And and whether it happens before the tribulation, whether it happens in the middle of the tribulation, whether it happens at the end of the tribulation, so?

44:21 So if I'm off, I'm off by seven years, or I'm off by five years, or three and a half years, whatever it is, I'm still going to spend eternity with a whole bunch of other people that were wrong too. Right? And that's what should matter. And so I want to encourage you, first of all, and then I'm going to finish. I don't know what to do with the rest of that material.

44:43 But I would encourage you, first of all, to not be like me, right? Don't be Jim Bingham and spend fifty three years of your life not looking into these things. Look into it. There's blessing in it, and there's reward in it. And the Lord wants us to think about these things.

44:58 He wants us to think about his coming. He wants us to anticipate. He wants us to get ready. He wants us to be ready, right? He wants us to live in a way that is ready for his coming.

45:08 I encourage you to do that. But I also encourage you to study it on your own, to take in all the information from very wise and studied people, to develop whatever it is that opinion is that you're going to come up with, but to do that on your own. Don't just rely on what other people tell you. Don't. God's word is what we look to.

45:32 God's word is what we answer to. And God's word is the authority. It is not Moody. It is not Tozer. It's not...

45:41 All these people that I love and respect and have read for years, it's not them. They're a great source of information. They're great for thinking through it. But it's God's word that we answer to. And it's God's word that we respect and adore.

45:54 So let's use God's word. Let's go to it. And then let the chips fall where they may from that point, right? Whatever you study and decide, be comfortable in that. And if you are already decided, that's great.

46:08 That's great. I'm not. I'm being honest with you, I'm not. And I'm not because I'm choosing to look into it now and start over with a fresh mindset and try to forget my biases as I do that, which is hard. It's not easy to do.

46:49 Righteous, not of our own doing, not because of what we've accomplished, but because of what the Lord Jesus did. We rest in that. But we also rest in the hope that you're coming again. We don't know the hour or the day, and no one does. But Lord, we rest in that and that we look forward to it, you know, more than anything.

47:10 Lord, if you want to come today, that'd be fine with me. So we appreciate you, Lord. We worship you and we praise your name. Amen.