I Shall Return

I Shall Return (Luke 21:5-9, 25-28, 34-36) Not one stone left upon another = total destruction Fulfilled in A.D. 70 by Romans under General Titus (Minor fulfillment) They admired the temple for is architectural grandeur, and its expensive decorations. The temple was impressive not only for its beauty but for it size. The foundation stones were almost the size of box cars (67 ft. long, 18 ft. wide, 12 ft. high). The temple was indeed, both great and glorious, especially to the disciples of Jesus. The disciples were not from Jerusalem, but were from Galilee. We would say that they were “country bumpkins.” They would have seldom been to Jerusalem and thus would have seen the grandeur of the temple as tourists. The temple was indeed impressive, covering about one-sixth of the land area of the ancient city of Jerusalem. The building complex was nearly five hundred yards long and four hundred yards wide. Jesus’ remarks are especially devastating, since the temple was the heart and soul of Israel’s worship. Represented a time when the nation was financially rich but spiritually bankrupt (Sound familiar?) If we reject His way, He will remove his tabernacle (Lam. 2:6) The sweetest words: God is with us, His face shines upon us The saddest words: God has left us, He has turned his face from us Do Not Be Deceived (Matt. 24:11; 23-25; Mark 13:5-6; 21-23; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; 2 Thess. 2-3; 9-11; 2 Tim 3:13; 1 John 4:1; 2 John 1:7; Rev. 12:9) This deception thing is not new, it is as old as the story of mankind. In Genesis 3 we are told about how Satan initially deceived mankind. It is interesting to note how very little has changed. Dr. David Jeremiah notes the three steps he used. [David Jeremiah. Until He Comes. (Nashville:Word, 1999) pp. 33-36] First, Dispute God’s Word. The first thing that Satan did in tempting Eve was to dispute the Word of God. Satan appeared to Eve and said (Genesis 3:1) “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden.” He suggested to Eve that somehow she had misunderstood what God meant. “One of the ways that happens today goes something like this; You have a clear plain Word of God in front of you, and it tells you that you shouldn’t do something you’d really like to do. Next thing you know someone sidles up alongside you and tries to to give you an ‘alternative interpretation’ of the text that will allow you to do what you know

God doesn’t want you to do. And you end up saying, ‘I’ll not sure I know what this Scripture means.” [Jeremiah. p. 34] Secondly, Deny God’s Word. The road from doubt to denial is very short. The next thing Satan does is contradict the word of God. In Genesis 3:4 Satan says to Eve, “You will not surely die.” But that is a flat contradiction of what God has revealed in Genesis 2:17. Dr. David Jeremiah says it so well when he says, “I am learning that every time you try to find an interpretation of a Scripture that will permit you to do something you know is wrong – every time you give a little ground to the devil and lose some ground from the Word of God – it isn’t long until Satan drives a truck through that opening and dumps a load of stinking garbage in your life.” [David Jeremiah p. 35] Third, Displace God’s Word. In Genesis 3:5 Satan says, “For God know that in the day that you eat of it your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” May I suggest to you that he telling Eve that because she will be as God is she can decide for herself what is good and what is evil. One of the easiest places to see how deception is at work in our world is in our culture treats sin. In the minds of many people, an “improper relationship” is different from adultery. Homosexuality is just an “alternative” lifestyle. Little by little the idea of absolute truth is being eroded out of our culture. Do not be afraid What events have caused you to feel fear? 9/11? Militant Islam? Nuclear weapons in North Korea and Iran? Tsunami? The rise of China? Outsourcing of Jobs? The growing gap between rich and poor? SARS and other like epidemics? Do not be distracted His message is that people across the world in that day were caught up in doing the ordinary things. They were taking life as it came, just living day to day. And they were completely ignoring the warnings all around them. Rather than turning to God in repentance they were drifting alone with the prevailing culture, living

lives characterized by the attitudes of the day. And Jesus says that is the way it will before he returns. Son of Man coming in the clouds (Luke 21:27; Dan.7:13; Acts 1:11; Rev. 1:7; 14:14) Redemption near (Luke 21:28) Luke 2:11 – Astrology? (Contra: Deut. 18:10-12; Isaiah 47:13-14) Some 30% of people in Western countries are said to believe in astrology